by Karen Foley
“So I guess your job doesn’t really allow for personal relationships, huh?” she asked.
Tyler knew she was hoping for some affirmation from him, but he couldn’t make any promises, and he didn’t want to mislead her.
“I’d say it’s not exactly conducive to long-term commitments, but some of the guys on the crew have made it work.” He paused. “But it’s usually a little easier if both people live in the same state.”
Callie drew in a deep breath, and gently pulled away from him. She stood up, and walked a few steps away and stood looking out over the water, hugging her arms around her middle.
“This is crazy,” he heard her say.
Rising to his feet, Tyler went and stood behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest, crossing his own arms over hers. Her head rested just beneath his chin, and he finally gave in to the urge he’d had all night, and pressed his face into her hair, breathing deeply.
“What’s crazy?”
She turned in his arms and looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “This. The way I feel about you.”
Exhilaration and regret surged through Tyler, warring within him. He was a masochist, because he couldn’t help asking. He had to know.
“How do you feel?”
She made a sound that was half laugh, half groan, and bent her head to his chest. “Like I have the flu; I’m hot and shivery all at the same time, and whenever I’m near you I can’t seem to think straight.”
“Hey,” he said softly, and put a finger beneath her chin. “Look at me.”
She raised her head. Her eyes were dark pools in the pale oval of her face.
“Whatever you have, it must be catching.”
Then he bent his head and covered her mouth with his.
Chapter Eleven
As kisses went, it was as about as perfect as Callie could have imagined. His lips were warm and firm, and moved with sensual slowness over hers. He shifted slightly, and cupped the back of her head with one big hand, his fingers sliding through her hair to gently massage her scalp.
Callie was helpless to prevent the small sound of pleasure that escaped her, and she pressed closer to Tyler, wanting more. He slanted his mouth across hers, and she opened for him instinctively, welcoming the hot, silky intrusion of his tongue. He tasted of sweet tea, and she angled her face to give him better access. He immediately deepened the kiss, fusing his mouth to hers, and stroking her tongue with his own until hot coils of desire unfurled low in her abdomen.
Wreathing her arms around his neck, Callie pushed her fingers through his short hair, reveling in the velvet-rough texture. He made a sound of approval, and then dragged his mouth from hers. He tipped her face to one side and pressed heated kisses along her jaw, to the sensitive spot below her ear, before taking the delicate lobe between his teeth.
Callie moaned softly.
The sensation of his tongue as it followed the whorl of her ear sent a sharp knife of pure need straight through her. In answer, Tyler moved his lips along the side of her neck to where she knew her pulse beat erratically. Her breathing was coming fast, and she stroked her hands over the wide breadth of his shoulders, urging him closer.
“Christ, you smell delicious,” he muttered against her skin. “I want to eat you.”
“That—that sounds good,” she managed, her voice sounding strangled.
He laughed softly, and then he was kissing her again, more urgently now. His hands roamed across her back, and down over her bottom, lifting her up against his hips so she could feel how hard he was. His hands kneaded her cheeks beneath the thin fabric of her dress, and it was all Callie could do not to push against him, to beg him to touch her where she needed it most. She burned for him.
He felt amazing beneath her hands, all hard bone and muscle. But when she pushed her fingers beneath the soft material of his shirt, his skin was like hot silk.
“I love touching you,” she panted, when she could catch her breath.
“Same.” He growled softly, and claimed her mouth in a kiss so searing Callie thought she might spontaneously combust.
As to prove his point, he put a hand at the small of her back to anchor her against him, and cupped one breast with his free hand. Callie gasped, and then arched into his palm. Beneath the cotton dress, her nipple tightened, sending a reflexive jolt of lust to her sex. He found her nipple and gently rolled it between his fingers until Callie whimpered softly against his mouth.
“Good?” he asked.
She made in an inarticulate sound of assent, and then his hand moved lower, beneath the hem of her dress. Callie could feel the hard calluses on his palm as it skated over her bare thigh, and then he was cupping her intimately, the fragile barrier of her panties no match for his lean fingers.
“Oh, man,” he said, and his voice sounded choked. “You are so freaking soft.”
Callie knew she should stop him. This was too much, too soon, but every cell in her body ached for more, so instead of pushing him away, she shifted her weight to provide him better access. His fingers slid beneath the fabric, and then he was touching her, parting her. She clutched at his shoulders, almost unable to bear the touch of his fingers against her sensitized flesh.
“Please,” she managed, “I can’t take it.”
She didn’t know if she was begging him to stop, or continue, but she almost wept in disappointment as his fingers ceased their magical exploration and he withdrew his hand. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Callie realized she was trembling. She felt hot and achy and unfulfilled, and everything in her cried out for him to finish what he’d started…to provide her with the release she so desperately needed. She dragged in several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.
“Sorry,” she finally managed to say, her words muffled against his shoulder.
He pulled back slightly and cupped her face in his two hands. Callie gazed up at him, feeling bemused and a little desperate for more of his touch. His expression was tight, as if he were in pain.
“Why are you sorry?” he asked, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “One of us has to think straight, and clearly it wasn’t going to be me.”
“You didn’t seem to have any problem stopping,” she complained.
He traced her mouth with his finger. “You said you couldn’t take it, so I stopped. No means no, right? I’d never do anything you weren’t ready for.”
She knew he was aroused; had felt the evidence of it when she’d pressed against him, and yet he’d put the brakes on for her. Unless she’d misread him, and he wasn’t as into her as she’d thought.
As if reading her mind, he tipped her face up so he could search her eyes.
“Listen,” he said. “Just so there’s no misunderstanding, everything in me wants to take you someplace quiet and spend about the next two weeks getting to know every inch of you.”
Callie knew what was coming next.
He drew in a deep breath. “But that wouldn’t be fair to you, because I’m heading out tomorrow. Besides which, you’re going through a lot right now with your dad in the hospital, and the fire destroying your home.” He hesitated. “I’d feel like I was taking advantage of you.”
Realistically, she knew he was right. No matter how gorgeous and sexy she found him, she’d be making a huge mistake to let their attraction for each other go any further. The likelihood of their seeing each other again was slim to none, and she wasn’t accustomed to one-night stands, which is what sleeping with Tyler would amount to.
“You’re right,” she conceded reluctantly.
“Yep.” He sounded as disappointed as she felt, which made her feel marginally better. “C’mon, I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”
He scooped up both pairs of boots in one hand, and kept his arm around her shoulders as they made their way across the field. He steered her past the groups of people sitting around the low-burning campfires, and the incident command tents, where emergency responders were stil
l coordinating fire suppression efforts. When they reached her cabin, she stood on the first step of the small porch, and turned to look at him.
“Thank you for everything, Tyler.”
He was eye-level with her now, and he reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind one ear. “You’re a pretty amazing lady, you know that? I’m sorry we couldn’t have met under different circumstances, but I’m not sorry we met.”
“Me, either. Take care of yourself, okay?”
Leaning forward, he kissed her sweetly, breaking away before it became heated. He handed her the boots, stroked his thumb across her mouth, and turned and walked away. Callie watched him go, feeling bereft. He looked back once, an expression of regret on his face. Callie went inside the cabin where she leaned against the closed door and shut her eyes. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life in letting him go? She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made her feel the way he did.
Alive.
Sexy.
With a groan of regret, she pushed away from the door and crossed the small living room to the bedroom at the back of the cabin. Fumbling in the dark, she found the bedside lamp and turned it on low. The light cast a soft glow on the honey-colored log walls, and the bed looked inviting with its pretty quilt and plump pillows. She was just reaching for the zipper at the back of her dress, when she heard a knock on the cabin door.
Her heart leapt inside her chest. She opened the door, and there he stood. Her heart beat so hard she was sure he must hear it. They stared at each other for several long seconds, and then he held up the sweater she’d brought with her earlier.
“You forgot this,” he said.
“That’s not all I forgot.” Reaching out, she caught his wrist and pulled him inside the cabin, and shut the door. Pushing him up against the planks, she thought she saw surprise, and then relief in his eyes. “I forgot that I’m not ready to say good-bye to you. Not yet.”
*
Tyler had hoped something like this might happen, but when Callie dragged him into her cabin, and planted a searing kiss on him, he couldn’t hide his relief or his satisfaction.
He caught her in his arms, letting the sweater drop to the floor, forgotten. If she’d been sexy before, now she was like a living flame in his arms. Her hands curled into his shirt as she kissed him, deeply.
“I want this,” she gasped, between kisses. “Don’t try to change my mind.”
“Okay.” Tyler couldn’t help but smile, scraping his teeth against hers as she smiled back. “I won’t.”
Before she could protest, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the small bedroom, and set her on her feet beside the bed.
“You have no idea how hard it was for me to let you go, earlier,” he confessed, sliding one hand beneath her hair and framing her jaw in his hand. “But I didn’t plan this. When I saw your sweater on the chair, I really just meant to return it to you.”
“I believe you,” she said softly, and leaned up to kiss him, tracing her tongue lightly along his lips.
It was all the invitation Tyler needed. With a groan, he deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth over hers, and pushing his tongue against hers. Her lips were incredibly soft and she tasted like the lemonade she’d had earlier, by the fire. Even the knowledge he was behaving like a complete hypocrite, since he was leaving tomorrow, couldn’t diminish the lust that swamped him.
Right now, with Callie making soft moans of pleasure as he kissed her, he couldn’t think beyond this moment. It had been years since he’d had such an urgent need to see a woman spread out beneath him, and he desperately wanted to see if Callie came close to the fantasy images he had of her in his head.
He buried his fingers in her silky hair, angling his mouth across hers for deeper penetration. She made a noise of approval and stroked her tongue against his, sliding one hand to the nape of his neck. Her fingers were cool against his heated skin. Tyler dragged his mouth from hers and sucked in a steadying breath. He needed to slow down, because as much as he wanted Callie, he also wanted to savor every moment of what was to come.
“I want to see you,” she whispered on a ragged exhale. “I want to see all of you.”
Her dark eyes were a little hazy with pleasure, and her mouth was moist from his kisses. Tyler immediately reached a hand behind his head and grabbed a fistful of his tee shirt, dragging it off.
“You are so beautiful,” she said softly, her gaze raking over his body. She traced a fingertip over the tribal tattoo on his arm, and then down the groove that bisected his torso, admiring his pecs and stomach. “I could just look at you all day.”
Tyler was under no illusions that he was the best-looking guy on the smokejumping crew. Sure, he had a great physique, honed through years of hard work and training. But some of the younger guys could probably have a successful career in modeling if they ever decided to give up firefighting. But Callie looked at him as if he really was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. He felt like a freaking superhero.
“You can do more than just look.” He smiled, using the back of his knuckles to sweep her hair back from her face. Her expression was one of feminine desire, and Tyler felt his body harden in response. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you to kiss me again,” she entreated, and reached up to wind her arms around his neck.
Tyler gave a groan of surrender and fused his lips to hers. At the same time, he bent and lifted her into his arms. She laughed as he bent a knee onto the mattress and laid her across the quilt, and then collapsed beside her, pretending to have strained himself with the effort.
“I’m just kidding.” He reassured her with a grin, rolling toward her. “You don’t weigh that much.”
“Come here,” she said and laughed.
She welcomed him into her arms as naturally as if they’d been lovers for years, although he would have staked his life on the fact that making love with a virtual stranger wasn’t something Callie McLain made a habit of. Even now, as he studied her face, she swept her lashes down, hiding her eyes from him. He pressed his mouth against each fragile eyelid, hearing her uneven breathing and knowing if he slid his hand over her breast, he would feel the frantic beat of her heart against his palm. Instead, he dragged his mouth along the curve of her cheek and then teased her lips with his tongue, licking and kissing their plumpness.
With a soft gasp, she turned her head to follow the trail he made, seeking more of the sensual contact. Tyler complied, slanting his mouth across hers and kissing her deeply. She arched against him and her hands slid over his shoulders, her fingers smoothing over his back.
Rolling to his side, Tyler pulled Callie with him, one hand sliding along her hip until his fingers encountered the smooth, cool skin of her thigh. Capturing her leg, he pulled it across his hips as he continued to kiss her. She moaned and pushed closer, clutching at his back. Lust, hot and urgent, jackknifed through his gut. His cock throbbed where he pressed against her center and all he could think about was driving himself into her heat. She’d be tight and slick, and he wanted to see her lose control.
Tyler raised his head and stared down at her. The bedside lamp bathed her skin in a warm glow. Her irises were the color of warm sherry. Right now, her eyes were cloudy with pleasure, and her pale skin had a taken on a faint flush of color. Her breathing came in soft pants against his neck, and her fingertips smoothed distracted circles over his shoulder blades.
She shifted closer, hitching her leg higher over his hip. Tyler couldn’t resist sliding his hand along the silken length of her thigh until he encountered the edge of her panties. He wanted to slip his fingers beneath the elastic and stroke the soft skin of her buttocks. He wanted to push the fragile fabric aside and explore her cleft, the way he had earlier. Was she still damp with need? He ached to find out, but the last time he’d touched her so intimately, she’d panicked. So instead, he cupped her rear in his hand and kneaded the firm flesh through the satin fabric until she moaned into his mouth and pressed even c
loser. Despite her delicate appearance, she gripped him with surprising strength.
Breaking the kiss, she pulled back enough to look at him. “I want to see you.”
Before Tyler could guess her intent, she pushed him onto his back and rose over him, hiking her dress over her legs as she straddled his thighs. He lay back against the pillows, watching her as she devoured him with her eyes.
“Oh, man,” she said softly, smoothing her palms over his abdomen and chest. “You’re incredible. Your skin is like hot silk, but underneath you’re so hard.”
She had no idea.
All she had to do was glance down to see the evidence of his raging arousal. She was caressing his body, both with her hands and her eyes, tracing her fingers over his ribs and chest, and lingering on the sensitive nubs of his nipples. Her eyes reflected feminine desire, and he felt himself harden even more beneath her appreciative gaze.
How long had it been since he’d been this jacked for a woman? He’d made a mistake in coming here, he knew that. A long-distance relationship wouldn’t work for them. But for the first time in years, he’d found himself fantasizing about a woman and anticipating what it would be like to fit his body to hers, to give her pleasure and absorb her soft cries as she came apart in his arms.
Now Callie’s fingers traced the contours of his abdominal muscles until they reached the waistband of his pants and lingered there. Her eyes were on the unmistakable bulge behind his zipper. Her lips parted and slowly, as if afraid he might try to stop her, she laid her hand over him. Tyler groaned and barely restrained himself from arching into her palm.
Her eyes flew to his face. “May I?”
Tyler held his breath as Callie unbuckled his work belt, and then unfastened the button on his jeans. Slowly, she drew the zipper down. But when she spread the denim aside and cupped him through the thin fabric of his underwear, he nearly came off the mattress. He wanted to turn her beneath him on the bed, drag her panties off, and bury himself in her heat. Instead, he bent his arms behind his head and let her do as she pleased, although it was more difficult to control his ragged breathing and hammering pulse.