Blonde Bomb Tech Read online

  SEX RATING: SCORCHING

  This book is for sale to adults ONLY as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  SIREN SEX Rating

  S ENSUAL : Sensual romance with love scenes comparative to most romance novels published today

  S TEAMY : Heavy sexual tension; graphic details; may contain coarse language

  S IZZLING : Erotic, graphic sex; explicit sexual language; may offend delicate readers

  S CORCHING : Erotica; contains many sexual encounters; may contain unconventional sex; will offend delicate readers

  S EXTREME : Excessiveness; many instances of unconventional sex; may be hardcore; not for the faint-hearted

  Lara Santiago

  The Blonde Bomb Tech

  Commitment-phobic bomb technician, Sabrina Morgan, flies unexpectedly into the arms of firefighter, Jake Donovan, seconds before a bomb explodes. This was her first failure, and in Jake's sizzling embrace, Sabrina is grateful for his comfort in helping her hide her secret fear of explosions.

  Jake falls in love with the passionate but emotionally wounded Sabrina. He thinks she is perfect for him. Also, who better than a bomb technician will understand and support his dangerous career as a firefighter? Looking to settle down and start a big family like the one he grew up in, Jake pursues Sabrina, who can't tell him her other big secret: she can't have children.

  Sabrina negotiates a tenuous affair with Jake as she tries to stop a serial bomber from detonating any more bombs in their small city outside of Boston . Her enemy's ultimate goal is to kill her for surviving a tragedy in her past.

  Sensuality Rating: Scorching

  Genre: Romantic Suspense

  Length: Super Plus Novel (115,000+ words)

  THE BLONDE BOMB TECH

  Lara Santiago

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ABOUT THIS E-BOOK: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to one LEGAL copy for your own personal use. It is ILLEGAL to send your copy to someone who did not pay for it. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book.

  THE BLONDE BOMB TECH

  Copyright © 2007 by Lara Santiago

  First E-book Publication: January 2007

  ISBN: 1-933563-29-X

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Cover art by Jinger Heaston

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2007 Siren Publishing, Inc.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  I’d like to dedicate this book to Uncle Don Freeman who answered all my questions about firefighting, being a battalion chief, and what things really go on at fire stations. Thank you for fielding questions in between emergency calls and for being excited that I was writing about a girl bomb technician. I’d also like to convey a very special thank you to a real life bomb technician, Captain Edwin Woolf, for answering my endless questions about bombs and how they are diffused…both fact and fiction. My grateful thanks to you both!

  As always, to my family, thank you for your support of my writing career even when you had to make your own dinner.

  To my critique partners Carolyn O., Suzanne S., Louise B., and Cori E. who read this book and insisted it was engrossing and exciting, and then continually demanded I hurry and write the next chapter until it was complete.

  And a special thank you goes to my wonderful publisher Diana who gave me the chance to prove I could be prolific. You rock!

  Lara Santiago

  The Blonde Bomb Tech

  By Lara Santiago

  Copyright © 2007

  Chapter One

  Ten…Run!

  Nine…Run Faster!!

  Eight…You better move your butt!!!

  Seven…Where the hell is the minimum safe distance barrier?

  Six…Thank God, there’s the perimeter. Jump for it.

  Five…Who’s that in the way?

  Four…Who cares! Tackle him.

  Three…Damn! Hard, lean, muscular body under me.

  Two…Whoa! Hard, lean, muscular body over me.

  One…

  Boom!

  Sabrina Morgan’s entire body shook as glass and flying debris flew into the air from the detonation. The bomb she’d been working on had gone off. The ensuing explosion ripped through the quiet summer morning. She was the bomb technician. She was supposed to have stopped the bomb, but it had blown despite her best effort. How could that have happened?

  With no answer forthcoming from the assembled emergency teams cowering down around her, Sabrina panicked.

  The bomb nightmares she’d had for most of her life flew through her mind. Then she lost complete control of herself…which never happened, either. Not ever.

  “Oh, no! No!” Sabrina sobbed hysterically into the crisp, clean collar of the fireman who covered her body protectively with his own.

  The thought of someone having to protect her from the bomb she’d failed to stop made her cry harder. She heard herself babble nonsensically as she turned her face into the fireman’s rough, whiskered cheek. He smelled safe and good. She needed to check out for a few minutes to get herself together.

  Sighing, Sabrina burrowed her cheek further into his throat scented with a musky cologne. Her lips connected with his skin as she inhaled his delectable scent. Her senses reeled as she clung to him. In her trance-like, panicked state, he was her only lifeline. She tasted the salt of her own tears.

  “Shh, don’t cry. It’ll be okay, I promise,” the man holding her said, his voice honey-smooth. His breath tickled the loose hair next to her ear when he spoke. Booming noises continued to burst from the building. The comforting words from him intruded into her consciousness. She opened her eyes and was surprised to find her mouth still pressed to his neck, her lips rubbing sensuously along the male skin. Her fisted hands clutched both sides of his open jacket, securing him in place. She wanted him to say something else in that seductive voice.

  She’d had a moment to appreciate the warm, male body covering hers, and then her panic set in again. Sabrina stopped kissing him. She loosened her fingers from the death grip she had on his protective yellow and black jacket.

  The bomb had gone off—the bomb she’d tried to defuse, the very reason for her existence. She’d been a bomb technician for nearly five years. Until today, she’d never failed to diffuse a bomb.

  Never.

  Her worst nightmare had exploded with a burning vengeance all around her. She huddled under the firefighter, her body shaking, and with his whispered words of comfort, she bawled like a five-year-old after a bad dream.

  She’d never lost control of her cool demeanor before today’s debacle. The iron-hard bitch façade she’d built over these last several years for protection had slipped off as if the bomb itself had blown it from her.

  At long last, the explosions subsided, replaced by the acrid stench of burnt plastic. Sabrina felt the man above her shift to lift his body off her.

  Time to get it together. Too bad the girly, lonely, emotional side of her brain would not cooperate. She’d put that part of herself on the back burner for far too long. Now that it had been released, it wasn’t giving up
without a fight.

  The fireman lifted off her slightly. She put a hand over her face and wiped away her tears without being seen. She hoped.

  “Are you going to be all right?” he asked quietly. She slipped her fingers down far enough to see him. The sexy voice was attached to the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. Sabrina shook her head no and sniffed a couple times.

  No, I’m not okay. A bomb just went off, and it’s my fault.

  “No?” he asked, starting to smile. Perhaps he’d expected a different answer. People usually answered with a polite “Fine” even though they never meant it.

  Tears scalded her lower eyelids and ran down her face again. Sabrina sniffed and uttered a very unladylike hiccup. She couldn’t catch her breath. She couldn’t wipe the tears away fast enough. Panic attack alert.

  “Don’t let anyone…hic…see me like this…hic. Please!” She noticed a few flashes of yellow with black stripes from the other firefighters beginning to stir around them. She desperately swiped at her eyes now, trying to force her tears to end, but nothing could stop them quickly enough. She willed the emotional side of her mind to get a grip, suck it up, and go hide on the back burner again.

  “Don’t worry. You have a minute or two. I won’t leave you yet…I promise.” He tipped his large brimmed fireman’s hat down to shield her face as she wiped her eyes again.

  “Thank…you,” she stuttered between hiccups.

  “No problem.” He studied her face, his concern for her evident in his gorgeous, emerald green eyes. She looked away first, closed her eyes, and took several deep, soothing breaths. Calm down. There was no need to let anyone on the bomb squad see her crying.

  Instead of thinking about the horror of the bomb, Sabrina focused on the feel of the fireman’s body against hers. His rock-hard thighs pressed solidly into hers. She quivered in response to the intimate connection. Eyes still closed, she moved her face again closer to his and took another deep calming breath. With it came the fireman’s spicy delectable scent. She inhaled again and forcibly restrained her hips from lifting upwards to encourage a deeper contact. She also resisted the sudden, visceral urge to place her lips on his whiskered cheek and take a lick—to taste him. The sultry shape of his mouth beckoned her with the promise of tactile pleasure.

  It had been so long, she had forgotten how incredible it felt to have a man pressed this close, this intimate. The pain she associated with her past relationships had also forced her to abandon her physical needs. She ignored the longing her body endured in the silence of her chaotic and lonely life. Up to now, no one had tempted her. Right now though, she was very tempted. She wanted to melt into the fireman and immerse her body into his warmth. What would be the worst thing that could happen?

  She could think of worse things than having a gorgeous fireman connected to her intimately…or almost intimately. The long-neglected part of her body below her waist was another item on a substantial list of ignored things in her lonely life. She wondered if the fireman currently scorching her lower half was enjoying it as much as she was. What would he do if she lifted up and ground her hips into him? The vision of this fireman naked, sweaty, and impaling her repeatedly with his no-doubt impressive cock skated across her consciousness. Whoa! Sabrina’s mind literally skidded to a stop.

  “Hey, Earth to bomb technician,” his voice intruded. Her eyes popped open in surprise as her hips twitched in regret. She searched his fiery green gaze and wondered if he could read her mind. Would that really be a bad thing?

  “Huh?”

  “We’re going to have to get up, or people will start talking about us. You ready to show your face, yet?” he asked.

  She stared at him and fought her libido as her sex-starved body reached upward as if protesting the imminent separation from the vibrant, male body. He squinted his eyes slightly as if in question. Had he read her thoughts? What was wrong with her? She never entertained salacious daydreams about the men she encountered.

  Sabrina sighed, and her breath caught twice, whether from her vivid sexual thoughts or her emotional outburst, she didn’t exactly know. She blinked and looked away, breaking their trance-like eye-lock.

  “I guess so,” but she wasn’t exactly convinced she was ready to face her lonely world.

  He smiled at her as if for encouragement. He lifted to his hands and knees, finally breaking their body contact.

  Pity, oh, such a huge pity !

  “Hey, Jake, are you finished saving her yet, or do you need to do some more mouth to mouth?” Another firefighter next to them laughed.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s just jealous.” Jake looked down at her and winked.

  Oh, good Lord! He was gorgeous.

  He held out a gloved hand and she took hold. Sabrina shook off her inappropriate, lust filled reverie, knowing a future with him wouldn’t go anywhere. She didn’t date firemen. She didn’t date anyone.

  Sabrina stood with Jake’s help, readying herself to face the music. She turned and immediately caught sight of a blazing, angry pair of blue eyes drilled in her direction. They belonged to William Murphy, her bomb technician partner. He glared at her from where he stood near the bomb squad’s primary disposal truck. Once her eyes connected with Murphy’s glare, he strode in her direction, anger punctuating his every step.

  She’d been in communication with Murphy through several line of sight spotters when she was inside the building. He warned her to get out when the timer read ninety seconds, but she’d convinced herself she could defuse the bomb. She wanted to at least try because she had never failed before. So, she pushed the edge of the envelope this time. The same as she always did.

  She’d signaled the guy in her direct line of sight to get out when the timer hit sixty seconds. She knew Murphy would be screaming for her to get out at the same time, but she waited until the last possible second.

  The lowest timer reading she ever got to was five minutes, fourteen seconds. She thought a lot about her record as the bomb had ticked off down to a minute even. She didn’t lose faith in her abilities until the timer hit twenty…nineteen…

  She ran and counted down from eighteen seconds.

  She’d blown through the building’s front door as her internal count down hit ten. She’d run flat out as fast as she could by the time she hit the barrier perimeter…and the muscular fireman.

  It was too bad she hadn’t worn her obligatory Bomb Technician t-shirt, which stated: I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up. Not that she would have taken the time to look and see if anyone was trying to keep up. It was just the first time it ever would have applied.

  “Sabrina!” her partner bellowed, as the sea of yellow-garbed firemen parted to bring her face to face with a furious Murphy. She was about to pay the price for her blatant arrogance. She bore up to take what was coming when Jake suddenly stepped in front of her.

  “Get out of my way!” Murphy barked.

  “No, you calm down and get that murderous look out of your eyes first,” Jake responded in a low, threatening tone.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m the one who just saved her from falling debris. I didn’t do that so you could take her apart limb by limb.”

  “Oh, yeah? So, what did you save her for…your own personal agenda? Jesus! Trust me, pal, she ain’t interested. Now, get out of my way.”

  Sabrina put a hand on Jake’s shoulder to pull him to the side. He didn’t budge. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest in the universal stubborn, male position. Murphy and Jake were now locked in an angry staring contest. She had to walk around and step in between them. She tucked in close enough that the back of her thigh rested against Jake’s. He jumped at the touch of her body, but he didn’t back away. It gave her strength…and another momentary thrill.

  “Murphy, it’s my fault, not his, so direct your anger down here,” Sabrina stated clearly.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” His gaze shifted to hers. “You could have be
en killed! For God’s sake, you’re an expert at defusing bombs, but you’re still not able to withstand the blast of one.”

  “I didn’t want to fail, Murphy. I thought I was almost…hic…there.” Her voice hitched in the middle of her sentence as if she weren’t quite over her crying jag. Damn it!

  The look Murphy sent her was priceless. He’d never seen her crumble, not once in the four years they’d worked together on the squad. He looked at her as if she’d grown another head. She cursed her emotional side for trying to emerge.

  “Save it for the review board, sweetie,” Murphy said under his breath, his voice softening. He looked back at Jake with a small amount of respect. Perhaps he sensed the protective streak Jake exhibited on her behalf was warranted. Murphy had never seen her needing any protection from anyone in the years they worked together.

  Murphy shook his head and looked back at Sabrina. He winked at her, then his eyes traveled over her shoulder to where Jake stood. This was usually the point where she flayed a guy for daring to protect her. Coming onto her was an open invitation for death by scathing words.

  “Come on, Sabrina. Let’s go brief Hennessey.” Murphy stepped back a pace to give them meager privacy. He sported a smug smile as he patiently waited for her to cut Jake down to size for the audacity of being interested enough to stand up for her. This was maybe Murphy’s zillionth show. He crossed his arms and waited to be entertained. Sabrina did have a reputation to uphold, but found that the need to eviscerate her protective fireman didn’t materialize.

  “Thank you, Jake, is it?” Sabrina turned to him and held out a hand. Jake quickly removed his gloves before taking her hand in both of his. His touch was warm, and it sent an electrical vibration up her arm. Her heart started pounding madly. Who was this man? Why did he make her all tingly inside with a mere touch? How did he manage to make her weak with desire and lust for his warm, muscular body?