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I probablywouldbe screaming Jackson’s name.

He chuckled softly. “Who knows, maybe I’ll be screaming yours.”

The inside of my cheek hurt from how hard I had to bite it to keep myself from grinning back. Jackson’s acceptance of my verbal need was so different than my past with my ex, to the point where it was kind of startling. Alex had hated how noisy I got when I was turned on and always had me pressed down face first into the mattress while he fucked me so it would drown out my moaning.

I’d learned to like it like that, or so I let him believe seeing as how it was the only intimate contact I’d had my entire adult life. If I didn’t enjoy it somehow, then it’d feel like a total chore and would be another thing I added to my ever-growing list of things I hated about marriage.

Jackson winked at me before stepping away, heading over to one of the other firefighters to speak with him for a moment. Roxy stayed by my side, sitting down next to me and leaning her body against my thigh to rest.

I stroked her golden fur, luxuriating in the feel of it under my palm, anticipation racing through me.

A short whistle had both Roxy and I looking over to where Jackson was gesturing. She lifted herself up off the ground and trotted over to him, her tail swishing as she went. Jackson shook the other firefighter’s hand before squatting and brushing his hands all over Roxy’s face.

She yipped at him as he stood, sticking by the other firefighter’s side while Jackson headed back over to me.

“I’m going to have her go with the rest of the group. I don’t need her jumping in the water the second we get down there.”

“Does she like the water that much?”

He rolled his eyes affectionately. “Oh, you have no idea.”

CHAPTER 16

Ayen

The river was about halfa mile from where the group had set up their temporary test site.

While Jackson and I headed down that way, the rest of the groups fanned out east of us, all of them following the trail of where the controlled burn had begun while we were at the end of it.

The trek down to the edge of the river was easy, thanks to all of the underbrush having been cleared out and burned back into the soil. The vials inside of my kit clinked softly on my hip as we walked. Jackson and I were close enough that our hands kept brushing together every so often, causing shocks of adrenaline to spike through me.

I was dying to take his hand, but figured crossing that kind of line with him would turn him off. There was a difference between just wanting to fuck someone and doing the lovey-dovey shit.

Jeopardizing whatever this was by getting too ahead of myself would be my biggest regret. So, in order to behave myself, I slipped my hands into my pockets.

“So, where do the samples get sent after we take them?” I asked, the sound of the river growing stronger the farther we walked.

“A lab out in Riverside. They test to see if there’s any toxic waste in the soil that’ll prevent new growth. We haven’t had that happen out here in decades, but we always test just to be safe.”

I nodded, interested at the information. “What made you want to do all of this? The wild fire stuff.”

“Hmmm.” He thought for a moment before answering. “Aside from helping people, I find the taking care of nature part fascinating. There’s a lot that goes into it, aside from just the controlled burns and making sure nothing gets out of hand while they’re going on. We have to account for burn sites with highly dense populations of certain animal species and taking into account how many deaths will occur and if it’s worth the temporary displacement.”

“Were you always interested in this sort of thing?”

He laughed. “Actually, no. I was working at a dog rescue before I got involved in any of this with my older brother. That was a long time ago, though.”

I smiled. “That’s right up your alley.”

“You think so?” Jackson brushed his shoulder with mine. “I got tired of it, though. There are so many people that don’t know how to properly take care of their dogs. We’d get these poor rescues in that were just a mess. Lot of humane euthanasia. Eventually, it wears on you.”

I nodded slowly. “I can see that.”

“What about you?” he asked. “What were you doing before the jumpsuit?”

I kind of appreciated that he was being a little more cavalier about my situation—it made me feel less like a pariah. Maybe it wasn’t his intention, but it made me feel better nonetheless.

“I, uh... actually didn’t have a career.”

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