New Recruit (12 page)

“Nice seeing you, Rick,” she threw over her shoulder as Jagger led her away.

When they reached their lane again, she smiled up into his eyes. “That was nice.”

“What?” He looked far from nice at the moment—his brows were drawn and that muscle fluttered in the corner of his jaw.

“You being nice to a guy I was talking to instead of jumping to conclusions that I was going to run off with the man.” Carefully, she watched his reaction.

“I realize you wouldn’t be with a man like Rick.”

“Oh, so he’s not a threat.”

“Right.”

“But Gabriel is.”

His eyes hooded as he studied her. It was clear he didn’t want to discuss the topic.

Leaning close, she placed her hands on his broad chest. “Did someone cheat on you in the past, Jagger?”

She didn’t see how it was possible. He was every woman’s dream—brains, brawn, and heroism in spades.

“No,” he said gruffly. “This is new to me.”

That made her withdraw a bit to look him fully in the face. “What do you mean?”

“This need to keep you with me.” He waved a hand as if unable to pin down his feelings. “I don’t want you walking away from me, Hanna.”

It was the closest she’d get to a sweet moment, and boy, was it a bomb to her heart. A bit more of her wall crumbled whether she wanted it to or not. When he caught her chin between his big thumb and forefinger and drew her onto tiptoe to kiss her, she wrapped her arms around him and gave herself up to the moment.

To Jagger.

»»•««

The blare of the alarm on Jagger’s phone had him bolting upright in bed and Hanna groaning beside him. Disorientation struck, and it took five full heartbeats to realize he was in his own bed. He’d spent so much time in Hanna’s recently. But after bowling she’d come over and helped him unpack most of the kitchen boxes.

He reached onto his nightstand and shut off the noise, fully awake. Adrenaline always ruled his system when he heard his fire ringtone, but this time was different.

Another arson call—his gut told him so.

Hanna’s small hand escaped the covers and clamped around his wrist. When he looked at her, her eyes were sleepy but sad. “Don’t go.”

“Have to,” he said grittily and climbed out of bed. In seconds he was dressed. Before he left, he dropped a kiss to her temple, inhaling the fresh notes of her shampoo. “Go back to sleep. You have a few hours before dawn.”

As he straightened, he fought to clear his head. Slipping back into bed—and pulling her into his arms—was the only thing on his mind. But he needed his wits for a thousand different reasons.

By the time he reached the station, he was clear-headed. But not for long. The instant guys started sliding down the pole, images of his sexy little Hanna grinding her pussy against the metal washed through his mind.

He bit the inside of his cheek, hoping the pain replaced the sexual haze she left him with. Exactly seven minutes later he was entering a smoke-filled parking garage. His team members were battling the flames leaping from a luxury car but he knew the fire hadn’t started there.

No, he’d learned his lesson and had gone into the place with eyes wide open. He wasn’t going to risk walking past the arsonist again. But he hadn’t seen a single person on the deserted level, which meant whoever had done this had blocked the elevators, the stairs, or both.

Why lure them to this floor? There were few cars parked here at this time of night. Jagger racked his brain for clues to piece together with the security camera footage from the previous fire, but nothing meshed.

In under an hour they had the flames extinguished and the best arson investigator in the city was on the case. Still keyed up, Jagger paced near the wall where the fire had begun.

When a hand landed on his shoulder, he glanced around to find Gabriel. The man looked as weary as he felt. “You need to go home and sleep, dude,” Jagger said.

The corner of his lips twitched. “Yeah, I’m not getting much sleep lately.”

“Me either. But we need to rest up for that fundraiser car wash tomorrow.”

Gabriel slapped him on the back. “Buddy, it already
is
tomorrow. Some of us are going to get pancakes. Want to join us?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say no, he was going straight home and crawl into bed with Hanna, but another light bulb switched on in his head. “Sure, and I’ll see if Hanna will join me.”

Gabriel arched a brow. “You sure you want her near some of these players we work with? I know firsthand how possessive you can get.”

Jagger pushed a breath through his nose. “Sorry about that. I knew you weren’t making a move. I just lose my head a little over her.”

“I get it. No hard feelings. Call her and meet us at the diner, okay?”

Jagger took a final look around the parking garage. The low light of morning was filtering through the open sides and the car that had been set ablaze stood like a charred ruin. Whatever the clues, he couldn’t connect them. Each fire seemed so random. And he wasn’t trained to investigate arson—someone else was. Maybe the person who cracked the case didn’t need to be him. His team had stopped calling him rookie, and Jagger wasn’t singlehandedly responsible for finding this guy.

Yeah, maybe he could relax just a little and let the better guy for the job step up.

On the ride back to the firehouse he texted Hanna. No response, so he called her. After five rings he went to voicemail, but he didn’t leave a message. He texted and called her twice more, but still she didn’t respond.

He peeled off his gear and sweat-soaked clothes and walked naked into the showers. Dammit, just as he believed he was getting somewhere with her, she hid behind her brick wall. Well, let her hide this time. What she didn’t know was he was skilled at taking down walls to get at the burning heart of the flames. Hanna might have found a reprieve but he wouldn’t let her hide forever.

»»•««

“Wait. You brought me to the firehouse?” Hanna glared at Joey and refused to take another step toward the parking lot. There were car wash signs and a banner. Somewhere nearby she smelled the stomach-cramping, delicious smoke of something being grilled.

But she didn’t want to get within ten city blocks of Jagger. After he’d left her in his bed, she’d felt like such an idiot. How she’d fallen back into liking a man so much that she allowed his leaving to puncture the happiness from her was beyond her. She should have learned with Dominic. She thought she
had
learned.

“C’mon, Hanna. Stop holding a grudge. Your hunky fireman is a nice guy,” Joey said.

“He’s far too busy, and you know I won’t be with someone so married to his job.”

Joey gave her that look that any woman—or man—would melt for. But not her. She stood her ground and refused to budge an inch.

“There’s a difference between saying you’re going to work so you can screw around with another woman and what Jagger’s doing. You know that, right?” He softened his tone and his eyes were shiny with concern. Both irritated her further, because she was already annoyed with herself. Her brain knew these things. So why wouldn’t her heart catch up?

Because it had a big chunk sliced out of it by Dominic.

It seemed that Jagger was fighting a losing battle—she was broken.

“Don’t you feel terrible when Gabriel runs out to fight a fire, leaving you in the middle of what you were doing with him?”

Joey gave her a sinful smile. “If we’re in the middle of something, then we’ll want it more later. Besides, they’re helping people, Hanna.”

“I know.” She pushed out a sigh and shoved her fingers through her hair. “So why can’t I make my heart realize this?”

“Because your jackass ex hurt you deeply and you have abandonment issues.”

“Fuck, you’re right. I do.”

“Now that we’ve got that in the open, c’mon.” Joey grabbed her hand and started to march her right up to the firehouse. No amount of dragging her heels would stop him, so eventually she gave up and walked like a normal person instead of a toddler. If she was going to see Jagger, she wanted to appear pulled together even if her heart was pounding like a war drum.

“Mother of God,” Joey breathed from Hanna’s side as they walked up to the most erotic sight to ever take place on the south side of the city. Half-naked firemen everywhere. And not only were man chests rippling as they washed cars for every woman who drove past, their flesh glistened with water droplets.

As Hanna watched Jagger peer into a car window to accept some cash, she let her gaze skate all over his muscled body. His jeans hung low on his hips, his steel-toed boots darkened from the overspray of water.

When he smiled at the driver, Hanna waited for the shock of jealousy that would have resulted from an encounter like this with Dominic. But none came. Curiously, took a step closer. Five seconds ago she’d felt Jagger was no different from her ex. So why the sudden change?

Maybe it was the fact that Jagger had smiled at the woman, taken her money for her car wash, and then straightened and walked away. He hadn’t been flirting or showing extra interest. Dominic would have come away with her number.

A shout sounded, and she looked around just as one of the firefighters lifted the hose into the air and doused five other guys who were standing around talking. As if of one mind, they started walking toward the man who’d drenched them, big arms swinging at their sides and muscles rolling.

“No wonder Gabriel comes home with a boner every day,” Joey said.

She laughed. “Does it bother you that he would find some of these guys attractive?”

“Look at them. There’s no way to avoid how built they are, and I’d be looking if I worked here.”

“Do they know he’s gay?”

“He isn’t gay,” Joey said absently, staring in another direction. She couldn’t blame him. There was so much gorgeousness to take in. The one female firefighter from East Street stood off to the side, scrubbing a black truck. She wore a firehouse T-shirt and cutoffs but at some point had been wet to the skin.

“What do you mean Gabriel isn’t gay?” She pitched her voice lower so as not to out
him if he wasn’t already.

“He’s had both male and female lovers.”

Damn, maybe she’d chosen the wrong fireman. But when she spotted Jagger strolling back across the parking lot with a bucket in hand, her body screamed that no, she’d definitely picked the right man.

He glanced up and caught sight of her. He set down the bucket and continued that predatory strut toward her that hardened her nipples and made her panties instantly worthless.

“Here comes your man. I see Gabriel. Find me before you leave, Hanna.” Joey vanished, leaving her alone to quiver in her boots as Jagger neared. His eyes were heavy-lidded—a look she recognized well. She took a step back.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls this morning?”

She was faced with his big, bulky chest. His nipples were two small pebbles set into his carved pecs. The love trail she’d worshiped many times was slicked to his skin with wetness. She darted her tongue across her suddenly dry lips. Why didn’t somebody turn that hose on her? She was going to combust standing here.

When he gently grasped her arm, she snapped out of her daze and tried to answer. She opened her mouth and closed it again, no words coming to mind. She hadn’t answered the call because her instinct was to tuck her head inside her protective shell and pretend that she didn’t care.

“You ignored my calls.” His voice was flat but the spark in his eyes was unmistakable. She’d riled him. If she glanced down, she’d see the bulge in his jeans.

Flirting with danger, she tipped her head coyly and said, “Maybe I did ignore them.”

A throaty noise left him, and then he was whipping her off her feet and striding fast for the nearest ladder truck. Chrome and equipment flashed in front of her vision as he set her down on a long bench seat where several men could easily ride in full gear.

Without missing a beat, he cupped her breasts, fitted himself between her thighs, and kissed her. The slow flip of his tongue in counterbalance to the urgent pulses of his cock against her pussy made her feel as if she were filled with helium.

She grappled for something to hold onto. Her hands slid down his damp spine. Hooking her fingers into his waistband, she yanked him into her. They shared a groan, and then he was lifting her top and popping her breast from her bra cup. The moment his scalding mouth met her hard peak, she was lost.

She no longer cared that she was in a fire truck and anybody could open the door and catch them. “I need you. Here—now.”

He nibbled her lower lip with a slowness that frustrated the hell out of her. She reached for his fly.

“No.” He halted her with a hand on her wrist. “Let me ease you.” His eyes glittered with excitement as he slid his hand into her leggings and right to her soaking center. He stroked her outer lips while she writhed and buried her face against his neck.

When he pressed the fabric of her panties into her opening, she began to quake. The tension inside was unbearable, and being on the verge of being caught was sending her up the steep cliff of bliss far faster than ever before.

He shifted his finger, found the edge of her panties, and plunged a finger deep into her channel. She split around the invasion. He trapped her muffled cry with his kiss as he sank his finger into her pussy over and over. Twisting her nipples one at a time. The rasp of his palm over her needy clit was too good. So good. She couldn’t last if he went on this way and didn’t want to try.

She bucked, and he held her prisoner with his arms and body, driving her to the brink of insanity.

“Tell me what my girl needs,” he breathed into her ear.

She cried out. “To come,” she squeaked.

“Like this?” He pulled back to watch her face, which must be contorting with the pleasure he was forcing on her. Her pussy clenched madly around his thick finger. He angled it upward and stroked an inner point that made her throw her head back in abandon.

Higher and higher she climbed. Focusing solely on her inner needs and giving him control of whatever happened outside of her body. He’d keep her safe. The realization came with the most ground-shaking orgasm imaginable.