Everything Bared (Six-Alarm Sexy) Read online

  Will groaned, the sound rough and raw, pure sex and desire. She looked up and got lost. The lust and passion etched on his face was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen. “That’s so fucking hot,” he growled. “But I need to be inside you now.”

  “Yes,” she said, breathless.

  He rolled the condom on, lifted her top leg to his hip, and entered her. She was already so wet, he slid all the way in, until his balls slapped against her ass.

  “So tight, so wet, so goddamn hot.” He closed his eyes and rocked into her. He held her against his chest and nuzzled her neck, licking the sensitive skin with long silken strokes. His tenderness was killing her. What did Will even feel for her? Though she’d admitted she loved him, he hadn’t reciprocated. Of course, she hadn’t expected him to. Unlike her, he hadn’t been salivating over her for three years. Besides, they weren’t exclusive. But when he held her like this and kissed her, she felt emotional. Felt his emotions. Surely, it wasn’t just sex. He cared about her… So when she sensed him trying to roll onto his back to put her on top, she resisted and forced him to roll on top of her. Missionary was far from her favorite position, but she knew from experience that a lot of guys loved it, loved the power it gave them, the control to thrust harder, faster, deeper. All great things for sure. Just not in this position.

  Will grabbed her thighs and pushed her legs up so her feet curled around his neck. Okay, this was a little better. He rolled his hips, pulling out almost completely, then plunged back in. His strokes alternated between fast and deep, short and slow. Occasionally, he threw in a swivel or two. All the while, he watched her, the burning blue of his gaze enthralling her.

  She smiled and moaned encouragingly, but like that first time, this really wasn’t working for her. Perhaps sensing her lack of engagement, Will once again tried to roll her over. She resisted. The next time, he succeeded, but she just rolled him back. To be honest, she was getting more out of this game of who’s on top than she’d been with the missionary position. At one point, she almost maneuvered them right off the bed. Will pulled a countermove he hadn’t known when they’d wrestled in the gym, and she landed flat on her back with her arms pinned above her head.

  Will glared down at her, his face red, his eyes angry, and… hurt? “What the fuck, Danielle?”

  All of a sudden, it didn’t feel so funny, and her great idea to act like Kathleen didn’t seem so smart. She was such a fucking failure. No wonder Will didn’t want to be with her. She turned her head and tried to stop the tears burning her eyes. But she failed at that too. A big fat drop rolled down her cheeks and into the sheets beneath her head.

  Will released her hands and cradled her face, kissing away the wetness. “I hurt you.”

  Swallowing, she blinked the tears away and turned her face toward the window. “I don’t want to lose you, Will, but I can’t be her.”

  “Can’t be who? What are you talking about?”

  “Kathleen Bigsby. God. Why did I even think I could try? What a fucking joke. There’s no way I could learn her level of refinement. That’s something you have to be born into, and I’m one-hundred percent working class, with the calluses to prove it. I’m nothing like her, and I never will be.”

  “And thank God for that,” he muttered.

  Her gaze shot to his face. “What?”

  “Look. I like Kathleen, and I won’t lie. A relationship—”

  “—marriage.”

  “Well, yes. Marriage to her would be great for me professionally.”

  She bit her lip, hoping the pain would stay her sobs for a while. Just let her get through this conversation. She’d have more than enough time to cry in the privacy of her own room. “So you’ve decided then.”

  “No.”

  “Why not? She’s perfect.”

  Will scoffed and rolled off her. Immediately, she missed his weight, the comfort of his steady heartbeat against her chest. “Because, you silly woman, I like you too. A lot.”

  “Not three days ago, you said I was bad for you.”

  His expression turned sheepish. “Yeah, well, I may have spoken too quickly.” He leaned over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “There’s more to me than work. I’m never more alive than when we’re together. I love talking with you, joking around, cuddling on the couch, kissing you, making love—”

  She laughed.

  “What?”

  “We don’t make love, Will. We fuck.”

  He dropped his hand and frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “It’s down and dirty.” And oh so fucking good. Her pussy clenched at the memory of him rimming her back door. Christ.

  “Sure, but that’s because we like it that way.”

  “Still, that’s not making love. Now a woman like Kathleen, she makes love.”

  “Not if she’s not feeling it. So that’s what you were doing. Trying to ‘make love’ to me.”

  “Yeah,” she said, staring at his chest. Her face burned like a multi-alarm fire. “Guess I’m not very good at it.”

  He kissed her nose. “You are so fucked up.”

  Her head popped up and she glared at him. “Hey!” But he was right. She was a fucking mess. A rolling, tumbling ball of confusion.

  “I’ve had the best sex of my life with you, and don’t you dare call it fucking.” He held up his hand to stop her protest. “Okay, sometimes it is fucking. But when I look at you, and your back arches as I feed you my cock, I’m making love to you. I’m showing you how much I care about you, how much I want to please you.”

  “I want to please you too, Will. But I don’t know how.” She let out a ragged breath. Admitting the truth was hard work.

  “Just be yourself.”

  “Aargh!” she screamed.

  He jerked back, startled.

  She had to laugh, even though her insides were in a tangle. “I’m so confused. You said my behavior was too risky, that I was endangering you and your reputation. Now you tell me to be myself? You’re not making any damn sense.”

  He rested his forehead against hers. “That’s because I’m confused too. I never expected this. Never expected you. You’ve blown my five-year plan to shit, and now I’m scrambling, trying to salvage what I can. I can’t figure out what I need.”

  “Then go with what you want.”

  “Can you give me a little more time?” He sounded like a little boy trying to renegotiate his bedtime.

  Her heart broke a little more. “There’s still almost two more weeks to our agreement.”

  “You’ll stay until the end?”

  She laughed. “I’ve really got nowhere else to go.”

  “Now that that’s out of the way, when I slapped your magnificent ass in the kitchen, I noticed an interesting reaction. Tell me about that.”

  She scolded him with her finger. “Shame on you, Mr. Caldwell. That definitely falls into the risky category.”

  He lunged and bit the tip of her finger. “We can be as risky as we both want when we have privacy. But let’s limit it to the condo.”

  “No more office sex?”

  “No.”

  His response sounded strained and he paled a little. The sadist in her couldn’t help needling him. “No more boat sex?”

  “Not unless we’re alone in the middle of the ocean.”

  “Movie sex?”

  His lips twisted. “I have to think about that one.”

  “Pool sex?”

  His lips tightened.

  “I get it,” she said, chuckling. “Puts a crimp in things, but I’ll try. I guess what I did at Vicenzo’s is out too?”

  “That was really fun.”

  “Tell me, Will. How much did it turn you on seeing me expose my breast to another man?” He swallowed and closed his eyes as a shudder overtook him. Wow. Just saying the words made her wet, but she hadn’t thought he’d liked it quite so much.

  “More than it should,” he said, his voice a guttural groan.

  “And you weren’t jealous.�
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  He shook his head. “I knew you were doing it for our benefit.”

  “God, I love you. But I guess a repeat of that is too risky.”

  “For now.” She nodded. He rubbed her ass. “Now tell me about that spanking.”

  “I have a fantasy about that.”

  He groaned. “I’m here to serve, my Mistress.”

  “Oh, no. This time, you get to be my Master.”

  Eyes glittering, cock hard, he rolled on top of her and grinned. “Even better.”

  Get through the party. Get through the day. Everything will be all right.

  The mantra ran through William’s mind like the news ticker on CNN as he finished up a meeting with the security team to iron out last-minute details for the CFF anniversary party. The door to his office slammed open, bouncing against the wall. Jamie stormed inside. A vein throbbed on his forehead and his features were a mask of rage as he waved a handful of papers at William. “Did you make her do this, you stupid bastard?”

  O’Connell, his chief of security, stood. His body radiated tension as he took a defensive position in front of William. “Sir?”

  William got to his feet and tapped the man’s shoulder. “It’s all right, O’Connell. I’ll deal with my brother.” He glanced at the other guards. “Alone.”

  O’Connell nodded and the men left.

  Jamie stomped closer to William’s desk. “Fucking shit. Tell me why you did this to her.”

  His brother’s cold, seething tone drilled into William, nailing him to the spot. He’d seen enough of Jamie in Dom mode—cool, calm, in-control—to know this wasn’t it. William held up his hands in a calming gesture and sat back down. “That would depend on the her and the what.”

  “Don’t play cute with me. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

  What had Danielle done to piss his brother off? “I don’t know what she did, but whatever it is, calm the fuck down. In fifteen minutes, this place will be crawling with people.”

  Jamie threw the papers on William’s desk and blew out in a harsh exhale, the scent of smoke from his bunker gear wafting up around him. “Read.”

  With two fingers, William gingerly slid the sheets closer and spun them around so he could read the neatly typed note—Danielle’s letter of resignation from the fire service. His mouth dropped open and his chest churned like a volcano about to erupt. He swallowed, struggling to keep the mass of emotions from spewing out of his mouth. “Why would she do this?”

  “You tell me, Mr. CFO.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  Jamie drilled his finger on the papers. “Read the rest.”

  William’s lowered his gaze back to the letter. Every word hit him with the force of a hammer. Danielle was going to pursue a more “family-friendly” career. Even though he knew better, he couldn’t help the immense wave of relief flowing over him. Now all those negatives in the pros and cons list he’d made could become positives. Now there actually was a chance that he and Danielle could make this relationship work.

  “Fuck!” Jamie exploded. “You’re happy about this? You have no fucking idea what you’ve done, do you? You’ve ripped out her goddamn soul, man.”

  William’s eyes flew to his brother. “You think she did this for me?”

  “Who else?”

  “But I never…” He dropped his head, rubbing his eyes. Christ. What a mess.

  Silence engulfed them until Jamie took pity and threw him a lifeline. “I know you probably didn’t mean to push her in this direction, at least not consciously. But she’s there now, and you have to decide what you want to do about it.”

  “It’s not my choice; it’s hers.”

  “How serious are you about Dani?”

  “I’m not sure.” William shoved his chair back and scratched his scalp. “We’ve only been together for three weeks, for God’s sake.”

  Jamie wandered over to the window. “Here’s the thing, she’s serious enough to give up her dream for you.” He turned around and stared William down. “It took me five years with Rickie before I’d even consider it.”

  “Erica asked you to quit the fire service?”

  Jamie shook his head, a smile curving his lips. “I got to the point where I offered, and she went ballistic. I know she’d considered asking, but deep down, she knew it would destroy me.”

  “And you think the same would happen to Danielle.”

  “Absolutely. She’s only truly happy when she’s wearing smoky bunker gear and marching into an adrenaline-pumping situation. Take that away and what’s left?”

  “A husband and children.” William leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

  Jamie folded his arms across his massive chest and frowned. “Why can’t she have her career and a family? Most of the guys do.”

  “And what about the female firefighters?” Jamie shrugged and looked out the window again. William snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  His lips pressed into a thin line, Jamie sat across the desk from William. “What are your intentions toward her?”

  William laughed. “Are you my big brother or hers?”

  He’d hoped his little joke would lighten Jamie up a bit. If anything, Jamie’s expression grew even more serious, more determined. “When you’ve saved someone’s life and they’ve saved yours, you’re closer than siblings.”

  Jamie’s words chilled William’s bones, reminding him of the incredibly tight bond between the firefighters. A bond stronger than that of brothers. The realization left him empty and wanting.

  “Answer my question, William. If you don’t feel about Dani the way she does about you, let her go. Don’t let her ruin her life for a fantasy.”

  “I like her a lot, but I don’t know yet if we can be good for each other.” Did he want kids more than he wanted her? His belly flipped at the image of Danielle wearing his ring, of her pregnant with their child.

  Sighing, Jamie stood and grabbed the papers like they were coated in poison. He jammed them into the pocket of his shirt. “I’ll hold onto this for two more weeks. You need to get your shit together and figure out what you want. If she still wants to quit then, I’ll pass her resignation on to Human Resources.”

  “Thank you, Jamie.”

  “I’m doing this for her. I’d hate to see a good woman destroyed by a self-serving man, even if he is my brother.”

  Jamie turned on his heel, and William stared at his retreating back, stunned by what he’d just learned. Danielle loved him enough to change her whole life for him, to give up her career. Hell, she’d even tried to curb her sexual needs and go vanilla for him. Thank God he’d been able to set her straight about that. He loved how she was in bed, her adventurousness and zeal to explore. Those were the same qualities that made her so much fun to be with out of bed too.

  But what about her giving up firefighting? Did that make Danielle more or less appealing as a life partner, as a wife? He’d seen what her schedule had been like since she’d moved in with him. Crazy didn’t even begin to describe it. That combined with his own hectic work hours, any children they had would be raised by nannies. And what if something happened to her on the job? His chest tightened and he had to fight for air. Could he raise their children alone? Was what he felt for her enough to risk so much?

  Things would be infinitely less complicated with a woman like Kathleen. She’d be there to support him and his career, not the other way around. Their children would be raised by their mother, not by a bunch of strangers. He could count on her always being there when he got home, waiting for him with a drink and dinner in the oven.

  Much like Danielle had been doing all week.

  He was macho enough to have enjoyed the attention, but he’d enjoyed it even more when she’d let loose in the bedroom—when she’d acted like herself. Fuck.

  He wanted Danielle.

  But did he want her enough to let her change her life for him? Or did he love her enough to accept her as she was�
��a gloriously sexy firefighter?

  Chapter 14

  Dani stood by Will’s side as he greeted Caldwell Fine Furnishings’ employees and their families, welcoming them to the party. Her platoon, and Drew who’d taken her shift, had set up Ladder 27 near the main entrance. A few of the guys were manning the huge inflatable bounce houses filled with laughing kids while the others were showing off their gear and the truck, explaining how everything worked. Chad and Liam were in Medic 21 right beside them. They were having fun letting a group of kids check out the inside of the ambulance and try out their stethoscopes.

  Will’s hand on her shoulder drew her attention back to the gentleman in front of her, the VP of marketing. A thrill flirted with her spine each time Will introduced her as his girlfriend. She smiled brightly. Yeah, she missed being with her platoon, but this was nice too, really nice.

  From her spot at Dani’s heel, Coco seemed to be getting agitated. The dog’s tail whipped against the backs of Dani’s calves. She tightened her grip on the leash. “What is it, girl?”

  Coco whined and tugged on her collar. Slightly alarmed, Dani searched for what was making her so jittery.

  “Coco! Dani!”

  Coco barked as a dark-haired boy separated from the line and raced up to them, stopping out of leaping range. Dani recognized him immediately. Crouching, she called him forward. “Hi, Matt! Coco’s very excited to see you. Do you remember what to do?”

  He nodded and slowly walked up to Coco, who happily sniffed his outstretched hand. He gave Dani a hug, then turned to pet the dog’s back. Dani searched, but didn’t see any adults with him. “Does one of your parents work here, Matt?”

  “My d-dad.”

  Matt was enjoying a tongue bath when a concerned-looking man hurried up to them. “Sir, I’m so sorry,” he said to Will. Then turned to the boy. “Matt, come here.”