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“Where did Jazz go?” Russo asked, finishing up the last sip of milk he’d poured to go with the cookies the guys had demolished in a matter of minutes.
“She had a phone call and stepped out,” Leo answered, his gaze focused on the preliminary reports that the captain had shared. “So, the investigators think it was lightening that started it?”
Russo nodded, wiping crumbs away from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, man. With the building being so old and all that crap inside piled like tinder, it just went up like crazy.”
“Interesting,” he mumbled, going through the paperwork. There was something about it that was bothering him, he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“So, you and Jazz?” his friend probed.
“Yep,” Leo chirped. Glancing up he noticed a couple of the guys staring at him, their expressions unreadable. “What? Is that a problem?”
“No problem, man. We’re just surprised how quick it happened is all. Didn’t you two just meet yesterday at the party?”
“Jazz is right. You guys are like a bunch of old ladies with gossip.” Leo looked at everyone waiting for him to spill the beans and sighed. “Okay, you guys want to really know what’s going on?”
He barely waited for the chorus of yeahs and hell yeses to stop before he leaned back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. “I’ve known Jazz since we were kids. In fact, we were pretty much raised together. I hadn’t seen her in years before last night, but that didn’t matter. Things just clicked into place.”
“Congrats, man. I’m happy for you two.” Justin clapped him on the shoulder.
Timbo walked into the rec room, the new recruit obviously just finishing a workout as tried to catch his breath.
“Looks like Nix is finally making his move,” he said, slinging a small towel around his neck with a smile.
“Say that again,” Leo growled, pushing away from the wall.
“I just saw him getting cozy with Jazz as I was finishing up my miles. They’re out on the bench now,” Timbo said wiping his face. “What? What did I say?”
The words coming from the newbie were ignored as Leo stomped to the door, looking out the small window to see Nix brush a piece of hair back fromhiswoman’s face.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” he grumbled, pushing the door open to put a stop to the other firefighter’s obvious play.
As Leo approached, he knew the exact moment Nix picked up on the situation. How? Because the fucker reached out again to touch her hair as they stood up, obviously just to taunt him. Nix was the type of guy that loved to fuck with people, something Leo usually found funny, but not today. He wasn’t playing around when it came to the woman sitting next to Nix on the bench.
Everything in his gut told him that Jasmine Jane Kingsford,his Jazz, was worth fighting for.
Without batting an eye, Leo walked up and pulled his woman back and into his chest. Her adorable squeak of surprise followed by a sigh of contentment as she settled into his hold, had him smiling despite his annoyance at the man trying to steal her away.
“Hey, sugar. Are you ready to head home yet?” Leo kept his gaze locked on Nix as he spoke.
“Dear lord,” she sighed, shaking her head.
He knew he was trying her patience—yet again—but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. First, he wanted to make damn sure Nix got the picture. Second, for some reason, he loved ruffling her feathers. When her eyes were sparking at him, it turned him on. It was more than a little entertaining to watch her try to figure out what she was going to say. It was almost as if he could see her working different scenarios out in her head, and honestly, it was something he wasn’t used to. She was the exact opposite of the women he usually dated, and it was refreshing. She was genuine.
“Leo.” The gruff greeting was short. “Too late?”
“Yep. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Leo answered, keeping a firm grip on the soft, feminine bundle in his arms that was wiggling to be let loose.
“I don’t blame you.” Nix nodded, glancing back at Jazz with a heat in his eyes that made Leo want to snarl. “I don’t blame you one bit.”
“If you guys are done, I would really like to go home now,” she snapped, glaring at them both.
“Sounds good to me.” He kept a firm grip on her hand as he tugged her away from Nix without so much as a word goodbye. While they were leaving, he tossed up a thanks to whatever higher power put them into each other’s paths after all these years. There was no way that this shit wasn’t destiny playing out.
Jazz had always been on his radar, even when he was just a snot-nosed little punk at eight years old. At first, he’d been annoyed by the prissy girl who was always wearing pastel dresses and had matching ribbons in her braids. She was always around, needing his mom’s help with something or another and he’d hated it. His mom had sensed his frustration and pulled him aside to explain how lonely Jazz was. Her parents were too busy to pay attention to her, and her older brother was MIA. She was ignored mostly, with nobody to care for her but Leo and his mom.
After that, Leo had made sure to be nice to her whenever his mom happened to bring them together. Usually, it was at school functions where she would take pictures for the Kingsfords. It was the only way they could see her performing or accepting awards with their busy schedules.
As they’d gotten older, the admiration he had for Jazz had grown into something more. It wasn’t surprising considering how kind, funny, and beautiful she was even back then. Her curves had been the first he’d dreamed of as a horny teen, prompting him to base every woman he’d met since against the fantasies he envisioned during those hormone fueled years.
