Wrapped in Flame Read Free Page A

until he was dehydrated…and being too afraid and unsure to make a move.
    If this were any other woman, he’d have her up against the wall, legs around his waist, dry humping her to an orgasm. But he’d known Erica wasn’t just any woman the moment he’d laid eyes on her. Mike damned himself a thousand times over for not having made a move on her then. If he had, she damn sure wouldn’t have married fucking Keith Randall. But no, he’d diddled around, thinking he had time to go slow and sweet, to savor every second of seduction, only to realize after the fact that Keith had stolen the prize, stolen the woman of his dreams and his happily-ever-after. Because that was what Erica was to him—his future. If he didn’t fuck it up yet again.
    Being cocksure he’d have her before had gotten him nowhere. Now fear held him captive. They were best friends. That much he had obtained for himself, and he sure as hell didn’t want to lose it. Mike had no idea how she felt about him on that level. If she thought about him beyond the bounds of friendship, if she entertained any fantasies about him, if the mere thought of him got her hard and moist between the legs.
    Mike clenched his jaw against the rush to his cock. With her this close to him, there was no hiding the erection now. He moved his hand down to the small of her back, aching to bring her closer so he could grind into her soft belly. Then he’d cup her sweet ass and haul her up until she tossed those long legs around his waist.
    A sniffle stopped him cold. Yeah, he wanted her bad, but not at the risk of making a false move or being the rebound guy or losing her forever.
    “Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Mike rubbed what he hoped were soothing circles over her back. “I’ve got you.”
    Liar. You don’t have shit and never did. Do something. Take a fucking chance. What do you have to lose? Everything, but he had everything to gain as well.
    “Erica, I think—”
    “This is so messed up! I’m gonna kill that little bastard!”
    Mike and Erica started as Bub Shephard’s voice blasted through the house. She jerked away and flicked tears from her cheeks while Mike racked his brain for a way to explain his hard-on. Maybe they won’t notice. Right. They noticed. Every single time. It wasn’t a secret how he felt about Erica. Well, maybe to Erica.
    “This is bullshit,” CJ added. “Little prick’s got a lot of nerve, kicking her out.”
    “The hell with waiting.” Oh shit. Now Gina Cannon was all stirred up. “I say we go over there right now and get Erica’s things.”
    Erica darted past him when a chorus of “yeahs” rang out. “No, no, no.”
    Mike hauled his dick into a more comfortable position and hurried after her.
    “Please don’t,” he heard her tell them. “Keith’s looking for any reason to call in sheriff’s deputies. I’ve had enough drama because of this man to last a lifetime. I really don’t want any more. Keith’s on-shift tomorrow. We’ll handle it then.”
    “He’s not there now.” Berto Trejo shoved his way inside. “I did a drive-by. His car’s not there. I got my truck. Mike and CJ got theirs. We get Tim’s—”
    “Come on, guys. Erica said no. She’s got this under control.” One thing Mike wasn’t about to do right now was take that control away from her. She was standing tall, on her own. “We follow her lead. We do what she says. She’s the one who has to face him in court.”
    Bub snorted. “Not if I—”
    Mike snapped his hand up. “Don’t finish that sentence.” Bub was strong enough to turn Keith into matchsticks. Angry enough too.
    Gina rubbed her hands together. Worry deepened the furrows in her forehead. “What can we do? We have to do something. What will you do tonight? You can’t stay here in an empty house. Are you staying with Trish? Do you want the kids to see you like this? You’ve been crying. You can stay with me. My couch is pretty comfy, and—”
    “I was going to get a room at