Protected by the HERO (53 page)

“It is you,” a fearsome-looking man said, dropping down off of the wooden platform and walking toward them.

“Well, now we know where you've been,” said another man, slightly smaller than the first. He stood in the shadows near a horse trough closer, to the saloon.

“You found a woman,” said the first man.

The first man walked up close to them and Noah squared his chest. Emma was too focused on watching the two men in front of them from around Noah's shoulder that she didn't notice the third one coming up behind her until she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She screamed, thrashing as the man lifted her off of the ground and starting carrying her across the street.

Noah turned and shouted for him to put her down.

“What are you going to do, Noah?” the man sneered. “You haven't even touched a weapon since you got sliced during that brawl.”

“I haven't?” Noah asked, his voice seething with anger. “Why don't you ask her where her husband is?”

“Alright,” the man said, lowering Emma to her feet but yanking her so close to his body that she could smell his stale breath and the odor emanating from his body, “Where is your husband, darlin'?”

Emma glanced over at Noah and he nodded subtly.

“He's dead.”

“That's right,” Noah said, stepping up close to the man and holding up his hand to display the band around his finger, “I shot him, with his own gun. This is his ring. I'm sure if you look close enough you might still see some of his blood.”

The man released Emma roughly and darkness took over as she collapsed into Noah's arms.

The next thing she knew, she was cradled against Noah's chest, and she could hear him whispering softly to her as he carried her through the hotel lobby and up the stairs to their room.

“I'm here, my love. You're safe now.”

He placed her on the bed and she felt the darkness take over again. It was dark in the room by the time she opened her eyes again. A single small flame burned in a kerosene lamp across the room and she could see the outline of Noah's body reclining on the sofa set in front of the cold fireplace. She made a murmuring sound as she sat up and he turned to look at her.

“Emma,” he said and rushed over to the bed.

He sat on the edge of the mattress and touched her cheek, his honey-colored eyes glimmering in the soft glow from the lamplight.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“You called me your love,” she whispered back, reaching up to touch his hand where it cupped her cheek.

He nodded, the expression on his face still showing concern as he let his eyes graze over her face and along her shoulders, searching for any signs that she was injured. Finally he pulled her face forward and dropped his down so that their foreheads touched.

“I meant it,” he whispered.

Emma felt a flutter in her chest and slid closer to him. She fought for control over her voice. Her fingers rose and touched the middle of his chest, feeling the strong, fast rhythm of his heart beneath them.

“I love you, Noah,” she said so softly she didn't know if he heard her.

“I love you.”

Their breath hung between them and Emma's heart beat so heavily she could hear it in her ears. She felt Noah lean forward and touch his lips to hers. Emma leaned into the kiss, allowing his tongue to tempt her lips open so that he could explore her mouth. After a few moments, Noah pulled his mouth away from hers and looked into her eyes searchingly.

Emma swept her legs off of the edge of the bed and stood in front of him. She brought her hands to the back of her dress and released the tight bow at her waist. She loosened the strings and peeled the bodice away from her body. Noah reached forward and took the fabric from her hands, easing it over her hips and down her legs. His hands slid down her ribs and over the curve of her waist, feeling warm and strong through the thin cloth of her undergarments. He almost did not notice the bruises on her left by Caleb.

Not speaking, they both removed their shoes. Emma stepped out of her stockings, and Noah slipped his shirt off over his head. His body was even more beautiful than she remembered it being as she watched him bathe, and she finally indulged her desire to run her fingers along the curves and planes of the chiseled muscles beneath his smooth skin.

Noah took her hips in his hands and led her forward, sliding his palms down onto her thighs to guide her onto his lap so that she straddled him, her knees and lower legs resting on the bed on either side of him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and let him ease her thighs further apart so that she settled onto him. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt the full, hard swell of his erection beneath her. Noah met the sound with a deep kiss, gripping her close to him with an arm around her waist.

Emma relinquished herself to him, kissing him passionately as he rocked her against his hips. The movement built dizzying pressure in her lower belly and brought a whimper to her lips. Noah broke their kiss and lowered his head, drawing in a breath as if trying to regain control.

“Emma,” he said quietly, “If you don't…”

He trailed off and Emma smoothed her hands down over his shoulders to stroke his chest, nudging his face with hers.

“Noah,” she murmured, “please.” She gathered the hem of her slip in her hands and pulled it off, tossing it onto the floor beside her. “Touch me.”

Noah cupped his hand over one breast and kneaded it gently. Emma moaned at the touch. The sound seemed to spur him forward, and Noah ducked his head to capture her nipple in his mouth. She arched into him, letting his lips part further and bring more of her breast into his mouth. As he continued to lick his way along her, Emma brought her hands between them to release the button on the front of his pants. She moved her fingers down to release the next button and heard Noah draw in a sharp breath.

Emma suddenly felt herself swept off of his lap and placed on the bed so that Noah could stand and remove the rest of his clothing. She felt a nervous gasp catch in her throat as his erection came into view. Long and thick, it stood strongly from his body and Emma's mouth watered. She moved to lie down, but he took her by her arms and pulled her off of the bed, turning to sit back on the bed and guiding her forward onto his lap again.

With a blissful cry, Emma's head dropped back as he glided into her, filling her. She felt fulfilled in a way she had never experienced, and clung to Noah as tightly as she could. He kissed her above her heart, and guided her to roll her hips against him so that his hardness massaged her, creating deep, intense sensations that bonded her to him so tightly she felt tears threatening the corners of her eyes. She brought her head back up and tucked it into the curve of his neck and shoulder, kissing his warm skin and pressing her chest closer to him so she could feel his heartbeat.

“Make love to me, Noah,” she whispered against his neck.

Noah tightened his hold on her and stood. He turned and lay her on the bed.

“Let me show you how you should be touched,” he whispered.

Noah sat back on his knees between her legs and leaned toward her. Placing one hand on her belly, he brought the other hand forward and ran his fingertips down her waist. Emma’s back arched up off of the mattress and he applied gentle pressure to her belly to hold her in place. He touched her again, patiently coaxing her forward until she felt an ache forming in her peak. Pressing onto her belly, he dipped his head forward. Emma cried out as his tongue slid through her folds and swirled around the swollen pearl, where a pleasurable tension, almost an ache, was building under his touch. He gently slipped one finger inside her and flicked his tongue again.

A completely new sensation tore through her, and Emma screamed his name as all of the tension within her body contracted around his hand, then released into a series of intense tremors. Noah moved up her body quickly, plunging into her to meet the spasms of her climax with deep, hard strokes. She whimpered and writhed beneath him as he made love to her, gazing into her eyes as he moved against her with strength and control. Emma ran her hands along his back, reveling in the feeling of his muscles shifting and tensing beneath his skin.

She lifted her head to kiss him and felt Noah's pace quicken. He moved at a fast, even rhythm until his mouth pulled away from hers to let deep sounds pour from his throat. A moment later Emma felt him push into her with a final hard thrust and growl as he began to pulse, spilling within her. She opened her arms to him and he rested down onto her, with his head against her chest.

As their breath calmed and their bodies relaxed, Noah pulled himself up look at her.

“Stay married to me,” he said, stroking her cheek, “Be my wife.”

A tear trickled onto his hand as she smiled up at him.

“Always.”

THE END

Bonus Story 15 of 20

Melanie Jones dreamed of heat and flames. She was on a beach and her lover had risen out of the water and now they were making hot love. Sexy. She was sweating. Her lover was sweating. Steam was rising off of them though she’d never experienced that in real life.

Suddenly the dream wasn’t so sexy. Melanie was getting too hot. Then strong arms surrounded her. She heard the in and out hiss of heavy breathing. And a roaring. Not a human sound. Her mind puzzled through it.

She tried to wake herself from the dream. Instead she coughed. She was being carried and she didn’t know what was real. She struggled to open her eyes. No luck.

An alarm went off, but this was not her alarm. She had hers set to wake to music. Alarms were too jarring.

Still that incessant hiss, like Darth Vader. In and out. In and out. She wiggled, then the arms held her tighter. Then there was bright sunshine. She coughed again.

The arms put her down on cool grass.

“She okay?”

“She’s breathing,” another voice said.

Who were these people and why were they in her bedroom. She opened her eyes, but was unable to keep them open. She struggled to breathe.

“The ambulance isn’t here yet. It had a flat tire.”

“Jeez. I’ll stay with her and monitor her. I’m out of air anyway.”

Who were these people? This dream had taken a strange turn. Melanie tried to wrap her brain around it all, but she couldn’t. She tried to wake up. She must have moved because a hand touched her.

“Take it easy,” it said.

It was a sexy voice. The kind that she’d dreamed of, but part of her thought this wasn’t a dream. She coughed again, hurting her stomach. Maybe this was real? Why would she dream about coughing?

She was having more and more trouble breathing. What was wrong with her? Was she wrapped in the sheet? Was her cat sitting on her head? Why couldn’t she breathe? This didn’t make sense.

Then she saw the light. She was in a tunnel. The light was at the other end. The light seemed to warm her. So welcoming. It called to her so she moved toward it.

“No,” someone said. “Where’s that ambulance?”

“Still not here, dude.”

But she wanted to go to the light. She’d be happy there. She knew it. Or she thought she knew it. She’d forgotten something. Forgotten to do something. Her memory would clear up. She was fading, but she could still see the light ahead. It was warm. She could feel it making her cold body heat up. How nice. She saw some people come out of the light. People she knew. She tried to walk faster and faster, but her feet might as well have been stuck in mud. She couldn’t move.

Then two hands grabbed her and dragged her away from the light.

***

Firefighter Kent Miller looked down at the blonde woman he had taken out of the fire. She’d been in bed, sleeping, and a second ago she wasn’t breathing. He knew how to do CPR, but when he bent down to put breath into her mouth, she revived as soon as he touched her lips.

He’d heard about this happening. Not in firefighting class. Not in CPR class. No, his grandfather had told him about the magic of true love’s kiss. See, Kent was a magical being. He was a shape shifter like his father and grandfather before him. He could shift into a dragon.

The irony of being a firefighting dragon was never lost on Kent, but he’d been called to the profession.

The magic was just a side thing that only a few people in his life knew about.

Being magical, he could do things others couldn’t. And he’d touched this woman’s lips and brought her back to life. Or had he? He now questioned whether she had really stopped breathing or not.

“You brought her back,” his partner, Josh Brogan said.

“She did stop breathing, right?”

“Yes. I saw it. No pulse either.”

Then Kent hadn’t been imaging it. He did bring this woman back. With the touch of his lips. That meant she was his true love according to dragon lore. He sighed. The ambulance pulled onto the scene. The EMTs took over, brushing Kent out of the way.

“He brought her back,” Josh kept saying.

The EMTs ignored them. Kent picked up his airpak then tapped Josh’s shoulder. “Let it go. It doesn’t matter.”

He’d find out later what hospital she was brought to. He’d visit. He had to pursue this. Why would he live his life alone if he’d found his true love? Not that he was ready for marriage or believed wholeheartedly in the legend. No, but part of him had to at least see her again. Make sure she was okay.

Josh followed him to the truck. Most of the fire was out. They had no need to go inside again. Kent took off his sweaty turnout gear, his thoughts still on the woman. He’d phone the squad building or talk to the cops and find out her name. Something about the situation called to him.

“You want to go out for a beer after shift?” Josh asked.

“Nah. I’m tired.”

“Don’t be a loser,” Kent said.

“I’m going to be a loser.”

“At least tell me you’re blowing me off to get some,” Josh said.

Kent laughed. “No, I’m a loser.”

Josh punched him in the shoulder. “Dude that is one heck of a dry spell you’ve had. I mean your balls must be navy blue by now.”

Kent would have liked to get laid, but the meaningless hookups he’d been doing had ended up being soul-sucking. No more, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in love either. With his thirtieth birthday approaching, he was rethinking his life.

He had no idea what was on the horizon for him.

*****

Melanie woke up in the hospital. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed like a distant dream. She wasn’t sure it had really happened. Machines beeped around her and an oxygen mask covered her face. She didn’t like the feel of it so she took it off.

Her coughing must have alerted the nurse because one rushed in.

“You’re awake.”

“Yes,” she said. Her voice sounded like she’d smoked since birth. “What happened?”

“Your apartment building caught fire. You were carried out by a firefighter.” The nurse leaned closer. “He’s been here every day since then. He’s pretty hot.”

Melanie blinked. Hot? Firefighter? She remembered something about being carried and voices over her. Guess she hadn’t dreamed that part.

“Do you want to see him?”

She assessed how she felt other than glad to be alive. “Uh, sure.”

“I’ll send him in. Let me take your vitals first. I won’t let him stay long, but once you get a look at him, you might want him to stay all night.”

The nurse left while snickering. There was a soft knock on her door then a man entered. He wore a navy blue t-shirt that strained at his muscles. His shorts showed off nice, tanned legs and large calves as if from running. Then Melanie’s gaze went to his face. He had a small smile on it and he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

He had some character lines and his teeth were straight and white. His black hair was messy. Sharp, blue eyes stared at her.

“Hi,” he said. “Melanie?”

He held a small bouquet of flowers.

“Hi, come in.”

He entered and the room suddenly seemed much smaller. He was tall and held himself proud. Damn, he was hot. The nurse had not lied. Striding over to the bed, he held out the flowers. “These are for you.”

She took them, not sure what else to do. This was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. “You saved me?”

He cleared his throat, looked at his feet for a moment. “I carried you out of the building.”

He wasn’t bragging. There was no macho to him, just a quiet confidence that wafted off of him. She had to know more about this intriguing man.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Miss.”

Miss? That was more than sweet. She pushed the button so she could raise the top of her bed. She wanted to a better look at this god.

“What’s your name?”

“Kent Miller.”

“Have a seat. Talk to me.”

“I just wanted to make sure that you were all right.”

“I’m alive thanks to you. I’m homeless thanks to someone else. And without any possessions.”

“Oh, we took up a collection at the firehouse. We’ve replaced some clothing. You had a laptop?”

“I did. I’m a writer.”

“We replaced that also. Will you have access to your writing?”

“It’s all in the cloud.”

***

Kent could not believe how beautiful she was. Long hair, green eyes. A smile that lit up the room. She held the flowers as if she didn’t want to let them go. She held them with both of her hands.

“Now I have to find a place to live.”

“That’s taken care of, too. There’s a house with an apartment on the top floor ready for you when you get out.”

“How did that happen?”

“It was in the paper that you and the other tenants were homeless. Someone stepped up.”

She didn’t need to know that he owned the house. It had just been a coincidence that he’d had it free when she needed it. Or was it? After the true love’s kiss he wasn’t sure what was fate and what wasn’t.

“What caused the fire?”

“Someone left something on the stove and left for their midnight shift,” Kent said.

“Yikes.”

“It happens more than you think,” Kent said, but he refrained from citing the statistics of home fires.

She was a beautiful woman. Out of his league. She was only talking to him because he’d saved her. Why did fate choose her to be his true love? He’d never be able to woo this woman.

Melanie coughed a little. “I owe you for saving me.”

“No, it’s my job.”

“Still. When I get settled, let me cook you dinner.”

“Uh, okay.”

She smiled at him. His heart smiled back. It leapt in his chest as if it knew what lay ahead with this woman. His brain wasn’t getting its hopes up. She might decide he wasn’t her type. She just felt obligated to cook him dinner because he’d saved her.

“I promise I won’t leave anything on the stove.”

He laughed. “Good. I don’t think I want to have to save you again.”

She laughed this time which made her cough.

“I’m sorry,” Kent said. “You want me to get the nurse?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She stopped coughing finally. He didn’t know what to say next.

“What do you do for a living?”

Well that was lame. So much for being smooth. He wasn’t. He wasn’t ever going to be. His hookups had been because some women like firefighters. Not because he could talk them into bed. No, being a firefighter had gotten him a lot of tail. Was it going to get him the love of his life?

He doubted it.

“Kent?”

Her voice shook him from his thoughts. “Yes.”

“Will you give me a ride to my new house? I’m new in town and haven’t made any friends yet.”

He looked down at her. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him. How could he resist? She melted his heart. “Sure, Melanie. I can drive you home.”

She handed him her phone. “Put your number in there.”

He did. “I better leave you to rest.”

“Do you have to go?”

“I better. The nurse is probably going to kick me out. I’ll see you when you get released.”

*****

Kent picked Melanie up from the hospital. She looked much better than she had when he saw her the other day. She was smiling as he held the door to his truck for her.

“Sorry I didn’t visit the last few days. I was working night shifts,” Kent said.

They were in his truck and on the way to the house he owned.

“You have no reason to apologize. You saved my life. I still owe you a bunch,” Melanie said.

She smiled at him and his heart melted. How was he going to convince her that she was his one true love? And that he was hers. He liked her already.

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Let me cook you dinner. Tonight.”

“Don’t you want to get settled first? You probably have some shopping to do,” he said. Actually, her apartment was already stocked. The guys at the firehouse had donated clothing and household items. People had been dropping stuff off at the firehouse all week. Kent had snagged a bunch of it for Melanie. It was already in her apartment. He’d been busy getting it ready for her.

“I don’t know, really. Let me get my bearings then I’ll let you know. I have your number.”

“Yes, you do.”

He meant that in more ways than one. He would have loved to just stare at her for an hour or two, but he had to drive. And he had to cut the lawn. He’d been busy getting her apartment ready, but he hadn’t done the lawn yet.

He parked in the driveway of a Victorian.

“This is it?”

“It’s broken up into apartments. Yours is on the third floor. It was the only one unoccupied,” he said.