by Cora Seton
Thank God.
Thank God.
As though he had no fear at all, he waded in, through the inferno. To her mind he seemed like every hero she’d ever dreamed of. He was large and strong and indomitable. Without a word, he lifted her in his arms and bolted from the fiery hell.
The kiss of the cool, crisp night was exquisite. Lisa sucked in a deep breath, and then began to cough as her lungs seized. She clung to her rescuer’s shoulders as he ran—though there was no need, as his hold on her was firm, comforting. She glanced back at the motel and her pulse lurched when she saw the full extent of the fire.
Holy God.
There was no way the motel could be saved. Any of it.
Even as the thought occurred to her, one end of the building collapsed. A cloud of sparks engulfed them. Her fireman hunched his body over hers, taking the brunt of the blast.
She was aware of other men running around, of calls and bellows and great streams of water blasting into the blaze, but mostly, she was aware of him. His huffed breaths, his strength, his warmth.
He gingerly lowered her to the curb next to a medic unit, wrapped her in a blanket and then he pulled off his helmet and SCBA gear.
Lisa gaped. Her pulse hammered.
Cade. Cade Silver.
Deep-blue eyes entranced her. She would recognize them anywhere, even on a grubby soot-covered face. And what a face. As gorgeous as he had been in the bar, dressed in jeans and a chambray shirt, he was infinitely hotter now, dressed as he was in turnout gear.
His jaw seemed firmer, his lips fuller. His body bigger.
Damn, he was hot.
She shivered as arousal scalded her. It was probably nothing more than a natural reaction to a brush with death. Or not.
Maybe it was simply him.
“Are you all right, Lisa?” he asked. His voice was low, raspy.
“I’m fine.” Hers was raspy too.
He stared at her as though he couldn’t bear to look away, and then forced his attention to the fire. “I need to get back,” he said. “But Taggert will take care of you. Okay?” He waved to a man dressed in blue slacks and a white shirt with a paramedic patch sewn onto the chest.
Lisa nodded. It was all she could manage. She was incapable of speech.
He sketched a salute to Taggert, put his gear back on and headed back into the fray. As the paramedic checked her over, Lisa watched Cade and his fellow firefighters battle the blaze. It was funny how she always knew which shadowed figure was his. As if her mind had memorized his form.
One thought kept running through her mind: He’d saved her. He’d saved her.
“That was a close call, ma’am.”
She jerked and forced her attention to the man kneeling by her side. To her surprise he was taking her blood pressure. She’d been completely unaware of that until now. “I beg your pardon?”
“I said, that was a close call. Silver pulled you out just in time.”
“Yes.” She shuddered. “He did.”
Taggert chuckled as he reached for her pulse. “Figures though.”
“Figures?”
“That it would be him.”
Lisa followed his gaze and saw Cade bracing himself against the spray of the hose. The flames were almost out. “Why?”
“Not the first time he’s run into a burning building to pull a pretty lady to safety.”
Well, he was a fireman.
Taggert must have read her thoughts in her expression. “Do you remember that story on the news a couple years ago when Cherise went to Iraq?”
“Yeah.” The pop star had been there entertaining the troops when enemy insurgents had attacked the base. She’d nearly died but she’d been saved by a—“That was Cade?”
“The one and only.” He winked. “They say she thanked him with a kiss. He’s been a legend here ever since.”
“I-I didn’t know he was in the service.” It occurred to her how little she actually knew about him. She knew everything about Cody, but then, Cody hadn’t shut up for two minutes during dinner.
“Cade enlisted right after graduation. He came back when his dad died, to help with the ranch.”
“The stud ranch?” She couldn’t help the jibe.
“Yeah.” Taggert grinned. “That one. We were real glad to have him back, though. We needed the help. And say what you want about the military, they sure do know how to train firefighters.”
“I bet they do.”
He leaned back and set his hand on her arm. “So you have some cuts and minor burns, but thanks to those towels, you’re not burned bad.” She glanced at the towels piled beside her and was surprised to see that they were completely dry. She was also surprised to realize Taggert had wrapped her hands. She stared at them bemusedly because she had no memory of that at all.
He patted her knee. “It’s natural to be a bit dazed. You’ve been through a lot tonight. Can I get you a bottle of water?”
Oh God. “Water would be wonderful.”
Thankfully, he opened it for her, because her hands were bandaged. The cool rush of liquid on her burning throat was sublime. As she finished the bottle, the firefighters, who had beaten back the flames, gathered by the medic unit for a debriefing. Lisa listened with half an ear. Nearly every ort of her attention was on Cade.
There was no reason for her soul to trill the way it did when he came and sat by her side and shot her a soothing smile.
But it did.
“How are you doing?” Cade asked. There was no call for the arousal that ignited at the sight of her sitting there in a skimpy nightie. Though the blanket covered most of her, her legs were bare.
“I’m fine.” Her eyes were wide, damp. He checked her pupils and, though he was certain Taggert had already verified she wasn’t in shock, he was relieved to see they were normal. She set her hand on his arm. He stared down at it, taking in the bandages.
Damn. She wasn’t fine at all. She’d been hurt.
“Thank you for saving me.” His gaze jerked up to meet hers. He swallowed painfully. She looked fragile and wan. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but he couldn’t. He didn’t have the right.
Though it nearly killed him, he forced a grin. “All in a day’s work, ma’am.”
She nearly flinched and he could have kicked himself for being flippant. He didn’t want to be flippant. Not with her.
He turned toward the motel, which was a smoking hulk. It occurred to him that everything she had, everything she’d brought with her, was gone. Burned to a crisp. “You can come stay at the ranch,” he said, though he didn’t know where the words came from. Had no idea where he dredged up the courage to offer. It was silly, really. Ridiculous. She probably had lots of friends who could put her up. If nothing else, she could go stay at her grandmother’s house. But when she glanced at him with that hopeful look in her eyes, he couldn’t help adding, “Claire would love it.”
Her lips worked. “I…I couldn’t intrude.”
Cade forced a laugh. “It’s no intrusion. The house has ten bedrooms.” And staff quarters. And a bunkhouse. And a fully furnished gatehouse. Lots of private places—
It took great effort to keep his fantasies at bay.
A smile ghosted her lips. “And what about the parties?”
Cade winced. “None this weekend, ma’am.”
“I was teasing. I’d love to stay there. I mean, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.”
Hell no. He didn’t mind at all.
It took a while to finish up at the scene and get all the equipment put away. When they were done, they all headed back to the firehouse; Lisa rode with Taggert while Cade rode on the engine. Once back at the station, he found a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt for her to wear—though she fairly swam in them—and then, after he’d cleaned up a bit and she was dressed, he tucked her into his truck and headed for the ranch.
Normally he would stay at the firehouse for the training on Saturday, but Sandy had canceled i
t in light of the call; in his estimation, they’d gotten a better refresher managing a real incident than they could have gotten in a hundred simulations. This suited Cade just fine. Because he had a chance to be with Lisa.
The night was dark and still, the streets empty as he drove out of town. When they passed into the countryside, silence swallowed them up. He loved the peace of driving at night, with the stars glimmering overhead and the indistinguishable lumps of houses and barns and hills flicking by. He didn’t mind, however, when she broke the silence.
“Thank you again for this,” she said.
He glanced at her. Her features were illuminated by the lights of the dash and it struck him again how damn beautiful she was.
“No problem.” Nope. None indeed. “Claire will be glad to have you stay.” He was sure he imagined the flash of disappointment on her face.
“Well.” She threaded her fingers together. “I appreciate it.”
“We’re glad to have you.” And then, because he needed to say it, “I’m glad to have you.”
She smiled at that. “Are you?”
“Yes.” It was nearly a whisper, but she heard. Her smile broadened and she turned to gaze out the window.
When they arrived at the ranch, he woke up Claire—who was indeed thrilled to have company—and let his sister take over Lisa’s keeping. Fortunately the two were of a similar size, so Lisa would have some clothes to wear.
It was late by the time Cade dropped into bed, but even so, as he lay there and stared up at the ceiling, he couldn’t sleep.
Because she was here.
Under his roof.
Chapter Five
‡
Something smelled delicious. Still half-asleep, Cade followed his nose into the kitchen and was surprised to see Lisa at the counter wearing Molly’s apron and dusted in flour. He was gratified to see the bandages on her hands were gone, replaced by a few Band-Aids. She glanced up and smiled as he entered the room.
It was a smile of such complete and absolute delight, dimples and everything, that it was like a punch to the gut. He’d like to wake up every morning to a smile like that.
Oh, and smells like this.
“What-what are you making?” A stupid question, and he hated that he prefaced it with a stutter. He’d vanquished that demon long ago.
“Right now?” She tapped her lips with a spoon and his gaze fixated on that. “Muffins. But those are done.” She waved at a tray on the counter. “Cream puffs. Not very breakfasty, but I was in the mood to bake.”
He prowled over to the tray and examined the bite-sized puffs. They looked perfectly formed, tantalizingly browned and utterly exquisite. He picked one up and popped it into his mouth and…
God.
A mouth orgasm.
It was a flaky pastry filled with a dollop of vanilla crème that exploded on his tongue when he bit into it. It was freaking awesome. Heaven. He stared at her.
Her smile faltered. She blinked. “I hope you don’t mind. I mean, I invade your home in the middle of the night and then take over the kitchen… And oh. I’ve made quite a mess.”
He hated the way her expression deflated. Wished he could think of something, say something to salvage the conversation, but his brain was absolutely vapor locked. So he grabbed another cream puff. It was so good, he took another. And another.
As she watched him devour half the tray, her eyes started to sparkle again. Her lips quirked. His heart lifted and then soared. If he could make her happy by eating, he’d snarf down each and every one.
They were as close to perfection as he’d ever tasted.
She laughed, a light tinkling sound that sent shivers skittering up his spine. “Are you going to eat them all?”
“Mmm hmm,” he responded, though his mouth was full.
“Well, at least have some coffee with them.” She turned to pour him a cup and his attention stalled on her ass.
He didn’t mean for his attention to stall on her ass, but it was facing him and it was spectacular, cupped in a pair of jeans. His attention zeroed in on that shadowed spot between her legs and his cock jerked as thoughts totally inappropriate to the kitchen of his family home wound through his head.
When she turned, with a steaming cup of joe in her hands, he forced his eyes to her face and attempted to look as innocent as he could. But judging by the way she stalled, the way her lips parted, the way a light-pink blush tinted her cheeks, she knew what he’d been thinking.
Her lashes fluttered as she handed him the mug. When their fingers brushed, she jerked back.
It was unfortunate that she jerked back. It made him think she really didn’t care for his touch, for one thing. That, and the coffee was hot. His recoil sent more of the steaming liquid sloshing from the mug.
“Oh my God,” she said as she stared at his hands. She grabbed a towel and mopped at the coffee. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay, Lisa,” he said, though where the words came from, he had no idea. They certainly hadn’t been in his head. Nothing was in his head. Nothing but the realization that she was touching him again. He set down his cup and took the towel from her and finished wiping up the spill. Because she appeared somewhat distressed, he smiled at her.
Their gazes clung. Cade measured the moment in the beat of his pulse. Her attention flicked to the scar on his left cheek. A tiny tightening around her mouth. A flicker of lashes. He hated that he knew what she was thinking.
She stepped back to the counter and forced a laugh. “Well, I should probably finish these. Cody and Claire will be up soon.”
Right.
The mention of Cody was like a dash of cold water.
He should have thought of that before he brought her here. He should have remembered.
“He will love these,” Cade said, snagging another of the cream puffs. Might as well.
She chuckled. “Well, don’t feel like you have to leave any for him.” Oh, he liked that idea. He liked it a lot. But then she went and added, “I can always make more.”
Right.
His first inclination was probably an artifact of his youth. He wanted to retreat, to hide, to remove himself from her presence, from the possible pain seeing her and Cody together again might cause, but he fought it. It cost him a lot, but he piled the remaining cream puffs on a plate, picked up his mug and sat at the beat-up kitchen table. “Do you bake a lot?” he asked. It was a stupid question, but a safe one. And the fact of the matter was, he was here, alone with her right now. And Cody wasn’t.
He should take what he could get.
She went back to stirring her batter, but a smile teased her lips. “Not as often as I’d like.”
“Really?” Because she was damn good at it. “No time in Dallas?” A lame probe into her life with Mr. Wonderful, but there you have it. He really wanted to know.
But she bent her head and only murmured, “Hmm.”
“Well, you can bake for me anytime,” he said, popping another cream puff into his mouth. She rewarded him with a grin.
He loved watching her work. The way her face crumpled up as she focused on her measurements, the way she huffed when her hair came untucked from behind her ear and flopped onto her cheek. The streak of flour she left when she tugged it back. It was nice, sitting in the scented kitchen, being silent. Being together.
Lisa blew out a sigh. It wasn’t awkward, not chatting with Cade. Somehow silence fit him like a comfortable old suit. But she wanted to talk to him. To get to know him better.
She remembered him from high school, though he’d been two years ahead of her. He’d been the tall, silent type even then. Although he was even taller now. And he was no longer a boy. Service in the military had filled him out and where he’d been slender before, he was now all bulk and hard muscle. His eyes were harder too, but filled with fascinating depths. The scar on his cheek, speaking to a wealth of experience, was fascinating as well.
Though he wasn’t “pretty” like his brot
her, or charming or playful, he had a certain…something. He was definitely the more attractive of the two. Not that Cody wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous. He was. But Cade had a quiet resonance about him that appealed to her.
When Cody had asked her out, she’d gone, but somewhere, deep in her heart, she’d known he wasn’t the man for her and they’d only dated a couple of times. If only she’d had the same sense of self-awareness when it came to Guy.
Marrying him had been the biggest mistake of her life.
But then, there were so many mistakes to choose from.
“What are you thinking about?” The low rumble startled her. She glanced up to find Cade staring at her with his head cocked to the side. His eyes, a clear and sharp bluish-gray, seemed to see through to her soul. That they were framed with long lashes didn’t help the skittering of her pulse.
“I…ah…” Hell. Should she ruin the conversation, such as it was, by telling him the truth? But Cade seemed to be the kind of guy who valued the truth over pointless chatter, so she gave it to him. “My husband.”
He flinched as though she had slapped him. His friendly expression closed down a bit, which made her sad.
“He’s a…lawyer, right?”
Lisa tried not to grimace. Shark was a better description.
“Are you…missing him?”
She couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that escaped.
Cade blinked. “Well, aren’t you?”
“Not hardly.” Bitterness threaded the words, though she swore she would not be bitter. “And I doubt he’s missing me.”
His throat worked. His ears went pink. She had no idea how to interpret that. “Well… He’s probably missing your baking.”
Hah! “He never eats my goodies.”
Oh. Holy. God. She loved his expression, the bald and blatant disbelief. “What is wrong with him?”
Yeah, she loved his squawk too.
She cupped her hands around her coffee mug and leaned forward to confide, “He’s vegan.”
“What?”
“Apparently butter is the root of all evil. Aside from that, he rarely eats carbs.”
Cade shook his head as though he was having trouble taking that tidbit in. “He doesn’t eat carbs?”