The Firefighter’s Woman 2 Page 3

  “I wasn’t worried.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, strolling along like he didn’t have a care in the world. Marlena frowned at him. His ass wasn’t even going to explain why he was in town, and he didn’t have the decency to get angry about her going out with Evan.

  She considered pressing him about his feelings for Sherise, but what was the point? The fact was, she had unresolved feelings for Evan, although she had no intention of pursuing them. Sometimes, when a person loved another, it took a while for the love to fade, even when she’d moved on to another relationship. Marlena refused to believe there was more to it than that.

  At her door, she paused before sticking her key in the lock. “It’s late, and I didn’t expect you to come tonight.”

  His eyebrows went up. “Are you serious? I’m tired, and I don’t want to have to drive all the way back to Abend. Let me stay here tonight.”

  She rolled her eyes. “What’s this, a booty call? I’m so not in the mood, Tyrone.”

  He tapped his hand on the side of his leg, looked away, and then back at her. “We don’t have to do anything. Like you said, it’s late.”

  It was just after ten. They’d spent a night dancing much later than this, and Tyrone had driven home afterward when he had to work the next morning. Not wanting to argue, she unlocked the door and let him follow her inside. After a quick shower, she slipped into a nightgown and dropped into bed. Tyrone waited for her to finish cleaning up to do the same, and even though the lights were off when he slipped under the sheet she’d thrown over her, she knew he was stark naked. He hated anything constricting his body when he slept.

  On her back, staring at the ceiling, Marlena stiffened when Tyrone rolled toward her and rested his palm on her breast. Somehow, it felt like a violation, a betrayal of Evan. She shoved those thoughts away right along with Tyrone’s hand.

  “I told you I’m not in the mood, Tyrone. I knew you were going to try to do it anyway.”

  He sighed. “Fine! Damn, girl. I am your man, right? Or did you forget after being out with that white boy tonight?”

  “Don’t even go there.”

  “Whatever.” He turned his back on her, and within a few moments, his snores filled the silence around her.

  Unbidden, tears came to Marlena’s eyes. She didn’t know if she was crying because Tyrone seemed so cold toward her, or if she cried over Evan. After he had left, she’d cried so much, she hadn’t thought she would stop. In fact, she had moped around until Ms. Judy, her former employer and friend, lectured Marlena to pull herself together and stop letting a man ruin her life.

  Marlena admired the older woman for starting her own cleaning business and making it a success. She was also grateful to Ms. Judy for giving her a job when no one else seemed ready to because she hadn’t had a high school diploma. Marlena had taken the words to heart and determined then and there, she would turn her life around. No man would bring her down, no matter what.

  Everything seemed clear then. She’d made decisions she felt were right, including deciding never to date outside her race, but staying with Tyrone was sort of accepting less than what she deserved as well. She didn’t love him, and it was for damn sure he didn’t love her. Now that she thought about it, Tyrone had never showed her real warmth or affection. They had been exclusive, dating only each other, as far as she knew. They were together maybe five nights of every week whether they went out or stayed in. Yet, there just wasn’t anything there.

  Maybe she should break it off now before one of them got hurt. She rolled to her side while dragging her sheet up to her neck. All of a sudden, a powerful urge for lovemaking came over her, and she reached down between her legs to press a palm against her heat. Aching desire wracked her body. Evan’s face rose in her mind, and that quick, she was ready to explode. Yanking her hand from between her legs, she forced her mind away from Evan. She would not cheat, even in her thoughts. It wasn’t right.

  Over and over, she had to redirect her mind and keep her fingers clutching the sheet rather than bringing herself to orgasm. Once she considered waking Tyrone to have sex, but that would be worse. Right now, she couldn’t stand him touching her. How had everything gotten so screwed up? Tyrone and Evan both just wanted to satisfy their need. Neither loved her. Knowing that truth, Marlena cried herself to sleep at four in the morning.

  Chapter Five

  Evan pulled on biker shorts and a sleeveless tee. He’d blown it the last time he spoke with Marlena, but he couldn’t let that stand. When she’d accused him of wanting her purely to satisfy some ridiculous fantasy, it had shocked him. He had been thrown off so much that it took him a moment to deny her words. But by the time he was ready with a comeback, she had been gone. He could have run after her, but she’d never believe him. His best bet at this point was to show her his seriousness. Evan planned to stick to her like white on rice.

  That kiss a few days ago had been everything he remembered and more. Before Marlena pushed him away, she had responded with the same hunger that ate at him day in and day out. Every night he had been in New York, she’d filled his thoughts, possessed his soul. A fantasy was not that real, didn’t drive a man so hard that he felt he would lose his mind if he didn’t have the one he longed for.

  That ache was his need for Marlena. While he’d promised her he would leave her alone if she gave him one date, the date had never happened. He grinned to himself. All bets were off in this case, so he was free to pursue her to his heart’s content. The pursuit would begin at the Y.

  When he arrived at the Y that afternoon, Evan paused outside the classroom where he had kissed Marlena. A memory of the pleasure from that night ran through his mind, but he dismissed it quickly. If he didn’t control his thoughts, he’d walk into the class with a boner that would scare the crap out of the ladies. “Especially with these shorts on,” he murmured with a chuckle.

  Reminding himself that he was an idiot for love and probably in for serious humiliation that would spread all over town, he opened the door. Several pair of eyes turned in his direction, including Marlena’s at the front of the class. Her dark brows lowered over those beautiful brown orbs, and she frowned at him. Evan stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

  “Ladies,” he called out in greeting. He was gratified at least to see that several of the women directed pointed stares of appreciation at his shorts—or rather, what he’d tucked inside of them.

  “Oh, we’ve got a man,” one of the ladies cooed. “I knew I did the right thing joining this class.”

  “I know, right?” one of the others agreed. “A firefighter too. Hey, Evan.”

  Evan advanced on the group. “Lileth.” The woman was at least fifteen years his senior, but rumor had it she liked younger men. He wasn’t interested.

  He took a place at the back of all the women and waited for the class to begin, but Marlena didn’t turn on the music she’d been sorting through when he entered. “Did you lose your way, Evan?” she asked.

  He grinned. “No, I’m in the right place.”

  A collective “oooohhh” went up around the room.

  Marlena’s eyes narrowed. He thought she wanted to order him to leave, but didn’t want the others to know she felt anything but indifference toward him. “I should warn you, this class is a combination of exercise and dance. Most of the moves are geared specifically toward women.”

  “In other words,” Shana interjected, “boyfriend, you gonna be wiggling your hips and working it like you’ve switched teams, if you know what I mean.”

  Everybody in the class burst out laughing, including Marlena. To Evan’s disgust, he felt his face heating up and knew it was blood red. Right now, his speech on doing this for love wasn’t working. The only thing that kept him where he stood was the need to prove he wasn’t afraid of Shana’s warning, that Marlena couldn’t run him off that easily.

  When he didn’t move, Marlena shrugged with a comment that sounded like “your humiliation” and turned to start the music. Forty-fi
ve minutes later, after Evan had missed every step and stomped his own toes so many times he thought he might be crippled for life, the session came to an end. When the cool down was over, he limped his way to a bench amid the congratulations of the ladies for sticking it out.

  “Thanks for the eye candy,” Shana called before she left the room hooting.

  Evan ran a towel over his sweat drenched hair and chugged back the last of the water he’d brought with him. When he glanced up, Marlena stood in front of him, arms crossed beneath her breasts. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Exercising,” he quipped. “Isn’t that what it looked like?”

  “Ah, no. Actually, it looked like you were having a seizure. I wasn’t sure if I should call the paramedics or what.”

  “Very funny.” He stood up to tower over her and rid himself of the inferior feeling of being on her turf. Right away, her brown eyes widened, and he watched in amazement as her breaths shortened. He loved the effect he had on Marlena, but he would do his best not to use that as a weapon. The fact that she thought he wanted her for sex alone had hurt him. His priority at this point was to show her how much he cared, and make her admit that her feelings reflected his. “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of the things you’re doing, this class, school.”

  Although she tried to hide it, pleasure flashed in her eyes at his words. She lowered her lids to stare at the floor. “Thanks. I have more goals I’ve set for myself.” Her head came up, her chin raised. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and had none of the privileges you had, but I’m making it work. I’m just a little behind schedule. I have people rooting me, people who are examples, like Ms. Judy. I know I’m going to accomplish everything I set my mind to.”

  Evan put a hand out to touch her arm. He ran it up and down the soft mocha skin, enjoying the spark that always flared between them. “I feel like you’re directing that statement to me. Have I done something or said something in the past to make you feel like I didn’t believe in you, baby?”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Nothing.” She turned to walk away, but he drew her back, caught her by the shoulders and forced her gently to face him.

  “Tell me, Marlena.”

  “Your mother.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “What’s my mother have to do with this?”

  “Oh please, Evan,” she grumbled. “Like you didn’t know. We met at her house when I was working with Ms. Judy to clean it. Lord of the manner chasing around the hired help. She could never stand for that.”

  “My mother’s house is hardly a manor, and I’m nobody’s lord. Just what did my mother say to you?” His mother was known to be snotty, thinking she was a cut above all others. In fact, he’d questioned many times how she could stay in a quaint town like Forest’s End. Practically from birth, she had encouraged him to get out into the world and make something of himself. That part he had admired, given that he did come from money. His grandfather was a wise investor, and when he’d passed many years ago, he left his only child, Evan’s mother, and him, with enough money to live the rest of their lives in comfort. Evan enjoyed very little of it. He loved the career choice he had made, and nothing compared to Forest’s End.

  “Look, it doesn’t matter.” She ran her fingers through her hair and tugged away from his touch. “I have to get moving. I have a test I need to study for. I don’t expect you to be here for the next class. You made your point.”

  “And what point was that, Marlena?”

  She grunted in frustration. “Stop this. I told you I’m with Tyrone, okay? We’re over. Deal with it. You asked for a date. I gave you a date, but you didn’t show up. While I know the fire was a good excuse, it just let me know that seeing each other was a bad idea. Besides, with Sherise…” She stopped.

  He stepped around her to block her escape. “What about Sherise?”

  “Nothing! Please let it go.”

  When tears rose in her eyes and fell down her cheeks, his chest constricted. “I’m sorry, Marlena. Don’t cry. I don’t want to hurt you.” He tore at his hair. “I just want to be with you. I made a mistake, a big mistake, in leaving. Can’t you give me another chance? I know what we had was special.”

  “You know now.”

  “I knew then.” He spread his hands before her, at a loss for words. He was out of ideas. He couldn’t force himself on her or make her believe he loved her. If it would help, he’d drop down on one knee right here, but that would probably get the tears falling faster. Somewhere in the mess that he’d made of their relationship, she’d come to think he had a low opinion of her back then. To return to her now that she had grown so much, had lost weight, was working on a degree, and even had her own business, solidified those assumptions, he was sure.

  She remained silent, arms crossed, and her sweet lips pursed. It took everything inside of Evan not to draw her into his arms. Instead, he reached out and used his thumb to wipe away her tears. More fell as he wiped, but he didn’t stop caressing her cheek and waiting for her to calm down. If it hurt, if he was humiliated a thousand times over, if she pushed him away every day, he would be there.

  “Talk to me, Marlena. Tell me what you’re worried about regarding us, or what your assumptions are. I promise I’ll lay every concern to rest so we can be together.”

  For just a moment, hope flashed in her eyes, but then it was gone. She turned her back on him, and it was as if someone had run a knife into his gut. “Please, just go. You could never understand.”

  Evan wanted to argue further, but felt it was pointless. She needed more time. He’d give her that for now, but he would not give up. “I’ll leave this classroom, baby, but I’m not going farther than that. I’m going to be in Forest’s End as long as you are. I’m going to reach past all that hurt and tear down those walls you’ve put up. And when I do, you and I are going to have the happiness we were meant to have. That, you can count on.”

  Chapter Six

  Marlena brooded over Evan’s words for the next week. She was grateful that during that time, she didn’t hear from Tyrone. He had told her he had a chain of restaurants to inspect, and that would take him out of the area for a few days. Marlena used the opportunity to think about what she wanted. Evan’s words touched her heart, made her whole being ache for him. But how could she believe those smooth words? She’d heard them before with a couple guys she’d dated before Tyrone. They all knew the exact thing to say to make a woman spread her legs. How could she think Evan was any different?

  While she thought about Evan when she should have been doing homework, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it to see that Tyrone was calling. He must be back and want to come see her. At least she knew Tyrone kept it real with her. He’d been open about what he wanted from day one, and he didn’t try to sweet talk her with words of love. “No, he just grabs my boob or slaps my ass to make it plain.”

  She laughed and answered the call. “Hey, Tyrone. You’re back?”

  “I’m coming into town tonight.” No hello. Just, he was coming. “Want me to pick up Chinese at Chin’s on the way?”

  She rolled her eyes. When would the man get it through his head that her body didn’t burn a million calories in five seconds like his did? Tamping down a grumble, she said, “Get me something with lots of veggies and steamed rice instead of fried. Okay? And no egg roll. You know if you bring it home, I’ll scarf it down.”

  “All right, baby. Be there in a few.” He hung up without saying good-bye.

  Marlena went back to homework so she could get it done before Tyrone arrived. Soon she was lost in trying to digest the deep writings of Plato and Aristotle. Her mind seemed to twist into a knot with no enlightenment whatsoever. By the time she glanced up again, it was after nine.

  “Where the hell is he?”

  As if on cue, the knocker at the front door banged. Frowning, she stood and went to let Tyrone in. With her hand on her hip, she waited for hi
m to explain. He brushed by, arms filled with bags, and kissed her cheek as he went.

  “What took you so long, Tyrone?” she demanded. “I’m glad I wasn’t that hungry.” Her stomach growled. “Or rather, didn’t notice until just now.”

  “Something came up I had to take care of. I’m here now.” He set the bags on the table along with his cell phone and keys. “You can start. I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  He left the room without another word. Marlena stomped over to the bags and looked through five containers of food. Who the hell did he think he was feeding? An army? Not one contained many vegetables, and the two that did were drowned in gravy. All of the small rice containers were fried rice.

  Irritated, Marlena stuck her finger in one box. The food was lukewarm. Sighing, she shoved the bags away and sat down to wait for him while she wiped her fingers clean. On impulse, she picked up his phone. Not once did she ever check behind Tyrone—or any other man she’d dated, for that matter. But Tyrone had been acting odd lately. His usual distance seemed more pronounced. She had put it down to her stormy emotions over Evan and dismissed it.

  She should put the phone back on the table and just ask Tyrone if he was still feeling them together. With determination, she set it down and walked back to her bedroom. The shower was running. She knocked on the door and then opened it.

  “Hey,” she called.

  “Yeah?”

  She clenched her fingers, trying not to let her irritation with him come through in her tone. “What do you think about us, Tyrone? I mean, are we okay? You still want to date me and all?”

  “Why not? You’re fun, have a sweet body. I mean we’re not talking marriage, right?”

  “How romantic,” she murmured and closed the door. Somehow, that answer wasn’t good enough. Walking back to the dining room, she bit her lip. She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t.