“Fuck you, Patelli,” Paul called back. The weight dropped onto the stand with a clang. Paul stood and wiped the sweat from his face. “You want a shot?” he asked Marco.
“Yeah, why not?” Marco eyed the weight bar. It would do for a warm-up. “Let me do ten to loosen up then add another plate.”
“Showoff,” Paul joked.
Marco shrugged. “What can I say?” He flexed his muscles and laughed when Paul scowled. It was a huge bone of contention for the other man that he wasn’t as strong as Marco. Paul drank protein shakes and took his handful of supplements religiously. The guy was cut, but he was never going to have the bulk he wanted.
Marco lay down on the bench and gripped the bar. He was four reps in when he heard Paul laugh. He glanced up at the other man.
“You dating a vampire?” Paul asked.
Fuck, the hickey. Marco fought the urge to clamp his hand on his neck. Ignoring Paul, he continued his reps.
“Nice, dude, you must have given it to her good if she clamped onto your neck like that.”
“Shut the fuck up and add another plate.” The last thing he wanted to do was discuss Josie with these guys. It was one thing to talk it up about a one-night stand, it was a whole other thing when it was a girl you really liked.
Paul added another plate to the bar. Marco had barely pressed it the first time when Paul continued. “So seriously, dude, who gave you the hickey?”
Marco ignored him and continued to lift. Why had he never realized what a complete douche Paul was before today?
“You still tapping that photographer, Josie?” Tony asked from across the gym.
“No shit, that’s who you’re hitting? Day-um, I wouldn’t have thought she’d be into it all nasty and rough.”
Marco dropped the bar onto the stand with a clang and stood. His fist clenched tightly as he stepped toward Paul.
Shit, he just wanted to smash it into the other man’s face. The primal need to protect his woman flowed through him, making him want to flatten his former friend. “Paul, you seriously need to shut the fuck up.”
Paul’s eyes widened. “Dude, relax. I’m just messing with you.” Paul smacked him on the shoulder then walked across the room, putting several feet between them.
“I can see it though. She’s got that juicy ass that you just want to squeeze. Fuck, I can just imagine how sexy that looks up in the air,” Paul said loudly.
Marco spun, ready to tear the other man apart.
“Marco,” an angry voice called from the doorway.
Fuck. Marco turned and looked at his captain. This wasn’t going to be good.
“In my office, now,” Captain Sharp told him then turned on his heel and walked away.
Marco watched the other man leave then walked over to Paul and leaned in close. “You ever talk about Josie like that again, and coworker or not, I’ll rip you apart. You got me?”
Paul must have seen how serious he was because he looked down at the ground and nodded. “Sorry, man, I didn’t realize you were that into her. Won’t happen again.”
“It better not.” Marco continued to stare at the other man, itching for him to raise his head with the slightest look of challenge in his eyes.
When Paul continued to stare at his feet for several more seconds, Marco nodded with satisfaction and left the room. Between the arousal that had been humming through him earlier and the testosterone that burst forth in the gym, Marco felt completely amped up. Ready to either fight or fuck to take things down a notch. At this point he didn’t care which.
Outside the captain’s door, he took a deep breath and knocked.
“Come in,” Captain Sharp called.
“Sir,” Marco said and stepped into the room.
“Patelli, what the hell was that about?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Don’t be cute with me. You know damn well what I’m talking about. Why the fuck did I hear you and your buddies talking about my niece like some locker-room exploit?”
“I wasn’t talking badly about Josie.”
“Really? You call talking about sleeping with her in good taste?”
Marco gritted his teeth. “I didn’t say anything about having sex with Josie.”
“No? Well your buddy Sutherland certainly had a few things to say.”
“Yeah, well, we aren’t exactly buddies,” Marco replied.
The captain ran his fingers through his silver-streaked hair then turned and walked over to the window. With his back to Marco, he continued. “When I asked you to take my niece out I never thought she’d turn into some locker-room joke.”
“What the hell did you think would happen when you coerced me into dating her?”
A harsh gasp sounded from the doorway.
Marco spun in his chair. “Josie, shit,” he said and jumped up from his seat.
She stuck her hand out toward his chest, halting his progress. “Save it,” she snarled. Her eyes burned with anger, but beneath he could see the hurt and it cut through him like a knife.
“Red, let me explain.”
“Don’t call me that.” She scowled. “Better yet, don’t call me at all.” She spun on her heel and stormed away.
Marco turned and glared at his boss then gave chase after her. Hoping to cut her off, he jumped onto the pole and launched down. He jogged across the garage and stopped at the stairway just as Josie hit the bottom step.
“Get out of my way, Marco.”
Tears filled her eyes as she glared at him. The sight of her in so much pain nearly ripped his heart from his chest.
He reached for her. “Jos, just let me explain.”
She swung her arms wide. “Please, by all means, paint what I heard in a better light. Give it that Patelli spin you’re so good at.”
Okay he deserved that.
“It’s not how it sounds,” he started.
“Really? So you didn’t ask me out because of my uncle?”
“Well, sort of.”
She pushed against his shoulder to try to squeeze past him but he stood his ground.
“Move.”
“No, not until you hear me out.”
A lone tear slid down her cheek and she angrily swiped it away. God, he wanted to wrap her in his arms and take away the pain. What he wouldn’t do to go back in time and have that conversation again.
“Look, Josie,” he began. A siren wailed through the station. Perfect timing. He glanced at the truck and the guys already running through the firehouse to get into their gear. He looked at her then back at the truck.
“Shit,” he grumbled. “I’m sorry, Jos, I have to go, but we’re not done.”
She looked at him sadly. “Did we ever really even get started?”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. What the hell did that mean? Did she honestly think what happened between them wasn’t real?
“Patelli,” a voice called from the truck. “Get your ass in gear.”
He rubbed his hand over his face. He was so screwed. “I’ll come by later.”
“Don’t bother.”
“That wasn’t a question, Josie. I’m coming by, and you’ll damn well hear me out,” he growled. She had every right to be pissed but there was no fucking way he was going to let her shut him out.
He took one last look at her then raced over to his gear, slipped into his pants and boots and jumped onto the truck as it started to pull out of the garage.
Josie stood on the step watching them drive away. She looked so alone and lost. Damn it, he felt as if he’d kicked a puppy, and he didn’t even know how the hell it had happened. This morning he’d been anxious to get back into her bed, now here he was, a couple hours later, down a friend, his boss ready to kill him and he might have just lost the woman he was crazy about. Great fucking morning.
Josie stood on the stair watching as the engine pulled out of the garage, followed by the truck and the ambulance. Damn, it must be a big fire if everything was going out including her uncle. Even as
angry and hurt as she was, fear gripped her chest. Firefighting was such a dangerous job.
She slowly made her way out of the station and to her car. She wanted to climb back into bed, pull the covers up and forget this day ever happened.
* * * * *
After showering off the dirt and grime from the day, Marco threw on his jeans and hoodie and made his way out of the locker room.
“Patelli, hold up.”
Marco turned around and groaned. Damn, the last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to Sutherland.
Paul stopped in front of him and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Look, about earlier. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being an ass.”
Marco’s head snapped back. That was about the last thing he’d expected to come out of Paul’s mouth. Here he’d been all primed for a fight and he got this instead.
“Forget about it,” Marco replied.
Paul raised his head and looked at him. “So, we cool?”
“Yeah, sure.” No point in letting things fester between them. They had to work together and when he needed a guy to cover his back he didn’t want to wonder if he was going to be there. Paul was a good firefighter. Apparently he was just a bit of a dick where women were concerned but… Lesson learned.
Paul stuck out his hand and Marco accepted the gesture.
“That shift was a bitch, hey?” Paul asked. “A few of us are heading out to grab a beer now, you want to come?”
“Nah, but thanks.”
“Going to see Josie?”
“I’m going to try.”
The second he stepped outside, Marco took a deep breath, filling his nose with the smell of fresh air. After dealing with a fire like the one they did tonight it always took him quite a while to get the smell of smoke out of his nose. Even with all of his gear on somehow the smell lingered. No one else noticed it, but he always did. It was as if the smell held to him, not wanting to be forgotten.
Needing to get his head on straight, he opted for walking the half-dozen blocks to Josie’s apartment. Hell, he’d be lucky if she even let him in the door. He looked up at the building and took a deep breath. If he was smart he’d go up the fire escape. Doing that was at least comfortable to him, groveling wasn’t.
With intention in his steps, Marco climbed the four flights of stairs and knocked on Josie’s door. And waited. And waited some more. He glanced at his watch. Seven o’clock. She should be home. He leaned closer to the door. He could hear her moving around inside the apartment so he knocked again.
From through the door she called, “Go away, Marco. I have nothing to say to you.”
He breathed deeply. Women. With guys you just punched each other or at least knew you were willing to go to the mats with the other guy and it was done. Like with Paul earlier, but women, jeez, they seemed to want to stew. He banged a little harder.
“Go away.”
“Not happening,” he yelled back.
“I told you earlier there was nothing to talk about.”
He gritted his teeth to keep his anger in check. What the hell? After everything, she wasn’t even going to give him a chance to explain? Fuck that. “Open the goddamn door, Josie, or I’ll bust it down.”
He glanced down the hallway, his eyes homing in on the fire extinguisher and axe on the wall. Perfect. Prepared to take matters into his own hands, he turned just as the lock unsnicked and Josie opened her door.
“Fine, talk,” she said and placed her hands on her hips. Pure, unadulterated pissed-off female stared back at him.
Well screw that. He was pissed too. She walked in on part of a conversation and passed judgment on him? Sure it sounded bad but it wasn’t that bad, at least he didn’t think it was.
“We going to do this out here?” he asked.
Josie rolled her eyes and stepped back, allowing him to come inside. He walked past her and went straight into the living room with Josie following behind.
She sat down on the couch, tucked her knees underneath her and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked so small and unsure as she sat there.
He ran his hand over the back of his neck, trying to ease the knot that was growing exponentially by the second.
“Look, about what you heard.”
Her chest rose as she took a deep breath and held it.
“It wasn’t what it sounded like,” he went on.
“No? That’s good because it sounded like you went out with me because my uncle forced you into doing it.”
He grimaced at the acid in her tone. She wasn’t just pissed off. She was hurt and the look of betrayal in her eyes cut through him.
“Look, the thing is, yes, I did ask you out because your uncle asked me to. But…”
Josie’s face turned beet red and her eyes welled up with tears. “God, how pathetic am I that my uncle needs to force his employees to date his fat niece?”
“You aren’t fat,” he growled. He hated how every woman he knew thought she was fat. Who the hell were they comparing themselves to? Sticks? Sure Josie had a little more meat on her bones than most of the women he dated, but damn if he didn’t like the extra curves. He certainly didn’t want her to lose any.
Josie snorted. “Right, just pathetic then?”
He gritted his teeth. “You aren’t pathetic. Look, your uncle said you’d come off a rough breakup and he thought it would be nice if I took you out to dinner.”
“Oh my god,” she groaned. “And he had to threaten you to get you to be willing to take me?”
“What? No.”
“Right, so he suggested it and you jumped at the offer, I’m sure.”
“Well no…not exactly.”
She covered her face with her hands. “This just gets better and better.”
He dropped down into the chair opposite her and rested his elbows on his knees. “It’s just that I thought it would be weird to date my boss’s niece, you know?”
She laughed, but the sound held no humor, just bitter hurt. “Of course. So he had to browbeat you to get you to go?”
He laughed as he remembered the conversation with the wily bastard. “Not in the way you’re thinking. He told me if I didn’t go out with you he’d ask Phillips to take you out instead.”
Her eyes widened. “God, could this get worse? So what? He planned to go down the line until he found someone willing to take pity on me?”
He shrugged. “I don’t really know what his plan was. I didn’t give him the chance to put it into play.”
“Well, I guess I should be thankful you saved me from looking completely ridiculous,” she mumbled.
“Jos, come on. I might have asked you out because of your uncle, but the rest had nothing to do with him. I sure as hell wouldn’t have had sex with you because of him.”
“Thank god for small favors.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke. She rubbed her palm along her arms as if to warm herself up. “We done here?”
“What?”
“We done? You explained yourself. I get it. You took pity on poor, pathetic Josie. The girl whose boyfriend cheated on her because she let herself go.”
“Excuse me?”
She snorted. “Oh didn’t I tell you why Dave and I broke up? He didn’t find me attractive anymore.”
“Asshole,” Marco mumbled. He looked at her, his eyes lingered on her full breasts. “The guy was an idiot. There is not a damn thing wrong with your body.” His cock pressed firmly against his jeans as his erection grew.
“Maybe, but I can’t say it’s all that much of an ego boost to know my uncle had to force you to date me.”
“Jesus, Josie. He didn’t have to force me.” He lifted the front of his t-shirt to show her how hard he was. “Does this look like I don’t find you attractive? God, woman, just the thought of you makes me hard. I can’t fake this.”
“You’re a guy, Marco, you can get hard about pretty much anything. Hell, guys wouldn’t be able to have Troll contests if they needed to be attracted to the woman to get ha
rd. What’s the saying? A couple of beers and a paper bag?”
“So that’s what you think of me? That I’m some asshole who would just fuck anything that moved? Nice, Jos, real nice. Glad you have such a high opinion of me, or maybe it’s just that you have such a low opinion of yourself.”
“Fuck you.”
“You already did that.” He rubbed his hand over his face. This conversation was rapidly going nowhere. He was pissed and hurt and so was she. If he was smart he’d fucking leave.
“Look, Josie. I don’t know how to convince you about what happened. Your uncle asked me to take you out. I felt bad about him doing something like that, thought you deserved better but I was attracted to you, and I didn’t like the idea of one of the other guys at the house taking my place, so yeah, I asked you out. Would I have asked you anyway? Maybe, I don’t know. You weren’t overly receptive at the shoot so I probably would have thought you weren’t interested. So yeah, maybe your uncle gave me a little nudge but that was for dinner, Josie, nothing else.” He paused and stared at her. “You got into my bed because you wanted to be there, nobody forced you.”
“I know that.”
“Do you? Because you sure as shit aren’t acting like it.”
She stared back at him, not speaking at all, and he didn’t have a clue what was going through her mind. He’d always been good at reading women, but Josie was different, he couldn’t ever seem to get a full bead on her and he kind of liked it, except at this particular moment. A huge part of the attraction was that she wasn’t typical.
Josie took a deep breath. “I think you should go. I need to think.”
He nodded and stood. “I’m not your asshole ex, Josie.”
“I know.”
“Good, then you should also know this thing between us isn’t all that common. It sure as hell hasn’t happened to me before and no matter what brought us together we work.”
She stood from the couch. “I’ll call you.”
He shook his head. Damn stubborn woman. “You do that. But remember this…” Without giving her a chance to move away, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her against him. Crushing his lips against her mouth, he devoured her, fucking her mouth with his tongue, leaving no questions about how much he wanted her.
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