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Authors: M.S. Willis

Fireman Edition (4 page)

BOOK: Fireman Edition
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“Sex?” His face was a neon shade of red, his veins on the side of his face pulsating with every beat of his pissed off heart. “You’re having sex with these guys? Jane, no. That’s it. March right back into your room and take off that dress. There is no way, as your best friend, that I’m allowing you to go sleeping around with a bunch of men you met on the internet. No. Absolutely not.”

His shoulder length black hair was tied back in a cue, the tips of it brushing his broad shoulders as he moved. Between one second and the next he was sitting in his overstuffed, doodoo-brown chair and forcefully walking me back to my room with his oversized hand wrapped securely around the back of my neck.

“Ouch!”

“Well, that’s what you get for being an idiot. If you’re not going to watch out for yourself, then I’m going to have to step up and stop you.”

Twisting around like an itchy meth addict, I attempted to break his hold. “Let me go, Rich. I’m a grown woman. I’m allowed to go out on a date if I want and I’m allowed to have sex if I want. Unless you have documents giving you rights and ownership over my vagina, you have no say in what I do with it.”

His hand opened and I was dumped unceremoniously to the floor. “Fine. Do what you want, but don’t call me when you’ve been stabbed and left bleeding in a dark alley. I’m not waking up to come help you.”

“You know, they have books about those guys too.” Peeling myself from the floor, I balanced back on the stilts I was wearing and brushed down my dress. “I saw it online. A bunch of authors have recently been writing romances about serial killers and sociopaths. Apparently killing and torture is in. I might have to change my personal ad to include one of those guys.”

“You’re not serious. Tell me, you’re not serious.” His eyes burned into mine, fury dancing behind the blue color.

I laughed. “Well, of course, I’m not serious. I’m not intentionally dating a murderer.” Walking towards the front door, I gathered my keys and purse. Once I’d pulled the door open, I stopped and added, “Besides, I don’t have the money to buy one of those books right now in order to learn how to date a murderer. Maybe I’ll reconsider once I get my hands on one.”

The door clicked closed behind me and I strutted down the hall and laughed knowing that Rich was staring holes into the door after what I’d said.

 

. . .

 

My ankles were killing me already and I’d just arrived to my destination. After giving my number to Mark, he’d texted me and told me to wait for him outside the restaurant and that I would know it was him by the red rose he carried. Already, this date was turning into a fairy tale and my nerves were buzzing with anticipation.

My book was safely tucked away in my bag, as I glanced at every man that passed me. None had the red rose that gave away the identity of my date. Five minutes passed, then five more.

Where the hell was he?

Pacing would look awkward, but so did standing out in front of a restaurant with heels that were way too high and a dress that was trying to blow away with every soft gust of wind. Already, I’d flashed three couples and a little old man walking his chihuahua down the sidewalk. The couples didn’t seem to notice, but I swear the old man almost had a coronary when he saw my bottom displayed like a full moon on a cloudless night.

“Jane?”

A deep voice with a smooth Southern cadence sounded behind me. I spun on my heels to meet the man who might sweep my off my feet.

Unfortunately, my heels beat him to the punch.

Crashing to the ground like a sack of well-dressed potatoes, I damn near broke the concrete under my full and ample figure. My face must have been as red as my dress when my purse bust open and my book went flying only to land on the elderly man’s Chihuahua with a hearty yelp from the dog. At least, I think you can refer to that oversized rat as a dog.

“Are you okay?”

Reaching down, the man I assumed was Mark smiled kindly, lifted me off the ground and steadied me on my feet. In a rush to assist, he moved to gather my purse and the contents that were now strewn across the sidewalk. Once
Flirting with a Fireman
was in his hands, he looked at me and smiled.

“I take it I’m the fireman you’ll be flirting with this evening.”

His smile could have brightened the sky if the stars and moon weren’t already doing it for him. With messy brown hair that framed his strong jaw and green eyes that emitted their own light, this man was the epitome of handsome. He wore a dark blue button up shirt and black slacks, the broadness of his shoulders tugging at the material and narrowing down to a slim waist. My thoughts were instantly on the cover models of my books and I swallowed hard in order to not drool at the sight of him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. And,” I laughed nervously, “you’ve caught me.” Holding up my hands in mock surrender, I resisted the urge to run my palms over his chest.

“Does the book have anything to do with your personal ad, by chance?”

Wrenching it from his grip, I shoved the offending piece of literature in my purse and nodded my head towards the front doors of the restaurant. “Uh, yeah. Can we talk about it inside, though? It’s cold out here and the wind is about to leave me buck naked in the middle of the sidewalk with the way my dress is blowing.”

Dimples popped out on his cheeks when he said, “I won’t have a problem with that. You look beautiful.”

My smile hurt when it stretched from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe it. The books weren’t lying. This guy was quickly becoming the Prince Charming to my Snow White.

With his hand firmly pressed against the small of my back, he led me inside the Italian restaurant he’d chosen. The ambiance was romantic with candlelight flickering from the tables and string lights twinkling above our heads. In the back of the dining room was a fireplace that was bigger than me and I wondered how they could fit a table so close to it without the hair on the diners’ heads singeing off.

Mark pulled out a chair as I grabbed the one beside him to sit down. His lip twitched with humor when he stared down at me.

“What?” I asked as I arranged myself in the seat.

“I was holding out this chair for you.”

My eyes widened into full circles. “Oh!” I felt dumb. Of course, he was holding out my chair. That’s what Stephan did in the book. How did I not remember that?

Standing up quickly, I attempted to make up for my error, but moved so fast I didn’t realize Mark had decided to sit down in the seat himself. My hip hit his abdomen, knocking him back and me off balance. Tipping over like the Tower of Pisa in an earthquake, my hands flew out in search of anything that would break my fall.

Unfortunately, what they found was the crisp, white tablecloth. Wine glasses, silverware and the candles went flying, shattering against the ground and splashing hot wax across my cleavage like a peeling sunburn.

After the chorus of shattering glass stopped ringing and the shocked gasps cleared the air, I opened my eyes to see Mark staring down at me. His lips were curled oddly, his cheeks pink as his chest shook back and forth with laughter he was attempting to keep inside.

Reaching down, he finally lost his ability to remain silent on the issue of my klutz-tastic table manners.

I was, once again, set back on my feet, his hands reaching out to pull the wax from my skin. Slapping at his hands, I said, “Whoa, there. Thank you for helping me and all, but I’ll be the one to peel off the evidence.”

Thankfully, he laughed and once things were set back to right, he pulled out the chair.

This time, I took it.

 

Chapter Five

Drinks and dinner were set out in front of us, the type of buffet style dining where three selections were brought to the table to share. I’d taken a healthy portion of the lasagna and balanced it off with a small side salad and a bowl full of spaghetti.

Because, let’s face it, the more food in my mouth, the better. I had a bad habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and chewing was a good excuse for saying nothing.

“So, tell me, Jane. What made you place that ad online? I have to admit I laughed my butt off when I first read it. In fact, I had to read it over again a few times to make sure you’d really included a vampire and an abductor in the list.” Sharp green eyes twinkled in my direction and I felt like pinching myself to see if this was even real.

I chewed quickly, washing the pasta down with what little bit of wine was left in my glass. “Well, I’ve never been a good dater, as you’ve probably been able to tell since we started this date. I decided that, maybe, I was going about it the wrong way. I work in a used bookstore and I’m constantly seeing those romance books on the shelves and I thought that there was something to them that I was missing in real life. I mean, the last time I was on a date, I ended up with my foot in a toilet and I drunk man crying because he couldn’t get it up.”

His green eyes rounded before narrowing with confusion. “What?”

It probably wasn’t the best story to tell for the getting-to-know-you phase of this date. “What I mean to say is that I’m not very good at romance. In fact, I suck at it.”

A kind smiled pulled across his face, revealing teeth as white as you see in the commercials. Words came out of his mouth, but I wasn’t paying attention to them, choosing instead to lose myself to the magic of his dimpled cheeks. With a light dusting of scruff, the man sure knew how to pull off a casual date look that was sexy as all hell, but also charming. It was like the boy next door had hooked up with a Calvin Klein underwear model and created a love child.

“Jane?”

“Huh?” I startled to hear my name and realized that I hadn’t heard a single word Mark had said.

“Sorry. I was admiring your…well…”

He laughed and those dimples popped out again, making it next to impossible to pay attention.

“Listen.” He took my hand from across the table. I imagined this was the moment in
Flirting with the Fireman
where Stephan asked Mina to go home with him. It was the most romantic part of the book; a love story that was set against the background of impossible odds. And it all occurred in chapter one. If Mina could have love within only a few pages, then so could I. The newest psychological revolution of Attention Deficit Disorder had finally taken hold and I hoped that real life, in this instance at least, would actually imitate art.

“I want to help you out. But I’m really concerned about the fact that you would consider dating a man involved in human trafficking. What will you do if you’re abducted?”

Shrugging my shoulder, I sighed with disappointment. Mark only seemed interested in the mental stability of a woman willing to date a captor. Since honesty was always the best policy, I had a go at it. “I’m not sure. I haven’t read the book yet. I assume he’ll let me go if things don’t work out.”

“They don’t let you go, Jane.”

My eyes widened with my shock. “You’ve read
Captivated by my Captor
?”

“No.” He grinned. “I watch the news. Real life doesn’t happen the way you see it on television or in romance novels. That’s fiction.”

“But you happened,” I pointed out.

Another genial grin and those damned dimples appeared just begging for me to lean over and lick them.

“Yes, I happened. But, I’m also a tragic and horrible dater. Which is why I was looking through the personal ads. The spill you took in the dining room earlier? I’ve done worse. Quite honestly, your ad was funny. I’d never seen anything like it. I wanted to meet the girl who was willing to post an ad asking for fourteen different, and specific, types of men.”

With a stuttering heart, I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. Mark was a sweet guy. There was no way in hell he was horrible at dating. I was on a date with him and there was nothing horrible about it. “But you said you were divorced. Which meant, at some point, you were married. How can you possibly be a bad dater?” Holding my hands up, I apologized. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

Sitting back, he released my hand to cross his arms over his chest.

Jerk, I thought. He only did that to make his biceps bulge and attract my attention.

“It’s okay. My ex and I just didn’t work out. She had dreams of being rescued by a sexy fireman…”

Nice pat on the back there, buddy!

“…and what she got was the reality that I’m at the station three days out of every five. Sandra was a socialite. She wanted to take me around and show me off. I have no idea why. When it comes to parties and a social life, I’m about as useful as using a spoon to eat spaghetti.”

I looked at him funny for the analogy. Pointing at the table, he said, “Go ahead. Try it.”

Visions of red sauce flying everywhere as noodles dripped from the sides of my utensil filled my mind. “That’s all right. I trust you. I’m definitely a fork kind of girl when it comes to pasta.”

The likelihood of fire engine sex began to vanish as he continued talking. The poor guy had it rough with a wife who didn’t understand the demands of his career. Now that he was laying it all out for me, I didn’t understand how Stephan always had so much time for Mina. Not once in the book did it mention him being away for three whole days.

“…So Sandra decided she needed a guy who was more available to her and I understood that. We’d grown apart anyway. The only problem was that I was suddenly dumped back out into the dating field and I had no idea what to do. My buddies tried to set me up a few times, but each date ended in disaster.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

He laughed. “Because each girl I dated was expecting sex on top of a fire truck. I have no idea where they got the idea that something like that was even an option.”

Dammit Stephan!

Laughing nervously, I twirled a bit of hair around my finger and then quit when I realized I looked like a pre-teen on crack.

“So sex on top of the truck is out?”

The question deserved to be asked, right?

Mischief glinted in his eyes. “I would get in tons of trouble if I was caught. I’ve heard of guys doing it, but I’ve never been brave enough to try. Plus, you don’t look like the type of girl who would have sex with a guy on the first date. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sandra and I had sex on the first date and we ended up married.”

BOOK: Fireman Edition
13.93Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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