Page 4 of Saved By the Firefighter

"Every day." She smiles and then bites her lip.

Hell, maybe I come out every morning for that—to see that cute little lip bite of hers. Though I was trying to keep my eyes away, I drink in the sight of her because she's always stunning. Can't let any emotion show on my face though. She's Marcus's little sister. Off limits. I honestly have no idea how she ended up picking the exact duplex next to mine, but here we are.

I give her a nod since it's best we don't talk too much, then I turn to head back inside. As I'm reaching for the doorknob, she cusses behind me.

Before I can think better of it, I'm striding over to her car. "Everything okay?"

She puts her hands on her hips and sighs, a puff of frustration clouding the cool morning air. I follow her gaze to the sagging rear tire. Yup, that's completely flat.

She gives me a quick smile and then pops her car trunk, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. I'm still standing here, so she tries to wave me away. "No big deal. I can change it. You need to get your daughter ready for school."

"No. Let me help." I'm moving before she can protest, fetching the jack from my truck in the driveway. "Charlotte has plenty of time. I get her up early since she's a snail."

Ellie smiles but is still trying to plow ahead with pulling the spare from her trunk. "Really, Jake, my dad taught me how to do this. I'm not a helpless—" Her heel slips on the damp concrete as she's trying to maneuver the spare onto the ground.

Luckily, I'm close enough that I drop the jack and hurry forward, steadying her. She falls against me, her shoulders pressing into my chest, and I get too good of a whiff of her coconut-scented hair. We're locked like this for a moment, her small body pressed against mine. Against my better judgment, I lower my hand to the small of her back. Her lips part and she inhales sharply, gently, in a barely audible gasp.

It seriously messes with me, my body reacting by heating up, and I have an urge to run my fingers through her soft hair.

I'm really craving a kiss.

Thankfully, she straightens herself, putting an inch of space between us. I also shift focus and grab the tire from her, easily lifting it and then moving it to lean against the car.

She smooths her skirt and looks flustered, her ivory cheeks now a deep shade of pink. Guess she felt something in that moment, too, but we're both playing a dangerous game because Marcus is not an understanding man when it comes to crossing lines.

She's more resigned now, standing off to the side watching me as I get the jack under the car and start pumping it. I drop to one knee and start loosening the lug nuts. Several minutes pass with me trying to focus only on this damn tire and not on Ellie being nearby.

She finally clears her throat and says, "It's kind of nice having roadside assistance living next door."

I smirk, glancing at her. "Didn't you know that's my second job? Firefighting gets boring."

She laughs—an enchanting, warm laugh—and part of me regrets my joke because I like hearing that laugh too much.

I caution myself to rein it in, but I can't help indulging myself.

"Uh-huh," she says, loosening up again and leaning against the car as I pull the flat tire off and reach for the spare. "So then you go around changing tires for all the ladies on the block?"

My smirk widens. "Only the ones who bake me cookies."

Her sexy laugh warms my chest again. “Well, what kind do you like? I’m pretty good at baking.”

Knowing I really need to stop engaging, I quickly finish securing the lug nuts again and wipe my hands on my jeans. "Alright, you're all set." I stand, grabbing her flat tire along with my jack. Then I turn toward my truck.

"Oh," she says, following. "You don't have to do that. Just throw the tire in my trunk and I'll stop by the auto shop later after work to take care of it."

I throw the tire in the truck bed with one big swing of my arm. When I turn around, Ellie looks a bit dazed, staring at my bicep like she can't believe I just tossed a tire around like it was nothing. Then she bites her bottom lip and gives me a heated look. Maybe she's not aware of how much those looks drive me crazy and push me toward doing something irrational, but fuck I need to remove myself from this situation.

I glance at a large tree along the street. "No trouble. One of my work buddies knows someone. We'll get you a new tire, no cost."

"Jake, that's...Thank you."

I cross my arms and give her a wink. Then I regret it. Really need to stop flirting with my best friend's sister.

She bites her damn lip again and I stupidly glance at it. "Guess you're my hero today."

I freeze. The word triggers a flood of painful memories, and my throat tightens. Suddenly, I'm not here outside our duplex in the bright morning sunshine. I'm there—along the road trying to pull Sarah from the overturned car, smoke filling my lungs and choking me. There were too many flames and I couldn't...

Ellie's face falls and she steps forward, touching my arm. "Jake? You okay?"

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