Jaci Burton - Hope Flames

“Em.”

She ignored him, and gave him even more than he thought he could take, wrapping her sweet lips around him and taking him all the way to the edge.

He hovered there, watching her sweet mouth, wishing he could last, but when she lifted those sweet, beautiful eyes to his, he let go with a wild groan and an explosive shudder that made him grasp the counter for balance, sure his knees were going to buckle as his climax ripped through him.

Emma held him tight, refusing to let go until he gave her everything.

Only then, when he was spent and his legs were shaking, did she let him pull her up and kiss her, stroke her back and hold her in his trembling arms.

“You blew the goddamn top off my head,” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes. I know that feeling. I’m pretty sure my brains were leaking out of my ears when I climaxed.”

He grinned. “Good to know. Now how about some soup? I have a feeling I’m going to need some energy before round two.”

She pulled away and leveled a saucy grin at him. “Yes, you’re definitely going to need food.”

After they cleaned up and righted their clothing, Luke ate two giant bowls of some of the best-tasting homemade chicken noodle soup he’d ever had, and he was pretty sure he ate at least half a loaf of bread.

“Are you sure you’re eating during these double shifts?” Emma asked.

“When I can. We’ve been pretty busy. I’m hoping this latest break-in will yield some leads.”

“I hope so, too.”

“You helped with your description of the suspect.”

“Did I? That’s good.”

She looked away. Luke could tell she was still nervous about that guy spotting her. “You’re worried about it. About him.”

She shrugged. “Not really. I mean, yes. I’m not stupid. I’d like to buy a gun.”

Luke pushed his bowl to the side. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

“Some. I’ve fired them in the past, but haven’t for a while. I looked into the licensing classes to carry a weapon. I think I’ll sign up for one.”

“They don’t give you a lot of practice time.”

“I know.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about her having a gun, but she was an adult and it was her call to make. What he could be sure about was that she knew how to handle herself with one.

“I’ll take you shooting.”

Her gaze met his. “You would? I know you’re busy, and you don’t really have time for that.”

“I’ll make time for you, Emma. You’re important.”

His words crept right into her heart and warmed her from the inside out. “Thank you.”

After they finished eating, Luke helped Emma clean up the dishes. They sat on the sofa for a while to watch a movie. It was late and Emma was going to pay for this in the morning when she had to drag herself out of bed, but since they’d eaten late, she couldn’t go to bed on a full stomach.

It didn’t take more than twenty minutes, though, for her to realize Luke was sound asleep. She smiled and poked at him.

“Hey,” she said.

He shot up. “What’s wrong?”

“How about we go to bed and get some sleep?”

He blinked sleepy eyes at her. “I was going to ravage you.”

“We’ll save the ravaging for when you’ve caught up on your sleep.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “I’ll go let the dogs out and meet you upstairs.”

She sighed as he went to the back door, realizing she could get very used to having Luke in her life, and in her house.

Which was a very dangerous thing.

EMMA COULDN’T EXACTLY remember the last time she’d handled a gun, but it had likely been in college, when she and a bunch of her friends had gone out target shooting. To say she wasn’t adept was an understatement.

Now that some idiot was out robbing businesses, and she was a possible witness, she needed to feel secure. There were so few instances in her life when she’d felt secure, and she was tired of being a victim. She wasn’t sure she could ever shoot anyone, but at least she’d have it as a choice if it ever came down to that.

Luke took her to the outdoor gun range on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. He’d also brought a veritable arsenal of weapons and ammo for her to try out.

“There are smaller and larger guns. Some have a big kick, some not so much. Some are going to be more comfortable in your hands than others.”

She perused them, but they all just looked like guns to her. She lifted her gaze to his. “Honestly? I have no idea. Recommend something.”

He nodded. “I think this Glock nine millimeter is the best choice for you. It’s fairly lightweight, doesn’t have a huge kick, and the trigger is easy. Try it first. If you don’t like it, we’ll try the twenty-two.”

“Okay.”

“First, you need to know how to load it, where the safety is, and the fact that you never ever—”

“Point the gun at another person. I understand. I did do some research, and I do have a certain amount of common sense, Luke. You’re not dealing with a total idiot here.”

He cocked a grin. “Good to know. When you aim at the target, go for the largest part of the body.”

“Why not the head?”

“Amateurs always think you should aim for the head, when in reality the head is harder to hit. Go for the midsection. It’s a larger area and you’ll have a better chance of hitting your target that way. The smaller the area of the body, the more likely the chance is you’ll miss. If you miss, the better opportunity they have to get to you before you fire off another shot.”

“Oh. Good point. Midsection. Got it.”

“Ear and eye protection. Always. The cartridge will eject on the right side of the gun.”

He went through every instruction like three times before he allowed her to start shooting.

“Relax. Above all, relax. Bend your elbows. If you tense up, you won’t hit shit.”

He stood behind her. She laid the gun down and turned to face him. “You’re not going to shoot?”

“I will, eventually. This is about you, not me. I know how to fire a gun.”

“Oh. Of course. Okay.” She picked up the Glock and aimed at the target, her palms already beginning to sweat and her hands shaking. This thing was an instrument of death. One wrong move and someone could be killed.

“Relax, Emma,” Luke said, moving closer to her. “I have confidence in you. You know what you’re doing.”

She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The kick was bigger than she’d expected and it scared the hell out of her. The gun was loud, too. She laid it down and looked down the range at the target. “Did I hit anything?”

“Yeah. The dirt in front of the target.”

“Oh.”

“Target through the sight at the top of the barrel. And did you even open your eyes when you shot?”

“I don’t remember.”

“That means no. Use your sight. Take a deep breath, and squeeze the trigger gently.”

She picked up the gun and tried again. It was loud—again. And it kicked—again. But at least she knew what to expect this time. She started to lay the gun down.

“No. Keep shooting. Empty the clip. If your intent is to shoot someone, you’re not going to shoot them one time and lay the gun down. You’re going to keep shooting them until the clip is empty.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Really?”

“Really. If you’re going to own a gun, and you’re going to use it for self-defense, then be prepared to defend yourself to the death, Emma. It’s you or the bad guy. If you’re going to shoot him, then empty the clip into him so you know he’s dead. Otherwise, you might miss and think you hit him, or graze him, and he’ll get up and kill you.”

Empty the clip into him. Okay. This was serious business. She raised the gun and pictured a really bad guy coming after her, determined to do her great bodily harm. She used the sight and focused, took a deep breath, then fired. And fired again. And again, until the clip was empty. She set the gun down and Luke came over.

“Good job. You actually hit the paper this time.”

“Yay!”

“I didn’t say you hit the target, just the paper the target is printed on.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “Obviously I need to get better at this.”

“It’s okay. You did good. I told you, it takes practice. We’ll work on it.”

They did. Luke spent two hours showing her how to load and reload the gun, how to flip the safety on and off, and how to adjust her aim. Fortunately, she wasn’t as bad as she thought, so at the end she had actually managed to hit the bad guy on the target.

And then she watched as he took his turn. As a police officer, he was very adept at shooting. He took a wide stance, and she had to admit that seeing him with a gun in his hand expertly hitting the center of the target each time was kind of—

Sexy. Plus, as she stood behind and to the left of him, she got to look at his butt, which was never a bad thing.

Luke was formidable. Skilled, extremely good-looking, and utterly patient with her. A devastating package to her senses.

“With practice, you’ll improve every time. But you have to practice,” he said as they carried the gun and ammo cases to his truck.

“I hate to admit this, but that was exhilarating.”

“The shooting range is always fun. It’s when you have to face a real-life person that it’s not so much fun.”

She climbed into the truck and put on her seat belt. “Have you ever had to shoot someone?”

He paused, then looked at her. “Yeah. Not as much fun as a paper target.” He started up the engine and backed out of the gravel parking lot.

Luke took her to a gun shop. He told her the dealer was reputable and wouldn’t gouge her on prices. She had signed up for the licensing classes for the following week, and she’d need a gun for those anyway. In the meantime, it was legal for her to keep the gun at her house.