“Want to grab a beer over at Zeke’s Joint? We’re all too wound up to go right to bed.” Scott stood with the other guys who’d just finished another shift, staring at me. Pleading with me.

Any other time I would have been down to knock back a few and hang out with the guys, but today I had plans that started with making mad passionate love to my wife and ended with less exciting endeavors.

“Can’t, have to go prepare for my mom’s visit.” They groaned in unison but I ignored them. “I’m looking forward to seeing her, it’s been more than a year if you don’t include video chats.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t married then, or you didn’t know you were,” Cody was the youngest of Belle Musique’s Fire Department members, but I was starting think he was more mature than the rest of us combined. “Now she’s going to be dropping hints about grandchildren like bombs.”

“She doesn’t need to be here to ask when I’m going to make her a grandmother.” By the time Mags and I returned from New Orleans my mom had left ten messages. “I just told her we were trying really hard to make it happen.”

A round of laughter exploded from the group and we parted ways, the guys hopped in one truck and headed to Zeke’s restaurant while I jumped in my truck and drove home. The shift was mostly boring with us guys sitting around playing cards, cleaning the rig and yeah, fishing a few kittens from trees. It was, apparently, the life of a small town fire department. I didn’t mind though, because while the rush of fighting fires was incredible, the damage was heartbreaking, and I’d hate to see the people in this community know that pain.

More than anything, I was tired and ready to crawl into bed where I could, hopefully, convince Magenta to join me for a few hours. Then I would clean whatever she hadn’t before Mom arrived, all while getting at least four hours of sleep.

The first thing that hit me when I stepped inside was the scent of bacon, wood smoked if I wasn’t mistaken. The second was laughter, Magenta’s mixed with another woman’s, but it didn’t sound like Trish or Vivi or Maddie.

“He’s always been far too handsome for his own good,” the voice said and my feet were on the move, to the kitchen where I found my wife and my mother laughing like old friends over a nearly empty pitcher of margaritas.

“Mom? You’re early.”

“Nothing gets by you, sweetie.” She cut a knowing look over at Magenta and they both burst out laughing. “Come on, give me a big hug.”

“I need to shower first, Mom. I thought I’d have some time before you got here.” For more than just a shower, but like I told the guys, I hadn’t seen her in more than a year because the fires had been coming more frequently, and they got bigger every year.

“Take a nap if you need to, honey. Magenta has kept me plenty entertained.”

I looked at Mags to see if she showed signs of strain, but her eyes burned with mischief. “She’s not scaring you off, is she?”

“Not when she’s got naked photos of you,” she shot back, her lips curling up at the corners.

Naked photos? “Mom, you didn’t.”

“Of course I did. I wanted to show her how cute you were as a baby, so she wouldn’t worry about having ugly offspring with you.”

“Mom!” Wasn’t there a rule that there was no such thing as an ugly baby? I was pretty sure it was invented by a mom too.

“What? It’s true.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Darlene all about the ways we’re practicing making her a grandmother.” She patted my chest and gave me a gentle shove out the kitchen, her lips twitching with laughter.

“Don’t you even think about it,” I told her through clenched teeth but she only laughed harder.

“I won’t tell her about the time on the kitchen table,” she whispered.

“You better not,” I told her and slammed my mouth against hers, quickly slipping my tongue between the seam of her lips and lit a dozen tiny fires before I pulled back. “Or else.”

She arched a brow as she took a step back. “Or else? You have five minutes to shower and get back down here…or else I’m going to eat your portion of the bacon and broccoli mac & cheese.”

That was my favorite, and the smirk on her face said she knew that. “Don’t play with me, Mags.”

She grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I turned and headed towards the shower, the sound of Magenta’s husky laughter following me until it disappeared. It took me ten minutes to shower, shave and get dressed and I was happy to see they hadn’t started eating without me.

“Aww, you waited.”

Magenta rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t me. Darlene insisted.” The way she pointed her thumb at my mom like they were already old friends sent a shot of warmth through my blood.

I turned to Mom with a smile. “You look great, Mom.” She stood but I pulled her into my arms before she was on her feet, squeezing hard because it was so good to see her. “God, I missed you.”

“Not more than I missed you, my sweet boy.” She kissed my cheek and gave me that mom squeeze that always made me feel like a ten year old boy. “You’re bigger every time I see you.”

“Fighting fires is tough business.”

“I know, but at least you’re not out in the middle of the wild surrounded by fire anymore. At least now I can sleep through the night, and I only go through half a pack of antacids a day.” Her lip wobbled and ruined the casual effect she was going for.

I pulled her in for a longer, tighter hug. “Mom, I’m fine. I swear.” I knew she worried about me, but I didn’t realize she’d been so twisted up about it. “I’m right here. Married and everything.”

Magenta glared at me, which for some reason made me laugh. “I’m eating now,” she said at the same time she scooped a heap of the cheesy macaroni onto her plate. “I waited for the reunion and everything,” she said when Mom gave her ‘the look’.

“We ate sandwiches and chips earlier,” Mom insisted.

“I’m a growing girl. I need my calories,” she said, still adding food to her plate without pause. “I’d try to get some of this food before I eat it all if I were you, instead of worrying about how much I ate today.”

Mom shocked me by laughing. “You have a mouth on you.”

“Thanks, so do you.” With a cheeky grin, she dropped into her seat and poured a newly replenished pitcher of margaritas into all three glasses. “Cheers to mother and son reuniting and stuff.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Mom cupped her face gently. “You’re not as tough as you look, but you’re much tougher than you realize.”

“Bottoms up!” Magenta’s gaze flicked to mine, her look indecipherable before she buried her gaze in her glass.

“Later,” I mouthed to her, but otherwise I let her off the hook because there was broccoli and bacon mac & cheese, and I needed something to distract me from how great Magenta’s boobs looked in that white tank top. “How was the drive down, Mom?”

“It was nice. Harris kept me entertained for much of the drive and the scenery did the rest.” She rambled on, as she tended to do, telling me about some woman she met and fed along the way and the saxophonist who helped change a flat on her rental car. “Pretty memorable, I’d say.”

Dinner passed quickly, mostly because we were all so hungry that we scarfed it down mostly in silence. “Just as good as I remember, Mom. Thank you.”

“I’m happy to see you, honey but I am beat. Tomorrow I am all yours, but tonight I need my beauty sleep.” She stood and stretched her back and neck before dropping a kiss on my forehead. “Good night, Davis. Good night Magenta.”

“’Night, Darlene.” Magenta had another mouthful of pasta in her mouth, grinning up at my mom.

Mom narrowed her gaze and smiled before giving us a little wave. “Good night, kids.”

When I heard the door close I turned to Mags. “You and Mom seem to get along well.”

She shrugged. “She’s a weirdo, and I like her. The margaritas helped us over the awkwardness.”

It was more than that, but the blush that stained her cheeks said she wouldn’t appreciate me saying so, instead I leaned closer until I could see the gold lightning bolts in her eyes and pressed my mouth to hers. Her lips were always so soft and tasted faintly of strawberries, even now after such a savory meal she tasted sweet. Delicious. Irresistible. “Thank you for looking after my mom.”

She laughed against my mouth and traced my mouth with her tongue. “She doesn’t need looking after, but I do accept many forms of gratitude.” When Magenta licked her lips my cock swelled. She wore that look she did whenever she was down on her knees, looking up at me while she sucked me.

“Yeah?”

She nodded and slid around the table until I was in the chair beside her and she was in my lap, one hand playing in the hair along the nape of my neck. When she tilted her head back, I licked up the length of her neck. “Yes!” Her voice came out a low hiss.

“It’s been too long.”

She laughed. “It’s been two days.”

“It’s too damn long,” I told her between kisses along her neck, her collarbone and up her jawline. Nibbling her ear, suckling the lobe all while she moaned and ground against me, making he grow harder and harder between her thighs. In two seconds I had her shirt off and her tits in my hand, sucking on her hard pink nipples.

“Davis,” she moaned and arched into me, gripping my hair tighter as her pleasure increased.

I was too far gone to say anything but I was more than happy to show her how good she felt, tasted, with my mouth. The sounds she made, low and throaty, had my dick doing battle with my zipper. And losing.

Her hips dragged back and forth as she gripped my hair. “Davis. I want you. Now.”

My hands went to her ass and I stood, gripping her tight with only one thing on my mind. Getting someplace where I could lay her down and bury my cock inside the damp fire between her legs. “Say it again.”

“I want you.” Her lips spread into a wide grin and she leaned in, nibbling my chin and jaw, dragging her tongue up the length of my throat. “Now. Please.”

Once we were in the bedroom and the door was locked, I laid Magenta out on the bed and finished unwrapping her sexy little body. “You should be naked all the time.” My hands roamed every inch of smooth pale skin until she shivered, vibrated with desire.

“Davis,” she moaned.

“Look how wet you are.” I pushed her thighs apart with my hands and looked at her, pink and pulsing, glistening for be. “So wet and swollen.” I flicked my tongue out across her clit and she gasped, bucked off the bed.

“Please.” Her moans bounced around the walls, firing up my synapses and sending fire bursting through my veins. I licked and sucked her, loving the way she took control and rubbed herself back and forth against my tongue, before letting the orgasm take hold of her. “Oh, shit!”

That’s what I wanted to hear before I stepped off the bed and stripped down, settling myself between her thighs. “You’re so fucking wet, Mags.”

“Must be that magic tongue of yours.” She laughed and reached between us to grip me, guiding me deep inside her body with a long, satisfied sigh. “Davis, yes.”

Faster and faster we moved together, frantic with the desire to be closer, deeper, more one with each other. It was explosive and intense, her look hungry as she ate me up, her gaze sliding from my face down to where we were connected and I couldn’t take my gaze off her. She was fascinated, aroused and so close to pleasure, I could barely hold my own back. “Mags,” I groaned and gripped her tits as I pumped into her.

I couldn’t look away when she laid her hands over mine, both of us pleasing her tits while we chased down our orgasms, pulling them from the depths of our bodies until we both shook with pleasure. She sighed and ran her fingers through my hair, not seeming to give a damn that I was squishing her. “Is it me, or is it getting better?”

I laughed. “You noticed too?” It seemed unbelievable and I’d chalked it up to my growing feelings for Magenta, but damn, if it got any better it might become an addiction. Like it wasn’t already.

“Yeah, I thought…never mind.” She sucked in a few more breaths and shook her head. “Want to do it again?”

“Always.”

She gave me that soft smile that I was growing to love because she might not have known what it meant, but I did.

“You’re half asleep.” Magenta tried to roll me off her and with my help, she succeeded. “Get some sleep and recharge those batteries,” she brushed a kiss along my jaw and giggled softly. “You’re gonna need it.”

Her lips on my skin was the last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep.

“Did I scare Magenta off?”

Mom didn’t look at all concerned as she sat across from me at Zeke’s Joint for lunch. We’d spent most of the morning walking around town, not making it very far before we were stopped by someone who just had to meet my mother and tell her how grateful they are for my service. Mom ate it all up, loving the quirky small town vibe of Belle Musique.

“Not yet. I think she’s overwhelmed, but she likes you and that’s a plus. She had a few appointments she couldn’t reschedule, so she’s at the shop.”

“I can’t believe you’re dating an artist. My little boy was so obsessed with fire I was certain you’d end up setting buildings on fire for insurance money, and he ends up with an artist.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that, I’m surprised, in the best possible way. You round each other out nicely.” Mom sipped her spiked grapefruit juice, but those knowing eyes never left me. “Now what do you plan to do about it?”

I let out a long, somewhat frustrated breath. “I want to just tell her that I love her and ask her to stay, but I’m worried that’ll send her running even faster in the opposite direction.” I worried even more than my stubborn woman might realize her mistake, but her pride still might not bring her back to me. “I guess I’ll just wait until I can’t.”

“That’s no way to live, Davis. Not even for the right woman.”

It sounded like a long, miserable existence to me too, but I wasn’t ready to give up on Magenta and I wasn’t sure if I ever would. “What else should I do, Mom?”

“Let me tell you a story,” she began and because I’m a good son, I held in the groan at the prospect of one of her long, drawn out rambles. “I almost missed out on a really good thing with Harris because I was too dedicated to your father’s memory.”

I had a lot of questions, so I started with the most pressing. “Who the hell is Harris?”

“Harris is my companion, my lover. The second love of my life.” Mom was a beautiful woman, but when she talked about this Harris guy, she looked like a woman twenty years younger. “And I almost messed everything up because I didn’t want to admit that I had moved on, even though I clearly had moved on.”

“But you didn’t mess it up.” Clearly the guy was still around, so now my curiosity was piqued just like she knew it would be.

“Harris was patient with me, gave me a full year before he even complained about me making him go to the store when you and I were due for a chat, and I even refused to be with him and his children on the holidays.” She seemed sad about all the pain she’d put this man through, but I had one question.

“Just how long have you been seeing this guy?”

Mom rolled her eyes. “A few years now. You’d know that if you didn’t spend all of your time in the middle of wildfires. Now, do you want to know what worked for me and Harris or don’t you?”

“I do.” Any piece of advice that would help me keep Magenta here would be appreciated.

“He walked away. Told me to call him when I got around to missing him. I was mad at first, Davis. Fighting mad, and I cursed him up one way and down the other in my anger. Through the tears. And on the third day, I really and truly missed him. That’s when I started to see that my life wouldn’t be as good without him in it.” That sounded like a hell of a story, and it had me thinking that maybe I wanted to know more, even if I didn’t want to think about my mom dating. Anyone. Ever.

“So you’re saying I should walk away from Magenta?” That sounded like it would have the exact opposite effect I was hoping for. Magenta was too proud for her own good, and my plan could backfire.

“No, dummy.” She sipped her tea and took her sweet time looking around Zeke’s Joint, enjoying the décor and the people watching. “I’m saying you should try giving Magenta what she thinks she wants. She is a grown woman and let her see what life will be like if she gets what she wants.”

“And what if she loves being away from me?” Then I lose her all over again.

Mom shrugged. “If that happens then she isn’t your happy ending, Davis. But based on my conversations with her yesterday, I think she won’t even last three days without you. That girl is smitten, trust me.”

I did trust Mom but I couldn’t let myself hope too much. I was already too committed to a woman who couldn’t see what was right in front of her. Or maybe she could and she just wasn’t as on fire for me, for us, as I was. “Thanks for the advice, Mom.”

“But, butt out?”

“No, it’s a plan that could work and I’m just crazy and desperate enough to try it. But I need to think.” If it backfired I would lose Mags forever, and that was the opposite of what I wanted.

“Don’t think on it too long, son. Sometimes action is best in these situations. Just because you don’t get the answer you want doesn’t mean it’s the wrong answer.”

And now she was talking to me in yoga quotes. “Thanks, Mom.”

Her expression softened and she put a hand over mine. “For what it’s worth I think Magenta is deeply in love with you, but I also think that’s exactly what’s scaring her.”

That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “So I finally find a woman I want to spend my life with, and thought of loving me is so terrifying that it might be why I lose her? Why did I think settling down was a good idea?”

Mom laughed and leaned back in the booth, flagging down a waitress with her trademark grin. “Two beers please. Dark and strong,” she ordered and the waitress hurried off to do her bidding. “You’re looking at this all wrong, Davis. You know the problem which means you know how to fix it.”

Mom’s words were cryptic, and I didn’t want to hear more about giving Magenta what she wanted. What she thought she wanted was exactly the opposite of what I wanted, which put me in a tight position. “Dammit.”

“Welcome to love, son.”