Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) (22 page)

He cocked his head to the side and asked, "You alright,
Miss?" before looking around the parking lot again. I stood quaking,
unable to answer, as I didn't know what this man wanted from me. I was alone in
a dark parking lot, with a man who towered over me by at least a foot. I'd
guess he was a few inches over six feet tall. His height was unnerving. Through
his dark t-shirt, his body was rippled with lean muscle. There was no way I
could defend myself against him, and I'd been stupid enough to turn down Dave's
offer of walking me to my car. Hell, if I never would have gone back and forth
with him in the first place, we probably would have missed this guy altogether.
I have the worst luck.

The muscular stranger took another step towards me, and
reached his hand for me as I flinched and stumbled backwards, hitting the shale
parking lot hard, and scraping my hands and elbows up in the process of trying
to catch myself in the fall.
 
I
temporarily lost sight of the situation, focusing on my scraped and stinging
palms and the radiating pain shooting up my arms, when suddenly, strong hands
grasped me by the waist and righted me. I was inches from his chest, and his
scent wafted through my space; a mixture of clean, fresh soap and spicy cedar
mixed into a heady male concoction that had my pheromones playing tricks on my
mind.

I chanced a glance at his eyes, only to find a mischievous
grin on his face that creased the corners as I began to drown in those deep
pools. Shaking off my wonderment, I noticed he appeared bemused.
Was he getting his rocks off on this? Or...holy shit! Please
don't let this be some sick, twisted...
I pushed off of him and shoved
my purse at his chest, backing away as far as I could while still holding it to
him. "Here, take it. I...I won't say anything. There's over two hundred in
there. P...plus credit cards. Take whatever you want," I stammered, trying
not to make eye contact, for fear of losing my wits. I was pinned in between
two cars and backed against the wall of the building, so I was internally
begging he would just take the money and run.

A long moment passed and I finally dropped my purse on the
ground, not knowing what else to do. I was out of options. I could attempt
screaming, but I knew I'd probably get half a wail out before the stranger
would silence me...one way or another. He finally bent down and retrieved my
purse, then plunked it down on top of my trunk with a loud thud, as he placed
his hands back in his pockets. I gave him a confused look and noticed his face
had turned solemn, as he bit out, "You think I wanted to
rob
you?"

I bit my lower lip and looked around sheepishly before
ushering to the empty parking lot and answering, "Well...I mean, I was
alone. A...and you came at me. And..."

He interrupted, as he said, "Jesus, lady! I was tryin'
to be a Good Samaritan. I came over and asked if you were ok, and you went
catatonic on me. And why would I help you up if I wanted to steal your
purse?"

I blinked rapidly at the scolding this man was giving me,
when
I
was clearly the one who was in
distress, albeit, he did have a good point. Nevertheless, who did this man
think he was? Surely, he had the sense to know he shouldn't just walk up to a
woman when she's alone in a dark parking lot. I decided, perhaps he needed
reminding of that fact. As I pointed my finger at his chest, I said with
indignation, "Listen, Mister...you can't just go around sneaking up on
women in the dark and expect them not to get the daylights scared out of them.
You could've been an axe murderer, for all I know."

The devilish grin creased his handsome face once more, and I
was losing ground quickly with my anger, becoming lost in the depth of those
blue pools that were beginning to hypnotize me.
Don't do
it, Trin. Don't let him sucker you in with his gorgeous features, rock hard
muscles, and...

"Wow, little lady. You've got some twisted faith in
humanity. I would offer to go get some ice for those scrapes, but I don't want
to get hauled off to jail for
mauling
you,"
he drawled out sarcastically, placing his hands on his hips, as he pinned me
with a hard stare.

I rolled my eyes as I responded, "I wouldn't call the
cops on you...I mean, now that I know you're probably not going to..." he
shot me a warning look before I continued, "I meant, you're
not
going to hurt me. But I can just
clean myself up at home." I brushed off his offer of help.

He shook his head, obviously determined to make things right
between us. "First of all, I'm partially to blame for you falling down.
And secondly, if we don't get that cleaned up soon, it's going to get infected.
Max has a first-aid kit in the back, I'll go grab it and bring it out here, so
you don't have to get hit with twenty questions from Max and Pauline." The
stranger began to walk away before I could argue, but I had some questions of
my own.

"Won't they see you walking out with the kit?" I
yelled after him.

"I'll sneak out the back. Look for me coming out the
back alley around the side", he motioned. I nodded my assent, before
shouting after him again, "What are you gonna tell them you came back
for?" He gave me a disapproving look before disappearing into the busy
bar.

Chapter Three

Blake

I practically jogged into the back hallway of Max's Crab
Shack, rummaging through the employee bathroom for the first aid kit before
anybody could catch wind of me. I sure as shit didn't want to have to explain
why I'd actually had to re-enter the bar, or have to come up with some lame excuse...
not to mention fitting in a story that involved needing bandages, ice, and
antibiotic ointment wouldn't be easy, so I needed to get the fuck out of Dodge-
now.

Where the hell is it?
I
looked high and low, under the cupboards, finding nothing, and eventually
decided to try to sneak into the office to see if the kit was in there. I was
cutting it close- really close. I peeked my head out of the bathroom, checking
to see if the coast was clear, and noticed only the cooks were in my line of
sight, shouting out orders to each other. I booked it across the hall, made a
smooth entry into the office, and closed the door behind me, searching my brain
for the logical place the kit would be kept. I noticed a small filing cabinet
next to the door, and reached for the bottom drawer, pulling it open.
Bingo.
I grabbed the kit, and hauled ass out of the
hallway, checking for signs of anybody that would recognize me, and then ducked
my head as I turned down the service entrance, blowing out a long breath as I
approached the alley door, finally home free.

I stopped just short of pushing the door open, my mind
wandering back to the scene that had just occurred moments before. I didn't
even know this woman's name. She seemed young; well younger than me- maybe
mid-twenties, and I grinned inappropriately at the thought of the sight of her
looking like a scared kitten as she'd seen me approach. If she only knew what I
did for a living, and that I'd put a beating on any motherfucker that had the
nerve to try to assault a woman, she may even find the situation funny,
although, based on her spitfire attitude, I doubt it. But goddamn, when I saw
her across that lot, it was like I was drawn to her from the jump. I bet she
wouldn't be a kitten in sack; more like a cat with claws.
Down,
boy.
I adjusted myself, and mentally prepared to do what I had set
out to do, which was to help a damsel in distress.
Fucking
liar. You set out to get her number, and if you were lucky, get in her pants
before you needed to call her.
I shook my head at my own
hedonistic thoughts and placed my hand on the door, pushing it open with force.

******

Trinity

As I waited for the tall, dark and... I shut down my wanton
thoughts and sighed to myself, wondering if he was even going to come back to
help me. Probably not. He most likely used the excuse to ditch me in order to
get out of the sticky situation. I don't blame him. I wouldn't exactly call
this a great first meeting. Besides, he kind of rubbed me the wrong way, no
matter how much those twinkling blue eyes were beckoning me. He seemed like a
cocky jerk, and that was the last thing I needed in my life. Maybe I should
just try and give Dave a chance. What's the harm? I'll never know if I don't
get back out there and give it a go.

Just as I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard a heavy door
push open, and the steps of large feet on the gravel parking lot. It was the
stranger; he'd not abandoned me after all. As he turned the corner, our eyes
met and locked, as a jolt of electricity shot straight through to my core.
This is crazy, Trin- you don't know this man from Adam...hell,
his name could BE Adam, and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. He has
trouble written all over him.

All I could focus on was the words 'lick' and 'trouble'. I
was in over my head already and I'd barely spoken more than two sentences to
this man; this man that had my head spinning, and my panties becoming wet.
No. No. No. This is bad. Have you forgotten Derek, Steve, or Ken?
Cain! Hellooo?
I rolled my eyes and mentally
shushed my inner goddess. She could go fly a kite. Tonight, I was going to
throw caution to the wind- I wanted this man, and I could tell by the hungry
look in his eyes that he wanted me too. If only for one night of heavenly
bliss, I'd take it. I hadn't had a man in...
way
too
long. This was going to happen one way or another. I just needed to work my
womanly wiles on him. I grinned at the thought. I had never been the aggressor.
Tonight I planned to take the lead.

******

Blake

I walked around the corner with the first aid kit in hand,
expecting to find the little lady still in distress. I was a bit thrown when I
saw she was staring at me with a wanting glare and a teasing grin tugging her
perfect pink lips; lips I would give a million dollars to have wrapped around
my cock right now. I won't lie, I'm only a man, and a man can only take so
much. The desire in her eyes only fueled mine that much more. I think it was
safe to say, the last thing on her mind was her boo-boos right now. But I'd be
happy to play doctor, if she was into that sort of thing.

Though a bit caught off guard, I manned the fuck up, and
made my way to the awaiting beauty; my own lips curling into a wicked smirk. Oh
yeah, she wanted to be 'taken care of', but I doubted we would need the first aid
kit
. Quit being a douche bag. She has cuts and dirt all
over her. Get that shit cleaned up, and play with her later, jackass.
I
gave myself a mental shake and adjusted myself as best as I could, trying to
avoid her beckoning gaze. Yeah, I had to get her cleaned up before...well, it
didn't matter where things went from here, she was scraped up pretty badly, and
either I had to take care of it, or I'd have to convince her to go the E.R.;
which I doubted she'd do. I didn't want that on my conscience.

I turned my head to look out into traffic, trying, and
failing miserably, to take my mind off of her tight little legs peeking out of
her short skirt, swaying in the breeze, and her long, dark, wayward hair
flowing in the upswings of the currents of the wind. But damn, my dick was as
hard as a rock, and I had gone far too long without a woman, much less a
gorgeous little package like the one standing just a few feet away from me. I
actually stopped mid pace, hanging my head to gather myself, both mentally and
physically.

This little lady has trouble written all over her...

Coming Soon!