Into the Fire by Donna Alward Page A

here a few hours ago?”
    Her body heated beneath his gaze. “That might have been inconvenient timing.”
    “Might?”
    She grinned, turning on to her side. “Okay, definitely bad timing.”
    Moose stopped rolling and flopped down contentedly.
    “I’m not sure how great I’d perform with an audience,” Chris remarked, absently patting Moose’s back.
    “I guess you’d better learn to latch the door then,” Ally replied. She let the duvet slip down just enough to reveal the hollow of her cleavage.
    “Why, Miss Gallant,” he said, his low voice riding along her nerve endings, making them quiver with anticipation.
    He pushed back the covers and got to his feet, naked as a jaybird and caring even less. “Come on, Moose, let’s get you a treat,” he said, and he tapped his leg. Moose hopped down off the bed, lured by the word treat . Ally heard the sound of a cupboard door opening and closing and then steps coming back down the hall. This time he made sure to latch the door.
    He slid in beside her. Her skin was super sensitive and she loved the feel of their naked bodies touching and twining together. She wrapped her hand around him and he cupped her breast, teasing the tip with his thumb.
    “So we’re doing this again?” he asked, and she knew he meant more than sex. It was them. Again would mean this wasn’t a one-time thing.
    “I’m not sure we ever really stopped,” she breathed, closing her eyes as his fingers teased the delicate skin of her inner thigh. “We just took a three-year break.”
    “I’ve got some time to make up for then,” he said, doing magical things with his fingertips.
    They made up for lost time twice more, until night fell and Moose needed letting out. This time, Ally dressed in her own clothes and stuck a frozen pizza in the oven while Chris took Moose on a short walk. They were eating the last pieces of crust when Chris got the call.
    “Shit,” he murmured. He put down the radio and turned to face her. “You want me to drop you at your mom’s? There’s a house fire in Port Williams. I gotta go.”
    Nerves jumped around in her stomach. In the bliss of the day she’d nearly forgotten about the very real part of Chris’s other job. It was more than looking good in a uniform, wasn’t it? She knew he didn’t take unnecessary risks, but that didn’t mean he was completely safe, did it?
    The last place she wanted to be tonight was waiting for news at her parents’ house. This is what it would be like then. Before tonight, she’d never known when he was out on a call so she’d never worried. But tonight she would know and she’d be waiting.
    The very thought of doing that under the watching eyes of her mother and father was impossible. “You’d waste time,” she said, fumbling with dishes and putting them on the counter. “Can’t I just wait here?”
    He hesitated. “I could be gone a while.”
    “Then someone should be here for Moose,” she answered. “Go. You’re wasting time.”
    He came forward to give her a kiss. “See you in a bit.”
    She clung to him for just a moment. “Be careful,” she whispered, her knuckles tightening on the heavy fabric of his jacket.
    Seconds later, his truck engine roared and the tail lights disappeared around the corner.
    Ally stared at the remnants of their dinner, the sight of his tie still lying in the middle of the living room floor.
    What had she done?
     
    A swath of lights swept across the living room, waking Ally from a light doze. It was still dark outside. Moose was sleeping at her feet, where he’d stayed the whole night.
    She hadn’t been able to make herself go to bed. Instead, she’d curled up on the couch with a blanket, waiting. When Chris got home she’d run him a bath and look after him.
    Except, as she wakened fully, she realized that the headlights coming up the driveway were not from Chris’s truck. And as the vehicle parked in front of the house, Ally could see the lights on the roof. The RCMP. The