Delectable 04 - Gingerbread Palace Page 5

  “I’ve had better.” Alex let out a muffled laugh and reached toward his cock.

  Kevin caught his wrist and pinned it to the bed. “No, you haven’t.”

  “Not going to let me come?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make you come.”

  “You really are an arrogant bastard.”

  Kevin smiled. “It’s preferable to being a fucking idiot.” He waited for another insult but none came. He’d show Alex Bancroft. Kevin slowed down and changed angles. He knew just the right spot. When Alex sucked in his breath, Kevin knew he’d hit it. A few more strokes and Alex’s eyes widened and his body shuddered and clamped down on Kevin’s cock. Thick, white strands shot out of Alex’s cock and covered his chest and neck. Kevin kept at it until Alex was pumped dry and his cock twitched. Alex had been fighting off the pleasure, but Kevin hadn’t let up.

  Alex closed his eyes and Kevin shifted angles and slammed back into him until he felt orgasm blooming from the base of his balls like fire, and he shot his load into the condom.

  At the best of times, Kevin wasn’t a postcoital snuggler, and this wasn’t the best of times. It had been for most of the past thirty or so minutes, but now he had to get out of here before C Shift arrived. Before he made any personal connection to Alex, Kevin had to muster all his willpower and remember how dangerous being caught with Alex truly was.

  Kevin hopped out of bed and yanked his shorts on.

  “The next shift will be here in fifteen minutes. I have to go.”

  “Okay” was all Alex said. He lay watching Kevin dress, one arm curved over his head, revealing most of his body. Suddenly the room brightened; a cloud had moved from in front of the sun. Kevin noticed more scars on Alex’s body, some maybe half an inch and others two or three inches long. They dotted the insides of his arms and one thigh. Kevin’s gaze had focused on Alex’s abs and cock and overlooked the details of much else. He’d seen scars like that before: the clean ones were knife wounds. But how had he gotten so many? They weren’t like the jagged marks on his back.

  What the hell had happened to this guy? Kevin heard a shout from outside, and he was at the door. One advantage to being a firefighter was the ability to dress in under a minute, even in the dark. Alex didn’t look impressed with Kevin’s skill.

  He stood with his hand on the door, not sure what to say.

  “I won’t tell,” Alex said and rolled over onto his side.

  Kevin walked into the hallway like he hadn’t just had rough, angry animal sex with another guy. His heart raced, and not from lingering excitement or even from fear of being discovered. He felt like the biggest asshole in the history of the universe, but he had to say and do what he’d done.

  He had everything to lose and nothing to gain if he let Alex get to him. Practically nothing. And he couldn’t afford that right now.

  ALEX promised himself he wouldn’t let Kevin Flint get under his skin and failed. He allowed himself one self-pitying tear and blinked the rest away. He had more important things to worry about. Until the last two minutes, they’d clicked physically; then Alex fell completely under Kevin’s spell. Something more than sex blossomed between them, until Kevin shattered the moment. It could have been a top-five fuck, maybe higher. But then Kevin turned back from sexy Alpha stud to complete dickwad, clearly his natural state.

  No orgasm was worth that crap. Even that one. Alex admitted it was still pretty incredible from a strictly physical point of view. He’d only known one other guy who could make him come without touching his cock, but that guy had used fingers or a toy; he hadn’t done it with his own cock.

  Alex could settle for a few surreptitious fucks in the fire station. Why couldn’t Kevin? He was too terrified of himself to loosen up and just enjoy the moment. He had to be on top, had to win, had to… why did Alex keep wasting brainpower on the guy? Face it, this was just sex after all, no matter Alex’s hope he hadn’t just imagined the bond between them.

  He got up and cleaned up enough to go to the showers. He looked in the wardrobe for another towel; he remembered he’d left his on the floor in front of the sinks. He wouldn’t think about how nicely that had started.

  Once he was showered and presentable again, Alex went downstairs and introduced himself to A Shift’s Captain Lane.

  “Sure, Riggs left me a note about the situation. Sorry about your kitchen. Feel free to make yourself at home here. Just give the guys cooking for the on-duty crew priority in the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “No need to ‘sir’ me. Jim’s fine.”

  “Thanks, Jim.”

  The captain glanced at a paper on his desk. “Wait right here, Alex.” Then he pushed a button and an intercom crackled. “Flint to CO’s office.”

  “I’ll get going,” Alex said.

  “Nonsense.”

  Kevin walked in and greeted the captain. He ignored Alex.

  “Flint, why don’t you take Alex Bancroft along on that station tour you’re doing at ten? Show him how the station really works.” The captain smiled.

  “No, that’s okay.” Alex shook his head.

  Kevin turned toward Alex, but looked through him like he was a window. “Yes, sir.”

  Alex swallowed, but his throat was tight. Kevin looked as neat and perfect as he had when he’d arrived that morning. No one would guess he’d been in bed with Alex an hour earlier. Why did he have to be so good-looking? Alex tried to breathe again. At least if he had some sort of respiratory attack, half a dozen trained paramedics were on hand to save him.

  “You okay, Alex?” Captain Lane asked.

  Alex tried to inhale again, successfully this time. “Yes. Still a little shaken up after the fire. I don’t know how you guys do your jobs. I have a new understanding after being in a fire.” He would have said “respect,” but Kevin Flint didn’t merit the word. At least not as a man. As a firefighter he was skilled. Alex would leave it at that.

  “Maybe after the tour, Flint will have answered that question.” The captain grabbed a pile of papers from a tray marked INBOX. “Okay, dismissed. I have to get to work.” He smiled and nodded, but he looked serious. “Come down to engine bay one at ten, Alex.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said, though it was the last place on earth he wanted to be. If the captain wanted him to go, he would. Learning more about their jobs was the least he could do to thank the guys in this station for all their help.

  Alex followed Kevin out the door, and by the time Alex entered the hallway, Kevin was nowhere to be found.

  JUST before ten Alex headed for the engine bay. Eight kids ranging in age from six to about ten, two women, and a man huddled around Kevin, who shot Alex a “you’re late” glare mixed with a “but I don’t fucking care” sneer. The guy could speak volumes without saying a word.

  “Okay, we can get started,” Kevin announced as Alex joined the group. “I’m Kevin Flint, and I’ve been a firefighter for eight years. I’m also trained as a paramedic. Who are you?”

  The kids all answered at once and Kevin laughed. “One at a time.”

  Each kid said his or her name. One of the women explained the children were homeschooled, and this was part of one of their lessons. The adults were parents of some of the kids. Kevin took the group around the first engine and explained the different types of equipment and how it was used. Then he called on one kid, Mike, and asked a question.

  Mike stared back and looked at his mom.

  “Didn’t expect a quiz, did you?” Kevin grinned and the kids laughed. “Who knows the answer?” Some kids raised their hands and Kevin called on another, a girl named Katie, who knew the answer.

  “Mr. Kevin, why are there boots and things on the fire engine?” another girl asked.

  “That’s a good question, Tina.” Alex couldn’t believe Kevin remembered all the kids’ names. He shifted his position to see if they were wearing name tags. They weren’t. “We leave the gear there so it’s ready when we get a call
, no matter where we are in the station.”

  “Oh.”

  “How long do you think it takes to get into the gear?” Kevin asked.

  “Five minutes.” “Ten minutes.” “Five seconds.”

  “Let’s find out.” He pulled a stopwatch out of his pocket and gave it to one of the adults. “Time it from when I ring the bell.” He showed her which button to push, then rang a small bell four times.

  Three other firefighters came running and hopped onto the engine and pulled their gear on.

  “Stop!” Kevin called when they were done. “How long was that?”

  “A minute and three seconds!”

  “We try to get out of here in less than a minute. We need some more practice,” Kevin said. “Thanks, guys,” he said to the other men, who removed their gear and stacked it again carefully. The guys saluted the kids and waved as they went back to whatever they had been doing.

  Kevin still had all of his gear on. “I’ll explain each piece of the gear. We call it PPE, personal protective equipment.” As he removed each piece, he explained how it protected them. He handed the pieces around so the kids could see how heavy they were.

  “Now these things usually keep us from catching on fire, but they’re not heatproof. Which means if we’re in a fire, it’s hot for us too. We can feel the heat, feel the equipment heating up. We can still get burns from contact with the gear.”

  Alex hadn’t known that. Well, he didn’t know a lot of what Kevin had told the kids. The kids tried on pieces until Kevin retrieved everything. He quizzed the kids while he reset his stack of gear on the back of the engine, not wasting a moment or leaving the gear disorganized. Then he explained the hoses and let kids try to pull hoses from a spare stack piled near the wall and connect them to the engine.

  “How many fires have you put out?” one kid asked.

  “I have no idea. But most of our calls aren’t fires. Maybe only one in four, but it depends on the season. We have more fires in summer and in winter. Who knows why there are a lot of fires in the winter?” He called on a few kids and handled even the completely ridiculous answers without making the kids feel stupid or wrong.

  Alex couldn’t believe this was the same guy who’d been fucking him a couple of hours earlier. Kevin joked and handled the kids so well, he was practically unrecognizable. He wasn’t just competent and professional, but also funny, kind, and caring. The kids thought he was great, and the two moms were smitten with him. Even the father seemed impressed.

  After talking about the equipment and answering questions, Kevin took the group around the station house and explained a typical day. They ended in the kitchen, and Alex handed out some fireman-shaped gingerbread cookies he’d decorated for the kids.

  They went back to the engine bay, and Kevin fielded more questions. Alex collected his courage to ask one, unsure how Kevin would respond. What he really wanted to ask was “Why couldn’t you have been this nice when you were in bed with me this morning?” but he settled for asking about what kind of training the firefighters had to do.

  “That’s a great question. Thanks, Alex.” Kevin gave what looked like a genuine smile, but maybe it was for show in front of the guests. “Who thinks you want to be a firefighter?”

  Most of the kids raised their hands, including the girls.

  “There’s a lot of training involved.” Kevin explained the academy and testing standards and how only the top 2 or 3 percent of applicants even get to the academy. “And we learn more than firefighting. Everyone is also a trained paramedic.” Alex hadn’t known that either.

  Finally, the kids took photos with Kevin and some of the other crew, on and off the engine. Alex wondered what they would do if they got a call during the tour but figured there was a procedure for that. It seemed like there was a procedure for everything, but the biggest constant in the job was complete uncertainty about what would happen next.

  Before the group left, Kevin handed everyone, including the adults, replica firefighter badges with the company number on them. When he got to the end of the line, he glanced at Alex and gave him a badge too. One corner of his mouth lifted, and Alex wondered if it was half of a smile or half of another sneer.

  At least he got the badge. He pictured the conversation he’d have with Lacey when she got back from the store. “I got fucked by a firefighter, and all I got was this lousy badge.” He smiled at the array of her possible replies.

  Despite Kevin acting almost normal by the end of the tour, Alex still felt used and ashamed, emotions he hadn’t felt for years. He pushed aside the negative and focused on what he could do and what he needed to do. He put the badge in his pocket and decided he wouldn’t tell Lacey about the sex after all.

  DESPITE having to include Alex, Kevin had fun with the kids’ tour. They were a highlight of the job, and most guys volunteered for them. He remembered going to the station to visit his dad and being excited to sit on the engine and step into his dad’s huge turnout boots. He’d never doubted he wanted this job, and his dad and uncle would drill Kevin, Tommy, Lena, and Nicky on the equipment and quiz them on procedures. Tommy decided to go to the police academy, but Lena, Kevin, and Nicky got into the fire academy easily and excelled once they were there.

  Kevin loved this job, loved getting up every morning and reporting to duty, loved talking about the job to eager kids. He couldn’t lose this. He’d be nobody, nothing, if he weren’t a firefighter. He couldn’t let his physical attraction to Alex Bancroft ruin it. But Alex seemed engrossed in the tour, despite Kevin’s earlier harsh treatment, and he’d asked a good question. By the end of the tour, Kevin had to keep reminding himself the attraction was only physical.

  He’d tried to make up for being such a dickhead that morning by giving Alex a badge, and Alex’s neutral response was a good thing, wasn’t it? He hadn’t made a snide remark or refused it.

  AFTER the kids’ tour of the station, Kevin spent another hour on paperwork then headed for lunch. Alex and Lacey were still in the kitchen, but they helped the guys cook and clean up so no one seemed to mind. Kevin took a table as far from Alex as possible. He had just finished eating when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked the screen: the arson guy, Bronski.

  “Work,” Kevin mouthed with his hand over the phone and left the dining hall. He sat in the duty office with the door shut. They’d finished the preliminary report of what they’d found at the site.

  “What’s the verdict?” he asked, leaning back in the chair. It was one of the most comfortable chairs in the station. The captains had done that on purpose. It meant guys would actually come in here to do paperwork without the usual complaining.

  “We’re not ready to make a judgment. We have to wait for some test results and simulations. And, of course, the witness statements. But there is enough evidence of accelerant to warrant a full investigation.”

  “What do I tell the business owner and the insurance company?”

  “Nothing, if you can manage it. Otherwise, say the report isn’t final.”

  “What did you find?”

  “This case is tricky. With a restaurant, there are plenty of accelerants on the premises. Until we can do a more thorough investigation of the burn patterns, nothing’s conclusive. We may never know from the physical evidence. What kind of vibes are you getting from the guy and the employees? Besides what’s in the paperwork you’ve sent so far.”

  Kevin waited for a beat before answering. Nicky had told him to keep his mouth shut about Alex Bancroft’s calm demeanor. He hadn’t been the one asking about the insurance. It had been Lacey. “I don’t know. The owner seems to be grateful no one was injured. But he’s not devastated about the extent of the damage. He did run in after remembering the dog he was watching for another employee. He doesn’t seem shady, and he has a good rep in the neighborhood.” Kevin paused for a breath, hoping Bronski would ask another question, but he remained silent. Kevin started talking again. “I don’t know about his finances, but I really can�
��t see why he would torch his own place or ask anyone else to do it.” That was honest, wasn’t it? Just because they’d fucked that morning, what did Kevin owe Alex? He had to do a job. “But, he’s not as upset as most people in the same situation. He definitely wants to get his business open again soon.” There, he’d just slipped the little tidbit in with the less damning information around it.

  “Noted. We’ll get back to you with the final report, but it’s going to be January. The lab’s closed between Christmas and New Year’s.”

  The call waiting beeped. Kevin glanced: Nicky. Kevin dismissed the call and replied, “I’ll let everyone know. Ping me if you need anything else.”

  “Will do.”

  Kevin hung up. He felt a little queasy. He didn’t know if he’d done the right thing. He had to report what he’d noticed, even though he honestly didn’t think Alex had set the fire—at least not himself. He didn’t want to call Nicky right away; he felt unsettled about that too. But they had to discuss Mom’s gift, and he wanted to check on the chrome. He dialed the missed call.

  “About time, dude.”

  “What’s up? Did you send pics for Mom’s gift?”

  “No, we haven’t found anything worth considering yet….”

  The way Nicky left the sentence hanging alerted Kevin. “But what happened?” The queasiness became nausea. “Nicky?”

  “The chrome. Did you call the guy back?”

  “No. Was I supposed to? What’s up?”

  “I’m sorry, but when we got there he said he’d sold it to someone who offered more than you did. He said he’d left a message, to give you a chance to counterbid. When he didn’t hear back, he let the other guy have it.”

  “Shit. Nicky, you know how long I’ve been waiting for that piece?”

  “A while I’ll bet, based on how much it cost. Look if Tommy and I had known, we would have covered the difference for you, but it was too late when we got there. We offered, but he’d already made a deal with someone else.”