Set the Night on Fire (14 page)

“Ready?” he whispered. Hunger shone from every tense line of his face.

She nodded.

At the first push of his thick head against her entrance, her body tensed. But he took his time, stroking her hips and inner thighs, whispering hot words that she couldn’t make out. They acted more as a kind of chant more than anything else, simultaneously soothing and inflaming her.

It wasn’t as if she was a virgin, after all, she told herself. She’d done this before. But Pete hadn’t been quite this big, or maybe he just hadn’t been this hard. He hadn’t been fully aroused, whereas Sean…Sean felt enormous and so hard and stiff and…

He slid inside, filling her up completely, and a strange tingling feeling danced across her scalp. The soles of her feet felt it too. Her toes literally curled. He drew back, dragging his erection across her clit. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head at how good it felt.

In again. Her channel expanded to receive him, sending ripples of pleasure through her body in every direction.

A stream of urgent murmurs poured from her lips.
“Oh my God, that feels incredible, oh yes, oh sweet Lord, how can it feel so good…”

As soon as their bodies got used to each other, he set a faster rhythm, flexing his hips to drive deep. She closed her eyes against the sensations welling inside her. Watching his powerful body braced over her was too much, too overwhelming.

And then he reached between their entwined bodies and found her clit. He pressed the aching little nub with his strong fingers and just like that, the entire world was erased by pure, mind-blanking, orgasmic ecstasy.

She surrendered to it, letting anything come out of her mouth that wanted to. Cries and moans and pleas…she didn’t care. Let it all come out.

Her climax triggered Sean’s—he went rigid above her. She clutched at him, her sweaty hands slipping off his broad back.

Her orgasm felt like it came from somewhere deep inside her, from some endless, forever source that would never run out. It would always be there for her, like another part of herself. A vital, wild, essential part.

When they both finished, Sean collapsed next to her, one long leg draped over her upper thighs. She felt his hair brush against her cheek. With every rapid breath, she inhaled the delicious scent of his skin. This felt like heaven, right here, right now. He mumbled something she couldn’t quite make out. Her eyes fell shut and she drifted into a soft, satisfied doze.

F
irst sex
, then a nap, then pizza…Sean should have been totally relaxed by the time Evie posed her surprise question about his meeting with Chief Becker.

He didn’t want to talk about that pile of shit. But she caught him off-guard and he tensed up right away.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Come on, Sean. My imagination has been going in all kinds of crazy directions since Brianna told me. Officer Becker was the one you punched that night. If he’s digging into what happened with Brad, I need to know.”

“It wasn’t about that. Well, it wasn’t just about that.”

Evie put down her slice of pizza and fixed him with a determined look he hadn’t seen from her before. “Please, Sean, I’m begging you. I have this feeling that Brad is up to something. He’s been awfully quiet since he wrote the op-ed piece. He knows that we’re having a special coalition meeting tomorrow night. I want to know what’s going on.”

A muscle tightened in Sean’s jaw. “I have it handled, Evie. I know Brad’s type. He’s a typical bully. You can’t give into them. I intend to keep doing my job until my boss tells me not to.”

She went slightly pale. “What do you mean about your job? Is he trying to make trouble for you with the hotshots? You have to tell me.”

He made one more attempt to head her off. “I thought you McGraws didn’t like facing difficult things.”

“I’m breaking the mold. Come on, Sean. Whatever Brad’s doing, I need to know.” Her eyes blazed with silver light. This fired-up version of Evie was sexy as hell. Almost as sexy as the one who’d come apart in his arms.

Sean ripped off a big bite of pizza to buy himself a little time. The meeting with Becker had been like a sucker punch in the gut. He wished he could erase that hour from his life. But there was more crap coming his way, so he couldn’t. Besides, with her history with Brad, she deserved the truth.

He swallowed his bit of pizza, then met Evie’s eyes.

“Brad is publicly questioning my fitness to lead the Jupiter Point Hotshots. Not just because I got into so much trouble in high school. There’s also…the crash.”

He had to force the word past the sudden tightness of his throat.

“Crash.” Horror dawned on her face and she pushed her plate away. “You mean your parents’ plane crash? What could that possibly have to do with anything?”

“He’s requesting that the police department reopen the investigation. There was never a final determination of a cause.”

It felt surreal to be talking about this. Even during that terrible year after the crash, he hadn’t spent much time thinking about
why
it happened. Jesse Marcus wasn’t a very experienced pilot and he’d had a lot of hubris. Bad combination.

“I thought it was…well, pilot error,” Evie said, almost apologetically. “That’s what everyone around here said.”

“It’s okay, Evie. You don’t have to tiptoe around it. I always refused to get into a plane with my father at the controls. No fucking way. Of course it was pilot error. He was a crap pilot. That’s why he had to hire real pilots to run the tours.”

He took a long swallow of root beer to wash down the pizza, and his disgust.

Evie rose to her feet and paced restlessly. She wore sleep shorts and a ribbed tank top that showed off her slim form. His mouth watered even more than it had for the pizza.

“I still don’t understand why Brad would want to bring up the crash. It has nothing to do with the hotshot crew. You were a kid then. You lost both your parents. It’s beyond callous. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking.”

“He’s just throwing a bunch of mud and seeing what happens.”

“But
why
? Why is he going after you?”

Sean shrugged a shoulder. “My guess? He’s afraid you’ll finally come forward about that night, and since I’m the only witness, he has to trash me until no one listens to anything I say.”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Sean.” She buried her face in her hands, the dark silk of her hair sliding over her shoulders. “This is all my fault. I should have endorsed him from the beginning.”

“No.” He shoved his plate aside and surged to his feet. “Don’t blame yourself, that’s ridiculous. I can handle Brad White. I’m not worried about it. It’s all a bunch of smoke and mirrors anyway. So what if they reopen that investigation? All they’ll do is waste a bunch of taxpayer money. Chief Becker says the department isn’t happy about being pushed around. It’s…just don’t worry about it, please. Okay?”

She lifted her silvery-gray eyes to his, a frown pulling her delicate eyebrows together. Her beauty struck him right in the solar plexus. But it wasn’t just her beauty, not really. It was the concern in her eyes, the compassion. “There’s more, isn’t there? I can tell you’re holding something back.”

Sean scrubbed a hand through his hair, needing to move, to act. Did she have to be so freaking perceptive?

But it would be in the paper soon enough; Brad would make sure of it. Better that she hear it from him than get sandbagged.

He came close to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Yeah. There’s one more thing. He says he found an investigator who says I made some mistakes in the Big Canyon burnover.”

She drew in a sharp, horrified breath.
“What?”

“It’s okay. I didn’t make any fucking mistakes. I don’t know who he’s been talking to but it won’t go anywhere. Everyone knows we followed our training and that’s why we survived. Evie, please.”

She looked so white, he worried she might pass out.

“This is all my fault,” she whispered.

“Stop it.” He ran his hands along her bare arms. His intent was to soothe, but the feel of her went right to his head. “Seriously, Evie.”

At first she started to pull away from him, but then she gave in and rested her forehead on his chest. “This is such a mess. And now you’re right in the middle of it. I just can’t believe he’s doing all this. Why? Just so he can get some stupid endorsement?”

He’d been thinking about that question since his meeting with the chief. “It’s all ego. He wants everyone talking about how great he is. He can’t stand it that one person isn’t willing to sign on the dotted line.”

He wrapped his arms around her slim form, wishing they’d never started on this topic. “Is there any chance we can go back to bed and forget about all this?”

She tilted her head back, her silky hair tickling his skin, her warm body lithe and perfect in his arms. “Using sex as an escape?”

He winked at her. “It’s good for so many things.”

Finally he got a faint smile from her. “I’m going to need a comprehensive list, if you don’t mind.”

“Not a problem. Complete demonstrations are also available.”

“Sign me up, hotshot.”

But no matter how much they teased each other, a shadow had fallen over the evening.

D
espite the fact
that they spent the rest of the evening in bed, switching between cuddling, laughing, and climaxing—all of which she loved—Evie didn’t forget about the situation with Brad. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Political ambitions were one thing. But did they justify screwing around with someone’s life and reputation?

She’d known Brad since they were both kids, long before the Incident. Maybe she could find a way to get through to the old Brad.

So before the emergency meeting of the business coalition she called Brad and asked to meet with him.

With barely concealed smugness, he invited her to his campaign headquarters, which were located in a restored office building at the edge of the historic district. He’d taken over the entire bottom floor. The glass storefront was now plastered with “Brad White for State Representative” banners. The space was bustling with campaign volunteers, many of whom she recognized. Everyone was tapping on a computer or talking into a phone.

Intimidated, she looked around for Brad but saw no sign of him. Finally a pretty young redhead in a silk blouse appeared at her elbow. Evie was pretty sure she recognized her from her volunteer work at the high school. “Evie McGraw?”

“Yes. I’m here to see—”

“Mr. White, yes, I know. He’s waiting for you in his office.” Mr. White?
Okay then
.

She led her through the maze of makeshift desks to a room in the back corner. Its closed door bore a sign that read, “Hope for White, White for Hope.”

Seriously? She was squinting at the sign, trying to decide if it was a joke or a rejected campaign slogan, when Brad opened the door and beckoned her inside.

Evie stepped in, trying not to panic at the sound of the door closing behind her.

Brad hadn’t always been an asshole, she reminded herself. She’d made sand castles with him on Stargazer Beach. They used to share ice cream sundaes at the Milky Way. If she could reach
that
Brad, she could talk some sense into him, couldn’t she?

He gestured her toward the ergonomic chair facing his desk. She sat down, unnerved when it rolled a few inches under her weight. Did he do that on purpose? He wore a light blue Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A Bluetooth receiver perched on his ear. A deceptively boyish lock of sandy hair curled onto his forehead.

Don’t be fooled
, she reminded herself. He’s not a boy. He’s a politician.

“Good for you for coming in, Evie. I’m proud of you.”

His condescending tone grated on her. “I’m sorry?”

Sorry?
She shouldn’t have said “sorry.” That put her on a weak footing right away. She could feel the power slipping away from her like sand through her fingers.

He showed his teeth in a smile. “I’m just remembering the last time we met, when you ran off before we even made it to dessert.” Somehow he made the word dessert sound nasty. Or maybe everything sounded nasty coming from his mouth these days.

“I didn’t run.” She pressed her lips together.
Don’t get defensive
. This wasn’t about her. It was about Sean. She stiffened her spine. “At any rate, I don’t intend to run off. I want to talk to you about Sean Marcus.”

His nostrils flared, just for a moment, before he hid his reaction behind a frown. “Some of us have some concerns about him. Apparently he’s doing all the hiring for this new ‘hotshot’ crew. How do we know he isn’t going to bring in a bunch of ruffians, or worse? We all know about the Marcus family. I’m just looking out for the safety of Jupiter Point.”

Evie gripped her hands together in her lap. In her everyday, peace-loving life, she wasn’t used to feeling hatred. But every slimy word Brad spoke made her feel it now. “Cut the crap, Brad. This isn’t about Sean. It’s about
me
. You want the coalition’s endorsement, right? Let me tell you right now, you will never get it if you keep up this witch hunt against Sean.”

His eyebrows lifted all the way to his hairline. “Little Evie’s getting feisty, is that it?”

“I’m just trying to stand up for what’s right. You should leave Sean out of this. I’m sure we can work something out between the two of us.”

He leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers on his desk. Checked his watch, glanced at his laptop. He didn’t look quite as relieved as she’d imagined he would. More than anything, he looked impatient. Or maybe bored. “You’re here to make a deal, then let’s hear it. What do you have in mind?”

“Simple. You stop dragging Sean’s name through the mud and you receive the endorsement of the Jupiter Point Business Coalition.”

He cocked his head and pursed his lips as if thinking it over. He picked up a pencil and flipped it end over end. “So let me get this straight. You withhold your endorsement for personal,
emotionally
based reasons that you refuse to explain. But when your new boy toy feels the heat, you fold like a house of cards.”

Shock flashed through her, from her head to her toes. God, she was naïve. The Brad she’d known in childhood was gone forever. The person who had attacked her in the Chevy Nova was the
real
Brad. The
only
Brad, no matter what charming façade he put on.

He crossed one ankle over his knee and looked up at the ceiling. Mr. Casual. “Hmm, let me think this over.” A brief pause, as if this was all a joke. “Sorry, babe, you had your chance. Statute of limitations has expired. The answer is no.”

She struggled to keep her cool. “We had dinner less than a week ago. You said your press agent had a statement already prepared for me.”

“I’m not talking about
that
statute of limitations.” His slimy gaze dropped to her lips, then lower down, toward her crotch.

Her face flamed. Good Lord, was Brad referring to that night? Could he really be so obviously…horribly…blatant? “What is wrong with you?” she whispered.

“Nothing is ‘wrong’ with me. I want what I want. But once I don’t want it anymore, I’m done. I don’t want your endorsement anymore, Evie McGraw.”

She stared at him as a numb feeling crept over her body. What was she missing? Had something changed? “You’re lying.”

“Nope. I’m sorry that your embarrassing trip here was a waste of your time. Why don’t you head back to your little gallery and take some more photographs for the tourists? You’ll have plenty of time for that in the very near future.”

Her stomach plummeted. “What are you talking about?”

“Hi, what’s up? Yeah, I’m just about done here.” With a start, she realized he was talking into his Bluetooth as if she wasn’t even in the room anymore. As if she didn’t exist anymore. His chilly gray eyes flicked over her one more time, then dismissed her. “Yeah, I’m done. Go ahead.”

Numb with shock, she rose to her feet and moved toward the door. It seemed to take forever to reach it, even though it was no more than a few steps away.

In that short stretch of time, she realized something. During the years since the Incident, she and Brad had taken completely different paths. He’d been perfecting his shark imitation, while she’d been playing ostrich.

Now that she’d retracted her head from its nest in the sand, she barely recognized the world around her. Everything had shifted. Brad had turned a corner into irrevocable, evil jerkdom. Her beloved Jupiter Point was becoming a playground for his slimy games. And Sean Marcus—troublemaker, rebel, bad boy—was the only person with whom she felt completely safe.