Page 8 of The Pilot’s Good Girl (Praise Me Like Fire #3)

Jake

We clean up in the shower together, and I take my time lathering her body with soap, running my hands over her soft skin, pressing the full lengths of our naked bodies together.

When she realizes I’m hard again, she surprises me by dropping to her knees, looking up at me with the hungriest expression.

I grin down at her. “What do you want, baby girl?”

She licks her lips, watching my cock bob in front of her face, then reaches out hesitantly. “I want to taste you, Daddy.”

A thrill shoots through me when I remember she’s never done this before, when I realize I get to be her first everything.

“Yes—suck my cock, baby. Let me claim every single one of your holes.”

She wraps her lips around my head and groans in agreement, beginning to bob up and down on my length. She moves slowly at first, testing the water, and then speeds up as she gains confidence and learns what I like.

It’s not long before her hair is wrapped around my fingers and I’m pulling her down onto me, fucking gently into her mouth. “Baby girl, you’re so good at this, so perfect for me.”

She moans around my length, the vibrations shooting through me as pleasure builds.

The warmth of her mouth, those gorgeous brown eyes peering up at me full of trust and adoration, and the knowledge that she’s given me her body completely…it all combines into a rush like I’ve never felt before.

“You’re gonna make me come, baby,” I warn her, releasing her hair to allow her to pull off. But she doubles down, taking so much of my length I think she might choke. I groan, my legs shaking as I spill down her throat and she swallows everything I give her.

When I’m spent, I pull her up and press her body against mine, whispering praise in her ear and rewarding her with my fingers in her swollen pussy until she’s shaking and crying out my name, her moans echoing against the tile.

Somehow, we manage to finally get clean and make it back to the bed.

She curls up against me, breath steady now, her skin damp from everything we just did. My body is humming, completely wrecked in the best fucking way, like she short-circuited something inside me that I didn’t even know existed.

Ruby sighs, nuzzling my chest. “I think I died a little.”

I chuckle, tucking a strand of her wild golden curls behind her ear. “Not on my watch, sunshine. But if you passed out again for a few hours, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Her lips brush against my chest. “I might. You ruined me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Her lips spread in a lazy grin. I want to keep her here. Lock the door. Crawl between her thighs and stay there until the damn sun sets. But the universe has other ideas.

My phone rings, buzzing persistently on the nightstand.

Fuck.

I don’t even need to look at it to know what it is. Still, I check.

MOOSE CREEK FIRE OPS.

I sit up fast, the shift displacing her off my chest.

She frowns. “Trouble?”

“Fire call. Gotta take it.” I swipe to answer. “Pearson.”

“Jake, it’s Wallace. We’ve got a hot one out east—Suncrest Ridge, about two miles from the river. It jumped containment and it’s closing in on residential properties. We need the little bird. You up?”

I’m already grabbing my pants. “I’m on my way. ETA twenty. I’ll pick her up and meet your crew in the air.”

“Copy. Appreciate you.”

I hang up and turn toward the bed. Ruby is watching me, the sheet pulled up over her chest, her eyes clouded with concern.

“Another fire?”

I nod, tugging my shirt on over my head. “They need my chopper. It’s getting close to homes.”

She sits up, all flushed and mussed and so goddamn beautiful it guts me to walk out the door.

“I’m sorry I have to leave,” I tell her.

“I get it,” she says with a sweet smile. “It’s your job. Go be the hero.”

I lean in, catching her jaw in my hand and kissing her, hard and short. “We’re not done,” I murmur against her lips. “Not even close. When I get back, you’re not leaving my bed.”

She smiles like a secret. “I was thinking I should head back to camp anyway. I’ve got an early shift.”

“Take my truck,” I say. “Your car’s still at the wash. I’ll get a ride out and grab it later.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Your legs are wrecked. You’re not walking.”

Her laugh is soft, sexy, and it follows me all the way to the airstrip.

***

The second I lift off, I’m locked in.

The fire’s worse than I expected. Smoke rising in thick columns, blotting out the horizon. Wind’s slicing through the trees, feeding the flames like it wants to see the whole damn ridge burn.

Suncrest isn’t far from town, new buildings tucked into the forest, all of them dry as tinderboxes.

I spot a cluster of homes at the top of a slope and head there first. The fire’s pushing up fast, licking the edges of the tree line, just a few hundred feet from one big white farmhouse with a red barn.

“There’s a pond,” I mutter, spotting the shimmer of water behind the property. “Thank fuck.”

I radio in. “Pearson on site. I’ve got visuals on residentials near Suncrest. Engaging from the northeast. Using a local pond for drops.”

“Copy, Pearson. Smoke jumpers en route. Tankers are ten out.”

I dip low, line up the bucket, and haul water.

Drop.

Loop.

Haul.

Drop again.

The cycle is brutal. Sweat is rolling down my spine, my helmet tight on my head, fingers cramping on the stick as I bank into another low hover.

The chopper handles like a dream—tight turns, precise lifts.

We’re the only ones who can get this close.

The bigger birds can’t maneuver in these trees. But I can.

The fire cracks and groans, devouring a shed near the house as I douse the edge just in time. Scorched earth steams beneath me, the heat rising like a damn furnace. I can see people evacuating, dogs barking, someone clutching a baby in their arms, sprinting to a truck.

No fucking way am I letting this fire take their home.

“Smoke jumpers on deck,” someone radios. “We’ve got lines going in on the south end.”

“Copy. I’ve got your back.”

I follow their lead, cutting off the western edge, dropping water like a scalpel where they carve lines. It’s a long, grueling push. Trees fall. The sky burns orange. At one point, I’m flying half-blind through the haze, trusting gut and instinct and this machine to hold me steady.

And then finally…finally…the fire starts to give.

Containment holds. The homes are still standing.

We did it.

I exhale hard, radioing back in. “Pearson requesting clearance to head in for refuel and maintenance. Bird’s running hot.”

“Clear to return, Pearson. Damn good work out there.”

I don’t reply right away. My gaze lingers on the homes below, the pond now a muddy hole, the air thick with smoke but clearing.

Then I lift the chopper’s nose and fly for base.

And for the girl who was on my mind the whole damn time.

It’s past noon, the sun already high above the mountains by the time I land the chopper back at base.

The rotors slow to a hum, the smoke and adrenaline finally bleeding out of me.

My muscles are sore from hours of flying tight angles, and I’ve got soot caked along my jaw and neck.

But none of that is what’s filling my chest right now.

It’s her. Ruby.

Fuck, I can’t stop thinking about her.

I lean back in the pilot seat for a minute, just breathing.

The hangar’s quiet except for the clinking of tools and the occasional shout between mechanics.

I should be focused on refueling, on filling out reports, on checking the systems. But all I can see is the way she looked this morning, her hair tangled from sleep, body still marked up from my hands and mouth, her lips swollen from how hard we kissed.

And the way her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

That soft doubt.

Like she didn’t fully believe I’d want more.

I fucking hate that. That she thinks I’d just take what I wanted and leave her behind. That she thinks she’s not the kind of girl a man stays for.

But I’m not conflicted. I’m not unsure.

I want her.

All of her.

Her mouthy attitude, her smart little brain, her messy heart. I want the morning-after smiles and the midweek bad days, and every sharp, sweet inch of her.

She’s mine.

And she’ll never be anyone else’s.

Not on my fucking watch.

I run a hand through my hair and curse under my breath.

I’ve gotta see her. I need to find a truck, drive to that damn retreat, and tell her exactly what’s going on in my chest. That she’s it.

That this thing between us is not just some temporary summer firestorm.

It’s real. It’s fucking forever if she’ll let me have it.

But I’m filthy, and exhausted, and still have reports to fill out and a helicopter to refuel. She deserves the best of me, so I know I should get some rest. She has her shift anyway.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll tell her exactly how I feel.

Just as I’m standing up and grabbing my water bottle, I hear boots crunch behind me.

“Hey, lover boy,” Danny calls out. “How’d the apology go yesterday?”

I smirk over my shoulder. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

He lets out a bark of laughter. “Damn. So you actually pulled it off.”

“Apology, yes. Restraint? Not so much.”

Danny lifts both brows. “So you got laid?”

“I got forgiven,” I deadpan.

He whistles low. “Must’ve been one hell of a speech.”

I shake my head, grinning despite myself. “Something like that.”

Danny leans against a toolbox, arms crossed, eyeing me with a curious expression. “You’re different, man. I haven’t seen you like this in…ever.”

I grab a rag, wipe the grime from my hands. “Like what?”

“Like you’re not thinking five steps ahead. Like you’re just…in it.” He studies me for a second. “You’re really sure about this girl? You barely know her.”

“I’ve never been more fucking sure of anything.”

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them…and they’re true. Solid. Rooted in me deeper than anything I’ve ever said.

Danny whistles again, this time more like damn . “Jake Pearson. Saying words like that out loud. I’m shocked.”

“I’m shocked too,” I admit, folding the rag and tossing it in the bin. “But it doesn’t matter if it’s been five minutes or five years. I know what I want when I see it.”

“And you want her.”

I meet his eyes. “Yeah. I do.”

Danny tilts his head, grinning like a bastard. “Should I be prepping a best man speech? You hearing wedding bells already?”

I roll my eyes, but I don’t deny it.

Because maybe the idea of Ruby barefoot in some wildflower field, walking toward me with that bright-ass smile…doesn’t sound so crazy.

Maybe it sounds perfect.

“She’s different,” I say finally. “I don’t feel like I’m holding back around her. Like I don’t need to pretend to be some cold-hearted bastard all the damn time.”

“Good,” Danny says, “’cause that guy’s a real asshole.”

I laugh, the knot in my chest loosening a little. “Yeah. He was.”

Danny slaps my shoulder. “I’m happy for you, man. Whatever this is? Don’t screw it up.”

I nod, returning his smile. “Thanks, buddy.”

An image of Ruby rises unbidden in my mind and I feel my chest constrict love and happiness. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

Oh, yeah. I’m in love with Ruby Jackson and I’m done overthinking it.

I’ve fought wildfires with less conviction than what I feel for her.

She’s mine. And I’m going to make damn sure she knows it.