The following day, I strolled into the front area of the station and found Beck leaning on the counter, laughing at something. Maisie’s cheeks were flushed as she glanced my way.

“Hey Ward,” Maisie said, brushing a curl out of her eyes. “Do you need anything?”

“Rumor has it you handle ordering supplies,” I said.

“She sure does. You’ll have better luck than me. She’s too worried about making sure she doesn’t treat me special around here,” Beck offered with a sly grin.

Maisie threw a pen at him, which Beck caught easily. Their banter was so easy-going, the love between them clear. Because I had it that bad for Susannah, it crossed my mind it was convenient for me to know there were interoffice relationships around here. If there was such a thing as an office when it came to being a hotshot firefighter.

With a roll of her eyes at Beck, Maisie glanced back to me. “Just let me know what you need. I do orders every Monday. I handle all the office supplies plus the crew equipment.”

“Got it. Things look pretty good so far, but I had a few requests, so thought I’d check.”

Maisie nodded, her curls bouncing with the motion. “Just let me know. Oh, and ignore Beck. He gets treated just the same as all of you here.”

Beck pushed away from the counter, flashing her another grin. “Exactly the problem. I give you foot rubs every night, and I get nothing special for it.”

Maisie’s phone rang. She threw a glare and a kiss Beck’s way before taking the call and shooing us away.

Beck walked with me into the back hallway. There were a few offices along the hall and then it opened up into a massive break room with a kitchen, a pool table, a television and a work out room off to one side, along with a few bedrooms. From what I gathered, most of the guys on the crew lived here locally, but some flew in only for fire season and stayed at the station.

As we rounded the corner into the break room area, the hair on the back of my neck rose. I knew without seeing her that Susannah was here. There were a few guys lounging on the couch in front of the television, while Susannah stood at the kitchen counter filling a tea kettle with water. She glanced over her shoulder as Beck and I came into the room.

The moment her eyes landed on mine, they widened and a flush crested on her cheeks. Seeing her was a jolt to my system, a straight shot of lust in my veins.

Her strawberry blonde curls were tamed into a ponytail. A few curls had fallen loose, dangling along her cheeks. She wore jeans with boots and a T-shirt. My eyes, my greedy eyes, willfully flicked down and then back up. Her nipples were taut, pressing against the cotton of her shirt.

My mind flashed back to the other night—her nipples damp from my mouth, her channel clenching around me as I pounded into her. The recollection was so sharp, blood shot straight to my groin.

She looked away, abruptly setting the kettle on the stove and then clicking on the burner before turning around and crossing her arms. “Hi guys. How’s it going?” she asked politely.

Beck leaned against the counter beside Susannah, hopefully oblivious to the tension between her and me.

He nudged her with his elbow. “Be nice to Ward. He’s still getting used to things here.”

Susannah glanced from him to me, rolling her eyes as her gaze returned to him. “Beck, I’m pretty sure Ward can handle himself. He doesn’t need me, or anyone, to baby him.”

Beck clearly liked to tease, and anyone was fair game. He shrugged easily. “Of course. But still. Be nice.”

Someone called Beck’s name from the workout room, and he ambled away, leaving Susannah alone with me. I’d been aching for her for a month straight and finally gotten another taste of her. I was beginning to realize I wasn’t even close to satiating my need for her.

What I wanted to do was pick her up, cart her out of here and lose myself in her for days. I knew I needed to sort out how to deal with the reality of our situation. She was pregnant, and we were having a baby. I couldn’t tell if I was so stunned by those facts that I couldn’t face them. All I could think about was what I wanted—the hottest sex this side of the Mississippi, so we should keep having more of it.

I’d been on firefighter crews for four years now. Relationships among crewmembers weren’t unusual. On my last crew, another one of the superintendents was married to one of the crewmembers. They’d been in training together and married within their first year of work. Though I couldn’t quite imagine myself married, somehow I kept using this example in my mind when I told myself it was perfectly fine for me to lust after Susannah. There was also the small matter of the fact she was carrying my baby, and it made me crazy protective. Well, that and the fact I didn’t intend to let her go.