Playing With Fire (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Reina Torres

  The argument had taken hours and yet he hadn't come to any decision besides the fact that he was acting like a chicken. Given the headache pulsing in his brain, he knew the first stop would be the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Big, straight out of the pot, nothing fancy. He needed caffeine and plenty of it. And he'd hope they didn't have any calls before he'd pulled his head out of his ass.

  The room was empty and Roman had to look at the clock just to make sure he wasn't crazy. At this time of the morning, the kitchen was usually full, with one or more of the men making breakfast and the others hovering nearby to go at it when it was ready.

  But the kitchen and the coffee pot were empty, and someone’s head was going to roll a split second after he found out why.

  Scrubbing his hand over his face, he pushed through the door, passed through the day room and poked his head into the exercise room. Now, he knew something was off. Looking up at the clock he pushed down the hall and into the Engine Bay and stopped short.

  It looked like the entire crew, both on and off schedule, was crowded into the bay, huddled up to discuss strategy for a game. And even with heat rolling off of his skin, his eyes narrowed in anger, not a single one of them noticed him walk in.

  He made a beeline for Adam, who was standing on the edge of the group with his hand splayed across his face as if he was shielding his eyes but still couldn't quite turn away. Roman turned and stared. It was, he would realize later, the only thing he could do. Will McGuire, the man one spot up from shit on the totem pole, was wearing a shit-eating grin.

  And that was about all he was wearing. Bare to the waist, his biceps flexed under the glare of the lights set up on either side of the engine, Will had one hand occupied with a cute and cuddly Dalmatian puppy and the other hand almost holding up his turnout pants.

  “What the hell?”

  That got Adam’s attention, turning his head away from the photo shoot. “I was wondering if you were going to get here in time.”

  The pieces fell into place. “This is the volunteer position I needed to fill?”

  From his place beside Adam, Seth gave Roman a sour look. “Yeah, and you gave it to McGuire?” The younger man folded his arms over his chest and slid a glare at the half-dressed firefighter basking in the attention. “I thought he was on your list after that stunt the other week? But apparently, I’m the short straw on this one.”

  The shutter fired off a few times and McGuire mugged for the camera as if he was born to be in the spotlight.

  “The last thing his ego needs is a bunch of women drooling all over him.”

  Roman’s temper ebbed a bit as he looked at the other man. “Sorry, Seth. When Adam called I didn’t realize this was for the calendar. If I’d known-”

  Seth bit out a curse. “Look at him.”

  Roman didn’t want to, but the strobing flash of the lights made the sight nearly hypnotic. It was worse than he’d originally thought. Roman was seriously considering kicking his own ass for not paying more attention to the assignment. If he had, then he wouldn't be subjected to the stunningly bile inducing sight of his least favorite man baring half of his tanned posterior. Will had on his turnout pants, but a second puppy, another Dalmatian, was doing its best to pull half of McGuire’s suspenders down toward the ground. If the pup was any bigger he just might have succeeded.

  But Roman wasn't going to take a chance that the industrious little biter might make good on the promise. “That's it!” His words were nearly swallowed by the flurry of the camera’s shutter and the syncopated pop of the flash. “I said that's enough.”

  A collective groan rumbled through the group as they stepped back and away from the scene.

  Will was the first one to argue. “We were just getting started.” He explained, lifting up the cuddly pup he had in his hand. “We have two puppies in this shot! Isn't he cute?”

  “Cute?” Roman felt a muscle tick in his jaw. He shook his head trying to focus. “The animals should be in the shot, but having your bare ass in the frame is quite another.” Seeing the stubborn glint in McGuire’s eyes he turned to Adam for some much needed assistance. “And what do you have to say?”

  Adam stepped forward, leaving the other men nearly a foot behind him. He gave Roman a look that was a hair away from a smile. “McGuire was your call.”

  He shook his head back and forth. “I'm not talking about the idiot.”

  “Hey!” McGuire huffed behind him.

  “I'm talking about,” Roman's hands formed air quotes, “the ass.”

  Adam coughed out a laugh. “I’d be tempted to say it's the same thing.”

  “Really, Baudouin, you too?” If Roman thought McGuire had tender feelings he might have thought to apologize. “After the ladies of St. Helena get a good look at my-”

  Roman turned on him, a finger out to silence the younger man. “They won't get a chance when I bury it in paperwork along with the rest of you.”

  He heard a feminine sigh behind his back and turned to argue with his friend’s wife, after all she was the one responsible for the look of the calendar. “Really, Harper, I-”

  It wasn't the mass of dark hair he'd expected to see beyond the high speed lens and warhorse of a camera. In fact, it wasn't even the camera he was expecting to see. “Finley?”

  Her grimace probably mirrored the one on his face. At least that's how it felt.

  “Roman?” She shrugged and lifted her camera. “If you don't mind, we have to finish shooting.”

  If he didn't have an audience, Roman would have told her exactly what she could do with that camera, and it had nothing to do with McGuire. “Not like that, you're not. He’s not flashing his backside in the firehouse.”

  Will took a few steps closer and sidled up to Finley. “Oh hey, we could go outside and I could get up on a ladder in a tree. You know, like I’m rescuing someone's cat.”

  “You've got puppies, jerk off.” Seth wasn't going to let it go.

  “Pictures are one thing,” Roman explained, “but there's no way that Chief Lowen is going to like McGuire’s bare ass in the calendar.”

  Finley shrugged. “When Harper and I talked about it, I thought it was an inspired idea.” She released the lens on her camera and set it in her bag. “A play on the old sunscreen ads with the pets peeling the pants off of our models.”

  “No.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?” She pulled out another lens and unscrewed the cover with practiced ease before joining the lens to her camera with a quick twist.

  The puppy on the ground moved toward him, Roman tried his best to ignore the adorable scamp. If he bent down and picked it up, it would only serve to weaken his argument. “Get your shot, but if I have to live with McGuire in the calendar, he’s going to keep his pants on.”

  There was a moment when Roman wondered if he'd gone completely over the line with Finley. He'd just ordered her to back down and in all the years he’d known her, she would never have done that.

  “Fine.”

  “Oh.” Adam's single word comment crawled right up Roman’s last nerve.

  “So, no bare butts. I can work with that, but,” she gave Roman a pointed look, “I need to work, so if you gentlemen will excuse us.”

  #

  Finley turned her back on Roman and went back to her table. Setting down the camera, she let out a long controlled exhale of breath. And while she did that, she willed her hands to still and her pulse to slow down to a dull throb.

  Things had been going so well. Adam had met her at the door in the morning, showing her around so that she could find the right setting for the photos. After just a few minutes she’d developed a new respect for the middle son of the Baudouin family. He'd stood off to the side and let her work, something he must have learned from spending time with Harper.

  She'd been jealous from that very moment. From what she'd gleaned from her conversation with Stan the other day, Harper and Adam had been a rather recent occurrence. Still, he understood more about Harper t
han Russ had learned about her in more than eight years.

  Her camera ready, she set it aside and took out a canister of Fuller’s powder and then turned around, surprised to find Roman standing right behind her. She looked around his tall and somewhat imposing form. The men that had been gathered around to watch were now heading out of the room. Roman, however, showed no signs of moving. It wouldn't normally be a problem; she'd taken photos in sports locker rooms with naked men walking around. She’d done portraits for barely legal despots with armed guards carrying AK47s bigger than their attitudes, but standing there in the room with Roman had her on edge. “Are you staying to watch?”

  He took his time answering, his eyes roaming all over her face before he looked her in the eyes. “That's the idea.”

  She licked her lips and saw his eyes look down in their direction. She wasn't sure, since she couldn't see them clearly, but she thought his eyes had darkened.

  It was a good look on him. She felt heat creep up her neck, her skin tingling wherever the air conditioning could reach. Everything looked good on Roman. And if she was honest enough with herself, she'd had enough time to fantasize about what her buttoned up best friend looked like under all that clothing since she'd seen him in his own calendar layout.

  Finley felt her thighs clench as she struggled with the images that all too easily popped back up in her head. Roman’s tanned and muscular form spread out on a pile of fire hoses, his big hand sliding along-

  “Ready when you are, Finley.”

  She spun around to look at Will and felt her lips curve into a smile that was a bit too bright. “Sure, sorry to keep you waiting.”

  Standing in the lights, Will flexed his muscles. “No worries, I'm always willing to sweat a little for a good cause.”

  Roman’s cough turned both heads in his direction. He glared in reply.

  “Okay,” she looked at the puppy squirming in his hand, “go ahead and put Pepper down in the pen for a minute while I get you prepped.”

  That got a quick return from the younger firefighter. “I’m always primed and ready to go!”

  She rolled her eyes and laughed at his bravado. “Okay, youngin’,” she reached for the first bottle and shook a good amount of Fuller’s powder in her palm. After that was set aside, she took the second bottle from the table and scooped up some of the contents with her fingers.

  “What is that?”

  She could feel Roman’s breath feathered across her cheek, and she stepped away, trying to ignore the way her whole body reacted to him. It wasn't a bad feeling, especially the slightly heavy feeling deep inside, but the last thing she needed was for either of the men in the room to notice her reaction.

  “It's the other option for the shoot.” She didn't wait for a reply. She crossed the room and stepped up to Will. “We’re going to dirty you up for the rest of the shots.”

  Will leaned toward her, offering his well muscled arm. “Oh, I like dirty.”

  She rolled her eyes and reached out her hand, sweeping her palm from his shoulder down toward his wrist.

  He jumped a little bit but she didn't let him pull away. “That's cold!”

  Neither of them missed Roman’s growl from the other side of the set.

  “You can handle it, right?” Finley gave Will a little smile. “It's just a little fake soot and KY Jelly.”

  His face brightened as he leaned into her touch. “I'm warming up to it when you put it that way.” As she smoothed her hands over his arm, smearing the wet mixture over his skin, he flexed his muscles under her touch. “I like your hands.” He caught her eye and winked. “You can rub that all over me.”

  “That's enough out of you, McGuire.” Roman’s voice growled at the younger man. “You're here as a representative of the department. You're not here to harass the photographer.”

  Will must have had some experience on a stage, because his shocked gasp was worthy of Vaudeville. “Am I bothering you?”

  She sighed and rubbed her hands over his face, making him shut his mouth and eyes as she smeared the mixture over his skin. “No, but I don't want to waste anyone’s time either. So you,” she poked Will’s chest, leaving a dark smudge that she had to rub into his skin, “stop trying to flirt and maybe your boss won't rip you a new one.”

  Will shrugged, making sure she felt the hard wall of muscle under her palm before she moved away to get more powder and jelly to finish the rest of his chest. “Fine by me,” he avoided Roman’s eyes, following Finley’s every move. “I was just wondering if you were taking applications for the other, uh, volunteer position.”

  Her hands loaded with ‘soot,’ Finley made her way back over to the set and started on Will’s other arm. “We can only use you for one month in the calendar at a time.”

  “No,” he turned slightly to help her slide her hands over his ribs, “I'm talking about what you said at the Spigot the other night.”

  Finley’s hands stilled. “You were there?”

  He shook his head. “Didn't have to be, enough folks were that it hit Nora’s Facebook page the next morning. I think she was pretty upset she missed the whole thing.”

  She heard Roman moving across the room, but she didn't need him to rescue her. Swallowing the lump in her throat she smiled at him. “That was all just a big joke.”

  “Too bad,” Will pouted a bit, making him look even younger than he was, “I was hoping to show you how handy I can be.” He flexed his pecs for good measure, but his smile faltered a bit at her odd expression.

  “Stuff it, McGuire.” Roman didn't raise his voice at the younger man, but the cold bite of his tone got the point across. “Finley,” he wrapped his hand around her upper arm and gently, but firmly, led her toward the hallway, “we need to talk.”

  She managed to keep up as they moved.

  “And you,” Roman tossed a glare over his shoulder, “do yourself a favor and wait, quietly.”

  #

  He managed to get her to his office without any of the men seeing them. It was a small miracle, but she wondered if it was because they were doing their best to avoid him for the time being.

  She heard him muttering under his breath as they moved through the hall.

  “What?”

  He looked down at her, his brow furrowed with confusion.

  “You said something about ‘this isn't a spectator sport’?”

  Roman groaned soft and deep in his throat. “I was just… Never mind, that isn't important.”

  “Good,” she gave him a short nod, “then I can get back to work. Adam said I only had until ten to get the shot.”

  “I'm the Captain. You’ll get the time you need, Fin.”

  The sound of her old nickname took her back to easier times. She shuddered a little and he reached out to her. “Don't.”

  If she read his face right, he was utterly at a loss. She felt the same way so they were even. Eight years of separation had taken its toll on their friendship. He used to know exactly what to say, what to do to comfort her or make her smile. And she always seemed to know how to get him to relax, take time for himself instead of taking care of everyone else. But standing here, less than two feet from him, she had no idea what he was thinking.

  He reached for her hand and she pulled away.

  “My hands are covered in dirt.”

  “Yeah.” The look in his eyes said he knew it wasn't that simple. “Okay. Talk to me, Finley.”

  She shrugged, helplessly since she couldn't touch her hands to anything without smudging it with dark soot. “What is there to talk about? I have a job to do. A job, I might add, that I am very grateful for. Russ gave me some money to get here and settled.”

  “He owes you more than that if he was stupid enough to cheat on you.”

  “You mean, if I was stupid enough not to know.” She held up a hand to stop his protest and he drew up short. She had always been a self-sufficient person. She had to be. Her father wasn't much help. “I don't really think I’m stupid,” she spoke thro
ugh the clenched teeth, “I just feel like I let myself be distracted. He promised me an adventure I wouldn't forget, and I won't forget seeing him with her."

  Roman ground his teeth together. He had his answer.

  "He'd always told me I was too tense. To let go." She gave Roman a curious half-grin. “I let him go, and I get to do what makes me happy.”

  “So you were serious about the-”

  “Sex?” The volume and her apparent ease in saying the word out loud shocked them both. “Yeah, as a heart attack.” She gave a half-hearted gesture, the air cooling the gel on her palms. “Russ and I never really had much of a sex life and I figured that was just because he didn't want one. Now that I know he was the Battery Bunny of sexual encounters, I want to know what it is that I’m missing. I want a man to rock my world, Roman. I want sex every way I can get it, on any surface that will hold. And plenty of it.”

  “Then why did you tell Will that you were just joking?”

  “Because he works for you and you were already about to rip him a new one. I'm curious, not cruel.”

  When she looked up at him, she was surprised to find him mere inches away. She rocked back on her heels, her worn trekking boots squeaking softly under the thunderous beating of her heart that echoed in her ears.

  He took hold of her shoulders and she felt her knees buckle. “Roman, wait.”

  “Fin,” Another inch closer, his larger size blocked some of the light from the ceiling fixture, “let me help-”

  “No,” she shook her head, her loose waves brushed her shoulders, “this isn't about saving me from myself. This is about me making a decision about what I want.” She tried to move away, but he wouldn't let her.

  “And what if we want the same things?”

  “I really don't think that's possible. You're a single dad, as responsible as they come. And I'm little more than a dandelion blowing with the wind.” She could feel herself leaning closer to him even as her brain tried to push her away. “Sex with you would be a complete and utter mistake.”