Page 69 of Flirting With Fire
I heard water running and swishing noises.
“Oh right, so it’s not my turn to be dunked at the fiesta. I did it last year.”
“You’re the chief now,” he pointed out, appearing in the doorway. “Volunteer someone like Gary did to you.”
Since his retirement, Chief Brannigan had insisted everyone call him Gary. As long as he didn’t expect me to call him Dad, we were golden.
A smile spread across my face. “I can, can’t I?”
Who was going to be the victim…I mean, volunteer?
“You have a wicked grin, Chief Jones,” Dex observed. “Should I warn the crew?”
“Don’t you dare,” I said, wagging my finger at him.
If I didn’t say that, my cowboy would be on the phone to the firehouse the second I walked out the door. He smirked. I lunged at him and tugged him down on top of me, straddling my hips.
“I’ve got to start work,” he said, somewhat breathless.
“And I need to do my laundry. It was kinda busy over the weekend.”
There had been a spate of dumpster fires lately. We thought it was an out-of-towner causing problems, but discovered it was bored teenage kids, thanks to an anonymous tipoff. The fact the tipster sounded like little Wildie Bird…well, no one felt the need to mention that.
The mayor, the new sheriff, and I had promised to discuss how to entertain the kids before they burned down the town. I had some ideas, but I hadn’t had a chance to discuss them with Dex first. It was on my things-to-do list.
“You’ve got two in the closet,” Dex said, unaware of my thoughts. “I did the laundry yesterday.”
I kissed his cheek. “I’m keeping you.” The talk could wait.
“Duh.” Then he squinted down at me. “Like I’d let you go now. Yukie would go into a decline.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want me to go because my horse would go into a decline?”
“Yourhorse?”
“My horse,” I agreed. Okay, she belonged to the ranch, but everyone knew Yukie was mine.
He chuckled and settled himself more comfortably on my hips. My dick couldn’t help reacting. I had a gorgeous ass sitting on me. Of course it reacted.
I sighed in happiness as Dex bent down to give me another toothpasty kiss. I tugged him down so my man was sprawled over me. He buried his face in the crook of my neck and snuggled into me.
“Moving in with you was the best idea I’ve ever had.”
“It was my idea.” He sounded somewhat muffled.
I grunted. Maybe it was.
It had started as a casual conversation just before Thanksgiving last year.
“Your toothbrush is here. And your razor,” Dex said as he climbed into bed after his shower. “Your clothes take up three-quarters of my closet. I wash your uniform.” He leaned over to kiss my mouth.
I returned the kiss almost absently, taken aback by Dex’s sudden statement. I guess my things had moved in gradually. I hadn’t really noticed, to be honest. I grabbed what I needed from the cottage, and somehow, I never took anything back. I looked around Dex’s bedroom. There was a whole lot more than my razor, toothbrush, and a few clothes. Now I felt guilty.
“Do you want me to move them out? I can take them back to the cottage before work.”
He shook his head. “I want you to move in. Properly. Quit paying rent on the cottage you’ve never spent more than five minutes in since you arrived on the ranch.”
It was a slight exaggeration, but not by much. In the month since I’d arrived in Charming, I ate here, slept here, fucked here. My life was where Dex was, and that was in his arms.
