Swept Away (Wildfire Lake 3)

“I hope I can erase them. They don’t belong with a woman as amazing as you.”

We kiss again—I could never get tired of this—and I round the hood, wave to Laiyla and Levi as they pass, and slide into the driver’s seat. As I make my way from the lot, I think ahead. I don’t want to invite myself to stay with her again, but I don’t want to sleep without her either.

How quickly I’ve gone from certified player to focused lockdown. But I knew that if I ever got a shot with Chloe, I’d take it all the way. “Slide over here, beautiful.”

She unbuckles her seat belt, slides to the middle, and refastens. She’s got her head on my shoulder as we leave the lot, and my heart is bursting with joy.

“That was fun.” I glance down to find her fingering the necklace. “I mean, once people left us alone.”

“A year ago, no one would even talk to us, unless it was to be nasty,” she says, the “us” referencing the three women. “Remember when Craig O’Malley tried to keep us from celebrating our birthday at his pub and you came to our rescue?”

I smile. “Good times.”

“Hmm.” She lifts her head, slides her face into the crook of my neck, and breathes deep, then pulls my skin between her teeth before kissing me there. My body is instantly alert and prepping for action. “I think this year’s events are way more fun.”

I slide the fingers of my free hand into her hair. “I wholeheartedly agree.”

Her lips and tongue take a route behind my ear, and the shivers she creates raise gooseflesh. Then her hand slides over my thigh and between my legs, and she cups me with a little moan of desire.

“Can you get us home,” she asks, “so I can undress you with my teeth?”

I groan. “My place or yours?”

“Whichever is closer.” She tugs on my belt, and it opens for her. Then her fingers pop the button and push at the zipper, and she moans as she slides her hand beneath my boxer briefs and around my cock. “I’ve been meaning to come over and see all the progress you’ve made on your house, but right now, I’m really focused on something else.”

My cock hardens in her hand, her thumb sliding over the head, making me see stars. A part of me still can’t believe this is happening. My fantasies didn’t begin to do her justice.

I stop at a light at the end of Main Street. This light has always irritated me because there’s never enough traffic to warrant the stop. But tonight, I’ve got more to do than just sit here and wait for it to turn green.

Turning my head, I lift her face by the chin, and I’m about to kiss her when something catches my eye, and I glance out the side window instead. I spot three men loitering in the alley behind Devan Sicily’s quick mart.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe follows my gaze. “Who is that?”

“Trouble.” I veer across another empty lane and into the driveway. “This will only take a minute.”

I drag the tail of my shirt over my open pants and pull up a few hundred feet away from the men—Smith Gunderson, Dale Hawthorne, and Chase Maddison. Smith and Dale are eighteen-year-old seniors. Chase is a seventeen-year-old junior.

When they look over, Smith sneers, Dale rolls his eyes, and Chase grins with a good-natured “Hey, Officer Wilde.”

I lift my chin in greeting. “Chase, can we talk a minute?”

He looks at the other guys, shrugs, and saunters over. He leans on the open window ledge with both forearms and smiles into the cab. “Hey, Miss Chloe.”

She smiles and offers a warm “Hi, Chase.”

Chase turns his gaze on me again. “Didn’t know you and Miss Chloe were a thing. Nice choice.”

Chloe laughs.

“So, what’s up, man?” Chase asks.

“What are you three doing?”

“Just hanging, you know.”

“With you, yeah, I know. With them, hanging is just another way of saying looking for trouble.”

Chase tips his head side to side in tacit agreement.