Winterfall (9 page)

“Ian said Penny has some things for you.” Mark tapped away on the phone, and a few moments later another text came back. “She’s coming over in a few minutes. I’ll show you the rest of the apartment.”

She followed him on the short tour, noting the cleanliness of the place. The bedroom was large, the master bath luxurious and with a double sink, jetted tub and big shower. The small office and den had bookshelves but no books and nothing on the desk.

“This isn’t your apartment obviously.” She winked at him as they left it and returned to the bedroom. “No unmade beds, socks on the floor.”

He planted his hands on his hips, but his smile told her he hadn’t taken her seriously. “You’re right. It’s a guest apartment and lucky for you.” He wriggled his eyebrows. “I pile underwear three days deep on my bedroom floor and never wash dishes.”

She laughed. “Right. No way. You aren’t like that.”

He returned her grin. “None of the guys here are. I’m not anal about stuff, but I never leave underwear on the floor. There are dirty dishes in the sink, though.”

Part of her wanted to see his place, to gauge more about him based on what the apartment looked like. But no. She wouldn’t invite herself into his apartment. Moments later there was a knock on the door. He opened it to two women who greeted him with smiles and he invited them inside. Penny Graham shook Juliet’s hand with a good grip and enthusiasm. She had shoulder-length hair that reminded Juliet of chocolate with blond streaks in it. Blond, not gray like Juliet’s. Penny wore a boyfriend-sized red t-shirt over casual jeans and athletic shoes.

Mally Andretti had a long russet ponytail that reached her waist, and green eyes sparkling with good humor. She had a smaller frame than Penny’s and her expression held more skepticism mixed with that humor. Mally wore a casual floral tunic over blue legging capris.

Mally said, “I’ve got a pair of pajamas that might fit you, but they could be a little long.”

“How tall are you?” Penny asked Juliet.

Juliet stood straighter. “Five four. You’re both around five eight?”

Penny said, “Five seven for me.”

“Me, too,” Mally said.

Juliet put up her hands. “I’ll just roll up the legs if I have to.”

Mally propped her foot against the side of Penny’s and said, “My feet are size eight.” She eyeballed Juliet’s feet. “What about you?”

Juliet bit her lip. “Seven.”

Penny lifted one foot. “My feet are almost size nine. I don’t think that is going to work for you, Juliet.”

Mally started for the door. “I’ve got some tube socks.”

After Mally left, Penny yawned. “Oh, my gosh. I’m sorry. I was up early today. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

After the door closed behind Penny, Juliet thought of a thousand questions for the women. How could they live in a place like this? While Mark had told her a little of how Adam and Ian had met Mally and Penny, Juliet couldn’t deny her curiosity demanded more explanation. While Mally gathered items for Juliet, Mark offered her ice water from the fridge. She sat on a bar stool and sipped it while her mind rolled along at a hundred miles per hour, pinging from one thing to another. Mally returned quickly, and after taking the sweats, socks and a pair of athletic shoes, Juliet thanked Mally.

“Thanks so much to both of you for taking me in and helping me out.” Juliet held the sweats and shoes to her chest, feeling a bit like a refugee.

Mally was gracious and promised to see her tomorrow.

Juliet placed the garments and shoes on a bar stool, and Mark obviously took that for a sign he should leave. Truthfully, she wanted alone time to think about tonight’s fire.

Mark’s gaze held hers. “I’ll be right next door if you need me.”

Yes, she saw an undeniable
need
in his eyes. Okay, she supposed she could be wrong and maybe she didn’t see a hundred questions in his eyes, a huge portion of curiosity and yeah…an equal measure of desire.

Mark’s frequently humor-filled eyes turned one-hundred-percent serious. “Sleep well and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

When he edged closer, she decided to hug him before there could be any awkward what-do-we-do-now moments. She moved forward and slipped her arms around his neck. His arms easily encompassed her waist, drawing her against him. She snuggled into all that hard, wall-like muscle. Her head rested against his shoulder.

She allowed her hands to slide down to his broad shoulders as she drew back to look up into his eyes. “Thanks so much for the help. You’ve been wonderful, Mark.”

Thick lashes framed his expressive eyes, and she fell right in.

“When we first met I didn’t think you liked me. What’s changed?” he asked.

Touché. He’d gotten her there. “It wasn’t dislike so much. You just came on so charming and relaxed in the situation, it took me off guard.”

“You thought it was inappropriate.”

“Sort of.” She sighed. “I’ve been told I’m a little prickly and defensive sometimes. I think it takes me a while to trust people.”

“Because of your upbringing?”

“Yes. I’m getting over that, but occasionally I slip back into defense mode. But you’ve…well, I feel comfortable with you now that I know you better.”

His eyes got that mischievous sparkle in them again. “I look at life as more of a party.”

“Even during an apocalypse?”

His voice went deeper. “Especially then.”

She admired that whether she wanted to or not. “I wish I could be that carefree.”

“You don’t need to change, Juliet. I think you’re one brave, incredible woman.”

Feeling self-conscious, she spoke quickly. “Okay, what is this? A mutual admiration society?”

A lopsided grin tilted his mouth. “All I know is that I
definitely
admire
you
.”

All her feminine bits stood up and took notice as his words penetrated and his gaze went hot. He reached down to brush a stray hair away from her face. Her breath caught as he shifted that little bit. A sweet ache of longing started somewhere inside her. She couldn’t deny what she saw in his eyes or what she felt. He wanted to kiss her. At least she thought he did, with those impossibly dark eyes and sinful mouth. Her attention landed on that mouth, and then he was there…yeah…right there with his lips warm and coaxing on hers. His fingers tunneled through her hair and settled on the back of her neck, his other arm snug around her back as he pressed close from breast and chest to hips and thighs. His power seduced her—she’d never been held like this or kissed quite this way. She moaned softly and his lips smoothed, caressed and tasted with a seductive madness. She clutched his shoulders, then cupped his face as she drowned in sensation. She returned the kiss, falling into it as their passion increased. He caressed and teased, touching along the side of her breast, low on her hips, molding her closer.
Oh, yeah.
He wanted her all right. There was little chance of her mistaking his thick hardness for anything else other than an erection. When his tongue dipped into her mouth, she moaned softly at the hot, erotic stroking. Again and again he mimicked sex, every thrust of his tongue against hers sending hot bolts of need straight through her body. She responded, pressing against him and falling into the kiss with abandon. Slowly he eased his lips from hers and drew her head down to his shoulder.

“Damn, Juliet.” His voice rasped against her ear as he buried his fingers in her hair. “You’re potent.”

She shivered as arousal continued to pass through her in hot waves. “So are you.”

He released her suddenly, stepping back. His gaze was filled with undeniable sexual intent and energy. “I’d better say goodnight. Sleep well.”

She crossed her arms as he headed for the door. “Thanks. You, too.”

Once he’d closed the door she stood in the middle of the room, shaken by the force of that kiss. Sleep wouldn’t come anytime soon.

Juliet sipped her second cup of coffee and hoped the caffeine would kick in any time now. She’d fallen into bed last night not expecting to sleep and had gone out like a light. But when the alarm on her phone screamed at six in the morning, she shut it off and fell back asleep. She woke up at seven and decided she couldn’t lie there any longer. Still in her borrowed sweats, she hadn’t managed more than washing her face, brushing her teeth and hair. She didn’t remember even drinking her first cup of coffee because her brain fixated on what had happened last night.
All
of last night. Who was she kidding? She was obsessed with that kiss, remembering every second of how wonderful his body had felt against hers, how quickly his kiss…hell, everything about him had aroused her. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked Mark. Intellectually she didn’t want to find him this hot this quickly, but her libido didn’t give a damn. Dancing with him last night had been a dream.

A knock on the door brought her out of the thoughtful stupor with a jerk. She answered the door and Mally stood there, fully dressed and appearing refreshed.

Juliet felt self-conscious standing there in nothing but sweats. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Mally said. “Had breakfast yet?”

“No.”

“We’ve just started making breakfast and thought you’d like to join us. Everyone is over at our room.”

She hesitated a moment, then decided saying no would be rude, especially considering the hospitality Sentry Security had already shown her. “Sure. I need to hit the shower first.”

“Two doors down on your right. Just pop over when you’re ready.”

She returned Mally’s smile. “Sounds great.”

After Juliet had showered and redressed in her clothes from last night, she felt awkward as hell in the sweater set and high heels.
Well, at least they aren’t fuck me shoes.
At least she had that. Although she hadn’t owned a set of fuck me shoes in quite some time. She couldn’t walk in many of the current high heel fashions without her feet killing her anyway. She brought her purse with her because she might need her cell, and when she stood outside of the other apartment, she could hear laughter coming from inside. She hadn’t knocked yet when Mark’s door opened. When he walked out, his smile held all the usual warmth. Her mouth dried up. God, the man was
hot
. A plain blue t-shirt hung loose over his torso, but it couldn’t hide the power in his arms or the broadness of his shoulders. She tingled just imagining what his chest would look like naked. Jeans molded his body, but not too tight, and her imagination went
there
, too. Her stomach did a flip and a flop, but in a good way.

She took a big breath. “Morning.”

“Morning.” His voice sounded a little rough and unused, but it was sexy as hell.

When he stopped very close to her, she couldn’t help but lean forward into his space. He smelled like a million bucks, freshly showered and a hint of musk. Nothing overpowering, but masculine and toe-curling delicious. Wanting to lick him went straight to the top of the fantasies her mind seemed to spin whenever she was around him.
You are hopeless, Juliet.

His grin made her wonder if she’d said it out loud for a moment. “You look shell shocked. Something wrong?”

“Uh, no.”

His palm smoothed over her lower back and stayed there, and the way he was looking at her made Juliet swear he wanted to kiss her. His head lowered slightly.

The door opened and a very tall blondish man dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans blinked at them. He threw them a cocky grin as his gaze bounced back and forth between them, a knowing look in his eyes. “Well, what are you standing here for? Come in.” His Scottish accent told her he must be Ian MacDaniel, former Special Air Service. He shook her hand. “Ian MacDaniel.”

A chorus of greetings hit them and before long she’d been introduced to Adam Becker as well. Mally Andretti’s boyfriend was over six feet of hunk with military-short black hair, chiseled features and cocoa skin. The former Air Force Pararescueman had dangerous written all over him, just as Ian and Mark did. And the way Ian and Adam interacted with their women told Juliet that the men were in love with their ladies and would do anything for them. Before she could say much of anything, Juliet had fluffy scrambled eggs, toast and more coffee in front of her as she sat at the table. Mark sat to her right with a plate of pancakes.

A wave of longing hit Juliet as banter went around the breakfast table and in the open kitchen area. Although she liked her privacy, the gathering made her feel something she couldn’t identify. Of course she had the firehouse and everyone in it, but these people had a special situation, a closeness that was apparent with every joke they cracked. Laughter flowed, and for a short time she could forget the fire last night. She’d also developed a man-sized hunger for food, apparently, because she ate with gusto. She glanced at Mark and caught him staring at her, a concentration in his eyes that made her tingle. For a moment she got lost in his gaze, and then she realized the others were talking about the fire on her street.

She jerked to attention and glanced at everyone. “Did you hear something new?”

Adam spoke up. “Just the usual news hype. We made national news with it. They’re starting to call Buckleport the arson capital of the world right now. We’re up to nineteen arson cases. The Fire Marshal and the cops haven’t pinned down a suspect. But I’ll bet you know that already.”

“Yes.” Juliet didn’t know if the rest of them had heard about the letter she’d received and chose not to mention it. “That’s right. I can’t help but wonder…” She swallowed in apprehension. She shouldn’t mention what she knew, but she believed she could trust these people. “It seems too coincidental the latest fire was on my street, right across from my house.” Before anyone could pipe in, her cell phone buzzed in her purse, which lay on the couch. “Excuse me.”

She went to her purse and dug out the cell phone. Chief Krisky’s number popped up, and she answered it. “Chief.”

“Van Pelt. Good to talk with you. How are you feeling?”

“A little tired, but I’m good. Anything new on the arson fire last night, sir?”

“Plenty, unfortunately. Four houses destroyed and the entire block has been evacuated until further notice.”