Fan the Flames (6 page)

* * * * *

Standing in the middle of her classroom, Ja’Nael swallowed down some of her disappointment as Brody left without even bringing up their phone call last night. After she hung up with him, she’d tossed and turned for over an hour because she couldn’t get the whisper of Brody’s deep, sexy voice out of her head. When she finally drifted off into a restless sleep, his perfectly muscular body filled her dreams, which led into some hot—no
ultra
hot—fantasies.

Even today, she couldn’t stop looking at how his T-shirt with the firefighter emblem on it stretched across the powerful muscles, displaying the silky hairs on his arms.

God, every time his muscles rippled under his tight T-shirt her pulse quickened. But she hid her reaction as fast as she could so he wouldn’t notice. Ja’Nael wondered how it would feel if she got to run her hands over the powerful set of his shoulders. She was acutely aware of how extremely attractive Brody was, but she couldn’t allow herself to step over the invisible line between them. He was Reid’s uncle and guardian, which meant things would always have to stay professional, no matter how hot the pull of attraction between them may be.

He was ruggedly handsome with his firm and sensual lips that showed off a perfect set of straight, white teeth. The way his thick blond hair gleamed under the lights in her classroom made her want to run her fingers through it—to test the softness. Without a doubt, he was a massive, self-confident presence that took over the space around her.

Ja’Nael realized at that very moment if she didn’t do something about her surprising fascination to Brody she might actually go out on a date with her former bully’s brother. So she had to take a step in the opposite direction to keep her need to pursue this occurrence far, far away.

She couldn’t,
wouldn’t
, let Brody’s charm and intense sexy appeal make her look past his last name. One Wagner man tormented her for most of her senior year. Why would she ever look at Brody as a possible man she could accept a date from or even see in a romantic way?

“Ms. Haughton, will you help me?” Reid hollered, jerking her from her thoughts.

Spinning around, she spotted him reaching for a toy on a shelf way above his head. She pushed Brody out of her mind as she raced over to stop an accident from happening.

There had to be a way to get Brody out of her head. Maybe finding someone else would get him out of her head. Maybe she should have a closer look at that dating website.

Chapter Ten

Relaxing in her bed later that night, Ja’Nael took a sip of her warm blueberry tea as she reread her posting for the fifth time in the span of twenty minutes, wondering if she should just delete the damn stupid thing and try to find a man the old fashion way by going to a night club.

This wasn’t the way she would ever think about finding someone, but Kelcie was right. She couldn’t come back home and slip back into her old introverted ways. When she lived in New York, she loved going out on dates, getting to know people and having fun. At least until her world came crumbling down around her because of deceitful, cruel individuals back at her old job.

Nothing was ever the same for her. No matter how she tried to ignore how her co-workers treated her differently, it didn’t work. Maybe having a guy in her life would bring back some of her fun and upbeat personality.

What about Brody
?

No! She shot down the mere idea of actually taking his flirting and comments seriously. He was just too much man for her. The way his baby blues stared at her almost made her forget that she was a full-figured woman. Not that she had a problem not wearing a size fourteen like the average woman, but men who looked like him always dated the Olive Oyl swim models with their perfectly proportioned bodies.

She would bet a month’s salary not one of his ex-girlfriends ever had to lie down on the bed to zip up a pair of jeans, or went up a pant size to completely cover up their asses.

Nope, he was just a natural flirt. He wasn’t really serious about wanting a date with her. Not if he had the same blood flowing through his veins as Timothy. She wasn’t sure she would
ever
be able to trust Brody because of his brother. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to take that chance even now; despite the fact, she was a grown woman. .

Placing the cup on her nightstand, Ja’Nael looked at her profile—she didn’t add a photograph—then hit Submit before her common sense came in and took over. She closed the laptop then sighed, wondering what in the hell she had just done.

She had either taken a huge step toward her future, or just made a huge lapse in judgment.

* * * * *

“Tell me. How are things going with Reid’s teacher? Have you asked her out on a date yet?”

Taking a sip of his beer, Brody stared at Sheldon sitting on his couch. Tonight was the first night in months that they had the same day off to hang out with each other outside of work. So he invited his buddy over for beer and chips. He needed someone to go over his plan with, and Sheldon was the best person for the job.

“Not good at all,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Brody set his drink on the table and stretched his legs out in front of him.

Frowning, Sheldon leaned forward on the cushion of the couch. “What’s up? I thought you were going to ask her out the next time you saw her.”

“I did, but she turned me down cold. I mean, she didn’t even let me get the sentence out of my mouth before she blew me off.”

His best friend threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Are you telling me that One Shot Wagner can’t get the woman he wants?” he choked out. “All you usually have to do is stare at a woman with those blue eyes and she trips over her own feet getting to you. What happened with Ja’Nael?”

“Her damn sense of right and wrong,” Brody replied matter of factually. “She believes we shouldn’t interact with each other outside of the classroom.”

“It doesn’t sound so unreasonable to me,” Sheldon chimed in. “You barely know anything about her. So why is she so different from other woman?”

“Do you mean besides being super gorgeous and intelligent with a killer body?” Brody questioned.

“Yes.”

Closing his eyes, Brody gathered his thoughts then reopened his eyes. “Man, I get this
feeling
when I see her. I know that I have only seen her a handful of times, but I can’t get her out of my head.”

“It seems to me that this attraction you’re feeling is one-sided. Maybe Ja’Nael isn’t into tall, dumb white guys.”

He glared at Sheldon who could have been a stand-in for the actor Idris Elba.

“Shut up. I can tell she wants me. Her eyes get this dazed look in them, but she’s fighting the chemistry we have. So I’ve thought of a way to get her to know me without knowing it’s actually me doing it.”

Sheldon shook his head and then eyed him as if he was crazy. “What are you talking about? You aren’t making any sense at all. How can Ja’Nael possibility get to know you without knowing it’s you?”

Brody grabbed his beer and took a long swig before answering. “I overheard her talking to one of her friends about this dating website she was thinking about joining. So I’m going to get a membership and answer her personal ad. Why should she go out there into the cyber world looking for a man when I’m more than willing to get something going hot and heavy between us? I want her, and I’m not about to let another man get a chance at her.”

“Brody, I’m not sure if this is a good idea,” his friend said with a slightly worried frown.

Before Sheldon got married, he was the one pushing Brody to do things out of the box to get a woman’s attention at clubs. “I’m shocked,” Brody admitted. “I thought you would be all for this. Aren’t you the one constantly pushing me to have a life outside of raising Reid?”

Sheldon nodded his head. “Yes, I am, when it comes to other things. But after what you told me about Ja’Nael’s relationship with your brother, do you really want to start out on this huge lie with her? Is it because she’s more challenging to you? I thought you liked to get pushed out of your Casanova comfort zone.”

“Funny, stop calling me a Casanova. It makes me sound like an old man. No, I love that she’s so strong-willed. Her independence attracted me. I could see she was different the second I laid eyes on her at Shorty’s gas station all those years ago when she was a teenager. Despite how my brother was treating her, she had this courage about her. She captivated me then, but she was so much younger than me.

“So I just pushed her to the back of my mind and then moved away for college. I thought about her once or twice over the years in passing, but I never thought our paths would cross again until I saw her coming out of the gas station a few days ago. She looked beautiful and every bit the confident woman I—”

“God, you make me want to meet this woman,” his buddy cut in.

“Why?”

“Ja’Nael is the first woman that I can ever remember having you tied up in knots like this. You’re usually more self-confident when you go after a female, but not with her. I’m beginning to wonder if she’s the love of your life.”

“I wouldn’t say she is anywhere near being the love of my life, but I find her very interesting and unique. She makes me want to know more about her. She keeps surprising me with different ways to turn me down. She stimulates me.”

Sheldon chuckled. “Oh, I bet she stimulates a certain part of you. I can tell you really want her to be hands-on with it as well.”

“Man, get your mind out of the dirt. I seriously think I could try to make something with her if she stops using the past to keep me at arm’s length. Timothy is keeping us apart without even knowing it. I really do hate him.”

“Do you think she will be able to overlook the history she has with your family?”

He met his buddy’s inquisitive look. “You know how I am when I get my mind set on something. I never stop until I get what I want.”

Glancing down at his watch, Sheldon cursed. “I’m late. I need to get home and put the baby crib together. I was supposed to be home and hour ago,” he said, getting up from his seat.

Brody tried not to be jealous that his best friend was expecting his first child, but he did have a twinge of envy. “Let me walk you out.”

“No, sit back down,” Sheldon said, waving his hand in his direction. “I know my way out. If you need to talk some more, let me know.”

Sheldon left, leaving him alone to wonder if he was making the right decision about Ja’Nael. He wanted her to see him for
him
, and not for any other reasons that might be clouding her mind.

Chapter Eleven

“Good morning, Ja’Nael. I wasn’t expecting to see you here at the park. What a nice surprise.”

God, why did his voice have to sound so warm and inviting
?

Looking up from the book she was reading, Ja’Nael found Brody looking super hot in a pair of shorts and a simple white shirt that displayed a tattoo on his upper bicep.

This man’s body was
ma
de
to torture
me!

Back when she was living here in Market as a teenager, she always came here to unwind and relax. It was one of her favorite places to sit and be alone with her thoughts, which seemed to be clouded by images of the man standing not ten feet from her.

“Good morning, Mr. Wagner. How are you doing? Where’s Reid?”

“I would be doing a lot better if you call me Brody,” he said, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

The smell of his spicy cologne made her breath catch, and the familiar tingling of excitement raced through her traitorous body. She tried with everything in her not to get lost in his eyes.

“I told you before I shouldn’t call you by your—”

“No, you told me it wouldn’t be professional,” he said, taking the romance book out of her hand. “But we’re at a park on a beautiful Saturday morning, Reid is over there, playing and having the time of his life, so there is no one around to hear you call me Brody.”

Placing the book on the other side of his body, he slid his arm along the back of the bench and moved closer until their shoulders touched.

“Now, call me Brody,” he commanded. “I know it can’t be that hard unless you don’t like my name.”

Brody radiated a vitality that drew her like a magnet. Each and every time she saw him, the pull was more powerful and stronger. A part of her hated the ripple of excitement she felt, while another part secretly liked it, but she would
never
tell him.

“No, your name is fine,” she finally answered. “I don’t have anything against it.”

His eyebrows rose in inquiry. “Really… You act like calling me by it would be committing an eighth deadly sin, and there are only seven of them. So now it’s settled. From this day on, you will call me Brody in and out of the classroom. Unless I can’t trust your word?” he questioned with a slight lifting of his brows.

“You’re right. Calling you by your first name isn’t a problem, Mr—Brody,” she quickly corrected when he gave her a look.

An irresistible grin pulled at the corner of his full mouth, and it was intoxicating. She had to blink a few times to clear her head before she forgot her own name along with his.

“Are you okay?” He moved closer, pressing his fingers against the side of her neck on her pulse.

The slight touch made her weak in the knees. Her body swayed toward his, but she caught herself in time and moved back.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, brushing his warm fingers away from her. “Why?”

“You just look a little lightheaded. I was checking your pulse to make sure the sun wasn’t getting to you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure are.”

The words were spoken low, but she heard them and a spurt of hungry desire spiraled through her at his comment. God, she needed this dating website to work for her, because her willpower was slowly weakening toward Brody’s charms. She was fully aware of the hardness of his thigh brushing against hers.

The involuntary tremors of arousal were beginning to shatter the hard shell that she had built so carefully around her.

“Have you given any more thought to what we talked about the other day?” he asked, his hot breath caressing her cheek.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Stop pretending you don’t feel this,” he said harshly.

She leaned away from him, but he frowned at her and placed his hand on the seat, blocking her in with his large, warm body.