Flirting With Fire (Hometown Heroes) (28 page)

“Relax, Liz,” he
said, his voice soft as he pulled me gently toward him.

“You aren’t
going to try to kiss me or anything, are you?”

“No, I prefer my
dates to be a little more…coherent.”

I studied his
face as best I could for all of two or three seconds, then put my hand on his
chest and rested my cheek against it. He smelled absolutely delicious without
his smoke-scented firefighter’s jacket on, and I felt an involuntary smile curl
across my lips. Though warning alarms were going off in some still-cognizant recess
of my mind, I didn’t care. Right now, I just needed a little TLC. And if he was
willing to stay and provide that service free of charge, then who was I to
complain?

His hand brushed
a few flyaway hairs back from my face, the touch incredibly gentle. “Comfy?”

I nodded, growing
more and more groggy by the minute. He began to run his fingers along my
eyebrows and across my forehead—the same motions I’d performed on him the last
time he was on my table. As a client.

“You don’t have
to stay, you know.”

“Are you kicking
me out?” His voice was low and all too close to my ears, and sent shivers down
my spine.

“No way, you’re a
hundred times better than any electric blanket I own. Smell better, too.”

Oh yeah, the
drugs were definitely starting to have their way with me. A good thing, too, or
that last comment might have embarrassed the hell out of me.

“Then stop
worrying and relax. Unless me being here is going to get you into trouble with
someone else?”

“Someone else. Pfffft.”
An involuntary giggle escaped me. “I kicked my last boyfriend to the curb over
a month ago.”

“Oh? Why’s
that?”

“I kept tripping
over his damn shoes.”

“So, what you’re
saying is, he wasn’t any good in bed?”

“Ugh, the
worst.”

Stupid drugs had
become a truth serum. Time to shut up before I said something really
embarrassing, like how I’d never kick a man like him to the curb no matter
where he put his shoes. So I snuggled into his chest and waited for sleep to
come. He reached down and tucked a few strands of flyaway hair back behind my exposed
ear.

“How’s the
pain?”

“Mmm, better,” I
murmured, sleep nearly upon me now.

And it was,
thanks to the medicine that had dulled my senses to the point that I felt zero
guilt about where I was or who was here alone with me. The man who loved kids,
but was too afraid that his career would steal him from them to risk starting a
family. Why had his other girlfriends not tried to get him straight in the
head? Had they been too busy playing him as the trophy date to truly care about
his heart?

“Hey, Torrunn?”
I asked, the words bubbled up as nothing more than a whisper.

“Yeah, Liz?”

“I’m glad you
aren’t with Bunni anymore. She’s such a bitch.”

CHAPTER
23

The sound of
someone knocking on my door woke me the next morning. I bolted upright, and
nearly passed out from the head rush and wicked pain that followed. Confusion
clouded my thoughts. Why was I on the couch? And why did my clothes
smell…burnt?

Then I
remembered. The walk home, the footsteps, the blast. Torrunn rescuing me.
Torrunn bringing me home. Torrunn acting as my human pillow...

…Torrunn who was
now nowhere to be found.

I tried to
ignore the sting of disappointment. Of course he was gone. He’d been looking
out for me, like a friend. A good friend and nothing more, as I’d insisted. If
there was anyone to blame for his absence, it was me.

The knocking resumed
at my front door once again and I scrambled to my feet. Pressed both hands
against my head, tried to keep it from splitting wide open.

Meds.

Need. More.
Meds.

The knocking at
my door turned into pounding. Meds were going to have to wait.

“Oh, my God,” I
muttered as I shuffled my way toward the door. “Coming!”

Every step felt
like a sledgehammer to the back of my skull.
If this is some kind of sales
call…

But it wasn’t.
And one quick glimpse through the peep hole managed to transform my irritation
into panic. It was Mitch. How was I supposed to explain my appearance and the
lingering scent of smoke without him absolutely freaking out?

“Hang on!” I
called beside the door, then hurried as best I could down the hall to my
bedroom. In ten seconds flat I’d torn off my clothes and thrown on the old
t-shirt and flannel pants I usually slept in, then headed for the bathroom. I
flipped the light on, cringed away from the brightness, then let out a small
cry when I saw the disaster standing before me. My hair was sticking out in all
directions, enough to make Medusa proud, and my eyes were rimmed with the smeared
remains of yesterday’s mascara. I did an ultra fast teeth-brushing, quickly
dabbed away my smeared mascara, and ran my hands carefully over my hair.

I still looked
like hell, but hey, it was only Mitch. Mitch who’d seen me a thousand times
before, and at least once or twice probably looking worse than this. Like when
I’d had my wisdom teeth pulled just before my senior year of high school.

Yeah, bruised
chipmunk cheeks had to have looked much worse than this, right?

I scuffled back
to the door and pulled it open. “Hey, buddy.”

I leaned against
the door frame, then, trying to act casual. In reality, it was a desperate
attempt to keep me upright—the back of my head was screaming at me now. “What
brings you into town today? And so…early?”

“I had to run to
GFS again this morning and grab a few things for the café. Thought I’d swing by
and make sure everything was okay. Been worried about you, especially after
that fire in your building this week.” He stepped forward, planted a kiss on my
cheek, and headed toward the living room. “Besides, I forgot those ball caps
I’d brought with me last time.”

“Oh. Well,
thanks for checking on me and all, but I’m great. Really.”

The pounding in
my head intensified, and I squinted at him through the pain.

He pocketed his
keys and gave me a wary look. “Rough night last night?”

You have no
idea.
“Nah, just stayed up
really
late watching TV. Ugh, and my allergies
are killing me right now.” I yawned and stretched wide. “Good day to stay in
bed.”

“Poor baby. I
guess I could let you go…”

Usually this is
where the old Liz would cave. Tell him no, please stay. Today she’d been
replaced by the ‘I really need some extra strength painkillers and a few more
hours of sleep’ Liz.

“Yeah, probably
a good idea.” His head dipped in disappointment, and I felt a stab of guilt.
“But you’re coming over to Sarah’s tonight, right?”

“Was planning on
it,” he said.

“Cool. I’m sure
I’ll be feeling better by then.” I gave as wide a smile as I could manage, ignored
the searing pain it sparked on the back of my scalp, then turned to search for
the ball caps he’d brought on ‘trick Bunni’ night. “Here’s one. Now, where did
I put the other?”

“Liz.” He tucked
the cap into his back pocket, then reached back out and touched my arm.
“There’s another reason I stopped over. It’s about the fires. And before you
say anything, just hear me out.”

I pulled my hand
back and scowled at him.

“I’ve been
following the news. So has Sarah. We’re both worried sick about you. Hell, I
heard on my way into town this morning that there’d been some kind of explosion
reported somewhere downtown last night. Were you anywhere near that?”

My gaze shifted from
his wide eyes to the couch. “I might have heard the boom.”

“Dammit.” He
raked a hand through his dark hair. “Look, this is getting completely out of
hand. You need to come home.”

“But this
is
—”

“No, I mean your
real
home. Where you have real friends, and real people who care about
you.”

He stepped
closer and took my hands in his, the look on his face hopeful. Pleading. “Don’t
you see? We need you there.
I
need you th—”

Something
rattled at my front door. The lock clicked. We both turned to watch the door swing
open, as if there was a ghost among us. Only, it wasn’t a specter that had
pushed it open, it was much, much worse.

“Oh good, you’re
up,” Torrunn said, me being the only one in his line of sight.

He stepped into
the foyer with two styrofoam boxes in one hand and my keys in the other, then
guided the door shut again with his elbow. Another step inside, and his eyes flashed
to Mitch. A combination of surprise and irritation mingled in his expression.

“Huh. Had I know
you were expecting company, I would have grabbed three orders of Garbage from
Mindy’s instead of two.”

Mitch’s gaze
lasered back to mine, eyes narrowed. Guilt ricocheted through my already
battered body. He dropped my hands as if my touch were now acid to his skin.

“You could have
just told me.”

“Look, Mitch.
It’s not what you think.”

“Clearly it
doesn’t matter what I think.” He tugged his keys back out of his jeans pocket
and headed for the door without looking back. “Enjoy your breakfast.”

* * * *

I prodded at the
remains of the breakfast Torrunn had brought me, unable to eat another bite. My
meds had started to take the edge off the pain on my head, though they had
little effect on the pain in my heart. Guilt had a way of killing my appetite.

“Thanks again
for bringing me this Trash, it really was great.”

Torrunn chuckled,
then stood. “It’s called Garbage. Here, I’ll put your leftovers in the
fridge—you’re gonna want the rest later, I guarantee it. And I’m sorry if me
bringing you breakfast pissed off your boyfriend.”

“Who, Mitch? Oh
no, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Uh, huh.”

I looked up and
saw Torrunn smooth a grin from his face. “Really. Mitch and I have never felt
like that toward each other.”

His right brow
quirked.

“What? You don’t
believe me?”

He studied me
for a moment, then shrugged. “You, I believe. But that look he gave me when I
walked in? That was a look of possessiveness if I ever saw one.”

“Oh, and you’d
know all about that,” I said, my cheeks instantly heating at the memory of the
kiss he’d surprised me with at the fire station. “Marking your territory and
all that crap.”

He put my
container in the fridge and turned back toward me. “Hey, don’t go getting all
in a huff with me just because you’ve been oblivious to a guy with a major crush
on you for…how long have you known that guy?”

“Twenty years. And
he does not have a crush on me!” I shifted on my seat. The guy was certifiable.
Mitch, having a crush on me. As if. “We’re just friends.”

“Hmm, like us.”

My eyes
narrowed. “No, nothing like us. There is no
us
. You’re my client, end of
story.”

He came to stand
behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders. “Last night I was more than
that.”

The heat level
in my cheeks went from warm to roasting. Had something happened that I didn’t
remember? I clamped my eyes shut and racked my brain, trying to think back.
We’d sat on the couch, I leaned against his nice, firm chest, I fell asleep…at
least, I
think
I did.

Oh, no. What if
I hadn’t? What if I’d blabbered on, admitted things to him I had yet to admit
to myself?

Torrunn’s hands
began to knead my aching muscles, but I didn’t relax, couldn’t relax. His face
came down beside mine, his breath tickling my neck. “Last night I was your
hero.”

“Did I say
that?”

“Oh, yes.” He
straightened up as his palms added more pressure to my back. “Among other
things.”

I felt the color
drain from my face. “Other things?”

“Uh, oh. Someone
doesn’t remember what she said, does she?”

I brought my
hands up to peel his off me and turned to face him. “That’s not funny, Torrunn.
What did I say?”

“Oh, just how
badly you wanted me,” he said, gently turning me away again and continuing his
work on my back.

My back that was
now ramrod straight.

“I didn’t—”

“How badly
you’ve wanted me since the moment you laid eyes on me.”

Oh, my God.

“And about how
jealous you were of Bunni.”

Wait…what?

“And that the
next time I come in for a massage you plan on giving me a ‘happy ending’.”

I ducked out
from under his grasp and scooted off the barstool. “Okay, now I know you’re
making this all up.”

Torrunn burst
out laughing. “I really had you going there for a minute, didn’t I?”

“It’s not funny!
I nearly got blown to bits last night, and you’re standing here making fun of
me now? Jerk.” I jabbed him in the arm and walked away.

“Oh, come on,
Liz. I was just teasing!”

“And now you’re
just leaving.”

“Wait!” He crossed
the room and snagged my arm. “Where are you going?”

“To take a
shower.” I yanked my arm free and whirled around to face him. “And if you know
what’s good for you, you’ll be gone by the time the water starts running.”

“You…want me to
leave?”

We stood there,
toe to toe, an unseen electricity sparking between us as his eyes blazed down
at mine. Heat rolled off his chest and washed over me, his scent tugging at my
senses. For one insane moment I considered reaching out and pulling his face
down to mine. To claim the lips that had been taunting me since the first time
I’d laid eyes on them, the lips that had cruelly teased me at the station a few
weeks back.

But I couldn’t.
Wouldn’t. I never got involved with my clients, no matter how heroic or
delicious they seemed to be. I turned to walk away.