Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
When I’m done, duty says that I thank her for her help in the drill and stand, maybe check on my team or offer advice. But I don’t. No, I stay there, kneeling beside her as she sits up and brushes her hair out of her face.
“Are my legs miraculously healed now?” she asks with a bright laugh.
I grin at her. “Didn’t you know we all get given magic powers when we join the fire brigade?”
Her smile lights up her whole face and shit, this girl has me wrapped around her finger. I’ve never in my life felt a pull to somebody the way I do now. I want to know her—everything about her. I can’t just get up and go back to work and act like this drill hasn’t just changed my damn life. I can’t just…let her go.
I glance up at the clock on the back wall, realizing my shift will be up in ten minutes. Waylon could take my kit back to the firehouse for me…and I always carry a spare change of clothes in my bag. Maybe I don’t have to let her go. Maybe our time doesn’t have to end when this training exercise does.
“You work in the building?” I ask.
She nods. “Front desk receptionist. Not nearly as exciting as your job.”
I chuckle. “You working after this, then?”
Her eyes widen a little, and she licks her lips again. I follow the movement of her tongue, need scalding me. “Conveniently, some firefighters needed volunteers, so I guess I have you to thank for getting me out of work,” she answers with a smirk, raising one blonde brow. “Weirdly, breaking my legs and getting carried around by one was way more fun than replying to emails.”
God, she’s radiant. I’m so fucked. “My shift’s over after this,” I say, leaning forward a little so that the others around us don’t overhear my absolutely unprofessional behavior. “I don’t suppose your evening’s free?”
There’s that blush again.
“I mean…all I had planned was pulling a fire alarm to see if you’d turn up again so I could give you my number,” she jokes, her eyes sparkling.
I tut. “And here I thought you were a good girl, Autumn,” I tease and don’t miss the way her breath hitches at my words. “Do I need to teach you about fire safety and the appropriate use of emergency alarms?”
“Do I get to be carried around in your arms while you teach me?” she teases right back, edging towards me a little. “Do you always take so long to put your volunteers down, Aidan?”
Oh, she’s trouble. A perfect mix of naughty and tooth-achingly sweet.
“Caught me,” I say, holding my hands up in surrender. I’m not going to deny it. “So, what do you say, sweetheart? Can I take you out?”
Autumn tucks her hair behind her ears, playing with the golden curls.
“Yeah,” she says with a grin that makes her eyes light up. “I’d like that.”
3
AUTUMN
I rush to make it into the elevator as the doors begin to close, practically slamming myself against Janey when I slide in. There’s a few others in here with us, but they’re chatting among themselves about some meeting. I turn to my friend with a grin.
“What’s that face for?” she asks with a smile of her own, leaning forward as though closeness will make our conversation more confidential. “Autumn, did you get your fireman to save you with his hose?”
I snort, shoving her shoulder playfully. Janey has an endless supply of dirty jokes for literally every situation. “Janey!”
“Well, did you?”
I shake my head, feeling my face heating. “Well, no…I mean, not yet at least.”
Even as I make the joke, I know I don’t mean it. Or, I do, but that’s not all I mean. Aidan is…unexpected. Even thinking of him makes me feel all giddy. The elevator begins to descend, taking us away from the fire crew that is packing up, but knowing that Aidan is going to come by my desk to get me makes the small distance more bearable.
The heat in my blood is undeniable—I want him in a way I’ve never wanted anyone before. When he was carrying me in his arms, my brain immediately conjured up a million scenarios of how he could use all those strong muscles on me in different ways. And when he called me a good girl? I shiver at the memory of his low voice, sparks shooting through me.
But our attraction is more than just physical. I can’t even think of the words to explain it to Janey because my brain refuses to think about anything except him. It’s like we’re magnets, drawn to each other by some invisible force. The way he cared for me in the drill, the way he obviously cares about his work, the way I heard a few of the other members of his team chat to him after—it’s clear that Aidan is a good guy through and through.