Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Wynter:
I’ve spent months pining for my grumpy boss even though he doesn’t see me as anything but the annoying rookie he’s expected to train. But that doesn’t stop me from fantasizing about the hot firefighter.
Lieutenant Derek is commanding and dominant inside the station. It makes me wonder what he’d be like in bed. During a friend’s wedding, I determine to find out exactly that.
The passion we share rocks my world. But the moment it’s over, he retreats again. It’s clearly just a one night thing…until that little pink line says different. Now, I have to find a way to tell my boss I’m carrying his baby.
Derek:
There are some lines a man shouldn’t cross. It doesn’t matter that the junior firefighter is a curvy woman who haunts my fantasies and invades my every waking thought. She’s off limits. At least, until our friend’s wedding.
Suddenly, I can’t keep my hands to myself. But I’m not willing to risk her career by admitting that I’ve been in love with her for four long months. That’s why I walk away. I force myself to go back to normal.
With every passing day, it’s getting harder to pretend I don’t care about her. Especially when I learn she’s pregnant with my baby. Now there’s nothing that could keep me away. I just have to prove to her that the three of us are meant to be a family.
If you’re in the mood for a grumpy boss romance with a sexy firefighter, then it’s time to meet Derek in The Firefighter’s Forbidden Fling.
Meet the Courage County Fire and Rescue crew. These filthy firefighters are commanding alpha males here to make your dirty fantasies come true! Each sizzling romance read features a hunky fireman and a curvy woman with combustible chemistry. As always, there’s NO cheating and NO cliffhangers. Get your swoon on with a guaranteed HEA from Mia Brody!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
DEREK
I shouldn’t open the envelope today, but I still tear it with shaking hands. The included letter flutters to the floor, but I ignore it. The only thing I care about is the picture inside. A little five-year-old smiling up at me with the world’s chubbiest cheeks and cutest grin. The sight nearly brings me to my knees, just like it always does.
“Are you ready to go?” Journey’s cheerful voice echoes through the house. My sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner is tonight. This afternoon, we’re traveling to the Forever After Lodge located in Sweetheart, North Carolina. In the morning, she’ll marry my best friend.
Quickly, I shove the picture back into my pocket. I moved into my own apartment, but my mail still comes here.
I moved the day after I realized Journey and Cam were together. They need their space, especially now that there’s a baby on the way. It’s early in her pregnancy. She’s not even showing yet, but I still want to keep her stress minimized.
I paste a smile on my face and stow away the grief for the life I could have had. “Yeah, let’s roll out.”
The trip to the lodge only takes a couple of hours and Journey keeps up a steady stream of chatter. She hasn’t been in my life long. We only found each other again a few weeks ago and sometimes, I think all of her words are her attempt to cram what should have been two decades together into a single conversation. But I’d never fuss at her for it.
The truth is, I’ve been looking for my sister for years and when she finally found me, all I felt is grateful.
I’ll never have a family of my own. But I’ve managed to make a good life for myself. I’m the lieutenant at Courage County Fire and Rescue where I work with Cam and Lincoln, two men I consider my brothers. Then there’s Journey, the sister I didn’t think I’d find again.
There’s a lot to be thankful for. I try to remind myself of that as the image of the little boy from the photo floats into my head. Is he happy now? Is his father teaching him to play baseball? Is he learning his numbers and colors? Has he started his schooling yet?
The chasm of grief opens up, threatening to overwhelm me. I have to push against it, remind myself that this is a good day for my little sister. Even if it takes everything I have, I will show up and be happy for her.
We arrive at the lodge, and she’s quickly swallowed up by the festivities and my best friend. The whole town is here, eager to celebrate with Cam and welcome my new sister. That’s one of the things I love about Courage. We’re all family.
I didn’t think I would survive the judge’s final decision two years ago. After it, Cam insisted that I move to his hometown with him. He said they’d have a position for me at the fire station and he even welcomed me into his home.
As the smell of BBQ hangs heavy in the air, I grab an ice-cold beer from the cooler and move around the back of the lodge. I’m stopped a couple of times by well-meaning townspeople. Sometimes to air safety concerns that I promise to handle as soon as possible. Other times, simply to thank me for doing my job well. I’m proud of the work I do here and I’m grateful for a town that embraced me at my darkest. But right now, I desperately need to be alone.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I finally manage to thread my way through the crowd. I keep walking further and further from the rustic lodge, only stopping when I come to a river. It bubbles and gurgles, offering me the peace I’m so desperately seeking today.
I settle on one of the nearby boulders and watch the swirling water. I sip my beer slowly and let the sounds ease the tension from my shoulders. I’d say a prayer, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to say one in years.
“So, this is where you ran off too,” a lyrical voice calls out.
I close my eyes as Wynter speaks, listening to the breathy tone that fuels my dirty fantasies.
She’s a rookie firefighter. I’m the one that fought to get her added to the crew. The chief didn’t want a woman on board. He insisted it would make the whole team weaker. I insisted she would make it stronger, and I was right. We’re one of the top performing stations in North Carolina. But the whole thing chapped his ass and now he chews me out every chance he gets.
It's worth it though when I get to see her smiling face every day. Get to imagine that one day those curves will belong to me. They never will. She never will. I’m too broken for that.