Burn Read online

  Burn

  Cathryn Fox

  Cathryn Fox

  Contents

  Burn

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Afterword

  Love Lessons

  About Cathryn Fox

  Also by Cathryn Fox

  Burn

  Previously published with Samhain Publishing

  Copyright 2016 by Cathryn Fox

  Published by Cathryn Fox

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  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Discover other titles by Cathryn Fox at www.cathrynfox.com.

  Please sign up for Cathryn’s Newsletter for freebies, ebooks, news and contests: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/c1f8n1

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  ISBN ebook: 978-1-928056-24-9

  1

  “Okay, what do I have to do to get Christian to look at me like that?” Taylor Dayton asked her two friends as they all sat around The Hose, the local watering hole where the firefighters from Station 419 gathered for a nightly game of eight ball.

  Megan, Taylor’s friend and coworker at Chez Frontenac, the finest French restaurant in Chicago, twisted sideways and shot hunky firefighter Christian Bain a glance.

  With his stance casual and his body language confident, Christian’s eyes filled with lust as he perused one of the regulars who’d just sensuously sidled up to him, her body conveying without words what she wanted to do with his hose.

  Megan arched a brow. “He’s a real hottie, isn’t he?”

  As Taylor acknowledged the flare of desire deep between her legs, she said, “Oh yeah, he’s hot all right. Hot enough to set off the smoke detectors in our apartment complex.” Taylor took a much-needed sip of her strawberry daiquiri hoping the cool drink would help tamp down the passion rising in her. Waving her hand in front of her face as she melted, she continued with her litany of why Christian was so damn hot. “Honestly, it’s hell living next door to him sometimes.”

  “How so?” Megan asked.

  Taylor angled her head for a better view, her unsatiated pussy muscles rippling in response to the erotic vision before her. No two ways about it, the guy was downright scrumptious. Her gaze raced over him, taking in his roguish good looks and nipple-hardening virility before stopping to linger at the apex between his legs. She took a brief luxurious moment to conjure up the image of those muscular legs entwined with hers. The mere thought of it had her body reacting with urgent demands.

  With his seductive blue eyes, sun-kissed blond hair, and strong, athletic body, the guy was all rolled up into one perfect package designed for sex, sin and seduction.

  As languorous warmth stole through her, Taylor blew out an agonized breath. “Christian’s a regular carnival attraction, the neighborhood bicycle, if you will. He has women lined up a mile long, eager to take a ride on his banana seat.”

  Astute eyes trained on Taylor, Megan flashed a cocky grin. “Everyone but you, I take it.”

  Under the cotton of his blue T-shirt, his striated muscles bunched and relaxed again with each easy movement. Liquid desire moved through Taylor as she studied him, taking pleasure in his every enticing shift. She also took pleasure in the way his long capable fingers slid up and down his pool cue in a smooth, fluid motion as he chatted with Miss Hot Pants. Heat erupted in Taylor’s pussy as her mind took her on an erotic journey, imagining how those fingers would feel stroking her body in a similar fashion, one part in particular, actually. As she indulged her wayward thoughts, her body quaked with excitement. An erotic whimper bubbled in the depths of her throat.

  Damn, he was yummy.

  When her eyes met his, a sensuously wicked grin turned up his mouth. His smile was a little arrogant, and a whole lot sexy. Sexual longing swamped her as he fueled the flames inside her belly. Feeling suddenly feverish, she licked her dry lips. Honestly, the man oozed sex appeal like none other. An unexpected flood of moisture dampened the juncture between her legs and brought on a quiver.

  Taylor worked to compose herself. “Yeah, everyone but me,” she croaked out, her sex clenching with need, her nipples tightening in euphoric bliss, begging to be touched, licked and suckled by none other than drop-dead-gorgeous firefighter Christian Bain, aka her best friend.

  “So ask him out.” Megan tossed a salted peanut into her mouth. “What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is it’s too late for that. We’re in the friendship zone.” She paused to do air quotes around that one word. “I’m his buddy, his pal, someone to eat chunky monkey ice cream with or watch movies with after one of his weekend-long fuck fests.”

  “So you want to be part of his weekend-long fuck fest then?” Sara piped in.

  “Hell yeah. But he doesn’t seem to be interested in me that way.” Taylor paused, pursed her lips and cut her hand through the air. “Come to think of it, I haven’t been attracting a whole hell of a lot of attention from any of the guys around here lately. And those few men I have ended up between the sheets with haven’t bothered to call back for seconds.” She glanced at her friends. “Is there something wrong with me?” Toying with her ponytail, Taylor took note of her jeans and loose-fitting blouse. At twenty-nine maybe she’d skipped right over the vivacious-vixen stage and straight into grooving granny.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with you.” Megan gestured with a nod toward the washrooms. “Look at that cutie over there. He’s speaking to another guy right now and pointing your way. I think he’s got his hose aimed in your direction, chicky.”

  Taylor glanced toward the long hallway housing the washrooms—a hallway that she’d come from minutes earlier—and took note of the guy looking her way. As far as cute went, that firefighter had it in spades, but he was no Christian Bain. Not by a long shot. Still, he looked like a guy who could get the job done. And tonight, after watching Christian work the pool table, she desperately needed the job done. Either that or she was about to spontaneously combust.

  As Mr. Cute Guy moved across the room, toward her, she noticed Christian’s body language and took in his watchful eye. Gaze riveted, he leaned against the pool table and perused the action with mute interest. His brotherly instincts were kicking into high gear, no doubt. When his blue gaze flitted across her face, it triggered a craving deep inside her—a craving she knew only he could sate.

  Bending forward, Mr. Cute Guy put his mouth close to her ear, his warm breath hot on her neck. Speaking in whispered words, he said, “I think you lost something.�
�

  Oooh, a new pick-up line. How refreshing. Taylor waited to hear more, but instead of whispering sweet nothings and telling her all the naughty things he’d like to do to her later that evening, he held his hand out.

  Mortified, she swallowed down the lump rising in her throat and glared at the hair net swinging from his extended fingers.

  Oh hell!

  “I think this fell out of your bag earlier, ma’am.”

  “Thanks,” she blurted out. With little finesse she snatched the hair net and stuffed it into her pocket.

  How. Totally. Frigging. Embarrassing.

  After Mr. Cute Guy twisted around and made his way back across the room, Taylor threw her hands up in the air, knowing it was time to make some changes before she turned into one of those little old ladies with four hundred cats.

  “Okay, girls, I’ve had it. That’s the last time a hot guy my age is going to call me ma’am.” She slammed her hands down on the table, her voice taking on a serious edge. “It’s time for drastic measures.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Megan rubbed her palms together, her blue eyes widening with interest.

  After a moment she said, “Clearly, it’s time for a new wardrobe, new hair, new makeup and a new attitude.” Taylor glanced at the women throwing themselves at Christian. “I want to look and act like one of those hot babes. Then maybe Christian will finally notice me.” She chewed on her bottom lip and scanned the room. “Now, where to start?”

  “Ask him to shave you,” Sara said.

  Taylor’s eyes flew open, her jaw falling slack. “What? Shave me? What the hell are you talking about?”

  Sara, who wrote sexy, hot topic articles for Entice, a Chicago-based magazine for today’s strong, sexually empowered women, pulled a copy of her latest publication from her tote bag. She flipped open to one of her articles. “Here, look. I did this piece on shaving the pubic area and took a poll on which style men liked most, which just so happens to be the landing strip.”

  Taylor glanced at the periodical and read the descriptions beneath each picture. Close trim, Brazilian, triangle, patch, au natural and landing strip. She pulled a face. “You want me to ask Christian to give me a landing strip?”

  Sara nudged her with her elbow. “Hey, he needs to park his bicycle somewhere doesn’t he?”

  “Sara—”

  Sara cut her off and lifted her arms, putting her palms face out. “Taylor, you’re giving me that look again.”

  Taylor cocked her head and planted her hands on her hips. “You mean the one that says I think you’re insane or the one that says I’m insane for having this conversation?”

  Sara chuckled. “Both. Listen, just hear me out before you veto my idea.” When Taylor nodded in acquiescence, Sara continued, “You two are friends, right?”

  “Yeah, we’re pretty close.”

  “So take the magazine over to Christian’s place and have a little fun with him.”

  “Having a little fun with him is what I’ve been trying to do all along, Sara.” Taylor pulled the elastic band from her hair and ran her fingers through her curls. She shook her head, letting her long hair tumble over her shoulders. “That’s my whole point, but he doesn’t look at me with lust in his eyes.”

  Sara quirked a brow and Taylor could almost hear the wheels turning. “No worries, my friend. I know just how to change all that.”

  “Please, enlighten me.” Unconvinced, Taylor shot Sara a dubious glance.

  “Play the friendship angle. Tell him you’ve been in a long, dry spell and just ask him what he likes in a woman. Pull the magazine out and ask him which shape he prefers, then mention you’re out of shaving cream. Once you’ve taken the game that far, you might as well go all the way with it.” She leaned in and whispered, “And sweetie, you just never know what might pop up.”

  Megan squealed. “I think this is a perfect plan, Taylor. It’s time to show him you can be friends with benefits, tease the shit out of him in the process, and really make him pay for not begging you to ride his banana seat sooner.”

  Sara touched Taylor’s hand, her mouth curled at the corners. “If anyone can pull this off, Taylor, it’s you.”

  Jesus, she could hardly believe her friends had come up with such a devious, delicious plan. Actually, she could hardly believe that she hadn’t thought of it herself.

  As her mind sorted through matters, and the outlandish scheme to get Christian to see her as more than a best friend began to formulate and take shape in her mind, her stomach tightened with excitement, her thighs tingled in anticipation and her pussy practically dripped with desire. Hmmm, maybe a little teasing and a little payback for not paying any attention to her sexually was just what the doctor ordered.

  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.