Page 7 of Birchwood Burn (Black Timber Peak Hotshots #2)

SEVEN

JACE

Damn, Larissa is stunning. When she showed up at the fire station yesterday, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

From the moment I laid eyes on her, she was beautiful.

I can’t help but appreciate how she dressed up for me, and with her rested and healthy, she makes me breathless.

I am relieved I spent forever trying to find the right pants and shirt.

Never once in all my years did I go through several shirts trying to figure out which appeared the nicest. I never understood what my mom and sister dealt with when they tried on a million different outfits, preparing for a nice family dinner, or going out with their husbands.

Now, I get it. I want to impress Larissa.

There’s no denying it, no stopping me. I want her. She’s mine. This possessive need to have her is new to me, but I can’t get rid of the feeling. I stayed away, never returning to the hospital.

Okay, that’s a bald-faced lie. You revisited the hospital, but stayed outside, second-guessing yourself. She doesn’t live here, and you can’t move to the city. You’re a wildfire hotshot firefighter. The mountains are home.

But as the time away from her started getting longer, my obsession with her took root. I looked into any open positions in New York City, and there are a couple, but it’d be a demotion. However, sitting across from her now, hearing her soft voice, smelling her sweet scent. It’ll be worth it.

“I was so happy you came by the fire station.”

“Me too.” She smiles and opens her mouth to say something when I get a whack on my shoulder.

“Jace. Good to see you, man. Glad to see you and the boys are safe. Thanks for working on that fire.” Old man Ryder nods at me and Larissa before escorting his wife to a table.

The elderly Teagarden sisters—Viola, Violet, and Vivian—get up out of their seats and introduce themselves to Larissa. “We didn’t want to be rude, because it’s been ages and a day since you have been on a date, but if you could talk to Ryder, you can talk to us,” Viola says.

“Now you are not from around. Are you moving here?” Vivian asks.

“Of course she’s moving here. Why else would she be on a date with our hunky bachelor hotshot?” Violet interrupts.

“Well, if we were younger, we’d be chasing the hotshots all over this mountain, whether or not we lived here. It doesn’t mean a thing. They could just be looking for a little nooky,” Viola says.

Larissa and I both glance at each other. I want to laugh, but my poor date’s embarrassment bothers me.

“Ladies, ladies. Thank you for showing some interest, but this is our first date.” And that statement is going to bite me in the ass.

The whole town is going to be talking about this tomorrow.

“And I would like a second one.” And another shot in the foot by the secretive grins of the older women.

“So, if you could, please let us enjoy our meal so we can continue our date.”

“Of course, Jace, of course. You two have a nice evening.” All three women wink at me as they scurry back to their table, whispering under their breath and peeking glances over at us with smirks.

“Sorry about that,” I say. This is the case after a wildfire or any fire on this mountain. People are always approaching us, giving thanks, and dropping off food. And whenever the Teagarden sisters are around, you can never predict what’s going to come flying out of their mouths.

“Nothing to be sorry about. I’m glad everybody wants to thank you guys. And don’t most small towns have an eccentric older crowd?” She laughs it off, and I appreciate how she can find the humor in the situation. “What you do is amazing and needs to be recognized.”

Jake, a former hotshot and now sheriff of Black Timber Peak, approaches our table, gives me a chin lift, and smiles at Larissa.

“Barlow, good to see you out. Ma’am, I’m Jake.

Nice to meet you.” He shakes her hand, and I laugh at how he still doesn’t introduce himself as the sheriff.

His wife comes up behind him. “And I’m his wife, Maitlyn. Welcome to Black Timber Peak.”

“Hello, I’m Larissa.”

“You guys did good out there. Thanks for making my job a little easier,” Jake says.

“You mean to tell me you don’t miss it?”

A grin and a shrug are his response. There’s no denying it. Fighting a fire is its own rush, and it’s clear he misses the rush a bit.

“Of course he misses it, but there’s no way he’s going back to fighting fires. It’s bad enough I worry about bullets being shot at his head.”

Larissa’s eyes widen, and she watches the exchange. Jake laughs and wraps his arm around his wife. “Come on, let’s leave them to their date.”

Maitlyn grins and winks at Larissa before we all say goodbye.

“I’m so sorry.” I can’t even finish my apology before more people come over. It’s now getting a little annoying since we’re on a date and I want to get to know her better, and we’re unable to talk.

After another few people leave, I lean over.

“How about we get our food and get out of here? I don’t want to be presumptuous, but we can go back to my place, and people will leave us alone.

” This is why most of the firefighters don’t leave our houses much after an event like we just had.

The town loves to show its appreciation, which is nice, but not when you’re trying to convince a woman to take a chance and be yours.

All this makes me feel like I’m messing it up.

Larissa’s shoulders slump, and she sighs. “Yes, please. I’m sorry, this is all wonderful and you deserve it, but…”

She loses what to say, and I get it. “I agree. This is our time.” I wave over the server before somebody else comes over. “Can we get our order to go, please, and can you add one of each of the desserts also?” The server heads off to change our order.

Larissa laughs. “We can’t eat all that.”

“I didn’t know which one you would want, and we need to get out of here. We get to leave and sample a bit of everything.” I lean back and admire my date as her eyes darken a little when I mention sampling.

This woman is doing crazy things to me, and I realize she has no clue how much she does so. I can’t wait to show her exactly how much. Whether it’s here in Black Timber Peak or in New York, I’m ready to change my life to make sure she fits because it’s been dull until she lit her way into it.

Almost an hour later, with people stopping us as we leave and the longer drive to my cabin, I’m dishing up our meals onto some plates so we’re not eating out of plastic carriers.

Larissa is drinking water as she walks around my place, looking at all my family pictures.

My place isn’t much, just a small two-bedroom cabin on an acre of land, but it’s quiet, close to my family, and out of the way of the busybodies in town.

“You have such a lovely family. You can tell there’s a lot of love between you all.” She smiles and picks up a frame of me with my two siblings.

I move to the dining table and put the plates down, and she puts the frame away to join me.

“Yeah. I’m the middle child. My brother Davis is the oldest, by two years.

He’s a loner and a lumberjack. He lives on the family property too, but he’s in a more isolated part of the land.

My parents were both only children, so they inherited everything, which means the Barlow family has a lot of land up here.

My sister Gina is your age. She was the surprise baby, but one of my favorite people.

She lives here part-time, and the other time she lives in Hollywood with her husband.

” I explain to her how my sister is a romance author, and I startle as she squeaks when she finds out my sister is Gina Sway.

“So I guess you’ve heard of her.”

She’s adorable as she blushes and realizes her brief outburst, and I laugh. “Don’t worry, she’s going to love you, too.”

Her blush deepens further, and as much as I love watching her get all red, it wreaks havoc on my mind as I imagine where the blush runs too. I shift the conversation fast, because I’m eager to learn about her.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“No. Only child. The closest siblings I have are my friends.” She takes a bite of her shrimp scampi, and moans. It goes straight to my pants. Damn. I need to hear her moan like that with me on top of her.

I clear my throat. “What about your parents? Are you close with them?”

“Yeah. My parents had me later in life, so by the time I graduated high school, they could retire. So they did. They sold the family home, put the little belongings they had left in storage, and have been travelling the world ever since.”

I don’t know how to think about that. It’s awesome that they could do that and get to see everything, but then my curiosity gets the best of me. “What did you do during holiday breaks and stuff?”

“Oh, sometimes I’d stay at school and work, or I’d go to one of my friends’ homes.

Often, though, my parents would send me a plane ticket and I’d meet up with them somewhere exotic.

I’ve now been to six continents. My parents are trying to get to Antarctica so they can say they’ve been to all seven.

I told them I’m good but have fun.” She chuckles as she twirls some noodles onto her fork.

How incredible would it be to experience so much? It makes sense why she appears to be so much older than she is. She’s seen more than the average person and has seen things other people shy away from.

“What’s your favorite place? And least favorite?”

She chews her food as she thinks it over.

“My least favorite isn’t about the place.

It’s about seeing what hunger and poverty do to people.

It’s hard when you get off a plane and there are a bunch of children with their hands outstretched, hoping for something, anything they can take back to their families.

It’s hard to handle, and why I make monthly donations to hunger organizations around the world. I pick a new one every month.”

If I didn’t believe I was falling in love with her before, I’m well aware of it now. She’s the complete package and is the perfect woman for me. It makes me hesitate. Am I the perfect man for her?

“Your favorite place?”

She smirks. “Still searching.”

For the next couple of hours, we finish our food and talk. I’ve never talked so much in my life or been so connected to somebody. We get comfortable on the couch, and some time after dinner, I grab all the different desserts and put them all on the dining table, and we taste test each.

“Oh. My. Word. Try the trifle.” She moans, and like before, it affects me enough to make me hot under the collar. Even more so with her lifting her spoon and wanting to feed me.

Feeding or being fed by another person has never been a kink for me, but with her doing it, I’m appreciating the appeal.

I maintain eye contact with her and take a bite. Her eyes widen as it dawns on her what she did and what I’m doing, but her eyes darken, and her chest rises and lowers a little faster. I swallow the sweet treat.

“Mmmm. You’re right, it is good.”

Her hand remains elevated while holding the spoon even after I pull back, but our eyes stay locked. I lick my lips as I relish the delicacy on my tongue, but it’s not enough. I only got a hint of her with the treat, and I want more.

The atmosphere surrounding us grows thick; she drops her hand, and the desserts are no longer a thought.

“Larissa?” My voice is deep, and I can hear the need echoing in one word.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay.”

The one brief word of consent is music to my ears.

As much as I want to ravish her, I don’t.

Instead, I cup her right cheek with my hand and slide in closer to her as I rest my other hand on her knee.

I move our heads to an angle that aligns us, and I hover over her mouth for a second as our gazes look right into each other’s souls.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. Dreaming about you. Please tell me you’re doing the same,” I plead.

“Oh, Jace, you’ve taken residence in my mind. I can’t stop, and I’m not even trying. I don’t want to. You’re it. You're my favorite place. Because as long as you’re there, I’m happy.”

A possessive beast takes over me, and I crash my mouth on top of hers, and she gasps, opening her mouth to me. I slip my tongue inside her mouth and moan at her flavor.

Her small hands move to my chest, and she tightens her fingers around my shirt and clenches. I pull her in closer and roam my hand up her leg and up to her waist. I remove my hand from her cheek and tangle my fingers into her hair. Such soft hair. Everything about her is soft and perfect.

She moves her hands and wraps them tight around my neck, like we did when we were being lifted from the helicopter. Just like then, there is a driving need, but not for safety. No, this time is for each other, and only for each other.

Finally, I’m going to make her mine.