Facing Fire
Page 28
“Thank you,” she said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
“We owe him, Tasha. We get that.” Josiah would never deny that.
She picked at a worn spot on the table. “I know he could be difficult, but he was damn good at this job and in the end . . .” Her voice cracked.
Mike held up a hand. “Pure hero.”
That about summed it up for Josiah but the words clogged in his throat. He pushed out the only one he could say. “Yeah.”
Then he looked at Tasha. Really looked. She was the toughest woman he knew. Hell, she could take down most of the men on the team if she wanted. Her shooting, her determination and stamina. But right now sadness moved through her.
He had forgotten until this minute that Tasha and Harlan had served together on and off for a long time, including well before the Alliance. She brought him into the group. She fought for him to have a position equal to Ward in administration yet be able to go into the field when needed. She was his champion and, at heart, his friend.
She cleared her throat. “So, service, then I’m going to tell Ward we’re getting married.”
The news skidded across Josiah’s brain. “That’s interesting.”
Mike’s eyes bugged out. “Whoa.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t know yet.” She shrugged. “He will soon.”
“Shouldn’t he ask you?” Mike drew out each word of the question, as if waiting for her to unload.
She snorted. “Oh, please.”
Josiah didn’t know how to take that reaction. “Too traditional?”
“He asked ten days after I met him. The ball has been in my court ever since.” She shot them both a big smile. “Besides, we need a party. We all need to celebrate. Harlan would appreciate that.”
But Josiah’s mind kept spinning. He tried to imagine Ward waiting while she waded into danger. Ward’s hand injury kept him sidelined, but Josiah couldn’t imagine the frustration that came with being in the control room while the love of his life took so many risks.
“We can probably have one without the wedding,” he said, choosing his words as carefully as Mike had.
She snorted. “I want the wedding.”
“There you go.” Mike grabbed some glasses and clunked them down on the table. “We should do a toast.”
“To weddings.” Josiah glanced at Tasha and smiled. “And to Harlan.”
The tears welled in Tasha’s eyes that time. “Someone find some wine.”
Two weeks later Sutton stood on the balcony wrapped in a heavy sweater as she watched the snowfall. She lifted her head and let the first few flakes of the first snow of the season land on her cheeks.
Strong arms came around her and snuggled her close. Josiah’s scent, kind of woodsy and musky, washed over her. He’d showered and piled on the clothes. She preferred him without but he insisted the heat stay off and they light a fire.
She’d let him get right on that after a few more minutes of holding.
He kissed her hair. “I promised you a vacation. Some time away from worrying and the job.”
She looked at the harbor. The lights of the marina cast the boats bobbing in the water in shadows. The steady clang of metal on metal sounded out in the darkness.
She laughed and could see the steam from her breath.
“Yes, you did.” And he needed time to heal.
His lips traced the outside of her ear. “Told you we’d travel for a few weeks.”
“Uh-huh.” His tongue tickled and his erection pressed against her back. This guy could go and go. Pretty soon she was the one who’d need lots of rest. “I didn’t think we’d end up back in Baltimore.”
“It’s a nice hotel.”
Understatement. He’d insisted they skip her place in favor of a fancy boutique hotel made out of an old maritime museum. It was warm and cozy and the room service worked round the clock, which they’d taken advantage of for every meal.
“You’re lucky I love you.” She joked but the reality was she didn’t care where they went. She just wanted to spend time alone with him. To wipe away some of the hurt and double back, get to know each other like normal people do. Not that anything about him or his life qualified as normal.
“Yes, I am.” He licked that spot right below her ear. The one that drove her wild.
“You’re impossible.” And she loved him. Every mixed-up, flawed, strong, heroic part of him.
She pushed her hips back against him and he groaned. A long, low growl that echoed in her ear. It sounded so delicious, she did it a second time.
He nipped her ear. “Naughty.”
“You love that, too.”
“I so do.” He turned her around to face him. His nose had turned pink and the tops of his ears looked red thanks to the cold. “Would it help if I told you I had two tickets to Australia in my pocket?”
She didn’t want to get excited but her stomach had taken off in a happy dance. “Is it for work?”
“For a beach vacation with you. It’s summer there.” He made a face. “Well, almost.”
“Just the two of us?” She still didn’t quite trust this planning. He talked to his team daily. She wouldn’t put it past him to set up some sort of group getaway.
That would be fun, but she wanted him all to herself. Just them lounging on a beach, drinking fruity drinks . . . thought she wasn’t sure if that happened in Australia. She didn’t really care.
“Well, I rented a house but there will be people outside, I assume. I can’t really control who goes in and out of the country.” He winced when she pinched him. “Hey.”
He was so much more than she ever dreamed. She hadn’t been the little girl who sat and dreamed about weddings. She didn’t think she needed a man to be happy. But then she found him and the world opened up to her. She could trust and love and hope and dream, and he would stand next to her. It was a pretty humbling thing.
She slipped her arms around his neck and cuddled against his chest, trying to steal some of his warmth while she got close. “You did this for me.”
“I will refrain from making a smartass remark—”
“That’s wise.” She glared at him, but she knew he was kidding. So was she.
“You said you’d take me, warts and all.” He kissed her nose.
“Don’t use that as an excuse to be jerky.” She snorted. “Not that it would matter.”
He pulled back and stared at her. He sounded amused and a tiny bit confused. “Why?”
The poor guy still didn’t understand how much he meant to her. How he filled in those gaps. How being with him was so much better than being stuck in airports and on planes. “I love you just as you are.”
“And I’m enough?” He shuddered. “That makes me feel bad for you.”
He said it as a joke but she sensed the underlying fear. Not that he would admit it. She’d accidentally used the word “fear” with him a week ago and got treated to a five-minute lecture on how he pushed through fear.
Men.
“You are enough. You’re everything.” And she meant it.
He got that soft, going-to-kiss-you look. Then he did. A hot, wet, going-to-take-you-to-bed kiss. “I love you.”
Every word filled her with happiness, but still . . . “But we’re still going on that trip.”
“Understood.” He nodded. Looked all serious all of a sudden. “Any chance you want to practice for those beaches by getting naked?”
This playful side of him made her heart thud. “Always.”
He lifted her off the ground. “You really are perfect for me.”
“I keep telling you that.” And she would forever.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A HEARTFELT THANK you to May Chen, my incredible editor. You never cease to amaze me . . . and I’m not just talking about when you’re right about revisions, which is always. Your guidance and support on this book were invaluable.
Thank you to my agent, Laura Bradford, for your hard work in selling the series and in keeping
me sane while I wrote it.
Also, thank you to everyone at HarperCollins and Team Avon for all your hard work. You’ve made me feel welcome from day one, and that is a gift I do not take for granted.
As always, much love to my husband and thanks to my fantastic readers who make it possible for me to do what I love for a living. I am so grateful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HELENKAY DIMON spent the years before becoming a romance author as a . . . divorce attorney. Not the usual transition, she knows. Good news is she now writes full time and is much happier. She has sold over thirty novels, novellas, and shorts to numerous publishers. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in many venues, and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But if you ask her, she’ll tell you the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose again. You can learn more at her website: www.helenkaydimon.com.
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BY HELENKAY DIMON
FACING FIRE
FALLING HARD
PLAYING DIRTY
RUNNING HOT (novella)
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
FACING FIRE. Copyright © 2015 by HelenKay Dimon. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062330109
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062330093
FIRST EDITION
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