The sudden weight of tiny paws on my leg reminded me we weren’t completely alone. I glanced down to find Olive watching us with what looked suspiciously like feline judgment, while Cheeto batted at a string hanging from the couch cushion, completely uninterested in our sexual awakening.
“Think they’re traumatized?” I asked, nodding toward the kittens.
Rhett laughed, the sound lighter and happier than I’d heard from him in weeks. “Nah. They don’t like it when their daddies fight.”
“Rhett.”
He stuck his tongue out at me. “You can’t do all that and then tell me you’re not going to coparent my cats with me. That would be cruel.”
“Fine. I’m a goddamn kitten daddy. Happy?”
“So happy. And maybe we should eat the food before it gets cold.”
“Solid plan,” I agreed, stealing one more kiss before reluctantly climbing off him. “But first—”
“Shower,” he finished for me, glancing down at our sticky stomachs. “Definitely shower. Did you invite Aimee to eat lunch with us?”
I cleared my throat, suddenly imagining how that scene would have gone down if Aimee had walked in on it. “She was busy. She had an interview.”
“Too bad,” he said with a cheerful shrug. “I keep thinking about what it would be like to kiss her around your cock.”
I didn’t know I could get hard again that fast. “Fuck. You have a filthy mind.”
“Yep. And if we’re both bi, we can both enjoy a woman we’re into together, right?” he asked, his cheeks going pink, his voice uncharacteristically shy.
“Yeah, not sure Aimee would be into that.”
“Psh. Have you seen us? We’re sexy as hell. She’d be into it.”
Chapter 8
Troy
Iwokewithastart, disoriented by the familiar beep of my watch alarm. The fire station dormitory was bathed in pre-dawn light, and around me, my shift mates were beginning to stir. I searched for Rhett, finding him three cots away, already sitting up and stretching his sexy shoulders.
I was already addicted to the heat of his skin against mine, but our next shift at the fire station had rolled around way too quickly. And a slow twenty-four-hour work shift with your brand-new lover sleeping three cots away was pure torture.
Rhett caught my eye, and a small, private smile played across his lips. I felt that smile like a physical touch, warmth spreading through my chest and settling low in my belly. We hadn’t defined what we were to each other yet. Our forty-eight hours off hadbeen filled with lazy mornings, make-out sessions on our couch, and a lot of sleep. We always had sleep to catch up on.
“Matthews,” the captain’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You planning on sleeping through shift change?”
“No, sir,” I replied, jumping to my feet and grabbing my uniform shirt. “Just taking a moment to remember how comfortable these five-star accommodations are.”
Captain Dunn snorted, used to my bullshit by now, and moved on to wake Saunders, who could sleep through an actual five-alarm fire if left to his own devices.
I made my bed with military precision—one habit from childhood that stuck with me despite my otherwise chaotic approach to life. Growing up with nine siblings, my dad had run our house like a military barracks. Make your bed wrong, and you’d get the cold shoulder for days. Get a B instead of an A, and you might as well be invisible at the dinner table. I pushed those thoughts away. I was used to compartmentalizing that shit.
By the time shift change rolled around, I was more than ready to get home. Rhett and I had managed to keep things professional throughout our twenty-four hours on duty, but the tension between us was palpable. Every accidental brush of hands, every shared glance across the engine bay—it all felt charged with possibility and promise.
I was halfway to the locker room when I heard Battalion Chief Ramirez’s voice boom across the apparatus floor. “Matthews! My office, now.”
My stomach dropped. That tone never meant anything good. I exchanged a quick look with Rhett, who raised his eyebrows in question. I could only shrug before heading toward the chief’s office, mentally cataloging every possible fuck-up I might’ve committed in the past week.
Ramirez was already seated behind his desk when I entered, his weathered face unreadable. “Close the door and sit down, Matthews.”
I did as instructed, my mind racing. The chief shuffled some papers on his desk before looking up at me with an expression I couldn’t quite parse. “I’m going to cut right to the chase,” he said. “You’re being offered a lieutenant position at Station 12.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting. “What?” “Lieutenant. Station 12. It’s yours if you want it.” Ramirez leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry we didn’t have anything here at this station when you put in your application a few months back, but your performance has been outstanding. When I heard about the opening at 12, I put your name forward.”
