Burnin' Up Memphis: Firehouse 69, Book 1 Read Online Free Page B

her from giving him that look, like he was a damn liar. “Is that something you enjoy?”
    Her nose wrinkled. “Not so much the public display. I’m a bit of screamer.”
    He blinked but assumed she was joking because her grin eased back. Still, her quip had put an image in his mind that was pretty hard to erase—her trussed up, her pretty bottom exposed and pink…
    Coop shook his head. He wasn’t ready for this. “I think I’ve seen enough. Thanks for the tour.”
    “You’re leaving?”
    As quickly as he could. Unsettled to the point he was beginning to sweat, all he wanted was out of there.
    “I’ll lead you out.”
    “I can find my way. Thanks.” He knew he ought to offer his hand, give her a polite farewell, but he didn’t want to touch her. He was afraid she’d feel a tremor. So he kept his hands in his pockets, gave her a slight nod and strode away.
    So he’d been rude. She likely thought he’d been put off by everything he’d seen, and part of him was. The part that had always been so careful with a woman revolted against treating a woman with anything less than gentle respect. It was what he’d been taught by his father, by his actions and his lectures about how to treat the opposite sex. But another part had felt as though a doorway had cracked open, letting in a sliver of dark delight.
    Best to slam it shut right now. He’d felt something resonate inside him as he’d watched the couple on the stage. And although he’d never laid a harsh hand or paddle on a woman’s skin, he’d envied Anton’s freedom to do so.
    Once outside and sitting in his car, he turned on the radio and dialed up the volume to drown out the memory of the sounds the woman had made as she’d climaxed. He’d never heard anything like it, a wild keening that had sparked a flush of heat across his skin. That Moira had been there, standing next to him, bothered him. He doubted she’d missed his fascination. Or his arousal.
    Worse, he’d lied to her face when he’d told her this wasn’t for him. And she likely knew it. Probably thought he was a coward. But how could he admit to anyone, much less a stranger, that he’d wanted to trade places with Anton. That he’d wanted to apply hard strokes to a tender ass, wanted to make a woman squirm and beg and then run his hands over silky-hot skin.
    That he’d felt a spark of instant lust at the sight of slim wrists restrained with rope made his stomach knot. He wasn’t that guy. The fact he’d been aroused by that and more, by the slow, steady drip of hot wax, made him wonder about everything he’d thought about himself. What the hell kind of man was he? What did his fascination make him? Simply human? Was it only curiosity? Or was he a perv with a secret need he wasn’t ready to admit?
    He reached between his legs and gave his stiff cock a rub before adjusting himself. But there wasn’t any comfort to be found.
    He wished he was as free and easy as Noah. Noah hadn’t seemed to think there was anything wrong with what was going on. Likely, he was eager to learn more. And Gage? He never knew what was going on inside Gage’s head because he was a very private man. If his curiosity was aroused, they might never know it.
    Wrapping both hands tightly around the steering wheel, Coop leaned his head against the headrest and willed his body to relax. Better to forget about La Forge and pretty Moira. Forget about stinging strokes and hot melting desire. His life was already complicated. Too much so for him to sort through any additional baggage that involvement with Moira and her world might bring. Better to forget.
    God, he wished he could.

Chapter Three
    Moira rolled her shoulders to ease the strain and sighed. An ache had settled between her shoulder blades, probably brought on by rolling a three-hundred-pound man from the EMT’s gurney to the treatment-room bed. Not that she hadn’t had help, but after a long shift, she was tired.
    She leaned her elbow on the nurse’s