When I’m done chewing my brother a new asshole, I head upstairs to my bedroom and find Ella dressed in the same filthy clothes from the fire. Shit! She has no idea what’s going on, or why, but I can’t tell her. One night of amazing sex isn’t going to make me spill my guts to someone. She already has enough on her plate without adding my issues.

“Are you leaving?” I ask.

“I don’t belong here. I really appreciate everything you’d done for me.” She drops her gaze to the floor. “I don’t mean the sex, I mean letting me stay with you last night.”

“Hey.” I grab her hand. “I don’t want you to go. I talked to my brother, and you’re welcome here for as long as you need to stay.”

“Are you sure? He sounded pissed off, and I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“I’m sure. Let me at least wash your clothes before you leave. Or, better yet, let me take you shopping to get new clothes.”

“I don’t have any money. All I have is my phone.”

“My treat.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to. Let me help you.”

“Who’s Penny?”

I release her hand. I rub the knot forming on my forehead.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s not around anymore.”

“Is she your ex? Did your brother have something to do with her leaving you? It that why you’re so skittish?”

“She didn’t leave me,” I snap. When Ella takes a step back, I soften my tone. “She died.”

“I’m so sorry.” Her hand covers her lips.

The impulse to kiss her rises up. I don’t ignore it. I can’t. As I pull her into my arms, her eyes go wide.

“I need to kiss you again,” I whisper in a husky tone.

When she nods slightly, I delve in to claim her mouth. Any hint of softness is gone the instant we touch. There’s an undercurrent of desperation in the way I force her lips open with my tongue. She groans and slides her fingers into my hair. She tugs my head back and spreads heated kisses down my throat.

“I’ll stay if you want me to,” she murmurs against my racing pulse.

“I want you.”

I don’t give a flying fuck that my brother’s downstairs. I stalk to the bedroom door and slam it closed. Fuck him. He thinks he’s trying to help me by stopping me from rescuing things—people, animals, whatever—but he’s wrong. I need to do this. I need to keep Ella safe. If I can just save one person, maybe I can save myself.

She meets me halfway, throwing herself into my arms. The acrid scent of stale smoke fills my nostrils. They flare in protest.

“Let’s get these off you so I can wash them.”

“Let’s burn them. I’ll never wear them again anyway. Tear them off me.”

A sharp blast of desire rockets through my cock. I’m semi-hard as my hands grasp the collar of her T-shirt. I tear it open, exposing the sweet curve of her breasts. I roughly grab her bra and drag the cups down to expose her smooth flesh. Her nipples peak, desperate for attention. I lavish them with sultry kisses.

The swift rise and fall of her chest almost matches my own. I back her toward the bed, pulling what’s left of her shirt off. I unclip the bra and yank it free. It joins the heap of clothes on the floor.

Her eyes meet mine. A ferocious need blazes in her darkened pupils. I’m equally needy and desperate to be inside her.

I unbutton her jeans and yank them to the floor. She kicks them off. She’s trembling as she reaches to tear off my shirt. Thankfully, it’s only an undershirt. I have plenty more. But I’m limited on work pants, so I shuck those without her help.

Naked. Pressed chest to chest, she draws me toward the bed. I push her back onto it, carefully judging to make sure she wants it as rough as I can give it to her.

To my utter shock, she rolls onto her knees. The sight stops my heart. The swell of her pink pussy lips wink between her legs. From between her thighs, pert nipples brush the sheets.

“Fuck me,” she challenges.

My fingers fumble to open the drawer on my nightstand. I don’t know how the fuck I manage to get the condom on, but I do. She’s wet to the touch and ready.

I grab her hips and position the head of my cock at her moist entrance. She backs into me, taking just the tip, then I drive home, filling her with every inch of my dick.

A growl erupts from deep inside my chest. I want to devour her body but settle on dragging my teeth across her shoulder. I sweep her long blonde locks into my palm and pull her back until she’s kneeling with her ass against my belly.

Still balls-deep, I grasp her breasts in my hands. My fingers pinch and tug at her hard nipples. She’s taking every thrust and pounding back at me as if challenging me to fuck her even harder.

She’s turning me into a beast, opening up a space in which I can release all of my pent-up frustration and anger. She’s trying to exorcise her own demons in this frantic coupling. No woman fucks like this without wanting something. I just hope I can give it to her.

Overwhelmed by the tightness of her pussy, I push her back onto all fours. She turns and gives me a salacious grin.

“Harder,” she challenges.

“Oh, fuck.”

I drill her with lightning fast thrusts. Tension swirls at the base of my spine. My cock’s ready to bust. My balls are heavy with the need to pour every ounce of my desire into her. I’m desperate to find my release, but hers will always come first.

Her clit is wet against my fingers. I stroke the little nub until Ella’s bucking beneath me. She’s grinding her pussy and whirling it. It’s the best rough fuck I’ve ever had. Ever.

I can’t hold back much longer, so I vibrate my thumb across her clit. She screams. Her pussy clenches and pulls at my cock as she comes. The sensation’s too much. I hurl over the precipice to join her in a sea of ecstasy.

I collapse, shoving her into the bed. She starts giggling. I’m too spent to do anything but roll onto my side. I pull the rubber off and toss it into the small trashcan by my bed. I’ll take it out when I get rid of her clothes.

She’s still chuckling as she flops onto her back.

“What?” I ask, breathlessly.

“That was so fucking hot.”

“You’re goddamn right it was.” I hook an arm around her waist and drag her closer.

“I needed that.”

“Me too. Fuck, it’s been too long.”

“It’s only been a few hours.” She grins and traces circles around my nipples with her nail. I grab her hand and hold it still. I’m sensitive as hell after I come.

“Before last night, it’s been years,” I confess. “I haven’t felt this good in a long, long time.”

“Me either. My ex never made me come.”

“Ever?” I cock my head to one side.

“Not once.”

“How long were you together?” I can’t help the skepticism in my tone.

“Truthfully? I’ve never been with anyone who could make me come.”

“That’s sad.”

“Seriously.” She nods.

“I’m glad I could do that for you.” I lean down and place a gentle kiss on her lips.

“You’re doing so much for me, and you don’t even know me.”

“Tell me more about your past. Tell me more about you.” I snuggle against her and rest my hand on the curve of her hip.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to be a princess. I thought that was a legitimate career.”

“Some people think it is. A lot of little girls want to grow up and become princesses, and every once in a while, it actually happens. Like that actress who married a prince.”

“Which one?”

“There’s been more than one?”

“At least two that I know of,” she says.

“I don’t normally read those gossip tabloids, but if the news is big enough, you hear it everywhere.”

“I only read them when I’m in line at the grocery store.”

I smile and stroke her hip. This is great, talking about nothing important. I’m so used to everything being a big, stressful conversation. It’s shocking how many people who—in the midst of having an actual heart attack—refuse to get in the damn ambulance. I’m skeptical that there are any sane people left on this planet.

“Do you like to read anything, other than tabloids?” she asks.

“Mostly non-fiction. History and some science books. I also study up on the latest firefighting techniques. Although the department stays up to date as much as possible, we have limited resources, so we don’t get a lot of extra training. For specialized incidents, I want to know the best way to approach the fire.”

“Isn’t it all fire though?” Her palm flattens on my chest. I lace my fingers through hers, then draw her up so I can kiss her knuckles.

“Depending on the fuel, we might use water or foam to put it out. We might just let it burn.”

“Like you did with my house.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t save it.”

“You saved me. That’s all that mattered. The rest was just stuff. Most of it crap I didn’t need anyway. I hadn’t lived there very long, so I didn’t have anything sentimental with me. My mom still has my old photo albums and high school yearbooks.”

“You still have yours?”

“Don’t you?” she counters.

“I got rid of it.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say high school wasn’t the best time of my life.”

“A hottie like you should have had a blast in high school.” She flicks my nipple. “I don’t believe you.”

“I was a good sixty to seventy pounds heavier.”

“Really?” Her gaze strays to my belly. I suck it in, even though there’s nothing to hide. Not anymore.

“The kids were merciless little shits. They’d torment me, which only made me eat more. I didn’t lose the weight until college.”

“Where did you go?”

“UT Austin. I tried to study business, but it never took. I quit to lay concrete instead. Depending on the job, it was good money.”

“There’s nothing wrong with blue collar work. It’s good, honest work.”

“Did you have a job when you were married?” I try to pepper in the questions instead of going straight to an interrogation of her marriage.

“No. He wouldn’t let me have one. He said,” her voice drops to a low, grumpy tone, “women were born to cook and make babies. Ultimately, I failed on both accounts.”

“How so?” I stroke the silky hair trailing down her back.

“I couldn’t get pregnant. We tried. I thought I was pregnant twice, but it turned out I wasn’t. He’d get so angry when I got my period.”

“What an asshole. It’s not all your responsibility. It’s fifty percent his.”

“I know. He didn’t get it.”

“The more you tell me about him, the more I hate this guy. I can’t stand men who think women were put on this earth to do their bidding. A woman should be an equal partner, not a slave.”

“You’re preaching to the choir.”

“I’m sorry you had to endure that.”

“Five years. I’m so glad I finally got out of it.”

“It takes courage to leave a bad marriage, especially with an abusive partner.”

“He didn’t hit me until year three. I was so embarrassed and humiliated that I lied to the emergency room doctor.”

“It’s more common than you think,” I say. “I’ve seen it firsthand more times than I can count.”

“You can’t force someone to get help. That’s the frustrating part. I lost a lot of friends because I couldn’t ask for help. My pride got in the way.”

“I’m glad you’re free of him.” I kiss her softly.

“Not yet.” She pulls away, a shadow passes over her face. “Not until he’s caught.”

“I’ll go talk to Jeff and have him check in with the crime lab. It’s only been a day though, so don’t get too hopeful.”

“I don’t have any hope left, so no worries there.”

“Ella…” Her admission breaks my heart. I was there once myself. I’d lost all hope in moving on after I’d lost Penny, but it’s been three years. Maybe it’s time to move on. For the first time in years, I was happy to come home from work—because of Ella.

I know I shouldn’t let my heart get drawn into the drama that is her life, but I can’t help it. I couldn’t save Penny, but I can try to save Ella. It’s more than just a way to assuage my guilt. I’m starting to care for this woman. She’s the first one who has touched my heart this deeply. I just hope she doesn’t break it when all of this is over.