Page 10 of Silver Fox Firefighters Next Door

I held up my hands and grabbed my laptop. “No, Grandpa. I have work to do. I’ll finish in my room unless you need something.”

He smirked at me. “Nope.”

I shot him a look I hoped conveyed we were going to discuss his behavior later, but he didn’t look bothered. I hurried toward my room, not daring to look back at my neighbors, especially because I was afraid of what I’d see on Tate’s face after he’d probably watched me kiss his best friend.

I locked myself in my room and forced myself to work until my eyes were blurry and my stomach ached from hunger. Still, I lingered in my room, too scared to go out and chance facing my neighbors. I also wasn’t ready to have a real conversation with Grandpa about what I was doing with said neighbors. It was all too much.

Through sheer will and determination, I managed to avoid the male species until the next night when Billie came over. Even then, I only caught a glimpse of Nash standing next to his motorcycle while ushering Billie inside. Grandpa was already asleep in his recliner when Billie and I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and snuck into my room like we were kids again.

We spent a few hours getting drunk and complaining about the opposite sex. I slipped her a new pile of romance novels I’d gotten and had already devoured. We even talked in detail about Aliengate. It was fun to let go of my worry for a while.

When I woke the next morning, Billie was gone and I was back to hiding. I had plenty of work to keep me busy but eventually I was going to have to leave the cabin and I had a bad feeling my neighbors weren’t done with me.

Three nights, several shots, and an attempted strip tease from Billie later, I knew I’d been right.

CHAPTER 9

Nash

I’d decided to stop at Jack’s on my way home to grab a beer but I got much more than I bargained for. The moment I rode my bike into the parking lot, I saw Eve’s car and felt a wave of weariness settle over me. The woman was a thorn in my side and she didn’t even know it. The moment we’d arrived in Harmony Valley, I’d spotted her peeking out of her bedroom window. A man didn’t survive doing covert military operations without being able to spot the sway of curtains in a window. She was like a ghost, watching us every time we were outside working, with her pale skin and midnight black hair.

Sheriff Hank had pulled out his wallet and showed us photos of Eve through the years, playing the part of a proud grandpa perfectly. Eve as a baby, Eve graduating kindergarten, Eve missing her front two teeth and grinning like a loon. It was more than a little suspicious, though, when he got to her most recent photos and just happened to have three extra for us to hold onto.

The wallet-sized picture should’ve been easy to ignore but there was something about Eve staring back at me that got under my skin. She had the face of an angel with pale blue eyes that bordered on haunting. Thick black lashes, ruby red lips, and a secretive smile made me want to know more. Add that to the fact she refused to interact with us and I was hooked. I was dying to explore Eve Michaels, a fact I didn’t love.

I’d never imagined the first meeting would happen over a neon green dildo but it had definitely left an impression. I’d barely met the woman and I’d already felt the inside of her pussy. All while trying to remain as professional as possible, which was nearly impossible while sporting a raging erection.

What worsened my already overwhelming curiosity about the woman was the chemistry between us. It existed in spades between her and all three of us. It wasn’t often Tate, Aiden, and I all found the same woman intoxicating and it was even less often the woman found each of us just as alluring.

I heaved a sigh and stepped into the dimly lit bar. Scanning the perimeter and assessing any potential threats was commonplace but halfway through my visual sweep my eyes slammed to a halt. There. Eve. Long pale throat exposed as she threw her head back and laughed at something her friend said. I could hear the sweet laugh over the low roar of the bar and wondered for a second if I wasn’t losing it. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Forcing my eyes away from her, I scanned the rest of the bar and made my way around the outer edges, keeping one eye on Eve as I did. I didn’t want to bump into her accidentally. Or maybe I wanted to too much and that was why I wouldn’t allow it.

I ordered a beer from the bartender and stood in the shadows, unable to ignore Eve after spotting her. She lit up with her friend. Her smiles were wider, her eyes brighter. Gone was the somber look in her eyes. Something akin to jealousy stole through my chest and I scowled.

“Hey, handsome.” A pretty blonde woman stepped into my line of sight.

I flinched and hardened my jaw, unhappy I’d been so focused on Eve I hadn’t noticed a woman with about a hundred bangles on her arm, jingling away. I shook my head at the woman and she narrowed her eyes.

“I was just being nice, asshole.” She flipped me off and stomped away, leaving me alone again.

I looked back at Eve and my eyes widened as her friend stripped her overshirt off and then clumsily climbed up on the bar. I took a step forward, not wanting to let Eve’s friend kill herself but as she shouted at the mostly male-filled bar, the patrons closed in around the spectacle.

Someone ahead of me shouted back at the woman. “You look old enough to me!”

Unease rippled through my body and I pushed my way through the crowd, needing to get to the women before something bad happened. Just as I closed the gap, a man wrapped his arms around Eve’s friend and pulled her down. The hair on the back of my neck went up and I reached for my sidearm but there was nothing there. Panic stole my breath for a moment before I forced myself to reset the way we’d learned in therapy years earlier.

I didn’t carry a sidearm anymore. I wasn’t in danger. I was in a bar just outside of a safe little town. Everything was fine. I took deep breaths in and out until it was easier and my chest loosened. Shame didn’t hit quite as hard as it once had but I still glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed what happened. Of course, everyone was too busy watching Eve’s friend taunt the man holding her.

Eve’s happy giggle eased the rest of the tension in my spine. She was fine. After looking for a moment more, it was clear the friend and the man knew each other. Just as I heard the friend asking Eve if she wanted to hop on for a ride with the man, I stepped out of the crowd.

Eve’s eyes widened as they trailed up my body and her cheeks stained red. It shouldn’t have been sexy but it was. She was. In a pair of tight jeans and a flowy top which dipped low enough to show me the small swells of her breasts, she looked like a fucking trap laid out for me. She licked her lips and when she spoke, her voice was husky. “What do you want?”

I frowned. What did I want? That was a dangerous question to ask me right then. Before I could answer, the man holding her friend leaned closer.

“Are you good? I can drive you home, if you need. It’ll give me longer to rip B a new one.” He scowled at the woman in his hold and I felt an instant sense of camaraderie with him. He seemed as frustrated with his charge as I felt towards Eve. For his sake, I hoped he at least understood his frustration with his B.

“My old ones are just fine, thank you.” The woman hiccupped and loudly whispered at Eve. “I let him touch my butt. You know what I mean? My butt.”

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