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Uniformed and Blazing Hot 1

Scorching Research

Struggling erotic author Leslie Davenport is looking for the plotline
that will send her career soaring. At the urging of a friend, she

moves to Cherish, a city bursting with ménage relationships. Leslie
sees a bestseller in the making, but she’ll need a couple of willing

research subjects to make her book a hit. When hunky firefighters
Ryder Cox and Blaine Ellis save her cats from a burning building,

she knows they’re the men for the job. But when business and
pleasure mix, she wonders if a happily ever after ending is

possible.

Ryder and Blaine have been hurt before. Ryder has steered clear
of women while Blaine has played solo. When a sizzling sex kitten

like Leslie requests some two-on-one time at the firehouse to
research her next book, Blaine is eager to start her fire education.

Ryder cautiously agrees, too. But when that education lands them
in bed, they learn more than their hearts may be ready for.

Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 62,975 words

SCORCHING RESEARCH

Uniformed and Blazing Hot 1

Tonya Ramagos

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

SCORCHING RESEARCH
Copyright © 2014 by Tonya Ramagos
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-127-3

First E-book Publication: July 2014

Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without
express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Scorching Research by Tonya
Ramagos from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing
rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this
book.

The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This is Tonya Ramagos’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please
respect Ms. Ramagos’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com

SCORCHING RESEARCH

Uniformed and Blazing Hot 1

TONYA RAMAGOS

Chapter One

Lesley Davenport stopped just inside the door to Cherished

Flavors and gazed in awe around the combination coffee and ice
cream shop. Half-circle booths lined the walls, small round tables sat
strategically placed over the floor, and a long serving counter
stretched across the back. Behind that counter, two women that
appeared to be in their early twenties and a man about the same age
hustled back and forth, filling orders for the customers occupying the
tables and booths. It was those customers, or at least several of them,
that gave her pause. Though a small handful seemed to be alone, an
even larger handful was obviously with their significant other.

Significant others, she corrected herself as her attention slid from

one booth or table to the next, noting that many of them were
occupied by two men on either side of one woman.

You wanted research.
Yes, she had, which was her sole purpose for moving to Cherish,

Tennessee. Though the city had its fair share of single men and
women, along with some who practiced monogamy, the ménage way
of life was the preferred norm by most.

She watched as one triad nearby got to their feet. One of the men

hooked an arm around the woman while the other reached for her

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hand as they made their way to the door. Lesley sidestepped to give
the triad room to exit the shop, returning the woman’s friendly smile
as they passed her.

This is going to take some getting used to.
“Lesley.”
She turned her head at the sound of her name to find a woman

with short pixy-cut black hair and stunning green eyes waving from
her seat in a booth near the counter. Her smile widening, she made her
way toward Vivian Hall, her new best friend.

“Are you okay?” Vivian asked when she reached the booth. “I

was watching you when you came in. You had this look on your face
like you’d just stepped into Oz or something.”

Lesley gave a breathy half laugh and glanced around as she slid

into the half-circle booth. “More like an erotic romance novel. Is
everywhere in this city designed to accommodate ménage couples?”

“Not everywhere, but many places are.” Vivian slid a large,

covered paper cup across the table. “Mocha latte, right?”

“Yes. Thanks. How much do I owe you?”
Vivian waved the question away. “You can pick up the tab next

time.” Her attention sliced over the crowded shop. “Isn’t this what
you were looking for? An erotic romance novel in reality?”

Lesley took a cautious sip of her coffee. “It is, but I honestly

didn’t believe you when you told me a place like this really exists.”

She’d met Vivian online nearly a year ago. As an erotic romance

author, Lesley spent a great deal of her time connecting with readers
on the various social media groups the Internet offered. Vivian was
one of those readers. Their conversation exchanges had started out
simple, with Vivian’s comments about Lesley’s latest books. Over the
course of time, they’d become friends. When Lesley had eventually
confessed to wanting to take her writing career to a more successful
level, but not knowing exactly how to do it, Vivian had started telling
her about Cherish. With nothing to lose and no one to keep her in

Scorching Research

Charleston, Lesley had packed her bags at Vivian’s encouragement
and moved to Cherish.

Vivian waggled her brows. “I bet you believe me now.”
Lesley barked a laugh. “It’s kind of hard not to when I’m

surrounded by proof.”

Vivian’s smile turned apologetic. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get off to

meet you when you got to town. We’ve been shorthanded at the
hospital.”

“Don’t sweat it. Isis, Boo, and I took yesterday to get settled in

and passed out last night. I remember now why I don’t move often
anymore. Even without furniture of my own, carting all the boxes and
figuring out where everything is going to go when I start to unpack
them is exhausting.”

“It wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d had help.” Vivian’s green

eyes that reminded Lesley so much of her solid black cat, Isis’s,
narrowed. “Which tells me you didn’t hook up with a couple of hot
hunks the moment you hit town and enlist their services.”

Lesley winced. “I had a couple of not-so-hot hunks come up to me

outside the apartment and offer to help, but I graciously declined.”

The men—one tall and overweight by about fifty pounds and the

other short and smelling as if he hadn’t had a bath in a month—had
given her a bad vibe. She’d loaded her arms with two of the smaller
boxes from her trunk, locked up her car, and hurried into the
apartment she’d rented, where she’d stayed for forty-five minutes
hiding out until she felt the coast should be clear before going back to
get more of her stuff.

Vivian frowned. “I wish you would agree to stay with me. I told

you I have a spare bedroom. We could be roomies. It would be fun!”

“You also told me you’re allergic to cats, and I have two,” Lesley

pointed out.

Vivian shrugged. “I’m a nurse with connections to an endless

supply of allergy medicines if I need them.”

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Lesley shook her head and reached out to cover Vivian’s hand on

the table with hers. “Thank you, for everything, but I’m not going to
impose on you that way. I like the little place I rented. It’s cozy and
perfect for Isis, Boo, and I.”

It was a dump and she knew Vivian realized that, but she wasn’t

about to admit it aloud. She’d set up three appointments at different
apartment complexes offering one bedroom fully-furnished
apartments to visit when she’d gotten to town yesterday. After taking
a tour of the three, she’d settled for the lesser of the evils. The
apartment itself wasn’t so bad, despite the stained furniture that had
obviously come from the thrift shop. The eclectic mix of other renters
in the complex that she’d seen as she’d been moving in, however,
gave her the heebie jeebies.

Vivian’s frown deepened. “All right, but I’m still going to keep an

ear to the ground for a better place for you that’s in your price range.
You only rented it for a month, right?”

“Yeah.” That had been another perk the place she’d decided on

offered that the other two hadn’t. A lease hadn’t been required. With
any luck, when she received her next royalty check in two months,
she’d make enough that she could stretch the money for another
physical quarter and afford something a little nicer.

“Good.” Seemingly satisfied for now, Vivian leaned forward, her

green eyes turning mischievous. “Now, onto the business of your
research.”

“What about it?”
Alarm bells sounded in Lesley’s head as she took another sip of

her coffee. She’d quickly learned that Vivian’s ideas, while wild and
crazy, could be equally bad and good. She’d taken a leap of faith by
following her friend’s suggestion that she move to Cherish. She was
taking another leap by hoping she didn’t tank her career when she
took her books in a different direction by writing something she knew
so little about. Would it work? Could she take her royalties from the
minimalistic just-enough-to-barely-survive sum she’d been making

Scorching Research

the last two years and turn them into the no-need-to-worry-about-
how-to-pay-the-bills sum she dreamed of making?

“There’s a couple of doctors that work the ER at the hospital.

They’re twins. Korbin and Caleb Malone. They’re single and…”

Lesley nearly choked on her latte. “Whoa! I’ve barely been in

town twenty-four hours and you’re already trying to set me up with a
couple of doctor twins?”

Vivian shrugged. “Why not? You moved here for inspiration and

research, right? What better way to get that then to hook up with a
couple of hot guys? Think about the plot line,” she rushed on before
Lesley could comment. “Your heroine…that would be you…goes on
a blind date set up by her best friend…that would be me…and gets
swept off her feet by hunky twins who make her heart stop, but have
the skillful hands, among other parts of the anatomy, to get it beating
again.”

Lesley threw back her head and laughed. “Sometimes I think you

should be the writer.”

“Nah.” Vivian took a sip of her coffee and tipped the lid toward

Lesley. “That’s your job. I’m just a fan and friend looking to help you
make your big mark.”

“I think throwing myself into a ménage date as soon as I step foot

in town is rushing things a bit. I need to get a feel for this place, study
the dynamics, take notes, and let my creative mind wrap around all of
it so I can start to devise a similar setting for my characters before
they meet.”

“You’ll have time to do that, too. Korbin and Caleb will be on

shift at the ER until Sunday. That gives you three days to feel out the
city, get your bearings, and create your fictional place. Then you can
go on a date with them and start generating your heroes and heroine.”

“I don’t know, Viv…”
How far was she willing to go in the name of research? Sure,

she’d already packed up and moved her life to a different state just to
get a taste of what a ménage city was really like. Still, couldn’t she

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get that idea from the sidelines? Did she really want to throw herself
knee deep into the thick of things by going out with a couple of
doctors less than a week after she hit town?

Vivian leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Have you ever had

sex with two men at once?”

“No. You know I haven’t.” She hadn’t had sex with one man in

far longer than she cared to remember, let alone two. Her sex life had
become that of the heroines she created, played out through her own
fantasies and the scant experience she’d gotten from the few men
she’d been with in her life.

“Then how do expect to write believable ménage sex scenes when

you’ve never tried it yourself? That’s going to have to be part of your
research, you know? The better educated you are, the better you’ll be
able to create sex scenes that will melt your readers’ Kindles.”

“I’m not going to become a slut so I can write scorching sex

scenes, Viv.”

Vivian snorted. “Of course you’re not. One night here and there

should be enough. You can take those hours and the things the men
do to you and twist them around to make fifty different sex scenes
before you’ll need to find new material.”

“How about we take this one step at a time? I haven’t even started

unpacking. I don’t have my office set up so I can organize this new
material into something useful if or when I get it. I haven’t even
found a table in that apartment that will work for a desk!”

Vivian waved that away. “I have a table at my place that should

work. We’ll go get it, take it to your apartment, and I’ll help you
unpack.” She waggled her brows. “Then you can stop giving me all
these excuses and let me talk to Korbin and Caleb.”

Lesley couldn’t help but smile as she slowly closed her eyes.

“This town isn’t the only thing I believe you about now.”

Vivian giggled. “Let me guess. Now you believe me when I told

you I can be as stubborn as a mule, too?”

Scorching Research

“I’m thinking more stubborn, but that’s probably why I’ve grown

to love you.”

Vivian’s siren-painted lips stretched in an ear-to-ear smile. “And

that’s why I’m going to see to it that you get the research for your
new book that you came here to find.”

* * * *

The ear-piercing shrill of the firehouse alarm sounded through

Station 5, silencing the cacophony of conversation around the
breakfast table. Ryder Cox froze with a heaping helping of sunny-
side-up eggs on his fork halfway to his mouth and listened as the no-
nonsense voice of the dispatcher followed.

“Engine 4, Truck 29, Squad 16, Ambulance 42, apartment fire,

Treasure Cove Apartments, 216 Wolcox Boulevard.”

The announcement kicked the firefighters into gear, eliciting

whoops from a few of the men and grumblings about not being able to
finish breakfast from a few others as they bolted up from the table.

“Treasure Cove,” Blaine Ellis repeated as he double-timed it next

to Ryder on their way through the door into the firehouse bay. “Isn’t
that the complex that’s been getting overrun with lowlifes lately?”

“It’s probably a damn meth fire,” Nick Calfee, firefighter on

Engine Company 2 and trained Hazmat engineer, sing-songed as he
headed for Engine 2.

Ryder stopped at the passenger door of the rescue squad truck,

knowing if it was meth fire Nick Calfee would be the first to realize it
once they got to the scene. The firefighter had a stronger sense of
smell than a bloodhound when it came to chemical in a fire. He
scooped up his helmet and slapped it on his head as the bay doors
rolled up behind him. He slid into his turnout coat as he stepped into
his bunker pants and boots he’d left at the ready. Around him, the
other firefighters did the same before hopping into a seat in their

Tonya Ramagos

assigned unit. The engine of Rescue 16 came to life as the driver-
engineer, Aiden Reeves, hopped behind the wheel.

The sound sent a surge of adrenaline through Ryder’s veins,

hardening his cock as he yanked open the passenger door and lifted
himself into the seat. Closing the door with one hand, he reached for
the radio as the slamming of the back doors told him Blaine and Chaz
Sloan were securely inside. Reeves pulled Rescue 19 out of the bay,
lights rotating and siren blaring.

“Copy, dispatch,” Ryder said into the radio. “Squad 16 en route.”
The voices of Engine Company 4’s lieutenant, Davin Reed,

Ladder Company 29’s lieutenant, Casper Wiley, and Ambulance 42’s
lead paramedic, Neil Ingram as they updated dispatch of their
statuses.

“Be advised Cherish PD is already on scene,” dispatch came back.

“Evacuation is in progress and we have report of a chemical scent in
the air.”

“Engine 4 copies that,” Calfee responded.
Ryder replaced the radio on the dash, bracing himself with a hand

on the oh-shit handle above the door as Reeves took a tight turn
around a corner. He’d never understood how the man could make a
fire truck turn on a dime without flipping the damn thing, and figured
he probably never would.

“Sounds like Calfee might be right about the meth,” Ellis

commented through the radio inside their helmets that allowed them
to speak over the roar of the sirens and engines.

“Isn’t he always? The man’s got the nose of a drug dog,” Reeves

shot back, echoing Ryder’s earlier thought.

“We’ll know for sure in about two minutes,” Sloan responded

from his place in the back seat of the truck cab.

Ryder tuned out the conversation as Slone grumbled about stupid

drug heads and leaned forward, peering up at the sky in the direction
of the reported fire. He understood the man’s anger over the
probability of drugs being the cause of the fire. Slone had lost a sister

Scorching Research

to drugs, an overdose of the very thing that had likely started the blaze
they were about to fight.

“IC 2 on scene,” A-shift’s captain, Stacy Knox’s voice came

through their helmet headsets. The captain had pulled out before
everyone else back at the station, leading the way in his SUV.
“Flames visible on the east side, second story window.”

Ryder pulled his attention from the dark smoke already overtaking

the clear morning sky as Reeves slowed the truck, angling it around a
line of police cars to get closer to the sidewalk. Cherish PD had
cordoned off a crowd of spectators across the street at a safe distance
from the fire, while more officers were guiding others from the front
door of the burning building.

Ryder hopped out of the truck and rounded the front bumper,

glancing at the building before meeting the captain’s gaze. “Is that the
last of the residents inside?”

Even as he asked the question, one of the officers raced across the

lawn toward them. “That’s everybody…as far as…we can tell,” the
officer reported through a fit of coughing. “Smoke is bad…in there.”

“Make another sweep,” the captain told Ryder. He raised his voice

as he pointed to Ryder and the firefighters behind him. “Team up with
Ellis, Wiley, and Carlisle. Take the second floor. Reed and Darwin,
you take the first. Let’s make sure everybody is out of that building.”

“Copy, Cap.” Ryder took the SCBA Reeves handed off to him,

pulled off his helmet, and set it on the ground at his feet. He slid into
the SCBA like he would a backpack, tightening and fastening the
straps before covering his head and face with the mask. He covered
that with his helmet, adjusting the chin strap, before attaching the
regulator to the front hole of the mask. One quarter turn of the
regulator and crisp, clean oxygen filled his lungs.

“Let’s rock and roll.” Ellis’s voice came through Ryder’s helmet

radio as the man slapped him on the back of the shoulder before
double-timing it toward the building.

Tonya Ramagos

Ryder followed, knowing Blaine would hold back so he would

take point before entering the building. He pulled his fire retardant
gloves from the pocket of his turnout coat and slid them on as he ran,
adrenaline pumping through his veins with each step. He lived for
this, the rush and the icy shards of terror racing through his soul. And
to think he’d nearly given it up to follow the only woman he and
Blaine had ever loved to New York. As he hurried into the thick
smoke billowing out of the front of the building, he pushed all
thoughts of the past from his mind and got his head in the game.
Giving up Marsha had hurt, but it was moments like this that
reminded him it had been well worth the cost.

Casper Wiley and Tanner Carlisle were already headed for the

staircase when Ryder spotted it on his right. He took the steps two at a
time behind the firefighters, his gaze searching. The smoke got
thicker as they reached the top, lessening his visibility. Sweat beaded
on his forehead beneath his mask, trickling down the sides of his face.

The stairs ended, the floor teeing off to the left and right with

doors, some of them standing open, on either side. Apartments that
had been evacuated, he presumed, as Wiley turned and gave him the
signal to take the apartments on the left. He mirrored the signal to
Ellis behind him as he rounded the banister and started for the first
open apartment door.

“Fire department. Call out,” he yelled as loudly as he could,

needing his voice to carry through the face mask and over the roar of
the fire down the hallway.

Ellis echoed the bellow as they went room to room, apartment to

apartment, searching for anyone that might have been left behind.

“Wiley,” the captain’s clipped voice came through their helmet

radios. “I’ve got a woman out here that says she has two cats in
apartment 5C.”

Ryder rolled his eyes as he glanced at the number on the door of

the apartment he and Ellis had just searched. “That would be on our
side, Cap. Looks like our fire is in 5A right next door.”

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“Get to them if you can.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ryder grumbled as he neared 5C,

forgetting the captain would hear him.

Ellis quickly covered his complaining. “You said two, right,

Captain?”

“Yeah, a solid black and a gray one. The lady says the black one

is probably hiding under the bed and doesn’t like to be held, so watch
yourself.”

“In other words make sure we cross its path instead of it crossing

ours,” Ryder muttered as he stopped outside the closed door and used
the thermal imaging camera Ellis handed him to check the apartment
for heat.

“Cut it with the superstitious cracks, Cox,” the captain

reprimanded, but Ryder heard the humor dancing in the man’s voice.

“Fire has spread to 5C,” Ryder reported, studying the energy

dancing on the camera screen. He turned to Ellis, sidestepping out of
the way. “It’s along the back wall. Bust it open and we’ll give this
rescue a shot.”

Ellis hefted the Halligan bar, using the hooked end to break the

lock free. It gave easily and the door swung open.

As Ryder had seen through the thermal camera, flames had

engulfed the back wall of the living room but, so far, hadn’t spread
further. He held the camera toward the ceiling of the wall he judged to
separate the apartment from the origin of the fire and bit back a curse.

“Fire’s gotten in the ventilation ducts,” he reported over his radio.

“It’s going to spread quickly. We’ve got to get water on this bitch
now, Cap.”

A clicking sound followed his transmit and he glanced to see Ellis

on his knees next to him. “Here kitty-kitties. What’s their names,
Captain?”

A short pause ensued and then the captain answered, “Isis and

Boo.”

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“Let me guess, Isis would be the black one,” Ryder said dryly.

What was it with people naming solid black cats after goddesses?
Pushing the thought away, he moved to what appeared to be the
bedroom on his right.

“I’ve got one of them,” Ellis reported a nanosecond later. “Seeing

as how it came straight to me and it’s blending in with all this damn
smoke, I’m thinking it’s Boo.”

“Of course it is, because the goddess is hiding under the bed,”

Ryder muttered as he moved to the foot of said bed and dropped to his
knees. Sure enough, a quick glance locked his eyes with a set of huge
bright green ones that he figured he couldn’t have missed on the
darkest of nights. “Come here, you creepy thing.”

“No wonder you’ve been single since Marsha left, if that’s the

way you talk to women these days,” a voice he recognized as Wiley’s
quipped over the radio. “You guys need help over there? Maybe some
lessons in how to properly talk to a lady?”

“Lick my balls, Wiley,” Ryder fired back as he stretched out on

his side and reached beneath the bed. Isis, bitchy black cat that she
apparently was, inched further backward instead of coming to him.
“Damn it, come here.”

“Stay there,” Ellis told him. “I’ll come at her from this side and

she should run toward you.”

Ellis’s plan worked…a little too well. The man reached under the

bed from the side, his fingers brushing the cat’s ass and sending it
sprinting straight to Ryder. Ryder let out a growl probably more
sinister than the cat could make herself, closed his hand around her
front leg, and pulled her the rest of the way out from under the bed.
The cat let out a squeaky screech as if it had come across a predator in
the wild, its claws sinking into Ryder’s turnout coat.

“Claw me all you want,” Ryder told the ball of black fur as he

adjusted his grip and forced it to cuddle in his arms. “Your nails
might be sharp, but my coat is thick. You’re not getting away from
me until I’m ready to hand you over.”

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As if the thing really understood his words, she settled down,

curling in his arm like a baby with one paw resting on his chest.

Ryder frowned down at the huge green eyes staring up at him.

“There’s no need to try and act cute. I don’t like you any more than
you like me holding you.”

Ellis’s short rang clear through the radio. “Come on, Osiris. Let’s

get these two to their mother so we can put this fire out.”

“Who the fuck is Osiris?”
“If my memory of Egyptian mythology serves, he was Isis’s

brother and husband.”

“Oh, that’s just sick,” Ryder told the cat as he followed Ellis out

of the apartment and down the hall. “You married your own brother?
How creepy can you get?”

A cacophony of chuckles cut through the radio as he headed down

the stairs and out the front door of the building. Holding the cat
securely in one arm, he turned off the regulator, unfastened the straps,
and pulled off the face mask, blinking as his vision adjusted to the
change in lighting. Over his helmet radio, Wiley declared the building
clear and the captain gave the order to the hose team to move in.

“I don’t suppose you can tell me which one is your mommy?” he

asked the cat as he scanned the crowd that seemed to have doubled in
the time he’d been inside.

Ellis nudged his shoulder and tipped his chin toward the captain’s

SUV when Ryder glanced at him. “That sexy brunette over there
staring at us with all the thanks in her eyes a man could hope for
would be my guess.”

Ryder followed Ellis’s gaze and felt his cock jump in his turnouts

even as his heart took a dive to his stomach. Bright blue eyes
glistened with thankful tears in an angelic face he knew in an instant
would be haunting his nights for weeks to come. Long brunette hair
streaked with blonde framed that face and fell over her slender
shoulders, the tips flirting with the swells of her breasts nearly spilling
out of the pink tank top she wore. The hem of the tank top barely

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reached the waistband of her denim shorts, and legs made to lock
around a man’s waist while he fucked her pussy to oblivion stretched
to a pair of worn dirty tennis shoes.

His heart rate climbed with his gaze as he dragged it back up her

sultry body to meet her eyes again. Christ, the woman was hotter than
a two-alarm fire and here he was with her damn cat in his arms
instead of the hose he needed to put out the blaze.

* * * *

“Holy moly.” Vivian’s softly spoken words rang with sheer

female appreciation as two firefighters cuddling Lesley’s cats came
toward them. “Girl, I think we’ve just found all the inspiration you
need for your next book and it’s going to shoot straight to number one
on the best-seller list.”

Lesley’s attention zeroed in on the taller one holding Isis and

walking a few steps ahead of the one carrying Boo. All her girly parts
went haywire as her gaze locked with the firefighter’s truly potent
grayish-green eyes. Thick, dark brown eyebrows gave her a clue that
she would likely find short dark brown hair beneath his fire helmet.
Some kind of breathing mask dangled from a strap in front of his ear
and brushed against the strong line of his deliciously looking
masculine jaw. Lines etched his handsomely tanned face around and
beneath his eyes and the corners of his mouth. She bet those lines
deepened when he smiled. Too bad for her he wasn’t smiling now. If
anything, he looked thoroughly pissed. Surely, not at her.

She pulled her focus from his face and let it slide down his body.

Holy moly was right! Even in the bulky firefighter uniform, the man
had her blood turning to a flaming flow of wicked need. Powerful legs
brought his narrow hips and broad shoulders closer and closer. Her
creative mind instantly kicked into high imaginative gear as she
mentally peeled off the heavy coat he wore to reveal what she could
easily guess had to be one fine exhibit of corrugated abs and a chest

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so hard it would make her head spin. Hell, her head was already
spinning and the only part of his bare flesh she could see was his face.

“Here’s your cat.” His voice was hoarse, rusty, and sent tremors

down her spine.

Lesley licked her lips, her mind tripping and stumbling as she

struggled to come up with something to say to him. She was normally
pretty good with opening lines, but damned if she could scrape two
coherent thoughts together at the moment.

“Thank you so much, firefighter…”
Lesley blinked as Vivian said the words she should’ve, leaving the

last hanging for Mr. Too-Hot-For-Turnouts to fill in the blank with
his name.

“It’s lieutenant.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw as he stared at Lesley with an animal

awareness that was very primitive and alluring. It was clear he was
attracted to her. She could feel the stark intensity of his gaze. Was that
what was making him seem as if he were angry?

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Lesley managed to find her voice and

even a smile as her gaze dropped to Isis. A breathless half laugh
escaped her. “She likes you. I’ve never seen her so content in
anyone’s arms. Not even mine.”

“She’s probably never had a brush with death either. That’ll make

anything cling to whatever is close.” He’d splayed a large, gloved
hand on Isis’s back and Lesley wondered if he realized he was petting
the cat, offering the cat even more comfort than merely being encased
in his arms.

A silly wave of acute jealousy washed through Lesley. Why did

her cat get to be embraced by no doubt the strongest pair of arms
Lesley had only gotten to write about in her life?

Because Isis was lucky enough to get stuck in a burning building

while you were out having coffee.

It was a ludicrous thought, but it sure didn’t help to tamp down

her envy one iota.

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“There’s a vet about four streets over. You might want to take

both of these girls and have them checked for smoke inhalation.”

Lesley slid her gaze from Lieutenant Too-Hot-For-Turnouts at the

sound of the new very male, very sexy voice, and felt her appetite for
coffee return with a vengeance. Christ on a pogo stick! Firefighter
number two had eyes the color of coffee with a splash of cream and a
rich voice to go along with them. He’d pulled off his helmet, giving
her a perfect view of wavy brown hair that was longer on the top than
the sides and sexily tousled. High cheekbones, a perfect nose, and
way-too-kissable lips gave him a cover model look despite the streaks
of grime or soot or whatever he’d smeared over his tanned flesh.

“I assumed by their names that they’re both girls.”
Lesley blinked. “Yes. They are.” Relief collided with the yearning

in her system when her voice came out steady and normal rather than
trembling and breathy, which was exactly how she felt.

“I’m Blaine Ellis, firefighter with Rescue Squad 16.” He jerked

his head toward the lieutenant. “Lieutenant snarly’s name is Ryder
Cox. He’s also with Rescue Squad.”

“I’m Lesley Davenport and this my friend, Vivian Hall.”
The grin that stretched Blaine Ellis’s lips put her in mind of a

candle-lit bedroom, rumpled sheets, and naughty intentions. “It’s very
nice to meet you, Lesley. Like I said, you may want to take these
ladies to the vet.” He gently pried Boo’s claws from his coat, gave her
a kiss on the top of the head that had Lesley’s jealousy finding a new
mark, and passed her over.

Lesley winced when Boo settled against her chest and a claw dug

into her flesh just above her breast. “I can’t thank the two of you
enough for risking your lives to save my babies.”

“It’s our job, ma’am.” Ryder Cox didn’t sound all too happy by

that fact at the moment. “What do you want me to do with this one?”

“Oh, um…” Lesley chewed her bottom lip as she glanced at Isis

and then down at Boo, thinking fast. “Here.” She turned to Vivian.
“It’ll probably be best if you take Boo.” She handed the cat to Vivian,

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who took Boo and immediately sneezed as Lesley reached for Isis.
“Come here, my pretty princess.”

To her sheer surprise, Isis put up a fight, digging her claws into

Ryder’s coat and not letting go.

“Wow,” Lesley said on a breathless laugh. “I’ve never seen her

this way with anyone.”

“I told you that’s just because she’s never had a brush with death.”

Ryder closed his huge hand around the cat’s middle and all but
yanked her claws out of his coat before handing her to Lesley. “I hope
I didn’t just hurt her, but we’ve got a fire to put out.”

“No. No. I’m sure she’s okay,” Lesley tried to assure him even as

she attempted to settle Isis in her arms. She knew her cat well,
especially the scornful look the cat gave her. She was pissed at having
been torn from the lieutenant’s arms.

It’s okay, sweetie. I’d be pissed as hell, too.
“Thank you again,” she said as the firefighters turned and started

to walk away.

“One more thing.” Both men’s steps hesitated at Vivian’s hasty

words followed by another sneeze. They looked back at them over
their shoulders. “Do you guys give tours around the firehouse? She’s
a writer and…”

“You bet.” Blaine’s gaze slammed into Lesley’s and she saw a

world of heated promises and wicked intents in his eyes. “Come by
Station 5 anytime. The lieutenant and I will be happy to help you with
whatever research you need.”

“Holy smokes! That was an innuendo, if I’ve ever heard one. Girl,

if you don’t take those two studs up on that offer, I just might have to
write a book myself after all.”

Tonya Ramagos

Chapter Two

“What’s got your Fruit of the Looms in a wad lately?” Blaine

wrapped a towel securely around his waist as he moved to the row of
sinks against the wall in the firehouse bathroom. He met Ryder’s gaze
in the mirror as he reached for a can of shaving cream on the shelf by
the sink, noting the muscle ticking in the man’s jaw as he brushed his
teeth. Ryder had turned into a serious grump in the last year, but the
past forty-eight hours, since the apartment fire and the cats last shift,
had been worse than ever.

Ryder spit a mouthful of toothpaste in the sink, put a hand under

the running tap to fill it with water, and used it to rinse his mouth. “I
wear Hanes.”

Blaine dispensed a healthy amount of shaving cream into one

hand, rubbed his hands together, and spread the cream over his cheeks
and jaw, covering a grin. He knew damn well what Ryder’s problem
was lately. He’d been wearing his Hanes too long.

“You should try taking them off for a night. It’ll help straighten

them out.”

Ryder twisted off the tap, his movement jerky. “Fine, tomorrow

when we get another forty-eight off, I’ll walk around the cabin naked
until we start the next shift. Will that work for you?”

Blaine barked a laugh. “Hell, no.”
“Then leave my Hanes alone. They’re comfortable just the way

they are.”

Blaine picked up his razor, studying his closest friend in the

mirror as Ryder turned his back and headed for the bench where he’d

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put his change of clothes. “Come on, man. You haven’t had sex since
Marsha left us. It’s been over a fucking year.”

“Maybe I have and just didn’t tell you.” Part of Ryder’s words got

muffled when he pulled his Cherish Fire Department T-shirt over his
head, but Blaine still heard them clearly enough.

Blaine scoffed as he carefully slid the razor over one cheek. “You

wouldn’t have to tell me. I know damn well you haven’t because you
don’t do solo and you sure as shit haven’t been with anyone while I
was around.”

As friends who’d grown up next door to one another, they’d done

most everything together, including having sex with women ever
since they figured out their dicks were good for more than pissing.
Until Marsha had ran out on them.

“Did you ever stop to think maybe you should keep your

underwear on more? No, I guess not,” he answered his own question
before Blaine could respond. “You seem to like your new horndog
reputation.”

Blaine barked another laugh as he rinsed his razor and started on

his chin. “Hell, it beats jerking off.”

“Right. Fuck them for a few hours and walk away,” Ryder said

dryly. “I get that’s your defense mechanism. Mine is not bothering
with women at all.”

“Hey, some of the women I’ve been with walked away from me.”

Hell, that wasn’t easy to admit, and it was Ryder’s damn fault when it
happened anyway. Most of the women in Cherish weren’t looking for
one man. They wanted two. Half of them also knew Blaine and Ryder
usually came as a package deal. The trouble came lately when they
realized they could have Blaine, but Ryder wasn’t coming along for
the ride.

He told himself it really didn’t matter. Until three days ago, he

had yet to meet a woman that made him want to fall hook, line, and
sinker in love. Until three days ago…when he’d set his eyes on Lesley
Davenport and something had clicked.

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“I learned a lesson with Marsha. Apparently, you still have some

classes to take.”

Realization struck as Blaine met Ryder’s gaze in the mirror again.

If he were right, that click he’d felt when he’d met Lesley
Davenport’s mesmerizing gaze was going to turn out even better than
he’d hoped. He turned from the sink and pointed at his friend with the
razor, dripping shaving cream onto the floor. “She fucking got to
you.”

Ryder’s brows etched together, but Blaine could tell by the flash

of anger and heat in his eyes that he’d hit the proverbial nail on the
head. Bingo!

“No woman has gotten to me and I plan to keep it that way.”
Blaine snorted. “Bullshit. You’ve been acting like an angry ogre

since that apartment fire last shift.”

Ryder averted his gaze, yanking up the towel he’d used and

shoving it in the hamper. “The black cat crossed my path.”

Blaine grinned. “Naw, it was the black cat’s mother. As in the

brunette sex kitten, Lesley Davenport. Come on, man. You can’t tell
me that woman wasn’t fucking hot.”

She’d damn sure been hot enough to keep him up at night,

imagining the long, beautiful strands of her sun-streaked brunette hair
falling around the side of her angelic face as she gazed down at him
from her place straddling his waist while she rode his cock to
oblivion.

“I didn’t notice.”
Blaine shook his head as he turned back to the mirror to finish

shaving. Ryder had noticed and the fact that he’d been as drawn to the
woman as Blaine had been was what was pissing the man off.

“Don’t you think it’s time to put Marsha behind us?”
Ryder raked a hand through his hair. “And do what? Move on

with cat lady?”

Blaine shrugged. “We offered to help her with her research.”
“You offered. I didn’t say shit.”

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“I made the offer for both of us.”
“Well, lucky for both of us, she apparently decided not to take you

up on that offer.”

“She’ll be around.” Blaine could feel it. He couldn’t explain it, but

he’d somehow known when he’d walked away from her three days
ago, it wouldn’t be the last time he’d see her. “I looked her up on the
Internet. I figured since her friend said she’s a writer I’d probably find
something she’s done. She’s got a bunch of erotic novels published.”

He’d bought one and had spent the better part of last night sifting

through it. The sex had been hot enough to make his dick hard,
though he’d altered the scenes in his mind a bit to include a third.
He’d pictured himself in the hero’s role, Lesley in the heroine’s, and
added Ryder to the mix to make a scorching concoction that had
gotten him off in less strokes of his cock than he could remember
happing before.

Ryder scoffed. “So now you’re thinking that research she wants is

to get naked with us on top of Rescue 16?”

Blaine grinned. “I doubt it. At least not right off. She’s probably

thinking a couple of firefighters would make good characters in her
next book. The publisher she’s with puts out a lot of ménage
romances. I didn’t see any with her name on them yet, but she could
be looking to expand her horizons.”

“By having sex with two men at once so she’ll know how to

describe the experience in a book?” Ryder pushed a hard, audible
breath from his lungs. “Forget about it, Ellis. You’re welcome to give
her all the solo research she can handle, but count me out.”

The door to the bathroom inched open and Jax Darwin stuck his

spiked blond head inside. “I thought I might find the two of you in
here. You’ve got a visitor waiting in the bay to see you.” The man
whistled. “One hell of looker, too.”

Blaine quickly rinsed away the shaving cream, snagged the towel

off his waist, and used it to dry his face as he headed for the bench
where he’d put his clothes. He shot a glance at Ryder as he pulled on

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his briefs and stuck a leg in his pants. “Apparently, she decided to
take us up on that offer after all.”

Ryder shot an arm toward the door. “You go right ahead. I told

you to count me out.”

“Uh, she requested to see both of you, Lieutenant,” Darwin

reminded Ryder.

Blaine fastened his pants and shoved his feet into his boots,

watching Ryder the whole time. As the lieutenant of Rescue Squad
Company 16, he couldn’t very well dismiss a visitor when she’d
asked for him specifically, and Ryder knew it.

Ryder stabbed a finger toward him. “Do not include me in any

other offer you plan to make this woman. I’m not interested.”

Yeah, Blaine would believe that when pigs started to fly. Ryder

would cave, and when he did, Lesley Davenport would end up
between them exactly where Blaine wanted her.

* * * *

Stop fidgeting!
Lesley forced her hands to lie flat on her outer thighs when they

itched to reach for the hem of her shirt, or her shorts, or the strap of
her purse on her shoulder.

You were invited. It’s not like you just showed up here out of the

blue.

She’d been invited three days ago. What if that invitation had

come with a time expiration?

He said to drop by anytime.
True. The firefighter with coffee-cream eyes had told her to drop

by Station 5 anytime and that he and the lieutenant would be happy to
help her with any research she needed. Vivian hadn’t been the only
one that had heard the innuendo in his tone either. Firefighter Blaine
Ellis had been as attracted to her as Lieutenant Ryder Cox had been,
though Blaine hadn’t attempted to hide it behind a surly attitude.

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That was okay. She might have asked to see both men when she’d

walked into the firehouse, but she wouldn’t force the lieutenant to talk
to her, and she certainty wouldn’t force him to do anything else.

Like you could force a man like that to do anything.
That was also true. Her first impression of Ryder Cox was that of

a take-charge man, one that didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do,
and one who definitely wanted to dislike cats even when he had such
a sweetheart like Isis in his big, strong arms.

Strong arms you’ve dreamed about holding you ever since you

saw them.

Ryder Cox’s arms hadn’t been the only ones wrapped around her

in her dreams the last three nights. Blaine Ellis had been there, too,
creating more erotic images in her mind than any of her fictional
character had ever done. After three days, it had started to drive her
crazy. Worse, she’d gone through every pair of panties she’d been
able to salvage from the fire, because every time she thought of either
man, especially both of them together, her pussy got so wet it soaked
her clothes.

Definitely do not think about those images now.
No, she would stand here and patiently wait. How long had it been

since the firefighter who had introduced himself as something Darwin
had disappeared into the firehouse anyway? Maybe she’d come at a
bad time. She hadn’t been able to stop by the afternoon of the fire.
Between waiting for word on when she could get her things out of her
half-torched apartment and attempting to settle Isis and Boo in
another new place while Vivian continually sneezed her head off,
there simply hadn’t been time. Vivian had told her the fire department
worked on a twenty-four on forty-eight off schedule. She’d deduced
then that today would be the next time the men were on shift.

Determined to win the war with her nerves that wanted her to

fidget or, better yet, turn tail and run before Blaine and Ryder came
into the bay, she walked to the passenger side of the nearest fire truck.
The fire department insignia had been painted on the door with the

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words Cherish Fire Department in bold, gold letters above it. Near
what she thought was called a running board, the numbers one and six
were painted in white. Along the top of the bed of the truck were the
words Fire Rescue.

“Rescue Squad Company 16,” she whispered, putting it all

together.

“At your service, beautiful.”
Startled as much by the rich, masculine voice as the endearment,

Lesley spun around and sucked in a quick breath when her breasts
brushed across the solid wall of a male chest. Her head tipped back
and her gaze slammed into Blaine’s coffee-cream eyes.

“Hi.” The word came out as a half whisper and half squeak and

she felt her cheeks heat.

Blaine’s lips stretched in a slow grin that had her rapidly pounding

heart skipping a beat. “Hi. I was beginning to wonder if you were
going to stop by.”

He smelled amazing, a heady mix of a soap, shampoo, and man

that sent her senses reeling. Somehow, she managed to gather her wits
enough to give him an intelligent comeback. “You haven’t been
here.”

A pleased dart shot through his eyes. “You called to see if we

were on shift before you came?”

Lesley smiled. “I’m a writer, remember? I know how to do my

research.” Even if all I did was ask my best friend.

His laugh was as spellbinding as the rest of him. “Right. Your

research. You wanted to know more about the fire department?”

And you. Lesley bit her tongue on the words. Instead, she nodded

and widened her smile as she turned her head toward Ryder. Ryder
Cox didn’t look any happier today than he had three days ago, but she
didn’t let that deter her. Some men simply looked angry all the time.
Maybe he was one of those. Or maybe something had happened to
him that had made him this way. She wondered if he would give her
the chance to get to know him enough to find out.

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“Hello, Lieutenant.”
“Lesley.” He used her name by way of greeting in that hoarse,

rusty voice that sent goose pimples dancing down her spine. “How is
Isis?”

His question surprised a half laugh out of her. For a man who’d

acted like he would’ve rather let Isis burn than rescue her from the
burning apartment, the first thing he asked when she saw him again
was about the cat’s well-being. “She’s great. So is Boo. They’re back
to normal.” She looked at Blaine to include him in the conversation.
“I took them to the vet like you suggested. They had a little smoke
inhalation. The vet gave them fresh oxygen and told me to bring them
back for a checkup next week.”

“I’m glad to hear they’re okay,” Ryder said.
“They’re in my car out front if you want to see them.”
Ryder’s thick brows lifted. “Afraid to leave them at home now?”
“I won’t be once I move again. I’ve been staying with Vivian

since the fire, but she’s allergic to cats, so…”

“Have you found another place to stay?”
Ryder shot Blaine a stern warning look. Hmm, Lesley wondered

what that was about.

“Not yet. I have an appointment to view another apartment at two

o’clock.”

It was one of the two she’d dismissed when she’d settled on the

apartment that had caught fire. It cost the same as the one she had to
move out of, but would require her to sign a three-month minimum
lease. Though she didn’t want to get into a binding contract for a
rundown apartment, she hadn’t found any other option. She couldn’t
keep staying with Vivian. Watching her friend suffer because of her
cats was just too much. She needed another place to live as soon as
possible.

“What complex are you looking at?” Blaine asked.
“Alpine Villas.” Though his expression didn’t change, the look in

his eyes did. It was something akin to a cross between concern and

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disbelief and it brought the heat back to her cheeks. “I’ve already
looked at it once,” she rushed on before he could say anything. “I
know it’s not the greatest place in the city, but it’s what I can afford
right now.”

Ryder shifted his weight on his feet and shoved his hands in the

pockets of his black uniform cargo-style pants. “I guess the belief that
published authors are all millionaires is a load of garbage, huh?”

Lesley’s traitorous gaze had dropped to his crotch and awareness,

swift and panty-wetting, zinged through his system. Both men wore
what she assumed were their uniform pants, black cargo-style that fit
them both to sheer perfection. With his hands in his pockets taking up
the scant slack the material had offered over his cock, she got a good
indication of just how impressive of a package the man had.

She managed to tear her attention off the thick, sizable bulge of

his dick before she started to whimper, and met his potent gaze. “It’s a
common misconception.” Hell, when she’d started writing at the age
of fifteen, she’d had that misconception, too. It hadn’t taken long after
her first book was released for the delusion to fade. “Writing is a very
competitive market no matter what genre of books an author puts out.
There are some of those, I guess you would call them, lucky ones that
hit the top of the best-seller list with their first book.” She frowned.
“I’m not one of them. I’m making enough to get by, but I’m still
looking for that book that will help me make my mark.”

“And you think one about the fire service will hit that mark you’re

looking for?”

Blaine’s attention on her was palpable enough to be a physical

caress. She could feel him studying her. The intensity of it sent desire
shimmering through her veins as she met his gaze. “I don’t know. If I
knew the solution, I would’ve written it a long time ago. The market
for ménage romances is huge right now, so I’m thinking it’s worth a
shot. And, gosh, what better guys are there to use as a basis for
fictional heroes than real life heroes?”

“We’re not heroes, sugar.”

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Surprised, Lesley angled a look at Ryder. “Really? I bet if Isis and

Boo could speak English, they would be quick to argue with you.”

If she didn’t know better, she would’ve sworn the corner of his

lips twitched.

“So you want to base these guys off us?” Blaine asked.
“TDH men in uniform who risk their lives to save people and

even animals from burning buildings, among other things? You’re
perfect!”

“TDH?”
What a way to be forward, Lesley.
Her cheeks heated as she met Ryder’s gaze. Hell, while she was at

it, she supposed she might as well tell him how wet she’d gotten
moments ago when she’d been checking out his crotch. She took a
deep breath, which didn’t help to get the words out because he’d
stepped close enough that his woodsy scent combined with Blaine’s
springy scent and sent her thoughts scrambling. “Oops.” She bit her
bottom lip and gave him a sheepish smile. “It’s an acronym for—”

“Tall, dark, and handsome.” Blaine grinned at her in a way that

jump-started her heart. “You used it to describe the biker in one of the
books you wrote.”

Lesley felt her jaw drop. “You read A Really Hot Ride?”
Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “A good bit of it.”
“In other words, you skimmed it until you got to the sex scenes,”

she teased.

A man obviously comfortable with the decisions he made in life

and not the least bit afraid to own up to them, he flattened a hand over
his heart. “Guilty as charged.”

What were you thinking about when you read it?
Oh, no way was she going to let that question spill from her lips.

She’d already been forward enough with the whole TDH reference.
“Do I dare ask if you liked it? That is, what you read of it, at least?”

* * * *

Tonya Ramagos

Blaine had enjoyed the hell out of it, especially with the little

spins his mind had put on the erotic scenes. He remembered one in
particular where the biker hero had fucked the heroine on the
motorcycle. It had been far too easy to picture Ryder doing that to
Lesley after Blaine had his way with her sultry body and turned her
over to his closest friend.

“I’ll tell you over dinner tomorrow night.” He purposefully made

his words a statement instead of a question. He’d felt that click again
the moment he’d seen her in the firehouse bay studying Rescue 16. It
was enough to let him know his imagination hadn’t played up the
attraction he’d felt three days ago when he’d seen her.

Her answering smile was a ray of sunshine, reaching out to pull

him out of the dark hole he’d been struggling to climb out of for more
than a year. “I’ll pencil you in my schedule.”

Wide awake and ready to dive right in, Blaine’s libido did a happy

dance. He tempered it before he attempted to lavish every inch of her
sexy body with the attention it deserved. “Your friend said you
wanted a tour of the firehouse? Is there anything specific you need to
know, or are you looking for general information first?”

She paused long enough to make him wonder where her mental

trip had taken her before she answered. “Both. If I’m going to base
my heroes off of you and Ryder, I’ll need to know quite a bit about
the rescue squad, but I’ll still need the general information on
everything else, too.”

“How about we start with Rescue Squad?” He stretched an arm

beside her head and slapped the side of the truck. “This is Fire Rescue
16.”

And you are absolutely incredible.
It wouldn’t take much, a simply move of his free arm to mirror the

other with a step or two forward, and he’d have her caged in against
the truck. Bright blue eyes shining with attraction and amusement
stared up at him from an angelic face with a strong chin, full lips, and

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an obvious underbite that spelled all kinds of sexy to Blaine’s swiftly
hardening cock.

“Really?” She giggled, bringing him back to the conversation. “I

figured that much out while I was waiting for the two of you to come
out here.”

Enjoying himself, he grinned down at her. “You did. But did you

figure out what it does, what equipment is on it, and how we use that
equipment on a fire scene?”

She turned her head toward his outstretched arm, her luscious lips

nearly brushing his flesh as she gazed at the rear of the truck. “I didn’t
even come close.”

“Then that’s where we’ll start your fire education.”
“Lieutenant.” Chaz Sloan poked his head around the front of the

Rescue truck. “The captain needs to see you in his office.”

Hell, Blaine had gotten so wrapped up in flirting with Lesley that

he’d forgotten Ryder was standing there. It had been too long since
he’d made a move on a woman with his closest friend at his side. The
fact that he wasn’t used to it anymore made him wince as he shot a
glance toward Ryder.

Relief, swift and obviously welcomed, stole Ryder’s sullen

expression as the man nodded at Slone. If Blaine didn’t know better,
which he did since they’d both been in the bathroom when Lesley had
arrived, he would’ve sworn Ryder had staged the interruption to get
him away from her.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Lesley,” Ryder told her, his voice

bland with an edge of curtness that made Blaine want to deck him.

“Yes, of course.” Lesley’s smile dripped with disappointment as

she looked at Ryder. “Duty calls, right?”

Ryder gave her the first semblance of a smile Blaine had seen on

his buddy’s lips in far too long. It wasn’t even a real smile and
definitely not enough to etch the lines deeper in his face, but it was
there. Blaine wondered if the man even realized it.

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“Say hello to Isis for me.” Ryder turned on his heel and walked

away.

Blaine looked back at Lesley and waited as she watched Ryder

disappear from sight before he spoke. “Sorry about that. Where were
we?”

“Is he always so angry?”
Blaine took a deep breath, intending to let it out slow. It got stuck

for a time when he caught a whiff of her scent…coconut, spices, and
just a hint of something floral and purely female. “Lately? Yeah. He’s
got…issues he’s having trouble dealing with. It’s made him a hard
ass. But, beneath all that scowling and dickwadishness, he’s really a
teddy bear.”

She made a raspberry sound with her lips at that. “He might be a

nice guy, but I doubt anyone has ever called him a teddy bear.”

Not true, and Blaine wished he’d used a different term to describe

Ryder. “Teddy bear” had been Marsha’s pet name for Ryder. Funny,
seeing as how she’d turned him into a grizzly when she’d walked out
on them.

Blaine gave into the need gnawing at him and dropped his hand

from the truck in favor of putting it on her slender hip. The contact
rocked his system in a way he hadn’t expected, igniting a blaze of
desire in his hand that traveled straight to his now rock-solid cock.

“He’s warming up to you.”
And so am I.
Christ! He had to fist his free hand at his other side to keep from

grabbing her with it, too. The need to touch more of her, to yank her
into his arms and crush his mouth to hers, was so great he nearly did
it.

He wasn’t the only one affected by the casual touch. He’d felt her

tremble the instant his hand had landed on her hip, heard her soft,
quick intake of breath, and saw the desires swirling in her eyes as she
gazed up at him. His gaze dropped to her mouth just as her tongue
peeked from between her lips. His focus followed the path her tongue

Scorching Research

took as she dragged it along her bottom lip, and his cock throbbed
behind the zipper of his uniform pants.

Jesus, the woman was spectacular. Simply looking at her,

touching her, being this close to her, was making him forget he was
standing in the bay of the firehouse. He had to remember that. If he
allowed himself to forget, he’d slam her against the side of the
Rescue, have her clothes off in the blink of an eye, and find a sweet
salvation for his pulsing cock in the confines of her pussy.

“So,” she said after a long pause, her voice a little breathless. A

part of him wondered if it was the idea of Ryder warming up to her or
his hand on her hip and the closeness between them that had put that
breathy tone in her voice. The rest of him prayed it was both.

She looked away, breaking the spell she’d damn near had him

under, and pointed to the closed compartments on the truck. “Are
those where the tools are kept?”

Blaine saw two options as he felt her start to turn toward Rescue

16. He could drop his hand from her hip, or he could let his fingers
dance across the small of her back until his hand closed over her hip
opposite him. He went with option two, his hand settling on her other
hip as she turned her back on him, and reached around her with his
free hand to pull up the door to the closest compartment.

Rational thought seemed to be a thing of the past when he got too

close to this woman. He realized that quickly when he felt her shiver
again as he gave into the urge and closed in, pressing his front to her
back. He knew there was no way she couldn’t tell how turned on he
was. His cock was harder than the pole on the other side of Truck 29.
It pressed into the small of her back, aching to be inside her sexy
body.

Keeping his cool despite the surge of temptation and needs

barreling through him, he started identifying the equipment and
explaining the use of each. “This is where we keep the vehicle rescue
tools.”

Tonya Ramagos

He dipped his head, turning it toward her, and lost his train of

thought. The combination of her coconut, spicy, fruity scent was
stronger now that he was even closer to her, but the heady arousal he
smelled beneath it nearly brought him to his knees. The sweet scent of
her pussy wafting up from between her legs, overloading his senses
and putting him way too damn close to begging. He had to swallow
the growl bubbling in his throat before he could continue.

“The tools we use when we pull up on an accident scene and there

are trapped victims in a vehicle.” He pointed to each tool in turn.
“AMK-21 cutter, AMK-24 spreader, those are used to cut and spread
metal for extrication. The Ram system is used for stabilizing a frame
once it’s been cut. That’s a—”

“I really should be writing all of this down.”
Blaine grinned and turned his face back toward her at the same

time she turned her face toward him. Their lips were a mere breath
apart and the half-startled, totally heated look in her eyes told him she
realized it. “Don’t worry about it.” His voice was gruff even to his
own ears. “Anytime you need to know specifics, you know where to
find me.”

“We should probably move to the next compartment, don’t you

think?”

Her gaze searched his as the breathy question left her lips. “Nah,

there’s still things in this one I haven’t explained to you yet.”

“But you’ve stopped explaining.”
Blaine silently said to hell with caution and reason, put his free

hand on her other hip, and pulled her back more firmly against his
front. “Yeah, I got distracted.”

“That might be dangerous.”
Even as she whispered the words, Blaine felt her hands close over

his on her hips. It was all the encouragement he needed. “Sweetheart,
I’m a firefighter,” he said against her lips. “I live for danger.”

Blaine kissed her. He’d intended to take it slow, to coax his way

into her mouth, and draw out the moment. Instead, the instant his lips

Scorching Research

touched hers, he felt something in him snap. He drove his tongue into
her mouth, found hers, and led it in a fiery dance that drew the sexiest
moan he’d ever heard from her throat. Needing more, unable to stop
himself, he spun her around and slammed her back against the
Rescue, framing her sides with his hands, and sliding them up until
his thumbs met with the undersides of her breasts.

Her delicate hands were all over him, one gliding up and down his

bicep while the other reached behind his neck to cup his nape. That
hand moved up the back of his head, the fingers attempting to lace in
his short hair.

Blaine angled his head to take the kiss deeper as he let his hands

push between their bodies to mold over her breasts. Her head fell
back, breaking the kiss as his hands closed over her ample mounds
and gave them a gently pressured squeeze.

“Oh, God.”
Blaine’s gaze locked on the even line of her jaw. He licked his

way across it, nipped the tender flesh, and then danced his tongue
down the slender column of her throat. “Don’t get that apartment,” he
said gruffly against the side of her neck.

“I…What? You want to talk about this now?”
Blaine smiled and nipped the muscle that ran down the side of her

neck. “There’s nothing to talk about. Ryder and I have room at our
place. You can stay there.”

“But, I…”
He didn’t have any intention of letting her argue. He lifted his

head, silencing her with another soul-searching kiss before pulling
back to gaze into her glassy eyes. “You’ll stay with us. I’ll give you
my key as soon as I’m finished here.”

Something that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a moan

left her lip as he dipped his head again, this time finding the neckline
of her blouse. He dragged his tongue along the edge, delved it beneath
it, and flicked the tip over the swell of one breast.

Tonya Ramagos

“Blaine.” He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. “I’m

burning up. You’re supposed to put out fires, not start them.”

Blaine chuckled and moved his tongue to the swell of her other

breast. “Sweetheart, I’m just getting started.”

“But we’re…Oh, yes!”
Whatever argument she’d been about to make got lost when he

pushed the edge of her blouse down with his nose and probed his
tongue beneath the lace of her bra. Her hand in his hair found the top
of his head, the only place his hair was long enough to tug. She
figured it out quickly, her fingers fisting the strands as he inched his
tongue further beneath the lacy cup of her bra on a quest to find her
nipple.

A low growl rumbled from his throat when the tip of his tongue

made contact with the hardened bud. He flattened his tongue over the
stiff point, rotating it as he shoved a knee between her legs and lifted
it to her pussy.

She was hot, burning up like she’d said she was. He could feel the

heat seeping through her panties and shorts and into his pant leg. He
lifted his leg higher as she started to gyrate against it, her pussy
grinding on his upper knee and sending his balls into tortured
hysterics.

Reality struck as he lifted his head and stared down at her.

“Christ, I want you. I want to be inside you. I want to feel that heat of
your pussy surrounding my cock.”

“God, this is crazy,” she said on a breathless laugh, but her gaze

slid from his and he saw an idea spark in her eyes. “Is that a closet
over there?”

Blaine didn’t need to look to know what was behind him. He

grinned slowly as he caught onto the idea. “Supply closet. There’s not
much open space, but…”

A vixen smile unfolded on her luscious lips as she lifted one leg

and then the other, locking her strong thighs around his waist. Blaine

Scorching Research

quickly moved his hands to support her perfect ass, loving the way
her cheeks fit in his palms.

“Then take me there,” she said against his mouth. “I’m sure we’ll

find all the room we need.”

Blaine turned with her in her arms. There was no way in hell he

was going to put her down now. He shot a glance around the
firehouse bay and found it thankfully deserted. He could pull this off
and no one would be the wiser.

He was two steps from the door when the ear-piercing sound of

the tones split the through the station.

“Engine 4, Rescue 19, Ambulance 42, multiple car accident,

Amnicola Highway, victims trapped.”

Blaine slowly closed his eyes even as the adrenaline of the call

took over the sexual fog in his brain. “That’s us, baby.” He eased her
to her feet as he opened his eyes and gazed down at her. “I’ve got to
go.”

“Of course!” Her hand still on his bicep gave him a soft slap.

“Go!”

Blaine dug in his pocket for his keys. “The house key is the one

with the red rubber on it. Take it and leave the ring on the table inside
before you leave.” He shoved the key ring into her hand as he started
to back away. “The address is 121 Hunter Lane. Ryder and I will be
home in the morning.”

Before she could say a word, he spun on his heel and double-

timed it to his gear sitting outside Rescue 16 as the other firefighters
of Rescue Squad and Engine Company poured into the bay.

* * * *

Ryder slammed the passenger door on Rescue 16 hard enough to

make the cab rattle and turned to survey the accident scene. The
address of several factories and the community college, Amnicola
Highway was often one of the busiest streets in Station 5’s district of

Tonya Ramagos

Cherish. Today proved no different, he realized as he scanned the four
lanes of gridlock traffic stopped in both directions and squad cars
cutting off the shoulders to keep cars from attempting to drive around
the accident.

“You’re pissed.”
Ryder didn’t have to look to know Ellis had followed him out of

the truck. He ignored the comment long enough to finish taking in the
accident scene. “See that white Audi?” He pointed to the car in
question. “Look at the way it’s positioned and the distance from the
college. What do you want to bet it’s a kid, fresh out of high school,
first semester of college, and too damn eager to be behind the wheel
and ready to head home for the day that he or she couldn’t pay
attention to simple traffic light laws?”

The setup of the scene was too perfect for anything else. A semi

had overturned across the westbound lanes, the trailer landing on the
hood of a minivan, and a motorcycle lay on its side beneath that
trailer. The biker was nowhere that Ryder could see.

Ryder winced, knowing what a spill off a motorcycle like that

could do to a rider. He keyed up the microphone secured to his left
shoulder that was attached to the handheld radio on his belt as he
turned back to the truck and started pulling open compartments.
“Anyone found the biker?”

“Rafferty’s already got him on a stretcher,” the captain’s deep

baritone came back in an instant. “There’s a guy and a girl, about
nineteen, trapped in the Audi. The driver’s still inside the cab on the
semi. You, Ellis, and Slone, get the torch, cutter, and spreader, and
work on the Audi. Calfee and Reed, break the glass on that semi and
get that driver out.”

“Yeah, I’m figuring you’re right about the cause here and I’m

pretty pissed about that, too,” Ellis said as he ran alongside Ryder to
the Audi. “But I was talking about Lesley.”

Lesley. Damn it! She was the last thing Ryder wanted or needed

to think about now or ever. There’d been no way in hell he would’ve

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admitted it to Blaine in the firehouse bathroom that morning, but the
man had been right. His pissed-off mood had absolutely everything to
do with Lesley Davenport. He’d been playing mental gyrations with
himself since he’d turned his back on the woman at the apartment fire
scene three days ago, trying to figure out what the hell it was about
her that had allowed her to dig her lethal claws into him in a matter of
seconds. He’d done his damnedest to convince himself that he’d
exaggerated the impact she’d had on his body and mind, that she
wasn’t as sexy, as gorgeous, and as appealing as he remembered.

He’d been wrong. He’d known it the instant he’d walked into the

firehouse bays and saw her again today. She had the same impact as
an unexpected fist to the gut—shocking, intense, and demanding an
instant response he could never allow himself to give her. Doing so
would only set himself up for another disaster, and he wasn’t sure
he’d made it through the last one yet.

“You told her she could stay with us, didn’t you?” Ryder fired

over his shoulder as he reached the Audie.

“Yeah, I left her with my house key.”
Ryder gritted his teeth at Blaine’s response as he kneeled beside

the driver’s door of the Audi to peer through the shattered and caved-
in window. A quick glance told her the trailer had landed on the
windshield, too, the impact jarring the frame down until the
dashboard of the car caved in on the passengers.

A girl that couldn’t have been more than eighteen if she was a day

cried out to him, her face streaked with tears and smudges of blood.
“I’m stuck. The steering wheel. I can’t get out from under it.”

Even if she could’ve, she wouldn’t have been able to get out of

the door with the way the frame had given upon impact. “Stay calm.”
He softened his voice as he eased to his feet. “We’re going to get you
out of here.” He turned to Ellis. “We’re going to need the jaws on this
one. When we get this door to open, we’re going to have to brace the
frame with the 24 or it’s going to collapse under the weight of that
trail.”

Tonya Ramagos

Nodding, Blaine readied the AMK-24 as Slone fired up the

hydraulic engine on the Jaws of Life, cutting the roof above the door
before peeling the door back enough that Blaine could position the
ram. They used the AMK-24 to roll the dash off the victim, lifting the
steering wheel in the process so they could gain access to the girl.

All the while, Ryder talked to her through the narrow space he

could get to near the windshield, asking her about her classes, her
major, and even her grades, just to keep her mind off of what was
happening. The frame stable and the girl freed, paramedics Rafferty
and Ingram moved in to secure the girl’s neck in a brace and ease her
out of the car and onto a stretcher.

Ryder turned and expelled a hard breath from his lungs as he saw

the firefighters of Engine Company 4 pulling the driver of the semi
through the windshield. His handheld radio on his belt squawked and
the captain’s voice came through the frequency.

“All victims clear.”
The instant his mind heard that “all clear,” relief washed over him

even as Lesley Davenport’s image filled his mind’s eye. Fuck! He
didn’t want to think about her. Why wouldn’t the evil witch leave him
alone?

As if reading his thoughts, Blaine fell into step at his side as they

returned to the Rescue truck. “She’ll be at the cabin when we get
home in the morning.”

“That’s your deal. Not mine,” Ryder said tightly. “I told you I

don’t want to have anything to do with her, and I meant it.”

Even as he pulled open the passenger door of the truck, he felt the

dread settling in his gut. It didn’t matter what he’d told Blaine or how
much he’d meant it, come morning, he would be totally fucked.

* * * *

“Are you crazy?” Vivian’s tone over the cellular waves told

Lesley she thought she was exactly that. “Where are you?”

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Lesley looked right, then left, and saw nothing but a perfectly

manicured lawn stretching between two walls of trees. She turned her
head straight. Three wooden steps would take her to a wooden porch
that spanned the length of what, by all appearances, seemed to be a
log cabin.

“Standing outside their front door.”
She didn’t know what she’d expected to find at 121 Hunter Lane,

but a charming log cabin in the middle of the woods certainly hadn’t
been it.

“Are they home? No, of course not,” Vivian answered her own

question before Lesley could. “Their shift won’t end until six-thirty
tomorrow morning. They gave you a key, right?”

Lesley glanced down at the key encased in red rubber in the palm

of her free hand. “Blaine did.”

She wondered if he’d told Ryder about it yet. She remembered the

obvious warning look Ryder had shot Blaine when Blaine had asked
if she’d found another place to stay. Had that look been Ryder’s way
of telling his roommate he didn’t, under any circumstances, want her
staying with them?

“You’ve come this far. You drove out there. You’re out of your

car. You’re standing at the front door and you have a key. What are
you waiting for? Go inside!”

Lesley stared at the door again, fisting the key in her hand. “This

is crazy, Viv. I just met these guys three days ago. I nearly had sex
with one of them in an open bay at a firehouse where anyone could’ve
walked in on us. Now I’m thinking about…”

“You did what! Holy smokes, Lesley. You didn’t tell me that.

Which one?”

“…moving in with them,” Lesley finished her sentence before

answering Vivian’s question. “Blaine. He was explaining the
equipment kept on the Rescue truck. He touched me and, God,
Vivian.”

Tonya Ramagos

“That hot, huh?” Amusement and a heavy load of envy laced

Vivian’s tone.

“Scorching!” Lesley could still feel Blaine’s mouth on her lips,

her neck and throat, and her breast. She could still feel his hands on
her everywhere, his leg pressed between hers, and the strength of his
knee against her flaming pussy. Christ! She still couldn’t believe
she’d nearly gotten off from a dry hump against a fire truck. More,
had she lost her mind by suggesting he take her into the nearest
closet?

Definitely.
“What stopped you?” Vivian wanted to know. “And please don’t

tell me propriety won out.”

“They got a call, a multiple car accident.” Talk about being saved

by the bell. She’d been ready, willing, and too damn hot to give a shit
about anything but feeling his impressively hard cock in her pussy.

“Damn!” The frustration in Vivian’s voice didn’t come close to

matching the wave that had washed through Lesley the instant the
tones had sounded over the firehouse speakers. “So, how many
chapters of your new book do you have written in your head after the
last three days?”

Lesley giggled. “No complete ones, but the creative juices are

flowing nicely.”

Vivian barked a laugh. “Honey, those aren’t the only juices those

two firefighters have flowing in you. This is exactly what you moved
to Cherish to find. Now get your skinny ass in that house before I
drive out there and make you.”

“You’re at work,” Lesley reminded her friend as she cautiously

put her foot on the first step. “I’ll be safe for a few hours.”

“I can claim to have an emergency and bolt out for an hour. Don’t

tempt me, girlfriend.”

Lesley smiled even though she knew Vivian couldn’t see it and

put her opposite foot on the second step. “I’m almost on the front
porch, okay? There’s no need to go all Annie Wilkes on me.”

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“Ha! I’m not the one who will be putting you out of your misery.

I’d wager my next paycheck there are two firefighters at Station 5
anxiously counting down the minutes until the end of their shift so
they can get home to you.”

“One, perhaps,” Lesley corrected her as she stepped onto the

porch. “I don’t think Ryder likes me very much.”

Vivian scoffed. “Yeah, right! I saw the way that man was looking

at you when your apartment caught fire. The only things that stopped
him from tossing you over his shoulder and carting you off to bed
were Isis in his arm and the fire blazing behind him.”

Rather than argue, Lesley shook her head and put the key in the

knob. “I’m unlocking the door now.”

“Jeez, it’s about time. What does it look like in there?”
“I said I was unlocking the door. I didn’t say I had it open.”
“Ugg,” Vivian growled. “I can feel my Annie Wilkes side starting

to take over.”

Lesley laughed as she twisted the knob and pushed open the door.

Large, uncovered windows on the front and sides allowed the sun to
spill inside, painting the inside of the cabin in a welcoming light. She
took a tentative step forward and looked around. She’d walked into a
spaciously open living room and kitchen. A large leather sectional
with recliners on either end spanned one wall and circled to half of
another. The television on the wall across from it was even larger than
the sectional and made her smile.

Men. Always in need of the biggest TV they can find.
A stone fireplace occupied the corner opposite the sectional, and

the kitchen, with a small round table for dining, took up the remaining
space on the far side of the room.

“Did I lose you?”
Lesley remembered the cell phone in her hand and gave a half

laugh. “No. Sorry. I was checking things out. It’s surprisingly clean
considering two bachelors live here, and it’s gorgeous.”

“Well, now you have your setting.”

Tonya Ramagos

Lesley drew her brows together as she slowly scanned the space

again, her mind cataloguing what she saw. “You’re right. This would
be a perfect setting for the book.”

“Did you close the door behind you?”
Lesley turned and glanced at the still open front door. “Not yet.

Why?”

“Do it. I need to get back to work, but I’m making sure you don’t

bolt back out of that place before I hang up.”

Lesley rolled her eyes even though she knew Vivian couldn’t see

her. “I’m not bolting back out, but I will have to go back to the car for
Isis, Boo, and my things. Go back to work. I’ve come this far. There’s
no sense in backing out now.”

“No second thoughts,” Vivian said firmly. “From this point on,

it’s full speed ahead.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lesley thumbed the end call icon on her cell and

shoved it in her pocket as she turned in a slow circle, stopping when
she spotted the staircase blocked by the open front door. She tipped
her head back, following the staircase up.

“Wow!”
The staircase led to a loft bedroom overlooking the downstairs.

She couldn’t see much of it through the log railing from where she
stood, but she caught a vision of herself leaning on that rail looking
down. Maybe she’d be watching Ryder move around in the kitchen or
lounging in one of the recliners.

And where would Blaine be?
A new image of Blaine behind her formed in her mind and she

could almost feel the solid wall of his body pressed against her back.
His naked body, she realized, as the image shifted and she became
naked, too. Her nipples beaded to pulsing hardened points and
wetness pooled between her pussy lips as she fantasized about Blaine
fucking her from behind while Ryder kicked back in one of the
recliners and watched.

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“Wow!” She half breathed and half laughed the word as she raked

a hand through her hair. “Talk about finding the inspiration I’ve
needed.”

From this point on, it’s full speed ahead.
Vivian’s words echoed through her mind as she turned back to the

door and walked outside. How much faster could she speed ahead? In
less than a week, she’d packed up her things, moved to a different
state, lost half her things in a fire, met two incredibly hot firemen,
nearly had sex with one of them in public, and was now about to
move in with them!

“You wanted research,” she told herself as she walked down the

steps and headed for her car. “You’re definitely getting that and a
whole lot more.”

Tonya Ramagos

Chapter Three

Ryder glanced at the red Chevy Cobalt parked in his driveway, his

hands gripping the handlebars harder as he steered his Harley around
the car and headed for the garage behind the cabin. He’d never seen
the Cobalt before, but that didn’t matter. He knew damn well who it
belonged to. Lesley Davenport was in his house.

Gritting his teeth so hard he was surprised he didn’t feel bits of

enamel shooting out of his ass, he parked the Harley outside the
garage doors, cut the engine, and glared at the back of the cabin over
his shoulder.

He spotted her in an instant, through the back window that offered

a clear view of the kitchen and the perfect woman moving around
inside. Her back was to him, her long sun-streaked brunette hair
cascading down to the waistline of a pair of army-green shorts that
barely covered the half moons of her tight ass. Her shapely bare legs
carried her from the counter to the table where she paused, set
something down, and retraced her steps.

What the hell was she doing awake at seven in the morning? He’d

hoped she’d still be asleep. He only needed ten minutes, fifteen tops,
inside. Just long enough to take a quick shower to wash off the soot
and grime caked to his skin after the brush fire that had come through
just before his shift had ended. Then he’d come out here and hide out
in the garage until he could return to the firehouse in forty-eight
hours.

“Should’ve taken a damn shower at the station,” he muttered as he

pulled off his helmet and hooked it on the handlebar.

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Deciding to forgo the shower, since he’d be greasy in two-point-

seven seconds after he started working on the motorcycle inside the
garage anyway, he got off the bike, unstrapped his gear bag from the
back rack, and shot another glance at the cabin.

Mistake. Damn it! He shouldn’t have looked again. Then he

wouldn’t have seen that Lesley had spotted him. She’d turned around
at the same time he’d taken that quick look and froze at the sight of
him.

Ignore her. Get into the garage, lock the fucking door, and

pretend she’s not there.

He turned, intending to do just that, when he heard the back door

of the cabin open behind him.

“Aren’t you going to come inside?”
Ryder tipped his head back and closed his eyes as her sultry voice

drifted to him on the gentle morning breeze and moved over him like
a physical caress.

“I made breakfast.”
Ryder righted his head, opening his eyes only to draw his brows

together. Breakfast? That’s what she was doing in the kitchen at this
time of the morning? His traitorous stomach growled as he slowly
turned to face her.

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” he lied. He had a stash of protein

bars he kept in the garage for days when he got too busy working to
stop for a meal. He doubted it would be as good as whatever she’d
cooked inside, but it would be safer than spending even a half second
alone with her.

“Oh.” The disappointment in that single word made him feel like

the jerk he knew he was being to her. “Where is Blaine? I didn’t hear
him pull up.”

Ryder hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his uniform pants and

rocked back on heels that itched to turn and run. “He’s at his
mother’s. He spends the first hour or so of every forty-eight off at her
place.”

Tonya Ramagos

Even with twenty yards of distance between them, the smile that

unfolded on her amazing lips wreaked havoc on his system. “That’s
sweet.”

“Yeah, he’s a real sugar muffin,” Ryder grumbled, not expecting

her to hear him. She obviously did, though, because her beautiful
head angled slightly to one side and her expression filled with a stop-
being-an-ass look. He actually found himself biting back a grin.
“They’re close. Always have been. His father passed away a few
years ago and he’s an only child, so he goes over there to take care of
the yard and anything else she needs him to do.”

Her dazzling smile returned. “Now, you see. Hearing about a man

who will do something like that for his mother makes him a real sugar
muffin in my book.”

“Well, there you go. You’ve got your character. A firefighter with

the nickname sugar muffin. That ought to spring all sorts of jokes
around your fictional firehouse.”

Her expression beamed. “You’re right!” She patted her pockets

and frowned.

Ryder frowned, too, as his gaze fell to watch the movement. Her

slender, sexy body filled out the front of the shorts as well as it did the
back. And, of course, his attention had to lock onto the camel toe
between her shapely legs. His cock, that hadn’t managed to go
completely soft since he’d first laid eyes on her, leapt to instant, rock-
hard attention in his pants.

“Jeez, I’ve got to start carrying a notebook around you guys.

You’re giving me so many ideas I’m afraid I’m going to forget.”

He managed to tear his attention from her pussy, shutting off the

speculation of whether he’d find bare flesh or springy brunette curls
beneath her shorts, and met her gaze. “I’m sure you won’t have any
trouble remembering them.” Movement at her feet caught his
attention, and his gaze dropped to the black cat, its eyes locked on
him, and one paw inching out the door. “Do you let them outside?”

Scorching Research

“Who?” she asked, obviously puzzled by the change in

conversation.

“Your cats. She’s about to make a run for it.”
Lesley gasped as her head jerked down and she spotted the cat.

She stomped her foot and the cat turned tail and ran back into the
cabin. “I can’t believe she just did that,” she said, her attention
returning to Ryder. “They’re both inside cats. Believe it or not,
neither one of them has ever tried to walk out an open door until
now.” She chewed her bottom lip even as it spread into a smile. “It’s
you. That’s what made her do that. She was trying to get out here to
see you.”

Ryder scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.”
“Are you sure you’re not hungry? I made biscuits, sausage, bacon,

eggs, and white gravy. I figured since you and Blaine had the stuff to
make it here in the kitchen that you must eat it from time to time.”

It was actually an off-shift ritual, though he usually waited until

Blaine got home from his mother’s house before he did the cooking.
Sometimes, it ended up being closer to a brunch than a breakfast by
then, but it filled their bellies until they got ready to forage for dinner
sometime in the night.

His stomach growled again, harder and louder this time, as if

daring him to refuse a second time. The protein bar in the garage
wasn’t going to satisfy his appetite this morning and he damn well
knew it. The problem came in also knowing the food she’d cooked,
even if it was his and Blaine’s morning ritual meal, wouldn’t do it
either.

But she will.
Ryder stared at his booted feet as they started toward the cabin on

their own accord. He’d be okay as long as he didn’t touch her. There
was no way in hell he could allow himself to do that. If he did, he
knew he wouldn’t be able to pry his hands off her sultry body…ever!
And if he let her get her hands on him? Jesus, he knew without a
doubt in his mind, body, and heart that he’d go up in flames.

Tonya Ramagos

* * * *

Lesley turned sideways in the doorway as Ryder approached,

thinking he looked every bit like a man who was about to walk into
his own funeral. Her heart pounded with each step that brought him
closer, her mind wondering what she could do to take his perpetual
surly look away. He was only a few feet from her before he finally
lifted his head and met her gaze again. She realized then, without such
distance between them, that the space she’d left him in the doorway to
enter the cabin would never work. His broad shoulders and solid
muscular frame wouldn’t fit between the doorframe and her even if he
attempted to squeeze between them.

The idea of continuing to stand there and see what he would do

was almost too tempting to ignore. Desire sparked in her system,
raining fiery embers through her body at the need to feel him against
her. She ignored the temptation anyway and turned to walk back into
the kitchen, sensing his gaze on her back as he followed her into the
cabin.

“I fibbed a little.” She stopped at the stove and turned to face him,

smiling when Isis came racing across the floor and halted at his feet.
“I told you she was trying to get out there to see you.”

And wasn’t that interesting? In the four years she’d had Isis, the

cat had always hid whenever company came around, even when it
was someone she knew.

Ryder glanced down at the cat, let out an audible sigh, and bent to

pick her up. “What did you fib about?”

“That’s amazing. She won’t even let me hold her like that.” One

brow lifted over a questioning, potent, grayish-green eye and she
shook her head to get herself back on track. “About the eggs.
Everything else is ready, but I haven’t cooked the eggs yet. I didn’t
know how you and Blaine liked them.”

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Ryder had folded Isis in one strong arm and was gingerly petting

her back with his free hand. Isis looked thoroughly content, her huge
green eyes already starting to close as if she intended to go to sleep
right there.

Lesley couldn’t blame the cat. She could imagine how comforting

it would feel to be embraced by Ryder’s arms, to be held and tenderly
stroked the way he was doing to Isis. As she stood there watching
man and cat, her heart warmed by the sight, she could see why Blaine
had said Ryder was a teddy bear beneath his dickwadishness.

“Sunny side up for me. Over easy for Blaine.”
“See. I would’ve gotten it wrong. I’m a scrambled girl.” She

wrinkled her face at that and he swore the corners of his lips twitched.
“That didn’t sound right.”

“I don’t know,” he said slowly as he kneeled and coaxed an

unwilling Isis out of his arms. “You seem to be scrambling things up
pretty well around here.”

Lesley chewed her bottom lip as she watched him straighten to his

full height. “Is that bad? It is, isn’t it? Because you don’t want me
here.”

She thought she saw a dart of apology shoot through his eyes.

“You need a place to stay. Blaine’s helping you with research.” He
lifted a broad shoulder. “You’ll get more time together if you stay
here.”

“But you don’t want to be a part of that time.”
Emotions she didn’t understand and couldn’t define moved

through his handsome face. He lifted his hands, turned them over, and
seemed to study the dark smudges on his flesh. “I’m going to take a
shower while you fix the eggs.”

Before she could think of what to say next, he turned and headed

for the staircase behind the front door.

She watched him as he climbed the stairs, unable to tear her gaze

away from the wide expanse of his back, his narrow hips, and his
powerful legs until he disappeared from sight. She dragged her

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attention to the railing, hoping for another peek at him, or maybe even
to see him gazing down at her. She didn’t get either as she heard the
sound of what must have been a drawer opening and then the creaking
of hinges as a door in the loft opened and closed again.

“From this point on, it’s full speed ahead,” she reminded herself

as she turned to the counter where she’d placed the carton of eggs.
She would get Ryder to talk to her. She could feel it becoming a
mission she wouldn’t back down from until she’d accomplished it.
She’d just have to show him that she was a likable person. She could
do that, couldn’t she?

The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
She froze in the act of cracking open an egg as one of the late

Mrs. Weathersby’s old sayings went through her mind. She wasn’t
looking to get into his heart, was she? Sure, she’d set her alarm and
had made sure to get up early enough to fix breakfast for him and
Blaine, but that didn’t mean she’d intended to use the meal to get
them to fall in love with her.

But, God, what would it be like to be loved by men like them?
“Research, Lesley. You’re writing a novel. What happens in

fiction rarely makes its way into the real world.”

With that thought in mind, she went back to fixing the eggs.

Fifteen minutes later, she’d made his two sunny side up as he’d
requested, scrambled one for herself, and made both their plates. She
lifted the dishes off the counter and turned with the intention of taking
them to the table. Instead, she jolted and nearly dumped both on the
floor when she found him standing within arm’s reach behind her.

“I figured you’d heard me come back down.”
“I…” God, he smelled good and he looked even better. It short-

circuited her brain and stole all intelligible words from her lips. His
short, dark brown hair looked even darker after his recent shower. All
the smudges of black that had been on his flesh were gone, leaving
behind flawless tanned skin her hands itched to touch. He’d pulled on
a solid gray T-shirt that stuck to his ripped torso like second skin,

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delineating every muscle in shoulders, biceps, and abs. Her attention
landed on the distinctive outline of his cock, enormous and perfect,
beneath the denim of his low-riding Levi’s. Heaven help her, she
wanted to do all sorts of things to his hard, tough body and that
delicious-looking thick cock.

“It smells great. I take it everything is ready?”
Readier than it should be.
Lesley yanked her attention from his body, her cheeks heating as

she channeled her focus on the plates in her hands. “Yes.” She forced
herself back into action, moving to the table to set the plates on the
top. “What do you want to drink? I made coffee and I spotted some
orange juice in the fridge. I used what was left of the milk on the
gravy, but—”

“Lesley.” The way he said her name in that hoarse, rusty voice of

his, but without the impoliteness she’d come to expect from him, had
her shutting up. “You don’t have to wait on me and Blaine hand and
foot just because you’re staying here.”

“No. I didn’t figure I did. I just thought…Well, I don’t mind

fixing you something to drink.”

“Thanks, but I can pour my own coffee.” As if to prove it, he

moved past her, pulled open a cabinet, and took out a mug. “You’ve
already done enough.”

It was time to nip this in the bud, she decided. He was being

marginally nicer, but the tension she could feel between them was
driving her insane.

“What is it exactly that I’ve done, Ryder?”
He didn’t look at her as he sidestepped to the coffeemaker and

pour the liquid into his cup. “You made breakfast.”

Lesley backed to the table and leaned against it, crossing her arms

beneath her breasts as she studied his back. “That’s not why you don’t
like me.”

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His shoulders rose and fell in an obvious sigh before he turned

around, his gaze briefly meeting hers and then dropping to her feet. “I
never said I don’t like you.”

“You didn’t have to. I’m an author, Ryder. That makes me a

trained observer of people. I can see you have a problem with me.
You’ve had it since the second you came up to me at the apartment
fire. What I can’t figure out is what it is or why.”

“You’re beautiful.” Surprise flashed through his handsome face as

if he couldn’t believe he’d said the words aloud.

She couldn’t either. Still, she gave him a flattered smile. “Thank

you.”

“And you’re too career driven for my taste.”
Her head jerked back slightly at that. “Well, that’s a hell of a way

to follow a compliment.”

“I’m just stating facts.”
“Right. I’m career driven.” Lesley angled her head and gave him a

questioning look. “And that makes me different from you, how,
exactly? You’re a lieutenant for the fire department. I realize I don’t
know much about how the fire service works, but I’m betting you
didn’t come by that title easily. I’m thinking you probably worked
your ass off for it.”

“I did, but that’s not the same thing.”
Lesley pointed a finger at her chest. “I’m following my dream.”

She turned the finger toward him. “You’ve followed, and probably
are still following, yours.” She turned her hand over between them
and shrugged. “How is that not the same thing?”

Ryder shook his head, took a sip of his coffee, and stared at her

over the rim of the mug for a moment as if he were getting his next
words straight in his head. “You live in a fantasy world. You create
these heroes in your books and you look at men like me and Blaine
and expect us to be like them. Do you even know how real men act?
Do you know how they would react in any given situation?”

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“Blaine has been reacting like I would expect a man to, so far.”

He was after sex. That much was obvious. Not that she could blame
him. That hadn’t been her intention when she’d showed up at the
firehouse at all, but she could deny the overwhelming lust coursing
through her for him and Ryder.

“Blaine wants to fuck you.” The tone Ryder put in his voice made

his words sound like both a warning and a congressional
announcement.

“Hence the reason I said he’s been reacting like I would expect a

man to, so far. You, on the other hand, haven’t. So, okay, let’s say I
don’t know how a real man would react in any given situation. I’m
here. I looked to you and Blaine for research. Explain it to me.”

Ryder scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Research. You’ll do anything,

including me and Blaine, for the sake of a story. You being here right
now proves that. That’s all we are to you. It’s the only reason you
came onto us in the first damn place.”

Lesley’s jaw dropped and a disbelieving sound escaped her throat.

The nerve of him to insinuate… “I didn’t come on to you. Vivian told
you I’m a writer and asked if you and Blaine would give me a tour of
the firehouse. Blaine offered to explain the equipment, the trucks, and
tell me what it’s like to walk into an inferno.”

“Sugar, we walked into an inferno the moment we met you.”

Ryder turned and set his coffee cup on the counter behind him. “I
knew the instant I saw you that getting close to you would be a
backdraft that would take me and Blaine out. It’s only a matter of
time before it happens. That’s the problem I have with you.”

Lesley stared at him, his words penetrating her flesh and mind like

tiny knives that sliced deep. She heard what he didn’t say, too, and
realized with a sudden rush of clarity that it wasn’t her he was mad at.
He was merely taking out his anger on her.

“She left you, didn’t she?”
“Who?”

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“The woman that broke your heart.” She was right. The way his

expression hardened, his eyes flashed with equal parts hurt and anger,
and the muscle ticked a rapid staccato in his jaw, confirmed her
suspicion. “She chose her career over you and Blaine, didn’t she?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay.” Willing to concede she could possibly be wrong, she

slowly nodded. “Then enlighten me. If it wasn’t a woman that’s made
you this hard, then what did it?”

He pushed off the counter and took a step toward her. “I don’t

suppose it ever occurred to you that I may not want you.”

Lesley’s heart raced. Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears, nearly

drowning out his words. She’d well and thoroughly pissed him off.
She was in a cabin, his cabin, alone with not a soul around for miles.
He outweighed her by a good seventy pounds or more. What if he was
the kind of man who got violent when he got angry?

Daring to believe, and even pray, he wasn’t, she stood her ground.

“I don’t suppose it ever occurred to you that I’m not looking to fuck
you? But, all the same, it might have occurred to me if you didn’t act
like it was taking every bit of restraint you have to keep from tossing
me over your shoulder in a fireman’s carry and carting me off to the
nearest bed every time you look at me.”

“See.” Ryder jabbed a finger in the air between them. He’d

stopped so close the move nearly poked her in the chest. “That right
there proves you don’t know anything about real men. That kind of
shit happens in those romance novels you write, not in the real world,
sugar.”

Lesley straightened, boldly closed the scant bit of remaining

distance between them, rose to her tiptoes, and got in his face. “If I’m
so ignorant, then why don’t you educated me, Mr. Real Man.”

* * * *

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He’d fucked up. Ryder knew it the instant he got a good whiff of

her. She smelled annoyingly sweet under the scents of breakfast
lingering in kitchen, like flowers and soap and something he wanted
to move toward. Except he couldn’t move any closer to her without
getting inside her skin. And, damn it, inside her sultry flesh was
exactly where he wanted to be. He wanted to bury his cock deep in
the confines of her sodden pussy. He wanted to fuck her until she
screamed his name as she bathed his cock in her cream.

If he’d thought for a nanosecond it would end there, he would’ve

done it. Way deep down in a part of him he’d thought he’d buried, he
knew it wouldn’t stop once he’d given into those wants. She didn’t
just want to fuck him. He wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he did.
This woman wasn’t a fly-by-night type of girl. She was stayer, a
keeper…right up until the moment her career took off. Then she
would, too. Even knowing all of that, realizing it to the depths of his
soul, a new want had already started to form, one he recognized for
the destruction it would be. If he put his hands on her, if he fucked
her, he’d want her to stay. He’d want to keep her, and he’d be
demolished again when she pulled the same shit on him and Blaine
that Marsha had done.

“What’s the matter, Ryder?” Her voice had dropped to a seductive

whisper. Her arms lifted and he saw them quiver slightly as she
wound them around his neck. “Surely you haven’t forgotten how a
real man would react in this given situation.”

His hands were on her slender hips. When in the hell had he

grabbed hold of her? He pulled her more firmly against him, knowing
she wouldn’t miss how aroused she’d gotten him, with his cock
resting hard and long against her flat belly.

“A smart one would push you away,” he said tightly, already

feeling his strength to do just that leaving him. He’d fucked up bigger
than he’d realized. He’d put his hands on her and, damn it, she felt so
fucking good against him that he couldn’t bring himself to let her go.

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She’d lowered herself back to stand flatfooted, her head tipped

back, and her gaze locked with hiss. She’d been angry with him, hurt
by the way he’d been treating her, and she’d had every right. He’d
been an ass of momentous proportions because he’d sensed the
second he’d seen her that she could annihilate his heart worse than
Marsha ever did.

“I’m not the evil witch you seem to think I am.”
He couldn’t stop himself from taking one taste. Her lips were right

there, plump and beautiful and slightly parted in invitation. He dipped
his head, brushed his lips over them, and felt her breath fan his mouth
when she sighed. Damning himself for what he couldn’t resist, he
captured her mouth with his, delving his tongue between her lips and
finding hers.

Carefully constructed walls crumbled inside him as his senses

reeled over the taste of this woman. A double-edged sword sliced
through his chest, one side sharped by the pain of long ago and the
other by the knowledge that he couldn’t risk it happening again. That
sword enabled him to break away.

He eased his mouth back and rested his forehead against hers.

“Not yet, but you have the power in you to make you that way.”

Confusion and hurt swirled in her bright blue eyes. He couldn’t

take seeing that. He couldn’t stand knowing he was the cause. He
slowly released her and gently pushed her away as the front door of
the cabin opened and Blaine walked inside.

* * * *

Blaine stopped in the open doorway of the cabin, equally

surprised and pleased to see Lesley standing in the kitchen in Ryder’s
arms. Only Ryder’s arms didn’t stay around her for long. He was
already in the act of letting her go.

“Should I go back outside?” Or better yet, join you?

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He’d half expected not to find Lesley at the cabin when he got

home. The fact that she was had kept him sitting in his truck in the
driveway, knowing the Cobalt had to belong to her, for a good ten
minutes or more before he’d come inside. She was the one. He
couldn’t explain, even to himself, how he knew that already, but he
did. He’d finally met the woman who would fill the void Marsha had
left behind and, more, Ryder was apparently warming to the idea, too.
It was more than he could’ve hoped for so soon.

Now, what the hell do I do to make sure she stays?
“No, stay inside.” Ryder’s answer was curt and clipped as he

walked around Lesley and picked up a plate off the table. “She made
breakfast. It smells delicious. I’ll be eating mine in the garage.” He
started for the back door of the cabin, casting a glance at the bouquet
of flowers in Blaine’s hand. “Pretty. I’m sure she’ll like them.” With
that, he headed out the door, slamming it behind him.

Blaine saw Lesley jolt at the sound as the door rocked on its

hinges, then her head bowed and her shoulders slumped. He quietly
closed the front door, slid his gear bag off his shoulder at the end of
the sectional, and walked to the kitchen.

“I interrupted something.” He moved in front of Lesley, hooked a

finger on his free hand beneath her chin, and lifted her face to look at
him. Seeing her eyes glistening with tears tore at his heart. “Do you
want to tell me about it?”

“Will you tell me about her?”
Her question both surprised and puzzled him. He cupped the side

of her face and gently dragged the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She rolled her eyes and made an exasperated sound. “Not you,

too.”

Blaine tried to catch her when she stepped out of his embrace, but

she moved too quickly. “Lesley, really, sweetheart, I don’t know what
you’re talking about.”

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“Her.” She threw an arm in the air toward the back door of the

cabin. “The one that’s got him treating me like the wicked witch of
the west.”

“Marsha,” Blaine whispered, and briefly closed his eyes. “What

did Ryder tell you?”

“Nothing!” She pushed a hard, audible breath from her lungs and

shook her head. “I got what I know, or at least what I think I know,
from what he didn’t say. You just told me in a single word more than
he did this morning. Please, correct me if I get any of this wrong, but
I’m getting that Marsha was a career-driven woman both of you loved
and she walked out on you?”

“That’s it in a nutshell.” Blaine held out the flower he’d brought

her. “These are for you, by the way.”

Her expression turned all girly-touched and her lips unfolded in a

smile that wound around his heart. “Thank you. They’re gorgeous.”
She took them out of his hand and brought them to her nose for a
sniff. “God, do you know a man has never brought me flowers in my
life?”

Oh, baby. What kind of men have you been with? “I’m honored to

be the first.” He would buy her plenty more and anything else he
thought she could possibly want.

“Why?”
He could’ve played dumb and pretended not to understand her

question. Why had he brought her flowers? That was a duh answer,
even in his mind. No, he knew what she was really asking. She wasn’t
letting the subject drop until she had the full story. She wanted to
know why Marsha had walked out. It wasn’t a time in his life he
wanted to bring back to the present.

“Marsha was over a year ago. Ryder and I loved her, but we

weren’t in love with her. Does that makes sense?”

Lesley let out a quiet laugh as she gently placed the flowers in the

center of the table. “Usually only women understand that. Although,

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according to Ryder, I don’t know how real men act, so maybe I’ve
been wrong all this time.”

Damn you, Ryder, and your hard-ass attitude.
“Ryder’s using that as an excuse to pick a fight with you. It’s kind

of his defense mechanism, as he likes to call it. He wants you, but you
scare the shit out of him.”

Hell, she scared the shit of him, too. Yes, he’d been wanting to

find that right woman for him and Ryder, the one that would complete
them even better than Marsha ever had, but being with Lesley…Holy,
God. He hadn’t been able to think about anything except her since
he’d first seen her and especially since he’d gotten her in his arms
yesterday. He’d sat around the firehouse hoping for a damn call that
would take his mind off the clock that seemed intent on ticking slower
and slower the closer it came to the end of his shift. He’d been with
plenty of women since Marsha left and not one of them had stuck in
his mind the way Lesley was doing.

“Oh, I would love for you to elaborate on that,” Lesley said as she

leaned against the table, “but we’re getting off a very important
subject.”

“Marsha.” He didn’t want his ex to be an important subject. He

didn’t want to talk about her. Other women he’d been with since had
brought her up and he’d immediately dismissed her. So why did he
feel the need to tell Lesley about her now?

You have to. If you want her to stay, you have to tell her

everything.

Lesley nodded. “Yes. Marsha.”
Blaine backed to the counter, leaned against it, and crossed his

arms and ankles. “She’s an artist. A good one. Great, actually. She’s
was already on her way to making something out of herself when
Ryder and I met her.”

“How long were the three of you together?”
“Six months.” It had been the longest running relationship he and

Ryder had ever had. “It started out as sex. No feelings, no

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commitments, no strings of any kind. Ryder and I realized she was
struggling financially, this was before her career took off, and we
asked her to move in here.”

Lesley’s eyes slowly closed and she whispered, “Like you did

with me. Like you’re doing with me.”

Blaine straightened and started to close the distance between

them. “Lesley, wait, baby.”

She held up a hand, stopping him. “Forget I said that for now.

Please, continue to tell me about her.”

Blaine raked a hand through his hair and sighed. Yes, he’d

realized she was struggling financially, too. The apartment she’d lived
in and the one she’d been intending to look at had been proof enough
of that. Still, when he’d told her to move in with him and Ryder, the
words had felt different coming out of his mouth than they had when
he’d said them to Marsha. Everything about what was happening
between him, Ryder, and Lesley was different.

Since he couldn’t figure out to explain exactly how to himself, let

alone to Lesley, he went back to leaning against the counter as he told
her more about his and Ryder’s relationship with Marsha. “After
living with her for a while, the feelings started to develop. The three
of us got closer and what we had turned into more than sex. All this
time, she was working here. Ryder cleaned out the garage outback.
He has a side business, a hobby, really, fixing motorcycles out there,
by the way. He pretty much shut it down, took in less work, and used
the yard to do the mechanics so that she could have the space to work
uninterrupted.”

“Where is she now?”
“New York. At least that’s where she was headed when she

walked out. She would go on trips from time to time, show her work
at some galleries, and that sort of thing. Honestly, I don’t know how
the art world works. All I know is that Ryder and I came home one
morning after a shift to find her packing. She said she’d hit it big,

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New York wanted her, and she was taking the next flight out of
Atlanta.”

Lesley’s eyes widened. “Wow! Nice notice, huh?”
Blaine scoffed, remembering saying something similar to

Marsha’s face. “Ryder had an engagement ring in his pocket.”

Lesley gasped. “You were going to ask her to marry you?”
Blaine lifted a shoulder. “Ryder and I had talked about it. Like I

said, neither one of us was really in love with her, but we cared about
her. She was the best thing that had come around for us, so we
figured, why not?”

“Did she know? Did you tell her? That you were going to ask her

to marry you guys, I mean?”

“Ryder asked her anyway. He tried to convince her to stay. She

said her work, her art, and her dreams were more important at that
time. She said she needed this. She said she needed to go. There
wasn’t much we could do about it.”

“I’m so sorry.” Lesley’s whispered words were thick with

compassion.

“Looking back, I’m not.” Blaine realized as the words left his

mouth that they were the truth. It had taken him months to understand
it would’ve never worked between him, Ryder, and Marsha. That
hadn’t stopped him from feeling the pain of the loss or wanting back
what they’d really never had to begin with, but it had made it a little
easier to bear. “Everything happens for a reason, right?”

Lesley nodded. “It does, but…”
“We made a mistake. I’ve started to think we’re lucky we didn’t

make a bigger one.”

Lesley’s eyes narrowed. “You mean by marrying her?”
“She wasn’t in love with us anymore than we were with her. Her

leaving proved that.” So had the lack of returned phone calls. She’d
sworn she’d be back someday, as if she’d expected him and Ryder to
wait for her. They’d called and kept in touch for the first several
weeks. Then they’d stopped being able to reach her. They’d leave

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messages on her voicemail and she’d never return them. Finally, he
and Ryder had given up.

“Mistake or not, she still hurt you. Both of you.”
“She did,” Blaine admitted. “Ryder was more hurt than I was, but

I think it was more pride than heart, you know?”

“Has there been anyone for either of you since she left?”
Blaine hesitated, unsure if she should give her a completely honest

answer. He’d been with a slew of women since Marsha. Ryder hadn’t
been with anyone. He’d never thought about how bad that would
make him look until now.

“For me? Yeah,” he admitted. “None of them were anything close

to being serious. Ryder hasn’t been with anyone.”

A hint of a smile curved her lips. “That’s not surprising. You’re

different men. You’ve handled Marsha’s rejection and the pain she
caused you in different ways.”

Blaine pushed off the counter and moved in, needing to feel her,

wanting to make her understand what was happening now was
different, too. He hooked an arm around her waist as he stopped close
enough to her even oxygen would have trouble getting between their
bodies.

“We’re handling the attraction we feel for you in different ways,

too. Ryder’s trying to run. I’m not. Me asking you to move in here…I
know it probably seems like I’ve done the same thing with you that
we did with her, but I didn’t. I want you, Lesley.” He dipped his head
and brushed his lips to hers. “I’m not looking for a one-night stand
here. I want to finish what we started yesterday at the firehouse and
see where we can go from there.”

Her lips parted as if she were about to speak, but Blaine silenced

her with a kiss. He licked his way into her mouth, dragged his tongue
along her pallet, and felt her melt in his arms as his tongue found hers.
Her arms circled his neck, her hands exploring his nape, the backs of
his shoulders, and the back of his head. Jesus, he loved the feel of her
hands on him. He needed more, wanted to feel her delicate fingers

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dance over his bare flesh and curl around his throbbing cock. He
flattened a hand on the small of her back, dragged it up to her nape,
laced his fingers in her hair, and gently fisted the silky strands.

“Can we do that, baby? Can we finish what we started yesterday?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “But…”
Blaine gazed into her eyes and felt himself smile as understanding

dawned. “You want to try again with Ryder first,” he guessed.

She grimaced and her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. “I

just want to talk to him and maybe get him to really talk to me. Are
you mad?”

Blaine barked a half laugh. “Are you kidding?” He released his

hold on her hair in favor of tracing the outline of her jaw with a
fingertip. “Sweetheart, I want you with or without Ryder.” He
dragged that fingertip down the side of her neck, enjoying the way her
head angled into the touch. “But with Ryder, the pleasure we can
show you will be even better.”

He felt her shiver at that and bit back a smile. She wanted it, too.

He’d suspected she did. He’d seen the way she looked at Ryder. He
felt the way she responded to his touch and saw the desires for so
much more in her eyes. Those desires had nothing to do with the
research she wanted to gain for her book, though he didn’t doubt she
would use it as such. No, those desires had to do with her needing to
be between him and Ryder as desperately as he wanted her to be
there.

He kissed the tip of her nose and slowly released her. “Go.

Ryder’s in the garage. You’re getting through to him. I can’t tell you
what it’s going to take to make him fall, but I can tell you he’s already
on the edge.”

Tonya Ramagos

Chapter Four

Lesley didn’t know how it was possible, but Ryder wasn’t the

only one already on the edge. As she stared into Blaine’s eyes, a
sensation of equal parts trepidation and astonishment that she was
falling for him tingled in her soul. When he touched her, when he
kissed her, it felt like so much more than a simple seduction. He was
reaching a part of her no man had ever touched. In that short time
with Ryder earlier, he’d started to do the same.

“Your breakfast is probably cold by now,” she said as she pushed

herself off the table. “Do you want me to warm it up for you before I
go outside?” The look of guilt that shot through his expression made
her smile. “You ate at your mom’s, didn’t you?”

“She doesn’t usually cook. I don’t know what possessed her to do

it today, but yeah, I ate at Mom’s.”

“Good.” She walked to him, rose to her tiptoes, and planted a kiss

on his cheek. “Then you can clean the kitchen.”

The sound of his rich chuckle followed her out the back door of

the cabin. The double metal doors of the garage were open. She saw
Ryder kneeling beside a motorcycle, his forearms propped on his
knees, and a faraway expression on his face as if he were seeing
something in his head rather than the machine in front of him.

Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she headed

across the yard. She expected him to look up when she got closer, but
he remained in his daydreaming-like state. She stopped in the open
doorway, waited a beat, and when he still didn’t look her way, asked,
“Mind if I come in?”

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His head whipped her direction and irritation etched itself between

his brows and the thin set of his lips. “I came out here to be alone.”

Lesley shoved her hands in the pockets of her shorts as she slowly

entered the garage anyway. “No, you came out here to get away from
me.”

He snorted and went back to staring at the motorcycle. “So much

for that plan.”

“Blaine told me about Marsha.” Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the

best way to start a conversation with him, but she couldn’t think of
anything else to say. “I’m sorry she hurt you, but I’m sure you know
I’m not her.”

“But you think I’m taking it out on you, huh?” he asked dryly.
“Aren’t you?”
He straightened and swung a long, powerful leg over the bike. “A

man knows how to protect himself when it’s necessary.”

A woman should, too, but Lesley knew she wasn’t doing well at

protecting herself when it came to him or Blaine. She felt defenseless
around both of them, as if they were magnets drawing her in and she
didn’t stand a prayer in hell of resisting the pull.

“From the evil witch with the mysterious powers I don’t know

about?”

He glanced at her as he fired up the motorcycle. “Something like

that.”

The rumbling sound of the bike’s engine nearly drowned out his

words. Okay, so this conversation wasn’t getting her anywhere.
Maybe she should try a different route. She stepped closer to the back
wheel of the bike, studied his side profile, and raised her voice to be
heard over the noise. “What’s wrong with the bike?”

Ryder left it running as he climbed off and reached for a nearby

screwdriver. “It’s broke.”

Lesley rolled her eyes. “Well, duh! Otherwise it wouldn’t need

fixing.” It sounded okay to her, though, except the miss she heard in
the sound now and then.

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He didn’t look at her as he knelt down again near the bike’s

engine. His expression didn’t change, but she could’ve sworn she
heard him chuckle. “This firefighter character you’re creating in your
new book, are you planning to give him a side job working on
motorcycles during his off time from the firehouse?”

Lesley considered that for a moment. “Hmm, I hadn’t thought that

far ahead yet, but it would make sense, especially if I base him off of
you.”

“Do you always do that? Base your characters off of people you

meet?”

“I have a few times, but it’s a rare occasion. I usually make up

everything about them.”

“And now you’ve decided since you can’t get the research out of

me you were looking for, you’ll research motorcycle repair instead.”

Lesley planted her fisted hands on her hips and blew a frustrated

breath up her face. “Do you have to be so infuriating?”

He glanced up at her and she knew without a doubt the corners of

his lips were twitching. So much so that the lines around his mouth
deepened slightly. “It’s still not making you go away.”

She gave him her best sweet smile. “And it’s not going to. Think

about it like this. You enjoy your job as a firefighter, right?”

He went back to studying the engine of the motorcycle, using the

screwdriver to do something to it. He angled his head as if listening
and gave the screwdriver another minute turn. “Firefighting isn’t a job
to me. It’s a dream I had since I was old enough to walk.”

Lesley nodded even though he wasn’t looking at her. “I feel the

same about writing. And, I’m assuming, working on motorcycles is
another passion of yours.”

He glanced briefly at her again. “That’s a good word for it.”
“Okay, here’s what I’m proposing.” She stepped closer and

kneeled next to him. “You do what you enjoy right now with the
added chore of explaining to me what you’re doing and why. I’ll do
something that I enjoy, which is taking mental notes for research, with

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the added chore of knowing you’d rather be sticking needles in your
eye than having me watch over your shoulder.”

“You forgot my second added chore.”
Lesley angled her head so she could see his face. “What’s that?”
“Spending time with you.”
She frowned. “Is that really such a chore?”
He finally looked at her, really looked at her, and the emotions

she saw in his eyes took her breath away. “Sugar, you have no idea.”
He held her gaze a moment longer before pushing himself to his feet
and walking to the back of the bike.

Deflated and at her wit’s end as to how she would ever get

through to this man, Lesley sighed, straightened, and started to walk
out of the garage.

“Where are you going? I thought you wanted to know what I’m

doing.”

Shocked, Lesley stopped at his side. “I do, but…”
“Hold your hand in front of the exhaust pipe.” His long fingers

curled around her wrist, sending a panty-wetting jolt of awareness
through her system. He pulled her hand until she bent enough that he
could hold her palm in front of the exhaust pipe close enough she
could feel the heated air flowing out of it. Then he pulled her wrist up
and held her palm in front of her face. “Sniff it. Do you smell any
gas?”

Lesley sniffed her palm and shook her head. “No.”
He nodded and let go of her wrist. “That’s good. That’s what we

want.” He pointed at the bike’s engine as he stepped around her and
moved back to the front of the bike. “You hear that? That’s not what
we want. We’ve still got a slight miss.”

Lesley moved to his side and kneeled with him as he lifted the

screwdriver to the engine. “What’s causing it?”

He paused and propped his elbow on his thigh. “This bike is a

Harley Night Train. The owner replaced the exhaust system. A lot of

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Harley owners prefer a Straight Shot Exhaust system. He brought it to
me because it’s been misfiring since he made the change.”

Following his words closely, but not quite understanding them,

Lesley settled on her bottom next to him and folded her legs Indian
style. “What is causing it to misfire?”

He tipped his head back, drawing Lesley’s attention to his thick

neck as he stared at the ceiling. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he
swallowed making Lesley swallow, too, when the urge to lean in and
lick her way across his neck sprang to her tongue. “Let me see if I can
explain it.” He righted his head and looked at her. “It all boils down to
backpressure. There isn’t enough building up in the engine. The
pressure before and after the cylinder has to be balanced. When there
isn’t enough, gas gets into the exhaust, and causes the engine to
misfire.”

“How do you balance that backpressure?”
Seemingly pleased by her question, he tapped the engine with the

tip of the screwdriver. “You adjust the settings on the carburetor. A
tiny tweak to the screws makes the adjustment, allowing more or less
gas to the engine. When you adjust one of them just right…” He gave
one of the screws another minute turn, paused to listen, and grinned
when the slight missing Lesley had noted disappeared. “The miss
goes away.”

Lesley returned his smile. “Good job, Lieutenant. Now what?”
“Now we take her on a test ride.” Ryder stood, reached for her

hand, and pulled her to her feet. They ended up standing toe-to-toe
with the fronts of their bodies close enough to touch.

Lesley tipped her head back to meet his gaze and found him

looking down at her. He didn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he used his
hold on it to pull her even closer, hooking his other arm around her
waist. Her hands reflexively closed on his biceps as she felt her body
start a meltdown in his embrace.

“Isn’t this the part where you should be pushing me away?”

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His gaze danced over her face, flames of desire shooting higher

and higher in his eyes. “Yeah.” His lips brushed hers so faintly she
wondered if she’d really felt the touch. “But nobody ever accused me
of being a smart man, either.”

Ryder kissed her and her body completed its meltdown. Lesley

felt herself turn to putty in his arms as his tongue coaxed her to part
her lips, then slipped inside her mouth to tangle with hers. She heard
herself moan and moved a hand to cup his nape, pulling his head
down to deepen the kiss. That’s when his tongue went wild in her
mouth, leading hers in a dance that was slow and erotic and soul-
stealing.

His hand finally released hers, but it didn’t go far. He pushed it

beneath the hem of her blouse, bringing the material with it as he
dragged it up the bare flesh of her side, leaving a burning path of
desire in its wake. His other hand moved from her waist to her
opposite side. Then he was breaking the kiss as he pulled her blouse
up and over her head.

Lesley sucked in a startled breath, shocked that he’d taken off her

shirt. He didn’t give long to wonder over the action. His head dipped
again, his tongue finding her jaw and licking its way down her neck
as she let her head fall back on her shoulders.

His hands were on the move again, one reaching between their

bodies to unfasten the button and zipper of her shorts while the other
found the clasp of her bra and worked it free. Her head spun with the
realization that in less than three more seconds he’d have her naked.

“Ryder.” His name rolled on a half moan and half question from

her lips. “Are you sure about this?”

His hand hesitated on the waistband of her shorts. His other hand

stilled in the act of peeling the strap of her bra down her shoulder. He
lifted his head and searchingly met her gaze. “Do you want me to
stop?”

“No,” she said quickly. “God, no. I just…” Don’t understand you.

She didn’t put voice to those words, figuring it would only give more

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weight to his earlier assumption that she didn’t know how a real man
would react in a given situation.

“I know.” His hand on the waistband of her shorts moved to the

opposite shoulder of his other hand, and he slowly peeled the straps of
her bra down her arms until the garment hit the floor between them. “I
keep saying one thing and doing another. I want you and, it doesn’t
matter how bad I’m trying to fight it, I can’t stop from wanting you.”

“I won’t hurt you, Ryder.”
He smiled, a real smile, but it was laced with so much sadness it

tore at her heart. “Yeah, you will, if I let you. Maybe not tomorrow or
the next day, but one day.” He shook his head. “Even knowing that, I
still can’t keep my hands off of you.”

The hands he spoke of moved to close over her bare breasts and

Lesley bit back the argumentative words on the tip of her tongue.
Nothing she said right now would convince him she wasn’t the
powerful evil witch he thought she was. The only thing she knew to
do was prove it to him.

His hands slipped beneath her breasts and lifted them as he bent

his head to take one in his mouth. Lesley gave herself over to the
feeling, to him, and the sensation of being with him as his lips
massaged her breast in such a spectacular way that it drew a low
moan from her throat. Wanting to feel his bare flesh, needing to be
skin-to-skin with him, she gathered the material of his T-shirt in her
hands and peeled it up his torso.

He eased back, his hands falling away from her as she pulled his

shirt over his head. He reached over to shut off the motorcycle’s
engine and started to touch her again. She caught his wrists and
dropped her gaze to his chest.

“Wait, please. I want to look at you.”
Obligingly, he stepped back, a man obviously comfortable with

his body, and let her look her fill. He was positively gorgeous, all
smooth, tanned flesh, ripping muscles, and hard planes. Dark springy
curls peppered his sculpted pecs and ridged abdomen, narrowing to a

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line that created a tantalizing path down his flat stomach to disappear
beneath the waistband of his jeans.

Movement in her peripheral vision briefly caught her attention and

she glanced right to see him laying his wallet on the seat of the
motorcycle. More movement, this time to her left, drew her attention
back to him and down where his hands joined at the waistband of his
jeans to free the button and zipper of his pants. The sound of the metal
clasp scraping against metal teeth echoed through the quiet, sexually
charged atmosphere of the garage as he lowered the zipper.

Lesley’s heart kicked into double-time as his hands moved back to

the waistband of his pants and he pushed them, along with what
looked like a pair of black briefs, down his powerful legs. He shifted
his weight from foot to foot as he pulled off his boots and kicked the
jeans and briefs from his feet before he straightened and stood tall and
confidently in front of her.

“Now you can see everything.”
The combination of his hoarse voice and the sight of him

completely naked sent every thought in her head scrambling. The only
thing she could manage to say was, “Wow,” as she let her gaze follow
that happy trail she’d been admiring until it met with the thick patch
of pubic hair on his groin. His cock was huge and hard and standing
between them like a come-get-me exclamation point. She started to
reach for it to do just that when his long fingers closed around her tiny
wrist.

“Uh-uh, sugar. You touch my dick right now and I’m liable to

embarrass myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex.”

Since Marsha had left him. Yes, she remembered. She lowered her

hand to her side, anticipation making her shiver as he reached for her
again. He didn’t waste a second in getting her shorts and panties off.
She helped by kicking off her shoes. Then they stood there face-to-
face, both of them naked and breathing hard.

A little less confident about her own body than he was about his,

Lesley felt her cheeks heat.

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He must have noticed because he lifted a hand to her cheek, the

first sign of real amusement she’d seen in him dancing with the heat
in his eyes. “Why are you blushing?”

“Because you’re looking at me that way again.” It was more

disconcerting and arousing than it had been the other times he’d
looked at her this way, though. The amusement hadn’t been there
before. The heat had been, but it was headier now, more
overwhelming and consuming. It was thickening the air between
them, making it harder to breathe, and turning the fire he’d already
ignited with his touch to an inferno of blazing need.

“You mean the fireman’s carry thing you said before?” He shook

his head as he pulled her against him. “We’re not going to make it to
a bed this time. Right here will have to do.”

Lesley had absolutely no argument for that. Especially when his

lips touched hers again, his tongue laying claim to hers as his hands
roamed her naked flesh. One hand dropped to mold the cheek of her
ass while the other pushed between their lower bodies, turning to
cover her snatch.

Lesley moaned into his mouth, taking the hint to spread her legs

wider when he inched his large hand between them. A single wide
finger pushed between her sodden folds, the pad grazing over her
engorged clit before flattening over her flaming entrance. She wiggled
her hips, giving him a silent hint that she wanted that finger inside
her, and heard him chuckle even as he continued to make love to her
mouth with his tongue.

He blessedly gave her what she wanted, his hand on her ass

gripping her cheek more firmly as he eased the long, thick digit inside
her aching pussy. The dense muscles of his bicep flexed under her
hand as he pumped the finger slowly in and out of her drenched hole.
She rocked her hips, meeting his finger thrust for thrust, and feeling
the pressure build in her womb. The heel of his hand flattened on her
clit and rotated as he added a second finger side-by-side to the one in
her pussy and drove her straight to near madness.

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“Come for me,” he growled as he licked his way out of her mouth

to nip her jaw. “Let me feel you come apart in my arms, Lesley.”

She couldn’t have denied his request if she’d tried. His fingers

picked up tempo, the heel of his hand matching the rhythm, working
her pussy and clit until the orgasm building inside her grew claws.
Her pussy lips contracted, sucking his fingers deeper as the release
took over every muscle in her body. She came, loud moans and
unintelligible words escaping her lips as the pleasure spilled from her,
coating his fingers and leaving her trembling in his embrace.

Her breath ragged and mind lost in an erotic world of his creation,

she slowly opened eyes she hadn’t realized she’d closed to find him
staring down at her. He held her gaze as he eased his fingers from her
pussy and brought them to his mouth to clean her juices from them
with his lips and tongue.

“Damn, you taste delicious.” His voice was hoarser and rustier

than ever and his arousal had caused the gray to overtake the green in
his eyes. “I’ll want more of that sometime, but right now, I need to be
inside you.”

Unable to speak, Lesley nodded as he reached for the wallet and

pulled out a condom. He tore the foil wrapper open with his teeth,
released his hold on her long enough to don the condom, and then his
hands were back on her hips. He used that hold to spin her around,
pulling her back against him as he turned them both to face the
motorcycle.

The warmth of his breath fanned the fine hairs on her earlobe

when he dipped his head to whisper. “We won’t tell my customer we
used his bike for this. Crawl on. Hold onto the handlebars and put
your feet on the pegs.”

Lesley let out a bark of breathless laughter as she let him guide

her to straddle the bike, putting her feet on the pegs and her hands on
the handlebars as he’d told her. “It’s not going to fall over, is it?”

“Naw, we’re not going to get wild enough to topple a seven-

hundred pound Harley.” He climbed onto the bike behind her, one

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large hand closing around her shoulder while the other glided down
her spine, making her shiver in anticipation. “Just let me do all the
work.”

Wanting to see him, Lesley looked back over her shoulder,

catching only a glimpse of his profile in the corner of her eye.
Concentration had caused the lines around his eyes and mouth to
deepen, making him sexier than ever. She felt his hand leave her back,
then his knuckles grazed the inside of her thigh as he guided his cock
to her sodden entrance.

Her legs trembled as she waited for him to enter her. The orgasm

he’d given her moments before had been fantastic, but it hadn’t done
anything to put out the fire inside her. She wondered how the need
scorching through her to feel his huge cock invading her pussy didn’t
burn her alive.

“I love the way you’re shaking for me.” He dragged the head of

his cock over her sodden folds, teasing her with the promise of entry,
but not giving it to her yet. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Lesley. And,
God, after having my fingers in your cunt, I know you’re going to be
too tight for me to hold on for long.”

“Please, Ryder.” She was ready to beg and damn the dignity it

might destroy. “I don’t care how long it lasts as long as I get to feel
your cock inside me.”

“Don’t let me hurt you.” The head of his cock eased into her

entrance, stretching her inner muscles until she wondered if his width
would fit. “Jesus, you’re tighter than I thought, sugar.”

“It’s been a long time for me, too.” Nearly three years of sex with

nothing more than her trusty vibrator and her fantasies. “You’re not
hurting me. Oh, God, Ryder, it feels so good.”

“I’ll take it slow.”
He did, inching his length into her pussy in a snail’s-paced

invasion that had her breath quickening and the pressure mounting
until she was half moaning and half gasping his name. Just when she

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feared she couldn’t take anymore, that his cock really was too big to
fit inside her, she felt the base of his body meet her ass.

“Fuck!” The growl sounded wrenched from his throat as he

stopped with his cock buried in her pussy to the hilt. “You’re not
supposed to feel like this.”

Lesley closed her eyes as the understanding of his words pleased

her even as they twisted around her heart. He’d thought he’d give into
the need to fuck her and be done with her. Now that he was inside her,
he was realizing his plan wouldn’t work.

“More, Ryder.” No way was she going to let him stop now. If he

pulled out and walked away, she’d never get through the stone walls
he’d built around his mind and heart. “Please. I want more.”

“Damn it, so do I.” The words sounded as though he said them

through his clenched teeth and he didn’t seem too happy about them.
“This isn’t going to be enough.”

Even as he said that last statement he was pulling his hips back,

easing his cock out of her pussy until only the engorged head
remained inside before he worked his full length back in again. He
settled into that slow, destructive rhythm, easing his cock in and out
of her pussy until she was certain he’d worked his way straight into
her soul.

“Ryder.” His name left her on an equal parts plea and warning as

the pressure built to another explosion.

“That’s it, Lesley. Come for me again.”
The speed of his thrusts didn’t change, but the force behind them

seemed to. It sent her barreling over the edge, the orgasm bursting
from her until she screamed louder than she had the first time as every
molecule in her body rocked from the pleasure of it. Somewhere in
the sexual fog and bliss clouding her mind, she heard him roar with
his own release as his body went taut behind her before it started to
relax.

Lesley struggled not to completely collapse on the motorcycle as

she fought to gain control over her breathing. She felt the fingers of

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the hand he’d kept closed on her shoulder the whole time start to flex,
massaging her in a tender way that comforted her in the aftermath of
the spontaneous sex they’d just shared. She wanted to protest when
she felt his cock ease out of her pussy, but bit her tongue over the
words. The moment was over. She could only hope he wouldn’t beat
up himself, or her, with regrets now.

“Do you need help getting off the bike?”
Lesley gathered her strength and straightened, grateful for his help

when her shaky legs started to buck as she climbed off the bike and
gave them her full weight. “I didn’t think so, but I guess I did.”

He had climbed off the bike and was still behind her. He pulled

her into his arms to keep her from falling. “Just stay like this until you
get your bearings back. I’ll hold you up.”

She tipped her head back, angling it to look up at him. “Are you

okay?” She had to ask, needed to know, and hated the shadow that
moved through his eyes at the question.

“No, and I doubt I will be.” His honesty surprised her and brought

tears to her eyes that she tried to blink away. “Don’t worry, sugar.
That might have been the first time, but it won’t be the last. I knew
the second I touched you in the kitchen this morning I’d never be able
to keep my hands off you.”

But what about your heart? She bit her tongue on the words. How

could she ask him such a thing when she didn’t know what was
happening to her own heart? He and Blaine had…

“Blaine!” she gasped, unable to believe she’d managed to forget

about him even if for only a little while.

Ryder smiled down at her and chuckled softly. At least this time it

was a genuine smile. She lifted a hand and dragged a finger over the
deep lines at the corner of his mouth. “You’re so sexy when you
smile. I mean, you’re sexy when you don’t, but sexier now that you’re
letting me see you know how.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve really smiled,” he admitted as he

slowly released her, obviously taking care to make sure she could

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stand on her own two feet without his support. When he apparently
felt certain she could, he gave her bottom a soft slap. “And don’t
worry about Blaine. I’m sure he’s inside waiting for you.”

“I turned him down before I came out here to see you.” Guilt

made her wince as she bent to scoop up her clothes from the floor.
Then she turned around and smacked Ryder on the shoulder. “And
look what happened! Here I am trying to prove to you that I’m not the
evil witch you think I am and I probably hurt him.”

Ryder chuckled again, pulled her into his arms, and brushed a kiss

to his lips. “Sugar, I thought you’d gotten to know Blaine better than
that already. There’s really no point putting your clothes back on.
Blaine is probably throwing a party inside right now knowing I just
gave into you and he’ll be waiting for his turn.”

“But how would he…” Know? She didn’t bother to finish the

sentence when she looked out the open garage doors and straight into
the kitchen through the large windows in the back of the cabin. “You
think he saw us?”

Ryder grinned. “I know damn well he did. I saw him watching

when I turned you around and bent you over the bike.”

“And you didn’t say anything!” She couldn’t believe he hadn’t at

least told her. She was too shocked to be embarrassed, but she figured
that part would come when had to face off with Blaine in a few
minutes.

“Why? You’re going to go inside and be with him now while I

take this bike for a test ride.” He brushed another kiss to her lips.
“Then, tonight, we’re both going to give him what he really wants.”

* * * *

Lesley put her clothes on anyway before leaving the garage.

Nerves made her blood feel like it was quivering through her veins as
she paused at the back door of the cabin, braced herself, and walked
inside. Despite Ryder’s way of thinking, Blaine should be furious

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with her. She’d acted like a slut. Well, okay, maybe not quite. A slut
would have had sex with him before going out to the garage to jump
Ryder’s bones. Not that having slow, mind-altering motorcycle sex
with Ryder had been her intention when she’d gone out there. Still…

She quietly closed the door behind her as she scanned the empty

kitchen. Blaine had cleaned. There wasn’t a single dirty dish, pot,
skillet, or speck on the countertop, table, or stove.

“Impressive,” she muttered as she turned toward the living room

area. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Blaine fully naked and stretched
out on the longest end of the sectional with his long fingers fisted
around his enormous rock-hard cock.

His too-kissable lips stretched in a wickedly mischievous grin.

“Thanks, although I think you were talking about the kitchen and not
me.”

Lesley blinked and forced her jaw back up to its normal position.

Unable to control herself, her gaze slid over his mouthwatering body,
taking in every muscle and sinew of his tanned hairless chest, six-
pack abdomen, flat stomach, and…

Holy mother of God! She’d thought the sight of Ryder’s cock had

made her head spin. Blaine’s sent her world rotating on a completely
different axis. She knew exactly how large his hands were because
she’d felt them on her body. She’d felt his cock, too, hard against her
belly and stretching up her spine through the confines of his uniform
pants. None of that had given her a clue of how enormous his cock
really was. His hand was fisted around his thick shaft, his fingers
barely touching. A devious, sinful ache zinging through her pussy as
her inner muscle convulsed with the need to feel his dick forcing its
way into her sodden cunt.

She gulped and managed to find her voice as she dragged her gaze

down the rest of his body, skimming her attention over his strong-
looking thighs, knees, and shins, to his bare feet. “No, I do believe I
must have been talking about you.”

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His chuckle sounded as wickedly mischievous as the grin still

stretching his lips. “I’ve been waiting for you, sweetheart.”

“I see that.” Lesley took each step toward him at a slow, measured

pace, her heart rate increasing the closer she got. “Did you, um…”
She chewed her bottom lip, stopping a few feet from the sectional.

“See you with Ryder in the garage?” he finished for her. “I caught

a glimpse of the two of you here and there while I was cleaning the
kitchen.”

Lesley wasn’t sure what she should feel at the knowledge that he

had watched her with Ryder, but the naughty excitement that
shimmered through her veins wasn’t what she’d expected. “I didn’t
intend for that to happen.”

“I did. At least, I hoped it would happen.”
She locked her gaze with his and saw the truth of his words in his

eyes. Ryder had been right. He wasn’t angry. He was obviously
pleased by what he’d seen. And definitely aroused, she realized as her
attention slid to his massive cock once more. A bead of pre-cum
glistened on the slit in his cockhead and she licked her lips, wanting
to taste. The low-throated growl that rumbled from his lips drew her
focus back to his face.

“Keep looking at my cock that way and this isn’t going to go like

I’d planned.”

For some reason, the tortured expression that overtook his

handsome face settled her nerves and left her feeling empowered and
comfortable. She’d really never felt uncomfortable in his presence,
she realized as she closed another foot of distance between them.
Ryder was the one she’d been tiptoeing around.

“Oh?” She lifted her brows as she studied him and let her lips

unfold in a seductive smile. “What exactly did you have planned?”

“To finally finish what we’ve started a time or two now. Take off

your clothes for me, Lesley.”

The hint of authority that thickened his rich voice sent a whip of

excitement slashing across her breasts, to her pussy, and over her ass.

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“Ryder warned me I shouldn’t bother putting them back on, but I
couldn’t very well walk across the backyard naked.”

“Why not? In case you haven’t noticed, our closest neighbors are

nearly a half mile from us on either side.”

Lesley shrugged, kicked off her shoes, and reached for the hem of

her blouse. “I’m a city girl. I’m used to my closest neighbors being
within arm’s reach.”

“If I turn on some music, will you dance for me while you strip?”
Lesley paused with her blouse just under her breasts, threw back

her head, and laughed. “Maybe next time, hot stuff.” She finished
pulling off her shirt, tossed it to the floor, and reached behind her
back to unfasten her bra. “Unless it’s really what you want.”

Blaine let out a low whistle as she took off her bra and let it fall to

the floor with her shirt. “Baby, you’re already putting me closer to
what I really want.”

Still smiling, she unfastened her shorts, hooked her thumbs in the

waistband and the straps of her panties beneath, and peeled both
down, giving her hips a little shake that had her breasts swinging. It
amused her when his gaze jumped rapidly from her breasts to her
snatch, back and forth, as if he couldn’t decide which part of her he
wanted to look at most.

“Fuck, you’re amazing!” He patted the sofa cushion beside his

thigh. “Come here, sweetheart. I want to feel your sexy legs
straddling my waist the way you did yesterday when you climbed up
me at the firehouse.”

She giggled. “Climbed up you?”
“Sweetheart, I’ve never had a woman use me like a rope the way

you did.”

“Well…” She put a hand on the back of the sofa for balance as

she dug one knee into the cushion at his hip and swung her other leg
over his body to nestle it between him and the back of the sectional.
“If you were standing right now, I would’ve done it for you again.”

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His hands closed on her hips in a firm grip, holding her cunt

suspended above his cock. “I couldn’t stay on my feet right now if I
tried. Watching you get naked for me and the sexy way you just
straddled me made my knees weak.”

Enjoying herself, Lesley leaned forward, bracing the weight of her

upper body on her hands on either side of his head. “Did it now? If I
remember correctly, you’re the one that started this fire. As a
firefighter of Rescue Squad 16, it’s not only your responsibility to put
it out, but to rescue the damsel in distress. You can’t very well do that
with shaky knees.”

“No, but I’m betting I can do it pretty well flat on my back.” As if

to prove it, he lifted his head and licked one of her dangling breasts
into his mouth.

“Oh, yeah.” Lesley let her head fall forward to rest on the top of

his as his mouth did wondrous things to her breast. He sucked it hard,
massaged the mound with his lips, and flicked the tip of his tongue
over her beaded nipple. It became a struggled to hold her upper body
up with her shaky arms, especially when his teeth closed around her
sensitive nipple for a pressured bite.

“Oh, God!” A wicked dart of pleasured pain shot from her nipple

to her clit, intensifying the burn he’d already started there. “Do that
again.”

She felt him smile around her breast as it licked the pain away

before releasing it and turning his head into her other breasts. He gave
it the same treatment, mounting the anticipation of that pleasure-
pained bite she now expected by dragging out his sucking massage
before catching that nipple between his teeth and clamping them
down.

Lesley threw her head back, thrusting her breast into his mouth as

a riot of pleasure she’d never felt ricocheted through her system.
She’d never known that pain could feel so incredibly good. It felt like
he’d tied an electrical wire from her nipple to her pussy. A wire that
sizzled, sparked, and blazed to life in his mouth.

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She couldn’t stand it, the fiery ardor that soared through her.

Juices collected between her folds and she wondered how they didn’t
drip onto his cock, still poised at the ready between her legs. His hold
on her hips remained firm, not allowing her to lower her body that
scant inch that would sheath his cock with her pussy.

“Blaine, please!” She wiggled in his embrace, her head lifting

only to fall back again as he tore his mouth from her breast.

“Not yet.” The heat of his breath fanned the valley between her

breasts as he turned his head again and went back to the other one for
a second tasty torment.

“You’re driving me crazy.” Somehow she managed to find the

strength to hold herself up on one arm so she could bury the hand of
her other in his hair. She laced her fingers in the longer strands on top
of his head and fisted them, tugging gently.

His mouth went wilder on her breasts at that, alternating between

the two, licking, sucking, and biting until she was panting for air,
begging him not to stop, and pleading with him for more.

“I think I found your sweet spot,” he said at one point in between

the marvelous assault of his mouth on her breasts and teeth on her
nipples.

“I’ve got another one, but there’s only one part of you that can

reach it in this position.”

He chuckled against her breast, slowly released it from his mouth,

and let his head fall back on the cushion. “Is that so?”

She wriggled her hips again, still unable to do anything more than

sway them from side to side against his hold. “I’ll show it to you if
you’ll let go.”

“Can’t.” The humor swirling with the heat in his eyes had taken

the creamy brown away, turning them to the color of a black cup of
coffee. “No condom.”

Lesley widened her eyes and gasped. “You mean you set this all

up, made sure I would walk in on you sprawled out naked with your
dick in your hand, and you didn’t think to get a condom first?”

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“I got one. It’s just not on yet.” He lifted his left shoulder off the

sofa. “You’ll have to grab it for me.”

Rolling her eyes even as she laughed at his playfulness, she stuck

a hand under his shoulder and pulled out the foil packet.

“Do the honors for me, will you, baby?”
“Hmm, with pleasure.” She sat up, tore the package open, and

pulled out the rubber. She studied it for a moment, before glancing at
him. “Are you sure it will fit?”

He grinned at her. “Damn, talk about stroking a man’s ego. Yes,

I’m sure it will fit. Roll it on slow.”

Lesley reached between their bodies, found the base of his shaft

with one hand, and attempting to curl her hand around it. The tips of
her fingers didn’t touch around the thickness. The inner muscles of
her pussy spasmed in anticipation as she situated the condom over his
engorged cockhead and gently rolled it down his length.

He sucked a breath through clenched teeth, drawing her attention

back to his face as she unrolled the last of the rubber. “Christ, you
have wicked hands. I nearly lost it there for a second.”

“You better not until you’re inside me.” Wanting to explore his

cock, but needing to feel it in her aching core more, she pulled her
hands from between their bodies and returned them to their place on
either side of his head. “Now, Blaine. Give it to me now.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” His fingers flexed on her

hips as he started to use his hold to pull her down when the theme
song from Family Guy split through the sexually charged atmosphere
of the living room. “Fuck!” He tipped his head back, glanced at the
dancing cellphone on the end table, and looked at her again. “There’s
no way in hell I’m stopping this time.”

And with that, he pulled her body down, sheathing his cock with

her pussy in a single fluid motion that had her crying out from the mix
of pleasure and pain. Her pussy was wet, soaked, but it still wasn’t
enough to keep her from feeling the stretching of her muscles as his
cock invaded her pussy. She struggled to breathe, forgot all about the

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ringing cell phone, and lost herself in the intensely fabulous aching
bliss that zinged through her body, wound around her heart, and lit
her soul.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” he growled, his fingers dipping into the flesh

of her hips as he brought her body down until his cock buried inside
her to the hilt before immediately pulling her up again. “Your pussy is
too good, Lesley. Damn, baby, I feel like I’m drowning.”

“Me, too.” And, still, she wanted more. She pushed her knees into

the cushions on either side of his waist, gaining the leverage she
needed to aid him in his control of her hips as he pulled her body up
and down on his cock.

“Son of a bitch, you ride like a queen.” His dark eyes had turned

almost black with his arousal, his lips set in a thin line of
concentration. It surprised her when he released his hold on her hips,
pleasing her in the next instant when his hands moved to close over
her breasts. “Ride me, Lesley. Ride my cock hard and fast.”

She did. Pushing her knees even more firmly into the cushions,

she let her body go wild on his cock. She settled with the full length
of his shaft buried impossibly deep in her cunt and rocked her hips
forward and back, grinding her pussy on his cock until low-throated
growls escaped his lips. She lifted herself, falling back down on his
cock in a speed and harshness that drew soft screams from her own
throat as the pleasure intensified and the pressure built in her inner
thighs, her cunt, and deep in her womb.

“Blaine!” She screamed his name as the orgasm started to claw its

way out of her.

“Lesley. Yes, fuck!” He palmed her breasts, caught her nipples

between his thumbs and forefingers and pinched.

Lesley cried out as the extreme clash of pain and sheer pleasure

collided on a path straight to her clit, scorched its way through her
pussy, and wrenched the release from her body. She exploded. There
was no other word for the way the orgasm overtook every fiber of her

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being, seizing her muscles, stealing her breath, and taking control of
her world.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me.” Blaine’s hands released her

breasts, returned to her hips, and assumed authority of her
movements, pushing her body back and forth and up and down until
he roared with his own release.

Sated, spent, and exhausted, Lesley collapsed on top of him and

felt his rapid heart beating in time with hers as his arms came around
her to hug her close. “The two of you are going to kill me.”

She felt him grin as he brushed a kiss to the top of her head. “And,

to think, we’re just getting started.”

“Was that your general ringtone or someone specific?”
“My mother.”
Lesley smiled and turned her face into his chest to kiss his pec

before lifting her upper body to gaze down at him. “You should call
her back. It might have been important.”

As if on cue, the back door of the cabin burst open and Ryder

hurried inside. “Get dressed. We’ve got to get to the hospital.”

Lesley bolted up, wincing when the move drove Blaine’s

softening cock deeper in her sensitized pussy before it slipped free.
“What’s wrong?” Fear turned her blood to ice as she looked at Ryder,
her gaze searching him for any injuries. “Did you hurt yourself out
there?”

“No.” Ryder walked to the shorter end of the sectional, snatched

up a pair of blue jeans, and tossed them at Blaine. “It’s your mother.
She tried you first, then called me when you didn’t pick up. It sounds
like her appendix. I’ve already called 911 to go get her. I told her
we’d meet her at the hospital.”

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Chapter Five

Blaine hated hospitals. The sanitary smell, the faint sounds of

machines beeping, and the utilitarian white everywhere had always
given him the creeps. Spending hours pacing the floor surrounded by
all that while waiting for updated reports that came few and far
between made it worse. He stared at his feet as he treaded the floor of
the waiting room outside the surgical ward, his mind reeling. He
could feel Ryder and Lesley watching him from where they sat side-
by-side in the chairs that lined the walls. They’d stopped trying to get
him to sit hours ago. He thought better on his feet and handled anxiety
easier when he was on the move.

“It’s not your fault.” Ryder, always in tune with him, contradicted

the thought going through Blaine’s mind. It wasn’t the first time since
they’d arrived at the hospital that his friend had made the comment.
This time, Blaine didn’t ignore it.

His knee collided with a chair against the wall. He pivoted and

retraced his steps, his gaze on his tennis shoes, and his attention in the
surgery room on the other side of the double doors he knew were at
the end of the hallway outside the waiting room. “I don’t understand
why she didn’t tell me she wasn’t feeling well this morning. I spent
nearly an hour with her and she didn’t say a word.”

“Maybe she was feeling okay then,” Lesley suggested quietly.

“Can appendicitis happen that quickly?”

Blaine raked a hand through his hair, thinking back to the medical

classes all the firefighters went through as part of their EMT cross-
training, and shook his head. “She should’ve felt something sooner. A

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pain around her belly button, nausea, fever, something. She didn’t
complain about any of that.”

“What about her movements?” Ryder asked. “Obviously she was

moving normal or you would’ve noticed something. Lesley told me
you ate breakfast with her. She doesn’t usually cook for you when
you go over. That’s not normal.”

Blaine shrugged and kept pacing. “She had it ready when I got

there. I didn’t think anything about it.” He stopped, threw his head
back, and closed his eyes. “She said she’d had trouble sleeping, so she
got up early and decided to make breakfast.”

“But she didn’t say why she’d had trouble sleeping,” Ryder

guessed correctly.

“She shrugged it off, said something about this fundraiser or

something she’s chairing at the church being on her mind a lot.”
Blaine shook his head as he righted it and shoved his hands in his
pockets as he stared out the window in front of him. The sun had
already begun to set, telling him just how long they’d been at the
hospital without him needing to look at his watch. “She knows damn
well I’ve got medical training. Why the fuck didn’t she say
anything?”

It had taken everything in him not to drill her with that question

until she gave him an answer he’d believe when he’d been allowed to
see her shortly before the nurses had prepped her for surgery. He
hadn’t wanted her to know he was angry at her and definitely hadn’t
wanted her to know the guilt he was carrying around for not
answering the damn phone when she’d called.

“Maybe she thought it would pass. She could have dismissed it as

a tummy ache or something.” Lesley’s soft voice grew slightly louder
as she came up behind him. Her arms came around him and she rested
her cheek against his back. “I know what you’re thinking, but you
didn’t know.”

“I should’ve known.” Though her touch felt so damn good, he

wasn’t sure her comfort was what he needed right now. Still, he didn’t

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step out of her embrace. “She rarely calls me unless she needs
something. She’s always said my days off should be exactly that. I go
see her for a while when the first twenty-four starts and that’s all she
needs to keep her happy.”

“You still can’t blame yourself for it,” Ryder told him. “She did

the right thing, mostly. She should’ve dialed 911 herself before trying
to reach either of us. That tells me she didn’t think it was anything
serious, but did get worried enough about it to seek advice.”

“Yeah.” Blaine scoffed. “Advice I was too busy having sex to

give her.” He didn’t realize how harsh the words sounded until he felt
Lesley stiffen behind him. “Christ,” he breathed as he turned in her
embrace and drew her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to
sound the way it did. It’s just…”

“You’re worried, scared.” Her eyes were full of compassion and

understanding as she gazed up at him. “I understand. It’s okay. She’ll
be okay, too. You have to stay positive.”

Blaine forced a smile. “I know. I am.” He brushed a kiss to her

forehead. “Thank you for being here with me.”

She’d been a real trooper from the second Ryder had burst into the

cabin with the news. He hadn’t expected her to tag along to the
hospital and certainly not to stay by his side through the long,
grueling hours of the day while the doctors put his mother through
tests, waited for the results, and then took her into surgery.

She cupped the side of his face, the warmth of her palm seeping

into his chin and offering him a comfort Ryder never could. “There’s
no place in the world I would rather be right now.”

“How about Mrs. Ellis’s room where you can meet your future

mother-in-law?” Vivian Hall asked as she entered the waiting room a
step behind the man who had earlier introduced himself as Doctor
Korbin Malone. Blaine turned Lesley to stand beside him, keeping
one arm around her waist, holding her close, and saw Vivian’s gaze
slide to Ryder before she amended her question. “Or, should I say,
one of your future-mother-in-laws?”

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Hearing the implication that he and Ryder would someday be

married to Lesley did funny things to Blaine’s heart and gut. He
ignored the odd mix of yearning and fear and settled his attention on
the doctor. “Is she out of surgery?”

Korbin Malone nodded. “She is. Her condition is stable.

Everything went well. She’s in recovery now. She’ll be there until she
comes to, then she’ll be placed in a private room where the three of
you can see her.”

Relief made Blaine’s knees weak. For the first time since they’d

arrived at the hospital that morning, he backed to a nearby chair and
sat down. “Thank God.”

“She’s in excellent health,” the doctor continued. “I expect her to

make a speedy recovery, though we will keep her around for a few
days for observation.”

Blaine nodded and then chuckled softly. “She’s not going to like

that. I hope you have some drill sergeants on staff. I’ll warn you now.
She can be a handful.”

Vivian giggled. “Are you kidding? Your mother and I have

already hit it off.” The nurse’s gaze shifted to Lesley. “You’re going
to love her.”

Lesley had sat down in the chair next to him and put a gentle hand

on the back of his shoulder. “If she’s anything like her son, I have no
doubt I will.”

Blaine slid her a side-long glance, daring to hope and, at the same

time, afraid to. Was he supposed to take that to mean…?

“Nurse Hall will come get you as soon as your mother is settled in

her own room,” Korbin Malone told him.

Blaine pushed the could-she-really-love-me question out of his

head, pushed to his feet, and extended a hand as he walked toward
Korbin Malone. “Thank you, Doctor. Your reputation precedes you
and I can understand why.”

He’d been reassured that his mother was in good hands as soon as

Korbin Malone had introduced himself that morning. He’d

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remembered the name being dropped in conversation between the
paramedics on A-shift at the firehouse. According to Neil Ingram and
Madeline “Maddie” Rafferty, Korbin Malone was the best doctor
Cherish Memorial had on staff.

Korbin Malone smiled. “If you have any more questions, feel free

to have me paged. I’ll be checking in on your mom throughout her
visit here at the hospital.”

“And I’ll come get the three of you as soon as she’s awake and

settled,” Vivian added as the two left the waiting room.

Blaine watched them leave and then turned to Ryder. “Why don’t

you take Lesley home? There’s no sense in the two of you being
cooped up here all night. I’m going to stay with mom.”

“We’ll leave.” Ryder paused and exchanged a look with Lesley

before adding, “When you do.”

Blaine had figured as much, but he thought he’d give them the

chance to escape if they wanted to. Nodding, he turned and went back
to the chair next to Lesley, relief and exhaustion making itself known
in every fiber of his being now that he knew his mother was going to
be okay.

Lesley put a hand on his upper thigh, her thumb lightly gliding

back and forth over the denim. That single, tender touch and the heat
of her palm shot awareness straight to his cock. Exhausted or not, that
was all it took for him to be ready to strip her naked and bury his
aching shaft deep in the wet confines of her pussy all over again.

“I’ll stay in here while you and Ryder visit with her.”
“You don’t want to meet my mother?”
“I, well, yes. I just thought…”
Blaine covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. “Then

you’ll go in with me and Ryder when Vivian comes to get us.”

* * * *

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Two hours later, Vivian showed them to Connie Ellis’s hospital

room. Lesley held back, letting Blaine and Ryder go inside first,
pausing in the doorway when Vivian leaned in behind her to whisper
in her ear.

“You’re falling for them.”
Lesley shot her a narrow-eyed look over her shoulder, trying to

play it off, and whispered back, “Don’t you think you’re rushing this
a tad?”

Vivian shrugged. “Lilly and James fell in love after two days of

knowing each other. So did Kyle and Stacey and Matt and Theresa
and…”

Lesley quietly giggled as her friend continued to rattle off the

names of couples she’d created in her books. “Those are romance
novels, Viv. They’re supposed to fall in love at first sight.”

“Nobody ever said it can’t happen in the real world,” Vivian sing-

songed as she started to back step. “Enjoy your visit. I’ll catch up with
you later.”

“Thanks for everything today.”
Vivian tapped her nametag on the left pocket of her uniform shirt.

“Just doing my job, girlfriend.”

Lesley smiled as Vivian pivoted and headed down the hall,

knowing being a nurse to Vivian was just as much of a dream as her
writing was to her and firefighting was to Ryder and Blaine. She
turned back to the dimly lit hospital room, took a deep breath, and
slowly walked inside, letting the catch on the door draw it softly
closed.

Ryder’s broad frame blocked her view of the woman in the bed,

but she heard her groggy voice clear enough.

“Where’s this woman you couldn’t wait to get home to this

morning? Didn’t you bring her with you?”

Lesley stopped in her tracks as Blaine looked at her from the other

side of his mother’s bed and met her gaze. Guilt flashed through his
coffee-brown eyes and she wondered for a moment if that was why he

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hadn’t realized his mother hadn’t been feeling well that morning. Had
his haste to get home to see if she was there caused him overlook the
obvious signs of Connie Ellis’s approaching sickness?

She wouldn’t allow herself to think so. Still, the way Blaine had

been beating himself up since Ryder had rushed into the cabin that
morning told her it was exactly what he’d been thinking all along.

Stop. It’s not your fault. She mouthed the words, watched a faint

smile unfold on his too-kissable lips, and saw the gratitude swimming
in his eyes.

Blaine held out a hand. “It’s okay. I promise she won’t bite. Will

you, mother?”

Connie Ellis let out a weak laugh. “That depends on whether or

not I think she’s good enough for my sons.”

It took Lesley a second to realize the woman was including Ryder

in that statement. Painting her best friendly smile on her face, she
walked closer and put her hand in Blaine’s. “Will there ever be any
woman who is good enough for your sons, Mrs. Ellis?”

Even in a hospital bed fresh out of surgery, Connie Ellis was a

beauty to behold. If Lesley hadn’t been told the woman was in her
sixties, she would’ve never believed it. Not a single gray hair split
through the thick brown waves. Sure, it was probably hair dye that
covered it up, but she really had to wonder. The woman’s face
showed only a few signs of wrinkles around eyes the same coffee
brown with a splash of cream as Blaine’s, and her full lips were
spread in a welcoming smile.

Connie Ellis winked at her. “You’re a smart one. I can see that

already. When they’re younger, a mother never thinks any woman is
good enough for them. But, when they get older, a mother learns to
hope they find a woman worthy of her boys.”

Lesley feigned a shudder. “That’s a tough one to live up to. Both

of these men are fantastic.”

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“Of course they are.” A hint of snootiness came into Connie’s

voice. “I raised them. Well, I raised Blaine, but Ryder was there
beside him almost every step of the way.”

“You did your fair share of raising me, too.” Ryder’s husky tone

was full of sheer love and adoration.

Connie frowned. “Apparently I failed in one area. When are one

of you boys going to do a proper introduction and tell me all about
this lovely woman?”

Blaine chuckled softly and squeezed Lesley’s hand. “Sorry,

mother. Lesley Davenport, this is my mother, Connie Ellis.”

Connie gave him a nod before returning her attention to Lesley.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Lesley. I hear you’ve moved in with my
boys.”

“I, uh…” Lesley hesitated as she glanced from Blaine to Ryder

and back again. “Yes, ma’am. Temporarily. My apartment caught fire
Thursday and…”

Connie’s brows lifted. “Temporarily?”
Lesley snapped her mouth shut, not sure how to respond.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Isis and Boo—those are her cats I was telling

you about that Ryder and I rescued from the fire. They’ve already
made themselves at home. It’s only a matter of time before their
mother does, too.”

It was all Lesley could do not to gape at Blaine. It was all

happening so fast. She felt as if she’d been in a whirlwind since the
moment he and Ryder stepped out of the burning apartment building
carrying her cats.

Talk about full speed ahead.
“We should stop talking like this.” Connie’s voice dropped to a

conspiratorial whisper. “I think we’re scaring your girl.”

“Can’t be any more than she’s scared us, Connie,” Ryder

muttered.

Connie turned her attention to him, reached for his hand, and gave

it a soft pat. “Yes, after what you’ve been through, I’m sure meeting a

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woman like Lesley is scary for you.” Her gaze returned to Lesley.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a real light in either of these
boys’ eyes. That, dear Lesley, makes you worthy of them in my
book.”

* * * *

Ryder had meant what he’d told Blaine’s mother, though he

hadn’t meant to say the words aloud. Lesley scared the shit out of
him. Giving into his need for her in the garage hadn’t done him a
damn bit of good. He’d wanted to fuck her, to get the instant desire
for her that had been scorching through his veins since the moment
he’d seen her out of his system, and walk away. He’d figured it would
be easier to do when she wasn’t looking at him through those big,
beautiful bright blue eyes. That’s why he’d bent her over the
motorcycle and taken her from behind.

It hadn’t worked. He’d known it wouldn’t the moment he’d

started taking off her clothes. All that warm, satiny flesh beneath his
hands, the perfect mound of her breasts in his mouth, and the
tantalizing scent of her wet pussy had awakened something inside him
he didn’t want to face, something he wasn’t ready for. He’d started
falling helmet over fireproof boots in love with her the instant he’d
seen her and he was powerless to stop the destruction. Even now, as
he watched her amazing legs carry her across the yard to the front
door of the cabin, he could feel the fire burning in his soul, a fire
she’d built that he didn’t stand a prayer of putting out.

Resigning himself to the fact that he’d once again be picking up

the pieces of his life when she decided her career was more important
than him and Blaine, he followed the two of the into the cabin. Blaine
scooped up an excitedly meowing Boo on his way to the kitchen. A
squeakier meow drew Ryder’s attention to his feet. The meowing
continued as he carried the pizza they’d stopped to get straight to the

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kitchen and placed it in the center of the table. Refusing to be ignored,
Isis pounced on the table and sat her ass right in front of Ryder.

“Tables are for glasses, not asses,” he told the cat as he picked her

up, fully intending to put her on the floor. Isis had other ideas. As
soon as he curled a hand around her, she situated herself until she was
cuddled against his chest.

“Love on her for a second, then she’ll let you put her down and

leave you alone. Is there any French dressing in the refrigerator?”
Lesley asked, even as she went to the fridge to check for herself. “Ah,
bingo!” She pulled out the bottle along with the container of parmesan
cheese and brought them to the table.

Ryder lifted a brow at the dressing and exchanged a look with

Blaine as he gave Isis’s thick coat a few strokes before setting her on
the floor. “What do you need that for?”

“It’s great on pizza.” Lesley moved to the upper cabinets, pulled

out three plates, and set them on the table in front of their seats. “You
should try it.”

Ryder opened the box, pulled out a slice of pizza, and took a large

bite, speaking around it. “It sounds disgusting.”

She poured a healthy amount of the dressing onto the side of her

plate. “You can’t knock it until you taste it.” She took the slice of
pizza out of his hand and dipped the end in the dressing before he
realized her intent.

He stared at the red-covered end of his pizza and frowned. “I was

eating that.”

“You still are.” She held the slice in front of his mouth. “Or

you’re about to be. Humor me and try it.”

Shooting a narrow-eyed look at a smirking Blaine, Ryder held

Lesley’s gaze and parted his lips. An odd fluttering kicked up in his
gut as he closed his teeth over the end of the slice she fed him.

“Well?” Her voice was slightly breathy, as if her feeding him had

created the same effect in her belly that it had in his gut. “What do
you think?”

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Continuing to hold her gaze, he chewed and swallowed. “It’s not

half-bad.” He quickly took the slice from her before she could dip it
in the dressing again. “But I still like the pizza better without it.”

Lesley shrugged, snagged a piece from the box for herself, and set

it on the plate with the French dressing. “Fair enough. Mrs.
Weathersby taught me you should always try anything once. If you
don’t like it, at least you can say you gave it a chance.”

Blaine pulled out the chair across the table from her and sat as he

claimed a slice of pizza. “Who is Mrs. Weathersby?”

“Was,” Lesley corrected as she swirled the tip of her slice in the

French dressing before taking a bite. She chewed quickly, swallowed,
and continued. “I stayed with her my senior year of high school. She
passed away a week after I graduated.”

Ryder moved to the fridge, snagged three beers, and twisted the

caps as he distributed the bottles between them. “Where were your
parents?”

“I didn’t have any.” She paused again as she ate another bite.

“Well, obviously I did, or I wouldn’t be here. Someone made me, but
I never knew them. I was dropped on the doorstep of a church when I
was three with nothing but the clothes on my back. The pastor wasn’t
sure what to do with me, so I was handed over to the system. I
bounced from foster home to foster home and eventually landed with
Mrs. Weathersby.”

Ryder exchanged a look with Blaine as he eased into the

remaining vacant chair at the table. “You grew up in the system?”

It was the last thing he’d expected to hear. Sadly, most children

who grew up the way she’d described ended up being thieves,
druggies, or even murderers, not level-headed, career-driven women
like her.

She answered him with a nod and went right on eating as if her

past didn’t faze her.

“Have you ever tried to find them?”

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“My parents?” She nodded again and took a sip of her beer.

“Once. I went to the church where they dropped me and talked to the
pastor who’d found me. He couldn’t tell me much, though. The state
tried to run my fingerprints, trace down a birth certificate, and all that
jazz, but they couldn’t find a record of me ever being born. It was like
I just materialized on the front step of that church.”

“There has to be something somewhere.” Blaine leaned forward

and propped his elbows on the table top. “Some way to trace who
they were, where you came from, where they are now.”

“Maybe, but it’s been twenty-five years. It took me fifteen of

those to realize if they’d wanted me, if they’d loved me, they
wouldn’t have abandoned me. I made up my mind a long time ago
that I don’t want to know people like that, no matter the
circumstances that lead to their decision. What if they’re dead? What
if they’re horrible people?”

“What if they’re great people who were young and made a

mistake?” Ryder didn’t look at Blaine, but he saw the look his friend
shot him out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t count how many
times Blaine had told him the same thing about his own mother. She’d
been young when she’d walked out on him and his father. She’d made
a mistake. In thirty years, the woman had never come back to rectify
that, so she couldn’t feel it had been much of a mistake.

“Then I’m sure they’ve gone on with their lives just like I have. I

don’t want to be that reminder of the mistake they made. Getting rid
of me might have been the best thing that happened to them. Hell, it
might have been the best thing that happened to me.”

His pizza forgotten, Ryder got to his feet, walked to the nearby

counter, and turned to lean against it. “You don’t want to know who
you are.”

Lesley turned in her chair to face him and pointed a finger at her

chest. “I do know who I am. I’m Lesley Davenport. All of my
identification and history since I’ve taken that name says so. I’m a
writer and a damn good one. I may not have turned out to be that

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writer if I hadn’t lived my life creating different worlds for myself in
my head. Those worlds gave me the strength to survive, to endure, to
dream, and to make those dreams come true.”

“And to grow into one hell of a woman.” Blaine reached across

the table and caught one of her hands in his. “If you ever change your
mind about that, about finding your parents, Ryder and I will do
whatever we can to help you.”

There Blaine went again, throwing Ryder’s name in with his offer

to help her. Ryder didn’t get all bent out of shape about it this time,
though. How could he when Blaine was right? Instead, he added to
the offer with a bit of information. “We have a few friends on the
Cherish PD. We could ask them to look into your past and see if they
can turn up anything.”

Lesley smiled at him. “Thanks, but no thanks. I may have only

been given a year with Mrs. Weathersby, but I like to think of her as
the mother I searched all my life to find. I’d like to keep things that
way. She might have been only one elderly lady, but she showed me
more about family than anyone ever did. Someday, I’ll make my own
family and pass on the things she taught me.”

“Is that what you want?” Ryder heard himself ask. “To settle

down and start a family?”

She pursed her lips as she studied him for a long moment before

answering. “If I tell you yes, is that going to make you go all hard and
distant on me again?”

Ryder chuckled. “I didn’t ask you to marry us, sugar.”
He could see it, though, far too easily. He could imagine coming

home from every shift at the firehouse as he’d done that morning,
walking into the cabin to find her waiting there for him and Blaine.
He could see little ones running around, too, and not the four-legged
kind they already had sprinting through the house. The two-legged
kind that would look like him and her or her and Blaine or even
somehow a combination of the three.

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“Then, yes, someday that’s what I want.” She polished off her

slice of pizza and reached into the box for another. “Those dreams I
was talking about, one of them has always been to meet the man of
my dreams, fall madly in love, and have a dozen children.”

Blaine nearly choked on the swig of beer he’d been in the process

of swallowing. “A dozen!”

She giggled. “I’d settle for a half dozen.”
“Six?” Ryder grinned as he brought his beer bottle to his mouth.

“You really like having your hands full, don’t you?”

Lesley gave him a pointed look. “I’m always up for a challenge.”
He held her gaze as he sipped his beer, knowing he was the

challenge she was speaking of in that little innuendo.

“You conquered one challenge today,” Blaine told her. “That’s for

sure.”

“Oh? What challenge was that?”
“Passing my mother’s test. It took you all of two seconds to win

her over.”

Ryder had been surprised by that, too. In all the women he and

Blaine had dated over the years, none of them had hit it off with
Connie Ellis as quickly and easily as Lesley had done tonight. Every
time he and Blaine had attempted to drag Lesley out of the hospital
room so Connie could rest, Connie would spark up another
conversation with Lesley that would have them staying another ten
minutes or more.

“She’s a fantastic woman,” Lesley told Blaine before turning her

attention to Ryder. “And now that I’ve met his mother, when do I get
to meet yours?”

“You don’t.” Ryder didn’t realize how harshly he’d said the words

until he saw the arrow of disappointment and hurt shoot through her
amazing eyes. “I should have said that you did tonight. Connie is the
closest thing I’ve had to a mother since I was two. That’s when my
mother walked out on us.”

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Compassion and understanding replaced the disappointment and

hurt in her eyes. “You were abandoned, too?”

“By her? Yes. And I can relate to why you don’t want to know

what happened to your parents. Like you said, if she’d wanted me, if
she’d loved me, she would’ve stuck around.”

“What about your father?”
“He died in the line of duty six years ago.”
“He was a firefighter, too?”
“A lieutenant with Rescue Squad Company 14. They operate out

of Station 2.”

“You’re following in your father’s footsteps.”
Ryder shrugged and tipped back his beer for a swig. “It runs in the

family blood, kind of like a Cox tradition. My brother, my father, my
grandfather, my great grandfather, and so forth and so on, were all
firefighters.”

“Are any of them still alive?”
“My brother is. He’s two years older than me. Rhett is the acting

lieutenant of Squad 14 now.”

Lesley got to her feet, carried her plate to the sink, and turned on

the tap. “When do I get to meet him?”

“So you can research him for your firefighter novel, too?”
Her upper body turned swiftly from the sink as she poked a wet

finger in the air at him, darts of warning and temper shooting from her
amazing eyes. “Don’t you start on me about research again, Ryder
Cox.”

Ryder felt himself grin. Damn, but the woman was sexy as hell

when she got ticked. “Just making sure, sugar.”

She turned back to the sink and started washing the plate. “I’ll

have you know I want to meet him because he’s your family. From
what you’re telling me, he’s apparently the only blood relative you
have left.”

“He is.” Ryder didn’t want to feel the primitive passion that roiled

through him as he thought about introducing her to his brother. He

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knew the kind of women his brother went for. They were usually the
same type that Ryder liked.

“One day.”
“Do you think he’ll approve of me like Connie did?”
Ryder chuckled dryly as he pushed off the counter and moved to

toss his beer bottle in the trash. “He likes women, especially spitfires
like you. Though he tends to go through them more than he changes
his underwear.”

She shot him a grin over her shoulder. “I’m a spitfire now? Cool!

But, no, if he’s that kind of man, he’d never do for the hero I’m
creating. I want my character to be a man my heroine can sink her
nails into, one that she can bring to his knees.”

“Sugar, I might have fallen for your charms, but you won’t get me

on my knees.” Although, sinking her nails into his flesh while he
pounded his aching cock in her sodden pussy didn’t sound too bad.
“Don’t worry. He will approve of you.”

She made a hmm sound. “From what you’re saying about him,

that might be a bad thing.”

“It will be if I end up having to kick his ass to keep him from

trying to take you away from us.”

* * * *

Lesley dropped the plate in her hand. It hit the sink with a loud

clatter of glass against metal, but thankfully didn’t break. Stunned,
she slowly turned from the sink to look at Ryder and found him
standing near the trashcan, his head bowed, and his eyes closed as if
he couldn’t believe he’d just made that comment aloud.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and

she slid her attention to the table. Blaine met her gaze and his sexy
lips unfolded in a knowing and thoroughly pleased smile.

“Well,” she said slowly, searching her brain for something else to

say. “We’ll just have to see that doesn’t happen, won’t we?”

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Ryder raked a hand over his head as he lifted it and opened his

eyes. “It’s after midnight. I’m beat. I’m sure both of you are, too.
Why don’t we turn in for a few hours?”

Blaine’s gaze shifted from hers to Ryder. “Where?”
Tonight, we’re both going to give him what he really wants.
The words Ryder had spoken just before Lesley had left him in

the garage that morning reverberated through her memory as she
watched the two men stare at one another. Her heartbeat picked up
pace as anticipation and uncertainty mixed a heavy concoction in her
veins. Blaine wanted the three of them to be together, but did Ryder
want that, too?

“I think that should be up to Lesley, don’t you?”
Lesley felt her eyes widen as both men looked at her. “You want

me to choose?”

Blaine got to his feet and her heartbeat accelerated even more with

each step he took toward her. He hooked an arm around her waist,
turning her back to Ryder as he pulled her against the solid wall of his
body. “You know what will happen if the three of us go to Ryder’s
bed, don’t you?”

Lesley gazed up at him, noting the hope mixing with the heat in

his eyes. “Yes, I know what will happen.”

“Is it what you want?”
Blaine turned her in his embrace at Ryder’s question until she

faced the other man.

Ryder closed the distance between them in three long strides,

stopping so close to her front that she felt the heat radiating from his
body, smelled his innate masculine scent, and saw his desire etched in
every pore of his handsome face.

“Do you want me and Blaine to make love to you together?”
The idea made her dizzy. So dizzy that she let her arms find

purchase on Ryder’s broad shoulders even as she leaned against
Blaine behind her. For a long moment, she simply stood that way,

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closing her eyes and allowing her mind to process all they were
asking, everything that was happening, and the sheer wonder of it all.

Her body hummed. She felt Blaine’s solid and warm behind her,

felt his cock impossibly hard and long pressing against the small of
her back, and knew without a doubt it was what he wanted. In front of
her, Ryder moved in closer, molding his body to hers, his rigid
muscles an inflexible contrast to the soft way his hands found her hips
just below where Blaine held her waist.

She opened her eyes, met Ryder’s potent gaze, and asked the

question that had been bouncing through her mind since she’d left
him in the garage that morning. “Is it what you want?”

Ryder pushed his lower body more firmly against her front and

rotated his hips in a slow grind. “What do you think?”

The move pushed his cock against her stomach and left no doubt

as to how stiff and bulging it was. God, she wanted to feel his cock
inside her again, wanted to feel Blaine’s, wanted both of their hands
on more of her body than her waist and hips, and she wanted it at the
same time.

Sandwiched between them, she felt mindless with longing,

burning with desire, and strong in the determination and knowledge
that she would be a bona fide idiot not to let these men take her to
Ryder’s bed.

Feeling her lips unfold in a smile, she locked her fingers behind

Ryder’s neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him. His return kiss
was as soft and leisurely as the ones he’d given her that morning in
the garage. He licked her lips, tenderly coaxing them to part as his
tongue swept inside her mouth. One of them groaned. She wasn’t
really sure if it was her or him. She couldn’t really tell over the
pounding of her pulse in her ears.

Not that it mattered. Her sense of hearing wasn’t really necessary

for this particular activity. She only needed her senses of touch and
taste. Oh, yeah, those were definitely on line. He felt incredible, even
better than he had that morning, and she let her hands roam, sliding

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over the back of his head while the other glided over his shoulder and
down his bicep. She licked the inside of his mouth and she lost herself
in his taste. It was absolutely divine, a little tart from the remnants of
the beer he’d just finished, with the subtle indescribable flavor that
was all male.

He angled his head, taking the kiss deeper still as his hands started

to move, too. He pushed his hands between her body and Blaine’s,
gripped her ass, and squeezed. He pushed between her legs, lifted it,
and ground it against her pussy, driving her mad with desire.

Blaine’s hands moved beneath her blouse and skimmed up the

bare flesh of her sides, igniting a blazing path that spread through her
soul. “Should we take this as your answer?” He dipped his head and
licked the side of her neck just below her earlobe in a slow and
tantalizing glide that had her moaning into Ryder’s mouth.

Yes, her sense of hearing had returned. She clearly heard his

question followed by her own low, throaty moan. Now, however, her
sense of speech was impaired by Ryder’s amazingly skilled mouth
and truly delectable tongue. Unwilling to break the kiss, she reached
up and behind her, blindly finding the nape of Blaine’s neck, and
tugged his velvety wicked lips back to the sensitive flesh of her neck.
She felt him smile, heard his soft chuckle, and then lost herself in the
truly devious things he started to do with her neck and ear.

Between her legs, Ryder’s thigh slowly lowered and inched away.

The absence of that pressure to her aching pussy was intense and
immediate. She wanted to slide down, to slither and chase after it, but
doing so would mean breaking the kiss.

He broke it anyway, pulling away just far enough to gaze down at

her. The gray had taken over the green in his eyes and they were
heavy lidded with desire. He was breathing fast. She felt the brisk rise
and fall of his body beneath her hand that had once again wound itself
around the wide expanse of his shoulders during that mind-altering
kiss.

“Have you ever been with two men before?”

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Though her sense of hearing was back full force, it took a moment

for her passion-fogged brain to wrap around his huskily asked
question. Before she could find her no doubt ragged voice to answer,
her sense of feel overrode, drawing her attention to their hands.

Ryder’s hands moved from her ass to her waist, taking the place

of Blaine’s as both of his moved between hers and Ryder’s body. One
dipped to cover her throbbing mound through her shorts, while the
other slid up her front and flattened at the base of her throat.

“You haven’t, have you baby?” Blaine’s whispered question in

her ear sent the flames inside her rising and spreading to every
erogenous zone in her body.

Still unable to find her voice, her gaze locked with Ryder’s and

she shook her head.

“This isn’t research, Lesley. Though I know you’ll probably use it

in your book anyway. This is us wanting you. That’s what’s going to
happen tonight, sugar.” Ryder lowered his head to nip her bottom lip
and then licked his way to her chin. “Tell us it’s what you want, too.”

Lesley couldn’t believe it was happening at all. In all her fantasies

and everything she’d ever written, nothing had ever been like this.
She let her eyes drift closed as Ryder nipped at her jaw, as his fingers
kneaded her waist, and as Blaine held her still with his large hands
splayed at her throat and pussy. She kept her eyes shut, cataloguing
every sensation clambering through her body, and locking it in a tight
box in her mind to keep forever.

“It’s what I want, too, Ryder. Yes, please. Blaine, I want this,

too.” The words left her on a barely audible whisper as the heat of
their bodies surrounding her consumed every part of her being. They
both looked at her. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it. She
felt the intensity of their gazes like an additional physical caress to
their hands.

Lips cruised over her eyebrows, her closed lids, the tip of her

nose, and her mouth. Ryder’s lips, his kisses always so tender in
comparison to Blaine, trailed down her chin and neck. Could he feel

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the rapid beat of her heart against his chest? Could he hear it beating
so fast? She figured he had to, since it was slamming against her
breastbone so fast it was deafening to her own ears.

“Relax against me.” The warmth of Blaine’s breath fanned the

side of her neck as his lips grazed her flesh. Then his teeth closed on
her earlobe and gave it a pressured, blissfully rough bite.

Lesley moaned and opened her eyes. Ryder stood straight before

her, his gaze transfixed on hers. She saw him glance over her shoulder
and knew he looked at Blaine. She could almost feel the unspoken
communication between the two men. Their understanding was that
palpable. She may not have done this before, but they had. She
refused to think about that now, to wonder how many times they’d
shared a woman this way, or how in the hell such a lucky woman
could ever walk away from them.

Ryder gave Blaine an infinitesimal nod, the corners of his lips

twitching in a mischievous smile. He planted a feather-soft kiss to her
lips and went back to his cruising exploration of her flesh. His fingers
joined his mouth on her body, working to free the buttons of her
shorts as Blaine pulled her shirt up and off her head. Ryder’s lips met
each inch of skin Blaine exposed, licking and kissing his way down
her chest and abdomen.

Damn him and his excruciating slowness! She wanted him to

move faster. She wanted her shorts gone, wanted him to rip her
drenched panties from her body and feast on her! Instead, he
continued to tease her, nibbling with his lips and swiping his tongue
over her flesh until insanity became a definite option. As if he were
determined to send her on a direct trip to the nut house, he kept his
kisses and licks on a straight, snail’s paced path down, not even
deviating to suckle a nipple or kiss a breast as he freed the button of
her shorts and lowered the zipper.

“Please.” Her head rolled involuntarily on Blaine’s chest behind

her. “God, Ryder, I can’t stand this.” Her pussy was throbbing. Juices
had pooled between her feminine lips, collecting in a thick, slick

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stream. She tried to wiggle, to gyrate her lower body against Blaine’s
solid one at her back, but his hand had moved from her cunt to her
hip. He used that hold to keep her still, a gentle but firm pressure.

“Patience, sweetheart.” Blaine’s whisper held a hint of pure

amusement. “This is what happens when you give your body to two
men. We get to call the shots.”

What had she gotten herself into? Whatever it was, it felt

incredibly fantastic, even if it was driving her to the brink of madness.
There was no way in hell she was going to put a stop to anything they
chose to do to her. Let them control her, let them tease and torment
her body. Eventually, she would get to take and, dear Goddess of
Hormones, she was beyond ready and willing to take.

Focusing her mind on those tender kisses now peppering her

stomach, she sucked in a breath when Ryder’s tongue dipped into her
belly button. She felt him grin against her skin at her response and
smiled, too. Everything he did with her, everything he said and every
touch he gave her was still cautious. She could sense it as much as she
could hear and feel it, but he was loosening up. All she had to do was
tread carefully and she’d eventually convince him she wasn’t that evil
witch he thought she was.

“I think Ryder’s going in for a taste, baby.” Blaine’s fingers

caressed the base of her throat in light massages. “Lucky bastard.
Teach me to turn you toward him again.”

Lesley let out a breathless laugh as Ryder pushed her shorts and

panties down her legs. He lifted first one leg and then the other,
tugging the garments off her feet and tossing them aside.

“I’ll thank you later.” Ryder’s rusty voice flowed up her front as

he slid to his knees. “I’ve got other things on my mind right now.”

Lesley listened to the byplay between the men, her mind focused

on Blaine’s other hand that remained on her hip, the pressure with
which he held her still unyielding. She felt his stiff cock at her back, a
throbbing presence that continued to tease, tempt, and torment her.
Her mouth watered. Ryder wasn’t the only one that wanted a taste.

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She’d never experienced such a strong desire to suck a cock in her
life. She wanted Ryder’s mouth on her pussy and Blaine’s cock in her
mouth now. Right freaking now! She started to tell them as much
when Ryder’s kisses finally reached where she wanted them most.

Her intended demand morphed into a very breathy “Oh, yeah,”

and she turned to jelly in Blaine’s grasp.

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Chapter Six

She’d done it after all. Ryder took a deep breath, letting the sweet

scent of Lesley’s pussy fill his senses before he eased the tip of his
tongue between her sodden folds. She’d brought him to his knees. He
wasn’t stupid enough to point that out, but he doubted he needed to.
She’d realize it once the euphoria he and Blaine would show her
tonight wore off. Then she’d know exactly how tight of a hold she’d
gotten on him.

She shivered when he found her engorged clit, flattened his

tongue against it, and pressed gently. His mind, still in a cautious
battle with what was happening to his heart, urged him to put a stop to
this now, warning him he’d face the consequences later. He ruthlessly
squashed the thoughts as he delved his tongue further between her
legs, reaching as far as he could between her pussy lips and lapping at
the cream he found there. She tasted as delicious as she smelled,
sweet and tangy with the right mix of warm and spice. There was no
doubt about it. He could get drunk off the taste of this woman. He felt
it happening already. His guarded mind swam with intoxication as he
swallowed her succulent cream and went back for more. Unable to get
to her with her standing upright, and desperately needing a better
angle, he curled a hand around the back of one leg and pulled it to rest
on his shoulder.

“Lesley, put both of your arms around my neck, baby.”
Ryder heard Blaine’s instructions and pulled back, realizing one

of Lesley’s hands had been on a direct course for the top of his head
before Blaine had stopped her. His friend liked to get a little more
controlling than he did with women. It was one of the things that had

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always enabled them to work so well together. Blaine appealed to the
woman’s rougher, wilder side, while he enticed the softer, more
romantic side. Together, they tended to fulfil a woman’s fantasy,
taking her to places she’d never been before with a man.

“Do as he says, sugar.” Ryder didn’t expect the soft whimper that

escaped her lips or the way her hips pushed against Blaine’s hold as
she wriggled in an obvious attempt to get his mouth back on her
pussy. “If you want me to continue, put your arms, both of them,
around Blaine’s neck.”

Ryder sat back on his heels and waited for her to comply. He

licked his lips, tasting the remnants of her juices on his flesh as he
watched her stretch blindly behind her with her free arm and snake it
around Blaine’s neck as she’d been told.

“That’s our girl.”
Ryder watched as Blaine brushed his lips to Lesley’s shoulder and

then gave him a slight nod. Their girl. She was and he knew he might
as well accept that fact. Until she decided her career was more
important than what they could give her, she would be their girl.

Ryder rocked forward, tipped his chin up, and buried his face in

her pussy. He’d always considered eating a woman’s pussy as being
one of life’s sweetest delicacies. Lesley’s pussy topped the charts of
every woman he’d ever touched. Her bare folds felt like satin beneath
his lips as he peppered them with tender kisses. He licked the crease
between her cunt and inner thigh, felt her shiver, and smiled against
her flesh.

“Please, Ryder. You’re killing me.”
At least he knew he wasn’t alone in his tortured state. He eased

his head back, tormenting himself further as turned his hands,
flattened them on her inner thighs, and used his thumbs to spread her
pussy lips.

He took a moment to study the view, denying his hungry gut the

satisfaction of feasting on the cream pooling in her vagina and

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glistening on her inner folds in favor of simply looking at her. “Christ,
you have a beautiful pussy.”

“I bet it’s even more beautiful when your mouth is on it.” She

followed her breathy statement with a buck of her hips that pushed
her pussy a scant inch closer to his mouth.

Ryder chuckled. “Patience, sugar. Anticipation is half the fun.”
“Not from where I’m standing.” Blaine’s gruff words drew

Ryder’s attention up Lesley’s sultry body to meet the man’s gaze.
Blaine’s chin was resting on Lesley’s shoulder and he was looking
down at Ryder, his expression etched with concentration and agony.

“In other words, I should get on with it?”
“Yes!”
Ryder threw his head back and laughed at the simultaneous

demand from Lesley and Blaine. It had been too long since he’d
shared a woman with his oldest and closest friend. He’d known he
missed it, but he hadn’t realized just how much until now.

Determined to draw out the moment despite the suffering he knew

he was causing Blaine to endure as well as himself, Ryder returned
his mouth to Lesley’s pussy. He started with her clit, sucking the
swollen bud between his lips as he gently flicked his tongue over the
flesh. Her inner thigh muscles flexed against his palms, her hips
bucked again, and she started to moan.

He smiled as he released her clit in favor of finding that pool of

cream with the tip of his tongue. He sank his tongue into that
whirlpool of her arousal, lapped it up, and let it linger in his mouth for
a moment as his taste buds went wild over the flavor of her. He lost
himself in her warm sweetness, slowly delving his tongue in her
vagina, pushing it deep, and stretching as far inside her channel as he
could.

The sounds she made drove him crazy. They flowed over him,

seeped into him, and stole his senses even as they curled around his
cock and balls, tormenting both to the point of agonizing pain. He
swore his cock would rupture with the need to be buried in the tight,

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wet confines of her pussy. Those needs encouraged his tongue to
move faster, but he resisted the urge, continuing to fuck her with his
mouth in a slow rhythm that had her quivering, panting, and moaning.

When she exploded it was the most beautiful, sinfully sexy thing

he’d ever experienced. She cried out his name as her body convulsed
and milky cream flowed freely out of her cunt. He eagerly lapped it,
drinking every drop he could and growling over the stupendous taste
until her body finally stilled.

* * * *

Lesley felt Ryder’s mouth ease away from her pussy as he slowly

lowered the foot he’d lifted to rest on his broad shoulder. Then his
wicked hands were gliding up her front as he pushed to his feet. She
felt all of this with her eyes closed and her head resting against
Blaine’s chest. She didn’t have the strength to move. Ryder had stolen
all of it from her with his skillful mouth. If not for Blaine’s continued
hold on her, she would’ve slithered to the floor at their feet.

Ryder’s hands closed around her hips, paused there as she sensed

him gazing at her, and then lifted her into the air. She let out an
undignified squeak, her eyes flying open as she found herself draped
over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“What are you doing?”
“Exactly what you accused me of wanting to do every time I look

at you.” Ryder turned and started for the stairs that led to the loft.
“I’m taking you to bed. My bed.”

As demoralizing as being carried like a sack of potatoes should

have been, Lesley found herself amused, especially when met with
the truly spectacular sight of Ryder’s mouth-watering ass clad in tight
denim. She stretched her arms down, growling when her fingertips
met with the waistband of his jeans. “Can’t reach.”

“I can.” To prove it, he covered her ass with a large palm and

tenderly caressed her cheeks.

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Lesley moaned as pinpricks of fire ignited in her flesh. The man’s

hands were as wicked as his mouth. Every time he touched her,
anywhere he touched her, it felt as if his fingers came equipped with
tiny needles that injected her with an accelerant to fuel her flaming
desire.

She lifted her head as he carried her up the stairs to the loft, her

gaze locking with Blaine’s as he followed them. Heated promises and
devious intents swirled in the depths of his drink-me eyes. He fulfilled
one of those promises as he walked, pulling his shirt over his head
and tossing it to the floor.

She feasted her gaze on his chest, sliding her focus over

enchantingly sculpted pecs that made her mouth water. She clenched
her teeth together as her gaze traveled over his dark, beaded bite-me
nipples and down the ridged six-pack of his abdomen. He was all
smooth, tanned, hairless flesh, and temptation off the charts.

“You can keep going. I won’t mind.”
His lips tilted in a sexy grin that rocked her world as he paused at

the foot of the stairs to kick off his tennis shoes as Ryder headed up.
“Better?”

“You’re getting warmer.” She lost sight of him as Ryder topped

the stairs, but Blaine wasn’t far behind. By the time he was standing
in front of her again, he’d already unfastened his fly and parted the
material to give her a view of the fire-engine-red briefs he wore
beneath. “You should do a search for hot spots, though.” She
pointedly looked at his cock, straining against the material of his jeans
and briefs. “I think the fire is hidden down there.”

He chuckled as Ryder carried her to the bed, leaning over to lower

her down in the center of the enormous mattress.

“This bed is huge.” She pushed herself to her elbows, her gaze

scanning the bed before lifting to take in the rest of the loft. Ryder had
left a lamp shining on the nightstand, bathing the room in a soft white
light. A matching nightstand sat on the opposite side of the bed with a

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dresser on the adjacent wall. She saw two closed doors and deemed
one to be a closet while the other was probably the bathroom.

Blaine stood at the foot of the bed and stared down at her. “You

look perfect in the center of it, too.” He tipped his head back, glancing
at the ceiling. “See?”

Lesley looked up, her jaw dropping as her gaze collided with her

own in the mirror covering the ceiling. “Holy shit! That’s so cool.”

Both men chuckled, drawing her attention back to them. She

pursed her lips and looked right, then left, then at Ryder before
meeting Blaine’s gaze again. “I’m wondering how it will look with
the two of you next to me.”

“Hmm, we’ll just have to find out.” Blaine hooked his thumbs in

the waistband of his jeans and pushed them, along with his briefs,
down his narrow hips.

His cock, every long and thick and magnificently large inch of it,

sprang free, and Lesley’s attention was instantly there. Her pussy
sizzled with remembered ecstasy of having that thick, massive dick
inside her. It would be there again soon, she knew, but definitely not
soon enough for her aching channel.

She felt her lips move, but the only sound to come out was a soft

whimper.

“Problem?” Pure arrogance sounded in his tone. God, she loved

that in a man.

She tore her gaze from his cock, dragged it up his sculpted hard

torso to his too-handsome face, and shook her head. “Not a thing. You
just uncovered the hot spot I was telling you about.”

His head bowed briefly as he laughed. “Damn, you’re incredible.”
Lesley chewed her bottom lip as her gaze returned to his cock.

“No, I believe you’re the one that’s incredible. And positively
gorgeous.”

“That’s supposed to be our line.”
Her gaze snapped to Ryder and she felt her cheeks heat right

along with every fiber of her being. She’d been so transfixed on

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watching Blaine that she’d managed to momentarily forget Ryder was
standing at the side of the bed. Holy hormones, how in the world
could she have ever let that happen? In the time she’d spent
practically drooling over Blaine, Ryder had stripped naked. He stood
at the bedside as obviously comfortable with his body as he’d been
when he’d let her look her fill at him in the garage.

“Too bad, because I just stole it.”
He climbed onto the bed and walked toward her on his knees.

Lesley couldn’t help herself, she knew she probably shouldn’t
mention it, but the opportunity was just too tempting. She dragged her
gaze up his spectacular body to meet his. “This is twice, you know?”

He rolled his eyes, but his lips tilted in a sexily amused grin. “That

you’ve gotten me on my knees tonight? Yeah, I wondered how long it
would take you to point that out.”

Laughing, she reached for him as she shifted, rising to her knees

so she could kiss him. “I’m sorry. It was just too good to pass up.”

The emotions in his eyes as he gazed at her made her breath catch

in her throat. He touched her cheek, skimming his knuckles along her
cheekbone before cupping her face in his large palm. “You’re
determined, aren’t you?”

Confused, Lesley angled her head. “To do what?”
“Make me so fucking crazy about you that I let down all my

defenses.”

Before she could say anything to that, he kissed her. Yes, she

thought as his warm tongue swept between her slightly parted lips.
That was exactly what she was determined to do. She wound her arms
around his broad shoulders, simultaneously rising higher on her knees
and pulling his head down to deepen the kiss. His arms came around
her, snaking around her waist and dragging her close. Even air had an
impossible time getting between them.

Absently, she registered the shift of the bed at her side. Fingers

dipped beneath her hair, pushed it aside, and then lips were on her
back, cascading wet trails along her shoulders, her neck. The hands

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moved to her sides, curling around her just below her breasts and
drawing her slowly back.

They eased backward in a molded heap, Blaine on the bottom, his

legs spread to accommodate Lesley’s body and Ryder’s on top of her.
Blaine retained enough position to fold himself over her, to reach her
neck, the upper curve of her shoulder, and her ear with fiery kisses
that singed her flesh even as it cooled.

Ryder’s mouth left hers on a low, guttural moan to lick down her

jaw, her throat, and her collarbone, even as he shifted to reposition
himself. His weight was a welcomed pressure on top of her, his hips
spreading her legs wide, his hard cock teasing her sodden entrance.
She expected him to play, to tease, and draw out the anticipation like
he’d done in the kitchen. He didn’t. He angled his hips, found the
opening of her cunt with his engorged cockhead, and slid inside her.

Her eyes widened with realization even as the sensation of having

his enormous cock inside her again threatened to steal all rational
thought. “Condom?” The word was more a question than statement
and left her on a sighed breath of ecstatic pleasure.

“It’s on.”
“It is?” When had he done that? She didn’t know and didn’t care.

He’d protected them both. That was all that mattered. She wanted
children someday, wanted that family she’d discussed with them in
the kitchen, but she didn’t want it like this. Not yet. Not until she
knew for sure the emotion twisting around her heart and overtaking
her mind was the love for these two men she’d suspected it was and
not before she knew for certain that love was returned by both of
them.

Breathing another sigh, she pushed all thoughts of love aside and

let herself fall victim to the wondrous splendor of him.

He took her slow, easing each rock-hard inch into her soaking

channel, finessing his way inside. His cock was long and wide,
stretching her, filling her with such glorious completion, all she could
do was let her head fall back on Blaine’s chest and sigh.

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“Yesss.” She hissed the word like a snake, drawing out the s as

Ryder drew out that first pleasure of initial penetration for what felt
like amazing, body-droning hours. She wished it could’ve lasted for
hours.

Ryder buried his face in the side of her neck. “God, you still feel

too damn good.”

Had he expected that to change? Had he thought being inside her

a second time would be different? Maybe he’d hoped it would. He’d
stopped with his cock sheathed inside her channel until the bases of
their bodies met. His breathing was labored and his heart beat in a
wild cacophony against her breasts. “Hang on, Lesley. Fuck, being
inside you makes it hard as hell for me to hold on.”

Lesley reached down his back to his ass, closed her hands over his

cheeks, and squeezed. She loved knowing the instant he pushed his
cock in her aching pussy it put him that close to the edge. She wanted
to make him fall over it, wanted to hear that low-throated growl when
he gave into his release, and wanted to watch his handsome face
contort with the pleasure of it.

She lifted her hips the smallest fraction she was able with him

pinning her to the bed, to Blaine’s body, as he was. That small
movement was enough to drive his dick another full inch inside her
throbbing core.

Ryder’s head came up, gifting her with the pleasure of seeing his

face. That was the only part of her wants he fulfilled at the moment,
though. Instead, he called upon Blaine to help him deny her the rest.

“Blaine.” The man’s name sounded like a rusty plea as he shot

from Ryder’s tightly clenched lips.

“I’ve got her.” Laughter rang in Blaine’s tone as his hands glided

over her body to the juncture where her thighs and hips connected to
hold her down.

Damn.
“I thought I was the one who went for the bondage play,” Blaine

said, his voice teasing.

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Bondage play? Lesley had realized when she’d had sex with

Blaine that he liked it faster and harder than Ryder, but just how wild
did he like to get? A wicked excitement shimmered through her veins,
colliding with the anticipation of wanting to find out.

“You’ve made love to her,” Ryder ground through his teeth.

“How soon after putting your dick inside her did you want to come?”

“Instantly,” Blaine admitted. “That just meant I had to take her

harder.”

“Hard and fast is your way, not mine.”
“Hence the reason we make a great team.”
Lesley listened to the byplay between the men, silently agreeing

with every word even as she realized their conversation was
distracting both of them. Blaine’s hold on her had loosened enough
she figured she could probably lift her hips enough to get Ryder
moving again. Still, the idea of showing them they weren’t in control
of every muscle in her body brought a mischievous grin to her lips.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Ryder asked, pure suspicion

ringing in his voice.

“Oh, it’s just an idea that came to me.” Rather than tell him, she

showed him, flexing the muscles in her cunt around his thick shaft.
His eyes glazed over and his body actually shook with the sound he
made. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. Then forgot all about
laughing when he eased his hips back, drawing his cock out several
inches before slowly pushing all the way back inside her pussy.

“Ah, God, yes.” The words sounded wrenched from her as his

cock slid home and stopped once more. Her fingers dug into his ass
and she lifted her hips, testing Blaine’s hold. He’d tightened it again,
making it solid and unyielding.

“Do that again, sugar, and I’ll explode,” Ryder warned her, his

tone huskier than she’d ever heard him. “I’m not ready to do that yet.”

“Sorry.” The laughter she heard in her own voice proved her

apology to be a lie. “You’re inside me and you were talking about me,
but you weren’t talking to me. I was starting to feel a bit neglected.”

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He pulled back again, far enough this time that only the head of

his cock remained inside her before he inched back in. “Still feeling
neglected?”

“Not even close.” Her breath hitched on the last word as he

repeated the move, gyrating his cock inside her when it sank deep,
and using the base of his body to rub her swollen clit. His coarse
pubic hairs abraded her tender flesh in a delicious chafe as the
muscles of his ass flexed in the palms of her hands.

He grinned at her as he settled into a slow, destructive rhythm that

had the pressure mounting in her womb. “Good.”

Good? Yes. It was so good, too good. It was freaking great! She

tipped her head back on Blaine’s chest, looked to the mirror above the
bed, and met his gaze as Ryder continued to ease his cock in and out
of her pussy. The image of the three of them that way was so
erotically hot it served to add more fuel to the growing flames deep
inside her. She was close, so very close. She could feel the orgasm
inside her viciously seeking release. When Blaine’s hands moved
from her hips, glided up her sides, and reached between her body and
Ryder’s to cover her breasts, she felt the orgasm find its way out.

“Ryder!” She cried out his name when every muscle in her body

tightened, convulsed, and went limp as she came so hard it made her
toes curl.

“God, I love to feel you come apart in my arms.” Ryder’s rusty

words were tight, his tone on the verge of losing control as his thrust
doubled in tempo. The increased speed drew out her orgasm until she
was riding the wave of pleasure again as his facial features tightened
and he fell over the edge. Ryder threw his head back, his face
contorted with pleasure, as the low-throated growl she’d been waiting
to hear again escaped his lips.

He collapsed on top of her, his breaths ragged and his heart

beating in time with the rapid beat of hers. They lay that way for
minutes that stretched to feel like hours, unable to move in the
aftermath of such fantastic sex.

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It was Blaine who moved first. His hands left her breasts, the

fingers of one dancing up her shoulder to the side of her neck. “Are
you ready for me now?”

Lesley opened eyes she hadn’t realized she’d kept closed,

moaning as she leaned into his touch, and met Ryder’s gaze. “He’s
the impatient one, isn’t he?”

Ryder chuckled and brushed a kiss to her lips. “Always.” He

pushed himself up, his chest hair brushing her sensitive nipples,
sending a sizzle of desire straight to her pussy. How could she be so
ready to go again after that?

She shifted between Blaine’s legs, turning slightly to look at him,

and immediately knew the answer. His coffee-brown eyes were
almost black with his arousal. The same arousal she could feel resting
impossibly long and impressively hard against her back. Her core
hummed with a confused mix of satisfaction from Ryder’s pleasure
and anticipation to feel Blaine’s cock inside her again.

“It doesn’t seem like it should be possible,” she said on a breathy

laugh. “But, yes. I’m more than ready for you now.”

His lips stretched in a too-sexy, oh-so-wicked grin as his hands

moved to her shoulders. He gently pushed her forward as Ryder eased
away to stretch out next to them. Then Blaine’s hands moved to her
waist and he lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather,
stretching out his legs before he lowered her to her knees to straddle
his cock.

Lesley laughed her surprise as she looked at him over her

shoulder. “Reverse cowgirl time?”

“You bet.” He tore a condom wrapper he’d gotten from

somewhere open with his teeth and quickly sheathed his cock. Then
his hands were on her again, one returning to her waist to pull her
body down, while the other flattened on her back and guided her
upper body forward.

Lesley splayed her hands on his powerful thighs as his cock slid

inside her in a single, rapid thrust that drove him even deeper than

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he’d reached when she’d rode his cock on the sofa. “Oh, wow!” The
words were half moan and half whisper as the different position
allowed his cock to touch a place inside her that felt unused and so
ready to be abused.

She bowed her head, fixating her attention on his balls. She lifted

her hips and watched as his thick cock slid out of her, his shaft
already glistening with a thick layer of her cream. It was incredible to
watch his massive cock gliding in and out of the flattened curves of
her pussy. The sight sent her desire for him soaring.

“Do you like that, sweetheart?” He lifted his hips, meeting her

downward fall, and driving his cock more deeply into her cunt,
drawing a low-throated moan from her lips.

“Yes!” His hand on her back slipped to cup her ass, the fingers

pulling her cheeks apart, and she felt one slip between them. She
froze, her arms shaking in their effort to support the weight of her
upper body, as trepidation and a weird zing of anticipation traveled
from her pussy to her ass. “Blaine?” His name sounded like a half
question and half warning even to her own ears.

“You have a great ass, Lesley.” His finger tickled between her ass

cheeks, the tip gliding over her most secret entrance, and sending a
quiver of uncertainty rocketing through her. “Has anyone ever made
love to you here?”

She shook her head, lifted it, and started to look him over her

shoulder when her gaze collided with Ryder’s. She hadn’t felt him
move, but realized he’d shifted to the foot of the bed where he now
sat on his knees watching her and Blaine. His cock lay limp and free
of condom between his strong thighs.

“No.” She held Ryder’s gaze as she answered Blaine.
“Damn, you don’t know what it does to me to know I’ll be the

first.” Sheer male cockiness and appreciation rang in Blaine’s rich
tone. “You’ll let me, won’t you, baby? Not tonight, but soon.”

“I…” He gyrated his hips, grinding his cock inside her, and

caused her to lose her train of thought.

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Ryder reached out and dragged the backs of his fingers down the

side of her face. “It’s the only way we can make love to you together,
Lesley.”

“I know.” She’d never had ménage sex, but she’d read enough

books to know how it worked. “I’m just…You’re both so big!”

The corners of Ryder’s lips twitched even as she heard Blaine

softly chuckle behind her.

“Ryder, will you grab the tube for me?”
Lesley’s eyes widened as she watched Ryder back off the foot of

the bed and move to one of the nightstands to pull open the drawer.
Tube? As in lube? Fear weaseled its way through her bloodstream,
speeding her heartbeat. “But you said not tonight.”

Blaine’s hand on her hip squeezed lightly before it started to

caress its way up and down her side. “And I meant it. I’m just going
to play a little. Can I do that? Can I give you a small sample of what it
will feel like to have a cock in your pussy while another one is
probing your ass?”

She heard the cap flipped on the tube, felt the mattress shift beside

her, and saw that Ryder had returned to the bed. Blaine pulled his
finger from between her cheeks and held it out for Ryder to squeeze
the gel onto the tip.

Her quivering intensified as she felt the heat of Blaine’s hand near

her ass once more. He used his dry fingers to spread her cheeks apart
again and slipped the lubed finger between them, this time going
straight for her anus.

“Relax, sugar.” Ryder leaned over, propping himself up on one

hand, and he reached with the other to push the side of her hair that
had fallen over her shoulder behind her back. “It’ll sting a little, but
once you get past that, it’ll feel really good.”

Lesley nodded and tried to force herself to relax. It wasn’t easy

and became even more difficult when she felt the cool contrast of the
gel against her heated, puckered opening. Blaine massaged the gel
around the outer rim of her anus and her pussy muscles squeezed

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around his thick cock inside her on their own accord, reminding her of
just how massive his cock was. It stretched her pussy to the brink and
he wanted to put it in her ass! There was simply no way it would ever
fit, especially with Ryder’s enormous cock filling her pussy.

Blaine eased the finger into her tingling entrance, working the gel

inside her, and stretching the tight ring of muscles. Lesley’s head fell
forward as she fought to breathe, fought to stay even marginally
relaxed, and resisted the urge to tighten on the finger as it pushed
deeper inside.

“Lesley?” Blaine’s tone, far gentler than she’d ever heard it, made

her name a question that he followed with another one. “Do you want
me to stop?”

“Yes. No,” she amended quickly. “Ah, God. I don’t know.”
“Ride my cock, baby. It’ll take your mind off of what I’m doing to

your ass and add to the pleasure.”

Somehow she found the strength to dig her knees into the mattress

on either side of his hips and lift her pussy on his cock. At the same
time, his finger slid even more deeply in her ass, invading her and
sending a bittersweet pain through her core. It set her in motion. She
dropped her pussy back down on his cock, taking in his complete
length as what had to be the complete length of his finger buried in
her ass.

She cried out as the pain mixed with pleasure to create an erotic

concoction in her system that had her repeating the move all over
again. Blaine worked his finger in her ass, wiggling it and stroking the
inner walls of her anus as she rode his cock. She actually whimpered
when he pulled it free, surprised by the burning absence that shot
through her.

“I’ll put it back, baby,” he promised, a hint of pleased amusement

lacing his tone. “I need more lube.”

Lesley continued to ride, unable to believe the wicked anticipation

mounting in her ass as she waited for his finger to return. He didn’t
make her wait long, but he sent her body on an all new whirlwind of

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fear and bliss when he thrust two well-lubed fingers into her most
sensitive hole.

“Holy cow!” She squeezed her eyes shut as pain and pleasure

collided again, wreaking havoc on her system as he pumped the
fingers in and out of her ass in time with the rapid riding of her pussy
on his cock. It wasn’t true pain, but a spark of intensity that ignited an
erotic burn that emphasized the pleasure.

“Fuck, your ass is going to be so tight around my cock.” Blaine’s

words sounded wrenched from his throat as his fingers and cock took
her closer and closer to the brink. He pulled them free again, added a
third, and made a low growl of appreciation as everything inside her
shook and stumbled over the pleasure. “Feel that, Lesley? I’ve got
three fingers in your tight little ass, baby. Damn, I wish you could see
it. The angle isn’t right for the mirror to do any good.”

Lesley wasn’t sure she wanted to see. She’d have to make her

mind up about that later. Right now, she couldn’t think about anything
but the sheer erotic bliss and the inferno scorching the pathway from
her ass to her pussy.

“Blaine. Oh, God. Please, don’t stop.” She couldn’t believe she

was begging him not to, couldn’t believe a part of her wanted to plead
for more.

“Think about it, Lesley.” Ryder’s rusty voice cut through the

sexual fog in her mind. “Think about my cock being inside your hot
pussy while Blaine’s is in your ass. Think about how it will feel to
have your sexy body filled that way.”

The image came swiftly and easily to her mind. She saw them

together in the darkness behind her lids, the three of them joined as
one, and knew it was exactly what she wanted. Thinking about it,
longing for it, and experiencing this little taste sent her that final
distance over the edge.

“I’m…” Going to come. She started to say it, but the words turned

to a scream of sheer ecstasy as the release slammed into her, took
control of her, and spilled out of her. She went wild on Blaine’s cock,

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riding him harder and faster as his fingers pumped in tandem in her
ass. She was dimly aware of Blaine’s roar as he found his own
release. She continued to ride his cock with every ounce of strength
she possessed as spasms racked her body and everything around her
vanished in a deafening silence of exquisite, sexual elation.

Sated, boneless, and eyes still closed, her arms gave and her upper

body collapsed on top of Blaine’s legs. Absently, almost as if she
were having an out-of-body experience, she felt one of Ryder’s strong
arms wind around her waist as Blaine eased his fingers from her ass
and his cock from her pussy. Ryder pulled her over, drew her lifeless
body against his, and cuddled her close. The bed shifted and she
sensed Blaine stretching out in front of her before she felt the backs of
his fingers glide tenderly over her arm.

“Lesley, sweetheart, are you okay?”
She didn’t open her eyes, couldn’t find the strength, but she did

manage a small smile. “I think I’m dead. I see all these bright lights
and feel this alien euphoria. It’s got to be heaven.”

Ryder’s chest shook with his quiet laughter. “No, sugar. It’s just

great love making.”

Was that what they’d done? Had they made love rather than

merely having sex or fucking? She wanted to ask, but felt herself start
to drift away to a place where questions didn’t matter and the only
thing she could see were the men who had just given her the time of
her life and stolen her heart.

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Chapter Seven

Blaine didn’t know what time he woke up. He only knew he could

feel the warmth of the sun beating on his cheek through the uncovered
window of Ryder’s bed. He was lying on his side with a hand
flattened on something too hard to be Lesley’s soft body, and
something furry and too small to be Lesley was curled on his thigh.
He opened his eyes, blinking as he waited for his sight to adjust to the
bright light and found himself staring at a scowling Ryder.

Ryder shot a look at Blaine’s hand on his chest. “You want to

move that?”

Blaine pulled his hand back, lifted his head, and gazed at the furry

culprit on his thigh. Boo had made herself nice and comfortable,
curling into a ball with her head resting on her front paws. He lowered
his head back to the pillow, but not before he noticed Isis had found
her way into the bed, too. She lay where Lesley should’ve been,
stretched out long at Ryder’s side with a paw resting on the man’s
hip.

Ryder raked a hand down his face as he sat up. “I never did care

much for waking up with you when there isn’t a woman in bed with
us.”

“What are you talking about?” Blaine curled a hand around Boo’s

middle and lifted her off his thigh so he could roll over and sit up.
“We’ve got two women in bed with us.”

Ryder frowned down at Isis, glanced at Boo, and then gave Blaine

a withering look. “I meant the non-furry, two-legged variety.”

Blaine looked around the room and didn’t see a sign of Lesley.

“Where’d she go, anyway?”

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“Beats me.” Ryder swung his legs over the side of the bed and got

to his feet. “I woke up just before you did. She could’ve left, for all I
know.”

Blaine rolled his gaze to the ceiling before crawling out of bed.

“Left the bed? Obviously. Left the cabin? I doubt that. Did last night
prove anything to you?”

“Sadly, yes.” Ryder walked to his dresser and pulled a pair of

jogging shorts from the bottom drawer. “It proved I fucked up and let
her in too far.”

“Damn it, Ryder. When are you going to realize Lesley isn’t like

Marsha?”

Ryder shot him a look as he stepped into the shorts. “As soon as

you explain to me how you can be so certain she isn’t.”

“I can’t.” Blaine walked to the foot of the bed, found his jeans and

briefs where he’d shed them last night, and put the briefs on. “Playing
this push and pull game you’ve apparently got going on with her isn’t
going to do anything but send her packing.”

“And bringing her flowers, cleaning the damn kitchen when she

cooks, and buddying up to her cats is going to make her stay?”

Blaine felt his temper spark. “I did all that stuff because I wanted

to. I like her.” He jammed his fingers through his hair and pushed a
hard breath from his lungs. “Hell, I’m more than half-gone over her
already.”

“I noticed. You haven’t put this much energy into a woman since

Marsha.”

Blaine leveled a look at Ryder. “Neither have you.”
Ryder’s scowl deepened as he sighed. “Yeah. I guess that makes

me more than half-gone, too. Fuck!”

Blaine let out a half chuckle and moved to the rail to peer down at

the bottom floor of the cabin. “Suck it up and enjoy it, man. That’s all
we can do.” He scanned the living room, dragged his gaze to the
kitchen, and turned back to Ryder. “That, and figure out where the
hell she is now. What time is it, anyway?”

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“A little after two.”
“Damn.” Blaine chuckled as he headed for the stairs. “Can’t

remember the last time we slept half the day away.”

“That would probably be the last time we spent more than half the

night making love to a beautiful woman.”

Blaine bit back a grin as he hit the bottom of the stairs, wondering

if Ryder realized he’d said making love rather than having sex. They
had made love to Lesley last night. There were no other words to
describe it. He knew damn well he’d fallen hard and fast for Lesley.
He didn’t see any reason to deny it. Ryder had, too, even if he was
hell bent on trying not to admit it. The way Blaine saw it, the only
thing they could do now was make sure she stayed with them, even if
it meant him becoming her personal slave. Shit, he didn’t care. If he
got the inkling to take control, he’d do it between the sheets.

He crossed the living room and spotted her on the back deck

through the windows spanning the back of the cabin. She sat Indian
style in one of the lounge chairs, her back to him, and her head
bowed. She’d pulled her long silky brunette hair into a ponytail high
on the back of her head and the shirt she was wearing looked like the
solid gray T-shirt Ryder had worn yesterday.

“And what do you know?” Blaine stopped by the fridge and took

out three bottles of water. He tipped his chin at the window as he
started toward the back door. “There’s that beautiful woman now.”
He passed one of the bottles of water to Ryder, opened the door, and
stepped outside.

Lesley’s head came up and she looked at him over her shoulder, a

smile brighter than the sun high in the sky unfolding on her luscious
lips. “Hey there.” Her greeting traveled to Blaine over the steady rock
beat of the music playing through the outside stereo.

“Hey back.” He rounded the lounge chair, stopping at the foot.

“What are you doing out here?”

She shielded her eyes with the side of her hand to her forehead as

she looked up at him and tapped the ink pen in her other hand on the

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notebook sitting on the chair in front of her. “Working. You guys
were sleeping so well and it’s such a beautiful day out here.” She
lifted a slender shoulder. “I thought I would come out here and enjoy
it.”

“You write your books on paper?” Ryder asked, taking a seat in

the lounge chair next to her. “I figured all of that was electronic by
now.”

Blaine lowered himself to sit on the end of her lounge chair and

passed her one of the bottles of water. “Thank you.” Her gaze shifted
to Ryder. “It is. My laptop is inside. What I’m doing here”—she lifted
the notebook and scooted to lean back in the chair—“is making a
character sheet. I do that before I start any book. I list the name of the
characters, their physical and personality traits, their goals or
conflicts, and any other important information I’ll need to know about
them through the course of the book. It helps me get to know them
and their role in the plot I have in my head.”

Blaine twisted the cap on his bottle of water and took a large gulp.

“How is it coming?”

Her brows etched thoughtfully together as she stared down at the

notebook and gnawed her bottom lip. “Good, but challenging.” Her
head came up, her gaze locking with his. “What makes a firefighter
want to be a firefighter? The obvious answer is wanting to help
people, but there’s got to be more than that.”

“Firefighters who get into the job because they want to help

people have a heart, but it takes more than that.”

“Right.” Lesley’s attention shifted to Ryder. “There are several

careers where a person can help other people and not put their own
life on the line. I mean, being a firefighter for you runs in the Cox
blood, right? The men in your family have been firefighters for
several generations.” She looked back at Blaine. “Is that the same
with your family?”

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Blaine shook his head. “Nope, I’m the first Ellis to join the

department. My father was a diesel mechanic, my grandfather was a
marine, and my great grandfather was a farmer.”

“Then why firefighting for you? Was it because you’re friends

with Ryder?”

He took a minute to think about that. He knew exactly why he’d

chosen the career path that he had, but putting it into words wasn’t so
easy. “Not because, but being friends with him probably made me
realize what I wanted to do with my life sooner than I would have if I
hadn’t known him. Raymond, that was Ryder’s father, used to let me
tag along with him and Ryder to the firehouse sometimes. It didn’t
take me long to realize, even though firefighting doesn’t run in my
blood, it was still there.”

“It’s a feeling,” Ryder took over the conversational ball. “A

calling. Some men have it, most men don’t. To fight fire, you have to
love it a little. You have to think like it, be able to anticipate how it’s
going to react and what it’s going to do.”

“It’s a living thing.” Blaine paused, biting back a grin when

Lesley pulled her knees to her chest, balanced the notebook on them,
and started taking notes. “It eats, it breathes, and it grows. It takes
more than water or foam to kill it. It takes knowledge, understanding,
and a true respect for the destruction it can cause.”

Her head came up and her gaze shifted from him to Ryder and

back again, her pen poised on the notebook to write. “What’s it like to
walk into a burning building?”

“Hot.”
She giggled and smacked Ryder with the notebook before putting

it back on her knees. “Duh.”

“Better than sex.”
She chewed the end of her pen as she met Blaine’s gaze, the

corners of her lips tilted in a dazzling smile. “Really? Even better than
great sex?”

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Blaine stretched out his legs and took another sip of his water.

“Well, that’s the answer I would’ve given you before last night.” He
grinned when she giggled. “Seriously, it comes close. It’s a rush of
adrenaline unlike anything else. It’s the knowing that you’re about to
walk into a cage, so to speak, with an animal that has the strength to
go full-blown out of control in a blink and you have to prevent that.”

“What’s the toughest call you’ve ever been on?”
Blaine exchanged a look with Ryder, knowing that one fire was

the one that had instantly popped into his friend’s memory just as it
had his. He pushed to his feet and walked to the railing surrounding
the deck. “That’s not something firefighters like to talk about.”

“But will you? With me?” Her voice had softened, barely reaching

him over the music playing through the stereo.

Blaine propped his forearms on the railing and stared unseeing at

the backyard. It surprised him when Ryder started to speak, but he let
the man go with it, not wanting to open the bottle inside himself
where he’d locked the memory of that fire.

“A few years ago we were toned out for an apartment fire.”

Ryder’s voice sounded distant, hard, and emotionless. Blaine knew
damn well the man was preventing his true feelings from sounding in
his tone as he told her the story. “Squad 16 was the first on scene. We
were told that a family, two children and their parents, were trapped
in one of the burning apartments. It took us too long to get to them.
We had to fight through a wall of flames to even see the apartment
they were in. We found them when we got inside. The father had
ordered the kids and the mother into the tub in the bathroom and then
lay down on top of them, shielding them with his body.”

“Oh, God.” The words cracked as Lesley gasped. “Were

they…dead?”

Blaine closed his eyes as images of that day swam back to the

forefront of his mind. The walls of flames, the dancing blaze that had
consumed that bathroom, the streams of water they’d used to battle it
back so they could get the family out…

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“The father was,” Ryder answered after a long, silent moment.

“There wasn’t anything the paramedics could do for him. He suffered
fourth-degree burns over seventy percent of his body. The mother and
children had some smoke inhalation, but were otherwise miraculously
unharmed.”

“He protected them, gave his life for them,” Lesley said quietly.
“He was the bravest man we’ve ever seen,” Ryder told her.
Blaine turned from the railing to face her, able to take over the

story now that the worst of it had been told. “The mother brings the
children to the firehouse every year on the anniversary of that fire. It’s
been three so far. The boy, he’s about ten now, wants to be a
firefighter when he grows up.” He nodded slowly as he thought about
that. “I think he’s got it in the blood now. He’ll have that knowledge,
understanding, and respect for the destruction a fire can cause because
he’s learned it the hard way. He lived it and, whether or not he’s
realized it yet, he’s got the love for it to match the hate.”

Lesley put the pen on the notebook and set both aside. “Just so

you guys know, that’s not something that will make it into my book.
That family deserves peace and I could never use that for the benefit
of making money, even if they would never know.”

Blaine leaned against the rail and crossed his feet at the ankles as

he smiled at her. “That’s good to know.”

She held his gaze for a palpable moment before her attention did a

slow slide down his front that blessedly pushed the memory to the
back of his mind, where he wanted to keep it even as the flames that
rose in her eyes heated his blood. “You came out here in your
underwear?”

Blaine shot a look down himself and shrugged. “There’s nobody

around for a half mile. It’s my yard. Why not?”

“I was just thinking red is a good color on you.” Amusement

danced with the flames in her eyes. “You’re not a woman, of course,
but for some reason that song ‘Lady in Red’ just came to my mind.”

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As if on cue, the song playing on the radio faded, seguing into a

slower one. It wasn’t “Lady in Red,” but Blaine took it as fate’s hint.
He pushed off the rail and closed the distance between them in three
long strides. He held out his arms and waited for her to put her hands
in his. “Dance with me.”

Surprise brightened her angelic face as she took his hands and let

him lift her out of the chair. He stepped back even as he drew her into
his arms and started to sway to the beat of the song. “I’m wearing the
red and you’re the lady.” He grinned down at her and lifted a shoulder
as her arms folded around his neck. “It’s close enough for me.”

She threw her head back and laughed, obviously enjoying herself

as he led her in a slow glide across the floor of the deck. Her body
was warm and pliant and a perfect fit in his arms and he knew he
would never be able to let her go. One of her hands cupped his nape,
glided up the back of his head, and found the longer hairs near the
top. Her fingers laced in those strands, twirling and caressing and
sending jolts of electric arousal straight to his already stiffening cock.

She looked at Ryder as Blaine led her in a turn. “Are you going to

join us?”

Ryder barked a laugh. “Sugar, I’m the man with two left feet here.

I’ll settle for watching.”

Her bottom lip inched out in a pout as she turned her attention

back to Blaine. “Where did you learn to dance like this?”

“My mother. She’s an excellent dancer. I’ve always been a

momma’s boy. We used to dance around the house together when I
was little.”

“She’s obviously a great teacher, too.” She rose to her tiptoes, not

missing as step as she brushed her lips to his.

“That she is.” Blaine parted his lips for her, inviting her to deepen

the kiss, and felt tingles of explosive pleasure rocket through him
when she accepted. Her tongue was like warm satin gliding between
his lips to tangle with his in a dance that matched the tempo of the
song.

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Her hand was in his hair. God, he loved it when she played with

his hair. His hands were on the move, too, one slowly moving up and
down her spine as the other slid lower to cup and caress her ass. She
moaned, a soft, approving, heated sound, and she angled her head to
kiss him harder. Jesus, was she trying to reach his tonsils with this
one? Oh, he hoped so.

She abandoned the playground of his hair to slide her hand to his

hip, pushing her thumb in the waistband of his briefs. Her other hand
did the same on his opposite hip as she ended the kiss and stared up at
him. “Make love to me, Blaine. Here, now, in the sunlight.” She
waggled her brows before shooting a look at Ryder over her shoulder.
“And you can stop watching for that event.”

Blaine eased their dancing to a stop as Ryder got to his feet and

moved in behind her.

“Good, because I’d like my shirt back and the best way to get it is

to take it off of you.”

Blaine let Ryder do the honors—it was the other man’s shirt after

all—and waited for his friend to pull up the material, freeing Lesley’s
bare breasts, before he folded himself in front of her and licked one
taut nipple into his mouth.

Her back arched, thrusting her breast move fully into his mouth as

he felt one of Ryder’s hands push between his body and hers on an
obvious course to her pussy. She hadn’t been wearing panties? Christ,
how had he not noticed that?

He pushed the questions aside and concentrated on her breast,

working her nipple to an even harder point before he closed his teeth
around it for a pressured bite the way he’d figured out she liked. She
shivered against his mouth, a sexy, low-throated moan escaping her
lips, and his cock danced in his briefs. The woman was fire in his
arms, but she exploded to a scalding inferno when he and Ryder
sandwiched her between them. He loved knowing that, enjoyed the
burn, and rode on the hot tide of pleasure it gave him.

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He shifted his attention to her other breast, loving it with the same

cross between tenderness and pain that he had the first, and felt her
melt. He smiled against her flesh as he flicked his tongue rapidly over
her nipple and heard himself groan when her thumbs in the waistband
of his briefs started to push down.

Blaine wiggled his hips and legs until his briefs fell around his

ankles before he shifted his weight from foot to foot, freeing them so
he could kick them away. He judged by the sultry sounds she was
making and the feel of Ryder’s hand between them that the man’s
fingers had sank home. One of her hands had left him and he figured
it was somewhere on Ryder. Her other hand had returned to his
shoulder, the tips of her nails digging into his flesh in obvious passion
as her body responded to their touches and kisses in the most exotic
way.

“Please.”
Blaine bit back a grin at her strangled plea and went back to work

on her other breast. He felt Ryder’s hand between them pumping
slowly, felt her body tightening, and knew they had her on the edge.

Unwilling to let her fall over just yet, he lifted his head to find

hers resting on Ryder’s chest, her eyes closed. He met Ryder’s gaze,
silently communicating his intentions, and knew the man had
understood when Ryder’s hand eased from between them.

She made a sound of protest, her head lifting and her eyes flying

open. Blaine didn’t give her time to speak. He curled his hands
around her hips, lifted her off her feet, and impaled her drenched
pussy with his cock, burying his full length inside her to the hilt.

“Oh, God. Yes!” Her arms came around him, her hands turning to

grip his shoulders from behind, as she locked her ankles around his
waist.

It didn’t feel right. Even as the wonder flittered through Blaine’s

mind, he adjusted his hold on her, moving his hands to cup her perfect
ass. It felt great, stupendous even, but different than it had when he’d
been inside her before.

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Realization hit him like a punch to the gut, pushing a hard breath

of sound from his lungs. “Fuck! Lesley, baby, I’ve got to put you
down.”

She stared at him through eyes glassy with her arousal, concern

snaking its way through. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m not wearing a condom.” That’s why it didn’t feel right. He’d

never been inside a woman without a condom. And, double fuck, now
that he’d realized it, the sensation of his bare cock deep inside her
satiny channel felt so right it blew his mind.

One of her hands slid to cup his nape as she held his gaze. “Are

you clean?”

He swallowed the bark of laughter that bubbled in his throat. “I

better be. I was tested at my last physical and I’ve never had sex
without a raincoat.”

That brought a small smile to her lips. “I’m clean, too, and I’m on

the pill. If you still want to stop, I’ll understand, but…” She wiggled
her hips, inching them forward in his hold to drive his cock more
deeply inside her flaming cunt. “This really feels amazing.”

She had no idea. Yeah, okay, she probably did in her own way,

but in his way, glory be to God, the experience of being inside her
uncovered tightened a vise around his heart. Emotions filled him,
consumed him, and threatened to make his knees weak as he met
Ryder’s gaze behind her before sliding his attention across the back
deck. Damn if he hadn’t just seen approval in his friend’s eyes. At
least that’s what he could’ve sworn he’d seen. Right or wrong, he
took it as that and made his decision.

Tightening his hold on her ass, he carried her to the table

umbrellaed from the sun and eased her down to lie on it as he pulled
his cock free until only the head remained inside her pussy before he
thrust it hard and fast deeply inside her again.

She cried out, a sound of sheer bliss, her back arching and her

breasts pushing high into the air. He started to repeat the move when
she flattened a hand on his chest and he felt a firm push.

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“Wait. Stop. Just for a minute.”
Wait? Stop? The words didn’t want to compute in his mind. She’d

just told him…But then he saw her other hand move, watched as her
gaze slid from his to a point behind him, and a finger on that hand
curled and uncurled.

Ryder, he realized as his confusion cleared. She wanted Ryder to

join them. He waited, his cock fit to bursting, pulsing with the need to
piston, until Ryder appeared at their side.

Her head rolled on the table, her attention locking up at Ryder.

“You’re not supposed to be watching.” Her gaze dropped to his dick,
still encased in his jogging shorts and she licked her lips. “Can I,
um…” Her cheeks turned a truly gorgeous shade of pink as she met
Ryder’s gaze again. “You know?”

Blaine wanted to hear her say it. To draw her attention back to

him, he pulled his cock out of her pussy and rammed it inside her
again, stopping with it buried deep. “Tell him exactly what you
want.”

Flames hotter than any he’d witnessed in her eyes before shot

through the bright blue when he put just the right amount of authority
in his voice. She swallowed hard, held his gaze another moment, and
then looked back at Ryder. “Can I make love to your dick with my
mouth while Blaine makes love to me?”

* * * *

Dear God. Would this woman ever stop weaseling her way into

his heart? It was stupid for such a request, a sexual request, to cement
her further into his soul, but damn if it didn’t do it. Ryder gazed down
at her, loving the picture she made with her long brunette hair
spanning over the table, the streaks of blonde even bright in the
sunlight, her plump breasts red and her nipples swollen from Blaine’s
assault with his mouth, and her pussy joined with Blaine’s cock.

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“Sugar, that’s the most creative way I’ve ever hear a woman ask if

she could suck a man’s dick.”

Her luscious lips spread in a vixen smile that had his balls

drawing up tight in their sac. “Creativity is my job. I’m pretty good at
it, you know?”

He chuckled softly as he pushed his jogging shorts to his ankles

and curled his fingers around the base of his cock. “I won’t argue with
that.”

Her attention had locked on his cock. He doubted if she’d even

heard him. It didn’t matter, especially not when her lips parted and
her tongue dragged across the bottom one and he knew damn well she
was about to prove her creativity with her mouth around his dick.

The hand she’d used to beckon him over turned as it reached out

and she closed her delicate fingers around his balls, palming them.
She used that hold to gently pull him closer, his balls aching even as
the hot pleasure of her touch seeped into his sac. Obligingly, Blaine
shifted her body on the table, sliding her closer until the head of
Ryder’s cock brushed her chin. That soft initial touch of her flesh to
his cockhead sent a bolt of agonized desire shooting through his shaft.

She turned her face into his groin, her other hand reaching over

her body to close around his shaft just above his hand. Ryder let go,
gave himself over to the moment, and heard himself growl as her
luscious lips closed around his cockhead. Her delicate fingers
tightened ever-so-slightly on his shaft and she worked his length with
her fist as her wicked lips drew on his cockhead, her tongue flicking
over the slit to lick away the pre-cum he felt beading there.

Ryder knew when Blaine started to move without even looking at

him. That’s when Lesley’s hot little lips tightened around his cock
and drew on his cockhead as her velvety tongue rasped the
ultrasensitive flesh beneath it. He fisted his hands at his sides, wanting
to delve them in her hair, to grab hold of the strands and take control
of her head, but resisting the urge. This was her creative moment and
damn if she wasn’t already close to bringing him to his knees again.

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A primitive possession roiled through his mind as he watched her

through eyes growing heavy-lidded with pleasure and lust. Her eyes
were closed, her expression one of sheer ecstasy, as her cheeks
hollowed and took more of his length into her mouth. Her tongue
followed the pulsing vein on the underside of his cock as she sank her
lips down his shaft until he felt his cockhead bump the back of her
throat. He saw her wince, watched her gag, and started to pull back.
She eased her mouth away slowly, dragging her lips back to his
cockhead before giving it another try.

She pulled it off this time, the muscles in her throat relaxing as

she swallowed his length until her lips met with the base of his body.
Ryder threw his head back and closed his eyes, fighting to breathe as
the brutal pleasure tore through him. She sucked him slow and just
hard enough to border the thin line between ecstasy and pain.

A primal growl rumbled from his throat as her hot little tongue

worked his shaft as expertly as her lips until the pressure in his balls
built to a mind-numbing intensity. Her lips tightened even more, her
head bobbing faster on his cock, and he realized she was teetering on
the edge of her own release.

Ryder’s senses filled with the dark taste of passion as her mouth

sucked the semen from the depths of his balls. He came with an
animalist growl that felt as if it had been wrenched from his soul, only
absently aware of Blaine’s roar, and Lesley’s cry muffled by his cock
in her mouth as both found their own release.

* * * *

“What person in his right mind made the chore list for this shift?”
Blaine studied the list over Tanner Carlisle’s shoulder as the

height-challenged firefighter grumbled about having to make the
day’s meals. “My bet would be the captain, though he could’ve
passed down that chore to one of the lieutenants.”

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“Both the lieutenants know damn well I can’t cook for shit. Hell,

the captain even knows.”

“Maybe Knox is hoping you’ll learn,” Maddie Rafferty suggested

as she made her way across the common room. She stopped behind
Blaine, putting a hand on his shoulder and rising to her tip-toes to see
over him. “At least you don’t have to clean the latrine.” A former
army brat, everyone on A-shift knew that was the chore she disliked
the most.

Carlisle whirled around from the list, nearly poking Blaine in the

nose with a raised finger as he pointed it over Blaine’s shoulder at
Rafferty. “You want to swap? I’ll clean toilets and scrub the showers.
Anything as long as I don’t have to listen to all of you complain about
how bad the food tastes.”

Blaine shot Rafferty a pleading look over his shoulder. “Swap

with him, Maddie. Please. I’d like to eat a good meal today.”

“Clear it with the captain and the bathroom is yours,” Rafferty

told Carlisle.

Carlisle pushed Blaine aside, flattened his hands on Rafferty’s

cheeks, and gave her a loud smooch on the lips. “And I wonder why
you’re my favorite girl on shift.”

“Eww.” Rafferty wiped the back of her hand over her mouth and

laughed. “That would be because I’m the only girl on this shift,
nimrod.”

Carlisle was already halfway across the common room headed for

the captain’s office.

“Thanks,” Blaine told Rafferty as he turned to face her. “I’ve got

bay scrubbing. I’ll cook if you’d rather do that instead.”

Rafferty shook her head. “You had kitchen duty last shift.” Her

green eyes twinkled. “Besides, I hear you’ve been doing a lot of
cooking at home lately. I’m figuring you could probably use a break.”

Blaine lifted a quizzical brow. “Where did you hear that?” She

was obviously talking about Lesley, but he knew damn well Ryder
was talking. It had been three weeks since Lesley had waltzed into

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their lives. Or rather, he supposed, they’d waltzed into hers carrying
her furry babies. Either way, she’d not only moved into their cabin,
but their hearts, and even Ryder had seemed to stop fighting the fact
that the three of them were now a triad.

“Come on, Ellis. A beautiful brunette shows up here now and then

looking for you and Ryder…When’s the last time any woman has
come looking for the two of you at the same time? It’s a no-brainer.
Besides, us paramedics do talk to the doctors and nurses on staff at
the hospital now and then. The three of you were seen together every
time you visited your mother while she was in Memorial and when
you came to bring her home.”

Blaine shrugged and leaned against the bulletin board behind him.

“I like cooking for Lesley.”

Especially since he’d noticed she tended to get so engrossed in her

writing that she forgot to eat. He was starting to feel like a mother
hen, worrying about whether or not she was getting at least two
decent meals a day when he and Ryder were on shift. Getting her to
eat when they were off was just as bad. She’d start to write, lose
herself in the story, and sometimes forget he and Ryder were around.
It didn’t really bother him much. He understood she had a job to do
just as they did and he didn’t think he could expect her to write only
when they were on shift. Ryder, on the other hand, didn’t like it much.
Though he seemed to accept their relationship with Lesley, Blaine
knew her career and the amount of time she was spending on it still
got to his friend.

“She’s…” Blaine started to say, but broke off when the ear-

splitting blare of the tones cut through the air in the firehouse.

“Engine 4, Truck 29, Squad 16, Ambulance 42, structure fire, 453

Wilson Avenue.”

“Great.” It took Blaine a second to realize Rafferty was finishing

his sentence for him even as she started to back toward the door
leading to the bays. “I get it. It’s good to see you and Cox in love
again.”

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With that, she spun on her heel and dashed out the door. Blaine

followed, stumbling in his step to keep from running into Jax Darwin
as the firefighter raced with the others into the bay. He forced himself
to complete the almost impossible task of pushing all thoughts of
Lesley to the back of his mind and got his head in the game.
Distractions of any kind when going into a fire scene would not only
put his life at greater risk, but that of his fellow firefighters as well.

Blaine saw the fire, smelled it, even before Squad 16 made it to

the scene. Flames licked the smoke-filled sky, climbing out of the
windows of the residential house at 453 Wilson Avenue. He tuned
into the radio chatter, listening to the captain point out the obvious
before assuming incident command. The structure was already fully
involved. Whatever had started the fire had spread quick and hot,
consuming the single-story house in a gulf of flames.

“Is everyone out of the house?”
Blaine heard the captain questioning the Cherish PD boys who’d

made it to the scene first as he hopped out of the rescue truck.

“It’s all clear, Captain,” one of the officers confirmed. “The

mother, father, and two of their three children are over there.” The
officer turned to point at the four people huddled together on the
sidewalk across the street.

“Where’s the third child?” Blaine bellowed over the noise of the

trucks and the chattering commotion as the firefighters hurried to
charge the hoses and set up a point of attack.

“At a friend’s house up the street.”
Blaine nodded. That was good enough for him. The family may

not have a home to live in after this, but at least they had each other.
He turned his attention to Captain Stacy Knox. “You want to fight this
baby from the outside and work our way in, Cap?”

“That’s exactly what I want. Ladder Company, get me a stream

going on the roof. Wiley, Carlisle, Reed, and Darwin, get those hoses
going on the side and back,” the captain shouted at the firefighters of
Engine 4 and Truck 29.”

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“You want Squad to take the front, Captain?” Ryder had come up

at Blaine’s side, his attention focused on the fire continuing to blaze
out of control.

“You and Ellis head her off. When we get her out, I want squad

going in to search for hot spots.”

Blaine saw Ryder give the captain a quick salute before both of

them spun on their heels and double-timed it to Aiden Reeves, who
stood at the ready with a one-and-three-quarter-inch preconnected
hoseline.

“Take point,” Ryder told him as Blaine closed a hand around the

charged nozzle.

Together they stretched the hose to a safe distance from the

inferno and steadied their stance, Ryder stabilizing the charged line
behind Blaine as Blaine angled the hose and opened the nozzle. An
arching, continual stream of water at the force of one-hundred psi hit
the flaming beast head on. Blaine lost himself in the moment, each
adjustment of the hose and stream methodical as the flames fought
against death.

The ear-piercing scream from somewhere behind him startled him

from the zone he’d fallen into, but it was the words that followed that
scream that turned his blood to ice.

“My baby. Oh my God, he’s in there!”

* * * *

Lesley let out a frustrated howl and smacked her forehead on the

table in front of her. Damn it, why was it every time she reached a
point in book when she desperately needed to pick Blaine and Ryder’s
brains for more firefighting knowledge, the two had to be on shift?

She lifted her head only to throw it back on her shoulders and

stared at the ceiling as her mind reeled. She could call one of them. If
they weren’t busy, they could answer her questions over the phone.

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Considering that option, she glanced at the time in the bottom

right corner of her open laptop in front of her. The spare radio they’d
brought home for her from the department sat on the counter across
the kitchen. She’d heard them being toned out hours ago, but hadn’t
yet heard them call themselves back in service. That meant they were
still battling the structure fire, didn’t it?

“Which also means they’re very, very busy,” she muttered to

herself.

So, okay, no big deal, she decided as she got up to pour herself a

glass of wine. It was barely four o’clock in the afternoon, but surely it
was five o’clock somewhere in the world. The wine would help her
mind relax and may encourage her thoughts to take a different track.
She could skip the scene she’d planned to write where her heroes
were toned out for a factory fire, move on with the plot that came
after, and return to the unfinished scene when she got the information
she needed out of Blaine and Ryder.

The decision made, she settled back in her seat at the kitchen table

and sipped her wine as her mind started to drift. Her heroine would
take over the point of view for the next scene. The blinking cursor on
the computer screen faded as images of her heroine claimed her
vision. She saw her in her heroine’s shoes, felt what her heroine
would be feeling, and slowly smiled as the next scene started to take
form in her mind.

The words came next. She set her glass of wine aside as she

positioned her fingers on the keyboard and started to type. In seconds,
she was no longer sitting at the table in the kitchen of the cabin, but
walking down a sanitary hallway in the emergency wing of her
fictional hospital. One of her heroes had been injured in the fire scene
she’d yet to write. She’d reach a point in this scene where she’d need
to do more research soon, but a quick phone call to Vivian would
provide her with the information she’d need to know.

Lost in her heroine’s mind and the emotions twisting around the

woman’s heart, she didn’t know when the front door of the cabin

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opened until she heard it close with a thud that nearly had her jumping
out of her chair.

“Who the hell are you?”
Lesley blinked as she barely registered the woman’s question over

the fierce pounding of her blood in her ears. She was alone in a cabin
in the middle of damn near nowhere. A woman had just broken in
through the front door. She could be an ax murderer. The fact that she
indeed wasn’t holding an ax notwithstanding. She could have a gun.
But, if she did, she’d hidden it somewhere.

Lesley let her gaze fall down the woman, taking in her long

bleached blonde hair, the accusatory look in her eyes, and the siren-
red dress that hugged her shapely body like a second skin. If she was
hiding a gun on her person, Lesley didn’t know where the hell it could
be in that dress.

“Excuse me,” Lesley said slowly as she got to her feet. “You just

busted in my door and you’re demanding to know who I am?”

“I didn’t bust in here. I used my key.” The woman held up the key

dangling from her hand. “And it isn’t your door. It’s Blaine, Ryder’s,
and mine.”

Lesley stared at the woman and stupidly wondered if her mind had

taken a trip to a scene she hadn’t know was going to be in her book
and had gotten stuck there. Was this really reality or had she slipped
into some kind of Oz dimension?

“Who are you?”
The woman planted her fisted hands on her too-narrow hips.

Lesley knew she was skinny and sometimes bordered being too thin,
but this woman was a freaking walking skeleton. The skin-tight dress
didn’t accent her curves as it was obviously meant to because she
didn’t have any.

“I’m Marsha. Now, you want to tell me who you are and what

you’re doing in my house?”

Marsha? Lesley felt the room start to spin. She flattened a hand

on the table, maintaining her balance as her whole world tilted on its

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axis. “You left them,” she heard herself say, and wished the words
had come out sounding accusing instead of weak with shock.

Marsha scoffed. “So, what? You think you can waltz your ass into

my spot? I don’t think so. Blaine and Ryder belong to me. The three
of us are engaged to be married.”

She gasped and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them

again, Lesley could’ve sworn she saw pain swirling in their depths.

“Let me guess,” she said, far more calmly than before. “Blaine

didn’t tell you. I’m not surprised. I figured if either of them decided to
get a piece of ass while I was away, it would be him. It’s so hard to
tame a horndog.” She gave a half laugh. “I’m going to have to put that
boy on a tighter leash.”

You said no. You turned them down, walked out on them, and

moved to New York. You hurt them.

“Do they know you’re back in town?”
Marsha’s heels clacked on the hardwood floor as she walked

through the living room. “Not yet. I wanted my return to be a
surprise.”

Oh, it’s definitely that, on so many levels.
“I’ve been keeping track of the schedule while I was away.

They’re working at the firehouse today, right?”

Feeling number by the second, Lesley nodded. “Yeah. They’re on

a call right now.”

Marsha lifted a bony shoulder. “I guess that beats sitting around

the station doing nothing. I know they love that job, but I never could
understand why. Both of them always said a firefighter’s job is hours
of boredom and seconds of terror. I don’t know how they do it. A job
like that would drive me crazy.”

Lesley’s mind reeled with unanswered questions, one of which

she put to voice. “Did they know you were coming back?”

“Of course. I told them I would be back when I left.”

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“But that was over a year ago.” And that wasn’t what Blaine had

told her. He’d said Marsha had broken it off with them and then
moved to New York.

Marsha lifted a bony shoulder as she slowly turned in the center of

the living room floor. “It took me a little longer to get things settled in
New York than I expected. They wanted to go with me, but I thought
it would be easier to get everything on track by myself.”

“Was it?” Lesley didn’t know why she asked that question. It

wasn’t like she cared. With each answer the woman gave her, she
could feel her life crumbling around her.

Marsha turned back to face her and smiled. “It was. I have several

pieces in every major gallery in the city now and a steady demand for
more. And, God, the money I’ve made off the pieces I’ve sold will be
enough to support all three of us until they can find new jobs in New
York.”

“You’re wanting them to follow you back to New York?” Would

they go? If they were to walk in the door right now, which one of
them would they tell to leave, her or Marsha?

Marsha. Dear God, why did the answer to that question come so

easily to her?

Because they don’t love you.
Her eyes started to burn and she quickly turned her back, reaching

for her wine glass as an excuse as she ruthlessly blinked away the
tears that wanted to fall. She’d been nothing more than a play toy for
Blaine and Ryder these last few weeks. She’d done that to herself, she
knew. She’d wanted research. She wanted to know about firefighting.
And, yes, she’d wanted to know what it truly felt like to be in a
ménage relationship.

You failed on that part, she told herself as she took a sip of the

wine. A ménage relationship meant that both men loved the woman
they were with and that woman loved them, not just the latter.

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“I’d like for them to,” Marsha said as the sound of her heels grew

louder behind Lesley. “I’m sure it will take me some smooth talking
to convince them. Do you mind if I have a glass of that?”

“No.” Lesley turned swiftly and moved to the cabinet to pull out

another glass. “What if you can’t convince them to go back with
you?”

Marsha didn’t answer until Lesley had poured wine into the glass

and handed it to her. “It’ll be more difficult,” the woman sighed as
she sipped the wine. “Being married to them and keeping separate
households. I can afford to make more trips down here now, take
more time off, and even pay for them to come to New York whenever
they get leave from the firehouse.” She smiled at Lesley. “We’ll make
it work somehow.”

Lesley studied the woman. She wasn’t anything like what Lesley

would’ve pictured her to be. Still, as she stared into the woman’s
eyes, she could see the woman had real feelings for Blaine and Ryder.

She tipped back her glass, drank the rest of her wine, and winced

when the tartness overloaded her taste buds. She supposed she should
get used to it. She had a feeling, after the last few weeks and the loss
she was about to face, that everything in her life would be nasty and
tart for a long while.

“I should pack my things and get out of here.” She started to turn

to put her glass in the sink when she felt a slender hand close around
her forearm.

“I’m sorry you’re getting hurt by all of this.” Genuine sincerity

sounded in Marsha’s voice. “You never did tell me your name.”

“Lesley, and I’m not hurt.” The lie left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“It’s just a pretty big surprise, that’s all.”

Marsha’s lips unfolded in a compassionate smile. “I assure you,

Blaine and I are going to have a long heart-to-heart talk about this
one. He won’t get off the hook very easily.”

Lesley didn’t bother to tell her it hadn’t been just Blaine. What did

it matter? “I hope the three of you have a fantastic reunion when they

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come home in the morning.” She gently eased her arm out of the
woman’s embrace and backed away. “Oh, and you probably shouldn’t
expect either of them until closer to nine o’clock. Connie was in the
hospital a few weeks ago, appendicitis. Ryder’s been going with
Blaine over there to check on her the first morning of their forty-eight
off.”

Marsha threw her head back and moaned. “Good.” Her head

snapped back up and her eyes widened. “Not about Connie, of course.
I meant that nine o’clock will be great. It means I can sleep in a little
and still have the stage set when they get home.”

The last thing Lesley wanted to know was what sort of stage the

woman intended to set for Blaine and Ryder. Her heart breaking and
the tears of the teetering edge of spilling over, she gave the woman a
small smile and turned to close her laptop. “I’ll be out of your way in
a few minutes.”

“There’s no rush. Really. You do have somewhere else to go,

don’t you?”

“I have a friend I can stay with for a while.” Deciding she could at

least be nice even though this woman was taking everything from her,
she added, “At least until I can find another apartment. That’s how I
met Blaine and Ryder. They saved my cats when my last apartment
building caught on fire.”

“That’s my men. Always willing to risk their lives to rescue

anyone or anything in need.”

Her men. The words penetrated Lesley’s heart like a knife as she

gathered her computer and notebook and went to pack the rest of her
things. Wanting to be out of the cabin as fast as she could, she moved
quickly, each second putting her closer to the moment she could start
putting the last few weeks and all the happiness she’d found with
Ryder and Blaine behind her.

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Chapter Eight

Ryder nearly upended his motorcycle when he came to a

screeching halt just as he turned into the driveway of the cabin.
Behind him, he heard the tires on Blaine’s truck squeal on the
pavement as the man obviously stomped on the break to keep from
running over him.

Ryder’s heart gave a vicious smack against his breastbone as he

stared at the car parked in front of the cabin. It wasn’t Lesley’s
Cobalt. It wasn’t even a car he recognized. The Hertz logo in the back
window clued him into the fact that it was a rental car. But it was the
sudden rush of shock, pain, and dread that washed over him at the
sight of that car that had made come to such an abrupt stop.

“Cox?” Blaine yelled out his truck window behind him. “Are you

all right, man?”

Ryder didn’t glance back as he revved the motorcycle engine and

steered it to park beside the car. He took off his helmet, hooking it on
the handlebar as he climbed off the bike.

“Shit! I nearly ran over you.” Blaine slammed the driver’s door of

his truck as he got out and walked across the driveway to Ryder.
“What did you stop like that for?”

“That.” Ryder pointed at the car. “It’s a rental.” He slowly slid a

look at Blaine and lifted a brow. “Who do we know that would need a
rental car to come see us and would be inside our house when we’re
not home?”

Blaine’s eyes slowly closed as he pushed a hard, audible breath

from his lungs. “Marsha.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.” But what the hell was she doing here?

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Blaine’s eyes popped open and his upper body jerked as he looked

right, then left, and then finally back at Ryder. “Where’s Lesley? Her
car isn’t here.”

“Yeah,” Ryder said dryly as he stared through the bare windows

of the front of the cabin. He couldn’t see anyone moving around
inside. “That’s something else I noticed when I almost caused us to
wreck.”

“If that is Marsha inside, I want her gone.”
The steeliness in Blaine’s tone had Ryder looking back at his

friend.

“You’re either with me on this one, or you’re not. What that

woman did to us…” He let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. “No
fucking way. I want her out of here and then I want to find out where
Lesley went so I can do whatever it takes to get her back.”

Could they get her back? Ryder wondered as he stared at his

closest friend. Had she left because of something Marsha had said to
her or for another reason entirely?

“Will you stop with that damn shit?” The muscle ticked in

Blaine’s jaw, something Ryder rarely saw, as the man’s temper
sparked. “When are you going to realize Lesley is not like Marsha?”

Ryder didn’t comment as he remembered a conversation he’d had

with Lesley on the back deck during his and Blaine’s last forty-eight
off. He’d asked her about her plans after she hit it big in her writing
career. Her answer reverberated through his memory now.

I’m going to pay cash for a brand new Corvette, top of the line,

black with red interior, and then I’m going to take the three of us on a
vacation somewhere that has a beach so we can go cruising. After
that, I’m going to sit down in whatever writing spot has become my
favorite…I’m thinking out here will be perfect…and I’m going to start
on the next book.

Blaine pointed a finger toward the cabin, ripping Ryder from his

thoughts. “You know as well as I do the only reason Lesley isn’t
inside that house right now is because Marsha obviously made her

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leave. She probably fed Lesley a line of bullshit and now the woman
we love, the one that’s not in that damn house, is somewhere likely
thinking we betrayed her.”

“Then let’s go inside and find out exactly what Marsha said to

make her leave.” The look on Blaine’s face might have been comical
under different circumstances. Instead, it lit the fuse on Ryder’s
temper. “Look, I’m as crazy about Lesley as you are. I’ve been
cautious, or at least I tried to be, because of what Marsha did to us.
That didn’t keep me from falling for Lesley. I want her inside our
house and not Marsha just as much as you do. The only damn way
we’re going to make that happen is to stop standing out here shooting
the shit about it and go inside.”

Blaine’s chuckle was half-surprised and half-amused as he

gestured to the door of the cabin. “Lead the way, my friend.”

Ryder did, bracing himself as he walked to face off with the

woman he’d once given his heart to after more than a year of pain.
Except, it hadn’t been more than a year of pain, he realized with a
sudden rush of clarity that made him feel like a dumbass as he twisted
the doorknob and pushed the front door open. The last few weeks
with Lesley had taken away the last dregs of that pain, turned it into
merely a memory, and had made him see what he’d felt for Marsha
had been love of some sort, but nowhere close to the love he felt for
Lesley.

“It’s about time the two of you came inside. I was beginning to

wonder if you were going to stay in front yard and chit-chat all
morning.”

Ryder looked up at the sound of Marsha’s voice and found her

leaning over the railing in the loft. She was naked. It didn’t take a
genius to figure that out. He could see bits of bare flesh through the
slits in the railing. Not surprisingly after his sudden realization mere
seconds ago, he didn’t feel so much as the faintest stir in his cock.

“Shit.” Ryder heard Blaine whisper as he closed the door behind

them.

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Ryder held Marsha’s gaze, completely unaffected by the heat and

apology he saw in her eyes. “You want to put some clothes on and
come down here where we can talk?”

Her lips curved in what might have been intended to be a sultry

smile. All Ryder could think was he hadn’t known the true meaning
of the word until he’d met Lesley. “I had a different kind of reunion in
mind. Why don’t the two of you come up here and join me instead?”

“Because we don’t want to fuck.” Blaine was the one to answer.

“We want to talk. If you want to do that naked, then so be it. Hell, we
can talk with you up there and us down here. It seems to be working
just fine right now.”

Marsha huffed a breath and pushed off the railing, disappearing

from sight. “You know, that’s the problem with ménage
relationships,” she called out, her voice sounding closer as she neared
the top of the stairs.

She took each step down as if she were a contestant in the Miss

American pageant, her hips swaying and her legs fully extending
before her foot settled on the next step. She hadn’t bothered with
clothes. It didn’t matter. The naked woman Ryder was looking at now
wouldn’t have done anything for him even if Lesley hadn’t been in
the picture.

She’d lost weight, a lot of it. Marsha had never been a heavy

woman, but she’d had subtle curves and enough breasts to fill his
mouth. The Marsha walking down the stairs now was little more than
skin and bones.

“The woman is always out numbered.” She pouted as she reached

the bottom of the stairs. “The two of you get to team up, while I’m
left defenseless.”

Ryder shoved his hands in the pockets of his uniform cargo pants,

not to keep himself from touching her. No, he was too tempted to
deck her, and hitting a woman was something he’d never allow
himself to do. “You weren’t very defenseless when you ran off to
New York.”

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She sighed and her eyes glistened with what might have been tears

as she quickly walked up to him and put her arms around his neck,
flattening her naked body against his. “You’re still angry with me. I
figured you would be, and you have every right.”

Ryder reached back, caught her wrists in his hands, and pulled her

arms from around his neck, releasing them as he took a step away
from her. “No, I’m not.” He didn’t see the need to admit that he had
been angry enough with her for long enough that it had nearly made
him fuck up the best thing that had ever come into his life. Lesley.
“You leaving turned out to be the best thing for everyone involved.
Thank you for that.”

Hurt flashed through her eyes as she spun to face Blaine.
Blaine held up a hand, stopping her in mid-step as she started

toward him. “Don’t bother. Ryder’s right. How’s your career going in
New York?”

“Wonderful!” Ryder couldn’t see her face, but he heard the smile

in her voice. “I have pieces in every reputable gallery in the city with
the demand for more. It’s everything I’d dreamed it would be and—”

“Then you should probably get back to it, don’t you think?” Ryder

didn’t attempt to soften his tone. He saw her spine straighten at the
question as if it had surprised her and she turned sideways between
him and Blaine as she met his gaze.

“My plane doesn’t leave for a week. I have a great apartment in

New York with plenty of room for the three of us. It overlooks one of
the best parts of the city. I thought—”

“You thought what?” Blaine folded his arms across his chest and

glared at her. “That Ryder and I would pack up and move to New
York with you after you walked out on us, stopped returning our
phone calls, and show up in our house naked over a year later?”

Ryder didn’t give her a chance to answer Blaine’s question before

he asked one of his own. “Where is Lesley?”

“She packed her things when I got here and left.”

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“What did you tell her?” The anger in Blaine’s voice compelled

Ryder to shoot the man a warning look. He knew damn well Blaine
would never harm a woman any more than he would. Still, the fury he
heard in Blaine’s question gave him pause. “What did you say to her
to make her leave?”

Marsha shrugged as if whatever she’d said to Lesley didn’t mean

a thing. “I told her the truth. I told her the three of us are engaged and
that, even if we had to learn to make it work living hundreds of miles
apart, we would do whatever it took.”

“There’s not a word of that that’s the truth.” Ryder stared at the

woman he’d once had feelings for and wondered how in the world
he’d ever thought he loved her. “I asked you to marry us. You chose
New York. End of story.”

“I told you I would be back someday.”
Blaine snorted. “Someday. You actually expected us to wait

around for someone that obviously didn’t love us, someone that
couldn’t bother to take a second out of her new life to answer a
phone?”

Ryder saw by the expression on her face it was exactly what she’d

expected. She’d apparently had that much confidence in their feelings
for her. He couldn’t help but wonder if Lesley was that confident
about their love for her, too. She obviously wasn’t, or she wouldn’t
have allowed anything Marsha had told her to cause to leave them. He
would accept full blame for that, but he couldn’t do anything about it
until they got Marsha out of their house and found Lesley.

“Did she say where she was going?”
Marsha blew a frustrated breath up her face, causing her bleached

bangs to flutter. “You’re really going to give up everything we had,
everything we could have, for this woman?”

“You’re damn right we are.” Ryder stepped closer to her, his hand

fisted so tightly in his pockets and he felt his short nails digging into
his palms. “It’s exactly what you did. We all found what we wanted.

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You followed your dreams and got your career. We found Lesley.
Now, did she say where she was going?”

A single tear slid down Marsha’s cheek as she stared at him.

“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind, is
there?”

“No, and the tears aren’t going to work either.” Ryder didn’t want

to hurt her, despite the seemingly endless months of pain she’d caused
him and Blaine. Maybe she had cared for them in her own way.
Maybe she’d even loved them. He supposed her showing up after all
this time had to say something. Still, he was done, over it, and so was
Blaine. She’d learn to get over it, too, just like they’d had to do. And
maybe someday, if she was lucky, she’d find the kind of love and
happiness they’d found with Lesley.

“All she said was that she had a friend she could stay with for a

while.”

Blaine’s gaze snapped to his. “Vivian. It has to be.”
Ryder pulled a hand from his pocket, touched Marsha’s cheek,

and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tear. “Thank you, for
everything. I hope you find all the happiness in New York a woman
could ever have. We would appreciate it if you’re on your way there
again by the time we get back.”

* * * *

“Got it,” Ryder announced as he ended a call of his cell phone and

lifted his hips off the passenger seat of Blaine’s truck to shove it back
in his pocket. “Vivian lives in the Highland Manor subdivision, 6954
Glacier Drive.”

Blaine gave the truck more gas as he glanced in the side mirror to

make sure the other lane was clear before he whipped into it to go
around a slower car in front of him. It had taken them two phone calls
and over ten minutes to come up with Vivian’s address. They’d tried

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Neil Ingram first, but the paramedic apparently didn’t have the same
connections at the hospital as Mattie Rafferty.

“Remind me to swing in Best Buy tomorrow if we have time to

pick her up the Chicago Fire season box set,” Blaine told Ryder as he
took a curve fast enough to have the tires squealing on the asphalt.
“She’s always complaining about how she’s missed several episodes
because we’ve been on shift and she doesn’t have On Demand.”

“The show is headed into its third season now,” Ryder

commented. “They should have one and two in box sets. You spring
for one and I’ll get her the other.”

Blaine glanced at his friend as he slowed the truck for a red light,

hoping it would turn green before he made it to a complete stop. It did
and he pushed his foot harder on the gas. “That really didn’t faze you
back there? Marsha’s tears and all? You’re okay?”

Ryder stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed through the windshield.

“I’ll be okay when we’ve got Lesley back in the cabin where she
belongs.”

The answer was good enough for Blaine. Seeing Marsha that way

hadn’t hurt the way he’d expected. He’d felt for her, but that feeling
had been more pity than anything. She’d given them up to follow her
dreams in New York. She claimed she’d accomplished her goals.
Why she’d decided to come back for them after all this time would
probably always remain a mystery to him, but he found he didn’t
really care. She’d go on with her life the same way they would go on
with theirs.

“Lesley’s car isn’t here either.”
Blaine spotted the house at the same time Ryder did as they pulled

onto Glacier Drive. “No, but that’s got to Vivian’s car. With any luck,
she’s at home.”

He pulled it behind the sleek BMW parked in front of a very nice,

middle-class, split-level house and cut the engine.

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“You forgot to stop by the store on the way over here,” Ryder

commented as he rounded the front of the truck and they headed up
the walk leading to the front door.

Blaine’s step faltered as he glanced at his friend. “For what?”
Ryder lifted a shoulder. “Hell, I don’t know. Flowers, chocolate, a

doughnut, lingerie, sex toys…”

Blaine gritted his teeth to keep from telling the man to go to hell.

Those were all things he’d bought for Lesley in the weeks they’d been
together. Ryder had claimed he was attempting to buy Lesley’s
affection, showering her with gifts so she would stay with them.
Blaine had merely thought Lesley would like the things he’d picked
up, so he’d gotten them for her. He’d noted quickly that she’d
especially enjoyed the sex toy he’d bought. He’d gotten a pack of butt
plugs in three different sizes and they’d started to use them to train
her ass so it wouldn’t cause her as much pain when he and Ryder
finally took her together the way they wanted to.

“Kiss my ass,” Blaine shot over his shoulder as he stopped at the

front door and rang the bell. He stepped back, listening as he heard
shuffling, sneezing, and footsteps getting louder before the door
swung open.

Vivian Hall threw her head back and laughed at the sight of them.

The reaction was so far out of left field from what Blaine had
expected that he exchanged a puzzled look with Ryder.

“What’s so funny?” Ryder dared to ask.
“Absolutely nothing except that I tried my best to convince that

girl she was an idiot.” Vivian’s gazed dance between them as she got
her laughter under control. “The two of you showing up here proves I
was right.”

Blaine heard a squeaky meow and dropped his attention to

Vivian’s feet. Isis had sat down on her hind legs and was staring
pleadingly up at Ryder. Lesley had definitely been here and she’d left
her babies behind. “Does that mean you won’t mind telling us where
she is?”

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165

“I wouldn’t mind if I knew.” Vivian gave them a funny look. “I

don’t suppose you tried to call her?”

“We didn’t think what we had to say was something that should

be handled over a phone,” Ryder told her.

Vivian nodded approvingly. “Smart men. I knew the two of you

were good for her.” She leaned a shoulder on the doorframe and
folded her arms beneath her breasts as she gave each of them a
protective, motherly look. “Tell me this, why do you want to find
her?”

“Because we love her and we need to make sure she knows it,”

Ryder answered before Blaine had the chance.

Vivian gave them another nod of approval. “And this Marsha?”
“Is headed back to New York even as we speak,” Blaine told her.
Vivian’s lips spread in an ear-to-ear grin. “That’s good enough for

me.” She pushed off the doorframe and turned her back on them as
she headed inside. “Come inside. I don’t know where she is, but I’m
sure I can find out.”

Blaine let Ryder take the lead as the stepped into Vivian’s house,

grinning when Ryder bent to scoop Isis into his arms. Boo came
bouncing across the living room as soon as Blaine closed the front
door. He chuckled, picked up the cat, and cuddled her close.

“If you tell her we’re here looking for her, she may not tell you

where she is,” Ryder warned when Vivian returned to stand in front of
them with a cell phone in her hand.

Vivian sneezed, wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and

shook her head. “We’re supposed to meet for lunch in an hour at
Formosa. I’m going to tell her I’ve changed my mind and want
Mexican. Trust me, it’ll work.”

Blaine stroked Boo’s back as he watched Vivian push a button on

her cell and raise it to her ear. The woman held a finger over her lips
to silence them and said a bright, “Hey, girl,” when Lesley obviously
picked up.

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“Are we still doing lunch?” Vivian paused as she listened. “Yeah,

but my taste buds are wanting something different than Chinese.”
Another pause. “I don’t know. Where are you?” Pause. “Shadow
Grove apartments are pretty nice.” Her gaze slammed into Blaine’s as
she said the name of the apartment complex across town. Then she
pointed to the door, mouthing the word “go” over and over.

Blaine and Ryder put Isis and Boo down and went.

* * * *

The apartment cost more than Lesley could reasonably afford,

completely unfurnished save for the kitchen appliances, and required
a six month lease. She went over the calculations in her head as she
slowly walked through the small one-bedroom apartment. It wouldn’t
take much furniture to fill it and it was nicer than anything she’d
looked at so far in Cherish, Tennessee.

Hence the reason it costs more.
She could sleep on the floor for a while and get a part-time job. It

wasn’t what she wanted to do, but it would be a temporary means to
an end. She would waitress or bartend or do some kind of menial
office work for a few months. Since she’d never gone to college and
gotten a degree in anything, those were the only jobs she’d likely be
able to get. Still, they’d be enough. She could work just long enough
to finish this latest book, have it released through her publisher, and
wait on the royalties to start rolling in.

And what if they don’t roll in?
Then she’d keep the part-time job and start a different book.

Eventually, when she got enough releases built up to catch sales along
with the new ones she put out, she’d make the money she needed to
survive in a place like this.

Determination pumped through her veins as she spun on her heel

and smiled at the apartment manager. “I’ll take it.”

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The apartment manager smiled and opened her mouth to speak

when another voice, Blaine’s voice, cut her off.

“No, she won’t.”
Lesley’s eyes widened as Blaine and Ryder stepped into the

apartment, both of them filling the small space in a way that felt
overpowering. So much so that she couldn’t look at either of them for
longer than a second before she had to avert her gaze.

“Yes, I will,” she told the obviously stunned apartment manager

more firmly.

“No, she won’t.” Ryder took a step further into the apartment, that

single long stride bringing him to her side, as his voice matched her in
firmness and determination.

The apartment manager looked from Blaine to Ryder, her beady

eyes filling with uncertainty. “Why don’t I give the three of you a
moment to discuss this?” She turned her attention back to Lesley.
“Close the door on your way out, dear. I’ll be in the office waiting for
you.”

Lesley nodded. “Have the lease ready for me to sign, please.”
“Yes,” the woman said hesitantly as she moved far too quickly for

the door. “I’ll do that.”

Lesley closed her eyes and let out a disbelieving laugh, hearing in

the woman’s tone that she had absolutely no intentions of doing
anything of the sort. “Thanks.” She pinned Ryder with her best steely
glare. “I’d made up my mind I wanted this apartment and you
probably just stole my chance of getting it.”

“You don’t need it.” Ryder’s rusty voice softened as he reached

for her.

Lesley moved several steps back, putting herself out of his reach.

“I need a place to live, Ryder. I can’t keep staying with Vivian. She’s
allergic to my cats, remember?”

And the little wrench betrayed me.
They’d been to see Vivian. That had to be how they’d found out

where she was. The phone she’d gotten from Vivian less than fifteen

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minutes ago. Her friend had claimed to want to change the location of
their lunch date, but that had merely been an excuse to find out where
she was so she could tell Ryder and Blaine.

“We’re not allergic to cats,” Blaine said as he moved closer, too,

stopping at Ryder’s side.

“Well, I’m not letting Isis and Boo move in with the two of you

while I live with Vivian.”

Damn it, why were they here? Why weren’t the back at the cabin

having wild monkey sex with Marsha? She’d done her best not to
think about that as she called around looking for vacant apartments
the second she’d gotten to Vivian’s house. She didn’t want to picture
the men she loved in bed with another woman. She didn’t want to feel
the pain that felt as if her chest was about to split in two over knowing
the woman they loved, the woman that was decidedly not her, had
come back to them.

“No,” Ryder said as he started closing the distance between them

again. Lesley tried to back up more, but bumped into a wall behind
her. “You’re going to come live with Isis and Boo at the cabin where
the three of you belong.”

“Where we belong?” Lesley let out a burst of disbelieving

laughter at the question. “I don’t think the six of us will make a very
happy, cozy family.” The confused look on Blaine’s too-handsome
face almost made her laugh. Damn him. She ticked the names off on
her fingers. “Isis, Boo, myself, you, Ryder, and Marsha.” She
purposely put heavy emphasis on the woman’s name.

“We’re thinking more along the lines of Isis, Boo, Blaine, me, and

you,” Ryder corrected her as he closed the final scant bit of space
between them. “Marsha has gone back to New York.”

God, the way the hard wall of his body pressed against hers, the

way he smelled so fucking good, and the way the warmth of his
breath fanned her face when he spoke as he gazed down at her
threatened to short-circuit every sense she had and then some.
Somehow, and she really didn’t have a clue how, she managed to

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hang onto a molecule of her brain. “And the two of you aren’t back at
the cabin packing your bags to follow her?”

“No,” Blaine said as he came up beside Ryder. Ryder, being the

frustrating man that he was, had to shift so that Blaine could press the
edge of his body against one side of her front while Ryder continued
to invade the other side. “We sent her packing so we could comb the
city looking for you.”

Lesley expelled a half laugh. “You had to comb the city so very

hard, too. You went straight to Vivian, who called me, and told you
exactly where I was.”

“Hey, we had to call around to find out where Vivian lives.”
Lesley rolled her eyes closed at Blaine and threw her head back,

forgetting the wall was behind her. It hit the sheetrock with a smack
that rattled her already frazzled brain. “You’re almost as impossible
as he is.”

“Impossible enough to convince you of how much we love you,

so you’ll move back in with us?”

She jerked her head up at Ryder’s question, popped her eyes open,

and stared at Ryder. “What did you just say?”

Ryder’s handsome face softened as he smiled wide enough to

make every line around his mouth and eyes sexily deepen. “I said we
love you, Lesley.”

“It’s the in love kind of love, too,” Blaine added as he dipped a

hand beneath her hair to cup her nape.

“For both of us,” Ryder chimed in as he covered her cheek with a

large, warm hand. “Please, don’t walk out on us.”

A lump large enough to prevent all words or sounds from

escaping formed in Lesley’s throat at the emotion that filled Ryder’s
eyes. She looked to Blaine and found those same emotions swimming
in his. They loved her? More, they were in love with her? They had
really turned Marsha away, the woman they’d both cared about
enough to ask her to marry them, because they wanted to be with her.

Holy God.

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Still unable to speak, she nodded as she swallowed and attempted

to find her voice. It wouldn’t have done her any good. Ryder chose
that moment to capture her mouth with his. His tongue caressed its
way between her lips in a move of sheer seduction that washed away
the final dregs of her resistance. Not that she had much left after these
two gorgeous, fantastic, amazing men had just professed their love for
her.

Ryder pulled back far too soon and she started to protest when

Blaine’s mouth moved in, claiming hers in a heated kiss that stole her
soul. It didn’t matter. Her soul already belonged to him and Ryder just
as everything she was and everything she would ever be.

Her arms lifted, locking around each of their necks as Blaine

ended the kiss. “I love you,” she said, finally finding her voice to say
that much and so much more. “Both of you. And I will never walk out
on you. I’ll never hurt either of you because nothing is more
important to me than being with both of you.”

“Oh, sugar.” Ryder rested his forehead to hers as his hand slid

from her cheek, his fingertips dancing down the side of her neck.

Lesley leaned into that touch even as Blaine’s hand turned

beneath her hair and fisted the strands. She knew what was coming.
At this rate, it would be her, very, very soon if she didn’t stop them.
“Um, guys, I don’t think that sweet old apartment manager would
appreciate it if we do this here.”

Blaine snorted a laugh and a wide, mischievous grin spread his

lips. “I doubt we’ll have to worry about her coming to look for us.
Not after the way she nearly broke a hip trying to get out of here when
we showed up.”

Ryder’s broad shoulders shook with silent laugher. “Even so,

she’s right. We should take this back to the cabin.”

“I have to stop by Vivian’s to get Isis and Boo,” Lesley told them

as the slowly eased away from her. The absence of their bodies
against hers hit her in an instant, only mollified slightly by the

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knowledge that it wouldn’t be long before that touch would be back,
but in a much better way, as in bare skin to bare skin.

“We’ll meet you at the cabin,” Blaine told her as he turned toward

the door.

Lesley nodded and followed the men out. “I guess I should stop

by the complex office and let the manager know I won’t be signing
that lease after all.”

Ryder shot her a sexy grin that had wetness pooling between her

pussy lips and her bones ready to jump him right then and there. “I
wouldn’t bother. I’m sure she’s figured it out by now.”

* * * *

Blaine ignored Ryder’s smirk when he stopped off at the florists

on their way back to the cabin. They had a few minutes to kill while
Lesley returned to Vivian’s to get the cats and he had an idea. He left
Ryder in the truck and went into the flower shop alone, hoping they
carried everything he’d need for his little plan. Pleased when he
discovered they did, he bought what he’d come to purchase and left
the store with a smile, only to have it fade in puzzlement when he
stepped outside to find Ryder wasn’t in the truck.

He stopped at the front bumper and turned to scan the sidewalk,

not seeing any sign of his friend. His gaze lifted and he read the
names of the other stores in the strip mall. Only one caught his eye
and an amused chuckle left his throat when he realized that had to be
the store Ryder had disappeared into.

He stashed his purchases in the cab of the truck and moved back

onto the sidewalk, pulling open the door of the jewelry store when he
got to it. Sure enough, there was Ryder standing before a glass display
of engagement rings.

Ryder didn’t lift his head as Blaine walked up next to him. “I

didn’t figure it would take you long to figure out where I was.”

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Blaine lifted a brow as he studied his friend’s side profile.

“You’re serious?”

Ryder finally looked up, his gaze locking with Blaine’s as he

lifted a brow. “Aren’t you?”

Blaine barked a half laugh. “Hell yeah. Let’s do it.”
“I’m thinking that one.” Ryder pointed at the glass to a half-caret

diamond solitaire set in white-gold etched with tiny diamond hearts.

Blaine’s other brow winged up to join the first. “Good choice. It’s

almost as beautiful as she is.”

Ryder grimaced. “I don’t suppose you have any clue what her ring

size is.”

Blaine shrugged. “Round?”
Ryder chuckled and rolled his eyes. “That’s helpful.”
“Can I show you anything in particular, gentlemen?” a very

young, very sophisticated woman asked as she came to a stop in front
of them on the other side of the glass cabinet.

Blaine pointed to the ring Ryder had picked out. “We want that

one, but we don’t know her ring size.”

“Oh, what an excellent choice.” The woman slid the glass on her

side open, reached inside to pull out the velvet-lined stand the ring sat
on, and place it on top of the cabinet. “We could hold it for you until
you come back with the ring size.”

Blaine exchanged a look with Ryder and both of them shook their

heads.

“We wanted to buy it now,” Ryder told the woman. “Can we

bring it back later to get it sized if doesn’t fit?”

“You could,” the woman said slowly. “How about this? Can you

give me an idea how large her fingers are?”

Blaine reached for the woman’s hand, studying her fingers. He

glanced at Ryder. “They’re about this size, aren’t they?”

Ryder took the woman’s other hand and gave it the same study

Blaine was giving the one he held. The woman was a real trooper,

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Blaine realized as he glanced at her. She stood there, letting them
scrutinize her hands with an amused smile tilting her lips.

“Close,” Ryder decided, letting go of the hand he held. “Very

close.”

Blaine continued to stare at the woman’s hand in his, picturing the

fingers curled around his shaft. Not because he wanted them there, but
because he knew he’d be able to tell the side of her fingers if he could
feel them on his cock.

“Yeah,” he decided, finally releasing the woman’s hand. “If her

hands aren’t the same size as yours, they’re close.”

The woman smiled as she gently pulled the ring off the velvet

stand and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. “It’s a perfect
fit.” She turned her hand around to face them, showing them how it
looked.

Ryder lightly smacked the glass counter top. “We’ll take it.” He

turned to Blaine as the woman moved to the register to ring up the
purchase. “What else did you buy?”

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Chapter Nine

“Isis, will you get your furry butt over here?” Lesley reached as

far as she could into the backseat of her car with Boo cuddled in her
arms and the cat’s claws digging into her shoulder, only to have Isis
inch further away. “I can’t get you out of the car if I can’t reach you,”
she told the ornery cat. “Fine. Stay in there.” She straightened and
slammed the door closed. “I’ll send Ryder out here to get you in a few
minutes.”

She turned, adjusting Boo in her arm to pull the cat’s claw from

her shoulder, and started for the cabin. Her step faltered and her heart
leapt to her throat when she spotted what looked like flickering flames
through the front windows of the cabin.

“Oh, God. No.” She ran up the steps, wrenched the door open

with her free hand, and froze. She gasped when she spotted the
candles that sat on the ends of the steps leading up the stairs to the
loft, their soft flickering flames dancing to pave her way up.

“This is one time when it’s okay to walk into the light,” Blaine’s

amused voice flowed down to her from the loft.

“If she walks into it, she’ll get burned, dumbshit.”
Lesley giggled at Ryder’s sardonic tone. “Um, this is a really

amazing surprise, but Ryder, I need you to come down for a minute,
please. Isis is still in the car. She won’t come to me so I can get her
out.”

“Uh, okay. Give me a second and I’ll come get her.”
More than a few seconds past before Ryder appeared at the top of

the stairs wearing a robe closed to his neck. Lesley angled her head,
studying him. What looked like a pair of slacks was peeking beneath

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the bottom of the long man’s robe. He took care not to step on the
candles as his feet clad in a pair of dress shoes hit each step down to
the bottom floor.

“What are you wearing?”
He glanced down himself as he moved in to give her a quick kiss.

“A robe.”

“Yes, but what do you have on beneath it?”
He waggled his brows. “You’ll see after I rescue our daughter.”

He headed for the door, shooting her an amused look over his broad
shoulder. “So this is what it’s going to be like when we have that half
dozen nonfurry children you’re wanting, huh?”

Lesley laughed even as the thought of having those half dozen

children with him and Blaine filled with belly with quivering, excited
butterflies. “Hmm, I guess we can consider it practice.” She gave Boo
a kiss on the top of the head as she lowered the cat to the floor and
looked up at the loft. “Should I come on up or wait for him to get
back?”

Blaine stuck his handsome head over the railing. She caught

enough of a glimpse of the rest of him to know he was fully clothed,
too, in what looked suspiciously like a suit. “Wait for Ryder.”

Lesley narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Should I be worried

about what I’m about to walk into up there?”

The grin that spread across Blaine’s lips was full of mischief and

set the butterflies in her belly into an even more excited flight. “Nope.
Remember what Ryder says, anticipation is half the fun.”

With that, he stepped back from the railing, disappearing from her

sight. She turned as she heard the soft footfalls behind her and found
Ryder cuddling a very comfortable-looking Isis in his strong arms.

“You’re the only one she will ever let carry her like that.”
He shrugged a broad shoulder as he kicked the door closed behind

him and lowered the cat to the floor. “We have an understanding,
don’t we, Goddess?”

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Lesley giggled as he straightened. “I’m glad someone has an

understanding with her. I would’ve hated to leave her in the car all
night. It took me forever just to get her there.”

He grinned as he moved to the foot of the stairs and gestured up

them with a flourish of his arm. “My lady.”

Getting more intrigued by the second, Lesley lifted a brow as she

slowly walked up the stairs to the loft, feeling Ryder’s gaze on her
every step of the way. She topped the stairs and, for the second time
since she’d walked into the cabin, she gasped at the sight before her
eyes. They’d placed more candles on the floor, creating a lighted path
that led straight to the bed. That bed drew a soft sound from her throat
as her gaze slid over the rose peddles covering the sheets.

“Oh my, God. This is beautiful.”
She pulled her gaze from the bed and found Blaine and Ryder

standing at the foot of it, watching her. Ryder had shed the robe. Her
jaw dropped as she realized both men were wearing crisp white shirts
beneath black suit jackets with black slacks and matching dress shoes.
Ryder had left the top three buttons of his shirt unfastened, while
Blaine had buttoned his up all the way to accommodate the black and
gray tie around his neck.

“Holy shit.” Her quietly whispered words rang with female

appreciation even to her own ears. How could she not fully appreciate
two incredibly handsome men dressed to the nines and looking at he,
flames hotter than the flickering candles at her feet in their eyes?

Blaine nudged Ryder’s arm with an elbow. “I think she’s

impressed.”

“I’m more than impressed.” If Lesley smiled any wider, she was

certain her face would split. Still, she couldn’t help it. These men had
done all of this for her? “You’re positively gorgeous. Both of you!”
Suddenly self-conscious, she glanced down at herself and winced at
her sandals, cutoff shorts, and tank-top. “And I’m positively
underdressed for this occasion.”

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“We thought you might say that.” Blaine tipped his chin toward

the bathroom behind her. “Your clothes are waiting for you in there.”

Lesley turned, careful not to knock over any candles and had to

step over the edge of the path to get to the bathroom. She pulled open
the door, flicked on the light, and found a red satin and lace negligee
folded on the bathroom counter. She closed the door behind her and
changed quickly, her nipples beading to hardened points as the satin
whispered over her breasts. The smooth fabric continued down,
framing her figure with strips of lace that clung to her sides and
stopped at her upper thighs. The fact that they hadn’t purchased
panties to go with the outfit had wetness pooling between her bare
folds as she turned and exited the bedroom.

“That is positively gorgeous.” Ryder’s rusty voice was already

growing huskier with his arousal.

“Our lady in red,” Blaine added, reminding her of the day they’d

danced on the back deck. He pointed to a spot on the floor in front of
them. “Stand right here.”

The hint of authority that laced those words sent excitement

shimmering through her veins as she slowly walked to stand where
he’d indicated, pausing when she had to step over first one row of
candles and then the other to get to them.

“You’re determined to make her walk into the light, aren’t you?”

Ryder muttered to Blaine.

“Yeah, I guess I should’ve thought that through better.”
Amused, Lesley stopped where Blaine had told her and gazed at

him. “So the candles were your idea?”

Blaine hooked a thumb at Ryder. “He helped.”
“Don’t blame it on me. I was following your lead.”
She giggled at the playful argument between the men, wondering

if they realized how touched the whole scene they’d created made her
feel. And the fact that they were fumbling slightly in their attempt to
make everything perfect only made her heart swell with even more
love for them.

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“This idea came from both of us.” Ryder held her gaze for a long,

meaningful moment before he slowly lowered himself to one knee in
front of her.

Lesley’s eyes widened, her heart sped, and she fought to breathe

as Blaine lowered himself to one knee in front of her, next to Ryder.
Both of the reached for her hand, Ryder taking her left and Blaine
taking her right. A sound she couldn’t have identified if she’d tried
escaped her lips when she spotted the opened black velvet covered
box in Ryder’s free hand with the glistening diamond ring inside.

“Lesley Davenport.” She swore she heard a slight quiver in

Ryder’s voice as if he were nervous as hell. “I fought it tooth and nail
when you came into my life, but you conquered me. You showed me
that I had never been in love with a woman the way I’d thought I had.
You brought light back into my life and it’s a light I hope you will
agree to keep burning forever. I’m in love with you, Lesley, mind,
heart, and soul. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes filled with tears. One slide down her cheek as she parted

her lips to speak, but Blaine’s words stopped her.

“I was more than ready to give you any kind of research you

wanted, including, and especially, of the sexual kind. I’m the one that
got the education instead. You taught me how to love, really love, and
made me feel more complete than any woman ever has. I’m in love
with you, too, Lesley, mind, heart, and soul. Will you marry me?”

Her heart in her throat, she swallowed hard as another tear slid

down her opposite cheek. Gathering herself, she looked at each of
them in turn. “Blaine Ellis, Ryder Cox, when I first met you, all I was
after was information for my book. You gave me that, but turned it
into so much more. I don’t care if I ever finish that book, I got the
best part of that research when I found the two of you. You’re both
giving me the kind of happiness I’ve only been able to write about
before. Yes.” She choked on the word, filled with so many emotions
she thought she might burst as the men visibly relaxed in front of her
and Ryder took the ring from the box.

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“Yes,” she said again, a little clearer this time as he gently slid the

ring on the third finger of her left hand. “Yes, I will marry you both.”

They got to their feet in front of her and drew her against them,

enveloping her in their strong arms. Ryder hooked a finger beneath
her chin, lifting and turning her face toward his, and kissed her. It was
the softest, most soulful kissed he’d ever given her, and she melted in
his arm. Blaine continued her meltdown until she was barely more
than a puddle of mush in their embrace as he took over the kiss when
Ryder eased his lips from her, Blaine taking her mouth in a claiming
possession of eternity.

Her head spinning, her heart full fit-to-bursting, Lesley’s hands

roamed their biceps and necks as Blaine kissed her, the need to feel
more, to be bare skin-to-bare skin with them igniting an inferno in her
being. “Make love to me,” she whispered against Blaine’s mouth even
as she used her hold on Ryder’s neck to draw him closer. “Both of
you,” she said, turning her mouth slightly to catch Ryder’s.

It shocked her to her toes when Ryder joined her kiss with Blaine,

the men’s tongues tangling with hers, dancing in the scorching air
between them. The combined taste of Ryder and Blaine mingled in a
concoction that blew her mind and sent her senses on a whirlwind of
explosive delight. Her hands were around them both, snaked behind
their necks to cup their napes as they devoured her mouth on either
side. It was astonishing, arousing, and erotic to the umpteenth power
and she really enjoyed the hell out of it.

Blaine eased away first and she opened her eyes, half expecting to

see horror in his expression. What she saw instead sent every pulse
point in her body on a speeding race to the finish line between her
legs. Passion glinted in his eyes. Hunger darkened his features. Oh,
wow, she could relate. She felt as if she were drowning in that
passion, her belly tight with an echoing hunger, and her core pulsating
with the desire to feed.

She shifted her gaze to Ryder, saw the intent in his darkened gray

eyes, and made herself take a quick step back. She caught the quick

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flash of trepidation move through Ryder’s handsome expression
before he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Uh-uh, every time we make love, the two of you have me naked

and close to coming before I even get your shirts off. I want both of
you naked tonight first.”

Relief stole the trepidation in Ryder’s expression as he chuckled

and turned his hands palms out at his sides. “Be my guest.”

She glanced at Blaine. “Will you give me a minute or two with

him before I start on you?”

Blaine’s grin was wicked and sent whips of desire slashing across

her breasts, pussy, and ass. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

She moved back to Ryder, holding his gaze as she long as she

could while she worked the remaining buttons on his shirt free. The
brushes of his warm, solid flesh and springy hairs against her fingers
as she parted the lapels of his shirt drew her attention down. She
feasted her gaze on each inch of marvelously tanned, toned skin she
exposed as she peeled the shirt off his broad shoulders and tugged it
from the waistband of his slacks.

“You going to need a little help,” he told her, his tone so rusty and

thick with his arousal that it grated over her flesh, causing goose
pimples to rise to the surface of her arms and legs. He gave her that
help, unfastening the buttons at his wrists so she could finish
removing his shirt while he shifted his weight from foot to foot and
kicked off his shoes.

Eagerly anticipating the massive package she couldn’t wait to feel

buried in her aching channel, Lesley went to work on his pants,
freeing them and working them, along with his underwear, down his
narrow hips and strong legs until they pooled around his ankles.

“Mmm, that’s better.” She took a moment to study his

fantastically sculpted body, knowing she would never get tired of
looking at him, as he helped her again by pulling his slacks and
underwear off his feet and tossing them aside. Her attention locked on
his stupendous cock jutting hard and thick from between his powerful

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legs and she licked her lips. Because the urge to sink to her knees and
wrap her tingling lips around that magnificent part of him was almost
too strong to ignore, she shifted her gaze to Blaine.

The tortured but patient expression on his face amused a smile to

her lips. “Your turn.”

“Thank God,” he breathed as she closed one hand around his tie

and used that hold to pull him closer.

She giggled as she worked the tie free and pulled it from around

his neck. He caught her wrist when she started to toss it aside and
took the tie from her hand.

“Let’s keep this handy. I’ve got plans for it later.”
The wicked promise that laced his voice sent more of those whips

of heat slashing over every erogenous zone in her body and made her
shiver. “I can’t wait to find out.”

Knowing her man and figuring she’d already pushed his patience

to the breaking point, she didn’t take as much time undressing him as
she had Ryder. She did add a little spice to her movements that she
hadn’t used on Ryder, though. As she peeled Blaine’s shirt from his
torso, exposing his dark, beaded male nipples, she leaned in to give
them a lick before taking each between her teeth in turn for a
pressured bite.

“Fucking hell.” Blaine growled the words as his body shook

beneath her lips.

Laughing softly, she finished undressing him, catching his

enormous cock in her fisted hand when it sprang free and giving his
shaft a pressured squeeze before she pulled her hand away and
stepped back to look at him.

“Oh, yeah. That’s definitely better.”
“Not yet, it isn’t.” Blaine surprised a squeak out of her when he

yanked her against him, lifted her off her feet, and tossed her onto the
bed, falling down with her.

His hands and mouth went wild on her body as he kissed her to

the brink of insanity before licking his way out of her mouth, his

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tongue painting a fiery path down her jaw and neck to her chest. His
hands blazed a different path up her body as he pulled the negligee
up, exposing her pussy, her belly, her abdomen, and finally her
breasts. He stopped there with the satin bunched beneath her throat as
he dipped his head and took one breast into his mouth.

Lesley gazed through heavy-lidded eyes into the mirror on the

ceiling and saw Ryder crawling onto the bed next to her. She rolled
her head on the mattress, feeling a rose petal stick to her cheek, and
managed a smile a nanosecond before Ryder’s mouth came down on
hers. Ryder kissed her, doing wondrous things to her mouth with his
tongue as Blaine worked her breasts into a frenzy with his mouth,
nipping and sucking until her body arched off the bed and her pussy
flamed to be touched.

Ryder broke the kiss long enough for Blaine to finish removing

the negligee before claiming her mouth again. Then they were shifting
her, lifting her, their hands roaming all over her bare flesh, teasing
and tormenting her very soul with their touches.

They changed positions, Blaine moving to one side as Ryder

folded himself over her. He settled his narrow hips between her
widespread thighs. His large hands lifted her hips off the bed and he
eased his massive cock into her blazing, sodden pussy.

“Oh, God. Yes. Finally!” Lesley caught sight of herself in the

mirror as the intense pleasure of being filled by Ryder’s cock rocketed
through her. Her face looked flush, her eyes heavy-lidded from
arousal, and her breasts perky and full.

Rider’s soft, but strained chuckle drew her attention to him in the

mirror and she saw the muscles in his strong arms flex as he held her
bottom while he slowly slid his cock in and out of her clenching cunt.

“You like that mirror, don’t you, sugar?” Ryder asked through

gritted teeth. “Look at us, Lesley. Watch as I make love to your hot
pussy. See how my cock slides in and out of your body.” He threw his
head back, staring into the mirror as he continued to ease his cock in

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and out of her in that snail’s paced rhythm of his that drove her
straight to the edge. “Damn, it’s amazing to watch, isn’t it?”

Amazing didn’t come close to describing the sight. The mirror flat

out did it for her. Ryder’s cock glistened with a thick layer of her
essence as his powerful hips controlled the movement of his thrusts in
and out of the flattened curves of her pussy. Raking fingers of
pleasure flicked over match tips of sharp sensations to ignite fiery
explosions of hunger as she watched him make love to her.

Lesley reached for him, tugging him down on top of her to catch

his lips in a tender kiss. “I don’t know what possessed you to put that
mirror up there and I don’t care. I love it.” The mattress dipped at her
side. She shifted her attention to the mirror and saw Blaine lying
beside her and Ryder, the tie she’d taken from his neck stretched
between his hands. “What are you planning to do with that?”

A wickedly mischievous grin stretched his too-kissable lips. “Roll

her over so I can show her, Ryder.”

Ryder rolled them until they lay on their sides, hiking her top leg

onto his forearm to hold it high as his other arm beneath her lifted her
upper body off the mattress. The move drove his cock even more
deeply inside her pulsing channel, bringing on the first real wave of
near orgasmic bliss. “Put your arms behind you.”

Lesley shifted in Ryder’s hold, awkwardly managing to stretch the

arm she was lying on behind her as she reached around her back with
the other one. She felt the cool silk of the tie Blaine had been wearing
close around her wrists as Blaine used it to bind her hands together.

“That’s what I’m planning to do with it,” Blaine told her as his

head dipped to brush his lips over her shoulder and upper arm. “I
want you feeling everything tonight, sensing everything, and helpless
to do anything except enjoy the pleasure we show you.”

“Mmm,” Lesley moaned as she wiggled her bound hands, feeling

her fingers graze over the taut flesh of his abdomen. She smiled when
she felt the muscles flex. “I’m loving it already.”

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Blaine’s palm glided over her hip, the hand turning as it dipped to

caress her ass. He slipped a wide finger between her ass cheeks and
pressed the pad against her anus. “This is where I want to be tonight,
Lesley. I want to make love to you the way Ryder and I have
promised you we would. Are you ready for it, sweetheart?”

She locked her gaze with his in the mirror above them. “Yes,

Blaine. Please.” She knew she was ready for it. They’d been training
her ass to accept his cock with plugs and dildos for weeks. “I want
both of you. I need both of you inside me tonight.”

Ryder eased his cock back, drawing her attention to the flames

licking her inner channel, and entered her again in a fantastically
measured pace that had her throwing her head back on a loud moan.

“God, you drive me crazy when you do that.”
Ryder chuckled and did it again, sending her hips bucking back on

Blaine’s questing finger.

“Do you want me to play for a few minutes first?” Blaine’s heated

breath moved the tiny hairs at the base of her ears as he leaned in. His
finger pressed harder, slipping the slightest bit inside her ass. “Can
you take my cock without using the plugs or dildo first?”

“Yes. I’m ready.” She felt delirious already just from thinking

about it. “No toys, no play, I want you and nothing else.”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her softly as he pulled the

finger away from her entrance.

She wanted to whimper, to beg, or scream at him to bring it back,

but she watched in the mirror as he briefly rolled away to pull open
the drawer of the nightstand. He returned a moment later, coating his
fingers with a thick layer of lube, before his hand found her ass again.

The cool contrast of a thick gel to her needy flesh made her moan.

When his finger drove inside her, pushing the gel deep, and greasing
the way for his penetration, she rocked her hips back to meet the
touch.

“Damn, that’s sexy as hell,” Ryder murmured. He pulled her

slightly toward him, exposing her ass to the mirror and the view of

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185

Blaine’s finger as it worked her muscles to expand for the width of his
massive cock.

She watched it, too, and couldn’t help but agree with Ryder. In

seconds, the sight of watching Blaine fingering her ass while Ryder’s
cock was buried inside her fiery pussy to the hilt made her start to
beg. “Blaine, please. Ah, God, give me more.”

He obliged her by adding a second finger and then a third to probe

her asshole. Delirium threatened as she thrashed between the two
men. Her hips rocked forward on Ryder’s enormous cock in her pussy
only to pound back on Blaine’s fingers in her ass. Exquisite electric
bolts zinged through her, speeding her pulse and taunting the
orgasmic beast she fought to hold in her cage.

She screamed in protest when Blaine wrenched his fingers free of

her questing ass without warning. Sweat beaded on her brows, her
breasts, and her belly. She trembled, her leg that Ryder held
suspended by his arm growing numb from lack of circulation, her
arms bound behind her tingling and reminding her she was at the
mercy of the men she loved.

“Hang on, baby,” Blaine soothed as he shifted and spooned his

solid body against her back. “I don’t want you coming until I’m inside
you.”

Blessedly, he didn’t make her wait. In the next instant, the

impossibly bulbous head of his cock pushed into her anus, not
stopping until it breached the tight ring of muscles and buried in her
until the base of his body flattened against the swell of her ass.

Lesley stilled, feeling as though she might pass out from the sheer

bliss of being filled so magnificently. She closed her eyes and allowed
every spark, every bolt, and every sensation of ecstasy to consume her
as completely as her men claimed her. Surrender proved her only
option as they made love to her with a combination of ruthlessness
and tenderness that drove her past the brink of spectacular pleasure
and to the edge of paradise.

“Oh, God. Blaine, Ryder, I’m going to come.”

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“Don’t hold back, sweetheart,” Blaine told her, his voice strained

with concentration and arousal. “Come for us, now. Bathe Ryder’s
cock in your hot pussy juices while you milk mine with your tight ass
as your body convulses around our dicks.”

His erotic words delivered only another push to her already

teetering control. Lesley exploded in a screaming, blinding release
that shook her to her toes. Somewhere in the sexual ecstasy stealing
her sanity, she heard Ryder’s low-throated growl and Blaine’s husky
roar as both men found their release.

* * * *

Ryder propped his head on his fisted hand as he gazed down at

Lesley and bit back a smile. She was lying on her back between him
and Blaine with her left hand in front of her face, staring at the
engagement ring they’d put on her finger.

“Do you like it?”
She slid a look at him out of the corner of her eyes. “You’re

kidding, right? I love it! It’s perfect.” Her eyes narrowed slightly and
she turned her head toward him, giving him a quizzical look. “How
did you guys know my ring size?”

Blaine barked a laugh, rolled onto his side to face her, and

propped his upper body up on one arm. “That took some guessing and
mental imagery. The attendant at the jewelry store was about your
size. We used her hand in comparison and judged the finger size to be
close to the same.”

She smiled as her head turned toward Blaine. “Good guess. It’s

exactly right.”

Ryder flattened his free hand on her flat belly and drew lazy

circles around her navel. “That’s because the three of us are exactly
right.”

Her head turned again, this time her attention focusing on the

mirror. Her gaze danced from his to Blaine’s and back again as she let

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out a contented sigh. “I feel like the heroine in a book, blissfully
happy and so in love, and more complete than I’ve ever dreamed.”

Ryder dragged his fingertip up her abdomen, loving the way her

muscles quivered at the touch. “Speaking of books, how is the new
one coming, anyway?”

“I got stuck on a fire scene I want to write.” She grinned at him in

the mirror. “Fair warning, I’ll be picking your brains tomorrow.”

He chuckled. “Pick all you want, love.”
She lowered her hand to cover his. “I started to do it over the

phone today, but I heard you guys get toned out for a structure fire
and didn’t hear when you called back in service.”

Ryder flicked his gaze to Blaine in the mirror and saw the man

stiffen at the mention of the structure fire. He must have stiffened,
too, because Lesley sat up and turned between them to look at them
without the need of the mirror.

“Spill it.” When neither of them spoke, she placed a hand on each

of their sides. “Something bad happened at that structure fire, didn’t
it? Please don’t bottle it up like you told me most firefighters do. I’m
here for both of you. I know I can’t change what happened, but I can
listen while you talk about it.”

Blaine sighed as he flung himself onto his back and closed his

eyes. Ryder had his own way of dealing with the horror of the type of
thing they’d faced today. He’d think about it when he was alone, let
himself cry over it, maybe shout a few curses at the man upstairs for
allowing it to happen, and finally accept the fact that tragedies
happened whether he liked it or not. Then he’d go on with his life.

Blaine had a harder time doing that. The sort of thing that had

happened today was the kind of tragedy that would eat away at his
friend until it festered into something that would drive him crazy for a
long while before he’d finally talk it out with Ryder and move on.
Maybe Lesley could get through to him faster, get him to talk sooner,
and help him cope better.

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Lesley held Ryder’s gaze for a long moment before she looked at

Blaine, obviously realizing Blaine was the one who needed her most
tonight. “Blaine, talk to me,” she urged quietly, her voice full of
compassion and concern.

Blaine stayed silent for so long Ryder didn’t think he was going to

say anything at all before he finally whispered, “We lost a ten-year-
old boy today.

Lesley’s eyes closed briefly as she took a deep breath and let it out

slow. When she opened her eyes, Ryder saw sorrow for that little boy
had filled them, swirling with her worry for Blaine. “How?”

“We didn’t know he was inside the house.” Blaine’s eyes opened

and he pushed himself up to rest his back against the headboard as he
raked a hand over his hair. “We pulled up on scene and were told that
everyone was out. We should’ve fucking checked anyway.”

“We couldn’t have gotten into that house if we’d tried,” Ryder

told him, even though he knew he didn’t have to. “That house was
already fully involved by the time we got to the scene.” He looked at
Lesley. “We had to fight it from the outside in. It was blowing and
going. There wasn’t any way to get to search for anyone even if we
had known someone was inside.”

“How could his fucking parents not have known he was in there?”

Blaine asked through tightly clenched teeth. “Weren’t they paying
attention to their own son? Didn’t they hear him come home? It
doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

“The kid was supposed to be down the street at a friend’s house,”

Ryder explained to Lesley. “The parents got the other two children
out of the house, but didn’t bother to look for the little boy because
they didn’t know he was home.”

“Oh, God.” Lesley’s eyes shimmered with tears. “I can’t imagine

what those parents are going through now, knowing their son
would’ve lived if they’d only paid closer attention.”

“He was in his bedroom,” Blaine told her. “The fire spread too

fast and too hot. It apparently trapped him in there. From what we

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could piece together, he tried to get away from it by hiding under the
bed. That’s where we found his body, anyway.”

Lesley briefly covered her mouth with a hand. “You’re the one

that found him, weren’t you?”

Blaine nodded.
Lesley flattened her hand on his chest, covering his heart. “But

you know there wasn’t anything you could do? You know it wasn’t
your fault?”

The back of Blaine’s head smacked against the headboard as he

threw it back and closed his eyes again. “Yeah, I know.” He pushed a
hard breath from his lungs. “Knowing doesn’t bring that kid back or
change what happened today, though.”

“No, of course it won’t.”
Blaine covered her hand on his chest with his and opened his eyes.

“Thank you. I’ll get through it, but thank you for insisting I talk about
it now.” He shot a look at Ryder. “And fuck you for encouraging it,
just on principle.”

Ryder chuckled. “You’re welcome.”
Lesley drew her bottom lip between her teeth as she continued to

gaze at Blaine. “Is there anything more I can do to help beside
listen?”

Blaine reached for her, grabbed onto her slender hips, and lifted

her to straddle him. “Make love to me again. Remind me what it’s
like to be alive. Better yet, remind me what it’s like to be inside our
fiancée, because I’m starting to forget already.”

Lesley grinned at Blaine. “Mmm, something tells me I’ll be

reminding you a lot.”

“Do you want some private time?” Ryder asked, already preparing

to slide off the bed. He’d go to the kitchen and find something to fix
for dinner while Blaine made love to Lesley. It would drive him nuts
not being with them, but a healthy ménage relationship required one-
on-one time with their woman, too. They would each get their turn for
that and, tonight, he’d give Blaine his time.

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Lesley shot him a look that clearly said he had to be kidding.
“No, I want you right here with us. We’re about to marry this

fantastic woman, remember?”

Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, and then she’ll be reminding us what it’s

like to be inside our wife.”

“Ooo, I do love the sound of that,” Lesley cooed.
“That makes three of us, love,” Blaine told her before glancing

back at Ryder. “We need to give her sexy ass a break, but there’s
other ways the three of us can make love together.”

Lesley’s gaze met Ryder’s before her attention slid slowly down

his body to lock on his cock and she licked her luscious lip. Ryder
grinned, his cock going from semi hard to rock solid in an instant. He
knew exactly what their woman wanted out of him and that’s exactly
what he would give her.

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Epilogue

“When’s the wedding date?”
Lesley tore her attention from where Blaine and Ryder had

disappeared into the firehouse, leaving her standing in the bay to wait
for them, and looked at the woman who had come up beside her.
Madeline Rafferty, one of the paramedics on Ambulance 42. It
pleased her that she was getting all the names and faces of Blaine and
Ryder’s co-workers straight. Not that Madeline was a hard one to
remember. She was the only female on their shift.

And she likes to be called Mattie. Don’t forget that.
“We haven’t set it in stone, yet, but we’re talking about late

September. We want to do an outside thing, but we don’t want it to be
too cold or too hot.”

“Let me guess, those two are going all out, aren’t they?”

Amusement danced in the woman’s large blue eyes. “Lots of guests
and decorations and a ginormous cake and plenty of booze for the
receptions and all that jazz?”

Lesley laughed. “And then some. Connie, Blaine’s mother, she’s a

riot. The second we told her we were getting married, she started
looking at wedding gowns and bridesmaid’s dresses and flowers.”
She shook her head and lowered her voice to a whisper even though
her men weren’t around. “Honestly, I would be happy with a JP and a
short honeymoon.”

“Nah.” Mattie shook her head, sending her short brunette ponytail

swinging. “It might be a pain now, but think of the memories you’re
going to be able to share with that half dozen kids the guys said
you’re going to have.”

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Lesley rolled her eyes and smiled. “I said that once and they took

me at my word. It’s definitely taught me to watch what I say to them
from now on.”

“Yep, because the way it’s looking, you’re going to be glad your

career is one you can do from home while you’re barefoot and
pregnant for the next few years of your life.”

Lesley started to respond when Blaine and Ryder came back out

into the bay.

“We’ve got clearance,” Blaine told her. “When those tones drop,

you’ll be hopping in the SUV with the captain.”

Excitement made Lesley feel giddy. “Really? I get to ride along if

you get a call?”

Ryder came up to her, hooked an arm around her waist, and pulled

her in close. “Stay with the captain at all times. Keep out of the way,
no matter what happens.”

“Cap is going to give you a headset so you can hear what’s going

on through our radios,” Blaine said as he circled her and Ryder and
came up behind her. “You won’t be able to talk to us, but you’ll be
able to listen to everything.”

“I hope you brought a notebook, girl,” Mattie told her as she

started to back away. “You just might get some really good research
today.”

As if on cue, a shrilling sound cut through the firehouse bays.

Lesley started even as she felt Ryder and Blaine’s arms around her
tense. She held Ryder’s gaze as he lifted a finger to his lips, telling
her to be quiet.

“Squad 16, Ambulance 42, single car accident, 153 bridge,

possible victim in the water.”

Ryder planted a quick kiss on her lips. “That’s us, sugar.”
Behind her, Blaine gave her a quick squeeze and leaned around to

brush his lips to her cheek. “Remember what we told you.”

Lesley nodded as they hurried away, her attention captured next

by Captain Stacy Knox as he rushed into the bay.

Scorching Research

193

“If you’re riding with me, you better get a move on.”
“Yes, sir.” Lesley got moving, snagging the bag she’d brought

with her notebook inside on her way through the bay to the SUV out
front, a weird sensation surging through her veins.

So this is what Blaine meant by the adrenaline rush, she thought

as she ran for the passenger door of the SUV. She didn’t think for an
instant that firefighting was in her blood, but she knew two
firefighters who damn sure were.

As the captain pushed the gas pedal to the floor and she heard the

sirens of the fire trucks start to blare behind them, she threw her head
back and let out a whoop that made the captain laugh.

“Are you ready for this?”
“You bet!” She had to control herself to keep from bouncing in

her seat. “I couldn’t ask for a better way to get research.”

Not until Blaine and Ryder’s shift ended in the morning, at least.

That’s when she knew she would get scorching research out of her
two firefighters from Rescue Squad 16, who could never put out the
flame they’d ignited inside her, but would keep it blazing for the rest
of her life.

THE END

WWW.TONYARAMAGOS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bestselling author Tonya Ramagos spends much of her time

daydreaming about one plot or another. Give her a cup of hazelnut
flavored coffee and a keyboard and she is at her happiest. When she
isn't writing, thinking about writing, or plotting what to write, she can
be found taking on the mother role with her two boys and the
husband, too. She enjoys taking long walks on the nature trails near
her home in Chattanooga, TN, playing computer games, swinging on
the playground, dancing, and curling up with a good book.

For all titles by Tonya Ramagos, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/tonya-ramagos

For titles by Tonya Ramagos writing as

Bonnie Parker, please visit