Page 47 of The Fireman and the Flirt

“Down here,” his voice echoed from the hallway.

“Derek?” We were playing Marco Polo, it seemed.

He sprung out from one of the bedrooms just as I reached the door. Our bodies bumped into each other, a quick mash of heat against me, throwing my bathroom pep talk right out the window.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“It’s okay.” I inhaled his scent, that hint of oil that lingered was manly and dangerous. Working on an oil rig was dangerous work, right? One had to use their hands.

I would gladly welcome climate change if it meant I could feel Derek’s calloused hands on my body.

“The hallway’s a little narrow,” he said.

“It’s standard size.” It wasn’t meant for two bodies at the same time, especially when one is a solid block of man. “But I can…call my structural engineer if you wanted to see about widening it.”

I know another narrow hallway you could stretch out.

“It’s fine.” Derek continued into the main bedroom at the end of the hall.

I checked out his ass, only because I had to see if the hallway really was that narrow.

“Professional,” I whispered to myself.

Yet my professionalism faced a major test because for some fucking reason, there was a king-sized bed, complete with bedding and pillows, in the center of the main bedroom. This was theonlypiece of furniture in the house.

“I thought you said it was empty,” Derek said.

“This is weird,” I said with a nervous laugh. “Why would the builder put in a bed and no other furniture in the house?” They were probably in the process of getting the house staged. I was able to get Derek a sneak peek before the open house. Or the builder was an all-knowing puppet master with an impish sense of humor.

Derek pressed his hand down on the bed’s plush comforter.

“Don’t touch it!” I said before he could make the mattress squeak. “It’s just a bed. You don’t need to test it. But see how much room you have here? You can get a king-sized bed in here, no problem.”

A bed big enough for two people.

“It looks comfortable,” he said.

“Well, it’s supposed to. Check out the closet.” Fortunately, the closet was small with a sliding door. Not a walk in. I didn’t know why that comforted me.

“Nice,” Derek growled as he slipped past me, another dash of his body heat sizzling up my spine.

The man is just looking for a house. Stop mentally dry humping him!

He went into the en suite bathroom.

“Marble countertops in the bathroom, too. That’s a great find. You don’t generally get these types of touches in new builds. It’s usually quartz.” I hung in the bedroom, turning my back to the bed.

After some painfully long moments where Derek didn’t say anything, I peeked my head into the bathroom to see what was going on.

“Ah yes. The linen closet’s in the bathroom. Easy storage for towels and sheets,” I said.

“I know what a linen closet is.” Derek closed the closet door, revealing the large walk-in shower behind us. Big enough for…

“That’s a nice shower.” I grazed my fingers along the glass wall. “It will get you clean. And it looks like there’s a built-in shelf, too! You don’t see that everyday!”

I leaned into the shower to get a better view of the shelf. “This really is a great perk. I have one of those plastic shelves that hang on the showerhead, and it sways like crazy whenever I take the shampoo bottle off it.”

I tried to step out, but I found myself immobile. A weight pressed on my back. Before I could assess that it was Derek’s hands, I was being pushed into the shower, against the cool marble wall. And before I could assess why Derek was pushing me into the shower, he spun me around and mashed his hungry lips against mine.

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