Page 26 of Dueling Flames

I pulled my hand away and slapped his still on the table. He laughed pulled my chair and me over to him. His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me close.

“We’ll need to set boundaries,” I said, letting him hold me.

“Agreed. You go first.”

“This doesn’t cross over into work. At work, we’re partners, nothing more.”

“I agree with that.” He paused then said, “Next, we don’t let work interfere with our relationship when we’re off duty.”

“Okay, I can do that. We don’t tell anyone at work.”

“Why not?” He gave me those puppy dog eyes.

“We might not be allowed to work the same shift if we are dating. I’d like to wait.”

“Until we’re serious?” He tightened his arms around my middle.

“Serious? What do you mean?”

“Like introduce you to the family serious. Spending holidays together serious. Of course we already live together, so maybe this is serious.”

I flicked his forehead. “This is temporary. You’re lucky I haven’t forced you to go back to your place. You can go up and down stairs just fine. I just don’t want your right leg to be giant compared to your left from only stepping up on your right leg for four floors.”

He laughed. “I appreciate it, though having one super muscular leg would be hilarious. I’d be the star of all the firefighter calendars. It would just be a picture of the one leg.”

“Leg day calendar.” I laughed, then winced. “My head still hurts.”

“Poor hungover firecracker.” He smoothed out my hair. “You should rest.”

I nodded. “I’ll postpone my training with Chelsea until this afternoon and go take a nap.”

I got up and dragged my feet into the bedroom. After an hour of tossing and turning, I went to the living room and sat on the couch next to Thorne as he watched TV. I pulled on the blanket I kept on the back of the couch, leaned on Thorne, and closed my eyes. I felt him lay his head on mine before I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 11

Lissa

“Alright team,” Captain Cole said. “I know that we’ve had a few subs in for Thorne’s position as he heals. I brought someone in for the next few weeks as Lissa’s partner for some stability.”

I frowned. Did the rest of the team feel unstable having other people work with me on shifts? A glance around the room told me they looked as confused as me.

“It should only be for four weeks, depending on how Thorne’s PT goes when the boot comes off. Here he comes. You all remember Trevor.”

My frown turned to a scowl, and my blood boiled. I glared at the captain. He mouthed ‘sorry’ at me, but no amount of saying sorry would redeem him in my eyes.

“You okay?” Thorne whispered. He’d grabbed my arm as soon as my face changed.

“No.” I turned to look at Trevor. My old partner. He was six-foot with blond hair, blue eyes, and a sneer for a smile. The man lived to show off his body and boss around everyone around him, even during his probation period. I never found out what kind of connection he had to keep himself employed. We’d worked together for a year with me asking for a new partner once a month. Thorne was a godsend compared to Trevor.

“Glad to be back everyone,” Trevor said, smiling like his evil plan was coming together.

A round of lackluster “Heys” sounded around the room.

The man kept smiling. “Can’t wait to work together again, Lissa.”

I just stared at him and gave him a swift nod in greeting. I gritted my teeth, knowing that if I opened my mouth, I would be the one taking leave for harassment.

“Everyone play nice.” The captain nodded to the group and left.