“In the shower when I told I wouldn’t come in you until we were married.”
Her eyes looked as if they’d pop out of her skull. “Thatwas you telling me you love me?”
I frowned. “Of course. What else would it mean?”
She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. “Youseriouslyneed to work on your communication skills, Mr. Kim.”
Grinning, I tugged her hands from her face and brought them to my mouth, kissing her knuckles. “I can think of something else we need to work on.” I adjusted, flipping her onto her back and moving on top of her, so now our position was reversed. I leaned in, placing a kiss on her forehead, tip of her nose, and finally lips. “I love you, too, Angel.”
Her face opened up, and I swear I would’ve said those three words much sooner if I could get her to make this face over and over.
“But make sure you’re only saying it because youwantto. Not because you think I?” Her response was cut off by my tongue in her mouth.
“You’re talking too much,” was the last thing I said before taking her mouth again and removing the rest of her clothing.
Chapter Seventeen
Eric
I pulled out my phone from my back pocket, checking to see if I had any messages. Frowning when I saw I had none, I stuffed it back into my jeans.
Maybe she’s busy,I told myself, then I told myself I was ridiculous for harping on this. I was gearing up to walk into my lieutenant's exam—the same one I’ve been studying for, for three months now with the help of my own personal Angel. And here it was the morning of, and I haven’t gotten a call or text message wishing me luck. Sure, we spoke the night before, and she was her usual encouraging self, but something felt off during our conversation.
“Okay, we’re getting ready to begin. You may enter the room, sitting at the assigned desk numbers you were given…” The female proctor of the exams began giving out instructions. I pushed my thoughts of Angela aside and mentally prepared to focus for the next two hours. The exam was given at the Fire Department’s Headquarters in downtown Williamsport. Making my way down the hall toward the room, I took glances at the faces of former fire department chiefs who’ve served over the decades.
You’re going to be captain one day, Eric. Maybe even chief.Captain Waverly’s words all those months ago rang in my ears. That reminded me of the conversation I had with Angela two days ago about the exam.
“I’m so proud of you already,” she said.
“I haven’t passed the test yet,” I retorted.
She shrugged, leaning over the bar. “The test is just a formality. You’ve already passed the test every day at your fire station. It’s obvious the way your crew looks at you, respects you. You already are their lieutenant.”
We were in public, but that didn’t stop me from taking her face between my hands, pulling her to me, and possessing her lips. I conveyed the impact her words had on me through that kiss. Forgetting where we were, I didn’t let up until I heard the applause and chants from the guys. When I finally pulled back, I grinned at the dazed expression on her face, her kiss-swollen lips. Her eyes dipped then glanced over my shoulder to where the guys were still whooping. I tossed them a glare over my shoulder, along with a middle finger.
I turned back to Angela, staring into those tawny eyes. “With inspiration like that, I have no choice but to pass the test and interview.”
She waved a dainty hand. “Interview, sminterview. While your communication skills could use some work in the personal life department, you’ve got the professional communication skills down.” The laughter she let out when I grabbed her by the arms, pulling her closer to me, had my cock stirring in my jeans.
“I’m going to marry you.”
“I love you, too.”
I pressed another quick kiss to her lips, knowing she needed to get back to tending to the bar but hating to let her go. I planned on hanging around until she closed and then taking her home to show her the exact effect her words had on me.
Pulling myself out of that memory, I sat down at the computer station I was assigned and punched in the log-in information that was emailed to be the day before.
“All right, you have one-hundred and twenty minutes to complete the multiple choice and essay sections of the exam. Remember, you cannot go back and check over a section once you have completed it, so I advise you to check, and double check before you hit submit. You will find out your score on the multiple choice section as soon as you complete the exam. Your essay scores will be emailed to you within fourteen business days, at which time you will also find out if you’ve been invited for an interview. Are there any questions?”
I grew irritated when a couple of hands went up for questions. I had none and was just ready to get this shit over with. As soon as the proctor was finished answering questions, she took a seat at her desk and let us do our thing. I began answering questions, remembering not to second guess my answers on a few of them, reminding myself that in a real-life situation there’s no time for second-guessing and your first instinct is usually the correct one. Second guessing led to time wasted. If your decisions were wrong, there would be plenty of time afterward—if you made it out?to analyze where you fucked up. In the moment was not the time for that analyzation.
Feeling confident, I breezed through the multiple choice section in about forty-five minutes. Next, I started in on the first of three essays. I knew this was the section that tripped most people up, but I’ve written essays since I was in elementary school all the way through college. Communicating my thoughts and analysis in written form didn’t intimidate me thanks to my formal education. I finished the three essays with about fifteen minutes to spare, according to the timer on my computer screen. Reading over my essays, I made a few revisions until I was finally satisfied, and then hit “submit.” An immediate weight lifted off my shoulders. The pop-up on the screen instructed that I wait while it scored the multiple choice section of my exam. When the final number came up, I blew out a heavy breath and finally stood, stretching the kinks that’d developed in my muscles over the last two hours.
I headed over to the proctor to give her my name and ID to let her know I finished and then headed straight to the only person I wanted to see.
****
“Harvard, what’re you doing here? I thought you had your exam this morning?” Captain Waverly questioned, glancing at his wristwatch.
