Page 16 of Four Firemen For Christmas

“Awesome.” Derek tapped his feet on the floor. “You want me to take you over there when our shift ends?”

“Yeah. That would be great.” Nerves tightened across my shoulders and made my voice squeaky. I’d never shared an apartment with a guy before, much less with two. What if they were slobs?

Alex palmed his cheek but didn’t look too put out by the idea of me staying with them.

“Great. Now get back to work.” Henry’s expression remained calm, but I sensed the sexual frustration lingering between us.

Alex left first, followed by Derek, who paused at the door. “Looking forward to seeing you later.” He winked again.

“Close the door,” Henry barked out.

Derek’s laughter rang out as he closed the door with a slam that shook the blinds. The closed blinds. I was alone with Henry again in a room where no one could see us but could walk in at any second.

I almost reached over and locked the door, just to see what Henry would do. I was too damned curious about this man.

“Stop looking at me like that.” He pushed to his feet and walked around the desk until he stood by my side. Heat emanated from his body in pulsing waves that wrapped around me. A hard look crossed over his face as he stared at me. “Fuck Derek. Or Alex. They’ll take good care of you.”

“Henry—”

He shook his head. “No, Emma. Stop saying my name like you want to fuck me. You don’t. Trust me.” When I opened my mouth to complain, he framed my face in his calloused hands and brought me around so we stood face-to-face. “Don’t push me. You think I’m a controlling asshole here, you have no idea what I’d make you do in the bedroom.”

I couldn’t stop myself to save my life. I raised up on my tiptoes and brushed my lips over his. “I like it when you get all annoyed and pissed off,” I whispered against his lips. “It turns me on.”

His lips slanted over mine in a hungry kiss that assaulted every sense. I smelled the pine and citrus of his cologne and felt the rough texture of his hands smoothing down my neck.

I groaned into his mouth when he slid his tongue against mine. A desperate need to feel him drove my hands between us. I made it as far as his belt before he wrenched away from me.

“We can’t.” He palmed my shoulders, his fingers digging into my skin. Ragged need filled his eyes.

I kept my hold on his belt and pulled. Somehow, we’d turned so my ass was pressed against his desk and I slid onto the hard wood while dragging Henry toward me.

Indecision warred in his expression, and he glanced at the door.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Henry.” I purred his name and wrapped my legs around his thighs. “What do you need?”

His hands left my shoulders and moved to my hips. He gathered up my skirt in bunches and hiked it up until he could see every inch of my panties. “God you’re gorgeous.” One hand held my skirt and the other fisted a handful of my hair. He pulled my head back, exposing my throat.

I couldn’t see him from his angle, but I felt him move between my legs. Thick fingers pushed my panties aside and he thumbed my clit.

“If I was a good man, this would be enough. You want this, don’t you?” He stroked me then cupped my sex. “You’re wet for me, Emma.” One finger slid inside, and I almost fainted from the suddenness of it. “But once you know me, once you understand what I want…”

My whimper stopped him cold. He froze with his finger still deep in my pussy.

“Don’t stop.” I arched toward him.

He abandoned me in the middle of our opening act. In less time than it took for me to blink, he’d taken his finger out of me and stepped back while pulling my skirt back into place.

Cold fury carved a line between his eyebrows. He lifted his hand, his index finger gleaming with my juices, and showed it to me. The more he denied me and told me no, the more I wanted him. I watched him stick his finger in his mouth and lick it clean. “I’m no good for you.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Derek or Alex. Take your pick. Not me.”

The shrill screech of the alarm blared and cut off anything else he might’ve said.

Derek slammed the door open. “Hey, sorry, Emma. I won’t get to walk you over to the apartment.” He tossed a set of keys onto the desk beside me. “You can let yourself in. Check the place out. The bedroom on the right is available.” He nodded toward Henry, not seeming to notice that things were definitely not normal in the office. “Here’s the address. Make yourself at home.”

I took the paper from his outstretched hand, and he took off, racing toward the fire truck.

Henry started past me, his mouth set in a grim line.

“Henry?” There was a good chance he’d ignore me, but I waited for him to turn around before I said, “I’ll be thinking of you tonight when I come in the shower.”

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