Flash Point (2 page)

Grabbing his bag, Todd headed inside the house where his bed awaited him.

Chapter Two

Kate locked the door to her shop and checked her watch. Four thirty. That gave her an hour and a half to get ready for her not-a-date. Because no way was she letting herself think that this was anything but dinner with a friend.

She stuffed her keys back into her purse and turned away from her shop, nearly running smack into Walt.

“Oh.” She lifted her hands to stop herself from slamming into him, and her fingers brushed against his shoulders. Muscle and bone underneath his denim shirt registered, before she jerked away uncomfortably. “Walt, you crept up on me.”

“Sorry about that.” He grinned, the lines around his eyes crinkling. “Guess I should’ve said something, but I thought you saw me approaching.”

“No, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” She gave a brief smile and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “What’s going on?”

“I thought I’d see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat with me after I close at five.” He cleared his throat and shifted. “I realize you’re heading home, but I could swing by and pick you up.”

Whoa. Asked out to dinner, for the same night, by two separate men. Weirdness. Though Walt’s offer wasn’t all that surprising, seeing as they’d been having dinner together at least once a week lately. He was a nice-looking man, very Northwest with his red goatee and flannel and denim all the time. She just wished she felt…more. But it never seemed more than platonic.

“Walt, I would, but…I have other plans.”

Disappointment flashed in his blue eyes, but he nodded. “No problem. Maybe another time. Have a good night, Caitleen.”

Kate winced when he turned and walked away. She headed toward her own car. For some reason Walt enjoyed calling her by her full name, had said it was far too lovely not to be used for such a pretty woman. Oh the man oozed charm, and he used it aggressively in his pursuit of her, which overall was a bit of a novelty. Because, well, men generally
didn’t
pursue her. And the one time a guy had, well, she really should’ve known better…

She pushed aside the uncomfortable memory and soon she was cruising up the hill in her old Ford Escort toward her small house.

Once inside, she had a mission. Though it shouldn’t have mattered one iota what she wore tonight, it did. And somewhere in her closet, was an outfit that would up her attractiveness, at least a tiny bit.

But after searching for at least ten minutes, she gave up. Apparently, she owned lots of jeans, sweaters and shirts. Nothing suitably
sexy
.

She paused in the midst of her frantic searching and shook her head. “What the hell am I doing? I shouldn’t be trying to look all super hot for Todd. I’m
trying
to remind myself we’re just friends.”

With a new determination, she grabbed a black sweater off a hanger, pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and underwear, and then went to grab a shower.

When Todd rang the doorbell, she probably wouldn’t have qualified as sexy, but she definitely looked a little more pulled together.

Before opening the door, she gave herself one quick glance in the mirror. Her hair shined almost white blonde and loose over her shoulders, and the sweater hugged her excess of curves nicely. The V-neck giving just a hint of cleavage—definitely no push-up bra needed there.

Good enough
.

Kate jerked her gaze away from the mirror and opened the door.

“Hi,” she said brightly.

Todd’s answering smile never left her face, didn’t drift over the cleavage she’d been more than a little proud of, but she tried not to feel a sting of rejection. This was, after all, exactly what she wanted. Friends.

“So where are we off to?” she asked.

“You up for Mexican? I’m craving some fajitas.”

“I’m always up for fajitas,” she said, following him out to his truck. “Just load up the guacamole.”

“Amen to that.” He opened her door and her heart did a little flip.

It’s just manners, Kate, some men still have them.

She braced her hands on the door and the truck frame and climbed into the truck. She’d almost made it in, when she wobbled to the left, brushing up against Todd’s arm. Or at least her breast did.

Heat rocketed through her body and she lost the air in her lungs. Her right breast tingled with awareness as the nipple slowly tightened.

Should she apologize? Would he say something? But then she was in the truck and he’d shut the door as if nothing had happened.

Right, you dork,
she scolded herself silently.
Todd probably touches breasts at least once a day. He probably didn’t even realize yours was all over his arm like icing on cake.

Even still, she was glad for the darkness of the truck so he couldn’t see the pink in her cheeks. God, it was going to be a long night.

The streets of Wyattsville were dark and deserted with most people in for the night. Still, Todd gripped the steering wheel like he expected kids to be darting out in the road any minute.

It was just a breast
. Kate’s breast. It should’ve been like bumping into his sister—if he’d had one. But when she’d fell against him, the thoughts in his head sure as hell hadn’t been brotherly. Just like that night at the tavern, he’d been thrown into an alternate reality with Kate that left him a bit dazed.

When she’d opened the door, he’d deliberately not let his gaze drop to her breasts peeking out of her sweater. Which was damn hard, because he’d still seen the large swells out of the corner of his eye without glancing down for closer inspection.

She was different than most of the women he’d dated over the years. Her personality earthier and a body that was lush and curvy. She was unique…intriguing in a way he was only just now starting to notice.

Shit
. Maybe this was a bad idea. Dinner tonight. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he being naïve to think he could keep looking at Kate as just a friend? Had that silly little impulse kiss she’d given him at the tavern screwed that up entirely?

It was part of the reason he’d stop coming around so much. He’d needed to distance himself from her, from the memory of that kiss.

“Weren’t we going to El Gordo’s?”

He blinked. “What?”

“I think you just passed the restaurant.”

For fuck’s sake, really? Todd’s jaw clenched with disbelief as he swerved the truck around at the next intersection.

“Good catch. My mind must’ve been elsewhere.”
Like on your tits.

“No problem, I’ve been accused more than once for having my head in the clouds,” she teased.

He glanced over at her and smiled, but caught another flash of creamy cleavage as they pulled under a street lamp. Her breasts looked soft and pillowy, kind of
like
clouds. Might not be such a bad place to have his hea—
fuck!
Sweat broke out on the back of his neck and he jerked his attention back out the windshield as he parked the truck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Dinner had definitely been a bad idea. Definitely. How the hell was going to stop his dick from taking control of his brain the rest of the night? He couldn’t be thinking about sleeping with Kate. Could not even
consider
the possibility. He was an asshole, but he wasn’t
that
big of one.

His brothers would kick his ass to Portland and back if they were aware what he was thinking. Jesus, he was in trouble.

Todd parked the truck and put on the emergency brake, giving a tight smile.

“So, ready to get your fajitas on?”

“Oh, heck yeah I am.” She waggled her eyebrows and licked her bottom lip. “Bring on the cheese, chicken, peppers, tortillas—”

“Corn?” he asked gruffly, trying really hard not to look at her mouth.

“Oh yeah. Can’t do the flour, it’s just not the same.” She gave a soft laugh and then reached for the handle on the door, sliding out before he could remember his manners and open it for her.

Shit. Someone needed to slap him upside the head. And hard. He’d do it himself if Kate hadn’t been outside on the sidewalk waiting for him.

Biting back a sigh, he climbed out of the truck and went to start the dinner date that never should’ve happened.

It was only once they were seated, had ordered, and he nursed a bottle of beer, did some of Todd’s tension ease. Kate was talking animatedly about this and that, acting as if everything was life as usual. Which was probably damn easy for her, considering she didn’t have the same filthy thoughts running through
her
mind.

But he found if he focused really, really hard on seeing Kate in that friend light, blurred his gaze a bit, it almost worked. Almost. When their food arrived, he was grateful for the distraction. Relieved for a reason to look at something else besides her.

“So I’ve always been curious,” she said between bites. “How on earth do you function working those twenty-four hour shifts? Don’t you get tired?”

Back on familiar territory, Todd relaxed a little more as he built another fajita on a tortilla. “Sometimes we catch naps during the shift, but it can be a little abrasive on the body when a call comes in. You get used to it. And really, it’s pretty awesome having all those days off I get in exchange.”

“Oh I’m sure,” she gave a wistful sigh. “So what do you do during such a super long shift? When you’re not on a call.”

“Well, when Jeremiah and I get there for our shift, we relieve the other guys, get our gear on the rig, check out the equipment, roll call and going over the agenda for the day…then, you know, we keep busy. Sometimes we have inspections, training, drills. Other days are slower. We work out, shop for the firehouse, cook dinner.” He grinned. “And, you know, just ‘wait for the big one’.”

“That’s really cool, Todd. Sounds like such an awesome job.”

Todd drew back a bit emotionally, when he saw the glint of fascination in her eyes. The pink in her cheeks. It pretty much reaffirmed that even if Kate
was
nursing a mild crush on him, it was more for what he did, than for who he was.

“I really can’t imagine such a career. Especially having all those days off!” she continued. “I need to hire more people, because right now I’m only getting Sunday off and that’s only because the shop’s closed.”

About to take a bite, Todd hesitated, his brows drawing together with realization. “Yeah. You really do work a lot. How long are you there each day?”

“Usually six to sometimes after four…however long it takes me to clean up.”

Biting back a curse, he muttered, “Kate, you seriously need to hire someone else.”

“I have other people. Well, sort of. I mean I had a couple extra employees during the summer, but one returned to college in the fall. Now it’s just Bree—who’s part time—and I.” She sighed and then licked a trace of sour cream off her finger. “But you’re right, I need to hire someone else.”

And just like that, watching Kate’s pink tongue dart out, and Todd was back in unfamiliar territory. His blood heated and something primal sizzled through him.

“I need you to teach me how to bake something,” he rasped desperately. “I want to impress a girl.”

Chapter Three

He might as well have sucker punched her in the gut. Kate blinked, trying hard not to let the surprise and hurt show on her face.

“Oh, right. Sure.”

And there it was. The real reason he’d asked her out tonight. It definitely hadn’t been romantic, wasn’t really even a friend thing, he just wanted baking lesson to get into some chick’s pants.

Her stomach knotted and she swallowed hard. God she was a fool, had been acting like a fool all night. Chatting a mile a minute to try and hide how damn nervous she was, to avoid thinking about his arm against her breast earlier, and how she wanted so much more than an accidental brushing.

“It doesn’t even have to be anything exciting,” Todd went on quickly. “I mean, maybe just some no-brainer cookie recipe?”

She nodded and took another bite of food, even if her food had lost all flavor and enjoyment.

Silence fell between them, heavy and awkward, and the longer she kept quiet, the more she just wanted to
scream
. She could barely deal with Todd talking to her about the women in his life, seeing them was bad enough, but having to help him with it?

Todd seemed to sense her mood change, because any further attempts at conversation stayed firmly away from the topic of women and dating.

When the check arrived, he handled it despite her insisting that she pay half. The entire ride home, the hot ball of anger in her belly just kept expanding, until her vision was tinted with red and her hands were clenched into fists.

When they pulled up outside her house, she didn’t trust herself to say anything more than a terse, “Goodnight.”

She climbed out of the truck, slamming the door behind her as she strode toward her front door. She’d just blown any pretense of playing it cool, but so what? She heard the truck door slam again, and she flinched, increasing her pace.

Todd’s fingers curled around her elbow, spinning her around and off balance. She reached out to catch herself, just like she’d done earlier today with Walt. Only this time, there was no urge to pull away when her palms flattened against Todd’s hard, broad chest. But the fact that she was pissed, not just angry, downright pissed at Todd, had her jerking away regardless.

Todd didn’t let her go though, instead slid his hands up her arm to pull her closer to him.

Her heart lurched in her chest and her mouth went dry.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered.

She lifted her gaze to his and from the light of her porch saw the regret in his eyes.

“There isn’t a woman I’m trying to impress with baking. I made that up.”

Kate frowned, stilling in her efforts to free herself. “Why did you say that then?”

“Damn it, to keep
this
from happening.” His head blocked out the light as it dipped, and then his mouth crashed down on hers.

Shock ripped through her as his lips masterfully parted hers, his tongue plunging inside to taste her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even respond for a moment. Until the tingling began and a liquid heat seeped through her veins, pooling heavily between her thighs.