Shake it off.If I keep going down that rabbit hole, I’ll ask what I shouldn’t. There’s a nasty scar along his left wrist. “How did you get that scar?”
“Shard of tile. An elderly woman had slipped and fallen in her shower, cracked the tile with her head. I didn’t see it until I was picking her up.”
“Damn. I guess I never thought about first responder injuries that come with the job.”
That makes him laugh. “Happens more often than we’d like, but it’s worth it.”
“Do you like the job, or do you endure it?”
The question strikes at something he hesitates to say. “Huh…”
“You don’t have to talk about it,” I blurt.
He shrugs. “I don’t mind. Most people don’t ask about my work, so I’m not sure how to answer. Enduring the job is something I never considered, to be honest. I love what I do. Helping people, helping their pets, saving their homes… it’s like you said. Everyone should have somewhere that feels like home.”
“People don’t ask about your job?”
“No. I think they assume they know what it’s like to be a firefighter. Too many TV shows and movies about it, I guess.”
The man is a puzzle I want to solve. “That sounds lonely.”
I must have hit a nerve. His eyes flash, then his voice goes low. “You’re dangerous. You know that?”
“I’m nosey, so yeah. I hear that, or something like it, a lot.” The air shifts. Thickens. I know exactly where this is going. I should stand up, grab my keys, and drive back to campus this instant. That would be the smart thing to do.
I have a boyfriend… don’t I?
Not really. David said as much. More importantly, I don’t want him. David is the good-on-paper guy. The one my parents like. He makes sense in the grand scheme of things.
Aiden does not make sense. There is no reason I should feel his gravity, pulling me to him. But I do.
Instead of running away, I lean in, studying his haunted blue eyes as they follow my movements. His gaze settles on my lips, and I can’t breathe.
The kiss happens like a breaking point.
One second, we’re staring at each other by firelight, the next his hand is at my jaw and my mouth is on his, heat and intent and something raw slamming into me all at once. There’s nothing tentative about it. No testing. Just need. His breath stutters like he’s been holding it for years. Blood rushes through my body so fast and so hard that I’m dizzy.
The world narrows to the space between us.
We don’t talk much after that. We don’t need to. His forehead presses to mine, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he blinks. When he finally looks at me—really looks—it’s unguarded, almost startled, like he can’t believe I’m still here.
“This doesn’t need to be anything more than a kiss,” he murmurs.
I appreciate that, but everything else in the world has faded to background noise. The cool air. The fire. The forest. That guy I was dating. What’s-his-name. Hell, I’m not even broken up about the breakup.
I have never been kissed like that in my life.
Right now, all I see is Aiden. His brooding, protective side. The weight he carries on those broad shoulders. The risk he takes every call. Respect and desire ache low in my core, and there’s only one answer on my lips.
“Itdoesneed to be more than a kiss.”
A rogue smile takes his lips, and the next thing I know, he’s scooped me into his arms, and he’s marching us into the cabin. He kicks the door closed behind himself and sets me onto a bed. It’s a clumsy race to see who can get undressed quicker, kissing between layers removed. I barely notice the lit fireplace in the corner.
When he’s bare, I’m in awe. So many scarred muscles and a few more tattoos I hadn’t expected. He’s down to his jeans, and I’m in my underthings, legs draped over the edge of the bed. I look up at him, trying not to stare at his thick, carved body.
Trying and failing, that is.
Thankfully, he seems to have the same trouble. I catch his gaze firmly planted in my cleavage. He mutters, “Damn.”
