Free Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts) by Lisa Mondello

said.
    Sam stood stunned for a moment before draping his arms around her waist. He’d seen her terrified before. But this time it was for his safety and he hated that.
    “I’m glad,” he said, his voice soft as her scent took over him. She smelled of flowers and nature and the scent took him back to when he’d kissed her.
    He pulled away from her just enough to look into her eyes and knew, in that moment, that he had lost the battle he had been fighting against his own desires. He’d never worried about going out on a fire for days. But seeing the worried look in Summer’s eyes, worry that she held for him, not the maniac that had made her flee from her home, caught him off guard.
    He suddenly realized just what his mother had been battling for years. But where Kate didn’t mince words about her worry, Summer kept it to herself. Everything she felt was written in her expression.
    “You are so beautiful,” he said.
    Smiling weakly, she said, “I look a mess.”
    “A beautiful mess.”
    And at the same time, he felt a pull to stay that he’d never felt before. This fire was a monster of a different kind, one that Sam knew they’d be fighting for days if the wind in the canyon didn’t cooperate. That meant he could conceivably be out in the field for a week or more, leaving Summer alone.
    He knew Ethan would be here at night and there would be protection while Summer was at basecamp. But they couldn’t account for every moment of the day. He didn’t want to spend the night in a Crew Haul truck. He wanted to feel Summer’s naked and warm body against his every night.
    For the first time since he’d become a fire fighter, Sam hated his job.
    * * *
    Days were long. After three days of fighting a monster fire that the canyon winds fed with wind, the crews were getting tired. Sam and his team had come back to basecamp for a day of rest and were already going out again. Luckily Adam had called for more Hotshots and Smokejumpers from out of state to come in and help battle the blaze.
    Summer held her breath while she focused on her job, thankful for the need to throw herself into something that would keep her mind off Sam directly. She poured over maps, fed information into the radio and only felt a little relief when Sam’s voice would come back over the radio.
    The EMTs had taken care of several fire fighters who’d become over exhausted and over heated by the flames and long days. They’d rest for a day and put themselves right back on the roster to go back out in the field. Each morning during the briefing they listened to Adam talk about spread and containment or hot spots that the NOAA predicted. This morning it had been a new spot that flared up fast and threatened to join the other fire Sam and his crew had been fighting.
    “It could be a ‘perfect storm’,” Adam was saying. “If we don’t get this one under control, it’ll create a wall of fire so big it’ll threaten homes on the outskirts of town. We’ve already evacuated most of the homes in line with the fire. But there will probably be more evacuations over the coming days.”
    Sam was already in his gear, ready to jump into the utility transport with the rest of his crew.
    “Ethan is out evacuating people. Promise me you’ll stay safe.”
    Summer reached up on her toes and kissed him. “You, too. When do you think you’ll back?” Summer asked, fear balling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Sam in the middle of a roaring, uncontrollable fire.
    “You heard Adam. It’s fixing to be a giant,” Sam said, his gaze burning into Summer’s as he turned back. “And it’s growing. Those canyon winds never let up this time of year. Don’t look so worried. I’m going to be fine.”
    “You’d better be. I want you to come back to me, Sam McKinnon. I’m not done loving you.”
    His eyes widened with her words. “How can I resist that?”
    Dipping his head, he brushed his lips across her temple. With a reassuring smile, he stepped