Hot for You (18 page)

“It’s true that doctors make the worst
patients,” Ella said. “I think that goes for firefighters and
paramedics, too.”

Cody scowled. “We don’t have time for this.
That bastard is out there.”

Carilyn reached out and touched his hand.
“We’ll find him.” She gave him a determined look. “I’ll track him
down once I get another laptop.”

“Bastard,” Cody muttered again as the
paramedics helped him to the ambulance where he sat and let them
attend to his injuries. In the darkness, Carilyn hadn’t noticed all
of the cuts and splinters in his skin from the explosion.

Like Carilyn had, Cody refused to go to the
hospital, insisting it was just a mild concussion and a bump on the
head.

“You were out for a while,” Clint said.

“A good ten minutes.” Carilyn wiped a smudge
of dirt from his cheek. “Now we have matching concussions and head
wounds.”

Cody put his palm on her back and gently
rubbed it as he looked into her eyes. “Thank God the explosives
didn’t go off when you were in the house. I don’t know what I’d do
if something happened to you.”

“I feel that way about you, too.” She
swallowed. “We were both fortunate.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, a gentle
kiss, before he drew away again. For a long moment they looked into
each other’s eyes, neither of them saying a word.

Ella drew their attention. “You can both stay
with Clint and me.”

Cody shook his head. “I’m not going to put
you into danger like that. As long as that arsonist is out there,
he could come after us again.”

Ella frowned as Clint came up to her side.
“What will you do?”

“We’ll check into a hotel.” Cody dragged his
hand down his face.

“That would cost a fortune over the long
term,” Ella said.

“Not if we find him soon.” He had a
determined expression. “And we will find him.”

Reese joined the group gathered around Cody.
Reese looked angry. “How are you doing?” He cut his gaze from Cody
to Carilyn.

“Fine.” Cody got up from his seat and
swayed.

Clint pushed Cody back down. “Isn’t this the
sheriff department’s jurisdiction, not Prescott PD’s, cousin?”
Clint asked Reese.

“We’ll be working together on this one,”
Reese said. “I’m going to put this bastard behind bars.”

Carilyn looked around them. The ground was
muddy—the firefighters had apparently used hoses from the stock
tanks and they’d managed to keep the fire from spreading to the one
nearby structure, a storage shed. The other structures, including
the barn and corrals, were a good distance away.

Her throat worked and she swallowed down a
lump as she stared at the fire that was still raging. It looked
eerie in the night, like some great, fiery beast.

She and Cody could have been in there. The
thought that they could have died kept whirling through her
mind.

Her knees wobbled and the next thing she knew
Cody was drawing her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his
neck and rested her head against his chest. He held her close and
all she knew was that she never wanted to let go.

***

By the time Cody and Carilyn had checked into
a hotel, it was early morning and they hadn’t had any sleep. They
collapsed on the bed after undressing and taking showers.

Carilyn passed out from exhaustion. She
hadn’t planned to sleep because someone needed to check on Cody
every hour and she was that person.

When she woke, she blinked and stared around
the darkened room in confusion. Where she was gradually eased into
her consciousness as she noticed a sliver of light peeking through
a gap in the hotel room’s blackout shades.

Horror drained the blood from her body as the
memory of last night slammed into her. The explosion, fire,
Cody.

She bolted upright on the bed. The sheet fell
to her waist. All she wore were black panties and a black bra.

Cody was lying on his side, facing her. The
bed sheet draped his hips, his chest bare. Her back had been to him
as she slept.

Scratched and bruised, he looked slightly
pale, his eyes closed, and her heart squeezed. She reached out and
touched his face, her hand shaking. Was he all right?

His flesh was warm beneath her touch. “Wake
up, Cody.” Her words came out in a hoarse whisper. She cleared her
throat and raised her voice as she shook his shoulder. “Cody. Come
on. Wake up.”

Relief flooded her when his eyelids raised
and he met her gaze. “Hey, sunshine,” he said in a groggy voice
with a faint smile.

She managed a smile, too. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” He put his hand over hers
where it rested on his cheek. “What about you?”

“Good.” She frowned. “I should have stayed
awake and watched out for you.”

“I’m fine.” He squeezed her hand as he
scooted up in bed beside her. “I don’t think my concussion is as
bad as yours was.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Now how
would you know that?”

“I’ve had a couple of concussions before and
this one doesn’t seem nearly as bad,” he said.

She relaxed. “I’m so glad.”

He reached up and stroked the side of her
face as he looked at her intently. “I don’t know what I would have
done if anything had happened to you. I’m in love with you,
Carilyn. You’re a part of me now.”

She stared at him as his words sank in. “You
love me?”

“More than you can imagine.” He nodded. “I’ve
never felt this way about anyone before.”

Her mind whirled. She couldn’t believe what
he’d just told her. But she was leaving…

His smile was almost a little sad as he took
her face in his palms and leaned close to kiss her. When their lips
met it was the sweetest kiss she could ever have imagined.

As he drew away, he looked at her with such
love in his eyes that it melted her heart and soul. “Let me show
you.” He reached behind her and unfastened her bra and she let him
slide the straps down her arms.

She shivered beneath his gaze as he cupped
her breasts in his palms. He lightly flicked her nipples with his
thumbs and she bit her lower lip. He leaned toward her and kissed
her again before taking her into his arms.

“You are so beautiful in so many ways,” he
said as he shifted her and laid her on her back, her head resting
on his pillow.

She looked up at him, her heart pounding
harder. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and
tugged them down, leaving her bared to his gaze.

He shed his boxers and she watched the play
of his muscles as he moved. His naked body was so powerful and he
had a day’s growth of stubble on his jaws.

One thought dominated her mind. Cody was
hers.
Hers
.

And she belonged to him.

All other thought fled her mind. What
mattered was that they were together and they were alive. They both
could have died tonight.

“I don’t want to ever be without you.” His
words echoed her thoughts.

“I’m here, Cody.” She reached out to him and
he took her into his arms.

His big body was so warm and hard against her
smaller, softer one. His erection pressed into her belly as he
kissed her with loving intensity. He smelled of soap from his
shower along with his own masculine scent that drew her even closer
to him.

He moved his lips from hers and started
pressing kisses to her eyelids, her forehead, her cheeks. His lips
were so soft against her skin, his touches so special that it
brought tears to her eyes. It was as if she could feel his emotions
through his fingertips.

“Why are you crying?” He kissed a tear from
the corner of her eye.

“I—” She swallowed. “I could have lost you
tonight.”

“I’m here, sweetheart.” He brushed her lips
with his thumb. “I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her again
before skimming his lips down her neck to the hollow of her throat.
“I want to be with you, be inside you, love you.”

His words touched her soul. “Yes.” She slid
her fingers into his silky hair as he moved his mouth over her
body. He slid one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked. “Now,
Cody,” she said on a moan.

She arched her back at the incredible feeling
of his mouth on her and was barely aware of clenching her fists in
his hair. He ran his tongue over her opposite nipple, teasing it
and making it even harder. The ache between her thighs grew
stronger yet and she squirmed with desire beneath him. Her need for
him was so great it shocked her to her core.

He eased down her body, trailing his lips
from her nipples to the valley between her breasts then kissed his
way to her bellybutton. He dipped his tongue inside and it caused a
thrill to shoot straight between her thighs.

Her skin warmed as he splayed his big hands
on her belly while he moved further down and nuzzled her curls. He
inhaled deeply, audibly drawing in her scent. He slowly pressed
kisses to her mound and to the insides of her thighs and knees. His
lips were firm as he trailed his mouth down to her calves and on to
her ankles. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever
experienced.

He eased back up, pressing his lips to her
skin until he reached her mound again. He slipped two fingers into
her wet core and she gave a soft moan. It turned into a gasp as he
spread her sex open with his fingers and then swiped his tongue up
the length of her folds.

Her body vibrated as she arched her back. He
licked her with long, slow swipes of his tongue that sent waves of
pleasure throughout her. He took his time pleasuring her and when
she came she shuddered with the white-hot fire that traveled
throughout her from head to toe. Her world spiraled up and up and
up until she couldn’t form a coherent thought. Every sensation she
felt was so powerful.

He rose up, moving his hips between her
thighs. He positioned his cock at her entrance then braced his
hands to either side of her shoulders as he looked down at her.

“I love you,” he said as his gaze held hers.
He slid inside her…filling her…stretching her…becoming a part of
her.

Her eyes widened as she felt him as if he’d
slid inside her, body and soul. He moved in and out in at a slow,
deliberate pace.

The way he watched her as he took her made
tears come to her eyes. It was so beautiful that her heart squeezed
and her thoughts spun. It was all too complicated to work through
and right now all she wanted to do was be with him. She didn’t want
to admit it to herself, but she wanted to always be with him.

Not possible
, went through her mind,
but she forced the thought aside.

Her lips parted with pleasure as she linked
her arms around his neck and didn’t take her eyes from his as he
continued to move in and out of her.

In moments another orgasm was building inside
her, drawing her closer and closer to the edge. Her skin heated,
perspiration coating her skin. His body was slick against hers and
a droplet of sweat rolled down the side of his face. He looked like
it was taking all of his control to hold off his own orgasm.

Fire exploded through her, lighting her mind
and body from within. It was like she’d become a furnace inside,
her body heated so much that she felt as though she was
melting.

Colors and lights spun through her mind and a
cry tore from her. He put his mouth over hers, gently holding in
her scream.

More sweat rolled down the side of his face
and he gritted his teeth, his jaw taut, as his brown eyes held
hers.

And then his eyes nearly rolled back in his
head as he climaxed. He bit back a shout and it came out as a
throaty growl. He thrust in and out as his cock throbbed inside her
core.

He came to a stop and braced both hands on
the mattress to either side of her head, his strong arms trembling
as he held himself over her as if trying to control his body. He
lowered his head and kissed her before pressing his lips to her
forehead.

Her lips parted as she looked up at him. He’d
just given himself to her, had made love to her mind and body and
hadn’t asked her for anything in return.

He brought her into the circle of his arms,
cradling her to him, and tucked her head under his chin. She
breathed him in, his masculine scent filling her deeply, his love
warming her soul.

She loved him, she knew she did. Why couldn’t
she tell him?

Too much had happened and was happening. The
arsonist…the fact she lived so far away. She couldn’t just up and
move—

She shut her mind down. Now was not the time
to be thinking about things that she couldn’t make decisions on in
this very moment. She had to think everything through. She didn’t
know exactly what it was she had to think through, but it wasn’t
anything she could just make a snap decision on when Cody had just
told her he loved her.

And the fact that she knew she loved him,
too.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he murmured
against the top of her head.

“Buck-fifty,” she murmured. “Inflation, of
course.”

He gave a slow laugh. “You’re worth every
cent, no matter what you charge.”

“I was just thinking what a wonderful man you
are.” She snuggled closer to him as he slowly stroked her shoulder.
“I’m lucky to know you.”

“You’re a special woman, Carilyn.” He wrapped
his arms around her. “Just know that I don’t intend to let you
go.”

She said nothing as she rested her head
against his chest. She didn’t know what today might bring, or each
day after that, but for now she would enjoy the moment and her time
with Cody.

***

Nathan sat at his kitchen table, a pile of
spent matchsticks on a stainless steel tray in front of him. He
struck another wooden matchstick, and watched it flicker before his
eyes. The flame burned bright as it began to creep down the stick,
closer and closer to his fingers. Mesmerized by the beauty of it,
he could barely breathe.