Page 23 of Single Mom for the Firemen

I slump against his chest, inhaling the scent of him. I can’t believe that just happened. I can feel my pulse stuttering in my veins as the reality of this sets in.

And then, all at once—it’s as though the same thing has just happened for him. He lifts his head from my shoulder, and I swear I can see a look of shock crossing his face, as though he has just made sense of what happened.

“I should…”

He pulls away from me all at once. I fall down onto the sofa, confused. A second ago, he was inside of me, and now…

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” I tell him, trying to reach for his hand, but he moves out of the way before I can touch him.

“No, no, it’s fine,” he replies, pushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to be hanging around here when Callie gets home. That’s not fair on her…”

He trails off. I can tell he’s just making excuses. Rising to my feet, I cross my arms and stare at him.

“Callie’s not home for ages,” I tell him firmly. “And you still have your interview to do. Remember?”

He casts a look at me. I can tell that anything I throw at him now, he’s going to just find some way to reel it all back and get out of here before he can do anything else that he feels might land him in trouble. Fine—I’m not going to sit around begging for this guy to spend time with me. At least Killian had anexcusefor skipping out on me like that last night…

“I should get going. I’m on patrol soon.”

And with that, he pulls himself together and heads for the door. I don’t say anything as he leaves, offering him a tight smile before he pulls the doors shut behind him and leaves me alone in the quiet. I slump down onto the seat I was using as my interviewer’s chair, and reach for the notebook full of questions that I prepared for him in advance.

I flip through them, feeling stupid. I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted. Or maybe that’s what I wanted when I invited him here in the first place? I mean, if I wanted someone else here to ensure nothing weird happened, I could have just asked one of his brothers to come with him, but…

But I didn’t. Because I’m attracted to him. And Killian. And Jake too, for that matter. I don’t know what it is about them, but they’re next to impossible to get out of my head, and I know I need to be smarter about how I deal with that.

Whatever comes next, I need to keep things…professional. Or at least close to it. I can practically hear Lara in my head, warning me that I’m only here for the summer, that I need to be carefulthat I don’t get myself involved in something that’s beyond my control. And she’s right. Things have been crazy enough for Callie as it is—getting involved with these men is only going to make it more difficult.

And I just have to hope I don’t have reason to find myself in a room with any of them alone. Because if I do…I’m not sure that I’m going to have it in me not to make a move.

Because the sex I had with Mason and Killian? It’s some of the hottest, dirtiest, most erotic sex I’ve ever had in my life. And the thought of giving that up…yeah, that’s not something that sits right with me.

Even if it could cause more trouble than I’m willing to deal with.

12

JAKE

As I followthe path that leads from the edge of our patrol route back down toward the cabin, I draw in a deep breath of fresh air.

Yeah, on days like this, I know I’ve got my reasons for staying in this place so long. Not that I need any more of them. I’ve got plenty of motivation as it is, and I intend to keep it that way.

But the bright sunshine, the sound of the birds singing, the blue sky above me—I could almost fool myself that this place is a kind of paradise, and I’m never going to complain about that. Especially not when I come back to the cabin to have some time to myself, given that Killian and Mason are on a supply run to a nearby town.

I pause in the doorway for a moment, leaning up against the frame as I take in the forest before me. Not long from now, it’s going to be packed with tourists, all of them waving around sparklers like it’s their life’s mission to burn this place down. I’ve seen some crazy shit in the time I’ve been here, the sort of stupidity you can’t believe…

I’m just about to duck back inside when I hear a voice calling out to me.

“Hi! Hello, Jake?”

I glance up, and much to my surprise, I see Vanessa making her way along the path toward me. Her mouth is set in a hard line and there’s a furrow in her brow, and she looks as though she has just emerged from a battleground.

“Hey, I’m really sorry to bother you,” she greets me, doing her best to catch her breath. “But I’m having some trouble getting my stove to work, and I really need it to—well, Callie and I don’t have anything to eat that isn’t frozen, at least not until the delivery arrives later this week, and…”

She sounds genuinely frazzled. She’s always seemed so put-together before—well, the times we didn’t walk in on her in her towel, at least. And as much as I might not know what to make of her or her relationships with my two brothers, I know I’m not going to leave a lady to deal with this alone.

“I’ll be right there,” I tell her. “Just let me grab my tool kit, and I’ll come through.”

“Thank you,” she gasps. “I—just, thank you. I’ll see you in a minute…”

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