Rumor Has It (8 page)

He picked up her shampoo and squeezed some into his hand, then moved her so that the spray was at his back and she was out of the water. He looked beautiful and rugged when he was dry, but he was the ultimate sexy when water was added. He should definitely come with a warning label. Dangerous when wet.

When he spun her around, she was mildly irritated that she couldn’t see him anymore, but that was before he put those large hands to good use. She’d never had such a gentle, but thorough, washing of her hair.

“Have you done this before?” she asked and then wanted to pull the words back even before the sentence was complete.

“Shh. You’re not supposed to ask questions like that.”

“Oh…you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Shh. You’re not allowed to apologize.”

“Right. Sorry—sorry for saying sorry.” They both chuckled as he switched places with her. She felt him all around her as he helped rinse her hair free from the shampoo and then repeated the process with the conditioner.

When she was turned out of the water the third time, she picked up a bar of soap and started to rub his chest with it.

“I wasn’t done with you yet.”

She could feel his deep voice rumble through his chest. “Liam, you can’t keep your hands in my hair and not expect me to go crazy. If you ever get tired of being a firefighter, you may be able to do some work as the hair-washing person at a high-end salon. You’d be rich.”

“You think so, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“I want to touch you now.” He relinquished his control to her, and she was giddy with power.

“Where do you want me?”

“Everywhere.” She tried to be cheeky with it, but it sounded like a deep desire, so she laughed to make it seem like it was a joke.

He leaned against the back wall of the shower and let her wash his body. He was a fine specimen of a man. She ran her hands over him, fascinated with all the peaks and valleys of his muscles. He wasn’t overly hairy—just sparse hair over his pecs—but the dark hair got thicker below his belly button.

She was paying very close attention to that area and getting ready to wash what was getting to be her very favorite part when he stopped her and stripped the soap from her hands.

“My turn,” he said as he spun her away from him.

There must be a reason he didn’t want her to handle his most intimate part, and it made her extremely upset. She wouldn’t go into it now, but if they were going to continue, she wanted as much freedom to explore his body as she gave him to explore hers.

He picked up the bodywash she loved so much and smelled it.

“Hmmm…this is why I always want to take a big bite out of you. Vanilla-rose sugar scrub. That sounds delicious, but your pussy tastes better than anything I’ve ever put my mouth on.”

“Thanks.” She tried to smile but knew it wasn’t her best effort.

“How do you usually put it on?”

“With the net scrubby that’s behind you.”

He turned to look at the net ball and turned back to her. “I think I’ll do it my way.”

HE MOVED TOWARD her and rubbed his hands together before placing them on her breasts. The small circles he was making with the sweet-smelling foam was mesmerizing, and then he made bigger circles, engulfing more of her body with each swipe. When her whole body was covered with suds and she was moaning with every glide of his hands across her body, he was satisfied. He enjoyed every pluck of her nipples, and every time he got near the pulsating bundle of nerves between her legs she shuddered and moaned.

He brought her back to the water and kissed her as he rinsed them both of the suds they’d rubbed on each other.

She was so hot, he thought about turning the water to cool, but then he’d have to let go of her body, and he wasn’t prepared to do that.

He knew she was upset he hadn’t let her have as much fun with his cock as she wanted to, but something about her made him supersensitive. Watching the reverent expression cross her face and the excitement he felt just by being around her was too much. Chill out for a few days and let this rest; that was what needed to be done. He’d told her not to expect more than one night, but he was the one who’d initiated this shower of doom.

Staying was what he desired, but the decision was made and he was going to stick to it. He was going to relax her in the best way he knew how, tuck her in, and then say good night. That should be something he could handle. In his mind it was settled; he’d come up with a good plan, although his body did not seem to agree. His arms ached to hold her, and he wanted nothing more than to lie with her—smelling her hair, touching her body, and starting the cycle of drive Raina wild.

Stopping the kiss, he turned her so she would be able to rinse off the front of her body, then sneaked his hand down her body to the bundle of nerves that would relax her and make him feel better about what was going to happen. She’d been aroused the whole time they’d been in the shower. They both had, but he knew this climax was going to be good and loud. She was practically purring as it was.

“You have such a pretty kitty, Raina. Open up and let me stroke it.” He placed her leg up on the built-in seat, giving him lots of room to work.

Raina turned her head to get a kiss, and he obliged her as he tried to stimulate as many hot spots as possible. It didn’t take long before she let go of his mouth and let out a loud, shaky groan that almost made him erupt just from hearing it. She was pretty limp when she finished.

He turned off the water and got out first to get her one of the fluffiest towels he’d ever seen. He wrapped her in one and watched her dry off as he did the same.

“How was that?”

“Perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a shower more,” she said with a huge smile that was as sexy as it was coy. He didn’t want to say that he didn’t either, so he smiled back at her.

He watched her become slightly self-conscious, which was funny since he’d not only seen her body but had spent the better part of an hour touching, rubbing, and tasting it.

He put on his clothes, and she put on a purple tank top and pajama bottoms.

“Are you sleepy?” he asked. The smile she turned on him made his heart leap to his throat and solidify the plan he was going to carry out. He’d made sure that no woman was going to be in a position to take his heart and crush it, but for the first time, he wasn’t sure there wasn’t a woman already in that position.

“Yes. Hold on.” She brushed her hair into a ponytail high on her head and then jumped into bed. “I want to take care of you now.”

“As great as that sounds, I have to go.”

“What? But…you don’t want to go home with that, do you?” She pointed at the semi-stiffy that was just hanging around because it wanted to see Raina, even if that wasn’t in the plan.

“No worries, Raina. I’m fine.” He walked over and pulled up her covers. Gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and prepared to leave.

“Are you really going home?”

“I’ll probably stop by the Fire Hydrant just to see what the fellas are up to, but I’ll be heading home soon. I’m pretty tired myself.”

“You could just stay here and snuggle with me.” By the look on her face, his must have shown something akin to horror, because she just turned over. “Just kidding. Hey, turn out the lights and make sure the door locks when you leave.”

“Of course. I always want to make sure you’re safe. See you on Sunday at the auction meeting. Eight o’clock, right?”

“Yep.” She yawned, and he knew she wanted him to be gone.

“Have a good sleep.” He closed her door and walked down the hall, but he could have sworn he heard something hit the door. He wasn’t going back to see what it was; as it happened, he wanted to kick his own ass.

Chapter Five

Although he’d told Raina he was going to go to the bar, Liam ended up going home and being ticked off at his behavior and for making Raina upset. He didn’t think he’d ever been happier to be at work. At least he knew what he was doing and he was good at it. Not that he wasn’t good with women, but he knew he wasn’t good with Raina.

He got a call from Harrison in Crew B, who asked if Liam could work half a shift for him. There was only one lieutenant per crew, and he liked the guys, so he agreed. It was fortunate that he’d gotten to sleep for the last eight hours. His body felt rested, but his mind was still at odds with how to stay on Raina’s good side and keep his sanity as well. He took the opportunity to clean the fire engine; for whatever reason, it always helped him think through things.

“Excuse me. Are you Liam Prescott?”

He turned to see an older woman who looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her. She seemed fidgety and nervous, so he got down from the ladder to see if he could offer some assistance.

“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”

“Is there somewhere we can talk quietly?”

He looked around the empty station room, where he was alone with the truck, and was going to tell her that no one would bother them, but he decided to move her to a room with a few chairs so she could be comfortable.

After he had her seated and asked if she wanted anything to drink, he sat across from her and asked again, “What can I do for you, ma’am?”

If anything, she looked more nervous than she had in the other room.

“I’ve been working up the courage to come in here for the last week or so.”

He tried to give her his most supportive smile since this woman was having trouble spitting out what she wanted to say. He would have thought she was trying to hit on him, but the vibe was wrong. She did want something, but damned if he could figure out what it was.

She looked up at him, and the green eyes that looked back reminded him so much of his own that a small kernel of anxiety started in the pit of his stomach and grew as this woman continued to hem and haw.

“I’m going to have to ask that you get down to your business.” The fear was making him curt. He, the man adored by women—from babies to the very elderly—was gone. Something about this woman was making him feel mean.

“I’m your mother.”

The loud clanging of the chair as he stood up made him realize he’d moved. He backed away from the table as she got up. He could hear his heart beat in his ears, and it was hard to breathe.

“I didn’t know how to say that in a way that was not going to be upsetting.”

So the woman
had
said what he thought the she said, because he was having trouble with his comprehension.

“You need to leave.”

“I know. I am going to be in town for the next week or so, and I’m staying at Sweet Comfort Inn. I know this is a shock, but I just wanted to see you, maybe start some kind of communication. I really wanted you to know what happened and why I did what I did.”

He watched the woman who he remembered having a perpetual smile on her face as she played with him, made him cookies…made him feel special. He remembered when his father yelled at him and told him she wasn’t ever coming back and to just deal with it. He remembered the confusion and the anger.

She came closer, and he held on to the wall, feeling all the emotions he tried to deny as his whole life came rushing back to him in a swirl of pain and confusion. The fire alarm sounded, and he grabbed on to it like a lifeline.

“Do you think I could come back another time? Maybe I could come over to—”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He left, hoping that was the end of it, but deep in his heart, where his instincts were good, he knew it wasn’t. It felt like his closed box of emotions had been opened, and he wasn’t going to be able to close it back up. He wanted something…someone. He hated to admit this even to himself, but he needed comfort. He needed to be around the familiar, and he knew where he wanted to go. Maybe he hadn’t burned that bridge—maybe it was only charred and somehow salvageable.

He was happy he was able to go through the routine of putting on his gear and getting in the truck. He knew what to do, he knew how to respond, and he wanted to be able to calm himself down so he wouldn’t do anything stupid to get himself or his crew hurt. He could bring out the fireman compartment and focus on that, if only for this little while.

* * * *

She’d had a horrible sleep. Not only did she fear the loss of her friend, but the message was crystal clear that she had been lying to herself about why she wanted to start this in the first place.

He was holding back, and while that wasn’t out of the ordinary—that was what he did—he didn’t do it with her. She’d thought she was special, and once he found out how it was for them together he’d have to give what they had a chance. As it was, he couldn’t have been that impressed. He’d left her here tucked in bed while he went to pick up someone else to take care of the hard-on she’d helped create. She couldn’t even feel bad about the brush she’d thrown at the door, even though it was childish.

Whatever. She had made plans for herself since she was a little girl. She was going to be married with children by the time she was thirty. She originally was going to be married by the time she was twenty-six, and she’d been on the fast track to get that done, but Theo’s request had burst that bubble, and it was all her fault. One in the hand…as her mother would’ve reminded her, but she wanted the two in the bush. She’d always been that way. So she couldn’t complain about losing all the damn birds and feeling crappy like she did now.

She’d had plans today that hadn’t included the pity party she was now throwing, but she promised herself she would get around to that. She was a planner, and she was throwing herself a doozy. Now, with all her work done for the day, she was ready. Popcorn, a couple of movies, and thoughts of how she was going to get her life together. That was what was on the agenda for tonight.

She had on her ultra-comfortable sleepwear—a tank top and soft Sherpa pants—and nothing was going to keep her from quietly relaxing tonight.

The knock on the door was a shocker since she didn’t have many people who would stop by unannounced. Maybe her neighbor needed something. Mr. Henderson was a widower, but he was sometimes forgetful, and she feared he would get himself hurt. She moved to the door and opened it quickly.