Page 24 of The Blaze Between Us

When I look up again, she's closer than I expected, having shifted forward during our conversation. Close enough that I can see flecks of gold in her amber eyes, close enough to notice how her lips part slightly as our gazes lock.

"Tasha," I say, her name a warning—to her or myself, I'm not sure.

"I know," she replies, "I know all the reasons why this is a bad idea."

"Tell me," I challenge softly, needing to hear her acknowledge the barriers between us.

"You're Ellie's father." She doesn't look away as she lists them. "I'm her friend. You're older than me. I'm only visiting. It would complicate everything."

"Yes," I agree, even as I remain where I am, too close to her on the sofa, my hand still resting near her bandaged ankle. "All of that is true."

"So, we should be sensible," she continues, though she makes no move to increase the distance between us. "Practical."

"Absolutely," I murmur, even as I notice how the borrowed t-shirt slips slightly off one shoulder, revealing the elegant curve of her collarbone.

"The problem is," she says, her voice dropping to almost a whisper, "I haven't been able to think about anything but this since I first saw you."

"This?"

"You." Her honesty is breathtaking. "Wondering what it would be like if you touched me. If you—"

My control shatters like glass. I'm suddenly beside her, my hands cradling her face, my mouth claiming hers with an intensity that should frighten me. Instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, like coming home to a place I've never been before.

She responds immediately, her arms wrapping around my neck, pulling me closer. Her lips are soft but insistent, opening beneath mine as the kiss deepens from impulse to intention.

I should stop. I should remember all the reasons this can't happen. Instead, I lose myself in her taste, in the sounds she makes when my tongue meets hers, in the perfect way she fits against me as I draw her closer.

One of my hands slides into her hair, cradling the back of her head as the kiss turns hungry, desperate. I'm not the responsible fire chief in this moment, not the respected community leader, not even Ellie's father. I'm just a man holding a woman who makes me feel alive in ways I'd forgotten were possible.

When we finally break apart, both breathing hard, I rest my forehead against hers, unwilling to move away completely. Her eyes remain closed, her lips slightly swollen from the force of our kiss.

"That was..." she begins, her voice unsteady.

"A mistake?" I supply, already preparing for regret.

Her eyes open, meeting mine with startling clarity. "I was going to say 'inevitable.'"

Whatever this is between us has been building since the moment we met, like a pressure system gathering force. The storm wasalways coming. We just didn't know until now how powerful it would be when it broke.

Chapter 9 - Tasha

"Inevitable," I just said that word out loud.

Did I really just tell Brock Sullivan—my best friend's father—that our kiss was inevitable? Like some foregone conclusion? Like I've been expecting it all along?

Which, if I'm being honest with myself, I have.

His hands still cradle my face, strong and warm against my skin. The intensity in his blue eyes should frighten me, but instead, it sends a thrill down my body and straight to my panties.

"I shouldn't have said that," I whisper, suddenly self-conscious. "It sounds so..."

"Honest," he finishes for me, his thumb brushing across my lower lip in a gesture so intimate it makes me shiver. "Don't apologize for honesty, Tasha. Not with me."

My ankle throbs distantly, but it's nothing compared to the pulsing need building in my core, the desperate hunger for more of him.

"I've also been thinking about this since the first moment I saw you," he confesses, his voice rough with desire. "I've been fighting it every second, telling myself all the reasons I shouldn't want you."

"And now?" I barely recognize my own voice, breathless and eager.

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