Hot Nights with the Fireman (4 page)

“That's nice. You'll have to introduce her to my car so I can park here also.” She didn't smile and stared out the front windshield.

It almost seemed his suggestion of meeting her best friend upset her. Maybe she thought he wasn't good enough to mix in her world. Message received. He hadn't taken her for a snob, but perhaps she had the right way of things. They lived in different universes. He tapped her shoulder with a gentle finger. “If you don't want to do this, we can go our separate ways here.”

In answer she unclipped her dark gray nylon seatbelt and got out of the car in a swift move. He followed out his door. She looked over at him across the roof of the car. “No, I want to have dinner with you.” Her cheeks flushed slightly, visible even in the twilight. “In a professional capacity, of course.”

“Of course,” he replied, trying and failing to keep a grin off his face.

“Now I'm craving these amazing burgers you mentioned.” She smiled easily and whatever tension had hit her a few seconds ago was gone.

“Lead the way,” she said. They met up at the rear of the car, and he took her elbow briefly, guiding her in the correct direction. The skin on her elbow was soft, as if she spent the time rubbing lotion into it every night. He pulled his hand away, because she felt too good against him. She was off-limits, he reminded himself, but he couldn't help noticing how her silky blue dress clung to her curves in all the right places. And, oh man, a slit in the thigh rode higher with every step she took. He forced himself to look up to not get caught staring, and because staring down while walking the narrowed brick sidewalks of Georgetown was a guaranteed way to crash into a tree branch or unsuspecting tourist.

“Left up ahead,” he directed.

She followed his lead, her low heels eating up the sidewalk. Part of him hoped she'd get a heel caught in one of the many loose red bricks so he could play hero and lift her out, but it was a stupid wish. For one, he liked her confidence and almost-ass-kicking vibe. And two, she might be out of his league. Maybe if he repeated it enough, he would remember.

It was a quick walk to the bar that served great burgers. He'd discovered the place about a year ago when he'd dated a woman who lived in Georgetown. This bar was the only good thing to come out of his two-month relationship with her.

The restaurant was long, dark, and narrow like most places in the historic neighborhood thanks to the older buildings. Two baseball games played on large flat screens over the bar. Valerie brightened when she saw them. “Can we sit so we can see the televisions?”

“Sure thing, are you a Nationals fan?”

“Sort of. My company has a box there and I get to go on occasion. It's a lot of fun. Plus, I did a little work for them last year when one of their pitchers…” She didn't have to finish the statement. He remembered when the player's face had been all over the news thanks to his misconduct off the diamond.

Box seats at the Nats must be nice. He went only when they ran a good deal on tickets or a buddy invited him. “Well, keep me in mind next time you have use of the box.”

“Mm-hmm,” she murmured noncommittally. She slid gracefully into a booth, and instead of taking the chair opposite, he slid in next to her. “I want to see also,” he said in response to her questioning, almost hostile, glance. She visibly relaxed, but he couldn't. Sitting this close to her, he could smell the tangy citrus of her shampoo and feel the heat coming off her silky thigh through her tights. He desperately wanted to glance under the table to see where the slit in her dress had landed when she sat. He knew he'd have a glimpse of heaven if he looked.

To hide his discomfort, he buried his face in his menu, not that he needed to. He always got the same thing here. Partly because he liked the burger, and partly it was easier to order the top thing than to decipher the mess of words of the other options in the near dark.

“What are you going to have?” she asked, also studying the menu intently.

“Burger with the works and a Sam Adams on tap.”

“Sounds great. I'll have the same, but no beer,” she added. “I have to work later tonight.”

They repeated their orders for the waitress a moment later then sat at the table not talking and watching the Nationals play some baseball. It was not uncomfortable exactly, but they kept shifting their bodies on the booth, careful not to brush elbows or thighs, though some touching was inevitable in the cramped space.

V
alerie changed positions again on the cracking black leather seat and sipped her water. If she kept this up, she was going to be hitting the restroom every few minutes for the rest of the night. She was drinking to keep her mouth and hands occupied. Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own and kept wanting to inch over and rest on Jason's muscular thigh under the table or to pick up his hand and study the interesting pattern of scrapes and scars she could make out in the flickering light.

Her mouth was a trickier task. She was so interested in Jason and curious about him, she was scared she'd start blurting out questions about his childhood or his love life, as if she were a news reporter. Or she was going to do something monumentally stupid and ask him to come to the charity benefit honoring her boss. She rarely brought a date to a work function, but the moment she'd stepped into the firehouse and seen Jason sitting in the front row looking better than she remembered, the idea had niggled its way into her brain, despite her clear disclaimer that she didn't date clients. Potentially, she could claim that it was part of the project scope in rehabilitating the image of the firefighter by showing he cared about charity.

It was a stupid idea. Jason represented everything she disliked about the male species in general, and he, in particular, might be one of the worst of the bunch. Sure he seemed nice enough now, but look at why she was in his life in the first place. He'd been caught nearly naked with sorority girls in his place of work. He was a playboy, pure and simple, and she didn't have tolerance for men who treated women like disposable toys.

Even if he weren't a playboy dog, it was ridiculous of her to imagine she could ever have anything resembling a normal relationship with someone in his profession. Every time she looked at him she was reminded of her scarred past. And if something were to develop between the two of them, he'd likely not be able to get past her scarred legs. It'd be like a blaring alarm reminding him of his occupational hazard every time he looked at her. Someday she'd find a man worth risking her self-esteem on, but she hadn't found him yet.

Every few seconds, she took her gaze off the TV screen and glanced at Jason. He had a scar on the back of his hand and she wondered what it was from. The scars looked nothing like burns, and she was an expert.

“Yes?” Jason was staring at her with his brows raised.

“Oh.”
Oh my God
, she'd unconsciously stroked the back of his hand, touching the scar. She whipped her finger back off his skin as if scalded.

“I…How did you get this?” she asked. “Fire?”

He glanced down at the silvery scar she'd stroked and then at her face. “Nah, my brother and I liked to play
Star Wars
as kids. We got a little too enthusiastic with our fake light sabers. Two stitches and a spanking from mom.”

“The stitches weren't punishment enough?”

He smiled. “Nope, we also broke a few glasses. You see, we used our forks at the dinner table as our light sabers.”

“Oh no.” She laughed. “Is he your older or younger brother?”

“Older by three years. He's still in Aberdeen. What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

She couldn't think about siblings without her stomach tightening and cramping. “No, no siblings.” She turned back to her water and the game. She could feel Jason's observant gaze on her, but she really didn't want to tell him that her mother had been pregnant with her younger sibling when she'd been killed in a house fire. It wasn't first date kind of conversation, not that this was a date. She needed to stop acting like there was more to this dinner than there was and get her head back on straight.

“Didn't you say you had some questions to ask me?” she asked.

He didn't answer at first, and kept looking at her as if he could see her bad memories if he stared hard enough. Finally he relaxed his stare and gave his naughty smile. “I lied.”

Then he continued, “I know you think I'm probably some kind of asshole because of the pictures on the Internet, right?”

Her cheeks felt heated and she managed a quiet, “I never said that, but lying to me to trick me into dinner doesn't help your cause.” She inched away from him on the bench and heard the annoyance in her voice.

“Hear me out, please. Everyone in the county and the state saw the photos, too, and my boss wanted to make me an example. My pay was docked and I have to help with the PR campaign to make the public forget about the pictures,” he said. “The pain of it is that I didn't do anything wrong. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The truth is, I care a hell of a lot about my job. It's pretty much my whole life and I don't want to mess things up, but I also think you and I have an attraction between us that's worth exploring.”

She stared at him, not sure whether to take his words at face value. He didn't sound particularly remorseful about partying with young women at work, but he also claimed he hadn't done anything wrong. She had her work cut out for her if he didn't even see that getting naked with a group of coeds was wrong. She couldn't even touch his statement about exploring the attraction between them. “Fine,” she said shortly. “I understand and sympathize about passion for your job. I feel the same way about mine.” Or used to. “Please don't lie to me again, and I'm going to ignore the thing you said about our attraction.”

He held up a large palm. “I promise to always tell you the truth.”

She held her lower lip under her teeth for a second then finally nodded. They sat staring at each other in silence for a long beat, and thank goodness, the waitress arrived with their food.

They found neutral topics, talking around mouthfuls of juicy, perfectly cooked burgers. She eyed his icy golden beer and kind of wished she hadn't been good and stuck to water. He saw her eyeing his drink and pushed the glass toward her. “Have a sip, it won't hurt.”

“Okay, but only a few sips. I have to work when I go home.” She lifted the rim of the glass between her lips and her eyes caught his gaze. There was something unbelievably intimate about sipping from his glass. And, oh great, she couldn't keep her eyes off his lips and was now obsessing over what it would be like to kiss him. He had wide lips that curled into an easy grin, and his cheeks were unshaven, as if he were so masculine, even his hair had to prove it by sprouting a nice shadowy beard by dinnertime.

It was easy to see how he'd seduced the sorority girls into removing their tops. He was a charmer, and she'd nearly fallen victim as well. She plunked the glass on the scratched wooden tabletop harder than she meant to and some beer sloshed over the side. “Sorry.”

“It's all right.” He pulled the glass to him, lifted it, and drank deeply. When he put the glass down, she quickly went back to her burger, although at this point there was almost nothing left but bun and a few scraps of romaine.

When the bill came, they both reached for the black leather rectangular billfold and laughed. “Split it?” she offered.

“Okay,” he said.

She was glad he wasn't going to fight her on paying her own way. It would've been inappropriate and too much like a date. Yep, going to pretend he'd never ever mentioned the chemistry sizzling in the half-inch empty space between their bodies on the booth.
He's a client, Val
, she reminded herself.
Hands off.

They both had exact change and were able to leave cash in the sleeve without having to wait for change or to sign credit card slips. Jason stood and held out a hand to her, which she accepted, and he easily pulled her out of the booth. His hand was warm and callused and strong. They held hands a fraction longer than was appropriate and finally she pulled away. “I'm going to use the restroom before we leave.” He nodded and turned to watch the Nats game at the bar while he waited for her.

When she exited the bathroom, her gaze was immediately caught by his strong profile from where he sat on a high wooden barstool. It was as if the restaurant were empty but for the two of them. He turned his attention from the game to stare at her as she made her way through the maze of chairs, as if he'd felt her gaze. Swallowing hard, she then pasted an easy smile on her lips. “Ready to go?”

He hopped off the bar stool and placed a hand on her elbow to guide her out onto the crowded streets of Georgetown. Night had fallen while they'd eaten, and the sidewalks bustled with college students in large groups jostling for space and attention. Jason easily merged into the crowd, keeping her protected and giving her space to walk.

“Do you want to walk off that burger before we go sit in the car?” Jason asked.

No, she had to get home to work, but she found herself agreeing against her better judgment, and Jason steered her off M Street to a less crowded, narrower road. “Let's walk along the canal,” he suggested.

Normally, she would never consider walking along the canal at night. It was dark, and there could be some of the less savory members of Georgetown society lurking in the shadows, but with six-foot-plus muscular Jason at her elbow, she'd be safe. She loved walking along the canal, but it was foolish to turn this evening into something more than a work thing.

“No thank you, we should get back to the car.”

“Come on. It's a gorgeous night.” He tugged at her elbow with a crooked grin on his face, and she capitulated.

“Fine. I always feel like I've been transported back in time when I walk around here,” she said as they stepped off the safety of the brick path onto the dirt road running alongside the narrow canal. No mules were present at this time of night, but the long low wooden barge rested at one of the locks.

Jason stopped to observe the engineering feat that allowed the water to pass from one section to another and take the barge with it. He studied it with great attention. “I like the mechanics of it.” He grinned at her, and they kept walking. “I barely remember the history of it.”

“Not much of a history student, huh?”

It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked as if something dark and unhappy crossed his face. “Nah, I was never much of a student, period.”

“Then I appreciate you sticking around today while I lectured,” she said.

He stopped walking and faced her. “Oh, I didn't mean you. You've been really interesting.” The night was beautiful. No mosquitoes flew in their faces or summer humidity dampened their skin. In just a few weeks the trees lining this path would be golden yellow and orange during the day.

“What about you?” he asked. “I bet you were a good student, and you're good at your job, too, aren't you?”

“I went to an Ivy League school if that's what you want to know.”

He made a mysterious indecipherable sound as they started walking again. “Of course you did,” he muttered. Then in a louder voice, he asked, “What about work? Did you always want to work in public relations?”

She mulled that over as their shoes crunched in the gravel path. “I don't know,” she confessed honestly. “I mean, PR person isn't the type of career that kids aspire to like astronaut or princess.”

“Or firefighter,” Jason said.

“Or firefighter,” she agreed. “Do children simply worship you?”

He laughed, and the husky sound made her eager to make him laugh again. “Pretty much.”

“Speaking of which, that reminds me, I'm going to be at the school visit next week taking photos of you in the classroom. I know by volunteering you accepted that your photo might be used for media purposes, but I wanted to run it by you personally since you seemed sensitive about it before.”

He nodded. “Thanks for asking. I only care if they're naked photos that I didn't volunteer for.”

She bit her tongue before asking sassily if he had naked photos that he
had
volunteered to pose for.

She sped up her pace, suddenly in a hurry to get back to the car before she did something indiscreet. “Great.”

He caught up and touched her elbow. “Valerie, slow down.”

She glanced at his hand on her skin and slowed her pace.

“Seriously, thanks for organizing this for me.”

“No worries. It's my job, and I'm not doing it for you alone. Your whole team will be there in the truck.”

He grinned. “Of course. You can't forget the truck when going to the schools. That's all the kids really care about.”

“The kids might ignore you, but I bet the teachers like seeing you,” she said slyly with almost a flirtatious tone to her statement.
Damn it, Val. Keep your mouth shut.

“Maybe.” His expression gave nothing away, but hidden laughter danced on his words.

She laughed outright. “Don't play coy with me, Moore. You probably have those teachers drooling over sexy firefighters.”

He stopped walking and grasped her elbow, turning her to face him. “You think I'm sexy?”

Her stomach somersaulted at his callused fingers on her skin. His face was inches away and he smelled like a yummy combo of beer and aftershave. It was intoxicating. “Sure, all firefighters are sexy. It's the hose, right?” She tried to play it off like a joke, but he wasn't buying it. He leaned in, as if to kiss her, then moved his lips close to her ear. His heated breath tickled her insides, and for a moment, she leaned into him, inhaling his nearness, reveling in her attraction to him, until she stiffened again, remembering that he was a client.

“It's okay, I think you're sexy as hell, too.” Then he pulled away, leaving her standing frozen with wide eyes. He needed to stop saying things like that or it would make her life more difficult and make it harder for her to remember why nothing could come of the chemistry between them.

He stepped an appropriate distance away and started walking at a faster clip. She jogged a little to catch up to him on legs that were feeling decidedly Jell-O-like. They were at a break in the path, and he took it to return to the main road and back to civilization.