Hot Nights with the Fireman Read online

  She should call Arianna. Her best friend would happily drop a few hundred dollars to get her car washed by all the hunks, but her phone stayed safely in her pocket. Val glanced down the street trying to spot Jason, and knew she wasn’t calling Ari, because she wasn’t ready for him to meet her best friend. Men had a tendency to lose their heads when they met the voluptuous redhead. For now, she wanted Jason to herself. Even if he was safely down the street.

  After an hour, Valerie was sitting in the shade, drinking a soda that had been thrust upon her, and watching the seventy-sixth car get washed. Jason came strolling up, glistening with sweat, and tossed the sign aside.

  “It’s hot,” he announced, not looking Valerie’s way. “I’m ready to wash some cars.”

  Valerie suddenly found she had a second wind and rose to start taking more pictures. She forced herself to take photos of people other than Jason. A ratio of two for every one of him. That was a fair balance, right?

  A good plan, only her camera lens got stuck watching Jason as he picked up a hose, muscles rippling, and aimed it at the car. From behind the safety of her camera, she watched water droplets slide lovingly down the ridges of his abdominal muscles, exactly the path she wanted her fingers and tongue to follow.

  Then, realizing that she was frozen in place and drooling, she purposefully turned away and took random, out-of-focus shots of other firefighters.

  “Did you get a good look?” Jason’s deep voice in her ear made her jump and nearly drop her camera.

  She spun to see that he’d come up behind her and was leaning into her to whisper in her ear. Despite the sun beating down, goose bumps popped up along her flesh.

  “I felt you looking at me,” he said.

  She tried to step back, but his arm was around her waist, holding her in place. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t feel someone looking at you.”

  He gave a wry smile. “Well, then let’s say, I was as aware of you as you are of me.” He gave the camera a significant glance.

  She lowered the camera with a sigh. “Fine. You caught me. I was staring. You have a gorgeous body, you know.”

  He pulled her in closer, and the thin cotton of her tank top soaked up the water from his body. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “You’re getting me wet,” she pointed out, then felt her cheeks flame at the double entendre.

  He grinned and kissed her hard and fast on the lips. “Gotta get back to work. I’ll take care of the wetness later. Just say the word.” He backed off, still grinning while she struggled to stay vertical, praying no one had seen their kiss.

  Jason managed to walk away from Valerie without grabbing her and pulling her into the fire station and into his cot. When she stared at him and ate him up with her eyes, did she really think he’d be able to leave her alone? And her comment about getting her wet? Well, fair was fair. He got her wet, and she got him hard as stone. Thank God for the thick multilayered bunker gear.

  He’d planned on respecting her wishes and staying away from her, but he wanted her too badly to completely ignore her. He wouldn’t give her the full-court press, but if she wanted him, she’d have to spell it out.

  A few hours later, they waved good-bye to the final car and tiredly rolled up their hoses and tossed out the dirty water. It had been a long day, but worthwhile, if their grand total was any indication. They’d made three thousand dollars, which would send three kids to camp for a week.

  The firefighters from other stations headed out, and since this was Jason’s home station, he decided to head inside through the vehicle bay, to clean off and hope for dinner. The on-duty crew greeted him with high-fives and the smell of more hot chili.

  Rebecca, one of the only females on the crew, invited Valerie to stay for dinner.

  “I don’t know,” she said, glancing Jason’s way. He tried to keep his expression impassive. “I have some work to do.”

  “Please stay.” A chorus of pleases echoed around the room.

  Valerie finally relented. “All right,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting a tour of this place.”

  Everyone shuffled past the gleaming red engine toward the dining hall. Jason was last, following closely on Valerie’s heels. He pulled her back into the vehicle bay, shutting the door behind her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, whirling to look at the door, but he kept one hand on the knob, and the other stroked her head. She batted at the hand touching her. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

  “I’m just saying hi,” he said, looking down into her face. Her skin was so creamy and silky. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup either. Enough that said she was feminine, but not caked on. She didn’t really need it; she was pretty enough on her own.

  “Hi,” she said. “Now let’s go or everyone will wonder where we’ve been.”

  She was right, but he was having a hard time remembering why he couldn’t bend down and capture her lips with his. He was semi-aroused, and he was only standing near her. It wouldn’t take much to have him fully ready to go. A kiss or a touch of her hand on his would do the trick.

  “Did you do any thinking last night?” he asked.

  “If you want to know the truth, I barely slept last night, I was so busy thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “I’ve decided we can have a fling. Sex.” She kept talking, but honestly, he didn’t hear much after she said they could have sex. “One time to get it out of our systems.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than one time to get Valerie out of his system. He was thinking fifty years’ worth of sex, but at this point, he’d agree to almost anything to get closer to her. “One time?”

  She nodded. “Don’t look at me like that. I will be able to control myself and say good-bye. I have a lot going on at work.”

  There was something else she wasn’t telling him, he could see it on her face, but he let her have the illusion he’d let her go after one time together. He leaned over to plant a kiss on her lips then stood. “Keep telling yourself that, but you know the truth. Follow me home after dinner tonight.”

  She looked up with a seductive smile. “Yes, tonight I thought we’d go out for dinner first and then I’ll follow you home…”

  He shook his head. “That sounds like a date, and you made it clear this is nothing more than sex. I don’t want to give you a chance to chicken out.”

  “But I…” She bit her lip and glanced all over the room. Anywhere but at him.

  “If you want me, follow me home tonight.” He gently moved her out of the way and opened the door and headed upstairs to rejoin the crew. He didn’t look back to see if Valerie was following him. He had a feeling she’d need a minute to compose herself. He grinned widely. He wasn’t too insulted she claimed to only want him for his body; he’d take it for now. Valerie wasn’t a one-night stand kind of woman. He’d make the sex so meaningful for her, she’d come back for more.

  Valerie moved a spoon full of chili several times to her lips, but she barely tasted anything. The chili could be burning hot for all she knew, but it wasn’t registering. She couldn’t believe she’d told Jason she wanted a one-night stand. No, actually she could believe that part. She’d spent the better part of the night tossing and turning in her bed thinking about it. What she couldn’t believe was that he’d accepted her proposal so casually and expected her to follow him home tonight. In an hour! Wait, strike that. Of course he’d accepted her proposal. He probably had similar offers on a weekly basis. What was weird was that he hadn’t seemed thrilled about the one-night thing. He’d almost looked as if he were going to argue for more.

  More wasn’t possible. She had to get in and get out before getting emotionally involved. It had seemed like such a good idea this morning while she was dressing. She wanted to sleep with the man. His tattoos needed exploring. And so did his body. Every garment she’d donned had seduction in mind. Now that the moment was here, her weakened legs couldn’t hold
her up. Thank God for chairs.

  She sat toward the head of a long table on a metal folding chair. Jason sat near the opposite end with the rest of the squad between them. Everyone was digging into the chili and conversing easily. Even Jason looked comfortable, chatting busily with José. Every so often he looked across the table at her and caught her attention. When that happened, she shoveled another small spoonful of chili in her lips, and acted fascinated by whatever Dan, sitting on her right, was telling her.

  Mentally she went through a checklist. Under her casual outfit, she wore the lingerie of a Vegas showgirl, complete with garter and thigh-high black lacy stockings. She had a purse full of condoms, and she assumed Jason would have some at his apartment.

  Jason tossed her another heated glance across the table. One too many for her nerves. She dashed off to the bathroom. She locked herself in the stall and took a deep breath. Then several more. When she could stand without leaning against the wall, she flushed the toilet for good measure, not that she’d used it, and pushed her way out of the stall. After washing her hands, she returned to the table.

  As she approached the table, a light on the wall started flashing and bells started ringing. She froze uncertainly as nearly every person in the room jumped to attention, grabbing their plate and tossing it on the long laminate counter along one wall in economical motions. Within ten seconds, the room was clear, and in another minute, she heard the garage bay door opening and the siren of the ladder truck starting.

  She turned to the one person left in the room. “Wow, that was fast.”

  Jason leaned back in his chair and spooned up another bite of chili. “That’s our job.”

  “You don’t have to go?” She remained standing, almost swaying in place, still stunned by how quickly the occupants of the room had gone from sociable to strictly business.

  “I’m off duty. I only came in to attend the car wash.” He gestured to her bowl of chili still sitting on the end of the table. “You still hungry or you ready to go?”

  She glanced from the chili bowl to his face. He looked relaxed, as if he would’ve waited all night for her to finish the entire pot of chili. If he’d looked overly eager, she might have hesitated, but instead he calmed her nerves.

  She looked to the long kitchen counter now cluttered with dirty dishes. “What about that? Should we wash up?”

  “It’s not expected of us, but it would be really nice to do. It sucks coming back from a call to a room that needs to be cleaned. And we don’t have any rookie volunteers to take care of it.”

  “Then let’s at least put the chili in the fridge and rinse the dishes.”

  “Sure.” He rose, lifting his plate in one easy movement, and made his way to the sink. He scraped his remaining scraps and rinsed quickly. Val stepped up to the counter and started grabbing plates and scraping also.

  Jason’s forearms flexed and his hands brushed hers as she handed him a scraped plate for rinsing. They worked quickly and easily together. “Do you cook?” she asked Jason. He lowered the faucet handle and turned to her.

  “I can cook, and I’m pretty good at the grill, but you might have guessed that,” he said teasingly.

  Val smiled. “It’s the firefighter in you.” He returned the smile and she flushed, remembering that tonight she’d get to see all of him, in all his naked glory. The room suddenly felt smaller and hotter than it had five minutes ago. She knew her cheeks were as red as the powder spicing the chili.

  Jason wiped his hands on a tan dishrag hanging on a cabinet knob and held out his hands. “Come here.”

  She pursed her lips and looked at him. This was it. There was no going back. If she stepped into his arms, they’d kiss, and she’d be lost to passion if last night’s kiss was any indication. Summoning all her courage and desire for him, she stepped into his waiting arms and was pulled against his chest. They’d been sitting when they’d kissed last night, putting them at a more equal height. Standing close against him, she was dwarfed by his height and muscles. She liked it. He was a solid wall of protection against any bad force coming at her.

  She lifted her face and leaned up to kiss his lips. His hands lowered to cup her rear and assist her coming closer. Oh God, a flutter went through her belly, at the feel of every inch of her body pressed against his. She’d been kidding herself that this was going to be a one-time thing. She wanted him right here in the kitchen, and maybe on his cot, which she’d seen on her quick tour of the station. Oh, and maybe in the back of his truck. They could take a blanket from here and toss it in the bed of the truck.

  Jason pulled back a fraction and grinned down at her. “What’s going through that smart brain of yours right now?” he asked.

  She bit her lower lip. “I—I want you. Here.” She loved that she had the nerve to tell him. Now she needed to maintain the courage to act on it.

  He didn’t wait any longer, and turned them so the counter pressed into her spine. He grasped her hips and lifted her on the counter and nudged his way between her thighs. “Mmm,” she moaned as his lips found hers again. Her jeans had lowered and revealed a dainty glimpse of black silk. She didn’t care; she was desperate to feel all of him.

  She was lost to everything by her desire and the feel of his tongue on hers and his stubble-roughened cheeks under her fingertips. His palms found her breasts over her tank top and she arched into him, knowing her nipples were hard beads against the fabric of her bra.

  She scooted forward on the counter and hooked her ankles at his back. For one glorious moment, he was pressed intimately against the spot she wanted him most. Then suddenly he was gone.

  Jason stepped back and she was left clinging to air, and her heels hit the lower cabinet.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We can’t do this,” he said.

  Her mouth opened, but she was at a loss for words.

  He stepped closer and cupped her cheek in his large hand. “Here. I meant we can’t do this here.”

  Relief swamped her as his meaning penetrated. He helped her jump down from the counter as he explained. “I nearly lost my job over one inappropriate picture. If I were to get caught having sex with you here, it would be bad. I can’t take the risk.”

  She squeezed his hand, letting him know she understood and respected his judgment, shocking though it was. She was impressed he had any judgment left during their kiss. Hers had taken a bus to La La Land some minutes before. She was grateful he’d pulled back. Getting caught having sex with one of the firefighters could get back to her boss and wouldn’t do any favors for her career either.

  “Should we go back to your house?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Let me grab my things.” She followed him back to the large dorm-like room lined with cots and lockers. She sat on his bed while he gathered up his belongings. The wool of the blanket was scratchy under her palms, but it still didn’t stop her from imagining lying back on the bed and having him join her.

  “Valerie, stop.”

  She looked up, startled to see Jason holding his backpack over a shoulder and frowning down at her. His hips were at her eye level, and it was easy to see he was aroused. “Stop imagining things,” he said. “If you keep looking at the bed like that, I’m going to lose what little rationality I have left and take you right there.”

  A moan escaped her. She couldn’t help it.

  “Shit,” Jason muttered, and grabbed her hand, yanking her to standing. He planted a hard, fast kiss on her lips then pulled away. “Let’s go. How fast can you drive?”

  She never sped; deemed it too risky. Tonight she was going to NASCAR it back to Jason’s apartment. “Fast. Let’s go.”

  They practically raced down the stairs and out of the fire station. In the small parking lot, he grabbed her for another kiss before gently pushing her toward her car. He backed out of his spot first and she quickly followed. Her heart pounded the whole drive to his apartment. Luckily, he lived only a ten-minute drive away from the station, or she may have lost he
r nerve.

  She pushed all rational thoughts out of her head. At a red light, she retouched her lipstick, hoping it’d get rubbed off during wild monkey sex. At least she hoped it would be wild monkey sex.

  Soon they pulled up in front of a tall modern apartment building. She was interested to see it was one of the newer places in northern Virginia. During the real estate boom, tons of these buildings had been erected with great amenities such as gyms, swimming pools, and lounges. Part of her was surprised he lived here. She would’ve placed him in one of the older two-story brick garden-style apartments that dotted the landscape in this area.

  Once they turned into the driveway of the building, he lowered his window and pointed toward the left. A clear sign marking Visitor Parking stood out. She pulled into the last open spot then got out of her car, unsure where to go next. Jason was waiting for her still in his truck. She walked over and got in the passenger side.

  “My parking space is underground,” he said and started driving toward the building’s resident parking.

  She glanced out the window at her car. “How long can I park there?”

  “All night.” He shot her a smile. The words shouldn’t have sounded so sexy, but the idea of staying with him all night had her shifting in her seat and smothering a smile. She hugged her large purse on her lap and tried to project an outward coolness.

  Maybe Jason brought women to his apartment frequently to spend the night, but this was a milestone for her. He was the first man she’d sleep with since college; the first man she’d trust with her body since Andy.

  Jason deftly pulled his overly large pickup into the underground garage and drove through the tight maze of parking until he reached spot number 72. From there it was a quick elevator ride up to his eighth-story apartment.

  She looked around curiously after he turned the key in the lock and swung the door open. He obviously rented since the walls and carpet were the typical neutral shades of white and beige. Everything else looked like IKEA had come through and turned the place into one of their mini showrooms. It was all color coordinated and cleanly modern. He didn’t have a dining room table. Instead the small kitchen opened onto the living room and one counter served as an eating area.