Flames from Ashes Read online

  “Hmm.” She looped her tongue around the head, clamped her hand around the base, and sucked him deep. Precum moistened her tongue. Tension throughout his body told her that he wasn’t going to last long. She pulled him to the edge, waiting for that moment when he would explode, then choked it off with a viselike grip.

  Clint thrashed against her hold. She refused to let go until the sensation subsided. Pain and pleasure twisted his features, yet he uttered no complaint outside of grunts, growls, and groans. He was hers to do as she wished, as he’d promised.

  Releasing him, she lightly ran her palm down his cock and over his balls, then slid astride him again. He watched her with half-closed eyes, hard pants making his breath ragged. Hands braced on his chest, Sandy raked her pussy over his erection. He closed his eyes on a shudder. Jaw muscles twitched. She grasped his dick, held it steady, and sank onto it.

  “Open your eyes, honey. You don’t want to miss this.”

  When he did as ordered, she sank onto her heels and cupped her breasts, pinching the nipples to hard points, then leaned in for him to taste. She gloried in the flex of his abs as he propelled himself up to meet her halfway. He sucked her breast in hard, then released it and took the other. Sandy had to force herself upright, remind herself she was supposed to be in control, when all she wanted was for him to roll her over and let go.

  Fire banked in his eyes matched what she felt inside. She kept her gaze locked on his, watching how his focus drifted to follow the downward plunge of her fingers. When she touched her clit, he pushed up and writhed his hips. Sandy cupped one breast and worked her clit with the other while she rocked in time with his thrusts. He grew hotter and harder with each second that passed. So did she.

  His arms were taut from the effort to keep them in place. Sweat glistened over his body. Sandy reached for the knife and cut him loose. He flexed his fingers but made no move to take control. She fumbled to set the knife on the nightstand while she kissed him. Then she laced her fingers through his, locked her heels around his calves, and rolled them over.

  “Give it to me.” She nudged her feet into his ass and rocked her pelvis.

  He pushed deep and stayed still. She felt his struggle to hang on in his trembling muscles. Sandy slipped her hand from his and slid it between them until she could loop her fingers around his cock and keep her thumb on her clit.

  “Let’s do this together,” she whispered.

  Clint curled his hand around her breast, twirling her nipple between thumb and forefinger while he kissed her hard and fucked her even harder. She’d never get enough of him. Not ever. Knowing he was hers forever—

  Orgasm raced over her body, heating her skin to furnace-like intensity. Clint snapped his pelvis forward and froze, coming with her. She thought the sensation would never end. When it subsided, all she wanted was to do it all over again. Later. When she could breathe again. When stars didn’t blind her eyes. When she wasn’t too sated to move.

  Clint kissed her gently, then eased his weight from her, turned off the bedside lights, and spooned against her. Sleep drifted in, and with it sweet dreams filled with laughter and love and a future she’d never imagined. She woke when she felt him move and reach over her.

  “What’s wrong?” she mumbled.

  “Your phone keeps flashing. I kept dreaming the cops were after me.” He pulled the device off the nightstand. “Do you want to check it before I turn it off?”

  “Not really.” She snuggled into her pillow.

  “It could be your mom,” he singsonged and wiggled the phone in front of her face.

  “Stop that. I promise I’ll never make you call your mother again.”

  “Then my work here is done. Off it is.”

  Sandy watched him brush his thumb over the screen to turn it off. Tension radiated through his muscles. He stared at the screen, jaw tight.

  “What is it?” She pushed upright.

  Clint’s look said it all. He didn’t want her to know. Sandy was ready to concur. If something had happened to her family or friends, he’d tell her. Whatever this was, it was bad, and that meant it concerned only one person. Hand shaking, she reached to take it from him. He slowly turned it her way, revealing the text and the threat it contained.

  I understand I’m going to be a daddy.

  Chapter Eleven

  Horror filled her face, froze her in place. Clint felt it too, creeping into his bones with icy, clawlike fingers. Fear combined with it, bringing his rage to a murderous level. He’d kill the bastard. No two ways about it. Drag him from wherever he was and throw him down the deepest, darkest mine shaft he could find.

  “I thought he was in the hospital. How… How…” Sandy started to hyperventilate.

  Clint pushed away his fantasies of killing the man. “Easy, sweetheart. Easy.” He placed one hand on her back and the other over her diaphragm. “Nice and slow. Calm. I’m here. We’re here. Easy. Nothing and no one can hurt us as long as we’re together. In and out.”

  Her breathing calmed by slow degrees, but she had a death grip on the hand he’d placed on her midriff. Or maybe he had one on her.

  “What do we do?”

  Wide eyes stared at him, looking for answers Clint didn’t have.

  “We stand and fight. This is a bullshit move for attention. We’ll contact my attorney tomorrow and have a restraining order put against him.” For all the good it would do. A determined person wouldn’t let a piece of paper stand in his way. “If it was really him who sent the text.”

  Her eyebrows tugged closer, diminishing a little of the fear in her eyes.

  “I presume he has your phone number because of work.”

  Sandy nodded. “All firefighters have one another’s numbers.”

  “But there was nothing to identify who sent the text to you. Caller ID should have shown his number. Right?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s never contacted me before. Do you think it’s his sister playing mind games? Or maybe he used a different phone? If he’s been in the desert for four days, how would he know about this in the first place? If he was in as bad a condition as I was told when they rescued him, he wouldn’t be out of the hospital.”

  She relaxed a little. Clint wished he could. Someone was playing mind games, and he had a horrible suspicion he knew the culprit. Proving it wasn’t going to be easy.

  “All logical assumptions. It’s okay. We’ll contact Dwight in the morning. Maybe he can run a trace or whatever it is they do to find out where the call came from. Or we can call him now if you’d like.”

  “I don’t want you to call him at all.” Her grip tightened. “I don’t want anyone to hear about this. I don’t want them to suspect or question anything regarding this child.”

  Clint pulled her against his chest. “No one’s going to get to this baby, sweetheart. No one.” He’d kill before he allowed that to happen. Telling her that would only make her an accessory.

  “I’m scared.”

  “I am too.” He cupped her head to his chest, kissing the top.

  “Maybe we should go to a motel.”

  “No.” Clint pulled her far enough away to look in her eyes. “I know after last night it doesn’t seem like it, but we have the home advantage. We’re on alert and in a defensible position. We have several points of exit. Even if we couldn’t get to the vehicles, we could hop the fence and be gone. In a motel room, we would be trapped. Our things are staged to grab. We have weapons.”

  He pulled the garden knife from the nightstand and placed it in her hands. Sandy wrapped her fingers around the hilt. A deep breath set her shoulders. He could feel her determination seep into his bones.

  “Sleeping will be impossible.”

  He’d known she’d say that. Hell, he felt the same way. But it wasn’t an option. She needed her rest.

  “Not sleeping is going to make us vulnerable. We’ll take shifts. We’ll turn on all the lights in the house, with the exception of the bedroom. If someone’s watching th
e place, they’ll know someone’s awake and alert. I can call Tommy to come over too.”

  Sandy shook her head. “I don’t want him to suspect this isn’t your child.”

  Doubt already existed. Sticking their heads in the sand wasn’t going to change that, only time and the devotion they’d have toward the child. “Fair enough. I’ll take the first shift.” He slipped from bed and started to dress. “I’m going to turn on the lights. Where’s the other knife?”

  “I put the box of tools on a shelf in the garage.” Wrinkling her nose, she looked up. “I don’t suppose you have any guns.”

  “Nope. I don’t like guns. I don’t want them in my life, much less my house.”

  She managed a little smile. “Good.” Her smile faded. “You are coming back in here, right? I can’t sleep without you by my side.”

  “I’ll be here. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Clint dashed through the house, clicking on every light in the place, then retrieved the new knife and double-checked all the locks. He returned to the bedroom to find Sandy dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and socks, curled up on her side, facing the door, her eyes wide and the sheathed knife clutched in her hands. He vowed it would be the last time she lived in fear. This would be dealt with, whether she liked his tactics or not. No one was going to fuck with his little family.

  He propped himself upright against the headboard and reached for reading material. Both phones lay beside his tablet. She’d turned over all control to him. He would treat that with the respect it deserved and wouldn’t disappoint her.

  “You’ll wake me for my shift?” she asked.

  “I’ll wake you at dawn.” When she wouldn’t see danger behind every shadow outside. “That’ll give me a couple of hours’ sleep before I go to work.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Good.” He leaned down to kiss her. “I’ve got this.”

  With a sigh she relaxed her hold on the weapon, and he turned off the light so she could sleep. There was nothing he could do about the light filtering in from the rest of the house, nothing he wanted to do. He needed that sense of security as much as she did.

  He turned on the tablet to read but couldn’t focus on the book. His mind kept drifting to the text message, and Clint knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until he found out who’d sent it. Contacting Posner was out. Sandy was very firm about that, and he wouldn’t go against her wishes.

  Clint glanced at her phone. There were people who’d go to the mat for her, no questions asked. If this CJ person was that good at getting information, he might be able to get Clint the answers he needed. Trouble was, he didn’t know any of them except for Tim Delaney.

  Sandy’s going to kill me. Not if she didn’t find out. Her deep breathing signaled sleep. The phones were muted.

  He pulled both to his lap, then copied Tim’s number into his phone and sent a text outlining what had happened. He stared at the device, willing a response. When the text flashed, his heart jumped.

  Fucking bastard! He’s still in the hospital. There’s supposed to be a deputy posted outside to keep him there. Wait one while I call.

  Don’t call, Clint texted back. There might be more going on than we think. Don’t know if it’s him or someone else who works there. SIL is nurse. Bitch with agenda. Not first time she’s harassed a girlfriend. On duty at same hosp tonite.

  Will contact CJ and let you know. You need any of us there? We’d be there in a heartbeat.

  Don’t want Sandy to know I’m digging for info. Besides, she’s already refused having someone here. Sleeping now. Don’t want her disturbed.

  Got it. Give us time. BTW, you just won my wife’s heart.

  Looking over your shoulder?

  Always. He added a smiley face.

  Clint tried to focus on his book again. Not possible. Nervous energy demanded he pace a circuit around the house. Doing so risked waking Sandy. Plus, he’d promised to stay by her side while she slept. He settled instead for a word game he’d downloaded ages ago onto his phone and tried to lose his thoughts in it while he waited. A text flashed thirty minutes later. This time it was CJ texting Clint and Tim.

  CJ Jacobs here. Nice to meet. Not nice how.

  Clint agreed. They should be grilling hamburgers and hanging out, not playing this fucking game.

  Deputy found burner phone in Keith’s bed. Keith said got it from nurse. Then he pulled his lawyer card. Deputy kept track of who came in room. Your SIL is on the list. She’s being questioned.

  What do you want to do? Tim asked.

  Killing her came to mind. Nothing to do right now. Getting restraining order.

  Want to fill us in? CJ asked.

  Did he? They’d find out eventually if they dug deep enough. Valley View wasn’t that big a town. Annie’s actions proved a vendetta. Sandy was their family. Their concern would be for her welfare. Wasn’t it best they learn all this from him?

  It’s a lot to text, he told them.

  Trish says we’ve got time, Tim responded.

  Besides, you need something to help you stay awake, CJ added. Though knowing Keith is in the hosp you could go to sleep.

  All true. They were safe. Clint could sleep. Unburdening himself to Sandy’s closest friends seemed a better option. All right. Here goes.

  Hours flew by while Clint unburdened his soul for the second time that night. Others drifted in and out of the conversation. People who were names before became real to Clint—CJ, Gina, Mike, Bub, Berto—and he to them. Clint pulled no punches. He laid it all out for them, the bad and the good. He also left no doubt in their minds how much he loved their friend.

  It wasn’t a one-way conversation either. Clint learned about them personally and of their guilt, fear, and frustration over not being there for Sandy. Everyone blamed themselves for not seeing there was a bigger issue and helping her. Most especially, the two fire captains, Tim and Mike.

  By the time dawn kissed the sky, Clint realized what they’d all done for him. They’d taken turns staying with him through the night, backing him up should something go wrong. Tim and Trish had never once left. With four kids to wrangle for school, the lack of sleep would be telling. Mike and CJ had been there too, as much as the job allowed.

  I just realized what you’ve all been doing. Thanks for that, he told them. For staying with me.

  It’s what we do. You’re family now, Mike answered. You didn’t notice the fire truck parked outside?

  Clint laughed to himself. I didn’t. You?

  And CJ. It was a quiet night. Heading back to the station now. You need something, don’t hesitate.

  Thanks. He watched CJ and Mike disconnect. It’s time for me to wake her as I promised, he told Tim and Trish.

  Get some saltines first, Tim said for Trish. Make her eat them before she gets up.

  Clint smiled. Thanks for the reminder.

  We’ve got baby things when you’re ready, Tim added.

  Appreciate it. Hope to see you all in person soon.

  When they ended the call, Clint set his phone aside. There was no way he was going to be able to hide this from Sandy. He and her firefighter family now knew each other well, and that would be apparent the first time they got together. At least he hadn’t gone outside the work family for help, and they’d isolated the threat. That alone would make her happy as well as piss her off.

  He eased from bed to retrieve the crackers. When he returned, Sandy was stretching awake.

  “Morning, bright eyes.” He placed the crackers on the nightstand and leaned down to kiss her. “Eat these. Wait thirty minutes, and then try to get up.” He crawled over her to his side of the bed. “There’s no easy way to tell you this without getting myself in trouble, so I’ll skip right to it.”

  She rolled his way but said nothing.

  “I suspect Annie gave Keith a burner phone last night. He’s still in the hospital.”

  “Bitch,” she mumbled and snagged a cracker. “She better never show her face around me again. W
hy the hell would she do that? What did I ever do to her?”

  “Fell in love with me. She’s always blamed me for her life mistakes, even though she caused them.”

  “How did you find out?”

  Clint gave her his phone. “Read through the text messages, and all will be revealed. Wake me up in three hours. It won’t take me long to get ready for work.”

  He snuggled into his pillow and sleep wasted no time yanking him into a world of dreams. Pine trees grew in the refrigerator next to baby bottles. A baby’s cry became a cat’s meow in cribs made from tree branches. Sandy’s laughter sprinkled down on him like a soothing rain. Hot lips kissed his forehead. Hard nipples scored his chest. Fingers wrapped around—

  Clint jerked awake. Sandy lay atop him, smiling while she idly stroked his erection.

  “This is some wake-up call.” He brushed his fingers down her spine.

  “I thought you’d like it. It was a treat I couldn’t resist.” She sat up and astride his pelvis, making them one. “Relax. I’ll take care of everything.”

  “You’re asking the impossible.” He cupped her hips and pushed up. “But I’ll do my best.”

  Clint rocked into her, spurred on by the sight of her toying with her breasts and clit. Her sharp gasps and soft moans were punctuated by the squeeze of her muscles around him. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed lost in the moment. He fought to keep his open, longing to see the expression on her face when she came. Then she reached behind her and cupped his sac. Orgasm snapped his hips up. His eyes rolled closed as the fire consumed him—his own and hers.

  Sandy sagged into his arms. “And that’s not the only surprise I have for you.” She kissed him, rolled to one side, then handed him a mug of coffee.

  “Damn, I am the luckiest man in the world.” Sitting up, he wrapped his hand around the mug and dared a sip. “God, you are an angel.”

  “And so are you.” Sandy combed her fingers through his tousled hair. “I love you so much. I can’t believe you stayed up through the night, despite the fact there really wasn’t any threat.”

  “At that point, I was too mad to sleep. Plus, I didn’t want to take the chance. I had good company.”