Love Burned Deep Read online

  Love

  Burned Deep

  NICKIE NALLEY SEIDLER

  This book is intended for mature adults only 18+

  A message to my readers, this book is intended for a mature audience and is not suitable for readers under 18. Language, sexual conduct, and adult situations take place in this book.

  Text Copyright © 2013 by Nickie Nalley Seidler

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and revival systems without prior consent from the author. Characters, places, and events that are portrayed in this book are all fictitious. I understand that if I share the author’s works, I will be in violation of the copyright and can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  ISBN: 1494722259

  ISBN-13: 978-1494722258

  Social networking links:

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  https://www.goodreads.com/NickieNalleySeidler

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  Other work from Author Nickie Nalley Seidler

  A Lucky Second Chance

  A Tattered Love

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgements

  i

  1

  Chapter 1

  Pg # 1

  2

  Chapter 2

  Pg # 9

  3

  Chapter 3

  Pg # 18

  4

  Chapter 4

  Pg # 29

  5

  Chapter 5

  Pg # 39*

  6

  Chapter 6

  Pg # 51

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To all those who believed in me.

  Chapter 1

  I strolled into the hole-in-the-wall bar where Cody and his friends were celebrating their biggest victory yet. Fires weren’t always easy to put out, and this one took a long time with a lot of good people to make it happen. The structure was dangerous, and a lot of things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. The guys were ecstatic knowing it was over and nobody got hurt. I couldn’t wait to give Cody a huge hug and tell him how much I loved him. His career had never been easy for me. It was mind numbing and drove me crazy at times when I didn’t know whether or not he was going to come home to me, but I knew he loved his job. I was really so proud of him for coming this far. I saw him sitting at the far end of the bar with his buddy Brad. They looked so carefree tossing beers around, but of course, Cody had his water. They had the biggest grins spread across their faces.

  "Hey, baby! It’s so good to see you.” Cody welcomed me with a warm, tight embrace. He rested his chin on my shoulder and then nestled himself into my neck as he gave me sweet kisses.

  I whispered in his ear as I tightened my grip around him, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you so much, Cody.”

  “It was just another fire. It’s my job, baby. I’m fine.”

  He played with the curled strands of my blonde hair, leaned in, and pressed his lips firmly to mine, kissing me deeply in front of the whole bar. He definitely knew he could turn me on anywhere we went. His kiss sent ripples of sensation down between my bare legs. His hands traveled down to the bottom of my sundress as he gripped my ass, teasing me and making me want to take him home right then. One of his buddies whistled at us, and another yelled to get a room.

  He slowly backed away from the kiss and smiled at me. “Rachel, you’re my wife. My true love. I’ll always be okay, baby. I love you.”

  I smiled and held back a few tears. I looked around the bar and kneeled on the bar stool as I made an announcement loudly for the firemen to hear. “All right guys, round one on me! Congrats to all of you for putting that monster out. I’m happy everyone is safe and sound and is here getting drunk!” I laughed while I raised my hand, getting the bartender’s attention. He nodded and started pouring drinks for everyone except Cody.

  “Rach, you didn’t have to do that, sweetheart.” Cody helped me down from the bar stool and wrapped me back in his arms. “Sure you don’t want to leave here and take me to bed?” He chuckled as he leaned in and bit my bottom lip gently.

  “No, we’re celebrating now. But later…later is you and me and the bed sheets beneath us.” I wiggled my eyebrows at him seductively.

  Larry came over to me, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and gave me a bright smile. Larry was the chief, and he loved how involved I was with the firehouse and their outings. Larry was quite good looking, if I had to say so. He was well seasoned but never lost that touch of handsome. Cody winked at me as Larry and I chatted. Larry was the number one guy who knew how worried I got about Cody and his job as a lieutenant. Not only was he fighting fires, but now he was also in charge of the other guys fighting the fires. It was a big commitment and an honor for Cody. Larry helped Cody get into the fire department and had been a true godsend ever since. Before joining the fire department, Cody had been on a path I wasn’t sure he’d come back from. Larry ran into him one day and he pretty much saved his life. I didn’t know anyone could be so helpful, until I’d met Larry. I had tried to help Cody on my own, but it wasn’t easy dealing with a drug addict. With Larry’s help, though, Cody had been clean now for five years. He had a great job and took care of me and our marriage.

  The bar started to get a little rowdy as ten to fifteen firemen and the usual crowd meandered in for a night of fun. The noise level began to rise with the hoots and hollers, the beer spilling, and the music. Cody looked so tired. Somehow, I didn’t think “later” was going to be spent the way I wanted it to.

  I wrapped my arm around Cody and got his attention as he talked to Brad. I took in the fine sight that I got to call my husband. It hit me how strikingly sexy he was: his megawatt, all-white smile, his green eyes, his shaved bald head, and those lips, those scrumptious lips. His tight white T-shirt hinted at the ab muscles beneath, and his tattoos crept out on his bulging biceps from under his shirt sleeve. I was surprised his shirt hadn’t ripped because his arms only seemed to get bigger the longer he worked at the firehouse. He was so tall that I had to be on tiptoes to kiss him when I was barefoot.

  Noticing all of this, I asked him, “You ready to wrap this party up and have our own party at home?” I smiled and clung tightly to him. Brad just nodded in agreement.

  “I think it’s time to go home, buddy!” Brad laughed looking at Cody. If Brad knew it was time for Cody, then I knew that was my cue to get him home. He was beat.

  With his shifts, he usually worked a day and was off two. It was nice to see him when he was home—the twenty-four hour periods that he was gone dug at me deep within because I never knew what might happen. Thankfully, I got him for two days now before he had to go back. I couldn’t wait to love all over this man.

  “Take me home, my princess.” Cody smiled. He definitely got his celebration on, sober.

  We arrived at home. Cody had fallen asleep on the drive, so I helped him out of the car. It appeared he got his second wind from somewhere because he was alert and awake fairly quickly. When I turned to my left, I noticed exactly why he woke up; that bitch Angie. She was sitting on our front stoop, ready to ruin what was left of this night. “What are you doing, Angie?” Cody glared at her. I could see the anger boiling in his expression.

  “Drink much, Cody?” She glared back.

  “Fuck off, Angie. What do you want?” Cody spat, acting annoyed that she thought he still drank.

  “Congratulations, Cody. When are you going to tell Rachel about us?” I could see the tears well up in her evil eyes. I ignored what she said because I knew she just liked to stir up trouble and didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.


  “Angie, go home. Quit trying to start shit that you know is not true.” He looked at me. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  “You know, Cody, you’re lying to Rachel. That’s not nice.” She raised her voice as we started walking toward the door.

  “Angie, do yourself a favor and go home before I call the cops.” If I could have slapped her, I would have, but I knew it would make the situation worse.

  Angie was Cody’s ex from six years ago. Even after all that time, she hadn’t gotten over him. It was an ongoing struggle for her to just leave us alone. In the last year or so, was when she started to stalk and bother us. I don’t know what happened for her to trigger that behavior. She was as much a drug addict as Cody had been, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if she was still using. I just wished she’d leave us alone for good. We’d had the cops involved, but they couldn’t do much other than tell her to leave. She was thinner than hell—her face was so slim that you could see her cheekbones, and her eyes were sunken in. She just looked ill. Her small petite figure showed she had no weight on her, it appeared that she was simply just skin and bones. Her black hair looked weak and brittle, like it was falling out. Tonight, she was dressed like a damn whore with her ass barely covered in a jean skirt. I wished she’d get help already and start her life over. Cody had told me so many stories of when she was with him, and it creeped me out. I could never imagine Cody being with her, but he had been, for a whole year. She was obsessed with him. Or she was obsessed with the old him.

  “I’ll be back. You can bet your ass on it.” Angie flipped me the bird. I shrugged my shoulders and followed Cody in the house, double locking the door as I turned to look at Cody. He was just standing in the foyer, leaning his body on the column with one hand covering his face, like he was in deep thought or disgusted about something.

  I walked behind him, wrapped my arms around him, and just stood in silence. I leaned my head on his back and tried to understand her motives.

  “Six fucking years, Rach. Six!” he burst out. “She just won’t give it up. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

  I sighed and backed away. This time it was just frustrating. I didn’t feel Angie was a threat any longer. I didn’t believe anything that came out of her mouth—now she was just plain annoying. I flipped my hair over and tossed it into a messy bun. I cracked my neck from left and right and stretched as a big yawn broke loose. I made my way into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with ice water. Cody came in after me, and I just handed him the glass without a word. He knew I was upset. He knew that this was getting old. I trusted Cody completely and I knew he’d never do anything to hurt me, but I also trusted his word years ago when he had told me this would stop.

  With the stress of Angie’s visit on my mind, I crawled into bed and snuggled up beside Cody, hoping that even after the events of the evening I would be able to get a good night’s rest.

  Chapter 2

  I rolled over and pulled the sheets all the way up to my neck since there was a small chill in the room. I noticed Cody wasn’t next to me, so I sat up in bed and took a look around the room. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I grabbed my shirt off the nightstand and slipped it on. I stretched my legs and hung them over the edge of the bed. I reached for my phone and I headed into the living room, which was right off the kitchen. There was a note sitting on the kitchen counter from Cody.

  My sweet wife,

  I’ve gone out on a bike ride this morning. Need to clear my mind. Let’s have lunch, meet at The Square at noon. I love you baby cakes,

  Cody

  I flung my head back, irritated. I hated when he took unplanned bike trips out in the morning. In fact it wasn’t the trips I hated, just that damn bike. Cody loved the crap out of his Hayabusa sport bike. It scared the shit out of me, so I would only go on short rides with him. He was a good driver, but he tended to drive that thing faster than his Mustang. I always feared that he’d kill someone or himself on it one day, but I tried really hard not to think about that. I glanced at the clock on the microwave, realizing I had more than just slept in—it was eleven freaking a.m.! I rushed to the bathroom, stripped my clothes off, and got in the shower for a quickie. The Square was a good twenty minutes from the house, so after I got out of the shower, I just wrung my hair dry, brushed it, slapped on some makeup, got dressed, and then flew out of the house with minutes to spare.

  I pulled up to The Square and didn’t see his bike yet. I took the first available parking spot. The downtown area was booming with the midday lunch crowd. I checked my cell phone, and I had no messages or calls, so I assumed he was running late. The Square was a nice family bistro café that had amazing soups and Panini’s. For me, this was much more than a lunch date as I needed to discuss Angie with him. We had to come up with some sort of plan of action for the next time this happened, like possibly taking her to the hospital for help, some kind of treatment, something. I also wanted him to get an order of protection, which I didn’t think he would agree to, but I wanted it to stop her from getting too close to us for comfort in the future.

  I could hear the exhaust of the bike roar as it pulled up next to the Mustang. I felt so privileged because Cody always let me drive his car. He knew he could trust me with it. Most of our friends got jealous because their husbands or boyfriends didn’t allow them to drive their cars. Cody and I were different, though.

  I lowered the window. “Hey, hot stuff!” Cody said and took his helmet off and brushed his hand over his shaven head as if he had hair to sweep back out of his face.

  “Hey there, stud!” I winked at him. The face he was giving me was hard to stay mad at, regardless of the reason I was pissy last night. After seeing him, I decided he was forgiven this afternoon.

  I got out of the Mustang and closed the door. Before I could even turn around, Cody had pinned me to the car, roaming his hands up and down my body secretly as he kissed the back of my neck and turned me toward him. He devoured my lips and made me weak in the knees. Mind you, we had been married for three years, and he still had this effect on me. His touch just sent me somewhere else, making me envision us on a beach in the middle of nowhere with nobody’s eyes on us. Suddenly, I was brought back to reality when I heard an old lady’s voice yell, “Get a room, you porn stars!” It made me crack up immediately, and Cody released his tight hold on me. He brushed my messy hair aside and sweetly kissed my lips.

  “Let’s go eat some lunch. By the way, the bike is running amazing, and I think you should ride with me a little later.” He smacked my ass as we walked toward The Square.

  “I have other things in mind to ride later.” I grinned seductively.

  “You can talk dirty to me all day, baby!” Cody chuckled, took my hand, and headed into the restaurant. When we sat down at a booth, of course the love bird had to sit next to me instead of across from me. He sneakily placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed it. If this man only knew half the things he did to me.

  The waitress came over and took our orders. The date was going so nicely that I was afraid to bring Angie’s name up. I knew it wouldn’t sit well with him, but I didn’t know how much longer I could take of this bullshit with her.

  “Baby.” I looked at him, giving him my most innocent smile. I took my hand and placed it on his, which was rested on my leg. “This Angie thing just needs to stop. I think we need to get her some help.”

  “Damn it, Rach, please just let me deal with it. I’m going to talk to my old counselor and try to get her in there. I know if I can get her in there that he’ll admit her. Just let me deal with it.” His voice was husky and frustrated. He rubbed his head and took his other hand off my thigh. I knew I had pushed his buttons, but I also knew I needed to.

  “Then deal with it. I’ve been dealing with it for six years now, Cody! You said you were going to handle it then, so do it already. I can’t take it anymore.”

  Apparently it made him more upset than I could have anticipated. He stayed silent the r
est of lunch. Our food was served and we ate next to one another without saying a word. I knew he hated when I brought this up, but I just can’t deal with it anymore. As I ate my lunch in silence, I keep getting the feeling that we’re being watched. It’s the worst feeling to have but I have it. I hope I’m wrong. It just gives me an uncomfortable feeling.

  I finally broke the silence, “Can we please just make the best out of your time home and not spend it mad? I love you, Cody, I just want us to move past this.”

  “I guess I can do that.” He nudged my arm and chuckled softly.

  After lunch, we walked around town for a little bit. As we were walking, I turned around to look at an adorable dog tracking his way past us and noticed something unnerving. There she was—now she was stalking us. She was getting worse, and I didn’t know what to do anymore. I didn’t want to tell Cody. Maybe I needed to see if I could handle this on my own. I cut the walk short and just wanted to get home, in bed, with Cody.