Five Alarm Alphas

by Leah Braemel, Lexxie Couper, Delilah Devlin, Marie Harte, Desiree Holt, Lissa Matthews, Cari Quinn, Shelli Stevens

  Flirting was something she didn’t usually catch on about until it was too late. She just didn’t think like that about men much anymore. She’d spent enough time the last few years building a life for herself as a divorcee that flirting and dating had dropped off her radar. But it didn’t hurt her ego to have someone who looked like Josh come on to her, intentional or not.

  “Wow.”

  He’d admonished her to keep her front door shut and locked, that he’d been afraid someone had slipped inside before he got there. She hadn’t even realized the door was never closed all the way after all the firemen and her neighbor left earlier. It had been her second dumbass move of the day and she was ready to be done with the embarrassment, especially given the tender way he’d reminded her of his invitation to a cookout. It was almost as though he genuinely cared about her well being and it reminded just how long it had been since a man had.

  Then again, there was the hotter than hot paramedic who’d given her oxygen and taken her vitals and held her hand while it shook uncontrollably as she watched firemen run in and out of her house.

  Jay. That’s what he’d told her when he introduced himself. He was blonde with beautiful, bright blue-green eyes and a deep golden tan. His voice had been smooth and warm as caramel and she’d wanted to close herself off from everything but the soothing sound. She could have listened to Josh much the same way.

  Both men, good looking and out of their way nice, touched things inside her she had almost forgotten were there. She used to have a healthy sex drive and her marriage had been a good and solid one, or so she thought. After finding out that things weren’t as great as she’d believed, she had buried herself in figuring out what would make her happy for herself and on her own.

  But now, given the two men she’d met on the second worst day of her adult life, who had made her smile and laugh in the midst of it all, made her wonder if she’d made the right choices in hiding those physical and sexual desires from not only herself but from others too.

  Her ex’s painful words still rang in the back of her mind every time she saw a man she thought was handsome, every time she looked at herself in the mirror before going out at night, every time she thought about pleasure.

  And then, standing there at the end of her driveway, she shook her head out of the clouds. “Oh no, Jessica Lynn,” she scolded. “We’re not going down that road. Not today.” With one last look down the street, she pivoted on her heel and walked inside the house, shutting the door firmly behind her and flipping the lock.

  Her false bravado didn’t last longer than it took for her take a deep breath. The stench from her burnt kitchen hit her dead in the face and she scowled. One by one, she opened the windows along the front of the house. The ones along the back were already open as were the French doors leading out to the patio. Nothing yet had put a dent in the nauseating aroma.

  One look around the charred walls, the ruined oven, and adjacent cabinets made her want to cry. There was melted plastic, burnt wood, and the beautiful floor was damaged in so many places from the water used to put out the flames.

  She’d started to extinguish the fire herself and might have been able to contain it to the oven and stove had her neighbor not dragged her outside, saying she’d already called 911 when she smelled smoke from the front door where Jess had left her.

  Wilma meant well and Jess knew she should go next door and let the older woman know that Jess wasn’t mad at her. The fault was ultimately Jess’ for not remembering the pizza box.

  Her newly renovated kitchen was gone. And she wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do now. She made part of her living out of her kitchen. It was her safe haven, her escape, her comfort zone. It had been redesigned exactly how she’d wanted it and she’d scraped and scratched and put in a lot of sweat and blood into the changes right along with the contractors she’d hired.

  She didn’t have the money to do it again.

  She sighed and swore she wouldn’t cry. Josh had been right. She didn’t need to be in her own house. Not for a few days. Not until she could figure out exactly what she needed to do and how she was going to do it. She had other work, other jobs. But she needed a kitchen as well. And a plan. And probably some help.

  “And some fun,” she told herself. A night away from it all because everything she’d been working toward had literally gone up in smoke.

  The piece of paper in her hand with a telephone number and an address for a house just a few streets over beckoned. Did she dare? She didn’t know Josh or his brother. He’d said he had one and that they’d both be home. Was his brother young like Josh? Not that it would really matter in the end, but she’d never hung out in a casual setting with younger guys, or girls for that matter. She and her ex had been the same age, as had all their friends. Would she and Josh and his brother have anything to talk about?

  Away from her fire hazard of a kitchen, she wasn’t too terribly boring and wasn’t all about food, was she? It was how she made her living, yes, but there were other things that she could talk about, other things she liked. Weren’t there?

  After a few minutes, she groaned and stomped her foot in frustration. God, she had nothing to offer in the way of conversation. She had become her job and her job had become her. Could Josh overlook that? Maybe just feed her and send her on her way?

  He was probably the life of the party. He worked in a high stress, adrenaline filled job and liked to blow off a little steam. Jess was sure there were stories he could tell, things he could say to fill in the awkward silence left by her. He’d been uncommonly kind to a stranger and she wasn’t so cynical yet that she couldn’t recognize and appreciate it. He’d invited her over for dinner, something he didn’t have to do, and she was going to take him up on it.

  It wouldn’t hurt to look at him for a while either. She was still a woman and a woman who’d had little to no flirting or fun or sex with a man in a long time. Too long. And ignoring or turning down the opportunity to spend time in the company of a gorgeous, wild young man was something she just couldn’t do. She could give herself a couple hours for one night to forget all her goals and her jobs and her responsibilities and just be a woman.

  It wasn’t a date, but it was close. Right?

  First, though, there was a blog post she had to write. A short one. No explanation, just a note, a little white lie about failed recipes or some such nonsense until she could bring herself to tell her readers exactly what had happened in her kitchen and that the failure wasn’t a recipe, but one of sheer common sense and safety precautions.

  Yeah, she was a certified expert in those areas now.

  Her laptop sat in a small nook that she used for her home office, on the far side of the kitchen. She’d had it added and built in during the renovation and it was one area that was untouched by the fire.

  Looking around the room, she wanted desperately to see something that could be positive about all the mess and destruction. She wanted to find something that she could use and hold on to as a ray of hope, that things weren’t as bad as they appeared at first glance.

  She’d bounced back from so much over the last couple of years and she could do the same with her current situation if she could only find the silver lining in it.

  But the only lining that was speaking to her at the present time was the one in her stomach telling her that despite everything else, it was hungry. That part of her never seemed to change and food, for good or ill, was a comfort and a balm sometimes. And through her job, she had some great contacts in the restaurants of the city and could get a table anywhere she wanted.

  Grabbing her computer and her purse, along with her keys and her cell phone, she headed out. Maybe it would help to smell the fresh air, see and talk to people. Maybe she could get some new ideas being out among the crowd she was comfortable around.

  She stopped in front of the mirror in her hallway and was horrified at her reflection. “Maybe you should take a shower first and get the black smudges off your face and
ash out of your hair first,” she told herself. “You know, before you scare people into thinking the whole house burned down.”

  * * * * * *

  “You invited her? Here? Tonight?”

  Josh’s brow furrowed as he glanced at his brother. “Yeah. Is that all right with you?”

  “Of course, just didn’t think you’d have the guts to ask her out.”

  The casual bird he flipped only made Jay laugh. “I didn’t ask her out. I invited her over to get her out of her house and to have dinner with us.” Josh realized how defensive his answer sounded and it was confirmed when Jay lifted a brow in disbelief. “Shit. She just looked sad and defeated and I thought she could use some friends to take her mind off things for a while.”

  “Sure. Whatever explanation works best for you. You want in the woman’s pants; it’s as simple as that.”

  “Like you don’t. I saw the way you looked at her today when she was sitting on the back of the bus and being checked over.”

  Jay shrugged. “Not going to deny it. She’s adorable, sweet, has the prettiest smile, and yeah, her eyes were sad today. I get why you want her and she probably could use a friend or two, but I’m not sure that two men who want to take her to bed are the friends she needs right now.”

  “Nothing has to happen. In fact, I don’t plan or expect anything to happen. I just wanted to…” To what? Josh hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He was tired. He needed some sleep and then his head would be clear enough to think straight. He did want to share his bed with Jessica. Tonight, tomorrow night, and any other night she might let him, but he didn’t exactly think it would ever happen. It was his fantasy. She’d just met him and didn’t know him from Adam. “I’m going to get some shut eye. I’ll be back up in a few hours.”

  Josh walked away and Jay’s laughter trailed after him. The blogger definitely had him all tied up in knots and that was a feeling he wasn’t used to. He’d rescued women before. He’d checked on them to make sure they were okay. He’d befriended plenty and dated more than his fair share. And he’d never felt for one the way he did about Jessica.

  He wanted to play with her and protect her. Inviting her for dinner really hadn’t been more than a friendly gesture, though it appeared couched in flirtatious intent. Yes, he wanted her. He’d come to accept that about himself months ago, but it wasn’t something he ever thought he’d have a chance to act on in person. He’d never even emailed her or contacted her in any way.

  But she was thrust into his life on a fluke because she’d forgotten to take a cardboard box with a greasy bottom and loose glossy paper on top, out of the oven.

  He flipped his shirt off over his head and shucked his jeans. He’d showered at the station and all he planned to do now was sleep. He’d worked forty-eight hours straight and both nights there’d been calls out and sleep interrupted. He was almost to the point that when he worked, he simply cat napped and didn’t actually doze off. It was something he’d learned in the military and it was something he should get back into. Might keep him from having this overwhelming feeling of exhaustion as though he’d never get caught up on the Zzzz’s.

  The shades were drawn and Josh crawled under the sheet. He’d think about Jessica later, about the implications of inviting her over, about what it would be like to really kiss her, hold her, strip her, and love her from head to toe, and then lay back and watch Jay with her. He wanted to see her beautiful mouth opened in bliss, her eyes glazed over with passion, and her breath against his skin. He’d —

  “I have a confession to make.”

  Josh turned his head toward the bedroom door to find Jay leaning against the frame. “About what?”

  “Jess.”

  That got his attention. “What about her? You tell the guys at the station about my attraction to her?”

  “Of course not, but even though today was the first day I’d met her, just like you, I have seen her before.”

  Josh sat up. Jay had even more of his attention now. “Where?”

  “The food festival downtown a few weeks ago. Her name was on a poster at one of the bars we got called to one day and when they needed a couple EMT units to work it, I volunteered. I wanted to at least get a glimpse of her, see if she was this great woman you had built up in your head that she was. I was looking out for you.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because I…” Jay sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He was just as tired as Josh, working even crazier shifts some weeks. “After seeing her and kind of hovering around where she was from time to time, watching her interact with people, I kind of realized that she was as wonderful as you thought she was. And I… I started reading her blog too.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. I went back to the very first post and have devoured every word she’s written, watched her videos, and have developed a crush all my own for her. Actually meeting her today, talking to her and helping her cope with what was going on, just sealed the deal for me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?”

  “Because I didn’t think we’d ever have a chance to meet her. Figured it would eventually lessen to just a minor… Hell, I don’t know.”

  “But now we have met her and she’ll be over in a few hours to have dinner with us.”

  “I know. We’ll have to tell her, won’t we?”

  Josh scooted back down in the bed and adjusted the pillow behind his head again. “It’s only fair, yes. She should know we have the hots for her and they developed from reading her cooking blog.”

  “It’s strange, though, right? I mean… A cooking blog? To find a woman?”

  “Not like it started out that way, bro. I didn’t intend to develop feelings for her. I just wanted to get some new recipes for breakfast on Sunday mornings.”

  “Yeah. I get that. I just hope it doesn’t freak her out.”

  “I hope it doesn’t either.”

  Jay nodded and soon turned away. He’d sleep for a few hours just as Josh would; only Josh couldn’t stop the thoughts running through his head. How would she take it? Would she think they were weird? Would she run away? Would she be flattered?

  He didn’t know and he hoped they didn’t blow it by coming clean with her.

  Josh closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. He needed to put it all in the back of his mind and get some rest. He could do it. Maybe. If he counted sheep? Beers? Or maybe if he pictured Jess in his mind, he could mentally count the freckles on her cheeks and nose until he dozed off.

  And fuck, wasn’t he just whipped.

  Chapter Four

  “Think she’ll actually come?” Jay asked, pacing from one end of the deck to the other. Back and forth, minute after minute. He was bound to wear a hole in the wood if he didn’t calm down.

  Josh smirked at Jay’s choice of words. After the dream he’d had about her? Oh yeah. She was gonna come if he had anything to say about it and come a lot. He’d woken up an hour ago full of determination for their potential guest.

  Wet dreams were nothing new for him, but those were intense and full of lust and hunger the likes of which he couldn’t remember ever feeling for any other woman he’d dated or gone to bed with. He couldn’t figure out what it was about her in particular, but every thought of her and his blood rushed below his belt and he was done for.

  “Yeah, I do,” he answered instead, setting the charcoal ablaze. “We’ll get her a steak ready just in case.”

  “I wish I knew her like you do.”

  “Why? We’ve shared plenty of women. Some you knew, some you didn’t. Besides, you do know her like I do. You know her as much or as little as I do.”

  “Yeah, but she’s not our usual type and I don’t want to feel like I’m horning in.”

  Josh looked over his shoulder at his brother. The conversation was serious, more so than they usually had and he understood why Jay would be nervous. Jessica was a different type of woman than the ones they usually shared.
“You’re not. To be honest, I’m glad you’re into her too. Or, at least interested in her.”

  “What if she doesn’t do threesomes? She might not be into them.”

  Josh nodded. He’d wondered about that too. She’d been this faraway obsession of his, this virtual crush he’d had for months. Faced with her up close and personal, on a shit day such as it had been for her, he wasn’t sure at all that a sweet, vulnerable woman like Jess would be into something as kinky and naughty as threesome sex…and with brothers, at that.

  “I can hope, right?” Hope. That seemed to be the word of the day around their house. That’s all either of them seemed to be able to say.

  “Sure, but if she isn’t up for it…? What do we do?”

  “I don’t know, Jay. I guess one step at a time.”

  “She is sweet,” Jay said, admiration in his voice. He was the flirt between the two of them, the one who was more love ‘em and leave ‘em. But Jay was also the romantic, whereas Josh was the more standoffish emotionally and the get down to business type.

  Josh shook his head. Their differences and their adventurous lifestyle outside their jobs made sharing women something that worked for them. It deepened a bond they didn’t know they needed and since they grew up apart, it strengthened a bond that was usually saved for sibling rivalry.

  They didn’t have the rivalry part, but they damn sure had the sibling part down from the second they’d met three years ago at the fire house. Jay had been filling in for a sick EMT and Josh was a rookie firefighter having opted out of another tour overseas with the Marines. It wasn’t a choice everyone got, but when it was presented to him, he grabbed it. Serving had been an honor and a privilege and a duty he had given his all for. He had loved every second of it. He was also glad to be out of the desert and glad to not be looking over his shoulder every minute of the day.

  If he hadn’t come back to Greenville when he did, he’d have likely missed meeting Jay. Their connection had been instantaneous, something pulling them toward one another that neither could explain.