Play With Fire (The Men of Fire 1)

I don’t wait another second. I swing my bat so hard I stumble, nearly falling over.

Fuck.

This is not good.

A hand shoots out and in an incredible show of strength, catches the swinging bat, stopping it from smacking him over the head before he promptly lets go and reaches for me. Just as I think I’m going to fall on my ass from the momentum of the swing, strong hands grip my hips and hold me steady, sending a shock coursing through my body as a strangled scream rips from my lips.

“Shh, Angel. It’s just me,” a familiar voice whispers into my ear before a soft chuckle flows through him, completely wrapping right around me.

I pull back ever so slightly, looking up at the mammoth of a man before me. “Bull?” I question, hoping the voice belongs to the man I think it is as I’m flooded with memories of my morning.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he says with amusement as his fingers tighten on my hips. “Are you expecting someone else?”

“Someone else?” I scoff. “I wasn’t expecting anyone at all. It’s nearly the middle of the night.”

He reaches up and pushes the mask up over his face. It takes me a moment to realize he’s wearing a welding mask, but more importantly, the way he wears it has my ovaries screaming for more. It’s nothing compared to how he looked in his firefighter uniform, though. Now, that’s a uniform worthy of being dumped on my bedroom floor.

“What are you doing here?” I grumble, confusion plaguing me. Yet, somehow my confusion is amusing to him as he roars in laughter, showing off that perfect dimple. Anger begins shooting through me. “What on earth are you doing at my house?”

His hands fall to his knees as the laughter completely claims him, and I stand before him dumbfounded. “Are you laughing at me?” I ask the raging lunatic as I lean on my bat, trying to appear confident, but not quite sure I’m getting the desired effect as my hand slips off the bat, and it falls to the floor.

“Yes. What the fuck was that?” he stands up, catching his breath. “Did you just … did you just battle cry while trying to take my head off?”

Yep, he’s definitely laughing at me.

My eyes narrow, and for a nice change, I don’t feel quite so nervous around him. “What did you expect? I have babies inside,” I hiss, standing up straighter and crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know what’s so fucking funny.”

He holds up his hand, indicating for me to wait.

Tapping my foot impatiently, I stand there waiting for him to pull himself together. “You’re crazy,” I tell him, trying to deflect.

“I’m crazy? Angel, you’re the one charging out here like a hot as fuck ninja warrior trying to kill me, and you think I’m crazy?” he questions, raising a brow while cocking that damn smirk. God, I want to punch him. I’m dying of embarrassment, but I refuse to let it show.

“Certifiably crazy,” I tell him, twirling my finger around my ear.

My eyes rake over the man before me. He’s in dark jeans and a long-sleeve, white Under Armor shirt that molds perfectly to his chest. My eyes reach his feet, finishing off the total perfection with the work boots that he’s still wearing from before. He must have come here straight from work.

The cold night air hits my face as I finally take in everything around me. I notice to the side of his boot what looks to be a welder.

What does he think he’s doing? I’m just about to send him on his way when it clicks; he’s fixing my dad’s railing. This simple gesture brings tears to my eyes. That is until my eyes catch the power cord running from the welder through the open door, and I realize that it’s plugged inside my house. He came into my home, and I didn’t have a clue.

“Did you break into my house?” I ask trying to keep myself calm.

“Yep,” Bull nods, his eyes looking down at the power cord. “I needed power,” he adds with a slight shrug as though breaking into people’s homes in the dead of night is the norm for him.

Feeling my blood start to boil, I repeat to the idiot just for clarification. “You broke into my home and didn’t think to knock, or I don’t know, ring the bell?”

“Yeah?” he drags the word out like a question, crossing his arms over his chest.

I gape at him. “Do you not see a problem with this?”

“Nope. Not at all.”

He’s got to be kidding me. Turning away from him and trying to find a little calm, I mumble under my breath, mimicking his low tone. “Not at all,” he says.

I take a slow breath and turn back to look him in the eyes. “I don’t know you, Bull. And you thought it would be okay to break into my house and welcome yourself in without my knowledge? To what? Fix my porch?”