by Marie Harte
Avery chuckled, though to Brad it sounded forced. “Too funny, Rupert. But I’m sure Brad has no problem getting dates. He’s so handsome and available.” She pointed to his arms. “Ladies and gents, look at those muscles.”
She was not trying to auction him off. “Let’s not forget Avery,” Brad said with pretend cheer. “So beautiful, smart, and single, guys! Oh, and ladies, too. We’re all about inclusion here.”
“So outside our scope for this show,” Avery said, smiling through her teeth at him.
“Yep.” He smiled back.
Rupert cut in. “Don’t forget about our adoption this weekend, everyone.” He listed the times and locations for the event. “In addition to our friends here today, we have a lot more furry fellas needing a good home.” He shot a wink to Avery and Brad. “And maybe a firefighter and reporter needing a good home too!” He guffawed. The audience clapped and hooted.
“Oh no. We’re out of time,” Avery hurriedly cut in. “Next week we’ll showcase some new animals. And remember, Pets Fur Life is happy to take donations if you can’t find room in your home for a new furry friend.” She paused and, in a voice he clearly heard, muttered, “Or a big doofus dressed in blue.” In a louder voice, she added, “Don’t miss the phone number and website at the bottom of the screen. Thank you, and have a great day.”
And cut.
Brad opened his mouth to retort, but whistling and loud clapping surrounded them.
Avery blushed, then turned wide, startled eyes on an approaching thin man with a wealth of white hair.
The man clapped with enthusiasm. “Brilliant! I love the dynamic between you two.” The man held out a hand to Brad, who handed Henri off to Rupert in order to shake it. “Emil Watts. I run Searching the Needle Weekly. Pleasure to meet you.”
Avery recovered her wits, apparently. “Emil, this is Brad Battle, a firefighter with Station 44. Brad, Emil, my boss.”
“Boss, huh?” Brad gave her an evil grin. Before he could say something that wouldn’t get her in too much trouble but that would make her sweat, his brother joined him.
“Oh ho, a sibling.” Emil rocked back on his heels. “You two look way too much alike not to be related.”
Oscar introduced himself. “Ah, hi. I’m Oscar Battle. Brad said it would be all right to watch.” He shook Emil’s hand, then Avery’s. But his gaze fastened to Rockslide, and a wistful expression crossed his face. “I always wanted a dog.”
“You did?” Brad hadn’t known that. As a kid, his brother had been partial to reptiles.
Oscar shrugged.
Gerty appeared and elbowed him in the side. “Well then, adopt him.” She turned to Brad. “Hmm. So, you’re the troll.”
“Live and in color,” he deadpanned.
She surprised him by grinning. “Hey, Oscar. What do you know? Your brother has a sense of humor.”
“Not when it comes to his precious car. He’s never let me drive it, you know.”
Brad groaned. “Don’t make me regret letting you come today.”
Oscar ignored him in favor of petting Rockslide, encouraging Gerty to do the same. The pair walked a few steps away with the dog, like Brad wasn’t standing there after having been made a fool.
And this is why I hate the spotlight.
Avery seemed to be sneaking off as well, so he said in a loud voice, “Oh, before you go, Avery, could I get a moment of your time?”
Her boss watched them without blinking.
She smiled at Emil and blew out a breath. “Sure, Brad.”
Emil grinned. “Brad, thank you so much for helping out today. Your boss wanted me to tell you thanks as well.”
“Which boss?” He had so many.
“Well, there was a Captain Reynolds, and I think your battalion chief called. He’s pleased to give us access to Station 44 for as long as we need it. From what I saw, we’ll definitely need you for the next few weeks at least. Friday mornings work for you? Terrific.”
Brad didn’t have a chance to answer before Emil took a call on his cell phone and walked away.
“You have one minute of my precious time, Battle. Speak,” Avery muttered.
“Not here.” He stalked away from everyone, confident she’d follow.
In a dim, unused hallway away from the cameras and people, he glared at her.
She glared back.
“What happened to making this professional and courteous? You called me ‘handsy’ on TV!”
“You had your hand on my thigh,” she said, her voice low, furious.
“Yeah? Well, I was trying to stop you from tripping over your own two feet and flashing your panties at the world. You’re welcome.”
“At the world? You do realize our audience is maybe a few thousand people at most. And what about my panties?” She gaped at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“If that wasn’t bad enough, what’s with trying to set me up with half of Seattle?”
“Oh, did I hurt your pride?”
He studied her, seeing the sparkle in her eyes. She liked their little fight. Hell. So did he. He felt himself growing warm and aroused and turned to go before he did something stupid.
Except Avery tugged him back to face her. “I’m not done with you.”
“Avery, it’s clear what this is.”
“Oh, do explain ‘this’ to me.”
He couldn’t see her too well, but at least they seemed out of the way of everyone else in the less trafficked hallway. She moved closer, and her perfume went straight to his head. And other places.
“The problem, lady, is you want me, and that bothers you.” Because I know exactly how that feels. “You think making a joke of me being available will make it seem like you don’t care.” What the hell was coming out of his mouth?
“You make no sense,” she hissed. “You’re so used to women throwing themselves at you that you can’t stand it when a woman doesn’t want you. And nice job, running those hands up and down my legs. You perv.”
Incensed, he stalked her until she’d backed up against the wall. Despite the low light, he saw no sign of fear on her face, just anger. “I’m the perv? You’re the one constantly falling over so I’ll save you. Jesus, that’s lame, even for you.”
“You jackass.” She fumed, and he imagined steam coming out her ears. “Honey, I could kiss the breath out of you and come out the other end cold as ice. And not because I’m frigid, but because you’re all bark and no bite.”
“Oh yeah?”
Her hands gripped his biceps, her breath a rush of mint over his lips as she leaned closer. “I’ve met your type before. Pretty and buff with nothing else to offer. No idea how to please a woman.”
“Avery, if you’d manage to get over yourself and plant a wet one on me, you’d end up shivering and begging for more while I did my best to keep you steady on your feet. I think they call that needy nowadays.”
“Needy? Pucker up, asshole, and we’ll see who’s needy.”
He’d been egging her on, hoping she’d do it.
He wasn’t disappointed.
Avery dragged his head down and kissed him.
And as he’d secretly dreaded, her taste went straight to his brain, then traveled directly south and stayed there.
* * *
Avery had lost her temper and her mind, and not necessarily in that order. In a sane moment, she’d never have given in to temptation to kiss Super Hunk FD. He was masculine and hot and had a body worth killing for. His arms felt like steel under her hands, his chest broad and crushing her breasts, making her nipples stand on end.
His mouth was both firm and soft, and he didn’t take charge of the kiss or try to manhandle her in any way. Instead he responded to every move she made, his body heating her up and making her burn.
She gasped at the fire inside her, and he too
k the invitation to thrust his tongue into her mouth, sweeping through to send her arousal into the stratosphere.
His large hands gripped her waist, and he angled his head to deepen the kiss, making her knees weak.
Something crashed nearby, startling them both into springing apart.
“Fuck me,” he swore and took two large steps back.
“Oh no.” Bad, bad Avery. “That was… I mean, I didn’t mean to…” She leaned back against the wall for support, glad at least she wore her contacts. After that kiss, her glasses for sure would have fogged over.
He blew out a breath and bent over, as if having finished running a race. When he straightened after a moment, he gave her that sardonic look she loathed. “Now who’s handsy?”
“Hold on, Battle. You have some nerve—”
“You kissed me.”
“You kissed me back.”
“I’m only human.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means when a chick who’s ripe for it grabs me for a kiss, I’m not dumb enough to say no.”
“Wait. Ripe for it?” She wanted to scream at him, and herself, for being so close to the truth. Instead she said, “Ha. I proved my point.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, and she did her best not to stare at his fine body like a love-starved “ripe chick.” Brad snorted. “And what point might that be? That you can’t control yourself around me?”
“That you’re the needy one. I merely kissed you. A tame, simple kiss. You’re the one who shoved your tongue in my mouth and got all grabby.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You know what I’d like to shove in that mouth?”
“Oh, do tell.” She took two steps closer and poked him in his rock-hard chest. “Because I have something I’d love to shove up your—”
“There you are.” Oscar and Gerty paused at the mouth of the hallway. “Hey, Brad, what are you doing?”
Gerty grinned. “Yeah, Super Hunk. What are you doing?”
Oscar turned to her. “Super Hunk?”
She winked at him. “Well, you two do look alike.”
Oscar flushed, then gave Gerty a huge grin. “True. He takes after me.”
“Oh, then you must be a dickhead too,” Avery snapped, came back to herself, and blushed. “Hell. I’m sorry.” She glared back at Brad. “I have work to do. Great doing business with you, Bradford.” She made sure to sneer his name. Immature, but right now it was the best she could do.
“You too, Ms. Ripe,” he said, uber polite.
“I’ll see you next Friday and not a second sooner,” she sniped and tore past him, grabbing Gerty on the way.
Gerty yelped and waved. “Bye, Oscar. Text me!”
* * *
“See you next Friday?” Brad repeated, watching Avery leave. “Not if I see you first.” A lame comeback, but he had to have the last word. Either that or prove how needy he truly was with another bone-melting kiss.
He became aware of his brother watching him.
“What?” he barked.
“If I tell you how incredibly funny that pet skit was to watch, will you hit me?”
“Yes, but I won’t leave a mark that will show.”
“It was so fucking funny I almost peed myself laughing. And I wasn’t the only one. Everyone watching loved it.”
Brad groaned. No doubt about it, he’d be stuck doing this stupid bit with Avery until he quit the department or stopped helping at Pets Fur Life, neither of which was an option he wanted to consider anytime soon.
Then he made good on his promise and punched his brother in the arm.
“Ouch. She was right. You are a dickhead.” Oscar frowned before grinning once more. “A dickhead in love…”
“Shut up.”
Oscar hooted. “Oh man. I just realized how much crap you’re gonna get when the guys at the station see this.”
Brad mourned his life before Avery, back when he’d been respected. Because sure as shit, the station was merciless.
And every time he remembered how incredibly hot that kiss had been, he was reminded that things could only grow worse.
Chapter Seven
Avery was so sick of all the congratulations everyone at work offered, especially because she had to pretend she and Brad had agreed to do that “bit” before being filmed. Emil thought her a genius and gave her the raise he’d been promising on the spot.
Sadly for her, the show was becoming a hit on YouTube, racking views right up there alongside her dance with Banana.
“You’re becoming a minor celebrity!” Gerty said hours later on a lunch break phone call. “I am so glad I took the time off work to see you guys. That was so incredibly awesome. And say what you want, but that was not planned.”
Avery groaned at her desk, conscious to keep her voice low. Most of those in the office had taken a lunch, but their star reporter, Tara, had been hovering, shooting Avery some curious looks from across the room.
To Gerty, she whispered, “I swear, I didn’t mean to try to auction him off. But he was being so annoying.”
“I showed my buddies at work, and they loved it. I’m telling you, they watched the entire segment. Twice. By the way, I have a few guys asking for your number. Should I give it to them?”
“No.”
Tara glanced over.
Avery lowered her voice. “No, please don’t. I’m trying to put today behind me.” Oh my God. I kissed Brad Battle. She’d been doing her best not to think about it, but she could still feel those sexy lips against hers, could feel the press of his chest brushing her breasts, all that strength while he’d had her pressed against the wall.
She started overheating and took a long drink of water. “Look, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Sure thing. And hey, warning, if I saw what I think I saw between you and Super Hunk, you’d better give me details. Or else. Got it?”
“Yes,” Avery said, miserable.
“Hot damn. I knew it!” Gerty disconnected on a laugh.
Avery wanted to bury herself in her desk and not come out for years. Not only had she screwed up the ten-minute streaming segment, but she’d kissed the hunky troll. If he hadn’t grabbed her bare thigh, she never would have called him handsy for all of Searching the Needle Weekly’s viewers. She did have a few brain cells. But she’d been so riled by the feel of him she’d barely been able to string two sentences together. Then the thought struck that he might have been screwing with her on purpose.
She’d reacted.
Badly. Then badly again with that aggressive kiss. What had she been thinking to grab him like that?
She wanted to get that kiss off her mind, but as hard as she’d been working, she could still smell Super Hunk’s aftershave. She shoved a hand in her hair and gripped it by the roots. Son of a fuck—freak! Who had taught the man to kiss like that? Squirming in her seat, she took deep breaths, trying her best to concentrate.
“So, you and Brad Battle, huh?” Tara stood by Avery’s desk with a friendly smile.
Unlike how most of the world chose to look at professional women as being constantly competitive, Avery and Tara got along. Tara had the top spot, was damn good at it, and had a brain that never stopped working. She’d also been one of Avery’s top cheerleaders when Emil had brought her onto the paper. A few drinks and they’d bonded over years past dealing with toxic masculinity in the newsroom.
Avery smiled up at her, forcing away thoughts of Brad’s lips.
“Yep. Emil liked the spot. We’ll probably showcase cats next week.” She sighed. “I’d better get more allergy pills.”
“Are you guys dating?” Tara’s eyes sparkled. “Because you had some serious chemistry. Go girl.”
“Are you kidding?” Avery huffed a laugh. “That jerk? He’s handsome, sure, but such an arrogant ass
.”
Tara seemed to deflate. “Oh, too bad. I thought you guys made a nice-looking couple. He seems like a nice guy.”
“To you or his friends, maybe. But he doesn’t like the fire department forcing him to do the pet adoption spot.”
Tara frowned. “He shouldn’t take his frustration out on you.” Tara patted her on the shoulder. “Whatever. You still rocked it this morning. Kudos. Our numbers are really taking off. Maybe Emil will keep us in print a little longer.”
He’d announced earlier that morning his plan to make their videos a bigger part of the network.
“I prefer print,” Avery said. “Well, print or digital articles, not video.”
“Why not? You’re a natural.”
Avery sighed. “Not like you. I just did it because Emil told me to. But I don’t have your skill with people or your natural vitality on-screen. The camera loves you.”
Tara preened.
“I am good, aren’t I?” They both laughed, then Tara said, “Well, keep up the good work! Maybe they’ll move you to morning news with me.”
Avery looked Tara in the eye. “And maybe I’ll quit. A short pitch I can handle. Five minutes, ten max. Actual city news? No thanks.”
“I think you’re selling yourself short, but it’s your career. And speaking of which, I have an interview to get to. Later, Avery.” Tara smiled and left, humming under her breath.
Too bad Tara can’t do the pet segment. Friday mornings with animals—including you, Brad—are bad enough. No way I’d want to expand into other stuff online.
And she’d have to do it again next week. Stand next to Brad and pretend nothing had happened between them. She was disgusted at the amount of time she’d been spending mooning over her handsome troll. Guaranteed the man hadn’t thought about her at all after leaving this morning. The jerk.
She dug into a candy bar left on her desk and furiously got back to work. Notes, two interviews, and a decent beginning into next week’s feature took up the bulk of her day. But on the drive home, she dreaded talking to Gerty about Brad.
