Free Flame (Firefighters of Montana Book 5) by Victoria Purman Page B

Four years ago, she’d wanted to sleep with him. Now, it was something more. She wanted to get to know this man.
    “Well, I’m glad you’re safely home, that’s all. The whole town appreciates what you do up there.” She flicked her gaze to the sky. And then the thought tore at her suddenly, ripped a piece of her heart clear away, and it seemed to stick in her throat and make her breathing light and shallow and breathy. He puts his life on the line every time he gets in a plane.
    What if he hadn’t come back today? And then Cady knew now why she’d been sleepless, skittish in the past couple of days. Her concern about Dex was coming from somewhere deep and important and real.
    “So what’s for dinner?” Dex smiled and the gleam of his teeth against his pale and exhausted face almost had her throwing her arms around him with relief.
    “Beef stroganoff with herbed rice. I hope you like it.”
    He exhaled. “That sounds real good.”
    “I thought you might be a red meat kind of guy.” And before she realised she was doing it, she let her eyes trawl slowly down his body, from his broad shoulders, past his muscled chest and stomach, to his strong thighs. Oh, yeah. Dex McCoy was definitely a red meat kind of guy.
    “Listen, Cady. I really appreciate the food. I do. But I’ve just got home.”
    She waved her hands frantically as if she was trying to stop a speeding car in front of a school crossing. “No, no, no. It’s fine. You go do what you have to do. I really should be going.”
    But before she could leave, Dex took one step closer, right up into her personal space, and then one of his big hands was gentle on her forearm. She could feel his fingers sear her skin right through her shirt. She could smell something else mixed in with the smoke. Pine needles.
    “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not saying I want you to go. I’m saying you should come wait inside while I take a shower. And then I’ll get you a beer. Okay?”
    “Sure. Okay.” The words came out before she could second guess herself.
    “Make yourself at home,” Dex said. “I’ll be down in ten.”
    As he took the stairs to the upstairs bathroom, Cady checked out his ass. Ladies , I’m sorry. But Dex McCoy would absolutely, definitely win the Great Glacier Creek best ass challenge. For damn sure.

Chapter Nine
    C ady couldn’t help herself. With Dex upstairs taking a shower—she couldn’t think about that too much without breaking into a sweat—she checked out his apartment. It revealed a lot about him, as she surveyed the open plan kitchen and living area. There wasn’t much in it—a masculine, chocolate brown leather sofa seemed to have been his only indulgence, but there were no throw pillows or blankets. A low wooden coffee table that didn’t even have last week’s newspaper or a magazine on it. There were no bookcases, and the only shelving was in the kitchen above one of the countertops, and they didn’t even hold a decorative jug or a matching set of wine glasses or even a bowl.
    The whole place looked the opposite of lived-in—it looked, Cady searched for a word, temporary. As if Dex had planned to live as lightly as possible, so he could, at the drop of a hat, toss all his possessions into his truck and hit the highway at a moment’s notice. Which was so like the Dex she knew. Once a drifter, always a drifter.
    The beef stroganoff was warming in the oven and the rich, meaty scent wafting through Dex’s apartment told her it was almost done. This was just a meal, big enough for two people to share. This was her saying thanks. She didn’t have to talk about the kiss, about the fact he’d apparently kissed her back—how could she not remember that—and then she would go home, because she had to be up at the crack of dawn to bake lovely things for Cady’s Cakes. She opened the oven door, waited for the steam to dissipate and then pressed her right index finger into the top of the dish, judging it still needed a few