Page 62 of Firecracker

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Tyler had been asleep for about an hour when a ferocious crack of thunder shook the building. He jerked away, staring into the darkness. Wow. That was a good one.

He loved thunderstorms.

It was a tiny rush, a little thrill of danger, even though the risk was small. Nothing like the adrenaline rush he got from fighting a fire. Which he loved. Over the years, he’d learned to control the adrenaline rush, to keep himself safe, but he still felt it, still loved it. The stress hormones that flooded his veins could be harmful, but he’d learned ways to come down off that high. Sex was the best way.

Fuck, he was thinking about sex again.

He rolled to his back and watched the flashes of lightning out the window, waiting for more thunder. Then he heard a crash of breaking glass from the other side of the wall. The wall that separated his bedroom from Arden’s.

Without thinking, he leaped out of bed, charged through his suite and across the hall. Arden’s door was mercifully unlocked—good girl—and he flung it open and strode in. “Arden?”

“Wh-what?”

She opened her bedroom door, long dark hair messed, eyes huge, legs bare. She wore a strappy little black sleep shirt showing lots of pale skin in the darkness. “Tyler? What?”

“I heard something break.” He frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Oh. Shit.” She rubbed her face. “Yes, I’m fine. The thunder woke me up. I was startled and I knocked a glass of water off my night table.”

Thunder rumbled around them.

“Did it break?” His gaze dropped to her feet.

“Yes. But—”

“And you’re walking around in bare feet? Goddammit!”

She shook her head. “I’m fine, Tyler.”

“You could have stepped on broken glass in the dark.”

“Well, maybe if someone hadn’t come barging into my apartment in the middle of the night, I would still be in bed.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Shit.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re right.”

The apartment lit up again and he tried not to drool over her skimpy attire. Then a crack of thunder had her feet leaving the floor and she let out a little shriek.

Tyler lunged toward her and closed his hands around her upper arms. Her skin was soft and warm. “Hey. It’s just thunder.”

“That one was loud! I felt the building shake.”

“I know.” He grinned. “Cool, huh?”

She frowned as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You like thunderstorms?”

“Love ’em. They’re fun.”

“Uh…” She tipped her head to gaze up at his face in the dusky light. “What if we get struck by lightning?”

He laughed softly. “I think we’re pretty safe here. I mean, you do have to be cautious in certain situations. Maybe that’s why a storm is exciting, because thereisan element of danger.”

She stared at him wide-eyed. “You’re crazy.”

“Possibly. But life’s boring without a little danger. A little risk-taking.” Although he was the one who tried to keep everyone else safe, he liked a little adrenaline rush in his own life.

“Um…”

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