Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) Read online

“Are you sure you don’t know any of the girls in those photos you took from the clubs?” He struggled to sit up a little straighter against the pillows without dislodging Cassie from his embrace. “Maybe we should look through them again.”

  “We can’t. I left my phone at the house in case the killer somehow put tracking software on it. Since it isn’t Morgan, whoever’s after me could be around every day without me even aware they hate me. They could have had access to anything I bring to work.”

  That was true enough. He should be glad she thought of that before bringing her phone here. Even if the person put something on Frankie’s phone, it made sense for him to be at a hotel considering his and Cassie’s ‘fight.’ Besides, it was clear the person wasn’t after him. As far as Cassie’s stalker was concerned, Frankie was an inconvenience who was in the way last night when the person had planned to kill her. All the killer would care about tonight was that Cassie was alone in her house with Frankie nowhere nearby.

  A cold chill went through his body as he thought about that. What if he hadn’t insisted on going home with Cassie yesterday? It would have been her body found mutilated in the park this morning instead of that other poor woman.

  He hugged her tighter, bile rising in his throat.

  “You’re shaking.” Cassie lifted her head from his chest to make eye contact, using the tip of her index finger to gently caress his cheek. “It’s going to be okay. Everything’s fine. I’m safe.”

  He nodded. “I was thinking about how close this bastard got to you, though. What if I had stayed at the rehab center yesterday?”

  “Shhh...” She flattened her palm against his cheek, the feel of her skin against him calming his fears just as it had done when he had the nightmare. “It didn’t happen, and that’s all that matters now.”

  He so badly wanted to kiss her. No, more than that. He wanted to shove her against the bed and tease her into a frenzy, making her come again and again until neither of them thought about anything but each other. Unfortunately, even if she were willing, Frankie was no longer in a condition to be able to accomplish that goal.

  He cleared his throat, looking away from her. “You should go relax for a bit. There’s a huge whirlpool tub in the bathroom. Once dinner arrives, we can eat and find a movie to watch if you’d like.”

  She didn’t move right away, and Frankie wondered if her thoughts had been headed the same direction as his or whether her only goal was to comfort him and nothing more.

  After another moment, she pulled back. “They said it would take forty-five minutes for our food to get here. I’m going to leave the bathroom door open a crack. Will you tell me when a half hour has passed so I can get out?”

  Leaving the door open might have sounded like a come on if their circumstances were different, but Cassie surely realized Frankie was too exhausted tonight to get himself into the wheelchair without help.

  Instead of allowing himself to wish that was an invitation to join her, he simply nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll watch TV while I wait. Have a good bath.”

  ***

  Cassie pulled the drain on the tub, rising from the water and wrapping a nearby plush towel around her body. She dried quickly, happy to find cherry blossom moisturizer provided by the hotel to rub into her skin.

  Thankfully, Big Frank had been smart enough to have her pack a few things in the bottom of Frankie’s bag during the supposed fight. She had her personal items, a fresh change of clothes, and a long T-shirt to wear as a nightgown. Maybe not what she would have picked for her first night alone in a hotel with a man, but it was all she could fit without anyone watching become suspicious about how much stuff Frankie took from the house.

  At least her panties were sexy, not her regular cotton briefs. The pink silk felt nice against her skin as she pulled them on, not that she figured Frankie would even notice. Every time they started to get close, he hesitated, pulling away. Maybe she should be doing the same thing, but after everything they’d been through today she no longer wanted to. She’d been certain something was about to happen out on the bed earlier, and then he’d sent her away, as though he could no longer handle touching her.

  Perhaps he was nervous, having not been with a woman since his accident. It could go even deeper than that. Maybe he figured, just like Cassie did, that once they had sex there was nothing lasting between them. The crushes they’d developed on each other had more to do with working together so close for so long, not any actual feelings of attraction. The sex would be great, she was sure, but then they would naturally drift apart. She wasn’t anxious for that to happen either, but it was what it was. They may as well have fun tonight, enjoying the fact that they were completely safe, guarded by the police force, and surrounded by the luxury of a fabulous hotel.

  When morning came and the cops had caught the killer, Frankie’s reasons for staying with her would be over. Cassie hadn’t been with a man in such a long time that she didn’t want to let this opportunity pass without taking advantage of it. Either way, tomorrow everything would be different, so why not enjoy the moment?

  She pulled her T-shirt over her head, then ran the towel through her hair to dry it. It wasn’t a surprise to see how pink her cheeks had become when she looked in the mirror. Cassie had never planned on having a one-night stand before, but this felt good and right. She wanted to be with Frankie, even if that meant it was a one-time deal.

  After running a brush through her hair, she walked back to the main part of the room.

  Frankie lay on the bed, his bad right hand propped behind his head while he flipped absently through television channels with the remote in his other hand.

  “Nothing good on?” she asked, wandering slowly toward him as she plotted what to do. Since dinner would arrive at any moment, she should probably hold off. It could be rather embarrassing to have the officer knocking on their door and rambling about peaches while she satisfied different appetites.

  “There never is,” he said, not looking away from the screen. “They have some videos to rent, though. Do you like action or comedy?”

  It went through her mind to ask if they had anything X-rated, and heat once again rose up her neck. She’d never in her life watched a porno before, but if it would help Frankie from pulling away from her, she was game.

  Bypassing the bed, she took a spot in the plush chair in the corner of the room. “Comedy is good, I guess. Should we wait until dinner comes?”

  Frankie finally glanced her direction, and a smile made his lips twitch upward. “Cute outfit.”

  “It was all I could do on short notice.” Cassie crossed one leg over the other, not bothering to pull at the shirt and keep her legs covered.

  As she’d hoped, Frankie’s gaze traveled the length of her legs and he swallowed hard, his prominent Adam’s apple jiggling. “I think you’d look good in a burlap sack, Cass. Nothing can disguise how sexy you are.”

  “Really?” She shrugged as though his opinion didn’t mean much. “No one’s been interested enough to sample what’s under the burlap for so long that I figured I wasn’t desirable.”

  Perhaps a little manipulative on her part, but if Frankie thought she was insecure and needed him to bolster her self-esteem, maybe it would help him to be less self-conscious. She’d heard him and Thayne talking in the past. She knew that Frankie was once a womanizer and could get with anyone he wanted. Performance was never an issue from him. Overheard conversations about his life after the fire told a different story. He didn’t know if he could even go through with the act of having sex, let alone do a good enough job.

  Cassie was determined to show him that everything in that department was still functional. Tonight.

  Frankie was shaking his head. “Any man who doesn’t want to partake in whatever goods you possess is an idiot. That’s probably why that doctor became so fixated on you in the first place. You are a beautiful woman, Cassie, a real catch by any standards. You must know that?”

  She lowered her gaze from his, mak
ing a pretense at deference. “No one’s made me feel that way for a long, long time.”

  Whatever Frankie might have replied was lost forever when a knock sounded on the adjoining door.

  “Hey,” called a burly-sounding voice through the door. “I have a delivery. Did you order peach cobbler?”

  Knowing things had likely worked out perfectly, and Frankie would spend the entire time they ate wondering how to make her feel more desirable, not even realizing he no longer worried about whether he was desirable, Cassie flashed a smile. “Looks like dinner’s here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Frankie laid next to Cassie on the bed, not paying attention to the romantic comedy she’d picked to rent. It was true that Cassie had admitted she didn’t date much, but he never suspected that was because she felt undesirable. She was the most desirable woman on the planet—smart, accomplished in her job, beautiful, compassionate... the list of positive attributes went on and on. If anything, he wasn’t good enough for her, but it seemed she didn’t feel that way.

  He should have done whatever it took to shove her against the headboard and kiss her, instead of being a freaking pussy and backing off, telling her to go bathe as if she smelled bad or something. What had he been thinking? This was a woman he’d wanted to be with for a very long time, even if he hadn’t fully admitted that to himself until recently. He couldn’t let the situation continue as it was. She had to know how hot and desirable she truly was.

  “Are you interested in the movie?” he asked, casually reaching across the empty space between them to cover her hand with his.

  She shrugged and turned her head to look at him. “I’ve seen better, plus I’m a bit distracted.”

  “Distracted how?” he asked. “Did you get enough dinner?”

  She chuckled. “Worried now that you ate half my fries and part of my burger?”

  “You said you were full.” He pulled her hand to his face, kissing her palm. “I took you at your word.”

  Spasms went through Cassie’s fingers as she stretched them to touch his cheek. “You should always take me at my word,” she said softly. “Something else has me distracted.”

  “Are you worried about the killer?”

  “The cops are handling that.” She scooted toward him, and Frankie couldn’t help but notice the way her T-shirt rode up her body, flashing her bright pink panties as the cotton shirt slowly traversed upward, revealing her flat stomach. “I’m more distracted about this.”

  She placed her hand against Frankie’s bare chest, carefully drawing an outline of his pecs with her fingertip.

  Her touch made Frankie’s skin tingle, aching for her to stroke each spot more. “Do you want me to put a shirt on?” he managed through lips that felt numb.

  She had finally erased all the space between them, snuggling against his side. Every time she took a breath, her breasts brushed against him, heightening his need for her. Being with her in real life made waking up from a wet dream featuring Cassie feel like a mere kiddy pool of sensations. Tonight, he’d plunged into the deep water off an Olympic diving platform. He could drown in this sensation and die a happy man.

  “I don’t want you to put a shirt on,” she said, bending over and kissing the top of his chest closest to her. “I want you to prove that I’m wrong about myself. I want to know that I’m sexy. I want you to show me what being with a real man is all about.”

  Frankie fought to catch his breath, panic descending on him even as his cock sprang to life. Could he show her how it was to be with a real man? He was less than a man after the fire—more like half a man.

  Her lips closed around the tightened bud of his nipple, teeth grazing against it and deepening the throbbing lust between his legs.

  “Fuck, Cassie. I want you so damn bad.” Ignoring any whimpering of pain from his hands or legs, Frankie heaved himself to his side, bringing his body chest to chest with hers. A manic need took over, and he raked his fingers through her hair, tangling them in the damp locks and pulling her mouth toward his. “So bad I can’t stand it. There’s no woman on this planet sexier than you.”

  Her greed was just as great as his it seemed. Cassie latched onto his mouth and a soft moan slipped from her lips. “Take me,” she breathed into him. “Please, show me what it is to be loved tonight.”

  “You’ll have to help,” he cautioned. “My legs and arms limit what I can do, but I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

  He slid his hand down her back, bringing it around the front of her body. The silkiness of her underwear made a whisper of a sensation against Frankie’s hand as he rubbed up and down between her slightly parted legs. He might not be able to sense much, but the damp quality Cassie’s undies took on after a couple seconds let him know he was on the right track.

  “Oh, yes, yes.” Cassie pulled her mouth away from him and threw her head into the pillow, twisting her upper body flatter while simultaneously arching her pelvis. “Oh, keep doing that.”

  “It’s good?” He hated to sound uncertain, but in the past, he was used to knowing exactly what he prodded. Now, when he only had the vaguest ideas what his fingers encountered, it was like trying to read a book blindfolded.

  “Really good,” she said, her breath coming in faster jolts. “Go underneath the fabric. I want to feel you against my skin. I want you inside me. I want...” A shudder went through her body and she grabbed the band of her panties, pushing them down her thighs and kicking them off the bed. “Oh, Frankie.”

  Her mouth covered his, and Frankie needed no more encouragement. She would tell him if he went wrong. He didn’t need to be one-hundred percent in control in order to make her come.

  Sliding his fingers through her wetness, he found her opening, tucking one finger inside while he quested with his thumb to find the sensitive clit that he knew would make her fall apart in his hands.

  Small mewling noises that sounded trapped deep in Cassie’s throat let him know he was on the right path, and Frankie increased the tempo. Her hips gyrated in a crazy dance and the mewling increased to moans.

  “Do you like this, baby?” he asked, his own breath quickening as her excitement caused his to build.

  “Oh, yes, yes,” she whispered, her entire body tense. “I’m so close. Don’t stop.”

  After a few more seconds, her body convulsed and then collapsed, relaxing against the bed. Frankie had half a second to worry how he could take care of his own bulging problem before Cassie sat upright, pushing him backward.

  As though she were an uncaged wildcat, free for the first time, she drove him down into the pillows, pursuing with a kiss so deep and passionate that it exceeded any of Frankie’s expectations. Her hands worked at the string on his sweatpants, loosening it. Every time her palm rested against his bulging rod, Frankie feared he would explode before she even got his pants undone.

  More efficiently than he thought possible, Cassie stripped them halfway down his thighs, releasing his mouth to straddle his legs in a frantic way that told him although she’d already had one orgasm, Cassie was in no ways finished. She yanked her own shirt off, revealing her beautiful curves and full chest.

  Her normally cool hands felt hot as liquid love when she wrapped them around his shaft, slowly stroking from his balls all the way to the tip.

  It had been so long since he’d felt anything like that, and having Cassie be the person doing it made everything even better. He quivered as his aching need built.

  “Do you like that?” she cooed softly.

  “Oh, god yes. It’s so good, so hot.” A momentary panic went through him and he met her eyes, letting out a disappointed groan. “Shit, wait a minute. I don’t have anything.”

  She giggled, hefting him in her hand. “I’d say you have more than enough.”

  “No.” He threw his head back into the pillows, trying to relax and calm himself down. “I don’t have a damn condom. We can’t do this.”

  “A condom?” She froze, cursing softly
under her breath.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll be okay. Just stop touching me.”

  “Hell no. I’m not leaving you like that.” She snorted. “And I’m not leaving myself like this. I’m ready for more, and I want you.”

  Reaching up, Frankie wrapped his hands around her neck and shoulders, doing his best to massage them before letting his hands slide down to her magnificent boobs, dangling above his head. “I can give you more. Roll back over. I’ll do whatever it takes to show you how desirable you truly are. We don’t have to have sex for me to please you as many times as you need.”

  “No, it’ll be okay.” She still didn’t climb off him, the moist heat between her legs against his a testament to how much she wanted him. “I won’t get pregnant, and I swear I’m clean. I haven’t been with anyone for a long time, and I know you haven’t. We don’t have to stop this. Do you trust me?”

  Right now, all he wanted was for her to ride him. That desire overrode any common sense he might have. He couldn’t stop this—didn’t want to stop it.

  Sliding his hand down her hips, Frankie helped guide her into position over the top of his dick. “I trust you more than anything.”

  When Cassie slid down his shaft, he joined her with a feeling of coming home. Screwing some chick in the past had never felt like this. This was real, tangible, something more than getting his jollies off.

  She rode him hard and fast until they were both in a feverish pitch of lust, about to explode. Frankie took her into his arms, rocking with her movements. Pure pleasure was the only thing coursing through his body after so many years wracked in pain. Kissing Cassie deeply, the tightness became unbearable and unstoppable. Slamming her against him one last time, he rode on a cloud of joy, groaning in pleasure while they crested the wave of passion together.

  ***

  Cassie lay on top of Frankie, struggling to catch her breath as their heavy pants of exhaustion filled the room. That and noise from the TV were the only things to distract her thoughts.

  What in the hell just happened? She wasn’t on the pill. What was she thinking? When Frankie said they had to stop, she simply couldn’t force herself to do so. Stopping was the last thing she had wanted. Which was crazy! She didn’t sleep around. Ever. When she did trust someone enough to have sex, she never went bareback! Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life?