Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

MELISANDRE

M elisandre stayed back and watched as Tanner handled the press, the families and students, and the other firefighters. She could practically feel his exhaustion. She told herself it was just her observational skills. In her mind, her drakaina snorted in amused frustration. They both knew it was the bond between fated mates that was beginning to form—the tendrils from each side reaching out to the other.

The press hounded Tanner relentlessly. He handled them with skilled aplomb. They wanted—and had for the most part succeeded—to turn him into some kind of superhero for Kodiak Island, but he always stressed that firefighting was a team effort. He often deferred to others in his unit or tried to bring someone else into the spotlight, but the reporters continued to clamor for him.

Who could blame them? He was tall, broad-shouldered, seemed to have a permanent bearded stubble, and was a firefighter. There were few women who wouldn't be hard-pressed to say he fulfilled a lot of their dreams. Melisandre was pretty sure he was the star of many sexual fantasies on the island.

Finally, he made his way over to her, taking her hand in his. "You think it's our guy… or girl?"

"Statistics say it is most likely a guy—at least eighty-five percent of the time. Statistics also say it is most often an unskilled worker, sexually and socially maladjusted, single, an alcoholic, and characterized by feelings of inadequacy. Unless of course it is a professional arsonist who is doing it strictly for the money."

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Hey, Smoke," called a reporter, "does the presence of the AIU mean the department thinks we're dealing with an arsonist? You two are looking pretty cozy over there."

The last thing they needed was the people of Kodiak getting into a panic over the idea there was some kind of crazed maniac trying to burn the city down. It might provoke the arsonist into either abandoning the city, which would leave them never knowing who it had been or why they had done it. The alternative was that the arsonist would escalate, and people would be killed.

Melisandre knew she needed to nip this in the bud. "Can't a girl just come out to check on her fiancé after he's had a tough morning?"

It was hard to tell who looked more shocked—the reporter or Tanner. Melisandre wasn't really sure what had prompted her to answer the reporter that way, but she was awfully glad when Tanner didn't pull away, but instead pulled her into his arms. Grinning, his mouth descended on hers, sending a flash of arousal surging through her system. The kiss was sweet, persuasive, and seductive as all get-out. His lips teased hers, as his tongue traced the seam separating upper from lower.

As if of their own accord, her hands came up to grasp his jacket, not only steadying herself as he leaned into her, forcing her back, but to pull him closer. One of his hands grasped the nape of her neck while the other made its way down from her waist to the curve of her ass.

Melisandre told herself it was just a kiss. She'd been kissed before, but nothing had ever felt like this. She'd been in situations where she'd had too much to drink and had felt tipsy or even drunk, but this was so much more. Intoxicating, out of control, and yet safe. He nibbled on her lower lip, and her mouth parted, inviting him in.

Tanner was not a man or a hellhound to refuse an invitation. His tongue surged in—commanding and yet still seductive. It tangled with hers as he fisted her hair and moved her head into the position he wanted. As the hand on her ass dragged her closer, she realized that this wasn't merely a kiss. This was dominance, possession, and he was demanding surrender. She waited to feel anger or even disgust. Instead, all she could feel was desire coiling in her belly, making it warmer than producing fire ever had.

She'd always avoided alpha males and for good reason, and the man who was kissing her breathless was the reason. If she let him, he would take over and run her life, and yet, he had been nothing but collaborative—seeing her as more of an equal partner than a submissive one.

Even though there were layers of clothing between them, she could feel the hard ridge of his erection as it pressed against her. She moaned, and Tanner made the most of it, his tongue plunging deep to dance with hers in a kind of erotic tango.

"If only we were alone," he groaned.

"But we aren't," she whispered, teasingly.

"Down the road you'll pay for that," he responded as he nipped her lower lip and then kissed the brief pain away.

"I don't see a ring on her finger, Smoke," called the reporter.

"That's because she only said yes last night. I thought Melisandre might like to have a say in the ring she'll be wearing the rest of her life," he called over his shoulder. To Melisandre, he murmured, "I need to go help them."

She nodded. "I understand. Sorry about this…"

"Are you? I'm not."

Before she could respond, Tanner had run back to join his team. Chief Ashford strolled up to stand beside her.

"So that's the reason your boss asked if we could find an office for you somewhere here in Kodiak."

Melisandre turned to face him. "He did? Already, I mean? I just floated the idea past him a little while ago."

"I think your boss considers you an asset worth keeping. I'm sure he knows you could make a lot more money working for the private sector. I told him we would love to have you here in Kodiak, and that was before I knew you and Tanner were an item."

"We weren't trying to keep anything from you," she said. "It happened kind of fast."

The chief smiled indulgently. "I think sometimes the best marriages are like that. I met my wife when she came up here on a cruise. They docked, and we met at a dance that had been arranged to coincide with their arrival. Two days later the cruise ship left without her. Six months after that we tied the knot. We've been together almost twenty-five years. It hasn't always been easy, but we knew when we got married that it was forever. I don't think either of us would change a thing." He smiled down at her. "Let me be the first to congratulate you. Tanner's a good man. He can be tough, but he's loyal and honorable."

Melisandre smiled back at him and then fixed her focus on Tanner. "I would tend to agree with that."

Tanner and his team stayed until all of those who'd been inside the school, their families, and the rest of the crowd, reporters, and firefighters were on their way back to the city. She called his name and waved.

"I'll see you tonight when we're through," he said, joining her and kissing her again and making her go weak at the knees. "That's just for show."

"Liar," she teased.

"Yeah, but you find it endearing."

"Do I? Yes, I suppose it's true. If you can call me when you're about fifteen minutes out, I'll have the diner make us something. Anything you'd like or not like?"

"Surprise me. So far today, you're batting a hundred."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes as she headed back to her SUV.

"Melisandre?" She turned to look at him. "Be careful on the roads. They're icy and slick."

"Will do. You, too."

She slipped into her vehicle and as she started it up and pulled away, she looked up to see Tanner give her a little wave. What the hell had she gotten herself into, and why was she warming to the idea?

She should have known Rick would have heard about her engagement before she could get back to the diner.

"And here I thought the boy was overplaying his hand by inviting himself to join you for dinner last night," he greeted her as she walked in.

"Yeah, well, I'm told things happen fast over here on Kodiak Island," she said as she took a seat at the counter.

Rick nodded. "Oftentimes they do. I say when you know it's right, grab on with both hands and don't let go. I like Tanner. Kodiak has been good for him. You too, I think."

"So, you do know that there's a very real possibility I'm going to be able to base out of Kodiak instead of Anchorage?"

"So, I've heard."

Melisandre laughed. "I forget that even though it's the largest town on the island, it's still pretty small. Does anything happen that you don't know about ten minutes after it happens?"

"If it's a whole ten minutes, I start trying to shore up my network. What'll you have?"

"What's Tanner's favorite?"

"Hmm, I'd say it's a toss-up between my cinnamon bun French toast, the biscuits and gravy, or the Mexican omelet."

"Oooh, what's in that?"

"Chorizo pork sausage, homemade salsa, green onions, red peppers, and finely diced green chilies. Cheese sauce is served on the side. It comes with our home fries or grits and a biscuit or toast."

"I think I'll try that with home fries and a biscuit."

"Coming up. Coffee, juice, or Diet Coke?"

"Diet Coke, I think."

"An excellent choice."

Rick turned her order into the kitchen, gave her a Diet Coke, and then took out other orders as they came up. When hers was ready, he served it to her with a flourish. She took a bite, closed her eyes and moaned.

"Okay, if I end up in Kodiak, I am going to have to limit myself to one meal a day in here. This is delicious."

"Glad you like it."

"Speaking of my being here at the diner…"

Rick turned around with a grin that was mischievous and welcoming. "Were we?"

Melisandre shook her head. "You know what's coming, don't you?"

"I know what I hope is coming. Joe tells me the money is to be made in short-term rentals, and he could be right. He's a whiz at financial things. But I'm sort of hoping you and Tanner will want to rent the place upstairs."

"Could we? I know he's renting a place from Nicole, and I don't want to take away that revenue…"

"Don't you worry about Nicole. She took pity on Tanner when he first showed up, and she's liked having him there, but my guess is she could find someone else to take his place with no difficulty. So, if you want to lease the upstairs, we can figure out what's fair."

"Sounds good to me. Don't worry about the Tanner thing," she said leaning forward. "It's not real."

"I don't know that Tanner thinks that, but I'll leave it for the two of you to figure out."

"Either way, I'd like to stay. I really like being here, and my lease in Anchorage is up next month, so it's pretty perfect timing."

Once she'd eaten, she headed upstairs to her place—she loved thinking of it that way—and settled down to work. Before driving out to the school fire, she'd logged onto the AIU's mainframe computer, entered a lot of statistics and data she had been compiling and then asked it to find any comparable arsons, any similarities and contrasts between the Kodiak fires, as well as any patterns it could spot. She didn't really expect the system to find anything so was surprised when it did.

It didn't seem to match any other arsons, which tended to rule out the possibility of a professional arsonist, but it found a definite pattern among the most recent fires and a link back to some of the fires she had found from two years ago.

Her phone rang and she smiled when she recognized Tanner's number. "Hey, you. How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine. Why?"

"That fire this morning was pretty gnarly. I know some firefighters get really jazzed up, and some are just wiped."

"I start at the revved-up point, but once I've got my team back at the station and everything squared away, I kind of hit a wall and slide down into a puddle on the floor."

"Good to know."

"The chief said your boss asked him about you moving here."

"Yeah. Don't feel pressured by that. From the time Rick showed me this place, I started thinking of maybe moving here. It's a lot cheaper than Anchorage, but I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to trap you."

"I don't, but I'm glad you're staying. You said to call when I was getting ready to wind it up for the day."

"If you want to wait until tomorrow, we can."

"Not unless you do."

"No. I actually got back some interesting findings. I don't know if you're going to like them, but the mainframe in Anchorage pretty much confirms all of the recent fires are connected, as are a few going back a couple of years."

"No chance of a professional?"

"I don't think so. None of the linked fires match anything other than each other."

"Okay. You ordered last night, why not let me order tonight?"

"You got it. By the way I had that heart attack-inducing omelet Rick said you liked…"

"And?"

"Oh my god, it was delicious."

He laughed. "I'll see you in about thirty minutes."

"Sounds good. By the way I have both that microbrew and a couple of bottles of wine, as well as the usual stuff."

"Okay. See you in a bit, and Melisandre, I'm sure I don't have to say it, but you might want to keep your findings to just the two of us."

"Agreed."

She hung up the phone, shaking her head and smiling. It might be way too easy to let this whole fake relationship turn into the real thing.