Page 51 of The Night Belongs To Fireman

The brush of his warm, solid frame made her throat go dry. His muscled thigh bumped against her hip. She heroically suppressed a whimper. Why’d Marsden have to pick such a cute bodyguard? Was he trying to torture her? “I know you have a sensitive side because I see it every day. I see it with the animals at the Refuge, with your neighbor kids, everywhere except in a bumper car.”

“You should see me on a basketball court.”

“Really?”

“I’m not tall, but I play hard. I had to, growing up, or I would have been roadkill. Competitiveness kind of runs in the Breen family.”

The silky hair on his arm whispered against hers as he stepped back to give her space. If that slight bit of contact felt that delicious, what would the rest of him feel like?

“And by the way, if you ever run into my brothers, don’t mention anything about my alleged sensitive side. You have no idea what they would do with that shit.”

“Oh, I won’t mention a word,” she assured him. “But I might compliment your oldest brother—Trent, right?—on his famous haircutting skills.” She winked at him. Fred was so good at teasing her, and she loved how it made her feel, as if champagne bubbles floated through her veins. But it felt even better to tease him back.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I see your evil plan. Trent won’t be able to fight back, because you’re a civilian, not to mention a woman. So he’ll go after me for ratting him out. Is this revenge for the bumper cars?”

“Oh yes. Better watch your back, fireman.”

“Bring it, rich girl. Ever gone bowling?”

She couldn’t help squealing with delight. “Can we go, can we go?”

What kind of childhood didn’t include bowling? It was practically un-American. Even though Fred was too caught up in Rachel to hit a single strike, it was worth it to see the joy on her pixie face, her sparkling smile, the delight in every line of her provocatively vinyl-clad body. Good thing she had no idea he was going through the evening with a constant semi-hard-on.

There were still at the bowling alley, and she’d just collapsed next to him, laughing over her latest gutter ball, when a snide voice cut into his pleasantly lustful thoughts.

“I suppose this is one of those ‘successful women’ the firehouse is so crazy about?” Courtney stood over them, holding hands with a guy from her business school program. She gave Rachel a pointed, disdainful look, taking in her belly shirt and black vinyl.

Fred went on full alert. “How you doing, Courtney?”

“Great. Very successful. I aced my finals. And did you get my phone messages about how I’ve moved on?” She pointedly squeezed her classmate’s hand. Her gaze kept flickering to Rachel, but the hell if Fred was going to introduce them.

“Congratulations. I knew you would.”

“Haven’t seen you on TV lately. Did the press get tired of you?”

“Something like that.”

Courtney dismissed him and turned to Rachel. “I’m in business school. What do you do?”

Rachel said promptly, “Dog groomer.” Fred nearly spurted his Orange Crush all over Courtney’s painted-on jeans. “I started with people, but I flunked out of beauty school and now I just do dogs.”

Courtney’s eyes narrowed, but Rachel stood her ground. “Do you have any dogs?”

“I’m too busy for pets.”

“That figures.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Fred jumped to his feet, blocking the line of sight between Rachel and Courtney. His bodyguard duties had better not include stopping a catfight. “We have to go. Nice running into you, Courtney.”

“Are you serious, Fred? Her?” Courtney hissed. “She’s the skankiest thing this side of the Sunset Strip. Look at that top. I mean, everyone else is.”

“Hey!” Rachel yelled from behind him. “Are you dissing my outfit?” Apparently channeling a reality show contestant, Rachel was trying to claw her way from behind his back. He held her off like some kind of bouncer.

“OMG, she’s crazy. You’re really scraping the bottom of the tramp barrel, Freddie. So sad.” Courtney rolled her eyes dramatically and sidled off, dragging her business-school boy toy like a pet on a leash.

As soon as she was out of sight, Rachel doubled over in laughter. “That was … She actually thought …” She could barely speak through her wheezes. “That was the most awesome thing ever.”

“I suppose that was on your list?” Irritated, Fred crossed his arms over his chest. “Catfight in a bowling alley?”

“I just … No one ever sees me that way!”

“Let’s go.” Fred hadn’t enjoyed the encounter nearly as much as Rachel clearly had. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Whirling around, he headed for the shoe rental return. Rachel skipped after him.

“Is she an old girlfriend or something? She was being so mean to you. I was trying to help you get rid of her.”

“Yes,” Fred answered shortly, unwilling to reveal anything more about Courtney. “We dated for bit, then we ended it.”

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