Safe From the Fire Read Free Page B

craving.  They just needed a place to start.  A nice,
friendly, non-threatening dinner date.
    I’m
going to do it, he
thought, and unfolded himself from the diner booth, leaving the waitress a
generous tip.
    Trying
to ignore the stampeding frogs in his stomach and the curious eyes on him from
all around, he stepped toward the corner booth, noting that Adam froze as he saw
him approach.
    “What’s
the matter?” asked Grace, and then looked up, eyes widening, “Oh.”
    “Hi,
Grace.”
     
    DID
HE HAVE TO take up all the oxygen in the room?  Grace supposed that when a man
was as big as Matt Harris, he was going to take the lion’s share of breathable
air.  She assured herself that her sudden breathlessness was not a
result of her impossible attraction to the hot firefighter.  He was objectively
beautiful, that was all – all that hard muscle that clothing couldn’t disguise,
the face carved by a divine hand, thick golden hair, and sky blue eyes that
practically shone with honesty and goodwill toward mankind.
    She
wanted to climb him like a ladder and lick every inch along the way.
    Shit.
Shit. Shit.
    Grace
forced a cool smile.
    “Hi,
Matt.  You remember my brother Adam.”
    Matt
nodded, clearly curious, but didn’t comment on her brother’s sudden
reappearance.  Adam had been a nightmare for the Bright’s Ferry Fire Department,
and Grace couldn’t blame Matt for being un-thrilled to see him again.
    “Adam’s
going to be staying with me for a while, taking some classes.  Isn’t that
great?” she went on brightly, squeezing Adam’s hand reassuringly. 
    Grace
knew the second Matt spotted the scars on Adam’s wrists, but again, he remained
silent, just raised a surprised eyebrow.
    “Did
you want something?”  Grace cringed internally as the words left her lips,
because for the briefest moment, Matt’s eyes flared with heat, and she felt an
answering tug low in her stomach.
    Oh,
he definitely wants something. 
    Though
she tried to block it out, Grace was one-hundred percent certain that
Matt Harris wanted her, had wanted her for months, if not longer.  The shy
giant followed her with his eyes whenever she entered a room, went out of his
way to make small talk when they were in groups, though she knew it made him
uncomfortable, and always seemed on the verge of asking her out.  Which was why
she fled nearly every time she saw him.
    Clearly,
I have issues.
    It
wasn’t that Grace thought that Matt was unapproachable or bad relationship
material, if she were looking for a normal, run-of-the-mill kind of
relationship.  If anything, he was too perfect – smart and funny and
kind.  The man rescued cats from trees and saved lives on a daily basis, for
Pete’s sake.  The problem was Grace.  She knew who she was and what she wanted,
and there was no way this wholesome, handsome, All-American Boy Scout type was
going to be able to give it to her.  He’d probably be horrified the first time
she asked him to spank her.
    The
thought of his hands warming her ass had her clenching her thighs together.
    God,
his hands are huge.
    She
didn’t give a shit about her own reputation around town, but she definitely
didn’t want to be the one who “ruined” Matt Harris by dragging him down into a
world of kinky sexual delights where he most definitely didn’t belong.
    And
you couldn’t handle it if he broke your heart, the tiny voice
whispered, but she pushed that thought away, swallowing hard.
    “So,
I wanted to ask you – ” he began.
    Oh
fuck, don’t do it.
    “I
noticed this new Italian place across the bay when I was visiting Mom last
week.  Right on the water.  I was wondering if you’d like to check it out with
me?  Maybe Saturday?”
    The
hope in Matt’s eyes sent warm tingles coursing up her spine, and Grace was shocked
to find herself blushing under his scrutiny, even as her heart sank at what she
had to do.  She stood, scarcely containing the shiver as she noted that she
barely came up to