Payback: The Men of Firehouse 69 (2 page)

She really didn’t know
what to be embarrassed about more: Andre actually having to teach her about
fire safety or Andre and his co-workers seeing her in her flimsy satin wrap.

Like she really needed
a course in fire safety. Maybe her roommate needed instructions on being less
twitchy.

“Mel?”

She turned around from
dumping the pan of ruined rum cakes in the sink. “Hey, Ronnie.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry
for calling 911. I thought you were hurt the way you yelled like that.”

“It’s okay.” She
dropped the pan in the sink. The loud clang did little to assuage her crappy
mood. “The fire just surprised me.”

“I hope they didn’t
give you too hard of a time, not that they would’ve with you dressed like
that.”

Mel looked down at her
black robe. “Oh God, don’t remind me they all saw me dressed in my nightie. My
brother’s best friend was on the team and he saw me like this too.”

“Andre?”

Mel nodded. She and
Ronnie had spent a few nights with a glass of wine, commiserating about their
pitiful love life and Andre had come up more than once. “The worst part is he
has to come by later and give me a fire safety course.”

Ronnie quirked her
lips. “A fire safety course? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that.”

“Yeah, they said I had
to take one since I called 911 without having an emergency.”

Ronnie hesitated.
“Wouldn’t I be the one who would have to take the course because I called?”

Mel blinked as she shut
off the faucet. Ronnie had a point. Andre and his co-workers were trying to
pull a fast one on her? Her cheeks burned. How much more humiliating could
today get? “You told the 911 operator we were fine, right?” When Ronnie nodded,
she gritted her teeth. “I knew it.” She wanted more satisfaction than throwing
the spoon in the pan gave her.

“What?”

A flush of pure
embarrassment swept over her. “Andre planned this. I mean, he couldn’t have
known I’d be wearing this flimsy thing.” She tugged her robe together again as
another wave of embarrassment swept over her. “But when he saw my address come
up, he probably thought this was a golden opportunity to prank me, just like
the old days.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes.
“What an ass.”

“My brother and Andre
love to jerk my chain. When I trust someone, I will believe almost anything
they tell me. They played all sorts of tricks on me when we were kids. I always
got my brother back, but Andre was never around for me to exact my revenge.”

“I can sympathize. My
little brother was the worst. Every time a guy from school used to come to my
house, he would do something like smear his boogers on our notebooks when we
weren’t looking.” Ronnie shook her head. “So what are you going to do to get
him back?”

“I don’t know. I don’t
want him to hate me. I’ve always had a little crush on him since… oh, probably
the first time I saw him.” The thought of Andre looking at her with disgust
turned her stomach.

Ronnie shrugged. “The
best revenge on a man is showing him what he can’t have. You’re a beautiful
woman, Mel. I think you could pull it off.”

She shook her head.
“He’s known me since I was in grade school. I’m sure he doesn’t think of me
like that.”

“Mel, you always say
that, even when a guy is practically hanging all over you. I saw Andre at
Christmas last year. When he thought no one was looking, he was definitely
checking you out.”

“He probably saw a
piece of lint on my dress. And I can’t actually do anything with Andre. He’s my
brother’s best friend and he wouldn’t want to touch me with a ten foot pole.
He’s seen me at my worst.”

“That’s a good start.
Only way to go now is up. Show him the best parts of you. Make him need you.
And just about the time he thinks he has you, push him out in the cold night
and tell him where he can shove that fire safety course.”

Mel hedged. “I don’t
know if that’s such a good idea.” What if when it came time to yank the rug out
from under Andre, she couldn’t do it? One taste might be too much for her to
turn down and once she had him, she might not be able to give him up.

Ronnie glanced at her
watch. “When is he coming by?”

“Two hours from now.”

“Listen, I’ll help you
make the cakes as long as you promise to play the vixen. Make him squirm, make
him wish he had never teased you. Then when he thinks he has you, close the
door and leave him hanging.”

Mel sighed. If she had
Andre in front of her and he actually showed interest in her, she wasn’t about
to shove him out the door. She didn’t think she possessed that level of
self-control, but she would have to cross her fingers and hope for the best.
“Okay.” She smiled. “I think I can throw something sexy together.”

Ronnie winked. “That’s
the Mel I know and love. You’ll pull this off. I have a shift at the hospital
tonight so I’ll be out of your hair but you have to give me a play-by-play
rundown tomorrow.”

“Oh, I will.” Mel
narrowed her eyes. “And trust me, he’s going to pay.”

Chapter Two

Andre knocked and then
looked at his watch. Just a few minutes after six, although he would have been
right on the dot if he’d known what wine to pick out. He settled for a nice
bottle of Champagne, not cheap but not expensive, and hoped that would help to
placate her when he admitted the farce.

Maybe they could even
have a laugh about it over dinner. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was a jerk.
Otherwise, Christmas at her parents’ house was going to be awkward this year.

Every year since his
parents had moved to Florida to retire, he had a standing invitation to the
Brentleys for any holidays, at least the ones he didn’t work. After a great
meal, he usually fell asleep watching TV on the couch with Brian while Mrs.
Brentley finished putting away the leftovers.

Last year, Mel had been
stressing over her physician assistant exams, which he heard she’d passed. It
had been the last time they had seen each other since their paths didn’t cross
much. Until today.

As he left work, Bud
had slipped a condom in his shirt pocket and patted it. The good luck wishes
were for naught because he wouldn’t do that with Mel. The door swung open and
his thoughts came to a screeching halt when he saw her.

“Hi, Andre.”

The skin tight dress
didn’t hide any of her luscious curves, nor her slender waist. He had a real
appetite for an hourglass figure, which Mel had to the extreme. With her little
black dress, she was a walking wet dream. “You didn’t have to dress up for me,”
he quipped.

“I didn’t,” she said
coolly as she shut the door behind him. “I have a date later.”

When she locked the
door, his gaze traveled freely down to her legs to where her garter clips
peeked out. Feeling like he had been kicked in the stomach, he blamed his next
comment on the lack of oxygen. “You can’t go out dressed like that.”

She narrowed her eyes.
“Who says so?”

He looked her up and
down. “I do.”

She laughed. “And who
do you think you are? My dad?”

“No, I’m a concerned
and caring man,” he retorted. “You’ll freeze.”

“I’ll wear a coat to
his place. He’s coming to pick me up at half-past seven.”

She was being picked up
and since she would have no car to get home, that meant she would probably stay
at the faceless, nameless man’s place.
No way.

An hour and a half to
kill while he waited for this guy to show up… well, he would find something to
do. Once her date got here, Andre would tell him to buzz off. With his above
average height and large build, people rarely picked on him, except for his
firehouse buddies.

“Shall we get started?”
she asked, gesturing to the table.

“Sure,” he said,
wandering over to the solid wood dinette and pulling out a chair for her. “This
is nice.”

She scooted her chair
forward and the underside of her breasts grazed the table top while giving him
the perfect view down her cleavage. He bit back a moan as an ache spread through
his loins and after a few seconds, his brain returned him to the conversation
already in progress.

“—just bought it at a
garage sale. I figured we should have it in case we have people over.”

The nice set was better
than the folding table and cheap plastic lawn chairs at his shared apartment.
“People like me?” He flashed her the killer smile full of the dimples that his
mother went on about all the time.

He thought for a second
it might have worked because she focused on his mouth before she snapped her
gaze up to meet his. All he could think about was what she could do with her
glossy lips to him and how she would feel snuggled up next to his body, all
curves and softness, while she was wet and wanton just for him.

“Yeah, people like
you,” she said and licked her lips.

Was it hot in here? He
took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair and scooted toward the
table. Luckily, that gave him a chance to discreetly adjust himself.

If he had been focusing
on anything other than her gorgeous body, he would have worried at her wicked,
knowing smile. The way she smiled at him, like they shared a secret, it was as
if she knew the effect she had on him.

Little Melanie was all
grown up, but did she know she was playing with fire? Suddenly, his mind
screeched to a halt, which was the reason he was here. “Listen, Mel, about that
class you’re supposed to take—”

“That’s right.” She
leaned forward and rested her chin on her palm. “So shouldn’t you teach me
something?”

Her wide green eyes
drove any and all thought from his head. He should not be thinking about all
the naughty things she could do with her mouth. “Uh—”

She leaned forward in
her chair and placed one finger on his lips. “Maybe I could teach you something
instea.”

His cock reached full
hardness and pressed against his zipper, demanding to know what she meant by
that. She could start off slow, like trailing her lips across his chest and
moving lower until she reached his hard shaft.

He groaned. Coming here
was a horrible idea because he couldn’t act chivalrous around her, not when she
acted like a temptress. “Maybe we should reschedule.” They could do this a
different time when he could think with his brain and not with his cock.

She touched his hand
when he tried to stand. “I really want this to happen now.”

The words were innocent
but his filthy thoughts overrode any good sense. Mel looked gorgeous, but she
always did. Her perfume wafted over to him, surrounding him and blanking out
his brain.

Being here with her was
a lie and he didn’t want to hurt her. The only way he knew to make things right
was to tell her the truth. “Mel, I’m sorry Bud tried to trick you but there is
no class on fire safety. I mean, there might be, but not for calling 911 if you
have a pot on fire. In fact, you absolutely should call 911 if you have a
kitchen fire and you think you’re in danger.”

“I knew it!” She banged
her fist on the table and stood, pointing her finger at him. “You set me up.”

“What?” He shook his
head. “I didn’t do anything. You believed Bud when he said you had to take a
fire course. There isn’t anything like that and I tried to warn you but you
followed him like a little puppy. Then I had to ride to your rescue.”

“There was no way they
could have known I would fall for their joke.” She pushed her hair out of her
eyes. “You told them I fall for anything, didn’t you? Well, guess what? This
time I didn’t fall for it and you’re the one getting played. How does it feel?”

In her haste, she had
flipped her chair when she got up. She rested her fingertips on the dining
table as she leaned forward and her chest heaved from exertion.

“What do you mean ‘how
does it feel?’” His gaze dropped — he couldn’t help himself — to the swell of
her gorgeous breasts, and, just above the neckline of her dress, the hint of
her black lace bra.

“The game is up. I knew
you were teasing and this is my revenge, seducing you.”

He licked his lips as
his heart raced.
This
was her revenge? If he had known this was his
punishment, he would have shown up for a reprimand ages ago. “I’ve heard
revenge is sweet. Do you want me to surrender to you?”

As he focused on her
face, he swallowed hard. What would she do if he kissed her? Would she push him
away? He
was
her brother’s friend; had she relegated him into the same
category?

He threw those thoughts
and caution to the back of his mind as he reached for her. He threaded his
fingers into her dark blonde curls and moved around the corner of the table
that separated them. Her lips parted and she drew in a breath, possibly to ask
him a question but the words never materialized.

Lowering his head, he
kissed her. At first he kept his touch light, lest she shove him away and slap
him for taking such liberties. When she dug her fingers into his shirt and pulled
him close, his heart raced and all he could think was,
Oh God, I’m kissing
Mel.