Ignite (Firefighters of Montana Book 3) by Nicole Helm Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t think was very common for her, because she blinked and shifted, suddenly uncomfortable.
    “I had a headache this morning,” he found himself admitting without realizing that had been his intention.
    Crap.
    “So, you understand that you really do have to take the week off?”
    He grunted. “My captain’s not giving me any kind of choice without a doctor’s note to rebut the hospital orders. Wait, there’s an idea.” He took a step toward her, caging her slightly between him and the passenger door of his truck. “Write me a doctor’s note.”
    She gave a shocked laugh, her gaze dropping to his chest, then back up. It was too dark to see if she was blushing, but considering at how little it seemed to take, he chose to believe she was.
    “Um, no .”
    “How about I seduce one out of you?” It was a ridiculous line, but he couldn’t bite it back. He was getting too much enjoyment out of her shocked responses.
    “Ha!” she said, hesitantly giving his chest a little poke, but quickly dropped her arms back to her sides. “You could try.”
    He leaned closer, resting his hand on the door so his arm was next to her ear. He leaned close enough their chests just barely brushed and he could feel the slight tickle of her flyaway strands of hair. “Oh, I could definitely try.”
    “I didn’t…” She blinked, but her mouth, just barely illuminated by the faraway parking light, was curved in a kind of shocked amusement. “How?”
    It was his turn for some bemused shock. “ How ?”
    “Yes,” she replied, lifting her chin. “Just how would you seduce a doctor’s note out of me?”
    “Now, there is a question,” he murmured, taking that last step so not just his chest, but his leg could brush against hers. There was still space between them, but any movement would cause touching.
    And each of those touches was electric, like the crackle of a spark in dry brush. Somehow, whatever made up the two of them was something combustible, just waiting for the right incendiary.
    “First,” he murmured, lowering his mouth as close to her ear as he could get without touching his lips to the outer shell. He drew his free hand upward, torturing himself by not gliding his palm along the outline of her hips, or even her shoulder. No, he didn’t allow himself to make any contact until the tips of his fingers reached the lobe of her ear.
    He wanted to do something unexpected, something that would surprise her. He touched his index finger to the unpierced lobe. Based on the sharp exhale of breath against his jaw, he succeeded in surprising her.
    “First,” he repeated, but he couldn’t seem to put into words what he would do, what it would take to seduce a doctor’s note out of her. He didn’t care about the note. He cared about unraveling the affect she had on him.
    The more he touched her, outlining the shell of her ear with the tip of his index finger, barely rubbing the scruff of his cheek against her temple, the less sense his thoughts made, the less able to put anything into words he became.
    When she made a little moaning sound, he thought his brain might have been completely obliterated. It didn’t matter what he would do. He just wanted to do whatever would cause her to make that noise again. So he trailed his finger behind her ear and down her neck line, soaking in all her soft, velvety skin.
    She tilted her head to give him better access and all he could think about was kissing her. Not who she was or why this feeling was so potent. Nothing in his brain existed except this need. Throbbing in his veins. Thundering in his heart.
    And because he’d lost any semblance of detached control, he swooped in and claimed her mouth with his. She made a sharp, squeaking sound and again jerked into a little jump of surprise, which was neither censure nor refusal. Because she didn’t back away or try to run, she just hesitated and then sank into it.
    It killed him. The sinking, her mouth was lusher than he would have