Read Online Rapid Entry: Firehouse 69, Book 3 by Delilah Devlin - Free Book Online
Authors: Delilah Devlin
Ads: Link
had just happened.
“I’d like to talk.”
How innocent that might have sounded, if it hadn’t been for his tone. She was used to rough-voiced, growly Gage, but his voice when he’d whispered those words had been hesitant, weighted by expectation. And she wasn’t ready for any talk…especially if he wanted to ask for more from her than just her body.
Being with him had been a huge step. She’d been closed off, alone, for far too long. The last thing she needed was to leap into love with the first man she shared a bed with since Mike. She didn’t want to repeat the pattern. Mike had been her first everything. And she’d have stayed his wife until the day she died. But he’d left her first.
Gage’s request to talk might not be the I’m-beginning-to-fall-for-you words that would thrill her even as they scared her to death. If Gage wasn’t ready to rush into a relationship with her, this was the time to flee, because she could see herself falling in love with the handsome firefighter. What woman wouldn’t?
And that would never do. Not when she was only now venturing out to discover what she’d been missing in her life for the years she’d buried herself in work so she could put distance between herself and her memories. In books, she could dream of alternate lives, happy endings. She’d barely let herself grieve, escaping into her pages.
She dragged her gaze from his window and blinked her eyes to dry the moisture beginning to fill them. Gage had been a nice distraction. A sexy interlude. Nothing more.
She turned the key in the ignition and put the gearshift into reverse. As she pulled away, she couldn’t help glancing back, just once. And then she drove away. She took the main road, which brought her past the firehouse. She tightened her fingers around the wheel, knowing she should stop in to say goodbye, but she could imagine the expressions he’d wear—his eyelids dipping as he gave her that sexy once-over that had done miracles raising her confidence. Then his cheeks would darken, his eyes growing stormy as she told him she was leaving. He’d try to argue with her. Cajole her. Promise her sexy things, then rake a hand through his hair in frustration. And she might cave, because being close to him was too tempting. So she vanquished the urge to stop and kept going.
Signaling to change lanes, she traveled beneath an overpass and waited for the traffic lights to change so that she could enter the ramp to the left.
Her thoughts still awhirl, she kept her gaze on the red light, impatient for it to change, because once she was on the highway, there’d be no more time to change her mind.
The light turned green, and she stepped on her accelerator. From the corner of her eye, she saw a semi-truck carrying a load of logs entering the intersection in front of her. She hit her brakes and her tires squealed. A loud honk sounded, and the big truck swerved. She stared upward as the long bed of logs began to tilt.
There was no time to slam into reverse. No time except for one thought. Regret shot through her. She should have stayed. And now she’d never know whether she and Gage would have worked out. As the first log dislodged and fell, she wished she could start the morning over. She’d tell him the thing that had scared her, that had set her running, was that she thought, just maybe, she was already falling in love.
Chapter Six
As soon as the fire truck came to a halt in the center of the intersection, Gage grabbed his axe, unlatched the door, and jumped to the ground. Didn’t look good for the driver of the little red sedan. The top of the car was mashed like a pancake in the center. Large logs were strewn around it. A log truck lay tilted on its side, held up by the right side of the car it had crushed.
Gage dreaded what he might find, but he stepped over logs to move toward the car. Water hissed from the radiator. The smell of coolant and burned rubber filled the air.
In his ear, he could hear
“I’d like to talk.”
How innocent that might have sounded, if it hadn’t been for his tone. She was used to rough-voiced, growly Gage, but his voice when he’d whispered those words had been hesitant, weighted by expectation. And she wasn’t ready for any talk…especially if he wanted to ask for more from her than just her body.
Being with him had been a huge step. She’d been closed off, alone, for far too long. The last thing she needed was to leap into love with the first man she shared a bed with since Mike. She didn’t want to repeat the pattern. Mike had been her first everything. And she’d have stayed his wife until the day she died. But he’d left her first.
Gage’s request to talk might not be the I’m-beginning-to-fall-for-you words that would thrill her even as they scared her to death. If Gage wasn’t ready to rush into a relationship with her, this was the time to flee, because she could see herself falling in love with the handsome firefighter. What woman wouldn’t?
And that would never do. Not when she was only now venturing out to discover what she’d been missing in her life for the years she’d buried herself in work so she could put distance between herself and her memories. In books, she could dream of alternate lives, happy endings. She’d barely let herself grieve, escaping into her pages.
She dragged her gaze from his window and blinked her eyes to dry the moisture beginning to fill them. Gage had been a nice distraction. A sexy interlude. Nothing more.
She turned the key in the ignition and put the gearshift into reverse. As she pulled away, she couldn’t help glancing back, just once. And then she drove away. She took the main road, which brought her past the firehouse. She tightened her fingers around the wheel, knowing she should stop in to say goodbye, but she could imagine the expressions he’d wear—his eyelids dipping as he gave her that sexy once-over that had done miracles raising her confidence. Then his cheeks would darken, his eyes growing stormy as she told him she was leaving. He’d try to argue with her. Cajole her. Promise her sexy things, then rake a hand through his hair in frustration. And she might cave, because being close to him was too tempting. So she vanquished the urge to stop and kept going.
Signaling to change lanes, she traveled beneath an overpass and waited for the traffic lights to change so that she could enter the ramp to the left.
Her thoughts still awhirl, she kept her gaze on the red light, impatient for it to change, because once she was on the highway, there’d be no more time to change her mind.
The light turned green, and she stepped on her accelerator. From the corner of her eye, she saw a semi-truck carrying a load of logs entering the intersection in front of her. She hit her brakes and her tires squealed. A loud honk sounded, and the big truck swerved. She stared upward as the long bed of logs began to tilt.
There was no time to slam into reverse. No time except for one thought. Regret shot through her. She should have stayed. And now she’d never know whether she and Gage would have worked out. As the first log dislodged and fell, she wished she could start the morning over. She’d tell him the thing that had scared her, that had set her running, was that she thought, just maybe, she was already falling in love.
Chapter Six
As soon as the fire truck came to a halt in the center of the intersection, Gage grabbed his axe, unlatched the door, and jumped to the ground. Didn’t look good for the driver of the little red sedan. The top of the car was mashed like a pancake in the center. Large logs were strewn around it. A log truck lay tilted on its side, held up by the right side of the car it had crushed.
Gage dreaded what he might find, but he stepped over logs to move toward the car. Water hissed from the radiator. The smell of coolant and burned rubber filled the air.
In his ear, he could hear
Similar Books
