Page 45 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

Dammit was the only safe thought he had because all the other ones were filthy. Logan suddenly questioned his reasoning for everything. What was wrong with him? Why wasn’t he doing everything to convince this woman to let him push her against a wall so he could explore her with his mouth and hands? His whole body became tight, on edge, because all it wanted to do was take her. He hated everything and everyone and had no idea why since his current position was his own fault. He’d chosen this life—chosen this career—chosen to remain unattached. So when it came down to it, he supposed the person he hated most was himself.

“You look really nice,” she responded, still bent over, balancing on one leg as she put on the other high heel, one lock of hair falling across her beautiful forehead.

“Great. You.” The awkward words sounded more like syllables than anything coherent—like he was being strangled despite the lack of tie.

Her brow knit together in slight confusion but then melted away as she chuckled lightly. Upon standing upright and sweeping her hair back, she approached closer to the danger zone, putting herself within arm’s reach but not appearing the least bit nervous. Instead, her eyes glittered with fearlessness. “I’m assuming that was a return compliment.”

He nodded like a ridiculous bobblehead. His gaze tracking every breath, every movement, every flick of her eyelashes. The heels raised her height, putting her within kissing distance. Logan desired to kiss her more than anything—to skip the whole event, take her into his arms, and push his way into her apartment, wanting to discover, where all her buttons were. He wanted to get her off and see what she looked like when it happened. Would those red lips of hers pop open? Would she try to hold everything back by biting into her bottom lip? He fantasized about nothing else.

“Hey, Logan?” River adjusted his collar as parts of her body drew close enough to feel like torture without actually touching him. Either way, it was entirely too hot, and it didn’t seem like he was getting relief anytime soon. A full Nomex wouldn’t have offered enough protection from the heat developing between them.

“Yeah?” He tried his best to sound normal and not strained.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” That’s right. He was going to an event. He was being honored. Logan didn’t remember what for, but he didn’t care. He was going to walk through the door of the Elk’s Lodge with this gorgeous woman on his arm, and he was pretty sure his chest would burst apart from preening. “Do you need a coat or something? Are you going to get cold?”

She bit back a grin before saying, “I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about. Unless you don’t plan on being around.”

“No. I mean . . . yeah, I’ll be around . . . at least when I’m not doing my speech.” Was she kidding? He would be on her like a flea on a dog—all she had to do was ask.

“Okay, let’s go then. We don’t want the guest of honor to be late.” She patted his chest lightly, and it took everything in him not to grab her and kiss those plush, pouty lips of hers. For the first time in his life he didn’t care if he smeared her red lipstick off and showed up among friends looking like Ronald McDonald.

They started the descent down the steps when he became worried she might twist an ankle in those shoes. “Wait a minute,” he said, touching her to stop in place before taking the next step down.

“What?” was the only thing she was able to ask before he leaned into her, took her by the waist, and set her on one of his shoulders like he was carrying a sack of potatoes. It wasn’t the official fireman carry, but she was small enough that he didn’t need it. River released a tiny shriek before giggling and saying, “What in the world? I can walk.”

“I have a horrible vision of you plummeting down the stairs, and I can’t take the risk,” he replied, walking the rest of the way down the steps. Perhaps this wasn’t the ideal way to hold her, but he was willing to take what he could get. When they got to ground level, he returned her to her feet, but did it slowly so as to enjoy every moment of her sliding her body off his shoulder.

Her smile was bright, her eyes sparkly as she gazed at him. “Thank you, hero.” Logan felt like the biggest man in the world.

On the drive, River chatted about things happening at work, and he tried his best to pay attention—he really did—but his eyes spent a lot of time glancing at those long legs on full display. Logan had no idea how he was going to survive the night and keep his hands to himself—

She wasn’t for him. He had no business doing anything with her. This is what he kept telling himself, his grip on the steering wheel tightening enough to break it in half.

They got to the event at the same time as Damon, who did a double take upon seeing River getting out of his truck.

“River? Hey. You came with Logan? What a surprise. He hadn’t said a word to any of us that you were coming.”

“Because it’s none of your business,” Logan grumbled.

His coworker ignored him, offering a friendly hug, which she accepted. Behind her back, Damon gave Logan a light smack on the chest while mouthing the word Wow, subtly waving one of his hands like she was too hot to touch and waggling his eyebrows.

Logan rolled his eyes. “Stop manhandling her, Ford,” he warned Damon. He almost added Go get your own lady but then he had to remember River wasn’t his either. Unlike him, Damon had no problem dating while being a firefighter. Logan didn’t know too much about his love life because, although he was the closest thing he had to a best friend, they didn’t chat a lot about it. He just knew, by the way Damon talked, he was open to it and didn’t have any problem getting involved with someone. Sure, he had a strange hang-up with Jane at Lucky Duck, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have other things happening. For the first time in his life, Logan felt jealous of his friend’s ability to do whatever he wanted with no issues.

He trusted Damon, but that didn’t mean the inner wolf didn’t come out after they walked through the door and he noticed a few appreciative glances sent in River’s direction. The inner wolf was prepared to snap at anyone who came too close, but there was also a feeling of pride—something he hadn’t felt much in the last few years. River was on his arm and, sure, she was incredibly hot, but also so much more. They only saw the outside, but he got to experience another side. It was his own special secret.

Of course, the moment of pride deflated when his mother called out to him, approaching with his father. He knew they’d be here and had prepared himself and, yet, every cell in his body shrank. Logan couldn’t help being on edge, never sure where the conversation was going to go and if it would be another one where his father showcased negativity and his mother faked pleasantries as if nothing was wrong.

River, who had slipped her arm through his, may have sensed his unease. She glanced at him with questions written on her face. He worked his jaw together, taking a breath through his nose before turning to face what he knew was going to be an uncomfortable situation.

Chapter Fourteen

Perhaps it was the wildlife behaviorist that made River interested in people’s behaviors as well. She’d always been curious about what made people tick, what made them do things or fall into the traps they set for themselves. As much as humans insisted they were leagues above animals, from her experience, there wasn’t much difference.

But unlike animals, humans made everything complicated, and she wasn’t any different. So far, all she’d been doing was fighting the urge to shove Logan into a closet somewhere because the tension between them was almost unbearable. River wanted to finally push him over the edge. The way he looked when she opened the door—like a man who’d been eating rice cakes all his life and suddenly an ice cream sundae appeared. It had made her heart beat with an extra thrill. Her efforts had been planned, but even she hadn’t expected this much of a reaction.

When a woman within the crowd called his name, she felt a tenseness wafting from him, his jaw squeezing tight. He turned them to face it, and River felt like she too needed to steel herself for whatever was coming.