by J. H. Croix
My eyes honed in on Jesse like a beacon. He strolled across the pavement, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He swatted at the rain as if he could make it stop. His mouth curled up at one corner as he got closer and then he jogged the last bit of distance to reach me, sweeping me up against him with one arm.
With the rain falling, I tucked my head against his neck and breathed him in. He smelled of smoke and wilderness and rain. Leaning back, still held fast in his grip, I brushed his damp hair back.
“Missed you,” he murmured as he caught my lips in a kiss.
In a flash, his tongue swept against mine, and our kiss got hot before I drew back with a laugh. “You know we’re standing out in the rain with an audience?”
He chuckled. “I don’t care.”
“Let’s go,” I said, shimmying down from his hold.
We walked straight to his truck, which I’d driven over. Even though he was weary after three weeks of working one of the hardest jobs in the world, he still opened the door for me. Every time it made my heart squeeze.
“Is Emily here?” he asked.
“She is, but Georgie’s bringing her home.”
“Be right back. Just want to say hi first.”
He closed the door, muting the sound of the rain failing. I couldn’t even say what it meant to me how he’d taken Em into his life. He treated her like his daughter. Seeing as she’d never really had a father, it was something special for her.
Jesse
Later that night, Charlie cried out, her channel clenching as my release crashed over me. She fell against me, her body warm and soft, and her skin damp against mine. Catching my breath, I slid one hand up her spine and toyed with the ends of her hair.
Yet again, I’d had the best homecoming ever. I was coming to learn the sweetest part about being gone was coming home—because I came home to Charlie, Emily, Olive, and Waffle. Today had been even sweeter because I’d found out Charlie was pregnant. We’d decided to play it by ear only a few months ago. She’d had her IUD removed and told me not to get too excited because she wasn’t young anymore at thirty-two. I turned the idea of a baby around in my thoughts. No doubt any baby of ours would be a handful, seeing as Charlie could be as stubborn and even more strong-willed than me. I couldn’t wait.
My house was nothing like it had been a year ago, but I wouldn’t trade it for a second. Life was complicated and sometimes messy, but I had Charlie and that was all that mattered. Funny thing was, as our lives had twined together like vines, the things she had worried were complications only made us stronger. I’d thought Charlie was all I wanted. But now I considered Em my daughter in every way that counted, and Olive, sweet, forgetful and occasionally sly, was a gift to have around.
My mom came over often and helped out with Olive when we needed it. Olive still went to the day groups, so she had her own world outside of our circle. Back when I’d come to terms with my feelings for Charlie, I’d thought it was simpler than that. I hadn’t realized that in loving her, I would fall in love with her whole family.
I felt her lift her head, curling her hand into a fist and resting her chin on it. Opening my eyes, I collided with her smoky gray gaze, and my heart gave a thump. She’d owned my heart from the beginning.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said softly.
“Ditto. You’ve completely worn me out now,” I said with a chuckle. “I was so damn tired on the flight back today that I figured I wouldn’t even have it in me.”
“Well, it’s been three weeks. You’ve got some work to do to make up for lost time,” she replied with a sly grin.
I slowly shifted up on the pillows. She rose with me until she was straddling me as I leaned against the headboard. I’d been thinking a lot while I was gone. With my heart pounding and emotion tightening my chest, my eyes caught on the streak of purple in her hair. My heart saw that as a sign. That was something she and Emily did together every month. Emily had added two more streaks last time.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” I said. She shifted her hips, her channel clenching around me, actually sending a slide of need through me again. It was a damn miracle under the circumstances.
“About what?” she asked, her voice husky.
I’d meant for this to be more romantic than this, but then I supposed it was romantic to be as physically intimate as we could possibly be at the moment.
“I want to marry you.”
My words fell into the quiet room. The intake of her breath was audible. I suddenly got nervous, wondering if I taken it a step too far ahead.
But then tears rolled down her cheeks, and she nodded rapidly. “Yes, yes, yes.” She paused. “Wait, was that a question?”
At my nod, she dusted kisses over my face and then leaned back, cocking her head to the side. “This is going to make Em’s year.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “She worries you know. Her dad was never around, so every so often she’ll ask me about you and about us. Nothing big, just little questions.”
“Well, that leads me to the next thing,” I paused to take a breath. “I want you to know whatever you think is best is what I want to do.”
Charlie nodded slowly. “Okay, what is it?”
“Emily is like a daughter to me. I know that when her mom arranged the adoption for you to go through that her father relinquished his rights. So if Emily wanted it, I’d make it official and adopt her too. I don’t want her to think…”
I didn’t get to finish because Charlie was crying all over again.
“Is this good or bad?” I asked after a moment, uncertain how to interpret her reaction.
Charlie leaned back, brushing her tears away. “It’s good. You’re the only father she’s ever had. Except for her granddad. I think you should ask her without me around. I don’t want her to look to me about what she thinks I might want. I want it to be her answer.”
“That scares the shit out of me,” I said flatly.
Charlie burst out laughing before leaning forward and catching my lips in a soft kiss. “If you can handle me, you can handle her.”
I fell asleep with Charlie held tight against my side. The next morning, I took Emily out for coffee and she cried too. But it was all good.
Family was messy. Life was messy. Later that night, when I looked across the table at Charlie and her violet gray gaze caught mine, I might as well have just handed her my heart.
Thank you for reading Sweet Fire - I hope you loved Jesse & Charlie’s story!
Up next in the Into the Fire Series is Play With Fire - Jasmine & Donovan’s story.
Keep reading for a sneak peek!
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Excerpt: Play With Fire
Donovan
Leaning against the bar at Wildlands Lodge, I took a long pull on my beer and scanned the bar and restaurant. It was a busy night here, but then even a slow night was crowded. I was tucked into a corner with a good view of the room. As I glanced around, my gaze landed on a woman playing pool in the corner nearby.
I idly wondered if she was a tourist. Willow Brook, Alaska was a small town, yet it was smack in the middle of summer, which meant the town was teeming with tourists. Pushing off the bar, as if drawn by an actual force, I found myself walking in her direction.
Her dark golden hair glinted under the dim lighting in the bar. It fell down her back in a cascade, almost reaching her waist. With a flick of her hand, she brushed it over her shoulder as I approached. She wore jeans and cowboy boots paired with a loose red blouse. Somehow, hell if I knew how, I knew there were curves to die for hidden behind that silk.
She was in the midst of a game with several men and looked well on her way to being tipsy. While I’d initially walked over here without thinking much about it, as I got close, I noticed the hum of tension in the air. Two of the men near the table were leering at her.
There were d
ifferent kinds of men. It was one thing to appreciate a woman—hell, that was what I’d been doing—and it was another thing to look at them as if you could do whatever the hell you wanted. I felt as if I’d walked into a pack of dogs jockeying for position. To make matters worse, this woman wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to it. She was focused on the game. My hackles rose.
As she leaned over to make a shot, one of the men slid his hand over her ass. In a flash, she spun around, pulled her fist back and clocked him right in the nose.
“Get your hands off of me!” she declared, swinging her pool stick in his direction.
She clearly didn’t need help.
“What the fuck?!” The guy who’d been the recipient of her fist wiped blood off of his nose.
“Don’t grab my fucking ass,” the woman said.
One of the other guys snickered. “Well, sweets, you can’t just waltz in here and show off your ass like that.”
“Oh hell fucking no,” the woman said.
I threaded through the cluster around her. I didn’t even know who she was, but I needed to get her out of the middle of this mess.
“I’m playing pool. That doesn’t give any of you idiots the right to touch me,” the woman said, swinging her pool stick around again.
I caught the end of it and tugged it out of her hands. While I’d be happy to watch her whack few of these assholes, it might not work out in her favor. Glancing around at the guys, I said, “Okay, boys, break it up.”
“Hey, she fucking hit me,” the man with the bloody nose retorted.
“Yeah, well you grabbed her ass, and she didn’t appreciate it. So, like I said, back the fuck off.”
The bartender, Mike Morgan, stepped to my side and leaned over. “Heads up, but that’s Levi Phillips’s sister. She drove here, so I’m about to take her keys. Mind giving her a ride home?”
Aw fuck. Levi was a friend of mine. We were both firefighters at Willow Brook Fire & Rescue. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be the one giving his sister a ride home, but more than that, I didn’t want to see her caught in the middle of this.
“Not a problem,” I replied, glancing to Mike. “I’ll call Levi once we get her out of here.”
Mike waded into the cluster. Mike dealt with the guys, while I stepped to Jasmine’s side. Just as I was about to open my mouth, she spun to look at the guy who’d copped a feel. “And don’t grab my ass again.”
With a huff, she spun back to face me. Sweet hell. She was fucking beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes snapping fire. My body had all kinds of thoughts about her. She was flat out gorgeous with that fall of honey hair and deep sapphire eyes.
Before I had a chance to speak, Mike stopped in front of Jasmine. “Hand them over,” he said, holding his palm out.
“Hand what over?” Jasmine asked, narrowing her eyes at Mike.
“Your keys. This is Donovan Ryan if you haven’t met him before. He works with Levi, and he’s giving you a ride home,” Mike explained matter-of-factly.
“What the hell?” Jasmine asked, her gaze bouncing between us.
“Look, you’ve already hit one guy. You’re drunk, and you’re not driving anywhere,” Mike said flatly.
Jasmine, glanced between Mike and me, clearly not pleased with this turn of events. After a taut moment, she shook her head. “No, I don’t need a ride.”
Mike wasn’t moved in the slightest. “You climb behind the wheel of your car, and I won’t hesitate to call the police. They can probably walk here faster than you can back out of a parking spot,” he said, not even the least bit ruffled by how pissed off she seemed. “Way I see it, you’ve got three choices. One – ride home with Donovan. Two — I call Levi and he’ll come get you. Three – the guy you hit might actually decide to call the police because you hit him. Take your pick.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Do I have to give you my keys if he gives me a ride?” she countered, thumbing in my direction.
When Mike shook his head, she turned her attention to me. “Nice to meet you, Donovan.”
I simply nodded, busy trying to tell my body not to notice the fact that she was hot as hell.
Mike cocked his head to the side. “So you’re riding with Donovan?”
Jasmine nodded and then spun around, stalking across the floor ahead of me.
“Looks like I’m outta here,” I said with a chuckle.
“Levi will appreciate it,” Mike murmured as I walked past him.
Jasmine’s hair swung just above her hips as she threaded her way through the tables before disappearing down a hallway in the back. I caught up to her quickly, reaching her just as she stumbled slightly in the hallway when she tried to dodge a group of people walking in from the parking lot.
“Dammit,” she muttered under her breath.
I caught her elbow to steady her. The moment she shook me loose, she promptly stumbled again, bouncing into the wall. Leaning against it, she rolled both shoulders against the wall, eyeing me. Her dark blue gaze swept up and down my body.
“Damn, you’re handsome,” she said, her mouth lifting at the corner in a slow grin.
I took a breath and kept my eyes focused on her face. “You like to swear when you’re drunk,” I countered.
I was acutely aware of the shadowed valley between her breasts with her red silk blouse slipping and sliding when she lifted a hand to brush a loose lock of hair out of her eyes.
“What the hell is wrong with swearing?” she asked.
“Nothing at all. Just seems like you can’t say a sentence without swearing.”
Jasmine stared at me, her rich blue gaze assessing. “You must be new to Willow Brook. I don’t think I know you.”
“Depends on what you mean by new. I moved here about two years ago when I joined a hotshot crew. That’s how I know Levi. How about we get going?”
Jasmine eyed me for another few beats and then shrugged, pushing away from the wall. When I lightly gripped her elbow this time, she didn’t shrug me off. We stepped out into the cool summer air. It was going on 9 PM, the sun only now making its final bow for the night, leaving a crescent of orange just above the mountains in the distance. The sky was streaked with orange, red, and gold.
Jasmine came to a quick stop when we were about halfway through the parking lot. She lifted her head and took a deep breath, letting it out with a gusty sigh. “I love the air here. It’s the best air,” she murmured softly, the edges of her voice soft.
The summer air was earthy, scented with spruce and the crispness of the mountains surrounding us. Swan Lake stretched out in front of us just beyond the cars in the parking lot behind the lodge.
Jasmine looked toward me, her gaze considering. “I bet you’re not an asshole,” she said flatly.
“I’d like to think not,” I offered, uncertain where this topic was headed.
The anger, bravado, and recklessness with which she’d carried herself up to this point disappeared in a flash. It was as if she was deflated by nothing more than a thought.
After her announcement, she stepped closer. Before I even realized what the hell she was doing, she leaned up, slipped her hand around my nape and kissed me. For a flash, I was so startled I didn’t even move, and then her mouth was moving over mine, and I reacted.
Threading a hand into her glorious hair, I tugged her to me and swiped my tongue across the seam of her lips. She moaned into my mouth, the sound nudging me back to sanity. I tore my lips free and gave my head a shake.
“What the hell was that?”
She smiled, her eyes glittering. “I couldn’t help it. Your mouth is too damn sexy.”
At that, she traced my lips with her fingertip, the feel of her touch like fire.
“You’re gonna have to take me to Levi’s,” she announced next as her hand fell away.
“I’ll drive you wherever you need to go. Come on,” I said, turning away because I couldn’t keep looking at her and not want to kiss her again.
Sh
e walked along with me, her stride slower now. She gave off a sense of weariness and sadness. Once we were situated in my truck, she let out a deep sigh and leaned her head back against the seat.
“Levi doesn’t know I’m here by the way,” she murmured.
Great, just great. I was going to take her to Levi’s, but I had a feeling that there was some kind of story behind why she was here, and I had no idea what it was.
All I knew was Jasmine was beautiful, she drew me to her like a fucking magnet, and the second her vulnerability flashed in her eyes, I wanted to take care of her. That was a dangerous feeling.
I knew where Levi lived, so I simply started driving in that direction. Jasmine was sound asleep by the time I arrived at Levi’s place. I climbed quietly out of the truck, I considering whether I should go knock, or carry her in.
Glancing at the darkened windows of Levi’s home, I realized I’d likely be waking him and Lucy up as it was. Rounding to the passenger side, I opened the door. Carrying the delectable Jasmine Phillips was not something I wanted to do, or rather it was something I definitely wanted, so that wasn’t smart. Steeling myself, I reached around her to unbuckle her seat belt, gritting my teeth when she sighed softly in her sleep.
Her body was warm and lush. I could feel her lithe build and the soft curve of one of her breasts against my chest. Fuck me. I ordered my cock down and walked swiftly to the door. After a quick knock, I waited. Several moments passed before Levi answered, a look of confusion on his face. “What are you doing here? And what the hell is Jasmine doing with you?”
“Short version—she was at Wildlands, the bartender took her keys and asked me to take her home.”
All in all, that summed it up nicely, minus the messy details.
Levi’s eyes widened as he ran a hand through his rumpled hair. He and Jasmine shared the same coloring—honey blond hair and blue eyes. It was obvious I’d woken him up. “What the hell?” he finally muttered.
