Free Fan the Flames by Katie Ruggle

you had fun.” By the time Rory had finished her sentence, the door was already closing behind Lou.
    â€œI think you’ve created another gun nut,” Ian said as he circled around to her side of the counter.
    â€œShe did great.” Rory was placing the Ruger into the display and panicking a little. It was the last gun to put away, so she was actually going to have to look at Ian in just a minute. Keeping her eyes off him helped keep the butterflies and giddy feelings under control. “She’s a natural. Once she had the feel of it and wasn’t nervous about the upcoming bang, she got a nice, tight grouping on the target.” She laughed a little too loudly. “As soon as she tried that .45, she wanted nothing to do with the smaller calibers. She just said, ‘Go big or go home.’”
    â€œMaybe she should’ve gotten a gun a few weeks ago when her stalker was a problem.”
    â€œI don’t know. She seemed to do just fine without it.” Her mouth twisted wryly as she put the last case away. Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, she perched a hip on her stool, half-sitting and half-leaning, and met Ian’s gaze.
    â€œTrue.” He eyed her closely. “You’re looking better today.”
    â€œI actually got some sleep last night.”
    His brows rose. “Did the deer cameras work, then?”
    â€œThey worked fine,” Rory said with a grimace. “Or they would have if the guy had actually shown up. I did get a nice background wallpaper out of it, though.” She moved the mouse to wake up the computer, revealing the coyote.
    Frowning, Ian drummed his fingers on the counter as he scowled at the photo. “This was the first time he didn’t show in how many nights?”
    â€œFour.”
    â€œHuh.” The rhythmic noise was driving her crazy. Without thinking about it, she reached over and covered his hand with her own, stilling him. When the warmth of his skin seared her palm, she froze, realizing what she’d done. He flipped over his hand and laced their fingers together.
    It was the first time she could remember that she’d ever held someone’s hand. Usually, she was self-conscious about her blunt-cut nails and fingers stained with gun oil. In Ian’s grip, however, her hand looked feminine, dainty even.
    â€œWe’d be good together, Ror,” he said quietly, in what she was starting to think of as his gentling-the-wild-Rory voice.
    She swallowed, staring at their intertwined hands for several seconds before pulling away with a nervous jerk. The movement unbalanced her position on the stool, and she had to grab the counter to steady herself. She instantly missed the warmth of his hand.
    â€œUh…” she started, swallowing again. For some reason, her throat was really dry. “I…um, think he might have given up on breaking in here.”
    He watched her for a long moment. Worried that he wasn’t going to accept her panicked change of topic, she waited with a pounding heart. After what seemed like forever, he shifted back slightly and gave a skeptical grunt. “Who saw you setting up those deer cameras?”
    â€œGeorge Holloway,” she said after thinking for a moment. “That’s it.”
    â€œYou mention what you were planning to anyone but me?” When she shook her head, his face darkened. He looked pissed…really pissed. “I’ll be back.”
    â€œWhere are you going?” He didn’t hear her, though, since he was stomping to the exit. After he slammed through it, the door settled back into its frame with a rattle. She stared at it for a long time, thinking about the feel of his hand on hers. That connection had felt nice—more than nice. Everything about Ian made her warm inside, from his protectiveness to the intense way he looked at her, as if she were the only person in his universe. It had been a long time since anyone had cared about