Free Ellery Mountain 1 -The Fireman and the Cop by RJ Scott Page B

suddenly faced with a very obvious bulge inches from his face and only a thin cotton barrier stopping him from seeing what he had tasted the day before.
Just that thought, the single idea that he had tasted Finn brought everything flooding back. Finn. The fire. The accident that wasn’t an accident. He climbed on the bed next to Finn then guided the other man back into his arms.
Finn yawned widely and settled back on the pillows. He cuddled in to Max who just held on tight.
Max would look after this man until any danger was over. It was that simple. He just needed to push emotion that weakened him to one side, and concentrate on keeping Finn safe.
Easy. Finn would understand.
Chapter Nine
    By the end of the week Finn was going stir-crazy. Max was staying at his place when work at the mayor’s office was over and there had been no emergency callouts. Well, nothing apart from a small restaurant fire in the diner attributed to a build-up of grease and a sneaky smoke by a staff member. That had been the sum of excitement in Ellery and Finn was this close to losing it.
    He’d been back at work two days but he felt the itch of irritation under his skin. He wasn’t sure if it was that Max was keeping his distance, or that there were no leads in the case of the person who wanted to kill him—if indeed that was actually real—or whether he spent most of his time around Max hard and wanting.
    Max’s voice or proximity was enough to send blood south and he was fine—sore, but his legs were fine. This was ridiculous. Hell, he’d even resorted to walking naked from kitchen to bathroom but there was nothing. Not even a glimmer in Max’s eyes.
    Then Friday happened.
Finn took his turn in hosting the regular meet up. He refrained from pointing out he was totally freaking fine as people had taken to looking at him with pity. ‘Poor guy, trapped in a fire, then crashes his truck. Clearly he needs looking after’.
Kieran arrived first and made himself at home, grabbing beer and chips and slumping on the sofa. Finn chose his own seat and the throaty roar of the Ducati heralded Daniel. Evidently Daniel arriving was some kind of unspoken nod that Max should leave, and making some really crap God-awful excuse for needing to be in the office, he left. Not even with a kiss or a hug, or anything remotely affectionate except a goodbye.
Daniel and Kieran exchanged glances.
Damn it, if they didn’t move out of reach then they were well on course for getting the brunt of Finn’s agitation.
“He said he didn’t want to interrupt,” Daniel said.
“We told him it was fine,” Kieran added.
In a smooth movement that belied some of the stiffness in his legs, Finn threw open the front door.
Max turned around midway to his car, surprise showing on his face.
“Get in the house,” Finn pleaded.
Max stood still for a second. “Finn—”
“Enough words. I want you to know my friends.”
Max shrugged and, squaring his shoulders, came back up the four steps and stopped in front of Finn, who blocked the doorway. Finn reached up and twisted his hands together behind Max’s neck.
Pulling him down he whispered, “Meet the guys, then let’s go to bed.”
How Finn managed not to climb Max like a freaking tree at any given point in the evening he didn’t know. Yet, somehow he pulled it off and they had a good night. Neither Daniel nor Kieran showed any problems with an added Friday guy and the four of them talked well into the night. It was only when midnight passed that Daniel made excuses to leave and Kieran got the hint as well. When Finn shut the door behind them and finally it was just him and Max, the tension started to increase.
“Finn…” Max looked nervous. He dug his hands into his pockets.
“I’m fine,” Finn said. “My chest is fine, my knees are fine.” He stood then pressed himself against the larger man. He twisted his fingers into Max’s hair. “Don’t make me kneel when I suck you off, though…” He deliberately tailed