All Chapters of Incendiary: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Book One: Incendiary Kristi Gregory pushed open the door of McNally's Pub and was immediately hit by the sound waves of conversation and the clinking of glasses. The familiarity of it wrapped itself around her like a comfortable quilt. No matter what else happened, she could always feel at home at McNally's. It was her anchor when her life took a crazy dip and swirl, which it had done not so long ago. This was her family. She could let it all hang out with them.The fact this was a weeknight didn't make any difference. The pub was nearly full, not unusual, even for a weeknight. A longtime hangout for firefighters and cops, it catered to people who worked crazy hour-long shifts and took their relaxation when they could get it. The crowd was usually a mixture of people ending their shift and people starting their days off, like her.Tonight, she really needed the warm atmosphere of the place. Her last shift had been brutal-three multiple car wrecks and a fire in an overcrowded olde

"Did he tell you he was a hero at his last station?" Keith plunked three open bottles on the table.Kristi was startled to see Patrick's face turn red. She didn't remember the last time she'd seen a grown man blush."Knock it off," he told Keith. "I was just doing my job." He lifted one of the fresh bottles and took a long sip."Hey, I was there today and saw what you did," Kristi told him. "You were incredible. I can vouch for that.""Okay, okay. Next subject, please."It was obvious praise made him uncomfortable. Kristi tucked that fact away in her memory banks. The guys at the station and the cops she hung out with didn't take much to that stuff, either. They, too, were "just doing the job.""So, you're new to the precinct." She cocked her head. "I thought I hadn't seen you around."He laughed, the tension easing from his body. "Should I get a sign that says New Guy?""No, that's okay. I'll remember you from now on." She was sure they'd be working scenes together again. Befo

They could see the smoke even before they turned the corner, hard on the heels of Station 58's big engine and the ladder truck. It billowed up in big black clouds that spread over the rooftops of the buildings lining the street. This was the third major fire in a week, an unusual number, and they had all been on her shifts. If she didn't know better, she'd think someone had a crush on one of the firefighters and wanted to see him at work.Kristi knew it was a biggie when the callout had been for both the engine and ladder truck. She and Jared were right behind the mammoth machines, looking for the best place to position their ambulance where supplies would be easy to get but they wouldn't be in the way of any apparatus.The police were already here, directing traffic and keeping onlookers from getting in the way. And lordy, there was a huge mob of them. Kristi often wondered what it was that drew people to watch fires as if it was some kind of entertainment. Didn't they know people d

"To what?" Kristi frowned."I know your schedule. You're off twenty-four starting tomorrow. Dinner. Tomorrow night.""Dinner?" She stared at him. In the middle of a fire scene, he was asking her to dinner?She studied his face, the navy-blue eyes with the indecently thick lashes, the late day scruff just sprouting on his jaw, the lock of midnight-black hair that had escaped his patrol hat. He was most definitely good looking, but there was also something else there, a heat and an intensity that woke up parts of her body she'd been keeping in cold storage."Great!" He grinned, as if she'd said yes. "Pick you up at seven." He waved as he ran back to help one of the other cops with a traffic problem.Kristi stared after him. Now what was she supposed to do? She didn't even have his cell phone number to tell him it was all a big mistake.Go ahead! The little devil in her brain whispered to her. It's about time.She might have been on a dating diet but she had to admit, every time sh

At the moment Kristi considered phoning Patrick to call it off, the doorbell rang and her time for chickening out was gone. She grabbed her blazer and her purse, pulled open the door...and stared. Patrick Hayes was good looking in his policeman's uniform. He was good looking in the jeans and sweaters he wore at McNally's. But there was good looking and then there was good looking! The man in her doorway might as well have had sex stamped across his forehead.He wore a blue collared shirt, open at the throat, chinos, and a navy blazer. The shirt picked up the deep-blue of his eyes, eyes that had little flames of heat dancing in them and a look that said, I want to lick you all over.Kristi shivered, the walls of her pussy pulsed and throbbed, and her nipples hardened as a little tingle shot through them. It had been far too long since she'd gotten that feeling from a man rather than from her stash of toys. She had to mentally restrain herself from licking her lips.It seemed, however