CHAPTER ONE
AUSTIN
“We need that axe!” the captain barked the order over the comm unit.
The call had come in just after nine-thirty p.m. A single-level residence in the older but well-maintained part of Pineville. No smoke was visible from the street, but I could smell it. We hustled to the front door; metal clanged against metal, boots thudded, and men spoke in the clipped language of all first responders.
Rex checked the door for heat. I leaned as far as I could to look through the front window. Couldn’t see through the blinds. Not even a sliver of light. My partner had already checked the doorknob after verifying that the door was cool. I banged on the solid wooden door. The sound echoed on the other side. We waited for a response, but received one over the comm instead of from the homeowner.
“I can see smoke…back of house…possibly kitchen window.” Static popped as Paxton, our lieutenant, relayed his update. The entry call belonged to the captain. Chop through the front dooror break the glass. Either would feed the greedy fire what it wanted most—oxygen.
All signs pointed to someone being in bed at this hour on a weeknight, but was the bedroom in this home in the front or the rear? The familiar rush of adrenaline pulsed through my body. Tension, the good kind, the needed kind for this work, fueled my senses and sharpened my awareness for all signs of danger. I was ready for whatever lay on the other side of the front door.
“Make an entry, front door.” The second the incident command’s order hit my radio, I entered the house.
“Pineville Fire and Rescue!” Smoke hung high. Zero flames. A female’s cries led me forward through the great room to an arched threshold leading into the kitchen. A dark-haired woman dressed in a mid-thigh length nightshirt stood before me. Outstretched arms flapped a towel toward the oven; inventive curses fell from her full lips. Smoke poured out of the oven.
Her delicate coughs increased, as did the swearing guaranteed to turn a granny’s ears red. And oh hell, the material over her backside hugged her curves held my gaze for far too long. Shaking my head, I evaluated the scene even as inappropriate thoughts continued to flash into my head.
Dammit. Now was not the time to be fantasizing about a victim. It had never happened in all my twelve years as a firefighter, and here I was sporting a hard-on the size of an axe handle.
The goddess before me was too tempting by half. But I had a job to do. Shaking off the unexpected hit of lust, I shouted for an extinguisher. Then, as gently as possible, guided the now silent homeowner by the shoulders away from the open oven.
Her head whipped around to look at me. A flare of panic, then relief, filled her wide hazel eyes as she sagged against me. “I thought I had it out. But it sprang back to life.” Her high-pitchedtone gave away the terror she must have been holding onto as she battled the small blaze on her own.
Paxton rushed in and put the fire out in a plume of chemicals. Pulling the too-sexy woman further back, she went limp against me. It shouldn’t be possible to feel her tempting curves through the thick material of my turnout gear, and yet it was as if I’d been scorched. Even more so than the interior of her now ruined oven.
I swung her up into my arms and carried her to the couch in the front room and covered her with the blanket bunched up in its corner. Controlled chaos surrounded us. I grabbed my walkie and spoke into it, “Send EMS to right of entry.” Her dark eyelashes fluttered, and her slow blinks met my assessing gaze.
The raven-haired beauty’s eyes were filled with confusion as she tried to sit up. “Hold up. You need to get checked out. That’s it. Just relax.” I guided her back down as gently as possible. Instant regret filled me as my gloved hand left a dark smudge on her pale pink nightshirt.
Rex Stafford, my fellow firefighter and friend, who was working EMS today, rushed in with oxygen. He and I had been through it all on this job. Knife-wielding drunks who took issue with being cut off in dive bars, his marriage after pretending to be his now wife’s boyfriend three years ago, my avoidance of matrimony, plus too many double shifts to count.
Not unlike tonight.
But this one was nothing like the hundreds of other entries I’d made. She made it unique. Memorable.
“Are you kidding me right now? I fainted?” She covered her eyes with her delicate hands and groaned. The throaty tone hit me square in the solar plexus, my dick twitched and I almost let out a matching groan. Thank God, I’d covered her up. The memory of her full breasts, and the faint outline of the darkcircles from her areolas along with her puckered nipples would haunt my dreams later.
My hands finally free, I removed my mask and helmet. “It happens to the best of us.” I offered the woman what I hoped was a reassuring smile. Something that wouldn’t be taken the wrong way, like a leer that conveyed what I really felt: desire and an insistent need to know she was okay.
The next few minutes played out as Rex, my former partner when I also worked EMS, took her vitals before declaring her unharmed. She quietly watched us, but I could see intense interest in her expressive eyes. It was as if she were documenting every moment in her mind to be replayed later.
Man, I hope she wasn’t working on an angle for some kind of lawsuit against the city for a made-up offense. Yeah, how sick was I that in the same breath I lusted after this woman whose name I’d yet to learn, I silently judged her as I created pure nonsense. Maybe my older sister was right. I was overly jaded and suspicious of people.
“So I’m okay?” Her voice, now calmer, more confident. “Then could I please go change into something, uh, more comfortable? And thank you. Both of you for your help.” Her gaze skipped over mine, a slight blush forming on her cheeks as she returned her focus to Rex.
Well, damn. Cupid, I mean Rex, had a calming effect that I’d always envied, but he was married with kids. He shouldn’t be giving off any I’m available pheromones or vibes and shit. I lost my train of thought as the beauty tossed off the blanket, stood and with a wiggle of her shoulders, she stiffened her spine and marched out of the room and down a short hallway.
Damn, damn, damn.It took every ounce of restraint not to watch her thinly covered backside walk away. But I did it, and because I did, I also saw the smirk riding Rex’s stupid face. “What? Don’t you have a report to fill out or something?”
The click of her door rang throughout the tiny home. That should have been my cue to leave.
But it wasn’t.
There was something about this woman compelling me to get to know her better.
To at least learn her name. Like an idiot, I hadn’t asked. Probably because the combination of lust and the worry of being discovered sporting a hard-on for a victim was a hundred percent unprofessional. Biting my tongue, I held back a sharp bark of frustration. Yeah, that would have been fun to explain away.
