Becca Jameson - Fire in the Smokies

Jaxon cleared his throat. “Sorry. There was no other way.” He knelt in front of the man and held his hands out, palms up. What difference did it make that he was naked? It wasn’t as though the guy hadn’t seen a cock before…

“I think you can breathe in here right now. The air isn’t too bad.” Jaxon reached for the man’s protective helmet with slow calculated movements. He didn’t want to scare the guy to death, but he did want to see what was under the hardhat.

Jaxon’s hand shook more than he would have liked as he tugged the helmet off. “I didn’t mean to…reveal myself like that. I wasn’t thinking when I came barreling in here looking for you. I—”

Jaxon froze with the helmet held in midair. Holy mother of God .

Suddenly the firefighter wasn’t the only one not breathing. Jaxon could feel his heart beating, but he didn’t think he’d ever be able to inhale again in this lifetime.

Long blond curls fell from the helmet seemingly in slow motion. They cascaded down until they sprang back, bouncing as though they belonged in a photo shoot for some feminine shampoo. Emphasis on the word feminine.

The helmet slipped from Jaxon’s fingers and landed on the hard ground with a loud clatter. He swallowed. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Synapses fired from one side of his head to the other as he made sense of the picture in front of him.

This was no fire man . This was a woman.

And she still wasn’t breathing. And his dick thanked God she was a she and sprang to life. And, oh…he was naked.

Jaxon licked his lips and reached for her protective goggles. His hands shook considerably more than they had moments ago as he lifted the eyewear off her face and stared into her deep blue eyes. Huge eyes. Frightened eyes.

“Oh, God. I thought…” Jaxon let the goggles fall from his hand. A lock of silky hair caught in his fingers and he let the tresses dangle between them as they cascaded to her shoulders.

He let go with a start, as though she’d shocked him. “Wow, umm…” He abruptly stood and turned away.

Hastily he retraced his steps back to the entrance to the cave. Hands trembling, he grabbed his pack and yanked it open. His fingers quickly found his jeans. He shook the denim free of the pouch and stepped into them with more haste than he’d ever donned clothing in his life. In fact, he hobbled a bit on each leg as he tried to maintain his balance on one foot and then the other. His cock grew larger by the second, knowing his mate sat behind him. Jaxon didn’t bother with the button. The partially raised zipper would have to suffice for now.

When he turned back around he found his mate still sitting in the same spot. He doubted she’d even blinked yet.

Soot covered her face, having found its way in between the edges of her helmet and mask. The only clean area was the figure-eight space where the goggles had rested.

Jaxon approached slower this time. “Sorry for the…” God, what was he supposed to say? Sorry to shift in front of you? Sorry I was naked? Sorry to inform you we are destined to spend our lives together?

Brianna White stared at the man in front of her, unable to move a muscle. Was it possible she’d actually perished in the fire instead of escaping into this cave? Or better yet, perhaps she died of smoke inhalation or something after entering the cave.

Seemed plausible when she considered the god of a man who’d suddenly appeared naked before her very eyes. Surely, she’d been good enough on earth for God to have given her such a gift upon entering heaven. She certainly deserved such a gift after the last several years of celibacy she’d endured trying to make something of herself as a firefighter.

The work was tough, but it had been her dream, and no man was going to stand between her and her dream.

On the other hand, if this was heaven, why was she still in the cave, a haze of smoke smearing her view? And why was she still encumbered with full fire gear, hot, tired and thirsty?

Brianna swallowed the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes as the sexy man approached her for the second time, this time wearing low-slung jeans that had been made to fit his exact body. They hung open in front just enough to glimpse the dusting of sexy brown hair she’d witnessed in its entirety moments before.

She silently wished he’d remained nude. It was her heaven after all. She hadn’t ordered the bronzed, muscular male specimen to get dressed.

He hunched down in front of her as her gaze wandered from his torso to his deep brown eyes. Concern furrowed his brow. “You okay?”

He didn’t touch her this time.

She had a fleeting thought she should reach out and grasp him, just to prove he was real and not a figment of her imagination.

On second thought, now that her mind was clearing, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. He certainly had to be all in her head. This was indisputable since she’d also witnessed him change from a wolf to a man.

Brianna licked her lips. “Fine.” How did one address the first ghost they met after death?

“I’m really sorry about…everything,” the man repeated for the third time. He waved his hand around behind him as though to encompass all activities of the past few minutes. “I’ve never done anything like that before… I mean not in front of anyone. I wasn’t thinking straight. Your scent threw me off my game.” He smiled, a wry grin that lifted only one side of his mouth.

Sure, that explained everything.

“My scent?” What was he babbling about? Smoke?

The man leaned forward, his chest muscles straining and bulging inches from her. He inhaled deeply and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment.

“You don’t know how happy I am you’re a woman.”

What? Was this man on drugs? Maybe she’d hit her head and wasn’t even dead yet, just concussed.

“Excuse me?” Brianna shook her head to clear her mind. Nothing happened.

“I’m Jaxon. Jaxon Durham. Not like Michael Jackson. J-A-X-O-N.” He reached toward her but not with the intention of shaking her hand in introduction. Instead he gently wiped the side of her face with his fingers.

The moment he made contact with her skin, Brianna sucked in a ragged breath. Warmth filled her, not just where he touched, but her entire body, as though she were…home.

I must be dead .

“Am I dead?”

Jaxon startled, his gaze jerking from her cheek to her eyes. “No. You’re perfectly safe. Are you injured?” Without warning, he reached with both hands and began to run them up her arms to her shoulders. Even through the layers of protective clothing she wore, she could feel his touch.

Confusion over her body’s response to this Jaxon character made her shake free of his clutch. The more he touched her, the more she wanted him to continue. She stood abruptly and backed against the rough wall of the cave.

Smoke was filling the cave entrance now and visibility was growing poor.

Brianna immediately regretted standing. Had she learned nothing in the fire academy? Rule number one: always stay low. She coughed and covered her mouth with one hand to block the smoke.

“I’m fine.” She glanced around.

“We need to move farther into the cave.” Jaxon stood and turned back toward the entrance. She could barely see him now, but he returned in seconds, holding a pack. “The wind must have shifted. Let’s go.” He took her by the arm and pulled her toward the back of the cave.

He was right. But she didn’t know what was worse—taking her chances against the smoke at the mouth of the cave or following this man whom she would swear had entered as a wolf.