Freed by Fire Read online

  “No.”

  “You’re mean.”

  “The meanest,” Maggie teased. “Besides, no one wears hoodies in July except bank robbers and other precarious individuals. You, my dear, are neither a robber or precarious. You’re young, hot…and newly single. Show those legs, let those boobs spill out…Act your age.”

  “I’ll have to borrow something of yours then, because I don’t have any boob-spilling tops.”

  Maggie laughed and opened her closet. “What’s mine is yours, Em.”

  I chose a pair of my own cut-off jean shorts, frayed and ripped at the pockets. Something I had bought on a whim and thought Matt would like—he didn’t. “You’re showing too much thigh, Em,” he had said, and I changed out of them that day.

  I could spend an entire weekend trying on all of Maggie’s clothes. I settled on an emerald green sleeveless blouse with a low neckline.

  “How’s this?” I asked, twirling around in my bare feet.

  “Possibly making me consider switching teams.”

  “Maggie!” I laughed.

  “In all honesty, you’re beautiful. I can’t believe you don’t see it. Ellie and I are going to have to keep a close eye on you. All these Chicagoans will smell the fresh meat.”

  I slid on a pair of flats and sat on the bed waiting for Maggie to decide on whether she was going to wear a skirt or a pair of shorts too. She ended up choosing the skirt. A black wrap of fabric around her curvy hips paired with a light gray lacy camisole. She looked more beautiful than I would on any day of the week.

  The bouncing blonde by the entrance of the pub waving and shouting must be Ellie. She was standing with a few other people our age, and they all smiled as we moved toward them.

  “This is her, my people! My Em…Em, these are my fellow prisoners at Winston Walker and Waverly.” Maggie hugged Ellie who squealed and all but tackled me after I extended my hand to her.

  “I’m so happy to finally meet you, Emery! Maggie never shuts up about you…And,” Ellie glanced around, lowering her voice. “I’m a huge fan of Toby.” Her wink made me blush.

  Toby was the male lead in my first real novel. He might as well have been the man in the suit from Brew’s. Toby was my claim to “fame”, my success. He was every woman’s hot and wet fantasy. Smiling, I thanked Ellie and told her I would absolutely sign her paperback copy of my book.

  I could smell the beer before my feet passed the threshold of the pub. The homey musk of wood and brass. Something was comforting about the place. Maybe because it was down-to-earth, compared to a club lit with strobe lights, smoke machines and a DJ. This little hole in the wall was somewhere I wouldn’t mind spending an evening.

  There was no line at the bar, no need to push and shove people out of the way in order to find the bathroom or attempt a game of pool. When the WW&W group bee-lined for a large table near the bar, I knew Maggie had definitely been here before, and was probably close to becoming a permanent fixture.

  “Leland! Three pitchers of your finest!” Maggie shouted out to the bulky copper-haired man behind the bar.

  “Good to see ya again, Mags,” Leland rumbled, his deep accent spiking a smile in the corner of my mouth. “Jaysus, this one’s new. Who are ya, lovely lady?”

  I blushed. Not peach, not even pink. I blushed pure crimson. I don’t know what it was, but something about his stature, that accent, and the fact that his eyes were almost so startling green, they were almost aqua, I melted a little. “I’m Em—Emery,” I stammered.

  “Aww, shite, Em…don’t ya go scarlet on me now.” Leland placed the pitchers down and smirked.

  “Leland, be nice. She’s new to the city,” Maggie said melodically while pouring beer into her glass.

  “I’m a good fella.”

  “You are.” Maggie smiled.

  Just as if someone had flipped the switch on the music, Talking Heads' “Burning Down the House” began to play, and a huge group off in the corner near the pool tables began shouting and singing loudly to the music. I hadn’t even noticed there was a small stage until seven or eight of them climbed up on it and started swaying, drunk, still shouting the lyrics.

  “Burke!” I heard one bellow, pointing to one of the men still sitting around the table. “Get your ass up here!”

  The man shook his head and laughed.

  Just as I was about to look up and ask Leland who they were, he was gone. He moved through the space and jumped on the stage with the rest of them. Maybe it was the low-lighting, or the good mood the music put me in—I didn’t even notice what all of them (with the exception of Leland) were wearing. CFD shirts.

  “Em! That’s Chicago’s finest right there. The boys from the fire department by our place. Leland’s brother is one of ‘em,” Maggie shouted over the music and Ellie began to bounce again, this time in her chair.

  “I love men in uniforms.” Ellie giggled and sipped her beer.

  Me too, Ellie, girl. Me too. “Yeah, they’re okay.”

  Ellie gaped. “Okay? Emery, you must be blind…See that blonde one sipping his beer right now, that’s Daniel. We had a little…fun together once or twice.”

  I peered over to the stage and sized Daniel up. Yep, he was pretty delicious. I winked at Ellie. “Nice.”

  Talking Heads faded to Luke Bryan. “Cold Beer Drinker” to be exact. This time Leland hopped off the stage and hauled the guy—the one who declined singing during the previous song—up onto the stage.

  “Burke! Burke! Burke!” the patrons started chanting.

  I nearly fainted.

  This Burke…the one on the stage. Was the same guy I had been ogling just earlier today. This time he didn’t have sunglasses on to shield part of his face. He was…panty-dropping pretty. Part of me wanted to run over and toss mine on the stage while he sang the song with his friends, his arms draped over Leland and another guy.

  “I see you, little Miss E.” Maggie waggled her finger at me. “You’re getting all horny for Leland’s little brother!”

  “What?!” I gaped, pretending to have no idea what she was talking about.

  “That’s Caid, by the way. And yes, he has an accent too.”

  Sweet damn. “That’s nice.”

  “Emery, I can totally hook you up! Daniel’s like, Caid’s best friend.” Ellie smiled pleasantly.

  “Ohhh, no. That’s okay…Really. I just like looking from afar. Like, a distant admirer. Please don’t play cupid.” I chugged my beer, trying to get a little buzz going and forget about how unbelievably awkward I felt since Leland asked Maggie who I was.

  Damn Luke Bryan for not singing a longer song. It ended and Leland and the fire crew got off the small stage and sat back down to start drinking again. I refilled my glass and started sipping again. Watching Leland lean on the table with his palms flat out, talking to the guys. Laughing at something his brother said and punching him in the shoulder.

  When Leland nodded his head toward our table, and Caid turned around to look, I nearly slinked down in my chair. Forget turning crimson, I just wanted to disappear. I don’t know why I was so scared. It wasn’t like he was walking over to talk to me.

  Okay, he’s walking over to talk to me. Well, I don’t know if he’s coming to speak with me specifically, but nonetheless, he’s coming over here and oh, sweet fuck, I was fidgeting like a crack head in my seat.

  “Em?” Leland’s deep voice almost made me jump from my skin when I pretended not to notice them coming our way.

  “H—hi,” I stammered again. Damnit!

  Leland had a devilish grin on his face, and Caid’s was simply unreadable. “This is Caid, the ugly Burke. He was hopin’ you’d be up for a good snog.”

  “Lee!” Caid roared and shoved his shoulder. “Fuck!” He blushed, matching me, I was sure of it.

  “Sorry, Em.” Leland laughed.

  “Please excuse that arsehole,” Caid said in one breath, his accent slight; definitely not thick and hard to understand like Leland’s.

  Say somethi
ng, Emery! I sat there, frozen, unable to say a word. Likely looking like a complete idiot with a goofy grin on my face. I let myself get lost a little in that moment. In Caid’s eyes—which were definitely from the same bloodline as Leland’s. Just crisper, more twinkly, possibly undressing me at that very second. I hoped.

  A sly smirk whispered across his lips as he pulled his lip between his teeth and grazed his flesh with those pearly whites. To add insult to injury—to ice the cake, so to speak, he ran his fingers through his hair.

  I wanted to drag my teeth along his lip. I wanted to curl my fingers into his hair. Damnit, if he wasn’t a living, breathing version of Toby…without the suit and silky hands.

  Unsure of how much time had passed since I sat there, gazing into the beauty of Caid Burke, I heard the familiar sound of sloshing and I turned my head to see Maggie refilling my glass. I didn’t even realize I had polished it off.

  “I’m Caid…” He extended his hand, and I looked at it, hesitant to take it. It was dirty. Not like, full of germs and dirt-kind of dirty…it was a working man’s hand. It was tanned from the sun’s persistent and lucky kisses.

  “I’m Emery,” I said, smiling. “I like your hands.”

  Palm to face. Right now. I squinted my eyes closed, cursed myself for drinking again, and wearily opened them back up to see Caid still standing there, smiling at me.

  “Thank you, Emery.” He said my name like it was made to roll off his tongue. And with the lick of his accent emphasizing the M, it sounded almost provocative. “I’m quite fond of them myself.”

  “Sit down and have a drink with us, Caid!” Maggie chimed, giving me a little wink. The only empty chair at the table was right next to me.

  Leland excused himself and walked behind the bar to pour some drinks for a group of older women that had sat down and started scanning the room. They locked their sights right on the reason my lungs weren’t able to hold a breath. Caid sat down beside me, stopping my heart with his scent. He smelled like smoke, manly musk, and a hint of cologne.

  “So, Emery…are you always this quiet, or should I sit somewhere else?”

  “No,” I said, feeling overwhelmed by his nearness and my ridiculous need to pull his mouth against mine.

  “No, you’re not always this quiet, or no I shouldn’t sit somewhere else.”

  “She’s never quiet,” Maggie said with a grin. “It’s you and your hotness.”

  “Maggie!” I blurted. Forget how embarrassed I was when Leland asked me to snog his brother, now I’m completely mortified. I gave her a “you’re lucky you are on the other side of the table, and too far for me to slap” look.

  Leland placed a tray full of shots on the table. “Sláinte!”

  “Cheers,” Caid whispered.

  Maggie, Ellie, Ben, Todd, and another guy from Maggie’s work, whose name I had forgotten, all reached and picked up a shot glass. I eyed them, hesitant to join, and questioning what was in the glass. The beer was already doing the talking for me, if I were going to add throw more wood on the fire, I needed to be sure it wasn’t going to blow up in my face.

  “What is it, Leland?” I asked, trying to look past Caid, which was hard. I could see him staring right though me.

  “’Bout ninety proof.” Leland chuckled and picked up a glass, slinging the alcohol down his throat. He let out a satisfied rasp, clearing his throat. “That’ll put hair on yer chest.”

  “Exactly what I need, thank you!” Maggie tossed her head back and swallowed.

  Ellie followed, along with every other person at the table, except for me and Caid. Who, was still watching me intently, holding a shot glass of his own.

  With a raise of his delicious eyebrow, Caid smiled, pulling in a small dimple in on his cheek. My heart hammered—no, it jackhammered in my chest. I was pretty sure I was struggling to remain sane.

  Closing his eyes, Caid threw his head back, along with the shot and pulled his lip between his teeth to lick what tiny remainder lingered. I wanted to lick it off for him. Damn, if I didn’t want to transform into the shot glass too that he casually ran his finger around the top of.

  “Em,” Leland growled, winking at me.

  “Peer pressure!” I laughed. “I really don’t think I have any extra time in the morning to trim the chest hair this is going to give me, but…” I smiled. “Why the hell not?” I leaned back, let it pour between my lips, and feeling it burn all the way down my throat.

  Maggie and Ellie cheered, Leland pounded the table, and Caid leaned in to swipe his thumb across my lip. He did exactly what I wanted to do to him. Except when he pulled his thumb away, he stuck it right into his mouth and hummed, licking off the alcohol.

  “Delicious,” he said deeply.

  I could tell by the audible gasps around the table, that I wasn’t the only one gaping. No one said a word, for at least ten excruciating seconds, and I felt the crazy urge to get away from Caid before I did something really bold. Like rip all our clothes off and have him bend me over the table.

  “Mags, Ellie…let’s dance.” I quickly stood up, almost knocking my chair over, and held out my hands to them. When they shared a quizzical look between one another, and didn’t take my offered hands, I waved mine indifferently. “Fine, I’ll dance alone.”

  “I’ll dance with ya, Em!” Leland belted, and swung his arm around my shoulder.

  The pub was filling fast, there was almost no room for any big movements on the small dance floor, and despite Leland’s attempted grace, I got stepped on by his big feet more than five times.

  Maggie, Ellie, and the WW&W boys joined us, as I took a glance back to the table and noticed Caid wasn’t sitting there anymore. I didn’t see him on the dance floor either. Leland spun me around and I landed against a brick walled body.

  “Sorry!” I said to the person I hit, turning to see their face.

  “Don’t be,” Caid replied, his eyes hooded, gleaming…wanting.

  The shot hit me hard. It gave me pure liquid courage. “Dance with me,” I whispered, leaning on my toes to reach his ear. Smelling his skin…getting drunker by the second. “Please.”

  Chapter Five

  Thursday, July 4— 1:20 am

  On a sudden impulse, I snaked my arms around Caid’s thick neck and pulled his body into mine. The perfect blend of hard and soft, crushed against the swell in my chest, and my breath hitched from the contact.

  A groan, or a growl escaped his lips, and I felt his hands on my hips, his fingers skimming the small space of exposed skin between my shirt and my shorts. His thumbs left trails of blazing fire with each circling motion he made, and it felt like everyone else in the room faded away into the background.

  “Emery,” he said my name again, in that way.

  Causing me to lose all of my inhibitions and press myself harder into his body. “Caid,” I whispered, my mouth alongside his ear, my cheek brushing the stubble on his jaw. My fingers moved on their own accord, touching the hair at the back of his head, it was silken and exactly how I imagined it would be.

  “Em,” Maggie’s voice pulled me from my daydream.

  I glanced over, she was dancing with Leland.

  “Feelin’ okay?”

  I nodded, grinned, and looked back up into Caid’s eyes. He pulled me closer—if it were possible, and I gasped when I felt his hard ridge pressing against my stomach.

  “You sure you’re okay, Emery?” Caid asked, leaning down to my ear, trailing his thumb up the back of my arm. “Do you need to sit down?”

  The biggest, dirtiest part of me—the writer of smut, wanted to say yes, on your face. But, I didn’t. I knew it was the booze making me feel so wild, and it was a little scary. Matt and I didn’t even explore anything more than the occasional position change from missionary, spooning, or him from behind me. I’ve never felt a man beneath me. And how badly I wanted to give in to my buried personal fantasies and tell this man in my arms that I wanted to ride him well into next week.

  I shook my head, and curse
d under my breath when the music changed to another with a fast upbeat and it felt awkward just to stand and hold us in place. Maggie and Leland danced, Ellie ground herself into Daniel’s body, some other firefighters found a partner and danced…but Caid and I? We just stood there, like statues. I didn’t want to let him go. Maybe he didn’t want to either. Neither of us said a word.

  I felt something building inside of me…I was going to be sick.

  “I—I…gotta go!” I pulled from him, and pushed through the writhing bodies. My hands couldn’t turn the knob on the bathroom door quick enough, and as I staggered in, fell to my knees in front of the porcelain, and threw up until I began dry-heaving.

  I prayed—so hard, that Caid wasn’t on the other side of the door, hearing what was going on. If he was…I wasn’t going to ride anything but the L after tonight.

  “Em?” Maggie’s sweet and concerned voice flowed into the small bathroom, and I felt her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, babe…you’re wrecked.”

  I spat into the toilet and groaned. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be…and don’t worry, he’s not outside the door. I told him I was going to check on you.”

  I braced the toilet as I tried to stand. “Thanks, Maggie. I’m so embarrassed. How can I sneak out of here now? I don’t want him to see me.”

  Maggie frowned and dampened a sheet of paper towel from the sink, wiping my forehead. “Here,” she said, handing it to me. “You have a little…”

  I wiped my mouth. “Gross.”

  “Yeah, well…you still look pretty doable.”

  I laughed. “Leave it to me to ruin a good night. I was…” Feeling pretty unpredictable out there. “Was having a good time.”

  “I could see that, little miss dance-floor.” Maggie stuck out her tongue at me.

  “Emery?” Caid’s voice rumbled through the closed door, and I saw the knob almost turn. “You okay?”

  “Go distract him, I need to get out of here.”

  “I’ll be out front in two minutes, call us a cab. I’ll tell Ellie we’re leaving.” Maggie hugged me and opened the door wide enough to step out, but not to let Caid see me. “Hey, handsome…” I heard her say.