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“We shouldn't have done that.” Her voice was raw. Unsteady.
“We both took what we wanted, what we needed,” he said, tipping her chin up with his fingertips to force her to look him in the eye. He wouldn't let her talk her way out of what had just happened. “There's nothing wrong with that.”
A faint haze of satisfaction still covered her features, even as he watched her recoil from her loss of control. She was the most frustrating—and most seductive— woman he'd ever known.
She shifted away from him. “I shouldn't be here with you. Naked. In your bed.”
He sat up, unconcerned with his own nakedness. “Don't ask me to apologize for what just happened. Because I won't.” He dropped his eyes to her bare br**sts, her soft skin red from his rough handling. “Not this time. Or the next.”
She pulled the sheets up to tangle over her hips and thighs, before covering her chest with her arms and looking away, her mouth pinched tight even though her cheeks were still flushed from satisfaction.
“No matter how hard you fight it,” he said, “no matter how much you wish we didn't have this connection, we do. This isn't over between us.”
“It has to be, Logan. It's not even the fact that I'm here to investigate you. I can't date a firefighter. I just can't.”
All at once, it was clear to him what was going on in her head. She thought that hiding herself away from everyone and everything that reminded her of her father and brother would keep her safe.
“Only once have I had to tell a woman that she was a widow.”
Her eyes flew to meet his. “Kenny? You had to tell his wife? But you were just a rookie.”
“The superintendent wanted to make sure I had it in me to make it back from the edge.” He thought back to that shitty afternoon, in the blazing sun, watching his awful words make a pretty woman cry. “I'm not going to lie to you. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to do.” He touched her hand. “But the next day I was back out there on the mountain. To quit then would have made Kenny's death even more pointless.”
She didn't say anything, but he hoped she was hearing what he was saying.
“You're incredibly strong, Maya. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met.”
“I want you to understand,” she said in a very serious voice. “You're wonderful, Logan. Anyone can see that. And you're right, our connection is …”
She didn't finish her sentence, but the rosy color splashed across her cheeks and her plump lips, reddened from their kisses, spoke volumes.
“I can't do what my mother did. I can't spend the next five, ten, fifteen years sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.”
He wanted to argue with her, but he couldn't. Not when she'd been through hell already. How could he blame her for wanting to protect herself from more unbearable pain? He should have been happy to just be with her, naked in his bed. But he wasn't.
He wanted more.
Out on the mountain, when he was facing a fire, he knew to move slowly. Patiently making his way closer, inch by inch if that's all he could get. Rushing the flames never worked. Only a slow assault would get him closer to the flames, to the point where he could overtake them.
Yet again, he needed to take a page from his hotshot experience. He was moving too fast with Maya. He needed to back off and give her time. Otherwise, he'd lose her.
“I don't want to pressure you into anything.”
She smiled a crooked little smile. “You're not. I just want you to know where I'm coming from. What just happened was great, but I don't want to lead you on. It wouldn't be fair.”
She was the most honest, straightforward woman he'd ever known. His own conscience kicked into overtime.
“You've been completely honest with me,” he said, knowing for certain that he could trust her. “Now it's time for me to come clean with you.”
Surprise whiplashed across her face. “I'm not going to like this, am I?”
“Probably not,” he admitted.
“I'm listening.”
“You know that trails lead into Desolation from behind Joseph's house, don't you?”
Her brows furrowed. “I saw that on the topo map, but I hadn't thought …” She quickly worked out what he was getting at. “You think he's involved in the fire in some way?”
Logan shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “I sure as hell hope not. But with his memory failing, I can't stop thinking that anything is possible.”
Maya sat up quickly, the sheet falling off her br**sts to her hips. Logan fought to keep his attention on what she was saying, rather than on her spectacular curves.
“Including the possibility that he started the wild-fire?”
This time he wasn't going to leave anything out, not even the most incriminating details. The only way she could help Joseph was if she knew the full, unvarnished truth.
“A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by to check on him just as he was coming back from a hike. I noticed ash on his treads, but when I asked him what he'd been doing, he couldn't tell me. He didn't know. Two miles up the trail I found a fire burning in a circle of rocks to the side of the footpath.”
“I don't get it. Why would he have lit a campfire in the middle of the day during a short hike?”
“I've been trying to figure that out, and the only thing I can come up with is that the fog was pretty heavy, so maybe he got cold. Or maybe he got hungry and was cooking something to eat.” He let her digest what he'd said, practically able to hear the gears churning in her head.
“Okay, so that could possibly explain what started the wildfire, but what about everything else? The anonymous tip? The fire in my motel room? The explosion? The bomb in your car? Who hates me and you and all of the hotshots enough to try to kill us all? Because there's no way Joseph could be involved with any of that.”
Thank God, she wasn't blaming Joseph for everything, wasn't leaping out of bed and calling the police to go after an old man who wasn't hurting anyone.
“Someone is obviously watching us. Following our every move. We need to find out when that bomb was put in your truck. In your driveway? Or was it earlier?”
He went to the window to look down at the smoking vehicle. He wasn't worried about it sparking a fire on the wide swatch of gravel. But there was no way they were going to be able to sort through the wreckage until it cooled down.
o;We shouldn't have done that.” Her voice was raw. Unsteady.
“We both took what we wanted, what we needed,” he said, tipping her chin up with his fingertips to force her to look him in the eye. He wouldn't let her talk her way out of what had just happened. “There's nothing wrong with that.”
A faint haze of satisfaction still covered her features, even as he watched her recoil from her loss of control. She was the most frustrating—and most seductive— woman he'd ever known.
She shifted away from him. “I shouldn't be here with you. Naked. In your bed.”
He sat up, unconcerned with his own nakedness. “Don't ask me to apologize for what just happened. Because I won't.” He dropped his eyes to her bare br**sts, her soft skin red from his rough handling. “Not this time. Or the next.”
She pulled the sheets up to tangle over her hips and thighs, before covering her chest with her arms and looking away, her mouth pinched tight even though her cheeks were still flushed from satisfaction.
“No matter how hard you fight it,” he said, “no matter how much you wish we didn't have this connection, we do. This isn't over between us.”
“It has to be, Logan. It's not even the fact that I'm here to investigate you. I can't date a firefighter. I just can't.”
All at once, it was clear to him what was going on in her head. She thought that hiding herself away from everyone and everything that reminded her of her father and brother would keep her safe.
“Only once have I had to tell a woman that she was a widow.”
Her eyes flew to meet his. “Kenny? You had to tell his wife? But you were just a rookie.”
“The superintendent wanted to make sure I had it in me to make it back from the edge.” He thought back to that shitty afternoon, in the blazing sun, watching his awful words make a pretty woman cry. “I'm not going to lie to you. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to do.” He touched her hand. “But the next day I was back out there on the mountain. To quit then would have made Kenny's death even more pointless.”
She didn't say anything, but he hoped she was hearing what he was saying.
“You're incredibly strong, Maya. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met.”
“I want you to understand,” she said in a very serious voice. “You're wonderful, Logan. Anyone can see that. And you're right, our connection is …”
She didn't finish her sentence, but the rosy color splashed across her cheeks and her plump lips, reddened from their kisses, spoke volumes.
“I can't do what my mother did. I can't spend the next five, ten, fifteen years sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.”
He wanted to argue with her, but he couldn't. Not when she'd been through hell already. How could he blame her for wanting to protect herself from more unbearable pain? He should have been happy to just be with her, naked in his bed. But he wasn't.
He wanted more.
Out on the mountain, when he was facing a fire, he knew to move slowly. Patiently making his way closer, inch by inch if that's all he could get. Rushing the flames never worked. Only a slow assault would get him closer to the flames, to the point where he could overtake them.
Yet again, he needed to take a page from his hotshot experience. He was moving too fast with Maya. He needed to back off and give her time. Otherwise, he'd lose her.
“I don't want to pressure you into anything.”
She smiled a crooked little smile. “You're not. I just want you to know where I'm coming from. What just happened was great, but I don't want to lead you on. It wouldn't be fair.”
She was the most honest, straightforward woman he'd ever known. His own conscience kicked into overtime.
“You've been completely honest with me,” he said, knowing for certain that he could trust her. “Now it's time for me to come clean with you.”
Surprise whiplashed across her face. “I'm not going to like this, am I?”
“Probably not,” he admitted.
“I'm listening.”
“You know that trails lead into Desolation from behind Joseph's house, don't you?”
Her brows furrowed. “I saw that on the topo map, but I hadn't thought …” She quickly worked out what he was getting at. “You think he's involved in the fire in some way?”
Logan shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “I sure as hell hope not. But with his memory failing, I can't stop thinking that anything is possible.”
Maya sat up quickly, the sheet falling off her br**sts to her hips. Logan fought to keep his attention on what she was saying, rather than on her spectacular curves.
“Including the possibility that he started the wild-fire?”
This time he wasn't going to leave anything out, not even the most incriminating details. The only way she could help Joseph was if she knew the full, unvarnished truth.
“A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by to check on him just as he was coming back from a hike. I noticed ash on his treads, but when I asked him what he'd been doing, he couldn't tell me. He didn't know. Two miles up the trail I found a fire burning in a circle of rocks to the side of the footpath.”
“I don't get it. Why would he have lit a campfire in the middle of the day during a short hike?”
“I've been trying to figure that out, and the only thing I can come up with is that the fog was pretty heavy, so maybe he got cold. Or maybe he got hungry and was cooking something to eat.” He let her digest what he'd said, practically able to hear the gears churning in her head.
“Okay, so that could possibly explain what started the wildfire, but what about everything else? The anonymous tip? The fire in my motel room? The explosion? The bomb in your car? Who hates me and you and all of the hotshots enough to try to kill us all? Because there's no way Joseph could be involved with any of that.”
Thank God, she wasn't blaming Joseph for everything, wasn't leaping out of bed and calling the police to go after an old man who wasn't hurting anyone.
“Someone is obviously watching us. Following our every move. We need to find out when that bomb was put in your truck. In your driveway? Or was it earlier?”
He went to the window to look down at the smoking vehicle. He wasn't worried about it sparking a fire on the wide swatch of gravel. But there was no way they were going to be able to sort through the wreckage until it cooled down.
