Bad Boy's Touch (Firemen in Love Book 3) (5 page)

She looked me up and down. “You've got a point.”

It was past midnight now. My whole body ached from all this tension; I was exhausted from the fight – but that didn't stop my dick from perking up when I looked at Madison.

The pale light of the full moon made her lovely face even prettier. She was covered in dirt and scratches. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess. She didn't seem to be wearing a lick of makeup.

None of that mattered. She was truly the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen.

She didn't know it yet, but I was gonna make her
mine.

“So you never answered my last question.”

She didn't make eye contact as she popped open the trunk. A shotgun rested in its rack with a box of shells beside that.

All right, maybe I'd better not put the moves on her
too
hard.

“Don't know what you mean.”

“Yes you do.” I sidled up next to her. She stiffened. “I asked if you were single.”

“You're really going to go there, now of all times?”

“Why not? We just dodged gunfire, fought off a violent psychopath criminal, and escaped a burning building by the skin of our teeth. You ask me, you ought to take a breather and appreciate the little things in life. Savor being alive, you know?”

“That's surprisingly deep for a guy like you.”

I feigned offense. “Like me? Honey, I dunno who you think I am, but I'm not some slack-jawed meat head with barely two brain cells to rub together.”

“I'm sure you're not.” She came closer, so close I could smell her sweet shampoo. “Oh, by the way, Silver... Don't ever call me honey again.”

Ouch. I'd already managed to piss her off – for the tenth time tonight. Damn, women were hard to figure out. This was why I usually stuck to one-night stands from the bar.

I had to figure this out fast. Come up with some way to seal the deal.

“I wanna know why you won't answer me.”

“I've gotta get back to the station and file a report before I can get home and into bed.”

“The only thing I want is a yes or no. I wasn't asking for a written thesis.”

She hesitated, the heat from her body mingling with mine.

“I wouldn't push my luck, if I were you. If things had gone differently, you'd be in the back of my cruiser right now.” She gnawed her lip. “And if you keep this up, you just might spend the night in jail after all.”

“I'd rather spend it in bed with you.”

Her jaw fell. She wasn't used to men being aggressive with her, I could see. Probably didn't like it one bit.

But that was precisely what she needed, and I was a guy who delivered.

“You must have serious balls to say such things to me. I'm not the type of woman you pick up at these clubs.” She gestured to Twinkles.

Words weren't working on her. Time to try something a little more drastic.

One hand settled on her back. She flinched, but didn't protest. That was a great sign.

“Oh, I know you're not that type. That's what I like about you.” Another hand, closer to her ass this time. She didn't move it away. “You're smart. Strong. A fighter. I've never met a lady like you.”

“You don't know me.”

“No, I don't. Not yet. But I want to.”

The moment I saw that hesitation, that break in her defenses, I went in for the kill.

I brought my lips to hers. She groaned, surprised, but pleased.

She so obviously wanted this, but was too ashamed to admit it.

I'd kissed plenty of strangers before. Girls I'd drunkenly met and hooked up with, ones whose names I couldn't remember or maybe never bothered to learn in the first place. They were gone in the morning and off my mind soon after.

But as soon as I kissed Madison, I knew she wasn't one of them.

How could I forget a kiss that made me feel so... Alive?

When her fingers pressed into my back, when she sighed and rubbed up against me, it was like a drug. I had her now, so close...

A car door slammed. She jumped and pushed me away like I was a leper.

I was about to protest, to ask why she ended something so delicious when I could give her so much more – but there was a panicked look in her eyes, and I didn't like it at all.

A man approached. He had a badge, but wasn't dressed like the usual cop.

“There you are, Madison. You were due back at the station an hour ago.”

She fumbled for words. “Yes, but we had an incident. Several suspects got away, and there's reason to believe this fire was set deliberately.”

The man seemed to be ignoring her. Instead, he stared right at me. Not one to back down, even from a cop, I stared back.

“Who is this person? Is he in your custody? If so, get him cuffed so we can process him.”

She and I locked eyes. She licked her lips.

Did I piss her off? Would she betray me?

“No, he's... He's with the Waco fire department.”

The guy sneered. “Looks like a bum to me.”

I was about to throw a punch at his face, but Madison grabbed my shoulder as he turned around.

“Who is this asshole?” I whispered.

“Victor Patterson, chief of police.”

Oh. I lowered my fist.

Victor wandered about, shouting orders to his officers, but never actually doing much himself.

Madison refused to look at me. She packed up her things and got into her car.

I wouldn't let her go so easily. I grabbed hold of the hood so she couldn't back out yet.

“You're just gonna leave me here after that?”

“It was a horrible idea, okay?” She rubbed her eyes. “Have a good evening, Brett.”

As she pulled away and tore down the highway, I realized she didn't call me Silver. It was kinda disappointing.

Victor cast me a disdainful glance. “If you're with them, why are you standing around doing nothing, boy? There's a fire to be put out. Get with it.”

I ignored him, got in my car, and sped home. It felt so wrong.

And it was gonna keep feeling wrong until somehow, some way, I got Madison undressed and between my sheets.

Chapter 4 - Madison

Brett Silver kissed me.

I couldn't believe his nerve. What kind of man puts his hands on a woman – who he'd just met – and tries to make out with her?

He was aggressive. Demanding.

But I liked it.

Harvey walked by and tapped my desk. I jumped, startled out of the fantasy playing in my head. It was a dirty movie, thoughts of very many naughty things Brett would do to me. A man like him was definitely wild in the sack...

“Looks like filling out reports has put you to sleep,” Harvey said with a smile. “Don't let Victor see you daydreaming, or he'll write ya up faster than you can blink. Guy seems to be on a rampage lately.”

I picked up my pen with a sigh. “He's acting like an asshole because he wants that job with the FBI. As if riding us harder is going to make him look better.”

Couldn't believe I ever dated that dick.

He'd been sweet to me when I first got hired on the force. Despite his being more than ten years older, in his early forties, he won me over with his charm. I had looked up to him, to the way he took charge of a situation.

I quickly learned the perils of dating one's boss. Worst of all was working with him after the break-up a couple of months back.

It was, to put it mildly, uncomfortable.

“Jeez, what happened last night?” Harvey stirred his steaming mug of instant noodles. “We get reports of gang activity. Fighting in the street. And it turned into a shootout – with you as the hostage.”

It still shook me up. Rico's hand had bruised my arm where he grabbed me, but the mental trauma was worse than that. The feeling of that cold gun barrel pressed against my head... I'd never forget it.

“But Brett Silver saved me.”

“Yeah, I heard that. You sure got lucky he was in the building at the time.” He stuffed his mouth full of ramen. “Guy's a hero.”

“Yeah. A hero.”

I neglected to tell him the truth: that if things had gone just a little differently, Brett would probably be sitting in a cell this morning. And I, well... I might not have been sitting here at all.

Did I make the right choice in letting him go?

He was a firefighter, yeah, but with a closet full of nasty secrets. He fought in an underground club against violent, dangerous criminals. He seemed to be well acquainted with the strip club staff, too.

I was sure his bad habits didn't stop there.

Yet my lips still tingled when I remembered his kiss. When I thought of him making love to me, my body responded eagerly.

If I were smart, I would stay far away from him.

“All right, folks. I must say I'm
very
disappointed in you.”

Victor marched into the room, his hands in fists so everyone knew how pissed off he was. The handful of officers quieted.

“What happened last night was a complete disaster. I sent you fools out there to do a simple job: investigate the fights, check for warrants, nab a few guys to parade on TV as scapegoats.” He kicked a trashcan over. “Instead, it turned into total and utter insanity. I want to know
who
is responsible for this mess.”

Nobody said anything. Whichever of us was stupid enough to take the blame would be looking for a new job real quick.

“Dozens of innocent people were put in danger. Someone could have died.” His stare landed on me. “Rico and his gang escaped – almost every last one. And then half the building went up in flames. This is all over the news, you realize. Do you have any idea how bad this makes us look?”

I raised my hand. Guess I was the only one brave enough to stand up to Victor. Or maybe the dumbest. Knowing him, he'd brush my opinion off anyway.

Victor smiled a little, the way you might smile at an ignorant child, too young to understand.

“Yes, Madison. What is it?”

“I have reason to believe the fire wasn't accidental. There was a person at the scene. He... He tossed a lit match into a trail of alcohol.”

I didn't say that I never laid eyes on this man, that I was going by what Brett thought he saw and nothing more. Sure hoped he was right, because I was putting my neck on the line for this.

Victor smiled wider, then burst into laughter. Nobody else seemed to think it was all that funny.

“You're telling me it was arson.” He shook his head. “Who do you suppose would attempt to burn down a strip club in the midst of a shootout with the police? He would have to be a very stupid arsonist, don't you agree?”

“I'm only reporting what I saw, sir.”

Victor's smiled vanished. He paced the room, hands behind his back. That meant I'd gotten him thinking – and knowing him, he was about to come up with some wild plan to make himself look good.

To him, it wasn't so much about solving crime, really. Keeping up appearances was most important of all.

“Arson,” he murmured. “Hmm. It is rather suspicious, I suppose. If we caught this bastard, it would be blasted all over the news. We could use some positive media attention for once.”

We officers exchanged knowing glances. Once Victor got an idea, we were the ones who had to make it happen – no matter how ridiculous, which it often was.

“I heard the fire department's got a crew down there investigating right now,” Tim said.

Victor's eyes narrowed. “Well, we can't let them score all the glory, can we?”

“But what do you want us to do, sir?” Harvey asked. “They're the ones with fire experience. They'd be able to figure out if it was arson or accidental.”

“Yes, maybe you're right – but they won't get far without our help. We run the criminal investigation side.” He beamed. “That does it, then. We'll work with the fire team to uncover the truth. Interview witnesses. Look for clues to be used as evidence.”

He didn't really believe it was arson. I could see it in his eyes. But he refused to let anybody show him up, even the fire department.

“So, who wants to volunteer, hmm? Who will be our lucky new Kingston Police Department Fire Investigator?”

No one raised their hand. Did I blame them? Not really. Who wanted to go on some wild goose chase when there were real live criminals out there to hunt down?

But I was there last night when the blaze started. I witnessed the whole thing. And if there really was an arsonist wandering free, I'd do anything to bring him to justice.

“I'll do it, sir.”

Victor looked puzzled. “You, Madison? I'm not so sure that's a good idea.”

I bristled. This was a major reason for me leaving him: he was a sexist jerk who, though he'd never admit it out loud, thought police work was a man's world.

We went into his office and he closed the door. It made me uncomfortable, being so close to him, trapped in this box of a room.