“Say shit I don’t mean. Use bullshit flattery to get in a woman’s pants. Don’t have to. Never have. Never will.”
And I believed him. Believed every word he’d just said. Of course he didn’t have to use flattery or trickery. Just look at him. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous but he carried himself like he was born and bred to take on the world.
“I … should go.” It was past the time for me to high-tail it out of there. I needed to get from underneath his penetrating gaze, lest I’d be willing to share all my secrets with this man.
Somehow, he was less than an inch from me. I don’t know if he’d moved closer or I had, but the next thing I knew, I saw his lips barreling toward mine. I should’ve taken a step back, told myself to take a step back, but common sense was beat out by a burning need and I waited for a kiss that never came.
Instead, he lowered his forehead to mine, wrapping a firm arm around my waist. “You should …” he uttered just above a whisper. I nodded, thinking he was affirming what I’d just said?that I should go?but then he finished his statement, “… give me your number.”
I began shaking my head, avoiding his eyes. “I can’t.” I cleared my throat and stepped back to break out of the physical and mental hold he had on me. “I just wanted to thank you for all that you did for me that day. I truly appreciate it,” I quickly stated, backing up. “I hope you and your squad enjoy the donuts. Bye.” I didn’t bother stopping to look at him for his reaction. I turned and moved as swiftly as my two legs would carry me back to the safety of my car. All the while, I felt Carter’s eyes on me, just as firmly as I’d felt his grip when he held my hand.
~ Chapter Three ~
Carter
“Hey, Cap says you’re on lead today.”
I raised an eyebrow in Corey’s direction. I’d just entered the fire station and signed in for my twelve hour shift, before heading up to my locker to drop off my jacket and helmet.
“Why’s that?” I questioned, returning my attention to lacing up my boots.
“Eric’s out and Cap’s gonna be in meetings all day downtown.”
“No sweat. It’s a good day to run drills.”
“Yo, fuck you, Carter.” Corey pointed at me, laughing. “Don’t run us ragged like you usually do without water. We all weren’t special forces and shit.”
I grinned and stood. “Quit acting like a pussy. So I had you in ninety degree weather without water for a few hours. You’ll be thanking me the next time we get a call and we beat Rescue Two up the stairs to the flames.”
“Yeah, whatever. Rescue Two can suck my dick for all I care. After we lost that last bet, they’re never beating us anywhere.”
I let out a belly laugh at the memory of seeing my squad dressed in fucking ballerina tutus on spin bikes. That’d been the last bet they lost to the guys at Rescue Two.
“See,” I pointed at Corey. “That shit wouldn’t have happened if I’d been here.” I hated to even think about that period of time I was away from Rescue Four, or what it was that caused me to have to step away from my squad.
“But you’re back now.” It was as if Corey was reading my mind.
“Yeah, and that means it’s time to get your ass on that course outback. Get Donnie and Sean, and tell ’em let’s fucking get to work.”
“Party time, baby!” Corey clapped his hands and rubbed them together, laughing. He might complain about how tough I was when it came to drills but he loved the shit just as much as I did. All of us at Rescue Four were adrenaline junkies. If we weren’t out rescuing, we were training. And in between those moments of rescue and training, we were filling our stomachs and talking trash to one another. That’s the way it went around here.
I made a move to follow Corey down the wooden stairs that would bring us to the first floor T.V. room in the station house, but my cell phone vibrated in my locker. Doubling back, I picked up my phone and grinned inwardly at seeing whose name came across my phone’s screen.
“You got what I asked for?”
“I can’t even get a fucking hello? Hi, Andy, how are you?”
“Hi, Andy. Suck my dick, Andy. Do you have what I asked you for?”
His chuckle moved across the phone line and I cracked my neck, feeling anxious and irritated. “Yeah, I got it. You got a pen and paper?”
“Did you forget who you’re talking to?”
“Nope. Was testing you to see if you’ve lost it or not. Her number is 712-555 …” He finished reciting Michelle’s telephone number, and by the time he was done, I’d committed the number to memory. I thanked Andy for the intel before hanging up. He was halfway around the world on some job, still working for the Army, but he was able to get me information under the radar. I would’ve asked Don, but he’d already been making comments since Michelle’s visit this past weekend and I didn’t want him in my business any more than he needed to be.
I tossed my cell phone back into my locker after storing Michelle’s phone number in my contact’s list, and then headed out back to where we had our training equipment set up.
“The hell took you so long? I’m growing old over here!” Don’s voice rang out, causing the five guys out with him to laugh.
