Page 15 of Burning with Desire (Forbidden Heat 1)

“Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” I said. “Thanks for asking me to stay.”

“Of course. Zoe rules the roost around here. If she wants you to stay then you are staying.”

I chuckled. I loved to see the way Ricky’s eyes lit up with love and pride when he spoke about his daughter. He was a great father.

“I noticed you have a Cubs emblem on your jacket,” Ricky said.

I was reminded of the patch on the shoulder. “Oh, yeah. I’m a huge Cubs fan. I love baseball.”

“Really? That’s great. Did you play a lot of sports growing up?”

“Yeah, I played little league, and then softball in high school. I also played girls basketball and some volleyball. So, I stayed pretty active. But art was always my biggest passion.”

“That’s fantastic. I’d love to see some of your art sometime,” Ricky said. “We spoke about that previously.”

“If you are interested, I’ll show you some,” I said.

“Great. What type of artistic form does most of your art consist of?”

“Well, I do paintings mostly, some sculpting, and drawing/illustrating. So, I like to encompass a lot of things. I like to keep it fresh and interesting, otherwise I tend to get a bit bored. Do you do any art?”

“Nah, the most artistic thing that I do is strum around on an old acoustic guitar that I got at a yard sale years ago.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn to play.”

“Well, I’d be happy to show you a few chords sometime. That’s how I started out on it. After you learn some of the chords then everything else seems to fall into place.”

Zoe finished her shower and she picked out a book for me to read to her. She went with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A classic. I remembered my mother reading that to me when I was a little girl. Those memories stayed with you forever.

After the story I tucked Zoe in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Ricky did the same and we left the room closing her door quietly behind us.

“Would you like a glass of wine, before you lea

ve?” I asked. “A small one of course. I was just about to have one, and I hate to drink alone.”

I paused. This sounded like a bad idea, but I really enjoyed spending time with this man, and I love a good glass of wine. I knew I should have left, but I found myself saying “Yes. I would love one.”

“Great,” he said. “Have a seat on the couch and I’ll bring it over.”

I sat down on the sofa and leaned back. It felt good to just relax. I watched Ricky pull a bottle of wine out of a locked cabinet and then grab two glasses from the cupboard. It was interesting watching him. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off him. He was so sexy, so suave, and everything he did I found romantic and so appealing. I was feeling a little tingly. In all of my body parts, the tingles were coming in waves throughout me. I breathed deeply, held it, and then let it out slowly. I had to keep myself calm. The wine would help.

Ricky used an opener and uncorked the bottle before pouring two small glasses.

“There we are,” Ricky said as he sat down beside me on the couch and handed me a glass.

“So, long day?” I asked trying to break the ice.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Ricky said. “The training was kind of repetitive and boring, but it was ok.”

“I couldn’t imagine doing your job. It’s got to be so dangerous.”

He nodded. “It is, but honestly I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love being able to save people. Someone has to do it and I take that responsibility along with my brothers.”

“You refer to each other as brothers? I like that.”

“Yeah, we have to feel that way about each other. Our lives depend on each other doing the right thing and working together. We have to live and train like brothers at times. Otherwise, it would be so dangerous for a group of guys who didn’t really care about each other to do what we do. It would be a train wreck waiting to happen.”

“I see,” I replied. “Was this something you always wanted to do from a young age?”

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