Licked By Fire

After spending the last four years in college, Hazel returned home to continue working on the ranch and expected her life to be as it always had been. She was over the moon when her brother, Christian, came home from the fire academy a day later. That was until she met his new chief, Kaleb, who was an irritating jerk. She tried to make him feel welcome when he visited the ranch, but he never contributed to any attempt at conversation she struck up. He always gave the impression that he was waiting for their conversation to be over so he could leave. No matter how quick he was to leave once she was done talking, she would always catch him watching her.

Yesterday's event she volunteered for at the fire station was torture. Kaleb avoided her at all costs. Christian's other friend, Brendon, gave attention she never wanted. Today, she decided to have some drinks with her friend, Lavinia, to relax after a hard day on the ranch. It was relaxing until her brother showed up with said jerk in tow.

Separate tables and she still had to excuse herself to get away from his presence. After stepping out of the bathroom, she found herself cornered by him in the dim hallway. His jealous accusations enraged her. If it weren't for her sheer exhaustion, she would've won their verbal battle. She was faintly aware when he picked her up by her ass and carried her out of the bar.

Kal had been a firefighter for seven years before he moved to this new town to be the chief. His start in life might not have been great, but he'd consider it to be great now. He was focused on moving forward without the distractions life in the city brought. Women threw themselves at him. His black book was filled with numbers he could call when he needed to scratch that itch.

He never wanted a wife or kids. Never wanted to gain a relationship with anyone other than the friends he kept close. Emotional attachments led to distractions which in his life, led to complications. Complications are not on the agenda to reach his goal. He wants to be a wildland firefighter.

Despite his hesitation, he decided to go to his new coworker's house party. That's when he met her. All 5'8" of sunlight to his cloudy day. His distraction lasted all of five minutes until she left and her dad, Noah, made it clear she was off-limits. Noah seems like a smart man. He should've known better than to add to the temptation by making her off-limits. Going outside with Christian was a mistake. His decision to offer assistance with the firewood was his second mistake. As he followed her through the field all he wanted to do was grab her and carry her further into the darkness.

He avoided her as best he could whenever he visited Christian at the ranch. He couldn't feed the fire growing within himself. When she came to the station, he lost it. Watching her flirt with Brendon made him angry. Leaving the room was the only way everyone would make it out of there alive.

She's the light to his darkness, the calm to his chaos, and the innocence to his impurity. What'll happen when their worlds collide?