A Lick of Flame (7 page)

“I thought you just said your friend would be there.”

“Oh, well, she has to leave early too.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” Sean said as he climbed out of his work clothes. “You’ll stay with me.”

Madison opened her mouth to voice an argument, but when a loud noise sounded in the background, Carter said, “Get her out of here.” Madison shook her head and gave a resigned sigh.

With that, Sean guided her back to her car. After he threw his gear into her backseat, he held his hands out. “I’ll drive.”

Madison took one last look at the condo, and when he spotted a wave of discomfort moving over her face, his heart went out to her.

She absently shook her head and said, “I can drive.”

Sean kept his hand out. “I know you can drive, Madison, but tonight we’re doing things my way, okay?”

“Sean…”

“Listen. You’re capable, I know that.” Not only did he know it, it was one of the things he loved most about her, but he also knew that there were times when it was okay for a person to drop their guard and let someone else take care of them. And right now was definitely one of those times. “But just give me this, okay? Call it male pride if you have to.”

A moment of hesitation, then he felt something in her give. “Fine,” she said, and as she slapped the keys into his palm, he heard her grumble something under her breath.

After she settled into the passenger seat, he circled the car. Madison turned her head and watched the smoke rise in the sky. Beneath that guarded exterior he once again caught sight of her vulnerability, and it brought his protective instincts out full force.

Sean, of all people, knew how strong she was, and he also knew Madison was always in charge, always taking care of others, and while he respected her and her career, tonight they were damn well going to do things his way.
He
was going to take care of
her
, even if it meant tying her to his bed so he could see to all her needs.

Less than ten minutes later they pulled up in front of his bungalow, a house he’d purchased a few years back. He loved his place, even though he rarely spent much time there. He usually crashed at the firehouse, and when he wasn’t working, he was either out with friends or helping out at the animal shelter along with the other guys from the station.

Madison climbed from her seat and met him at the front of the car. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the side door of his house. When he reached for his keys, he shot her a glance and gave an apologetic look. “My place is a mess.” Honestly, he’d never cared about the disorder before, but it suddenly mattered to him. Probably because she mattered to him and he wanted her to feel safe and comfortable.

“It’s okay,” she said, and stepped inside when he pushed the door open for her.

She stood just inside the doorway and he followed her in, giving her a little nudge. “Come on, make yourself at home.”

Madison slipped out of her sandals and stepped into his kitchen. As she strolled through the house, her sweet scent leaving a trail behind her, Sean watched her. She moved around his place with ease, and he followed close behind when she entered his sparse living room.

Sean cringed when his glance landed on the open pizza box on his coffee table, an old, dried-up slice still inside. With his foot, he kicked the lid closed and began picking clothes up off the floor, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him.

“It’s okay, Sean. Really. You don’t need to fuss because of me.” Her smile was warm and genuine, and when she gave an easy laugh, it turned his insides to mush. “Besides,” she added waving her hand around. “Half the time my place looks like this, anyway.”

With that, Sean dropped the pile of clothes back onto the floor and gave her a dubious look. “Now why don’t I believe that?”

“Come by unexpected some time and you’ll see.”

“What exactly will I see?” he asked, and when their glances collided, he knew Madison had read all kind of sexual innuendoes into that statement. As much as he’d like to carry her to his bedroom and turn those innuendos into reality, he summoned his restraint and worked to marshal his libido. He certainly wasn’t about to take advantage of her when she was vulnerable.

Tonight’s fire had clearly brought back painful memories for Madison. While he wanted to talk to her about what happened between them earlier and prove to her how much she meant to him, he knew it would have to wait. What she needed from him tonight was understanding and comfort, and that’s exactly what he was going to give her.

She cleared her throat, and when she glanced at her watch, he suspected she was about to feign exhaustion and bail on him.

Wanting to spend more time with her, he wasn’t about to give her the chance. “I’ll order pizza.”

She stared at him for a moment, as if she was thinking things through, then gave a slight nod. “Okay. Pizza sounds good.”

When he reached for the phone to call in the order, she stepped farther into his living room and pulled back the dark curtain to expose the bay window, and the beach some hundred feet over the hill.

“You have such a great spot here,” she said. “Very private.”

After he ordered, he hung up the phone and flicked on the corner lamp. As he watched the warm glow fall over her body, it occurred to him just how much she looked like she belonged in his place, how her mere presence made his house feel like a home.

Since the fire and especially over the past few weeks while she’d been in charge of his security, he’d gotten to know and like Madison. Christ, there really was no denying that she’d come to mean so much to him in such a short period of time, and he damn well planned to do whatever was necessary to make her realize just how special she was and just how good they could be together, inside the bedroom and out.

As he stepped up behind her, loving how right she looked in his house, something warm pressed against his heart and there wasn’t a thing he could do to wipe the wide grin from his mouth.

Madison turned to face him and, despite the warmth of the night, hugged herself. Then she cocked her head and gave him an odd look. “You okay, Sean?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you have a strange look on your face.”

“Strange?”

She gave an easy laugh. “Yeah, you’re kind of freaking me out.”

With that, Sean chuckled and slipped her hand in his. “Come on.”

Madison stiffened. “Where to?”

“Shower?”

“I don’t think—”

“I run out of hot water pretty quickly, so you can go first.”

“Oh,” she said then looked at her clothes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find something for you.” He left her at the bathroom door, hurried to his room, then returned with a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. “They’re big, but they should do the trick.”

Madison gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

When she shut the door, he went to the kitchen to wait for the food to arrive. Just because he wasn’t going to act on his urges didn’t mean he wasn’t going to think about Madison’s naked body in his shower, warm water caressing her gorgeous curves as she lathered herself with his soap.

Fuck…

Less than thirty minutes later, Madison came sauntering down the hall, looking warm and cozy and so damn adorable he knew it was going to take all his self-discipline not to peel those oversized clothes from her beautiful body and have his wicked way with her again. Truthfully, Madison might not look like the other curvaceous women he’d once gravitated toward, but her slight, lithe frame was the epitome of lush femininity. Firm and toned yet soft and sensuous in all the right places.

When she plopped down onto the sofa next to him, he could smell his soap on her skin. Wild images of him burying his face in her neck, or between her legs for a better whiff, rushed through his mind and renewed his need for her. He handed her a slice of pizza and took a big bite of his own before he was tempted to fill his mouth with something else, something that was poking against the white T-shirt she was wearing and beckoning his mouth.

“Mmm, delicious,” she said around a mouthful. Then she glanced down the hall. “Where is your spare bedroom?”

“Ah, about that.”

She pinched her lips and studied him with quiet regard. “What about it?”

“Well, I have one. I just don’t have any furniture.”

She swallowed and asked, “How long have you lived here?”

“I’ve never had overnight guests before.”

She arched a dubious brow, disbelief written all over her face. “Oh really?”

“Well, none that stayed in a spare room,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.

Emotions moved over her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away and said, “Fine, I’ll take the sofa.”

“After what we did tonight, are you telling me you have a problem sleeping in the same bed as me?”

She stiffened at the mention of what they did earlier. She clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and under the circumstance he wasn’t going to press. But tomorrow was a different day and he was going to get to the bottom of things with her.

“It was just a one-nighter, Sean.”

Sean grabbed a soda, cracked the can and handed it to her. “Fine, I’ll take the sofa.”

“No you won’t. I will.”

“My territory. My rules.”

“I’m not going to put you out of your bed.”

“Fine then. You have two choices. You sleep in it with me. Or I take the sofa.”

“You can take the sofa,” she said, and took a long drink from her can.

With that, Sean grabbed another slice and tried not to think about how sexy she looked dressed in his clothes, her long wet hair dampening the white shirt and giving him a nice view of her pretty pink nipples.

When they finally finished eating, Madison stretched. “I should get to bed, and you still need that shower.”

“Right.”

An awkward silence fell over them as they both made their way down his hall. Sean stopped outside the bathroom door and pointed the way to her, not trusting himself to be anywhere near her when there was a bed in close proximity.

She gave a nod. “See you bright and early.”

Sean scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “Right, the interview outside the station.”

Sean jumped into the shower, and even though there was plenty of hot water left, he blasted the cold. He quickly washed himself down and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then when he spotted his jeans, her sexy panties in the back pocket, he remembered he didn’t have any clean clothes to put on.

He made his way to the bedroom and knocked softly. “Madison, I need to grab a pair of pants.”

“Come in,” she whispered quietly.

As soon as he pushed open the door and caught sight of her between his sheets, a loud bang sounded out on the street.

Madison tensed and was just about to throw her covers off, but Sean put up a hand to halt her. “Wait here.”

“I’m not staying here.”

When she gave him an agitated look, he said, “On the job, you’re in charge, but you’re in my territory now, remember?”

She threw off the covers. “Forget it, Sean. I’m coming.”

Sean was about to protest but simply shook his head instead. “Fine, but I go first. Remember, male pride and all.”

Sean pulled on a pair of jeans, and they made their way to the front door. When he pushed it open, the same uneasy feeling that someone was watching him had the hairs on his nape rising in warning. He stepped outside, glanced around the street, and relaxed when he spotted a tipped garbage can, a raccoon sifting through the contents inside.

When he turned back, Madison was standing so close to him he nearly crashed into her. “Just a raccoon,” he said.

They both stepped inside and he locked the door behind him. He followed Madison back to the bedroom. She moved past him, jumped into his bed and pulled the blankets up.

As he stared at her, he knew tonight’s blaze had rattled her more than she let on. He also knew Madison was brave and courageous, but as she lay there in his bed, he couldn’t help thinking she looked a little lost, a little thrown off her game. And why wouldn’t she, considering what she’d gone through? As everything inside him reached out to her, he couldn’t stop himself from crossing the room to slip in beside her. When he put his hand on her shoulder to offer his comfort, she turned her back to him and he felt her stiffen, her guard back in place.

“What are you—?”

“I’m just going to stay here for a little bit.”

“I don’t think—”

“Just until you fall asleep.”

“Why?”

He gave a mock shiver and knew she wasn’t ready to talk about her vulnerabilities, so he said, “The truth is that was one big-ass raccoon.” He snuggled closer. “I’m just hiding out in here until I’m sure he’s gone,” he teased, trying to lighten her mood and help her relax.

When he felt her warm heat wrap around him, his cock thickened, despite his vow to keep it marshaled.

The low noise in her throat matched his, and he could have sworn it was a heady mixture of arousal and need. Either that or his cock was bruising her luscious backside as it pressed deep, seeking entry. Good God, he couldn’t seem to keep his dick from swelling when in her presence.