Sizzle: Lanville Firefighters, #2

By Lynn LaFleur

The attraction sizzles between Clayton Spencer and Maysen Halliday when he first sees her in his convenience store. The attraction fizzles when he discovers she's the owner of Hot Shots, a magazine that declared the Lanville volunteer firefighters the sexiest in Texas. Not only does he disapprove of the article, he hates her idea of posing for a sexy calendar. Only when Maysen tells him proceeds will go toward purchasing equipment for the fire department does he relent.

 

An interview at Clay's house on a rainy night leads to lovemaking. Maysen wants it to be the first of many nights to follow, but Clay is leery. A woman had breezed through his life two years ago, leaving him with a broken heart. He refuses to let Maysen break his heart again when she leaves town after her work is finished.

 

Maysen has to convince Clay she isn't in Lanville for only an assignment--she loves him and is here to stay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynn LaFleur
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201329020

Lynn LaFleur

Lynn LaFleur was born and raised in a small town in Texas. After living in various places on the West Coast for twenty-one years, she is back in her hometown. Lynn also publishes with Ellora's Cave, and when she is not writing, she loves reading, sewing, gardening, and learning new things on the computer.

Book preview

Chapter One

Maysen Halliday lowered the window on her SUV and breathed deeply of the fresh, sweet air. Springtime in Texas always smelled amazing, especially in the Hill Country of Central Texas. Wildflowers bloomed in abundance on both sides of the county road. Bluebonnets had started making their appearance last week, delighting Maysen with their purplish-blue color. They also delighted hundreds of people who took photos of their children or pets posed in the blooms. All too soon, the state flower would disappear for another year.

Since her job kept her so busy, Maysen didn’t have the chance to take photographs simply for pleasure very often. She planned to remedy that on this assignment and take many pictures of the flowers and scenery around the small town of Lanville in North Texas. After three years of building her magazine, Hot Shots, without any time off, she deserved a vacation.

Thinking of her assignment had her checking the MapQuest directions she’d printed before she headed north from Houston early this morning. Her Tahoe had GPS, but she liked the printed map for backup in case she lost the directional signal in one of the remote spots.

She could’ve taken a direct route to Lanville, but decided to travel some of the county roads instead to enjoy the scenic beauty. She knew little about the small town that would be her final destination, only that the Rose River ran through the center and extremely hunky firemen lived there. At least, according to the contest she’d run in her magazine.

Brainchild of her assistant, Denyse Wade, the contest had garnered thousands of entries, mostly from women. That didn’t surprise Maysen. Women knew what made a man sexy. It wasn’t simply his looks, but his whole attitude. Good looks were nice to admire, but selfishness and inconsideration quickly soured a woman on a man, no matter how handsome he might be.

Her rumbling stomach reminded her she’d left her apartment without breakfast. Never able to eat right away, she had to be up and around for at least a couple of hours before she could think about food. A quick glance at her watch showed her she’d been on the road for over four hours. No wonder her stomach yelled at her.

Since Lanville couldn’t be more than a few more miles away, according to her MapQuest printout, she decided to tough it out and get to her destination before she ate. Research had shown her the town had some of the typical fast-food places, but also some locally owned restaurants. That’s what she wanted to try. Some of the best food she’d ever eaten in her travels had been prepared in family-owned cafés.

Gas for her SUV had to come before food. She pulled into the city limits of Lanville with her gas gauge almost touching the empty mark. Bypassing the quaint courthouse square—which she definitely planned to explore later—she headed for the main highway that passed through town, knowing she’d find gas there.

She saw the Spencer’s gas station sign when she stopped at the red light on the highway. Perfect. The man she wanted to talk to would be at that station. Once the light changed to green, Maysen turned left and headed for Spencer’s, ready to begin her assignment.

* * * * *

Clayton Spencer peered at the spreadsheet on his computer screen. Profits were up at his Dallas/Fort Worth stations, holding steady at the stations in Oklahoma City. His vice president, Silas Hernandez, emailed him yesterday about expanding farther north into Kansas. The Spencer’s Station and Convenience Store chain now spread across the southern states from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Perhaps going north would be a good idea. He’d bring it up to his board at the next meeting in May.

Clay gazed out the window next to his desk to give his eyes a break from staring at the computer screen for almost two hours. He quickly did a double take when he saw the woman with shoulder-length brown hair exit a dark-blue Chevy Tahoe parked next to one of the gas pumps. A gentle breeze stirred her hair, causing sunlight to bounce off the blond highlights in the dark strands.

A green T-shirt flowed over breasts the perfect size to fill his hands. Faded jeans fit a gorgeous ass and thighs. He could easily imagine those thighs wrapped around his hips.

Lust grabbed his balls and his dick gave an interested twitch, something it hadn’t done in quite awhile at the sight of the opposite sex. A woman trampling over a guy’s heart had the tendency to make him forget about sex. Well, maybe not forget, but a few minutes of pleasure wasn’t worth the hassle of getting involved with anyone and having his heart stomped on again.

He watched her replace the nozzle on the old-fashioned pump, then screw on her gas cap. Grabbing her keys and wallet, she headed for the store’s entrance. She had to be driving through Lanville. As a business owner and the volunteer fire department’s chief, he’d met almost everyone who lived here. He would definitely remember her if he’d seen her around town.

Clay allowed himself a few moments of fantasizing about how she looked naked before he returned to his computer. At least he knew his cock would work, should he ever decide to become involved in another relationship.

Fat chance of that happening.

He opened his email when he heard the ding announcing a new message. Another note from Silas, telling him he’d found the perfect station in Kansas City to add to Spencer’s chain. Clay chuckled. Silas didn’t give up when he got an idea in his head. That’s part of what made him such a good vice president.

A gentle knock on the door announced his day clerk, Dolores Kirkland, before she opened the door.

Clay, there’s someone here to see you. She bobbed her eyebrows. She’s really hot.

Clay swallowed to avoid laughing at Dolores’ statement. Sometimes he had a hard time believing some of the things that came out of the sixty-something woman’s mouth. She asked for me specifically or the owner?

She asked for you, by name.

Interesting, Clay thought. He minimized the spreadsheet window, rose from his chair, and followed Dolores into the store. His gaze immediately snapped to the woman standing at the drink fountain, the one who had been at the pumps. She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled. Hi.

Hello.

She finished drawing her drink and placed the lid on her cup. Hand outstretched, she stepped closer to him. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Spencer.

Clay, please, he said automatically. Something about her voice seemed familiar, but he didn’t know why. He would’ve remembered meeting a woman with such beautiful whiskey-colored eyes.

He accepted her hand. Her soft skin tickled nerve endings in his palm that hadn’t known the touch of a woman’s body in much too long.

Her smile widened. "I’m Maysen Halliday from Hot Shots magazine."

His lust faded, even though Clay detected an awareness in her eyes along with her friendly smile. He wanted nothing to do with the woman and her magazine’s stupid contest.

Her gaze passed over his face, shoulders and chest. The light in her eyes proved she liked what she saw. That didn’t matter. Getting involved with a woman who would be in town for only a short time would be incredibly stupid. Been there, done that, had the broken heart to prove it.

Clay released her hand. His irritation must have shown on his face for Maysen’s smile faded. Is something wrong? I thought you were expecting me.

I was. Your assistant, Denyse, called yesterday and reminded me you were coming today. I didn’t realize you’d come here first.

She shrugged one shoulder. I figured it would be best to meet the fire chief before I did anything else. Her smile returned, along with a twinkle of humor in her eyes. Denyse told me you aren’t exactly enthused about my article.

I think that’s a vast understatement.

Why? She tilted her head, curiosity obvious in her eyes. "It’s great publicity for your fire department, and Lanville. Hot Shots has a large subscription base, plus thousands of