“Why do you do this?” I ask, my voice quieter than I intended. “Why put yourself in danger for a documentary?”
Her smile softens, and for a moment, she looks almost vulnerable. “Because it matters. Because if people don’t see what’s happening, they won’t care enough to change it.”
I study her, the passion in her eyes undeniable. “You really believe that?”
“I have to.”
The simplicity of her answer hits me harder than I expect.
“Why do you fight fires?” she asks.
I shrug, realizing no one has ever cared to ask me this before. “Because saving lives feels like the best thing to do with my time on this earth.”
“Hero, huh?” she grins, bumping her shoulder against mine. I smile, letting her in a little more. She’s breaking down all the barriers I’ve built before now. The ones I had to construct just to get through my time in the military. Her fingertips brush my wrist, our gaze hovering long before I swallow, thinking the only thing I want to do is kiss her right now. But it’s not the time, not while my guys are fighting out in the woods, risking their lives to stop an inferno.
Juniper pulls her jacket tighter around her, but I can see the shiver that runs through her.
“Here,” I say, shrugging off my own jacket and draping it over her shoulders.
She blinks up at me, surprise flickering in her gaze. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
But the sight of her wrapped in my jacket does something to me—something I can’t ignore.
“You’re not what I expected,” I admit, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
She tilts her head, curiosity lighting her expression. “And what did you expect?”
I shrug, leaning back against the wall. “Someone more... polished. Less stubborn.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” she says, but there’s a teasing edge to her tone.
“You’re not a disappointment, Juniper.” My voice is low, but the weight of my words hangs in the air between us.
Her breath catches, and for a moment, neither of us moves. The tension crackles like the embers of a dying fire, and I’m not sure which of us will break first.
When she finally speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to protect me, Flint.”
“Yes, I do.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see the fire in them—the same fire that’s been there since the moment we met.
“Why?” she asks, and the single word feels like a challenge.
“Because I can’t not.”
The admission hangs in the air, raw and unfiltered.
She leans forward, closing the distance between us. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”
I smirk, the corner of my mouth twitching. “Takes one to know one.”
And then, before I can second-guess myself, I close the gap, capturing her lips with mine.
The kiss is everything I knew it would be—fiery, demanding, and utterly consuming. Her hands tangle in my shirt, pulling me closer, and I lose myself in the taste of her. With our lips pressed together, slow and sensual, I savor the taste of her on my tongue. My heart hammers behind my ribcage as I realize this woman is every damn thing in life I didn’t know I needed. I’m never letting her go, not now, not ever.
When we finally pull apart, both of us breathing hard, she smirks up at me.
