Bad Boy's Kiss (Firemen in Love Book 2) (5 page)

“Oh, I
know
you do. If you think you can hide it, you're dead wrong.”

X-rated images danced through my head, thoughts of him pushing me to the ground, tearing off my pants, and screwing me right here in the flower garden. My body craved his, yet my brain was well aware I'd be sorry for it later.

“You know, I don't really appreciate being propositioned for sex like a hooker. I prefer to be treated with at least
some
dignity and respect.”

He came toward me, close enough to step on my toes. I backed into the side of his RV. He had me cornered now. Felt like I was the helpless sheep and he the wolf, eager to devour me the moment I dropped my guard.

“I don't make a habit of screwing random men,” I continued. “We've got to go on at least one date first. Y'know, at least pretend like you're trying to impress me.”

“That's too bad. I don't do dating.”

He slid his arms around me and crushed my lips with a hungry, eager kiss. It happened so suddenly I didn't react at first – then I let slip a soft moan without meaning to. I found out then that Max McLaren was a
very
good kisser...

I melted with desire for him even though I knew this was wrong. I wanted to enjoy it, to give in to this moment and just let him have me. It would feel so good, and I needed it so badly.

But I couldn't.

I pulled away from him. He groaned, frustrated. His hard cock rubbed against my thigh. It was a terrible tease, yet I resisted.

“What... Why?”

“You know why.” My pulse raced. Had to calm down. “It's a bad idea.”

“Seems like a pretty good one to me.”

He attacked my neck with kisses designed purely to wear down my resolve. If I'd been drinking and even the slightest bit tipsy, his plan would have worked.

I couldn't trust myself around him.

“I want you, Anna.”

“All you want is sex.”

“From you, yes.”

“Me, and every other woman in town who'll drop their panties for you.”

The crunch of gravel under car tires was a welcome distraction. Someone was coming, probably a customer looking to buy some of my produce.

Max let me go as the car pulled in. He was clearly disappointed. So was I, but I refused to let him know it.

“This isn't over.” He murmured in my ear as the customers, two old ladies, approached. “I'm going to have you, one way or another, before I leave town.”

“In your dreams,” I whispered back. “Hello there, and welcome to Southwell Farm. What can I get you today?”

Max slid into his RV, revved the engine, and tore off down the road. As I showed the women what I had for sale, I thought his words over. I knew he was right.

No matter how I fought it, he
would
have me. I couldn't resist that kiss of his for long.

Chapter 4 - Max

Damn that woman!

She'd gotten me hard as steel and then had the nerve to shoot me down – for the second time. It pissed me off and drove me nuts something fierce.

I adjusted my package as I hurtled down the street toward Trey's place. My RV smelled like chicken shit and dirty feathers; I expected Anna would reward my noble sacrifice. But she didn't.

“What's with her? Never met a girl so scared of giving it up before.”

She was like that back during school too. To this day, I remembered how it went down.

Her family moved to town when she was just a girl. In high school I thought she was gorgeous, but she'd never give me the time of day.

Then came the prom after-party. She was alone after her date ditched her to drink with his buddies. God, she looked beautiful in that blue gown. Thought I'd swoop in and make an easy score for sure.

Nope. What did she say, exactly?

“No thanks. I'm not that desperate.”

Something to that effect. Still couldn't quite figure out what she meant. Did she think I wasn't good enough for her? If so, I promised to prove her wrong.

I touched the rippled skin on my cheek. Maybe it was the scar that turned her off. Maybe she didn't find me attractive enough for her.

Although the way she kissed me back kind of disproved that theory.

Just ahead were the Willow Bend Apartments. I checked the address on my phone to be sure which one was Trey's.

Turned out I didn't need to bother. Trey was sitting on his porch in a folding chair, waiting for me while he sipped a mug of coffee. He was all dressed for work and I had to admit, was looking pretty spiffy in his park ranger's uniform.

He waved as I struggled to jam the RV into a parking spot. Once I'd managed to wedge myself in there without hitting any cars, I climbed out and went to greet him.

For a moment, I forgot about Anna. I hadn't seen Trey in years. Barely even spoke to him on the phone these days after all the crap that'd gone down with mom and dad. What if this little family bonding thing didn't go as well as he planned?

“Max!” He jogged downstairs to meet me. “Man, it's good to see you. Bit later than I expected, though.”

He pulled me into a hug, and I smiled. I'd never been big on family, but it
was
nice to be home again.

I stood back and looked him over. Back in the day, he sported long hair, an unkempt beard, and usually paired torn jeans with a t-shirt from his favorite band. Now, he was neatly groomed, clean, and dressed like a professional.

“Can't believe how much you changed.” I gestured to his brown uniform with the shiny badge on it.

“Ah, well, we all gotta grow up sometime.” He grinned. “And it helps I've got a girlfriend who's not keen on facial hair.”

“You shaved your beard off for a chick. Seriously?”

He clapped me on the back. “When you love someone, you'll do what it takes to make them happy. No big deal. I was getting sick of looking like a bum, anyway.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

He led me into his apartment. It was a small box of a home, with one bedroom and a tiny bathroom alongside it. There was no dining room; looked like he'd been eating his meals on the coffee table in front of his TV.

“Nice place.”

He sighed and picked up some dirty laundry off the couch. “It's not bad, but it doesn't feel like home.”

“I bet not. You ever gonna move into a new house?”

He shrugged. “It's not that easy. I put a lot of savings into my old place, and for what? A damn wildfire struck and wiped it off the map. It, and hundreds of other homes in the county. I don't have the money to buy another, just for it to happen all over again – and it will.”

I flopped down on his couch and sniffed. Smelled like it'd been misted with apple-cinnamon air freshener. The touch of a woman, I'd wager.

“You should move. Why not come to Waco, where I'm at? It's a nice city, and our houses don't burn to the ground every couple of years.”

He fiddled with his badge. “I know Bastrop has its problems, but it's home.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that. Personally, I think it's stupid you put up with this shit. What if your neighborhood got demolished by tornadoes all the time? Would you just grin and bear it?”

That remark was met with a glare. “Here we go. You've only just arrived, and you're already starting with the insults.”

“I'm not trying to insult you.” I held my hands up to show I meant no harm. “It's just... You're my brother, man. I don't wanna see you go through this again.”

He grunted and pulled a soda from the fridge. “If you care so much, where were you when the fires came? Whatever I couldn't fit in the truck before we had to evacuate, I lost.”

“I told you – you were welcome to come stay with me if you wanted.”

“And do what? My job's here. Rachael is here. I wasn't just gonna leave them.” He closed his eyes briefly. “Mom and dad got lucky. Their house didn't get hit, but they'd had enough. That's when they sold and moved to Mexico.”

“Trey...”

“I just could have used some moral support, that's all. I had Rachael and some friends, but you're family. That's different.”

Looking at Trey made me realize how much pain the guy had been in over this. He was a lot like me in that way. If something bothered us, we put on a smile and hardly ever showed it. That's how dad taught us – keep a stiff upper lip. No complaining. Don't show weakness; it'll only give your opponent a weapon with which to beat you.

“I don't know what you expected me to do.”

“What a brother
should
do. Call and ask how I'm doing. Come and visit me.” His eyes got misty. “Help me pick through the rubble in the hopes that something,
anything
, survived the blaze.”

It hit me then. Trey hadn't invited me down here to hang out and party, like when we were kids. No, this time, he needed me. Too bad I was a clueless idiot about this stuff. I understood feelings about as well as I did calculus, which was to say not too well at all.

“I'm sorry,” I said. It was all I had to offer him right now.

He smiled again. “Whatever. You're here now; that's what matters. It'll be good to catch up on old times, and the volunteer fire department will be glad to have an extra pair of hands.”

Trey was on his way out to work – if you could really call it that, since he got to hang out in the state park all day. We took his truck down to the station so I could meet some of the men, then drove around listening to music while he looked out for any guests making trouble.

At the campgrounds, a trio of young men had built themselves a fire in a ground pit. Trey rolled up and stopped next to them.

“Make sure you put that out when you're done, guys. It's wildfire season now,” he warned them. “All it takes is one breeze to blow a burning leaf into dead brush, and we got a serious blaze on our hands.”

A man dumped a bucket of water over the flames. Trey made sure the embers had died completely before moving on.

“You sure do take this seriously, don't you?”

“We've all got to do our part. If everyone in town worked together, if we all handled fire with care, things wouldn't get nearly so bad.” He shook his head in disgust. “You know what started the wildfire that destroyed all our homes? Some idiot threw a lit cigarette into dry grass on the side of the highway. We got no rain for most of the summer, dead vegetation, a strong wind... It's a recipe for disaster.”

We stopped at a ridge that overlooked most of the park below. This was a place I knew well. We'd played here with friends as kids, taking turns riding on the tire swing and daring one another to take the fifteen-foot leap into the water below.

I got out of the truck and ran my hand along the weathered wooden bench. As a horny teenager, how many girls had I made out with on this bench?

“Can't believe this thing is still here. Brings back memories.”

“Man, this whole park is a memory for us. We had all of this pretty much in our backyard growing up.” He sat and gazed at the clouds. “Don't you ever miss it? You ever get sick of the city, the noise, all the people?”

“Nah. I live for that sort of thing.” I wriggled my eyebrows. “Besides, it definitely gives me a bigger pool of ladies to choose from.”

He grunted. “If you'd just find one to settle down with, what more do you need than that?”

“Settling down is not in my life plan.”

“Your twenties are almost over, y'know. One day, you'll wake up and realize how lonely you really are – except all the good women will be taken, and it just might be too late.”

“Words of wisdom from my big brother.” I laughed. “How could I possibly get lonely? All I need to do is head down to the club when I need company for the night.”

“That kind of company isn't fulfilling and you know it.”

“Feels pretty fulfilling to me.”

We'd never see eye to eye on this. Trey had always been the sensible guy, the one who fell in love hard and poured everything he had into a relationship with one woman. Me, I was content to take pleasure wherever I could get it – legal or otherwise. Probably why I wasn't the most popular person in our conservative family, I'd imagine.

I slumped into the bench with a sigh. The air did smell a lot cleaner here. When something wasn't on fire, at least.

“Hey, be honest with me.” Trey pushed my shoulder. “There's nobody out there you have your eye on? Really?”

“Well...” I grinned like the devil I was. “I
did
run into Anna Southwell on the way into town. Her truck was broken down and I saved the day.”

Suddenly, Trey looked super pissed. His face reddened; his hands clenched into fists. When he grabbed me by the collar, I was too stunned to push him back.

“Oh, hell no. You stay away from her, Max. I mean it.”

“Dude, what? She's not your girlfriend, is she?”

I sure hoped not. Didn't want to let him know I'd just made out with his lady – because she definitely liked it just as much as I did.

“No. I'm dating her sister.” He paused. “You don't remember Rachael?”