“Lost your lungs, huh?” He knew he sounded accusatory and didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, she deserved every bit of his anger.
She’d ditched their squad and he still hadn’t forgiven her for it. Whatever her bullshit reasons, there was no abandoning the team. Especially not with her lineage. For chrissakes, both her father and grandfather had been firemen. She’d been coming to the station house since she was a kid. Or at least she used to. Now she avoided it as if the place had been condemned.
The other guys weren’t mad. Some of them, Mitch in particular, liked to give Dash a hard time about his feelings on the subject, but he didn’t give a shit. Katie had gone AWOL and he didn’t have any use for people he couldn’t trust.
Even if he’d just strolled down sentimentality street at having her back again. Especially if just a glimpse of her trembling lips made him want to enfold her in his arms and never let go.
“Guess I did lose my lungs.” She rubbed the sleeve of her coat over her mouth. By the time she dropped her arm, her mouth had firmed. “Lost a lot of things, I think. Like my fire sense.” She walked over to the charred remnants of old books and household crap and knelt down, seeming small and frail as she bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I should’ve just gone after I called the cavalry. We both know I have no business here.”
Why? Why are you here at four-thirteen-freaking-a.m.? Maybe he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.
He grabbed a broom and swept up the worst of the soot and mess from the extinguisher, then gave it up as momentarily hopeless and went over to the utility sink to clean up. A handful of paper towels, some liquid soap and water took care of the worst of it on his chest. His pajama pants, however, needed to be fumigated.
And none of that could distract him from the anger—and yes, the hurt—foaming inside of him like stale beer. “You terminated your business voluntarily,” he said, banging the broom against the wall. “No one asked you to.”
The hole she’d left at the station still hadn’t been filled. How could it be? She’d joined the squad months before Dash and by the time he arrived the other guys were completely under her spell. They weren’t any more capable of resisting her than he was, though he was certain none of them had fallen quite as hard as he had.
Everyone loved Katie but that wouldn’t have meant a damn if she couldn’t handle herself at a fire. A pretty smile made the day go by faster but they were putting their lives on the line. Granted, most of the calls they dealt with were minor vehicle blazes and the occasional kitchen mishap. Still, the possibility was there. Standing back to back with someone when facing down a fire that would take no prisoners focused priorities right quick. He’d trusted no one to guard his back and protect herself and her squad more than the woman crouched in front of him.
Which made her betrayal burn that much more.
“I should go,” she said, jerking to her feet as the first sirens sounded in the distance. “The guys are almost here.”
Only then did he realize what she’d said. “The guys?” he asked incredulously. “You fucking called the squad for a couple of burnt wires? I’m not some rookie. You honestly think we couldn’t handle this, Kemp?”
She shoved back her hair so hard that the clip binding it went flying. “I’m not able to handle anything anymore. Isn’t that evident? I totally miscalled this fire. But I saw the flames and I couldn’t take any chances. Do you think I wanted to come in here and face you? I know you can’t stand my guts. And you know what, Carlton? The feeling’s mutual.” She whirled toward the stairs, her fury almost bowling him over as he darted forward to block her path.
“Get out of my way.” She tried to dash past him.
“Not happening.” Clearly she hadn’t betted on how his fury could rise and slap against her own. Or that he would reach out and grab her, pushing her against the side of the staircase, holding her there while her curvy body quivered and her huge dark eyes lifted to his.
If he didn’t restrain his anger, he’d either shake her or kiss her. Either move would be a colossal mistake.
“Running again, coward?” he murmured.
“Who’s running?” She jutted out her chin, defiance carved into every line of her face. Her beautiful, perfect face. “I just know when I’m not wanted.”
“Oh yeah?” Deliberately, he ground against the vee of her thighs, seeking out the warmth of her pussy unerringly even through the thick bulk of her coat. Her sharp gasp told him she’d felt exactly what he’d intended. “What was that about not being wanted?”
She turned her head away and curled her lip. “No wonder you look so damn burnt. Been a little lonely when it comes to one-on-one time? Thought you had that all sewed up with Thumbelina.”
He had no clue what she meant. All he knew was that she’d swept back into his life and given him a glimpse of something he’d tried to write off as the past—and now she intended to just stroll right back out again. Over his damn dead body.
They’d been a team once, in bed and out. No denying that their work relationship had been more of a dedicated partnership than their nights of letting off steam but she’d always just been there. How the hell could he have known what her walking away would do to him? The air, the trees and the sun were always there too. He hadn’t comprehended what living without them would be like until his world had gone dark.
The sirens grew closer, cutting off suddenly with a squeal of brakes. Greg must be behind the wheel. He always drove like a maniac. Being sent out to a job only gave him an excuse.
Katie threw a panicked glance up the stairway then returned her gaze to his face. “This isn’t the time. I need to get out of here.”
“Why?” Strangely enough, the more upset she became, the calmer he got. She wouldn’t be walking away so easily tonight. “You called them.”
“Your house was on fire. I didn’t know if we could contain it.” She fisted her hands and pushed against his chest. He didn’t budge. “I’ve gotta go.”
Doors slammed outside before a flurry of male voices and heavy footsteps sounded on the drive. “Open your damn door before we hafta kick it in,” Billy, his closest buddy on the squad, called.
Dash squared his shoulders and stared down into Katie’s frightened eyes. That he hadn’t expected. Nerves at seeing her old crew, yes. But outright fear?
“Dash, please. Let me go.”
He considered it. He really did. But before he could step back and grant her room to pass, she snatched a handful of his pajamas. She yanked her hand down with a triumphant war cry, tearing off more of the flannel.
“You little—”
“What?” she challenged, bolting past him, a plaid swatch of fabric caught in her fist. The cool blast of air over his bare ass proved she hadn’t hesitated to strip him as completely as possible.
He grabbed her around the waist off the third step and hauled her back into the basement, kicking and squealing. “Here I was going to let you off, but you wanted the guys to catch me bare-assed.” He spoke close to her ear as he set her down and wrenched her arms behind her back. When she fought, he lifted his knee in warning against her tight, shapely butt. Pity for him that his cock didn’t mind her wriggling one bit. “Now we’re going to wait for them together.”
“Please, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Let me go. Please.”
“Nope. That worked once, to my detriment. Now we wait.” He rubbed his cheek against hers—though he suspected she wished she could bite him—and then lifted his head with a smile.
“Guys? In the basement.” He yanked her backward when she tried yet again to escape, this time by stomping on his instep. “We’re in the basement,” he added loudly.
“I’ll get you back for this,” she ground out, still wiggling in ways that did his erection no favors.
His mouth stretched in a grim smile. “I’ll look forward to it.”
A second later the side door flew open from someone’s kick, most likely Billy’s since he crossed
the threshold first. He thundered halfway down the stairs, already shouting instructions to the other guys, then stopped short when he saw Dash restraining a now sullen Katie. She sagged against him as if he’d beaten her. Probably a new tactic.
“Tell the EMTs and the boys in blue we’re all set. Send them home with my apologies,” Dash said in the calmest voice he could muster. Katie’s anxiety seeped from her body and he suddenly felt almost as exposed as she did. For all he knew, his face was flashing his feelings for her in neon.
“Shit, is that my girl?” Billy questioned, his smile growing.
“Can’t be,” Mitch said from behind Billy. He flipped the light switch and lit the still smoky basement. His stubbled face appeared over Billy’s shoulder and after some pushing and shoving, Greg’s golden face appeared over the other. “Holy shit, it is. Kemp, I’ve missed you.”
Greg grinned. “Hell yeah we have. So when are you coming back to us?”
Chapter Three
The guys rushed down the stairs, all thoughts of fire apparently forgotten as they plucked a now laughing Katie out of Dash’s arms. She hugged each of them in turn, bouncing up on her toes as she kissed their cheeks and smacked their bellies and did all the wonderful familiar Katie things that made Dash’s throat entirely too tight.
She hadn’t kissed him. Nope. Nor patted his stomach and commented how he needed to lay off the Stromboli. She definitely hadn’t tugged on his hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear as she appeared to now be doing with Greg.
All she’d said was he looked “burnt.” Quite the compliment. But she had somehow gained access to his house and tried to save his life, which hadn’t needed saving after all. Still in the history of Hallmark card moments, it had to count for something.
“All right, enough. Let the girl breathe.”
“Gettin’ territorial on us, Carlton?” Billy rubbed Katie’s shoulder and leered at Dash, making Dash narrow his eyes. Billy was the only one he’d told about sleeping with Katie and the last thing he needed was his friends razzing him. He’d had a rough enough night already.
“Hell yeah, Billy, look at him. He’s already ripped off the back of his pants so he’s ready to go.” Greg elbowed Mitch and the three guys doubled over in laughter when Katie held up the strip of purloined flannel like a trophy.
“She bagged herself a one point buck,” Mitch tossed in, causing a new round of laughter.
“A really tiny point,” Greg agreed.
“C’mon, guys. Be nice.” She slithered between Billy and Mitch and grinned as they both slung their arms around her waist. “It’s awfully cold down here.”
“So where’s that fire you called us for? Something he was too busy to take care of?” Greg cocked a brow.
“Looks like it was in this area.” Billy crossed the room to kick at the pile of soot and charred wires. “Need to do some cleanup and get this faulty machine out of here.”
“Thanks, wise ass. I already started cleaning up.” Dash turned so his ass wasn’t aimed at his best friend. “Wanna get out of here now? Please?”
“We will.” Greg grabbed Katie and tugged her hard against his side. “Just as soon as this one stops stalling and tells us when she’s coming back to us.”
Immediately the happy flush in her cheeks vanished. It might’ve been comical if it hadn’t made Dash’s gut churn. He knew the stupid reasons she’d given for quitting but none of them made sense. Nothing had for him since the day she’d walked out on him and the rest of the squad.
They were a family. A dysfunctional one at times, yes, but a tight-knit one just the same. How could she pretend that bond didn’t exist? Why did she even want to? Whatever her deal was, they’d help her through it. That was their job. Their duty. Why wouldn’t she just admit she needed help? Any one of the guys would’ve laid down their life for her.
Especially him.
She’d gotten hurt. He’d almost forgotten that part until he’d seen her slight limp as she rushed between the guys. Shit, he’d been rough with her. Maybe he’d reactivated her old fire injury. Had that been the real reason she’d left the squad? Not just because of performance fears as she’d claimed, but because her doc didn’t think her body could handle the stress of fighting fires anymore?
As the silence lengthened, Dash raked a hand through his hair. He’d had enough of asking himself questions. The time had come to ask her. And she wouldn’t be leaving tonight until the answers satisfied him.
“Get out of here, guys, okay? Kemp and I need to talk.”
“But we just—”
“Look, you’ve seen for yourselves that the fire’s out,” Dash interrupted Mitch. “All’s clear on this end. If Kathleen wants to talk to you, she knows where to find you and vice versa.”
“Don’t call me Kathleen, you jackoff.”
Her pinched tone made him grin. Damn, he’d missed her. “Give us some space, all right?”
“Yeah, let the man find some pants.” Greg shook his head in disgust. “Seriously, compadre? Your ass is as white as undercooked chicken.”
“Yeah, and yours has been barbecued too long. Get out of my damn basement.”
The guys laughed and left, Billy stopping on the way to pat Dash’s shoulder and drop a kiss on top of Katie’s tousled curls. Dash’s smile stayed in place until the last of them had shut the side door and he saw the very obvious missing section of glass. “That’s how you got in? By breaking my window?”
She lifted a shoulder and continued her in-depth perusal of his concrete floor. “I didn’t know how else to do it. I tried ringing the bell but you didn’t answer.”
“I didn’t hear it. I had this stupid soothing sounds machine on in my room and—” He stopped at her grin. “Look, I’m standing here with my ass poking out of my sleep pants. You really think I’m going to be embarrassed because my mom loaned me her girly radio?”
“Or that you’re wearing this,” she said, moving forward to trail her fingertips up the side of his neck toward his hair. She had to arch to reach the band around his head, not that he minded. The movement brought a lot of the soft, curvy parts of her body in direct contact with the hard, stiff parts of his.
“Take it off,” he said in a low voice, waiting for her to argue with the instruction. But she did as he asked and handed him the mask.
Before she could do much more than squeak, he wrenched his arms behind her and quickly bound her wrists. Hopefully she would forgive him later. Much, much later.
“Now,” he murmured, “we’re going upstairs to get reacquainted.”
****
Katie blew her curls out of her eyes and stared at the ceiling in Dash’s bedroom. This was what she got for stalking a man at 4 a.m. From now on she was leaving Sliders and going straight home to bed. Dash’s house, Dash’s street and hell, Dash’s quadrant of the city were now officially off-limits.
“Why were you driving down my street tonight?” he asked from where he lounged on the bed.
She hadn’t been allowed to sit there. Her seating selection had consisted of a straight-backed chair he’d procured from the kitchen or the floor. Apparently he took his role as an emotional tormentor very seriously.
“I told you already. I left the bar late and I was tired, but not tired enough to go home. I started driving around and I just…ended up here.”
Lame. So very lame.
And of course he called her on it. When didn’t he? “You just ended up on my street. The guy you served on a crew with for five years. You expect me to believe that?” he asked, running his fingers lazily up and down the toned thigh revealed by his shorts. He’d tossed out his ruined sleep pants. Unfortunately, that meant he’d also covered up his very fine ass.
An ass she’d missed ogling. Hell, an ass she might’ve even written a poem about, if she were the sonnet-composing type.
A smile tilted her lips. “You know, I liked the jammies. They were quite fetching.”
“Enjoyed looking at my ass, did you?”
&n
bsp; She nearly blushed at his accurate pegging of her thoughts. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“Exactly my point.” He snapped his fingers and she jumped. “If I’m driving down my ex’s street late at night, you can damn well bet there’s a reason. So what was yours?”
Ah fuck. Why was she bothering to fight the truth? He’d psychologically beat it out of her eventually anyway. She was too drained to hold him off for long. Especially since a part of her wanted to come clean so badly.
She dropped her head back and closed her eyes. “I miss you.”
Silence.
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. He stared at her, his astute blue-green eyes narrowed. “You missed me.” His tone held more than a little bit of doubt.
“Yes. And maybe I was a tad curious if Thumbelina was in your bed.” A sudden longing for her bed swept through her with a fierceness that made her legs tremble. “Dash, c’mon, please let me go home. I had a long night and I’m exhausted.”
“You look it.”
She snorted. “You’re one to talk. The bruises under your eyes rival a prizefighter’s.” While he didn’t look quite that bad, it was close. He was still irresistible, but fatigue rolled off him in waves. She didn’t doubt he needed a sleeping mask—or the sleep aid she’d seen on the nightstand.
“Who the hell’s Thumbelina?”
“You tell me. I heard she was your girlfriend. Or naked Twister partner. How am I supposed to know?”
He sat up straighter, his brows drawing together. “I don’t have a girlfriend and I don’t play Twister, naked or otherwise. Who’s feeding you your information?”
“Oh right. It’s the information that’s off. Seriously, don’t bother, Carlton. We’re not lovers anymore and you’ve seen to it we’re not even friends. Sleep with all of Elmsdale if you want. I don’t care.”
Hell, she just hoped he got some sleep. If having sex got him there faster, she’d have to take it. Seeing him looking this haggard made her chest hurt.
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