OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE by Lindsey Brookes Page A

removed his fire helmet, leaving his sun-bleached blond hair slightly mussed and sexy looking.  Unlike the rest of his crew whose haircuts were short and neat, Joe’s shaggy blonde hair hung long, just brushing the top of his uniform collar. The man looked like a real rule-breaker and he was hot to boot.
    “Was there something you needed?” he asked after a few moments of silence, silence brought about by her mental assessment of his assets .
    Nanci’s guilty gaze shot up to meet his.  “Just to thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For coming to Kelsie’s rescue.”
    “I didn’t rescue her.  Cole did.”
    Those blue eyes of his were killer.  “Maybe, but you helped.”
    “It’s part of the job.  Although I have to admit that was the first woman in a tree rescue the station’s ever had that I know of.”
    She’d be glad to make it two if he’d be the one rescuing her with those big, muscular arms.  Toned, no doubt, from hauling those heavy hoses with him into burning buildings.  Her appreciative gaze returned to his broad shoulders and then moved downward.  She’d almost bet there was a six-pack beneath that fitted uniform shirt.   
    “Are you all right?”
    A little fevered maybe...
    “Better now that you’re here,” she told him and then quickly added, “There’s no way I could have gotten Kelsie out of th at tree myself.”
    “How is your friend?” 
    “She’s fine.” 
    “Glad to hear it.  But not surprised.  She was in very capable hands.”
    “So she tells me.”
    He raised a questioning brow.
    “Cole helped her out of another situation.”
    “You mean the one at the hospital.”
    Had the kiss Cole shared with Kelsie affected him as much as it had her friend?  “He told you about that?” she asked, her tone hopeful.  This could be a good thing for Kelsie.
    “Not exactly ,” he replied.  “Though he would have.  Cole and I are pretty tight.”
    “Then how did you find out if he didn’t tell you?”
    He gave a husky chuckle.  “That’s easy.  Firefighters are a pretty close knit group.  Everyone knows everyone else’s business.”
    “ So he told another guy at the station and he told you?” she surmised.
    “ No,” he said, shaking his head.  “One of the firefighters from another station saw your friend and Cole together at the hospital – kissing.”
    So Cole hadn’t said anything.  Normally, she would have taken that as his not being as interested as she had hoped.  But the man had held her friend’s heels hostage to get a date with her.  Kelsie had obviously made some sort of lasting impression on him. 
    “Kind of like news in a small town,” she acknowledged.  “It gets around fast.”   She knew that from her foster home days.
    “Exactly,” he said with an all-out grin that made her pulse race.
    What was it about this man that affected her that way?  Sure, she’d been attracted to guys before, but never like this.  And she always flirted.  The only difference was that she’d always been the one in control when it came to handling the other sex.
    She eyed the handsome firefighter with a curl of heat in the pit of her stomach.  Something told her that Joe was not a man easily controlled and that alone sparked a sexual excitement she’d never felt before. 
    His gaze skimmed down her face to the low cut front of the lime green tank top she’d been lounging in when Kelsie called her.  Her nipples tingled under his inspection.
    “So , do you work there, too?” he asked with a nod toward the building behind her.
    “What?” Nanci gasped and then laughed.  “At the strip club?  You think I’m a stripper?”
    He didn’t answer, simp ly grinned and did another once over of her tank top and shorts.
    “You can put those mental dollars away you’re thinking about stuffing down my top.  I’m a dental hygienist, not a stripper.”
    “Their loss,” he muttered. “A woman like you would bring in a ton of business.”
    She glanced back