At the familiar word “walk,” he trotted toward the door.
Kendra waved goodbye to Holly, who barely glanced up from the text she was reading on her phone. “Kendra! We’re friends again! Me and Chloe! She says she knows I meant well and I’m not a toxic friend and she’s going to start a new hashtag for me.”
Maybe that’s what I need, Kendra thought as she helped Rusty into the back of her dad’s truck. A new hashtag. #HeartbreakBeGone. #FuckingDominic. Or how about #I’mGoingtoEnjoyMyLife? #HotSex? #HottieFireman #IsYourFeverDownYetBecauseI’mIntoThisJasonMosedale?
Then again, hashtag “why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me about your learning disability” had a ring to it. As did hashtag “you look like a million bucks even if you don’t have any.”
But none of that mattered for a rebound. He didn’t have to share his secrets with her. She wanted Jason. With or without a disability, with or without a million dollar bank account.
Thirteen
“So, locker-buddy.” A throaty voice pulled Jason from his half-slumber. He’d been dozing off and on throughout the day, feeling better each time he awoke, but allowing himself to fall back asleep because sleep seemed to be working. The most he’d done all day was shower and brush his teeth. “How’s the pain on a scale of, um, public speaking to winning a million dollars?”
He opened his eyes to see Kendra posing next to his bed, hip cocked one way, head cocked the other way. The pose did something to his own cock, so that must be a positive sign. She wore shorts that left her long brown legs bare. He reached for her without thinking, and slid a hand up her thigh.
“That good?” That sassy smile brought him all the way awake.
“And more.” He curved his hand around the back of her thigh and tugged her closer. She obliged, stepping right to the edge of the bed.
“I know you’re glad to see me, but maybe you should spare some welcome vibes for this guy.” On cue, Rusty nosed his way past her and stuck his snout in Jason’s face.
“Aw, buddy. I missed you.” He scrunched his fingers in the ruff of fur at Rusty’s neck, right where he liked it. The dog’s back leg slapped against the floor.
“Universal signal for don’t stop.” Kendra sidestepped the dog and climbed onto the foot of the bed. He moved his legs aside to give her space.
After a few more moments of loving on his old Irish Setter, he gestured to Rusty to go sit in the corner of the room. Since Rusty was getting up there in years, he didn’t mind heading off for a snooze.
“So. You’re really doing better?” Kendra asked. “Everyone wants an update on the most famous patient in town.”
“I think the fever’s gone. My head isn’t threatening to self-detonate. I haven’t sneezed since your dad brought me lunch.”
“What’d he bring you?”
One of her smooth legs was bent under her, the other stretched out straight. He set his hand on her bare knee. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. “Pulled pork, cornbread and collard greens. I even ate the greens, so I must be feeling better.”
“He brought you collards?” She pulled an impressed face. “He doesn’t share those with just anyone. I hope you showed them some respect.”
“Ate every speck. It’s all in here.” He pulled the blanket down to pat his bare stomach. All he wore was the extra pair of boxers Holly had brought him.
Her gaze traveled down his torso. She checked him out so thoroughly that it felt practically physical. Then it became physical when she scooted forward on the bed and traced a finger down his pecs. “Do you have to be a stud to be a firefighter?”
“No, but it doesn’t hurt.” He grinned at her.
She touched his jaw, where a good quarter inch of black beard had sprouted. “And what’s with the scruff? Will you have to get rid of that to be fire chief?”
“I’ll be making the rules, right?” He winked at her. “Damn, it’s good to see you. It’s good to feel better.” He spread his hand across her knee, seeking the softer skin of her inner thigh, the curvature of her muscles. “Thanks for letting me hide out in here.”
“You should thank Gina for that.”
“I don’t want to thank Gina for that. I want to thank you. Didn’t you get me in here before I collapsed? That’s how I remember it. Man, I was out of it.”
“You sure were. It scared me a little bit, for a while.”
“Why, because you didn’t think we’d ever get back to doing this?” He reached up to her pretty face, and cupped a hand around her cheek. “There’s no way I’d let myself die before I got to kiss you again.”
“You think you’re guaranteed to get another kiss?” Her sassy words didn’t fool him. Her pupils were dilated and a flush darkened her cheeks. She was just as hyped about the next step as he was. Whatever it was.
“I told you I’d work for it.”
“And?”
“Where do I start?” He checked off items on his finger. “I rescued a billionaire and his son. I got a half-million-dollar donation to the firehouse, and I gave you the opportunity to make the national news. I know you’re usually the overachiever, but—”
He broke off when warm lips stopped the flow of his words, and a curvy body nestled on top of his. The sudden sensory impact nearly overwhelmed him, especially after all this time alone with nothing but his murky dreams.
She kissed him with a deep and playful fierceness that left him panting for more. Then she drew back, allowing her hand to linger on his chest. “You really did grow up fine,” she murmured in that husky voice of hers.
He grabbed her wrist, then brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “If you had any idea what I would have done back then to hear you say that…”
She chuckled, then shifted her position so one knee was on either side of him, straddling him with her sexy body, with those shorts and those gorgeous legs. “Does this hurt?”
“Fuck no.” He shifted his hips to make it very obvious that he felt no pain, only pleasure.
“Good, ‘cause Dom—” She folded her lips tightly, as if wishing she could take back that syllable. “Sorry. Wrong person to bring up right now.”
True enough. On the other hand, he’d rather know if another man was on her mind. “What were you going to say about him?”
“He didn’t like me being on top. If you ask me, he had a problem with a woman having the upper hand.”
“Insecure?”
Her eyes flashed to meet his. “You think?”
“I don’t know the guy. All I know is that I don’t mind you being on top of me. Or under me. Next to me. It’s all good, so long as there’s a you and a me.”
Her full lips quivered into a smile, which dropped away quickly. “That’s good, because right now, you’re the one on top in every other way. They just texted me on my way over. I didn’t get the job. You’re going to be fire chief and I just lost my business and a job prospect. You’re up and I’m down. I think this might be my lowest point, professionally speaking.”