Hearts on Fire 1: Serefina(18)
She reached up with a shaky hand and pressed her palm against his cheek. He was mature, older, experienced and hard, yet so empathetic and all knowing. He turned his head slowly and kissed her palm.
She lowered her eyes.
“You’re right. I need for the three of you to understand my fears. His name was Matt, and I loved him.”
* * * *
Ice felt like a vise grip had wrapped around his heart and was trying to cut off the circulation. To hear her sadness and to know she loved another man brought on a surge of jealousy he had no right to feel. It was hypocritical of him to even think those thoughts, never mind verbally express them or grip her shoulder tighter at her revelation, when he in fact was no saint.
Maybe the fact that she was so sweet and youthful blocked any thought of her ever being in love or having sex with another man. He never felt such strong emotions, never mind such instant possessiveness. He listened as she explained about Matt, and just when he thought he could handle it, she hit them with a double punch.
“He was a firefighter, and he died in the fire we were caught in.”
“Jesus, Serefina, that’s terrible,” Bull whispered.
“You watched him fall? You saw him?” Ace asked, sounding like he was just as shocked as they were.
She nodded her head and talked about the rest and how she fell and somehow was rescued by firefighters as they broke through one of the fire escape doors that had been blocked.
“It was an arsonist that caused the fire?” Ace asked, teeth clenched. Ice knew exactly how his brother felt. It reminded them of their own brother’s death at the hands of a monster.
* * * *
Serefina could sense the men getting upset, but as Ace lowered his head after asking about the fire being arson, she put it together.
“Ace?” She reached out, and he covered her hand with his palm against his chest.
“You lost your brother in a fire, too, didn’t you?”
He nodded his head. “Marco. His name was Marco.”
She felt their sadness and it hit her pretty clearly at that moment that they knew exactly how she felt. They were feeling their own loss in just about the same way.
“We were close, Serefina. As close as me, Ice, and Bull are now.”
“He was the one who talked about us finding the perfect woman to complete us. It’s like he knew that we would continue to share, and live our lives as one unit, one team,” Bull added.
“So it was his idea, not yours?” she asked, feeling a bit uncertain about this. Were they trying to hold on to something that wasn’t possible just to hold on to their lost brother?
“No, it was something we all wanted. We had friends in the military who are involved in ménage relationships. It just made sense to us when Marco brought it up first,” Ice stated.
“But how do you know this is right? How can you be sure that such a relationship can last and be just as long and durable as a traditional one?”
Ace cupped her cheeks and held her gaze. “Because Marco said that the moment we all met the woman who would complete us, we would know it, because she would affect us all the same way and there wouldn’t be any question about it.”
She swallowed hard. “You felt that way meeting me? All of you?”
He nodded as Bull and Ice said “yes.” Together.
“I don’t know why or if this is going to be all wrong, but maybe it’s worth a shot.” Ace smiled right before he leaned closer and kissed her deeply.
Serefina wrapped her arms around his shoulders ignoring the slight tinge of ache from her bruise. She was lost in his kiss, the feel of his strong body wedged against hers when suddenly she felt Bull’s lips against her shoulder on one side and Ice’s lips against her neck on the other.
Her pussy leaked and she knew she was way in over her head, and overwhelmed with emotions filling her body.
As Ace released her lips, she smiled at him and he winked at her. She lowered her eyes only for Ice to grip her chin and turn her face toward him. He leaned down and looked into her eyes. She closed hers, anticipating his kiss.
Their lips touched, and it was slow and gentle until he pulled back then shook his head.
“Kissing you is going to be my new favorite pastime.”
She chuckled, and then heard Bull clear his throat.
She looked at him and he raised his eyebrows up and down in an adorable way.
“Come here, Bull,” she said, reaching up to place her palm against his cheek. He turned his head, kissed the inside of the palm, and then bent closer to her lips. He kissed her gently and knew for certain that she liked all three of them. They were unique, their own men, yet she felt that connection they mentioned that sparked between the three of them. She also felt that excitement within herself obviously feeding off their desires. When Bull released her lips, he closed his eyes and lowered his head.
“I’ve been waiting so long for that kiss.”
“Get a room!” someone yelled at them, and they all turned toward a group of men walking with one woman who playfully slapped the man who yelled. His arm was wrapped around her waist and she looked happy.
“How about a beer?” Ice asked, reaching back and pulling the cooler closer to them. He pulled four out and handed one to Serefina first.
“Blankets, a cooler filled with beer, a gorgeous view, you three couldn’t have planned this not knowing I would be here tonight,” she stated.
They smiled and clinked their three beers together.
“We were hoping, plus Tasha kind of gave me the heads-up after my interrogation,” Ace told her.
“What? Tasha told you we were coming here?” Serefina asked, shocked that her friend would do that, but her anger dissipated rather quickly as all three men smiled.
“I owe that woman a manicure, pedicure, and trip to someplace called the boutique,” Ace said.
Serefina chuckled. “Get your wallet ready, Ace. Her little escapade of beauty and shopping will set you back a few grand.”
Ace nearly choked on his beer.
“A few grand?” He raised his voice and Serefina laughed.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?”
Ace placed his palm against her cheek. “I think being with you here tonight, and starting to get to know one another is going to be way worth it.”
He leaned forward and kissed her softly and she smiled, feeling not so angry at Tasha anymore, and more excited about what was yet to come.
Chapter 10
“Are they out of their minds? What you’re telling me, Commander, is that the Feds know about this arsonist, have been connecting fires to him and his associates, and they’re waiting to find him and capture him because of international business dealings? How the hell does that even make any sense?” Arson investigator Trent Landers asked his commander at headquarters.
“Believe me, Trent, I want this fucking guy identified and captured. So do the investigators in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York. But our hands are crossed while the Feds verify their case, which is, unfortunately, more important than these small minor fires.”
“Minor? You call killing twelve firefighters and one hundred and thirteen innocent young civilians at a nightclub, minor? What about the other few fires, explosions we’ve linked to this guy? What about the information I gave them in regards to my theory about this arsonist hunting the survivors?”
“Trent, those were not my words, those are their words, and you heard my reaction. I’m just as ticked off as you are, and so is the rest of the team, including your brother, Buddy. What I confirmed is that this guy, this arsonist, has not been identified. Not at an accurate hundred percent.”
“What the fuck does that mean? We’re supposed to just stand by and wait for the next arson fire? Wait to stand there and do the body count? This is insane.”
“I know it is. I have made calls to a few people and one to Cummings. If he gives us the approval to continue our investigation and track down this asshole to identify him, then we say fuck the Feds’ investigation and waiting game, and we grab this scumbag, present all the evidence and help lock him away for good. They’re not saying for you or for us to not do our jobs.”
“But what about the survivors from that fire out in North Carolina? I spoke with the investigators out there. They’ve caught the links, too, based on the materials used to ignite the building. Doors were rigged shut so that even the firefighters couldn’t get through without tools. Those people were trapped in there.” Trent ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“Trent, I know it’s bad. Hell, I know what you’re thinking. That this guy is the same one who went after Marco, your cousin.”
Trent looked at his commander, Ray Thorpe.
“It’s him. This same fucker is causing fires and purposely going after the survivors just like he targeted Marco. I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing, yet the Feds are blocking off my attempts of investigating on this end. I can’t even get a hold of the survivors from the blaze in North Carolina,” Trent said in frustration.
Ray looked at him and then lifted up a file.
“I got this this morning. I don’t want to say who sent it to me or why. But as firefighters, as brothers, we stick together through thick and thin. When one of our own is threatened, we come together and we fight for him, get his back and do what needs to be done. The thing is, my hands are crossed here as the commander of this unit. I fuck up this job, then I can’t help in times like these when protocol needs to be pushed slightly to the side to do what’s right and necessary.”