Burning Hearts: A Second Chance Secret Baby Romance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Burning Hearts

  Also By Crimson Vixens

  Dedication

  Description

  Author’s Notes

  Table of Contents Instructions

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chspter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Hard & Fast

  Hard Pressed

  Hard Luck

  Painting Her

  Taste

  Wanted: Big Bad Brother

  Wanted: Big Bad Single Dad

  Burning Hearts

  By Vivien Vale & Gage Grayson

  Copyright 2018 by Crimson Vixens

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental. This work intended for adults only.

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  Also By Crimson Vixens

  Vivien Vale

  Mountain Man Baby Daddy

  Hard Pressed

  Hard Bargain

  Hard & Fast

  Hard Luck

  Big Package

  The Good Twin’s Baby

  Spring Break Bride

  His To Protect

  Daphne Dawn

  3 Men Of The House

  Baby Bargain

  Double Dealing

  Double Feature

  Double Stuffed

  Triple Pleasure

  Second Chance Baby Daddy

  Wanted: Big Bad Single Dad

  Triple Taught

  Double Stuffed

  Triple Threat

  Goldicox

  Natalie Knight

  Taste

  Painting Her

  Caught On Tape

  4 Men of the House

  The Other Brother

  The Proposal Problem

  The Marriage Mistake

  Dedication

  To Jessica

  Description

  I thought she was gone forever.

  But now she's back.

  And the flames of our past are reigniting.

  Margot. The one that got away.

  The one I never forgot.

  She shows up on my doorstep with a kid in tow.

  The moment I see her, it all comes back.

  But the odds are against us.

  She may have a secret. But so do I.

  One we never saw coming.

  One that could end things forever.

  Because while the flames are still burning bright,

  They could just as easily consume us…

  Author’s Notes

  Hello my darling Vixens!

  What a ride this book has been.

  OMG.

  This book was awesome to write. Wilderness, mountains, fires, family feuds, and landslides, I covered it all. Amazing.

  This story was an all time favorite of mine. Lovers reunited, old flames falling for each other and add a good dose of family hatred to make it the perfect cocktail and romance plot. What great themes. Add in a dash of a previous fling and you have a child. I hope you enjoy getting to know the characters as much as I enjoyed creating them.

  Love to you all,

  Vivien Vale

  WAIT!

  Please use the TOC (Table of Contents located in the upper left area of your screen) to navigate your way through this book. If you’re zoomed out and you’re seeing a smaller version of the book and it is flipping through that way, please press the center of your screen to get you out of page flip mode.

  Thanks!

  Vivien Vale

  Gage Grayson

  Chapter 1

  Boone

  The second I see the flames rising, all I can think about is her.

  Margot St. James. Daughter of my father’s most hated business rival. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my damn life. And my best friend in the whole fucking world, whether my parents approve or not.

  From the moment I first met Margot, I knew I wanted to make her my wife. But Margot’s parents don’t like me any more than my father likes her. So if friendship with her was what I had to settle for, I’d take it.

  Yet as my firetruck pulls up to her burning sorority house, I realize I might not even have that for much longer.

  Margot’s life is in danger. And there’s not a second to waste.

  “Boone, wait!” I hear one of my buddies on the squad call after me as I hop out of the truck and start sprinting for the Omega house’s front door.

  The university’s volunteer firefighters are just dumb college kids with hero complexes, and we know it.

  My brothers on the squad mean the world to me. We can always count on each other to save the guy that’s making the most dangerous calls for himself, taking the biggest risks.

  But as I search the gathered crowd of Omega sorority sisters for Margot’s face and come up empty, I know that nothing’s going to stop me from running into that inferno and getting her out alive.

  It didn’t even cross my mind that Margot might not be inside. That maybe she’s studying late at the library or—God forbid—maybe she’s staying the night with some asshole frat boy who won’t appreciate her the way I do.

  Sometimes when you know, you just know.

  There’s something deep in my most basic instinct—some caveman part of my lizard brain—which senses that the love of my life, my soulmate is in danger. So I don’t even hesitate.

  I shoulder through the burning red front door of the house and crash my way in.

  I know where Margot’s room is. It’s the same place I always take her when we’re out at a party and she gets so tired. She usually nods off before she even has a chance to finish a beer.

  I’ve carried her up these very stairs a dozen times this year alone. I know the length of the hall to her room, just as well as I know the way home after a long shift at the firehouse.

  The fact that there are half a dozen burning wooden beams that block Margot’s room doesn’t make a lick of difference. I flip my face mask down, and heft one after another to the side, like they’re no more than fucking toothpicks.

  But, with each one I move out of my path, I have to accept the reality of the situation. The roof is already burning. The support beams are already dropping from overhead.

  This house is a deathtrap, and the love of my life is still inside.

  As I move the last beam, I try not to let the
thought cross my mind—what if I’m too late? It’s not an option. Either I save Margot St. James tonight, or I die trying.

  My life for hers…That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

  The knob on Margot’s bedroom door looks red hot—opening it could cause a backdraft that would make the whole house explode like a powder keg.

  I have to be smart. Times like this, the brain can’t process, so the training kicks in.

  I need to vent the smoke before I can complete this search and rescue. Luckily, I’m easily six foot four. Four years on the college football team have left my arms thick and powerful with muscle. With my axe in hand, I brutally chop a hole where the wall meets the ceiling and watch as thick, black smoke pours out like rich, bold dark roast in a coffee cup.

  Once the room is vented, I charge through the door without a single thought about what might be on the other side…except for her.

  My eyes find her immediately. She’s passed out on her bed wearing nothing but my football jersey, surrounded by flames. Even like this, with mortal danger all around her, there’s no denying it—Margot is the most beautiful woman in the entire fucking world.

  It only makes my need to save her all the more urgent.

  Those long, bare legs. That beautiful blonde hair. The thick curtains of her eyelashes and the little smile that plays on her lips while she sleeps soundly…

  She’s too good. Too perfect. Too pure.

  Too precious for me to lose.

  I brave the flames. I can feel them licking my calves, even through my fire pants. The entire room is hazy with heat and smoke, which makes it hard to breathe, let alone think.

  So I don’t think.

  I just do.

  I scoop Margot up in my arms, careful not to hurt her.

  I protect her with my body as I carry her— like a groom carries his bride—over the flames.

  In the days that follow, I know I’ll think about what might have happened if I had gotten there just a few seconds later. Just a few seconds—that’s all it would have taken.

  I’ll think about what could have happened if I hadn’t been on shift tonight, or if I’d never met Margot to begin with.

  But, in the moment, there’s no time to think of these scenarios.

  There’s barely even time to catch my breath.

  The moment that I stumble back out of Omega house’s front door, the roof caves in. The entire fucking thing deflates like a failed soufflé.

  If I had hesitated for just a second… it would have been my life for hers . But, no. I can’t think of that.

  I’ve had a good life. I wasted my teenage years being the party boy heir to the Masters’ family fortune. I spent four years of college pounding the football field and the books—usually in that order.

  Hell, earlier today I even walked across the stage at graduation. And I didn’t miss the look in my father’s eyes when Margot came over to kiss me on the cheek in congratulations.

  I would have given it all up in an instant if it had meant the beautiful woman here in my arms would live.

  “Oxygen!” I call out, lumbering towards an ambulance. Its flashing lights turn Margot’s pale face bright red and blue as we approach.

  A medic places an oxygen mask over Margot’s mouth and nose as I drop to the pavement, still cradling her in my arms.

  It’s then that an awful thought hits me: what if I was too late?

  But before I can fall into a cycle of guilt that would have sent me spiraling out of control, Margot’s thick, dark lashes flutter and the corner of her lips twitch.

  Her eyes open, looking for something to figure out where she was.

  They meet mine and I fall in love with her all over again.

  Happens every fucking time.

  “Boone?” she rasps, knitting her brows together in confusion.

  “Hey,” I say, flipping my helmet off, and cradling her cheek in my hand. “Hey, you. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

  She moves against my glove, nuzzling my palm instinctively. It leaves streaks of soot against the perfect paleness of her cheekbone.

  “What happened, Boone?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about now.”

  The medic offers me a blanket, and I wrap it around her as the night sky opens up to make way for soft rain. I position my body over hers, shielding her from the downpour until I’m soaked.

  I think it’s then that I finally realize—no matter what happens or where our futures lead, Margot St. James will always be the woman for me.

  Whether she’ll have me or not.

  Even if it takes an entire lifetime…I can wait.

  Chapter 2

  Margot

  I’ve known it from the moment I first laid eyes on Boone Masters.

  It was always going to be him.

  You recover quicker than you think you will.

  Sure, my lungs burned for a few days after Boone pulled me from my burning sorority house just moments before it collapsed entirely.

  But I’m young—and I’m in college. Ultimately, it was on par with a nasty hangover, the kind you get when you go to a frat party and the boys all decide to light up cigars.

  I drank some water.

  I let the nurses in the hospital fuss over me for a few days.

  I took a shower and washed the last of the soot and ash and smoke from my hair.

  After that, the next order of business seemed pretty obvious.

  Boone Masters saved my life that night. And with graduation over, I know he’ll be gone in a few days...maybe for good.

  I might have grown up with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I wasn’t raised to be ungrateful.

  Boone and I come from the same world. So, what do you get someone who has everything?

  For his going-away present, Boone gave me my life.

  There’s not much that I can give him to match that...but in my defense, at least my thank-you gift is one-of-a-kind.

  When he answers the door, he’s in a pair of sweatpants. That’s it. Nothing else.

  “Hey...Margot,” he says, blinking in surprise.

  Overhead, the moon shines bright. Busy cars zip by on the street outside as our fellow students head home for the summer. The rain on the road reflects the cars’ headlights.

  “Hey, Boone. Can I come in?”

  “Ah...” He casts a glance over his shoulder to the interior of his apartment.

  Most of his things are boxed up behind him. He’s ready to move out in the morning.

  “It’s okay,” I tell him. “I don’t mind.”

  Boone shrugs and shifts his massive, broad shoulders aside so I can enter.

  “It’s a mess,” he admits. “But if you don’t mind...”

  I could care less—but I hope he hasn’t packed up his bed yet.

  “I’m not bothering you, am I?” I ask, watching the way he moves.

  It’s like he’s afraid to get too close to me—like he’s afraid of what he might do if that happens.

  We do this silly little dance around each other, like planets trapped in each other’s orbits. Boone keeps his space a few paces away from me, no matter how hard I try to move closer.

  “You’re not,” he reassures me. “It’s just...You know how it is, Margot. Your parents don’t want me anywhere near you—even less since—”

  “Since you saved my life?”

  I finally have him where I want him, with his back against the wall.

  Nowhere to run now, Boone.

  “Look, I don’t care what my parents want. You saved my life that night, Boone. I’m here because I want to say thank you.”

  Boone’s eyes narrow as I take a step closer.

  “That’s not what I’m worried about,” he admits. “It’s how you plan on doing it that worries me.”

  I come up to him and raise my hand to his chest. Boone’s chest hair is incredible—thick, dark, and all over his gorgeous pecs. I stop half an inch from actually touching him, with his chest hair tickling my palm
.

  “Don’t you want it?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a very heartfelt thank you.”

  “Oh, I want it,” Boone says with a ragged laugh. “But wanting something and having it show up on your doorstep at midnight are two entirely different things. Especially wearing something like that.”

  I look down at my white t-shirt with the university’s logo printed on it and my Daisy Dukes.

  Okay, I can admit it—I look hot. But it’s not like I showed up in a trench coat and lingerie for crying out loud.

  Although admittedly, that was Plan B.

  As Boone pores over my body, taking in my curves beneath the clothes, I shrug and take the hem of my t-shirt in my hands.

  “If you don’t like what I’m wearing...” I pull the shirt up over my head, revealing a lacy pink bra beneath. “I can take care of that.”

  “Margot—”

  “Boone,” I warn him. “Cut the crap. Don’t pretend that you haven’t been dreaming about this moment since the moment you first laid eyes on me.”

  I grab his wrist and turn his palm over in my hand. His hands are huge and heavy—it takes both of mine just to hold one of his. I see the way his fingers twitch as I pull his hand closer to me—like he’s trying desperately not to act on something that he desperately wants to.

  “I’m not pretending,” he growls.

  I see something dark flash through his eyes as I tug his hand closer.

  “Then do something about it.”

  “Your parents...”

  “My parents don’t like you because they don’t like your parents, Boone. It’s stupid. It’s pointless. It’s an ancient feud that has nothing to do with us...and it has cost us too much time already. I want this. You want this.”

  I place his hand on my stomach. His palm is burning hot against my skin, like there’s a fire roaring within Boone that radiates red hot heat.

  When his skin meets mine, a low, dark growl emanates from deep in Boone’s throat.

  “You’re playing with fire, Margot.”

  “Good thing I’m in the presence of the world’s greatest firefighter.”