When the Smoke Clears (Interracial Firefighter Romance) (12 page)

“No. If I do, you’ll take my soul.”

“But it will feel intoxicating.”

Her breathing turned heavy. She dropped her hands to her sides and swayed. She tried to think logically about the situation, but she couldn’t focus.

Luna was lost—under the spell of the full moon, drowning in the control of her people’s power and the essence of the land and the promise of love and sex. No words of reason traveled in the air. Only the sound of the ocean’s waves crashing and the crackling of the flames greeted her ears.

She was lost. Forgotten by others. Alone in a crowd. Broken before she knew what it meant to be complete. She’d sank into desperation. She craved to be loved, and prayed to be made whole by somebody.

Something.

But anything? No. Focus. I can’t think about this demon. My soul mate is out there.

Then the creature sang,
“So sweet. Her soul. It hangs out of her body for me. And my love will set her free. And our hearts are the victory.”

His silver horns sparkled as he stalked around her circle of fire.
“So sweet. Her soul. Ripe fruit. So heavenly. It bleeds out to me. And our hearts are the victory.”

“Be quiet.” She raised her hands to her ears and did her best to block out the singing, but the words had sounded promising. What he said, she hoped would be true.

“And our hearts are the victory.”

“Stop, please,” she begged.

“I love you,” he whispered. “Let down your walls. Let me show you.”

The flames rippled a little, but thank, god, they didn’t weaken.

“No!” Her nipples stiffened to hard buds that poked through her gown.

The demon moved his gaze to her points and licked his lips. Inside of Luna’s head, she pictured her mouth on his, tasting and sucking. How would his black skin feel against hers? How unyielding would the pleasure be? Demons were ancient beings, skilled in the art of desire and manipulation. Could he take away the loneliness?

No. What am I even thinking about? I can’t make love to a demon.

“Go!” She panted. Still her arousal coursed through every vein. The scent of her lust thickened the air. She almost chocked.

The demon inhaled the space around him and roared at the sky. Birds scattered away.

“Leave!” Wind whipped through her hair. She backed up.

“Take off your gown.” He touched the wall of fire. Sparks flared around his fingertips. He hissed and jerked back. “You’re strong, but your empty heart weakens you. Your hunger drains you.”

Was he right? Has she craved sex and love for so long that even a creature like him could entice her, have her body hot and dripping?

“Please, Mother Earth.” She lowered herself to the ground. “Please, save me.”

“She’s trying to,” the demon growled. “That’s why she sent me.”

“No.” She stared at him from the ground. “That can’t be true.”

“Then, you’re right.”

“What?” She blinked.

“Your mind is the creator of your reality. If I am not yours, then it will be true.” He touched the flames a little again. Less sparks appeared, but still he jerked back in annoyance. “But, if you believe that I am your soul mate, then it will be true.”

“How?”

“Because only you can control your destiny.”

“Lies.”

I stopped there.

Sunlight peered in through my window and I realized, I’d been writing all night.
Part of me wanted to work on the story some more, but the mother in me said no. It was time to make breakfast and spend time with Rich before he volunteered with the fire department.

And besides. . .what else would I say. Would Luna let down the wall and sleep with the demon? She couldn’t? But how would I stop this demon from taunting her? Why did I even write him in? What about her soul mate? Would he show up and save her? And where the hell was all of this going?

Well. . .

at least I didn’t blend a penis this time.

I patted myself on the back and dragged myself to wake my sleeping little boy.

Chapter 8

Lorenzo

I
stood in front of the station waiting for Kassie and Richard to show up and did my best to keep the eagerness from showing on my face.

Rockstar headed outside, dressed in the station’s t-shirt and jogging pants. A large cup of coffee held in his hand. Confusion wrinkled the edges of his eyes.

“What are you doing here, Lou? I thought you were off.” He got to my side and leaned on the brick wall behind us. “Who has the girls?”

“My mother. They’re doing a big beauty day. Apparently, no men are invited.”

“Lucky them.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Oh man, I have to tell you something.”

“What?” I looked his way.

“I don’t know how to say this to you.” Rockstar sighed. “I spotted Cicely a couple nights ago, walking down Tamiami Trail.”

It was a busy street. Cheap, by-the-hour motels and beat-up gas stations crowded both sides of the road. During the day, only a few runners or bikers mixed in with the filth. At night, pimps, dealers, and drugged-out prostitutes strolled up and down, hoping to entice a couple truck drivers or lonely perverted tourists speeding by.

“Yeah?” I turned back to the front drive and tried to keep my face neutral. “What time was it, when you saw Cicely?”

“I was leaving the strip club with this sweet thing. That new dancer named Gypsy. It must’ve been after midnight at least.” He said nothing else.

Please tell me you’re not out on the streets like that, Cicely. You can get killed.

Stress built up in my chest. Half the time, I read motivational books to deal with my emotions about Cicely. I didn’t love her like a husband anymore, but I did care for her very much. She’d brought my girls into the world, and someday, I hoped they could be reunited with her. If anything, it was in my best interests to save her.

But how the hell do I do that?

“I. . .” Rockstar began to talk and then stopped.

“What?”

Rockstar sipped more of his coffee and then said, “I stopped the car and gave her some money. I hope you’re okay with that. I just. . .I just didn’t want her out there like that.”

“I know. Thanks.” I rubbed my forehead and tried to make light of the situation. “I’ll be sure to give money to your future ex-stripper wife soon, too.”

Rockstar smiled. “I appreciate that.”

“Stop dating strippers, man. Seriously.”

“They’re not all bad.”

I blew out a long breath. “Yeah. You’re right. I shouldn’t do that. They’re not all bad.”

“When are you going to tell the girls the truth about their mom?”

“As long as she stays hidden, I was thinking we could do this until high school graduation.”

“No way.”

“I know.” I rubbed my eyes. “Soon. I’m going to sit down and tell them soon.”

“You said that last year.”

“I know.”

“And the year before that.”

“I know.”

“It’s not like I don’t like making fake photographs for you each year. It’s just getting harder to hear Faith or Hope talk about how excited they are to see their Mom this summer.”

“Yeah. I haven’t thought up a good reason for why she can’t come, this time.”

“Just. . .you got to tell them, Lou.”

“I know.”

Then Rockstar gave me an odd look. “Wait a minute. Why are you here? You’re a free man for the next three days. You’re off.”

I shrugged. “I decided to come in and help out with the volunteer program.”

“Damn, I forgot that was starting this month. How many knuckled heads do we have this year?”

“Three. One girl and two boys.”

“Three kids have already set off fire alarms?”

“Yep.” He sipped some of his coffee. “Are they all volunteering today?”

“No, just one of the boys. He pulled the alarm this week.”

“And he’s already going to be at the station to volunteer?”

“Yeah. His mother was pissed. She signed him up for two additional days.” I smiled at Kassie’s image filling my head.

“Brutal. She sounds like my mom.” Rockstar laughed and then gulped some more.

“Interesting.” I thought about the comparison. “Yeah, Kassie is very similar to Mrs. Patterson. She’s a strong black woman. Good mother, from what I’ve seen. Very determined to follow her dreams. She’s a writer.” I turned to Rockstar. “And she has an hour-glass figure like Mrs. P.”

“Don’t make me burn you with this.” He held his coffee cup in mid-air and tossed me an odd look. “Hold up. You sure know a lot about this kid’s mother.”

“I don’t know enough.”

Rockstar raised his eyebrows. “What?”

Kassie’s car pulled up into the large driveway that hooked around the front.

Rockstar said some more things. He probably had more questions for why I’d learned so much about Kassie. I didn’t hear one word he said. It all sounded like incomprehensible noise similar to the teacher in Charlie Brown who’d only say, “Womp Womp Womp.”

All real concern for everything around me left. My heart paused in my chest right as she parked the car. When she opened the door, I held in my breath. This was crazy, but I stopped breathing for a minute, ready to see if I hadn’t made a mistake. Was she as amazing as I thought she was, when I first met her?

She stepped out of the car.

Damn.

She wore baby blue yoga pants and a matching top that hugged her breasts and waist.

I forgot how beautiful she is.

Her curves killed me. She was so feminine and soft, with hips that arched out and curled like the tops of a heart. She looked like she was heading to the gym and I hoped she didn’t do too much. There were things on that body I wanted to grip as I pumped into her.

My dick is already waking up. I should’ve worn jeans.

I placed the clipboard in front of my groin. The last thing I needed to do was greet Kassie and her son with a hard-on.

“Oh, hells yes.” Rockstar tried to hand his cup to me. “Hey, Lou. Grab this for me. I think I got this from here. I’m going to greet her and make sure she’s good to go.”

I stared at the cup in his hand. “No, you’re on shift. Your focus is Richard.”

“Who’s that?”

I frowned. “Her son.”

We both turned back. Kassie moved to the other side of the car and placed her hands on her hips. She shouldn’t have, but she turned her back to us, and all that ass came into view.

“Goddamn,” Rockstar muttered.

“Eh,” I might’ve been too firm with the word, but at least I hadn’t knocked him in the head like I wanted to. “Don’t even look at it.”

“It’s pretty damn hard not to see.” Rockstar grinned. “Does she have a thing for firemen?”

“Eh. I’m pursuing her.” I tapped his arm so he could see the seriousness in my eyes. “Everyone stays away from her. Don’t even make nice with her, while she’s out here. She’s not a flame groupie. She’s my wife.”

“O-kay.” Rockstar edged away. “So. . .what did you say?”

“I’m doing my positive manifestation thing. You say what you want and it becomes what you asked for.”

“But your wife? You’re trying to marry her?”

Shocked, I shook my head. “No. I didn’t say wife. I said that she’s my. . .I don’t know.”

“No, man. You said she’s your
wife
.”

“I didn’t say that.” I turned back to her as she guided Richard toward us.

“Wow. You’re really into her. How long have you two been dating?” Rockstar asked.

“We haven’t been dating. I just met her a couple of days ago.”

“What the fuck?” Rockstar laughed. “How are you going to be pussy whipped before you get the pussy?”

“Shut up, man. Don’t curse around them.”

“She can’t hear me,” he whispered. “And can I say that you’re acting like a little teenaged girl?”

“Shut up.”

Kassie and Richard met us. She avoided my eyes the entire time. I didn’t even try to appear like I was looking away. I concentrated all my attention on her. Everything. The closer she got, my dick went hard as rock. The more I smelled her perfume, the more I wanted her curvy embrace.

“Good morning.” She waved at us and nudged Richard forward. “He’s ready to dedicate himself to a life of service, this morning. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” Richard kept his gaze on the ground.

“Hey, man.” I snapped to get his attention. “It’s not going to be that bad. In fact, if you keep a positive attitude, it might be an awesome experience. We have some fun things to mess with. And if you get the tasks done, I’ll take you to the training section in the far back. We can set some stuff on fire and then, hose it out.”

Richard’s face brightened. His words came out with ecstatic glee. “We can set some stuff on fire and put it out?”

I turned to see Kassie’s reaction. Horror dotted every inch of her face. She looked like I said that I would slam his head onto the concrete and hack his skull open with an ax. “Well. . . let me talk to your mom about the setting stuff on fire part.”