“What the hell!” I’m out the door and pounding heels down the road. “Catch that dog!”
Miles spins just in time to catch the thief with his loot dangling from his mouth.
“Caught you, you little bugger.”
I came to an abrupt stop in front of Miles. A wiggling mass of black fur tries to break free from Mile’s clutch but he holds on. He puts his doughnuts on the ledge of a nearby shop and calms the little rascal with a few pats to the head.
“Come on, no one is going to hurt you, little guy. Give them here now. Come on.”
Miles wears a smirk on his handsome face and it catches me off guard for a moment. “I think these are yours?”
A flashing red flame of heat hits my cheeks and I forget about the smirk. My attention homes in on my panties. Dangling from the fire chief’s finger.
“Not exactly how I pictured you seeing my panties for the first time. This little thief is forever breaking into my back room and stealing clothes. Last week it was my favorite pair of socks…”
“And today your favorite pair of…” Miles holds up my panties in broad daylight for the entire town to see. “Silk and lace. Sexy.”
Sure, now he wants to talk. Freaking men.
“Do you mind?” I snatch my panties out of his hand. My camisole is a little twisted from the running and I take a few seconds to straighten it and my skirt, using the time to calm my embarrassment enough to thank the man for catching the runaway dog.
Dark eyes watch my every move. “Now you have me curious, Bela. How did you fantasize about me seeing your panties for the first time?”
Liquid chocolate meets mine and I can feel the heat of his words pour over me.
A grating shrill comes from my wrist and I forget about panties, puppies and hot chocolate eyes.
“Oh, crap! My penis cake!”
Smoke catches on the wind and I can already feel the dread in my veins. “No. No NO!”
I dash through the door, dread pumping through my body every second. Smoke rolls across the ceiling and I can feel Miles hot on my heels. Strong hands clamp over my shoulders and he moves me, heading in the direction most people run from in a blur of action.
“Fire extinguisher?”
“Two large ones. Back door,” I yell, pointing.
“Take the phone outside and call the station. Hurry!”
I don’t think twice and punch in the number. Five minutes later—small town living!—a red engine roars to a stop outside my place. Five minutes may not seem like a lot of time, but flames can eat a lot of wood in that time. I know because my parents lost my childhood home a few years back.
I worry my hands together and pace the sidewalk in front of my bakery. Maybe I need to go in. Check to see if he needs help.
Before I can, firefighters storm past me. “He’s still in there.” And the amount of smoke hasn’t dropped. His team rushes in, but I can see through the window Miles signal the hose isn’t necessary.
“Thank God.”
***
Miles
Two years of trying to get my life in order again and when I finally do this sassy, flirty little brunette with purple tips barrels through all my good senses.
The killer… she has no idea just how damn beautiful she is.
Before the peace of Cherry Falls I lived for the adrenaline rush of being a beat cop and then undercover cop working to take down narcotic rings. Lies, death, and dope are all that surrounded me. Having friends got you killed so I moved through the dark underbellies of big cities alone. Forget seeking out lovers or girlfriends; those landed you a six sided-box under a mound of dirt even faster.
When a takedown went south, my identity fell into the wrong hands, forcing me to drawer my badge. So I returned to Cherry Falls—the town I finally landed in with a stroke of good luck as a kid when I had no family or home.
After years of constant stress, getting back to my teenage roots was a welcomed change since I always liked the idea of breathing.
I floundered for a while until my foster parents’ bakery caught fire and I discovered a new way to help people. A couple of years later I’m standing in the same spot, same bakery but this time as the fire chief.
I signal for an anxious Bela pacing the sideway to come inside. “It’s all right, boys—I’ve got it from here.”
Duke Miller, a fellow fireman and good friend, angles his head my way from the front door.
“And upstairs?”
“It’s damaged for sure. It got hot and fast. We’ll need to check out the floor upstairs, but the flames are out. Send a couple of men to the second level and report back what they find.”
“Yes, sir. You got it.”
When on the job, it’s all business and regulation and Duke follows them to the letter. We save the friendship for after hours.
Alone now, Bela walks in, the door automatically snicking closed behind her. It’s just the two of us.
She slowly treads closer until she’s finally standing beside me, nose scrunched. “It smells like burned cookies and plastic.” Those thick black lashes raise to meet mine and I can feel her barely holding on. Her bottom lip trembles and she works the dangly fringes of her tank top through her fingers.
“That would be whatever was in the oven, and some plastic molds, I think. You might’ve had them stored too close.” I hold my hand out, and she takes it. I don’t focus on how good it feels to have her palm graze against mine. Instead, I keep it on task where it belongs.
“You had some cardboard boxes stacked here.” I point to a low table almost next to the ovens. “Somehow the flame from the oven jumped to some packaging boxes and they caught fire, which fed the flames to burn through the flooring here. Lucky for you the brick walls helped reduce the amount of damage to this supporting wall. But the flooring above…” I point up. “We’ll need to see the damage. Either way. You can’t stay here until the wiring is checked. Make sure another fire doesn’t break out.”
Horror pulls her lips into a soul-crushing frown. “My apartment.”
My radio crackles to life with Duke’s voice. “Chief, checking over the damage up here.”
Beside me, Bela looks at me with a level of hope that kills me. It tore me up to learn my adoptive parents sold the bakery in the first place. But once I laid eyes on the new owner, the change didn’t seem to bother me so much.
“The floor is going to need replacing up here. It’s weak in some places. Some electrical on the East wall. Curtains and some cosmetical stuff. Nothing that can’t be fixed in a couple of weeks. One if you have someone good.” I look up and see him standing above us through the burned flooring.
Tears rim her eyes and damn it, I want to pull her into my arms. How the hell do I do that and not kiss her?
“Ok, I’ll take it from here. See you back at the station. When you get back, call in the electrician so they can do a thorough check as soon as possible. Doesn’t hurt to get a second pair of eyes.”
The one person to bring light to my days is hurting and I don’t know what to do.
The dark days of working undercover linger like a black stain on my soul, but Bela is a ray of sunshine with her brilliant smile, kindness, and generous soul. She’s soft and tender, whereas life hardened me from the cradle.
But when I see Bela, her light chases away the darkness. How can I do the same for her?
Wanting to do what it takes to see her smile return is where the danger lies. She’s the exact opposite of me in every way possible and doesn’t deserve the pain I see in her eyes.
Covered in soot, smelling like smoke, and probably wearing as much flame retardant as the walks do, I pull her into my arms and tuck her beneath my chin.
She doesn’t seem to mind. Her sweet, ample curves mold against my body. “Don’t cry, woman, please don’t cry.”
“I don’t mean to. I’m sorry.” I can feel her lips moving against my chest as she speaks. Her hair is thick in my hands and over the smell of smoke, I catch hints of her shampoo. Coconut and cherry blossoms. The erotic combination and just finally having her in my arms sends blood shooting straight to my cock.
Christ, this woman makes me mad with lust. A rash of bad ideas filter through my mind.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“My apron. That has to be it. I tossed it behind me and ran out the front door after the dog.” Those beautiful eyes of hers fade from sight when her lashes lower. “This is all my fault.”
I tip her head back with a finger beneath her chin. “Look at me.”
When she does I stop thinking and follow those bad ideas down a sweet road of gratification.
My lips are on hers and I’m backing her up until we bump into something. Arms come around my neck. I slide my hands under her panties and take her silky-smooth ass in the palms of my rough hands. Our kiss turns scorching. She is blissfully unaware of how much I thirst to have her heat wrapped around my cock, crave to have her sucking it deep inside her sweet body and riding me hard.
My tongue strokes over hers and she moans into my mouth with a tiny whimper.
I don’t know what has come over me but I can’t stop. Don’t want to stop. Never in my life did I enjoy a doughnut. They are not my thing. But I find I can’t get enough now. I hold back, force myself to only visit her shop on Sundays when I know I can steal a few minutes of her for myself.
I tug the top over her head and she gasps but doesn’t stop me. Her hands are on me, tugging at my belt buckle.
With her legs wrapped around me and the wall at her back, I pop the clasp to her bra and say a prayer of gratitude when her ample breasts spill out. Pink nipples jut out, both hard and ready for my mouth.
I kiss her fiercely and she gives as good as she is getting. I loop my fingers in the band of her panties, tugging gently. She gasps into my mouth, and I swallow the sweetness. I stroke a finger of her slit to find her pussy dripping wet and juicy.
“Christ, woman, tell me to stop. I’m no good for you. Push me away. Tell me to leave or I’m going to sink balls deep into your pussy right now.”
Her eyes meet mine. No tears, thank God. Just pure, raw lust stares back at me.
