Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
I liked Dax Munro a hell of a lot. I’d never met anyone I liked the way I liked him. Never enjoyed a mouth the way I enjoyed his. The text-message exchanges over the past two weeks hadn’t been nearly enough to sate my interest.
No, I wanted him in my arms, clinging to me like he did as we savored each other’s mouths outside his office.
Dax cupped his hand against my face, and as our lips pulled apart, I didn’t budge, just stayed right near him, enjoying the sound of his breath as I rubbed the tip of my nose against his. As I pulled back, I noticed his eyes were still closed, and he must’ve sensed my movement because he opened them and seemed surprised at my catching him in such a vulnerable state.
“Only missed me kinda, huh?” I asked.
He laughed, slipping past me. “Okay, tour’s over. There’s a great steakhouse not far from here.”
“This is already starting off as the best work trip I’ve ever been on.”
He stopped on the steps. “Where would a firefighter take work trips?”
“We have training and conferences we get to do around the country sometimes.”
“Learning something new about firefighters every day.”
We hopped back in his car and headed to the steakhouse, where we ordered drinks and food as we continued easing back into our conversation, this time about our itinerary for the rest of the week.
“We’ll have an acting coach on set to help you for the commercial, just in case you need it, but we’re obviously going for the same cute type of stuff we did in that initial video we recorded. So be yourself.”
“You’ve said that way too many times, almost like you’re worried I might be someone else.”
He laughed. “It’s just something we usually have to tell talent.”
“Oh, now I’m talented?” I winked.
“Well, I’ll be the judge of that later.”
Again, I found myself eager to show him some of the talents I’d discovered since we’d last seen one another. Of course, I appreciated that he didn’t just take advantage of my offer, that he cared enough to bring me out on a date first.
“So you go on a lot of dates?” I asked. “Is this what they’re like?”
“I don’t date much. I dated mostly in my early twenties, so it’s been a minute.”
“Yeah, I don’t do this much either. Ever, really.”
“Ever?”
“In high school, of course I did, but outside of that, not really. As you know, I’ve had plenty of fun, but I like to keep it that way. You?”
“I had a few guys I was into, but usually they were model/actor/celebrity types. We’d keep it a secret, and since they were as ambitious as I was in this industry, it seemed perfect because it meant I could be as career-oriented as I wanted to be without any consequences, but it was always just fun. As soon as one of us got bored, which usually happened pretty fast, the other was already out the door. So I never saw a point for anything more than that.”
“It’s a hell of a lot easier that way than the breakups I see go down with my friends. Not saying with all of them, but when it happens, it can really pull people apart, you know?”
“You say that from experience?”
“Not with breakups, but…”
“Oh,” Dax said, and his expression sobered, as though he knew I was talking about Crawford. “Sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to take things to such a serious place.” I opened my mouth to go on, when someone—I assumed our waiter—approached the table.
But it was a young guy in jeans and a polo. “Uh…hey, you guys mind if I take a picture with you?” The guy was practically shaking, as though he’d had to work up the courage to approach us.
Dax and I exchanged a look, and I could tell Dax was no more ready to deny this guy his selfie than I was, so we took a break from our conversation for the picture, and afterward the kid thanked us and left.
“I’m not taking you to Sunset Strip or Rodeo Drive, by the way, just in case you were hoping to swing by either,” Dax teased. “No need to get all the tourists worked up like that.”
“Aw, come on. You gotta take me to the touristy stuff.”
He smiled. “Of course I will. Just giving you shit. I think we can tolerate a little selfie/signing appearance.”
“Better than them finding us out at Fever Creek.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have skipped out on Fever Creek for anything,” Dax offered, that beautiful smile plastered across his perfect face.
“I should have guessed you were some kind of star.”
“What?” he asked, his expression twisting up.
“You look like a movie star more than some slick PR guy.”
“Well, it’s in my genes. Didn’t ever get around to telling you about my dad.”
“No, you haven’t mentioned him.”