Page 54 of Four Firemen For Christmas

“What’s wrong?” Alex was my first thought. Had he gone to my supervisor to complain?

Miles huffed a long breath. “A sexual harassment claim has been filed against you. You need to come and address the complaint.”

Ice filled my body and I could barely breathe. Who would file a complaint against me? The only woman I’d had sex with was Emma. Only one other woman worked at the station, and I never worked on the same shifts as her. Would a guy file a complaint? I palmed my chest. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Fuck. What in the world was going on?

25

ALEX

I’d made an absolute fool of myself. Last night’s magic still seeped through my veins, but it was dampened by Emma’s reminder that none of this was real. It wouldn’t last. I wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

Thank fuck I’d put my clothes on before coming downstairs so I could bolt when I needed to. I even had my keys in my pocket so I didn’t have to return to the bedroom and face the reality of last night. I couldn’t stay in Henry’s house one more second. Staying would mean confronting the change in feelings knocking around in my chest every time I looked at Emma. I didn’t want to give her up. But I couldn’t very well be in love with a woman I’d known less than a month. It took me almost a year to tell Danielle I loved her. It should take me at least that long to recover from our breakup.

I steered my car into the parking lot a block away from the fire station and climbed out. Christmas music floated out of a nearby store, the happy tunes infuriating me. Nothing about our relationship with Emma was going as planned. “Because it’s not a real relationship,” I hissed to myself. I shouldn’t need the reminder. Emma was clear from the beginning that this was never going to last. I should have listened. Why didn’t I ever listen?

Cold snaked down the back of my neck, and I flipped my collar up to block the snowflakes burrowing down my spine. Bare tree branches rattled and creaked overhead, the mournful sound a stark reminder of my own hollowness. Fuck me.

I ducked into the fire station and shrugged out of my coat while cutting into the weight room before anyone spotted me. The last thing I wanted was to answer questions on why I’d come by the station on my day off. The next time I was scheduled to be here, it would be Christmas day. A day of joy and happiness. A day we’d hand out Christmas presents to kids in need and smile until our cheeks hurt.

What would Emma be doing on Christmas day? If we weren’t working, could we have spent the day together? No. She had a grandmother and a mother to spend the season with, she didn’t need us.

I checked the weight on the barbell then dropped into place on the bench. Gripping the bar with both hands, I lifted it off the rack and pumped it until my arms shook and my chest burned.

I still couldn’t get the sight of Emma out of my head. Every breath brought her closer until I almost smelled her perfume.

“Get out of my head.” I swung the bar back into place and rolled to a sitting position. If lifting weights didn’t distract me, what else might? I couldn’t go back to my apartment. Emma might decide to go there. Though she’d probably spend the rest of our time off with Henry. I couldn’t blame her after last night. Our apartment was too small for me right now. Not to mention I saw Emma in every room. That place was ruined for me without Emma.

What I needed to do was to figure out how to get her to stay. We’d all had a great time last night. There was no reason that couldn’t keep going.

Anger knotted my stomach. I shouldn’t have to convince her of anything. Either she wanted to stay or she didn’t. There was no middle ground here. I’d known after the first time I had sex with Emma that it was too good to be true. She was too perfect for this to last. She’d told me then that it was temporary, and my fucking heart refused to listen.

Derek was right. I’d needed some good sex with no strings attached. I never should have let my heart get involved.

Henry’s voice carried from the main building. I straightened and peered around the edge of the door frame. The man I trusted with my life stood outside the district chief’s office with his arms crossed and a frown pulling creases in his cheeks. I was used to seeing Henry solemn, but not sullen. What was he doing here when he had Emma at his house?

Nothing good.

I crept out of the weight room and jogged around to the other side of the building. The firefighters on duty were all on their way into the kitchen for breakfast, making it easy to avoid them. I knew of a spot where I could listen in on their conversation without being seen. I’d found it when Danielle and I were seeing each other. We’d sneak up there sometimes and have sex while I was on duty. The office door opened and District Chief Miles motioned Henry inside.

Their expressions drove me to move faster. I didn’t want to miss a second of this conversation. I bypassed the steps to keep them from hearing me and climbed up the narrow space between two walls, then dropped into a tiny square of space that led nowhere but gave me access to their voices through the thin wall.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee, Henry?” Miles sounded overly polite, which meant he had bad news. The guy was straightforward to the point of being too blunt at times. Whatever he had to say to Henry, he was trying to soften it the only way he knew how.

Steps scuffled and Henry’s voice sounded almost in my ear. “No. I’m fine.” A throat cleared, then Henry again. “What’s going on here, Miles?”

“It’s been reported that you’ve had sexual relations with a woman while on duty. In your office.” Miles’s voice was sharp enough to cut steel.

I couldn’t see either of them, but I could imagine the fucking scene with perfect detail. Miles liked to stand with his hands on his desk, his body leaned forward like he was trying to be personable.

Henry would be at the wall, his back pressed into the cold concrete and his eyes burning with that inner fire I’d seen a handful of times during his career. The man kept himself so tightly under wraps that it had been a relief to see him come undone with Emma last night. He’d been controlling and dominating, but he sank into Emma like he’d die without her.

What kind of woman gave that up?

I waited for Henry to dispute the claim, but a long stretch of silence sounded instead.

Finally, Henry spoke again. “You said on the phone that a sexual harassment claim had been filed against me. Is this a separate accusation?”

What? I straightened so fast, I almost cracked my head on the steel beam overhead. I gripped it with both hands to keep from tearing into the office to defend Henry. He didn’t need my interference. It would look worse for him if I did bust in.

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