by Lori Wilde
“Ah, well, would you look at that,” Jason motioned toward the dog. Bibi was licking the first pup.
“It’s so tiny,” Kristen squeaked. “I can’t believe she had a baby and we didn’t even see it happen. You’re such a brave girl.” Kristen made kissing noises at the dog.
“I didn’t think the puppies would be so small. She’s such a big dog.” A tear slid down Kristen’s cheek.
Jason thumbed it away. “Trust me, they grow fast. In six weeks, you’ll be amazed how big they are.”
In all, Bibi presented five pups. The dog was worn out by the ordeal, but the babies were already searching for milk and the dog’s instincts kicked in as she nudged them toward her belly.
“I feel like an excited grandma.” Kristen gasped. “They’re all so beautiful.”
They were squirming black-and-white balls of fur. “You may be a lot of things, but you are no grandma.” Jason waggled his eyebrows teasing her.
She playfully punched him. “You know what I mean. I can’t believe this. Now what do I do?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m really hungry. Let’s wash up and eat, and I’ll explain dog parenting 101 to you.”
“Deal,” she said taking his hand and pulling him up with her.
They were chest to chest.
Jason reached out and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. “You are more gorgeous every time I look at you.”
She scoffed, “Now I know you’re messing with me.” She pushed away, and grabbed the bags from the table. “I’ll heat up the steaks.”
But Jason hadn’t been joking. She was a siren calling for his soul. He could feel it every time she looked at him.
And he was helpless to do anything about it.
3
SOMETHING WAS wrong. Kristen couldn’t get her eyes to open, but the bed beneath her was hard and she’d lost the feeling in her right hand because it was under something. Without opening her eyes, she shook her hand and then settled it on the bed again.
“Sssst.” A man sucked a breath through his teeth. Her eyes popped open. She was half on Jason and half on the couch. Her hand had landed in a somewhat precarious place and she lifted it quickly. Though not so fast that she didn’t notice her favorite fireman had every right to be proud.
“Oh, sorry,” Kristen apologized. Embarrassed, she shifted so she could leverage herself off the couch, but there was no way to do it without crawling across his body.
After hours of talking and watching a movie, they’d fallen asleep.
She had no idea how they’d ended up entangled like this.
“I don’t mind.” His rich male voice sent delicious tingles through her body. His lips found her ear and he feathered tiny kisses down her neck. Shivers of delight ran through her body.
Never in her life had she wanted something more than this man. She was tired of being a good girl, of never taking risks.
His mouth found hers and she was lost.
She sighed against him.
Yes, she was ready to be very, very bad.
Her hand once again slipped down to his manhood and she caressed him. Power surged through her as he moaned against her lips.
Jason slid his hand down to her waist. She fit so perfectly against him. It was almost as if he had been made exactly for her.
He shifted her so that she was on top of him, and she nearly lost it when his erection pressed against her heat.
Their tongues tested each other in a battle of wills, as if neither could get enough of the other.
His thumb teased her nipples to hard peaks. The friction between their bodies increased.
“Are you sure?” he asked as he removed her tank top and then her bra.
“Yes.” Kristen traced a finger across his cheek.
His hands covered her breasts.
“Assistant Chief!” His radio squawked.
Kristen jumped as if someone was in the room with them. “You should respond,” she said as she squirmed on top of him.
“It’s W.T. No need to worry.” His fingers continued to work their magic.
“Sir, I know you said no interruptions but—there’s a fire. Thirty-nine Pebble Street,” W.T. said nervously.
“Hell,” Jason grumbled.
Kristen jumped up, and tossed the radio to him.
He gave her a quick glance as if to say he was sorry.
She smiled. “Go, go,” she yelled.
Before she could say another word, Jason was out the door.
Racing to check on Bibi, she made certain the dog had food and water. Then she grabbed warmer clothes and a couple of blankets. She could maybe help him.
Her hands shook as she reached for her keys, but this was no time to cave.
Jason might need her.
And she had to make sure he was safe.
* * *
FROM KRISTEN’S FRONT door to the fire took Jason less than two minutes. But time was critical in these situations. There was a little girl standing in the yard wearing fuzzy pajamas with feet. She couldn’t have been more than four or five.
“Who’s in the house?” Jason knelt down beside her.
When she didn’t answer right away, he touched her shoulder. This was a waste of time. Gray smoke permeated the air.
“I’m going to make sure your family is okay.” Seconds counted so he headed for the door.
“Mommy and Brubbie,” the little girl cried out. “I stopped and I rolled. I did. Promise.”
The neighbors gathered around. “Get her a blanket and move to the other side of the street,” he called over to them as he rushed into the house. If the house had natural gas, there could be an explosion any minute.
Jason ran to the kitchen on the left of the entry and wet the scarf he’d brought with him. He wound the wet scarf around his face. Normally, he would have extra gear in his truck, but he had loaned it to a new rookie, Jessie, until the other man’s came in.
The house was fairly small, featuring an old Craftsman style. The fire was up high. Something had ignited in the attic and the old beams were going up fast.
He heard a scream and ran up the stairs two at a time. It was against the code to run in unprotected but there wasn’t time to wait for his team.
Down a long hallway filled with smoke, he heard another muffled sound.
They were closer to the roof on this second story and he could see the outside walls beginning to burn. The suffocating heat pressed in on him.
“Help,” a voice so weak it was barely discernable came from out of the smoke.
Jason raced to the end of the hall and nearly tripped on the woman there.
“My leg. I can’t walk. The baby.” She coughed, and then passed out.
He didn’t hear any baby, which was a very bad sign. He headed for the closest bedroom, crawling across the floor where the air was a bit clearer. He bumped into a piece of furniture. Raising his hand he felt spindles and realized it was a crib. He popped up on his knees and came face to face with a big pair of blue eyes.
“Hello, Brubbie,” he said as he scooped up the baby and wrapped him in the blanket from the bedding on the crib. It looked new, which meant it was most likely treated with fire retardant.
The ceiling crashed down into the center of the room. Jason leaped to the doorway where the mother lay. He shook her lightly, but she didn’t respond. Keeping the baby tight to his chest, he lifted the mother over his right shoulder. He struggled to stand, making sure he had his balance before he took a step. Smoke completely filled the hall. The scarf had fallen off of his nose and mouth, and breathing was difficult. Hands full, there was nothing he could do about it.
He took each step gingerly, making sure that the floorboards beneath him held. It was slow going and the heat had intensified. Those blue eyes were still open and interested in everything going on, and for that, Jason was grateful. He only hoped the mother fared as well. He couldn’t tell if she was still breathing and he couldn’t take the time to check if he were to save them.
It was a terrible dilemma, but they were all better off if he could get them out of the house. There was another loud crash, and the flames roared behind him. Something hot hit his lower back and Jason took off. As he reached the top of the stairs, the attic fell into the second floor.
Jason navigated the last few steps, holding tight to the woman and the child. His muscles ached and burned as the house caved in around them. A huge deluge of freezing cold water drenched his face and head, cooling the pain on his back. The trucks had arrived.
“I’m here.” There in the middle of the living room was Jessie, geared up and ready to go. He reached for the baby, but Jason shook his head.
“Out,” ordered Jason. “Run!”
4
HEAT SEARED Jason’s backside as he ran for the door. The rookie didn’t have to be told twice. He was out the door with Jason on his heels as the house collapsed behind them. The other firemen raced up the steps. “Get back,” he said hoarsely. “Roof’s going down.” He handed off the woman to one of the firefighters. The relief to his shoulder was instant.
Immediately, he ran the baby to the ambulance. His legs shook, but he continued on. At the ambulance he found the little girl from earlier sitting in Kristen’s lap eating a Christmas cookie.
“Dat’s him.” She pointed to Jason. “He has Brubbie. I say I stopped and dropped. I did.”
Kristen smiled. “You were so brave and good. And Brubbie is safe and sound.”
The girl held out her arms for her brother.
Jason handed the baby to the EMTs. “They need to check to make sure your brother is breathing okay, and to make sure he’s healthy,” he told the child. Then he touched her head. “You were very brave. Your mother is going to be so proud of you.”
He prayed the woman was still alive. His throat burned as if acid had been poured down it.
“Babies, where are my babies?” he heard the mother screech from the other ambulance. He thanked the stars she was alive. No child should have to live without his mother.
Though there where times when he wished someone would adopt him so he could get away from his.
Humor. It was the only way he got through most days.
Kristen looked so sweet sitting there with the child in her arms. He leaned down to kiss her cheek.
She frowned, and pushed his shoulder to turn him around.
When he did she gasped.
“He’s burned.” Her voice trembled. When no one seemed to be listening, she said it a little louder. “Jason’s back is burned. Help. Please.”
“Oh, no,” the child said. “You haz bad boo-boos. You needs the medicine.”
One of the EMTs turned away from the baby and saw Jason. “Assistant Chief, have a seat,” the woman ordered.
“I’m fine, Lisa. Take care of the child.”
“That baby hasn’t got a mark on him and his breathing sounds as strong as it comes. You, on the other hand, have had your shirt burned off your back and have at least some first-degree burns that I can see. So when I say sit, I mean sit.”
“You’ve been bossy since kindergarten. Just because you’re the chief’s daughter— Ouch! What the heck are you doing? You did that on purpose,” Jason grumbled.
“Shut it, lizard. Or I’ll tell your new girlfriend here what you did in the eighth grade that got you three months of detention.” She put an oxygen mask over his mouth.
“You children quit squabbling or I’ll tell the chief,” said Jason’s friend Mike, the other EMT.
Jason pulled off the mask to complain.
“I can’t believe you are going to marry this evil— Ouch! Lisa, stop it.”
“Now, honey, be gentle with him. You know how sensitive he is,” Mike teased.
The couple laughed out loud.
“You have to tell me that story,” Kristen begged.
“Oh, you need to make him tell it,” Lisa said. “If nothing else, to see what mortification looks like on a grown man.”
Mike picked up the baby, who was reaching out for Jason.
“Looks like you made a friend,” Lisa said. “The kid has no taste.”
“Oh, no, little guy, you are going to go visit your mom. I think she’ll heal a lot faster. In fact, let’s take your big sis and do a family reunion,” Mike suggested. “That is, if I can trust you not to rip off his skin in spite?” Mike gave his fiancée a serious look, and then ruined it by winking.
“Fine. I won’t hurt him—much.”
“Okay, little miss. Why don’t we go see your mom?” Mike held out his hand. But the girl turned and held tight to Kristen’s neck.
“I’ll come with you,” Kristen offered. “I want to meet your mom. You told me she makes better cookies than me, and I just don’t know if I believe that,” she teased.
Kristen followed Mike to the other ambulance.
Jason heard the woman crying with relief as she saw her children.
“For a big sissy, you were pretty darn brave in there,” Lisa said. “Stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed going in unprotected like that. But brave just the same.
“And that girlfriend of yours must have it bad for you. The only thing that kept her from going in there after you was that little girl. Clingy kid would not let go of her. That’s a good thing, otherwise your little hero worshipper, Jessie, was going to have to tackle her.”
That was something he’d pay money to see.
She must have it bad for you.
Unfortunately, that feeling went both ways. This fun little thing he thought they were having had turned into something more in a very short time.
Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
* * *
KRISTEN HAD HEARD the stories about Jason. How he saved lives over and over again. He was the town hero. But it was one thing to hear about him, quite another to watch him in action.
She opened the car door and sat down. Her hand shook as she slipped the key into the ignition. After the excitement of the last hour, she needed time to calm down.
To calm down and to think.
Everything had happened so fast, she couldn’t get her mind around it.
The five minutes Jason spent running through that house was an eternity. The smoke and flames spread so quickly she worried there was absolutely no way he would survive. The fire had hopped and skipped across the roof and she could do little but sit on the trunk of her car rocking the child. The girl refused to let go of her even when the EMTs showed up.
He could have died in there. His job was so dangerous and he did this every day. What had she been thinking?
And this thing between them was real. Too real.
She couldn’t do it. Watch him leave every day, wondering if he would come home.
Hadn’t her mother done that when her father had been a soldier? And then, one day, he hadn’t come home.
Tears streamed down her face.
“It’s shock.” Jason’s voice made her jump. She’d left her door open and had just been sitting there.
“I must look like an idiot.” She shoved the tears away with the heel of her hand. “I’m tired from being up with Bibi all night,” she lied.
“Don’t make excuses. You just went through something traumatic. It’s never easy. Take some deep breaths.”
She did as he asked. Her stomach settled, but her hands still shook. “I didn’t go through anything. I just took care of the girl. You put your life at stake for them. You’re a brave man, Jason. And you seem to be just fine.”
He touched her shoulder. “Hey, we all have our ways of dealing with things. I told you I’m no hero. I tell you what, I’ll have one of the guys take my truck back to the station and I’ll drive you home. Give me just a minute.”
Before she could say a word, he was gone.
It was senseless to argue with him, of that she was certain. And she had no business driving, even though it was only a few blocks.
When he returned she dutifully stood and walked around to the passenger side, wher
e he opened the door for her.
They didn’t talk on the way home.
“I thought I would check on Bibi and the pups,” he said as they reached her front door. “Jessie can come get me later.”
More than anything she wanted to be alone, but that was selfish. The guy had spent the night taking care of her dog, and then run off to save people.
“How about some coffee?” She needed something to do with her hands.
“Hey.” He touched her shoulder. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Turning she faced him. “I was so scared for you. Everything was so hot and the flames burned so quickly. You didn’t come out when I thought you should, and they wouldn’t let me come in after you. I thought you died,” the words came out in a rush.
Brushing her hair away from her cheek, he leaned in. Before she could realize what was happening he kissed her.
Every thought in her head fled as warmth consumed her.
There was something she wanted to say to him. But she could no longer remember what it was.
He lifted his head and she moaned a complaint.
“I smell like smoke,” he whispered. “Let me get cleaned up.”
That stopped her. “Oh, what about your back? You— Um, we shouldn’t—” Words failed her.
“My back is fine. Even Lisa said it looked worse than it really was. Just a few first-degree burns, which she treated.”
She gave him her best I-don’t-believe-you glare.
Holding up his hands in surrender he said, “I promise to tell you if it hurts. But we are doing this.” He paused. “That is, if you still want to. I mean, as far as I can tell, the kissing seems to make all the pain go away.”
He winked.
Up on her toes she kissed him, pressing herself into his body. The bulge at her hip made her smile. He didn’t seem to care that she looked like some orphaned rag doll from the town of misfit toys. And she sure as heck didn’t care what he smelled like.
His hands tightened around her waist. Hers slid up his shirt to the hard abs underneath. The man was an Adonis. The kiss intensified and his tongue flicked across hers.
Sliding a hand down she cupped him. A sharp intake of breath, and he lifted his head. Searching her eyes with his.
