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I flick another match. Damn the prickly captain for screwing up what would’ve been a perfectly genial way to break the boys in. I drop the match in the trash can. Damn the prickly captain for making me want to prove myself to him all over again. I drop the matches on the desk and stand up. Fuck it. Iamgoing to give him a piece of my mind.
* * *
Blaze
I’m all aboutequal rights—I am.
But having Lia Burke in my firehouse might be the death of me.
I head back to the station office and sit at the desk. Lord. I can’t fucking believe they sent me a tiny female. Sure, she passed the test. She’s strong and looks tough as hell. Definitely one of those CrossFit chicks who can bench twice her weight.
But her presence here is going to be the biggest pain in my ass ever.
She’s alsohot. Her smooth caramel skin looks downright lickable, and the big green eyes are set off by long, curling lashes. Not the fake kind that are so popular these days. Natural lashes—no mascara or anything, not that I’m an expert on these things.
And she has junk in the trunk. I’m definitely an ass man and this girl? She has the best posterior I’ve ever had the pleasure of walking behind. Not that I do that on purpose.
Not unless I want to sprout wood in front of my crew.
I can’t stand the other guys ogling her. I mean, I seriously can’t stand it.
They are not exactly PC. It’s locker room talk around here twenty-four seven. I swear I’m going to have a sexual harassment claim on my hands in less than a month.
Even though she’s trying to prove she’s cool with whatever they throw her way.
Yeah, the little spitfire is going to turn this firehouse on its head.
But what troubles me even more is I know something about this girl.
I started at the Staten Island station—Ladder 153. There was a three-alarm fire that destroyed a cop’s place ten years ago. The cop’s oldest son was friends with our captain—my buddy who is now a battalion chief. When Lia got hired, he reminded me of a fire we put out.
We tried so hard to save the house, but it was too late—the entire thing was made of sticks and went up fast. I remember the Puerto Rican wife crying in Spanish while the cop and his kids tried to be heroes and help. We had to order back the four boys and one girl a number of times.
The fire had been ruled accidental, originating in the girl’s bedroom. That girl was Lia Burke.
And for some reason, knowing her history makes me even more protective of her.
She’s fighting demons. She became a firefighter to try reverse her past.
As if that ever works. We can’t make up for our past mistakes. I should know.
A prickle on the back of my neck tells me I’m being watched and I look up. Here she is—one hip propped against my doorway, her slender but buff arms folded across her chest.
She’s so small we had to order her a child’s size t-shirt for her to wear, but damn, the spunk in her is anything but petite. Her dark curls are pulled up in a high ponytail, dark-lashed green eyes are bright against her flushed skin.
“Yes, Burke?” I have to work hard not to think about the way her nipples got hard when I was going off on the crew.
Damn.
I work even harder not to wonder what that means.
Her jaw muscles tighten, then release, then tighten again.
Little girl is trying to hold her tongue and, if I’m interpreting correctly, not blow up at me. Ireallyhave to work to force back all the fantasies that crowd my brain about punishing her for sass. Or forcing her to speak her mind. It could easily go either way.
Another beat passes and she pushes her hip off the door frame. “Nevermind.” She turns and walks away, the sway of her perky ass making my cock twitch in my pants.
“No, come back. Let’s talk this out. You pissed at me?” I may be a hardass, but I’m actually all about communication amongst the team.
