Taking the Heat Read online

  Taking the Heat

  By Samantha Long

  Copyright ©2014 By Samantha Long

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Table of Contents

  Taking the Heat

  Copyright©2014By Samantha Long

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Author's Other Works:

  Crossing the Line

  Chapter One

  About the Author:

  Acknowledgements

  First I would like to thank my husband. For dealing with a messy house, for cooking dinner when I was busy at the keyboard, and for believing in me, for pushing me to publish. I love you.

  Thank you, Nina, for always standing behind me, beside me, pushing me to be a better writer. You always called me on the messy writing, and made me a better writer because of it. You are my bestie, and will always be. Love ya girl!

  To Christi and Cheryl, for letting me bounce ideas off of you and for motivating me when the last thing I wanted to do was put this dream on paper. You guys rock!

  To my street team members: Jennifer, Autumn, Cheryl, Christi, Isis, and Johnnie-Marie. Y'all promoted my books and supported me through all of this.

  Chapter One

  Addie

  Addie took one look at the parking lot of the bar and grinned. It was packed, had to be packed, with hot men and lots of alcohol. Just what she and her friends, Gemma and Autumn, wanted. After the first week of school, all teaching kids younger than eight, they needed the escape of dancing and sweaty men. They had to travel two hours just to get to a decent bar near the city, but they all thought it was worth it.

  "Are we going in or are you just going to stare at the bar in excitement?" Autumn tossed her bold, copper colored hair behind her bare shoulder. Her one shoulder top and short black shorts were going to knock the guys dead.

  Gemma, whose Asian heritage stood out with the shape of her face and the silkiness of her dark hair, wore a strapless turquoise dress and added a few inches to her height with her nude heels. "I need to get in there and get a drink. I need to relax."

  Addie laughed. "Then let's go in." She'd waited all week for this release. She wanted to dance, drink, and have a good time with her friends and maybe pick up a cute guy to go home with.

  The bouncer didn't card them and waved them through. He was familiar with the girls since they came by a lot during the school year. Music pumped loud as they passed through the doorway. People stood in the hallway that led to the club area, and the girls squeezed through to get past.

  Addie was glad she'd decided against wearing a dress and instead settled on dark skinny jeans, black stilettos, and a royal purple spaghetti strapped shirt that showed off her tan from the summer. She didn't want to have to worry about some pervy guy sticking his hand up her dress and her having to break his face. At least in this, all she'd have to worry about would be someone grabbing her ass.

  All week she'd looked forward to this outing. Her third graders hadn't gotten used to the structure of the school year yet and seriously pushed their limits. Especially after Labor Day weekend. She'd thought maybe they'd wear themselves out, but no. Not one of them could sit still this week, like they'd gotten high on gallons of sugar.

  The air inside the club was thick and heavy from the bodies on the dance floor. Once inside the dance room, Autumn pulled them to the left and snagged a tall table near the large mirrored walls.

  "I don't want to fight anyone for a table, we need to claim it now." She fanned her face and chest. "There are so many people. It's about a thousand degrees in here."

  Gemma shook her head and smiled. "There's about that many people here. Hopefully some of them will be extremely sexy men."

  Addie scanned the packed room. The dance floor on the first level was full. She let her gaze travel over the dancers to the second floor where there was a bar, games, and food. It looked less packed. "Let's go to the second floor. We might be able to breathe, and I could use that drink we talked about."

  "That's a good idea." Autumn led them back through the throngs of people to the left side staircase.

  Addie followed her friends, the music vibrating through her body. She caught a few men staring, and why wouldn't they? She tossed her black waves over her shoulder and sent them coy smiles. Maybe tonight she wouldn't have to pay for her drinks.

  "Ooh, look! Three seats at the bar!" Autumn nearly shoved some girls out of the way before they could claim the seats first.

  Addie tried to hide her laughter at their bitchy looks as she slid onto the middle stool. She thought about something fruity to drink and frowned.

  The very hot bartender stopped in front of her and shot her a cocky grin. "What can I get you?"

  Addie eyes roamed over his fitted black t-shirt before meeting his gaze. She knew guys loved the dark blue of her eyes and that the dark color of her hair made them stand out more, especially when she lined them with gray liner. Her lips tilted just a bit on the right side, showing a dimple. "I want a shot of Fireball whiskey."

  The bartender's eyebrows rose and Addie heard her friends trying to hide their snickers. "That's a big girl drink. Think you can handle it?"

  Addie tilted her head to the side, a cascade of hair falling to her chest. His eyes traveled lower before they shot back to her face. "I can handle a lot of things."

  "Oh God." Autumn let out the laugh she was trying to hide. "Just stop. Take him to the back room if you're going to, but don't torture us this way."

  "For real." Gemma smiled. "I'll have a rum and Coke."

  "I'll take an Absolut Stress." Autumn fanned herself again and looked over her shoulder at a group of guys playing pool in the corner. She nudged Gemma and nodded in that direction.

  Gemma's chocolate colored eyes widened and then narrowed on the dark skinned man with a sleeve of tribal tattoos on his left arm. "Dibs. He's mine."

  Addie winked at the bartender before tossing back her shot. The strong taste of Red Hots burned its way down her throat, and she loved the heat in her stomach. She tapped the shot glass on the counter, her signal for another one. The bartender grinned and poured another. She knocked it back and turned on the stool to see what the girls were talking about.

  Each muscled, each tattooed, each someone Addie might want to mess around with for a night or two. She slid of
f the stool, sent a wink over her shoulder to the bartender, and followed Gemma and Autumn to the pool table. The dark skinned man looked up from where he lined up a shot with the cue and immediately saw Gemma.

  Gemma shot him a brilliant smile, one Addie knew few men could resist, and waved her fingers. The guy grinned, showing a row of white teeth, and turned his attention back to the cue. He took the shot, hitting the eight ball in, and the guys around him groaned.

  "Damn it, Carter. I thought you said you'd take it easy on me." A blonde guy shook his head and pulled out his wallet. He slapped a twenty on the edge of the table with a playful scowl.

  The dark skinned guy grinned at him, slid the twenty into his back pocket. "I couldn't lose in front of such beautiful ladies."

  The other guys' heads turned to look at Addie, Gemma, and Autumn. Carter walked around the table to Gemma and when his eyes ran over her and his gaze met hers, Addie saw the spark there. Guys always fell hard for Gemma. She was a catch.

  Autumn winked at the blonde. "Wanna play again?" She ran a finger down the cue Carter left on the table.

  "Sure. What's the bet?" He asked.

  He had no idea what he was getting into. Autumn was a shark when it came to the game and wouldn't lose unless she wanted to. "You buy me and my friends' drinks tonight."

  "Deal." He grinned and Addie could see the satisfaction on his face already. "And if I win, you dance with me. All night."

  Addie smirked at the undertone of the bet. Autumn was going to eat him alive.

  "Deal." Autumn licked her lips while he set up the balls.

  "Get her, Caleb," Carter whooped from beside Gemma.

  Addie shook her head, smiling. Tonight was definitely going to be fun. She just needed to decide which one she wanted. Carter and Caleb seemed to be claimed already and she wasn't the kind of girl to step in on her friend's territories. One guy stood to the right of the table, redheaded but silent. She decided against him, he wasn't paying attention to her. Two other guys stood near a dark corner, arms crossed. They both wore identical grins on their faces, twins down to the matching firefighter t-shirts they wore.

  That would explain the amount of muscle and camaraderie. Addie sidled over, smiled at them. "Hey, boys. Mind if I stand over here with you?"

  "Not at all," the one on the left said.

  "Want a stool?" the other one turned to the darkened corner. "Finn, be a gentleman and give the beautiful lady your seat."

  "Fine." The husky voice spoke from the darkness.

  Addie's body snapped to attention and her lips parted. That voice brushed over her nerve endings and lit a fire in her blood. She leaned toward the darkness to glimpse the owner.

  The stool came out first in a pair of strong hands. Her eyes traveled up the tattooed arms, almost gasping at the muscles, to the short sleeves of his navy t-shirt. When he emerged fully, she resisted the urge to bite her lip, a free invitation to guys like him.

  He had a short cut of blonde hair and intense green eyes that reminded her of the Northern Lights that her students were studying. The eyes weren't as welcoming, and in that instant she saw an ocean of pain before he blinked it away and scowled at her.

  That brought her attention to his full lips. Lips that would've made him look almost girlish if not for the craggy lines of his face and short beard stubble.

  "Here." He held out the stool. "I'm going to get a drink."

  He brushed past her and she inhaled the spicy scent he wore. She took a deep breath, tried to calm the shock of emotions he'd woken in her from that one glance. He looked like trouble, more than she wanted to get into. Something that would be much more than a few nights of fun. She shook it off, looked to the twins that stood on either side of her.

  "Let's start our own bet, boys." She shot them a mischievous grin.

  Chapter Two

  Finn

  What the hell just happened? He'd taken one look at those deep blue eyes, eyes that reminded him of the lakes at home, and he'd tripped. The hard shell that he'd built around himself had taken a hit and he'd had to fight hard just to keep it in place. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he wiped it off with his forearm. He wasn't sure why the girl shook him that way, but he intended to stay far away from her.

  The demons he fought so hard to contain scratched at him, raw and hungry. He curled his hands into fists as he approached the bar. He couldn't leave since he'd promised the guys he'd stay out tonight. It was the first night he'd been out of the fire station to do something other than work since he'd been back. He couldn't break his word.

  "Something hard and strong." He told the bartender. While he waited he turned around, resting his elbows on the bar behind him, and risked a glance back at the table. The girl tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and laughed at something Nate and Noah said to her. Probably regaling her with tales of their bravery. Aaron stood silent, watching the pool game. The redhead usually stayed quiet until he had something to say. People didn't normally notice him until he did.

  Finn's attention was pulled back to the girl, something he couldn't fight at the moment. His abdomen clenched at a look of her lips and he grit his teeth. He hadn't experienced any desire for sex since he returned to the States. Why the hell was this girl waking that up now?

  He didn't have time for this, didn't deserve it.

  "Hey. Your drink's ready." The bartender slid the drink over to him.

  The hot sting of alcohol hit Finn's nose as he took a big sip. To lose himself in this, to drown his memories in the amber liquid, would be too easy. He slid the bartender a ten and motioned for him to keep the change. The bartender's eyes weren't on him, though. It was on the dark haired vixen. The quick slice of possessiveness that shot through him shocked Finn so much he almost decided to break his word and run to the station. Run far away from the hot little piece of trouble that beckoned him.

  Instead, he took his time walking back to the guys. He was never one to drag his feet, wanting to take problems head on, but he had a feeling that if he took this particular one on, he wouldn't survive it. He glanced over her again, staring first at the tight ass jeans and then the purple top that fell at just the right way to show off the swell of her breasts, which caused a swell in his pants. He took another swig and tore his gaze away from her. He focused on the pool table, on the game going between Caleb and the female redhead. Standing by Nathan so he wouldn't watch the girl on the stool, he forced himself to stay focused on the game.

  The redhead was working Caleb. From the satisfied smirk on her ivory face, he could tell she waited to take him down at the knees. That girl knew what she was doing even if Caleb was too lust-bitten to realize it.

  The dark haired vixen laughed and his abdomen clenched again. Jesus, the husky sound tore right through him. He wanted to push the twins out of the way and crash his mouth to hers. Nothing gentle. Primal need rose in his blood and he fought hard to quell it. He was so used to being bored around women that he almost lost his self-control and took action.

  "Win that bet, Autumn!" She clapped her hands and laughed again.

  His grip tightened around the glass.

  "Come on, girl!" The Asian girl called and leaned closer to Carter as he whispered something in her ear.

  Would Carter take the girl home? He'd sworn off women after a bad break up several months ago and this girl was the first to catch Carter's eye in a while. Finn wanted his friend to be happy, and if this girl did it, he'd love her for it.

  "Gemma, quit flirting and get out of my way." Autumn winked over her shoulder at her friend as she aimed for the eight ball.

  Caleb seemed to hold his breath while he watched her take the shot.

  She hit it, sinking it in the right corner pocket.

  "Damn." Caleb grinned. "Marry me."

  Autumn smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Take the drink orders and we'll talk about it. Addie, what do you want?"

  Addie. Such a simple name for an explosive woman. It fit her in an odd sort of way. He'd expect
ed something exotic like Catalina, but the traditional name whispered through his mind.

  "Another Fireball whiskey."

  That fit also, since the husky tone of her voice reminded him of the heat of whiskey burning through him. He wasn't surprised she didn't want one of those fruity things girls usually drink. She was wild enough to want the harder stuff.

  "Damn girl, okay." Caleb chuckled and turned to Gemma. "What can I get for you?"

  "I'll have a rum and Coke please." Gemma laid a hand on Carter's arm. "But first I want to dance."

  "Sure thing." Carter steered her toward the stairs.

  Finn watched them walk off and could practically see the sparks crackling between the two of them, even from a distance. He held the drink in his hand, not wanting to rely on it any more than he needed to. He'd seen to many of his fellow soldiers succumb to the numbness that alcohol gave them.

  "Our turn." Nathan slapped Noah on the back. "Whoever loses has to drive Mom to see Grandpa next weekend."

  "Deal." Noah started to rack the balls.

  The air electrified around him as he realized no one stood between him and Addie now. He kept himself still, thinking maybe she wouldn't try to engage him in conversation if he did.

  "So, what's with the rudeness?" Her voice drifted to him.

  Damn it. He answered before he thought about it. "It's nothing."

  Her eyebrows rose. "Oh, nothing. Awesome. I always turn into a giant asshole when nothing's going on."

  He looked at her, wanted to snap at her, until he saw the humor shining in those deep blue eyes.

  "There's a teensy weensy grin on your face. Careful, people may see it." She grinned at him and her face lit up. "That's not so hard, is it?"

  The muscles around his mouth actually hurt and he wondered how long it'd been since he'd really smiled. Not fake smiled, not pretended to make someone else happy. A second later he saw they were almost touching. Somehow he'd moved closer to her without noticing.