Jules woke up early, just as the sun began to filter through the thin curtains covering the window. She lay still for a moment, taking inventory of her body. The last mission had been brutal, but most of her muscles were just fine, except for …a soreness throbbed in the most unusual place, hidden deep inside between her legs.

She moved to stretch her limbs, but found herself strangely confined. The bed was small, alright, but not that small. She turned under the heavy weight of the blanket, thinking it used to be much lighter, and bumped right against Tyler’s hard chest. His arms wrapped tighter around her torso and she had her answer to the unusual soreness.

The memory of the fantastic sex with Tyler hit her, causing her insides to tighten – and get wet. But what had happened last night after the sex? She couldn’t remember either one of them getting up, or…Omg! I passed out on him. An embarrassed flush covered her body and she wanted to inch away from his warm, hard body. But his arms wrapped tightly around her torso impeded any further movement. After a few moments, she resigned, inhaling his sexy masculine scent, wondering how he was even able to sleep with her pressed this tightly against him.

And how did I sleep so well?

Jules had made it a practice to never spend an entire night with a guy. The whole morning after routine scared the shit out of her, and for a brief moment, she panicked as fear of the unknown assailed her. She didn’t do relationships. In any form. It just wasn’t her.

But being in his arms felt so good, and whether her mind was ready to admit it or not, her body eagerly responded to the knowledge that if she just shifted her weight a little bit, Tyler’s erection would be able to slip inside of her for another round of breathtaking action between the sheets.

Jules couldn’t let the golden opportunity pass by, and she could worry about commitment later. Her body pulsed against his with tiny movements, and when she pressed hips against hip, she noticed that Tyler was just as primed as she was.

“Hmmmm….did I die and go to heaven,” he murmured, his hands sliding down to her hips, lifting her over him and pulling her leg high on his hip to give him access to her entrance. He slid in effortlessly, even without foreplay, she’d been wet and more than ready for him. With his steel hard shaft pumping into her, she pushed him onto his back and climbed atop of him, looking down into his eyes full of desire.

“Woman, you’re my undoing,” he hissed, grabbing her hips to guide her up and down his entire length.

“Take my nipple into your mouth,” she demanded and leant forward, while she continued to ride him hard. Sore muscles have to be exercised. Soon she got lost in the titillating sensations, increasing her pace, taking him deeper, until each of her movements dragged the head of this erection over that place inside of her that made her breath catch and her body tighten in preparation for the explosion about to occur. Despite knowing it would come, she wasn’t prepared for the force of the orgasm crushing over her. She collapsed against his chest, a trembling mess, while he continued to slam her hips up and down on his immense erection. The orgasm didn’t slow down, it went and went and went, until she felt him exploding inside of her, catapulting her up and up and up into the most cataclysmic relief she’d ever experienced.

It took a long time until her ragged and uneven breath calmed down. She felt Tyler placing a soft kiss on her hair, mumbling, “I wouldn’t mind if you wake me like this every morning.”

“About that…” Jules stalled. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I still think it’s not something long-term.”

He looked like an injured puppy and she hastened to add, “But we could make it a fling for the season, see what happens. Decide at the end of the season if this will hold over into winter. If either one of us decides it won’t last, then no harm no foul.” Tyler cocked his head, and she bated her breath, fearing he could say no.

“Agreed. Under one condition.”

“Condition?”

“Yes. We’re one hundred percent exclusive, because I won’t tolerate the idea of any other man touching you while we’re having this fling,” he spat out the word as if it were an insult.

“Agreed. While I may not believe in true love and long-lasting relationships, I do believe in loyalty while it lasts. And…” she drew out her words, “I’m on the pill.”

Tyler rolled his eyes and flopped to the side with an exaggerated gasp, “You just caused me a heart attack. I’m clean, and if we’re going to do it without a condom, I’ll be ready to go again within ten seconds.” Just to prove his words to be true, she felt a hard rod stabbing her stomach.

“You’re insatiable.” She laughed and glanced at her watch. “We have about ten minutes before the morning meeting. Can you do that?”

“Sure I can,” he said and turned her so she came to lie beneath him. When he pushed his hand between her legs, she was dripping with wetness, eager to feel him inside of her again. Mere minutes later, she came again, taking him with her over the edge.

* * *

“I really, really need fuel for the rest of the day,” Tyler said, donning his clothes from the day before.

“If we hurry up we can grab a sandwich on the way to our meeting,” Jules answered, her stomach growling.

Tyler had never seen a woman dress faster and in sixty seconds flat they were on their way to the canteen, grabbing two sandwiches each and then sneaking last into the common room, where the chief held a briefing.

“…the weather is hot, and the forecast doesn’t show any signs of rain for the next week. Everyone stay put, a wildfire can catch on any moment under these circumstances.”

After the meeting, Tyler went to do his daily PT in the gym since it was already too hot for a run outside. Not that he minded sweating…

Gunner sidled up to him doing pushups and said, “Hey, man. Swipe that grin off your face. You hit a home run with her, or what?”

“I can’t tell you that because then I’d have to kill you,” Tyler answered, moving into position for prisoner squats.

“What do you think this is, the FBI or NSA? No secrets in this place,” Castor said as he strolled over with a big smirk clamoring for the juicy details. “I mean, we know who answers nature’s call, who farts in their sleep, and who moans the names of their secret girlfriends during their wet erotic dreams. What makes you think you can hold out now?”

Tyler shook his head at the banter and replied, “The only name coming from my lips is Jules. Of that, I’m sure. Now, Gunner here…I bet you’d need a diary to keep track of all the women he imagines fucking.”

“Imagines?” Gunner asked with a mock shock on his face. “I’ll have you know I’ve had carnal knowledge of them all. Every last one.”

Castor laughed and teased Gunner some more. “I just bet those names are the same names of the women you talk to on the 1-900 number.”

Jules entered the gym, and everyone fell silent. “You boys talking about me?”

“We’d love to, but that one,” Castor said pointing at Tyler, “threatened to kill us should we insist on asking.”

“A true gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.“ She glanced at the three men before continuing, “If you gossipmongers have enough breath to talk, you’re not doing your PT the right way. How about I show you how a real hotshot does it?”

Everyone groaned, because by now even the rookies knew the kind of tough workout routine Jules liked to maintain. During winter she worked as personal trainer, and seemed to find a sadistic pleasure in pushing clients to their physical limits.

But none of the men would put himself in bad light and refuse the challenge. The following sixty minutes of PT was some of the most exhausting Tyler had ever done and he was glad when she finally called it a day.

After lunch Tyler loitered in the common room. He’d trained, re-checked all of the gear again, and still hours were left in the afternoon with no fires to fight. A blessing and a curse for most of the hotshots.

Jules entered the room and he gave her an appreciative glance. Her hair still damp, he imagined what he’d do to her in the shower should he ever get the privilege to share one with her.

“Hey, you guys up for a friendly challenge?” Jeb and Steven called out.

Tyler gave Jules a look and asked, “What kind of contest?”

“How about teams of two? The team who can fell and chop the first ten trees gets out of clean up duty for the next week.” Although the base had employed kitchen staff, mechanics, engineers and other helpers, the hotshots still had to pitch in with cleaning up, laundry, inspecting and mending gear, a whole variety of chores that kept the team running smoothly.

Jules gave him a nod of agreement. She hung back and let him finish the negotiations. Tyler thought the other teams were at a huge disadvantage, because he and Jules working together would be unstoppable.

“Okay, you’ve got a deal. A week free of cleaning to the winning team. I hope you guys like wet mops because Jules and I are going to be sitting back, watching you all clean for the next week.”

“Yeah, time to put your money where your mouth is, Armstrong.”

“Hey, Gunner. You want to be the judge of our little contest?”

Gunner wandered over. “What contest and what’s in it for me, since you’ve so conveniently left me out of the competition.”

“How about Gunner shares in the winners’ spoils? No cleaning duties for a week.”

Gunner clapped his hands and grinned. “Count me in. Tell me the rules and let’s get this party started. I’m going to love watching everyone else slave for the next week.”

Everyone chuckled, and the teams spread out into the woods, where patches of trees were earmarked for felling practice.

“Okay. Ten trees. They must be at least three inches in diameter. They have to be neatly chopped and stacked, and the brush around the tree stumps has to be cleared as well.” Jules felt honor bound to make sure the odds were somewhat even, and clarified a few rules.

“What? That wasn’t part of the deal,” one of the rookies complained.

“You’re a wildland firefighter. We never leave fuel around to feed a fire. Practice becomes habit and habits save lives. Yours. Clear the brush around your trees.”

Everyone groaned but nodded, understanding the clear logic in her point. They retrieved their tools and Gunner make a big deal of getting them started.

“Okay boys and girls. Pulaskis and saws at the ready. On your marks. Start your engines. Go! Go! Go!”

Tyler and she had by silent agreement indicated the tree stand they were going to fell. He grabbed the can of pink spray paint and quickly marked ten trees that met the diameter requirement.

Jules started working on the farthest tree, making sure to fell it in a direction where it wouldn’t be in danger of falling on or into anyone or anything. Tyler imitated her actions and high-fived her when his tree fell at the same time as hers, despite her having gotten a head start.

“You’re getting pretty good at that. Fast, too.”

“Told you we’d win,” he said with a grin.

“Let’s cut them all down first and then cut them up,” she suggested, echoing the same thought going through his brain.

“That’s the plan...” He bit his tongue before saying Sweetheart. Despite officially having a fling, she’d probably not appreciate the endearment in a work environment with prying ears. They worked toward one another, felling one tree after another.

“We’ve got this in the bag,” Tyler said, looking around. The next closest couple still had one tree standing.

“Probably, but that doesn’t mean we can afford the luxury of slowing down.”

He nodded and started chopping up the first tree. Jules cut the trees into manageable pieces, hauling them over to where he worked. By the time he finished chopping up the last tree, Jules had managed to store more than half of the log pieces, and with his help, they made short work of the job. The only thing left to do was to get rid of the brush around their cleared trees.

She grabbed her Pulaski and set to work. Tyler barely managed to follow suit, so absorbed was he in watching her wield the tool. His groin delighted in seeing her whip through the brush like a bad-ass, and by the time they’d finished the task, he was ready to throw her down on the ground and jump her bones.

Gunner announced them as the winners, and he willed his erection to go away, as they received congratulations from the competing teams.

“How about a shower?” he asked her with a smug grin, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He didn’t mind going without a shower while fighting an actual fire, but there was no way he was going to give up that comfort when he didn’t have to. Besides, he just had the perfect fantasy of what exactly he’d do to her while the water rained down on them.

“You sure you’re up to it?”

“Around you, my best friend always stands at attention,” he said with a low growl.

A slight blush covered her face as she looked around if someone had heard them. But everyone was already heading back to take a much-needed shower to cool down. She nodded at Tyler and he knew that their shower wouldn’t serve to cool him.