by Sarah Markel
“I promise,” Lorelei whispered, her voice a low rasp as her hands began to rub along the outside of Aspen’s thighs.
Aspen’s expression morphed into a seductive smolder, sending a wave of heat straight through the redhead.
“Besides,” Aspen said, whipping off her blouse and pinning her wife with a lascivious look, “why torture yourself by not touching? We both know you want to.”
Lorelei’s resolve snapped and she groaned as she leaned forward to press her lips to the top of Aspen’s breasts. With Aspen’s test out of the way, Lorelei didn’t bother to control herself. Moving quickly, she slipped a hand beneath Aspen’s skirt and pushed aside her panties.
Aspen cried out when Lorelei’s thumb made contact with her clit. “Don’t tease,” she moaned, “I need you, Lorelei.”
“Don’t worry, baby,” Lorelei said as she wrapped an arm around Aspen’s waist and slid two fingers deep inside her, “you’ve got me. You’ll always have me.”
Within minutes, Aspen was digging her nails into Lorelei’s shoulders as she screamed her release. Lorelei brought her down gently, but once the tremors began to subside, she shifted to lay Aspen on her back. Claiming the younger woman’s lips in a searing kiss, Lorelei spent the rest of the night making up for lost time.
Chapter 14
Aspen and Lorelei’s first Christmas together came and went with only a little fuss. They spent a few hours with Aspen’s family, Talia’s hateful presence making the whole visit highly uncomfortable. Once they got home, however, their spirits were lifted when Lorelei received a video call from her older brother, Josh.
Lorelei idolized her older brother and took every opportunity to talk with him when she could. He’d been stationed in multiple different countries throughout his career in the Navy, so Lorelei rarely had advance notice of his calls. The one call she could always count on, though, was the call she got every year on Christmas.
“Nollaig Shona, deirfiúr beag!” Josh greeted jovially when Lorelei answered. Merry Christmas, little sister!
Aspen smiled as she watched Lorelei’s eyes light up at the sight of her brother. Josh and Lorelei could have been identical twins, were they the same age and gender. Six years older than his sister, Josh Blaise had the same rich, thick red hair and mesmerizing cobalt blue eyes. Even their sparse freckling seemed to share the same pattern.
“Nollaig Shona, deartháir mór!” Lorelei replied fondly.
Merry Christmas, big brother, Aspen translated for herself while she listened quietly to the pair. She loved listening to the siblings speak their father’s native Irish tongue.
“Hey, Aspen,” Josh said, after he and Lorelei caught up with everything that had happened since their last call to one another, a few days after Aspen and Lorelei were married, “when are you going to stop playing with the small fire and move on to the bigger Blaise?”
Lorelei feigned outrage at her brother’s comment, but Aspen simply laughed. Batting her eyes flirtatiously at her brother-in-law, she put her head on Lorelei’s shoulder and stroked her left hand gently over her wife’s collar bone.
“Round abouts the time I manage to put this fire out,” she replied, her voice dripping with innuendo, “but since her hair is still nice and red, there’s plenty of fuel left in my Blaise.”
Josh and Lorelei erupted with laughter. The trio talked for a while longer, but eventually Josh had to report back to his duties. Aspen and Lorelei settled in to spend the rest of the day cuddling on the couch and watching movies.
The couple made it a point to enjoy their time together, because that evening was the beginning of a long travel weekend. People making their way home from their Christmas visits would be crowding the roads, making accidents an inevitability.
This meant that the fire department would be busier than usual, as protocol demanded the presence of fire crews at any incident involving a vehicle. The presence of flammable liquids, namely unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, increased the chances of a car catching fire in an accident.
Aspen had just started to doze off in the middle of a particularly cliché Christmas movie when the steady tones of a call came over their radios.
“Duty 121, Engine 121, Rescue 101, Medic 101, Support 108. Multiple MVA near the corner of Falls City Road and Liberty Road. Duty 121, Engine 121, Rescue 101, Medic 101, Support 108. Multiple MVA near the corner of Falls City Road and Liberty Road.”
“I knew it was too good to last,” Lorelei grumbled as she and Aspen hurried into their shoes and out the door.
***
“Yo, Blaise, the new guy’s here,” Jordy called across the truck bay.
Lorelei looked over her shoulder and nodded at Jordy. “Be right with you,” she said, before returning her attention to her locker. She made quick work of stowing her civvies before snapping the locker shut and tugging her FCFD baseball cap into place.
“Sorry about that,” she said, returning her attention to Jordy and the newest member of the Falls City Fire Department, “I hate informal introductions. I’m Lorelei Blaise; your new Captain. You can call me Blaise; everyone does. I hate being called Cap or Captain.”
“Nice to meet you, Blaise. John Barrows. I hear you’re a Hotshot, too. That’s damn impressive. Mad respect to you.” The sandy-haired young man greeted her with a firm handshake and direct eye contact. Lorelei liked him immediately.
“I am,” she replied with a grin, “This year was my eighth fire season with Northwest Hotshots. Your application says you have wildland training, you looking to join up?”
John chuckled and shook his head, fanning his dark blonde hair over his forehead. “No, Ma’am. I love what I do, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t have it in me to be a Hotshot. Besides,” he added with a shrug, “I don’t think my missus would be too keen on spending the whole of fire season as a single parent.”
Lorelei laughed and clapped the man on the shoulder. That was definitely a point of contention she and Aspen had discussed when it came to deciding if they wanted children. As a wildland firefighter, Lorelei had received extensive, specialized training that allowed her to become one of a handful of firefighters in the region that could coordinate and handle the containment and control of a large scale wild fire.
Unlike your average wildland firefighter, Hotshots tended to travel extensively during peak fire season, sometimes spending over a hundred days away from home between early June and early October. Thankfully, the previous year’s fire season had been mild, and Lorelei had only been called out to help with a couple of fires throughout the Pacific Northwest.
“Completely understandable,” she assured as she led him toward the huddle, “Jordy and I are the only wildland firefighters here in Falls City. He’s not a Hotshot, either.”
The huddle is a group of firefighters clustered together before the official start of drill night. The purpose of the huddle is to offer support and encouragement to one another in a safe environment, free from judgement. It’s the perfect place for a new firefighter to ask questions or gain clarity on something they are uncertain about, without feeling embarrassed or put on the spot.
“Jordy,” Lorelei said, clapping her friend on the back, “I want John to shadow you for the night. I left my drill plan at the house. I’ll be right back. If the Chief shows up before I get back, tell him to go ahead and start the huddle.”
“Sure thing, Blaise,” Jordy replied, glancing around the open bay to grab a quick head count.
The Falls City Fire Department was comprised of three full time firefighters and seventeen volunteers. Only the Fire Chief, Battalion Chief, and Captain were paid positions, because of the small size of the department and the surrounding jurisdiction.
In most departments, the Chief would lead drill night, along with the assistance of the Deputy Chief or Assistant Chief. Because Falls City didn’t have either of those positions, and their Battalion Chief was still on leave, that left Lorelei and Chief Andrews to run the show. Chief Andrews had warned Lorelei that he m
ight not make it to drills that night, so she was fully prepared to take the lead.
“We’ll give it a few minutes,” Jordy mumbled to no one in particular, after counting only eleven volunteers, including himself and John.
While the others conversed amongst themselves, John and Jordy bantered back and forth, getting a feel for each other.
“So, Blaise is pretty hot,” John said shamelessly, “She married?”
Jordy made a sound that was something between a snort and a bark of laughter. “Brother, you are so barking up the wrong tree there,” he laughed, “And yes, just to clarify, she is married.”
John shrugged and smiled winningly. “So am I, man. But that don’t mean I ain’t allowed to look.”
Jordy shook his head. He understood where John was coming from, but what he found amusing was the thought of what Lorelei would have said in response to John’s appraisal of her. Lorelei was neither vain, nor ignorant of her own assets. That said, Lorelei was a stickler for professionalism in the workplace, and such comments would be considered unprofessional and earn the speaker a place on her shit list.
“Are you kidding me?” John asked, his voice growing tight as his eyes followed the movement of something behind Jordy, “Falls City firefighters have their own cheerleaders? I love this place!”
Jordy frowned and turned to look over his shoulder to see what John was suddenly so entranced by. When his eyes lit on the back of a FCHS cheerleading coat and a long, curly blonde ponytail, Jordy groaned.
“No,” he said, shooting out a hand to stop John from making his way toward the cheerleader, “the fire department does not have cheerleaders. One firefighter has that particular cheerleader, who also happens to be a firefighter on reserve.”
“If she’s a firefighter, even on reserve, that means she’s eighteen. Eighteen means I can look,” John said, completely missing Jordy’s comment about the cheerleader not being single. His eyes never left the blonde as she tugged off her jacket and stowed it in the locker closest to Lorelei’s office door.
“Married means you better not let anyone catch you looking,” Jordy hissed between his teeth. He shot an apologetic glance at Lorelei, who had just rejoined the pair through the bay door, standing on John’s other side.
John’s head turned around slowly, pinning Jordy with an accusatory stare. Lorelei almost laughed when she realized that the man still didn’t know she was standing beside him.
“Who is the lucky son of a bitch that married an eighteen-year-old cheerleader? I want to shake that man’s hand!” John said, his voice dripping with awe and respect.
Before Jordy could answer, John’s head whipped back around to watch the blonde. Jordy looked helplessly at Lorelei, who simply grinned. With a wink, Lorelei motioned with her head for Jordy join her a few feet behind the man.
“Tell him about what she does with her ring before drills,” she whispered, once they were several paces away from John, “We’ll let him figure out who the lucky son of a bitch is on his own.”
Jordy grinned mischievously and Lorelei moved off toward the outer edge of the bay. Jordy waited until she was near the conference room door before he answered John’s question.
“You’ll see who it is in just a second,” Jordy said, slapping the man on the shoulder, “she always gives her wedding ring to her other half before drills start, that way nothing happens to it.”
Jordy could have told him that the blonde was married to the president of Mars for all John heard. He was too busy watching as the cheerleader shimmied out of her baggy snow pants, leaving herself clad in a pair of snug FCHS Cheer sweats and a tight-fitting long-sleeved tee.
Just as he was admiring her perfectly sculpted ass, the blonde turned away from the lockers, presenting John with a stunning view of the rest of her gifts. The view was fleeting, though, as the woman’s perfect gifts found themselves pressed firmly against someone else’s gifts in a fond embrace.
John sucked in a breath and exhaled on a low curse when he saw that Captain Lorelei Blaise was the someone else. The curse became a groan of both disbelief and admiration when he watched Blaise take the ring the blonde offered and slide it onto a chain that she then fastened around her neck and tucked under her shirt.
“Kill me now,” John groaned as he turned toward Jordy and scrubbed at the color staining his cheeks. “Why didn’t you say something, Bro?”
Jordy simply shrugged and offered his new teammate a winning smile. “FCFD doesn’t condone hazing,” he said, his eyes flicking quickly over John’s shoulder as Lorelei and her wife made their way over, “but you are still the new guy, and I had to do something to initiate you into the group.”
John attempted to glare at the man, but couldn’t accomplish it. He liked Jordy, and he had a feeling that they would end up being friends.
“John,” Lorelei said when she reached the two men, “I’d like you to meet someone.”
John squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a silent breath, willing himself not to turn into a fool in front of his new Captain. Releasing the breath quickly, he turned around and forced himself to pretend he hadn’t just been entertaining impure thoughts about the woman standing before him.
“John Barrows, I’d like you to meet my wife; Aspen Blaise,” Lorelei introduced, “Aspen is one of our volunteer firefighters. Honey, this is John Barrows. He’s the new Engineer we brought in from Marilynn to replace Tim.”
Tim Wilkes had quietly put in for a transfer to the Salem Fire Department just after Thanksgiving. As a certified engineer, Tim was happily welcomed by the SFD. Although Tim had claimed that he was relocating because he needed a change of pace, Lorelei suspected that he just wanted to get away from her and Aspen. With Tim gone, that left Falls City short an engineer. Lorelei made a few calls and managed to find an eager, qualified transfer candidate to replace him.
Aspen extended her hand and offered the man a welcoming smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, John. Welcome to Falls City.”
John shook her hand and chanced a glance at Lorelei. When their eyes met, Lorelei gave him a knowing wink and John swallowed hard. He was saved the embarrassment of words by Lorelei clearing her throat and calling for everyone’s attention.
Every year, volunteer firefighters were required to pass a physical fitness test to maintain their credentials and qualifications. Any firefighter that did not meet the minimum fitness requirements was placed on probation and required to test again to keep their active status.
“Last drill night before certification tests, people, huddle up!” she called, opening her arms wide and motioning for everyone to join the group.
***
“Hey, Blaise, you got a second?” Jordy stuck his head into Lorelei’s office, grinning wickedly at his friend.
Lorelei glanced up from the inventory report and frowned at the man’s smile. She’d never seen him smile like that before, and if she were being honest, it creeped her out. She glanced quickly at the time before beckoning the man inside.
“I’ve got a few,” she said, “but Aspen will be here for lunch in about twenty-minutes. What can I do for you?”
Jordy’s grin widened. “I have a surprise for you, buddy,” he replied excitedly, “close your eyes.”
Lorelei narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Is it going to make a mess like your last ‘surprise’?” she asked.
Jordy and a few of the other firefighters had gotten Lorelei a Leprechaun cake for her St. Patrick’s Day birthday the week before. To the redhead’s dismay, the cake turned out to be a latex balloon filled with helium and covered in thick buttercream. As soon as she cut into it, the “cake” exploded, showering her and her office in bright green frosting.
Jordy tipped his head back and laughed. “No,” he said, remembering the look of shock on her face when she’d made the cut, “I promise, this is a genuine surprise. Now, close your eyes.”
Lorelei rolled her eyes before closing them. Jordy quickly stuck his arm out the door and motioned for his surp
rise to come in.
Lorelei could hear shuffling footsteps and frowned. What the hell? Who in the world did he bring in here? I swear to God, if he makes a fool out of me, I’m going to kill him.
“Okay, Blaise,” Jordy said after a moment, “Open your eyes.”
Lorelei opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. Standing before her were two women she hadn’t seen in almost two years. The woman on the left, older than Lorelei and the other by several years, hadn’t changed much from the last time Lorelei saw her. Her brown hair still fell to just below her shoulders, and she still had that cocky smirk firmly in place as she towered over her companion.
The woman on the right, a five-foot-nothing blonde that held a perpetual look of mischief, also looked much the same as she had during their last encounter.
“Surprise!” the women shouted in unison.
A grin split Lorelei’s face as she bolted out of her chair and rounded the desk. She quickly gathered the women into a tight embrace, eliciting chuckles from both.
“Aww, Burns, she missed us!” the blonde teased when Lorelei stepped back.
“Of course she did, Breezy. What’s not to miss?” Burns clapped Lorelei on the shoulder before taking a seat in one of the visitor chairs. “How’ve you been, Blaise?”
Lorelei simply grinned at her friends. The three women had worked together for almost five years as part of the Northwest Hotshot team. They had bonded quickly, becoming known throughout the rest of their team as The Three Musketeers.
“Damn, it’s great to see you two,” Lorelei sighed, shaking her head to bring herself out of the memories that flooded her of their time together. “I’ve been fantastic.”
“Still with the Hotshots?” Breezy asked, crossing one leg over the other and fussing with the cuff of her knee-high stiletto boot.
“Yep,” Lorelei replied proudly, “eight years this summer. I’ve been trying to convince my wife to join up.”
Breezy and Burns shared a look. “Wife?” they asked as one.
Lorelei’s cheeks pinked. “Oh,” she said, a bit embarrassed that she’d let it slip like that, “yeah, I, um... I got married last year.”
