Burning Desire

“Hey,” Nya said softly, peaking her head into the office. “Can I come in?”

Sabrina looked up at her office assistant and best friend, whom she had known since high school.

“Sure,” Sabrina told Nya.

“Well?” Nya asked cautiously as she walked into the office. “I figure if it was good news, you would have told me. I’ve been patiently waiting, giving you time. But now I’m figuring you might need a hug.”

“She wants nothing to do with me,” Sabrina said simply.

Nya sat in the chair opposite Sabrina’s desk. “That’s all she said?”

“Her language was a bit more colorful.”

Nya searched Sabrina’s desk. “Where’s the letter? Did you throw it out?”

“I should have. But I put it in my desk.”

“Can I read it?”

Sabrina opened the desk and retrieved the letter, and then passed it to Nya. Her best friend for fifteen years, Sabrina shared everything with Nya. She couldn’t really talk to her mother about this, because her mother would surely say I told you so. Especially since her mother had told her for years that her father’s family would never come around.

Nya withdrew the letter from the envelope. Sabrina could tell when she got to the more vile parts because her eyes began to bulge.

“Oh, my God. This is her reply?”

“Like I said, it’s obvious that she wants nothing to do with me.”

“Still, this isn’t the way to respond to people. I saw the message you sent her on Facebook. You were very polite. Overly polite. It did not call for this kind of a response.”

Sabrina nodded. She realized she was gritting her teeth, and made a deliberate attempt to relax her jaw, shoulders, and the rest of her body. “Obviously, there’s nothing I can do about this. I held this dream for too long.”

“Well, I say forget them.” Nya shoved the letter back into the envelope. “You don’t get to choose your family, but thankfully, you do get to choose your friends.” She beamed, and gestured to herself. “And this friend would love to take you out for dinner and drinks tonight so we can forget this letter ever arrived. What do you say?”

“I don’t know, Nya. I was kind of thinking I would just chill out tonight. Probably watch one of those Chevy Chase movies to remind me that families are overrated.” She smiled, but knew it had come off as forced.

“No. You are not going to stay home and wallow. Who needs Julia Parker when you have Nya Hayes? Better than any blood sister could ever be.”

Sabrina cracked a real smile this time. Nya was right about one thing, you didn’t get to choose your family. At least Sabrina had chosen wisely when she had befriended the scrawny girl with braces her senior year of high school. At the time, Nya had been new to the school, and it was hard to make friends when you were the new kid. Sabrina knew something about feeling as though you didn’t fit in, and she and Nya had become fast friends. Nya had since blossomed into a beautiful woman—with perfect teeth.

Nya was still looking for love, like Sabrina. So Sabrina knew that as much as Nya enjoyed going out for dinner or a drink with a friend, she also hoped that she would spot her Mr. Right. And it was that part of a night out that Sabrina wasn’t looking forward to.

Sabrina loved Nya dearly, but wasn’t in the mood to hear her rate various men, nor watch her flirt. Nya was like a sister to her, but in that way, they were as different as night and day. Nya was prone to looking for love around every corner and as Sabrina sometimes joked, under every rock. But after Sabrina’s failed marriage, she wasn’t looking for any man at all.

Though, if God were to appear before her and tell her that a certain man was the right one, she wouldn’t ignore that type of divine intervention. But for now, she was happy concentrating on her work as a photographer, which kept her very busy. And in this competitive field, she didn’t have much time to think about marriage or family. She was happy to focus solely on her career and expanding her clientele.

Over the past seven years, Sabrina had created a name for herself as a skilled wedding and special events photographer. It was her reputation that had led her to get what she considered a dream assignment. She was contracted to take photos of the local firemen at Station Two in downtown Ocean City for their annual firefighter calendar fund-raiser.

“And we can make it a business meeting, if you want,” Nya said. “I would love to see the shots you’ve taken of the first five firemen.”

Sabrina looked at her friend and grinned. “I’m sure you would.” But Sabrina was funny that way. She didn’t want anyone seeing her work until she was satisfied with it. From taking the shots to determining which ones were best, she was a consummate professional who trusted her eye and her eye alone. “You know I will let you see every single shot—once I have determined which ones are the best.”

Nya frowned. “Come on. I’m a hot-blooded, single female. I think I can help you determine which shots are the best.”

“You know how I work,” Sabrina said. “Besides, if I leave it to you, you’ll have all the raciest photos in the calendar—which is not necessarily what the fire station wants.”

“Racy sells!” Nya objected. “I saw the calendar they put out last year.” She frowned. “It was okay, but it could’ve been a lot better.”

“Which is why they hired me for the job.” Sabrina had taken the initiative to go to the fire station and offer her services as photographer for the next calendar. She’d brought a portfolio of her work, had talked to them about her creative ideas to make the calendar better and assured them she could produce a stunning calendar that would sell. She had obviously impressed the powers that be at the station, because they had given her the job. And along with it, a very attractive fee.

“It’s going to be a great calendar,” Sabrina said. Over the past week and a half a handful of the firefighters had come in as their schedules allowed. Firefighter Mason Foley was scheduled to come in the next afternoon, and she was looking forward to the shoot.

She had taken photos at the fire station already, and other places. But she had something else in mind for Mason. Perhaps along a stretch of beach or someplace with a scenic background. She was glad that he had hours to spend with her because she had a few locations in mind that would highlight the beauty of Ocean City. And most importantly, the brave men who worked to keep not only fire under control, but who also rescued people in car accidents and a number of other situations. The Ocean City Fire Department was all encompassing, and fires were really only a small percentage of the job they did.

“You know you don’t want to wallow in misery on your sofa this evening, especially not before your shoot tomorrow. And what better way to keep me distracted from the eye candy in the restaurant than to show me the pictures you’ve taken so far?”

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. “Oh, you’re good.”

Nya tapped a finger against her cheek. “What better way to kill two birds with one stone? Lighten your mood, and keep me from flirting with the available men?”

That remained to be seen, but Sabrina was already sold. Why not? She made the rules, so she could certainly break a few every now and then.

“All right,” Sabrina began, “I’ll bring the laptop and let you see some of the shots I took of the first firefighter, Alex. I want to go over those with a fresh eye, anyway.”

Nya squealed. “Oh, I can’t wait!”

Chapter 3

Sabrina held the receiver to her ear and listened to the phone as it rang. On the third ring, she was pretty certain that Mason Foley wasn’t going to pick up.

Again.

She had already left him two messages to confirm their appointment, but he hadn’t gotten back to her. Now, she had no clue if he was going to show that afternoon.

“How unprofessional can a person be?” she muttered, and pulled the phone away from her ear to hang up. She halted. Had she just heard someone say something on the other end of the line?

Quickly, she brought the phone back to her ear, still uncertain if she had heard anything other than the beginning of Mason’s voicemail greeting.

“Hello?” said the groggy voice.

“Oh, hi,” Sabrina said lamely. She had expected no response and wasn’t actually prepared to speak to the man.

“Yes?” Mason said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

She heard him yawn before saying, “It’s okay. Who’s calling?”

Sabrina glanced at the clock on her computer screen. It was minutes after ten in the morning—a time when most people were up. But Mason was a firefighter, and she knew that they worked twenty-four hour shifts. It was likely that he had worked the night before and barely had a full night of rest.

Either that or he had spent the night pleasuring a woman. She’d seen his picture, and just looking at his gorgeous face and immaculately toned body, she knew he was the type who had to fight them off.

“Hello?”

“Um, this is Sabrina Crawford,” Sabrina quickly said, wondering why her thoughts had ventured to Mason’s likely night of making love. “I’m the photographer working on the Firefighter’s Calendar. I’m sorry to call so early. But you’re supposed to come in today for your shoot.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

What did that mean? “So you’re going to make it?” Sabrina asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Oh. Oh, good.”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure. I left you a couple of messages to confirm, and I didn’t hear back from you.”

“Sorry about that. I’ve been busy with work. I meant to call you back, but didn’t get around to it.”

“It’s fine,” she told him. At least she’d gotten through, because she had started to worry that he would be a no-show. “So today at three o’clock?”

“Actually, is there a chance we can do it a bit later?”

“How much later?”

“Like four p.m. I had a late night due to a fire. You may have heard about it. The restaurant on Maple Avenue. And I’d like to head into the firehouse before seeing you. I need to follow up on something.”

“Four o’clock will be fine. Again, I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“No problem.”

“Just to confirm, you’re bringing your fire gear including helmet, as well as your dress uniform.”

“Yep. I’ll bring some tools, as well. Accessories for the shoot.”

“Sounds great,” Sabrina said. “I’ll see you at four.”

Sabrina hung up. She then loaded up a picture of Mason on her screen. It became all too clear why she had thought about him in bed. He was gorgeous, and everything about him oozed sex appeal, which would work out well for her shoot. She was certain that he would be an easy model to work with.

With each of the firefighters, she had taken shots of them in her studio. She had also taken some photos at the firehouse with the engine and ladder trucks as backdrops but she had also utilized local parks, the waterfront, and the forest the bordered the eastern side of town. With Mason, she wanted to travel a little bit north along a stretch of the Pacific Ocean that had a beautiful rocky backdrop. She was certain to capture what would be stunning photographs there. She wanted the calendar to be pleasing not only because of the male models, but because of the lush scenery in Ocean City. It was what would make this particular calendar unique.

And he had a feeling that Mason was going to be an ideal model.

* * *

It was just minutes before four o’clock when Nya entered Sabrina’s studio to announce that Mason Foley had arrived.

“Oh, good.” Sabrina climbed down from the stepladder. She had just finished putting up the background she wanted to start with for the shoot. It was a cityscape of Ocean City at night. Turning to face Nya, she saw a huge grin on her friend’s face.

“Nya, what is it?”

“Giiirl.” Nya all but pranced toward her, the grin on her face growing even bigger. “I have seen some fine men in my day, but Mason— Oh, my Lord. He has got to be the finest man to step foot in this studio!”

Sabrina looked beyond Nya’s shoulder toward the door that led out of the studio, in case Mason had followed her in. Not seeing him, she said in a lowered voice, “So the man is fine. Get a hold of yourself.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t seen him yet! I’m just trying to prepare you!”

“Okay, I get it.” Sabrina sounded nonchalant. She had photographed all sorts of people in her life. She wasn’t the type to lose her head over an attractive man. “Go ahead and tell him to come on back. I’m ready for him.”

“Oh, you think you’re ready.”

What the heck had gotten into Nya? “You know what you need?” Sabrina said, smiling sweetly. “You need a man.” It was obvious that her friend had gone too long since her last relationship, because her extreme reaction to this Mason guy was over the top. Sabrina only hoped that Nya had been professional with Mason in the reception area.

“Maybe I can help you here while you do the shoot?” Nya offered.

“Nya!” Sabrina made a face. “What’s gotten into you?”

Sabrina shooed her silently, hoping that Mason had not overheard any of their conversation. She had to admit that this behavior was a little out of character, even for man-crazed Nya.

And it wasn’t that Sabrina didn’t enjoy a good-looking man as much as the next woman, but she certainly knew how to be professional.

“Go get him, please,” Sabrina reiterated. “And please be professional,” she added in a hushed voice.

Once Nya left the room, Sabrina went over to the octagonal softbox light that she had set up, and fussed with it. She heard his footsteps, but still didn’t look behind her, preferring to appear busy.

“Ms. Crawford?”

Sabrina turned. And just like that, the air left her lungs in a rush. Instantly, she understood why Nya had been out of sorts. Mason Foley was indeed a stunningly gorgeous man.

When Sabrina had seen his picture on her computer, she had deemed him to be a fine specimen of a man. One who would surely be a hit with the ladies when the calendar was produced. In fact, she had already figured that a picture with him would be great on the cover.

But her reaction to him now was visceral. And for a moment, she was bereft of words.

Totally unlike her.

He took a step into her studio, seeming to fill the space with his tall muscular frame. “You’re Ms. Crawford, right?”

It was then that Sabrina realized that she had not moved since seeing him, and she forced one foot in front of the other until she reached him. She outstretched her hand and offered him a smile. “Sorry. I just...” She just what? Was taken aback by his good looks? Surely she couldn’t tell him that. “I didn’t expect that you would be so tall,” she finally said. “How tall are you?”

“Six foot six,” he told her.

“Oh, wow.” Realizing that her tone had been filled with awe, Sabrina frowned slightly. What was wrong with her? She felt flushed, and her heart was beating faster than normal. It had been a long time since just looking at a man had set her heart aflutter like this.

The pictures she had seen of him did him no justice. In person, there was a quality to him that radiated throughout the room. A charisma that made him instantly likable.

Glancing beyond Mason, she saw that Nya was standing in the doorway, a dreamy look on her face. Sabrina cleared her throat before speaking. “Nya, would you put the kettle on?” She faced Mason. “Would you like some tea, coffee, water? We also have a variety of juice.”

“Just a bottle of water, that’d be great.”

“Is there anything else I can get for you?” Nya asked. “I can run out and get some sweets from the bakery across the street, if you like...”

Sabrina widened her eyes as Mason turned to look at Nya, silently trying to tell her friend to take it easy.

“Just the water,” Mason told her.

And when he turned back to look at Sabrina, she felt a definite charge. Goodness, it wasn’t simply that he was good-looking. What Sabrina felt was undeniable attraction for this man.

She turned, walking toward the backdrop, determined to rid herself of whatever had taken over her being. “You brought your gear?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s in the reception area. I figured I would ask you how you want to do this first. You might want to take a couple of shots of me wearing this before I change.”

Mason was wearing jeans and a white cotton shirt that was unbuttoned down to his mid chest with the sleeves rolled up. There was an easy confidence to the way he walked, and Sabrina got the sense that he knew exactly how he affected women.

Sabrina could easily take photos of him in what he was wearing, and probably make a fortune selling them to GQ magazine. But this shoot was for the firefighter’s calendar, and that meant taking photos of him in his uniform. In full gear, partial gear and in his dress uniform. She would take a variety of pictures and decide which ones were best. But if he looked as good without his shirt on as she expected, she had a feeling that the best photos of Mason would be ones with him wearing only his fire retardant pants and suspenders. She was certain those would be a hit with the women.

“Actually, if you could show me what you brought, that would be great.” She spoke the words and knew that her voice sounded a little wispy. “We can decide from there what’s best for you to wear, but I definitely want you in your uniform.” She paused. “How do you feel about going shirtless?”

“I have no problem with it. I’m yours to do with as you please.”

Sabrina had to do everything in her power not to react with a sound of carnal lust. The suggestive nature of what he’d said had her coming undone.

Which was ridiculous. Obviously, his words hadn’t had any secret meaning. She had seen many attractive men before, photographed plenty of them. Why was she so flustered around this one?

“It’ll all be tasteful, of course. And as long as you look good with your shirt off, I’m sure the shots will come out great.” She smiled. “Oh, there’s Nya with your water. I’m not sure if I actually introduced you, but Nya is my personal assistant and also one of my best friends. So anything you need, feel free to ask her.”

Nya approached him with the bottle of water, her eyes wide, as though she were a deer caught in headlights.

“Thank you,” Mason said as he accepted the bottle of water.

As he took it in his left hand, Sabrina surreptitiously checked out his ring finger. It was bare.

Nya continued to stare, and Mason gave her an odd look. “I—I’m sorry that I’m staring. It’s just that I don’t see men like you coming into the studio.”

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. “Forgive my assistant—”

“It’s just that you’re so tall.”

“Six foot six.”

“And you went into firefighting instead of basketball?” Nya shook her head, as though she couldn’t understand what he had been thinking.

“Nya,” Sabrina said. “Can you please call back the Johnsons to make sure they got my message about changing their appointment time?”

“Of course,” she said. Then, to Mason, “You’re sure I can’t get you anything else?”

“We’re fine,” Sabrina said, her tone firm.

“Okay. Well, you know where I am if you need me.” Nya’s smile was syrupy as she stepped backward out of the studio, before finally turning and heading toward the front office.

“All right.” She faced Mason again. “If you’d put on your entire outfit, helmet and all, that would be good.” She figured it would be best to start with him in his full uniform, and then he could take off the layers, as she deemed necessary.

“Sounds good. Where should I get changed?”

“When you go back out to the front, you’re going to see a door on your left. That’s the washroom. Feel free to get changed in there. Or, if you need more space, I can let you get changed in here and I can wait out front until you’re ready. Whichever works best for you.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

As Mason headed out of the studio, Sabrina couldn’t help eyeing his long, muscular frame.

She then mentally reprimanded herself for being so distracted by the man’s good looks and made her way over to her Canon 5D. She checked to make sure that the battery was full, which she knew it was. However, she had others in the room charged and ready to go if that one lost power. Then she went to her camera bag and verified that all of the accessories she would need for their trip to the beach were indeed there.

When Mason came back into the studio dressed in his fireman’s uniform, Sabrina felt the same bodily reaction toward him as she had earlier. Obviously, it had been way too long since she had been involved with anyone. But he was definitely not her type, so her pull of attraction toward him made no sense.

He took a step toward her, and her pulse sped up. Okay, so she was lying to herself. The man was definitely her type. In terms of the kind of man that turned her on, Mason may as well be pictured in the dictionary. But he was also the kind of man who turned on lots of women, and Sabrina was wise enough to know that that kind of guy was dangerous to a girl’s heart.

Her heart in particular.

She’d dated the kind of man that everyone liked back in college, and had ended up heartbroken because of it. She had long since vowed never to date someone that every woman had to stop and gawk at ever again.

“What do you think?” he asked.

That was a loaded question. She thought he was smoking hot. He would look—at least for the calendar—like the hero he was. A man in uniform here to rescue the damsel in distress.

“Looks great.” She averted her eyes. “Why don’t you come up in front of the canvas? I like this one, and I’ve got plenty more that we can try, as well. Let’s start with some shots of you in your full uniform like this, and then we can go to shots where you take off the upper portion. You know, give the ladies what they want.”

Mason’s smile was enigmatic. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was a smile just for her.

Again looking away from him, she first closed the door to the studio for privacy, and then headed toward her camera. He walked past her and stood in front of the wall where the canvas was set up. Sabrina looked through the lens of her Canon, getting a sense of how she wanted the photo to be framed. She manually zoomed the lens out to see his entire body, and then half pressed the shutter release button to focus the shot. Easing her head back, she eyed the lights that she had set up on either side of the room, satisfied that they needed no adjustments. She snapped off a test shot, and looked at the viewfinder to see how she liked it.

“I wasn’t ready,” Mason said playfully.

“That was just a test shot, but you look great. You’re a natural.”

Mason was definitely one of the most photogenic men she had ever come across.

“Okay, keep standing the way you are. But look at the camera. And don’t smile. Give me a serious face.” Mason did as she asked, and she snapped shot after shot. “Good, let’s do a couple more just like that. Turn your head slightly to the left. No, my left.” She grinned. Then she took a couple more pictures. From her viewfinder, she was very impressed with the results. “Excellent. Now, how about you give me a smile?”

Mason’s smile was instant, and it lit up the room. He looked good in his more serious shots, as well, but his smile was like a giant gold foil bow on a Christmas present—the perfect final touch on an extravagant package.

Sabrina took photo after photo of Mason in his full uniform. Then she had him hold his helmet against his chest for some of the pictures, and under his arm, as well. Almost all of the shots looked great. It was going to be hard to choose the right one, but that was a good dilemma.

Now it was time to get a little sexier.

“As we discussed, you can take off the upper portion of your uniform. I’m going to change the backdrop.” She had ordered a backdrop from a photo she had taken of flames, and she loved how it turned out. She went across the room to the far wall to get the stool so that she could use it to unhook the current backdrop. She looked in Mason’s direction, surprised that he had begun to disrobe right there, instead of heading to the bathroom. She caught a glimpse of his smooth dark skin, and quickly averted her gaze. Mostly. But she couldn’t quite help glancing in his direction.