TheBurnList (10 page)

“You’re doing me a favor.
I get it.”
It was better to get
this in the open.
At least then she’d stop getting confused.
“So you don’t need
to keep saying all these nice things to me.”

He studied her for a long, tense moment.
“I see, so you want
me to tell you the truth, is that it?”

“Yes,” she said, but her throat was tight and scratchy.

He nodded.
“Okay.
Here’s the truth.
Like a typical guy,
until you showed up on my doorstep in those tight jeans and tank top that
showed off a body I sure as hell never noticed, I wasn’t attracted to you.
Is
that what you want to hear?”

“At least it’s honest.”
It sucked and it hurt, but it was
true.
Tears stung the corners of her eyes and she blinked them away.
Honesty
blew big-time
.

He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, his
expression unreadable.
“Since you’re so interested in honest, let me spell it
out for you.”

Even though she’d brought it up, she didn’t want to hear
this.
His first statement was more than enough.
“Please do.”

“I pick the women I do because they like to have fun and
aren’t looking for commitment any more than I am.
I don’t pick them for their
personality, and I’m never going to bring them home to my mom.”

“I understand.”

“No you don’t.”
Expression hard, he ran his hands through
his hair.
“I want to bring you home.”

She blinked.
“What?”

He shook his head.
“The truth is I can’t get you out of my
mind.
I want you constantly.
Hell, I can’t wait to see you.
And I don’t mean
the sex, which is unbelievable, I mean
you
.
All of you.
In fact, you
scare the shit out of me, but I keep coming back for more.
I don’t know what
I’m going to do with you.”

Her jaw fell open.
“Are you serious?”

Anger flashed in his dark eyes.
“I am dead fucking serious,
Abby.”

He
was
serious.
“Oh!”

“That’s it?
Oh?”

“Um…” She had no idea what to say.
She was speechless.
“Thank you.”

He gave her a hard, long stare then a bark of laughter.
“What?
No questions about my intentions?
Don’t you want to probe into my every
thought and analyze my feelings?”

The heavy weight that had her shoulders slumping lightened.
She offered a tentative smile.
“If you want me to, I’m sure I can muster up a
few questions.”

The chair scraped the white tiled floor as he pushed away
from the table and stretched out his legs.
His strong, capable hands slid into
the pocket of his jeans.
“What about you, Abby?
Are you using me to cross the
things off your list?”

Appalled, she shook her head vehemently.
“No!
Of course not.
How can you think that?”

A brow rose.
“I thought we were being honest.
When you
showed up at my door, were you thinking about me as a person?
Or someone to
fulfill your fantasies?”

Sheepish, she looked down at her half-eaten grilled cheese.

“So, I’m just a good time?”

Her head shot up.
“No, of course not.
That’s insane.”

“Why?”

At a loss for words, she blustered, “Because, I’m me…and
you’re you.”

Chest bare, the muscles in his biceps bunched and, if
possible, his jaw took on a more stubborn line.
“I don’t know what that means.”

“We hardly match,” she said, simply.

“Why do you think that?”

“Please, the women you date are practically supermodels.”
She
waved a hand and shook her head.
“I’m…well…I’m an accountant.
The last guy I
dated thought going to a
Star Trek
convention constituted a good time.”

“What do our past dates have to do with us?”

She blew out a breath that sent a lock of hair flying.
“Why
are you doing this?
You know what I mean.
When people see us together, they’re
not going to believe I’m taking pity on you.”

“Why do you underestimate yourself like that?”
His frown
turned positively fierce.

She shrugged.
“I’m not underestimating myself.
I’m a
realist.”

“That’s bullshit.”
His harsh tone made her wince.
“You’re
convinced you’re ordinary because that’s what your family wanted you to be.
But
trust me, Abby, ordinary is not who you are.”

While being compared to Eden may have warped her self-perception,
it didn’t change who she was.
She’d learned a long time ago she couldn’t
compete.
Figuring out early on it was best to play on her strengths, vixen
wasn’t one of them.
“I’m quiet and bookish.”

He had the gall to laugh.
“Please.
You may be smart as hell,
but you’re not bookish.
Oh sure, you wore all those drab clothes—which, by the
way, don’t look so bad to me in light of your current wardrobe choices—but you
couldn’t ever hide your smart-ass nature.
The only thing that’s changed is your
exterior matches who you are on the inside.
And for the record, you’re not
quiet.
Hell, half the time I’m worried someone’s going to send the cops after
me because they think I’m beating you, you scream so loud.”

A hot flush spread up over her chest to warm her face.
She
titled her chin.
“There may be a kernel of truth in what you’re saying, but
don’t pretend we’re in the same league.”

“You’re crazy.”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of
his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
“This is what I get for getting
involved with a pragmatic accountant.”

The statement seemed to be to himself so she didn’t comment,
choosing instead to pick at the corner of her sandwich.

On a long, put-upon sigh, he scooted his chair back under
the table and placed his elbows on the wood surface.
“Okay, you need some sort
of proof since my word isn’t good enough.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to
silence her.

“We’ll deal with your lack of trust.
For now, let’s stick to
the point at hand.
When I took you to the party last week, no one questioned
why I was with you.”

“I’m sure they were being polite.”
Her tone was prim as her
stomach flipped over.
She didn’t like where this conversation was going.

He gave a bark of laughter.
“You don’t know firefighters.
We
practically live together, and they’re never polite.
If they wondered what I
was doing with you, they would have asked me why I needed to take my charity
fuck out in public.”

That stopped her cold and she raised a brow.

A cocky smile splayed over his gorgeous face.
“Do you want
to know what they did say?”

The mature, sensible part of her wanted to say no, but the
giddy female in her couldn’t help but wonder.
In an attempt to be casual, she
shrugged.

“You don’t fool me.”
He slid his fingers around her wrist,
his thumb stroking the pulse point.
“Let’s see, Trevor would have stolen you
right out from under me if given half a chance.
Then there was Bobby, who
couldn’t stop talking about your killer body.
Oh, and Jimmy asked me if I’d be
interested in a threesome.”

“Oh!”
A purely feminine thrill shot through her.
Smile
quivering on her lips, she straightened.

“Now I’ve got your attention.”
He chuckled, his grasp
turning into a vise grip.
“For the record, Trevor wouldn’t have gotten two
steps with you, I told Bobby to shut the fuck up, and I will
never
share
you, so get that idea right out of your wild little mind.”

The grin grew until it hurt her cheeks.
Was it possible they
matched after all?
“I wouldn’t do that.”

Like a bolt of lightning, he shot out from the chair, causing
it to skid across the floor.
He hauled her up, making her heart pound.
With a
sweep of his arm, he pushed the plates to the floor.
Dishes crashed and
clattered around them as he put her on the table.
That intense, territorial
gleam in his dark brown eyes.
“Damn straight you won’t.”

Chapter Nine

“Look, he’s pussy whipped.”
Trevor’s amused voice startled
Lukas from his Abby-centric thoughts.

Lukas shifted in his chair and tried to work up some
interest in the conversation around the station’s kitchen table.
He thought
Trevor, Jimmy and Charlie were talking about some bar they’d gone to the other
night.
“What?”

“You’re pussy whipped.”
Trevor repeated in a slow voice, as
though Lukas might be dull-witted.

“No, I’m not.”
The rejection was automatic, but the idea
didn’t appall Lukas the way it once would have.
In fact, he wasn’t sure the
statement didn’t hold merit.
He’d been with Abby for one month and wanted her
now more than ever.

Their relationship had progressed to the next level.
Tomorrow they were going to brunch with Abby’s family, and then heading to
dinner at his mom’s on Sunday, figuring it was best to get the stress of
meeting each other’s families over within one weekend.
His mom, who’d been
waiting for this day since he’d been born, was beyond excited.

But he hadn’t been thinking about tomorrow.
Or the guys’
exploits.
No, his mind had been on the phone sex he’d talked Abby into earlier.
A horrible idea.
Forced to sit in the office, staring through the big, clear
window overlooking the main floor, while he talked so dirty he’d surprised even
himself.
She’d eaten it up, and his cock had ached listening to her breathy
moans and pants as she rubbed her responsive little clit until she came.

Since the call, he’d been unable to concentrate on much else.

“I don’t know.”
Charlie rubbed the dark scruff on his chin
and jaw.
“How long’s it been since you’ve been out with us?”

Lukas didn’t have the heart to tell them he had no desire to
go out on the prowl with the three musketeers.

“Is he talking about that chick you brought to Bobby’s
birthday?”
Jimmy asked.

“That’s right, sweet Abby,” Trevor said, with a grin.

Jimmy nodded his appreciation.
“Hmmm…she was pretty sweet.
Nice rack.”

Lukas tilted his chair back and rocked, shooting Jimmy a
warning look.
“Not another word.”

“Oh really.”
Jimmy’s tone rang with amusement.
“So that’s
how it is?”

“Yes, that’s how it is.”
Standard station rules, casual lays
were open to detailed discussion, wives and girlfriends were not.

To his left, Charlie reached back and dinged the gold bell
hanging on the wall.
“And he’s down for the count.”

Jimmy laughed.
“Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Does this mean Saturday is off?”
Trevor smirked.
“Now that
you’re officially declaring her girlfriend material.”

Lukas frowned.
He’d avoided thinking about the exclusive sex
club where Trevor was a member.
The last place he wanted to take Abby.
He
didn’t want to share her.
He didn’t want anyone watching them.
Fuck, he didn’t
want anyone even looking at her.

But it was on her list, and he wanted to make her happy.

He’d first told Trevor he’d wanted to take Abby there when
he’d started checking items off her list, but their weekends off hadn’t worked.
As time went on, he’d been thankful for the schedule conflict, but then the
stars had aligned and now he was stuck.
“No, we’re still on.”

“You sure?”
Trevor asked.
“You don’t look happy about it.”

Lukas raised a brow.
“Don’t think you’re going to touch
her.”

Trevor chuckled.
“You’ve made yourself perfectly clear on
that subject.”

The trick would be to fulfill the fantasy while making sure
she didn’t actually participate in anything.
He was still scratching his head,
trying to figure that one out.
He scoffed.

When the hell had this happened?

Three months ago he’d gone to the club with Trevor and
they’d taken Lukas’ date into one of the voyeur rooms and both fucked her
silly.
Lukas hadn’t even thought twice about it.
But now he couldn’t bear the
thought of his friend touching Abby.

The door to the station opened and the conversation stopped.
As if Lukas conjured her, Abby walked in.
Surprised as hell to see her, he
blinked, concern rising fast in his throat.
“Abby, is everything okay?”

She sauntered toward him, hips swaying in a black belted
coat.
“Sorry to drop in on you, but I was watching reruns of
Rescue Me
and saw girls did that sometimes.”

Every guy around the table smiled.

A small hesitant quiver touched her lips.
“I need to talk to
you.”

A tickle of alarm crept up his neck.
Abby was not given to
impulsive drop bys.
“Okay.”

She glanced around to the other men and lowered her voice.
“In private?”

Trevor grinned at her.
“Hey, Abby, how are you?”

Abby nodded.
“Good, thank you, and yourself?”

“Are you looking forward to Saturday night?”
Trevor asked,
amusement clear in his tone.

A faint blush stained her cheeks and her gaze darted on and
off Lukas’ as though nervous.
“Yeah, um, sure.”

That didn’t sound sure, and Lukas’ worry burrowed in his
stomach.

“I think Charlie’s the only one you haven’t met,” Trevor
said.

Abby’s attention shifted to the dark-haired firefighter and
clutched her coat.
“It’s nice to meet you.”

“We were just talking about you.”
Charlie nodded, giving her
a long, slow once-over before meeting her eyes.

“Good things, I hope.”
The flush deepened and she
instinctively lowered her gaze.
The guy had a sixth sense when it came to
submissive females, and while they’d mainly skirted around the edges of
domination, she had definite tendencies.

Charlie chuckled.
“Only the best, little Abby.”

“That’s enough,” Lukas said with a distinct undercurrent of
menace, rising from his chair and gripping her arm.
“Come with me.”

He walked her down a small corridor before finally pulling
her into the tool room.
He clicked the lock shut and turned to face her.

She blinked as though in a daze.
“What were they talking
about?”

“Forget them.”
He waved a dismissive hand at the door.
A
million bad reasons for her visit came to mind and he asked, “Is something
wrong?”

“Yes.”
Her expression gave nothing away.

Lukas’ heart hammered in his chest and he went cold.
“What
is it?”

“I think you should sit down.”
She glanced at the work
stool.
“Please?”

What the fuck was going on?
He sat and crossed his arms over
his chest.

Never taking her eyes off him, she began to untie the knot
at her waist.
“The thing is, Lukas…”

Blood racing, he nodded, urging her to continue.

The coat dropped in a puddle at her feet and his jaw went
slack.
She stood before him, hands on her hips, in a very skimpy Catholic
schoolgirl’s outfit.
“I’ve been a very bad girl.”

Relief, followed by white-hot lust, rolled through him.
His
cock immediately sprang to attention.
Dressed in an unbuttoned white shirt that
tied under her breasts to reveal her smooth, flat stomach, he thought he might
die of desire just looking at her.
The tiny blue-and-gray plaid skirt was so
short, if she turned around, he wouldn’t be surprised if he could see the curve
of her ass.
White thigh-high tights and black Mary Janes completed the
ensemble.

Goddamn, she was so fucking unbelievable he wanted to fall
to his knees and worship her.

“I see.”
Brain scrambled from lack of blood, it was all he
could manage as he fought to get his bearings.
Erection already hard enough to
pound nails, he took a deep breath to keep from lunging and steadied himself.
He knew what she needed and it wasn’t a drooling schoolboy.
“Does someone need
a good spanking?”

She licked her pink, glossy lips.
“I do.”

Before he could react, she turned around and bent over the
tool bench.
With one hand, she flipped up the back of her skirt.

He gulped.
Bare-ass naked.
Her pussy peeked out from between
her legs and perfectly round butt.

Hands clenched into fists, he worried his head might
explode.

She wiggled her hips a bit.
“What are you going to do about
it?”

The statement broke his trance.
He hopped up from the stool
and placed an open palm on her bare lower back.
“Does someone need to be taught
a lesson?”

She moaned and swayed invitingly back at him.
“Yes.”

He ran his hands up her thighs.
“Open your legs wider.”

Glancing back over her shoulder, she gave him the most
carnal smile he’d ever seen.
“Make me.”

Holy mother of god, he was a dead man.
He smacked her hard
on the ass.
“So, we’re going to play it that way?”

“Oh yeah.”

Teeth grinding, he fought the impulse to drive into her.
He
sent up a silent prayer that no calls came in and slapped one smooth cheek
before soothing the rapidly heating flesh.
He kicked her legs apart with his
foot until her pussy was open and vulnerable.
Fingers playing over her slick,
swollen flesh, he asked, “Has someone been having impure thoughts?”

He teased over her clit, barely skimming the surface,
causing her to arch her back in an effort to deepen the contact.

“Yes, I have.”
She moaned, swaying into his touch.

“And what would those be, little girl?”

Shaking her head, she pushed her hips back.

He stopped.
Waited.

Her head whipped around and her big brown eyes narrowed in a
hard glare.

He affixed a stern expression to his face hauled back his
hand and smacked that delectable ass hard enough she jerked against the pain.
He’d be worried about hurting her, but this last month had taught him his
little Abby liked it rough.
“Tell me.
Or I’ll make your experience with the
balls seem like child’s play.”

“My neighbor,” she said in that breathy voice that drove him
wild.
“He’s driving me to distraction.”

“And?”

Another scowl, she thrust back.
Testing.

In answer, he raised one brow.

She licked her lips.
That full, gorgeous mouth was pure
heaven.
“All I can think about is how good he licks my pussy.”

“I see.
Like this?”
He dived for her cunt, licking into her,
thrusting his tongue in and out before flicking her clit over and over.

“God yes, like that,” she said, rocking back on her heels to
get closer.

He sucked.
Prodded.
Tempted and tortured until she shook
with the need to come.

And then he denied her.

“What else?”
he demanded, rising to his full height.

Hips moving in a seductive sway, she tried to tempt him into
breaking.
Despite the overwhelming need to take her, he had no intention of
giving in to her silent demands.

A strangled breath.
“I think about him fucking me.”

“Hmm…” Jaw aching from holding back, he delivered a series
of hard, rapid slaps to her ass until they were both panting and she pushed
into each blow.
“Too bad you’re not ready to be fucked.”

“Oh, I am.”

“I don’t think so.”
He circled her clit before plunging two
fingers into her hot, wet depths.
“You’ve been very naughty.”

He kept his strokes shallow, and when her climax built, he
backed off.

She groaned, banging her fist on the wood of the bench.