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  Into The Fire

  T.a. McKay

  Into The Fire

  Copyright © T.a. McKay, 2015

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Cover art by K23 Photography and Design~ http://www.k23photo.com

  Formatting by: T.a. McKay

  Editing by T.a. McKay and Ellie from The Cosy Reader Author services

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or used factiously and any resemblance to actual people, dead or alive, business, establishments, locales or events is entirely coincidental. Any reference to real events, businesses or organizations is intended only to give the fiction a sense of realism and authenticity.

  All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.

  Pirating an author’s work is a crime and will be treated as such.

  Dedication

  To everyone who has read and fallen in love with this series.

  I can’t thank you enough for giving my men a chance and showing them the love they needed.

  This series would be nothing without you, so thank you.

  Prologue

  Noah

  “You spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on you have to kiss. Come on Madison it’s not that hard to understand.” I know I'm being a dick but I just can’t help it. I brought my best friend Madison to this party to try and get her to make some new friends. It seems to be working a little too well since all my friends have been offering to keep her company. The only thing is, it’s not the females that are showing an interest, it’s the guys. I didn’t ever think I would have a problem with that, she is my best friend and that's all she has ever been, but when Drew made his way over to her, my stomach started churning, leaving me with a feeling of sickness. I still don’t know why I feel like this, I’m here with Rhu and she’s made it clear that I won’t be going straight home tonight. Yes I'm a player, but who is going to turn down the girls I get throwing themselves at me? I'm a good-looking guy and I'm going to make the most of it. I only have a year left of high school and I want to make memories that will last forever.

  Watching Madison get close to Drew is killing me. I keep telling myself it’s because I'm looking out for her, I don’t want her to get hurt by him. I know the kind of guy he is, he’s just like me. We don’t do relationships, or at least not ones based on feelings. It’s all about how far we can get with a girl, and if she doesn’t put out, we move on. Simple. So him talking to Madison is bugging me… big time.

  We’re all sitting on the floor in Joe’s dining room with an empty beer bottle in the middle of the circle. Madison looks nervous being here but she should relax, I'm not going to let anything happen to her, she should know that. Rhu is currently nibbling on my ear and whispering that I don’t need a bottle to get what I want from her. I should be really turned on and ready to leave with her, but all she’s doing is pissing me off. I move my head away from her mouth and look at Madison, who is sitting across the circle watching me.

  “Are you going to be able to handle this?” She looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes and I feel myself melt a little. What the fuck is happening? I don’t look at her like this, she is my friend, nothing more. She looks around the circle at the people watching her, waiting for her to back out. I see her take a deep breath, straightening her back to try and look confident.

  “I'm fine, Noah. It’s just a game,” The guys sitting around her smile and wink at each other. I swear if any one of them touches her I’m going to rip them apart. She is too good for this sort of thing, too sweet, too innocent. I know for a fact she hasn’t ever kissed a boy and I don’t know why. She really is beautiful. Her red hair is long and straight down her back, and the little freckles she has on her nose are the cutest damn thing.

  I met Madison when we both started high school when we were paired together for a science project. Even though she is a few years younger than me she is a science wizard and was put into a higher class for the subject. She is so incredibly smart, I thought she would do all the work for me, but I soon found out that it wasn’t going to work like that. I sat back in my chair and told her that if she needed me I would be taking a nap. The next thing I knew I opened my eyes and she was gone, the experiment we were working on foaming all over the desk. There was nothing I could do, I had no idea what she had done before she left the class. The only thing I could do was stand there and watch as the foam continued to grow and cover the lab floor. That little trick got us both detention, but it was totally worth it. I realised that day that Madison was different to any other girl I had ever met, and more male than a lot of the guys I knew. She didn’t get into all that girly drama, she dressed casual and comfortable, not dolled up with half her body hanging out.

  I turned up at her house tonight to give her a lift to the party, and when I saw what she was wearing, I just about joined my jaw on the floor. The skirt was modest enough, reaching to just above her knee but it flared out around her, giving the illusion you could see much higher up her thighs than you actually could. The top was where I had the problem, even though it covered everything on the front it left her back bare all the way down, making it clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. For the first time in my life I wanted to kiss my best friend, I wanted to pin to her front door and run my hand up the inside of her leg while my lips attacked her.

  I shake my head trying to dislodge the thoughts that are running through it, they’re not clean and they aren’t ones I should be having. I look over and its Cam’s turn to spin the bottle. I close my eyes and I pray it doesn’t land on Madison. He spins it and I hold my breath. It starts to slow and points at Rhu. Thank fuck. Rhu turns to me, looking for me to stop this as Cam moves across the circle towards her, I shrug my shoulders.

  “You know the rules, Rhu. Everyone in the circle’s fair game.” I wonder if I will be saying that if it lands on Madison.

  As I watch Cam and Rhu make out I realise that I feel nothing. There is no jealousy or anger, its like watching strangers make out. They split apart and return to their places in the circle, Rhu rubbing herself against my arm as she sits next to me. I know she’s trying to get my attention, but there is only one person who has my attention just now and it’s her turn to spin. I feel a little sick as Madison leans over slowly and grabs the bottle. I see her take a deep breath, closing her eyes as she spins. She sits back in her space, and I don’t think she has breathed yet. I know how she feels, I’m holding my breath right along with her. The bottle slows to a stop and I feel the breath being punched from my gut. The bottle is pointing at me! Shit! I don’t know if I'm more nervous or happy? Neither of us make a move towards the circle, it’s like neither of us know what exactly what to do.

  “Hurry it along children. It shouldn’t take this long to kiss someone.” I look to the side and see Grieg smiling at me. He really is a dick. I move across the circle until I'm kneeling in front of Madison.

  “Hi.” I whisper to her. I see her blush and I wonder what's going through her mind right now. When my last girlfriend had broken up with me she told me that Madison was in love with me. I had laughed at her but I always wondered in the back of my head if she’d been right. Looking into Madison's eyes now I would like to think she was.

  “Hi.” She whispers back at me, in a voice I'm sure only I can hear. I reach my hand up and place it on the side of her jaw. I see her breath hitch and her eyes close as I make contact. What the hell? Could she honestly have feelings for me? I lower my head and connect my lips to hers. As the connection is made I feel like my lips have been zapped by a
n electrical current. I’ve kissed my share of girls in my seventeen years but nothing has ever felt like this. I press closer to her, using my tongue to lick at her lips, making her open them for me. When her lips part she lets out a quiet moan and I lose control, not caring who is watching. My hand moves back into her hair, gripping it tightly and pulling, opening her more to me. My other hand grabs her waist pulling her towards me until our bodies are touching. She moves her hands up and grabs my hair, it’s like she’s trying to keep me where I am. Little does she know that nothing on this earth would make me move from where I am just now. With our tongues battling together and our bodies touching intimately in all the best places, I think I have died and gone to heaven.

  I start to notice the whoops coming from around us, sounds slowly make their way back to me. It’s then I realise what I have just done. Everyone has always questioned our friendship, not believing that a guy and girl could be friends without anything else happening. Now I have just made them think it even more. I don’t turn to look at them, I only have eyes for Madison, for my best friend who I just kissed with everything I have. She is looking at me with glazed over eyes and puffy lips. I stare at her lips, knowing I made them look like that. All I can think about is how much I want to kiss them again. I need to get out of here, I need to take her somewhere where we can be alone. I reach out and take her hand, which she gives me easily. Kissing her on the tip of her nose and smiling, I whisper to her,

  “Lets get out of here, Angel.” She lets me pull her from the floor before leaving the party behind us. I don’t know what exactly happened in there, but I only have one thing going through my head.

  Fuck! I think I just lost my heart to my best friend.

  Chapter One

  Noah

  I pull my car into a parking space outside my brother Rocco’s house, getting out and stretching my stiff body. It’s a long drive from my place in London to Rocco’s house, but it’s totally worth it. I’m here to spend the week relaxing and hopefully celebrating my little brother’s engagement. I was originally planning to fly, which would have only taken about an hour but I wanted to drive, I needed that extra couple of hours to clear my head before I got here. So much is happening in my life just now, but this is Rocco’s time, so I needed to think about things before my arrival so I'm not ruining this moment for him.

  I still can't believe it, my little brother is going to be engaged. I never thought I would ever see that happen, especially after everything he’s been through, I didn't think he would ever find someone he trusted enough to open up to. I smile when I think about how much he loves Makenzie, I can hear it in his voice when he talks about her. There are times when I’m jealous of him, I wish I had felt the feeling of that kind of love, the kind of love that no one will ever come between. I feel bad having these thoughts, especially when I have a fiancé at home that loves me. Well at least I think she does, and I love her. I really do love her, but I just don't know if it’s in the way I should. She is a great girl and there was a time when I pictured spending the rest of my life with her, but there is ... I don't even know how to explain it to myself… there is just something missing, a spark, that passion I always hear people talking about.

  I shake my head, trying to clear these thoughts, and close the car door before heading up to Rocco’s front door. I stretch my back out again before ringing the bell. After a few minutes the front door opens and there stands Rocco looking like he’s about to be sick.

  “Wow, so the thought of this engagement is doing wonders for you. You look...interesting.” My words bring a smile to his face and he steps out, pulling me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him hugging him back. God I miss this, not living near to my family is slowly killing me. I don't think I would be going through what I am if I lived closer.

  “Thank god you're here, Noah. I swear I feel like I'm gonna have a stroke or something. I can't calm down.” I push him away and look at his face. He looks nervous as fuck and I can't help but laugh. Does he really think Makenzie is going to say no to him? I have spoken to her a few times on the phone trying to get to know her since she is a big part of my brother’s life and I would bet every penny I own that she will be with him until the day one of them dies.

  “Calm down little brother, in a few hours it will all be done and you will have something huge to celebrate.” He steps back as lets me enter the house. The decor has changed, you can see the slightly more feminine touches that have obviously been brought in by Makenzie. Standing in the living room is Mason, Rocco’s best friend and my adopted little brother. He really does feel like family after what the two of them have been through together and I love him for always being there for Rocco, no matter what he’s going through. After his accident, I'm not sure Rocco would have survived without Mason, he was the one who eventually made him get his life back.

  “Noah, how the fuck are you? It’s been far too long.” Mason walks over and we hug, a nice manly hug that has us thumping each other’s backs. He’s right though, it’s been far too long since I came to visit. I miss it too badly to come back too often. It always takes me weeks to get over a visit, to try and settle back into the life I have found myself in. I’m just going to enjoy the time I have here. I will tell Rocco later that I plan to stay longer than originally planned and without Judi.

  “I’m good, man. It’s great to be here for a while to just relax with my little brother.” I can see Rocco fucking with his hair out of the corner of my eye, trying to get it to look perfect no doubt. I can't help but reach out and mess it up like I used to do when we were younger. It always drove him crazy, and it seems that hasn’t changed now.

  “Fuck off, Noah. God did you know how long it took me to do this earlier?” I take so much delight in hearing the muttering words coming from him as he storms down the hall to his room. He really is too easy to annoy and I have a feeling with the events of tonight, it will be easier than normal to do. I turn to Mason, smiling as Rocco disappears towards his room.

  “I have so missed messing with him. I feel so far away most of the time.” It’s more truth than I have spoken in a while. I never let anyone know how I'm really feeling. I reckon people will just think I'm being dramatic, I mean I have a life most people would be more than happy to have, and, as if to prove my point Mason says,

  “But just think what you do have, you have a rock star job and a fiancé that is pretty damn hot.” I can't help the look on my face when he says this. People really do think my life is awesome, little do they know that I wish I could change it all. I plaster a fake smile to my face and try to muster up the best performance I can.

  “Yeah, you’re right, I'm just tired and miss Rocco. Yo, little brother, get your arse out here so we can eat. I'm hungry.” When Rocco comes back through to the living room he is giving me his best pissed off look, the one he has been trying to master since we were kids. I take him as seriously now as I did back then, and I’ve never taken him seriously at all.

  “Well we could have been halfway there already if some idiot hadn't messed with my hair. You always ruin everything dontcha?” I laugh at his attempts to be angry but I can see his eyes shining with concealed laughter. I have a feeling this next week is going to be one I won't forget in a long time.

  I follow Rocco’s car to the restaurant, ‘The Loft’. It’s about a twenty-minute drive from Rocco’s house but it’s one of the best in the area, so it’s definitely worth the drive. We go so often that the owner gives us the same table every time. I laugh to myself, wondering how much things are going to change now that we are growing up and getting on with our lives. It makes me sad to think that times like these are probably limited, and for me they will be fewer. Living so far away has a lot of downsides.

  I’m interrupted from my thoughts by my mobile ringing over the hands-free, I look at the screen on my dashboard and notice Madison’s name. I smile to myself and I feel the stress leave my body. No matter how bad my life gets I can always rely on her to make me smile, even
without trying. Madison, she is the little redheaded bundle of attitude that is my best friend. I press the answer button and wait for the call to connect.

  “Hey hot stuff. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” I hear her laugh through the speakers, making my body relax more. She just has this way of being what I need at any given time. I don’t know what I would do without her in my life, and if I'm lucky I’ll never find out. When I first met Judi she had a problem with Madison, didn't like how close we were, but I soon set her straight. There would be no me and her if she didn't accept Madison, there is no way in hell I'm giving her up for any woman.

  “Don't try and sweet talk me, Noah Cole. You’re at Rocco’s aren't you?” Her angry voice is so god damn cute. I know she likes to think she’s tough, but she isn't in the slightest.

  “Madison, I can honestly say that I’m not at Rocco’s. I’m actually in the car heading to ‘The Loft’, but see, not at Rocco’s.” I know I’m about to get a mouthful from her. I hadn't told her I was visiting this week. I was hoping to surprise her by just turning up at her door.

  “Don't try and be funny, Noah. You didn't tell me you were coming, why wouldn't you tell me? I need to see you.” The anger leaves her voice by the time she has finished talking, now she just sounds like she is pouting. I swear I wouldn't put up with this from any other woman, but this is Madison and she can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes.

  “Are you pouting? Come on, beautiful. Would I come all the way here and not visit you? I was going to surprise you.” I hear her squeal, making me wish I had managed to surprise her.

  “But how will you fit it all into just the weekend? I know you will want to spend as much time as possible with Rocco, so I won't get to see you much.” It’s been a while since I’ve seen Madison. Where Rocco gets to come visit me in London, Madison can't really do that without causing an argument between me and Judi. Judi feels threatened by her, so I have to be careful about inviting Madison to come stay with us. I really only get to chat with her on the phone and see her when I come here to visit.