Bad Boy's Lust (Firemen in Love Book 1) (5 page)

“Of course I do.” I turned to Heather with a glare. “But I didn't know you were coming. Nobody told me.”

“Don't look at me!”

Lisa's petite frame darkened the doorway. She fumbled with her pen, the end of it shredded as if a gerbil had been gnawing at it for hours.

“She called last week while you were away. Asked for a unit to rent. Said she needed it in a hurry.” Her eyes misted with tears. “I – I was so eager to sign a new tenant. I kind of, uh, forgot to put it into the computer. Please don't fire me!”

I slumped against the wall, head pounding. Mom continued barking orders to Jayce. He rolled off the couch and started his ascent to the second floor.

Powerful muscles bulged beneath his tight shirt, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. I watched him move, helpless to avert my eyes.

He looked at me, caught me gawking like an idiot, and smiled.

He knew, didn't he?

Just a few words whispered in my ear, his firm hands on my willing body, and it would be all over for me...

“I had no idea she was your mother,” Lisa continued.

I patted her trembling hand. “It's okay. I'm not mad.” Not at
her.
“Mom, why are you moving in here? You work in Calgary.”

“Not anymore I don't. I ain't some low-brow cashier these days. I work in administration now.” She had to slow down to pronounce the big word properly. “I got transferred to the main office here in Waco.”

Of course she did. Just my luck.

I'd tried my best to get away from her, even moving more than three hours across the state of Texas so I'd have an excuse to not visit often. Now here she was, living in the same building as me – and this time, running for my life was not an option.

This was a
nightmare.

“Congratulations. But you know, there's six other apartments complexes in this part of the city alone.”

She gasped. “You saying you don't want me here?”

Yes.
“No, it's not that.”

“You always were a selfish brat. Never thinking of others, just yourself.” She huffed and waddled up the steps after Jayce. “Almost there, honey! Looking good.”

She slapped his butt playfully. He tripped over the stair and nearly dropped the couch on himself.

Heather and Lisa tried to stifle their laughter.

I
tried not to cry. Mom hadn't changed a bit.

“Well, one thing's for certain.” Jayce gave me his trademark grin. “Things are about to get a lot more interesting around here.”

Chapter 4 - Elle

After we helped mom get settled in, I retreated to my apartment with Jayce. It was probably a bad idea, having him in here alone with me, so close to my bedroom.

Or maybe it was a very
good
idea. I still hadn't decided which yet.

He rifled through my fridge, muttering to himself about out-of-date products, while I booted up OkCupid on my computer. That's where I had my dating profile, even though I hadn't actually dated anyone I met there yet. Still hadn't found anyone
quite
good enough.

“Don't you have any beer?” He wrinkled his nose and held up an old yogurt container filled with unidentifiable leftovers. “At least
this
is probably fermented.”

“No beer, so save yourself the trouble and stop looking. Unless you're going to clean it out for me.”

He shoved the container back onto its shelf. “No thanks. I'd need a hazmat suit to do that.”

I'd asked Jayce in so we could work on starting his own dating profile. It was probably the best and fastest way of getting him hitched. Of course, he wasn't thrilled with the idea.

I briefly glanced at my inbox when he took a bathroom break. There were several messages from guys wanting to hook up before we'd even spoken. One look at their profiles was enough to know we had nothing in common.

I deleted the final message just as Jayce emerged from the bathroom. He was still fiddling with his jeans zipper when he looked at me.

Damn it. He did that
on purpose.

“Can't believe I let you talk me into this. Trust me, Pink. I'm not the marrying kind.”

I clicked off my profile before he could read it. “What kind are you, then?”

He pulled a chair up alongside me, nice and close.

So close, his leg touched mine. The heady scent of his cologne made me dizzy with lust.

“I'm the kind that gives a girl the best night of her life.” His hazel eyes roamed my body. “The kind that knows how to have fun.”

“Can't you be both?”

“Nah. I get bored too easy.”

It was a mistake letting myself be attracted to him. Wasn't it? He had no interest in love. All he cared about was getting laid.

But was that such a bad thing?
Somebody
had to be my first. Someone had to take my virginity away.

Why not him?

At least he definitely knew what he was doing...

“This online dating thing is a scam, if you ask me.” He kicked back in the chair, feet on my desk. “Doesn't look like it's worked for
you
so far.”

I clicked on “New Profile.” A list of questions popped up, along with a form to fill out. Jayce would never do this on his own. I'd have to handle it myself.

“I'm very picky. Most of the messages I get are stuff like 'Hey baby, wanna screw tonight?' And 'Nice ass, let's talk.'”

He grinned. “What's the matter with that? I mean, it's not like the guy is wrong.”

“Not... wrong?”

“About your ass. It
is
nice.”

I rolled my eyes to hide how much he flattered me. “Is this how you pick up all those one-night stands at the bar?”

“Usually works pretty well.” He shrugged. “Girls love a compliment.”

My hormones were going crazy just from being so near him. And the moment he mentioned my butt, I fantasized about sitting in his lap, grinding against him while he undressed me...

“Okay, let's see what we got here.” He stood directly behind me, peering at the screen over my shoulder. “Question one. What am I looking for? Long-term relationship, marriage, platonic friends, casual sex... Hey, maybe this online thing will work out for me, after all.”

He clicked the button for “casual sex.” I glared and slapped him away, then selected “marriage.” He made a face at me.

“I hate you sometimes.”

“Jayce, please.” I took his hand to show I was serious. Physical touch
always
got his attention. “You know we'll lose the property if you refuse. I don't understand it, but that's what the will says.”

“Yeah. I know.” His voice had a bitter edge. “And the last thing I want is to let dad get his way. But marriage? That's totally not me.”

“Maybe that's why Debbie wanted it for you. You were a son to her. She wanted to see you happy.”

His big hand completely enveloped mine. His skin was dry, his fingers rough and calloused from the hard work that firefighters do.

I wanted those hands all over me. Craved his touch. Needed it so,
so
badly.

“But I
am
happy. I've got a great job, awesome friends, nice apartment. What more could I possibly want?”

“Love.”

He scoffed and let go of my hand. “That's one thing in life I can do without.”

“How can you say that? Everyone wants to be loved.”

“Never believed in it.”

“Maybe you just need the right woman to help you believe.”

He laughed, but there was pain written all over his face. What
happened
to him? I wanted to know.

I wanted to help make him
better.

“Can we please just get this over with? Talking about this crap makes me nervous.”

“Fine.”

We filled in his basic information first, then it was time to choose a username.

“How about 'AssMan69?'” he helpfully suggested.

I gaped at him. “Tell me you're joking.”

“But you said I should be honest on my profile. I
am
an ass man.”

“You're an ass, all right.” I thought for a moment, then began typing. “Let's try 'Fireman86.' It's descriptive. Respectable.”

He pouted. “I don't like being respectable. It's boring.”

“Grow up.”

We moved on to the other questions. For interests, he listed weightlifting, beer, cooking, and playing guitar.

“You haven't played the guitar since high school,” I protested. “That's stretching the truth a bit.”

“I can play just as well now as back then.”

“And you don't cook.”

He folded his arms. “Sure I do. I made burgers for you guys a couple weeks ago.”

“You grilled inside your kitchen with the windows shut. There was so much smoke, the alarm went off. Mrs. Jackson called the fire department.”

“Didn't say I could cook
well.
It's the thought that counts.”

Next question. “Income?”

He tensed as he studied the screen. “Don't want a woman to date me 'cause of my bank account.”

It was the most serious I'd seen him this whole time. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or wonder why.

“I doubt
you
have to worry about gold-diggers. No offense.” My mouse pointer hovered over the answer bubbles. “What do you want me to put?”

He hesitated. “Let's go with $50 to 70 K.”

I had no idea how much firefighters made, but I was fairly impressed. It was more than I earned working at Shady Acres, for sure.

“Now here's the hard part. You've got to describe the kind of woman you want, in your own words.”

He got down on his knees and laughed softly, his hot breath tickling the back of my neck.

I melted. Prayed he'd kiss me there no matter how wrong and stupid I knew it would be.

But he didn't. I should have been relieved.

I was only disappointed.

“Must love getting laid,” he began. “If she's got a low libido, we're not gonna work out.”

“That goes without saying, but I'm
not
going to write that.”

“Here you go, being your uptight self again.”

I turned around to shoot him a nasty look. Came face to face with him. He raised an eyebrow and gave me a smile that screamed sex and promised, as he had said, the best night of my life.

I wasn't going to last much longer around this.

“It's nothing to do with being uptight. How do you expect to attract a good woman with a line like that? Sounds like you're writing the opening sentence to an erotic novel.”

He threw up his hands. “You said to describe the type of girl I wanted. I can't win.”

“This is serious, Jayce. You're supposed to be getting
married.
No more time for screwing around and whoring yourself out to any girl who asks.”

“I don't whore myself out to just anyone. I'm picky.” He rubbed my shoulder. “Just like you, Pink.”

His touch felt so good. So comforting. I didn't want him to stop.

He put his arms around me so he could reach the keyboard. I held my breath and prayed for him to put those hands someplace else...

No, you can't. Are you crazy?

He was trying to find a wife, and here I was, ready to let him have my innocence if he so much as looked at me the right way.

It was wrong. Casual sex wouldn't get him any closer to marriage.

But the damage had been done. Now I couldn't stop imagining how it'd feel to have him inside me.

“There.”

He had finished writing, but his arms remained around me. It'd be so easy for him to wrap me in a tight embrace, to tear off my clothes and take me from behind...

“Well, what do you think?”

I shook it off and read.

“I want someone to share my life with. A woman who loves good food, music, and a frosty beer. Someone who will travel the world with me. Who'll be my friend
and
my lover.”

There was a distant, thoughtful sort of look in his eyes.

“This is the most expressive I think I've ever seen you.”

He shrugged. “That's what girls are looking for, right? You promise 'em champagne and roses, they'll drop their panties at a snap of your fingers.”

“I, uh... I think you're missing the point here.”

But it was done, and not altogether bad. Actually, I was proud of him for even getting this far. Thought he'd have faked an important phone call and run out the door to safety by now.

“Now for the best part.” I slid my digital camera out of its case. “Your profile photo.”