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  They tried to date, but the mental and emotional chemistry just seemed to always be lacking. They were the most in sync and compatible in the bedroom. They are very compatible in the bedroom – very! After a year of trying to make it work, they decided to cool it and continue their search for partners that could fill the gaps.

  However, with as much as they know they can’t complete each other in all aspects, their carnal needs keep them close. When they’re not attached to anyone, they know the other is dependably eager to shed clothes and rock a headboard, or a desk, or a truck, or a filing cabinet – really, they’ll rock any nearby object that offers some sturdy resistance.

  While Erin uses supplies from the ambulance to check out the kitten that is still clinging to Ashton’s tee shirt, Ashton pulls her cellphone out of an inside pocket of her pants and calls Gloria.

  “Tell me why the hell you were jumping out of that fire like that! What were you still doing in there?”

  “How the hell do you know about that?”

  She looks around for camera crews, but before she spots them, Gloria says, “It’s all over the Channel 10 News. They have vans parked on the adjacent streets. What happened?”

  “There was a little kitten stuck in a cabinet. You know, it’s kind of ironic – she kind of looks like an ember. She’s black with orange spots and just the tiniest hint of white in a few places. That’s a cute name – Ember. What you think, babe?”

  Even though she knows she’s not talking to her, Erin smiles up at Ashton as she rises on her tiptoes to kiss her lips.

  “You almost died to rescue a kitten? Goddamn it, why do you have to be so perfect?” Gloria groans dramatically into the phone like she is aroused by Ashton’s actions. “Did you find anyone else in there? The news is saying you found one person in there. Did they live?”

  “We found a teenage boy. He was trapped under a steel rafter. It took seven of us to lift it enough to get him out. Last I heard he is stable. The fire was too out of control to search any deeper. If there was anyone else in there, I’m afraid they didn’t make it. We won’t know till we can get this fire down and go explore. It will probably be a few more hours, at least, before I’ll be home. You still at my place?”

  “Yes, I’m not leaving. I’m going to put in for a grocery delivery because your fridge is practically empty. I’m going to cook you a good dinner when you get home and I’m spending the night with you.”

  “Thanks, babe. I’ll check in again when I can, but I gotta go now.”

  “Okay, I love you. Please be careful.”

  “I will. I love you.”

  Chapter Two

  With a yawn splitting her face in half, Ashton’s head tilts back, then jerks forward and she shakes her head as she rapidly blinks her eyes to chase the exhaustion away. Ember meows and paws at her sock covered foot to get her attention, making Ashton smile as she bends down to pick up the small, soft kitten.

  “Good morning, Ember. Did you leave any surprises for me anywhere?”

  As if on cue, she hears Gloria release a yelp, then screams, “Ash! She peed and pooped in the kitchen! I stepped in it! Help!”

  Ashton releases a quiet laugh and pets two fingers over Ember’s small head, saying, “It’s okay. You’re just a baby. You’ll learn.”

  Ember meows and rubs the side of her head against Ashton’s hands. She gives her a kiss on the head and puts Ember in the left breast pocket of her tee shirt as she walks out of the bedroom and to the kitchen.

  It was after six o’clock by the time they were able to leave the warehouse yesterday and take Ember to Erin’s veterinary clinic to fully check Ember out, give her a bath with anti-flea shampoo, and give her the standard feline vaccinations. After Ashton got home, it took a couple of hours to get Ember to relax enough that she could leave her with Gloria and get a shower, but she quickly settled in after that and eagerly bounced around the apartment to explore her new surroundings.

  With a perturbed pout, Gloria whines, “Help me.”

  “Sorry, babe. Don’t move.”

  Ashton grabs some paper towels and cleaner to wipe up the floor so neither of them accidentally step in it again, then she uses towels to clean Gloria’s foot. After the mess is removed, she helps Gloria sit up on the counter, and she washes her foot with soap and water in the sink.

  “How long are you going to have her?”

  While she dries Gloria’s foot, and with a bit of heaviness in her voice, Ashton answers, “I don’t know. I have to find out how the boy is doing and find out if she belongs to him. If not, then I guess I’ll be keeping her. She’s probably a stray.”

  “Then she needs to get litter box trained quickly. Why does she look so cute hanging out of your pocket like she’s your little sidekick? How am I supposed to be mad at that?”

  “Awe, she’s just a sweet little baby. You can’t be mad at her. Come on, give Ember some love.”

  Gloria laughs as she rolls her eyes and leans in to kiss Ashton on the lips before she hops off of the counter. She pets Ember, then turns to the fridge to pull ingredients out to make breakfast.

  “Scrambled eggs and bacon or omelets?”

  “Omelets and bacon.”

  “Okay. Can you make us some coffee?”

  “Sure.”

  Ashton walks across the kitchen with Ember contently riding in her breast pocket. She pops a pod of her favorite dark roast coffee into the single-serve coffee maker, places a mug under the dispenser, then pushes the start button.

  “What do you have on the books today?”

  Gloria uses a hair tie to pull her shoulder length dark brown curly hair up, then starts loudly pulling bowls and frying pans out of cabinets to start cooking.

  “I have a pretty light schedule today. I have a couple of houses I’m showing late this afternoon and I have one new client who wants to meet about putting her house on the market. I’m free till noon. What time do you have to go into the station?”

  “Around that same time. You mind if I call in to check on the boy we rescued yesterday or do you want my help?”

  “No, just put another cup of coffee on, then you can call.” Ashton nods as she turns to pull the finished mug off of the base and replace the used pod with a fresh one. “It’s so sad those other two kids died. I wonder why they were in there.”

  “Yeah, we would like to know that too. I’m hoping he has woken up and we’ve learned something.”

  After the fire was contained, they did a full search of the warehouse and found charred skeletal remains of two more boys in a separate section of the warehouse. The kids had been in the section with the worst of the flames, and even though two crews were there within five minutes, that part of the building was already completely consumed. There’s no way anyone could have saved them. They were likely dead before anyone even knew about the fire.

  “I can’t believe he survived after that rafter fell on him. It’s like he had an angel looking over him or something for that thing to land just so perfectly that most of him was safely lying in that recess.”

  “And as much as it sucks that he lost the bottom half of his leg, if that portion of his leg wasn’t sticking out, we wouldn’t have seen him.”

  As Gloria starts cracking eggs into a bowl, she sympathetically agrees, “It’s a miracle he’s alive, but damn, to lose half of your leg that young – poor kid. Come here.” Ashton takes a few short paces to close the distance, and Gloria stands on her toes to kiss her lips. “You did good, honey. Thanks for getting yourself out of there to come home to me.”

  “We’re going to grow super old together, babe.” She gives her another peck on the lips as she playfully pats her ass. “Okay, I’m going to call in about the boy.”

  Ashton sets a mug of coffee near Gloria, then leans against the counter across from her with her own mug. She takes a sip, then calls the firehouse.

  The phone rings twice, then a young cheerful voice answers, saying, “Hey, Lieutenant, this is Morgan. What can I do for you
?”

  “Good morning, Morgan. I’m calling to see if we’ve learned anything new on the boy that we pulled from the warehouse yesterday.”

  “Let me ask. Hang on.” Ashton is placed on hold for a couple of minutes, then Morgan comes back on, saying, “Hey, boss,” making Ashton smile. Morgan is an office administrator in her early twenties and Ashton is the only superior at the firehouse that she calls boss. “The kid suffered from a small stroke last night. They had to operate again, but he is stable. He woke up long enough before the stroke to tell the nurses who he is. They located his parents. They said the kids would go in there to skateboard and hang out. The chief is still investigating, but the leading theory is they were messing around with one of the machines and it caught fire. There was so much machine oil in there that it just got out of control. The two bodies you guys found tested positive for a significant amount of machine oil. There was probably a small explosion with a canister catching fire and they got hit with it.”

  “Damn. Has he woken up since the stroke?”

  “No, but they think he will. He doesn’t appear to be braindead.”

  “Okay, thanks, Morgan. I’ll be into the station around noon.”

  “Okay, see you later, boss.”

  Ashton exhales hard with sorrow sitting heavy on her chest. She tells Gloria the news, and she sets the whisk down from mixing the eggs. She wraps her arms around Ashton and gives her a kiss on the lips.

  “Poor kid lost his friends and part of his leg. And he might wake up with some brain deficit. All because those damn parents thought it was okay to let their kids play around in an abandoned warehouse with countless unknown threats. Why are people so fucking clueless and irresponsible sometimes?”

  “I don’t know how you do this job, honey. You see so many horrible things.”

  “I do. But it’s the only thing I can see myself doing, at least for another ten years or so anyway. Basically, just till my body tells me I’m too damn old for this shit anymore. Then they’ll force me to stay behind a desk and the most action I’ll see is training new firefighters.”

  “I swear you better make it to that point. If you leave me before you’re an old woman, I’m crossing over to the other side to drag your soul back to your mangled body.”

  Ashton releases a small non-humorous laugh and squeezes Gloria tightly as she inhales deeply through her nose. The thought of Ashton dying on the job or from her wounds from her job is a constant fear for both of them. And even though Gloria tries to add humor to lessen the mental impact of the severity of their reality, both of them know that Ashton could literally go up in flames any day of the week.

  Gloria lays her head on Ashton’s chest, and Ember, who is still sitting in Ashton’s shirt pocket, releases a defiant meow and bats her little paw at Gloria’s nose, missing her by a couple of inches.

  “I don’t think so, little girl. Ashton was mine first. And just so you know, I’m not keen on sharing her with bitches. So, you best check your attitude.”

  “Okay, play nice you two.”

  Gloria looks up at Ashton with narrowed eyes and a petulant pout. “You better get this cat trained. Sounds like we’re stuck with her.”

  “Oh, please, you know you love her. Look at that adorable little face. Look how she fits so perfectly in my pocket and just sits there all calm and happy. Go on, pet her, you know you want to.”

  With a sultry coo, she teases, “Are you inviting me to pet your kitty?”

  Ashton grins in a cocky way. “Go for it.”

  Gloria slaps her chest as she pushes away from her, countering, “You haven’t wined and dined me yet.” She puts a glob of butter in a hot skillet, and after it’s done sizzling into a bubbly golden pool, she tilts the skillet side to side to spread it around, then pours the egg mixture into the pan. “We should go to dinner tomorrow night. We can go to that great Italian place on Market Street.”

  While Ashton pets Ember and scratches her chin, she distractedly answers, “Sure, sounds good.”

  While Gloria gently glides a rubber spatula around the edges of the pan, keeping the setting egg from sticking, Ashton sidles up next to her to grab a small can of cat food out of the cabinet. She empties it onto a plate, then fills a small bowl with milk and sets Ember down out of the way so she can eat.

  “What are you going to do with her when you have to leave for work? You know she’ll probably destroy the place if you leave her here.”

  “I’m going to take her to the station with me. I’ll just have Morgan watch after her if I have to go out on the truck.”

  “Okay, honey. I’m glad you have a new little fur-baby. I know you’ve been missing Whisper since she passed away last year.”

  “Yeah, Whisper was such a good cat. Sometimes, I think I hear that quiet humming purr she had when she would sleep. After twenty years of hearing it every day, I guess the sound is just imbedded in my psyche or something.”

  “That’s normal. I still think I smell my dad’s cologne at the weirdest moments, even when I’m not thinking about him.”

  Ashton wraps her arms around Gloria from behind and kisses her temple. “I’m sorry, babe. Your dad was pretty awesome. And that cologne was definitely distinct and unique to him.”

  Gloria tilts her head with her lips puckered, so Ashton gives her a couple of soft kisses on her lips. While Gloria continues cooking, Ashton continues to hold her wrapped in her arms. When breakfast is finished, they eat together on the sunlit balcony that overlooks a community garden and playground behind the apartment building.

  It’s a beautiful day. The sun is just high enough to reach up to her third level apartment. There’s a gentle breeze that’s fragrant from the rose bushes behind the vegetable garden. And the traffic sounds of the nearby four-lane highway are muffled by one of Ashton’s neighbors practicing his piano. (The neighbor is a professional pianist and often fills the air with some wonderful finger-work on the ivory and black keys.)

  After eating and cleaning up from breakfast, Gloria changes out of Ashton’s shorts and tee shirt she slept in and back into her clothes from yesterday.

  “I’m going to take off, honey. I need to go home and shower and get ready for my first appointment.”

  “Okay, babe. Thanks for taking care of me last night and this morning. Be careful today.”

  “I always am. You better be careful and you better let me know if you get called out to another fire, no matter how small.”

  Ashton smiles as she embraces Gloria at the door. “You know I always do. I’ll talk to you later.”

  After they peck each other’s lips, and say, “I love you,” Gloria leaves. As she closes the door and turns around, she smiles and kneels down. Ember, who is no more than six inches long, is slipping on the hardwood floor with every step of her little paws trying to get to Ashton. She reaches out to scoop her up and Ember meows and licks Ashton’s thumb.

  “Did you think I was leaving you? Come on, let’s get ready for work.”

  Chapter Three

  “Melt my heart, Lieutenant Hyland.” Ashton looks up from some paperwork on her desk to see Erin standing in the doorway of her office with a grin on her beautiful face. She walks into the office and closes and locks the door behind herself. “I love your pocket accessory.” She starts turning the rod on the blinds to the window that looks out to the fire station hallway. “But do you think you could set Ember somewhere a little further away from your body?”

  Ashton clears her throat as she slowly rolls back from her desk. She licks her lips and takes a deep breath that does nothing to alleviate the sudden surge of arousal she’s feeling between her thighs.

  “What do you think you’re doing, DeLuna?”

  Erin hums in her throat as she takes slow deliberate steps around Ashton’s desk. “You know I love when you call me by my last name like I’m some badass military person or something.”

  “Technically, you are a voluntary paramilitary person.”

  Erin nods as she moves th
ings aside on Ashton’s desk, then sits on the desk directly in front of her. “That’s true.” She lifts her legs to rest her feet on the armrests of Ashton’s chair and flexes her muscles to pull Ashton’s chair forward, bringing Ashton within inches of her breasts. “Do you think I’m a badass, Lieutenant Hyland?”

  “Bad? No, you have a very nice ass. It’s been a little while since I’ve seen it though.”

  “We could have remedied that last night if your wife didn’t have to sleep in your bed.”

  Ashton laughs a little and runs her hands up the outside of Erin’s thighs. “Why do you call her that? Do you enjoy seeing yourself as my mistress or something?”

  Erin rolls her eyes and leans back slightly to rest on her hands. “Please, that woman is seriously in denial. She wants you. I just don’t understand why she hasn’t jumped your bones yet. I mean, seriously, do I need to tell her how good of a lay you are? I bet if you kissed her, like a real kiss, you’d throw her world upside down and she would immediately start planning the wedding of the century.”

  “I’m confused. Did you come here to get in my pants or to get me hitched to Gloria?”

  “If I could still be the mistress, I’ll help you get hitched, if that’s what you want.”

  Ashton groans as she stands up between Erin’s thighs. She grabs her hips and looks towards her office door with indecision.

  “You know the last time we were caught in here, both of us were given a final warning.”

  “You saved a boy and a kitten yesterday. I think that earned you a free pass, Lieutenant. Now, please set Ember somewhere safe so I can get in your pants. You made me wait long enough.”

  She knows she shouldn’t. She knows it would be safer to take Erin out to her truck. But Erin is right – they had to wait long enough. She wanted to bring Erin home last night or even stay at Erin’s place. But Gloria had already invited herself to spend the night before she could make her own plans.