It was the last call of my last shift of the week. A small kitchen fire had set off the smoke detector at 1:00 a.m., waking an elderly couple and scaring them half to death. Christ, the last thing I needed on a Sunday night was to have two seniors die on me. We had just gotten things under control and we were heading back to the truck. I was picking up my ax when the woman, a Mrs. Levinson, stopped me. She reached out and put her hand on my arm, giving me a concerned look.
“Young man, what about Hailey?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, who’s Hailey?” I asked, trying to be patient.
There were only two people in the house. I knew this. Maybe she was having hallucinations. Or had some form of dementia. I didn’t know. I just wanted to get back to the fire station, get out of my gear, and go home. It had been a long week. I’d just been given notice to vacate the house I was renting—the owners’ daughter was moving in. I needed to find a place to live and fast. I had no time for imaginary people.
“Hailey, next door. She never came out of the house. What if something caught in the walls?”
I sighed and looked at her; she was clearly worried.
“Ma’am, everyone came out. We knocked on all the doors. She must be out.”
The old woman shook her head furiously.
“No, Hailey came by and brought us dinner, then went home. And sometimes she sleeps with earplugs. She always checks on us when the smoke detector goes off. Always. Please go check.”
I smiled thinly and walked over to the truck. The guys were all climbing on.
“Hey, I’m going to check on the neighbour. Give me a minute, okay?”
Chuck nodded at me and I turned back towards the courtyard. I got to the door in question and knocked. Nothing. I rang. Nothing. I looked over at the old lady, who was nodding at me, encouraging me to go in. She handed me a key. I cursed silently and slipped the key in the lock.
The inside of the house was dark, save for a light coming from the kitchen. I walked over and peered in. Empty. The rest of the floor was open-concept, and I could see there was no one there. I walked briskly up the stairs, very fucking anxious to get gone. I flipped on the hallway light. I stuck my head into the bathroom and each of the first two bedrooms. Nothing. There was some smoke in the house, but there was no real danger. Nobody would’ve slept through the commotion, though.
I stuck my head into the last door, and to my fucking disbelief, saw a shape under the covers in the light coming from the hallway. Fucking hell.
“Hey,” I called, then again, a little louder. “Hey!”
Nothing. Crap. Fed up at this point, I flipped on the light and yelled.
“HEY! GET UP!”
The woman shot up straight out of bed, covers dropping to her waist, terror in her eyes and screaming like a banshee. She moved her head around blindly, searching for something. Finding it, she fucking launched it at me. It hit me right in the head and landed at my feet. She was still screaming at me to get out as I bent down to retrieve the object.
I held it in my hand, studying it until I realized what it was. A fucking vibrator. The woman threw a sex toy at me. Well, this is new. I ignored her screaming, scratched my head, and turned it on. I had to smile.
“OH MY GOD, what are you doing?” she cried.
I looked at her and held up the toy.
“This any good?” I asked casually.
She threw the covers back and got out of bed. I took a step back. She was fucking hot. Tall, dark hair, and smoldering eyes. Sex on a stick. She was wearing nothing but a big white V-neck T-shirt and white panties. Christ. I swallowed.
“Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my bedroom?”
She was advancing fast, but I held my ground. I was still a good five or six inches taller than her. I pointed to my uniform.
“Fireman. I came in here to save your ass, but apparently, you’re just fine.”
Her anger turned to shock, then concern.
“The Levinsons! Are they okay?”
She looked around frantically and grabbed a sweatshirt and sweatpants. She was pulling them on, muttering to herself. She went from hard as nails to soft as a kitten in two seconds flat. I reached out and touched her arm.
“Hey, they’re fine. It’s all over. You slept through the whole thing.”
She pulled her arm away, letting out a long breath. She took a moment to calm down, then looked me up and down appraisingly.
“Fireman, huh?” A slow grin spread across her face.
Now, that’s the reaction I’m used to. I ran my hand over my face. Yes, she was hot but I was still on shift and beyond exhausted. Besides, I could already tell this one was trouble.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah. Am I safe?”
“From the fire? The fire is out.”
She walked up to me, stopping about a foot away. She looked up at me from under her lashes and despite my best intentions to remain unaffected, there was a definite twitching in my pants.
“What about from you?” she purred.
I smiled and took a step back, aware of the rising heat between us.
“You, Trouble, are safe from me.”
I handed her her vibrator, which she took without comment. Walking out the door, I paused in the hallway and turned back.
“Maybe don’t sleep with the earplugs. No comment on the vibe, though. That’s totally your call.”
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