Page 4 of Four Firemen For Christmas

I wouldn’t know. I’d never stepped foot inside until today. I felt bad that they were losing their business, especially so close to Christmas. That had to hurt like a mother fucker.

Gray smoke poured into the sky as I continued pumping water into the building. We’d done the best we could inside, but Henry forced us out when it looked like the roof might cave. Not that I minded. No way I wanted to be inside with a collapsing roof. I loved being a firefighter, but I was here to save people, not get squished under the rubble. Geez. What a morbid thought.

I eased back on the hose and turned my mind back to the brunette. She was cute in the girl next door kind of way with brunette waves and dark brown eyes. I wished I’d been able to get her number before I had to leave her.

Henry would definitely have frowned on that. If he found out about it. But damn. The girl was hot, and she’d been adorable clinging to my neck and saying she didn’t want to die. And that comment about the red dress had shot straight to my dick.

What would she look like all cleaned up and dressed up? My imagination skipped straight to a vivid image of her curves.

She’d been grateful that I saved her. I didn’t need her gratitude but it helped. I’d gotten into firefighting to save people. And because chicks dig firefighters. Not that I had any trouble getting laid, but when you told women you ran into burning buildings for a living, they turned all soft.

Henry’s and Samuel’s voices rang out from behind me. The two older men had been on the team for years. They knew more about fires than I’d probably ever learn. That was why I wanted to be on their team.

“Set up that blockade behind the fire truck,” Henry bellowed.

I turned around and caught Alex’s eye. “I think we’re done here.”

Alex frowned but nodded. “Yeah, we’ve covered as much as we can. Let’s shut it down.”

Within minutes, the water stopped, and we started rolling the hose back up into the truck.

“Hey, Alex. Get over here and help with this.” Samuel waved Alex over to where he stood in front of the fire truck.

It didn’t surprise me that Samuel wanted Alex. They’d known each other for years. I tried not to feel like the odd man out as they left me to roll the hose by myself. The crowd stopped watching the coffee shop and started trickling away in twos and threes. Now that the excitement was over, they didn’t have any reason to linger.

The ambulances slammed their doors, and the EMT I’d left the girl with threw up a hand in a farewell wave. I raised my hand in an answering wave and grinned when I spotted my brunette making her way toward me.

Samuel, Henry, and Alex stepped in front of me, cutting off my view. Samuel slapped his gloved hands together and grinned. “Great job, Derek.”

Henry looked over the coffee shop with a critical eye before he nodded once. “You boys did good. Nice save with the girl.”

“Are you guys going to be here much longer?” A policeman in a blue uniform directed his question at Henry.

Henry shook his head. “Nah. We’ll be out of your hair in a couple minutes. Get ready to move that barricade for us, yeah?”

The cop backed away while motioning for a few others to join him.

I had to slow their roll and give the girl time to reach us. I elbowed Alex and motioned at her. “Bet you I get her number before you do.”

Alex followed my pointed stare and rolled his eyes. “She’s hot, but I’m not interested.”

Damn. I’d forgotten about him and his girl breaking up last week. He was strictly cut off from having any fun as he sulked.

“Come on, man. A good fuck would do wonders for that sulky attitude.” I elbowed him again. “Don’t be a wimp.” I regretted egging him on when he jerked upright and his nostrils flared. Sweat had tracked lines through the soot on his face and given him a manic look.

He walked away without a word, refusing to fall into any kind of argument or competition with me. He didn’t go far, and I caught him looking at the brunette when he thought I wasn’t watching him.

Aha. So, he was interested, but he didn’t want to admit it.

I smirked and considered pushing him further, but then Samuel grabbed the rolled hose from me and heaved it into the truck. The man was a beast, with arms nearly as big as my thighs. And that was saying something because I spend hours at the gym to shred my body into perfect form.

I had the kind of physique that made bodybuilders look like hams. And I was proud as fuck, which made Samuel’s actions burn through me.

Samuel matched my smirk and threw an arm around my neck. “You wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like that. Better leave her to the experienced men.”

“Yeah, sure, Grandpa.” I threw an elbow into his gut.

He dodged it and laughed off my attempt at insulting him. “Forty is the new twenty, man. I’m prime real estate.” He popped open the thick coat and threw it into the truck then flexed his arms.

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