Page 92 of Five Alarm Kiss

She shot bolt upright in bed.

It wasn’t a dream!

Realizing she’d probably had more sex with Jake in nine hours than she’d had during her entire last year with her ex, she smiled impishly.

The other side of the bed was empty, so she slid her hand across the sheet. It felt cool beneath her touch, meaning Jake had been out of bed for a while.

Hisbed.

And she was wearinghisshirt. The one he’d been wearing last night. It smelled like him.

She pulled the material up to her nose, then froze mid-sniff.

Oh my heck!

She released the neck of the shirt like it scorched her.

“Great. I’m officially creepy now,” she muttered to the empty room.

But in her defense, Jake smelled amazing. And regardless of the fact she’d probably just earned a spot on a watch list somewhere, she’d never been happier in an article of clothing.

How did she even get here?

Okay, she obviously knew how she’d physically gotten to his house—it was a rhetorical question—but how did she get where she was with Jake? She was an average-looking grade school teacher whose fiancé had cheated on her. He was a blazing hot fireman with women falling at his feet. The pieces didn’t fit.

They fit pretty well last night.

Omigosh!Her head was in the gutter and her body was begging for round two—er—five? Six? She’d lost count. The man was insatiable with the stamina of an Olympic cross-country runner. And he’d wanted her.

He’d.

Wanted.

Her.

But what happened now that they’d had sex? Would he still want her? She really hoped so because she was ninety-nine percent sure she was in love with him.

Air stalled in her lungs as the weight of that revelation sank in. She didn’t know if Jake felt the same way, but what if he didn’t? It was a distinct possibility. Maybe even a probability. Did bad boys fall in love? She had no clue. As the saying goes, the only things she was certain of were death and taxes… and the fact that last one percent was dangerously close to falling in line.

Fudge.

That happening was too scary to think about. She needed to shut off her brain before it started crunching what-if scenarios.

Looking around the room for a distraction, she?—

Holy hotcakes!

Had a cyclone hit the laundry basket? Her and Jake’s clothes were strewn everywhere. She jumped out of bed and proceeded to pick up their things, taking in her surroundings as she moved around the room. It was neat. Way neater than she would’ve expected for a bachelor. Even the tops of the dresser and nightstands were dusted and organized. It was a nice surprise. Ethan had been a slob. It’d always driven her crazy having to pick up after him.

She looked at Jake’s boxers in her hand and grinned. This type of picking up she could get used to.

A few more steps to retrieve a wayward sock brought her next to a comfy-looking brown leather armchair in the corner of the room with a standing brass reading lamp next to it. A hardcover Tom Clancy novel was lying open over the armrest. It had that well-loved, been-read-a-dozen-times appearance.

Jake’s a reader?

Okay, that was kind of a turn-on.

Continuing her perusal, she noticed that instead of cookie-cutter, store bought prints, artsy, black and white framed photographs adorned the walls. They looked like professional photos and were perfect for him... the back of a firetruck with its flashing lights making star streaks across the sky, gloves tossed by a helmet lying on wet pavement, the silhouette of a firefighter holding a hose with a sparkling water spray illuminated by the setting sun. All of them were stunning and strangely calming. And surprising. Jake kept surprising her.

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