Driving Chloe Wild: A Smoke Jumper Short Story (3 page)

“They
hire a lot of firefighters?”

“They’ve
got a firehouse with two ladders and Donovan Brothers run a smoke jumping
team.”

It was
big enough for him—and it wasn’t Vegas.

“Have you
jumped before?”

“I did
when I was military.”

“You
didn’t want to stay in?”

He shook
his head. “The jumpin’ and the planes were good, but there was too much
downtime. Me, I need to stay busy.”

“Vegas
didn’t keep you busy enough?”

He shook
his head. “The last fire wasn’t good.”

“There’s
such a thing as a good fire?” She sounded serious, but not judging. He liked
the way she listened to him. The waitress slid two more pieces of pie in front
of them. Chocolate for her. Coconut cream for him. Chloe could definitely put
away food.

He chewed
on his pie for a moment, thinking about his answer. “
Oui
,” he said
finally. “You got yourself fires where the ladder gets there quickly and you
have what seems like all the time in the world to knock the flames down. The
building’s empty and the water pressure, she’s perfect. It’s just you and the
fire and you put her out, no problems. That’s a good fire.”

She set
her fork down. “And the bad ones?”

“You don’
get there in time and the building’s an old one, goin’ up too fast, too hot.
You’ve got a family inside, part of a family. Kids who were home alone, but no
one’s gettin’ them out tonight. No matter how hard you pump, that water’s not
goin’ to be enough, not those nights.”

She got
up and came around to slide into the booth beside him, her thigh bumping his.
Then she patted his arm in a gesture that had to be the least carnal touch ever
and yet still somehow managed to set him on fire.

“Shit,”
she said softly. “That’s a bad fire all right.”

She
didn’t try to tell him he was wrong or look uncomfortable. She looked sad, but
for
him
.

“Smoke
jumpin’, you’re goin’ out the plane,” he said, wanting her to understand.

“No
buildings,” she agreed. “I like wide open spaces myself.”

“They’ve
got that in Strong. I don’ know much about the place, but my cousin likes it.”

“Enough
for you to go out there.”

It was a
nine-hour drive and the last bit of highway was all mountains. He’d be pulling
in well after midnight, but his cousin had arranged for him to have a cottage
and promised to stock the fridge with milk and beer. He had cereal in the back
of the truck, and cat food for his feline companions. He didn’t need much more
than that. Other than a do-over on his life so far.

“I wanted
to start again and I’ve got family near there. It seemed as good a place as
any.” The words surprised him. He hadn’t told anyone his reasons for quitting
Vegas.

“I hear
you there. You think they need a waitress out there?” She gave him a half-smile
and then started pocketing coffee creamers.

“You
plannin’ on bein’ thirsty?” He didn’t know how to answer her question. She was
gorgeous trouble and he had no idea what the diner situation was in Strong. Or
how he felt about her setting up shop in the same town as him. He’d be seeing
her then.

“For the
kittens.”

He liked
her soft side. He really, really did.

***

When they
reached his truck, she set her baggie of leftovers on the pavement and leaned
over the side, rummaging in the back for her suitcase. Were those leftovers her
groceries for the next couple of days?

“Thanks
for dinner,” she said.

His phone
buzzed and he checked it. A text from his cousin.
Where are you?

With
Chloe.

He typed
a quick response and then reached out to help Chloe with her case. She’d packed
rocks. Or the Encyclopedia Britannica. He had no idea how she’d lifted the bag
into the bed of his truck earlier, but the thing had to outweigh her two to
one. He hesitated and then swung the bag back into the truck.

His phone
buzzed again.
Eating alone in a diner does not a Friday night make.

He texted
back:
On a date
.

“Is that
what we’re doing?” Chloe peeked over his shoulder. “I thought you were dumping
me here.” She wasn’t much for boundaries. He’d figured that out after twenty
miles, not that he had any intention of letting on just how much he enjoyed
having her in his space. When he popped the door for her, she hopped right in,
so maybe she’d enjoyed his company too.

He went
around the truck. No one fell in love in love going sixty miles an hour for six
hours. When they got where they were going, though…well, he had some thoughts
about that. He definitely didn’t want to drive off and leave Chloe standing
here. She eyed him cautiously when he got in and shut the door.

“Are we
still driving buddies?”

“I wan’ a
chance,” he said.

“A chance
at what?” She crossed her right leg over her left, pink Converse kicking at his
dashboard.

“Us.”

It was
stupid to be making a move on her when she’d planned on marrying some other guy
earlier today. And it wasn’t like he was offering her a ring or even a place in
his heart. But…the possibility teased him. He saw lots of possibilities when he
looked at Chloe. The real question was: what did she see when she looked at
him?

“I’ll bet
they could use a waitress out at Strong. And I can call my cousin, see if he
knows someplace where you could crash until you’ve got your feet on the
ground.”

“Uh-huh.
Stop the car.”

Had he
scared her off? Misread her? He killed the engine—and she launched
herself at him. Her hands found his shoulders, pulling him close. Thank God.
She wanted this possibility too. She smelled good and felt even better. He
wanted to hold her, to keep her safe after her shit day—and he wanted to
do other things too. He covered her mouth with his and gave up his battle to
ignore the arousal burning through him. That was one firefight he’d lost.

Instead,
he kissed her and she opened up, letting him in. Her cheek was silky smooth
beneath his fingers, small strands of her fair tickling his face. Her lips
teased his right back, her tongue tangling with his. She tasted like peach lip
gloss, sweet pie, and…Chloe.
Oui
. His new someone special. He couldn’t
have stopped himself from kissing her if the whole parking lot had caught on
fire.

She let
out a husky groan that made him hold her even tighter, closer.

His
Chloe
. He hadn’t known he was looking for her and not Strong
when he left Vegas this morning. He lifted his head and smiled at her. She was
the perfect kind of trouble.

“Drive,”
she whispered, but then she kissed him again and he forgot all about leaving
because he was too busy driving her wild.

 
BURNING UP
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 1)
SLOW BURN
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 2)
BURNS SO BAD
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 3)
SMOKING HOT
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 4)
SWEET BURN
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 5)

 
REBURN
(The Hotshots, 1)
HOT ZONE
(The Hotshots, 2)
FIRED UP
(The Hotshots, 3, in HOT SHOTS)

 
WICKED SEXY
(Men of Discovery Island, 1)
WICKED NIGHTS
(Men of Discovery Island, 2)
WICKED SECRETS (Men of Discovery Island,
3 -- Winter 2015)

 
TEMPTED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 1)
PLEASURED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book
2)
CLAIMED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 3)
TAKEN BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 4)
CAPTURED BY THE PACK (Blue Moon Brides, Book 5) -- September 2014

 
BOND WITH ME
(Fallen, Book 1)
HIS DARK BOND
(Fallen, Book 2)
SAVAGE BOND
(Fallen, Book 3)

 
VIKING'S ORDERS
BOUND BY THE VIKING (September 2014)
AT THE VIKING'S COMMAND (October 2014)

 
THE HUNT

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After ten years of graduate school and too many degrees, Anne
Marsh escaped to become a technical writer. When not planted firmly in front of
the laptop translating Engineer into English, Anne enjoys gardening, running
(even if it’s just to the 7-11 for slurpees), and reading books curled up with
her kids. The best part of writing romance, however, is finally being able to
answer the question: “So… what do you do with a PhD in Slavic Languages and
Literatures?” She lives in Northern California with her husband, two kids and
four cats.

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