TooHot (3 page)

A knock sounded on the office door and her uncle waved his
hand to indicate they should come in. Josie smiled at James as he poked his
head into the office.

“Hey, Jos. I heard you were here today. Any chance you
brought the pictures?” James asked, his blue eyes twinkling with excitement. He
looked like a little kid in a candy shop.

“I sure did,” she told him.

“Awesome.” He stuck his head out into the hallway. “Scott,
get in here,” he yelled.

A few seconds later, Scott popped his head into the
captain’s office. When he saw Josie, a grin slid across his face. “Any chance
you brought the pictures?” he asked.

She shook her head and laughed. Pointing at the desk, she
said, “See for yourself.”

Uncle Jack stood and rounded his desk to allow the other two
men to slide into his spot. He glanced at James and Scott then back to Josie.
“I’ll be right back.”

“No problem, take your time,” she said.

She bit her lip as she watched the guys scrolling through
the photos. What if they didn’t like them?

James glanced up from the screen, his face looked a little
dazed. “Holy shit, Jos. These are good. I mean really good.”

Scott grinned at her. “Woowee, I am going to have to beat
the women off with a stick when they see this.” He winked at her. “Not that I
didn’t already.”

She rolled her eyes.

“So, Jos, did Marco manage to get a hold of you about
tonight?” James asked.

Her stomach flipped. “He left a message, but I haven’t had a
chance to talk to him yet.”

Her uncle walked in the room just as she was finished
talking. “He’s in the gym. I told him you’d stop by on your way out.”

What the hell? Her uncle was actually encouraging her to
stop by and organize hanging out with these guys. She watched him warily. He
was up to something. She just didn’t have a clue what.

“So you two done admiring yourselves?” she asked, flicking
her head to indicate the computer screen.

“Yeah, for now,” James said with a grin. “We get copies of
the shots though, right?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I can make a copy of your picture.”

“Nice,” he said. He slapped her shoulder like one of the
guys as he walked past. “Great job, Jos. Honestly those pictures are way above
what I was expecting.”

At the compliment, she beamed back at him. “Thanks.”

Scott and James left the office, leaving her alone with her
uncle. He passed her the memory stick. After she slid the stick in her bag, he
wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. “I’m really proud of you,
Josie. You did an amazing job, but then I never had any doubt you would,” he
told her gruffly.

She hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Uncle
Jack, for everything.”

He nodded. “All right, now get out of here so I can get some
work done.”

Josie shook her head and laughed. “Fine.” She scooped up her
bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later,” she told him.

Josie made her way toward the gym. The sound of old-school, AC/DC’s
Thunderstruck,
carried down the hallway. At the doorway she stopped and
looked inside. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she saw Marco running
on the treadmill. Alone in the gym, he ran at a grueling pace. Sweat ran down
his bare chest. She followed the path of one droplet as it snaked between the
ridges of his abs, through the dark hair under his bellybutton and into the
waistband of his shorts. She tried to swallow but her throat seemed to have closed
tightly, forcing her to gulp for air. Holy mother of god, she wanted to lick
every inch of his body.

His eyes met hers, heat flared between them. He must have
seen the raw lust on her face because a slow, carnal smile spread across his
face.

“Hey, Josie, give me one sec.” He flicked off the treadmill,
grabbed his t-shirt from the handle and wiped it across his face.

“Did you get my message?” he asked.

Unable to drag her eyes from his chest, she nodded.

“So, what’s your answer?”

“My what?” Raising her head, she sighed. Oh the man was
beautiful. Around him somehow her mind shut off and she became a bumbling
idiot. His eyes twinkled with amusement and he winked.

“Are you up for coming out with us tonight?” he asked again.

She blinked, trying to clear the fog. God, he must think she
was such a loser. She couldn’t even have a normal conversation. “Umm…sure,” she
stammered.

Marco stepped toward her. Josie’s nipples beaded tightly,
pressing against the lace of her bra.

A sexy smile curved the corner of his lips. “Do I make you
nervous, Red?”

She squared her shoulders. “Of course not,” she said,
forcing herself to stand her ground and not move away.

He grinned and moved closer. She could feel the heat from
his body and the scent of his sweat turned her on better than any cologne ever
could.

He tucked her bangs behind her ear and trailed his hand
along the back of her neck, cupping her head with his palm to hold her in
place.

“Then how come you’re shivering now?” he whispered against
her ear. His hot breath sent another shiver through her body. “Josie, clearly
you’re as attracted to me as I am to you so why are you fighting it?” he asked.

“I’m not fighting anything.” Damn, the breathless sigh in
her voice didn’t exactly add much validity to her statement.

“Liar,” he said and nipped her earlobe between his teeth.
The touch sent an arrow of heat straight from her ear to her pussy and she
clamped her knees together.

Marco ran a teasing path along the shell of her ear. It felt
amazing. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to allow him better access.

“Don’t make me prove you wrong, Josie.”

Her eyes flashed open, meeting his. The heat burning in his
eyes was almost enough to melt her on the spot.

Trying to hold onto some semblance of control, she said,
“Guys like you aren’t attracted to women like me.”

He wrapped his muscular arm around her waist and pulled her
hips against his. The hard length of his cock pressed against her stomach.
“Clearly my body is telling you otherwise.”

Holy cow, he really wanted her. She grinned to herself.
Without thought, she shifted her body and rubbed against him, loving the way
she could feel his cock thicken through his gym shorts.

He hissed in a breath. “Damn, Red.”

She leaned back, putting a little space between them and
trailed her finger down the length of his chest, stopping at the waistband of
his shorts. His breathing increased as he watched her finger.

“So you seriously want to have dinner with me?”

His cock twitched beneath the fabric of his shorts. He
gripped her hips firmly with his hands and rubbed against her. “What I’d like
is to have
you
for dinner but we can start with grabbing a bite to eat.
You seemed a bit umm…unsure the other day so I thought you’d be more
comfortable with a group thing.”

Unsure. That was one word for it. Terrified of making an ass
of herself was more like it.

“So what do you say, Josie? You free tonight?”

She’d be a complete idiot to pass up the chance to spend
some time with him. “Sure, why not?”

A huge grin spread across Marco’s face. “Great, so I’ll pick
you up, say seven?”

“Sounds good.”

“You okay with pizza? We’re all meeting at Carlos Pizzeria
before we hit the club.” He watched her as he spoke. “Or we can get something
else to eat if pizza’s no good.”

She shook her head. “No, pizza’s great.” The last thing she
wanted was to seem like some high-maintenance chick.

He grabbed his phone from the bench and handed it to her.
“Why don’t you program in your address and phone number for me?”

Her mouth dropped open and she looked at him.

“What?”

“You want to program me into your phone?”

“Sure, why not?”

She shrugged. She only programmed people into her phone when
she planned on needing them repeatedly. A little flutter of excitement zipped
through her. Maybe he was hoping this would lead to something. She grinned at
him and took the phone from his hand. She programmed in her info and handed it
back to him. Marco pressed a couple of buttons then grinned.

“Thanks. So seven?”

She nodded.

He stepped in closer to her again. “So you gonna dance with
me tonight, Red?”

“Su…” she squeaked. “I mean sure, if you want to.”

“Ah, Red, you know I can’t wait to get my arms around you.”

Loud chatter sounded from the hall. Josie stepped back just
as two other firefighters walked into the gym. The men glanced at her then at
Marco then back at her and grinned.

She cleared her throat. “All right then, I’ll see you
later.”

“Count on it,” Marco replied. His eyes roamed across her
body like a caress that left her feeling touched. Damn, the man was too potent
for his own good.

Josie hitched her bag up on her shoulder and fled the gym.

* * * * *

Josie looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. She must
have changed her outfit ten times already and she still wasn’t happy with the
result.

At the knock on her front door, she took one last look at
herself in the mirror and sighed. Guess this was as good as it was going to
get.

She slipped on her knee-length, brown leather boots and
zipped them up over dark-brown knit leggings. She adjusted the hem of the long,
cream v-neck sweater she’d paired it with and double-checked to make sure it
hung low enough to cover her butt and stomach. Hopefully the outfit looked
casual yet still sexy.

With her hand on the doorknob, she paused to take a deep,
calming breath. She pulled open the door and the air whooshed out of her lungs.
Clearly she hadn’t taken a deep enough breath because she had not been prepared
for that. Marco looked unbelievable. His worn jeans hugged muscular thighs, and
he’d paired them with a white t-shirt and leather jacket. He looked like every
bad-boy fantasy she’d ever had. She may as well drop her panties now for all
the willpower she’d have around him.

Marco ran his tongue along the front of his teeth as his
gaze roamed down her body. “Damn, Red, you clean up good.”

“You too.”

“Ready?” Marco asked.

Josie grabbed her purse off the hallway table with one hand
and her keys with the other. “Ready,” she replied.

Marco placed his hand at the small of her back and led her
down the hall. As they waited for the elevator he leaned in close. “Damn, Josie,
you even smell good.”

Thank god she’d chosen that perfume. “Glad you like it,” she
murmured.

The elevator door pinged open and Marco waited for her to
enter first. She nervously fidgeted with the strap of her purse. Marco placed
his hand on hers and held it in place. “Relax, Josie.”

She looked at his face, took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Right.” She laughed. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I went on a date.”

“Then just relax and let me drive. I guarantee you’ll have a
good time.”

“Done.”

“’Atta girl.”

When the elevator pinged, Marco once again placed his hand
in the small of her back and escorted her out of the building. The feel of his
palm made her immensely aware of him, but it also made her feel safe and cared
for, something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Marco opened the truck door for her and she slid inside the
black cab. As they drove to the restaurant, Marco regaled her with stories
about the other firefighters and the crazy pranks they liked to play on each
other at the station. From the easy affection in his voice she could tell the
men he worked with were as close as brothers.

In front of Carlos Pizzeria he pulled the truck to a stop.
Josie opened her door and hopped out, meeting Marco on the curb.

He shook his head at her.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He laughed. He grabbed the door to the restaurant
and opened it. “After you.”

From the back of the pizzeria she could hear bad karaoke and
she grinned. She eyed Marco. “Any chance I’ll be able to convince you to take a
turn with the mic?”

“Depends what’s in it for me,” he said and waggled his
eyebrows.

Chapter Three

After dinner they all walked from the pizzeria to the nearby
nightclub. Josie turned to Marco. “I can’t believe you got up on stage and
sang.”

“Impressed?”

“Little bit, yep,” she replied with a smile.

“Then it was worth making an ass of myself.”

Josie’s smile grew. Linking his hand with hers, he continued
to lead her down the street and stopped outside the bar. Marco paid their cover
charge then placed his hand at the small of Josie’s back and guided her inside.

Smoke filled the club, leaving a haze he expertly navigated
to a couple of open tables. Claiming them for their group, Marco shed his
leather jacket and hung it on the back of one chair. He pulled out the seat
beside him and indicated Josie should sit then eased into his own chair.
Moments later the rest of their group wove their way through the club and
claimed the rest of the chairs.

When the waitress arrived at his shoulder, she leaned in
close, putting her cleavage on full display. Because he was a guy, he did sneak
a quick little peek, registered it for what it was, a nice chest, and ordered a
beer for himself and a Singapore sling for Josie.

As the busty blonde walked away, the two guys beside him,
James and Sam, started talking about the woman’s rack. Marco elbowed James and
glared at him to knock it off.

James grimaced then leaned forward toward Josie. “Sorry,
Jos, you’re like one of the guys. I kind of forgot you were even here.”

Marco groaned. God, could his friend be a bigger idiot? Talk
about insulting a woman. Josie rolled her eyes at James. “Don’t worry, big guy.
I’m kind of used to you.”