Wilde Heat

by Bella Andre

  What was wrong with her? She was up on some stranger's roof in the middle of a raging wildfire and all she could think about was kissing a hotshot. If her boss could see her now, if her father was looking down at them, they'd both be horrified by her behavior. By her utter lack of self-control.

  She pulled back, working like hell to rein in her body's disappointment. She'd wanted to kiss Logan more than she'd wanted to take her next breath. But although she couldn't kiss him, she could tell him what she knew he wanted to hear.

  "I believe you, Logan. I know you're innocent."

  He was still holding her, his hands burning through her T-shirt, onto her back. "What made you change your mind?"

  She could hardly believe they were having this conversation up on the roof. "So many things. But watching you out there risking your life ..." She shook her head. "I don't know a single other person who would have done something like that."

  He touched her cheek. "You were going to."

  "Once I saw how tall the flames were, once I felt how hot it was, I would have given up. But you didn't."

  Oh hell, she shouldn't kiss him again. But she was going to anyway. How could she not?

  She pulled him closer and the ladder clanked hard against the gutter as she pressed her lips to his. She slipped her tongue between his teeth and moaned as he took what she was giving and gave it back tenfold.

  I could love this man, she found herself thinking, and it scared her so much that she nearly fell off the roof trying to get away from him.

  "I'm sorry," she said, pulling away again. "I don't want to lead you on. And you know as well as I do that we can't do this."

  The look he gave her said he didn't know anything of the sort, but he was willing to wait for her to come around. He helped her climb down the ladder, and his hands steadying her body felt way too good.

  When they were standing on solid ground again, he said, "Thank you for what you said up there, about me being innocent."

  She felt so nervous with him all of a sudden, like a schoolgirl talking to the star quarterback. "I'm just going with my gut, but you're welcome."

  She'd never been comfortable with the idea of his guilt, not for one single second. She wasn't any closer to knowing who the arsonist was, but it was a huge relief to at least feel certain it wasn't Logan. She wanted to get the okay from her superiors to take him off suspension as soon as possible, but first she needed more data. Running the evidence he'd procured from the explosion site under a microscope would help a great deal.

  Wanting desperately to find some middle ground, she said, "Is the crime lab close by? I'm anxious to find out what caused the explosion."

  He pulled off his turnouts and dropped them into the cab of the truck. "I'll call David right now."

  He clicked open his phone just as she slid into the passenger seat. "David, I'm glad I caught you. It's Logan Cain. I need a favor. A big one."

  She was relieved when he quickly got a thumbs-up on using the lab. They'd have their data--and, hopefully, some answers--soon.

  "So," he said, turning his focus back to her as they traveled down the lakeside highway, "how'd you become a fire investigator?"

  His low, sexy voice and his question jostled her. She couldn't think fast enough to respond as if she had more than a handful of brain cells.

  "The National Fire Academy."

  "Sure," he drawled, "that's the usual way. But why?"

  For the past six months, she'd avoided firefighters like the plague. She hadn't dated them or hung out with them or helped out with their fund-raising raffles beyond what she could do on the Internet in the privacy of her apartment. She hadn't needed, hadn't wanted, any more reminders of the two men she'd lost.

  But now that Logan was clearly trying to get to know her--who she was, why she did what she did--making out with him almost seemed like the safer option.

  Sharing their bodies was one thing. Sharing their hearts was something else entirely. Especially when she didn't know if she had a heart left to share.

  Finally, she said, "I knew from the start that I didn't want to be a firefighter, but I liked certain aspects of the job. So I ended up getting a degree in Criminal Justice. When my father encouraged me to go into arson investigation, it seemed like a good path."

  "You know, I was thinking that your father and Joseph must be around the same age. I wonder if they worked the same fires."

  It was hard for her to talk about her dad. They'd been so close.

  "Probably," she said. "He was based near Monterey, where we lived, but his crew was sent to wildfires in the Sierras lots of times."

  "I probably worked some of the same fires he did. When did he retire?"

  Maya stared out the window at the cars rushing in the opposite direction. "He didn't. He died of lung cancer. A year ago."

  Logan's hand covered her knee, his warmth penetrating her thin cotton Lake Tahoe sweatpants. "Jesus, Maya, that's not fair."

  She was glad when he didn't point out how close together her father and brother's deaths were. Most people felt compelled to say that when they found out. It didn't help.

  "You must miss him."

  "I do," she said, "but I also know he wouldn't have done anything differently. And I wouldn't have wanted him to."

  "I'm sorry."

  His two simple words pierced her heart. She didn't want to talk about herself anymore. "What about you? Why firefighting? Why hotshots?"

  She wasn't asking because she was an investigator and he was a suspect. She was asking for herself now.

  "Joseph is a phenomenal man. A great mentor. And he loved what he did. I wanted that life."

  "It fits you."

  "It's all I've ever wanted to be. The only thing I've ever wanted to do."

  She had a sudden flash of insight into the gorgeous wildland firefighter sitting beside her. "It's what set you straight, isn't it? It's what made you stop lighting fires."

  He took his eyes off the road for a split second and caught hers. "You're right. It is."

  "And I almost took it away from you."

  "You were only doing your job."

  He was right. Which was why she couldn't relax and forget about the case. She had to keep asking the hard questions, even if it meant the end of their first truly pleasant conversation.

  "Tell me about Dennis."

  His hand tightened on the gearshift. "What do you want to know?"

  "You followed Joseph into firefighting. But his own son didn't. Do you have any idea why?"

  "Flying a helicopter isn't easy."

  "No," she agreed. "Being the passenger isn't always easy either."

  "Never would have figured a tough investigator like you would be prone to motion sickness," he teased.

  She had to laugh at herself. "Trust me, it's the only thing that's ever made me reconsider my choice of career." Quickly, she got back on task. "I guess what I'm wondering is why not fly for the Forest Service? They can always use more guys on water drops and search-and-rescue."

  "They can, but not everyone is cut out for firefighting," Logan said.

  She'd seen enough rookies quit midway through their first year to know he was right. "That's true. But I can't help wondering if his staying away from the fire service goes deeper than that."

  "Deeper how?"

  "Maybe he didn't want to be in competition with you." Because he knew he'd lose, she added silently.

  "Dennis and Joseph were good to me when no one else gave a damn. Dennis is my brother in every way that counts. Every family has its problems. They don't resolve them by setting fires and getting one another thrown into jail."

  Maya wished she could let her suspicions regarding Dennis go, wished she could drop it and return to the comfortable space she and Logan had shared just minutes ago. But the more she thought about her conversation with Dennis in the helicopter, the more it seemed like Dennis had a serious grudge with not only Logan but the entire hotshot crew. Could he have been the person who set the campf
ires that Logan had been seen putting out? Could he have digitally disguised his voice and left the message on the tip line?

  "I hear everything you're saying, but what if this is a cry for help? A way to make sure his father finally notices him? And the perfect way to make sure you take the fall?"

  A muscle jumped in Logan's jaw again and she hated having to put him in a position to defend--to doubt-- his friend.

  "Even if he was pissed at me for something, fire isn't Dennis's thing. Back when we were seventeen and I'd try to goad him into throwing a match into whatever fire I'd started, he never would. He wouldn't know the first thing about lighting motel rooms on fire or creating explosions on a hillside."

  "Maybe he had help from someone who knows fire behavior?"

  Logan shook his head. "He doesn't have a lot of firefighter friends. Only me."

  Everywhere Maya looked, she saw brick walls. "Do you know where he was last week when he was on vacation? Did you see him at all? Talk to him?"

  Logan pulled into a gravel driveway. "No, but I'm going to find out."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE CRIME lab door was open when they arrived. Maya was used to urban steel-and-metal buildings where the chemists all looked alike in their white jackets and black-rimmed glasses. A red-and-white barn in the middle of pine trees took some getting used to, as did the spray-painted fire motif that ringed the walls. Even the chemist's arms were covered in tattoos of flames.

  For a moment she wondered if she was looking at another pyromaniac--but without anything else to go on besides an abundance of fire graphics, she knew she was grasping at straws.

  "David, thanks for opening up the lab on a weekend for us," Logan said when they walked in. He took in his friend's casual beach clothes and flip-flops. "Damn it, I was hoping I hadn't pulled you off the lake. Sorry about that."

  The chemist waved away Logan's concern. "Don't worry about it. Kelly was dying to get me out of the boat so she could take it for a spin alone with her friends. She says I'm too much of a wimp to max out the speedometer."

  "It's nice to meet you, Maya."

  She estimated he was in his early forties, solely by the lines on his tanned face and his slightly receding hairline. He was tanned and trim and had the physique of a much younger man. Something about the lake and the mountains and the thin air in Tahoe made all the men better-looking than they had a right to be.

  It was extremely disconcerting.

  "So you're investigating the wildfire?" he asked.

  "Yes, but this is evidence from an explosion that took place this morning."

  "We heard about that. Poor kid. We're praying that he pulls through."

  She didn't need to look at Logan to know that he was still seeing Robbie wrapped up like a mummy in the hospital bed.

  "I need to find out where the explosive materials came from. Once you tell me what caused the explosion, I'll have a better idea where to look for other clues."

  "I'm glad I can help. Not just to clear your name," he said to Logan, "but to catch the bastard who hurt Robbie."

  Logan didn't respond. His head was bent down, just as it had been in the hospital when he was kneeling beside Robbie's bed, overloaded with sorrow.

  David must have sensed it too, because he efficiently took charge of them both. "No offense, you guys, but I'm not big on people hanging over my microscope. Logan, go use my shower and take whatever clothes you want."

  Shooting a lopsided grin at Maya, David said, "I'm guessing either you're a really big fan of Lake Tahoe"--he gestured to her tourist duds--"or something happened to your clothes."

  "No one is this big of a fan," she said, smiling back.

  Logan quickly explained, "Someone lit her hotel room on fire last night."

  David whistled. "Do you think it's the same person who did this?" He held up the mason jar.

  Not wanting to disclose too much of what was supposed to be a confidential investigation, she said, "I'll be following up with the fire chief shortly to see if he's learned anything more. But at this moment, I don't know."

  David quickly got the point and backed off. "My wife is about your size, Maya. I'm sure she wouldn't mind loaning you a few things if you're tired of being a walking Lake Tahoe billboard."

  Glad for his practical suggestion, Maya followed Logan out of the barn and into David's A-frame house. The only time she'd spent in Tahoe since her brother's death was to investigate the fire that took his life. She'd always made sure to get in and out of town quickly, steeling herself against acknowledging its beauty. It had been easier to focus on the seedy aspects of Tahoe life--the drugs and the booze and the crime.

  This trip was different. This time she couldn't run away, and even as she guarded herself against its charms, the beauty of the lake and the mountains and the trees seeped deeper into her pores.

  Just as Logan and all his charm and good looks and heroicism pushed further past her defenses.

  She turned away from the window and saw that Logan had stripped off his T-shirt. Her mouth nearly fell open at the beautiful, tanned lines of his torso. He had muscles in places she didn't know they came. And he was so much better built than any firefighter she'd ever seen.

  "Since we've got to wait for David, a shower sounds good." He smiled and his flash of white teeth was utterly mesmerizing. "You want one?"

  Maya instructed herself to look away from his chest. And failed.

  "No," she croaked.

  He let her look her fill, one corner of his mouth moving into a grin.

  "Suit yourself," he said, then headed into the bedroom off the kitchen.

  Maya stood in the middle of the living room and worked like hell to tamp down her stupid hormones. As soon as she heard the shower start, she stepped into the master bedroom and tried to ignore that fact that Logan was only a couple of rooms away.

  And he was naked. Her mouth went dry.

  Her body urged her to accept his invitation to join him in the shower.

  But even though she didn't think he was guilty of arson, she still couldn't allow herself to get involved. Not while she was working on a case. And definitely not with another firefighter.

  Quickly, she pulled a pair of designer jeans and a T-shirt from the dresser. She drew the line at borrowing a stranger's underwear, however. She'd just have to stick to having the words "Lake Tahoe" scrawled across her behind.

  Knowing she'd do something reckless and stupid if she was still standing there when Logan walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, she locked herself in the laundry room to put on the new clothes. Both the jeans and T-shirt were a bit snug, but anything was better than the pink T-shirt and sweatpants she'd bought at the tourist shop in her motel.

  She waited impatiently for Logan to return to the living room, and when he finally emerged she had to work like hell not to react to how ridiculously sexy he was in low-slung surf shorts and a T-shirt. Her only chance at fighting her attraction was to stay wholly focused on the investigation.

  "How much longer do you think David will be?"

  When he didn't bother telling her to relax, she knew he was just as anxious for some answers.

  "Let's go ask him," he replied.

  David was still hard at work when they opened the lab door and stuck their heads in.

  "Not done yet," he said, locking a slide into place beneath a microscope before he looked up. "I'll bet you guys haven't stopped to eat today, have you? Our fridge is pretty much empty, so how about you head down to the Bar & Grill at the end of the road and I'll meet you there when I'm done."

  Maya felt Logan tense beside her. The Tahoe Pines Bar & Grill was the last place either of them wanted to go, but it would be beyond awkward to explain to David why heading to that particular establishment was a very bad idea.

  And then her stomach betrayed her by growling, sealing the deal.

  "You guys are hovering," David said, so they went outside, closed the door behind them, and stood looking at each other on the flagston
e walkway, neither one of them saying a word.

  Finally, Logan shrugged. "I'm game if you are."

  "I guess I am pretty starving."

  All of a sudden the idea of taking a load off for a few minutes was a good one. Even if they were about to wade into emotional quicksand.

  Maya knew she needed to be on her guard at all times around Logan. He was too good at knocking through her defenses, patiently pushing them away one by one. But she was so tired. And hungry, since it had easily been twenty-four hours since she'd last eaten.

  Worst of all, she was more aroused than she should be by a great-looking firefighter in surfer clothes.

  Silently, they drove down the hill, parked, and walked into the crowded restaurant. Logan hadn't been back in the place since Eddie had sold it to a couple of guys from Las Vegas about a month after Maya'd come in for a drink and blown his mind.

  Logan wasn't sure he liked the changes. It had always been a neighborhood hangout, somewhere his crew would go when they were streaked with dirt and sweat, to shoot some pool and forget about staring death in the face for a couple of hours. The new owners had glossed it up, making it look more like a big national chain than a neighborhood bar and grill.

  Posed pictures of people having a good time on the lake studded the walls, along with new paint and windows. Even the crowd was different. Flashier, richer.

  "Man, this place has sure changed," he said as they grabbed a free table by the window.

  She looked around. "Has it?"

  What was he thinking? She'd been so full of grief over her brother six months ago that she probably hadn't noticed anything about the place. Besides, he'd shoved her into the wall of bottles and had been all over her so fast she couldn't have seen much of anything.

  "I hate to break it to you," he said, intent on changing the subject, "but you're no longer in the running for Miss Lake Tahoe. Looks like Kelly's stuff fits pretty good."

  A gorgeous flush worked itself onto her cheeks. "She's a little smaller than I am."

  Logan dropped his eyes to her breasts for a brief moment. "A little. But trust me, it works on you."

  Dennis's girlfriend, Jenny, came around the corner carrying a heavy tray of drinks. He'd forgotten that she worked lunch and dinner all summer. She smiled widely when she saw him, but when she noticed who he was sitting with, her smile turned to confusion.