Hook & Ladder 69: Eighteen Authors...One Sexy Firehouse. Read online

  “What’s going on here?” A terse female voice asked exiting through the French doors. I came face to face with pursed lips and a pinched brow. Despite her cool blue eyes blazing at me and the hair pinned wildly on top of her head, I recognized her instantly. Adara Matherson.

  Adara was not only the girl of my dreams in high school, she was my young heart’s nightmare. I’d whacked off more times than I could remember to visions of the arrogant debutante. She had popular stamped on her forehead. I wasn’t good enough for the likes of Adara, and she’d been a standoffish bitch. But damn it, even five years after high school, she still looked hot in her tight fitting shirt and curve hugging pencil skirt. The very air about her, though, said, don’t fuck with me. Unfortunately, I wanted to - fuck her, that is.

  Obviously, she never felt the same way about me. In fact, I’m quite certain she had no idea who I was. Us Irish kids from Dogtown were too lowly for her attention. At the moment, it was evident she did not remember me. Her eyes roamed me up and down in a sweep of disgust that pissed me off yet strangely heated me.

  “And who might you be?” she asked through an exaggerated sigh.

  Jesse explained the call. Her attention followed his explanation before glancing at the sunbather.

  “Are you okay?” she barked at the girl, who fell back on the lounge chair.

  “I’m fine. Why would I be anything else?” she groaned, examining polished nails.

  “I apologize,” Adara said in our direction, her eyes shifting to me, and then away. “My sister loves to pull these little stunts for attention.” Her brow furrowed, her eyes narrowed. I hadn’t noticed it before, but with Adara standing in front of me, the resemblance was clear.

  “She’s sixteen,” Adara mentioned, as if this excused her.

  “Sweet sixteen and never been kissed,” the younger girl pouted.

  “Yes, well, sixteen, nonetheless,” the older sister snapped before beaming those chilly blue eyes at me.

  “She’s impressionable,” she admonished me, and my mouth fell open. Was she kidding me? Her innocent, little sister was coming onto me. I was just about to let her know my impression when Jesse gave me a warning look.

  Just like in high school, my tongue was tied around this girl-turned-all woman, and I sputtered out senselessly: “The hose was kinky…I mean, the hose was kinked…That is, it was curled….” Adara’s sister choked, and I closed my eyes in embarrassment. The heat outside was oppressive, but with the gear on, I felt like I was melting. In fact, I wanted to dissolve right into the beautifully landscaped yard. At that point, Adara brushed past me, her arm swiping against mine. She flinched back and stared down where we briefly touched. The spark lingered, but she made a show of wiping her hand over her elbow, brushing off imaginary sweat, then rubbing her hand on her skirt.

  “Yeah, I’m the sweaty fireman from earlier.” I’d clear the smirk off that pretty pink mouth by kissing the fuck out of her, like I had imagined in high school.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, narrowing those eyes at me.

  “I’m meeting someone,” I replied looking over her slender, bare shoulder to peer into the bustling lobby. The Chase Plaza was one of the oldest hotels in St. Louis, and one hefty price tag for a night’s stay. Fortunately, I wasn’t footing the bill to be here.

  The King’s Consorts was my second job, an elusive group of men for hire as male escorts. It wasn’t prostitution, although I’d never turn down a paying customer. What I didn’t do was lead my assignments on, but if the tip was exceptional, I didn’t have a problem dipping into the jar, so to speak. It gave me a reputation as a ladies’ man, and only a select few knew the truth. Tonight, I was scheduled to meet a woman named Flame, a St. Louis sweetheart turned rising country singer. It wasn’t my concern why the girl didn’t have a date for the exclusive fundraiser for St. Louis Children’s Hospital, but I was curious. I mean, if you’re famous, aren’t people falling at your feet to date you?

  “Who?” she barked, breaking into my thoughts. The edge to her voice only sparked me on.

  “Flame Matherson,” I replied, a hint of pride to my voice even though I had no idea who Flame Matherson was. The name rolled off my tongue and it took me a moment to process what I’d just said. It couldn’t be…

  “No,” she hissed, shocking me. “You couldn’t be him,” she looked down her nose at me and curled her lips. The look flared my anger.

  “Why not?” Her insulting glance reminded me of all the times I tried to talk to her in high school, and she ignored me. I may have been out of her league, but not tonight.

  “I need to make a call.” She spun away from me and clutched her purse. A breath of relief released from me when she stepped away, but old memories blazed inside. No longer was I that awkward boy in high school. Hell, I’d been February in the annual fireman’s calendar. Women adored me. I couldn’t allow her high society attitude. Reaching out, I turned her to face me.

  “What’s going on here?” I questioned through clenched teeth.

  “You are not what I asked for.” She stared at her phone and typed with one hand while her other arm was still in my grasp.

  “Excuse me?” I choked.

  She yanked her arm from my grip. “Young, unattached, and not in society,” she muttered. “But not you.”

  “Wait,” I was slow to connect the dots. “You hired an escort?”

  Her face crinkled in the way she had earlier. “Why don’t you say that louder? I don’t think they heard you by the pool.”

  “But you’re Adara.”

  “Lower your voice.” She shifted her eyes left to right. “I’m also Flame Matherson.”

  “What?” I’d heard the name in passing, but didn’t follow country music. It made complete sense. Once we graduated from the misery of high school, I went off to college and didn’t keep up with those who didn’t want me, like Adara. There were plenty of other fires to light and I burned my way through the ladies, forgetting all about this one.

  I straightened my spine. “If you’re so famous, why do you need an escort?”

  “I…” Her luscious lips opened then shut tight. Her face questioned only briefly if she should tell me, and then decided instantly against it. For some reason, this bothered me, and my heart pinched at the lack of trust.

  “I needed a date,” she clarified, haughtily.

  “This isn’t a date! I’m an …” Exasperated, my fists clenched. “Look,” I stated, brushing my hand through my dark waves. “Forget it. I can have the agency refund the money, and I’ll just get another gig,” I offered. Tonight’s assignment brought me that much closer to getting those student loans paid off and freeing me from the constraints of living in my brother’s basement, but I couldn’t spend a night in her company. We had history that I didn’t wish to relive.

  Placing a delicate hand on my forearm, she surprised me as she stilled my hand.

  “I can’t go in there alone,” she whispered, her eyes softening. My arm lowered. Taking a deep breath, I stuck out my hand, allowing her to lead us to the ballroom. Surprising me again, she linked her fingers with mine. We walked slowly toward the elevator.

  “So, what’s going to be our story?” I asked. Being an escort was kind of like acting, I just needed to know what role I was playing.

  “Our story?” she questioned, as we entered the lift.

  “Yeah, how did we meet?” The elevator paused on each floor as we went upward, and I shifted Adara in front of me. Keeping my hands on her hips, she stumbled against me as the elevator halted at yet another stop. I stiffened at the contact, but kept her from moving forward. The feel of her against me ignited my memory of nightly fantasies.

  “Our story,” I breathed under her ear inhaling her warm scent.

  “I have it,” she replied. “Just follow my lead, fireman.” The intensity in her voice had lowered to a silky tone.

  I had a sudden desire to follow her anywhere and cursed myself for allowing her voice to rekindle my old
emotions.

  “Hold tight?” she asked as we exited the elevator hand-in-hand. Her skin grew cold with a thin layer of sweat I imagined tasted sweet. Large, ornate doors opened before I could question her and the roar of a crowded ballroom slapped me.

  “Flame, over here!”

  “Flame Matherson, this direction!”

  “Flame, who’s the man tonight?”

  The question gave me pause. Did she do this often? Did she hire men to escort her to events? Was she known for a different man on her arm nightly? The thoughts made my blood run cold.

  “This is an old friend from high school,” she announced. “Ash Flaugherty, one of the city’s finest.” Damn right, city’s finest. As a third generation fireman, this occupation was in my blood. Hell, it was in my name. She winked in exaggeration, and the journalists ate it up. She curled into me, and I took strange comfort in it. Looking at her light nails wrapped around my arm, I questioned many things I remembered about this girl.

  “So you remember who I am?” I asked, as we sauntered through the crowd and she greeted numerous people I recognized as the city’s elite.

  “Oh, I remember you,” she teased.

  “The sweaty fireman,” I muttered as we paused before a couple. The gaudy dressed woman wearing a diamond choker that could have paid off my loans and more, leaned forward to kiss each of Adara’s cheeks.

  “Adara, darling, I’m so happy you were able to make it,” she slithered as she eyed me, and my skin crawled.

  “Yes, well, you didn’t leave me much choice, Aunt Caroline,” Adara muttered. “And the name is Flame,” she proclaimed slightly louder.

  “Right,” her aunt Caroline replied. “This silly façade of fame.” She paused for a moment then waved diamond clad fingers through the air. “Well, no matter. Anything for the children,” she said, and I assumed she meant the hospital.

  “Yes, the children,” Flame retorted then looked away. The tension between these two women was thick as smoke. The sudden need to wrap my arms around Adara made me pull her close.

  “And who is this luscious treat?” her aunt inquired with complete ignorance of the elder man next to her. The roam of her eyes over my tuxedo undressed me in an instant and instinct told me to cover my prized possession. This was why I didn’t take escort requests from cougars, I reminded myself. They only had one intention.

  “This is Ash Flaugherty. He’s an old friend,” Adara offered, and again, the label shocked me. She despised me in high school.

  “I’d like him as more than a friend,” said her aunt, her eyes disrobing me to the point I was nearly naked.

  “I did,” Flame admitted and excused herself, practically dragging me from the couple.

  “Wait?” I tugged on her fingers when we were out of hearing distance. “What was that all about?”

  She stopped so abruptly, I crashed into her. My hand wrapped around her waist, and I held her against me. The feel of her slender body pressed against mine caused an embarrassing instant reaction.

  “I had a crush on you in high school,” she stated shyly, but her tone was cool. Her voice lacked pride in that fact.

  “I…” I didn’t know how to respond. The insulting sound was a reminder of the past. It was stupid, but one comment was all it took from Adara, aka Flame Matherson, and I was dragged back to being a teenager. I’d been with hundreds of women, both to fill the need in college and fill the wallet afterward, but with one damn girl, she crushed the memory of them all.

  “I don’t need this.” I glanced over my shoulder. Releasing her, I stepped back, ready to leave her when dinner was called to service.

  “Just make it through dinner,” she spoke out the side of her mouth, but her eyes pleaded with me. Leading me to a table near the front of the room, we sat and I remained quiet as the conversation around us flowed easily amongst people I didn’t know.

  “How is your sister?” The woman to my right leaned over my plate and placed a gentle hand on Adara’s arm.

  She paused for a beat. “She’s… Those are lovely earrings, Mrs. Cooper,” Adara responded and I stared at her. That strange pull to wrap my arm around her came over me. Ignoring the magnetism, I reached for my drink instead.

  “So admirable what you’ve done for her, putting your dream on hold to care for her. And after the death of your beautiful parents. You’re with one amazing young woman.” Adara ignored the compliment, and cold fingers reached for mine under the table. I looked to her to see her eyes averted to her lap. My fingers reached for hers, wrapping them in the warmth of mine. Her eyes flicked in my direction, and a twitch of a smile graced her lips. My heart pinched, and my new mission was clear: see that smile widen.

  A squeeze on my fingers released me when dinner was served. The conversation continued, asking about my position in the fire department, recognizing my father as a former commander, and inquiring about the past “friendship” with Adara.

  “I was in love with him, but he ignored me.” She teased, and I choked on my drink. The older woman beside me cooed.

  When dinner was finished, a live auction began, and an evening with Flame Matherson was up for bid. The pinch around my heart turned to a full clench, and fire boiled in my blood. I didn’t want another man paying for the pleasure of her company, even though I couldn’t label the evening as pleasurable. Interesting and surprising, those were words for this night.

  The opening bid was one-thousand dollars and I chocked again on my whiskey. I couldn’t afford to win my own date, unless…

  “Five thousand dollars,” I offered, holding up the ridiculous paddle from the middle of the table. I’d forfeit the night’s pay to prevent another man having her. The crowd rumbled with appreciative applause until a voice in the back offered six-thousand.

  “Shit,” Flame muttered under her breath, closing her eyes, before I noticed a man in the back of the room holding only a martini as way of a bidding tool. He sipped coolly, eyeing Flame over the rim of his glass. Flame’s hand covered my thigh under the table.

  “I don’t have that kind of money,” I admitted, sadly.

  “It’s alright,” she said. “It’s all for a good cause.”

  “Fuck, I don’t like this,” I grumbled and her eyes locked with mine.

  “Why?”

  “I had a crush on you, too.” I leaned toward her like a moth to a flame. My mouth watered to taste her and she swallowed hard. “Don’t go with him,” I pleaded softly as my lips drew closer to hers.

  “Sold!” The auctioneer announced, and the hammer on the podium made us both flinch.

  “This is ridiculous.” What was I thinking? I was out of my league with these people. Thousands of dollars for a date? Hell, Flame had paid thousands of dollars for me as an escort. That’s when it hit me. Flame Matherson, a rising country rock star, not Adara. The girl of my high school wet dreams wasn’t in this woman next to me.

  “Excuse me,” I said, rising slowly from my seat.

  “Don’t do this.” She scanned the table before returning her gaze to me.

  She could hash the payment out with Gloria, at the King’s Consort, but this night was over for me. I wound my way through the tables, crossing the room with the intention of exiting before I made the turn and headed for the man at the bar.

  “What’s your deal, man?” I snapped. The man was everything I wasn’t: graying temples, a sharp nose, mouse like lips. His crisp tux alone reminded me I was not welcome here, and his body language confirmed it. He casually placed his drink on the bar, scanning me with disgust. “Don’t you know, when you play with Flame, you get burned, fire boy?” He nodded in the direction of Flame, who was making her way through the crowded tables.

  “Don’t worry, old man,” I threatened. “I was raised on how to put out fires, but that also means I know how to start them.”

  “Down, bulldog,” he snorted.

  “Ash?” Flame’s concerned tone pushed me over the edge. I spun away from her and exited the main ballroom. As I made m
y way down the hall, waiting for an elevator was not an option. The energy in me burned hotter than any fire I’d ever fought and I was ready to combust. I loosened the thin tie at my throat and headed for the stairwell. In such posh settings, even the stairs for evacuation were carpeted, so I didn’t hear Adara until the door slammed shut and she called my name.

  Ignoring her plea, I rounded the first set of stairs but made the mistake of glancing upward. She was struggling in her heels to follow me, and I feared she’d fall down the steps. I paused and allowed her to catch up to me.

  “Where are you going?” she exhaled.

  “I don’t need this shit,” I spit, rounding on her as she stood before me. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I don’t need your money that badly.”

  “Oh, is that what this is about? I’ll cover your fee, thank you very much. And you’ll still get your evening’s tip.” Her bitter tone and insult was the last straw. I lunged for her and my mouth crashed against hers. Those cruel lips gnawed at me for the last time, I decided, until she nipped me. I pulled back in surprise, cursing myself for taking advantage of her mouth, when hers crushed mine. The shock lasted only a moment before we melted in tandem, discovering the burn of suppressed desire. Her lips were the only way to douse the fire that burned in mine. I licked and sucked, tugging her lower lip against mine while I dragged her body closer.

  We circled until her back hit the wall of the stair well. My hands roamed wild over the curves of her silky coal colored dress and a flame ignited so deep within me I worried I’d burst through my tuxedo pants.

  “So beautiful,” I groaned against her mouth. “You’re everything I imagined you’d be.” Her mouth covered mine, halting my words before she answered on my lips.