Hearts on Fire 1: Serefina(14)
“Well, just the negatives stand out to me. They are huge, for one. They are older. That means bossy, especially Ace. He seems like he thinks he’s in charge of everything.”
“That’s Ace. He is a lieutenant.”
“Another negative. They’re firefighters. Do you have any idea what worrying I would do? They’re not right for me. I can’t even imagine being with one man again, never mind three.”
“Those three are individual forces of their own. Bull is very quiet though. And Ice has his moments of impatience. But the three of them together probably counter the negatives.”
“Mom, you sound like you think I should give in to the attraction.”
“The decision is all yours. Maybe if you went out with them, you may not like them after all. Then there wouldn’t be a decision to make.”
“What if they ask me out and I like the three of them?”
Her mother smiled. “I’d worry about your father and your brothers’ reactions first.”
“Oh God. They are in their firehouse.”
“Honey, they go on calls together. They’re a team.”
Serefina sat down on the bed. When she covered her face with her hands, she cringed.
“Jesus. That really looks bad. We should cover it. So are you going back to work at Sullivan’s?”
“I’ll think about it. But for now, I’m going to hide out until after the weekend.”
Her mom chuckled and then pulled Serefina against her side so she could lay her head on her shoulder.
“Not a bad plan for now, but something tells me that the Sullivan boys will track you down.
“Oh, brother.”
* * * *
“I wish she would reply to the damn text messages. I had to do some serious digging to get her number,” Ice stated as he leaned his arm on the railing of their porch. Bull and Ace were siting at the table that overlooked the ocean and beach. Their house had been in the family for generations. It hadn’t been a complete surprise when their uncle Ted left it to them in his will.
“She’s shy, and probably scared. You saw her reaction yesterday,” Ace replied, and then took a sip of coffee from the mug.
“We’ve been over this a dozen times since yesterday. I get that she’s scared. Hell, I get that we can be intimidating, and that she had a bad experience back in North Carolina. It all just makes me more interested in her,” Ice told them.
“She’s a tiny thing. Those assholes could have really hurt her,” Bull said with his eyes transfixed on the ocean as the waves rolled in and out of the shoreline.
“That’s what is adding to my need to see her. I felt so instantly protective of her. It’s like I’m worried about who may try to hurt her, or flirt with her and make her feel uncomfortable.”
“We feel it, too.”
“She’s different. She’s sweet and quiet, yet she is strong and ready to take on a challenge. Did you see her smack that jerk? Holy shit, what a blow to his cheek and eye.” Ace shook his head, almost smiling at the memory.
“It was already bruised and bright red when you hauled his ass out of there,” Bull added with a chuckle.
“Those dicks won’t be going to Sullivan’s anytime soon,” Ice stated.
They smiled and then became quiet again.
Ice realized for about the tenth time that Serefina was bringing him and his brothers closer again. It had been more than a year since they began drifting apart. She had qualities that they all loved. She also knew what it was like to deal with fire and be a firefighter. Coming from the family that she does, makes her more understanding to it, as well as respectful toward it. What was bothering him about her resistance to the attraction also gained his interest more. He thought about the scarring on her neck under her hairline. It was definitely a burn. Yet, her brothers never mentioned Serefina getting burned in the fire out in North Carolina, but they did mention her losing some friends.
“Hey, what’s that look for?” Ace asked him, interrupting his thoughts.
He explained.
Both Bull and Ace sat forward in their chairs.
“You think she was caught in that fire and didn’t tell her brothers, her mom, and the chief?” Ace asked.
“I don’t know. I mean Eddie, Lance, and Tyler never mentioned her being caught in the fire. They said she escaped and that she lost friends. They were gone for the week, and their mom for two weeks during that time.”
“Maybe somehow us being firefighters remind her of that incident. Maybe it’s our profession she’s afraid of?” Ace stated.
Ice felt his heart sink and his gut clench with disappointment.
“But her entire family is involved in firefighting. That can’t be,” Bull said.
“We need to see her again, talk to her, and understand her reservations. Maybe it’s the whole ménage thing?” Ice suggested.
“I think we need to stop trying to figure out why she’s hesitant and instead try to get to know her and convince her that there’s nothing to fear. She’s young. A lot younger than us, and maybe, no scratch that, definitely not as experienced as we are. That in itself can be pretty damn intimidating to a young woman,” Ace stated.
“To a sweet, definitely not experienced young woman. No way does she sleep around. She also seems sophisticated and classy. Not like some of the other young women her age who flaunt their bodies and party all the time. Waitressing is tough and she’s doing that, too,” Bull added.
“Mom mentioned that it was temporary. She said something about Serefina being a freelance writer and working for a small magazine back in North Carolina. She was taking a break from it,” Ace told them.
“I wish she would answer the damn text message,” Ice said and then looked out toward the water.
“We can’t push her, Ice. Let’s give her a few days to recover from yesterday. She’ll be back to work tomorrow, so we’ll go by and see her,” Ace suggested.
“We’re going to have to talk to Eddie, Lance, and Tyler. You guys know that, right?” Bull asked.
Ice looked at Ace, and then they looked at Bull.
“We’ll face that when it comes. First let’s see if we can get Serefina to actually speak to us. There’s no use in talking to her brothers and staking a claim, if the woman we want doesn’t want us,” Ace said.
His words tore through Ice’s heart. This was completely crazy. Since losing Marco, he felt like a piece of his own heart was missing. Then he met Serefina, and instantly she filled that gap. He wasn’t going to give her up without a fight. No freaking way. Ice Sullivan was not a quitter. I’m a soldier, a firefighter, a Marine. Serefina is special, and she’s going to complete my brothers and I. She is going to pull us back together and make us whole again.
Yeah, I’m not giving up on you, Serefina. Not without a fight.
* * * *
Serefina stared at the text message. Her fingers itched to respond to Ice. He was worried about her shoulder, about her, and wanted to talk. She knew that they cared. Hell, she felt the attraction, too, but she needed to resist it. She couldn’t just forget about Matt. She couldn’t consider a relationship with three men at once. Every time she thought about it, her heart hammered in her chest and her damn pussy pulsed. She didn’t even know it could do that. React to thoughts of men.
Then she felt guilty. She loved Matt. But even with Matt, her pussy didn’t throb, her nipples didn’t harden just from thinking about him. Was that bad? Was she losing her mind?
Her phone rang and she jumped, startled at the sound. Peeking at the caller ID, she saw that it was Tasha again. She was trying to convince her to go out tonight. She said if she was declining the Sullivan brothers, then the best thing to do was to go flirt with a bunch of other single guys and have fun with her girlfriends. Right now she was contemplating it still.
“Girl, you are wasting the day away. We could be down at Ivanna’s getting our nails done for tonight. Lucky for you I made an appointment for two o’clock. Now, get your ass dressed and ready. I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes. Mel and Catalina are meeting us there.”
“You’re crazy, do you know that?”
“Crazy is good. We’re young, you need to remember that. Now, we are also going by the boutique I told you about. It’s so nice and you are guaranteed to find an outfit for tonight.”
“I didn’t say that I was going yet.”
“Honey, you are going. Now you can either go in whatever you’re wearing when we get our nails done or you can go in a sexy little number waiting on a rack at the boutique. Now move your ass. I’ll be there in ten minutes now. Bye.” Tasha disconnected the call and Serefina laughed as she looked out the window. Maybe hanging out with her friends would cheer her up and get her mind off the guilt she felt. Maybe.
Serefina grabbed some money and stepped into a skirt and added the sheer blouse, her new fashion accessory until her shoulder healed. That was until she opened the front door to leave and the blazing heat hit her cheeks.
She locked the door and headed down the stairs. Her brother Tyler was by his truck in the driveway preparing to head into the house.
He smiled. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked, approaching her then giving her a hug and a kiss on top of her head.