Hot to Touch (Kimani Romance) (11 page)

E
mma woke and turned toward Shane, expecting to feel him next to her, their limbs intertwined around each other, as she had many times throughout the night. Instead, she encountered empty space beneath the double-down sleeping bag when she reached for him.

She opened her eyes and rose up slowly, her foggy mind gradually piecing together the events from the day before. Crawling from beneath the covers, she fumbled around until she found Shane’s shirt and drew it over her head and located her discarded panties from the night before and pulled them on.

She walked outside the tent, the sun’s early morning rays filtering through the thicket of trees greeting her.

She stopped and inhaled deeply, the morning air
carrying a sachet of smells—wildflowers, earth and nature.

Her gaze searched out and found Shane. Standing not far away, near his truck with his bare back toward her, wearing nothing but low-slung jeans. In his hand was a mug of what she assumed was coffee, his thumb absently tracing around the rim.

He turned and placed the coffee cup on the hood of his car, and she caught a glimpse of his face. From that distance, she could see the way his brow was furrowed, a contemplative look on his face.

When he caught sight of her, he paused in the act, turned and fully faced her, his expression lightening. A slow smile replaced the frown. He held out his hand, inviting her to join him, pulling the mug from the hood of the truck. Putting the look she’d seen and the possible cause from her mind, Emma made her way over to him.

Shane’s eyes flew open when he felt Emma’s fidgeting body move against his.

In her sleep she tossed, restlessly moving her body, a deep frown on her face, mumbling incoherent words in an oddly childlike voice.

He bent his head toward her, listening carefully, finally making out her words.

“Mommy, Daddy, please don’t go. Please don’t leave me again. I wanna go with you guys this time,” she begged. “I promise I won’t be in the way!” She began crying seconds later.

As he listened to her murmuring, he realized she
was locked inside her dream world, repeating her crying pleas to her parents, tugging on his heart until it ached.

There was a pause. As she slept, her face took on a look similar to that of a frightened child, her full bottom lip poking out, trembling. Tears fell down her cheeks, her lips quivering as she softly cried.

“Sssh, it’s okay, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” Shane gathered her body close to his, murmuring soft, reassuring words until she quieted down.

He held her that way until her soft snores alerted him that she was no longer trapped inside the dream. His soothing words and gentle touch finally relaxed her body, no longer tossing in agitation, a calm finally settling over her.

He stared at her face for a long time, her body curled trustingly around his, hand rested on his chest. He lifted it and opened her palm, giving a soft kiss to the center before laying it back on his chest.

“I love you, Emma.”

The words he said came back and slapped him in the face.

He’d said more things than he wanted to remember in the heat of the moment when making love to a woman. But one thing he’d never said were those three words.

He turned from her, running his hands through his hair, staring into the near darkness, the only illumination coming from the small lantern he’d placed outside their tent to ward off any curious nocturnal creatures.

Assured she was sleeping peacefully, Shane eased
his body away from Emma’s and stood. Throwing on the jeans from the previous day, he left the tent, his thoughts filled with Emma and the tantalizing question running through his mind that they could be together.

As he looked at her now, watching her from the entry of their tent, that curious ache blossomed in his heart again. He held his hand out, and she moved toward him.

Without a word, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

It was time to head back home. Back to reality.

“Y
eah, that’s what your mouth says!” Emma shot back, lining up her stick to the cue ball, leaning down over the pool table. “Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is, son!”

“Son? Okay, little girl, show me what you got,” Shane replied, smirking.

Emma pulled back and made the shot. The hard crack of the cue ball hitting the eight ball, sending it spinning, banking off the back rail and neatly sliding into the corner pocket, split the air. Emma spun around, raising a brow, a cocky grin on her face.

“Did that show you?” She smirked, putting out her hand. “Okay, now pay up!”

Before she realized his intent, he grabbed her
around her waist, hauling her against his body, her toes dangling off the floor.

She squealed, slapping her hand against his chest. “Hey, no fair! You pay with money, not with kisses. Kisses won’t pay the rent,” she quipped.

He wrapped both arms around her snugly as his gaze roamed over her face.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked, self-consciously swiping her fingers over her mouth.

After Shane had suggested they not return to the station, and instead spend another two days together at his place, they’d spent the entire first day and long into the night just making love to each other.

They hadn’t even gotten out of the bed, had simply enjoyed the pleasure of being with one another, uninterrupted, just the two of them. The only time they’d been out had been to eat, and even then they’d taken the food to the bed and afterward made love in the crumbs.

The last four days had been the best she’d had in a long time. The trip to Sweetwater, where she and Shane had spent the time relaxing, making love and learning about each other, to now, where they played…and made love.

For the first time in her life, Emma felt completely at ease.

It was Tuesday evening, their last night away together. Both had agreed they needed to actually get out of bed. Shane had threatened that he was not a man restrained to the confines of the bed when loving his woman.
Emma had blushed, partly because of the threat, partly because of his casual reference that she was his.

Emma forced herself to stop over-thinking it. Forced herself to stop wondering if and when she’d wake up from the dream, feeling as though the last few weeks had been like a fairy tale.

Take life as it comes.
That had been her motto for so long, the words automatically came to her mind. Accept it as it comes, and don’t expect too much. It was a surefire way of avoiding pain and heartache.

“No. You’re beautiful,” he said, responding to her question.

“Shane…” The word was whispered, her eyes fluttering shut to block out the expression on his face. An expression she refused to analyze and try and figure out. Refused to dare hope that he could possibly share her feelings, feelings she’d just discovered she had for him.

She clenched her eyes tightly for a moment longer, fighting against the unexpected sting she felt burning at the back of them.

She had it bad for him. There was no fooling herself otherwise. When she felt his hands tighten on her waist, her eyes flew open, seeking his.

He lifted her until her feet left the floor, suspended with nothing but his strong arms around her holding her upright. He slowly lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

Emma sighed into his kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, completely giving over to his caress. One of his hands remained around her waist, easily
holding her firmly against his side, while the other tunneled beneath her hair at the nape of her neck.

“Mmm…I love kissing you.” The coarse whisper feathered against her mouth. He pulled away and allowed her body to slide against his until her feet touched the floor.

God, what he did to her. The way he made her feel with just one kiss. One touch. One look… Emma reached a hand toward his mouth, up, tracing her finger over the bottom curve of his sensual lips, her finger shaky. He drew the digit deeply into his mouth, his bright eyes on hers, swirling the pad of her finger around his tongue and suckling the flesh.

Heat radiated from his body, the flare of desire burning bright in his eyes as he licked and suckled her finger.

“Let’s get out of here,” he finally said, his voice low, husky with need.

She slowly became aware of her surroundings as he lowered her. Before she could be anything more than mildly embarrassed at their shameless display, he laid claim to her mouth again. A shrill ring brought her back to reality.

He broke their kiss, swearing lightly, and blindly reached down to snatch his cell phone from his pocket.

“Yes,” he bit out, his voice impatient, his heated gaze still on Emma. Emma’s fingers brushed against the frown, and immediately he smiled.

When the smile slipped from his face, Emma gave him a questioning look.

As he listened, Emma felt his hold tightening on her, yet he continued to hold her.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He ended the conversation, placing his cell back on his belt clip.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a situation brewing near the Idaho-Montana border. Everything is under control for now, but we’d better head back just in case,” he said, smiling briefly as he turned with her and strode briskly out of the bar.

“Do they need reinforcements?” she asked as they reached his truck.

“Not yet. Everything looks under control. They
are
in need of more supplies. Some of the guys were scheduled for a practice jump, so on the way we’ll parachute down some supplies.”

“We?” she asked, her excitement growing, thinking he was including her. “
We
as in me and a few others. You will be safely tucked away at the station,” he replied firmly, starting the engine and peeling out of the parking lot.

“Tucked away? No, you didn’t! Give me a break, Shane! Let me come! I could get some great pictures—”

“Emma, I already told you, no live-fire missions! This is serious work. You could get hu—”

“Shane, I’m a big girl! I can handle myself!” She interrupted him this time. Even as the words left her mouth, he was already shaking his head no.

“Absolutely not. When we get back to the station you can go to the ground crew area. I’m sure there will be
more than enough things going on for you to get plenty of information for your article.”

“Shane. Come
on.
An opportunity like this doesn’t come around often. I’m only here for a short time more. This is perfect!”

He turned to her. “No, Emma. I’m sorry, but it’s just too dangerous. Fires can, and
do,
move. Anything can pop off once we’re airborne. I don’t want to take the chance with you on board.”

“I can handle myself,” she insisted. “Besides, this might be my only chance to catch a live shot from the air. I can get the kind of shots that could make or break this article. Make it go national. Please, Shane,” she all but begged, but yet again he was shaking his head no before she could even finish her sentence.

“Emma, I don’t have time for this. Not now. Please.”

She expelled a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest, clenching her jaw tight. Finally she nodded her head. “Fine.”

A look of relief eased over his face before he sped along the street, heading back toward base.

The station was teeming with action when Emma and Shane arrived. As soon as they entered, Roebuck called out to Shane and the two of them quickly made their way to the control room where he briefed them on the latest developments.

“The situation is unchanged—the fire is being contained,” Roebuck said as soon as they joined him at the computer monitor. He pointed to an area on the map where the fire was currently raging. “They have
enough men. Jumpers from Montana have already lent additional manpower, so everything is under control.”

“Thank God.”

“The only thing our men are doing is setting up a paracargo drop, lending more supplies. The men assigned were headed up to a nearby area anyway, to do a practice jump.”

“Plan still the same?” Shane asked.

“Yes. As soon as the cargo is parachuted down, they’ll go to the area for their jump.” He turned to Emma, including her. “I thought this might be a great opportunity for Emma to get some live shots. Maybe you could take her up with you.”

“No way! Emma isn’t going anywhere near a live mission!” Shane stated firmly.

Emma turned to Shane, a pleading look on her face, and he was already shaking his head no.

“Oh, come on, Shane!”

“No, it’s out of the question. Anything can happen. You’d have to wear a chute…”

“I’ve taken the course. I’ve watched the film, remember?”

“You haven’t jumped, though, Emma.”

“I’ve jumped before, Shane! You know that. Not here, not into a fire, but I know how to use a parachute!” When he looked as though he was going to argue more, she interrupted him, “Besides, I won’t have to jump! I’m just going along for the ride, to get the pictures. And you’ll be there with me. Nothing is going to happen, Shane.”

Her shoulders slumped when she saw the flat line of his mouth not budge. He gave her a quick frown and turned to go. When he reached the door he paused before turning back to face her.

A resigned look crossed his face, and after a slight hesitation he said, “Come with me. We have to get you outfitted if you’re going to fly with us.”

Emma let out a whoop and ran toward him, grabbing him around the neck and giving him a big hug. “Thank you, Shane! I promise I’ll follow your instructions! Let me grab my camera and I’ll meet you and the crew in the cargo area!”

Before he could change his mind, she sprinted out the door and ran to his truck to retrieve her camera before making her way back to the hangar to join him and the other crew, now forming, preparing to go.

“This way, Emma,” Shane said as soon as she joined them. She quickly followed him as he led her to the “suit-up racks” in the ready room, where he grabbed suits for the both of them.

Emma quickly donned the gear, thankful for the boring training films he’d made her suffer through that demonstrated the quick and efficient way to put on gear.

When she finished dressing, just seconds after Shane, she glanced over at him. She walked closer to him, placing a finger over his ever-present frown, and smoothed a finger over the deep lines etched into his forehead.

“I’ll follow your instructions, Shane. I promise. You can trust me.”

He captured her finger, giving it a soft kiss before nodding his head. “You know I can’t say no to you.”

She grinned up at him. “No, I didn’t know that. But it’s good info to know,” she quipped.

“Let’s go, woman!” he growled, and Emma hid her smile.