Free Flaming Desire - Part 2 (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) by Helen Grey Page B

turned to Matt.
    “So, tell me about your crew.”
    “There's a number of crews that make up the Rocky Mountain Hotshots,” he shrugged. “Seven actually. We’ll be joining forces with the Northern Rockies teams.”
    I hadn’t had much experience with the Hotshot crews in the Rocky Mountains or the Great Basin. I knew the Southwest region encompassed about twenty crews, several of them operating under the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the rest under the purview of the Forest Service.
    “I've never been permanently assigned to a Hotshot crew. I pretty much bounce around as I’m needed,” I said.
    He nodded. “I did too, for a couple of years. My crew, based in Ft. Collins, will join the Bitterroot crew from the Northern Rockies’ teams and join up in Darby.”
    From the airport, I knew we would likely take one of the choppers provided by the National Park Service to the base camp. Once we arrived at the base camp, a crew truck would take us to a specific location where we would be assigned to a fire line. I didn't know what I would be assigned to do, or whether I would be partnered with Matt, but I certainly hoped so. It would be a good opportunity to work beside him.
    I glanced up at him, realized that he was relaxing, his head resting against the seat, his eyes closed. I didn't bother him, but tried to relax myself, knowing that our opportunities for doing so would be severely limited in the coming days. However, as I leaned my head against my arm, braced against the window frame, I glanced at his profile.
    To my surprise, my heart gave a little thump. My thoughts turned inward. Suddenly, I came to a starting realization. I was falling for him.
    I was falling for Matt Drake.
    For an instant I felt a thrill of excitement, and then my heart sank. What the hell was I thinking? I hadn't been involved in a relationship for quite some time, and I wasn't exactly looking for one. Despite the fact that Matt and I had enjoyed a couple of very close encounters, and pleasurable ones at that, I wasn't sure if it meant anything to him. In fact, I wasn't sure if it meant anything to me, other than what it had been. Sex. Plain and simple sex. But was that all there was to it? I certainly didn't make a habit of sleeping around, and certainly not as quickly as I had done with Matt.
    As the plane propelled us northward to meet uncertain days, I had to ask myself some hard questions. Why had Matt asked me to join his crew? He would have known that as soon as I heard of the fire, I would be on my phone, as I had been, prepared to call the agency and get myself assigned to whatever crew needed me. Had he asked because he liked me? Wanted me near him? And what kind of pull did he have with his captain anyway? Or was I overthinking it?
    I also had to deal with this undeniable attraction to him. I recalled what Jeremy told me back at the fire station. Could he be right? Could Matt be a billionaire? And if he was, did it change my feelings for him, or encourage them? Was the fact that he might be bloody rich have anything to do with the sudden realization? I didn’t think so. When I thought of Matt, the first thing that popped into my head was the word ‘comforting’. I remembered his hand on mine as the plane took off. I remembered the smell of his shoulder as he held me close in his truck while I poured out the memories of my tragic past. I recalled the worried look in his eyes after he’d pulled me from the burning house.
    Those were the thoughts that came into my head when I thought of Matt. Not money. After all, I hadn't found out the possibility that he might be rich until yesterday anyway, and before that I was already attracted to him.
    I wanted to ask him questions, but I didn't want him to know that I knew how rich he was. After all, if he had wanted everyone to know, he probably would have said so. Still, I had to wonder. Why did somebody who made so much money feel the need to become a nurse, or a firefighter? Then again, I