Second Alarm (Firehouse Fourteen Book 5) Read online

  It should be easy enough. She hadn’t seen Adam since their one night together. They had chatted a few times, very casually. He’d even mentioned the possibility of meeting again. Not for a date—Beth had a feeling that was as much against his rules as it was hers. If they saw each other again, it would be for nothing more than another hook-up. Sex. Pure and simple.

  They were supposed to chat again this evening, and maybe even set something up for another hook-up. At least, that was the impression Beth got from their last chat. That’s why she kept checking her phone. But so far, nothing.

  And she couldn’t tell Courtney any of that. Not because they were at work—they were both on break in the back room of the salon where they worked, waiting for their next appointments. They were like family, everyone that worked there, telling stories and sharing secrets all the time. That didn’t matter—this was one secret Beth couldn’t share, no matter where they were.

  Courtney wouldn’t understand, not if Beth told her she had met a complete stranger for the sole purpose of having sex. Courtney was a single mom of an adorable two-year-old boy, and she took her parenting responsibilities seriously. She didn’t date, at all. She rarely went out, even for girls’ night. Her whole life revolved around Noah. Beth admired her for it and knew it couldn’t be easy, raising a young child at the age of twenty-one—especially a deaf child. Beth had no idea who Noah’s father was or what had happened that he wasn’t in the picture. Courtney stubbornly refused to talk about him, no matter how many times Beth asked—which she rarely did anymore. She couldn’t bear to see the sadness that filled her friend’s eyes whenever the subject came up. Did Courtney still love him? Probably—whoever the jerk was.

  Just one more reason to stay away from relationships. They just weren’t worth the potential heartache and drama. If Beth didn’t like sex so much, she’d stay home, too, just like Courtney.

  Which was why she’d finally decided to do the whole hook-up thing: all the benefits of sex without the messy relationship business.

  Except here she was, waiting for a text from Adam in the hopes of getting together again.

  “So are you going to tell me or not?” Courtney was still watching her, seeing too much with those sad brown eyes.

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Hmm. Why don’t I believe that?”

  “No idea because it’s the truth.”

  Courtney snorted, the delicate sound filled with disbelief. Then her eyes widened and she leaned forward, wrapping her hand around Beth’s wrist. “Please tell me you’re not back with Ed.”

  “Oh my God. No! Not even. I can’t believe you’d even think that. I’m not that stupid.”

  Courtney blew out a sigh of relief and sat back in her chair. “Good. I was worried that you might have changed your mind. Again.”

  Beth frowned at her use of the word again. So maybe she had been stupid, getting back together with him a second time. But that had been nine months ago. She’d finally learned her lesson. “No. Never again. Two strikes and he’s so out.”

  “It should have been one strike. Not even that. I never liked him.” Courtney leaned forward, her gaze intense. “Or the way he treated you. He was so ignorant. And so…so—just ignorant. I hated him.”

  “But he was so good in bed.” Beth had meant for the comment to be lighthearted and breezy, maybe even a little exaggerated. It went right over Courtney’s head, though. Either that or her friend chose to ignore it.

  “I don’t care how good the sex was. That doesn’t excuse the way he treated you.”

  “So says the woman who hasn’t had sex in almost three years.”

  “There are more important things in life besides…” Courtney’s voice trailed off and she looked away, a deep blush spreading across her face—probably because Beth was staring at her with her mouth hanging open in shock.

  “Please tell me you’ve at least—”

  “I’m not talking about it.”

  Beth kept watching Courtney, wondering if she should push for an answer or not. Her friend wasn’t a prude—not by a long shot. But she also wasn’t as open about her private life as Beth was, at least not about the sex part. That didn’t mean she hadn’t had sex since Noah was born.

  Or did it?

  As much as Beth really wanted to know, she wouldn’t push for a real answer. Not yet, anyway. Knowing her luck, pushing would only backfire on her and they’d end up talking about Beth’s sex life. And she wasn’t about to tell Courtney about the sexy firefighter she’d met for the sole purpose of having sex. Courtney would totally freak then probably give her a lecture.

  No, Beth would wait and let Courtney save the lecture for another time, especially since it was looking more and more like her one night with Adam was just that: one night. And there was nothing wrong with that, not when that was the whole point of hooking up to begin with. Beth just needed to remember that.

  Sex. It was nothing more than sex.

  If she wanted more, all she had to do was go back into the chatroom and find someone else she could hook-up with. Not a big deal.

  And she would. Soon.

  Eventually.

  “We should go out after work. Go see a movie or something.” A movie would be the perfect thing to get her mind off sex. Off Adam. Off sex with Adam. But Courtney was shaking her head already.

  “I need to get home. Mom is working until eleven and I don’t want to leave Noah with the sitter longer than I have to.”

  “Oh. Sure, no problem. Maybe another night.” Beth wasn’t as successful at keeping the disappointment from her voice as she thought she was because Courtney gave her a sympathetic look. Then her eyes cleared and a small smile played on her lips.

  “We could always have a movie night at my place. Pop some popcorn and eat ice cream. Not the same as going out but—”

  “But better than going out. No crowds, right? Sounds like a plan.”

  “Perfect. What did you want to watch?”

  “No idea. We’ll find something, though.” Beth pushed away from the table and grabbed her water then hesitated. “As long as it’s not a romance. I’m so not in the mood for that.”

  Courtney laughed, the sound somehow strained. “Trust me, neither am I.”

  Beth was ready to ask why but Shelly poked her head in the back to let her know her next appointment was here. She nodded and took one last swallow of water before tossing the empty bottle into the recycling bin. She’d have plenty of time tonight to find out why Courtney looked so glum.

  And if she was too busy worrying about her friend, she wouldn’t have time to mope around feeling sorry for herself because she hadn’t heard from Adam.

  And maybe, if she was lucky, she’d even be able to convince herself that she didn’t want to see him again.

  Chapter Five

  Water pounded against his back, the lukewarm temperature barely registering in Adam’s mind. He was only remotely aware of it, mostly on a subconscious level. Just enough to know, somewhere in the back of his mind, that the spray would turn icy cold in a matter of minutes.

  He closed his eyes and tilted his head into the spray. Water poured over his face, ran down his bare chest and abdomen, splashed against the hard length of his cock. He tightened his grip and kept stroking, hard and fast as he massaged his balls with his free hand.

  Close. So fucking close.

  Beth, kneeling in front of him, her tongue swirling around the tip of his cock. Her nails scoring the flesh of his inner thighs. Her long hair, wet and wild, tangled around her face as she waited, silently begging.

  Fuck. So fucking close. He could feel her hot breath against his cock, her mouth open, waiting to taste him.

  He stroked harder, his hand sliding up and down the hard length of his cock. Almost there…so fucking close.

  He clenched his jaw, Beth’s image seared into his brain as he fisted his hand in the wet tangle of her hair. Positioning her, holding her in place, her mouth open and ready. Her head tilted ba
ck, her glazed eyes watching him. Her tongue, moist and pink and so fucking hot, sweeping across her bottom lip before stroking the underside of his cock.

  Pleading. Begging. Demanding.

  Come for me, Adam. Come for me.

  His balls drew tight and his breath froze in his lungs. One firm stroke, hard and fast. One more before his climax seized him, the strength of his release nearly paralyzing him.

  He forced his eyes open and looked down. Watched, almost detached, as semen spurted from his cock and hit the porcelain tile of the shower wall.

  “Fuck!” The word was ripped from his throat, harsh and reedy. He kept stroking, watching each spurt of cum shoot from his cock. Hot, thick. Over and over until his knees were in danger collapsing and sending him crashing to the shower floor.

  But there was no Beth, not here. Only in his mind, part memory and part fantasy.

  He pulled in a shuddering breath and released his cock, spun around to face the shower spray. The water was colder now, only minutes away from turning icy. He didn’t care, not if it helped dispel the images of Beth that kept popping into his fucking brain.

  It wasn’t the memories that bothered him—it was the fantasies. Like just now, imagining her on her knees in front of him, her head tilted back as he fisted his hand in her hair and shot his cum into her mouth.

  How many times had he gotten himself off to images of Beth in the last few weeks? Too many. More than he wanted to admit to. But nothing like just now. That last orgasm had been…powerful. And his need was almost desperate.

  What the fuck was wrong with him?

  He grabbed the bar of soap and quickly washed, his teeth chattering from the cold by the time he was finished. But damn if his cock wasn’t nearly hard again as he dried himself off.

  Need.

  Fuck. Adam didn’t do need, especially not after one night.

  Which meant that what he was about to do ranked right up there at the top of his list of stupid ideas. If he was smart, he’d go into the den, log into the chatroom, and find another hook-up. Someone close by and available within the hour. They could fuck all night, he’d get it out of his system, and that would be it.

  Except he had tried that this morning before his relief had even made it through the door. He’d still been ramped up from the fire last night, his cock half hard and ready to go. He hadn’t had a chance to chat with Beth because they’d been on the fire ground for so long the night before. He hadn’t been able to set something else up with her, had figured maybe that was the reason he was so ready to go.

  So he connected with someone else while he’d been in the kitchen sipping his coffee and waiting for his relief. Everything had been set up—he was going to meet the new girl at a park not too far from the station. Nothing more than a quick fuck, either in the back of his truck, her car. Hell, even in the woods off one of the secluded paths. He didn’t care.

  He never made it, though. He connected with the girl again—fuck, he couldn’t even remember her name—and canceled. Five minutes later, she was back in the chatroom, making another connection. Good for her. He wished to hell he could have done the same thing.

  But he couldn’t bring himself to change his mind. Couldn’t bring himself to make another connection himself, no matter how hard his cock was. And he was afraid to look too closely for the reason why.

  Hell, he didn’t have to look, not when he couldn’t get Beth’s image from his mind. And what the fuck was up with that? There was nothing special about her. Short and petite, round with healthy curves in all the right places. Sexy as hell with that air of innocence and uncertainty. Definitely not as experienced as he was used to, but not completely inexperienced, either.

  So why the fuck couldn’t he stop thinking about her?

  Adam ran the towel over his hair, sopping up most of the water before tossing it over his shoulder. He palmed the light switch as he left the bathroom and walked down the hall to the spare room he used as a den, trying to ignore the fact that his cock was already growing hard.

  He nudged the mouse and brought the computer to life, then took a seat in the chair and went online. He reached down with his free hand, absently stroking his cock as he entered his password for the chatroom. It should be easy enough to find someone to meet with tonight. If he was lucky, maybe he’d even find someone close enough that they could get down to business in the next thirty minutes.

  If he was lucky. He sure as hell hoped so because much more of this and his poor cock would be chafed from jerking off so much. And he had nobody to blame but himself. This was his fault for waiting so long. Not that three weeks was that long—hell, he’d definitely gone without longer. The problem wasn’t so much the amount of time as it was that he’d allowed himself to think only of Beth during that time. That had to be it. That was the only explanation that made any sense.

  He still didn’t know why and that’s what worried him the most. Part of him was afraid to look too closely into it.

  But no more. He’d find someone else and take care of things and that would be that. Hell, maybe he would get extra lucky and find two girls to join him. He’d done that once before. The experience had been totally fucking hot, having four hands and two mouths on him—up until the girls had decided they were more into each other than him. Even then it had been exciting, watching them go down on each other, eating each other’s pussy, watching them fuck each other with the dildo one of them had brought as he jerked off between them.

  But damn, he didn’t want to jerk off again. He wanted hot pussy wrapped around his cock as he came, not his hand. He could do that himself.

  He glanced down, frowning at the sight of his hand stroking his cock. Hell, he was doing that himself. With a growl of impatience, he moved his hand. No more jerking off tonight. If a hand was going to stroke his cock, he wanted it to belong to someone else—someone small and feminine.

  A frown creased Adam’s face as he scanned the screen names of everyone in the chatroom. Not for the first time, he wondered if something was wrong with him. Chatrooms, hook-ups. Nameless, faceless sex. Casual encounters. Threesomes and porn. Nobody else he knew was into anything like this, not really. Yeah, they knew he got around. Knew he refused to settle down. He’d mentioned casual hook-ups once a few months ago and had received nothing but odd, questioning looks. He hadn’t bothered to mention the rest of it, hadn’t bothered to share any details. The expression on everyone’s faces had let him know they wouldn’t understand, no matter how much Adam might try to explain.

  Not that he knew how to. He hadn’t always been into casual sex, not since he was a horny teenager. At least, not to this extent. This whole thing—lifestyle, habit, preference, whatever the fuck you wanted to call it—hadn’t even been on his radar until about eight months ago.

  When he walked in on his girlfriend on her hands and knees in his fucking bed being fucked by some other guy. She’d looked horrified at being caught—then turned on as he stood there, watching. Not because he wanted to—because he’d been so fucking shocked he couldn’t move at first. Then she had asked him to join in.

  And he had. He’d ripped off his dirty shirt, pushed his uniform pants down to his hips, and fucked her. Hard. Over and over, his cock pounding into her as she sucked the other guy off. He’d been disgusted. Sickened.

  And so fucking turned on he’d come harder than he’d ever come before.

  And then he kicked her out, barely giving her enough time to collect the clothes she kept at his place before he ran to the bathroom and threw up.

  All hopes of loving, committed relationships evaporated that day. Not because he loved her—he hadn’t, not even close. Not because she cheated on him—although he was sure that probably played a small part, especially when he learned she’d been cheating on him from the very beginning.

  It was the excitement he’d felt at watching. At being part of, even loosely, that unplanned threesome. How could he be turned on by watching someone else fuck his girlfriend? How could he be t
urned on by someone watching him fuck her?

  No, it wasn’t normal. It couldn’t be. Which meant there must be something wrong with him. Something twisted and abnormal. So no, a normal relationship was out of the question. Just like a committed relationship was definitely out of the question—for him, at least. Which was fine, because he definitely didn’t want to deal with the headache or the heartache.

  So he had turned to the casual hook-up. Sex, just for the sake of sex. Wild and kinky or normal vanilla. He didn’t care. It was just a means to an end and fun for everyone involved.

  Which only made this odd obsession with Beth even more disconcerting. Well, that would end tonight—as soon as he found someone to hook-up with.

  He read through some of the comments, his gaze scanning most of them and then dismissing them. A bored couple looking for a third party to spice up their sex life. One woman looking for someone to play with her new toys. Another woman looking for someone into bondage and submission.

  Adam leaned closer to the screen, his brows lowered in thought. He hadn’t tried anything like that yet. The closest he’d come to any bondage was tying one partner’s hands to the headboard with a silk scarf while he wore a silicone cock ring. The knot hadn’t held on the scarf and the ring had damn near cut off the circulation to his cock so the entire bondage play had lasted less than five minutes and left him swearing he’d never do anything like that again.

  But maybe something that different was exactly what he needed. He moved the cursor over her name, still hesitating. Would he be able to let someone else tie him down? To totally submit and allow himself to be completely dominated?

  His cock twitched in his lap. From excitement? He reached down, fisted his hand around the semi-hard length, and stroked. His eyes closed, imagining someone standing over him with long stocking-clad legs that ended in five-inch spike heels. Leather collar. Leather straps. A blindfold—