The Fire Inside (19 page)

Quickly, she shucked off her outer clothing,
giving him a view of a pink sports bra and panties. Once she was in
the tub, she grabbed his hands. He climbed the first step and
moaned. “Arrgh.”

“When was the last time you had pain
meds?”

“At the hospital. I think it’s time for more.
Just ibuprofen. They’re right there on the sink.”

“I’ll get some as soon as you’re seated.”

With great care, they managed to lower him
down, but the process was accompanied by more, louder groans. The
water came up to his chest and the jets pulsed at his feet and the
sides of his neck. “Oh dear Lord in heaven, that feels so
good.”

Stepping out of the tub, Tess retrieved the
medicine and ran a glass of water. After he swallowed them, she
climbed back in. “Don’t fall asleep. I’ll never get you out of
here.”

“I won’t. There’s a washcloth and soap right
there.”

“You could probably manage yourself.”

He sighed. “Okay.” He sat up and moaned
again.

“Never mind. I’ll do it.”

She knelt between his legs. Ran the soap over
his chest and rinsed it with the cloth. She did the same for his
arms, neck and face. “That feels as good as the water.” He reached
out and brushed his hand down her cheek. “I’ve missed you, Teresa.
A lot.”

“We don’t need to talk about that while
you’re hurting.”

He lay back and closed his eyes. Sitting on
her haunches, she soaped his legs and feet. Then she approached his
groin.

She ran the wash cloth and over him. His
erection sprang to attention.

“You can’t be all that sick,” she said with a
laugh.

o0o

All right, so it had been fun to give him a
bath. And she was relieved to see him well enough to joke and flirt
after the fall he took. She’d been unable to stop the memories of
Joey and those had made her weak, vulnerable to him. But she didn’t
examine her other motives for being here. She would, but now, she
was glad to be the one to take care of him.

When the water started to cool, she climbed
over the edge of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. But she
didn’t get dressed right away. She knelt beside on the top step,
covered Jack’s wound with a cloth and managed to massage some
shampoo and water into his thick hair. With a cup, she rinsed his
head, careful to avoid the stitches. “It’s not perfect, but it’ll
do.”

“It was terrific.” He grabbed her hand again
and kissed it. “Thanks.”

As she helped him out of the tub, he swayed.
“Dizzy?”


“A bit. But the pain’s diminished. All
over.”

“I could tell.” She nodded to the toilet.
“Sit.”

Unable to stop herself, she took her time
drying him off, because she enjoyed the feel of his body beneath
her hands, then she helped him dress in pajama bottoms and a
T-shirt. Out in the bedroom, she insisted he get in bed.

“Stay with me, Teresa.”

“Let me change first.”

She made quick work of putting on her top and
slacks, sans underwear because they were wet. Going commando was
sexy. Too sexy, probably.

From his bedside, she asked, “Have you eaten
anything?”

“No. I wouldn’t mind some chicken soup.
There’s cans in the cupboard.”

In a few minutes, she brought him soup on a
tray. “I’m not feeding you.”

“Sit with me.”

She started to get a chair.

“No. On the bed.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I am. And we do have to talk.”

“Eat first.”

He downed the soup, crackers and a glass of
milk without help, which indicated he felt better. Afterward, she
took a place on the bed, facing him cross-legged.

“I had a date with Larissa James last
night.”

“I know.” She cleared her throat. “How was
it?”

“Pleasant. Nice.” His gaze narrowed on her.
“I thought of you.”

Swallowing hard at his last remark, Tess
stared at him, knowing what she said right now would be crucial.
She wanted to be practical, to tell him they’d fight, ask again
about professionalism and the RC class, but all she could think of
was how he’d gotten hurt, like Joey had. And she’d lost Joey. “I—I
thought of you when I went to Cory Cameron’s last night.”

“Fuck!” His hands fisted and he raised his
eyes to the ceiling. “Did you sleep with him?”

“No! He was a perfect gentleman. He said I
wasn’t giving out vibes that I was interested.”

“You weren’t?”

“Of course not. I’ve tried to put you out of
my mind, tried to hang on to my anger about you leaving me high and
dry, choosing Mitch over me, and our contention over the recruits.
But last night, I couldn’t do anything with him. Then, when you got
hurt…” Now
she
looked up, as if the answers were in the
wood. “What are we going to do, Jack?”

“I know what I want.”

Staring directly at him, she arched her
brows.

“I want to spend time with you. To make love
to you like we did before. Let’s see where this goes, Teresa. I’m
tired of wanting you and not having you.”

“What about the recruits?”

“We’ll disagree. We can handle it. But I do
think it’s probably not a good idea to flaunt what’s between us
until after the fourteen weeks are up.”

“Is there a no-fraternizing policy in the
department?”

“Hell no.” He held up a hand and counted off
on his fingers. “A lot of HCFD couples got together: Grady and
Jenn, Zach and Casey, Riley and Jane Phillips, and even Noah. He
fell in love with the woman from the Fire Prevention and Control
unit who came up to investigate him and eventually married her. No
one would care about us.”

“I’m tired of fighting how I feel, too. I
want to try, Jack.”

“Good. So do I.” Despite the gravity of their
discussion, he joked, “But not tonight. Despite earlier evidence,
I’m exhausted and woozy again.”

“Scoot down and lie back on the pillows.”

“Stay, though.”

She hesitated.

“I’ve got a concussion.”

“Waking someone up every hour is old
thinking, Doc. You know it.”

“Just stay.”

“I could.” She wanted to. “I picked up my
laundry this afternoon so I have a uniform in my car.”

“Then, it’s settled.”

“I have to call the Malvasos. They’ll
worry.”

“More like Mitch will come looking for
you.”

“That, too.”

She thought for a minute. “Maybe I’ll text
him.” She got her phone, sat back on the bed and started to type.
“I won’t be home tonight Mitch,” she said, pretending to type those
words. “I’m spending the night in Jack Harrison’s bed. See you
tomorrow.”

“You didn’t?” he said, only half joking.

“You’ll never know.”

He yawned again. “Come here, woman.” He
pulled back the covers. “I want to hold you all night.”

“I want that, too.”

After a while, the rise and fall of his
chest, the steady rhythm of his heart lulled Tess, and she drifted
off into sleep. She knew there would be no nightmares tonight.

o0o

Jack awakened at five. The room was dark and
a bit chilly from the open windows. Tess snuggled into the crook of
his arm, fast asleep. Easing away from her, he slid out of bed and
didn’t get dizzy when he stood. His head still hurt, so he went to
the bathroom, took some ibuprofen and brushed his teeth. Hmm. It
was hours before she needed to go to the Academy. From a drawer, he
pulled out condoms.

In the kitchen, he made coffee to bring to
her. She awoke when he came back to the room. “Um, hi.” Her hair
was askew and her eyes sleepy. “What time is it?”

“Five. We fell asleep early.”

She eyed the coffee. “Thank God.” Sitting up
she took it and sipped. “Hmm.”

He got hard at that little noise.

“How do you feel?”

“Good enough.” Amusement filtered into his
tone.

She studied him. “Presumptuous, aren’t
you?”

“Am I?”

“No.” She took a gulp, got out of bed and
headed to the bathroom. When she returned, she finished the coffee,
then dove onto the mattress. “Make love to me, John.”

“All right, Teresa.”

It was like before, but it wasn’t. This time,
Jack was emotionally attached, and every touch was more meaningful.
Just the soft feel of her skin as he eased off her shirt aroused
him. He’d already undressed and when he lay beside her, he aligned
each of his limbs with hers. Their faces so close, their noses
touching, he sighed gratefully. “I’ve wanted this a long time
sweetheart.”

“Me, too. Take it easy, though. Your body had
a shock yesterday.”

“I will, but my body has risen to the
occasion, so to speak.”

She arched her hips. “I can feel that.”

Intertwining their fingers, he took her
mouth. The kiss was tender and sweet, as he savored the taste of
her. He nuzzled her neck, where he indulged in a tiny love bite.
His hands traveled down her body to her breasts.

She sighed.

But Tess wanted her turn. She ran her hands
over his chest. “I love how taut you are. How your muscles feel.”
Her knuckles brushed his abs. “Here, too.”

Bypassing his groin, she slid her hands to
his butt, kneaded him there. “God, Teresa.”

She took her time getting to the part of him
that was about to explode. After she took him between her hands,
she massaged him.

“Don’t. I’ll come.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do. Please.”

Up on her knees, Tess took the protection
he’d put on the night table and sheathed him. Then she lay back
down; he scissored their legs and entered her. He was so hard, it
startled her. But the fullness was wonderful and she was wet and
needy. He thrust gently. Again. And again. Spasms started deep
within her, making her move faster, faster…until finally everything
erupted inside her—and him—and she lost the capacity to think.

They cuddled close on one pillow. He was
breathing as hard as she. Chilled, she pulled up the covers and
nestled into his side. But reality came, an emotional slap in the
face. Tess started to think again about the gravity of what they
were facing. She was scared—and not necessarily because of the
recruit class. In the early hours of the morning, she admitted she
didn’t want any more loss, and if she let herself love this man,
there was risk involved.

“Don’t do that,” he said commandingly.

“Do what?”

“Let the doubts in. Later, maybe, we can talk
about it, but not now.”

“You’re right.” Her eyes closed. “I’ll just
think about how sexy you are and that, for now, you’re all
mine.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, kissing her
hair.

o0o

Tess swerved her car into a parking space at
the Academy, jumped out and raced to the door. Because she was
late, she’d already missed roll call but was hoping to arrive in
time to help introduce the Hurst tools to the recruits. This was a
big lesson, as safety with the giant spreaders, scissors and rams
was paramount. When she reached the classroom, she breathed a sigh
of relief that they hadn’t yet begun the instruction. The recruits
were only now settling into chairs, and Olive and Quinn stood up
front.

She covered the aisle with long strides. “I’m
so sorry, Olive. I overslept.” It was a lie, but she wouldn’t think
about what she’d been doing this morning. She’d vowed to keep Jack
out of her mind today, even though now, they were happy
thoughts.

The BC gave her a genuine smile. “No worries,
Tess. It happens to all of us.”

Lucky you,
she thought.

Quinn Frazier squeezed her shoulder. “We
haven’t even started the formal intro, anyway.”

Olive called for the attention of the group
and was the first to talk to them. “Today, we’re reviewing what you
studied for homework over the weekend—the Hurst tools used for
extricating victims from cars and other tight places, as well as
popping doors in houses. We’ll spend about thirty minutes in the
classroom discussing the way the tools work—which again you’ve
already studied—then we’ll go out to a bay and get the equipment
donated to us by a Hurst company. Later, during the second half of
the class, you’ll be able to use them in simulated extrication
emergencies.”

A soft murmur rippled through the group.
Recruits always wanted to get their hands on things before they
were ready.

Up front on the screen, Olive showed a
picture of the equipment. “First, there are tools powered by
hydraulics, then there are newer battery-operated ones called
eDraulic. The HCFD has both, but found the latter ones are the
easiest to use, as you might guess. We’re starting with those. The
drawback to this type is they have a shorter use rate because they
run out of juice.”

Another slide. “These are spreaders, for
either pushing or pulling a substance apart. They have a
thirty-two-inch reach.

“Next the shears, capable of cutting almost
any object that can be fit between their blades. Smaller
departments often use the combination spreader/shears but the HCFD
has separate ones. And yes, this is what is called the Jaws of
Life.”

After showing a variety of the equipment, she
put up a slide of extension rams. “These come in different sizes
and are used to gain forcible entry into buildings or cars. Of
note, the FDNY used this tool to open 109 doors in their rescue
efforts in the World Trade Center.

“We’ll save the jacks and air bags and
cribbing for another lesson.”

The recruits were sitting at attention, their
eyes focused and…interested. Olive had given them a lot of
information, but it was fascinating stuff to anyone involved with
firefighting. “One last thing. The noise, from the shears
especially, is teeth grating, so don’t let it spook you. Meet us in
the first bay after a ten-minute bathroom break or whatever you
need.”

To make up for her lateness, Tess headed to
the garage, intending to get out the tools. But she’d missed this,
too, as she found them already displayed on the concrete surface.
The door was up, and rain slanted down but wasn’t coming inside
yet. Walking the floor, she fingered the Jaws of Life and picked up
a ram to test its weight. A lump formed in her throat. She hadn’t
used these tools in over a year, but she remembered vividly the
first time she ripped open the hood of a vehicle. Her muscles had
hurt with the force of the steel on the car and the power of the
tool. She’d steadied her stance, though, and did the cutting.
Several men had been looking on to see if she could handle the
grueling task and she remembered thinking that she’d show them
women were capable.