Page 9 of The Hotshot’s Prize (Praise Me Like Fire #2)

Ella

It’s been two days.

Two long, dragging, miserable days.

I haven’t heard from Zack. Not a word, not even a smoke signal—ironic, considering.

Every part of me wants to curl into a blanket burrito and never leave my bed again. But I can’t do that. Not when I still have this conservation project to finish. Not when I still have work. Not when I’m still trying to convince myself that what happened between us was just…a moment.

Nothing more.

Right?

I shove that thought deep down as I push open the door to the research building and walk through the quiet hallway, the fluorescent lights a harsh spotlight on my mood. I give the receptionist a weak smile and head straight for my office, keeping my eyes low.

I slide my key into the lock, the familiar scent of paper, dust, and camera gear instantly greeting me.

Home base. Sanctuary.

Sort of.

I drop my bag by the desk and take a breath. Then another. Then I open the photo editor and start scrolling through the memory card from the day I fell.

My fingers slow as a picture comes into view. There they are…the Mexican spotted owls, perched high on a branch, golden light slicing through the canopy behind them.

My lucky shot.

I remember the moment so vividly…the sense of awe, the click of the shutter, the feeling like something magical was happening.

Before everything changed. Before I plummeted off a ledge.

Before Zack.

Zack.

God, my chest aches just thinking about him. His voice. The way he looked at me like I was something precious. The way he made me feel like I could be brave.

And then he left.

I mean, I get it. He had to. His job’s intense, dangerous. I told myself I understood. That I shouldn’t expect more. I shouldn’t expect him to waltz in here like some Prince Charming after combing the whole town for me.

But I do.

I do.

And I hate that I do.

I blink back the burn behind my eyes and scrub a hand over my face. “Get it together, girl,” I mutter, turning back to the screen and dragging the next image into the editor.

Another owl picture.

It really is the perfect shot. I was so close to them, and the light was so dramatic with that storm rolling in. I can almost see their feathers ruffling slightly in the wind.

I open a new tab and pull up the submission page for the wildlife photography competition I’ve been daydreaming about for weeks.

My internship only lasts a few more months. And this competition could open a lot of doors for me.

I’ve been too anxious to submit anything, sure that my portfolio didn’t have anything good enough.

Not anymore.

Digging deep, I summon the bravery that Zack somehow saw in me, and I submit the photo of the owls.

Elated, I go to message Tessa, only for my eyes to fall on a news headline. My heart stops, and I click through to the article without breathing. Hotshots injured in a controlled burn that got out of hand. No deaths. Two hospitalized.

My stomach lurches, and I grab the edge of my desk, feeling dizzy.

What if…

What if I haven’t heard from Zack because he’s…

Unable to even finish the thought, I jump up and head to the door. I’ll just have to go to the hospital and see if I can find him.

But when I open the door, I stop in my tracks.

It’s Zack. Hand raised as if he was about to knock.

Zack.

My heart stops. I don’t even think it’s metaphorical this time.

He’s standing there, tall and broad as ever, looking like he just walked out of a war zone and straight into my hallway. There’s a bandage wrapped around his left hand, fresh stitches trailing a line along his temple. His eyes, those gorgeous, smoldering eyes, look exhausted but focused.

Alive.

In his good hand, he’s holding a slightly crushed bouquet of wildflowers.

“Hi,” he says, like this is the most casual moment in the world.

My lungs forget how to function. My mouth does that weird open-close thing like I’ve forgotten how to human.

But then I do the only thing that feels right.

I throw myself at him.

He lets out a soft grunt, but his arms catch me immediately, holding me so tight I swear I can feel every beat of his heart against mine. I bury my face into his chest, inhaling the scent of smoke, antiseptic, and something so purely him it hurts.

“You’re here,” I whisper. “You’re—God, Zack, you’re here.”

He pulls back just enough to look at me. His eyes are dark, intense, but there’s something raw and vulnerable in them that wasn’t there before.

“I didn’t know if I’d get the chance to do this,” he says, and then he leans down and captures my mouth in a hard, desperate kiss.

I grab his shoulders, instantly melting into him. His mouth moves over mine with the kind of hunger that conveys depths of emotions that words cannot—lust, longing, apology, and a hint of desperation.

When we finally pull apart, I’m breathless. So is he.

He rests his forehead against mine. “I should’ve come sooner,” he murmurs. “I just couldn’t.”

My heart flips and twists and thuds in my chest. I don’t trust it. Not yet. But for the first time in days, something like hope starts to take root again.

“I thought you were gone forever,” I whisper.

“I’m not,” he says softly. “Not unless you tell me to be.”

I don’t want to let him go. “I don’t,” I say, tightening my arms around him. It feels like a dream…the fact that he’s here, in person, standing in my office.

He pulls back just a little, brushing his knuckles against my cheek, his lips spreading in a soft smile. I look up, and I find myself drowning in the endless depths of his soft brown eyes.

I clear my throat, finally forcing myself to speak past the lump wedged there. “What…what happened, Zack?” I ask, stepping back just enough to look him over properly. “You’re all stitched up and—” My voice wobbles. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, baby, I’m fine,” he says with a reassuring smile.

“The fire…it was supposed to be a simple containment, but it spiraled out of control.” He shrugs, his jaw flexing as he stares at the floor like he’s reliving it in real time.

“One of the guys got caught on the downhill. Rookie. Good kid. He panicked, ran toward the wrong zone. I went in to get him.”

My breath catches. “Oh my God.”

“I got him out,” Zack says quickly, like he doesn’t want me to spiral.

“But I got trapped in the fire. Had to be pulled out by the rest of the crew. Spent a couple nights in the hospital for smoke inhalation, stitches, a sprain in my left hand.” He lifts the bandaged one, wiggling his fingers like it’s no big deal.

“They wouldn’t let me leave, so I looked you up from the hospital, found some of your work on the website for the conservation project. Ella—your photos are amazing. Truly.”

He looks so earnest, and I’m flattered, but I’m still hung up on the whole Zack in the hospital situation.

“Za—” My voice breaks, my chest tightening with an unfamiliar pain. “Zack, you almost died.”

He shrugs with that infuriating, maddening alpha confidence. “Almost doesn’t count. I’m here now.”

“That’s not funny,” I whisper.

His face softens. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to find you the second I woke up, but the medics wouldn’t even let me stand, let alone go chasing after a girl I barely know but can’t stop thinking about.”

My heart jumps in excitement at his words.

“In that fire, when I thought it was over…all I wanted was to see you again. To tell you how I feel.”

I reach up, brushing a lock of hair off his brow, eyes scanning the cut above his eye. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

I let my fingers trace over his good hand, the one still holding the crumpled bouquet like he couldn’t bear to show up without something in his hands. He leans into my touch like it’s the only thing anchoring him.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” I ask, quieter this time.

He nods. “Physically? Yeah. I’ll be back on my feet in no time.” Then his voice drops, eyes burning into mine. “The only thing I’m not walking away from is you.”

My breath catches.

“I don’t want to lose you, Ella,” he says, so plainly, so fiercely it cuts through every doubt in my chest. “I know this is fast, maybe reckless, but hell, so is everything about my life. And you…you’re the only thing that’s felt steady since the moment I found you on that trail.

” He pauses, his eyes boring meaningfully into mine. “I’m falling in love with you, Ella.”

A soft gasp escapes my lips. I stare blankly at him, unable to wrap my head around his words. My heart is pounding so loud it drowns everything else out.

Then he says the words again and this time, it hits home…

“I love you, Ella.”