A Lick of Flame (3 page)

Cole propped his leg onto a chair, adjusted his pants around the hard, fiberglass cast protecting his ankle, and gave a slow shake of his head before saying, “You got it bad, pal.” He let loose a low whistle and added, “You got it
real
bad.”

Okay, so maybe Cole was right. Maybe he did have it bad. And maybe the fact that he had it bad for the one girl in town who wouldn’t give him a chance had him acting completely out of character.

So what the hell was he going to do about it?

Sean ran through his options but still couldn’t come up with a solid plan. How could he get her to notice him if she continually avoided him on a personal level? He pushed shaky fingers through his mussed hair as his good friend, Officer Carter James, dropped into the chair next to him.

“What’s up?” Carter asked when he spotted the distressed scowl on Sean’s face.

Grinning like the bad ass, son of a bitch he was, Cole gestured toward Madison, who was currently walking around the pool table with her two best friends, Allison Cooper—Carter’s girl—and Haley Jones, a “good girl” Cole had been crazy over since high school, but had been too chicken shit to do anything about.

Cole tipped his bottle toward Sean. “What’s up is that our man here has finally met his match.”

Carter followed Sean’s gaze, then shook his head, perplexed. “So what are you doing sitting here with us then? Go get her, for Christ’s sake.”

Sean scrubbed his hands over his face. “It’s not like that with her.”

“Want to enlighten me?” Carter asked, arching a curious brow.

“No.”

Cole glanced at Carter and shook his head. “Sean can have any girl in this place.” He grinned and added, “Hell, he probably already has. So why do you think he’s going after the one he can’t have?”

Because he didn’t want just any girl, goddammit.

He wanted one. And the fact that she didn’t want him in return had his stomach knotting, his heart pounding and his cock refusing to settle for anything less.

But what the hell could he do about it?

Honestly, Sean had no idea what he’d done to make her hate him. They didn’t run in the same circles and he’d never really taken notice of her before. Last year’s accident had changed everything for him, and in no time at all he found himself wanting to get to know her. When he’d visited her in the hospital and had seen the depth of her strength and the breadth of her courage during a difficult recovery, it didn’t take him long to discover she was different from any other woman he knew, and it was that difference that held his attention, and quite frankly fascinated him.

“Maybe he likes the challenge,” Carter piped in. “You know what they say—you want what you can’t have.”

Sean watched Cole’s glance drift to Haley. Unfettered want passed over his eyes before he quickly blinked it away and raised his bottle in salute. “Yeah, here’s to wanting what we can’t have.”

As Carter turned his attention to Cole’s leg, and the two began talking about the recent soccer injury that cut Cole’s professional season short and brought him back to their small town for the remainder of the year, Sean turned his focus back to Madison.

When she bent over the pool table, his mind went on an erotic journey and there was nothing he could do to tame his hard-on. Christ, he wanted her. Wanted her so badly he could barely think straight.

As her sensuous body held his attention, awareness and frustration flared through him and he took a moment to think more about the sexy security specialist who, on a personal level, refused to give him the time of day. Hell, maybe Carter was right. Maybe he only wanted her because he couldn’t have her. Or maybe he wanted more.

Either way, he knew he had to find out.

Sweat collected on his brow as he continued to watch her, watch the way she moved around the crowd, unaware of his observations. What he’d long ago discovered was that beneath that tough exterior there was another side of Madison. A side she kept hidden from everyone, including herself. He’d seen that side in her earlier tonight when she was gazing out over the ocean, her gorgeous brown eyes full of warmth and longing.

What he noticed the most was that beneath her guard, Madison was soft and sensitive, full of heat and passion and goddammit, he wanted to be the guy to peel away the layer and ignite the fire beneath the ice.

If only she’d let him.

As he entertained the idea, a low rumble sounded in his throat and he decided then and there it was damn well time to find out what she had against him.

Madison walked around the pool table alone while her friends went off to refresh their drinks. Deciding it was the perfect time to confront her, he climbed to his feet, pushed through the crowd and made his way toward her.

With her back to him, she continued to shoot balls, oblivious to his approach. Sean cut across the room, but when he stepped up to her and pulled her back against his chest, her shoulders tensed and her muscles stiffened.

Fearing she was about to lay him out flat on the floor, he said, “Easy, Madison. It’s me.”

As her body tightened even more, her feminine heat warmed his blood, and it took every ounce of strength he possessed not to bend her over the pool table and take her right there. There was something so unique and beguiling about Madison that he couldn’t help but wonder if fucking her would get her out of his system, or would it simply draw him in deeper?

Instead of acting on his urges, he summoned his control, purposely put his mouth close to her ear and in a suggestive voice whispered, “So you like playing games do you, sweetheart?”

In a slow, easy movement, Madison twisted around to face him, and the alarm on her face let him know he’d caught her off-guard. Sean’s heart nearly stopped when he took in the gorgeous sight of her dark eyes and the long brown hair that framed her beautiful face. Unable to help himself, he touched a wayward curl as it ran along the column of her neck, going lower and lower until it dipped into her cleavage. As he stroked the strands between his fingers, he pictured her on top of him, teasing his naked flesh with those long soft curls. He drew a breath to center himself and knew, without question, she was the most sensuous woman he’d ever set eyes on.

When their glances clashed, and the control she kept so close momentarily crumbled, something flashed in her eyes, something that resembled need. She wet her lips and leaned toward him and the want he spotted on her face not only took him by surprise, it nearly drove him to his knees.

A wave of heat arced between them and tension grew, but when pool balls cracked and the loud noise reached their ears, it shattered the intimate moment. Madison blinked and inched away, her guard back in place. As she gathered herself, the desire in her eyes disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. But it had been there long enough for Sean to see it, to know what it meant.

“Sean,” she murmured breathlessly as she sucked in a tight breath.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

The heat in her voice filled him with warm and wicked sensation, and a wave of anticipation took hold. Despite the crowd, who seemed completely oblivious to their private conversation, Sean stepped in to her until their bodies were once again meshed together, until she could feel the depth of his need for her. As they stood there, staring at each other, Sean gave her a long heated look, one that spoke of passion, sex and endless sensual nights.

He wet his lips, heat flaming through him as he pushed his cock harder against her stomach. Aching to taste the sweetness of her mouth, to feel skin on skin, he gyrated his hips, letting her know what she did to him.

Surprise registered on her face as her glance moved over his features, a visual caress that set him on fire and had him realizing that he’d been oh-so wrong about her. So completely and utterly wrong that it had him wanting to climb to the rooftop to scream hallelujah.

He wasn’t sure why she tried to hide the desire she felt for him, or why she always pushed him away, but a second ago when her guard had momentarily dropped and she looked up at him with those expressive eyes of hers, it told him everything he needed to know.

Madison wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.

So why the hell did she always pretend otherwise?

Damned if he wasn’t going to find out.

Fearing she was about to flee before he could put together a plan of action, he backed her up until she was pressed against the wall, then he braced his hands on either side of her head to prevent her from escaping. Her warm, seductive scent reached out to him and her dark eyes, alive with curiosity, smoldered as they met his. She shifted her hips, an easy grind of her pussy against his leg. The movement was slight, but he noticed it. In fact, since the accident, he noticed everything about Madison.

Pleasure pounded through him when he felt something in her body give, soften against his. A low, barely audible sound vibrated in the back of her throat as she melted into him, her heat wrapping around his body and doing insane things to his cock.

“So what other games do you like to play when you’re on duty?” he asked as his mind filled with delicious images of the two of them coming together, over and over again, until she called his name out in orgasmic bliss.

She opened her mouth to answer, but when no words came, all he could think about was breaking that control she kept close, stripping her flesh bare and satisfying all the hidden wants he’d spotted in her eyes. As she continued to stare up at him, her guard once again wavering, he knew this might be the only chance he got to explore the heat between them.

A deliciously naughty idea began to formulate in his mind, and he suddenly knew exactly what kind of game he wanted to play, exactly what it would take to peel away her layers and light the fire inside her.

Oh yeah, he definitely planned a rooftop visit, and if he played his cards right, by the end of the night they’d both be screaming, but it certainly wasn’t going to be hallelujah…

Chapter Three

“Come with me,” Sean said, his voice a deep, sexy command as his blue eyes gleamed in a way that had shivers skittering through her.

What the hell had gotten into him?

Ribbons of desire twisted inside her and her heart pounded erratically as she stared up at him, spellbound by the intensity and hunger she spotted in his gaze. As his eyes turned a deeper shade of blue, a fine tremor rippled through her, and she could hardly believe what was happening between them, hardly believe Sean suddenly wanted her. But the hard erection pressing insistently against her stomach was quickly making a believer out of her.

His hand found hers and he gave a slight tug, pulling her along with him. Acutely aware of the sexual energy arcing between them—not to mention the incredible heat rising in her—everything inside her urged her to give in to her body’s demands, to let this sexy firefighter rock her world in a way she knew only he could.

But there was some small, coherent part of her brain telling her to tread carefully. From his bodily reactions it was clear he wanted sex, but unlike her, Sean didn’t seem like the settling-down type, which meant everything about him was a danger to her heart.

Despite that warning, and before she even realized what she was doing, she found herself walking hand in hand with him, cutting through the throngs of people until they reached the back of the pub. Strides determined, and without speaking, Sean led her down a narrow hallway and into a small room that contained a cot, a pedestal sink and a first-aid kit. He grabbed a blanket from the mattress, as well as the small white medical box, and guided her to the rear service door.

When she stepped outside, Madison glanced out over the majestic cove. A cool ocean breeze washed over her face but it did little to ease the heat bubbling up inside her. Sean tightened his hold, and in that instant, as his warmth seeped under her skin and curled around her heart, she wondered what the hell he was really up to.

Sean tugged on a ladder leading to the rooftop. After he tested it, he shot her a mischievous glance. “After you.”

Her eyes searched his face. “Sean, what’s going on?” she asked, even though some small part of her told herself to stop questioning her good fortune and just go for it. Indulge in a wild night with Sean, let him ease the sexual tension inside her, and worry about the consequences tomorrow.

There was a suggestive edge to his smile when he said, “What’s going on is that you lied to me.”

His teasing tone made her lightheaded and she worked to recover her voice. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did and it was very naughty of you.” His grin was sexy and his eyes teasing as he stepped into her. Lust exploded inside her, and as their bodies collided, she faltered backward. He splayed one hand over the small of her back to help balance her, and the heat from his fingers fired her flesh. Hot flames licked over her skin and spread like wildfire through her body, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to curb the need resonating in her blood. “And would you like to know what I do to naughty girls who lie?”

“No.” Contrary to her words, her body vibrated with pent-up need. Of course she wanted to know what he did to naughty girls who lied, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him.

He gave her a wink that made her nipples tingle. “Well, whether you want to or not, you’re about to find out.”