Chapter 6

I lay in bed that night, tossing and turning. Codsworth had gotten irritated and opted for the sofa because of it. I didn’t blame him. Thoughts of Gabe had driven me to distraction.

“Come on,” I whispered. “This is ridiculous.”

I pummeled the pillow with both fists, folded my hands across my chest and closed my eyes.

There was smoke again, enfolding me in its grey haze. The kitchen was filled with it. The flames crackled and I gasped for air, then choked on the foul, thick smog. It tasted burnt, like death or worse.

Darkness filled my vision and I dropped to the floor.

This didn’t feel right. There was a fire in the bakery again. Again? Had there been a fire before?

“Help,” I croaked, clawing at the grout between the tiles with my ragged fingernails, dragging myself away from the flames. They danced after me, growing and spitting embers threatening to consume me.

Had to get away before they took me.

Had to get out of this kitchen.

The doorjamb was two feet away. If I could just reach it … I stretched my fingers, grasping desperately, but … nothing. The exit wasn’t two feet away after all, it was ten feet away, and the fire licked at my heels.

“Please, help me,” I cried, tears stinging my skin like acid. “Please.”

“I’m here, don’t worry,” a man spoke in my ear, then gathered me in his arms and lifted me high above the flames. “I won’t let you get hurt. Is there anyone else in here?”

“No,” I murmured as I squeezed my eyes shut tight and rested my head against his hard chest. He smelled of woodsy cologne and smoke.

He carried me through the kitchen, the front of the bakery and into the street outside. But instead of ambulances and firetrucks, the street was empty, coated in a blanket of thick snow. He sat me down in it, but it didn’t hurt my bare feet.

I clutched at my bare arms, rubbing them. They weren’t cold either.

The fireman stood before me, except he was different. He smelled right, but he didn’t wear the uniform. He had on a quilted black jacket and a white cotton t-shirt.

He stepped towards me, hands tucked into his pockets.

“Gabe,” I murmured.

“Allegra.” He raised a finger and trailed it down my cheekbone. “I’ve been looking for you. Where were you today?”

“Huh?” I’d been at the bakery as usual. What was he talking about?

Gabe slid one hand down the side of my neck and rested it on my shoulder, with his thumb on my throat. “You must be freezing.”

Now I was. The snow made my toes icy, my skin prickling with goosebumps. But inside was scorching heat. Fire.

“Let me keep you warm,” he said, then wrapped me in those strong arms.

I slid my hands up his chest, feeling the hard body beneath, the solid pecs poking at the fabric. “Oh God,” I whispered. “You’re so perfect.”

I reached up and brushed my fingertips along his lips. He caught one and sucked it lightly into his mouth, sending waves of pleasure through my very being. Like I’d never been touched. Until this moment. Until this man.

“Make love to me,” I said.

He moved like he’d waited an eternity for me to say it. He covered me on the bed of snow, so slowly the ache became unbearable. Equally slowly, he stripped off my nightie. I wore nothing but a thong underneath. Lacy. Black.

Gabe hooked his finger underneath the fabric and stroked the smooth skin below it. “Are you ready for me?”

“Yes,” I murmured as I arched my back and dug my fingernails into the frozen ground below. My nipples were pebbled and I was wet for him. So wet, the slick heat radiated off my body like breath on a frosty day. He’d barely touched me, but I was on fire. I needed him inside me. To fill me. Like I would never feel complete until he did.

He stripped off his shirt methodically, slowly revealing the chiseled body underneath. I stared at it, at him. Words gone. Desire ripping through my very soul. I moaned, low and long.

He took off his belt, undid the top button of his jeans and slid them down to his ankles.

Then he lay down on top of me, his erection pressing against my thong, demanding.

I moaned again, aching to have him. “Please, I need you now. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He kissed me, a drugging kiss more potent than heroin and my world shattered into a million pieces. He forced his tongue into my mouth and tasted me. Taking. His pleasure and turning it into mine as well.

I grabbed his back, digging my fingers into his flesh and gripping him to me, my bare breasts rubbing against his chest. I couldn’t get close enough.

He hadn’t even entered me yet and I was already close to the edge. Writhing against him, rubbing my clit against him straight through the lace barrier between us.

“You’re mine,” he said into my mouth then sucked my bottom lip.

“Yes,” I whispered.

My eyes flew open and I sat up, clutching my fevered fingers at the oversized t-shirt I’d worn to bed. I glanced around the room. Searching. For something to ease the ache, fill the hole.

For him.

“Just a dream,” I chastised out loud into the silent room. I slumped back against my pillows and sighed. “Just a dream.” This was insane. I had to get this guy out of my mind. He’d consumed my thoughts and now I couldn’t even rest without him intruding.

I rolled onto my side and stared at the alarm clock on my bedside table. It was one of the old school ones, with the bell on the side and a white clock face. I’d picked it up in an antique shop on the way to Treasure Island one day. The black hands pointed to the twelve and four.

“Shit,” I whispered. I’d have to be up in like an hour, and I’d hardly gotten any sleep at all. I closed my eyes and drifted off again. Gabe waited for me on the other side.