Taylor flashed her friends a coy grin, grabbed the magazine from the table and pushed to her feet. “If you don’t see me this weekend, don’t worry. I might not be up for air in a while because sexy firefighter Christian Bain is about to get hit with the biggest, hottest blaze of his life, and I’m afraid it might take days for him to tamp down those kind of flames.”
2
Feeling tired, yet edgy, Christian paced around his apartment, needing something, anything, to do with his hands before he crossed the hall, grabbed his neighbor and spent the entire weekend fucking her until work beckoned them both Monday morning. He grabbed his basketball from his sofa and began spinning it on the tip of his finger, trying desperately to focus on something besides his sexual urges.
Jesus, no matter how hard he tried, no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake his goddamn arousal or get his mind off his best friend, Taylor Dayton. Nor could he stop thinking about how warm, soft, sexy and inviting she’d looked down at The Hose earlier that night.
What he and Taylor had going was a good thing. A damn good thing. And even though adding a little sex into the mix would make things perfect, lessons learned long ago had taught him that sex and friendship didn’t always mix. So he kept his hands to himself, no matter how much he wanted to put them on Taylor.
The truth was, he loved being around Taylor more than anyone knew, and the last thing he wanted to do was drive a wedge between them by telling her how much he’d like to have her in his bed.
Therefore, he continued to pace in an effort to walk off his sexual frustration.
Of course, if she was willing to make the first move…
Temporarily ignoring his raging erection, he sidestepped the newspapers stacked in a neat pile on his floor. Normally he would have brought home one of the women from The Hose and buried his cock deep inside her in a quest to squelch his hard-on for Taylor. But hell, even that wasn’t helping anymore. Casual sex had lost its appeal when all he wanted was Taylor in his apartment, his arms and his bed. He ached to kiss her, touch her and fuck that smoking hot body of hers all night long.
Earlier in the evening when Michael had crossed the bar to talk to Taylor, Christian had damn near gone postal on him. It took all his restraint not to stalk over there, pummel Michael senseless and warn him to keep his distance from her. Jesus, talk about overstepping his boundaries. Taylor was his friend, nothing more. And she’d certainly reminded him of that enough lately.
Christian glanced at his watch. Here it was nine o’clock on a Friday night and he was home alone with the palm twins, ready to grease them up and put them into action. He should be out prowling with his buddies, not pacing the floor, pining over his next-door neighbor. He stole another glance at his watch. Maybe he’d head on over to the station and shoot some hoops with one of the guys.
Grabbing his keys, he walked to the door, pulled it open and, much to his surprise and delight, came face to face with the star of his erotic dreams.
Poised to knock, Taylor titled her chin. Gorgeous green eyes lit up when they met his. She angled her head, dropped her hand and shot him a playful glance. “I didn’t realize you were psychic.”
He grinned, letting his gaze race over her body. “I bet you didn’t know about my x-ray vision either.”
Chuckling, she looked past his shoulder and scanned his apartment. “I’m not catching you at a bad time, am I?”
“No. I was just heading down to the station for a little one on one.” Although he’d much prefer a little one on one with her. When her lips curled down in a frown, Christian cupped her elbow and hauled her inside. “What is it?”
“If you’re busy—”
“I’m not busy. Want to come in and watch a movie? I just picked up a new pint of ice cream,” he added, hoping to sweeten the deal with chocolate and sugar. Okay, okay, so he could have at least tried to mask his enthusiasm a little.
She rolled on the balls of her feet, the way she always did when she had something on her mind. “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me out.”
When her voice took on a serous edge, his grin dissolved. “Of course. Anything, anytime. You know that.”
“I knew I could count on you.” She slipped her bag from her shoulder and dropped it on the floor.
Trying for casual he said, “Hey, what are friends for?” He guided her into the living room and plunked himself down on the sofa.
“Exactly. That’s why I came to you. Only a real friend could help me with my dilemma.”
“Dilemma?” He patted the seat beside him, concern gnawing at his insides.
She didn’t sit next to him, like usual. Instead she released the top button on her blouse and positioned herself directly in front of him.
His eyes strayed to her chest, carefully watching the way she moved with innocent sensuality. When he got a flash of tanned skin, he licked his lips with longing. He studied her body language a moment longer and noted that she seemed a little different tonight, a little sexier, a little edgier, and a whole lot wilder.
Her finger played over the next button, fueling his lust and deepening his need for her. For a split second he envisioned himself disrobing her, his hands racing over her silky smooth skin,
