by Leigh Lennon
“I’m out of here,” he replied coldly. I wasn’t sure if his quick departure had anything to do with my naked body near his clothed body. My gaze followed as he walked toward the door.
“Wait,” Scar crooned. She almost ran toward him, pulling him in tight. “I love you, please know that.”
Ah, Jordan must be a bit insecure right now. I pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and started toward him. If we were going to build something, even if it was only for Scar, we’d have to be close or at least good friends.
I started toward them, and it was the first time since he walked in the door last night that I saw hesitation on his face. “Friends,” I began, reminding him of what we promised one another. Scar released him, and I brought him in for a bro hug. I whispered in his ear, “Thank you. See you tonight, I hope.” I looked down at his arms, and they were filled with goose bumps. I smiled, hoping I put them there.
“Yeah, sure, I guess. My house?” He stumbled over his own words, and I continued to smile.
“Sure. Scar, you okay with this?”
“Definitely. Seven. I will bring a bag and you should do the same, LT,” she added, and then she and Jordan left. He looked over his shoulder, and I winked at him. He began to glare at me, but fuck, it only got me harder. His little pout was almost as cute as the pout Scar wore at times. Both did the same thing to me.
I arrived at the firehouse just in time for turnover. The asshole, Kevin Driscol, barely had to stay five minutes longer than he needed to. He’d never liked me and always had a chip on his shoulder. As he left, he’d always say the same phrase upon departure, “One day, brother, your luck will run out.” Yeah, what a dick for another fireman to point out the fear we all carried deep down inside us.
I did what I told Shirley I’d do. I brushed my teeth and changed. After turnover, I rushed to the shower in the hopes that I’d clean all the sex off me from last night before a call came in. Even thinking about last night and how my fingers were in Scar as he thrusted in and out of her made me hard. I sure as shit didn’t need one of my guys walking in as I tried to dry off with a woody the size of a large cucumber. I stayed in the shower just long enough to control my erection and then got dressed. The second I put on my last shoe, the alarm went off.
I rushed outside, got into my apparatus in less than ten seconds, and hopped on the truck as Adams pulled out of the station. It was an abandoned warehouse building, which was good, but the apartment building next door had occupants.
Pulling up to the blaze, I saw the wind and flames could cause the building next door big problems if we didn’t get this under control. Adams and Foster went in first. I referred to them as my two beers.
“Beer 1,” that was Adams, “and Beer 2, you both are together. Call out and make sure no one is in there.” It might be summer in Chicago, but fuck, the homeless people wanted off the streets regardless of the season.
“Torrin, Gallagher, on the hose.” And these men, they were as loyal and hardworking as they came. Never questioned me even if I wasn’t their ordinary lieutenant, but I worked with Torrin in Aurora before we both transferred to Chicago. He was one of the best firemen I knew.
When the flames began to dissipate with the hose, Adams and Foster had not come out of the building, and my calls went unanswered. On my call, Jackson, Wilford, and I entered the building. In the entranceway, I saw their bodies. They were so close to being out, and I watched Jackson grab Adams while I helped Wilford with Foster, a much bigger man.
The second we emerged from the building, the paramedics were on us, checking for vitals on both men. It was odd; as much as I had seen death and buried some of the finest, I was never okay with it. Never would be. I guess it was how I knew I was still human after all these years.
“Status?” I insisted of the medic working on Adams.
“A faint pulse.” The next ambulance came barreling down the road, and they loaded Foster into it.
“Status?” I asked again, but this time it was the medic working on Foster. The CPR had not stopped while Torrin, Gallagher, Jackson, and Wilford were watching their fallen brother. The second the next set of medics arrived, Lanie Shore, the smallest human adult I’d ever seen in my life, standing no taller than four feet, seven inches, attempted one last time. A whopping cough escaped Foster’s mouth, and we were finally able to breathe. All that went through my mind was how these weren’t even my men. They were Shirley’s, and I almost lost one of his men on my watch. That didn’t bode well with me.
As I did with my own men from my standard shift, we followed the ambulance to the hospital. Beer 1, as I called him, was alert once the motherfucker started breathing. Shirley texted to tell me he was on his way, and just like that, my two-hour shift was over. It was an almost catastrophic day.
Rushing into the ER, I still had Beer 1 to check on. I opened the drapes just enough to see Adams was okay. He was sitting up in bed, his face still black from the smoke.
“Shit, man, don’t do this to me,” I began. “What the hell happened, Adams?” How were they so close yet didn’t make it out of the building?
“Foster?” he questioned, and though I didn’t know Adams well, he seemed groggy.
“Yeah, he’s okay,” I answered, his other brothers crowding in the room.
“Fuck, Lieutenant, we were hit from behind.” I was expecting a whole myriad of reasons of why they hadn’t gotten out but being attacked was not one of them.
“What?” My pulse slowed, and beads of sweat broke out under my uniform.
“Yeah, I saw someone with a shovel come up behind Foster. I tried to fight back, but another person came at me from behind, too.”
My eyes had to look the way I felt. “You mean, two men did this?”
“Yeah, at least two men,” Adams began, but the ER doctor walked in.
She was short with spikey blonde hair and turned to us. “Okay, guys, I’ll take good care of this one. I just sent the other one up to CT since he was hit. This one is next.”
Shirley rushed in the room as we were getting ready to leave. When I filled him in, he had patted me on the back, assuring me his guys were always in the best of care with me. “Want a ride back to the house?” he asked on our way to the rig, which was blocking a majority of the ER entrance.
I’d turned to him to catch him up on what Adams told me, when I ran smack dab into someone. “LT?” I looked up into Jordan’s dark, chocolate eyes.
“Hey, Shirley, I’ll catch you back at the house. I’ll ride back with one of the medics. Let them know to wait for me.” Shirley nodded, and I turned around to Jordan, who saw me in a way I didn’t want him to. These men almost died on my watch, and I’d never take it lightly.
“Shit, Levi, you okay?” He pulled me into a triage room, closing the curtains behind him. “Shit,” he started, pulling at my arms, inspecting them for burns, then taking out this annoying as fuck bright light and shining it in my eyes.
“Doc, I’m okay. I really am.” I attempted to walk away from him, but when he grabbed me, I wasn’t sure if it was his strength that stopped me or how adamant he seemed.
“Let me check you out. The fireman who came in? I examined the first one, your man?” Somehow, he had me sitting down on the exam table, and he was checking my reflexes.
“Yeah.” I looked down, just now realizing how bad it could have been, and shit, on top of it, they were ambushed. Was the fire set intentionally?
“Hey.” He tipped my chin to look at him. “Friends, right, that’s what we are? Now, seriously, tell me, are you okay?” His tone, the words, and the way his pitch fluctuated told me he was as worried for me as I was for Foster and Adams.
There was so much bullshit in this job, and I’d never been able to be honest about what I did. Serious relationships were not a part of me, though not for lack of me trying. I had one when I was younger but I wasn’t ready to commit. As I got older, I’d wanted more. I’d wanted more for a long time. Nothing had worked and though Jordan and I weren�
�t together, we were starting a relationship, too.
“No, I’m not okay, not one bit,” I began, and in one fluid motion, he had me up and in his arms.
I wasn’t one to cry, though I didn’t think I would cry in the arms of a man who wasn’t even mine. But he was comfort and home all rolled into one. The corner of my eyes leaked just a little. I could hold onto my balls for another day, so I let go. He squeezed me tighter, and with every little bit, I moved in closer to him, and my heart surrendered to this. Whatever this was. If it had been a weird as fuck friendship where I wanted more than he was willing to offer, I’d take whatever he could give and be thankful for it.
He backed away. “I now have someone who’s important to me in danger, running into burning buildings. Just know, LT, I’m here for you.” And I knew this time, in a creepy triage ER room, he meant it, and it signified a change in our friendship.
I somehow made it back to my loft, and after a crazy number of texts from Scar, my mind could not stop drifting back to the images of the men on the ground or how long it took to revive Foster. I’d thought I’d lost him, but more, what they said, a vicious attack was the only reason they could have been killed.
Picking up my phone, I called my chief, not able to get this whole picture out of my mind.
“Arnold, thought I’d hear from you. You okay?”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m good as long as Adams and Foster will be all right.” He didn’t say much, but my chief had been around so long, he, too, was processing what happened today and the what-ifs. “Look, I’ve been thinking. I know I’m on tomorrow, but in Aurora, I worked arson.”
“Yeah, I knew this was coming. Take your men in case there’s a call. I’ll let special investigations know you’ll be there. They’ll be glad to have you.”
When I decided to move to the city to be near my twin sister, there was no doubt I’d go back to the firehouse. Though special investigations wanted me to take a position with them, I needed to get back into the thick of it. I turned down lead arson investigator, but I had an inkling about the fire today. Something the investigator in me couldn’t ignore.
“Thanks, Chief,” I replied, hanging up the phone. The day had not gone as planned, and as much as I wanted a nap earlier, every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was what could have happened. I couldn’t handle it, not then, and with the quietness in my house, it still was something I wouldn’t think about. The what-ifs were too deafening.
14
Scarlet
My hands would not stop shaking, nor would my mind stop playing out the horrible images of him blaming himself for his men who were injured on his watch. Levi hadn’t picked up his phone when I called, but he finally texted me.
When you lost two of the most important people at an early age like I did, you wondered if life would really be cruel a second time. In my opinion, life was a bitch and hell-bent on causing me pain.
My Hot Fireman: Sweetheart, I know you’re worried, but I was never in danger. It was my men. It would have been easier if it were me. Anyway, I’m fine. I’ll see you tonight at Doc’s house. I love you.
His words, It would be easier if it were me, hadn’t done much to comfort my overactive imagination. I never liked the idea of falling in love with a man who ran into burning buildings to save strangers. It was selfish, but I couldn’t lose him. And it was one reason I didn’t want to choose between Jordan and Levi—of course, I hadn’t bargained on falling in love with both of them equally either.
In my thoughts, I looked up into the same eyes as Levi’s, his twin sister’s. “Scar, you okay?”
I didn’t want to worry her. She was anxious enough about her brother’s safety. “Um, yeah.”
“I know what happened to Levi today. Jordan called his brother.” She sat on the edge of my desk. “I get it. Levi is my twin, and we have this connection. Understand, I go through the fear, too. So if you need to talk.” She made herself at home, apparently without plans to go anywhere.
I rubbed at my face, a tear or two filling my eyes. “Isn’t it selfish to hate a job that gives him so much joy? It scares the shit out of me,” I confessed. Not like it was hard for Elliot to see the worry etched in the wrinkles on my face. This call and the accident of his men aged me ten years.
“Yeah, I get it. When he told me he was going to be a fireman, I begged him to find anything that would help me sleep better at night. But this life, it’s part of him, engrained in his soul,” Elliot explained, taking my hand in hers.
I’d seen it the first time we dated. It was his calling, and it suited him. I continued to discuss this job that gave me sleepless nights. “I know. It would be like taking a vital part of him away.”
“Yeah, exactly. It’s scary as fuck, but it’s him. Just know this,” she explained, empathizing with every word I shared.
She opened her mouth as though she had something to say. But she stopped just as words were about to form on her lips.
“Ell, by that smile on your face, you have questions but are afraid to ask.”
“You caught me. Jordan came over last night to talk to us. I wasn’t sure what he’d do when he left our home, but we gave him advice concerning a polyamorous relationship and his misconceptions of them. Especially the fear of giving up his own ideas of his sexual identity.” We were in the middle of the executive offices talking like two girlfriends as it was merely makeup and nail polish that we had in common and not our desire to be wanted by two men at the same time. She took a deep breath. “It was a struggle for him because he thinks this will lead to him falling for Levi. Arden addressed the inner struggle that he went through when he admitted he loved Daimen.”
I wished Jordan would have told us this, but he was so fucking proud. “Well, that explains a lot.”
“So he came over to Levi’s?” She arched one of her brows.
My smile was all the answer she needed, but I continued, “You know, your brother is pushing him. Not much but enough. Levi wants what Jordan may never be able to give him.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Elliot countered, “Yeah, Levi likes to push the boundaries, so I see it. But I think Jordan may have feelings for my brother.”
I rubbed my temples. This conversation taxed me because there was truth there. Loving someone who couldn’t be his full self because of stereotypical shit made me hurt for Jordan. I stopped to take a sip of my coffee, then continued, “Yeah, I get it, but Jordan has to come to this conclusion on his own.” My eyes met hers, and I knew she understood. It wasn’t too long ago she, also, had to decide between her happiness and the opinions of others.
“If anyone gets it, I certainly do.” She stood when Daimen exited his office and entered my domain. “Little Girl?” It was his pet name for Ell. She hated it at first, but now she loved it as she did Daimen. “Coming to see me?”
Standing to embrace him, Ell answered, “Will the ego be crushed if I said no? I was checking on Scar. Levi had a close call at work today.” Daimen, who was like the big brother I never had, turned to me.
“Scar, why the hell are you still here? Go be with him. Even if it’s to hold his hand, it’s fine. I’ll grab Karen from HR to man the phones.” I didn’t have to work. Wise investments and five percent stock in this company made me overly comfortable. But I was there for Arden and Daimen as they’d been for me so long ago. Plus, I was more than their secretary. Truth be told, I ran the everyday operations of the business, and they’d be lost without me. Although those were my words, they said it every time I was gone. So Daimen shooing me out of the offices meant he understood how much Levi needed me. Or maybe it was how much I needed to see my hot fireman.
I turned to Ell to get her opinion. “Go. He tries to act tough and in control, but he’s never had someone there to put him back together after something like this happens. He may push you away, but it won’t be for long.” Grabbing for my purse, I was out the door before I had a chance to say goodbye. In the elevator, I shot Jordan a text.
The Good Doctor: I’m not here much longer either. I had some patients to check on and got roped into triage. See you this evening at my house, and if I’m not there, you have my extra key.
That was right. I totally forgot this, and I smiled at the turn of events, even in the past twenty-four hours. These two men were mine.
I slid open the door to Levi’s loft without bothering to knock. He had me as a fixture in his life, and if that meant being a bit invasive, then hell, it was exactly what I would be.
The television blasted some sports channel. Go figure. The water was running in his bathroom. I knew I’d scare the shit out of this man in one way or another, so I opted for the good kind of surprise. Stripping out of my clothes, I quietly opened the door to his bathroom. After I pulled back the curtain, he screamed like a girl, but then a large smile covered his face. Especially when he saw I was naked as a jaybird.
“You can give me a heart attack every day if this is what it takes to get you naked in my shower.” He pulled me in quickly. “Shit, Scar, I should have known you wouldn’t leave me alone. And I’m not the only person happy to see you.”
Not saying a word, I fell gently to my knees. The second my lips touched the tip of his cock, his hands were in my hair. “Ah, shit, Scar. I love your lips around me like this.”
My eyes averted to his, watching me swallow him farther and farther. As I deep throated him, I was amazed at the size of his cock and how it fit so perfectly in me. I hadn’t been with many men, but it was like both Jordan and him were made to push tightly inside my cunt and my mouth, too.
“When I tell you to pull out, Scar, pull out, okay?” I nodded, obeying him, but I tried to burn his flavor to my memory because I loved the taste of him in my mouth. “Now, Scar.” I pulled out, and he came so hard. The water was off, and he had us wrapped in towels, drying me off. Pushing me farther and farther out of the bathroom, he kept walking until I fell backward and landed on the bed. “Fuck, now I get to taste you, my redhead seductress.”
