Page 8 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters

He pulls back, the blue of his eyes darkening to gray. “That’s what I thought,” he whispers.

“What did you think?” I manage, my voice barely a whisper.

“That I wasn’t imagining any of it.”

He wasn’t, but I wasn’t exactly aware of it either. I’m surprised by my reaction, by my willingness to kiss someone who is basically a stranger. It befuddles me, and my first instinct is to recoil from it, to take a step back, to panic.

“I am so sorry,” I gasp and set the glass on the table, fearful I might drop it because my hand is trembling. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“You couldn’t have,” Dax calmly replies. “I initiated; you reciprocated.”

“Still, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Olivia. I felt it, you felt it, too.”

“It’s not a good idea,” I blurt out.

At the same time, I hear Leo’s and Beck’s voices getting louder as they come out of the kitchen. My heart starts racing again as the panic sets in, cranking up my anxiety as I move farther away from Dax.

“Dax! Settle a dispute for us,” Leo calls out.

“Oh, God,” I mumble and step into the hallway.

I see them coming. They’re laughing, and Leo is wearing an apron—which somehow makes him look even hotter than he already is. There’s a smudge of flour on Beck’s cheek, just above his beard line. It’s sprinkled on his dark tee as well.

“Olivia!” Leo exclaims. “What brings you here?”

“I brought cookies,” I reply, then bolt out the front door like a madwoman.

I run as if I just got caught shoplifting and the security guy is hot on my heels. My pulse thuds in my ears by the time I’m safely back inside my house. I deadbolt the door, though against what, I’m not quite sure.

3

DAX

“Olivia is going to cross to the other side of the street if she sees us again,” Beck says, half joking.

Two days since her visit, we’re back at the fire house on a twenty-four-hour shift. It’s been a quiet day so far, which has us chilling on the sofa in our break room, some show playing on the TV while we sip our coffees and talk.

The rest of our crew, including the new candidate, Smitty, is out on the floor, washing the trucks and checking equipment, which gives us a smidgen of privacy to discuss our recent common interest—our voluptuously gorgeous new neighbor, Olivia. The taste of her still lingers on my lips, even now.

“She’s embarrassed and then some,” Leo says. He looks at me with humor flickering in his dark eyes. “I’m still amazed that you kissed her.”

“And I’m still amazed by how responsive she was,” I reply with a shrug.

“She panicked,” Beck chimes in. “It’s got to be a little scary for her.”

“Granted, most women would run off screaming if they were to learn about our relationship style,” I concede.

It hasn’t been easy, not since we accepted and embraced our nature. Each of us tried monogamous relationships in the past, but we’re so close—bound by friendship, tragedy, blood spilled on the battlefield, and the flames we fight in our line of work—that the only way the three of us will ever experience a real relationship is if we find ourselves a woman who we can share. And our last attempt was a disaster.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this spark, though,” Leo admits.

“Since Jocelyn, right?” Beck asks.

I shake my head in dismay. “Don’t even mention her name. That was an abject failure, from beginning to end.”

“It doesn’t nullify how we felt about her,” Beck insists.