A raven flew above us, calling loudly to another who returned its call from the trees. I dragged my sleeve across my face and glanced over to Jesse. We had successfully chased off the nosy moose yesterday evening. By that point, it was well past dusk and any chance to fly out for the night had passed us by. We’d set up camp for the night and were now waiting back at the clearing where a helicopter should arrive soon to pick us up. Should being the operative word here. Both of our radios were dead, in addition to our cell phones. My backup battery had lost its last bit of juice late last night.

Jesse was definitely in pain, but he was hanging in there. I was relieved his injury appeared to be minor. His ankle was swollen and bruised from where he slipped and jammed it against some rocks, but it was nothing more than a nasty sprain. We had plenty of ibuprofen to take the edge off of his pain.

I finished chewing my snack bar and caught his eye, handing him the thermos of coffee we were sharing. We were down to snack bars and freeze dried goods for food, but we had plenty of coffee left, so we’d made some with our camp stove.

“Any idea when they might make it?” I asked.

We’d camped where we were last night and walked the remaining half-mile or so to the clearing where the helicopter would hopefully pick us up soon. Jesse glanced at me as he took a swig of coffee and shrugged.

“Dunno. It was pretty cloudy this morning. Looks like it might clear enough this afternoon for them to fly out.”

“How’s that ankle?”

He shrugged again. “Eh, it hurts, but it could definitely be worse.”

I pointlessly snagged my radio off the ground again. The battery had died at some point last night when I’d left it on by accident. Meanwhile, Jesse had dropped his in the river this morning. He’d fetched it out, but not before it shorted out from getting drenched.

I wondered if anyone was worried outside of our crew. I figured our crew likely wasn’t too worried. They’d known we were set for the night. Lucy gave a wave in my thoughts. She was permanently lodged in my brain. Restless to get home and see her, I hoped like hell she missed me.

Through my disrupted hours of half-sleep last night, I’d let go of my frustration with her shutting me out. I knew what she’d shared with me had to have been hard for her. It wasn’t as if I didn’t understand why she was skittish. I needed to be patient because she was worth the wait.

I leaned against my gear bag, watching as the sun finally broke through the clouds. It had rained during the night, which should’ve given a good dousing to the fire. We could use a few more days of rain, although I’d take a few hours of clear skies to get out of here.

A raven called again from the trees nearby. Glancing over, I saw its dark form perched on a spruce tree. The fire hadn’t reached this part of the forest, so the trees were still lush and green. The scent of the charred trees in the distance carried our way. This fire had been burning for several weeks now. Fires burned like this in the summers out West. You’d only hear about them in the news when they were threatening communities, but they could burn for weeks in the Alaskan backcountry without a peep. We occasionally coordinated planned burns to manage areas.

The raven in question lifted from the trees and flew over near us, landing on the ground, maybe only ten feet away. I watched as it pecked at the ground, realizing it was likely feasting on some crumbs left from the guys yesterday. Half of our crew had hung out for a good bit before they’d been flown out, all of them tired, hungry, and chowing on whatever snacks they had left over.

The raven meandered closer. I watched curiously as two more ravens flew down to join in, clearly deciding Jesse and I were no threat. They busily cleaned up the crumbs we couldn’t see. I adjusted my angle and looked out in the distance. It was beautiful out here. The sound of the nearby river running over the rocks soothed me. This part of the interior was a mix of rolling hills and flat tundra, the beauty stark. An eagle flew above, its call sharp and distinct.

I gulped in a deep breath of the clear, chilly air, thinking a shower would be good about now. As a hotshot firefighter, I was used to going many days without much more than a dip in a river or lake, but once I knew we were close to civilization, I got impatient. At the moment, I was weary and anxious to see Lucy, hoping upon hope that she wasn’t keeping her distance from me anymore.

* * *

A few hours later, I watched as the landscape rolled underneath me. Fred had flown in during a break in the clouds. The clouds were already thickening again. Fred expected we’d make it back to Fairbanks before the visibility was too low, for which I was damn relieved. Between wanting to get Jesse’s ankle looked at and make sure he was comfortable and missing Lucy like crazy, I was ready to get closer to home.

Pulling my cell phone out, I glanced at the dead screen. This battery had lost its charge days ago. Fred had assured me he’d already radioed that we were safe. I wanted to talk to Lucy, but that wasn’t happening. Not just yet. With a sigh, I put my phone away and leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes.

“Why are you pissed at your phone?” Jesse asked from the seat beside me.

Opening my eyes, I rolled my head to the side and caught his curious gaze. “Just hoping to call my parents and Lucy.”

He looked confused and then his gaze cleared. “Oh yeah, she’s been staying with you. Well, we’ll be in Fairbanks soon. You can call there.”

I didn’t know what look passed across my face, but he arched a brow. “I think I missed something. Is Lucy more than a friend?”

For a beat, I considered not saying anything. Fuck it. I wasn’t going to keep hiding everything.

“She might be more than a friend. Actually she is,” I finally said. “Here’s hoping she sees it that way too.”

Jesse smiled slowly and chuckled. “Lucy Caldwell, now she’s a tough one.”

“Trust me, I know,” I replied, my mind spinning back to our last conversation.

I rolled my head to look back out the window, watching as the trees disappeared beneath us and the mountains near Fairbanks came into view. Our helicopter touched down shortly thereafter. Inside of a few minutes, we were being hustled into the station. I checked in with my crew first, made sure Jesse was set up with the medical team and then hunted down Cade, not even bothering to say hello when I reached his side.

“Can I borrow your phone?” I asked.

At his look of confusion, I explained, “Mine’s so dead, I can’t even make a call on it right now.”

He chuckled and handed his over. “Let me guess, you’re calling Lucy. She’s at my parents’ place with Amelia. I already called over and let everyone know you’re fine.”

I barely absorbed what he said as I tapped in Lucy’s number. The phone rang once, and she answered right away.

“Hello,” she said, her tone choppy.

“Hey babe.”

“Levi?” she asked, her voice lilting at the end, my name coming out rushed and almost frantic.

So damn happy she wasn’t pissed that I called her babe, I laughed. “Of course, who did you think it was?”

“Well, this isn’t your number. And why are you laughing? I’ve been scared to death.”

“Hey, I thought you knew I was okay. Cade told me he called Amelia.”

All of the sudden, Lucy—tough Lucy who almost never let down her guard—burst into tears.

She cried with as much gusto as she’d told me to fuck off once upon a time. Her tears derailed me into silence for a moment.

I finally scrambled my thoughts together. “Lucy, are you okay?”

“No! I’m not okay, and it’s all your fault,” she said in between sniffles and messy breaths. “I love you, and…” Her words stopped with another loud sob.

“Lucy, Lucy,” I finally said. My heart felt as if it would burst, and I couldn’t quite believe she’d said what I thought she said.

“What?” she asked in return.

I heard a muffled sound and then her blowing her nose, rather loudly. “Sorry, I needed to blow my nose,” she explained, her breath was coming in short little gasps.

“Did I hear you right?” I asked after moment of silence.

“Which part?”

“The I love you part. Because I love you, so…”

She hiccupped and then burst into tears. Again.

“You heard me right, I love you,” she managed between breathy heaves and more sniffles. “I’m sorry I got all weird. I’m just so happy you’re okay. I was going to be really mad at the world if you weren’t.” She took a shaky breath, and I could feel her thinking through the phone. “I kinda dumped some heavy stuff the last time we talked. If you want to talk about it…”

“We don’t have to talk about anything unless you want to. I can’t say I’m glad you hung up on me, but I’m glad you told me everything. Let’s just focus on now for now. We’ll have plenty of time for talking later.”

She was quiet for a beat before the sound of a soft sigh filtered through the phone. “Okay. I miss you. When will you be home? I think Ham misses you too.”

I chuckled, my heart feeling so full, I thought it might burst. I was filthy, exhausted and hundreds of miles away from her, but I was happy.

I wished like hell she were right here with me.

“When will you be home?” she repeated.

“I don’t know yet,” I said with a chuckle.

Normally, I’d already know. I hadn’t even bothered to check in to find out if my crew was scheduled to return to the fire site, or if we’d be heading home soon. I glanced over to Cade who was still standing nearby. “Hey, do you know our return schedule yet?” I called over.

Cade shook his head. I returned to Lucy. “As soon as I know, I’ll call you, okay?”

Someone called my name, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the superintendent from one of the other crews waving me over.

“I gotta go, Lucy. You okay?”

“Uh huh. I’m fine. I just got overwhelmed,” she said with a sniffle.

It nearly tore me up to hear her cry, and I hated I wasn’t with her now.

“In case you were worried, I’ve taken very good care of Ham,” she said with a sniffly laugh.

I needed that laugh, if only because it let me know she was okay. I chuckled. “I wasn’t worried. You spoil him worse than me with the carrots.”

That got another laugh from her. “Okay. I guess you have to go.”

I held tight to the phone because I didn’t want to end this call. Cade nudged me on the shoulder. “I do. I’ll call when I have our schedule.” I paused, considering whether to say the words I wanted. They slipped out on their own. “Miss you.”

For a moment, I didn’t think she would reply, but she did. “Me too. Call me.”

* * *

Three long days later, I climbed into my car at the station, anxious to get home and see Lucy. The world had not followed my wishes. I’d wanted to fly home the same day we landed in Fairbanks, but it was a no go. They had our crew wait in case we needed to be sent out for another rotation. Though I knew it made sense given the travel logistics, I’d been chafing at the bit the whole damn time. The rain had been on my side though and put a damper on the fire, cutting the wait short. I hadn’t even known until this morning what time we were due to fly out.

A short drive later, my heart started drumming the moment I saw Lucy’s truck parked in front of the house. I rolled to a quick stop and was jogging up the stairs within seconds. When I opened the door, she was leaning over looking inside the oven. The sight of her lush bottom greeted me.

My cock stood at attention instantly. Much as I wanted her bare and tangled up with me, more than that I wanted to hold her close and just absorb the feel of her. She jumped when the door clicked shut. Spinning around, her eyes widened and a smile claimed her lips. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she had on an apron with a moose on it.

Her breath hitched as I strode to her, closing the distance between the door and where she stood inside of a second. I stopped inches from her. Her sky blue eyes were wide, her cheeks were flushed and her lips, fuck me, her lips could bring me to my knees.

I didn’t wait anymore, dipping my head and catching her delectable lips with mine. I meant for this to be a slow greeting. Our kiss started slow, her mouth opening for me on a sigh. The moment her tongue tangled with mine, I was done for.

I growled, sliding my palm down her spine, tangling my other hand in her hair and cupping her sweet bottom to tug her firm against me. I shoved her apron up out of the way and yanked her leggings down. Reaching between her thighs, I cupped her over her thin cotton panties. I could feel the wet heat of her desire. She moaned and tore her lips free of mine.

“Levi…” she gasped.

“Mmm,” I murmured as I dragged my tongue along the side of her neck.

Spinning us around, I took a step, lifting her up and sliding her hips on the counter. Leaning back, I caught her eyes. “I missed you.”

She held my gaze, the moment electric. Lifting a hand, she traced my lips. “I missed you too.” She took a deep breath and then grinned slowly. “Now let’s get these out of the way,” she said as she yanked at the buttons of my jeans and shoved my shirt up.

In a matter of seconds, we were both nearly bare, and I was lifting her back onto the counter, her panties discarded.

With the feel of her palm curling around my cock and my heart thudding hard and fast against my ribs, lust was pounding through me so hard I could barely think.

I forced myself to hold still. My desire for Lucy was so powerful, I could hardly withstand it. Its force was akin to a river, running wild through the mountains. The sheer, raw power of it was what drew me to her from the start. Yet, it wasn’t simply that which bound me to her. It was our connection, the shimmering web of intimacy that spun us tighter and tighter together whenever I was close to her like this.

My mind flashed back to before when she was always brushing me off, her sky blue eyes flashing with desire and anger at once as she tried to keep me at bay. When she let go, that blue darkening like the sky in a storm. Once in a while, vulnerability flickered in the depths when she let her guard down.

As she held my gaze, her breath hitched, and I could see her pulse fluttering in her neck, her skin flushed with need. She curled her legs around me, sliding her palm up and down my cock. I was so hard, the pressure was almost unbearable. I reached up, brushing a loose tendril of hair away from her face and dipping my head to catch her lips in a kiss again.

Only then did I reach between her thighs again, stroking through her slick folds. When I drew back, she gasped my name, her hips rocking impatiently against me. Gripping my cock in my fist, I dragged it back and forth, coating it with her juices.

Her eyes flashed. “Stop teasing,” she ordered, nudging her hips into mine.

Obediently, I followed her order and sank into her deeply. Her creamy clench welcomed me, hot and slick. I groaned, almost coming instantly. Forcing myself to hold still, I dipped my head to catch my breath in the curve of her neck, breathing in her musky scent.

“I love you,” I murmured gruffly, lifting my head.

Her eyes widened, and I felt her pulse kick up a notch where my hand rested along her collarbone.