Ember: Part One Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  First Original Edition, April 2015

  Copyright © 2015 by Deborah Bladon

  ISBN: 9781926440255

  Cover Design by Wolf & Eagle Media

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations either are the product of the author's imagination or are used factiously.

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

  Also by Deborah Bladon

  The Obsessed Series

  The Exposed Series

  The Pulse Series

  The VAIN Series

  The RUIN Series

  IMPULSE

  SOLO

  The GONE Series

  FUSE

  The Trace Series

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Thank You

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  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  "If you're coming back to my place I need to buy some condoms."

  The fork in my hand stops in mid-air. I don't look up. I can't. I've barely taken one bite of the roasted squash salad the waiter brought me not more than four minutes ago. This is New York City. This is the place where I thought I'd find the love of my life. What the hell was I thinking?

  "You're up for coming back, right?"

  My head darts up and I study him. This might actually be the first time I've seriously looked right at him. I'm on a blind date. Maybe the term itself holds more meaning than the literal. Obviously, I had no idea what Larry looked like before I walked through the doors of Axel NY a half hour ago. More than that, I couldn't have predicted that we'd be talking about sex before I'd finished my first glass of wine.

  "I don't know you," I say bluntly. "Why would I go home with you?"

  It's a question that borders heavily on rhetorical. I don't think that Larry's bright enough to weave those jumbled pieces of subtly together. He's an assistant to a paralegal. That says a lot about his drive in life considering he looks like he's in his mid-forties. He's also dying to be fucked. He's not shy about it at all.

  "We're on a date, Bridget." The words linger there on his thin, smug lips. He doesn't add to them because why would he? Those words have clearly and succinctly spelled out every intention that he has. They aren't masked in anything but the truth. Larry wants his dick to see some action tonight and I'm apparently the main attraction in that circus.

  "It's just a date," I explain. "I'd like to get to know you first."

  "Why?" He pushes the food from his fork into his mouth and chews.

  "I'm not interested in a quick fuck."

  His unruly brow cocks. "I heard you were up for just about anything."

  Fuck you, Zoe Beck. Fuck you for whatever the hell you said to him when you arranged this date.

  "I have no idea what my friend told you about me," I pause while I contemplate how to put this delicately. I stare at him. The wayward piece of kale that is stuck between his front teeth is only adding to the allure that is Larry.

  He rests his forearms on the table. The patch on the elbow of his inexpensive suit jacket brushes against the linen tablecloth. "This place isn't cheap. I brought you here because I thought you were a sure thing."

  A sure thing? A fucking sure thing?

  I wince at the words. "The only sure thing tonight is that you're going home alone."

  It's obvious immediately that Larry is contemplating those words with all the grace of a pack of wild dogs. His hand slams heavily against the spotless white linen tablecloth. "I didn't buy you that expensive salad for nothing. The least you can do is blow me."

  No, the least I can do is tell him to fuck right off. "I am not interested in you."

  "I'm not interested in you either." He flings his napkin at me and it lands squarely in my squash salad. I was going to have another bite of that. "I like brunettes, not blondes."

  Touché.

  "I like men with hair."

  Ouch. I can feel Larry's pain from across the table. Obviously no one, including all the brunettes he's been with, has pointed out the bad comb over that's happening on the top of his odd shaped head.

  "We're leaving now."

  I actually look to the right and the left to see who Larry is talking to. I'm gathering that he's still engaged in a conversation with me even though I'm trying desperately to ignore him. People are starting to stare and I have no aversion to a little extra attention, but tonight, I don't want to be the main attraction in Larry's sideshow.

  "Get up." He grabs tightly to my bare bicep and yanks hard.

  I cry out sharply. Considering the fact that most of my body is still stuck next to this table in a chair, my arm can't leave with Larry. "Let go of me."

  "Is there a problem?" A deep, husky voice asks.

  I turn towards it even though Larry is still trying to separate my arm from my shoulder to take as a consolation prize. I look up into the dark eyes of a brown haired man. He's staring down at me with a noticeable look of concern on his face.

  "Hey," he calls across the table at Larry. "Enough. You're hurting her."

  "Get lost." Larry loosens his grip only momentarily. "My girlfriend and I don't need your help."

  Wait. No. Hell no.

  "I'm not your girlfriend," I growl at him. "Let go of my arm already."

  "You're coming with me." Larry pulls harder and I can't help but cry out in pain.

  Within an instant my arm is free and the lapel of Larry's jacket is firmly entrenched in the fisted hands of the handsome man with the dark eyes.

  "Are you okay?" He cocks a winged brow while he holds tight to Larry. "Did he hurt you?"

  "I'm fine." My voice is quiet and small. Maybe I'm not as fine as I thought. I lean my hands on the table, suddenly feeling dizzy.

  I hear movement behind me before I sense someone crouching next to me. "He's gone. Are you sure you're okay?"

  I turn to the left and look into the same deep brown eyes. "I'm fine. He just shook me up."

  "He may have torn something in your shoulder." He presses it lightly with his fingers. "I'd get it checked out if it's sore tomorrow."

  "Are you a doctor?" I know he's probably on a date with someone. The dark suit he's wearing doesn't hide his muscular frame.

  "No." A small grin pulls at the corner of his mouth. "I’m a firefighter. I'm Dane."

  "Bridget Grant," I say with a wince as I try to move my arm to shake his hand.

  "I'm taking you to the ER now." He pulls on the back of my chair. "Come with me."

  I don't protest. Why would I? He's a fireman and he wants to rescue me. I may actually have to thank Zoe for this date, after all.

  ***

  I had such high hopes before we arrived at the ER. Dane had wrapped his arm around me as he led me out of the restaurant to the street. At first I thought he was feeling the same attraction to me that I was obviously feeling towards him. I didn't hesitate to thank him over and over again for pulling me free from Larry's grasp.

  He had hailed a taxi an
d as he sat next to me in the hurried ride over, he hadn't said a word. It was a direct and very awkward contrast to what I was doing. I'm not great with silence. I don't know if it stems from the fact that I'm an only child. We lived in rural Connecticut when I was growing up and my stuffed animals and dolls became my closest friends. They knew all my secrets and I counted on them to keep me company after school and on weekends. My mother worked during the day while my father tended to the household chores and yard work. Once my mother's car pulled into the driveway, he'd give her a quick kiss goodbye and head to his job as a bartender at a nightclub. I have only a few memories of the three of us together.

  "The wait is close to four hours." I can hear the frustration in Dane's voice as approaches where I'm sitting in the very crowded waiting room.

  It's already near ten, which means that I'll be lucky if I get back to my apartment before dawn. "I can just call a doctor in the morning. My friend, Vanessa, is a nurse. I'm sure she'll be able to point me to a clinic tomorrow to have my shoulder checked out."

  "Your friend Vanessa is a nurse?" He grins for the first time since we left the restaurant. "My cousin is marrying a nurse named Vanessa."

  I rest my hand in my lap trying to relieve the shooting pain that is radiating through my shoulder. "That's a weird coincidence. My friend actually works here. I should check if she's on duty."

  "She's not." His mouth twists into a wider smile. "I asked at the desk. She has the night off."

  "Your cousin is Garrett Ryan?" Pushing myself up I gaze across the room towards the nurses' station. "You're talking about Vanessa Meyer, right?"

  "One in the same," he says as he points at my shoulder. "You're sure you want to leave that until tomorrow. I can wait around with you if you want."

  It's an offer that's almost too tempting to refuse. As handsome as he is, I know that I pulled him away from something, or more than likely, a stunning someone. I've been left high and dry in the middle of a date by a man before so I know the humiliation that comes with that.

  I hadn't wanted to stare, but when he was standing by the nurses' station a few minutes ago checking on the wait times, I'd seen him make a call on his smartphone. His brow had shifted just as his lips started moving. He lowered his head right then and within that motion I saw a flash of regret pour over his expression. It had to have been her. His instinctive need to rescue me had taken him away from someone in that restaurant.

  "You should head back to Axel." I look over his shoulder, not wanting to make eye contact with him. I feel guilty that I want him to stay. "I'm sure your date is waiting for you."

  "She's not." He turns his head towards me. "No one is waiting for me."

  In the middle of this bustling hospital waiting room I can't tell if there's a subtle proposition woven into the words or not. "Do you want to take me home?"

  His head lifts as he takes a second to rake his eyes over the tight black dress I'd somehow managed to fit myself into earlier. "I ended my relationship tonight. If I take you home, Bridget, I'll want to stay."

  "You ended your relationship?" I try to swallow past the lump that has now formed in my throat. He's gorgeous, he's single and he's hurting. It's a trifecta of one night stand perfection.

  He nods as he reaches past me to pick up my small clutch purse that had slipped onto the chair I was sitting in when I stood. "I could use a friend."

  I could use a fuck so without another thought I let him take me by the hand and lead me out of the waiting room and into a night I have a feeling I'm never going to forget.

  Chapter 2

  I lusted too soon. When Dane said he needed a friend it wasn't code for I want to fuck you into tomorrow. Apparently, I'd crossed paths with that mythical creature that all single women in Manhattan have heard of but haven't seen. In fact, I don't think there's been a spotting in years. It's the highly desired, but virtually non-existent, nice guy and right now, I'm sitting at my kitchen table staring right at one in the form of Dane Beckett.

  He had guided me through the door of my building and then into the elevator as if I was a wounded doe. As he pulled me into his side to shield my shoulder from the other occupants in the lift I'd felt the compassion in his touch. It's in his eyes too.

  I'd asked him to unzip my dress as much to help me because my shoulder was still too tender to move, as it was a silent invitation. I could see our reflection in the hall mirror as he pulled slowly on the zipper and my overly active libido thought he might actually slide his hands beneath the fabric so he could cup my breasts. He'd bent his chin down and although I could only see his profile in the mirror, I knew he was staring at my bare skin.

  It's near ten minutes later now and just as I walked back into the kitchen after changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt, he'd stood to introduce himself. He'd held out his hand in a gallant gesture that spoke of good manners and a respect for women that is rare in the circles I travel in. He's a gentleman and as we sit and sip from our mugs of hot coffee, I feel the weight of a dozen questions bearing down on me.

  "That guy that you were having dinner with said you were his girlfriend. Is that true?" he asks just as I'm about to talk about the food at the restaurant. In my over tired mind it's the perfect segue to get him to open up about the woman he dumped tonight. I'm typically not the type to care about other people's relationships unless they are six foot tall firemen who look irresistible in a well-tailored suit and the beginnings of a five o'clock shadow covering their rugged jawline.

  "Larry?" I say before I realize that I'm not even sure that's his name. It may have been Terry or Garry. No, it was Larry. "I have a friend who interns at a law office. Larry works there too. She set us up."

  "She's a friend? I'd hate to see who your enemies would set you up with."

  Zoe's going to hate seeing me when I get my hands on her tomorrow. Unless she's never met Larry in the sweaty flesh there's no logical explanation for why she thought I'd find him attractive. She knows my type. Larry is about as far from that as a man can get. Dane, on the other hand…

  "So you're not seeing anyone?"

  I look away. He's not tempering anything. The man is on a serious mission to find out my dating status. At least that's the way I'm interpreting it. I've been misreading his cues all night though so in reality he's probably asking if I have a significant other because he thinks I'm in mortal danger living in this part of the city alone. He may be right but I have a bunch of self defense moves my father taught me to fall back on.

  "I'm not seeing anyone," I say it clearly knowing that now is my prime chance to turn the tables on him. "You said earlier you broke up with your girlfriend tonight."

  "It's over," he grumbles. Tension grips his shoulders. He leans back in the chair. "We were celebrating something. I just looked up at her and realized I wanted out."

  Dumping someone in the middle of a celebratory dinner doesn't align with the person who has tended to me for the past few hours. "That must not have been easy."

  "It was necessary." His dark eyes settle on my face. "It hasn't worked for a while. Why waste time with something you know isn't right for you?"

  It's a rhetorical question that I'm tempted to answer. I've been in the shoes of the woman he broke up with tonight. I've tried holding onto a relationship I knew wasn't working because I didn't want my investment to be all for nothing. That was years ago though. It's different now. I have fun. I don't plan ahead and I don't worry for a second about whether a guy I'm with has long term potential.

  "I completely agree." I trace my fingers over the rim of the mug. "I don't hang around if it's not working for me. After all, there are a lot of single people in the city."

  "New York does have a lot to offer." He straightens in his chair. "You never know what's waiting for you at any given moment."

  My bed is waiting for us and the box of condoms I keep in the nightstand right next to it.

  "The possibilities are endless if you're open to them."

  "I'm definitely open to th
em, Bridget." He pushes the mug away before rising from the chair. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

  "I have to work until midnight," I begin as I look up at him. "I'm free on Friday."

  "My birthday is today." He steps back from the table. "We'll celebrate it after midnight tomorrow."

  "Happy Birthday." My hands fist in my lap. It's his birthday? How is it his birthday today? "You broke up with your girlfriend on your birthday?"

  He studies me. "It's a new year for me. There's no better time to start fresh. What time will you be back here tomorrow night?"

  "Around one," I say without any thought. "How do you want to celebrate?"

  "Naked."

  There's no hidden innuendo in that word at all. I sit frozen in my chair as he glances down at his smartphone, buttons his suit jacket and walks out of my apartment without a backward glance or another word.

  Chapter 3

  "I haven't met him yet." Vanessa pushes her fingers into my shoulder. "Garrett talks about him sometimes. I think he's a fireman."

  "He told me that." I wince when her index finger drives into the tender spot near my shoulder blade. "That's it right there. It hurts like hell."

  She rubs it gently. "He didn't do any permanent damage. I mean, I don't think he did. If it still hurts in a couple of days, stop by the hospital when I'm working and I'll get you into see one of the attending physicians."

  I'm not sure if she has enough influence to help me skip the always endless line at the ER, but I'm grateful for the offer. "I'll keep an eye on it. I have to work tonight, so I'm hoping it's going to hold up through that."

  "Carry the tray with your left hand if you can." She rounds me before dropping herself onto the couch a foot away from where I'm sitting. "If you put some heat on it, that will help loosen the muscles too."

  I nod as I rub my shoulder. "Zoe's going to pay for setting me up with Larry."

  "Larry?" She turns to the side, bending her leg at the knee so she can rest it between us. "Larry is the caveman who wanted to drag you into his bed?"