Provoking Fire

STORY EXCERPT

Julia hadn’t expected such a warm welcome from the C-shift guys. She especially hadn’t expected the warmest welcomes to come from Korlin Jenkins and Cameron Slovaks.

Warmest? She reconsidered that thought as she pulled open the refrigerator door in the firehouse kitchen area and surveyed the contents, deciding hottest was a more appropriate word. Holy mother of hormones! She hadn’t been prepared for the little flickers of flame that had burst to life inside her when Jenk had climbed down the ladder outside and turned his off-the-chart-sexy grin on her. Once inside, Cameron had added more flickers, activating secret places inside her that had no business coming alive.

Her bodily reaction to both men didn’t bode well. Not if she still intended to get close enough to them to find out what they knew. Then again, maybe it did. It would mean she would have to be even more careful than she’d already known she would need to be, but she could do that.

Couldn’t she?

Yes. She could, and would, do what she had to do for Alison’s sake.

She had figured Cameron would move on as she made breakfast, maybe go do whatever chore he’d been assigned for the shift. He hadn’t, and if the relaxed pose he’d assumed against the counter was any indication, he didn’t intend to. He didn’t speak other than to point her in the right direction as she gathered the necessary items to make the requested breakfast. Then, he proceeded to watch her every move as she whipped up the pancake batter, started the bacon frying on the stovetop, and scrambled enough eggs to feed the waiting army.

Though they had fallen into what felt like a companionable silence as she cooked, Julia decided this was the perfect time to learn what she could about the men she would be working with. The men who had been suspected of being involved in stealing her best friend’s dreams, even if they had been cleared of suspicion. Her nerves were rocking her insides, had been since she’d pulled into the parking lot outside, but she’d handled them well so far. She could continue doing that, too.

Taking a deep breath, she plated the golden-brown pancakes that were ready in the skillet, added more batter to cook, and turned with the plate to set it on the counter. Cameron hadn’t budged. He was still standing there, relaxed as could be, his large hands folded over the edge of the counter on either side of his lean hips and his booted feet crossed at the ankles.

The available space on the countertop was rapidly diminishing, forcing her to reach around him to slide the other plates down to make room for the one in her hand. She tried not to touch him. She really did. She failed. As she curved her free arm around him to adjust the other plates, her forearm brushed his side. Electricity zipped up her arm, raining fiery embers of desire through her body all the way to her toes.

He felt it, too. She knew it when he sucked in a quick, audible breath. “You—it,” he quickly corrected himself, his voice lower and gruffer than it had been before, “smells great.”

Riding on that electric current, Julia gave him a playful smile. “It will smell even better when you get out of my way and let me add the eggs that are about to burn to the buffet, Lieutenant.”

That got her a chuckle as he shifted, though he didn’t move more than two feet down the counter.

Julia shook her head and turned back to the stove. “I have a feeling I’m going to have my hands full with the guys on this shift.”

“They’ll settle down after a few rotations.” They. Not I or we. It was an interesting word choice, as if he were excluding himself from the group. He did it again when he added, “You handled them well.”

Though he was obviously complementing her, she swore she heard the faintest hint of warning in his tone. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming next?”

“But,” he drawled as she turned from the stove with the overloaded plate of scrambled egg. “You opened the door for them to give you hell about being the only female among us.”

Julia gestured with the plate of eggs, lifting them slightly before setting them in the spot she’d cleared on the counter. “Even though I caved and agreed to cook for them?”

“Especially though.”

Confused, she blew a breath up her face and felt her bangs flutter. “Jeez, a girl can’t win around you guys, can she?”

The slow, easy grin that stretched his lips had her hormones rocking right along with her nerves. “Are you looking for advice, Patrick?”

Patrick. Not Julia. Had he used her last name to remind himself he was part of that group he’d excluded himself from? Though she hadn’t been fishing for his guidance on how to handle the men, since he was apparently offering…

She snagged the pancake plate as she returned to the stove to pile on the latest batch and shot him a glance over her shoulder. “Go for it.”

ADULT EXCERPT

It tasted as stupendous as the rest of him, hot and thick and long and fantastic. Her pussy convulsed, juices leaking from between the folds, and her clit throbbed. But that wasn’t where she would get his cock. Though Cameron was behind her now, after the way Jenk had played with her ass before, she was certain he would be the one to enter where she’d never allowed any man.

She would allow him. The sheer idea of it as she delved the tip of her tongue into the weeping slit of his cockhead before exploring his full length with her lips sent whips of need slashing across her anus. It didn’t terrify her, she realized, and she knew why. Jenk would go slow, he would be gentle, and he would make sure it felt good to her, all because he loved her.

“Jesus, Julia!” Jenk groaned. “Baby, you’re going to make me come if you keep that up.”

Julia swallowed a smile right along with another inch of his cock, knowing she better enjoy her feast while she could. Cameron proved her right barely a half second after the thought crossed her mind. He fisted his hand in the back of her hair, tugged her to her feet, and pulled her head back.

Then he was kissing her, obviously not caring that she’d just had Jenk’s cock in her mouth. He kissed her until every erogenous zone in her body flamed, until her pussy was dripping wet, and until she was almost positive the needs inside her were going to send her to an early grave.

“Come with me,” he told her, his voice rusty with his own arousal as he ended the kiss and released his hold on her hair. He stretched out in the center of the bed and held his arms out for her. “Ride me, Julia.”

She’d never made love to two men at the same time before, but even seeing Cameron’s amazingly ripped body and already sheathed cock waiting for her didn’t make her forgot about the sexy man she’d been pleasuring a moment ago. She looked at Jenk, cupped his nape, and pulled his mouth down to hers.

“I’ll see you shortly?”

He smiled against her lips. “Just as soon as I get the supplies I need.”

Oh, boy! The sparks he ignited inside her with those words actually made her shiver. He held her gaze for a meaningful moment, then eased from her embrace, and turned to pull open the nightstand drawer behind him.

Her system jittering with a wicked anticipation more intense than anything she’d ever experienced, she climbed onto the bed and went straight into Cameron’s arms. That’s when inspiration struck. She skimmed her hands down to his wrists as she settled her lower body over his lean hips and pinned his arms to the bed. Amusement danced in his eyes and a cocky grin quirked his lips. He could easily overpower her. She wasn’t a wimp by any means, but he was bigger and stronger and could flip her onto her back and assume control any time he wanted. Knowing that made the moment all the more special as she lowered her body to his, taking his fully erect, massive cock inside her pussy in a slow glide that had his grin disappearing as his lips formed a thin line of concentration.

“Holy hell, Julia!” he rasped and then sucked a breath through his teeth as she rocked her hips forward, grinding her clit on the base of his groin.

Julia lifted her hips until she nearly let his cock slip out of her and then lowered her body again, taking his full incredible length inside, and scraping her clit over the coarse hairs at the base of his groin once more.

“Julia.”

Her name was a warning this time, ground through his gritted teeth. She felt the muscles in his wrists flex, but he didn’t push them against her hold.

“Baby, I’m trying to let you have your fun.”

She giggled, albeit breathlessly, and slowly repeated the move again, drawing out not only his torment, but also her own. Her body wanted her to go faster. Every cell inside her was begging for more. She could see by the intense concentration on his face that he meant what he’d said, that he wanted her to go faster, too, but there was no way this man would beg.

Or would he?

“What do you want, Cameron?”

Though he managed a half laugh, it was definitely strained. “Nice try, beautiful.”

She smiled down at him and continued to ride his cock in that same slow rhythm that was driving them both to the brink of insanity. “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Then, what do you want, Julia?”

Jenk’s voice behind her had her body stilling on Cameron’s cock and her belly nearly flip-flopping out of her navel. So much for her not forgetting about her other sexy man. She’d allowed the moment with Cameron to distract her, and Jenk had taken the opportunity to close in and turn her question around on her.

Forgetting herself, Julia sat up straight on Cameron’s cock, realizing the instant his large hands closed on her hips that she’d let go of his wrists. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Damn it.”

His cocky grin was back in full force. “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Ha-ha, funny man.” She turned to look at Jenk over her shoulder and felt her amusement go up in smoke. He was sitting with his legs straddling Cameron’s, a tube of lubrication in his hand, and his dick stretching long and hard to his abdomen. She swallowed hard, glanced at the lube, and met his gaze. “You. I want you, too, Jenk.”

There was nothing boyish in the grin that tilted his lips this time. Oh, no. That grin was full of so much heat it seared her straight to the core. “Bend over Cameron and let me prepare you, baby.”

Combustible Relations

STORY EXCERPT

“The entire Cherish fire service has received more than its fair share of bad press in recent months, Captain, and C-shift has taken the brunt of most of it. What we need now are positive stories to make the news. We need to clean up the tainted reputation Chip Cardan and Russel Bozeman left behind. We need to gain the community’s trust and respect again. We need to remind them how important the Cherish Fire Department and, in particular, Station 4’s C-shift, and even more in particular, Engine Company 2, are to them.”.”

Trey knew she was right. The Cherish Fire Service had always played large roles in various functions, charities, and public fire safety education. All events were generally spread equally between the three firehouses serving the city limits and the three shifts that operated out of each house. As of late, he knew of at least one function at the elementary school that had passed without an invitation or request for the fire service to be in attendance.

“I’m assuming you already have some ideas on how to handle this?”

“I do.” She pushed an unruly lock of hair behind her ear as she reached for the briefcase, set it on top of a scattering of papers he’d left on his desk, and opened the case to pull out a single sheet of paper. She held it in front of her, glancing at it only briefly as if to catch the highlights as she filled him in. “We can open up the firehouse to the community, host a day for families to bring their kids and enjoy refreshments, games, and maybe witness a fire demonstration or two. On the rotations when C-shift is on duty, you can allow your Engine 2 crew—and, of course, any of the others if you like—to hang out at the high school ballfield during a game. I would also like to bring in a reporter to do a short interview with everyone. It’ll be something like the exposé the Cherish Times ran for the centennial celebration a couple of years ago, but only a segment or two focusing on C-shift rather than the entire fire department. I think it would be good for the public to hear that the dedication you and your men feel for the job and the people you serve is still, or even more so, as solid as ever.”

Trey considered that for a moment. Korlin “Jenk” Jenkins had encountered one television reporter who had made mincemeat out of an incident that had occurred on a scene a few weeks back. The reporter hadn’t interviewed Jenk directly, but had talked with a Cherish PD officer and proceeded to use his commentary to make the scene appear to be more of an issue between C-shift and the CPD than it had been in reality.

“As long as you can assure me the reporter you bring in here won’t twist our words around or create more complications than we already have, I see no problem with that.”

She blinked her surprise. “Then you’re willing to work with me on this campaign and give me the clearance I need?”

Working with her wasn’t going to a problem. Then again, it just might be that his apparently sex-starved libido was throwing a party at the idea. “I think your position in the fire commissioner’s office gives you all the clearances you need. But, yes, I will work with you, Miss Hofstede, on one condition.”

Curiosity mixed with suspicion in her eyes. “And that is?”

You go to bed with me before we get started so I can get the idea out of my head and concentrate on work.

Yeah, this woman was definitely managing to make him feel alive again, but that was not the response he needed to give her. “You run your ideas by me before putting anything into motion.”

She nodded once. “I can agree to that.”

Would she have agreed to his first response, too? He couldn’t help but wonder. Still, it was safest not to put the thought to voice. They would be working together and every sane man on the planet knew what they said about mixing business with pleasure.

“You mentioned three things you’re considering. Are there anymore?”

“A few.” Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. His dick pulsed painfully at the sight, and the sanity of not mixing business with pleasure lost a great deal of its rationalization in his head. “I would like your permission to talk with your men before I bring up any others. I want to get to know them, get their input, and listen to any suggestions they might have.”

“Okay.” Trey wanted every member of his shift to be involved and to be in agreement with whatever events they decided to hold in this campaign of hers.

“I have a while before I need to be back at the office. I could talk with them now, take some time to work on the other ideas, and tell you about them over dinner tomorrow night. That is, of course, if you don’t have any other plans, Captain.”

A part of Trey knew damn well what she was suggesting was merely a business dinner, but that’s not how another very specific part of him took it. His dick went through a routine vicious and pristine enough to make an Olympic gymnast jealous at the idea of going on a date with her.

A date? Holy Christ! What the hell was he thinking? He hadn’t been on a date since he’d met Lara a year before they’d married. Five years later, they’d gotten divorced. Another five years had passed and he’d barely even looked at a woman.

Until Renee.

He was damn sure looking at her, had been since she’d walked into the firehouse bay, and every ounce of testosterone in his body was not only enjoying what he saw, but wanting to see a whole lot more. Feeling like a man again for the first time in who knew how long, he let primal instinct win over propriety, unfolded his arms, and started toward her.

“If you’re going to ask me to dinner, you should call me Trey.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Renee, sweetheart, I—”—”

It was her turn to narrow her eyes at him. “Are you really going to tell me no, Mick Bracken?”

That got her a soft chuckle, but his expression immediately turned serious again. “Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything in my life.” It was the truth. Well, almost. There were several things she was sure about these days. She was sure of her love for him, of her love for Trey, and of her desire for both her men to make love to her at the same time. It would hurt, being filled by two massive cocks at once. She was certain of it, but she no longer cared.

“Damn, I love you.”

The husky declaration spun through her, heating her system and filling her heart. “Damn, I love you, too.”

He grinned, lifted his head to brush his lips to her mouth, and then gave her ass a soft pat. “Go to Trey while I get some lube out of the bathroom.”

“Come here, baby.” Trey reached her, his hands steady on her sides as she moved to straddle his waist. “In case there’s any doubt in your beautiful mind, I love you, too.”

She hadn’t thought her heart could feel any fuller, but it did. “And, I love you just as much.”

“Should we wait for Mick?”

Renee answered him by flattening her hands on his chest and lowering her body onto his. Her pussy was already drenched. It stayed that way when she was around either of the men she loved. And when she was with both of them…

“Christ,” Trey ground through his teeth as she settled her body on his, taking his cock all the way inside her cunt to the hilt.

Being filled by Trey’s cock was the greatest of pleasures. Her body immediately accepted the intrusion, her inner muscles expanding only to clench around his shaft, increasing the fantastical sensations that ricocheted through her.

“Mick can catch up with he gets back,” she managed to say, albeit breathlessly.

“He better hurry.”

Amused, she chewed her bottom lip as she met Trey’s gaze. “Oh? Why is that?”

“I should be too old for premature ejaculations,” he said gruffly, “but damn if you don’t do that to me every time I get inside you.”

Renee threw her head back and laughed. Then she stopped laughing as she felt the foot of the bed dip behind her. She looked over her shoulder to find Mick had returned with a tube of lubrication fisted in one hand.

“Do you two need a few more minutes?”

Trey answered before she could. “Not if you intend on coming with us.”

Renee laughed again. “I think he means that in the literal sense.”

Mick grinned, but eyes flamed with a desire that scorched her soul. “Bend over Trey, sweetheart.”

Trepidation and anticipation mixed a crazy concoction in her system as she followed his instruction and fixed her gaze on Trey. She stiffened when Mick palmed her ass and silently willed herself to relax. She started to shake from her head to her toes, her breaths becoming ragged as eagerness slammed into fear inside her.

Trey laced his fingers in the side of her hair. “It will feel good if you let it.”

Unable to speak, she nodded as Mick’s cool, wet fingers moved between her buttocks. She couldn’t hold Trey’s gaze any longer. Her eyes closed on their own accord and her head bowed. Her mind raced as rapidly as her heart as Mick’s fingers massaged her flesh, spreading the lubricant over her ass. His finger pushed inside her anus, bringing with it a stinging pain that quickly dissolved into a mind-numbing pleasure.

“Talk to us, Renee,” Mick softly urged. “How does it feel?”

She shook her head, unable to describe the bittersweet pain morphing to astronomical bliss. It took the form of searing darts that shot from her ass straight to her pussy that was already filled by Trey’s cock. “More,” she finally managed. “Please, I want more.”

Mick twisted his finger inside her, pulled it free, and another finger joined to work the gel in deeper. Together, his fingers stretched her anus until she pleaded with him to stop, to give her even more, to do something to relieve the talons of confusion clawing through her body.

“Oh, God, Mick, I can’t.” It was too much. The pleasure of it was blinding her, the pain a burning craze that shouldn’t feel good, but somehow did.

Mick’s fingers spread deep inside her, separating to stretch her as they circled and eased back only to pump inside her once more. The burn magnified, her pussy leaking juices around Trey’s cock even as it convulsed around his shaft. The intensity of it drove her to a crazed state of need. Her eyes filled as her clit begged and her hips jerked against Trey’s hold, now firm on her hips. Mick’s fingers began to methodically pump into her rear.

“He’ll stop if you want him to,” Trey told her.

“No!” The cry was wrenched from her throat as Mick pulled his fingers free only to plunge them in again. More coolness added to the inferno he’d built in her ass as he worked another glob of gel into her, the grease making a squishing sound as he fingered her deeper, faster.

“I’ve got two fingers in your tight sexy ass, sweetheart. God, I wish you could see this.”

“Forget seeing it. I can damn near feel it,” Trey said through clenched teeth. “Her pussy is tightening around my dick. Fuck, it’s amazing.”

“Are you ready for my cock now, Renee?” Mick asked as he continued to thrust his fingers inside her ass.

“Yes, please.” She half groaned and half cried out the words. “Make love to my ass, Mick.”

“Mother of God, that sounded so sexy.” He positioned himself, holding her ass cheeks spread with his hands as his cock nudged against her anus.