Page 5 of The Hotshot’s Prize (Praise Me Like Fire #2)

Ella

“Doing okay?” he murmurs into my hair.

I nod, smiling against his chest. “More than okay.”

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, then another behind my ear. I shiver, and feel him grin into my hair.

“You hungry?” he asks, kissing my neck.

I nod. “Mm-hmm.”

“I got you, baby.” He pulls back a little to reach for his pack.

I sit up and watch him dig through his gear, the tattoos on his back rippling with his movements. I can’t believe I just gave my virginity to a man I just met.

But then, when I see the way the muscles in his arms flex as he pulls out some food, and the way he turns to grin at me like I’m the most beautiful thing in the world…I can believe it.

“Gourmet or survival mode?” he asks.

I laugh. “I feel like we’re already in survival mode.”

He tosses me a protein bar and rips into one of his own. We eat with our backs against the cave wall, watching the rain roll down in waves beyond the mouth of the cave. Thunder grumbles far off, low and steady, like the mountains themselves are talking.

“I’ve never seen a storm from a cave before,” I say quietly. “It’s kind of amazing.”

“Better than seeing it from a ledge,” he says, nudging me with his shoulder.

I smirk. “I’ll give you that.”

A companionable silence settles between us, and it’s a while before I speak again. “Why do it?”

“What?”

“Your job…” I smile apologetically. “I mean, it’s pretty intense stuff—running into wildfire and all that. Most people run from it.”

“I don’t know…maybe I’m an adrenaline junky?” He shrugs, the movement too casual. I know that’s not the real reason.

I roll my eyes playfully. “Be serious.”

He glances down at his hands. “My dad was a firefighter. Great guy. Lost him when I was fifteen…in a wildfire. He died saving a teammate.”

My heart aches. “Zack…”

“It’s okay,” he says, though his smile is sad. “He was a hero. Always wanted to help people. I guess I…wanted to live up to that.”

I touch his arm. “You are.”

He swallows hard. “I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really doing enough. Or if I’m just chasing ghosts.”

I shift closer and take his hand, our fingers twining together. “You saved me. Doesn’t get more real than that.”

He looks at me as if he’s seeing me for the first time, and as if he’s known me forever. Like I’m something important to him.

My throat tightens.

“You’re dangerous,” he whispers, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek.

I smile. “Why’s that?”

“Because I wasn’t looking for anything. Not a girl. Not a distraction. But then you—” He shakes his head, smiling wryly. “Here we are. I feel like I’m already addicted to you.”

I lean my head on his shoulder. “Me too.”

He wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer, kissing the top of my head. We sit like that for a long time. In silence.

It doesn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable.

It feels like home…like a missing piece of a puzzle finally sliding into place.

***

I wake to the sound of quiet breathing and the distant roar of the storm. Despite the weather, I’m surrounded by warmth, thick, solid, and steady. Zack’s arm is heavy around my waist, his leg draped over my thighs. I’m completely enclosed by him.

And I don’t want to move. Not even an inch.

His hand is splayed across my stomach, his thumb brushing lightly against the fabric of my shirt with each rise and fall of my breath. I curl my fingers around his forearm, marveling at the way his muscles feel beneath my touch. So powerful, yet so gentle last night.

God.

Last night.

My face goes warm, and I bite back a smile, trying not to squirm.

He touched me like I was something precious. Like he knew what I needed before I even said it. I still feel the echo of his hands, his mouth, his voice in my ear. It wasn’t just physical…it was consuming, terrifying, and exciting all at once.

Because…I don’t do this. I don’t get this vulnerable with people. My anxiety doesn’t let me.

Normally, I keep everything locked up. I keep people out. It’s just easier that way…safer. No expectations. No fear of screwing things up or being too much or not enough. I’m good at building walls and even better at pretending I’m okay behind them.

But with Zack?

It’s like the walls never even stood a chance.

I sink into him a little more, letting myself feel how tightly he holds me, even in his sleep. Like his body refuses to let mine go. And somehow, for the first time in forever…I don’t feel panicked. I’m not bracing for rejection or overthinking every breath.

I feel safe.

Not just physically—though yeah, the guy did save me from plummeting to my death—but emotionally. There’s this quiet calm around him, like nothing can touch us in this little cocoon of rock and warmth and blanket.

My fingers trail lightly over the arm around me, my heart swelling in my chest.

How did everything change so fast? It’s not even been twenty-four hours.

Yesterday, I was just a girl with a camera and a dream. Nervous. Lonely. Trying so hard to prove I was brave enough to be out here, even if I didn’t always believe it myself.

And now…I’m here. Wrapped up in a man who makes me feel brave just by looking at me.

I sigh, staring at the cave wall ahead. As much as I want to live in this moment, I can’t help the creeping thought that this bubble will eventually burst.

Tessa.

My eyes flutter shut as guilt hits me like a small wave. She’s definitely freaking out right now after not hearing from me overnight. No texts. No calls back. No sign of life.

I reach for my phone and of course, there’s no signal. It’s been that way since the storm started. Tessa probably thinks I’ve been eaten by a mountain lion. Or carted off by some canyon serial killer. Or that I tripped and broke my neck.

She’s got a crazy imagination, that girl.

Well, any of that could’ve happened if the universe hadn’t thrown Zack my path.

What are the chances that a hot hotshot walks by just when I’m deep in a ditch?

I stare up at the curve of the cave ceiling, biting my lip as excitement curls in the pit of my stomach.

I’ll call Tessa the second we’re out of here.

Maybe she’ll forgive me if I tell her about Zack? She’ll probably forget her anger and pester me until I give her every detail.

Tessa will be fine. I need to focus on this moment. With Zack. I need to absorb this feeling of being in his arms, his steady heartbeat pressed against my spine…

It feels like a dream. One I don’t want to wake up from.

And maybe I don’t have to. Not yet.

The storm’s still raging. The day is still young. There’s nowhere to be, no pressure, no audience. Just us.

Just this.

I must have drifted off to sleep because when I open my eyes again, Zack’s watching me, softly, lazily…

like he’s been doing it for a while. His brown eyes are impossibly clear in the low light, framed by long, thick lashes no man has any business having.

The faintest smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth as he watches me watch him.

How can a man be so…beautiful?

“You’re staring,” he murmurs, voice low and gravelly from sleep.

“I’m not.” I definitely am.

“You are,” he says, his lips spreading in a devil-may-care grin. “Not that I mind.”

Heat floods my cheeks, but before I can fire back with something halfway clever, he shifts, tightening his hold and pulling me flush against him.

Oh.

There’s no mistaking what’s pressed against me now, thick and hard and unmistakably ready. A shaky breath escapes me as my body goes still with awareness.

He leans in, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Keep looking at me like that, baby,” he rasps, “and I’m not gonna be able to behave.”

I turn toward him, breath coming faster, pulse thudding in my throat. “Maybe I don’t want you to behave.”

His gaze darkens instantly.

Then he’s kissing me, hot and possessive. Like something’s cracked wide open in him. Like he’s done holding back.

And God, yes.

I kiss him back with everything I have, my fingers gripping his shirt, desperate to feel him closer. To feel him inside me again. He groans into my mouth, rolling over to cover my body with his. I moan as his hips settle between mine, the solid weight of him anchoring me to the cave floor.

I feel tiny under him. Trapped in the best way.

My hand finds the hem of his shirt, and I push it up, fingers trailing over his firm, sculpted stomach, up to his chest. He watches me, eyes burning, as I explore him with tentative, hungry hands.

“I want to…” I swallow. “I want to touch you. The way you touched me yesterday.”

His jaw flexes. He nods, once. “Anything you want.”

I push him back gently and he lets me, lying on his side so I can straddle one of his legs and move over him. I feel bolder now, running my hands over his skin, tracing every line of muscle, every dip and scar. I lift his shirt and finally peel it off, revealing the full glory of his chest.

Damn.

He’s unreal.

My fingers dance over his ribs, then lower, skimming the waistband of his pants. He hisses a breath between his teeth.

I glance up at him, uncertain for a second. “Is this okay?”

“Fuck, Ella,” he groans. “You have no idea how okay this is.”

I let my hand drift lower, bolder now, curious…

and I pull down the waistband of his pants, exposing his hard length.

My confidence builds with every deep groan that emits from deep down his throat.

He’s so responsive to me, his face tightening, lips parting, hips shifting up slightly as I wrap my palm around him.

He’s thick and heavy beneath my hand, and my eyes widen slightly.

I saw him yesterday, of course, but I’m still not sure how he fit all of this inside of me.

He watches my reaction with a small, amused smile.

“Is this…good?” I ask, breathless.

His grin deepens, wolfish and full of heat. “It’s amazing. Just like that, baby.”

I’m making this up as I go, moving my hand gently up and down his length, occasionally tracing my thumb over the leaking tip, paying attention to what makes him groan.

I shiver, suddenly desperate to feel him again. I pull back quickly to remove my clothes, his eyes locked on mine the entire time. And then I swing one leg over him so I’m straddling him again.

He groans, his hands moving to my hips as I lean down to kiss him, long and deep. I can feel him twitch beneath me, feel the tension thrumming in his muscles as I rub against him.

His fingers are at my waist, then reaching up to my breasts, squeezing, teasing me breathless.

My skin’s buzzing. My heart’s pounding. My body is eager, ready to be joined to his again.

As if this is what we’ve been building toward since the second he pulled me off that cliff.

I want it. All of it.

I want him.