Page 77 of Burnin' For You

And then she brought his face back to hers and kissed him again. So achingly sweet that he was in very real danger of bursting in tears again. He cupped her face in his big hands, caressed his thumbs down her grimy cheeks, so soft despite the dirt and cuts, and let himself sink into the wonder of her touch.

Gilly.

Making him feel like the guy who did things right.

She finally broke away, a smile in her eyes. Silence pressed between them, a warmth that had his heart thundering.

For a second he remembered the feel of her curled up against him in the night, and his body thrummed with an ache that he put away.

Preacher’s daughter.

But he wrapped his arms around her and wrestled himself off the ground.

“What—”

“I got hold of Conner, and he’s sending help. Sorry, Gilly, but we have a ride to catch, and I’m carrying you. No argument.”

And maybe it was just the smoke fogging up her brain, but she slipped her arms around his neck.

Although, true to form, as he started off through the woods, she said, “If you tell anyone, I’ll drop you out of a plane without a chute.”

“I’ll be our secret,” he said, loving her even more.

Gilly wasn’t going to actually complain about being in Reuben’s embrace. Not when she fit so perfectly in his arms, his own curled around her, hugging her to the planes of his chest. He seemed to carry her with such ease, as if she weighed nothing—then she remembered that he usually carried around a hundred-pound pack on his back, hiking out for miles.

He smelled like he’d spent a week fighting a fire—smoky, the scent of a hard-working male, his whiskers rough against her hair. He still wore his bandanna, a little soiled from his head wound, the trail of blood into his dark whiskers.

Yeah, she could stay forever right here.

Besides, her knee did hurt, having been wedged in that hole for hours. She couldn’t move her leg at all.

Still, “You can’t carry me to the road. It’s too far.”

“I could carry you to Hawaii, Hot Cake.”

She grinned, felt his words to the core of her body. “Okay, then at least let me climb on your back. You’ll be able to go a lot farther if you carry me piggyback.”

He looked down at her, met her eyes. Oh, he had devastating brown eyes, hints of gold around the edges, and so much compassion in them it could knock her off kilter.

Her gentle giant. With a hint of danger in his expression, of course, when riled.

“Then I can’t see your smile.”

And romantic to boot.

“You can see me smile plenty when we get back to HQ, and we have the team safely rescued.”

He nodded at that then, and put her down. Crouched so she could climb on his back.

And yeah, her knee started to burn a little when he tucked his arms around her legs, but she hoisted herself up, clamped him around the waist, and knotted her hands around his massive neck and shoulders to help with the weight.

“How far to the road?”

They were traveling through the moonscape of the burned forest, smoke still rising from downed trees, puffs of ash lifting with each step. Thankfully Reuben was wearing his double-soled smokejumper boots.

Her skin crawled with grit and cinders, and she felt like she’d rolled in a campfire and added a layer of grime. But at least she was alive.

Just stand, do your part, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.