CHAPTER Six

He awoke to the feel of silken hands on his cock. Teasing. Stroking. Working his length with a grip that was pure pleasure.

Either this was the best wet dream of his life or…

Kenton opened his eyes and found Lora beside him, her breasts bare in the morning light, the pink nipples tight. Her hands were on him, squeezing his cock and pumping the flesh.

Better than a dream.

Her lips spread in a slow, sexy smile. “Thought that might get you up.”

The bark of laughter came before he even thought about it. Oh, yeah, he was definitely up.

Her smile widened, even as her fingers tightened around the base of his shaft.

Sweet damn.

“Last night… seemed like you got to do the exploring.” She crawled over him. Aw… fuck. Lora settled between his legs, arching her back a bit, showing those gorgeous lick-me breasts.

Please, let her be talking about…

Her head lowered, and her breath blew over his cock. “You don’t mind if I have my turn, do you?”

Was he an idiot? “Go…” Okay, that sounded like a rumble. Kenton cleared his throat and tried again. “Go right ahead.”

Her tongue came out, small and pink, and she swiped over the tip of his erection. His hips rose off the bed.

“Easy.” A taunt. “Trust me, you’ll like this.”

Oh, he bet he would.

That mouth—he’d wanted it on him from the first glance.

Made for sin.

Those lips—wide and soft and—

Her mouth closed around him. Kenton choked out her name. Then she started moving her head, taking him in deeper, sucking, and stroking.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. His heels dug into the mattress as his fingers fisted in the sheets. He wouldn’t be able to take this. Not too long. His cock was close to bursting now, and her mouth—that tongue—

She swallowed.

He jerked. “Lora!” More a roar this time.

But she kept working him. Her fingers curled around the base of his shaft, and she pumped in time with his thrusts in her mouth. Faster.

He glanced down and saw her mouth around him. Saw those eyes on his.

And nearly came right then.

No.

He grabbed her arms. “In… you.” Speech was getting harder. Another minute or two, and he’d be lost.

She let him go with one last lick. Her breasts bounced—damn they were fine—as she straddled him.

The wet heat of her sex licked against his shaft, and he wanted to thrust in, deep, and feel that hot flesh gripping him, as she convulsed with her release.

But he gritted his teeth and felt sweat bead his brow. “Condom.” They’d used two last night. The only two that he’d brought with him. Kenton hadn’t exactly been planning for three rounds. He’d just been hoping for the one.

What the hell was he gonna do? He needed to thrust more than he needed his next breath—

“Got it, stud.” She lifted her hand. A condom nestled between her thumb and forefinger. “Went out while you were getting all that beauty sleep.”

If he hadn’t been so close to coming, he would have laughed. Instead, he snatched the condom from her.

Can’t let her put it on. Not this time. I’ll come in her hands if she does.

He tore open the packet with his teeth and heard her soft laughter.

Her eyes were on him. The light surrounded her and made her blond hair appear even lighter.

No shadows lurked today. No ghosts from the past put an icy wall between them.

He sheathed his cock. Gripped the length in his fist and guided his erection between her thighs.

She rose and then pushed down, nice and easy, and took him in, one slow inch at a time.

Hot. Tight. Squeezing…

He lifted up and licked her breast. He fuckin’ loved her breasts. Round and high with dark pink nipples, and they tasted sweeter than candy.

Her knees pressed into the mattress as she rose again. Her rhythm came faster now. Harder.

He was learning that was the way Lora liked her sex. Since he was about five thrusts away from coming, the hard pace more than suited him.

But she’d come with him.

He pushed his hand between their bodies and found her clit. Working that nub with his thumb and fingers, he thrust, shoving deep because he liked it when she moaned in the back of her throat. Liked it when her mouth parted and her breath panted.

Lora shifted, lifting her body and keeping just the head of his cock in her sex. Because she liked to torture him.

He pressed his thumb against her clit.

“Kent!”

Lora thrust down, hard, and when her eyes went wild, it was his turn to rise. He pushed her flat on her back and took the lead. Time to pound hard and fast and find that wild rush of pleasure.

Her legs clamped around him, and her heels dug into his back. The mattress squeaked. Her scent filled his nostrils. Raspberries.

Her sex spasmed, and he stopped thinking.

Just thrust. Deeper. Harder.

Soft skin. Sweet woman.

She bucked beneath him, her sex clenching around his cock, the contractions sending ripples along his length as she came.

He kissed her, stealing her breath and the whisper of his name.

As he thrust, the base of his spine tingled and his thighs shook.

Her hot flesh, trembling around him, sent Kenton over the edge. His tongue took hers as he came, pumping into her core, and pleasure lashed through him.

Hot. Wild. Lora.

The pleasure was so intense that his blood seemed to heat. His body shuddered as he came, and he could feel her. Everywhere.

Fucking incredible. His eyes wanted to roll back into his head, and he wanted to roar his release. He wanted to keep thrusting into her until neither of them could walk.

Sounded like one damn fine idea. But first, he had to be able to draw air into his starved lungs.

The waves of release began to ease. Slowly. So slowly. When he could breathe again, he put his forehead against hers. She wiggled beneath him, probably because he was crushing her, and he’d move—soon, really.

Her hand lifted to stroke his jaw, and her fingertips whispered over the stubble. Hell, he should have shaved. He’d probably marked her all over.

His cock stirred inside her.

He forced his head to lift. Her cheeks were flushed a soft pink, her eyes glowing, that mouth smiling.

And he wanted her again.

Still in her, rising, swelling already. He’d come until he couldn’t breathe, and he wanted her again.

He’d known the woman would be trouble from that first punch.

“Oh, no.” Her hands came down against his shoulders and pushed.

Hell. He wanted another round. As many rounds as he could get.

But her hands pushed harder.

He drew in a breath, caught the scent of sex and Lora as he eased out of her body. Kenton missed her snug heat instantly.

“As much as I wish I could…” She leaned up and pressed her mouth over his lips.

Because she wanted him to beg, obviously. His hands clenched when her mouth lifted.

Lora shook her head. “I’ve got to go.” She sounded regretful. “I’m on duty today. Twenty-four-hour shift at the station.”

Right. Work. “Be careful.” With that freak out there, anything could go down in the next twenty-four hours. Especially since Kenton knew the guy would be jonesing for some vengeance.

But not against her.

“I’m a big girl. I know how to take care of myself.”

The scent of sex in the air just made the lust drumming in his veins all the harder to control. “I want more.” More than the night they’d had.

Her smile dimmed, just a bit.

What the hell? A one-night stand? Is that really all she’d wanted from him—

“Okay.” Soft, hesitant. Lora sure hadn’t struck him as the hesitant type. “After my rotation ends, if you’re done…”

Done chasing a killer. Done examining bodies and seeing hell.

“Come to me.”

Like he had to be asked twice.

He kissed her.

Addictive.

Damn, he hadn’t counted on her. Sure hadn’t expected her to be in the middle of his case. But now that he had her, he wouldn’t give her up.

Not yet.

“You’re not going to like this,” Monica told Kenton the minute he walked into their temporary office at the police station. Located next to the bullpen, the office was small, kind of cramped, but it gave them a bit of privacy away from eavesdropping cops.

He raised his brows. “What, about this case, have I liked so far?” He figured that there wasn’t going to be a big change coming. The case was shit, no matter how you looked at it. Kenton glanced to the right. “Have fun tailing me last night?” he asked Ramirez.

The guy grinned, and his black gaze glinted. “Had fun seeing that sexy lady yank you in by your fancy suit.”

Sexy lady. Kenton’s eyes narrowed and a stab of jealousy sliced into his gut. “Watch it.”

The grin didn’t fade.

Kenton’s back teeth clenched, and he gritted out, “Other than ogling Lora, did you see anything I need to know about last night?”

“Your girl’s got great legs.” A shrug. “And I didn’t see a damn thing else. No one was checking out that area on foot, and there weren’t any vehicles that didn’t belong in the neighborhood.”

“There might not have been any sign of him yet,” Monica said, raising her voice. “But I’m thinking…” She shook her head. “He’s not going to wait long after that broadcast. He’ll hit fast, and he’ll hit hard.”

Lora was on duty. Kenton’s heart rate kicked up. “We want him coming after me, not anyone else.”

“Right.” Monica’s heels tapped on the floor as she paced the close confines of the space. “While he’s planning his move, we need to hunt him. We need to figure out who he is—and where he is.”

“How?” Ramirez crossed his arms over his chest and waited. The guy was good at waiting. He was also good at remaining freakishly still.

“We’re going to talk to the arson investigator, Seth MacIntyre,” Kenton said. He’d tried to get the guy before, but Seth had been out at a scene.

Monica’s nails tapped the edge of the desk. “I want to see his files.” Kenton knew Monica really meant that she wanted to rip apart his files.

“But first,” Monica said, “and this is the part you’re not going to like.”

He held up his hand. “I already know.” And he did. It was a simple matter of connecting the dots. “We’re going to the Bringham station.”

She nodded. “We need to interview every man and woman there.”

Kenton’s jaw tightened. Sometimes there were parts of the job that he damn well didn’t like. “Lora’s clear.” He wanted to be definite on that. Yeah, they needed to question the firefighters, but Lora was clear. She’d been in his arms, her mouth soft and tempting against his, when that psycho had called in to the station.

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.” Monica’s nails stopped tapping. “Maybe it’s not just one killer. Maybe it’s two. Maybe that wasn’t the real arsonist on the phone. Maybe it was some poor idiot that he hired to call—and we’ll find his burnt corpse in a few days.”

She shook her head. “One thing I learned long ago, assume nothing about the serials. They don’t think like regular folks, so if you’re going after them, you have to think like them.”

Dammit, he knew that, too. The SSD had taught him to trust no one but the team.

“After the last case, we don’t take anything or anyone for granted,” Monica said. “We investigate all leads and, as much as you might not like it because of your, ah… situation—”

“Him screwing the hot female firefighter,” Ramirez offered.

“Fuck off,” Kenton fired back. Like Monica was in a position to judge a delicate “situation.” “Ice” had hooked up with the new guy at the SSD just days after Luke Dante had joined the team. She could stop throwing those stones at his house any old time.

Her lips tightened. “We can’t overlook any of the fire departments in this town. They have to be checked. Everyone has to be checked.”

And wouldn’t he be Mister Popular when he rolled in at the Bringham station. Lora was going to love this. “She called the SSD.” This arsonist had killed her lover. No way would she be helping him. “She wouldn’t—”

“I don’t think she would. As I said last night, I believe our perp is a male.”

Well, that was something.

“I think Lora’s motive in all of this…” She wet her lips and cleared her throat, and his stare sharpened on her as she continued, “Lora Spade lost someone who was close to her. She views these attacks as being very, very personal. And I think—I think she’d do just about anything to bring down the killer.”

“The lady’s not just jonesing for you.” Ramirez cocked a dark eyebrow. “She wants revenge.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Kenton didn’t blame her.

Not one bit.

“You know, don’t you…” There was hesitation in Monica’s voice. “She was the one who went back into the flames for him. The chief ordered an evacuation…” She walked around the desk. Picked up a folder and flipped through the contents. “But Lora went back inside and pulled Creed out. He was still alive, but not for long.”

She’d gone back into the flames to save the guy.

Must have loved him one whole hell of a lot. Enough to face the flames. But then, a woman like Lora would love like that.

Fire and heat and passion.

Loved so much—she’d risked death. And now she hunted his killer.

And she’d thought about the guy last night.

Fuck.

He spun around. The office’s blinds were up. He could see straight across to the bullpen, and he could see Carter Creed’s grinning face.

The man who’d had Lora. All of her.

“I can come along. I’m great at backup,” Ramirez said, his voice quiet.

“No,” Monica’s answer came immediately. “You need to get to bed. Kenton and I can handle this.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry, Ramirez. There are plenty of firefighters to go around. You can take the next station.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Shit. Kenton knew the drill. Wasn’t anything new. But—

But he didn’t want Lora thinking he believed she was a suspect. He knew the woman was innocent. And when she found out he was interrogating her friends…

Hello, cold shoulder.

Pity, he sure liked things hot with her.

He yanked open the door. “Let’s get this over with.”

Because as much as it grated, he knew Monica was right. They had to do the interviews. You could tell a lot about a man—or a woman—when you had him locked down in an interview. Secrets came out then.

Some good.

Most bad.

And if the killer turned out to be a man on Lora’s team…

Well, hell, what better place to hide than in plain sight?

Kenton wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but walking into the firehouse on Bringham Boulevard to find Lora wrestling with some sweaty blond bastard really hadn’t been part of the plan.

They rolled across the floor. Twisted. Lora came up on top and did a fast shimmy. The guy grabbed her shoulder, yanked her back—

And she flipped him, sending him flying on his stomach.

“Two minutes! Spade takes ’em down!” A guy wearing gym shorts and a sweat-soaked white T-shirt pumped his arms in the air. “Another one bites that firehouse dust, huh, Lora?”

She pushed up, grinning, and Kenton froze because he felt like she’d just punched him. Hard.

Then she blinked, and her gaze drifted to the right. To him. “Kent—what are you doing here?” Her lips parted, and she jumped off the sparring mat. “Has something happened? Did you find the bastard?”

“No.” The booming answer didn’t come from him. Or even from Monica, who stood like a shadow beside him. Frank Garrison stalked into the room. Garrison flatly announced, “They’re here to talk to you all.”

The exercise room got real quiet, real fast. The guy lifting weights froze. The woman running on the treadmill jumped off. All their eyes hit him.

“Talk to us?” Lora asked as she caught the towel one of the others tossed her, and then swiped it across her forehead. “Why?”

“Because the SSD thinks the killer knows a little too much about fire.” Garrison pushed by Kenton. “So they’re gonna be questioning everyone at all the stations in the city.”

“I told you last night, the killer’s a fire freak, not a firefighter.” This came from the guy Lora had sent flying. Quint. Max Quint. He’d already started a file on the guy. A firefighter and paramedic. He’d transferred down from New York about two years ago.

“And I’m afraid we have to explore every possibility,” Monica said, her voice carrying easily and hinting at just the softest southern drawl. “This is standard procedure in a case like this, and it’s certainly not meant to make any of you here feel—”

“Like a suspect?” Lora offered, her fingers tightening around the towel. “Lady, we fight his fires. We lost a man to that bastard. He’s not one of us.” Rage had her voice shaking.

“Maybe,” Monica offered, and Kenton saw the firefighters relax a bit, until she added, “Maybe not.”