Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
He mouths another word I can’t hear, but I feel it in my mind as clear as if he whispered it straight into my ear
Mine.
It sounds weird, but instead of feeling like I’m falling, it actually feels as if Ash gets bigger. Scooping me up as If I weigh nothing when I feel his strong arms gripping me.
His whole body remains unmoved by me dropping three floors right into his arms, and the only thing I can see are his eyes.
His eyes and his smile.
“That’s better,” he growls, pulling me closer to his massive chest.
Both my hands claw at him like wreckage after the storm’s passed.
“You caught me,” I gasp in some disbelief, but the real feelings I have inside are more unbelievable than his strength and judgment in catching falling thick girls from a dizzy height.
His eyes narrow a little, but his smile stays fixed.
“Of course I did,” he asserts. “And I’m not letting you go this time either,” he adds.
This time?
“Have you ever dropped anyone?” I ask, looking up, the sun coming out from behind some clouds shining straight into my face.
“That’s not what I mean,” he murmurs, asking me if I’m hurt.
By hurt, does he mean this soaking ache between my legs?
I feel my head shaking in the negative, though, because it’s true.
Not a scratch on me.
“I’m okay,” I whisper. “Now, I mean,” I tell him, burrowing into his shirt under his leather jacket.
Breathing in his clean, masculine scent.
He smells like the feeling I’ve had all morning, only now I can put a face to it.
A body.
A name.
Ash.
The sounds all around us slowly filter in until they’re all I can hear. As if someone’s turned the volume of us down again.
Back to reality.
There are a dozen fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances, all looking as if they’ve sprung from nowhere. I know the city’s traffic’s been upended for weeks now with roadwork, and I’m amazed they could all get here as quick as they have.
If it wasn’t for Ash, though.
The thought is cut short with Ash looking up suddenly; then in a second, he’s turned his back on the blaze, shielding me with his huge body.
I can feel the rush of hot air and hear the crackle of glass and whatever the hell else is still shooting from the building I used to call home for nine hours a day.
“Let’s get you checked over,” he rasps, making a beeline for the nearest paramedic. Even nudging past who I can see at a glance must be his boss, the old and worn-looking Fire Chief.
His eyes meet mine for just a moment, filled with something I’d only call sadness, but they shift to Ash, and his look turns to something else. A happy but almost ironic look I can’t make sense of right now. Or maybe I am in some kind of shock now.
I guess I am but in a good way.
The fire, the drill. Hell, even my parents aren’t in my mind anymore.
I feel Ash’s hold on me, firm and close. My own chest pressed into his rock-hard abs under his clothes.
The feeling of my big ol’ rear end brushing against and banging up against his pant bulge with every step.
Something tells me that Ash is a hero in every department, not just the fire department.
This is what I wished for. This is exactly what I dreamed of. The crappiest day in the crappiest life suddenly made new and special again.
Saved by the fireman, who also just happens to be god’s gift to women.
And feeling how easy and natural he manages to hold me, to carry me like I’m something he’s waited a long time for, I feel like I’ve fallen more than three stories too.
I’ve fallen for the fireman, alright, but how an older guy like him could ever see anything more than just another rescue as part of his job is beyond me.
There’s a waiting medic, and Ash seems annoyed when he’s asked to let me down so he can have a proper look at me.
“She’s not hurt,” Ash says in a low growl. “Are you, Bridget?” he asks me, softening his tone and looking down at me with those big brown eyes.
Making me melt all over again, and seriously worried he’s making me so wet it’ll show through my clothes.
“C’mon, man,” the medic groans. “We gotta check her over. You did your fire hero thing let me do my fucking job, okay?” the tired medic snaps.
I can feel Ash tense as he takes a breath to say something else, but my fingers digging into his chest as I murmur something about it being okay seems to please him enough to set me down.
I reach for him again straight away, but not because I already crave his touch again.
I’m dizzy. Hell dizzy, and my mouth and lungs feel like I’ve been licking ashtray-flavored stamps for a month.