DALLAS

by Kate Tilney

  But my high school self is kind of dying to see what Dallas will be like on a date.

  “One date.” I take his phone when he offers it, and I punch my number into the contacts. “And after that, we’re done.”

  I just have to make sure I hold up my end of this plan.

  Dallas

  Shane, one of my best friends shakes his head at me as we scrub our boots. “Dating the chief’s daughter. No wonder Lexi wouldn’t give the rest of us the time of day at the party.”

  “Technically she’s no longer the boss’s daughter,” says Conrad, another one of our buddies, from the other side of the bench.

  “No offense to you, Dallas, but Conners will always be the chief.”

  “No offense taken.”

  And I mean that. It still feels weird to have his office with my name on the door. To have to tell my friends they need to stop gossiping and get to work.

  “Where are you taking her?” Conrad asks.

  “That Italian place on Main.”

  Shane lets out a low whistle. “I guess people are right when they say a promotion can change a man. You’re getting fancy on us. You realize you have to wear a tie at the place.”

  I grunt in response. While suits and ties aren’t usually my style, I’m not about to screw up this date. If Shane knew I only had one shot, maybe he would quit busting my balls about this.

  As it goes, I don’t plan on screwing this up. I made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town. I thought about taking her somewhere in San Diego. But that’s a forty-five minute drive. I don’t want to freak her out on the first date.

  So, we’ll eat in town. I took my truck through the car wash. I have a bottle of Lexi’s favorite wine chilling in my fridge in case things go well.

  And any minute now, a bouquet of flowers will be delivered to the pet supply store where she’s working.

  I hope it’s enough. I’ve never really had to do much to get a woman to date me. I’m kind of in uncharted territory here.

  Lexi says it’s not personal, that she just doesn’t date firefighters. But there has to be more to it than that. There has to be a reason she’s trying to ignore the magnet that’s pulling us together.

  My phone buzzes with a new text message. I reach for it and grin at Lexi’s name on the display.

  I open the message. There’s a picture of the flowers.

  You really shouldn’t have.

  Sure I should have. You’re worth it.

  Let’s see if you still think that tomorrow night.

  I nearly type that I’ll still be thinking that a hundred years from now, but hold back. If driving her to San Diego might make her nervous, that will send her running for the hills. Still, remembering the way her body responded to mine, I have no doubts it’s the truth.

  If I do my job, you’ll see I’m right.

  I hope you aren’t going to too much trouble.

  So I should cancel the plane tickets to Paris?

  Depends. Are we going to Paris, France or Texas?

  “Look at that grin.” Conrad makes kissy faces. “Someone’s got it bad.”

  “Shut up.” I glare at him, but he’s not wrong.

  “It’s about time you made a move on Lexi,” Shane says. “You’ve been stuck on her for years.”

  “You’re one to talk.” Conrad elbows him. “You’re the one who has basically been screwing his way through town to get over his ex.”

  Shane elbows him back—harder.

  “Now boys. Am I going to have to separate you two?”

  Shane grumbles and goes back to working on his boots. Conrad just smirks. I have a feeling I’ll spend most of my time keeping these two from getting into a fistfight.

  My phone buzzes with another new message, asking how my day’s going. I break into a fresh grin.

  “You’re a goner.” Shane shakes his head. “Just remember to use protection.”

  Conrad throws an elbow at him again, but this time I let it slide. Shane had it coming. Besides, I’m too busy typing in a response to play babysitter right now.

  Chapter Three

  Lexi

  My mom barely bats an eye when Dallas picks me up for our date. Opening the door, she invites him inside.

  “Don’t you look sharp?”

  He looks better than sharp. With a fitted suit, tie, and aviators, he looks like Mr. July in next year’s calendar. It’s all I can do not to grab his hand, pull him into my bedroom, and break my rule about getting serious with a firefighter.

  And wouldn’t that give Mom something to think about?

  Dallas pulls off his sunglasses in a move too cool to be practiced. He gives me a full-bodied once over, and I can practically feel his gaze on every inch of me.

  His lips curve up. “Darlin’, you’re gorgeous.”

  My cheeks flush. I won’t admit I spent the better part of an hour trying on countless outfits before I settled on this dress. It’s more form fitting than I usually go. Based on the way Dallas is looking at me like I’m a present he’d like to unwrap, I’m glad I took the risk.

  Which, on second thought, maybe isn’t the approach I should be taking tonight. I’m supposed to be proving that this will be a one-time deal. Even though my body is screaming for him.

  “Ready?”

  Dallas reaches out for my hand. His fingers envelope mine, and heat radiates from his body. He only lets go after he helps me into the truck.

  Suddenly nervous, I smooth out nonexistent wrinkles on my skirt.

  Dallas clears his throat. “Nice weather we’ve been having.”

  “Very nice. We could use a little rain.”

  “Yeah.”

  I don’t know if we really need the rain, but that’s the sort of thing people always say. Plus, in Southern California, we almost always need the rain.

  We fall silent, and where there was once heat, there’s tension. Then, Dallas swears under his breath slicing through it.

  He gives a short laugh. “Can I be honest?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m nervous as hell. I don’t know why, but I am.”

  His confession makes me grin. “I am too.”

  “It’s weird, isn’t it? We’ve talked to each other how many times in our lives?”

  “A lot.”

  But this is different. He takes my hand in his again, and the tension immediately leaves my shoulders.

  We fall into easy conversation for the rest of our drive. We talk about favorite movies and TV shows and discover we both binged the same show on Netflix last weekend. I’m feeling more like tonight might go okay until we pull up to the restaurant and find a fire engine parked out front with its lights blazing.

  My breath catches in my throat.

  “What the . . .” Dallas slows his truck down. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it. “I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

  I nod and watch as he jogs across the street. He walks up to one of the guys—I think it’s Shane. They talk for a few minutes. I can’t see Dallas’s face. By the rigid set of his shoulders, I can tell he isn’t pleased by what he’s hearing. I arch my neck to see if there’s any smoke or flames coming out of the building, but I don’t see any.

  A couple minutes later, he slides back into his seat.

  “Sprinkler malfunction.” He shakes his head. “They’ll be closed at least a week for repairs.”

  “That’s okay.”

  Giving a grunt of frustration, he pounds the steering wheel with his fist. I flinch and he darts an apologetic look my way. “Sorry, I just hoped tonight would go better than this.”

  He looks so dejected, my heart twists.

  “We can go somewhere else.”

  “We’ll probably have to wait an hour for a table.”

  “True.” I purse my lips. “Or we could go to one of my favorite places. There’s never a wait there.”

  His brows knit together. “Where is it?”

  I give him the stre
et directions, and a slow grin spreads across his lips. “That’s your favorite restaurant?”

  I fold my arms across my chest as if to say “yeah, what of it?” if he makes fun of me.

  Instead, his smile grows brighter. He looks almost boyish. My heart pitter patters like I’m back in high school staring at the guy she’s crushing on hard.

  “It’s one of my favorite places too.”

  And that’s when I know I’m in real danger of wanting this date to last forever.

  Dallas

  I join Lexi at a picnic table and hand her a brown paper bag. When she suggested we stop by the best burger stand in town, I almost went into shock. Other women I’ve dated would’ve insisted I pull some strings to get us in somewhere fancy. Or at least somewhere that would look trendy or impressive on their Instagram feed.

  Not my Lexi.

  “Did you get extra ketchup?”

  I dig into my suit jacket and produce a fist-full of packets.

  “Oh my God, you are the best.” She reaches for them as she unwraps the double bacon cheeseburger she ordered.

  Grinning, unwrap my mushroom Swiss burger and take a bite. I close my eyes savoring the mix of flavors. When I open them, I meet Lexi’s gaze and she beams at me. My heart hitches. This might not be the evening I had planned, but there’s still hope it can be romantic and memorable.

  I reach for the french fries and offer her one before I grab a couple.

  “So, Lexi, now that it’s just you and me, I’ve always been curious.”

  She arches an eyebrow. “Uh oh. Are we about to get personal?”

  “Deeply personal.” I wink at her and am pleased when she flushes. I love that I have that effect on her. I lean forward. “When did you know you wanted to be a vet?”

  She blinks at me in confusion, and I hide my grin by taking another bite of my burger.

  Finally seeming to recover, Lexi chews on her lip a moment. My dick instantly responds. What I wouldn’t give to lean across the table and bite that lip myself.

  I can feel myself leaning forward when I hear someone approach our table. I look up into the amused face of Chief Conners.

  Lexi’s face flushes again. “Dad. What are you doing here?”

  “Your mom sent me out for dinner.” He holds up his own bag of takeout. “Didn’t expect to find you kids here.”

  Shit. Is this one of those things where I should have asked his permission? Not that I need it. Lexi is a grown woman. And I’m my own man. We can do whatever the hell we want. Still, Chief Conners has been like a father to me through the years. I probably should have given him a heads up about my intentions toward his daughter.

  Or at least some of them. I probably shouldn’t tell him about how I’d liked to bend her over the desk of my office and make her mine.

  “We had reservations at La Caniglia’s. But they had a sprinkler problem.”

  He pulls a face. “I told them they should replace them on my last inspection.”

  “Guess they learned the hard way.”

  He nods. He darts another look at Lexi, who is staring at her burger like she expects it to moo any second.

  “Well, I suppose I’ll leave you to it.” He gives me a hard look. “Be good.”

  Once he’s gone, Lexi lets out a breath.

  “Okay, that was even more awkward than the drive here.”

  “Hey, I thought we had ourselves a nice talk.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “You know what I mean.”

  Then, she pops up french fry in her mouth, leaving a bit of ketchup on it.

  “Hey, you have . . .” I cut myself off short.

  Instead of telling her, I’ll show her. I reach across the table and swipe my thumb across her lower lip. Her mouth parts and her tongue swipes across my finger. Her lips close around it and she sucks.

  “Mmm.” She vibrates around my thumb.

  My cock gets even harder. Damn, I’ve got to see if she tastes as good as I remember. I cup her cheek and lean forward. My mouth is almost to hers when my phone rings.

  I swear under my breath. It’s the special ringtone I have set for the station. Pulling back, I reach into my pocket and answer it gruffly.

  “What?”

  It’s Owen, my second in command. “Sir, there’s a bit of an incident here at the station. I know it’s your night off, but do you think you could stop in?”

  I sigh and meet Lexi’s gaze across the table. Her lips are still slightly parted. Much as I’d like to tell Owen to go to hell, I know my duty.

  So much for the perfect date night.

  “I’ll be right there.” I hang up the phone and take Lexi’s hand. “I hate to say it, but it sounds like we need to take this picnic on the road.”

  Disappointment flashes in those light eyes, but she nods.

  I’ll make this up to her. Just as soon as I knock some skulls at the station.

  Chapter Four

  Lexi

  Not gonna lie, I was disappointed when Dallas said we had to run to the station. Disappointed and aroused.

  Look, I know I can’t get involved with a firefighter long-term. But would there be any harm in a short-term fling. Because after seeing the way Dallas has control of the situation—and the entire station—within minutes of walking through the door, I want him to use that same control with me. In bed.

  Apparently two of the firefighters—Shane and Conrad, if I heard right—got into a little spat. My dad says the two of them fight like teenagers, and act like it too. It seems Dallas has inherited that problem for himself.

  And he knows just what to do. I bet he’d know just what to do with me too.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to date him. Casually of course. We could enjoy each other for a few weeks. And I have zero doubt we’d enjoy ourselves. Then, when I go to school next month, we can part ways.

  No hearts broken. No harm done. I’ll have taken care of the itch that has been Dallas Black while slightly bending my rules.

  When he steps into his office, tugging at his tie, his muscles bulging through his suit jacket, I know I need to stop thinking about this. I just need to act.

  Catching my gaze, his hand drops to his side. “So much for a night out that’ll blow your mind.”

  If he only knew just what was going through my mind. It’s time to live out one of my biggest fantasies.

  Rising to my feet, I trail a hand down his shoulder. Glancing out the door, I see the coast is clear.

  “How about you pour us a little nightcap.”

  He strokes my cheek before going to his desk to retrieve the bottle of whiskey. While he sits down to pour us each a glass, I pull the blinds on the window and shut the door. He glances up in time to see me lock it.

  His eyes lower to my hips as I saunter across the room. I take one of the glasses and sip.

  “Not a bad bottle.”

  “Not at all.” He swallows hard as I set my glass aside and remove his tie. I toss it over my head. “What’s going on?”

  “I think we’ve talked enough for tonight.”

  I slide my hands up his thighs toward his belt buckle. He grabs my hands.

  He opens his mouth and I raise an eyebrow at him. “What did I just say?”

  His eyes darken with arousal. His lips are still parted, but he doesn’t speak.

  “That’s better.”

  I lower myself between his knees. I shake my hands loose and reach for the buckle of his pants again. This time, he doesn’t stop me. I undo the buckle and the button. I inch the zipper down and reach in for his cock.

  Wrapping my hands around its hard length, I lick my lips. I spare a glance at his face again and find he’s watching me through lowered lids. I pump my hand up and down his shaft before using my tongue on him. His thighs stiffen and I grin as I take him into my mouth.

  He lets out a low hiss through his teeth, and his hands tangle in my hair. I trace the tip of his cock, tasting his saltiness. I give a low hum in appreciation before I take m
ore and more of him into my mouth.

  My head bobs up and down as I use my fingers and tongues to pleasure him. His groans urge me on, making me hungrier for him, and for this.

  As I imagine his seed pouring into my mouth, he suddenly pulls my head back. Gazing down at me through parted lips, he says, “That’s enough. It’s your turn for a nightcap.”

  Dallas

  Though it’s torture to ease myself out of her sweet mouth, I don’t want to come in it. Not this time.

  As I pull her up and into my lap, my tongue tangles with hers in a hot, wet kiss. My hands rove up and down the dress that molds her skin so tight, it should be illegal. I ease it up over her hips the way I’ve imagined peeling it off of her all night. My fingers caress her warm skin, siding under her panties until I find her.

  She gives a whimper as my thumb traces her seam. She’s already so wet for me. From tasting me. And now it’s my turn to taste hers.

  Pulling back abruptly, I lift her to my desk and removed her sinfully high heels. I pull the dress over her head and toss it aside. She’s staring at me with so much heat, I have to give her another kiss, just to let her know how much I appreciate that.

  “I’m gonna make you want to scream.”

  She stiffens then and eyes the door in alarm. I chuckle as I unhook her bra and toss it next to her dress on the floor.

  “I didn’t say you should scream. Just that I was going to make you want to.”

  As she grips onto the edge of the desk, I slip her satin panties down her hips. I position myself between her thighs, tracing her slit with my tongue.

  She gasps.

  “Easy now, darlin’. Unless you want everyone to come running.”

  Then I part her and take my first taste. She’s even sweeter than I dreamed. I find her clit and circle it with my tongue as I slide a finger inside of her followed by another.

  As I work my magic, her breathing grows more graphic. One of her hands moves to the back of my neck as she lets out little gasps. It’s so hot, I nearly come myself when she goes over the edge, her body shaking with her orgasm.