Ryan crossed the room and pulled her to him so fast the breath left her lungs. He kissed her deeply and she returned it. He tightened his arms around her as she hungered for him in a way she’d never known. His kiss energized her and rocked her deep down to the bottom of her.
He pressed against her, threading his fingers in her hair. Her blood quickened as his body heat melded with hers. She cocooned herself in his masculine scent; the outdoors mingled with a hint of musky cologne.
She plummeted in a free fall from Denali’s peak. Every cell in her body electrified and her pulse pounded in her ears. He tasted sweet and luscious. She closed her eyes and lost herself in him. She moaned, rubbing his muscled back. Oh God, he felt wonderful.
He broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck. “I want you, Montana,” he breathed in her ear.
“I want you too, Alaska.” She found his mouth and pressed her body hard against him. Edging him toward her bed, he backed up willingly. Her hands explored his sculpted chest and rippled abdomen and her breath came fast.
Kicking off her sandals, she pushed him onto her bed. She untied his massive athletic shoes and pulled them off, followed by his socks. She had never undressed a guy before. Her ex had always removed his own clothes.
This was unfamiliar territory. Undressing Ryan turned her on. And she liked it.
He raised his brows at her taking the lead, waiting for her next maneuver. She liked that too.
Removing her blouse, she let it drop, then knelt on the bed, and straddled him. She pulled off her tank top and bent to kiss him, and he stroked her sleek hair as it fell around him. She raised from his lips and looked into his eyes, glinting in the twilight.
“For someone who said you couldn’t do this, you’re sure doing it,” he breathed, lifting his hips.
“Said I wouldn’t, not couldn’t. Significant difference,” she breathed back. “Safety tips?”
“Now that you mention it.” He produced several condoms from his pocket. “I took another gamble.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” She grinned at him, secretly elated he’d planned for this.
He pulled back. “Number five, option C, six, and seven.”
“What?”
“My Incident Action Plan. Five-C, six and seven. Objective complete.”
“You are so the job. I know what an IAP is but haven’t a clue what you mean—and right now I don’t care.” She continued undressing him, determined to make this first time memorable. She unbuckled the belt on his cargo pants. “Lift up, O’Connor.”
He lifted his hips easily as if she weren’t sitting on him.
She grasped the buckle and pulled the belt from his pants. “Let’s see what you’re made of, Alaska boy. And I’ll show you how we Big Sky girls keep our boyfriends warm at night.”
Tara twirled his belt like a cowgirl and let it fly. The buckle hit the window and clattered to the floor. She shot her arms in the air like a gymnast. “Tada! That’s my ice-breaker.”
They both burst out laughing.
Ryan recovered first. “You mean window breaker. You can’t aim for shit.” He folded his arms behind his head, eyes gleaming. “You’re a firefighter. You can do better.”
“Are you challenging me?” She ran a seductive tongue along her lips.
He breathed hard. “Oh, yeah. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
She leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck. “First, I’ll whisper sweet fire nothings, like…fuel loading…” She exhaled the words slow and sensual, as if spewing erotica on a phone-sex call. “…Fire hose…Fuel moisture…Drip torch…” She whispered in his other ear. “Now let’s toggle your chute to the jump spot, fly boy.”
That did it. She had him writhing.
He moaned and his lids became heavy. “Stand up. I want to unwrap you.”
“Quid pro quo, smokejumper.”
“Deal.”
She lifted herself off him and stood on the floor, waiting.
He pushed off the bed and stood in front of her. Bending his head, he kissed her and reached around to unclasp her bra. He took his time easing the straps from her shoulders, kissing each after tugging them off. He gazed at her breasts like he wanted to devour them.
She raised his shirt up over his head, taking in his sumptuous chest and abdomen. Heaven help her, he should be on the Australian Firefighter’s Calendar, holding puppies and kittens.
He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, easing his hands inside and worked everything down slowly, sliding kisses down a breast and along her stomach. When he had her pants and undies to her ankles, she lifted her feet one at a time out of them, and he kicked them away. He was so procedural, she wondered how often he may have done this before—but she didn’t care. He arranged her hair to one side, so it all hung down the front of her, then drew back to take her in.
“Tara, you’re my Lady Godiva.” He cupped a breast.
His words scintillated her. She moved close and tugged down his zipper, the same as he had done to her. She slipped her hands inside of his pants and around the back to his cheeks. Her breath caught. Solid muscle back there. A wildland firefighter’s derriere. She lowered everything from the waist down and he swept them away with his foot.
In the hazy dusk of midnight, they explored one another. He reminded her of a perfect sculpture with remarkably defined abs. She’d be content to ogle him all night, but she wanted him so badly, she ached. She had never known this depth of want or affection…for anyone.
Ryan picked her up and laid her on the bed, standing over her. “You’re stunning, Montana.” He laid beside her, pressing close. The flimsy bunk squeaked, making a threatening sound. “This bed’s gonna collapse,” he said into her lips, then slid his mouth down the line of her throat.
“Let it,” she murmured, sliding her palms along his rippled abdomen. His fire-eating body earned every sweaty ounce of
