Free Fighting the Flames by Leslie Johnson Page A

needed no further encouragement. He slanted his mouth over hers and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She reached up and cupped the back of his neck, holding him to her. His heart beat in his chest like a wild animal that had been captured and caged. Kissing her now was like the first time all over again. All the same emotions and excitement swirled through his body and mind. Jess kissed him back with urgency and need.
    Jess pulled away first. He had no idea how long that kiss lasted, but it was much too short for him. “That’s what I wanted,” she whispered.
    “Friends with benefits?” he asked, but lightly this time, no sting in his words. If that’s what she wanted, fine, he could live with that.
    She moaned, in what could have been a yes or a no.
    He dropped his forehead to hers and shook his head. “Oh, Jess, Jess, Jess,” he said on a sigh. This was so hard. He wanted to tell her that if she would just be with him, she could have him any time she wanted. And he wanted to tell her that he’d give her anything, anytime, anywhere—all she had to do was ask. But he kept his mouth shut for fear of ruining the moment.
    She responded by pressing her lips to his and kissing him again. There was so much passion in that single kiss, it almost knocked him backwards. “Ryan,” she moaned into his mouth and then she pulled away abruptly. “I’m sorry.” She put her fingers to her lips. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
    “Don’t apologize.” He straightened and removed his arm from around her shoulders. It was time to get the hell home before he tried to make another move on her. He stood. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
    “See you soon.”
    Ryan waited until Jess went inside before he walked across the yard and into his own house. If tomorrow was anything like the last few minutes had been, then he was totally and completely screwed.

Chapter 8
    A fter only three hours of sleep, seven a.m. came too early, but Jessie was looking forward to the day. She shouldn’t have kissed Ryan last night. It was a mistake knowing she’d been so adamant about just wanting to be his friend. Kissing him sent the wrong message. To herself and to him.
    But, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. She loved kissing Ryan. As she walked beside him, heading toward the entrance of the flea market, she vowed to do better. Today she wouldn’t kiss him, and she wouldn’t send him mixed signals. It wasn’t fair.
    Ryan gently nudged her with his shoulder and smiled. Now that was a sight she could get used to seeing every day. Good grief! They were just friends. She couldn’t think those things about him. So what if he looked drop dead gorgeous in his blue jeans, sneakers, and polo shirt? So what if his eyes sparked every time they met hers? And so what if the sight and smell of him made her mind derail into wickedly erotic thoughts?
    “What’s on your mind, Jess?”
    How did he do that? How did he always know that her mind was racing? How did he say her name is such a way that it made her body flush with warmth and cause her to shiver at the same time? “Nothing, just trying to take everything in; this place is huge.”
    He laughed. “Yes, it is, but it’s okay. There’s a method to this. See, we start in that building right there.” He pointed to a large pole barn directly ahead of them. “When we come out on the other end, we’ll go into the other building, then we loop around and hit the vendors on the outside.”
    “Hit the vendors?” She laughed. “What’re we gonna do? Rob ‘em or something? You’ve been casing the joint, haven’t you?”
    “Oh, someone’s hip to all the lingo.” Ryan put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, giving her ribs a squeeze that caused her to jump and yelp with surprised laughter. “Come on, my little criminal mastermind.”
    It wasn’t lost on her that he’d said “my” in reference to her. She should correct him, remind him that she wasn’t