Fire and Ice (Firemen do it Hotter Book 1) (5 page)

G
rady followed
her in his truck when she drove her car to her house. She parked her car, grabbed her coat and purse, and then climbed into his truck. He wanted to drop her off at her home, after the burgers and movie at his place, rather than her driving home alone afterward.

They went through a drive thru to get their burgers. They didn’t get anything to drink because he had pop back at the apartment. When he paid at the window and took the bags from the cashier, she immediately caught the smell of their dinner. “Those burgers smell so darn good.” This time her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard.

Grady nodded and smiled. “Looks like we’re both ready to eat.”

To her surprise, he didn’t live far from her. His place was in one of the nicest apartment complexes in Appleton, which just happened to be the same one her friend, Sandy, lived in.

After he parked, he managed to get to her door and open it before she had a chance to climb out. She liked that he was such a gentleman. In one fist he held the bag of burgers, with his equipment bag over his shoulder. He reached for her with his free hand.

She took his hand and let him help her out of the truck. After she grabbed her coat and slid it on, he took her hand and led her up the sidewalk. Lights on six-foot-high poles to either side of the pathway looked like old fashioned street lanterns, giving the complex a quaint appearance.

“I moved into this place when I got on with the AFD.” He smiled at her. “I plan to buy a house when I decide what part of town I’d like to live in.”

“This is a great part of town.” She gestured to the apartments as they neared the front entrance. “I’ve been to this place a few times.” She pointed to a corner of the fourth floor of Grady’s building. “Sandy lives here.” Chelsey glanced at Grady. “She’s the friend who was with me the first time you asked me out.”

Grady nodded. “I remember her. Although I only had eyes for you, so I don’t remember much.”

Chelsey laughed. “Flatterer.”

He grinned and took her to one of the buildings in the middle of the complex. He had a third floor apartment.

She glanced at him as they trudged up the three flights. “Aren’t upper floors a firefighter’s nightmare?”

“This is nothing.” He gestured in the direction of the tallest buildings in town. “Appleton has nothing on larger cities, but the higher they are, the more challenging.”

“Putting it mildly, I imagine,” Chelsey said as they stopped in front of a white door with the number 313 in brass on the doorframe. “Lucky thirteen, huh?”

“Lucky depends on how the night goes.” He held up his hands and winked. “Just kidding.”

She laughed. “I knew you were.”

He lowered his hands, keys jangling, and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened it, fifty-five pounds of wiggling, excited, white and black spotted dog lunged itself at Grady.

“Whoa, Spot.” Grady laughed as he tried to calm the enthusiastic animal.

Spot caught a glimpse of Chelsey and darted for her. She braced herself for the dog jumping on her, but he sat politely in front of her. His tail thumped on the ground and he cocked his head to the side as he studied her.

She glanced up at Grady. “May I pet him?”

“He’s friendly.” Grady nodded as he walked into the apartment with the bags and his equipment bag.

Chelsey crouched and extended her hand, keeping it low, and putting it beneath Spot’s nose. He sniffed her then looked at her as if trying to decide who she was and why she smelled familiar.

“He smelled you on me last night.” Grady patted Spot. “Spot, this is Chelsey.”

Spot licked her knuckles and she grinned. “You’re as charming as your human.”

“Me being
his
human is about right, rather than him being my dog.” Grady shook his head. “Come on in.”

Spot politely trotted at her side and watched her closely, as if cataloguing everything about her. After Grady had kicked the door shut behind him, he took her coat and laid it over the back of the sofa.

Chelsey sat on the floor and stroked Spot’s head. “He’s such a good boy.”

“He’s well behaved.” Grady set the burger bags on a round kitchen table and the duffel on the living room floor. “He’s at doggie day care when I’m working, and they have overnight boarding.”

She looked up at Grady. “I’ve heard those places are fun for dogs.”

“He loves it.” Grady took a leash off a hook on a wall in the kitchen. “I need to give Spot a quick bathroom break. Make yourself at home. I’ll take him out for a longer walk after we eat.”

“Okay.” Chelsey watched him clip the leash to Spot’s collar. Grady clicked his tongue and they headed out the front door. She noticed a horseshoe-shaped spot on Spot’s rump. Grady nodded to Chelsey before he closed the door behind them.

Chelsey picked up the hamburger bags and carried them to the kitchen. His apartment was large and clean. Not spotless, but tidy. She set the bags on the table before grabbing a couple of paper towels and folding them for napkins in front of chairs that were across from each other at the square table.

He said to make herself at home, and since he’d mentioned having pop at home as opposed to getting some at the burger place, she figured she’d get it out. He had Coke and Dr. Pepper in the fridge, which she put on the table, along with two glasses filled with ice from the icemaker.

She wandered around while waiting for him to return with Spot. He had what she thought of as a total guy house. A large entertainment center took up one end of the room with a huge flat screen “smart” TV, and just about every electronic device possible. Like her brothers, Grady had all the available game systems. The entertainment center had plenty of drawers and cabinets to stash games and more electronics.

“Guys.” She shook her head and smiled.

Grady had Seattle Seahawks paraphernalia around, so apparently he was a big fan. He also had a bookshelf filled with hardcover books on astronomy, physics, firefighter magazines, and training manuals.

On one shelf, he had placed filled frame after frame, which she guessed were pictures of family members. One of the frames was large with what looked like a recent photo of a group of thirty plus people. At first she didn’t think she’d be able to pick out Grady, but she spotted him on the left next to a man who looked like him, only the other man was at least thirty years older.

“Probably Grady’s dad,” she said to herself.

The front door opened and Chelsey whirled to see Spot bounding inside, followed by Grady.

Spot came straight for her and she dropped to her knees to give the dog some love. “Good boy.” She scratched behind his ears and he happily panted at her attention.

“Damn, I’m hungry.” Grady reached out to grab her hand and pulled her back to her feet. “Let’s eat, honey.”

His term of endearment brought heat to her cheeks. Fortunately he didn’t seem to notice and they both sat at the table.

Grady poured glasses of Coke that he had in the fridge, and then they dove into the burgers, fries, and battered and fried cheese curds. All had cooled off, but were still amazing.

“Fried cheese curds just aren’t the same anywhere else.” He popped one into his mouth. “My favorite thing about Wisconsin.”

She grinned. “Out of everything, it’s the fried cheese curds that are your favorite?”

“Okay, cheese curds are my second favorite.” He gave her a wicked look. “My number one favorite thing about the state is a sexy blonde figure skater who could easily twist me around her little finger.”

The heat rushing to Chelsey’s face had to make her cheeks bright red. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was both embarrassed and pleased at the compliment.

He laughed. “You’re so cute when you blush.”

She tried to pretend she didn’t do exactly that. “I don’t blush.”

He snorted out a laugh. “And I bet you don’t make noises in your sleep.”

Her eyes widened. “I—you—” She stopped, unable to think of any kind of reply.

“I’m just teasing you, Chels.” He grinned before taking a giant bite of his hamburger.

“Men,” she grumbled before chomping a fry.

He chuckled and ate his burger in a few more bites.

By the time they finished, he had eaten two double bacon cheeseburgers to her single burger, plus he ate all his order of cheese curds and half of hers, and most of the fries.

He relaxed back into his chair and blew out his breath. “Give me fifteen minutes and I could eat another.”

She smiled. “Again, thanks for dinner.”

“Only the best.” He pointed to the bags. “Which, by the way, this burger place
is
the best.”

“I traveled all over the states back in the day, and believe me, I know.” At his skeptical look, she laughed. “Hey, after a win, I treated myself. Of course I worked ten times harder the next week just to make sure it didn’t stick to my then skinny hips.”

He looked at her with amusement. “You’re not just beautiful, but you’re adorable, too.”

She grabbed up the garbage and started putting it all into one bag. “Boy, have I got you fooled.”

He stood and came around the table, and caught one of her hands in his. “You couldn’t fool me if you tried, honey.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me honey.” She wasn’t sure why she said it.

He bent down and brushed his lips over hers. “It won’t be the last.”

She could barely catch her breath as he drew away. It was almost impossible to tear her gaze away from his.

“f we take Spot for that walk and then watch a movie?” He studied her. “Technically this wasn’t supposed to be a second date, but I think it qualifies now.”

“I think you’re right.” She still couldn’t look away from him. “A walk and a movie sounds good.”

She didn’t care what the movie was. It could have been a cheesy 1950s sci-fi movie for all she cared.

After Grady put on a warm jacket, clipped the leash on Spot, they first went to Chelsey’s car to get a warmer coat for her.

The walk was nice, especially when Grady slipped her arm through his and kept her close. The chill on Chelsey’s cheeks and nose made her feel alive. She enjoyed the crisp coldness of the evening, and loved the smell of fall on the air.

Spot sniffed everything they passed, and Grady let him have a little extra leash to explore, but the dog was still well-behaved and obeyed all commands.

They talked about the game and she expressed how impressed she had been with his skill on the ice. He shrugged. “Teamwork makes it possible.”

“Yes, that’s true.” She smiled as she looked at him. She tipped her head back because he was so much taller than her. “Your skill allows you to take that teamwork and make things happen.”

“Like I said, I’ve been skating and playing hockey as long as I can remember.” He smiled down at her. “What do you think about going skating together closer to the end of the week? I need to check my schedule to see what shifts I’m working, but I think we’d have a good time on the ice.”

“I’d like that.” She nodded. “Skating with someone who’s great on the ice is always fun.”

“Good.” He held her closer to his side. “I’ll give you a call later this week.”

After spending time out with Spot, they returned to the apartment. Grady hung up their jackets and Spot plopped down on a large dog bed near the couch.

Chelsey leaned against the archway in the kitchen as she watched Grady make popcorn in an old-fashioned popper on the stovetop. The warm smell of buttery popcorn soon filled the kitchen. When it was finished, and after he made two cups of hot cocoa with tons of marshmallows, just the way she liked, they returned to the living room.

Her belly fluttered as she sat on one end of the couch. He sat beside her, so close their bodies touched from shoulder to knee. The heat of his body and his sheer presence sent her heart racing and her hormones elevated a notch or ten.

“We’re bound to find a pay-per-view movie that sounds good.” Grady used the remote to turn on the large TV, then searched through the movies listed. It didn’t take long to pick a romantic comedy that had been out of the theaters for a couple of months.

He put his arm around her shoulder and held her close, the bowl of popcorn on his lap. She was surprised how relaxed she felt with him and a happy sigh rose in her as tension flowed away in his in his embrace.

The movie was an endearing, funny, tearjerker that had Chelsey laughing and growing teary at different moments. By the time it was over, she felt so comfortable with Grady that she didn’t want to move. He turned off the TV and she tipped her head to look at him.

“You are sweet as honey.” He put his fingers on her chin and stroked his finger along her jawline, his look intense. “I knew it from the moment I saw you on the ice. It’s in everything about you. You are genuine and there’s no way for you to be anyone but who you appear to be.”

Tingles traveled from her scalp to her toes. She wasn’t sure how to respond, but she managed to whisper, “Thank you.”

He captured her face in one hand and lowered his head. He moved his mouth over hers, gently nipping her lower lip before sucking the soft flesh between his teeth.

She caught her breath at the sensually erotic way he kissed her. She tasted popcorn and hot chocolate, and Grady’s wonderful flavor. He slid his tongue inside her mouth, and the tingles expanded everywhere.

A moan rose inside her as he kissed her. He stroked her shoulders down to her elbows and back. He touched the skin above her breasts, and then skimmed his fingers along the top of her bra. For a moment she stilled, but he didn’t move down any farther. Instead, he slid his fingers over her arm again before burying his hands in her hair.

Small whimpers escaped her as he kissed her thoroughly. She shifted, and before she even realized what she was doing, she was on his lap, straddling him. Their gazes met and held for a moment before she lowered her head and kissed him.

She’d never initiated anything like this, and she felt untamed and free. With almost wild abandon, she kissed him with all the passion he brought out in her. She wanted more, needed more. His erection was hard against her, and she imagined what he would feel like inside her.