Rapid Entry: Firehouse 69, Book 3 Read Online Free Page B

way. His expression was closed. His jaw tight.
    “He died in Iraq in 2009. I haven’t been with anyone else. Not before. Not after.”
    His taut features softened. For a long, charged moment, he simply stared. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
    She gave him a tiny smile, feeling foolish. Here she was lying naked and winded after having two amazing orgasms, and she felt like crying. But that wouldn’t be fair. Not to him. “I should probably go.”
    “Do you want to go?”
    Viv fought back tears. She was more embarrassed now for being such a basket case than being nude with this man. “Not really, but I’m about to get soggy.”
    Gage’s mouth twitched. “The bed’s already soggy. But if you want to cry, I’m not afraid.”
    What an amazing thing for him to say. If she’d written him, he couldn’t have said a more perfect thing. “I don’t want to cry.” But already, she felt her chin beginning to wobble.
    He turned, opened his arms, and waited as she straightened and slid over. When his arms were around her, holding her against his chest, she glanced into his dark eyes. “Thank you.”
    His smile was quick flash of white against his tanned face. “That’s supposed to be my line, sweetheart. I’m a happy man. Perfect dinner. Perfect woman in my arms. Hottest sex I can remember.”
    “I said it before; you don’t have to flatter me.”
    “I wasn’t.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “You lost all your lipstick.”
    She knew what he was doing. Distracting her. Trying to make her laugh. And already, her tears had dried. Could he get any more attractive? She liked his gruff manner of speech, liked his innate kindness, although she was pretty sure he didn’t show it often. “No, I didn’t lose my lipstick,” she said and rubbed his bottom lip. “Found it.”
    His mouth curved, glossed with a hint of red. “Think you might like to stay tonight?”
    She’d been prepared to have sex with him. Hot, dirty, quick sex. He wanted more. She held still, expecting to feel a twinge of guilt, but it never came. Snuggling her hips closer, she gave him a small smile. “You do know what I do for a living, right?”
    Gage’s one-sided grin was full of devilment. “I do. But, sweetheart, you should know something about me too.” He drew nearer then whispered in her ear, “I’m pretty handy with a rope.”

Chapter Three
    The days passed in a surreal whirl of sex and intimate dinners. After her one faux pas , she had thought little of Mike while she was with Gage. Even in the quiet times when they were apart, her memories didn’t haunt her. She could think about Mike and smile, and then look forward to her next encounter with her sexy neighbor, who was quickly proving all those clichés about sexy firefighters and their endless stamina held more than a grain of truth.
    By Thursday night, Viv wondered if it had been a mistake not telling Gage the truth about how personally acquainted she was with the type of things she wrote about. From the moment he’d confided he was a member of a local sex club, and then invited her to accompany him there, she’d been too thrilled to think it through.
    It wasn’t like she didn’t have the right gear. Or so she hoped. Glancing downward, she had second and third thoughts about entering the club where his friends would see her wearing a corset that cinched her so tightly she could barely breathe and that forced her breasts so high her chin almost touched them.
    Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating. A little. The slim-fitting leggings worried her more. They molded over her ass and there wasn’t any space between her thighs. But she didn’t know these people. Wouldn’t see them again after tonight. The outfit she’d kept squirreled away in hopes of someday connecting with someone who could get her into a sex club for some firsthand experience had cost an arm and a leg. She’d be damned if she chickened out now.
    She hoped Gage appreciated the effort. And that the