She needed a lighthouse for the fog in her head. The feel of his hardness right there—where she wanted him the most—was sweet in its newness and achingly raw in its demand. So much time had passed since she’d last been held. Too many times she figured she’d never have those things again.
His palms traced her ribs, dipped into the curve of her waist and over the flare of her hips. The plastic fringe of her skirt rustled with his touch. He spoke low in her ear; his gravelly voice sent heat straight between her thighs.
“You feel so good.” He grasped her chin and turned her head for a deep, aching kiss. Her mind was so busy absorbing his scent, his feel, his touch, that formulating a response was an unnecessary distraction. Garrett cupped the sides of her breasts, his warm palms pressing against soft flesh and the hard plastic of novelty coconuts. She’d never wanted to be rid of that bra as much as she did just then.
“This makes up for you rejecting me.” Garrett’s voice was teasing and husky at the same time. His hands ran along her sides, making it clear they were playing with a fire neither of them would escape if this kept up.
Lily’s middle fluttered with delicious anticipation over the thought of having Garrett inside her. Here on the bench, against the gazebo wall, hell, on the floor—it didn’t matter. She was so caught up in her body, she didn’t immediately process what he’d said.
“I rejected you?”
He nipped her neck. By the easy way he drew pleasure out of her, Lily had no doubt Garrett would turn her into a pile of mush—a sated pile of mush—in no time. Yet as he embraced her, held her tenderly as though there was no reason to rush, a sense of familiarity and ease settled over her. Being comfortable in his arms was almost as pleasurable as the intimacy.
“I’m Mr. September.”
Garrett nuzzled his nose against her jaw. Lily froze. What? Fate wouldn’t be such a bitch to her, right? Her one time letting loose with a guy like this.... He couldn’t be... A knot of unease tightened in her gut, the same as it had each time she’d seen the DFD shirts earlier.
She leaned back. “Are you—are you a firefighter?”
He trailed a finger over her cheek, eyes narrowed and concerned. “Ah, yeah. Assistant chief for DFD.”
The gazebo seemed to turn inside out, the space getting smaller just as her chest seemed to shrink, too. Couldn’t breathe... She could barely draw a breath, her muscles paralyzed but begging to run. With great effort, Lily blindly slid off him, tears threatening to spill over in a vicious flood. He was just another fireman, one who could have very well been standing around, doing nothing, on the worst night of her life....
This wasn’t fair. She wasn’t supposed to be reacting this way. She was better now.... Dammit, she was better!
“Son of a bitch!” The words tumbled in her head and fell out of her mouth. She turned and faltered as she moved to the exit. Garrett was behind her in a flash, his hand wrapping gently around her upper arm.
Lily went cold inside. She wanted to pull away from him, but her stunned nerves were slow to react. “I thought you were just the hot bartender.” She put a shaky hand to her forehead. The one time she gave in to impulse, and this was her punishment. Firefighters were off-limits. There was no way she’d knowingly get involved with one.
He carefully turned her to face him, one hand out, palm up. Lily’s muscles were stiff; her body resisted his touch. “I own the bar with my uncle Brad, and I’m a firefighter on the department, too. What’s going on?”
There wasn’t any way to explain what was going on because she didn’t fully understand it herself. This bitterness, this...disgust and anger had all come on so quickly, bringing memories with it. Memories of flame, heat, screaming and death. She was unprepared for the emotions, and she found herself equally unprepared for the blend of emotions she could see on Garrett’s face—the confusion alone stabbed her with guilt. She was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
He spread his hands. “Tell you what? That I’m on the fire department?”
She pulled away from him and ran a hand through her bangs. “I never would have... You and I would never have—”
“Whoa—Lily, talk to me.”
She could still feel his body heat on her skin like a brand, but he didn’t make another attempt to touch her.
Her lower lip trembled as the dumbstruck sensation was slow to go away.
“Firemen are off-limits.”
Each second she stared at him was punctuated by the beat of pain inside her heart and the memory of her sister’s face. The firemen were supposed to save Katja that night. But they’d stood by and watched as the building burned to the ground.
On the edge of ugly crying, Lily turned and rushed across the lawn to the street where her car was parked. One quick glance behind was enough to pick at her with guilt under the shock and anger.
Garrett hadn’t moved—he was just standing there, watching her leave.
* * *
WELL, EITHER THAT was karma for some past transgression or he’d seriously misread the entire situation. Despite his confusion over what had just happened, Garrett was concerned at how genuinely upset Lily was. He moved away from the gazebo as she hurried to cross the street in the rain, positioning himself so he had a clear view of her slipping into her SUV.
As she pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the street, Garrett was pretty sure this had been the strangest encounter he’d had with a woman in a long time. Women loved firefighters, at least in his experience. Lily was the first one he’d met who didn’t. Firemen were off-limits? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
He brushed his soaked bangs away from his eyes. Whatever. He’d rushed into thinking their flirtation was going to turn into something more. With all the other responsibilities he had hanging over his head right now, adding a complicated one-night stand was the last thing he needed. Luckily, Lily’s true feelings had come out before they’d gone any further.
The ground squished beneath his feet as he crossed to the sidewalk and hurried back to the bar. If anything, he should be glad he’d avoided potential disaster tonight. But the stab of disappointment in his gut said otherwise, and that was almost as confusing as Lily’s hot-and-cold attitude.
She was as sexy as sin; he couldn’t deny that. Any man would have felt disappointed to lose out on a woman that hot. That was all this hollow sensation was about.
Garrett pushed open the door, immediately relishing the sounds of music and laughter. Nothing like a packed bar to take his mind off, well, everything. His brain was full of so much stuff lately, any little distraction was welcome. He licked his lips, tasting rain and the lingering sweetness of Lily’s kiss.
Oh, well, game over. Back to reality. He pushed through the crowd, trying to ward off the multitude of comments and gibes about his soaked clothes and dripping hair. A couple of women took the liberty of running their fingers over his wet shirt, sending clear reminders that female companionship could be found. If he was still interested, which he wasn’t.
Rejection was a bitter pill to swallow, wasn’t it? Garrett smirked to himself as he slipped behind the bar and moved to the door that led to the back rooms. He had an extra set of clothes in his office, thankfully. He’d just turned the handle when Mikey called his name. Garrett spun to see his best friend sidling up to the bar with a grim expression.
“Where you been? I tried calling you.” Concern was thick in Mikey’s voice, jangling Garrett’s nerves.
“I...walked a lady out. My cell’s in the office. Why?”
Mikey’s face fell into soft sympathy. “Sorry, man, but your uncle Brad’s been rushed to the hospital.”