Page 14 of Bewitching the Firefighter

“Hey, Little Bit.”

She heads toward me, a smile lighting up her face, and damn, she’s beautiful. I love the way Isla moves, her hips swaying, her hair swinging. Today she’s wearing a simple brown skirt which flares at the waist and hits a few inches below her knee. Her brown waves are pulled into a ponytail with some pieces framing her face. I do my best to push the wave of lust aside, but her sweet floral scent just about does me in, especially when she touches the brim of my backwards ball cap.

“I got this for you.”

“Thank you, Lincoln.” She reaches for the paper cup, taking a careful sip. “A pecan latte? How did you know?”

I shrug, unwilling to give away my source. “A little bird.”

“The little bird was correct.”

Nodding, I plunk my hands in my pockets, suddenly nervous. I don’t get nervous around women. “The crew should be here shortly. We’ve already got a game plan in place. Nolan recruited some college kids to help out, so we should be able to pull in some traffic from the main road.” My eyes hold hers, and even though my fire captain ordered me to do this fundraiser, I am not sorry about it. There’s nowhere I’d rather be today. “We also sent texts to friends and family. We’re hoping to raise a fair amount.”

“We’ve already got a cooler of drinks for you guys, and Daphne is bringing kolaches. We appreciate you doing this.”

“Thanks for not holding it against us.”

She cocks her brown locks, one hand on her hip. “Who says I’m not holding it against you?”

I swallow, the twinkle in her eyes doing naughty things to my insides. “Fair enough.”

Within minutes, the rest of my crew pulls into the lot along with a library employee. My guys haul a long folding table with chairs, water hoses, and a variety of buckets, soaps, and towels. It was actually Mike Gentry who had the idea of requesting volunteers from one of the university fraternities, so we at least 10 guys show up to help. They divide up, a trio standing on the grass strip running alongside the road to get drivers to turn in. The rest help out with the cars and the donation table when it gets busy.

By the time the library opens at 10:00 a.m, there’s already a line of cars waiting to get washed, including my parents. The college guys brought speakers and are taking song requests while patrons wait, making the event lively. Inside the library, Isla and her colleagues created a children’s book display that features firefighters and car wash books.

As I soap down my parents’ Suburban, I catch the occasional glimpse through the library windows of Isla helping patrons. She’s either smiling or engrossed in the work, a testament to her commitment. At one point, Tucker catches me staring and flicks me with a towel. I’m not ashamed. My dad follows my eye line.

“I approve, Son.”

After an hour, Isla pops outside to check on things. The clouds have burned off, leaving a few dotting the sky. I drop my sponge in the bucket and jog over to the table where she’s chatting with Tucker, who is manning the money box.

“Hey, Isla.”

“Hi, Lincoln.” Her eyes run down my body, taking in the way my station tee and athletic shorts cling to me. As water and suds drip down my body, Isla’s tongue peeks out of her mouth for a millisecond before licking her bottom lip and retreating.

A pulse of heat shoots to my groin. Fuck. I have to be careful… the last thing I need is my dick getting hard while I’m out here in wet clothes with the world watching. I don’t blame her, though. If she were standing in front of me sopping wet, her clothes clinging to those delicious curves, I would do the same thing.

Tucker’s eyes flick from me to Isla. “Can you man the money for a sec?”

“Sure.”

My buddy heads inside the library, leaving me alone at the table with Isla.

She chews the corner of her lip absently, the music pulsing around us. “Is everyone doing okay? Do you all need anything? There’s enough water and sports drinks?”

I nod to the cooler, motioning to the various sports bottles scattered around. “No, we’re good. We’re used to working outside.”

She holds my gaze for an extra second before motioning to the wash team. “This is incredible. How did you pull this off?”

I rub the back of my neck, and her eyes flick to my biceps for a second. “Gentry approached a fraternity for volunteer hours.”

“That explains all the girls who just showed up to get their cars washed.” She laughs, pulling a blade of grass from my hair. “I know that you guys were forced into this, but the library really appreciates it.”

“We love giving back to the community, and the four of us feel bad about our stupid stunt. This is the least we could do. ” I motion to my colleagues, who are laughing and talking with the community. The rookie is showing a group of kids the right way to scrub a tire. “Besides, do we look mad about being here?”

She bites back a grin. “No.”

“The captain knew what he was doing.”