by Peyton Banks
That was such a thing? He was instantly intrigued.
The guys exploded in laughter, and each of them volunteered to be on the cover and offered tips.
He glanced around at his men and shook his head in disbelief. The firemen in this room were some of the best in the state, and here they were, acting crazy.
“I’d be perfect for your cover.” Case posed, and Anya fell into a fit of laughter.
“Not with that ugly mug of a face.” Knox snorted. “They’d cut your face out. Don’t you know most of those books only feature the man’s chest?”
Dalton chuckled. He grabbed his water and took a sip.
“So, what is it about?” Dalton was trying to save her a little. “I mean, there are plots to those stories, right?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
Anya sighed and sat forward. “Of course there are plots to the stories. There is more to the story than the guy showing up to her house offering to put out a fire.” She used air quotes when she said a fire.
“I think that was the plot to the porno I watched last night,” Dylan said.
Dalton threw a napkin at him with a glare. He didn’t think Anya wanted to hear about the latest porn choices. Dylan shrugged nonchalantly.
There was a fucking lady present.
Dalton bit back a growl. His men could get rowdy and raunchy.
Anya didn’t need to see that side of his squad.
“Romance books are so much more. They let readers dive into a fantasy world. It allows someone to get lost in their imagination. It’s no different than movies. They have love scenes in them, too, and no one calls them porn.” She pushed her plate away and sat back.
The room silenced. Dalton’s gaze roamed around the table, and it was as if they all were taking her words to heart.
“That’s true.” Max nodded in agreement. “Some of my favorite movies do have sex scenes in them, and I’ve never thought twice about them.”
Murmurs went around.
“See? The only thing is, I don’t know much about firemen and what all they do,” she admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I’ve Googled some things, and we all know what happens when you rely on Google.”
Dalton leaned back with his plate empty. Max had done it again. No matter how many times his bud grilled, Dalton would always be grabbing a fork and plate, ready to eat.
“Why don’t you come back here? We can help you,” Max suggested.
Nods went around.
“Are you sure?” she asked. She sat up, and her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Dalton remembered the look from when they were younger.
She was up to something.
“I mean, if the lieutenant is okay with it. He’s in charge.” Max paused.
All eyes focused on Dalton.
He’d be an ass to say no. Anya’s full gaze landed on him, and he bit back a groan. He knew that look, too. It was one she’d used on him many times when she wanted to tag along with him. Her big brown eyes locked on him, and his breath caught in his throat.
What the hell?
“Sure. Anything we can do to help you.”
He was rewarded with Anya’s wide smile. “Thanks, Dalton.”
She glanced down at her phone vibrating on the table. She snatched it up and answered. “Hello?” She pushed back from the table and walked out in the hallway.
Once she was out of earshot, Max turned to him.
“You never mentioned you grew up with a hottie next door.” He pointed to the door Anya had just exited.
Dalton shifted uncomfortably. He was trying to push down this attraction he had to Anya.
This was little Anya, for Heaven’s sake.
“She’s seven years younger than me. We were kids back then.” He shrugged, trying to act as if it were nothing.
“I’m going to get the dishes started,” Case announced. He stood and began grabbing plates and stacking them.
“I’ll help.” Knox rose and helped Case.
They disappeared into the kitchen.
“I offered her my uncle’s shop and called him,” Anton said from his end of the table. He leaned back, concentrating on his phone. Anton had been on the squad for years and was a trusted fireman. “He’ll give her a good deal, but from the looks of it, she’d be better finding a new set of wheels.”
Dalton nodded, catching sight of Anya walking back in. His gaze roamed her body, and all memories of the cute girl next door went out the window. This woman before him had ample breasts that were big enough that they looked as if they’d spill over his large hands. Her waist was narrow, and she had wide hips that begged for him to grip them.
He swallowed hard and had to will his cock to stand down.
He wanted her.
No doubt about it.
The memory of the last time they’d seen each other flashed in his mind.
The shy eighteen-year-old Anya had come over to say goodbye. She was leaving the next morning to go off to college. They’d been sitting on his parents’ back steps like they’d done so many times before.
Dalton had received a shocker that night. He knew she’d had a crush on him, and she’d never said a word about it.
She didn’t have to.
He’d been dating on and off, just as she’d had boyfriends here and there. He and Dallas had even scared off a couple of the no-good ones. They had looked out for her since she didn’t have any brothers to do the job.
He had been too engrossed in spending time with her knowing they were genuinely going their two separate ways. She had been one of the smartest girls he knew, and there was no doubt she was going places in life.
He had been taken aback the minute her lips had pressed against his.
Dalton swallowed hard, coming back to the present.
“That’s the tow truck. It’s outside now,” Anya announced.
Dalton pushed back from the table. “I’ll take you home.”
“You don’t have to.” Anya shook her head. “I can call an Uber.”
“Nonsense.” He stood, not willing to take no for an answer. It would be nice to catch up with her. “Let me grab my keys.”
3
Anya held back a groan. The scent of Dalton filled the vehicle and teased her. Seeing him in person brought back a rush of emotions that she couldn’t explain. She felt as if she was that eighteen-year-old schoolgirl sitting on the steps next to her longtime crush.
She gripped her bag close to her, unsure of what to say. There was so much she wanted to know about Dalton but was afraid to ask.
“When did you move back to Vegas?” Dalton’s deep voice rumbled.
Her gaze flickered to his. Even in the dark truck, she knew exactly what color his eyes were.
Green with small flecks of gold.
She’d always been enthralled by his eyes.
When he’d arrived in the dining hall, her heart had frozen in place.
He appeared larger than life. His t-shirt molded to his hardened body. The tattoos on his forearms were downright sexy. His dark hair was tousled as if he had been running his hands through it prior to walking in. It was longer on top and shaved on the sides. It gave him an ultimate bad-boy look, and with that beard, her core clenched.
She’d give up her left pinky toe to feel the stubble on her inner thigh.
Feeling his gaze on her, she swallowed hard, trying to remember what he’d asked her.
When she’d moved home.
“A couple weeks ago.” She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. She focused on their surroundings and raised her hand. “Turn right up there.”
She didn’t live far from the fire station.
This must have been divine intervention.
How did her car just happen to stop outside the firehouse where he worked?
“Why’d you come back?” Dalton asked. He stopped at the red light and glanced over at her.
Her heart did the same pitter-patter it had when she was younger. It looked like it didn’t matter that they
hadn’t seen each other in ages—she was still attracted to Dalton.
She’d rehearsed the excuse enough that it flowed straight out of her mouth. “Just time for a change. I missed good old Vegas. With my line of job, I can work from anywhere.”
“I’m sure your parents are thrilled to have you back.”
“They are,” she murmured, gazing out the window. “So…you’re in charge at the fire station?”
“Yeah. I was promoted a couple years ago.”
“That’s cool. How’s your brother?” she asked, curiosity burning. The two McNeil brothers were infamous for their good looks and had all the girls drooling over them.
“Dallas is doing well. Married with a son.” He laughed.
“Really? Never thought I’d see the day he’d get married.” She chuckled. Between the two brothers, Dallas had been the more intense. He had been rough around the edges, but he’d always treated Anya like a little sister. He didn’t take any crap from the bullies who had tried to pick on her.
“He’s grilling out this weekend. Why don’t you come over for a visit? You’d love his wife, Candi. I could come to pick you up and bring you.”
“It would be nice to catch up.” She bit her lip while she stared at him. He was focused while he paid attention to the road in front of him.
He glanced over at her, apparently having felt her gaze.
“What?” His eyebrows rose high.
“Nothing. Just taking you in.”
Did she just say what she thought she’d said? She bit back a groan. Not ten minutes alone in the truck with him and already, and she was unconsciously flirting with him.
He’d packed on muscles that he certainly didn’t have when they were younger. He seemed to take up much of the space inside the cab, leaving Anya’s body in a mess of nerves.
His lips tweaked up. “And?”
She swallowed hard. Did she go ahead and admit Dalton was hotter than she remembered?
That she wanted to invite him up to her apartment?
She didn’t see a ring, but nowadays, that didn’t mean anything.
He could have a girlfriend, or a fiancée, or maybe due to his line of work, didn’t wear a ring.
“The years have been good to you,” she said honestly.
That was safe to say.
Hell, she wished they had been as kind to her. She was still the short girl with ample curves that, no matter what she did, would not leave.
Anya remembered the type of girls Dalton had brought around. They were all tall and thin, everything Anya wasn’t.
He drew up to another stoplight. Anya glanced around and saw they were a minute or so away from where she lived.
She wished the drive wasn’t so short. She wasn’t ready to part from Dalton.
“I’d have to say the same. You certainly have grown into womanhood.” His voice was low and husky.
She whipped her head around and stared at him.
Her breath caught in her throat at the flare of passion in his eyes.
“Thanks.” Her voice ended on a squeak.
Cool, Anya. Really cool.
The light changed, and he turned back to the road.
What the hell did he mean?
Womanhood?
A muffled ring broke the short silence. She dug down in her purse for her cell. Finally, her fingers connected with it. She pulled it out, and the name flashing across the screen had her pausing. It was like taking a splash of cold water to the face.
Cheater Cheater.
She’d renamed her ex-boyfriend in her contact list. She hit the ‘ignore’ button and shook her head.
“Did you need to take that?” Dalton asked.
“Nope.” She gave him the next direction, trying to push down nausea that threatened to overtake her.
Glenn Willis had lost the right to hear her voice. Her lying, cheating ex-boyfriend had recently showed his true colors.
It was the real reason she’d moved home.
That was something she didn’t need to share with Dalton. He wouldn’t want to hear about her sad love life.
“My apartment building is coming up on the left,” she announced, changing the subject. Anya didn’t want to even think about Glenn. She was back in Vegas to start her life over.
Dalton swerved into her parking lot and came to a stop near the front door.
“So, what about it?” He turned to her, and all thoughts of Glenn left her mind.
For a second, Anya had totally forgotten what he was talking about. The only thing on her brain was asking him to come up to her apartment.
“Sure. I think it would be fun to catch up.” She nodded.
Ask him, a voice in the back of her head whispered.
“Why don’t we exchange numbers so we can plan what time I’m picking you up,” he suggested, grabbing his phone.
They programmed each other’s contact information in their cells.
“Thanks for the ride.” Anya tucked her phone back inside her purse. She thought of all the heroines she’d written in her books and knew each of them would be bold enough to invite the male they were lusting after into their homes.
Inviting him up would only mean one thing. There would be no other reason they’d need to go up to Anya’s apartment right now.
Images of him naked on her bed came to mind, and she swallowed hard. She’d written hundreds if not thousands of sex scenes in her books, but she was sure none of them would hold a candle to Dalton.
Jesus.
She needed to get laid.
Bad.
“It was my pleasure. I got to get back to the station. I’m on call,” Dalton announced, running a hand through his hair.
It was an unconscious move on his part, but it just highlighted the sexiness of him. His hair looked even more tousled, and she had to fight the urge to smooth it down.
Anya offered a smile, but inside she felt deflated.
Of course.
She’d forgotten that quick that he was at work. She’d done enough research on firemen to know that sometimes they were on duty for days at a time.
Today would not be the day she’d invite him upstairs for a night of hot, sweaty sex.
“I don’t want to keep you away any longer than I have. But don’t forget the offer of me coming back for research.” She wagged a finger at him, and he chuckled.
“Of course. Anything for you, Anya.” He unbuckled his seat belt and stepped from the truck.
She watched in amazement as he walked to her door and opened it.
“What are you doing?” She stepped out, hefting her bag on her shoulder.
“Seeing you to the door.” He rested his hand at the small of her back, and she had to keep herself from shivering.
He guided her to the door. She pulled her key card from her purse and faced him.
She had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.
Down, girl.
This was not a date. Dalton was just being friendly and making sure she got in safe.
“Want me to call you before I drop by the station?” she asked, trying to make idle conversation.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want you to come if we are out on a call.”
She nodded and brushed the card against the small metal sensor.
A small click sounded, denoting the door was unlocked.
Dalton grabbed the handle and pulled it open. “Goodnight, Anya.”
Anya had to force her feet to move. She walked inside the lobby and spun around with a small smile. “Goodnight, Dalton.”
She scurried over to the stairs before she did something she’d regret, like kissing him again.
Anya let herself into her small apartment and closed the door with her hip. She turned the lock to secure the place then leaned back against the door.
“Dalton McNeil,” she sighed.
Who would have thought he’d still be drop-dead gorgeous and making her want to do things that were just downright nasty?
She barked a laugh.
<
br /> It wasn’t fair how sexy and handsome he still was.
She kicked her shoes off and forced herself to move. She walked over to the lamp near her sofa and flicked it on.
Her phone rang.
“Who is it now?” she muttered. Dread filled her. If it was Glenn again, she would scream. Common sense was telling her that she needed to block him.
Relief filled her when she saw ‘Bestie’ flash across the screen.
“Hey, girl,” she greeted Amina.
“So…your car breaks down, and you don’t think to update me?” Amina screeched.
Anya grimaced and held the phone away from her ear. Glancing down at her watch, she saw hours had passed since she had spoken to Amina.
“I’m so sorry,” she breathed, strolling down the short hallway to her bedroom.
Amina had every right to be pissed off at her. She would have been, too, if the shoe was on the other foot.
“One of the firefighters, who was extremely hot, came out and knocked on my window.”
“How hot?” Amina questioned.
Anya held back her chuckle at the excitement in her friend’s voice. Of course, as soon as she mentioned hot fireman, Amina had forgotten all about the danger she could have been in.
“Tom Hardy hot.”
“Fuck me twice over.”
Anya laughed at Amina’s curse. She continued on with the recap of what had happened at the fire station. Amina held on to every word Anya spoke. When she mentioned Dalton, Amina screamed.
“What is your problem?” Anya stepped out of her clothes and put on something more comfortable. She didn’t have the strength to take a shower tonight since she was practically dead on her feet. It had been a long time since she’d laughed as hard as she had around the guys at the fire station.
The night had turned out better than she’d expected.
“Dalton McNeil? The guy you had the biggest crush on when we were younger?” Amina screeched.
Anya rolled her eyes. Of course Amina would remember Dalton. He was all Anya had talked about. Any little schoolgirl game that required the name of a boy, she always used Dalton’s.
“Yes, the same Dalton who lived next to me.”
“How did he look? Was he balding, big belly, and out of shape?” Amina teased.
“You are so bad.” How she wished he did look like that. It would have made it a little easier seeing him again. She had made a fool of herself when she’d kissed him. He had been nothing but the gentlemen he’d been raised to be that night. “But quite the opposite. It was like when God decided to make the perfect man, Dalton McNeil was created.”