First Carlisle, then Callum—and it’s not like I haven’t noticed the way Joe has been looking at me too. I don’t know what to make of it, this sudden flush of attention from the men around me, but I know I’m enjoying it more than I probably should. And that I would probably be better off not letting my mind wander in any dangerous directions that involve the five of us all together again, just in case I get a little too attached to the idea.
Because that would be a complete and utter disaster.
Or at least, I’m doing my best to convince myself of that, because if I allow my brain to stray anywhere close to the possibility of actually seeing it through, then I’m going to land in more trouble than I can manage.
I’m meant to be here helping with the fires, and for all intents and purposes, that’s why I’m allowed to stay in this cabin. I havesworn up and down to the guys that I will do everything in my power to help, and I mean it. I love this town, and I won’t let anything happen to it. If I can help keep the place from being overwhelmed with the fire, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure it. And if it means spending my days with four gorgeous firefighters…
Then so be it.
It’s another beautiful day outside, but they seem to carry a heavy weight with them now. The heat and clear weather makes for a perfect breeding ground for another potential fire outbreak, and I can’t help but see it through their eyes, now that I’ve come to see a little more of their world. Now I can see how easy it would be for this place to go up in smoke, the branches turned to kindling in the wave of a hand. The thought of it makes my stomach clench with terror, imagining my own home in the line of the sweeping flames, but I have to trust that they know what they’re doing, that they’re capable of keeping it under control?—
“Enough in the pot for one more?”
I glance up to see Dylan standing in the doorway, leaning there with a grin on his face. For a second, my mind fills in the unspoken in his sentence with a million dirty possibilities—I feel heat rush to my chest, and my lips part, ready to lay him out right here and now. But then, his eyes travel past me and toward the coffee pot, and I realize that I’ve judged him a little too quickly.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” I reply, reaching for the pot and handing it to him. “There’s not much, not since the other guys got to it, but there should be at least something left there for you.”
“Much appreciated,” he says, moving to my side and grabbing a cup from the cupboard over my head. He leans close to me as he does so, and I wonder if he’s going out of his way to close the distance between us. I can’t help but wonder how much he saw yesterday when I hooked up with Callum, given that he walked out when the two of us had barely had time to pull our clothes back into place, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s just been keeping some smart comments to himself to hit me with them as soon as he gets the chance.
He pours himself a cup and takes a sip, locking eyes with me over the top for a moment longer than he has to. I shift slightly where I stand, not sure whether to call him out on his hard look or not.
“Where are the others?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“Out in Devin Ridge,” he replies. “Clearing away some of the foliage and burned up branches that are in the road.”
“And you didn’t want to join them?”
“Too much like hard work for me,” he retorts playfully. “Plus, someone needs to monitor the alarm system.”
He nods toward the ops room, and I feel a little fizz in my belly at the realization that we are alone together. It’s a rare thing, in a place like this, which is always ticking with activity, to find yourself alone with someone, but here we are, standing together like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“Hope you can handle being alone with me for a while,” he says, and I roll my eyes skyward, shaking my head.
“You talk like I’m going to burst into flames just being around you.” I raise my eyebrows in irritation. “You really think you’re that irresistible?”
“Hey, I was just talking about my conversation,” he laughs. “Didn’t realize that your mind had already gone there…”
“Well, you can’t blame me,” I point out. “Given your reputation with women?—”
“And what do you know about that?” he asks curiously, tipping his head to the side and cocking an eyebrow.
I almost laugh. “Oh, come on,” I protest. “You don’t get to pretend that you don’t know how the women in this town see you. Hell, that’s why I thought you left, because you had pissed off the wrong woman at the wrong time.”
“You really think I would do something like that?” he replies. “Hurt a girl and then just run away before I could make amends?”
“I figured you’d have to have some experience with it,” I reason. “Given that most of the women in this town have been in and out of your bed at one point or another. At least, that’s what it looks like.”
“Jealous?” he says, and I grip a little tighter to my coffee cup.
“Jealous?” I roll my eyes playfully. “No, not jealous, Dylan. In case you don’t remember, I was one of them.”
“I don’t remember getting you intobed,exactly,” he remarks, rounding the island in the middle of the kitchen toward me. “But yeah, I think I know what night you’re talking about…”
The heat on my chest rises to my cheeks, probably flushing a blazing crimson that no doubt is exactly what he was hoping for from me. It’s the first time we’ve discussed that evening, and I know I’m skating into dangerous territory allowing him to speak it out loud like this. I know just how charming he can be. And I don’t know if I want to add another notch to my bedpost just yet…
Even if something inside me is demanding exactly that.
“You seemed pretty keen to come up here and stay with us,” he remarks, moving a little closer to me. I can smell his aftershave in the air, the clean, crisp scent of it filling my senses.
