Chapter Four
Greer ran her finger around the rim of her beer glass. It was her second. Somehow, she’d managed to down almost the whole thing, and she hated beer. Score was getting busier by the minute as people flocked in for after-work drinks.
Luke observed her between small swigs from his beer bottle, but she didn’t meet his eyes. The skin on her arms was covered with a fine layer of dust that refused to wipe off. The same clung to her face and hair. They’d been close enough to the collapse to get covered from the dust clouds, but too far away to help that man. If she hadn’t listened…
If she’d just hurried to the truck and grabbed the man out…
Damn it. She took a small drink. There wouldn’t have been time to get him out, nor would she have had the strength to yank him out and drag him to safety. Without a partner, there wasn’t much she could have done. He’d been right to hold her back. Still, it burned her that they’d been that close to helping, and instead, done nothing.
Nothing but protect themselves. God, why did she feel so fucking flustered? Her emotions were all over the place, and for once in her life, alcohol wasn’t tempering her nerves. The entire thing kept replaying in her mind, and she couldn’t shut it down.
“Greer.” He’d set down his glass; his brow was deeply furrowed.
“What?”
“I called your name four times.”
His lips looked so tantalizing when he spoke, parting just enough to give a flash of his perfect teeth. He’d always had such a rugged face, strong and angled, like a too-pretty lumberjack.
“Oh.”
“Talk to me, Lucky. It’s my job to take care of you, to make sure you’re okay. I need to know what’s going on in your head.”
“Luke Almeda,” she quipped. “Always my knight in shining armor, huh?” She didn’t mean it to come out as condescending as it did.
“I’m serious. I’m your mentor and your friend. I don’t want to see you hurting if I can help it.”
She looked at her beer and shrugged. She couldn’t be sure what might come out of her mouth, so she’d been quiet. The anger burning in her gut wasn’t his fault, but her mind kept straying to the fact that he’d stopped her from helping the victim, even though it was for her safety. She knew this. Her heart knew it, but she was just so…angry.
“Look,” he continued. “Chief wants us to come in tomorrow before shift to talk about it. We have paperwork to fill out.”
He could fill out all the paperwork he wanted. She wasn’t going. Their chief had already approached them on scene once the fire department had shown up, to get the scoop on what had happened. Luke had done all the talking. She couldn’t seem to look away from the truck buried beneath thousands of pounds of bricks.
Her pulse ticked up in a reminder that she was strung tight. The jittery, nervous sensation going through every inch of her was tiring, but she couldn’t seem to make it stop. Adrenaline was still zinging through her, she supposed. Honestly, that was about as near death as she’d ever been herself. If she had gone over to the truck, she would have been buried, too.
She started to take another drink but paused to peruse the masculine lines of Luke’s neck. His skin was smooth and tanned, the ends of his hair curling slightly around his ears. He turned to her as if she’d called his name. The question in his eyes turned into an unmistakable heat—one she remembered from a long time ago. A memory of Luke slowly unbuttoning her shirt flashed in her mind’s eye. He’d been so gentle that night, the tips of his fingers brushing her skin as he’d released each button.
That evening before she’d left for college came back with perfect clarity—the way he’d laid her down and slowly, slowly slipped off her jeans.
She gave herself a mental shake. This was uncharacteristic and dangerous. She’d made peace with her unfulfilled longing for her best friend years ago. So why was her body on fire right now?
He reached across the table and took her hands. “I’m worried about you.”
The warmth of his touch went straight through her. If she closed her eyes, she’d lose herself in the sensations he was drawing over her skin.
“I’m just a little shaken up.”
In more ways than one. His hands slid up and down her wrists. His touch was so innocent…or was it? He glanced at her mouth, once, twice, each pass causing tension through her entire body. She started to bounce her left leg, needing some way to release the fidgety, jittery sensation inside that worsened by the second. She had to get out of here, take a walk or something. Climb a mountain, run the Iron Man. Something.
He tilted his head and drew her hands closer to him. “We need to take your mind off it.”
All the breath squeezed out of her, all the aching in her body pooling between her legs. Pulling one hand free of his grip, Greer huffed an awkward laugh.
“Epic sex would work.” Her face heated. Oh God. She couldn’t even blame that on the beer.
His head jerked in a double take. “I was thinking a game of pool.”
A grin pulled one side of his mouth, and there it was, that damn luscious heat in his eyes again. Who knew what might fly out of her mouth if she continued to sit here, losing herself in that damn look on his face. Scooting out of the booth, she waved him off as he frowned and started to follow. She had to get out of here and have a few moments alone before whatever this was inside her ate her alive.
“Greer—”
“Ladies’ room.” She pointed in that direction, not looking at him again as she hurried that way. The narrow hallway to the restrooms was empty as she darted into the low-lit space and paused in the hallway. What the hell was wrong with her?
EMS was hard. She’d always known that. Yes, she was a newbie, and it would probably take years to feel even somewhat comfortable in this gig. But the death she’d witnessed today shouldn’t have her so torn up inside. Luke would say her reaction meant she was a good human. To be able to feel pain over a stranger and all that.
The mess of emotions inside her had turned somehow away from the accident…to Luke. Every day it was getting harder to hide what she felt for him. What she’d always felt for him. She hadn’t come to his fire station with the illusion that something would finally happen between them. Having her best friend back in her life was all she needed. Now that she was with him every damn day, smelling his sexy cologne in every room of the station, running into his killer smile at every turn, she did want more.
It hit her hard. But she wanted him in all the sexy ways she’d always dreamt of. He was her off-limits best friend, as well as her professional mentor, and all she could think about was his weight on top of her, his hands tracing the lines of her naked body.
“Greer.”
“Christ!” Her heart flipped. Running a hand through her hair, she pressed her back against the hallway wall. He should have given her more time alone, more time to calm the storm inside and get her mind out of the gutter. Each step he took to reach her side only made the desire worse. He was still wearing a scowl as he approached and pressed one big hand against the wall beside her head, trapping her with a nicely muscled arm.
What was he doing?
He leaned in so their chests almost touched, so close that the warmth of his body washed over hers. The pulse on the side of his neck bounded rapidly, each of his breaths measured as if he were trying to calm himself. Pressing her palms against the wall was the only thing she could think of to keep from touching him.
He dipped his head, his voice low and stern. “I meant it when I said we need to take your mind off this. I don’t like how this is affecting you. I know it’s hard, and I don’t want to see this tear you up.”
His T-shirt stretched across his chest, accentuating the curve of his pecs and the lean muscle over his ribs and abdomen. “I can take you to talk it out with Chief, or we can head over to Hampton General and find one of the docs. Or…”
She pressed hard against the wall, struggling to keep her hands to herself. She wanted to trace the neckline of his T-shirt and feel the silk of his skin beneath her fingertip, wanted to run her hands over that spectacular body and dig her nails into his supple flesh.
And she was dying to know what he’d left out on that last sentence.
Her mouth was so dry she could barely speak. “Or?”
He clenched his jaw as if he was warring with himself. Squaring his body to hers, he braced his other hand against the wall, completely boxing her in. Her middle tensed in anticipation. How many times had she dreamed about him pushing her into a wall and taking control of her body?
“Luke. Or?”
“Fuck it.”
He gripped her chin in one hand and pulled her to him as his lips crashed down on hers. She moaned as his warm, wet lips pressed deeply into hers. Her hands slid around his neck, anchoring herself to his body as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept along hers, drawing little shocks along her skin and making her feel weightless.
She snaked her left leg along his, hooked his calf, and pulled. His hips leaned into her in response, his abdomen nearly pressing into hers when he stopped. He pulled back to look down at her, his chest heaving in time with hers.
Her lips felt bereft and empty. The reality of him here, right now, with the exact closeness and lust she wanted, was surreal. They’d been in this position once before, wrapped up in need and kisses and hot touches that left them both wanting. He’d walked away then, and she couldn’t let him repeat it. She’d combust like an atom bomb if he did.
Grabbing his hand, she pulled his palm down over her neck and chest, pressing him against her breast. Heat flooded her in every direction as her nipple peaked beneath his touch. Luke’s eyes darkened, his fingers gently closing over her softness. A well of boldness bubbled up in her, followed by a tender, deep ache from the fear that he’d push away from the wall and walk—even as the desire in his eyes belied her worries. If he wanted this, even a little, she was going to give it to him. Placing her hand over his, she arched her back, pressing herself more firmly into his touch.
“Please, I want your hands on me.”
Maybe it was stress from today. Maybe it was all the pent-up lust she’d carried around for Luke since she was fifteen. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that the fire he’d started in her body was out of control and she needed him—craved him—to do something about it.
A sexy, deep groan rumbled from his throat. That was it. No more good girl. She stepped into him. Pressing one finger between his pecs, she placed a teasing kiss on his perfect lips. He’d always been so careful with her. She was just the kid next door. The awkward girl with a crush on an older boy. He didn’t know the naughty, dirty woman he made her want to be.
“I want to feel your hands all over my body while you fuck me.”
A rush of breath escaped him, his eyes going wide. “Jesus Christ.”
Emboldened by his reaction, she ran her palm over his chest. He smelled like pure golden man as she nuzzled her lips alongside his neck. His hand tightened around her breast, an erotic embrace just firm enough that she felt the pressure between her legs.
He snaked his other hand behind her and cupped her head, threading his fingers into her hair and holding on. “Do you need to de-stress, Greer?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to make you feel better?”
“Fuck, yes.”
His voice dropped heavy. “You want me to be your therapist?”
“My therapist…” She traced the waist of his jeans and followed the seam of his zipper. A warm bulge met her touch. A little moan escaped her, her fingers itching to find out just how big that bulge was. Every inch of her skin warmed as an insistent desire unlocked in her. There’d be no holding back and missing the chance to find out how amazing Luke could make her feel.
“You never know, Lucas. I might surprise you with my therapy skills.”
Pulling her arms above her head, he pinned her that way, all stretched out for him. Her breasts heaved as she struggled against the demanding ache between her legs.
“I should have fucked you years ago,” he growled. Dipping his head to her chest, he burned a kiss inside the V-neck of her shirt. “I never should have let you go back then. I’m not making that mistake tonight.”
Pressure started behind her eyes. If he only knew how much she’d longed for this moment. Why now, when she was an emotional mess? Maybe because she’d never needed him like this before. His lips grazed the side of her neck with the barest touch.
“I’ll give you one night, baby. Just one for both of us to feel better.”
She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth back to her skin. Her mind was swimming, and while she knew what he was saying, she was too muddled to ponder it much. They shouldn’t be doing this. It was against the rules of friendship, of work. Nothing ever came from sex between friends except heartache and regret. Her heart already carried the weight of unspoken feelings accumulated over years of being his friend while secretly wanting something more.
One night? Just one, to pull him into the ache, to let him soothe her soul? There’s no way she could refuse.
“Yes, please.”
He pulled away but held her arm to steady her. “You have two seconds to change your mind.”
She gave a small boneless shake of her head. “Never.”
A faint smile crossed his lips. “Then get in the truck.” He guided her out of the hallway and back into the bar. Score was packed now, forcing them to push their way to the exit. He put some space between them, likely to avoid questions if someone they knew spotted them. This was risky for so many reasons. But she was tired of tiptoeing just outside the edges of the box she’d been living in most of her life. Risk or not, she was going to sidestep that damn box as far as she could.
She wasn’t going to worry about the reasons they shouldn’t be doing this. She wasn’t going to worry about anything, as long as this night ended up with her in Luke’s bed.