Firestarter (16 page)

“Hey you,” she murmured.

Keanu held Cammie’s hand. “I was just explaining about the fires back home, and these

three’s involvement.”

“Cammie, this is Hal. He and I work together with the Smokejumpers.”

Hal leveled her with an assessing stare. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s great to meet a woman who makes Keanu happy.”

The next hour passed in a blur. Names were taken, statements made, and a promise to be in touch, followed by Hal giving Keanu another back slap that would have felled a smaller man.

Hal had taken Cammie’s hands and cradled them in his. He murmured a congratulation that puzzled Cammie, before he left.

“So what do we do now?” Cammie asked.

“I think I have a few ideas. How about we go inside and discuss them?”

His ideas revolved around them getting naked, and his version of discussion was body

language, and she loved every minute of his tutelage.

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* * * *

“How bad is he hurt?” Keanu listened as Brax described Jake’s injury. “Brax, I just started my job back home.”

“I’ve already handled that end of the problem,” Brax said.

Keanu counted to ten before he said something he knew he’d regret. “What do you mean

you’ve already handled that, Brax?” He growled.

His old boss’s voice held a tinge of regret. “There was nothing else to be done, except get you cleared for this jump Kea. I can’t send in my team one man short.”

Although Keanu knew that what Brax was saying was the truth, he didn’t want to be

separated from Cammie.

“I understand your reluctance to leave your woman, but do you really want to leave your team in the lurch, and possibly send them on a mission that could endanger them? You know the dangers of being one man short in these situations?”

Keanu sighed. “When do I need to be at base?” Had Keanu heard Brax be anything other

than relieved, he would’ve changed his mind. The only reason he was being called back was because of the extreme situation; usually they had plenty of coverage. He also knew Brax had to have used his ability to bend minds, to get his chief back in his hometown, to have agreed to let him take a leave of absence so soon.

It still didn’t sit well with him to leave Cammie.

* * * *

Two days later…

“I wish I didn’t have to go to work.”

“But being the responsible woman you are, you will. So it’s better to just rip the band aid off.”

“Such sage words for so early.” She smiled, but Keanu didn’t return it.

“I hate that I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” he blurted.

“Me, too. What do I say to the chief?”

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“Brax should have handled everything. The only thing you may be asked is if you’ve heard from me, and you just answer that honestly. I’ll do my best to contact you, but in the middle of a forest fire it’s hard to do. This is it, I’ve told my supervisor I was done.” Keanu pulled her into his arms.

“I understand what you’re saying. I’ll be waiting for you.” When he just stood there staring, she began to squirm and pulled away. Standing in the middle of his driveway, her heart felt torn in half. “Call me when you get back.” She jumped into her Jeep. He gave an imperceptible nod, tapping the hood of her rig, before stepping back and walking away without a backward glance.

Cammie watched Keanu in the rearview mirror until she could no longer see him. It was the longest and hardest drive of her entire life.

She’d turned her phone on silent while she drove, and by the time she got home, she had three missed calls from Keanu along with several texts., All saying that he loved and missed her already, but when she tried him back, he’d already left for his mission. She wanted to cry.

One week turned to two, and finally a month passed. She was determined not to pick up the phone and call him, but couldn’t stop her nightly vigil of tuning into the news reports of the wild fires raging across the desert. Fluctuating between hating herself and hating him, in the end, she thought she hated them both. He didn’t call or text, but she continued to hope.

Every day she got up, and every night she went to sleep. She had been totally uninhibited with him, giving him everything she had to give. They had explored each other so intimately.

She knew he liked it rough, but would hold her with such tenderness afterwards. So why then, was he so odd when he left? These thoughts plagued her, and the strain was beginning to show.

“Cammie, you can’t keep doing this to yourself. You know he had to go.”

“Yes, Mom, I know. But why can’t he call?”

“I’ve read that in extreme fires, they actually stay in a burned out section overnight, only to start again the next day. Give him a chance to explain.”

She didn’t want to talk. With a smile Cammie hoped her mom would believe, she agreed.

That fake smile lasted one more day, and then her world turned upside down. Literally!

Passing out in a dead faint in front of her co-workers forced her hand.

She was pregnant…

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* * * *

Keanu stomped through his home. The comforts of his surroundings did nothing to soothe his nerves. Being away from Cammie for over a month had his temper in shreds. He forced himself to pack before leaving the house. Breathing deeply did nothing to relax him. Nothing would work until he saw Cammie, held her, made love to her.

The drive from his home back to hers took less than the hour it normally took.

He knocked sharply on the door. Time dragged as he waited for her to answer. Lifting his hand, he rapped the big heavy door again, bruising his knuckles with the force. A jolt of awareness shot through his frame when he found himself staring at her exquisite features. She looked drawn and tired.

“What the hell happened to you? You look awful.” He pushed his way into her home,

kicking the door shut behind him. “Sit down before you fall down.”

“Thank you, kind sir. It’s great to see you again, too.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, it’s just that you…”

“Look like hell? I know.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He palmed her face in his hands and stared down into her dark

eyes. “Did something happen? Did Bob and the others come back?”

“What?” Cammie squinted at him through red-rimmed eyes. “No…I…” She swallowed

before continuing. “They’re being charged with several homicides here, but I heard the federal government picked them up.”

Keanu had heard from his grandfather the story of the Feds coming in and taking all three men with them. They’d questioned Alo, asking about Keanu and where he was. Luckily for him, he was stuck in the middle of Arizona during one of the driest seasons in record. The blaze had become so large, it had taken the combined efforts of three different Smokejumper units. By the time his shift was over each night, he’d barely made it to the shower before collapsing in an exhausted heap only to repeat the same thing the next day.

Thoughts of Cammie had plagued him. On more occasions than he could count, he’d pick up his phone, only to drop it. He knew if he’d heard her voice, he’d have packed up his gear, and run as fast as he could to be with her. It was on just such an occasion that he did pick up the phone, but not to call Cammie. He’d called his supervisor and made sure his resignation was 106

finalized, before calling Chief Taylor to make sure he still had a job at the station. Never again would he leave Cammie.

She shrugged shoulders that looked thinner than ever. He wanted to pull her into his body and fix whatever was wrong, but first he had to find out what it was. “Talk to me, baby. Tell me what’s happened.”

A tremor wracked her frame. “I’m pregnant.”

“What? I thought you were on the pill?”

“I was, but then the fire happened and my bedroom burned, and I didn’t get a replacement pack. I just forgot, and honestly I sometimes skipped a pill or two. It was never an issue, and it’s not like I planned a relationship or anything,” Cammie said in a rush, her chin wobbling.

Keanu wrapped his arms around her as she cried. He tried to summon up some anger, but all he wanted to do was pump his fist in elation. He laughed and held her tighter.

“Why are you laughing?” She pushed against his chest.

“Because we’re having a baby.” He ran his hand down her back. He hadn’t realized how

much he needed to touch Cammie.

“I’m freaking out here and you’re laughing. Do you have any idea what I’ve been going

through?” She jumped up from the couch. “I keep picturing this little girl walking around chanting “
back off, just back off
” with static electricity making her hair stand on end and things blowing up left and right, and you have the fucking nerve to laugh. Well, screw you Keanu, and get the fuck out of my house.” She pushed at his chest.

“Oh God, that was funny.” He wiped his eyes. “Baby, that’s the movie ‘Firestarter’ with Drew Barrymore. That’s not real. Besides, she or he might not be like me. I mean, there are other elementals. She or he might even be a shifter.”

“I didn’t even think of that.” Her hand flew to her mouth as a whimper escaped from

between her fingers.

Keanu caught her before she collapsed. “You need to calm down. Have you seen a doctor?”

Damn, if he didn’t get her settled down soon, Keanu feared she’d have a full blown panic attack.

He rubbed his hand up and down her back, making soothing noises. He listened as she told him about the fainting and subsequent doctor’s visit.

He breathed his first real breath since leaving base, when she told him all her symptoms were normal for a pregnant woman. Up this close, he could see the tortured look on her face. She 107

seemed edgier. Did she fear he’d be upset? Keanu wanted to wipe all traces of doubt from Cammie’s beautiful face.

His head lowered, capturing her mouth in a kiss that was both gentle and demanding. He ached for her, yearned to possess her, dreamed of her nightly. For a moment she didn’t respond, but when she did it was like an all-out assault, in the best possible way.

She stepped into him, closing the small distance separating their bodies. Her firm breasts pressed against his chest, sliding along his body, heating him to boiling point.

Searing need flooded his blood. He trailed his lips down her jaw, along her neck, and back up to her ear. “I need you,” he said between nips and licks.

“Yes,” she moaned, lifting her leg and rocking her pelvis into his.

He wanted to taste every inch of her body, see if there was any difference to her flavor, trace every dip and curve with his hands. With concise movements, he maneuvered them onto the faux fur rug.

She surprised him when she shoved him onto his back. Her fierce concentration amused

him, and turned him on more than he could ever remember. She ran her hands down his chest, popping buttons as she went.

He stretched out his hands and held her hips, testing the indentation of her waist, and pictured her thick with their child. His dick felt ready to explode. He wanted to flip their positions, rip the clothes from her body, and claim what was his. But the frown on her face kept him in place. That look made the fire inside him blaze even higher and hotter.

She leaned forward and licked his nipple. He sat up, holding her flush against him and skimmed his hands under the soft material of her shirt up the bare expanse of her back. He lifted the fabric up and tossed it to the side, baring her to his view, then leaned forward and captured her nipple in his mouth.

She was perfect. Small, taut breasts encased in delicate silk. He dragged his thumb across the twin peaks, causing her to moan, and he stirred against his jeans. He heard her breath stutter, and her body shook as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders.

Delirious with want, he swung her around, and then rolled her under him. Her chocolate brown eyes blinked up at him, glazed with passion and molten heat. Reaching between them, he worked her sweats down her legs, palmed her bare mound, and found wet heat with his hand.

She gasped and bucked, shuddering in his grip.

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She burned him. “You’re so wet, so soft.”

She made an incoherent noise, her head tossing on the rug. Her hips thrust, meeting his seeking fingers, matching him stroke for stroke. His fingers moved in and out to an age-old rhythm within her, and his mouth continued to torment her, moving from breast to breast. Her body tightened, her hands fisted and she came, convulsing around him.

Jerking to his knees, he freed his cock, placed the head against her entrance and pushed inside her molten heat. He moved slow and sure, building her up again. He rolled his hips and thrust deep. That tight coiling desire began to pull taut inside him. All that mattered was this feeling, and then she moaned.

He increased his pace, pounding into her flesh, his thrusts wild and urgent, and then she shattered in his arms, pulling him with her until he fell over the edge.

Shattered! She completely undid him, and he loved her. Propping himself up on his elbows, still intimately connected with Cammie, he looked down into her sated gaze.

“I love you, Cammie Masters, now and forever. That’s why I came here.”

He worked the boots off his feet without leaving her body. His jeans and boxers went next.

“You work really well in tight places.”

“Yes I do.” He punctuated each word with a forward movement of his hips.

“I love you too, ya know.” Cammie brushed her hand through his hair.

“Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

“You don’t have to marry me because I’m pregnant.”

He shifted his upper body to reach his jeans. Pulling out a little square blue box, he flipped the lid and showed it to Cammie. Her breath caught in her throat, and a single tear leaked out of her eye. She swiped it away and a smile broke out across her face. He felt the tight constriction around his chest release.

“Are you sure?”

“I want to marry you more than I want my next breath.”

Her little hand reached up and touched the diamond. He thought of snapping the lid closed like on
Pretty Woman
, but the moment was too special.