Page 13 of The Mountain Man’s Heat (Blue Mountain Burn: The Firefighters of Hartley Ridge #1)

Jake

Shifting my butt on the bar stool in the closest pub I could find to Sydney Town Hall, I study the medal nestled in purple velvet in its presentation box. It’s impressive.

Probably not as impressive as the twin girls Iris is most likely giving birth to at this very moment, but still impressive.

Does Hudson even know he tossed it to me as he reached her side back in the ballroom? Probably not.

I’ll give it back to him at the hospital tomorrow. Along with the two biggest teddy bears I can find for his new baby girls.

“That’s the kind of medal that could get you laid,” a craggy voice utters in front of me.

Lifting my head, I cast an askew look at the elderly man drying a beer glass on the other side of the bar. “Not mine,” I tell the publican. “It’s my captain’s. He’s with his wife. She’s giving birth.”

The man raises wiry salt-and-pepper eyebrows. “So it’s the kind of medal that could get you a wife?”

He flicks a look to my left, and I take a quick glance at the absolutely stunning woman in a skin-tight red minidress sitting two stools down the bar. As if aware of my attention, she meets my gaze and smiles.

“Not in the market for one,” I say, returning my attention to the publican. “Love isn’t for me, mate.”

Isn’t it? Or are you just too scared to let anyone in?

He tuts, shakes his head, and flips the dishcloth over his shoulder. “Damn shame.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t have fun, though. Right?” I grin. Closing the medal box, I slide it across the counter to him and straighten from my stool. “Look after that for me, will you?”

And with that, I turn to the woman in red.

No strings attached fun is exactly what I need. The only thing I need. And no way is that ever changing.

Hudson is determined to make his and Iris’s first wedding anniversary one to remember.

Secluded waterfall? Check. Skinny dipping?

Check. He wasn’t prepared, however, for what Iris has planned.

Check out the exclusive very steamy bonus epilogue, FREE when you subscribe to my newsletter. Get it here .

After a heroic rescue draws international attention, Hartley Ridge firefighter Jake Conroy is desperate to get out of the public eye.

His home halfway up Talisman Peak is isolated and private.

So who the hell is the gorgeous woman running up his driveway with a camera in her hand, and why does he instantly want to throw her on his bed?

Get The Mountain Man’s Need , Blue Mountain Burn: The Firefighters of Hartley Ridge, Book Two here .

Keep reading for a first chapter preview.