Risky Pleasures (3 page)

“I’m sorry, I’m working tonight. I’m on my way back in.”
But I would much rather be with you.

His eyes darkened. “When are you done?”

“Five-thirty in the morning.”

“Breakfast, then? The old family diner out near where I picked you up today? The Enchanted.”

Take a leap.
Delicia answered, “Okay, breakfast. Six sound okay?”

His gaze honed in on her lips before going back to her eyes. “Yes.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a card, then pressed it into her hand. “My cell is on the back, call me if you have to work late.”

Leaning over into the back of her vehicle, she dug into her bag and pulled out her own card. His fingertips brushed hers when he took it from her, sending tremors throughout her entire being. “Same here. Or if…you get a better offer for the night and can’t make it.”

Archer never blinked. “I’ll be there.”

She shifted beneath his burning stare. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Be safe tonight.” He dragged his knuckles down the side of her face, setting up a flutter deep within her.

With a nod she climbed into her Jeep and started the engine. “Good night, Archer.”

“Night, Delicia,” he purred before stepping back.

Driving away, she stole glances at his strong body standing there in the parking lot of his business. She wanted him—that was no secret, well not to her. She had for a long, long time now.

“What the hell did I just do?” she whimpered. “I can hardly speak coherently around him, why did I just agree to breakfast?”

She pulled into the fire station and climbed out. With her bag tossed over her shoulder, she hurried to the ambulance where her partner Thomas Christian worked on the pre-check. Kind of a moot point, given they were doing another shift and knew what was in their vehicle.

“Hey, Thom.”

“Lis.” He looked up and smiled at her, his white teeth gleaming against his bronzed skin. “Wondered where you were. Was getting ready to give you a ring.”

“Sorry. Got the oil changed on my Jeep.” She tossed her bag in and stowed it out of the way.
And I got a date for tomorrow morning.

“No prob. I know you’d call if something came up. I’m just not used to you not being here before me, even if we only have a few hours to chill.”

“I’m going to grab some drinks. Want me to get you some?”

“Please,” he said from where he sat on the stretcher taking inventory.

Rubbing her eyes, she walked off. “Be right back.” When she returned she helped Thom take inventory until they had to start their shift.

In less than half an hour, she and Thom were beginning their shift. She sat behind the wheel and Thom told her about his younger sister, Erica, and her state volleyball competition. It was a pretty mundane night. There wasn’t many calls as the night progressed. They stopped for a bite to eat around midnight.

“Hey, you two,” the waitress said when they walked in.

“Candy,” Delicia spoke with a smile.

“Your usuals?”

“Please,” they said at the same time.

In a booth, Delicia stretched out her legs and rested her head against the window.

“How you doing?” Thom asked.

Turning her head to stare at her partner, she took in his good looks. Bronze skin, black wavy hair, firm body, chiselled features. He was a man who garnered lots of reactions from the ladies.

“You know. I’m hanging in there.”

“When’s your triathlon?”

“About three months away. I did training before coming on shift. Part of the reason I was dragging.”

“I admire your dedication to it. I couldn’t do what you do.”

She grinned and reached for the coffee. “Well, we just expend our energy in different ways. I do triathlons, you…you do…other extracurricular activities.”

Thom laughed. “When you say it like that, you make it sound so dirty.”

“I don’t know how else to say it.”

“Ahh, come on, Lis. I’m just waiting for the right woman to come along.”

“Hey, I’m not your mom. No need to explain yourself to me.”

He winked at her when Candy set down their food and she just shook her head. Female companionship was something he never lacked. It had been an issue when she’d met a few of his women, for they tended to see her as a threat. Now for the most part, it was very well known that she and Thom were partners and friends. Nothing more than a platonic relationship between them.

She dug into her pancakes, eggs and bacon with gusto, and was almost done when the radio at her side crackled. “Multiple car crash near Devil’s Corner. All units available respond.”

Delicia and Thom jumped to their feet. Tossing some money down on the table, they headed for the ambulance at a run. Seconds later they were speeding down the road, lights and sirens going.

“Devil’s Corner. Shit, this isn’t gonna be pretty,” she said as she wove in and out of traffic before hitting the outskirts of town and really opening up the engine.

Slowing as they approached, she turned off the sirens and pulled up to the crash. The cop cars and fire trucks that had been following her did the same. Hopping out, Delicia and Thom got to work. The firemen were cutting through the door of one car while they checked out some of the other kids.

“Lis!” a shout reached her.

She hurried to where they were removing the top of the vehicle. Thom had the stretcher waiting. Climbing in, Delicia put a neck brace around the woman in the passenger side. Once it was secure, they worked together to get her out and lifted her onto the stretcher.

Shit!
The woman was pregnant and non-responsive. Thom bagged her and they started to move her towards the ambulance. Delicia glanced back at the crushed car and her heart sank when a fireman covered a body with a sheet. The woman stared up at her as they hurried, panic overflowing in her gaze.

“Stay with me,” Delicia said. “We’re getting you to the hospital.”

“One, two, three,” Thom counted it off and they lifted her into the back.

She closed the door behind them and hustled to the driver’s seat. Hitting the siren, she waited for the two pounds on the back door then pulled out carefully, turned around and the moment she was clear, pushed the pedal down. As the ambulance raced down the road, Delicia called it in to the emergency room she was headed for.

There were people waiting for them when she drove up. Throwing the vehicle into park, she then hopped out and helped lower the gurney. They rushed through the sliding glass doors and she heard Thom rattling off the stats he knew.

“We got it from here,” a woman said with authority.

Delicia looked up and her mouth fell open. “Arissa?”

Light brown eyes met hers and softened briefly. A curvaceous woman with a reddish-gold pixie cut stared back at her. “Lis?”

“What are—?”

“We’re ready, doc,” a nurse interrupted.

“I gotta go, Lis. Tomorrow, we’ll catch up. Great to see you,” she said as they hurried away. “You look great!”

Thom nudged her with his shoulder. “Who’s that?”

A dry chuckle left her. “That’s my sister, Arissa. Who last I knew was in Chicago.” She ran a hand over her eyes. “What is she doing back here?”

“Think on the way. Let’s go see if they need more help back there.” Thom tugged on her arm.

She drove while he cleaned up the back. Delicia was saddened. Teens had been racing and had misjudged the corner, spinning out of control and hitting the oncoming car. A man driving his wife to the hospital. He’d died immediately and the wife was on her way to surgery.

Her heart sped up however, when her gaze landed upon a large flatbed and the man beside it. Archer. He stood talking to one of the cops. Two of the vehicles sat upon the truck. Parking behind one of the fire trucks, they got out to offer assistance. There were mostly superficial wounds to take care of now and she got to it, doing her best to ignore the handsome man who was extremely good at sucking her attention.

Archer only half listened to Dave as he talked to him. His gaze and focus had basically been upon Delicia from the moment he’d seen her step out of the ambulance. She looked tired, beautiful and sad. He wanted to hold her to him and offer his strength. When she headed around to the back of the ambulance, he pushed away from his truck and said to Dave, “Excuse me for a minute.”

He walked to where he could see her. Her head was down as she looked through a bag for something. Moving up behind her, he inhaled and was again hit by the scent of tangerines that flowed about her.

“Hello, Delicia,” he muttered softly.

She stiffened before turning towards him. Her eyes roved up and down his body before she responded. “Hello, Archer.”

Damn, I want to kiss her
. “You hanging in there okay?”

There was some tightness around the corners of her mouth, yet she nodded. “Yes. I’ll be glad when the night’s over, though.”

Archer heard her name being called and he asked, “We still on for breakfast? Or did you want to cancel?”

“Did you have a better offer?”

I can think of one for you. Breakfast in bed. My bed.
“Nope. You just look really exhausted.”

“I was looking forward to eating…having breakfast with you.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you in a few hours then.”

“Yes.” She stared at him a moment longer then slipped by him, bag in hand, and vanished.

Archer sighed and followed her back around. He could feel the gazes of some of the people there upon him. Those were ignored—he got back to work and soon had the totalled cars back at his place. Then he went back out for the other two.

* * * *

He was exhausted when he pulled into the parking lot of The Enchanted and parked his truck. Glancing around, he noticed Delicia’s vehicle wasn’t there. What if she’d changed her mind? He grabbed his cell and checked for any missed calls. There weren’t any. With a deep breath, he climbed out and headed for the door.

Music caught his attention and he turned his head in time to see a dirty green Jeep whip into a spot near his truck. Delicia. He bit his lower lip briefly when she jumped out and gave him a small smile accompanied by a slight wave. Warmth flowed through him and he faced her fully, waiting for her to reach his side.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said by way of greeting.

“Right on time.”

Archer dragged his eyes up and down her form—the woman had a body to die for. He could stare at her for hours and never grow bored. She had changed from her uniform to a pair of white shorts that made him long to drop to his knees and thank God, and a baggy navy blue shirt that had a black EMT symbol across her left breast.

“Perfect,” she whispered.

As she strode past him, he chuckled at the image on the back, a stick figure in a mug with a kettle releasing a drop of water onto its head. The phrase surrounding it read, ‘Instant EMT, just add hot water’. Archer stepped up to her side and held the door for her.

They got seated at a booth and he stared at her over the rim of his coffee mug. “Tell me about you, Delicia,” he said, after they’d placed their order.

Her eyes flew up to meet his and he watched as her full lips moved a few times before anything came out. “What do you want to know?”

Everything.
“What do you wish to share?”

“You get what you see with me. I’m a simple girl, love the outdoors and love my work.”

“Do you know if the woman from last night is okay?”

Delicia took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, but I’ll find out today. Apparently my sister is back in town and was one of the doctors on call last night. In fact, she was the one who treated the woman.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Arissa? She’s back?” It had been a long time since he’d seen her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes. Not sure when she arrived, but she was there last night.”

Archer sensed that was a sensitive path to go down, so he opted to change the subject. “What were you doing yesterday morning that had you so exhausted looking when I ran into you?”

A flush ran up her toffee skin, but a smile followed. “I was finishing my training.”

“Training?” He smiled at the waitress when she delivered their food and again left them alone.

“I am currently training to run in the half Ironman in Taos in three months.”

He whistled low. “Damn. I’m very impressed. How long are the distances for that?”

She sipped some coffee. “The swim is one-point-nine. The ride is ninety, and the run is twenty-one-point-one.”

“Is that miles?”

“No, kilometres.”

He did some quick math in his head and shook his head. “Wow. You are a very impressive lady, Delicia Wright.”

Her blush intensified. “Thank you.”

“Okay, you ask me one. Surely there’s something you’d like to know about me.”

“Would you sleep with me?”

He dropped his fork. He zoomed in on her face. Her beautiful eyes grew wide and her face paled as realisation set in.

“Oh…oh…oh my God. I…I…” Delicia slid towards the edge of the booth.

Archer knew she was about to bolt. He was there before she could escape, his arms pinning her in and his face level with hers. “Delicia,” he said in a low tone.

Shaking her head, she pushed against him. “Let me go. I can’t believe I said that. Please, get out of my way so I can go.”

He didn’t. Instead he slid onto the bench seat, crowding her. With one hand he lifted her chin. Her eyes scrunched shut. He ran his thumb along her lips, loving the soft satiny feel to them.

“Look at me, Delicia.”

Slowly her lashes rose, exposing her big eyes to him. He could see her embarrassment but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he kissed her. Delicia stiffened, parting her lips beneath his.

His body hardened instantly. So soft were her lush lips. He trailed his tongue along the seam before dipping into her mouth. Her taste hit him fast and hard, infusing his taste buds and imprinting onto his soul. With a low growl, he grabbed the back of her neck and thrust his tongue throughout the warm recess of her mouth. She placed a hand against his chest and raked her nails lightly down. Somehow he managed to end the kiss and stared down at her.