He couldn’t. He had to see her. Tonight.

Walking around the front of his line of fire engines, Hawk stopped in his tracks.

“What happened?” Natalie’s voice came out huskily as she began sitting up on the front bumper of the fire engine before him.

So Hawk didn’t have to go anywhere to find Natalie. She was within grasping distance. At the sight of her sleepy eyes and tousled hair, he could think only of taking her, right now.

“Everyone’s gone,” he said, his voice a low growl.

Her eyes widened, and then, even under the dim lights, he could see the change in her expression. She knew what came next. They both did.

He stopped trying to fight himself. This was inevitable from the moment he’d caught her in his arms that first day on the cold front porch of his rental property. He stepped forward, grasped her hands, and pulled her to her feet before kissing her, knowing this time he wasn’t going to be interrupted.

Urgently, almost frantic, Hawk reached for the hem of her sweater and yanked it over her head. He had to see her body, had to feel her naked skin against his as soon as his own clothes came off.

Her moans of pent-up desire encouraged him, and he grabbed her wool slacks and slid the zipper down. Within minutes she was standing before him in nothing but a lacy bra and matching fire-engine-red panties. Whoever had invented women’s underclothing should be thanked profusely, he told himself.

He’d get on that. Well, maybe not right now. He’d get on her instead.

“Let’s go inside,” he said, feeling a sudden urge to take her in his favorite fire engine. Yes, he knew that some of his men, just for the thrill of it, brought women to the fire department for a night of sex, but Hawk hadn’t even thought once about doing such a fantastical thing.

He doubted it was a great idea now—he’d never walk through these doors again without thinking of her—but they were hurtling forward at breakneck speed, and there was no reverse for the ride they were on.

He opened the door to the fire truck, and Natalie wobbled in that direction. She reached the first step on the truck, leaving her bent over with half her body inside the truck while her luscious behind presented itself right in front of his face, hanging outside the door.

Gripping her hips to stop her from going any farther, he ran his fingers along the smooth skin of her thighs, delighting in the panties that barely hid anything from his view. Her pleased gasp encouraged him to continue.

Spreading her thighs, he moved his fingers along the seam of those delectable panties, touching her moist folds and reveling in the slow purr she gave in response.

“So ready,” he whispered, wondering how he’d managed to wait this long to make love to this woman. Passion like this didn’t burn out. No. The only way to extinguish the fire burning within them both was by coming together in a blaze unlike anything he’d ever battled before.

As Natalie arched her back, lifting her derriere higher into the air, her hands clutching at the diamond-patterned floorboard of his truck, Hawk leaned forward and caressed the smooth skin of her behind with his tongue. He took a slight nip at one perfectly round cheek, and she wiggled her hips in return, wanting more. So much more.

He was more than willing to give it to her. Running his tongue down and around toward what he wanted so badly, he pulled on her hips so he could get a taste of her sweet, boiling-hot core.

So wet.

So willing.

The fabric of her panties was no barrier against his tongue or fingers. He slid them effortlessly out of his way so he could pay homage to her womanhood. He built her pleasure higher and higher until they were both ready to explode, and she was writhing beneath his expert tongue.

When he pulled back, she moaned in protest, but after a moment, she slowly climbed the rest of the way into the truck. Without any guidance from Hawk, Natalie bent forward over one of the jump seats and grabbed ahold of a hanging strap.

Hawk took his time. How could he not look his fill at the sweet image of her flushed skin, of her ass in the air, of her moist folds peeking out at him? Tempting him. He could gaze at her curvaceous body all night and be a happy man. Well, maybe gaze at her after he’d satisfied both of them.

Leaning forward, he unhooked her bra, freeing her beautifully round breasts, perfectly proportioned to fit in his hands. Reaching around while the softness of her backside cradled his still-clothed arousal, he squeezed her nipples with expert pressure, making her cry out. When her nipples hardened beneath his touch, he so wanted to flip her around and take the luscious tips inside his mouth.

But he had plenty of time for that. He had all night long to make love to her. Right now he had to feel himself sliding against her core. Pulling back a few inches, he shed his pants, allowing his arousal to spring free, and then he gripped himself before pushing forward toward his goal. He wanted so desperately to sink deep inside her hot body, but he didn’t want this exquisite moment ever to end.

So he ran the tip of his manhood against her wet heat, and he pushed the head against her provocatively. She pushed back against him. Her moans were his primary clue to her desires, and the clue was an unmistakable yes.

Hawk had never received so much pleasure from teasing a woman in this way, but he was throbbing as he ran his erection along the outside of her folds. The more she moaned, the more he wanted to prolong everything that was happening and not happening between the two of them.

But she had other ideas. She wiggled her behind, and he felt his engorged tip sink inside her tight heat. And then he was lost. With a hard thrust, Hawk was finally buried inside her, and he felt his world spin as she gripped him like a vise and pulsed around his staff.

Her groan reminded him to move, and he was soon thrusting in and out of her, clasping her hips as he pushed harder and faster, searching for release.

When she cried out and contracted tightly around him, he nearly let go, but as he slowed his movement to draw out her pleasure, he knew he needed to look into her eyes, needed to see her face when he came.

When her orgasm had run its course he pulled free, then gently turned her over to face him. She sighed in pleasure, her eyes half slits of satisfaction.

Leaning down, he enveloped the pink bud of one luscious nipple in the warmth of his mouth, sucking gently and placing light pressure with his teeth to draw out her afterglow, the taste even more exquisite than he’d imagined.

When he looked up at her face, he could see that she was already anticipating more. He felt her slick folds, and then he was done with foreplay. Neither of them needed it now. He pushed her back against the seat, lifted up one of her legs, rested her foot on the crossbar of the cab door, and spread the other leg to the center console. She was wide open for him, and he drove inside.

After the first thrust, Hawk had to take a second to breathe and regain something like control. But when he looked down and saw her body quivering with the need for another release, he managed to establish a quick rhythm in their holiday dance.

This time, when her body convulsed around him, he let go, filling her with his pleasure while he delighted in watching her eyes as the final shudders passed through both of them. One night wouldn’t be enough. He knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He opened his mouth to say something.

And the fire alarm went off.

Natalie’s eyes widened with panic as the lights of the fire station filled the room as if it were midday. She jumped from the truck, then tugged her sweater over those perfect breasts and stuffed her bra into her pocket. They barely had time to finish dressing and scamper out of the fire truck before the first men rushed through the bay doors. And before Hawk could stop her, Natalie slipped out into the night, leaving him standing there with a body that didn’t realize their lovemaking was over.