Putting Out Old Flames (19 page)

“Me too.” She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “I, uh, wanted to tell you that I talked to Leon. I told him I can't go to game nights with him anymore.”

Chance nodded. A pressure he hadn't even realized was on his chest eased, and he took a full breath. “So what do you say to dinner? It doesn't have to be pizza, but I'd love for you to join us. And I have an idea for an auction item I'd like to discuss with you.”

Josh pulled at Chance's hand. “Jane likes pizza. Don't you?” he asked her.

“Well, of course—”

“See!” He grabbed her hand, too. “It's all settled.”

Jane's eyes crinkled at the edges. She held Chance's gaze above Josh's head, a smile dancing around her lips. “I guess it's all settled.”

Josh led them to the SUV, practically pushing Jane into the passenger's seat before clambering into the back.

“He takes pizza very seriously,” Chance explained. He really would have to talk with his son about manners.

“Pizza is important,” she agreed. “You do it right, and it's got all the food groups together in one slice.”

“Yeah,” his son agreed. “All six food groups.”

Chance shook his head, got behind the wheel. The Pizza Pit was across town, by the highway, and Chance sketched out his idea for the auction item to Jane on the way.

“Your training wall is what, four stories high?” Jane asked when he'd finished.

“Eight.”

“And you want to strap someone into a thin fabric harness and tell them to go out a window at eight stories high and climb down the side of a building?” She shook her head, eyes wide. “And you expect someone to pay for this near-death experience?”

Chance smiled. “The training exercises are a hell of a lot of fun. But that's just a part of it. I think we should promote it as a day as a firefighter. We'll show the winner around, demonstrate all the equipment, let him slide down the pole, ride in the truck, and experience some of the training we have to go through. Not only will people pay for that, but it's a great way to raise awareness of what firefighters do.”

Chance swung into the parking lot. “In fact, I think we could open this item up to a group of winners. Maybe the top five bidders can get a day as a Pineville firefighter.”

She still looked skeptical.

“And we'll barbecue them a nice lunch.”

She opened her door. “Well, I know you guys can cook, that's for sure.”

Chance unstrapped his son and joined her in front of the car. He narrowed his eyes. “Which of the guys has cooked for you? Did you date one of my men?”

She gave him a little smile and took Josh's hand. They walked ahead into the restaurant. Chance couldn't complain at being left behind. She was wearing those jeans again, the dark blue ones that hugged her every curve, and the view from behind was fantastic. The high-heeled ankle boots she wore gave her steps a little more strut than usual.

Chance swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He did some quick calculations. He usually read a story to Josh at around eight thirty, bed by nine. After that, he could spend hours with Jane and still be home before Josh woke up at six. Thank God his sister lived with him.

Crap. His sister. He sent off a text telling her that he and Josh were going out to dinner and not to wait for them, then followed Jane and his son into the building. Inside, it was chaos. Kids screaming, bells on the game machines ringing, and a loud thumping beat coming from invisible speakers.

Jane was digging in her purse. She gave his son a handful of quarters. “Have fun,” she told him. “We'll order the pizza and . . .” But he was already gone.

Chance slung an arm around her shoulders. “Don't worry. He'll find us when the pizza comes. He has an amazing ability to know just when we get served.” They walked to the order line. “You still like pepperoni with bell peppers and onions?”

“Yeah.” She snuggled into his side, and his chest ballooned. “I guess my tastes haven't changed much since high school.”

His pulse pounded in time to the music. Chance hoped she was right. Because
he'd
been to her taste in high school, and the more time he spent with Jane, the more he wanted to.

His back pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone and read the text from his sister. Frowned.

“What's wrong?” Jane asked.

“Nothing. My sister says she has plans tonight, too.”

“And that's a problem because . . . ?”

“No problem. She deserves to go out more. Have fun.” He stepped up to the register and placed their order. Looking for an empty table, he led Jane through the crowd. It kept gnawing at him. “But she doesn't know anyone here,” he burst out. “Just her doctor. And if she's going out with that married sixty-year-old, there's going to be a problem.”

Jane wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed. “Katie is young, friendly, and attractive. I'm sure she's met lots of people since you moved here. Even as a kid, she had a good head on her shoulders. Don't worry so much.”

He snorted. “That person with a good head on her shoulders passed out a couple of weeks ago because she couldn't be bothered to test her blood-sugar levels.” His shoulders tensed. “Maybe she should go out with the pervy doctor. At least he'd keep her from eating a hot fudge sundae.”

Jane pulled him onto the bench seat next to her. She rubbed her hand on his thigh. She meant the gesture to be soothing, he was sure, but it had the opposite effect on him. And since they were in a pizza parlor surrounded by children where he couldn't do anything about it, he rested his hand over hers and held it tight.

“Katie's an adult,” she said. “You can help her and give her support, but ultimately the choices she makes are her own. It sounds like this is all new for her. I'm sure it's a hard adjustment to make.” Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed. “When you're in your early twenties, you think you're invincible. She found out her body isn't indestructible. That's rough.”

Her hair tickled his cheek. Her shorter hairstyle suited the woman she'd become, spunky and sexy. He breathed in the vanilla scent of her shampoo.

“How old were you when your dad died?” he asked.

“About Katie's age.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair. “I'm sorry, baby. He was a good man. Always treated me fairly.” His lips tilted up. “Considering what I was doing to his little girl, he treated me better than I deserved.”

She laughed, and the sound lightened his heart.

A teenage waiter placed a pitcher of cola on the table with three glasses, then came back with the pizza. Right on cue, Josh raced up to the table. He crawled onto the seat next to Chance. With Jane on his right and his son at his left, Chance was pretty much exactly where he wanted to be.

“Can I have some pop?” Josh asked.

Chance raised an eyebrow.

“Pleease?”

He set his son up, and made sure Jane's glass was full. “Dig in, everyone.”

Jane ate a couple of bites. “Chance, this idea you have for a firefighter's day. Don't you think the liability will be too big? What if someone gets hurt?”

“No one's going to get hurt. We have lots of safety measures. And we won't be simulating a burning building.” He nudged her with his elbow. “Just because you obviously aren't interested in my job,” he teased, “doesn't mean other people aren't. People love this stuff.”

“Dad's going to let me climb the building,” Josh added.

Jane's eyes rounded in horror.

“See? I wouldn't let my son do it if it wasn't safe.” He reached for another slice. “Tell you what. I'll show you what I have planned. If you still don't think it's safe, and you have legitimate reasons for your concern, we won't do it. Deal?”

She eyed him warily. “What all will this demonstration entail?”

He grinned. “You'll find out.”

Meal finished, Josh scooted off the bench. “Jane! Jane! You have to come do dance move with me.”

“Dance move?”

“It's a game,” Chance said. “You have to copy the dance moves on the screen in front of you.”

“I'm not much of a dancer.” Jane shook her head. “I don't think I'd be good at it.”

Josh batted his eyes. “Pleease?”

Chance stood, pulling Jane up with him. “He said the magic word, Jane. You can't refuse him now. What kind of lesson would he learn?”

She narrowed her eyes, a cute little growl escaping her lips. Turning a sweet smile to Josh, she held out her hand. “Let's go, kiddo. Just don't expect too much from me.”

Chance maneuvered himself into a good location to view the fun. No way was he going to miss Jane bouncing up and down. Just to make sure she had plenty of time to shake her stuff, he slid a five into the machine. That should give them several games.

He wasn't disappointed. The cotton shirt she wore did little to hide the slide of her breasts as she hopped from one foot to the other. And when the screen showed her a move to turn to one side and wiggle her ass, Chance's whole body hummed.

She watched the screen with a singular focus, intent on following each move exactly. After two games, Josh left the raised platform, his chest heaving and feet dragging. Jane was just getting started.

A young girl who looked about ten joined Jane on the floor. She gave a flip to her long brown hair. “I have the high score on this game,” she said.

“Really.” Jane pulled off her ankle boots and tossed them to Chance. “Let's see what you've got.”

Chance laid a hand on Josh's shoulder. Leaning down, he said, “I think you've created a monster.”

“I
s he asleep?” Jane asked.

“Yes.” Chance propped the screen door open with his shin, snuck an arm out, and pulled her into his body. “And you don't need to whisper. He sleeps like a rock.”

“Then why are you whispering, too?”

Grinning, he bent his head down until their mouths were millimeters apart. “Peer pressure?” His breath danced across her lips.

She rested a hand on his pec. It twitched beneath the thin cotton tee. “You never succumbed to peer pressure.” Jane, on the other hand, had fallen for whatever line Chance had thrown her way. A smile, a raised eyebrow, and she'd been wrapped around his little finger.

“Must be succumbing to something else then.” Closing the distance, he kissed the corner of her mouth, nibbled on her bottom lip.

“Katie—”

“Isn't home. Her car's not here and she texted me not to wait up. Now stop talking, woman.”

Jane sighed and sank into his hold. She tipped her head back, and Chance obliged her unspoken request, moving his mouth to her throat. “Chance?”

“Hmm?” His mouth vibrated against her skin, and she smiled.

“What are we doing?”

Raising his head, he looked down at her, his dark eyes glittering from the porch light. “Well, if you can't tell, I must be doing something wrong.” He tugged her inside, let the screen door snick shut. “And I'm tired of giving the neighbors a show. Let's go upstairs and I'll show you, in great detail, what we're doing.” He kicked the front door closed and advanced on Jane.

The heat in his eyes just about melted her into a puddle, but this had been weighing on Jane's mind for a while and she wanted some sort of answer. She held up a hand, and he walked right into it, pinning her hand to his chest under his own broad palm. “I'm serious, Chance. I know I said I didn't want anything too serious, and I still don't”—
liar
—“but I also don't want to be your post-divorce hookup. I have to live in this town, and I don't want to be embarrassed.”

He dropped his hand. “Why would you say that? Why would you even think that?”

Jane wrapped her arms around her waist. “We're just getting to know each other again. You've lived a whole life without me. I'm not sure what's going through your head.”

“And I embarrassed you once before, right?” A layer of granite lay under his words. “This is still about that damned card.”

Jane blinked, her eyes burning. “You left me like I was nothing. You obviously meant more to me than I did to you. I don't want to make the same mistake twice.”

He moved so fast Jane would have jumped back if Chance's arms hadn't wound around her, pulled her close. “Don't ever think that you didn't mean the world to me. You were my best friend, Jane. I loved you.” Pulling back, he gripped the back of her neck, forced her to look him in the eye. “But the love of an eighteen-year-old isn't worth a whole hell of a lot. At least not this eighteen-year-old. I wanted to experience everything, and I didn't think I could do that if I was settled down with the girl that I'd known since I was fourteen.”

“I believe you.” She cupped his cheek, his day-old stubble scratching her palm. “That still doesn't take away the hurt. I would have followed you anywhere. But that was just me being foolish. You always were smarter.”

“Bull.” Resting his forehead against hers, Chance closed his eyes. “Can't we just agree that we were on different wavelengths back then? We needed different things. But we're both older and hopefully wiser. I will never intentionally embarrass or hurt you.”

It was the intentional part that was a sticking point for Jane. Yes, Chance was older and wouldn't pull the same teenage crap he had before. But he had his own life, a career, and a son that he had to look out for. He'd cut her out of his world if she interfered with any of those three. He might not want to, but he could still rip her heart in two.

Something had changed for her at dinner that night. Playing with Josh, eating as part of their family, a shift had occurred. She'd never spent much time around children, and now she felt like she'd been missing out. Josh had become special to her.

No matter how she might fight it, she wanted the McGovern boys.

And there was no way in hell she could let Chance know.

So she kissed him, ending the conversation. It started out sweet, she and Chance trying to reassure each other. He kept his lips soft as he ran his hands down her back to the curve right above her bottom. Clenching his fists, he dug his fingers into her shirt, pulling it tight across her stomach, making Jane feel that he was desperate to hold on to her.

She didn't care if it wasn't true. Thoughts of the future evaporated from her mind like mist in the morning light. Chance was in her arms now, and that's all her body cared about. Hopes and regrets were for the morning.

Wrapping one arm around his neck, she threaded her other in his hair, deepening the kiss. She plunged her tongue into his mouth, felt his dance across hers. A shiver raced down her spine as he took control, explored every corner of her mouth, and nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth.

Jane whimpered. His chest was rock hard beneath her achy breasts, and he smelled of soap, pizza, and man. It felt like his hands were everywhere. He possessed her entirely, and it had never felt so good to lose herself.

He smoothed his hands down her backside, lifted her up against him until she had no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. Taking the stairs two at a time, Chance sucked her earlobe into his hot mouth.

“Oh shit.” Jane's body was an exposed wire.

“Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “Josh is just down the hall.”

There was no way she'd make it to his room.

“Then don't do that,” she moaned as he pressed her against the wall inside his bedroom door, every part of him lining up perfectly with her.

“What?” He rocked his hips into her. “That?”

Coherent words were beyond her. She took his mouth again, only releasing it to pull his T-shirt and her top over their heads. “Bed. Now.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

He laid her down over the soft comforter as if she were as fragile as a piece of crystal, and she blinked back tears. He kissed her, softly, sweetly, all down her body as he dragged her pants and underwear off her legs. She could barely gasp past the lump that sat heavy in the base of her throat. Every action screamed that he was making love to her.

The soft brush of his fingertips across her stomach spoke of tenderness. The drag of his nose from her collarbone up her neck, his sigh as he inhaled her scent, expressed his desire for her in a way no words ever could. Unless she was reading him all wrong, Chance was as crazy about her as she was about him.

Please don't be reading this wrong
.

Reaching under the bed, he pulled out a small box and placed it on the duvet before shucking his pants. He settled himself over her, face to face. Tracing a path from her temple to her chin with his index finger, Chance never took his eyes off hers.

She could drown in those eyes. Already she found it hard to breathe, each inhalation ragged, shaky. She knew he must feel the rapid pounding of her heart, because she could feel his, the strong beat steady against her breast.

The urgency of the front porch had disappeared. Chance seemed to have all the time in the world. He nuzzled her neck, sucked at the patch of skin below her ear, and scraped his teeth down to that sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder.

His bite was light, but Jane felt the possession straight to her core. “Oh God,” she whispered.

His lips curved against her skin. If he wasn't making her feel so good, she would have chewed him out for smiling at her weakness. It wasn't fair. On this bed, she was completely at his mercy.

He continued his path down, nibbling here, licking there. His tongue was lethal, his lips sinful. He found a particularly sensitive spot, sucked, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Clenching his hair in her fists, she begged. “Sweet Jesus, please. Please, Chance.”

He ignored her pleas. He'd taken that children's story about the tortoise and the hare too much to heart. But his slow and steady wasn't going to win any races, it was going to kill her. When her eyesight had grown dim except for the flickering splashes of light dancing across her retinas, when her lungs burned with the strain of sucking down air, finally, finally he reared up, taking mercy on her.

Sheathing himself, he settled into the cradle of her hips. He tugged her hands from his hair and threaded his fingers with hers, pressing them down beside her head. “Jane . . .” A furrow appeared between his eyebrows.

Terrified of what he might say, knowing it could destroy her, Jane lifted her head and closed her mouth over his. She thought he might pull away; Chance was never one to be silenced. But his mouth was hot and eager. He devoured her, pressing her head down until she was pinned between the pillow and Chance's lips. He only let up on his oral assault when he gave a soft grunt and pushed his way into her body.

Her core softened, allowed him deep, until they were hip to hip. His gaze held hers, his eyes as hot as paper when it catches fire, the brown edges turning darker until Jane only saw black. She was on fire with him, her body melting like wax, her skin so heated she thought she'd combust.

She wanted to touch him, feel the slick muscles of his back, but he held her hands firm. She could do nothing but accept him. Accept his pace, accept his control, accept his love.

So she did. She stopped worrying about how much she might mean to him, stopped wondering if he'd end up hurting her, and reveled in the feeling of being cherished. As he rocked into her and the heat grew, so did the intimacy. She'd never felt this close to anyone before, not even the eighteen-year-old Chance.

The world around them faded, and Jane hoped Josh was as good a sleeper as his father promised. Because she didn't think she could keep quiet. Chance brought too much feeling up in her, a flood of emotions that she couldn't suppress. They needed an outlet. The peak he drove her toward was like a seething caldera, waiting to erupt.

Lowering his head, he covered her mouth with his. The kiss was slow, deep, a sweet contrast to the determined pistoning of his hips. She couldn't contain the cry that tore from her throat.

He swallowed down the sound, never breaking their kiss even as her screams turned to whimpers. He stayed with her, devouring her mouth until he reached his own completion, rasped out his own muttered curses, groaned deeply.

Chance executed a neat roll, pulling her to rest on top of his heaving chest. Sweat slicked his flesh, and Jane traced the curve of his pec, the ridges of his abdomen as she came down from her own high. She was wrung out, physically and emotionally, as if she'd just finished her first marathon.

Only Chance could do that to her.

He slid his hand around the curve of her bottom, and squeezed. “Janey-girl, that was . . .”

“Yeah.”

They listened to each other breathe for a minute.

“Chance?”

“Hmm?”

She wrinkled her nose. “You keep your condoms under your bed?”

His rumbling chest jostled her. “You don't like that decorating style?” he asked. “Don't worry. It's temporary until I get a bedside table.”

She looked around his room for the first time. Aside from the bed, no other furniture dented the thick carpet. Half-packed boxes littered the room, a small television perched precariously on top of an upended cardboard box.

“I made sure to get Josh's room and the rest of the house organized, but I let my own room slide. I didn't think anyone would see it.” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hugged her close, and breathed deeply. “I'll get it put together soon.”

The front door banged shut. Jane tensed. Her escape route just became more complicated. “Katie's home.”

“'Bout damn time,” Chance muttered.

“How late does she usually go to sleep?” Jane asked. “I know she's an adult, but she's still your little sister and I'd prefer to avoid her on my way out of your bed.”

He trailed his fingers up her spine, eliciting a shiver from her sated body. “She can be a real night owl. But she likes to sleep in late. Probably be better if you stayed until morning.”

“How convenient,” Jane said.

“Isn't it though?”

“Well”—she pushed up to her elbows and stared down at him— “if I'm stuck here for the night, you'd better make it worth my while.”

A wicked smile curled his lips. “Trust me. Tonight is going to be worth both our whiles.”

He rolled, lightning quick, and proved just how right he was.