Page 5 of Slow Burn

“Only if the brother’s friend isn’t a complete anal gland,” she sassily joked, and he dropped his jaw.

“An anal gland? That’s a different way to say asshole.”

“Or the medical way,” she said slyly just as her drink arrived. Patrick was smart and brought another whiskey for Elijah too.

“Would either of you like something to eat?”

“I’ll have a cheeseburger,” Elijah told him. “Instead of fries, can I have whatever side of vegetables you have tonight?”

Patrick nodded. “We have steamed broccoli. And for you?” He shifted his attention to the beauty next to Elijah. This time, Patrick gave her a smile, which he never did for Elijah.

She took a sip of her whiskey and winced. “I’ll do the same thing, but no bun for me.”

He walked off to place their food order, and Elijah smirked.

“What’s that look for?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink. Again, she winced.

“Why did you order a whiskey if you don’t like it?”

“I like whiskey, but no matter how many times I’ve had it, it still burns going down. Not all of us are as tough as you.” She was grinning.

This woman had a spark that drew him in. It wasn’t just her sexy smile that had him pining for more of her attention. Without a doubt, something was special about her, something that made her stand out.

“What do you do when you aren’t at the bar,” the blond bombshell kept talking, “and doing a crap job of picking up women?”

She was a firecracker, that was for sure. And if she played games, he would too.

Elijah scooted his chair closer to her. “You think I’m doing a shit job at picking you up?”

“Let’s see here.” She lifted her hand to count off all his misses but managed it with a grin. “I had to come to you and initiate conversation. Then I had to wait a long time before being offered a drink. And I swear my back hurts from doing all the heavy lifting with questions for us to get to know each other.”

He moved closer to her with his mouth hovering near her ear. She was close enough that if he wanted to, he could kiss her. “My name is Elijah. I’m thirty-eight. I’ve lived in Landmere for a decade and am a lieutenant firefighter. Unless you object, I’m going to kiss you.”

Elijah gave her a minute to digest all the information, and her eyes blinked heavily. Fuck, he needed this woman like he needed his next breath.

Instead of leaning in so he could taste her, she scooted back on her chair to put space between them.

Elijah grabbed her hand, an attempt to hold on to her so she didn’t run away.

“What just happened?” he asked. How did she go from sultry and flirtatious to annoyed and distant?

She rolled her dark-green eyes as if he was the one acting like a petulant child.

“Did you say you worked at the fire station?”

He let go of her arm. “I do more than just work at a fire station. I’m a firefighter. Do you have something against firefighters?”

Crossing her arms, she slanted her gaze at him. “What was the name of your friend’s brother you were meeting tonight?”

He didn’t like the turn their conversation was taking. This was the last time he was ever contemplating a hookup with someone in his town.

“Not that it makes a difference to you.” Elijah stared her down. Much to his dismay, even when she acted annoyed, she was still hot as hell. “But his name is George.”

Then she laughed in his face.

OF COURSE THE hottest guy she’d ever met was a firefighter. And not just any firefighter, one who worked with her older brother.

“Do you have something against the name?” Elijah asked, taking a gulp of the amber liquid. He was calm, cool, and collected, though the way he narrowed his eyes showed something else. Like he was pissed off.