STORY EXCERPT

Touch and it’s a damn good chance she’ll break your fingers, too.

He’d managed to do it once and come out of it with his fingers intact. He’d curled them around her shapely hips and drew her body close to his. In a moment of what he’d only been able to determine as a drunken disregard of her sanity, she’d danced with him at the firehouse New Year’s Eve party two months ago. At first, it had been like dancing with a two-by-four at a middle school function. Her hands on his shoulders had been the only part of her that had invaded his personal space. Then, she’d started to relax, allowed him to pull her closer, and every ounce of his sanity had gone up in flames as her amazing body had melted against his.

Max tore his gaze from her back and glanced at the dance floor. He hadn’t come in tonight to party, but to merely have a couple of beers before heading home. But, what if he could somehow lure her to that dance floor?

She’ll dance, then thank you politely, and walk away just like last time.

And he’d be back to staring at her tantalizing nape just like he was doing now. Nah, more than likely, if he had to watch her walk away, he’d be staring at her well-rounded ass. The woman truly had an amazing ass.

One that a particular Lieutenant Ass isn’t likely to get his hands on.

Max frowned, raked a hand over his spiky hair, and sighed. Yeah, he’d heard around the firehouse she’d taken to calling him that, though she’d never said it to his face. But, what the hell? He’d come in for a beer, the barstool next to her was empty, and he damn sure wasn’t going to get that beer or come close to getting his hands on her spectacular ass standing in entryway of the lounge ogling her. He weaved his way to the bar, slid onto the empty stool, and flagged down the bartender.

“I’ll have a bottle of Michelob Ultra and”—he glanced at Regina’s glass, noted it was nearly empty, and tipped his chin toward it—“whatever she’s having.”

Regina’s head came up, her gaze slamming into his. Recognition swept through her light-blue eyes first, followed immediately by darts of irritation, intense dislike, and, finally, resignation. “I can buy my own—” She heaved a sigh and shook her head hard enough to make her red locks bounce. “Fuck it. I’ll get the next round.”

Max angled his head toward her and lifted a brow. “Rough day?” The woman was definitely off her game. That had been too easy. The pit bull hadn’t bared her teeth, barked his head off, or anything else that would have made him run away with his tail tucked between his legs.

She lifted a shoulder and held his gaze. “Just not in the mood to argue tonight.”

“Good. Neither am I.” He hated arguing, especially with her. Damned if he’d yet to figure out why every time their paths crossed they ended up spitting at one another anyway. He rested his forearms on the bar as she looked away. “Want to talk about it?”

Her head snapped back toward him, her ivory face contorted in an expression of disbelief. “To you?”

Well, now, there was a glimmer of the Regina he was used to. He nearly grinned before he caught himself. “Unless you’d rather pour out your heart to that stranger across the bar.” He gestured with his head to no one in particular, his attention snagged by the freckles that marched across both her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Geezus, he loved a woman with freckles.

The bartender returned with their drinks, and Regina pushed her empty glass aside in favor of lifting the new one to her lips. “I’ll pass on both, thanks.”

Max thought he detected a slight slur in her words and wondered how many drinks she’d had. “Have you been here long?”

“Long enough.” Her gaze swept the area behind the bar before returning to him. “What time is it, anyway?”

Yeah, her words were definitely starting to slur. He didn’t wear a watch, but he’d glanced at the clock in the dashboard of his truck when he’d pulled into the parking lot. “A little after ten.”

“You’re getting a late start or are you barhopping?”

“Late start. I spent the day with a few of the guys from B-shift working at Kyle Shannon’s new house. He bought this place that needs some serious remodeling, and we’ve been chipping in time on our off days to help out.”

Regina’s brows inched together. “A bunch of guys working on a house and you didn’t go through several kegs?”

Max chuckled. “Yeah, probably an unheard of event. Except that Kyle doesn’t drink. He wouldn’t have cared if we did, but, you know, it’s the guy’s house and all.”

“Is this Saturday or Sunday for you?”

The Silver Springs Fire Department operated on a twenty-four on, forty-eight off schedule. For the normal working population, it was the middle of the week. For him, it was weekend wrap-up. “Sunday. I’ll be back on shift at seven.”

“Me, too.” She lifted her glass, toasted the air, then took a long swig.

Max knew her workday didn’t start until eight, but he doubted that extra hour would make much difference when she woke with the mother of all hangovers in the morning.

“I should probably go home,” she said, unknowingly putting voice to Max’s thoughts. “I’m just not ready to be alone yet, you know?”

Max bit his tongue on the instant responses that sprang to his mind. Things like I’ll go with you or you’re welcome to come to my place instead were not appropriate suggestions to make right now. What if it worked? What if he said one of those things and she actually took him up on the offer?

ADULT EXCERPT

“Max.” His name tore from her on a breathless plea as his lips left her mouth to lick at her cheek and nip at her jaw. “Touch me, please. Let me touch you. I want—”

He silenced the rest of her words when he claimed her mouth once more. She hadn’t thought his kisses could get any more extreme or ferocious. Yet they did. God, the heat she tasted in him was scalding her insides!

He pushed a hand between their lower bodies, and, finally, thank you sweet baby Jesus, he was touching her. He yanked the hem of her shirt from her slacks and grazed the backs of his fingers over the flesh of her belly and abdomen. Her nipples tightened in anticipation and she forgot all about the amazing things his tongue and teeth were doing to her mouth as she eagerly awaited his hand on her flesh.

She heard herself whimper when his hand moved south instead, gliding back down to her belly to the waistband of her pants. His fingers pushed between the material and her flesh, teasing her, sending white-hot slivers of need raining to her pussy. He freed the button of her slacks with a practiced flick of his fingers, lowered the zipper, and then worked her pants down her hips. She toed off her shoes, kicked them aside, and did the same with her pants when she felt them fall around her ankles.

He shifted his weight, wedged a foot between hers on the floor, and used it to urge her legs to part. God, as much as she wanted to feel pressure against her pussy, as much as her hips burned to gyrate on something so she could get the pleasure her throbbing clit was looking for, she so didn’t want it to be his knee again.

To her immense relief and sheer satisfaction, it wasn’t his knee that inched its way toward her throbbing pussy. It was his fingers. Thank you, Lord. But, just as his digits pushed beneath the seam of her panties and directly between her slick, hot folds, someone knocked on the door behind her head.

His mouth muffled her gasp as his tongue did wondrous things to her. Somehow, she managed to wrench her mouth free. Her lips grazed his stubbled cheek as she whispered, “Max, there’s someone here.”

 His hand stilled, his fingers on the verge of delving into the eagerly awaiting opening of her pussy. He eased his head back enough to meet her gaze and then glanced at the door behind her. He tilted his head, the sexual haze in his expression parting just enough for her to see what appeared to be a lack of understanding. Then she realized it was merely a look of deep concentration. He was listening, waiting, and definitely not intending to stop what they were doing.

“Stay quiet,” he finally said in a barely audible whisper. “As long as they don’t hear anyone inside, they’ll go away.” His fingers in her panties wiggled just enough to make her eyes roll back in her head, to pull a soft breath from her lungs, and the corners of his lips twitched.

“Don’t you think you should see who it is?” There was a peephole was right next to her head. All he had to do was peer through it.

“It’s probably my sister,” he said, still in that barely audible whisper. His fingers inched further between her slick folds. He used two digits to spread her feminine lips, opening her pussy so a third finger could dive inside. That finger played there, teasing her, taunting her with the promise of a penetration he didn’t give her.

 Regina couldn’t think with his fingers all but inside her, especially when that was exactly where she wanted them. She forced her mind to curve around the promise of pleasure transferring from his touch and ricocheting through her most intimate flesh. “What if it’s important?”

“The only person I want to see right now is you. The only thing that is important to be right now is making you shatter in my arms again.” He buried his face against the side of hers, his breath fanning her earlobe. “God, it was so fucking amazing feeling you come for me yesterday. I want you to do it again, Gina. I want to feel you come apart again.”

Before she could utter another word, he pushed his finger inside her. Pleasure. Sweet, vicious, mind-altering, amazing…God, she hadn’t known a finger could make her feel so much pleasure! If he could make her feel all of this with a finger, imagine what he could do with his cock.

He didn’t give her time to imagine. At that moment, the visitor knocked again, and his finger went wild inside her pussy. He stroked her, deep and fierce, sending spasms of wonderment and searing heat through her. He pulled out, circled her opening with the tip of that finger, and then pushed, not one, but two fingers side by side into her with such speed and invigoration she actually cried out from the sensations that spiraled through her.

“Shh.” His whisper held a hint of laughter, and she felt him smile against the side of her neck as he began to fuck her with his fingers. “Whoever that is, they’re being pretty persistent. We don’t want them to hear you.”

He was using this, she realized, letting the idea of his visitor hearing them drive the excitement higher. As if the possibility of getting caught yesterday morning in the middle of a crime scene hadn’t been enough. Except, it really hadn’t. She’s so completely lost her control at Mr. G’s that the thought of being caught hadn’t crossed her mind once he’d started touching her.

 They weren’t at a crime scene now. They were safe in his apartment. Whoever was knocking at the door couldn’t get in. Yet, the mere threat that they might know what she and Max were doing on this side of the door gave her a wicked thrill that only added to the burning in her pussy.

“Have you ever come without making a sound?