Into the Fire (First Responders 3)

She studied him for a while, examining the length of his eyelashes, a particular curl of hair at his temple, the precise angle of his nose and curve of his lips. His words came back to her… I would protect you. Always. He already had. He’d saved her life that day at the shelter. And he’d saved it since—not in the physical sense, but he’d given her back some sense of pride and confidence.

She just wasn’t sure where they went from here.

There would be time to think about that later. Right now she wanted to enjoy the sensation of being thoroughly, competently loved. Besides, Chris had changed, hadn’t he? He’d admitted that he’d rushed her before, and he’d accepted partial blame for what had happened between them. There didn’t need to be any hurry to figure it out or make decisions now.

A thump at the doorway made Ally turn her head. Moose stuck his head inside the gap and whined. Before Ally could say anything, he pushed inside and hopped up on the bed.

Chris’s eyes flew open as the hundred-pound ball of muscle and fur flopped between them on the bed. Moose pawed and rolled on the duvet, throwing his legs in the hair and letting his tongue loll out of his mouth in doggy bliss. With a laugh, Ally rubbed Moose’s belly, earning more twists and writhes of pleasure.

“He’s not supposed to be up on the bed,” Chris grumbled. “He knows that.”

“But look at him. He’s so happy.”

“And what if he’d come in here a few hours ago?”

Her body heated beneath his gaze. “That might have been inconvenient timing.”

“Might?”

She grinned, turning on to her side. “Okay, definitely bad timing.”

Moose stopped rolling and flopped down contentedly.

“I’m not sure how great I’d perform with an audience,” Chris remarked, absently patting Moose’s back.

“I guess you’d better learn to latch the door then,” Ally replied. She let the duvet slip down just enough to reveal the hollow of her cleavage.

“Why, Miss Gallant,” he said, his low voice riding along her nerve endings, making them quiver with anticipation.

He pushed back the covers and got to his feet, naked as a jaybird and caring even less. “Come on, Moose, let’s get you a treat,” he said, and he tapped his leg. Moose hopped down off the bed, lured by the word treat. Ally heard the sound of a cupboard door opening and closing and then steps coming back down the hall. This time he made sure to latch the door.

He slid in beside her. Her skin was super sensitive and she loved the feel of their naked bodies touching and twining together. She wrapped her hand around him and he cupped her breast, teasing the tip with his thumb.

“So we’re doing this again?” he asked, and she knew he meant more than sex. It was them. Again would mean this wasn’t a one-time thing.

“I’m not sure we ever really stopped,” she breathed, closing her eyes as his fingers teased the delicate skin of her inner thigh. “We just took a three-year break.”

“I’ve got some time to make up for then,” he said, doing magical things with his fingertips.

They made up for lost time twice more, until night fell and Moose needed letting out. This time, Ally dressed in her own clothes and stuck a frozen pizza in the oven while Chris took Moose on a short walk. They were eating the last pieces of crust when Chris got the call.

“Shit,” he murmured. He put down the radio and turned to face her. “You want me to drop you at your mom’s? There’s a house fire in Port Williams. I gotta go.”

Nerves jumped around in her stomach. In the bliss of the day she’d nearly forgotten about the very real part of Chris’s other job. It was more than looking good in a uniform, wasn’t it? She knew he didn’t take unnecessary risks, but that didn’t mean he was completely safe, did it?

The last place she wanted to be tonight was waiting for news at her parents’ house. This is what it would be like then. Before tonight, she’d never known when he was out on a call so she’d never worried. But tonight she would know and she’d be waiting.

The very thought of doing that under the watching eyes of her mother and father was impossible. “You’d waste time,” she said, fumbling with dishes and putting them on the counter. “Can’t I just wait here?”

He hesitated. “I could be gone a while.”

“Then someone should be here for Moose,” she answered. “Go. You’re wasting time.”

He came forward to give her a kiss. “See you in a bit.”

She clung to him for just a moment. “Be careful,” she whispered, her knuckles tightening on the heavy fabric of his jacket.

Seconds later, his truck engine roared and the tail lights disappeared around the