Into the Fire (9 page)

“As much as I enjoy the idea of doing this standing up,” he murmured, trailing kisses against her jaw, “I think we can do it better justice by being horizontal.”

There was no doubt now, was there? They were going to do this. There would be no turning back, and she was so hot and ready she was past caring. She wanted him with a burning heat that she’d only felt with one man—only with him.

“I think so too.”

She expected him to lead her down the hall to his room. What she didn’t expect was for him to sweep an arm beneath her knees and pick her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Her cheek was against his and her palm rested against the smooth warmth of his chest. His feet made shushing sounds against the unfinished floor of the hall, and he nudged his bedroom door open with his foot.

When they were inside, he used the same foot to swing it closed again.

The bed was neatly made, a plush duvet on the top. He laid her down gently, braced his hands on either side of her shoulders and pressed her into the mattress with his body. Horizontal now, he began kissing her again while grinding against her pelvis. Desire pounded through her as she gyrated in sync with him, mimicking what was to come. His hand pushed up her sweater and he bit her nipple lightly through her bra, making her cry out at the stinging arousal of it.

“Lift your arms,” he commanded, stopping a moment to sit astride her hips.

She obeyed and he pulled the sweater over her head. He reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, pulled the straps down her arms. Her nipples, already hard, reacted to the cold air and the heat of his gaze and puckered almost painfully.

The moment he touched his tongue to the first tip, a dart of something deliciously dark shot to her core. She squirmed against him, seeking something—fulfillment, not release. It wasn’t time for that yet, but her body knew what was coming and was growing impatient.

When he’d suckled and teased until she could hardly stand it, he slid off the bed and finished removing his trousers and shorts. She drank in the sight of him and held his gaze as she reached for the button of her jeans. A fire seemed to light behind his irises and he moved in to help. She lifted her hips while he slid the denim over her hips and down her legs.

She was infinitely glad she’d decided on the delicate plum-colored bikini panties today, given the hungry look in Chris’s eyes. He cupped his hand against her heat and she moaned, throwing her head back. In one swift movement, the panties joined her jeans on the floor.

Chris reached over and pulled out the top drawer of his nightstand, taking out a condom. He ripped it open and, kneeling on the bed, sheathed himself.

“You were prepared,” she whispered. Impatient from waiting, she ran her fingers down the soft skin of her belly, arching up.

“After that night on the couch…” He knelt above her. “I knew it was a matter of when, not if.” His fiery blue gaze caught hers. “And I would protect you, Ally. Always.”

Something changed. Something caught and shifted inside her, something big and wonderful and terrifying. Swallowing against the sudden lump in her throat, she reached down and clasped him in her hand, guiding him home.

He slid all the way in, and for the space of a heartbeat, he held, his gaze locked with hers. In that fleeting second, Ally knew with all certainty that she still loved him. Perhaps more than she’d loved him back then. She loved the man he’d become. She loved the way he made her feel. There was something between them that had survived how they’d ended, and now flared to life as their bodies joined.

And as he began moving, Ally felt indestructible.

Nothing had prepared Chris for the experience of having Ally shatter beneath him, of being sheathed inside her as her muscles contracted and she called out his name. He felt ten feet tall and humbled all at once. And very, very close to his own climax.

Her fingers released their hold on his bottom and her face glowed with the smallest sheen of sweat. God, she was gorgeous. He set up his rhythm again, watching the way her breasts moved with each thrust, adoring the dazed look in her blue eyes as her lashes fluttered open.

“Your turn,” she said, a sexy smile curving her lips. And she ran her foot up his calf, along the back of his thigh, and then hooked it around his waist, levering herself up as he impaled her again and again.

He was losing his tenuous thread of control and he gloried in it. Fastening his mouth on her breast he heard her gasp as she twined her fingers into his hair.

And then he ceased to think at all, giving himself over to her completely until he came with a mighty roar of satisfaction.

Ally felt boneless. At some point they’d crawled beneath the duvet, completely naked, and fallen asleep. The late afternoon sun was weakening, casting shadows in the corner of the room. She stretched, enjoying the sensation of her skin sliding along Chris’s sheets. He was on his side facing her, eyes closed, breath even.

Naked, like her.

She studied him for a while, examining the length of his eyelashes, a particular curl of hair at his temple, the precise angle of his nose and curve of his lips. His words came back to her…
I would protect you. Always.
He already had. He’d saved her life that day at the shelter. And he’d saved it since—not in the physical sense, but he’d given her back some sense of pride and confidence.

She just wasn’t sure where they went from here.

There would be time to think about that later. Right now she wanted to enjoy the sensation of being thoroughly, competently loved. Besides, Chris had changed, hadn’t he? He’d admitted that he’d rushed her before, and he’d accepted partial blame for what had happened between them. There didn’t need to be any hurry to figure it out or make decisions now.

A thump at the doorway made Ally turn her head. Moose stuck his head inside the gap and whined. Before Ally could say anything, he pushed inside and hopped up on the bed.

Chris’s eyes flew open as the hundred-pound ball of muscle and fur flopped between them on the bed. Moose pawed and rolled on the duvet, throwing his legs in the hair and letting his tongue loll out of his mouth in doggy bliss. With a laugh, Ally rubbed Moose’s belly, earning more twists and writhes of pleasure.

“He’s not supposed to be up on the bed,” Chris grumbled. “He knows that.”

“But look at him. He’s so happy.”

“And what if he’d come in here a few hours ago?”

Her body heated beneath his gaze. “That might have been inconvenient timing.”

“Might?”

She grinned, turning on to her side. “Okay, definitely bad timing.”

Moose stopped rolling and flopped down contentedly.

“I’m not sure how great I’d perform with an audience,” Chris remarked, absently patting Moose’s back.

“I guess you’d better learn to latch the door then,” Ally replied. She let the duvet slip down just enough to reveal the hollow of her cleavage.

“Why, Miss Gallant,” he said, his low voice riding along her nerve endings, making them quiver with anticipation.

He pushed back the covers and got to his feet, naked as a jaybird and caring even less. “Come on, Moose, let’s get you a treat,” he said, and he tapped his leg. Moose hopped down off the bed, lured by the word
treat
. Ally heard the sound of a cupboard door opening and closing and then steps coming back down the hall. This time he made sure to latch the door.

He slid in beside her. Her skin was super sensitive and she loved the feel of their naked bodies touching and twining together. She wrapped her hand around him and he cupped her breast, teasing the tip with his thumb.

“So we’re doing this again?” he asked, and she knew he meant more than sex. It was them.
Again
would mean this wasn’t a one-time thing.

“I’m not sure we ever really stopped,” she breathed, closing her eyes as his fingers teased the delicate skin of her inner thigh. “We just took a three-year break.”

“I’ve got some time to make up for then,” he said, doing magical things with his fingertips.

They made up for lost time twice more, until night fell and Moose needed letting out. This time, Ally dressed in her own clothes and stuck a frozen pizza in the oven while Chris took Moose on a short walk. They were eating the last pieces of crust when Chris got the call.

“Shit,” he murmured. He put down the radio and turned to face her. “You want me to drop you at your mom’s? There’s a house fire in Port Williams. I gotta go.”

Nerves jumped around in her stomach. In the bliss of the day she’d nearly forgotten about the very real part of Chris’s other job. It was more than looking good in a uniform, wasn’t it? She knew he didn’t take unnecessary risks, but that didn’t mean he was completely safe, did it?

The last place she wanted to be tonight was waiting for news at her parents’ house. This is what it would be like then. Before tonight, she’d never known when he was out on a call so she’d never worried. But tonight she would know and she’d be waiting.

The very thought of doing that under the watching eyes of her mother and father was impossible. “You’d waste time,” she said, fumbling with dishes and putting them on the counter. “Can’t I just wait here?”

He hesitated. “I could be gone a while.”

“Then someone should be here for Moose,” she answered. “Go. You’re wasting time.”

He came forward to give her a kiss. “See you in a bit.”

She clung to him for just a moment. “Be careful,” she whispered, her knuckles tightening on the heavy fabric of his jacket.

Seconds later, his truck engine roared and the tail lights disappeared around the corner.

Ally stared at the remnants of their dinner, the sight of his tie still lying in the middle of the living room floor.

What had she done?

A swath of lights swept across the living room, waking Ally from a light doze. It was still dark outside. Moose was sleeping at her feet, where he’d stayed the whole night.

She hadn’t been able to make herself go to bed. Instead, she’d curled up on the couch with a blanket, waiting. When Chris got home she’d run him a bath and look after him.

Except, as she wakened fully, she realized that the headlights coming up the driveway were not from Chris’s truck. And as the vehicle parked in front of the house, Ally could see the lights on the roof. The RCMP. The police had come instead of Chris.
 

Everything inside her froze.

The car door slammed and Moose jerked awake, started barking and rushed to the window. Ally still wasn’t able to move. Didn’t want to answer the door or hear the words that would come out of the officer’s mouth. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t. Not again.

The knock came anyway. Twice.

She had to answer the door. Maybe she didn’t want to hear the words, but it wouldn’t stop them from coming eventually. When the knock sounded again, she mechanically pushed aside the blanket and got to her feet. Made the move, one step after the other, to the door. Put her hand on the knob. Swallowed.

Not now. Not when she’d just realized she loved him again.

The idea was so overwhelming that she opened the door just to chase it away. Constable Kendra Givens was on the step. “Ally,” she said gently.

“Just say it and get it over with,” Ally said, finding it hard to breathe. It was like someone was squeezing her lungs, making her breaths short and painful.

“Oh, Jesus, Ally.” Kendra reached out and steadied her with both hands on her arms. “He’s not dead. Is that what you thought?”

Relief swept through her so quickly she thought her knees might buckle and the air came out of her lungs in a rush. “A police officer comes to the door in the middle of the night? What was I supposed to think?”

“Can I come in?” Kendra asked. “You look like you’re going to drop.”

“Yes, of course.” She stood aside, feeling wobbly and off-balance.

Moose had retreated to his bed, being shy of strangers. As Ally and Kendra stepped into the kitchen, Ally flipped on a light.
He’s not dead. He’s not dead.
The thought kept repeating in her brain as she pulled out a chair at the table and sat down heavily.

Kendra took off her cap and put it on the table. “He’s okay. He asked if I’d come by and talk to you instead of you getting a phone call, that’s all.”

Kendra hadn’t been in town long. A few years, tops. She wouldn’t know about Ally’s sister, Becca. Wouldn’t understand that Ally had been through this once before.

“What happened?”

“I didn’t get all the details, but he was hurt. As far as I know, he’s got a broken arm that’s going to require surgery, and a few stitches. He’ll go in this morning, as soon as the surgeon shows up.”

“A broken arm?” Ally linked her fingers together and squeezed. Relief that he was okay warred with worry about the weeks ahead. “But…how is he going to work with only one arm?” It was October. She knew that soon Chris would be up to his eyeballs in work, putting snow tires on vehicles, doing winter checks, as well as regular repairs. “He’s got his business to run.”

And there was the fence to build for Moose. And the floors to put down in the house. And the dark, foreboding knowledge that just because he was going to be okay this time, didn’t mean he would be okay the next.