Free Playing With Fire: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 2) by Susan May Warren Page B

afire.
    “Can I...um...”
    And then because she couldn’t help herself, because suddenly her code of staying just friends seemed stupid and childish in the face of her longings, she leaned forward.
    Conner kissed her. Softly, just a brush of his lips against hers, as if testing.
    Hoping.
    She closed her eyes, savoring.
    He nudged his hand around the back of her neck, his thumb on her cheek, caressing, and deepened his kiss, his mouth opening, still gentle.
    Still testing.
    He tasted of coffee and chocolate ice cream, of a hunger held in check behind the tenderness of his kiss. He smelled of the outdoors, the brilliance of the sunset simmering on the horizon, the exhilaration of the skydive, the courage to jump into a blazing fire.
    And he’d tracked her down, all the way to Arizona.
    She surrendered, sinking into his embrace, nearly disbelieving this moment.
    He put his other hand on her waist, scooted closer to her, curling that arm around her back.
    With her hands on his chest, she could feel his heartbeat pulsing against her palm.
    As if he were nervous.
    Oh. Conner.
    Because if she weren’t dreaming, then it was no use trying to tell herself that she wouldn’t be completely shattered, her heart in pieces when he walked away.
    Except, maybe, if he could promise her—
    What? That he loved her? That he’d never hurt her?
    Oh.
    What…was…she… doing ?
    Liza pushed on his chest, just a little, enough for his embrace to loosen.
    For him to lift his head.
    “Are you...is this okay?”
    Conner stared down at her, his eyes darkening with the sunset. And she wanted to say yes. That she could stay here all night, pocketed in his embrace.
    That it didn’t matter that he couldn’t give her tomorrow, that he’d vanish from her life.
    And she got it—really. Because a guy like Conner, with so many losses, simply couldn’t believe in a happy ending.
    But she did. Or wanted to.
    However, she refused to force him to promise her one.
    “Yeah,” she said, her eyes filling. “I’m just wondering—” And shoot, she wanted to stop herself, even heard herself screaming, waving semaphores. “What happens next?”
    He drew in a breath, swallowed, and she tried not to let it feel like a sledgehammer to her chest. Tried not to let herself die, right there in his arms. Especially when, for a second, a stripped, almost-panicked expression flashed through his eyes.
    He attempted to hide it with a smile. Then, “We’ll see. We’ll just take each day as it comes. I can’t make any promises.”
    Right. Of course. She knew that part. “Yeah, okay,” she said, her throat thick.
    She was right. This was really going to hurt.
    And it did. Because she foolishly let him kiss her again. Foolishly stayed there as the sun set, then foolishly let herself relax into his embrace and watch the moon rise, let him wrap the blanket around her, coax her into laughter as she listened to more stories of his life.
    Foolishly let him guide her back down the mountain.
    And when he asked, she foolishly agreed to meet him early enough to watch the sun rise.
    Then, she did the first smart thing she’d done since she met Conner Young.
    She packed her bags, slid a letter of resignation under the door to the Vitae office.
    And left town.
    Leaving her foolish, broken heart behind.
     

 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter 6

 
     
     
    Current day…
     
    It seemed to Conner that he spent way too long searching for things that just didn’t want to be found.
    “Seriously, dude. She’s gone. Vanished.” Reuben urged forward his horse, a beautiful brown-and-white paint, across the meadowland and along the ridge of the gully, muttering his annoyance. In fact, everything out of Reuben’s mouth this early in the morning had mostly been just a clearly formed growl.
    The sum of the fellow smokejumper and cowboy’s words since Conner had rousted him out of bed consisted of Are you kidding me? and Stop talking so loud .
    Not that Reuben had a hangover—Conner