by Amy Andrews
He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you intending that we should do it more often? You going to … drop in for a booty call every now and then? Or were you hoping for a bit of goodbye action in the firehouse?”
Blood flushed to Selena’s cheeks. Okay, he was definitely pissed at her. “Oh nice, Jarrod,” she said, sucking in a breath, ignoring the primal beat inside her that had leapt to life at his crude suggestion. “Real nice.”
She brushed past him heading for the door, her resolve to be contrite and acknowledge her mistakes evaporating into thin air. She had better things to do than stand here and be cheapened by him.
“Shit. Selena … stop,” he said, one hand sliding onto her shoulder, the other over her hand on the knob, his naked front sandwiching her between him and the door. “Don’t go.”
Selena’s hand paused. Her breathing came thick and heavy. She pressed her forehead against the back of the door.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, his lips brushing her temple.
Selena shut her eyes against the huskiness in his voice and the stir of his breath in her hair. “Do you honestly think this was just some booty call?”
She really had come to try and make it right with him.
“No … God … I’m sorry,” he muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple this time. “I just …” his hand dropped from her shoulder, sliding down her back to her hip, goosebumps fanning out in its wake. His other hand joined in, sliding onto her opposite hip. “These bloody shorts have been driving me nuts since the footy.”
He ran his hands onto her ass and squeezed. Selena bit down on her lip to stop herself from moaning as she gripped the door knob harder.
“All I’ve been able to think about,” he muttered, his hands gliding around to the front, his lips just behind her ear now, “is getting in them.”
“Jarrod,” she gasped as he rubbed her intimately through the fabric and things inside her shorts started to go into meltdown. “This is crazy …”
“I know,” he said, his voice strained. “God … don’t you think I know that?”
He made short work of the button, then her fly. “Oh fuck yeahhh,” he groaned as his fingers breached her underwear, sliding straight through her slick folds.
Selena moaned, trying to hold onto some sense of reality as her whole pelvic floor tightened deliciously. “Jarrod,” she panted, “I don’t think we should be …”
“I know,” he muttered, his voice rough. “Just let me …”
Then he found her clit and Selena gasped, barely able to keep upright let alone voice any more objections, grinding herself against his fingers shamelessly.
“You feel so damn good,” he groaned in her ear.
He made her feel good, his fingers flying over her clit in a perfect rhythm, the loom and press of his naked chest against her back, the aroma of him filling her up with every desperate drag of air into her lungs. She built quickly until all she could do was hold on and let the rapture take her.
She flung her head back against his shoulder as the first cry was wrenched from her throat and he clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. Selena bit back more cries, acutely aware of and even more acutely turned on by being in the firehouse with two of his colleagues on the other side of the door.
The silent orgasm seemed more intense without any vocal outlet as it shuddered through her body, and she desperately sucked in air around his hand as it peaked then slowly ebbed. He dropped his hand from her mouth as she sagged against him, sliding it onto her hip. His other hand eased out of her underwear finding the opposite hip.
Selena shut her eyes, pressing her forehead against the door as her legs trembled and everything spun a little.
“Are you okay?” he murmured after a bit, his face pressed into her nape.
Selena wasn’t sure she’d ever be okay again. But she didn’t feel like she was imminently about to fall down anymore either. She moved a little and he eased back, which allowed her to turn around in his arms, his big hands warm around her waist. Her gaze roamed over his face. Over his seriously sexy whiskers, his green eyes and the soft wave of his red hair.
“Hey,” he said, a small smile on his lips.
Selena’s heart did a funny double beat, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was still from exertion. “Hey,” she replied.
“I’m sorry for being a dick before.”
Selena smiled. “I think you well and truly made up for it just now.”
He laughed. “Good to know.”
They smiled at each other for a moment. The skin at the edges of his eyes crinkled, and she had the weirdest urge to touch it. She didn’t.
“It wasn’t casual sex for me, Jarrod,” she said, as her smile dissipated. “Casual sex implies that it didn’t mean anything, that it was just sex, just a physical thing, and it wasn’t.”
“So … you’re saying …” His hands tightened around her waist. “Last night meant something to you.”
“Of course it did.” She crinkled her brow. “This is you and me, Jarrod. We have history. We can’t just separate that out from the physical. Didn’t it mean something to you?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. It did.”
A knock on the other side of the door startled Selena. Jarrod tensed, his hands sliding from her waist to flatten against the door either side of her even though he’d locked it.
“Phone call for you, boss. Head office.”
Selena’s pulse settled, and she felt absurdly like laughing. She stifled a grin as Jarrod cleared his throat and said, “Tell them I’ll ring back in five.”
They both held their breath waiting for any more conversation. When it became obvious there wasn’t going to be any, Selena let out the laugh pushing at her larynx as Jarrod muttered, “Crap,” and sagged against her, his forehead on the door this time.
It felt good having him close like this—like old times—and she slipped her arms round his shoulders. He slid his hands around her waist again; she buried her face in his chest and they hugged for long moments.
“Sorry,” he grimaced after a minute, pulling back from her. “I have to see to that.”
Selena dropped her arms. “Of course.” She hadn’t said what she’d really wanted to say, but things felt different between them. Easier. Maybe that was the best she could hope for considering how volatile they seemed to be together these days.
“Thank you for dropping by,” he said. “It was good to …” he smiled, “clear the air.”
Selena quirked an eyebrow. “It was my pleasure.”
He chuckled as he unlocked the door and reached for the door knob. “After you.”
Chapter Six
‡
Selena was two hundred kilometres north-east of Jumbuck Springs four weeks later, covering another fracking story, when she got word that a massive bushfire was burning out of control and bearing down on the tiny hamlet of Abbotsville, two hundred kilometres west of their current location. There were reports that it had been deliberately lit and Channel Four wanted her at the nearby town of Barabbery, where the disaster response was being coordinated. ASAP.
She and her crew were in the vehicle and on their way within the hour. Relief that the fire was far enough away from Jumbuck Springs and Jarrod’s firehouse made the trip easier. Her thoughts had been with Jarrod so much this last month. Thoughts that had made her smile and filled her with the pleasant buzz of nostalgia.
Thinking about him out there, staring down a monster bushfire, was too much to bear.
They drove into Barabbery two hours later, smoke just visible on the horizon. A large park in the centre of the town had been co-opted for use and it was a hive of activity as Selena was directed by a controller to an area that had been designated for the media.
A huge array of emergency vehicles were parked haphazardly around the site near canvas tents with rolled up sides that had been hastily erected for shade and cover as people in uniforms pored over maps. Police and paramedics rushed around. Weary-looking firefighters in the
ir now-grubby yellow suits sat eating and guzzling water as fresh new recruits in bright yellow uniforms loaded up and headed out.
They finally entered the media area where at least a dozen vehicles from a handful of different media outlets were parked and equipment was being sorted. Selena got out of the vehicle the second they pulled up, hit first by the hot dry wind that whipped her hair back and then by the omnipresent smell of smoke. John, her cameraman, started unpacking the equipment from the back and Arnie, her sound guy said, “I’ll find out what the go is.”
Selena just nodded as she took in the controlled chaos going on all around. A finger of fear stroked down her spine. She’d never covered a bushfire emergency before. Hell, she’d never been in a bushfire, although growing up in outback Australia the threat was always there.
It hung in the air now along with the pervasive feeling of danger, thick as the stench of smoke. Just thinking about the monster wall of fire out there, heading their way, had her primal response to flee kicking in hard.
Was Jarrod ever frightened in his line of work? Part of his job was to go in when everyone else was running away. To fight the fire, not flee from it. Do the opposite of what his survival instincts must be telling him to do. Where did someone get that kind of courage?
How did he do it?
She wished he was here so she could reassure herself that he was out of danger.
She dialled Grandy’s. Jumbuck Springs was still a long way from the fire front, but she didn’t have any confirmed news on the wind direction and weather conditions and she wanted to check in to make sure her grandmother had an evacuation plan in place.
“Grandy,” Selena said when she picked up on the third ring.
“Selena. How lovely.”
“I’m at Barabbery, covering the fire,” she said, skipping the pleasantries. “Everything’s okay there? Are you being kept up to date?”
“Yes, yes. I’m watching the news for regular updates. Goodness, I’m more worried about you, now. You’re closer where you are.”
“Don’t worry about us, they’re not going to let us in anywhere that’s dangerous. Just, please don’t be one of those oldies who want to stay to defend their homes if they advise you to evacuate.”
Her grandmother laughed. “I may be old but I’m not senile, darlin’. They say move and I’ll be outta here. I already have a small box of items to go if it gets to that. But it’s not heading our way according to the news.”
Selena didn’t need to tell her grandmother bushfires were notorious for changing direction, but relief that she was going to be sensible diluted the hot dread in her belly.
“Just be guided by Jarrod, okay?” She’d never been so thankful for him and his close relationship with her grandmother in her life. Jarrod would look out for her and Grandy would listen to him.
“Oh no, Jarrod’s somewhere near Abbotsville helping out with the fire. But Ethan and Marcus are checking in on me.”
Oh God. The dread intensified as Selena looked out to the horizon at the wide wall of smoke. Of course he was. What on earth had made her think he’d be sitting idly around Jumbuck Springs when a fire was raging out of control in the area?
Her pulse thudded hard in her chest and she shut her eyes against the urge to panic. It didn’t matter how often she told herself he was careful and good at his job, sometimes firemen died fighting these suckers. “Do you have his number?” she asked.
Grandy gave her the number then hung up. Selena dialled again straight away, her fingers trembling.
“We’re over there,” Arnie said as he approached, pointing to a spare patch of ground. “First debrief by the onsite coordinator in half an hour.”
Selena nodded as the call went to an automatic voice mail message. She hung up, dread settling further into her bones as she tried again. Pick up. Pick up damn it, Jarrod. It went to voice mail again.
Shit. “Jarrod. It’s Selena. I’m in Barabbery covering the fire. Grandy tells me you’re somewhere near Abbotsville … I … just be careful. Okay? And ring me when you get a chance.”
She hung up, looking out to the horizon again. Knowing Jarrod was out there in the thick of it didn’t surprise her. That was the kind of guy he was.
But it still made her want to throw up.
* * *
It was clear from the very first debrief that they were dealing with a massive fire. It had started out as several different fronts and had converged due to the dry and windy weather conditions into a colossal wall of fire sweeping everything in its path.
Abbotsville was the most pressing concern and where a lot of the resources had been deployed. Tens of thousands of acres of forest and bushland had already been destroyed, as well as a handful of houses on properties. The good news was that there hadn’t been any loss of life as yet. But the tiny hamlet of Abbotsville, population forty-two, was right in the fire’s path.
An evacuation order was currently being carried out and firefighters were working on containment lines and fighting to control it. Ember attack was a real threat and if they weren’t able to push the fire back, huge property losses were expected.
It was also clear that the weather was not on their side. The modelling from the meteorology bureau showed that hot, dry, windy conditions were predicted for the next three days before a cool change and possible rain.
Everyone at that first debrief, no matter what their religious belief, sent up a quick prayer for rain.
* * *
Selena was not prepared for the emotional tumult of the next few days, following the highs and lows of the no-holds-barred fight with nature. The fire jumped containment lines at Abbotsville and every house but two was razed to the ground.
Selena was there with the rest of the media when residents were allowed back in; the scenes were heartbreaking. Broken people, hugging and weeping, grateful to be alive but openly mourning the loss of their houses and their community.
The fire constantly changed direction, threatening a host of different communities along the way. Each time, due to the dedication and commitment of the firefighters on the ground and the water bombers in the sky, it was pushed back. Selena and her crew, along with the rest of the media, were kept busy filing reports, getting in to talk to people who had been affected when they could, interviewing those who’d had lucky escapes or those who had stayed to defend their properties, as well as local mayors and other officials.
Selena had filed a particularly heart-wrenching report on the loss of native animals; pictures of fleeing kangaroos bounding away over scorched ground, along with koalas and other animals being rescued from the black, smoky bush, had apparently caused a switchboard meltdown at the station.
But the most harrowing stories were told by the faces of the men and women who were on the frontline, saving homes and communities from destruction. Blackened uniforms, lines of sooty sweat running down faces etched with exhaustion, but also grimness and determination to beat this monster back.
Selena asked after Jarrod whenever she saw a sooty-faced warrior. But so many firefighters from outside the region and even interstate were helping out that no-one she talked to knew him. She’d rung him several times, but he hadn’t replied and the only way to stop herself from going mad worrying about him was to keep busy and take heart from the casualty reports that no-one, including firemen, had been seriously injured or killed.
Considering the enormity of the menace it had been a miracle.
On the afternoon of the third day, with no let-up in the dry, windy conditions, the mobile command centre moved to Jumbuck Springs. It had shifted twice already in response to the changing nature of the fire and, with the front now changing direction east towards Jumbuck Springs, fire command in Brisbane had ordered the move.
Selena was both worried and relieved about the development. It was great to see for herself that Grandy was fine and to be able to stay at the house with her crew and have the luxury of a shower instead of sleeping rough on the ground or in the vehicle in b
etween chasing down stories. The threat to Jumbuck Springs was real, though, and while she’d fled her hometown fifteen years ago, it was still as much in her blood as it ever was.
The township was currently under a watch-and-act alert; all stops had been pulled out to halt the fire before it could become a real threat to the town. Everyone was holding out hope that the predicted weather change would come in time. With two thousand residents it was the biggest community threatened by the fire so far and the loss of property should the fire go through the town would be on an unimaginable scale. Already many of the residents of the outlying properties, those who’d decided not to stay and defend their homes, had been evacuated to a centre in Jumbuck Springs.
One of the first people Selena ran into at the command centre was Marcus. He was in his paramedic uniform and was standing near his ambulance reporting to a guy with a clipboard.
“Jeez, Selena,” he grinned, “you’re looking a little rough around the edges.”
A nearby female journalist looked scandalised, but Selena just laughed because looking all coifed and made-up had taken a backseat. She was so damn happy to see him she gave him a huge hug. He frowned when she finally let him go. “Are you okay?”
“Jarrod,” she said, searching his face. He had to be okay. Surely Marcus wouldn’t be this chipper if he wasn’t. “Is he okay? Have you heard from him?”
“Oh Selena, he’s fine,” Marcus assured, giving her another quick hug. “I haven’t spoken to him directly, but Ethan saw him last night working on some containment lines.
Selena hadn’t realised until that point how sick with worry she’d been. “Oh God, thank you,” she whispered. The invisible hand that had been squeezing her throat suddenly let go. Her hands and her legs shook as she leaned back heavily against the ambulance for support.
“Hey. It’s okay,” he said, his hands on her upper arms. “Jarrod’s indestructible and fanatical about safety.”
“I know,” she nodded. “I know.”
But she’d worried all the same, the continual thud of rotors from the water-bombing helicopters the soundtrack to her anxiety.