Controlled Burn (6 page)

Montana breathed through her nose, determined not to release her hold on him until he’d emptied himself completely. When he had, he lightened his grip on her and eased his now tender cock out.

“Holy fuck.” He collapsed onto the bed, but he twisted to take her with him, so she was lying full length on top of him. He opened his legs only enough to enclose hers with them. “Damn, Montana. I think you wiped me out.”

She folded her arms on his chest, propped her chin on them, and smiled. “But not for long, right?”

He stroked his hand along the line of her back and the slope of her buttocks, slow caresses that woke every nerve ending. “Maybe I can think of something to do while we’re waiting for my friend down there to recover.”

“Hmm. Like what?”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he ran his hand lightly over the curve of her buttocks, trailing his fingers in the crease where it joined her thighs. Then, without warning, his hand came down low on one cheek of her ass with a slap. She jolted at the impact and started to push herself off his body, but he wrapped an arm around her to hold her in place and, with the other hand, he stroked the area he’d touched.

“Remember I told you I’d like to spank you?”

She frowned. “Yes, but—”

Another slap interrupted her thought. Heat radiated from the contact, but what shocked her was the sudden flood of cream in her pussy. She must have given something away in her expression because he curved his lips in a predatory smile.

“Feel that, Montana?” He rubbed the area of heated flesh. “Is your ass burning? Do you feel it in the lips of your pussy?”

She closed her eyes and nodded before resting her head on his chest.

“I can smell your musk. Your body answers for you.” He continued to rub her buttocks. “Do you know spanking, when done properly, can stimulate to the point where you literally crave an orgasm?”

She trembled at his words, believing the reality, because her body certainly was sending her signals. When he spanked her again, she moved her hands so she could hold onto him, steadying herself. She had already been riding the edge when he’d carried her to the room. But, now? The walls of her cunt spasmed with need, and her blood was like hot liquid in her veins. Again and again, she felt the flat of his hand, always low on the curve of the globes, alternating sides, each slap followed by a stroke, a caress. In short order, her ass was burning, but rather than turning her off, she found it incredibly arousing.

And as she became more turned on, Boone’s body reacted, too, his cock thickening and lengthening where it surged against her body. By the time he ceased the spanking, she was so aroused, her body at such a fever pitch, she was afraid she’d have a climax without any further help from Boone. Nothing existed except this man and the intense feelings he coaxed from her.

“Like that, do you?” The look he gave told her he knew she did.

She rubbed her body against his, urging him to do something. Anything.

His low laugh was filled with sensual male satisfaction.

“I believe we can take care of what you need.”

He reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom. Rearranging her to a sitting position, he rolled on the latex. Then, gripping her tightly, he lifted her, nudged her legs apart, and slowly lowered her onto his now fully rejuvenated cock. She sucked in a breath as he filled her completely.

“Feel good?” His voice was low and rough.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, yes.”

His big hands caressed her heated ass, lightly touching still-stinging flesh. But instead of retreating from the pain, she realized it only made her more aroused, more stimulated. What shocked the most was she wanted him to do it again.

Boone gave her a dark, hungry, knowing grin. “Liked that spanking, did you? I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve we can try out if you’re willing.”

“I…. Yes.” Was she really saying that? She stared into the black of his eyes, onyx flecked now with gold. Unexpectedly, she wanted to take a walk on the dark side with him. Maybe the really dark side.

Who are you, and what have you done with Montana Wade?

“Lean forward, darlin’. Yeah, like that.”

He took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked hard on it, biting gently then sucking again. Using his hands to guide her, he urged her to move, to ride him, slowly at first then increasing the pace. Everything in her body came alive. Her nerve endings crackled, her blood rushed in her veins, her pulse pounded. She tried to speed up the tempo even more, but Boone held her too firmly. Oh, god, she wanted to come. Right now.
Right now!

Finally—
finally!—
his cock lengthened and thickened inside her and, with the pressure of his hands, he urged her to move faster. She closed her eyes and rode him like one of his horses, up and down, her breasts bouncing, the skin of her buttocks carrying its burn down to her vulva.

More, she wanted to scream. Faster. Harder.

The explosion, when it came, was cataclysmic. The walls of her cunt clamped down on him like a vise, milking him as her body shook. She had the feeling she’d fallen into an explosion of fireworks, only they were inside her body. On and on it went, her pussy spasming long after Boone had emptied himself into the latex. When the last of the tremors subsided, she fell forward onto his chest, desperately trying to drag air into her lungs. Boone wasn’t much better, his heart pounding against her, both their bodies slick with perspiration.

She had no idea how long they lay there, neither of them with the strength to move. Finally, Boone managed to lift her, so he could ease himself from the clasp of her body.

“Be right back,” he said, rolling her gently onto her back.

Montana stretched out with her head cradled on the pillow, trying to slow her heartbeat. If this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up. She smiled at Boone when he came back into the bedroom, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Feeling pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” she teased.

“Uh-huh. If you’re lucky, we might even get to do it again. With some more variations.”

Before she could comment, the small two-way radio on his nightstand crackled out a message.

“All volunteers in Winslow report to the station immediately and get your turnout gear. The Hannity barn is lit up. We’re filling the tankers now. Get moving.”

They stared at each other. The Hannitys lived at the edge of town. Their place stood on about ten acres, and Montana remembered they used to have a couple of horses.

“Do they still—?”

“Yeah.” Every vestige of sensuality, of desire disappeared from Boone’s face, replaced by anger and concern. “I have to go,” he told her, already pulling on his clothes.

“I’m going to get hold of Darlene.” Montana hastily threw on her own clothes. “I remember from when I worked there in high school, they monitor the calls and bring coffee and water to you guys.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near it,” he snapped. “You could get hurt.”

“Boone, if I’m going to live here, and I’m buying the diner, I’ll be doing this whenever it’s needed. I can take care of myself, and I’m smart enough not to go where there’s danger. Deal with it.”

He grabbed her by the arms and gave her a kiss so hard it bruised her lips.

“Take care of my woman.”

Then he was out the door, headed to his truck.

*****

The arsonist had stayed around long enough to make sure the fire caught. It bothered him about the horses, but he figured the Hannitys would see it from their windows and get the animals out in time. He actually thought about throwing a rock at one of their windows, but what if they saw him? Getting caught would be…would be….

He swallowed. Hard.

He’d set enough of these fires he could estimate how long until the building was engulfed. He’d monitor the situation. If the fire department didn’t respond soon enough, he’d think of something. After all, the response was the whole purpose, right?

He ran low away from the barn, using the scrub here and there for cover until he reached the scattering of trees. Then he stopped, watching for a long moment. He’d managed to get to the rear of the barn without being seen and pried up one of the loose boards. He’d used his usual newspaper base to start the blaze, fanned it to get it going, and now it was licking steadily up the back wall and spreading to the sides.

As he watched, he cradled one arm against his chest and gritted his teeth. Tonight, he’d been a little careless. The sleeve of his shirt had caught fire and burned the side of his arm. Badly. He needed to put something on it, but he didn’t know if he’d have time. At least he had another shirt to change into. He was thankful for that. He’d have to suck up the pain until everything was over and he could take care of his wound. He had a bottle of aspirin in his locker. He could toss a few of those down.

Finally satisfied the fire was moving nicely but that there was still time for help, he raced to the side of the road where he’d left his car, jumped into it, and pulled away.

He needed to get into town. This was going to be a busy night for him.

*****

The tanker was loaded and ready to go when Boone pulled into the fire station parking lot. There was no city hydrant close to the Hannitys, as they were on county property, but he knew they had a creek. Like many others outside town or city limits, a dry hydrant had been installed at the creek behind their place, consisting of a pressurized pipe installed in a pond or creek. In rural areas where regular hydrants were absent, they were critical to fighting fires. They allowed the firefighters to refill the tanker without waiting for water to be delivered. Delay could be a killer. Sometimes the waiting gave a fire too long to feed.

He hoped the Hannitys had gotten their couple of horses to safety. The acreage to the side and the back of the house was all pasture, scrub, and trees, instantly flammable if the fire reached it. And that could be a disaster of epic proportions.

The firehouse was a hive of activity.

“Good,” Ray Curtis greeted him. “You got the call. You ride with Jason on the quint. Take Higgins and Rolfe with you. The others, including the kid, can ride with Mendez. I’ll follow in my SUV.”

”The kid” was Evan Hunter, a new addition to the volunteer squad. He worked at the feed store but had thrown himself into training and pestered Ray on a regular basis to consider him when a regular spot opened up. No fire was too fierce for him to fight, no peril too great for him to face. Ray worried all the time the kid would one day put himself in danger he couldn’t get out of.

He pulled on his turnout gear and shoved his feet into his boots, climbing into the cab of the quint, the truck that served multiple purposes with ladders, hose pullers, and whatever else they needed. They pulled out into the street with the alarm chime screaming in the building behind them.

They could see the flames from two blocks away, orange and red fingers reaching greedily toward the sky. By the time they turned into the driveway, the barn was almost fully engulfed. He was glad to see the Hannitys had moved their vehicles so there was enough room for both trucks to pull in.

“It’s spreading to the closest pasture,” Ray Curtis called out as he jumped down from the other truck. “Everyone get your ass in gear.”

In seconds, they were all in motion, the hoses turned on and pointing toward the barn, the powerful spray attacking the flames. The roof collapsed just as they were focusing the water spray on it. After that, they had concentrated on drenching what was left. They worked like a smooth machine, a well-oiled team, refilling the tanker from the dry hydrant, soaking down all the acreage closest to the barn. To Boone it seemed as if they fought the fire for hours, but it turned out to be slightly more than an hour. He could hardly believe it when he stopped for a moment and checked his watch.

“We need to keep soaking it.” Ray had come to stand next to him as the team refilled the tanker yet again from the dry hydrant. “We haven’t had much rain, so everything is dry as tinder. If it consumes the Hannitys’ fields, we could have a wildfire on our hands.”

“No shit.” Boone sucked in a deep breath, the acrid air burning his lungs. “If I ever catch the asshole doing this—”

“You’ll have to get in line. I think everyone—paid and volunteer—wants a piece of this guy.” He stared at the two men dragging a hose. “The Hunter kid never stops, does he? He gives a new meaning to the term eager beaver.”

Boone frowned. “Yeah. Maybe a little too eager.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Later. Let’s get this done first.”

Ray pointed to the front porch. “The Sunrise Diner’s set up the usual bottled water, coffee, and pastry. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated.”

When Boone glanced at the front of the house, he saw Montana busy tending one of the tables. She smiled and waved at him. A feeling hotter than the fire sizzled its way through his body. God, that woman just did it to him. How had this happened in such a short period of time? It was a hell of a lot more than the off-the-charts sex, too. For the first time, he felt an emotional connection with a woman, and he didn’t want to let it go. He hoped to hell she felt the same way.

Then he shook himself. He was here to do a job, and he always prided himself on being totally focused. Part of the team continued to work on the barn, making sure there were no embers that could flare to life later. Jogging to the back of the house, he joined two other firefighters still soaking the acreage closest to the building.

The sun was coming up by the time the chief was satisfied the blaze was contained and would not spread to the rest of the acreage and beyond. The Hannitys had watched the entire thing, huddled in a group with their friends. Tear tracks still stained their faces, and anguish cut lines in their skin.

But they were alive. The house was safe. And the horses, contained in a trailer on the shoulder of the road, were also safe. Boone finally yanked off his helmet and gloves and ran a hand over his soot-streaked face.

“I’d say you could use this.” A soft voice cut into his consciousness, and Montana handed him a bottle of water.