Free Bad Boy's Touch (Firemen in Love Book 3) by Amy Starling

passion's sake alone, not that horrible, sterile in-and-out Victor subjected me to.
    I needed a real man to give me that pleasure.
    I needed Brett.
    “Well? I'll owe you big time,” Harvey went on. “There's a game on, you see, and I can't miss it. I got a hundred bucks riding on this one.”
    “Oh, all right.” I grabbed my coat. “You're buying breakfast tomorrow.”
    He laughed and kicked back at his desk. “Hash browns and an Egg McMuffin with sausage. Got it.”
    I headed off to McElroy Road, for the first time in forever, unable to think of anything but my lust-fueled thoughts.

Chapter 7 - Brett
     
    The sweet smell of gasoline always got my blood pumping and heart pounding.
    It was also probably giving me brain damage, but whatever.
    “Yo, Brett!” Axel waved as his bike came to a stop beside mine. “You're racing tonight? Haven't seen you ride in weeks.”
    I finished topping off my Kawasaki with fuel. It had been a while since I last rode her, and I'd almost forgotten how much I missed it.
    The wind in my face, the hard leather seat beneath me, that feeling of pure speed, of being one with the road.
    “Yeah, man, I'm down for a race or two.” I patted the old girl. “I would've been going a few rounds at the club instead, but it looks like that's not an option right now.”
    Axel took a drag on his cigarette, then tossed the smoking butt on the ground by the pump. Even now, when I was off work, the firefighter in me sprung into action.
    I stomped on it, made sure it was totally out, and threw it safely into the trash can. Axel laughed at me.
    “Funny. You've got no problems partaking in select illegal activities, but you can't stand folks littering.”
    “It's not about littering. You realize how much gas is spilled here? You trying to cause an explosion?”
    He scratched his head. “Huh. Guess I never thought about it like that.”
    Damn. People like him were the reason I had a job.
    Though compared to our arsonist pal, this was nothing. I'd take people setting fires out of ignorance and stupidity over that any day.
    I surveyed the competition. Six other riders loitered in the parking lot; I only knew three of them, and they'd never beaten me yet. Axel was good, but he lacked the killer instinct that had won me so many races before.
    It was that same instinct that carried me through a fight. The same one, too, that kept me alert and alive in a burning, crumbling building.
    Too bad it couldn't help me to win the woman of my dreams. At least, not yet.
    A few more guys pulled up. One of them had a girl on the back of his bike. I'd slept with her a few months back and couldn't remember her name.
    Her man was busy joking around with his buddies. She noticed me, smiled and winked.
    It was a total come-on. Normally, I would have taken her up on that offer.
    Tonight, the only woman I wanted – needed – was Madison.
    “Here we go, guys. Who wants a cold one before hitting the streets?”
    A dude came out of the gas station holding a couple of cases of beer. He and his friends enthusiastically guzzled every last can. They offered me one, but I didn't bite.
    It made me nervous. Cops already had their eyes on us; no sense giving them yet another reason to throw us in jail for the night.
    Inside the building, the lone employee kept giving us funny looks. He was on the phone and staring at us – well, glaring was more like it. I was astute enough to know we'd worn out our welcome.
    Another trio of bikers rolled into the parking lot, their rides roaring loud enough to wake the dead. I knew them, and unlike the rest of us racers, these men didn't know the meaning of fighting fair.
    “Heard you were about to kick off a race,” shouted Diego, their so-called boss. “How come nobody invited us? This is our turf, after all.”
    “Yeah. You wanna race here, you gotta get our permission first.”
    “All right, fine.” Axel sighed. “If you want in, throw twenty bucks in the pot.”
    Diego sneered. “I don't