Bad Boy's Lust (Firemen in Love Book 1) (15 page)

“Get ready, Pink. I'm gonna make you into my wife.”

Chapter 12 - Jayce

“Three thousand dollars for a shiny rock? Are you kidding me?”

The jeweler smiled and put the ring back in its case. He was mocking me, I could tell. Felt like punching him in his smug face.

“Perhaps we should look over here. I'm sure we can find something more in your price range.”

He adjusted his glasses and straightened his suit. Rich-people music played from the speakers overhead. The room even
smelled
like money.

I was used to this crap from living with dad. Still made me uncomfortable.

I seriously hoped Elle would appreciate this.

“Dude.” Max shuffled along behind me, his eyes wide. “You are
not
getting married.”

“That's the plan.”

“Sir, if you'll just step this way.”

I reluctantly followed the clerk to another case. These rings were nice, but I wanted one with the biggest, most sparkly diamond money could buy.

Too bad the rings here cost more than a couple month's rent.

“This one here is a princess cut. 14-karat gold band – or we can go with platinum, if you prefer.” He dropped the ring into my palm and watched me closely, as if he thought I'd steal it. “Prices start at just $999.”

Yet another good reason to stay a bachelor.

Wait a sec. Gold or platinum? I had no idea which Elle liked best. Though we were friends, there were lots of things we didn't know about each other. Probably should work on that before signing the marriage license if we wanted this thing to look legit.

“Jayce, bro. I don't understand. Talk to me, man.”

I shoved him away. “I'll explain later.”

Except I couldn't, not really. Elle made me promise not to tell another soul the truth about this. If someone found out we were just playing house, she said it could blow up in our faces.

We'd only have to keep up the lie for the rest of the year. I could handle that.

“Do you like it, sir?”

“It's great, but... Still a bit much.”

He frowned and took the ring back. “I see. Well, we do have a fine selection of cubic zirconia...”

“No!” I growled, maybe a little too loudly. “Elle deserves a real diamond.”

Everyone in the shop went silent. They all stared at me, the odd duck who didn't belong. Me, with my torn jeans and the dark tattoos covering my entire arms. Bet they thought I was gonna rob the place.

Max chuckled and pulled me back from the counter. “C'mon. Let's go get some fresh air for a second.”

“But –”

He grabbed the tail of my shirt and yanked me out the revolving door. Outside, I stormed off to my truck. Maybe I'd have better luck elsewhere.

But Max wasn't letting me go without an explanation. I couldn't believe he'd been out shopping at the same time I pulled into the Kay Jewelers parking lot. Now what?

“All right. What's going on?” He crossed his arms. “You ain't been going out with the boys much these days. Just a few weeks ago, you had girls hanging on you at the club.”

“That I did.”

“And now... This? Who the hell are you marrying? What woman would even put
up
with your sorry ass?”

“Elle.” I swallowed hard when I thought of her. “She's one of my very best friends.”

He grunted. “Must not be that good of a friend if she doesn't know the
real
you. Either that, or she's desperate.”

We were
both
desperate – for different reasons – but I couldn't tell him that.

“Wait a minute.” He faked a loud gasp. “You knocked her up, didn't you?”

“No!”

Max cackled. “You
did
. You got her pregnant, and now she's demanding you get hitched and support the kid. Man, your life is so over.”

I shoved him into the road. He kept on laughing as a car almost ran him over.

“I didn't get anyone pregnant. I just... Love her, that's all.”

The words sounded strange and fake and hollow, even to me. How was I gonna get anybody else to believe that when I could hardly believe in love myself?

“You do realize this is the 21
st
century, don't you? No need to shack up just 'cause the girl has your baby. I mean, hell, do you even know for sure it's yours?”

Max lucked out that he was one of the only guys who could beat me in a fight. Otherwise, I would have socked him in the jaw.

“There
is
no baby. Believe whatever you want, but I'm marrying her.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “When?”

We hadn't planned that far ahead. In fact, I wasn't even sure yet what Elle wanted to do. What if I spent my whole paycheck on this ring she was crying about, and she turned me down?

“Soon. It's not gonna be a big ceremony or anything. Maybe we'll elope.”

Some of Max's other friends, guys who I didn't know, waved to him from the car. He grinned and clapped me on the back painfully hard.

“Well, sorry to hear that, man. You're still coming to my party on Saturday, right? I hear Candy and Cocoa are gonna be working that night.”

The thought of having two strippers in my lap wasn't all that appealing anymore.

“I'll be there, of course.”

“Good. Better get it all outta your system before you're married.” He headed for his ride. “I still can't believe you. Out of all of us, you're the one who spoke most loudly against it.”

“That was then.”

“It was a month ago!”

Guess a lot of things changed in that month.

It was a relief when Max sped off, but this was far from over. He'd blab the news to all the guys down at the station. Come Monday morning, I'd be taking a lot of shit for this.

Didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was winning. Showing dad I wasn't a loser. Keeping the property out of his greedy hands.

And making Elle happy.

Maybe we weren't in love, but I still wanted her to be happy. Marriage was this huge deal to her. I didn't know how to handle that.

But I was sure gonna try.

First, I had to get the girl her ring. Couldn't have a wedding without one, right?

Just as I pulled out of the mall, Hector's Pawn Shop caught my eye. When I was younger, my friend Paulie was always taking me there with something to sell. Stereos, TVs, you name it. Then we'd use the cash to buy booze and smokes.

Pretty sure he was selling stolen goods, now that I thought of it. Oops.

But I did recall that Hector had some fine jewelry for sale, so I went in. Hector himself was standing behind the counter reading a comic book. His belly hung out the bottom of a torn, too-small t-shirt. Could see he hadn't changed much.

“Hey there, Hec. Show me your best rings – and you'd better give a good price to your favorite long-time customer.”

He dropped his book and lowered his glasses. “Jayce Reinhard! Ain't seen you in years. You're not here to cause trouble, are ya?”

“Not this time. You got any rings or not?”

“What kind?”

“I want one with a nice, shiny diamond.”

His look of suspicion changed to delight. “You're gonna propose? To a girl?”

“Looks that way.”

Hector showed me all the rings in his case. One caught my eye – a gorgeous band of copper that I knew Elle would adore. Part of it was encrusted with diamonds in a turquoise setting. I didn't have a clue about jewelry, but I did know that was her favorite color.

Hector caught me eyeing it and held it up to the light. “This baby is vintage; can't really be sure of the year. Appraiser said it's an old Native American piece and the diamonds got added later.”

Perfect. “I'll take it.”

“You don't even know how much I'm asking.”

“I said I want it.”

“Fine. Gimme five hundred.”

“You told me it was
vintage.
”

He started to put the ring away. “Vintage don't mean cheap.”

“Three.” I wasn't letting this one go.

“Four hundred.”

“Three twenty-five.”

He grinned. “You're quite the haggler these days. Guess I don't blame you. First comes marriage, then comes baby – and those kiddos cost a lot of dough, let me tell you.”

I gaped at him. What the hell was with people today?

“There's no kid.”

“Not yet.” He winked. “Oh, all right. You can have the thing for three hundred. You're gonna need the extra cash for diapers. I've been there.”

Whatever. If he was gonna give me a deal 'cause of some non-existent child, then so be it. I paid cash and slipped the boxed ring into my pocket, then walked out of there feeling pretty darn good about the whole thing.

I dreamed up ways to surprise her with it as I drove back to Shady Acres. Should I take her out to dinner, maybe slip it in her wine glass? Nah, that was stupid. Didn't want the poor woman to choke to death. She'd never forgive me if that happened.

It had to be something special. Something romantic. Elle loved shit like that. And, as a bonus, bet she'd be tearing off my pants real quick once I managed to impress her.

I sure needed it. Hadn't gotten laid in over three weeks, and it was starting to drive me insane. The other day, when I made her come with my mouth, I was so horny I could barely stand it.

But I didn't push it. Told her I was doing that just for her.

She thought I was selfish? I'd prove her wrong.

Still, I was a man – and this man needed a rough, dirty screw. Unlike most other times, though, I wouldn't be happy with any old chick who threw herself into my arms.

If I didn't soon have Elle on top of me, milking my cock and taking my seed in her...

I shuddered, nearly crashing into an oncoming car in my lusty stupor. That night had been magic.

She let me come
inside of her.
It was all bare, totally natural. The most intimate thing I'd ever done.

I couldn't wait to do it again.

Lucky for me, I doubted she'd need much convincing. A few sweet words in her ear, and she'd be mine.

And once she became my bride, she would be mine over and over again. I'd have her in my bed every night. I'd do things to her, filthy things, that she never imagined possible.

No more hunting for girls at the club. No more running for my life when I was done with them, only to do it all over again the next time with someone else.

It had been fun. A serious ego boost. But honestly, it was starting to feel kind of boring these days.

Hmm. Now that I thought about it, maybe marriage wasn't
totally
terrible after all.

Chapter 13 - Elle

“But it's my day off. I don't
wanna
be a spy!”

Heather hit the brakes as we rolled up to a stop sign. Lisa pretended she was going to leap out of the still-moving car.

“Come on,” I begged her. “Hidden Cove is stealing away our tenants at a scary rate. We need to figure out what they're doing, and do it better.”

“So you do it.” She fiddled with the ends of her blonde hair. “I'm just a receptionist. You
know
I've got stupid-crazy social anxiety, guys.”

“But you're the best candidate for the job. What if the manager knows who we are – their competition?” Heather cast her a reassuring smile. “We can't very well walk in asking to rent an apartment. They'd think we were engaged in corporate espionage. I mean, that could start a war.”

“A
war?
” Her voice squeaked. “Oh, my God. I thought this job was going to be calm and quiet.”

“Maybe you should have been a waitress instead,” I teased her. “You'd be good at it.”

Poor Lisa looked like she was going to cry. I'd offered to pay her overtime for this, and all she had to do was ask for a tour of the property. There was a miniature hidden camera pinned to her shirt that would capture all we needed to know.

“All you have to do is act natural.”

“I'm horrible at stuff like this.”

I patted her shoulder. She tensed at my touch.

“You were fine in the interview for the receptionist job. Heather and I obviously liked you.”

“You're the only ones who gave me a chance in the whole city!”

It was getting tough to keep focused on what had to be done today. Too hard to worry about Lisa's anxiety, or even what to do about declining occupancy rates. And another family had moved out just this morning.

But I couldn't stop thinking of Jayce. Of this so-called fake marriage he wanted.

Or of his hands on my body, and how good his cock and mouth made me feel.

I wanted more of him. Knew he felt the same about me.