Under My Umbrella (Fated 1)

Ah, there was the figure he was waiting to see. Outfitted in a form fitting dark purple sweater that did amazing things to her breasts and black pants that nipped in at her small waist, she had a true woman’s body. One with curves and sweet, rounded flesh, a bounty for his senses and hopefully, eventually for his hands.

He was, had always been an opportunist. And he wasn’t about to turn away the opportunity that had just landed in his lap.

“I didn’t think it could get any worse.” He ran a hand over his hair again, shaking droplets of water onto her carpet. He hoped she didn’t mind. She didn’t seem to mind at all. No, she wandered over to the window to stare out at the storm unfolding before them.

Brett followed her, enthralled with the violence of the storm outside. The wind had whipped up, bending the trees to its will. A crack of thunder sounded, so close it made him wince, and Jenna flinched. The bright flash of lightning told him the storm was most likely directly overhead.

“I’m glad we made it inside before all of this hit.” She waved a hand at the window.

“Yeah, no kidding.” He started unbuttoning his uniform shirt, desperate to get out of the soggy garment. He’d just gotten off work this morning after a forty-eight hour shift and his friend and coworker Wayne had dropped him off a street over from his apartment. His truck was in the shop, transmission problem, which still mightily pissed him off but he guessed he couldn’t complain.

If he didn’t have the truck problem, he wouldn’t have needed the ride. And if Wayne hadn’t been such a hard ass and eager to get home then he wouldn’t have been dropped off so far from his place. And then he wouldn’t have met Jenna.

So he couldn’t complain.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

Brett glanced up at her startled voice to see Jenna staring at him, eyes agog and mouth agape. She waved a hand at his chest, and he glanced down at himself. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re—undressing.” She stressed the word undressing as if it might be a sin.

“My shirt’s wet,” he offered matter-of-factly, undoing the last of the buttons and shrugging out of it. He hung the soaked shirt on the coat rack. “I have to take it off.”

He noticed her gaze wandered over his chest. As if she might be checking him out. As if she might like what she saw.

The afternoon was turning out better and better.

Under My Umbrella: Fated, Book 1

Chapter Two

The man had started undressing right in the middle of her living room, and she’d panicked. Worried he was rushing things, extra worried she gave off the wrong vibe. Jenna was interested but she wasn’t easy and she didn’t want him thinking he could come up to her apartment, strip naked and get his groove on within minutes of arriving.

Though if she was being honest, the idea did hold a spark of appeal…

No, no. She shook her head, appalled at her wayward thoughts. She couldn’t make it that easy for him.

But then she realized he was just getting out of his wet clothes and that he wore a white T-shirt underneath. The T-shirt clung to his broad shoulders and bulging biceps, stretched across his wide chest and flat stomach, emphasizing the sheer size of him, which was impressive.

He was majorly sexy.

“You, uh, want a towel maybe?” Oh, she sounded so confident. Ugh.

“That would be great,” he said just before flashing her a slow, bone-melting grin.

Goodness, the man was going to send her into heart palpitations. She headed toward the bathroom and he followed her. Her apartment was small, only one bedroom and the single bathroom connected to her bedroom. Which meant they had to walk through her bedroom to get to the bathroom.

Thankfully, she’d made the bed this morning and had just done the laundry a couple of days ago. Normally, the room looked like a clothes bomb went off.

Her messy ways were a secret she told no one. It was tough picking out an outfit for work in the morning. Tossing bad options over her shoulder as she searched through her closet usually worked best.

“Your apartment is nice,” he commented as he strolled after her into the bathroom.

“Thanks.” She glanced at him, appreciating yet again the way the T-shirt fit to his fine body. Mmm, just looking at him made all her special girly places start to hum. “So are you a firefighter?”

She’d noticed the badge and the nametag when he’d taken off his coat.

“I am.” He took the towel she offered and immediately began drying his head, rumpling his dark hair until it stuck up everywhere.