Page 9 of Silver Fox Firefighters Next Door

He looked so casual leaning against the counter behind him, like he knew he belonged there or something. “Of course, you can make your own choices. But if Ana is going to try to date other men, she might need help making the right choice.”

I stomped my foot and slammed the laptop shut. “You’re wrong.”

He trailed along behind me when I moved toward my bedroom. “Or I’m not. Maybe it’s Ana who’s wrong. Or Steel. Either way. Trust me, Eve, when a man wants a woman, he doesn’t just sit back and watch her slip away. He acts.”

I spun around and stared up at him, my mind warring with my body. I wasn’t even sure why I was arguing with him. I didn’t usually bother. He was making me furious, though. Without meaning to, I growled at him, doing my best to put all of my frustration in that one sound.

Aiden backed me into my door and braced his hands on either side of my head. “That was cute. Now let me show you a real growl.”

CHAPTER 8

Eve

I held my breath when Aiden dipped his head and brushed his mouth over my ear. Then he made a sound that sent goosebumps racing up and down my body. His growl was low and menacing against my neck but it trailed into something softer, almost a purr. I pressed my hands against his chest, maybe to push him away, but once I felt the heat of his skin, I changed my mind.

Aiden slowly pulled his head back and met my gaze. Our mouths were too close together, too drawn to each other. He swore, gripped the back of my head, and slid his lips over mine. I arched into him and ran my hands up his chest to cling to his wide shoulders. He swept his tongue into my mouth and the sweet taste of sugar exploded through my senses.

He ran his hand down my side to grip my hip and tug me even closer while he tilted his head to deepen our kiss. He dominated my mouth and controlled the kiss with ease. My head bumped the wall behind me but I barely noticed. He’d shifted his grip in my hair to rest just under my chin and the feeling of being at his mercy filled me with an eagerness I’d never experienced. I wanted him to control me but I also wanted to make him work harder.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

I shoved Aiden away from me with a surprising amount of power at the sound of Grandpa’s voice. I spun to face the front of the cabin and quickly wiped my mouth, just to find Grandpa standing with his hands on his hips, frowning at us. Behind him, Nash and Tate palmed their faces like little boys who just got caught.

“Grandpa! You’re here!” I almost stomped on my laptop as I took a step forward but Aiden’s arm shot out and stopped me. I looked down and saw that I must’ve dropped it at some point. Swearing under my breath, I grabbed it and clutched it to my chest again. “Um. What are you doing home so early?”

“Living my damn life, Evie. What exactly are you doing?” He leaned on his cane and stared at me through bushy white eyebrows I needed to help him trim.

“I was just…talking to Aiden about my work.” I put my laptop down on the island and fluttered around him, taking his wallet and keys to put on the counter. “Did you have a good night out?”

He huffed and puffed when I took his elbow and led him to his recliner. “Dammit, Evie, I can walk by myself.”

“And you can walk with my help, too.” I eased him into his chair and put my hands on my hips as I looked him over. My brain was fluttering after kissing my second neighbor in as many days but I was fighting hard to focus on Grandpa. “Do you need anything? If you’re hungry I can throw something together.”

Aiden gently cupped my arm and tugged me a few feet away from Grandpa. “Sheriff Hank.”

“Aiden.” Grandpa nodded his head at Aiden and then at Nash and Tate. “One of you boys want to tell me why my cabin door was busted and why my granddaughter looks like she rubbed her face all over a rough carpet?”

I held my hands up and shook my head. “No. No, we’re not talking about that second thing because it didn’t happen. As for the door… A moose ran into it.”

Tate choked on a laugh and Aiden didn’t bother hiding his larger than life laugh. Nash came up behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder. He shot me a look of disbelief before shaking his head and smiling at Grandpa. “We thought we heard screaming in here. The door was locked and we did what we had to. We’ll make sure it’s better than new before we leave.”

Grandpa looked between the four of us and I felt just like a teenager again. I shifted from foot-to-foot and looked up at him through my lashes. “Sorry, Grandpa.”

He waved me off. “We needed to fix that door up anyway. If you’re going to lie, though, honey, you have to be better than that. We don’t have moose here.”

I groaned. “Good to know.”

“Well?” He looked at the three men standing around me. “Get back to work. Unless someone else wants to kiss my granddaughter?”

I let out a high-pitched laugh and shook my head. “Funny, Grandpa. Are you going to tell me if you want food or not?”

“No. I ate in town.” He looked away and I got the feeling he was hiding something, but I was hiding things, too, so I didn’t want to delve into it too hard. “How was Ray’s?”

“Ray’s?”

I frowned. “Didn’t you stay at Ray’s?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah. Ray’s was fine.” Grandpa looked up at Nash. “You want to show Evie how to build?”

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