Bad Boy's Heart: A Firemen in Love Series Novella by Amy Starling Page B

right in front of me on the boat, and now this.
    I tried to distract myself from the pain of it all by digging through the drawers in the room. Instead, I only ended up making it worse.
    When I pulled open the top drawer of the end table, a handful of familiar foil packets greeted me. I held one up in amazement.
    “This hotel sure does provide for all their guests' needs, eh?”
    Alicia was wide-eyed at the Trojan in my hand. “Her Pleasure,” it said. I sort of hoped she got the hint.
    “They gave us condoms? ”
    “Technically, they gave the bride and groom condoms. Mighty thoughtful of them, don't you think? It sure would suck if you forgot the protection on your wedding night.”
    She sputtered as I dug deeper in the drawer and found a bag of plastic bottles. One was warming massage oil, and there were at least three types of lube to choose from.
    But the next thing I pulled out was the best of all.
    “Is that a vibrator?” Alicia shrieked. “What kind of hotel is this?”
    “A very generous one, I'll say.” I hit the power button and the toy buzzed to life. “I just hope it's not been used before.”
    “Whatever you plan on doing with that, I do not want to know.”
    I was sure she already did know, however. The way I looked at her surely gave my intentions away, but she didn't bite.
    “I'm getting in the shower. That saltwater destroyed my hair, and I totally smell like fish.”
    I'd turned on the TV to see what channels they had, so I wasn't quite thinking clearly when I said what I did next.
    “Mind if I get in there with you?”
    It wasn't very loud, but she definitely heard me. She peeked her head out the bathroom door and gave me a quizzical look.
    “What did you say?”
    “...Nothing.”
    There was a hint of distrust in her eyes as she slowly closed the door. Hell, she was right to be wary of me. Look how much I managed to hurt her already without even meaning to.
    As the shower ran, I lay on the bed and let the dirty fantasies of her play in my head. What was the point of resisting? Not like I could think of much else, anyway.
    She was in there, naked, right freaking now. It would be so very easy to open that door – just a crack – and fulfill my unrelenting curiosity.
    What was that annoying noise? Oh. Her phone was ringing on the table. Dazed, I swiped at it and answered. A woman squeaked on the other end.
    “Oh, excuse me, I must have the wrong number.”
    “If you're looking for Alicia, she's in the shower.”
    “Uh... Who is this?” The girl was obviously confused.
    “Alicia's new husband,” I announced, because I figured I ought to say so just in case.
    “ What? Andy, is that you?” She screamed like a banshee in my ear. “How dare you screw her over like that! What kind of asshole just dumps a woman at the altar, huh? You useless, evil piece of human trash.”
    “Hey now, that's a bit harsh,” I tried to interrupt her. “And I'm not –”
    “I always knew you were no good for her. You should have at least had the decency to break things off before the wedding.” Her voice got louder and louder. “Well, you know what? I hope you get herpes for what you've done.”
    I had to hold the phone away from my ear so she didn't make me go deaf. Alicia emerged from the bathroom – clothed, much to my dismay, but smelling so damn amazing I was this close to pulling off her shorts anyway.
    “Carter? What in the world are you doing on my phone?”
    I winced as the girl's voice pierced my eardrums through the speaker. Alicia snatched it from me with a glare, as if I had done something horribly wrong.
    Great going, Carter. Let's piss her off even more. What a wonderful way to get those panties off her, eh?
    “Dana, please. Calm down. It's me.” The shrill hissing abated. “What? No, that wasn't Andy. It's my friend Carter.”
    Mass confusion, I'm sure, ensued. I sprawled on the bed, too exhausted from Dana's verbal assault to move.
    Alicia put her friend on speaker phone while she