The Firefighter to Heal Her Heart Page 12

“Maybe not, but it’s been pretty fun watching a fireman incinerate every single course of a meal.”

  “You know—” he sidled up to her, hoping he looked like a sexy cowboy “—not every man can turn a meal into a three-fire alert.”

  She gave him her best wow, I’m impressed face then rummaged through a kitchen drawer next to the phone until she found what she was looking for. Triumphantly holding up a colorful piece of paper, she waggled it in the air between them.

  “Pizza?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “YUM. THAT WAS just what the doctor ordered.” Liesel lay back on the sofa, hands appreciatively rubbing her full belly. Pepperoni always hit the spot.

  “You mean you didn’t fancy a beautiful asparagus risotto with river trout tonight?”

  “Uhh...” She eyed him dubiously. “I’m not entirely sure how to answer that.”

  “How about like this?” Jack leaned toward her on the sofa, looking very much as if he was going to kiss her. Her body reacted as though she’d just been filled with recharged batteries. Everything was tingling. Everything wanted to say yes.

  She felt herself stiffen.

  “Sorry, Jack. I...I can’t.”

  He pulled back, a freshly bandaged hand raised in a gesture of surrender. “That’s cool. I just thought you might like to know you’ve got a bit of pizza left over for later just here.” He wiggled a finger by the edge of his own mouth, signifying she was wearing a face snack.

  Sexy, Liesel. That’s the way to play it. Turn a man down for a kiss he wasn’t going to give you.

  “Sorry, I thought—”

  “I know.” Jack shook his head, more at himself than at her. “I did—I do want to kiss you. I just covered like a bloke. Don’t worry. Your face is still the same beautiful picture of perfection it always is.”

  “Hardly!” Liesel tried to laugh away the compliment while simultaneously swiping at her cheek. He was right. There was nothing there.

  She looked across at him, suddenly aware of how quiet he’d gone.

  “What? What is it?”

  “I mean it, Liesel.”

  “What, about the pizza?”

  “No, you silly thing—about how beautiful you are.”

  Oh, no! You’re not meant to make me feel pretty—like a woman again! We’re supposed to be friends!

  “I’d say right back at you but that’s not really what a bloke wants to hear, is it?”

  “Liesel, I’m being serious.” She could see it in his eyes—but the only way to survive this was to carry on playing the fool. Or was it time to take a breath and act like a grown-up?

  “So am I, Jack.” He nodded for her to continue. She felt like squirming or, better yet, running away and pretending none of this was happening. But that wasn’t who she was now. She was a grown woman and a mother. Bite the bullet, Liesel!

  “Look—I don’t know how much you’re going to like this but I need to let you know where I stand. For myself and for Liam.”

  He leaned back against the sofa cushions, brows raised and wearing an open expression that invited her to continue. Lordy, he was sexy. He didn’t make a “friends’ night” easy in any way.

  “Okay—here it goes. I’ve felt as though there has been something between us—at least, there seemed to be a few days ago.” Then the words began to pour out. “It’s obvious the fire department is your priority. You and me—and whatever we are or aren’t—it’s clearly something you don’t have room for in your life. I don’t want you to think of me or Liam as things competing for your attention—something you have to choose between.”

  “You’re right, the station is my priority right now.”

  Liesel felt her heart sink. That had ended more quickly than she’d thought.

  “But,” he continued, a hand slipping over to rest on her knee, “once I’ve got it secured on the map, I don’t want to look up and find you’re not there.”

  Liesel gulped. Hard. She watched as Jack’s eyes implored her to believe him. Holy cow! What was he saying exactly? He wanted her to wait for him? But that meant being put on hold. No. That wasn’t right, either. They’d be better off deciding on a friendship now. A really sexy, hormone-fueled, abstemious friendship. With benefits?

  “I think...” He gathered her hands in his, a thumb skimming along her wrist. “I think there’s something else that’s frightening you. I know I work crazy hours and the lifestyle is a bit nuts—but you’re no stranger to that world. You’re a strong, amazing woman. I’ve never met anyone like you. It’s one of the reasons I’m over here incinerating dinners, trying to get back into your good books! I know I’m not ideal boyfriend material but would you be willing to give it a go?”

  Ping! Ping! Ping! He was hitting all the marks. You bet there were other things that frightened her.

  Him dying, for example. That was the best example—no need to continue.

  “I don’t know, Jack. It’s just not what I imagined. Waiting around for someone.”

  “Are you saying I’m just anyone?”

  He put on just about the most gorgeous hurt expression a man could muster.

  Boyfriend material?

  He wasn’t hanging up his fireman’s hat—but wasn’t pulling his punches, either. He wanted her in his life. Could that be enough to risk loving him? Risk losing him?

  “I just think it’s a lot to ask of someone.” You’re dodging the real issues here, Liesel!

  “C’mon, love.” His voice was all low and sexy now. He was playing emotional hardball. “I’ve felt the sparks between us, too.”

  Liesel allowed a cheeky smile to begin to creep onto her lips. Boyfriend material. It made her skin all shivery. In a good way.

  * * *

  What was Liesel’s smile suggesting? Three seconds ago he’d felt like an onion—freshly relieved of a new layer. Exposed and on his way to the frying pan. She’d called a spade a spade. But that thick-lashed twinkling set of emerald eyes looking up at him... His fingertips were itching to pull that cute little body of hers closer to him. Really close.

  “It would be much easier to believe what you said if you found a way not to give me the cold shoulder for showing up at the station with a tray of cinnamon rolls.”

  “I was a pretty big jerk the other day, wasn’t I?”

  He watched as Liesel’s smile grew toothy. This whole bare-bones thing was a bit less painful than he’d thought.

  “You were a super-big jerk.”

  “Anything I could do to make up for it?”

  She put her best coy face on. Those cat eyes of hers did their magic. Stirrings of a distinctly male nature were coming to the fore and he hoped she was experiencing the same lusty call.

  “Oh...” She planted a finger at the side of her rosebud mouth. “I could think of a thing or two.”

  Jack didn’t need any more prompting. From the saucy look in Liesel’s eyes he knew it was time to let actions speak louder than words. He cared for Liesel. Deeply. If she was willing to try things with him despite his commitment to his job, he would do his red-blooded best to thank her.

  Pushing himself forward on the sofa, he started planting soft kisses on Liesel’s neck. From the way she tilted it toward her shoulder he knew he was on the right track. “How’s this? Any closer to working my way back into your good books?”

  “A little.” The words might’ve been bland but her voice had purred them. He took them as a cue to continue. They might have things to work on, but if access to Liesel’s creamy smooth neck was the payoff, he was going to be a rich man.

  A sigh escaped Liesel’s lips as Jack brushed his lips along her forehead, her cheeks, each touch sending a warm flush of pleasure straight through to her very core. His fingers teased their way along her jawline, drawing her chin toward his expectant li
ps. She felt her breath catch in her throat until Jack sealed the moment with the most tender of kisses. A kiss that soon turned hungry, more demanding.

  Caution, playing it safe, fear—all of them faded into the background as the need to respond to Jack’s kisses consumed her. Liesel pulled herself up onto her knees, still kissing him, teasing, nibbling, her hands beginning a tentative exploration of his chest. Through the cotton top she could feel his nipples harden. She couldn’t resist giving them a playful swirl and tweak before moving on, exploring him, his body. His perfectly sexy body. A wash of pure animal lust rushed through her, turning thoughts into mush and physical contact into explosions of pleasure. Thank God Liam was a good sleeper. She could feel a moan of pleasure rolling through her throat.

  She wanted him. She wanted Jack more than she could have imagined possible. Her hands slipped below his waist, onto his thighs and round the back for a cheeky squeeze of that jeans-perfect bum of his. He felt so good! So male. Everything shifted into primal responses. The touching, the soft moans of pleasure meeting in midair between them. She pressed her breasts against his chest, unable to resist nestling into his neck. Jack’s scent flooding her senses, heat passing between them as if they were unclothed.

  Why were they wearing clothes? Everything was in the way now. His shirt, hers. His jeans, her skirt. An urge to rip the buttons off his shirt shot through her fingers. As her hands continued to explore there was no doubt Jack was feeling the same way she was. A strong arm slipped round her waist while another possessively slipped below her hips. In a single swoop Jack pulled her legs up around his waist and was carrying her toward the bedroom. “You ready for this?” His voice was urgent, full of need.

  “More than I thought possible!”

  * * *

  If Liesel could’ve made her legs more like a human pretzel she would have. It was still early morning—the perfect time for a sexy snuggle. She nestled into the human spoon Jack had wrapped round her and wove her legs between his. The night of lovemaking had gone beyond anything she’d imagined. He had, by turns, been passionate, gentle, insatiable, patient. She felt like a first-class sex kitten.

  Thank goodness she wasn’t facing him. Just thinking about the fact that his beeper or radio could go off at any moment brought a salty sting to her eyes. She clamped them shut. Making love with Jack had dug just about the biggest hole she could’ve imagined. Here they were, not even twenty-four hours into trying out the boyfriend-girlfriend thing and already she was nervous about him being called out.

  This wasn’t going to work. The painful twist in her heart was proof she was going to have to break things off. Now. If it was going to be painful today, it would be even more so in a week, a month, a year, when Jack might or might not have things the way he wanted them. If she’d learned anything, it was that life didn’t wait around for things to be perfect.

  This? Lying in Jack’s arms? It was pretty close to as perfect as a girl could get. So she’d just have to cherish this memory and move on.

  Jack obviously needed to focus on the station and having her moping around was hardly going to help things. Not that moping was her style. Thanks to him, she was seeing more clearly than ever that she might have been hasty in vowing never to work in the trauma wards again. She thrived on it as much as Jack was charged by putting out a fire or rescuing someone. They each had their calling. But for right now? Her main calling was to roll over and see what sort of early-morning kisses she could elicit out of a sleepy Jack Keller. She teased and nibbled at his lips and from the press of his hips against hers, both their thoughts were clearly headed in the same direction.

  The sound of the telltale buzz of his mobile phone brought a distinct moan of displeasure from Jack. Despite her vow to try and chill, Liesel stiffened. Could she really do this?

  * * *

  Jack reached across Liesel’s shoulder and grabbed his phone from the side of the bed, where they’d hastily discarded their clothes the night before. He took a glimpse at the screen. A text.

  How about coming to River’s Bend tonight? Casual barbie. Dad’s coming. I forbid you to say no. Love Bec.

  Great. A fence-mending night. Jack knew it was long overdue but he wasn’t quite ready. Not to mention the fact he still had to tell Liesel his family lived just down the road. He pulled a hand through his hair and flicked the phone back onto the jumble of clothes. Something was bound to come up. As much as he hated letting her down, he’d let his sister know his excuse in an hour or so. But for now he had some more kissing to— “What’s up, buttercup?”

  Liesel was actively wriggling her way out of his arms. She’d spent the entire night getting about as close as a woman could to a man and now she was beating a retreat?

  “Was that the station?”

  “No.” Jack felt himself drawl the word to try and buy some thinking time. He knew they hadn’t gone deep and dirty in terms of discussing their lives last night, but Liesel was obviously worked up about the station. He tried to pull her back into his arms but she pushed herself up to a cross-legged position and folded her arms solidly across her chest.

  “Is there something more than me prioritizing the station that bugs you?”

  “How about everything?” Liesel tried her best to laugh off the comment, but knew her raw voice betrayed that it came from a very real place. All of it was scary! His job, how he prioritized it over everything else, how he didn’t want to include her in it and, most important, the real possibility he could be injured or worse. That about covered it.

  The salty sting of tears began to threaten. No! She pulled her hands from his and scrunched them into fists. She wasn’t going to succumb.

  “Let’s try and break it down. What’s really bugging you?”

  I’m falling in love you with you, you idiot.

  “Look, it’s just not going to work, is it? Us. Me waiting. I’m hardly going to spend a year pining while you run off and act the hero.”

  The words tasted acrid. That was what Eric had always done—acted the hero. And if he had, just that once, been sensible, thought of her—he might be alive.

  Jack pressed his hands down as if to calm her. “I’m not asking you to do that. Not at all. You know me better than that, don’t you?”

  She could feel herself bite away a response. She thought she knew him—knew his character—but there were a lot of gaps.

  “I’m not entirely sure what I’m asking, or how we can make this work...but I think it’s worth it—the wait.” He dropped her one of those hard-to-resist winks. “We’ve got sparks, baby!”

  Obviously! But it’s such a big risk!

  Jack slipped out from under the sheet and pulled on a T-shirt and boxers then sat down solidly opposite her on the bed. It was a good move because having this discussion with a naked Jack Keller was taking a boatload of concentration.

  “You say you’re scared—so let’s break it down. Just start with one thing and we’ll go through all of them.” Jack looked around the bedroom. “You got a pen and paper? We could make a list if you want.”

  Despite herself, she smiled, appreciative of his gesture of trying to make it a more comfortable atmosphere for her. She loved lists. How he knew her so well after such a short time was beyond her. She reached over to the bedside and pulled on a long T-shirt. May as well make this even.

  “I think I already got one in here.” She tapped her head.

  “Okay, shoot. Number one?”

  “Number one...” Lordy. All her reasons jostled for pole position. “Number one—your job scares me.”

  He nodded. It was no secret firefighters lost their lives in Australia—hell, everywhere—every year.

  “I’m not going to change jobs. I can’t do that.” The words could’ve sounded belligerent, but coming from Jack they were just the truth. The fire service was part of him, she knew that instinctively.


  “I know. I’m not asking you to. It’s just that...” She bit her lip. If she told Jack the real reason behind her hesitancy he might just agree it was too big a hurdle to leap and they should call it quits. But that was what she wanted anyhow, right?

  Wrong. Right now she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted. She took a big breath, swallowed her tears and began, “Liam’s father died in a terrible accident. He was a ski patroller and I knew he faced danger every day, but we were young—we took risks. I just didn’t ever imagine his risks having such permanent repercussions. The same week he died I found out I was pregnant with Liam and—well, I don’t think I need to say how awful the next year was. But in so many ways it was great! Liam was such a happy baby—he brings me so much joy. I moved back to Australia and my family could not have been more amazing in supporting me.” She shook her head in wonder. “I don’t know if I could have dealt with Eric’s loss as well if I hadn’t had them.”

  Her hands flew to her eyes. Staunching the flow of tears just wasn’t working. But she wanted, needed, to get the rest of her story out. Jack needed to know why this was all so difficult for her.

  “When I met you, I... It was nice.”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  She smirked back at him, despite herself. Fine. They were telling the truth here, right?

  “Better than nice. But with your job and everything it—” She had to stop. She didn’t want to sob, didn’t want to lose it. This was all part of growing up, moving on, taking charge of her life. She squeezed her eyes shut and blew a slow breath between her lips, willing herself to stay strong. Lashes flecked with tears, she finally braved opening them and there he was, steady and solid as ever, Jack and his bighearted smile.

  “Liesel, I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known.” He moved a hand up to her cheek, brushing a few curls behind her ear. It was strange how being touched by him when she was telling him about Eric didn’t seem like any sort of betrayal. It was crazy! She and Jack were sitting in bed after a mind-blowing night of hot sex and she was telling him all about her dead ex-fiancé. And it felt okay. She certainly hadn’t anticipated that. Had she moved further ahead in the emotional stakes department with Jack than she’d thought?