Flash Point (7 page)

Todd drove into her harder, feeling no resistance now, only the welcoming suck of her pussy around him. The sounds of their joining filled the air. The wetness, the slapping, and it was so damn hot he wasn’t going to last much longer. His balls tightened and he groaned.

To slow himself down, if just for a moment, he lifted his mouth from hers and then sought her breast. Licking one pink nipple and murmuring in approval when it tightened beneath his tongue. Her cries grew urgent, higher; she was close to coming too. But she’d need that little push over the edge and so once more he sought her clit.

He’d barely touched the swollen nub when she screamed and climaxed, her pussy squeezing his cock so hard he rolled right over the edge with her.

Slowly his consciousness returned and as his senses grew sharper, he became aware of the lushness of her curves pinned beneath him. The softness of her thighs that cradled him between.

He lowered his head to her breasts and nuzzled his lips against their fullness. Kate’s hands stroked through his hair, almost lovingly, as small tremors continued to rock her body. She sighed and her lips brushed his forehead.

His brain chose that moment to switch back on, bringing reality into sharp focus. He closed his eyes and drew in a slow and unsteady breath.

He’d just had sex with Kate. And there was no way to undo the fact. Not that he’d want to. His softening cock once again stirred inside her. Shit, that never happened. What the hell…

No more tonight.
Guilt clenched his gut as he reminded himself that he’d already probably used her a little too hard already.

Todd eased off her and onto his side, propping his head up on his hand as he stared down at her. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell she wasn’t asleep by the stillness in her body. She was too still. Her breaths shallow.

Reaching out, he traced a finger down her cheek and over her mouth that curled into a small smile.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

Her lashes fluttered open and for a moment uncertainty was in her eyes, but then her blue gaze turned intimate, retelling the story of what had just happened between them.

“I’m wonderful.” She flicked her tongue out and licked his finger. “That was…incredible. Thank you.”

She was thanking
him
? For sex? Another stab of guilt to his gut. Jesus, it wasn’t like he’d done her a favor. If anything, he was blown away by her decision to seduce him.

“Come here,” he murmured quietly and slid his arm around her, tugging her against him.

Surprise flickered in her eyes, before she laid her head against his shoulder and slid her arm over his waist. He smoothed a hand through her silky hair and brushed a kiss on the top of her head.

An unexpected surge of tenderness raced through him and he closed his eyes with a frown.

This was going to get complicated, if it already wasn’t. Sex had always been sex with him. So why did he get the feeling nothing would ever be that simple where Kate was involved?

Kate woke the next morning still in the curve of his arms. The smattering of chest hair against her cheek was the physical reminder of what had happened between them.

A flush stole up her body and she squeezed her thighs together, testing how sore she was. She winced slightly. Apparently a little more than she would have expected. But then, everything about last night had been unexpected. She hadn’t thought Todd would be so, well,
well endowed
. It hadn’t been easy trying to keep her reaction hidden when he’d entered her.

It hadn’t been outright painful, but it had hurt a little. But he’d seemed to know exactly what to do, and each time he’d reach down and rub between her legs…oh God. She closed her eyes, feeling herself get wet again just thinking about it.

“You wake up early, doll.”

His sleepy drawl had her tensing in his arms. She hadn’t realized he was awake. Lifting her head, Kate glanced down at him and found him watching her.

“Is it early?” she asked huskily. “I have no idea.”

“Mmm. Probably only seven. Good thing you don’t have to work. Happy New Year, by the way. Guess we kind of forgot about that part last night.”

Kate gave a nervous laugh. Yes, she’d completely forgotten about ringing in the New Year. Her mind had been a little one track, though.

“Happy New Year,” she murmured.

Todd laughed as his arms tightened around her and then in one quick move he flipped her onto her back and hovered above her. Kate’s breath locked in her throat and her pulse quickened and the smoldering look of intent in Todd’s eyes.

“Well, since you’re up…and I’m up. Literally…”

She opened her mouth to protest, wasn’t sure she could go another round so soon, but then his head lowered to her breast and his wicked lips closed over one nipple. Heat slid in an arrow from her breast to down between her legs and she could feel her flesh softening, dampening again.

A low groan gathered in her throat as he suckled one breast and massaged the other. And even though having sex one time hardly qualified her as experienced, she knew in that instinctive woman’s way, that she would be able to take him again.

Giving up any thought of protest, she closed her eyes as he slid down her body and once again moved his face between her legs. When his tongue flicked out, thought became a novelty.

Later, after he’d made love to her slowly and thoroughly, Kate woke up again from a light slumber. A glance at Todd’s alarm clock showed it to be after noon.

She glanced down at him and found him still sleepy, his expression soft and almost vulnerable in sleep. Her heart did a little tug and the urge to curl up next to him hit hard.

But with the light of day also came the harshness of reality. She’d done it. She’d gone into this seduction knowing the stakes and that Todd was not the type to do serious. She’d
known
this could be nothing more than a one-night stand or she’d risk falling in love and getting her heart broken.

God, she was naïve. Kate swallowed hard, tears prickling at the back of her eyes as she stared down at him. Sleeping with Todd Wyatt might have rid her of her virginity in a very delicious way, but unfortunately it has also made her crush on him jump from harmless to lethal.

Biting her bottom lip, she climbed out of bed, grabbed her heels off the floor, and then tiptoed into the living room to collect her clothes. Relief swept through her that Todd hadn’t woken as she finished dressing.

She’d just slipped into her heels and was contemplating how much walking back to her house in them was going to suck, when Todd’s phone rang.

Shit.
Kate’s gaze darted to the door and she thought about just running outside and fleeing.

But then she heard the thump of Todd sliding out of bed, and then a groggy, “Kate?”

Folding her arms over her chest, she stood up straight and met his gaze when he came into the living room. He was unabashedly naked as the day he was born, holding his ringing phone.

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t you think you should get that?” she asked instead.

“No, it’s just…it’s no one.”

No one being another woman. Her stomach sank at the reminder of who Todd was and what kind of lifestyle he led.

“I…should go,” she said quietly.

Todd’s brows drew together and he tilted his head. “You’re leaving? But it’s your day off.”

She cleared her throat, her palms dampening. “I know. I just, I have a lot of things to attend to, Todd…”

“Hmm. The kind of things that could wait?” He took a step closer to her, his mouth curving into a seductive smile. “Seeing as we’re both off work and it’s rainy and cold, it just seems conducive to spend a day inside…maybe in bed. Don’t you think?”

As he grew closer, her knees started to weaken along with her resistance.

“
I don’t know, maybe we should just call it what it was. One night of fun.”

She hated that her voice shook. It obliterated any attempt at sounding casual, and her fears were confirmed when Todd caught her wrist, halting her before she could leave the house.

Kate bit her lip as he turned her around, tried to keep her expression nonchalant.

“You’re saying that when you seduced me, you only wanted one night?” he repeated carefully. “That’s really what you wanted?”

“Well what do
you
want, Todd?” she asked cautiously. “Something more serious? You can’t be thinking of a relationship…”

He seemed to blanch and dropped her wrist, retreating quickly. His reaction, whether conscious or subconscious, cut to the quick. Again she’d been caught with her naïve hat on. No, Todd certainly didn’t do relationships, and she should probably thank him for the reminder.

Her heart tripped and she swallowed hard, deciding she needed to make a clean break for both of their sakes. End things before they got complicated.

“Let me just be honest, Todd,” she forced herself to say.

“Honest about?”

“You were right. I did sleep with you because of the fireman thing. I’d never been with one before.”

Todd stilled, then said harshly, “That’s complete crap, Kate.”

She bit her lip.
Fake it better.
“I’m sorry. It’s just…before I settle down with someone and start a family, I figured it was a good opportunity to check that
sleep with a firefighter
fantasy off my list.”

He didn’t say anything and when she glanced up she could see the doubt and yet potential for belief in his eyes.

“Someone as in Walt?”

She didn’t deny it or confirm. Couldn’t bring herself to do either. But it certainly helped her case that way.

He gave a slight nod. “I see.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have picked you. I’d considered Jeremiah,” she whispered a bit numbly. “But with your reputation I honestly thought a one-night thing wouldn’t be a problem.”

Todd’s jaw flexed and he turned away from her with a callous laugh. “Right. No problem at all.”

“Anyway…I’ll just head out.”

“Wait, let me drive you home, Kate,” he said tersely.

Though a twenty-minute walk in her heels would kill, sitting beside him for the five-minute drive would hurt even more.

“I’m fine. Thanks.” This time when she opened the door, he didn’t stop her.

Kate should’ve been relieved that he’d bought the bedding-a-fireman excuse. Instead she bit her lip to stop from crying. She’d gone into last night with him a virgin, and now Todd probably just thought she was a skanky groupie.

Lovely. What a way to kick off the New Year.

Chapter Nine

Tuesday morning Kate walked into her shop, wishing the emotional hangover from hell would go away. She’d gone home Sunday and called Ellie as she’d promised to do, but tried not to tip her off to the fact that her friend’s concerns had been valid. That her heart did get a heck of a lot more involved once she’d had sex. Why concern Ellie with the minor details? So instead she’d kept it to the light stuff. Great sex, no regrets. That much was true…no matter how much it might hurt now.

Because just as she’d predicted, Todd hadn’t bothered to call her or drop by in the two days since. He’d moved on from her like he did every other woman he took to bed. She’d expected it. Hoped to prepare for it.

She glanced around her shop and sighed deeply. Her nose wrinkled a moment later as she noticed the strange smell.

What the hell
was
that? Her eyes widened and she pinched her nose between fingers as she moved around trying to locate the source of the odor.

Had she forgotten to take out the garbage…from like a year ago? Whatever it was was not normal.

The smell grew stronger as she approached the heating vent. Her brows drew together and she paused. Yes, whatever was going on was happening in there.

She analyzed the metal grate that covered the vent, tried to figure out how the hell to remove it. Damn, if she tried, she’d probably end up breaking something or gauge a hole in the wall.

She bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest.
Shoot
. Even though the last thing she wanted to do was call for help, this could be a lot more serious than it seemed. Bottom line, she just didn’t
know
.

With a sigh, she went back to her office and picked up the phone.

It had been a quiet night at the fire station, with just a couple of calls coming in. First one, a senior citizen with difficulty breathing. Second, a minor car accident where a teenager had rounded Cougar’s Corner too fast in the later hours of the night.

Todd glanced at the clock, confirming there was just an hour or so left of his shift, and then headed into the small gym in the firehouse to squeeze in a bit of exercise. He’d been in a shitty mood since Kate had dropped the it-was-just-a-one-night-stand bombshell, his mood had gone to shit and fast.

Grabbing the handle of a kettle bell, he swung his arm that held the bell back forcibly and then reversed the motion. Grunting at the sweet burn in his muscles that resulted.

It was nice to distract his mind again. Focus on something else besides Kate. How sensual and strange their night together had been. How she’d completely blown his mind. How she could be so damn seductive and then innocent a minute later.

And how it had all been a ruse to get him into bed. How he’d been nothing more than a fantasy in Kate’s mind.

Stop thinking about her. One night. You had your one night, she should be out of your system now.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t out of his system. Far from it. He wanted
another
night with her. Another chance to explore her body…another chance to hear her scream his name.

Fuck
. What the hell was wrong with him?

He’d just done a set of twenty reps on the kettle bell, when the call came in over the loudspeaker.

Suspicious odor coming from a heating vent, caller wasn’t sure if it could be a possible gas leak or something else.

Then the dispatcher announced the location of the call and Todd’s gut clenched.
Kate’s shop.

Adrenaline slammed into him as he set down the kettle bells and ran to the fire truck in the bay. Jeremiah, the other firefighter on duty, was already gearing up.