He’d seen the training videos, attended classes on fire entrapments, but nothing had prepared him for the reality of it happening to him. The absolute panic, the disbelief, the horror when the fire blew close. And that gut- shaking terror when he’d realized they might not survive.
If it hadn’t been for the dog…He loosened his death grip on Jordan and glanced down at the quivering fur on her lap. If that mutt hadn’t balked, hadn’t warned them that the fire was near…
He swallowed the thick wedge blocking his throat, unwilling to finish the thought. But the truth remained. That dog had given them the valuable seconds they’d needed to survive.
And they had survived. His hand still twined in Jordan’s hair, he gently stroked her scalp to soothe her and pressed her head to his chest. Trembles wracked her body, and she shuddered with anxiety and fear.
“Shh…” he murmured. He cleared his throat, fighting to get words past the lump. “We’re safe now. The fire’s gone.”
“Oh, God,” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. Still shaking, she pulled back, and her fathomless gaze met his. Her eyes glistened in the cave’s dim light. The remnants of tears streaked her cheeks, cutting paths through the ashes and grime.
But he’d never seen a more beautiful woman.
A fierce swell of emotion surged up, relief mixed with something more, that feeling he’d been fighting for days.
It was true. He’d stopped denying it the moment she’d reached for that fusee. He’d seen her horror and panic, the primitive urge to escape. But despite her terror, she’d stayed.
A thick wad of emotion choked his lungs, and he tightened his grip on her head. He could only imagine the courage, the incredible leap of faith that had taken. She wasn’t a trained firefighter, didn’t know wildfire behavior or the futility of running. Yet she’d ignored her instincts and trusted him.
And in that moment, he’d stopped trying to fool himself and admitted how much he loved her-this brave, gutsy woman who’d once been his.
He caressed the silky strands of her hair, ran his gaze over the smooth curve of her cheek and the feminine line of her jaw.
Her wide, dark eyes searched his, as if she couldn’t grasp that they were safe. Shudders still shook her body, discharging the adrenaline and fear, the need to run, the primal instinct to flee. And he continued to stroke her head, her neck, knowing she needed the warmth, the human contact.
So did he.
“You did great out there,” he said, his voice raw from emotion and smoke.
“Is it…Are you sure it’s gone?” Her voice hitched on a little sob.
“Yeah, it’s gone. Listen.”
Her gaze flew to the entrance to the cave, which they’d been damned lucky to find. In the distance, the dull roar slid away, replaced by muffled pops. Still trembling, she gnawed her bottom lip.
Seconds later, her gaze swiveled back to his. “It won’t come back? It-”
“No, it’s done.” He squeezed her neck to reassure her. “There’ll be a few stumps burning, even some flare-ups, but as hot as that fire was, I doubt there’s much left to burn.”
She jerked her head, and a tremor jolted her body. Her lips quivered, and she sucked in a tremulous breath.
He saw the awareness in her eyes of just how close they’d come to dying. The stark realization that they could have burned, that the charred remains of their bodies could be out there right now, writhing and smoldering in the ashes.
“Oh, God, Cade.”
“Yeah.” He smoothed the knot tensing her neck and stroked the smooth skin of her nape. Then he shifted his hand to her rigid shoulders.
The dog crept off Jordan’s lap, and she lunged for the leash.
“Don’t worry. He can’t go anywhere.”
“You’re right.” She dropped the leash and sat back, then eased out an uneven breath. Her lips strained into a smile. “I’m just so nervous, I-”
“Hey, it’s normal. Just give yourself time to come down.”
Urging her back, he threaded his hand through her hair, and continued soothing her neck, giving her time to absorb the outcome, that they were safe. She leaned into him, and as the minutes passed, her breathing slowed and deepened. Her shivering gradually calmed.
And his awareness shifted to the pain ramming his shoulder, the persistent hammering in his skull. The hard dirt floor beneath him. The smoke permeating the air, mingling with the dank smell of the cave.
And Jordan’s soft body pressed against his, beautiful and feminine and arousing.
Desire flashed through his veins, and his hand instinctively tightened. Battling the reaction, he tipped back his head and sucked in a breath.
He loved her; he couldn’t deny it anymore. And everything about her appealed to him-the way she looked, the way she moved, the tender way she cared for the dog. Her hard work, her amazing courage. The woman had seeped into his brain and conquered his heart.
But he still couldn’t forget reality, couldn’t let his emotions override common sense. And the harsh fact was that she was wrong for him. No matter how much he loved her, she needed what he couldn’t give her, a man who always stayed home.
And he could never be that man, not without destroying his soul.
And yet she felt perfect in his arms, and in his life. She shifted then, and their thighs touched. Her soft, full breasts pressed against his chest. The silk of her hair tickled his mouth.
She lifted her head and her eyes met his, her face just inches away. Her pupils dilated in the dusky light. Her pink tongue moistened her lips. She hitched in a ragged breath.
His hormones jerked in recognition. She wanted him. His answer rolled hard through his veins.
“Cade,” she whispered.
“It’s just the adrenaline,” he ground out. “The near-death experie-”
“No.” She raised her hand to his mouth. Her fingers clamped his lips, silencing him. The feel of that soft skin staggered his senses, and need coiled tight in his gut.
He leaned back and grabbed her wrist to push her away, but she inched forward, her dark eyes simmering on his. His lungs stalled, and he felt snared by that luminous gaze, lured into her erotic web.
And in that instant, he knew he was doomed. He needed to touch her, to taste the seductive heat of her skin. To feel her satiny body shudder under his.
His gaze locked with hers. Deliberately, he turned her hand and brushed his lips across her palm. He raked the delicate skin, skirting the scrapes, then soothed the spot with his tongue. She gasped, and the need in her eyes flared. His thumb skimmed her wrist, and he felt the erratic lurch of her pulse.
Her eyes softened into liquid darkness, and then her lids fluttered closed. Her full lips parted, and her breathing rasped faster, more shallow.
He dropped her wrist and caught her chin, then slanted his mouth over hers. He forgot the pain wrenching his shoulder, the filth and sweat, the fire beyond the dank cave. His world narrowed to the velvet of her lips, the lush, hot silk of her mouth, and he pulled her hard against him.
She parted her lips and kissed him back. Her hands clutched his hair, and her tongue dueled with his, reeling him in deeper and harder.
Maybe it was the affirmation of life, the need to connect after nearly dying. And maybe it was love, the explosion of desire long denied.
But whatever the cause, his control slipped even more. That familiar haze fogged his brain, that insatiable heat. The heady feeling that he’d found the one woman on earth who felt perfectly right.
And was, ironically, exactly wrong.
With supreme effort, he wrenched away and pulled her head to his chest. His heart slammed against his rib cage. His breathing rasped in the smoky cave. He shut his eyes and grappled for control.
He had to stop. A kiss was one thing, but they’d strayed far too close to that dangerous edge, that line that they couldn’t cross. It had always happened that way between them-too fast, too hot. Reckless need and relentless
