He watched them walk out of McNally's, anger seething through him. Tonight, instead of sitting in a corner, he'd accepted an invitation to join a few of the firemen he knew casually. He wanted to be closer to her and that jackass cop she seemed to be so hung up on. He wondered how she'd feel if someone ran over the man, or better yet, burned his house down. Of course, that wouldn't work since he lived in an apartment, but the idea was intriguing.The talk everywhere was of the fires, the confirmation that they were the work of an arsonist and that whoever it was, wasn't finished. Damn straight, he wanted to shout. How about telling everyone how smart I am? How clever.Did Kristi think he was smart? Did she admire his ingenuity? He wished he could ask her. But, right now, it had to be enough for him to admire her from a distance. He itched to stroke his fingers through the golden strands of her hair. To strip her naked so he could skim his hands over her tempting curves and run his to
Kristi rose to her feet and yanked her sweater over her head, dropping it in the pile with Patrick's stuff. She toed off her shoes and got rid of the jeans. Then she stood there for a moment in her hot-pink lace bra and the teeny weenie thong she'd worn on purpose. Patrick had told her he loved her sexy underwear the first time he'd seen it, so whenever she wasn't working, she made sure to put it on.He focused his gaze on her, eyes widening, heat dancing in them. When he licked his lips, every erogenous zone pounded with need. She'd been aroused since the moment they'd left McNally's, and she'd thought about what she wanted to do to him. Now she stood there while he lay back on the pillows, his eyes feasting on her, his hands clenching as if they were squeezing parts of her body."Take off your bra," he ordered. "Toss it to the side.She reached behind her and unclasped it, slid the straps down her arms then bent forward and gave a little wiggle, setting her breasts to swaying. One
"Want to see how much I liked it?" Patrick eased his fingers from her and, one at a time, licked them clean of her juices.Kristi sighed, leaned forward, and kissed him. She could taste the faint flavor of herself on his lips, and it was one of the most erotic sensations ever. Lying on him like this, her breasts flattened against the hard wall of his chest, she struggled to catch her breath again. She was stunned when Patrick eased her forward a little, reached out an arm to the nightstand drawer, and grabbed one of the condoms he kept there. She braced herself and looked down at him, astonished."I can't believe it," she breathed. "I thought you were done for.""Believe it," he grinned."You're insatiable," she teased."Where you're concerned," he agreed. "It's what you do to me. I think, with you, I'm always ready. Now help me a little here and get up on your knees."She felt a thrill of satisfaction and a sense of power that she could do this to him, and, shockingly, she found
Four days off had given Kristi a chance to rest, although, when Patrick was around, she didn't do much resting. It seemed the more time they spent together, the more intense their physical attraction and the stronger whatever bond it was formed between them. For the next week, whenever she was off and he could make it, they were together. She discovered he liked to cook and, sometimes, enjoyed making something special for her. She was totally unused to being catered to by the man in her life. She had to stop herself from being suspicious and waiting for the other shoe to drop.Sometimes, when she was on shift but between calls, she found herself sitting in the lounge with her mind wandering, questioning everything about the relationship with him. She was always waiting for the unexpected to happen, and not in a good way. Why couldn't she just get past this?"He's different," she kept reminding herself. "Don't ruin it with what was. Think of what is and what can be."This morning, Da
They had just settled around the big table with cups of coffee, discussing the menu for dinner, when the speaker blared again. This one called for every piece of equipment they had and on the double."I have a sick feeling about this," Stan said as he pulled on his turnout gear."Me, too." Kristi took one moment to make sure Jared had stocked the ambo with extra supplies before they rolled out right behind the ladder truck.Three blocks away, they could see it was indeed a bad one. It was another abandoned apartment building, scheduled for demolition, and the black clouds spread for several blocks. Two blocks away, they could see the flames shooting up in the air. That was a good indication the building was fully involved, and at its most dangerous for the men who had to clear it. Because, abandoned or not, there would still be squatters, just like at the others.The scene was utter chaos. The battalion chief, the incident commander, was already there, making sure all protocols wer
The car kept coming. Kristi thought the driver looked slumped over the wheel, his head pressing on the horn. Patrick, who was closest, raced toward the car to try and stop it."Oh my god." Kristi thought her heart would stop. "He'll get himself killed."The rest of it happened in less than a split second. As Patrick raced for the car, it swerved to head directly for him. Now she could see the driver clearly, saw him sit up from his slump, grab the wheel, and aim for Patrick. At the last minute, he tried to jump out of the way, but the car caught him with its bumper and knocked him onto the roadway.While she stood rooted to the spot, Jared, Hank, and some of the other firefighters raced toward the car. It swerved again and ended up crashing into a truck parked at the curb. Keith, who had been working the fire scene, pulled open the door and yanked the driver out of the vehicle. Out of the corner of her eye, she recognized Toby, as he struggled against Keith's hold. But that was all
The doctor took her through the doors to the emergency treatment area and led her into one of the treatment rooms. She nearly passed out when she saw Patrick. He was lying on the bed, his left leg in a cast from his ankle to his thigh. He sported a soft cast on his left wrist, stitches on one cheek, and scrapes on his forehead. His eyes were closed, and his face was lined with pain. But he was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.She moved over to stand beside the bed. They had the sides up, since they'd given him narcotics and didn't want him falling out on the floor. She took his right hand, his uninjured one, and threaded her fingers through his, squeezing gently.His eyes opened slowly, and his lips curved in an attempt at a smile."I didn't think they'd ever let you see me." His voice was raw, his words slurred a little from the pain meds, but he gave her hand an answering squeeze."Oh, Patrick." She had to bite her lip to keep from crying. "I'm so sorry this happened to
"Pizza's here!" Kristi sang out as she shouldered her front door closed and headed for the kitchen."Do I get to kiss the delivery person?" Patrick hollered back."No pizza unless you do," she teased.By the time she reached the kitchen, Patrick had clumped in from the living room on his crutches. Since he lived in a duplex, with stairs, they'd decided the smartest thing was to move him into her house, which was all on one level. She'd gotten used to that very fast. And loved it.She had barely put the pizza down before he leaned the crutches against the counter and pulled her into his arms. The kiss he gave her sizzled her down to his toes."Now, that's the kind of homecoming I like." She ran her tongue over her lower lip. Tasting him."We could do that long term," he told her in a cautious voice. He'd brought it up before, but she'd wanted to get the monkey off her back, first."Let's negotiate over pizza," she joked. She wanted to make the atmosphere as relaxed as possible.