Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2)

by Lisa B. Kamps

  Then they were beside her and he was reaching down, paddle forgotten when his hands closed in a death grip on her vest as he pulled her in. She shot over the side and landed in a sprawled heap on top of him in the middle of the raft. Mike quickly shifted, taking Jay’s spot on the raft as Mark called out instructions.

  Paddle. Paddle. Paddle.

  Stop.

  And just like that, the water calmed, becoming nothing more than a flat surface that reflected the mountains looming on either side of them.

  Jay closed his eyes and said a quick prayer, then scrambled to a sitting position. Angie was still sprawled on top of him, her chest moving up and down with heavy breaths.

  “Angie, shit. Talk to me. Are you okay?”

  She opened her eyes and looked at him for a long second, then a wide smile broke her face and shone brightly in her eyes.

  “I didn’t lose my paddle!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Lunch was anything but subdued. In fact, the excitement almost resembled a party.

  And Angie felt like the guest of honor.

  Her swim through the rapid had been told and retold from everyone’s perspective. From listening to them, it sounded like she had faced certain death and come out unscathed.

  But she saw it from a different perspective, and didn’t think it was quite that bad. Actually, all she could remember was water. Lots of water. Rushing over her, battering her, shooting her over and around rocks. Quiet words of reassurance, repeating themselves over and over in her mind. And the memory of Jay’s face, his gray eyes intense as they watched over her.

  Don’t panic. Stay calm.

  Keep your feet up.

  Swim to the raft.

  Don’t panic. Stay calm.

  The words in her head had been in Jay’s voice. Calming. Reassuring.

  And then the rushing wall of water was gone and he was there, leaning over the side and pulling her into the raft, his strong arms tight around her, protecting, comforting, as they went through another rapid.

  Yes, her perspective was just a little different than everyone else’s. And while she was in no hurry to repeat the experience, she had to admit that it had been pretty exciting.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Jay placed his plate of food on the table, then straddled the bench next to her.

  “Yes, I’m fine. For the hundredth time.”

  “How’s your thumb?”

  Angie looked down at the only injury she had suffered, a small avulsion to the fleshy part between her right thumb and forefinger. She held her hand up and waved it front of him.

  “All better, see? Jimmy bandaged it for me.”

  “Yeah, Jay. Give it a break. I do know what I’m doing, you know.”

  Jay shot him a dirty look then turned back to her. He opened his mouth but Angie stopped him with a smile.

  “I’m fine. Now eat before your burger gets cold.”

  She turned back to her own plate and took another bite of the potato salad. Lunch was included in the trip and nobody hesitated to attack the food. Including her.

  It was funny how hungry body surfing a Class IV rapid could make someone.

  Angie shook her head and almost laughed. If she wasn’t careful, she’d start believing the exaggerated retellings of the entire event.

  “I got to tell you, Angie, that really was impressive. The way you held your paddle up the entire time? I wish I had a camera.” Adam laughed as he walked by her. It was the most he had ever said to her, ever, and she couldn’t help smiling at the feeling of fitting in, of belonging, that settled over her.

  She wasn’t just Dave’s sister anymore. No, now she was actually one of them. It was weird and funny and left her with a warm tingly feeling all at the same time and she didn’t know why.

  Everyone was pretty much finished eating now and they were either hanging around talking and joking, or playing with the corn hole game that was set up on the other side of the picnic area. And while Angie thought it was nice that she seemed to be one of them now, she couldn’t help but be grateful that there was nobody else around them just this minute.

  It was just her and Jay.

  Jay pushed his empty plate away then shifted closer to her, so close that his knees pushed against her thigh. His hand reached out and gently caressed her leg, heat instantly warming her as his eyes held hers. They were serious, deep and intense, and she shifted under the weight of his gaze.

  “You scared the living hell out of me.” His voice was pitched low, so low that she almost couldn’t hear him. She hesitated, not sure what to do or say.

  Then she just stopped thinking and placed her hand over his and threaded their fingers together.

  “I’m sorry.” She whispered the words, her gaze steady as she watched him, trying to let him know that she wasn’t talking about her ride down the river. He watched her for long seconds, then his mouth tilted up in a grin and he squeezed her hand.

  And just like that, the stress and tension that had been weighing on her for the last several weeks vanished. She had been foolish, so foolish, to call things off with Jay, not when he made her feel the way he did. And for what? Because her brother didn’t approve? It wasn’t the first time Dave hadn’t approved of something she did. She had never let that stop her before, so why now? Had she used her brother’s disapproval as an excuse because she was afraid of what she was feeling? Stupid. So stupid.

  She leaned forward, her heart tripping in her chest, wanting to feel Jay’s lips against hers. She closed her eyes, anticipation thick between them.

  “You know, you two really do make a cute couple.”

  Angie jumped, startled, and looked around only to notice that pretty much everyone was suddenly watching them. Her face heated and she looked down, embarrassed.

  “Pete, you’re a fucking moron.”

  “What? What did I say?”

  Angie heard a mix of voices and answers in reply but didn’t pay any attention to them because all her focus was suddenly on Jay. He gripped her chin in his hand and tipped her head up, forcing her to look at him. And she was drawn in, losing herself in those mesmerizing eyes as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

  Her heart skipped wildly and she felt a small moan in the back of her throat. She leaned toward him, trying to get closer, and placed her hand against his bare chest. Heat from his body singed her, his lips stirring the embers deep inside her to life.

  “Damn. Now I know why Jay wanted her in the raft with him.”

  She felt Jay smile against her mouth just before he broke the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, his shoulders shaking in soundless mirth. Angie squeezed his hand then straightened on the wooden bench, her face heating as she stared at the table, not quite able to look around.

  Something flew across the field of her peripheral vision and she looked up in time to see the remains of a hamburger bun, coated with ketchup and mustard, hit Pete square in the chest. It stuck there for a split second then dropped to the ground, leaving a mixture of sauce glued to the center of his chest.

  He groaned and wiped at the mess on his shirt, then looked over to see Mike shaking her head at him.

  “You really are a moron, Pete.”

  And Angie laughed, the sound coming from deep inside her, clear and joyful as the last of her worries evaporated in the clear mountain air around them.

  **

  The bus bounced along the rutted road, jarring and swaying under them. Jay shifted then readjusted his hold around Angie, settling her head more comfortably against his chest.

  He had no idea how she was even sleeping.

  Granted, it had been a long day, starting as soon as everyone got up before six that morning. And it had been a day filled with fresh air, exertion, exercise, excitement.

  Near drowning.

  Jay closed his eyes and said another quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening. He never wanted to feel that kind of fear again. Ever. Once was more than
enough, more than he could bear to handle.

  He dropped a kiss on the top of Angie’s head and held her more tightly against him.

  It was funny how something like that quickly put your priorities in perspective. He didn’t think Angie yet realized how serious her swim downriver had been, how dangerous. How close she really came to serious injury or worse. But he did, and he was still shaken by it. And he realized, at the instant he thought he might never see her smile again, might never be able to hold her in his arms again, that Angie was his top priority. Screw work, screw Dave. His top priority was Angie, period.

  And in that same instant he realized, with sharp clarity, that he loved her. It was as simple as that.

  As terrifying and complicated as that.

  He almost told her, when they had been sitting at the picnic table at lunch, but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to tell her something so important, so earth-shatteringly profound, in front of a bunch of the guys from work. He wanted to save it for a tender, intimate moment, when it was just the two of them.

  His brows lowered in a frown as he quickly rethought that. Maybe not intimate. He didn’t want her to think he was declaring something so special in the middle of some passionate moment just because he was in the middle of that moment.

  But he didn’t want to share it in front of the guys he worked with, either.

  He dropped another kiss on the top of her head then opened his eyes and looked up, surprised to see Nick studying him. He felt like he had been caught in the middle of doing something he shouldn’t have been and awkwardly cleared his throat. But Nick kept studying him, his gaze darting between Jay and Angie.

  “You going to tell her?” Nick’s voice was pitched low, barely audible over the whine of the engine as they bounced once more. Jay automatically tightened his hold around Angie, and he noticed Nick did the same with Mike.

  How in the hell were they both sleeping?

  The bus jarred one more time, then the surface changed to asphalt, smoothing out under them.

  Nick turned back and looked at him once more, repeating his earlier question. “So, are you going to tell her?”

  “Tell her what?”

  Nick raised one eyebrow at him, then shook his head and chuckled. “I can see it clear as day on your face. I know, because that’s the same expression I see every morning and every night when I look in the mirror.”

  Jay smiled, just the barest of grins, and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you do. Damn good thing too, or else I’d have to kick your ass.”

  They both grinned at each other, grown men acting like love sick fools, and Jay was suddenly glad that nobody was paying them any attention. Or, if they were, that they couldn’t hear what they were talking about. He glanced around, just in case. Just as he thought, everyone else was either dozing, or zoning out as they stared out the window.

  “You know there’s going to be a shit storm when we get back, right?”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  “Any idea how you’re going to handle it?”

  Jay sighed and shook his head, then stared out the window as the bus barreled down Route 19, on its way back to the rafting center. He had no idea what was going to happen when they got back to the campsite, only knew that something would.

  Because he had no intention of pretending today hadn’t happened. No intention of pretending that Angie wasn’t with him, that she wasn’t his.

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

  “No you won’t, because I will.” The sleepy voice was muffled against his chest, but still loud enough for him to hear. He stiffened in surprised then moved his arm when Angie straightened next to him and stretched. She gave him a sleepy smile then leaned forward and placed a quick kiss against his lips.

  “He’s my brother, Jay. I’ll handle this.”

  “Angie—”

  She cut him off with another kiss then pulled back and stared deep into his eyes, her gaze almost pleading. “I know, I didn’t handle it right the first time, which is why I need to talk to him, not you.”

  “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “I know.” She ran her finger along his lower lip, her eyes almost sad. “But I have to, okay? I need to, Jay.”

  His eyes searched hers for a long minute before he blew out his breath. He didn’t want her to have to deal with it, with any of it, but the unspoken need was clear in her eyes and he knew he wouldn’t stop her.

  Not unless he had to, and then he’d have no problem getting between her and Dave.

  But he didn’t say any of that, just sighed again and nodded. “Fine. You can talk to him. I just wish to hell I didn’t suddenly feel like freaking Romeo and Juliet.”

  Nick turned around his seat and faced both of them, his expression just the tiniest bit amused. “You know they both died, right?”

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot, Mr. English Lit teacher. Really? You couldn’t come up with something better than that?” Jay didn’t know whether to laugh or throw something at him. Considering he didn’t have anything handy to throw, he chose to laugh.

  But only a little, the sound just a bit forced. Because Nick’s comment worried him a little too much. No, he didn’t think things would escalate to the point of death, but Mike’s words from yesterday came back to him.

  Something was going on with Dave, and he had changed over the last several months. Jay had no idea what could have happened and he didn’t think it was just because he and Angie had started seeing each other. No, there was something else.

  He just didn’t know what the hell it was.

  They didn’t have much time for more conversation because the bus turned off the highway, then turned again onto another semi-paved road that was barely wide enough for the bus to comfortably navigate. Five jarring minutes later, the bus pulled into the top parking lot of the rafting outfit and everyone piled out.

  They still had to return their gear, and they had already planned on using the shower facilities there instead of the more primitive one back at the campsite. Because who would turn down hot water? That only took another five minutes. Well, at least for the guys. Angie and Mike were still in the women’s locker room, doing only who knew what.

  The six of them milled around outside, waiting, and Nick brought up the idea of eating at a nearby pizza and beer place. But Pete and Jimmy backed out, along with Adam and Dale, saying they had to get back to start dinner for everyone else anyway.

  And Mike and Angie still hadn’t come out.

  “What are they doing in there?” Jay wondered.

  “Talking.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah, pretty sure. Kayla never takes this long to get ready unless we’re going somewhere super nice and she has to get all dressed up. Even then, I don’t think she takes this long.”

  “I wonder what the hell they’re talking about?”

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t even ask that. What do you think they’re talking about?”

  Jay mumbled beneath his breath, realizing even as he asked the question that they were probably talking about him. And he wasn’t sure why, but that thought was a bit disconcerting.

  He looked back toward the locker room, but there was still no sign of them.

  “So have you given any more thought to what I said earlier?”

  Jay turned back to Nick, not quite understanding the question until he met the other man’s eyes. He rolled his shoulders then shrugged, not sure how to answer. Yes, he was going to tell Angie, but he wanted the time to be right, wanted the place to be right.

  He opened his mouth to tell Nick that, to try to explain, when the door to the women’s locker room finally opened and Angie and Mike walked out. Angie smiled at him and Jay completely forgot what he was going to say. He heard Nick chuckle behind him, and turned to look at him.

  “Either way, I wouldn’t worry. Because that expression I see in the mirror each day, that expression I see on your
face?” He nodded toward Angie then smiled. “It’s the same look I’ve seen on her on her face.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The truck bounced along the rutted path, the headlights veering up and down with each bump, shining a ribbon of light into a patch of darkness before moving to the next. The taillights of Mike’s CJ7 had already disappeared in front of them and Angie was pretty sure that Jay was deliberately slowing, letting them get further ahead.

  They hit another bump then Jay slowed even more, finally stopping. He put the truck in park, flipped the headlight switch to the dimmers, then turned in his seat and faced her. Lights from the instrument panel illuminated his face, the shadows carving out deeper hollows beneath his cheekbones. The corner of his mouth tilted in a slight grin as his hand closed around hers.

  She reached over and unhooked the seatbelt, then leaned across the center console to meet him halfway. His mouth crashed on hers, hard and hungry, as his hand drifted through her hair and cupped the back of her head.

  She ran her hand up along his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin and the steady pounding beat of his heart under her palm. Her mouth opened and his tongue swept in, thrusting against hers with an urgency that ignited a need that had been simmering for the last several hours.

  Jay shifted in his seat, moving to get closer at the same time she was. She heard a bang, then Jay pulled away with a small groan that spoke of impatience and frustration. His eyes sparked in the half-darkness that engulfed them, reflecting the same need and desire flowing through her veins, burning her.

  “I need you, Angie. God, you have no idea how much I need you.” His voice was a whisper in the heavy air around them, the words a match that ignited something deep inside her, something hot, heavy, needy.

  Desperate.

  She pressed her lips against his, the kiss frantic with shared need, then pulled back with a harsh breath. She shifted in the passenger seat then reached for the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, then did the same with her sports bra. Damp night air came through the open window and kissed her flushed skin, a heady sensation of hot and cold. Jay’s eyes caressed her, his gaze burning and bold as they dropped to her chest.