Into the Fire (First Responders 3)

He followed her to her car while Moose investigated a corner of the back lawn. “New purse?” he asked as she opened the door. A new handbag was lying on the passenger seat.

“Old one pressed into everyday duty,” she replied. “I had to trash the other.” She didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t wanted to spend the money on a new one. It only made her look more pathetic.

His face lost all traces of levity and he put his hands on the top of the car window. “Better to lose a purse than have something happen to you.”

“Chris—”

“I mean it,” he answered. “I’ve responded to a lot of calls since I joined the department, and for people I knew too. But nothing froze me up like seeing you standing in that kennel with a towel over your face. I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I just couldn’t.”

“And you didn’t. When I saw you there I knew I could count on you.”

There was a significant pause, and then Chris met her gaze evenly. “Then why didn’t you count on me years ago? Why’d you have to give me back my ring, Ally?”

She never expected him to ask that, especially in such a forthright way. She

floundered, unsure of what to say. “I thought we were past all that. Ancient history.”

“I thought so too. Until the other night.”

“The other night was just us reacting to everything that had happened.” Her heart thrummed heavily. It was bad enough thinking about it. Talking about it just made it worse. And better at the same time. Which meant things were about to get complicated.

“That’s not all it was to me.” He came around the car door. Her only escape was to get in, but she couldn’t seem to quite do it.

“Getting married would have b-b-been a mistake,” she stammered, terribly flustered and wonderfully aroused by the proximity of his body to hers. She had to keep her head. “I was flighty and irresponsible, remember? I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do and I knew you’d regret jumping into marriage so soon. We’d only been dating a year…”

“I never said you were flighty and irresponsible. Quirky, maybe.” He grinned. Mercy, his lips were awfully close to hers, weren’t they?

“Yes, you did,” she replied, looking up into his eyes. “You told me I never settled on anything. You were right. And you were leaving to do your training. You were determined, even though you knew I was so afraid of you becoming a firefighter.”

“You didn’t seem to mind what I did for a living when I pulled you out of that burning building,” he pointed out.

He was so big. With barely an inch separating them and her back up against her car, she was well aware of the length of his legs and the breadth of his chest and shoulders. He was in prime physical shape.

“I’m aware of the irony,” she replied.

“And yet here we are. You rushed right over here this morning, didn’t you?”

“For Moose,” she said. And she meant it. If she’d been in the mood to seduce she wouldn’t be in faded jeans and a plain sweater. She would have taken greater pains with her hair and put on a little more makeup. If she’d been interested in picking up where they left off, she’d have put on other underwear than her plain white cotton panties and bra. But she could hardly point that out. He’d likely bring up the fact that the last time she hadn’t been wearing any underwear…

“For Moose,” he parroted softly, and he leaned the rest of the way in.

His body touched her at hips, breast and mouth—all places that came alive at the mere brush of cotton and denim. Frozen to the spot, her lashes fluttered closed as he toyed with her lips, teasing, tantalizing. He’d always been the most marvelous kisser—time hadn’t diluted that talent in the least. He braced his hands on the car behind her as he pressed lightly against her, inviting rather than forcing. Luring her in rather than demanding.

“Chris,” she began, taking the opportunity to protest—weakly—when they came up for air.

“Mmm, I’ve wanted to do that ever since I dropped you off the other night.”

“You have?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Way more than I should.”

Any reply she might have made evaporated as he pressed against her, more firmly this time, and slid his tongue over her lips.

It certainly felt like starting something up. And the very idea frightened her to death. She was right back where she started, wasn’t she? Nothing had changed. She was still unsure of what the future held, undecided about what she wanted to do, still afraid for him. And Chris could be terribly persuasive. Especially when he licked just under her ear like that…

She gathered up every ounce of willpower and pushed against his chest with her palms. Chris knew all her favourite pleasure points, and he wasn’t above using them, was he? And all he was doing now was muddying the waters. The shelter had been the only thing she’d ever truly been good at. Now it was time for her to apply that decisiveness to the rest of her life.

He staggered back, surprised.