Desperately Seeking Fireman Read Online Free PDF Page A

elongated upper lip. The rest of her screamed busy, on-the-go working woman, but the shape of her mouth said dreamer, with a dash of sensualist.
    He wanted to kiss that mouth. Feel its soft give. Tease her passion to the surface.
    The sudden bite of lust nearly made him stagger. And the thing was, it wasn’t her physical presence that caused it—at least not just that. It was the way she was looking at him, so intently, so curiously. He felt her attention like the stroke of a tongue on his cock.
    But Melissa chose that moment to emerge from the bathroom. She was looking much more cheerful. And grateful.
    “Come here, Captain Stone.”
    He turned, taken off guard, as she planted a kiss on his cheek.
    “I was wrong. It takes a big woman to admit it, but I clearly qualify.” She patted her stomach. “I hate to blame the pregnancy hormones, but my moods have been all over the place. I’m sorry if I was unkind earlier. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I already texted Brody and told him he’s forgiven. Seriously, I wouldn’t have made it without you. Brody thanks you too. And the baby.” She beamed at him.
    He couldn’t see that he’d done much, but he appreciated the change of attitude. Then again, he knew it might not last long. Melissa would probably find something else to be irritated by within the next half hour. The last month of pregnancy had been endless for Belinda. “What are highly-trained, experienced fire captains for, if not to escort pregnant ladies to the restroom?” He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”
    “We shall. Nita, I take back every mean thing I said about firefighters. They’re the best. Sweet, helpful, manly . . .” She blinked rapidly, then wiped away a tear. Clearly hormone-related. “What am I missing, Jeb?”
    Since he preferred antagonistic Melissa to sentimental Melissa, he said, “You left out ‘always right’. Not to mention ‘irresistible to women.’” He winked at Nita, who creased her forehead with exaggerated skepticism.
    “You’re not going to make me mad, Jeb. You’re still on my good side. Like it or not.”
    “See?” he muttered to Nita as he and Melissa swept past. “Irresistible.”
    She made a face at him. Maybe she meant it to be cute, but he found it outrageously sexy. Every cell of his body was aware of her following behind him and Melissa. It was an amazing feeling—revitalizing, as if he was waking up after a long coma in a cave somewhere. He was far more interested in her than in anyone he’d met over the last year. But he couldn’t get a read on what she thought about him. Maybe she still saw him as an inappropriate flirt.
    Clearly, he was going to have to do something about this situation.
    H E DIDN’T GET a chance to formulate a plan until later that night. The Enchanted Garden was a fantastical, cedar-shingled building with a turret and a wraparound front veranda. Gardens surrounded it with a riot of towering blue delphiniums and rampaging rosebushes in every shade of pink, from mauve to coral. Flowering vines twirled around every available pillar or post. The owner must have the greenest thumb ever granted to a human.
    Apparently the owner also had an obsession with crafts. When Jeb stepped inside, he was sure he’d stumbled into the mother ship of ruffles. Every spare inch of the place—the bedrooms, the hallways, the bathrooms, even the damn garage—was adorned with frill or lace. Doilies had multiplied like bunnies on every piece of furniture.
    When he first saw the dining room, filled with little round tables as if it were a real restaurant, hope flared that he might be able to get a drink. Nita informed him it was called the Knit, Purl, and Tea, and that’s what it served, along with the occasional batch of cookies.
    Jeb texted Brody a picture of the dainty little room, along with the words, “You owe me, dude.” In the midst of all those ruffles, the word “dude” looked like profanity.
    Angie was already asleep,