Smokin' (The Hot Boys Series Book 1) Read online

  “I was just stopping by to see if it’d be possible to bring my class into the station sometime. We’re doing a career month right now, where I’m going over a bunch of different jobs so the kids can have some idea of what they might want to do when they grow up. And since half my class is boys, the subject of firemen came up more than once.”

  Ethan leaned back against the red brick of the station exterior, his arms still crossed over his chest.

  “You know,” he said. “There’s this thing called a ‘phone.’ We’ve actually got a few here, and we sometimes use them to talk to people.”

  I was starting to realize that I had a little bit of a smartass on my hands. Lucky for me, however, my line of work had given me plenty of experience when it came to dealing with back-talkers. Just because this one was six and a half feet tall with a face like a male model and muscles he probably could’ve used to lift that truck, well, that didn’t make the underlying process any different.

  “True,” I said. “But I’ve lived in the city for long enough to know that dealing with any kind of government agency over the phone is about the fastest way to lose your damn mind. And this place is on the way back from school, so I figured I’d just drop in.”

  “Part of that ‘drop in’ involve getting into spats with my men?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Well, maybe you should tell your ‘men’ that just because a woman is talking to them it doesn’t give them the right to hit on her like a couple of horny teenagers.”

  Another smile tugged up at the corner of his full, sensual lips.

  “You’ll have to forgive the boys,” he said. “We’re kind of in a high-testosterone environment here. And we don’t usually get too many women stopping by the station for social calls. Tends to get them a little hot under the collar.”

  But Ethan didn’t seem to have too much trouble keeping himself under control with me. In fact, he was beyond cool and collected. Some stupid, insecure part of me wondered if that meant he didn’t think I was attractive. I tossed these childish thoughts out of my head and went on.

  “Anyway, now that I’m speaking with you, I figure we can work something out.”

  “Just what is it you’re looking for?” he asked. “You want to bring a bunch of kids here and let them climb all over the trucks or something?”

  “No,” I said. “They’re not going to be treating the station like a playground. The plan would be to bring them in, give them a guided tour of the station, and let them see what the day-to-day is like for real New York firemen.”

  “And what if we get a call while they’re running around here?” he asked. “This place is like a well-oiled machine. We have some rugrats getting in the way and it might have some, uh, problematic results.”

  “Are you suggesting that I don’t know how to keep my kids in line?” I asked, now feeling a little indignant.

  “Nah,” he said. “Just wanting to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”

  At that moment, I glanced through the garage door windows and caught sight of a handful of firemen watching Ethan and me talk. Well, most of the “watching” was in my direction. Ethan looked in the direction of my attention and spotted his men. With a shake of his head and a wave, he sent them running.

  “I see you’ve got no problems with discipline,” I said. “How long have you been chief for?”

  “Oh, I’m not the chief,” he said. “Just one of the guys higher up on the ladder, so to speak. Chief’s too busy for stuff like this.”

  “Good to know that the FDNY is happy to address the concerns of the citizens,” I said.

  “Hey, if you’d showed up here and told me that something was on fire, we’d be there now.”

  “Anyway,” I said. “What do you think? It’d really, really mean a lot to the kids. And who knows? Maybe you’ll inspire one of them to join up someday.”

  Ethan looked away, appearing to consider the matter. And as he did, I felt my teeth bite down on my lower lip just slightly. This guy was having a major effect on me, and it was beyond surprising.

  “How about this,” he said. “If you’re gonna be bringing your kids to the station, you oughta have your homework done first.”

  “Sure,” I said, agreeing with the sentiment but not sure where he was going with it.

  “You know what a ride-along is?” he asked.

  “Yeah, where you go in the back of a police car and sit with them while they do their shift.”

  “Bingo,” he said. “But swap out ‘police car’ for ‘fire truck’ and you’ve got the idea.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “You want me to go around with you guys? Won’t I get in the way?”

  “I’m a little surprised to hear that’s something that’d bother you,” he said, grinning.

  “Funny,” I said.

  “But to answer your question, no. We do it all the time. You’d check out the station, see what it’s like to go out on a call should we get one, and when you show up with the kids you’ll have a better idea of what to tell them about how things run here.”

  It all sounded pretty reasonable.

  “Wait,” I said. “Does that mean you’re agreeing to the field trip?”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here,” he said. “We can see how the ride-along goes and then figure it out from there.”

  I figured that this was as good as I was going to get.

  “Tomorrow evening work?” he asked. “I’ll be here, and you can just stop in after you’re done with your day.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Sounds like a plan.”

  I stuck my hand out again, and he shook it. My tiny palm was once again enveloped in his massive mitt, and I realized that I was just as interested in having his skin on mine again as I was in cementing the deal.

  “Then I’ll see you tomorrow evening, Miss Parker.”

  He winked and was off, ducking into the small steel door leading into the station. I caught one last glance at the firemen inside staring at me as I turned to leave.

  Heading back down the street, I smiled at a job well done. Sure, I’d have to go on that little ride-along, but I could think of worse guys to be stuck with for an evening than someone like Ethan.

  Besides, how hard could it be?

  3

  ETHAN

  The boys and I clanked the rims of our beers together and let out a cheer.

  “To saving kids from cars who don’t know any better than to not text and freaking drive,” said Rick.

  I let out a dry laugh.

  “Works for me,” I said.

  I took a sip of my beer, the cool, foamy liquid filling my mouth before I brought it down in a gulp.

  The Warsaw, a dive bar on the street and our usual joint, was surprisingly busy. Rock music played on the jukebox and chatter filled the air, broken up by the occasional clack of pool balls slamming into each other. Rick and a couple of the boys were about to head home for their days off, and as per tradition, we all had gone out for a few beers. I was still on call, so drinking was a technically a no-no, but the chief knew how it went.

  “That girl’s lucky as hell no one got hurt,” said Stone, leaning forward on the table and wrapping his hands around his beer. “Put that car of hers right through a shop front. And for what? To not have to pull over to send a damn text?”

  “No kidding,” said Mike. “She was damn lucky we were there.”

  I nodded.

  “You guys all did good,” I said. “Everyone was on the ball, and we showed the NYPD just how professional we can be. And that girl’s probably thankful most of all.”

  The guys nodded.

  “I can’t help but think about just why Chief put you in charge for that run,” said Mike.

  “What, you don’t think Ethan was up to it?” asked Stone.

  “I’d definitely disagree with that shit,” I said, taking another sip of my beer.

  “Nah,” said Mike. “It’s just that the chief is normally so hands-on wi
th the day-to-day stuff. Not like him to stay in the station like that.”

  “What’re you saying?” asked Rick. “You think he’s getting soft or something?”

  “Not that either,” said Mike, shaking his head. “Just wondering if he’s, you know, starting to think about his exit.”

  “Chief’s still up to the job,” said Mike. “He’s just handling the bureaucratic shit so we don’t have to.”

  “I don’t know,” said Mike. “I’m not saying he’s lost his step or anything. But he has been talking a lot more about his grandkids, like he’s wondering why he’s not spending the second half of his life with them instead of with a group of roughneck cocks like us.”

  “That’s just the kind of shit guys that age talk about,” said Stone. “He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t running that station.”

  “But he does seem to be keen on giving you more responsibility, Ethan,” said Mike. “Wondering if he’s getting you all good and ready to take over for him.”

  “Now that’s some shit I don’t want to think about,” I said. “I did the leadership thing back in the SEALs—you guys know this. I’m happy right where I am.”

  “Yeah,” said Mike. “But you still haven’t said just what went down back in the service. You’re all cagey about that shit.”

  “That’s for a reason,” I said. “You go through combat a few times and see how eager you are to talk about it.”

  “Fine, fine,” said Mike. “I’ve got other shit I’d rather be talking about anyway.”

  “Like what?” asked Stone, his eyes on the ass of a passing girl.

  “Like that fucking chick that was at the station today. Are you kidding me?”

  Big smiles appeared on the boy’s faces at the topic of Miss Parker.

  “Goddamn,” said Stone. “Girl had legs for fucking days. You see how she looked in those jeans?”

  “And that T-shirt she was wearing,” said Rick. “It took every goddamn bit of restraint I had to not stare right down at those giant tits.”

  “Yeah, but she seemed like she was a little more interested in the fucking golden boy here,” said Mike, clapping me hard on the shoulder. “You see those eyes she was making when she was talking to Ethan?”

  “Fuck,” said Stone. “When she bit down on her lip I was like, two seconds from jizzing in my fucking pants.”

  Mike, Rick, and I all let out a moan of disgust.

  “Nice mental image,” I said with a smile. “You sick little freak.”

  “What?” said Stone. “Just saying.”

  “Anyway,” said Mike. “What’d you two talk about? Tell me you got her number or something.”

  “Nope,” I said. “She’s some teacher from one of the public schools. Wants to bring her kids to the station and let ’em take a look around.”

  “Sounds like a pain in the ass,” said Mike. “You tell her no?”

  “Nah,” I said. “Told her that if she wants to bring the kids, she’s gonna have to do a ride-along first. See the ins and outs of how we do things.”

  “Not looking forward to trying to work with a distraction like that on the ladder,” said Stone. “Good thing I’ve got the next couple of days off.”

  “Seriously, though, Ethan, my man,” said Mike. “You gotta at least take a shot at hitting that.”

  I sat back and took a sip of my beer. Chloe was about as good-looking as they came, that was for damn sure. So good-looking, in fact, just picturing her was enough to get the blood flowing.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “You don’t know?” said Rick, his tone incredulous. “What the hell do you mean you don’t know? You want to go meditate or something and take some time to figure out if you want to see that girl naked?”

  “Especially since, you know,” said Mike.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Now you’re just being coy,” I said.

  “I heard all about your first year in New York,” he said, a broad smile spreading across his face. “I heard you had a different damn girl every night.”

  “And who told you that?” I asked.

  Stone raised his hand.

  “Come on, Ethan,” he said. “You were about the biggest damn player I’d ever met. I used to joke it’d take the hose from one of the trucks to keep the girls away from you. And now you’re, I don’t know, living some kind of life of celibacy or something.”

  “Just because I’m not hooking up with every wannabe model in this town doesn’t mean I’m all chaste and shit,” I said.

  Right at that moment, as if on cue, a redhead in a very, very short pair of cutoff shorts sauntered by the table, tossing a look over her shoulder at me as she passed. All the boys at the table locked eyes onto her backside, and I watched them all. Silence hung over us until the girl made her way back to her seat, flashing me one last narrow-eyed glance before turning her attention back to her friends.

  “See!” said Mike. “That’s the kind of shit I’m talking about! You could walk over to that girl and point to the nearest closet and she’d have those little shorts of hers kicked off in freaking seconds.”

  “You know,” I said. “Just because you have the opportunity to do something doesn’t mean you should.”

  “I don’t get it,” said Stone. “I mean, I feel stupid for even asking this, but this isn’t because of that girl you were dating way back when or something, is it?”

  I winced at this. He was referring to the girl I’d been dating a while back, before I moved to the city. We had a good run, but we’d split up before things got marriage-serious.

  “Why you gotta bring the ex into it, man?” asked Rick, tossing a coaster over at Stone. “You think that’s a fun subject to talk about?”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “Been awhile.”

  “It’s not fine,” said Stone. “‘Cause I’m thinking you had a nice little rebound thing going on when you moved to New York. And we had some fun too, chasing girls like crazy. But then all of a sudden, this guy decides that the life of a ladies’ man isn’t for him. Damn shame.”

  “What’s the deal, Ethan?” asked Mike. “You just not into girls or something anymore? ’Cause if that’s the case I might need to talk to the chief about, uh, getting my own private shower stall or something.”

  The boys laughed.

  “You wish you could get a piece of ass like Ethan here,” said Rick, reaching over and trying to pinch me on the behind.

  I laughed and smacked his hand away.

  “No grabass,” I said, then turned back to the subject. “I don’t know. Just not really into dating right now. More interested in just doing what needs to be done at the station.”

  I was playing it cool, but that wasn’t the whole story. Stone was right—after the breakup, I’d gone through something of a player phase. Though to be more accurate, it was more like a continuation. I’d been a total douche in high school, hooking up with just about every pretty thing on a pair of long legs there was.

  I’d tried to change my player ways, but as soon as I moved back into the city, I was right back at it, heading out with Stone almost every night we weren’t working and adding notch after notch to our bedposts.

  Now, it was different. I’d been in a funk, and I couldn’t explain it. But this Chloe girl… She was the first woman in as long as I could remember who I’d even paid more than a second of attention to. She was in my head, and she wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t believe it, but I was looking forward to the ride-along tomorrow, if only because that’s when I’d see her again.

  “All right, boys,” I said, finishing my beer and getting out of my seat. “One beer’s my limit when I’m on duty.”

  “Yeah,” said Mike. “You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

  “Try not to get too hot for teacher,” said Rick.

  Stone got up at the same time as me, heaving his huge body out of his chair.

  “Aw,” said Mike, “you gonna walk Ethan back to the station? How sweet
.”

  Stone rushed over with a speed you wouldn’t expect from a guy his size and put Mike into a headlock.

  “OK,” said Stone, “now you gotta say ‘uncle.’”

  “Ah, fuck,” said Mike. “Uncle, uncle!”

  Stone let him out of the grapple.

  “Nah, not walking the big man home,” he said. “I’m actually headed in the other direction.”

  We all glanced in the direction he was looking. Sure enough, the redhead was still giving our table the eye. But now she seemed to be more interested in Stone. Made sense—he was the one giving her the time of day.

  “I’ll see you boys later,” he said. “But for now I’m gonna start my time off right. Peace, dudes.”

  Stone took off with a cocky stride, the redhead’s eyes locked on him all the while. I said good-night to the guys and headed off. My head swam a little from the beer, and the entire walk back was preoccupied with thoughts of Chloe. I couldn’t get that damn girl out of my head, and I was starting to wonder if this little ride-along was just one more example of me biting off more than I could chew.

  One way to find out.

  4

  CHLOE

  I checked my watch again, not knowing what else to do with myself. Back and forth I paced in front of the fire station, hoping Ethan would hurry up and come out to meet me. He’d told me to show up at five, and here I was. Sure, I could’ve knocked on the front door and maybe been let in, but there was no way I was going to hang out with those horndog firemen while I waited for Ethan to, I don’t know, finish his workout or whatever was causing him to run late.

  And just like that, I was thinking of Ethan in the middle of a gym session, his face tight and sweaty as he did some arm curls, his big biceps flexed and tense—oh, mama. I had to scold myself to stay focused. I sure as hell didn’t want to spend this entire ride-along ogling Ethan with my tongue hanging out.

  Finally, the red steel door opened up and out stepped Ethan. He was dressed in a dark pair of jeans and a tight black T-shirt with the fire station logo on the right side of his chest. And just like yesterday, he looked like he was one muscle flex away from ripping apart that shirt in a shower of shredded fabric.