Breathe for Me

Chapter One

Chelsea Greene stood at the side of the pool. Despite the sultry air, goose bumps peppered her skin. Cushion covered deckchairs and fairy-light festooned railings evoked a fun, party atmosphere. People from neighboring buildings could probably see her, no doubt wondering why she wasn’t wet already. On a hot night like this, she was surprised she was the only resident breaking the rules to swim after hours.

It ought to be easy.

A sparkling, azure pool on a Manhattan apartment block’s roof was a rare luxury. Kidney-shaped, it wasn’t built for endless laps and fitness, but for fun. And it was time to quit dawdling and dive right in. But her leg ached. Almost two years on from the accident it wasn’t fully fixed.

One foot at a time, one step at a time, inch by inch and all that…

Her pulse skittered. She concentrated, trying to remember the simple sensual delight of warm water washing over skin and the free feeling of floating. But other memories were stronger, creeping and curling like a vine that all too soon overtakes and suffocates the original host plant.

Dark, cold, deep. Drowning.

Her breathing hitched. She froze on the edge. Alarm bells clanged in her head, endlessly ringing out panic. She closed her eyes, tried counting her way to calm.

One, two, three, four, five…

She got to nineteen before it dawned that the alarm wasn’t stopping. It was real. Snapping her eyes open, she turned towards the stairwell. Distantly, beneath the ear-splitting siren, she could hear the slamming of several doors.

Fire alarm. Her building. Wouldn’t that be her luck? Chelsea grinned ruefully. At least it wasn’t all in her head.

She snatched up her towel and walked as fast as her damaged leg would allow. She wasn’t going to panic. Alarms like this were almost always false—a warning, a drill, an electronic hiccup. It wouldn’t be a real emergency. Opening the door to the stairwell, she heard voices. Below, people were filing out fast, calling out to each other. Some laughed. If people were laughing it must be okay.

She clutched the towel around her and steeled herself for however many million stairs. No elevators worked in an alarm, everyone knew they were programmed to return to the ground floor and stay there. She’d have to walk all twenty flights. Her heart thundered rapidly, skipping essential beats, making her breathless before she’d hardly started.

Just a drill. Just a drill.

One floor. Two. Into the melee. A ton of people were ahead of her, moving fast. On the landing of the third floor down a flood of people emerged from one doorway. Apparently Thursday night was party night in that apartment. They didn’t seem to notice her leaning against the banister as they rushed—a gaggle of merriment and energy that streamed by in a hazy push of people. Her towel snagged on something, loosened, then slipped between the railings, falling into that tiny gap in the center of the stairwell. It floated down all the floors in a few seconds. She gripped the banister. The crowd was well below her now too. It didn’t matter, right?

This was only a drill. They’d only be on the street a couple of minutes while the apartment managers reset the alarm. Then she caught it. The unmistakable smell of smoke.

Not a drill?

Her stupid leg weakened as panic resurged along her veins. She grabbed the banister with both hands. From above she heard a door bang. Frozen, she listened to the rapid clip of sure, fit, heavy feet almost skipping down the stairs.

Pull it together Chelsea. Slow and steady.

She glared at the floor, focusing on each space a pace ahead, resuming her regular counting. She carefully went down more steps, but in seconds the fast, heavy feet caught up to her. Passed her. Stopped.

“You okay?”

There was no ignoring that deep-voiced, drawling query. No ignoring the boots planted wide apart on the floor where she’d been staring that one step ahead.

Above the scuffed brown boots, long legs and narrow hips were encased in loose, well-worn jeans. His baby-blue tee skimmed close enough to hint at rock hard ridges of abs and pecs and stretched out to hug huge shoulders. Brute strength and breadth. Chelsea didn’t go weak over size and muscles. But then, these were muscles and her legs were weak already. That was her excuse and she clutched it tight. Along with the banister.

No way would his face match his body. That wouldn’t be fair. But then life wasn’t fair. And, not for the first time, Chelsea was wrong.

The color of his tee emphasized his eyes. His tan highlighted the blue too, intense, bright and piercing.

Damn, that’s right. She was barely wearing anything and given she was shivering like it was mid-winter, her nipples had gone icicle stiff. All but screaming ‘look at me’. But his attention didn’t go to her boobs. Instead he zoned in on her weakness. Her leg.

“I’m fine.” She shifted her weight forward onto her strong leg, tucking the weaker one behind.

“Take much longer and you might not be.” Another easy drawl, this time accompanied by a smile. Oh hell, a winning smile that went slightly crooked. Perfect.

She tensed as heat surged. Her nipples pointed even harder. Not lust. It was embarrassment. And anger. She was sick of being weak. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

His eyes locked on hers. Despite their lightness, the blue was underpinned with power as if he was utterly used to assuming control of any given situation. “Not fast enough.” His smile widened, softening the authoritative way he spoke.

It didn’t soften it enough for Chelsea. “Says who?”

“Me.”

Yeah. He was implacable, arrogant and so much the picture of perfect health and unchallenged masculinity, Chelsea’s hackles rose.

“And who are you? Fire services?” Master and Commander? She tilted her chin and dared him to answer. She didn’t need some random stranger to help her out. She’d get to the ground herself.

“You mean you don’t recognize me?” His baby-blues lit up, and a chuckle rumbled. “Sweetheart, I’m Superman, didn’t you know?”

Before she could snap her jaw shut and think up a sarcastic reply, he reached forward and scooped her into his arms. He pulled her tighter to him with a little tug, prising her hands from the banister. In less than a second he’d turned and resumed his fast pace, taking her with him as if she were lighter than a two-buck book.

“What’re you doing?” She demanded, shocked at being so easily lifted. So totally within his hold.

“Saving your ass.” He tossed her lightly to adjust his grip. One arm curled right around her legs, the other wrapped low around her waist. He clamped her tighter against his torso. Her arm was trapped uncomfortably between them and her face was far too close to his neck.

“I can save my own, thanks.”

“Sure,” he snorted, not slowing. “Next decade.”

Her heart thundered but while she might be resentful, she wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t about to struggle. She settled for glaring at him, but quickly got distracted by the zoomed-in view.

His close-cut hair was dark brown, but this near she could see the individual strands of sun-burnished gold. He’d have been blond as a boy, and with those pale blue eyes and that white smile he’d have looked angelic. No doubt he’d been completely indulged. Given he was confident enough to come close and pick up a random woman in a heartbeat—as in literally scoop her up—then yeah, the guy had gotten his way, way too many times.

She couldn’t just lie back and enjoy being held and helped by a gorgeous guy. In the last two years she’d been helped too much. The whole point of her time in New York was to be independent again. She was more than able to look after herself.

“Shouldn’t you have me over your shoulder in a fireman’s carry?” She didn’t want to be this close to his face and lips. She didn’t want the hint of citrus-and-soap to tantalize her nostrils, or his warm strength to heat parts that hadn’t been heated in a very long time. “Isn’t that the easiest way to lift someone and move in a hurry?”

She’d easily fit over his shoulder. Hell, they were so broad he’d probably manage two women over each. She closed her eyes, refusing to imagine a harem hanging off him. She wasn’t going to hang off him. But with her eyes closed she acutely felt his hot steely body pressing against her. Solid packed muscle. Sensations uncurled deep in her belly, sending out flickering tendrils of heat—not least to her cheeks.

Hell. She snapped her eyes open. Was her libido trying to stage a come-back during a damn fire alarm? It was a building evacuation. A possible emergency. Not the time to get turned on.

“If you want it ‘easier’, put your arms around my neck.” He glanced down at her, his eyes danced wickedly.

He was teasing?

“Why? You like a woman to cling?” Somehow she doubted it.

“Only at the right time,” he said softly. “This is definitely the right time.”

The horrible thing was that he was right. Her arm was awkwardly squashed between them, and given he’d increased his pace, she felt bad for being a burden. The decent thing would be to make it as easy as possible for him. She really had no choice but to wriggle her arm free and curl it round his neck. It brought her even closer. And there was nothing like gratuitous amounts of skin to amplify a sense of intimacy. Her breast was crushed against his chest, trapped in the curve of his arm her thighs were pushed close together, his hand splayed wide too close to her butt. She could feel each finger pressing against her. The tightness made her more aware of the sensations, the muscles at the apex of her thighs. Now really wasn’t the time for Kegel exercises.

Thankfully he didn’t appear to notice her growing embarrassment as he jogged down flight after flight of stairs with easy, sure feet. Strong and fit and fast.

“I hate being last out of the building,” he said, not breathless at all as they hit the third floor. “You’re gonna ruin my record.”

“Then put me down,” she said coldly. “I can walk the rest myself.”

“I don’t mind shredding my reputation for you.” He laughed. “What were you doing at the pool?”

She so didn’t want to go there.

“I’m guessing you don’t sleep in a swimsuit,” he prompted after another half flight of stairs.

Regular Sherlock, wasn’t he? “So you sleep in jeans and tee?”

“I sleep in nothing. I just yanked these on.”

Was there nothing on beneath the jeans? She tensed up more, fisting her fingers behind his neck so she could no longer feel his bare warmth beneath her fingertips. But it was too late—another hot flare unfurled in her belly. “Maybe my swimsuit was the first thing that came to hand.”

“You were in that much of a hurry and then decided to dawdle down the stairs?” He shook his head. “Sorry sweetheart. You were at the pool. After hours.”

The hint of censure lifted her hackles.

“You’ve never broken a few rules?” she asked.

She felt the slightest pause in his fast, steady pace down the stairs. Her words hung on the thickened air between them. She’d not meant it to come out so sultry. But it was his fault for telling her he slept naked.

“No,” he eventually said, amusement flecking his answer. “I never break the rules. I’m a good guy, remember?”

“Superman?”

“You got it.” The chuckle reverberated in his chest. “And you’re not such a great rule breaker.”

“No?”

“If you’re going to break the rules and swim at midnight, you should go the whole way and be without a suit. Midnight swims are always best naked.”

Oh no. She tried to quell the shiver as another image of nudity came to her head. But he must have felt her because his grip fractionally tightened.

“Furthermore,” he added. “Midnight swims aren’t supposed to be taken alone.”

She didn’t answer that. Still too busy deleting the naked images from her mind.

“What if you got in trouble?” he added.

Like a bucket of iced water had been dumped on her, her heat was doused. “Bit boring, aren’t you?” she snapped. “Mr Goody-goody with your ‘must-abide-all-law’ attitude.”

He halted and looked right in her eyes. “I’ll admit I’m good, but I’m definitely not boring.”

“Really?” Truly she didn’t intend for her question to have such a goading taunt in it. But with her breathlessness, it came out as pure sexual challenge.

“You asking me to prove it?” he said softly.

Heat burned through her body. They were on the ground floor already. Safe from any smoke or fire. Except she was about to combust on the spot.

“You can put me down now.” She clipped out the words.

He gave no answer, just strode through the atrium and out the front door. Ugh, last out, everyone looking. She wanted to shrivel behind the nearest rock. But there were no convenient rocks in Manhattan. Nowhere to hide her inappropriate amounts of milk-white skin.

Belatedly, brusquely she added, “Thank you.”

He still didn’t answer, just looked at her. Smiling.

The man wasn’t just good looking. He was intense. He hoisted her higher in his arms, tighter. She really had too much skin on show. Her swimsuit was no flimsy bikini, but it was still cut high in the thigh, the bust cut a little low. She was more breathless than she’d been when stuck on the landing of the seventeenth storey stairwell. “Please put me down,” she asked again.

“I don’t think so,” he said idly, walking to the side of the crowds that had gathered.

“No?” Oh man, so breathy. Could her pulse settle, please?

“You’ve nothing on your feet. Wouldn’t want you to cut that soft skin.”

“I’m very careful where I step. You don’t need to worry.”

“No? Hey Terry,” he called to the building guard who was looking in fierce concentration at a clipboard. “I’ve got the resident from unit—?” He looked at her.

“1605.”

“1605.” He repeated.

She wanted to ask which unit he was from but was overwhelmed as his grip tightened again. She tried to quell the shiver but failed. As for her breasts? Too full, too tight. Her nipples screamed for contact. She could feel them poking against the clinging fabric. She was hyper aware of his strength, his closeness, the energy swirling between them.

This was flat-out crazy. She was on the street, near midnight, having been evacuated from the building and was the only one wearing something really embarrassing. And turned on by a total stranger.

“This going to teach you to break the rules, isn’t it.” He chuckled as he looked over at the crowd assembling in groups. All of them wore street clothes, robes at worst. “No more swimming in the pool after hours.”

“Maybe I’d finished,” she said with as much calm as she could muster.

“You hadn’t even gotten in—your hair is dry. Every inch of your body is dry.”

Not quite every inch. There was one part that was getting wet. She tried to turn away so he wouldn’t see the tell-tale color she knew was staining her skin, but she couldn’t break free of his gaze.

His eyes widened. His gaze intensifying. Yeah, he knew how commanding his presence was. If he was around, she’d be looking. She and half the neighborhood. She felt him tense up more. His grip tightened to one notch shy of painful. There was no escaping his arms now.

Her mouth dried. “Put me down.”

But she knew he saw right through her. That at this moment, she wanted him to keep holding her. She wanted him to carry her off into the dark night and have his wicked way with her. She was in his arms already—warm, revelling in his superior strength. She wanted him to take what he wanted. And she wanted that to be her. She wanted him to take his satisfaction.

A random stranger?

Crazy wasn’t the word. Maybe she had some smoke inhalation hallucinations going or something?

“You know there aren’t many rooftop pools in Manhattan. You shouldn’t take advantage of it.” His light conversation was totally at odds with the heat in his gaze.

But she latched onto it, thankful for the diversion. It’d give her a chance to pull back from her sudden aspiration to be little more than the man’s sex toy. “On the contrary, the pool should be used 24/7. Given there are so few it should be used as much as possible.”

“You’re new to the building.”

“Why, what’s going to happen? Am I going to turn into a rule-following zombie the longer I live there?”

“Maybe not, your resistance is strong,” he teased. “But I think you’ve taken advantage of someone to get access to the pool this late.”

“How would little old lame me take advantage of anyone?”

It was the first time she’d referred to her injury.

“You’re not lame. You’re not slow either. Not in any way that matters.”

Sexual awareness zinged between them again.

Chelsea tried to look away from him. Failed. “Do you use the pool?” she asked.

“Every day.”

“Rain or shine?”

“Hail, snow, lightning.”

Covering all options then. “It stays open in winter?”

“Year round. It’s heated.”

That didn’t matter for her. She was only in town a couple of months. But she was never going near the pool when he was in it. “You wouldn’t be able to get much exercise in. It’s not that big.” Whereas he was huge. A wall of muscle.

“Haven’t you heard? It’s not about size, it’s about style.”

Oh lord, sexual innuendo. She wasn’t going to smile. She wasn’t going to—

“Finally.” He jeered lightly. “You’re beautiful when you smile.”

Chelsea tried to quell her instinctive shiver of delight. He might be teasing, but his intense focus had her all but yearning to hang onto him and let him do anything he wanted.

“And edible when you blush.”

Edible?

Before she could answer he set her down carefully on her feet. His hands kept a firm grip, ensuring she was steady. But even once she was, his hands lingered, warm on her waist. She might be ‘safe’ from the fire but it seemed to her that a whole other kind of danger loomed.



Xander Lawson didn’t want to let her go. This had to be the most fun fire drill on record. He ought to go over to Terry and the management team but he didn’t want to leave her alone. Not when he could see the interest in so many sets of eyes turned their way. Not when he was so interested.

She was new to the block, but she had to know someone. Pool security was tight and there were surveillance cameras. It meant she was buddies with someone on staff. Someone willing to turn a blind eye to her little nocturnal trip. Which was very interesting. Maybe she’d gone to meet a guy?

He looked at her. Not in that swimsuit. It wasn’t one for seduction but for serious swimming. Which wasn’t to say it wasn’t revealing. Because it was—hugging her curvy breasts, skimming over her slim belly, revealing lithe arms and long legs. One calf seemed ever so slightly thinner than the other. She’d had some kind of problem. If it weren’t so dark he’d be looking closer for some scarring.

A shiver swept down her body in a jerky ripple as she looked around the crowd. He fought not to scoop her straight back into his arms. She tucked her chin down and brought her arms across her chest. Poor sweetheart was self-conscious. Given the crowd, he wasn’t surprised. He could help her out with that.

“Here.” He whisked his tee-shirt over his head and offered it to her, tensing his stomach muscles as he did. Oh he was a lame-ass male. The instinct to preen around her was undeniable.

But her eyes widened. He saw the way they dropped super quick to glance at his chest and stomach. Her attention briefly lingered on where his jeans sat loose on his hips. Yeah, he’d only pulled on the jeans—no briefs, no boxers. He wished he had. The extra support would’ve helped restrain a certain part of him right now.

To his relief, she resolutely looked back up at his face. But he knew a lot about women—knew their peripheral vision was stronger than a male’s. Because they were more prey than predator. And yeah, right now she was prey and he absolutely the hunter. She knew it too. The frisson—her little shivers, his tension? Sparks were a puff away. He ached to blow on them. It’d been a while since he’d played.

Sex. The idea sang in his head louder than the damn alarm that was still wailing. He couldn’t resist another look at all her gorgeous, porcelain skin.

Sharing the near nudity was the least he could do for her, right? That way she wouldn’t feel as alone in her exposure. He chuckled inwardly as she stared a split-second too long—not taking the tee-shirt.

Definite sparks.

His inner caveman wanted to see her in his clothing. Basic instinct urged him to stamp his claim. Too many of the other residents were looking at her. Even the ones shacked up with significant others were sneaking peeks at her pretty curves and long legs and the long streak of glossy brown hair that hung down her back. As for the soft red mouth set in the smooth pale face? Total femininity.

Every predatory instinct pulled to the fore in a rush. But even stronger was the protective urge. He held back from manhandling her into his shirt himself. Instead he kept it easy, just holding it out to her.

Like bait.