The Fireman

The Fireman

ROWAN

I knew who had just walked into the firehouse, from the clicking of her heels on the stone floor.

The only women that worked in Station 12 were Gabbie and Marg, neither of whom would be seen dead in heels.

I finished refilling the bottle of air, checking if it had reached the required capacity, before her perfume filled my senses.

“Working hard again?” The syrupy sweet voice greeted, and I screwed tight the lid on the bottle before shooting her a smile over my shoulder.

Her hair was in a loose bun, the tendrils framing her face, which was fuck-me-beautiful. She was wearing her usual office attire, tight pencil skirt and silk blouse. She exhaled, her lips puffing out as she did.

Why does my best friend have to be so fucking hot?

“You know it girl,” I gave her a brief crooked smile, allowing my gaze to hold hers for a second longer than necessary, then returned to my preoccupation. She pouted, crossing her arms and perching on the desk beside her.

“Elliott canceled our plans,” Mads sighed, staring at me with her enormous green eyes.

“What?” I whipped my head around, frowning. “Second date and he’s canceling?”

Mads shrugged, her slender fingers playing idly with a pencil.

Stu walked in, his face lighting up when he saw Mads.

“If I were ten years younger,” he started, a mischievous look in his blue eyes.

“And single,” I added, catching Mads’s eye.

“And rich,” Mads piped up, and the three of us burst out laughing. Stu grinned, and he fixed his pack onto the ladder before exiting the room again.

“Seriously though, fuck Elliott! He’s a dick,” I muttered, lifting the cylinders onto the metal rack. I could feel Mads gazing at me, and I knew she couldn’t resist checking out my arms. She had a thing for muscular arms, like most women.

“Rowan,” Mads warned, licking her lips.

I heaved the last cylinder up onto the rack before turning to her again. Her eyes were clouded with lust, and I stood still.

She blinked, her cheeks flushing as I sucked in my cheeks, chewing on the inside. Was Mads checking me out?

“See something you like, Mads?” I inquired, in a hoarse whisper. Her cheeks flushed further, and she dragged her lower lip between her teeth before releasing it, slowly.

“Shut up, Rowan!”

Her voice deceived her, though. Suggestions of admiration and desire accompanied her warning. I stepped closer, glancing around as her hands pressed against my chest.

“Take your hot self away from me before I use and abuse you,” she laughed, rolling her eyes as she looked up at me.

“Yeah?” I murmured, placing my hands down either side of her on the table as the humor left her eyes. “It’s been a long time coming.”

MADISON

He was killing me.

He had always done so, even back in school. But then he would be with a different girl every month, and that is no exaggeration.

But at twenty-seven, Rowan Hughes was fully grown, and all man. So much man.

Rippling muscles burst through whatever clothes he wore, so much so that I would constantly tease him for buying much too small-sized attire. The deep green eyes made my heart lurch every time he so much as glanced at me.

We were best friends, and that just sucked. Because Rowan was a player, who played ~well.~

“Yeah?” he murmured, placing his hands either side of me as my breath caught in my throat. “It’s been a long time coming.”

My heart was pounding so hard against my chest that I was convinced I was having a heart attack when he leaned close to me, his lips brushing against my ear. “Wanna see inside the ladder?”

He moved back then, leaving me breathless and wet. I clenched my thighs together, hopping down off the table and following him over to the red truck that bore the Station 12 crew logo.

I was trying to studiously ignore the ripple of the back muscles beneath his navy T-shirt, but then he found a way to distract me totally.

“Fireman’s lift,” he called out, suddenly grabbing and throwing me over his shoulder.

I gasped, aware that his head was now resting against my ass. He hauled himself up into the truck, depositing me on my feet inside with ease. My hair was even more disheveled now, and my skirt has risen up to mid-thigh.

“Rowan!” I hissed, shooting an anxious glance around the station while he grinned at me. “Stu could’ve seen that, and he would get the wrong idea!”

Rowan’s lips twisted in a knowing smile, his fingers stroking his jaw as he studied me.

“What idea could that be, Madison?”

I freeze beneath his heated stare; the way he had just called me Madison made me shiver.

“Mads,” I corrected, tugging my hair loose, out of the restraining elastic. My dark curls cascaded around my shoulder, and I let out a sigh of relief. I rubbed my scalp with my fingers, easing the pain my hairstyle had caused.

“I asked you a question,” Rowan winked, walking towards me. I backed up hastily, swallowing. I couldn’t trust myself to resist him.

“People would think we were fucking or something equally absurd,” I scoffed, dragging my hair back up with my hands. I was about to tie it up again when Rowan stopped me, his hands on my elbows as he tugged them down gently.

“Why is that so absurd, Madison?”

His voice curled around my senses, tantalizing them to the point of no return.

“Rowan, don’t!” I pleaded, as he lifted his eyebrows.

“Okay, I won’t,” he conceded, his face inches away from mine. “But only if you tell me you don’t want to kiss me right now.”

Images of nights spent beside him in bed, spooning like lovers despite being best friends, filled my mind. I thought of the way he would look at me when he was with another woman, always making sure I was alright.

Then I recalled the way he never got on with any man I was seeing, and most of all the way he would always tell me I was beautiful, even when I was a mess.

Oh, fuck!

ROWAN

Denying the attraction we have is fucking pointless.

I could have any woman I wanted, and I knew it, except my best friend, who had managed to resist me all these years.

Now here we were, she pressed up against the wall of my fucking ladder, all dark hair, green eyes, and innocent expression. Her bee-stung lips were begging to be kissed, but I was not giving in until she told me she wanted it.

Her mouth formed the shape of a word, and I cupped my ear and smiled at her. Fury filled her eyes when I lifted my hands up, backing away from her.

“Okay then,” I sighed glancing around us. “So that’s where I sit when we get a call, which can happen at any minute…”

“Ro,” she whispered, her tongue sweeping over her full lips. “If we kiss, you know what will happen. Our friendship…”

“Do you want me to kiss you, sweetheart?”

A soft moan left her mouth, her eyes half closing as she nodded. It was a full nod—consent was ~given.~

“Where?” I whispered sweeping her hair to one side as her eyes widened.

“Whaaa-t…”

“Here?” My mouth dropped to her neck, her perfume filling my nostrils. My lips grazed her body, and goosepimples appeared on her skin.

I planted more open-mouthed kisses on her throat, her hand snaking around my neck as she arched her back. I was rock hard, and I knew if we fucked and it was as good as I thought it might be, we would get hitched within the week.

This girl was perfect for me.

She turned her head, her lips finding mine as her tongue plunged into my mouth.

Our heads were snapping right and left as we found our rhythm, my hands lifting her up so her legs could wrap around me. I could feel her heart pounding as she gave in to me, her hands dragging down my arms as she moaned into my mouth.

I swear I’m not even thinking when my fingers slid into her lace panties, plunging into her sweet wetness.

“Rowan, what if Stu walks in?”

“Mmm!” I growled into her neck, pushing my trousers down to my ankles. The swelling of my cock was pressed against her panties, the thin fabric barely restraining me.

“Rowan, are we going to do this?” she gasped, her eyes darting around us as she sucked her lip back into her mouth.

“Just give me the word, Madison,” I growled against her.

MADISON

Was he being serious?

I could hear Stu whistling in the room beside ours, but the look in Rowan’s eyes told me he wasn’t playing.

“Oh my God!” I closed my eyes, my fingers moving down to slide my panties to one side, allowing him full access to my intimate areas.