Play With Fire: Into The Fire Series Read online

  Jasmine sipped her coffee, and I was jealous of her lips when she swiped her tongue across the bottom, catching a drop of coffee.

  “We’ll be neighbors for a little while then. I think I’ll be there at least for the summer. You won’t even notice I’m there. I promise I’m a good neighbor,” she said with a subtle grin.

  She had no idea the effect she had on me. I managed to nod and took a gulp of my coffee, needing the rich, bitter flavor. “I’m on my way to the station. I’ll catch you later,” I said as I turned away, literally forcing my feet to walk away.

  Heading into the station, I told myself that the need that lashed at me whenever I was near Jasmine would fade. It had to.

  Later that afternoon, I turned to look at the flames licking at the sky. We were in the middle of handling a controlled burn just outside of Willow Brook. The owners of the property had given us permission to burn here. It would benefit them because we’d burn off clusters of dead spruce while also giving our crews an opportunity for training.

  It was a clear, cloudless day, and the wind was down. Half of our crew was just finishing up, with the rest rolling in to help manage the burn as it died down. I watched the flames flicker and listened to the sound of the trees burning for a moment. As I turned to walk away, I heard my name. Glancing up, I saw Levi walking toward me.

  The moment I saw him, Jasmine sashayed through my thoughts. Fuck me. I did not need to be this obsessed with his sister. He approached, flashing a half-grin. “Hey, so you guys got it nice and hot for us,” he said with a chuckle.

  “It’s not too bad. Y’all should be busy for a bit, but it’s already slowing down.”

  Levi nodded, his gaze sobering. “By the way, thanks again for taking care of Jasmine the other night.”

  “Of course. I’d do it for any friend.”

  I almost commented that she was now my neighbor—my way-too-close-for-comfort neighbor. But I didn’t. The last thing I needed to do was chat with Levi about his sexy as hell sister, who tempted me day in and day out.

  The less I thought about Jasmine, the better.

  Chapter Ten

  Jasmine

  Sitting at the round table in my parents’ kitchen, I looked out over the field behind the house. It was late, and the sun was only now starting to set. The kitchen offered a lovely view of a field with a stream at the far end winding into trees with the mountains in the distance. I didn’t suppose there was anywhere I could look in Alaska without ending the sentence “with the mountains in the distance.”

  Levi’s voice brought my focus back. Glancing across the table, I caught his grin as he rubbed Lucy’s round belly.

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “Are you going to do this every day for the rest of my pregnancy?” she asked with a smile. She was only a few months along, and Levi was already getting on her last nerve, although she was good-natured about it. My mother glanced between them, smiling indulgently. Levi and I had inherited our blue eyes from her, while my hair was darker than the blonde hair they shared.

  “I’m sure he will. Maybe humor him a little,” she suggested.

  Lucy laughed again, casting a smile in Levi’s direction. “I am.”

  Levi dipped his head, dropping a kiss on the side of her neck, and Lucy’s cheeks flushed pink. My heart gave a hard thump. There was something so adorable about them. My older brother, who had once been nothing but a player, had fallen so hard for Lucy, it was hard to imagine that he’d ever been anything other than madly in love with her.

  As for Lucy, well, she was on the prickly side, not exactly a warm and fuzzy type of person. Yet with Levi, it was obvious he cut right through her defenses.

  Emotion hit me with a flash. I wouldn’t say I missed Glen, I was still so angry and so hurt, but for a while there, I thought I’d finally gotten something right. I’d pieced together a life that offered an outlet for my art and was going to marry someone responsible and upstanding.

  My record with men before Glen, well, it wasn’t too stable. I seemed to have a knack for finding guys who wanted nothing more than another notch on their bedpost, while I was busy searching high and low for, well, something else. Glen seemed to want more, or so I’d been fooled into thinking.

  I leaned my elbows on the table, reaching for my water and taking a sip. My mother glanced my way. “So, dear, any ideas on what your plans are?”

  I bit back a sigh. I was averaging some variation of this question about five times a day right now. It had occurred to me this morning when I’d seen Donovan that he was about the only person who didn’t ask me “what next?”

  I forced a smile and tried to keep my tone casual. “I don’t know yet, Mom. I’ve got a place to stay, thanks to Janet, so I’m going to hunker down there. Amelia mentioned that Quinn is friends with a woman in Diamond Creek, who runs a gallery there and manages a few others. You remember Quinn Haynes, right?”

  “Of course I do!” my mother exclaimed. “I’m friends with his mother. Good grief. So proud of Quinn. He runs the family medical clinic in Diamond Creek now and has another baby on the way.”

  Levi chuckled, casting a glance my way. “Don’t you dare imply Mom might forget someone.”

  “Ha ha, I know. Anyway, I’m going to give Quinn’s friend a call. It’s a definite possibility. Even if she’s not interested in selling any of my pottery, maybe she’ll have some suggestions for me. Then, I need to find a place where I can set up my kiln and throwing wheel.”

  “I was thinking about that, by the way,” Lucy interjected. “Whenever you figure out where, if you want, Amelia and I can help out in between jobs.”

  A flash of excitement zapped through me. It felt as if my entire life was off balance and had been ever since I’d walked in on Glen and Lisa. Throwing pottery grounded me and made me feel sane. Perhaps it had only been a few weeks, but I missed it. With my entire life turned upside down, it would help to have that.

  “Well, let me see about where first. Then I’ll see what I need to do. Once I get some money coming in, I can pay you.”

  Lucy shook her head firmly. She and her best friend Amelia ran a construction company. “You’re not paying me. I can’t imagine it would be much work for us, maybe a day or two at the most.”

  I could feel the eyes of my mother, my father, and Levi on me. Somehow, I always felt like the one who needed to be taken care of in our family.

  “That would be great,” I finally said. “But I’ll still pay you back, one way or another.”

  My dad, who was definitely the quietest in our family, winked at me. “As far as I’m concerned, anything that’ll keep you here works for me. If you need my help, all you have to do is ask.”

  Levi rested his arm across the back of Lucy’s chair, his fingers sifting through the ends of her hair. He glanced down, the pride in his eyes evident. “Lucy and Amelia do the best construction work in town.”

  The tension bundled inside of me started to loosen slightly. I was still all over the place, both mentally and emotionally. With everything that had happened in the past week, I didn’t know which end was up anymore.

  Conversation moved on, and a while later, I walked out with Levi and Lucy. Pausing at the foot of the stairs leading to the deck, Levi caught my eyes. “You know, you didn’t have to move out.”

  We’d had some variation of this conversation every time I saw him in the days since I’d moved into the suite. Clearly, I’d hurt his feelings. Yet, he didn’t understand why I needed some space. In the fading light, I bit back another sigh.

  “I know, Levi. This way, I won’t feel like I’m underfoot.”

  Lucy spoke, nudging Levi with her elbow. “Babe, I told her plenty of times she was welcome to stay. I think maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t want her older brother breathing down her neck.”

  Lucy never failed to surprise me with her sharp perception. I hadn’t said a word to her about it, but obviously she understood. A flash of annoyance rose in Levi’s expression, his rich blue eyes narrowing.

/>   “I wasn’t breathing down her neck.” His eyes flicked back to me. “If you’re not planning on staying too long, don’t get Mom and Dad’s hopes up.”

  Now I was angry. I felt my cheeks heat, a mixture of hurt and anger tangling inside as I stared at Levi. My fun-loving, funny brother was a deeply caring person, and like so many siblings, we rubbed each other the wrong way sometimes. We also had some history that had only served to reinforce his tendency to be overprotective of me.

  The past was the past, but sometimes it left scars. I knew how foolish I felt, so I could only imagine how foolish I looked. I’d managed to get engaged to an asshole who screwed around on me, and lost both my temper and my job in the same afternoon. Here I was, back home, relying on family and friends to float me through this situation.

  As I stared at him, whatever he saw in my eyes, he closed his, giving his head a hard shake. Lucy stayed quiet, her own eyes wide as she glanced between us.

  Her uncertainty was unusual. If there was one thing I could count on with Lucy, it was for her to speak her mind.

  I swallowed through the tightness gathering in my throat and chest. When Levi’s eyes opened, I saw nothing but regret contained there.

  “I’m sorry, Jasmine,” he said, his voice low and his eyes pained. “I didn’t mean it the way that came out.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not like I don’t understand why you said it. I get it. Maybe I’m not sure of everything I’m doing, but I’m here and I’m not planning on going anywhere. I have to go,” I said, spinning and hurrying away.

  “Jasmine,” Lucy called from behind me.

  I felt her soft, yet steely presence as she caught up to me. “Do you need anything?” she asked softly.

  “I’m okay. I just need to go.” I looked beyond her as Levi approached.

  I waved and climbed into my car before the conversation could continue. Driving back into town toward Janet’s B&B—my temporary home—I felt restless and edgy. Buried underneath a scar, Levi’s words had torn at an old, painful truth. It hurt.

  I didn’t want to think. A few minutes later, I pulled up, swung my purse over my shoulder, and strode across the parking lot. I stepped into the downstairs, closing the door behind me. The rhythmic sound of somebody hammering something echoed through the downstairs. I figured Donovan must be working on something. The moment I turned to look into one of the rooms he was renovating, my mouth went dry.

  There was Donovan fully clothed, and then there was Donovan wearing nothing but a pair of faded black jeans and no shirt. The man was dangerous for my sanity, yet now, it was all I could do not to simply melt to the floor. He hadn’t heard me come in, so my eyes took full advantage of the free moment. He was holding a two-by-four in place at the top of what I assumed would be a new wall. His back was on display for me. It was nothing but muscle. My eyes tracked the hard planes, glistening with a sheen of sweat.

  A sweet ache built between my thighs, and my pulse lunged to a gallop.

  I was just standing there, staring at him, when he turned. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me. Yet, he appeared far more in control in this moment while I took “hot and bothered” to an entirely new level.

  I didn’t doubt for a second that my cheeks were on fire. I might as well have handed over my ovaries on the spot. That was how needy I felt.

  Hopefully oblivious to my internal state, Donovan slowly lowered his arm, his hand curled loosely around the grip of the hammer. Even at rest, he was glorious. Sweet hell, I wanted him. He was positively lickable. My eyes followed the dusting of dark hair narrowing to disappear behind his waistband. My fingers literally itched to touch him.

  Before I knew it, I was walking toward him as if drawn by a powerful tug. I didn’t even bother to resist. I wanted Donovan, and I wanted him now.

  Chapter Eleven

  Donovan

  Jasmine walked across the room, her hair falling in tousled waves around her shoulders and her sapphire eyes darkening as she approached me. She’d caught me off guard. I’d come home after what should’ve been a tiring day, still wrestling with a sense of restlessness. I’d thrown myself into working downstairs. Unfortunately, that hadn’t taken the edge off.

  The moment I sensed Jasmine’s presence behind me, it was as if a whip snapped through the air, the sensation akin to lightning on a stormy day, electrifying everything.

  She wore her cowboy boots with a skirt—a stretchy, cotton skirt that hugged her hips and flared just below her knees. Atop that, she wore a loose blouse with a scoop neck, the tiny buttons marching down the valley between her breasts—the sheer cream-colored silk serving to convince my eyes I could see the silky lace of her bra behind it. I had no idea if I actually could, yet my body thought so. All she had to do was exist, and she was a tease.

  I dragged my eyes up to her face just as she came within a few feet of me. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes wide. I didn’t know how to read her expression. Hell, I didn’t know why I thought I should. I needed to keep a clear distance between Jasmine and me. I did not need to be lusting after my friend’s little sister.

  But there was need, and then there was the need I felt for her, which shorted out every circuit in my brain.

  I knew I saw desire flickering in her eyes. The moment our eyes collided, that whip cracked again, sizzling the air with electricity. My cock swelled, and I curled my hand tighter around the hammer, as if gripping that would help me maintain control.

  As she stared at me for a beat, the hard look in her eyes fell away, and I glimpsed vulnerability in the depths. Somehow, that only made me want her more. An intense sense of protectiveness rolled through me. The protectiveness only served to feed into the need I already felt for her.

  We stood in silence for several moments, our eyes locked together. I tried to tell myself I couldn’t act on my feelings. Yet, raw desire hijacked all rational thought. I told myself nothing would happen unless she made the first move.

  She took two more steps, closing the distance between us. I could feel the heat of her body as her scent drifted to me—a subtle musky scent mingled with strawberries. I distantly wondered if that was her shampoo.

  She reached for the hammer in my hand, taking it from me.

  “You don’t need this,” she said, her husky voice wrapping like smoke around me, heating the air and sending another hot jolt of lust through my body.

  I barely heard the hammer fall to the floor. She wasn’t very tall, her head just coming to my shoulder, as she lifted her hand to trace the stubble along my jawline. Just like that first night I met her, her touch was like fire on my skin.

  Even though I told myself she had to make the first move, the moment she touched me, I slid my hand into her hair, cupping the nape of her neck. I held still for a beat, almost as if I were testing myself to see if I could hold back.

  I couldn’t. In a flash, my mouth was on hers. That point of contact—when our lips collided—was like a match being thrown into gasoline. It flashed hot and high around us. I couldn’t have told you if I meant to go slow because that was impossible. The moment her lips softened and she sighed into my mouth, I swept my tongue into hers and our kiss went wild.

  Her tongue tangled with mine, and she stepped closer as my hand moved from her hair down her spine to cup her sweet ass. I growled into her mouth, and she arched against me, her soft breasts pressing against my chest. I could feel the tight little points of her nipples through the thin silk of her blouse.

  Fuck me.

  I had known the moment I saw her, before I ever knew who she was, that it would be like this. There was my mind and then there was my body. My body recognized her as a touchstone to mine.

  Her hand traveled across my chest, tracing along its planes. Everywhere she touched sent streaks of fire under the surface of my skin. To think I once thought I could hold back, that I could be sensible, that I wouldn’t give into this burning, yearning white-hot desire for her. My restraint—what little there had been—burned to ashes i
n the searing heat of our kiss.

  In a very distant corner of my mind, reason knocked its fist loudly on the door, just barely puncturing the haze of need.

  Hanging onto the thinnest thread of control, I tore my mouth free, instantly missing the feel of her lips under mine, and almost dragging my tongue along the side of her neck. I could see the wild flutter of her pulse in her neck, her scent wrapping around me like a drug.

  That distant voice forced me to speak.

  “Are you sure you want this?” I asked.

  I couldn’t have told you if I was asking myself that question, or Jasmine. Perhaps both.

  Her eyes stared back, hazed with desire. Her lips were swollen and red from our kiss and her cheeks flushed. She didn’t move, every inch of her front pressed against me. Somewhere in the midst of the madness of our kiss, my knee had slid between her thighs. I could feel the damp heat of her pussy through the layers of fabric between us. I knew, without even touching her, that she was hot and slick. I couldn’t wait to test that theory.

  She stared at me, completely silent. The only sound in the room was our breathing, hers coming in little pants and my own in ragged gasps. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

  “I’m sure,” she finally replied, her husky voice wrapping around me, tightening the ropes of need twining around us.

  I was so fucking out of it that, for a second, I forgot my question. Her mouth curled at the corner in a half-grin. “Are you sure?”

  That voice of reason, still not quite completely drowned out, spoke. “Your brother’s my friend,” I murmured.

  Oh, she didn’t like that answer.

  Her eyes narrowed, darkening further. “Levi’s not my keeper. He sure as hell doesn’t have a say in my sex life,” she said flatly, lifting her chin, almost as if she were daring me.

  We stood there, the air heavy as if a storm were impending—weighted, powerful, and restless to be unleashed.