Life Changer (Chicago First Responders Book 2) Read online

  “I thought—”

  In the blink of an eye, he’s reached over, undone my seat belt and hauled me to his side, his hands tangling in my hair and holding me there ensuring he has my complete attention. “You thought that because it’s my birthday and both my parents and Lily’s parents were going to be there, that I wouldn’t want to introduce them all to the woman who has entranced me, who makes me laugh after a bad day, smile at just the thought of her, and has my kid eating out of the palm of her hand?”

  “Well, when you put it like that . . .” I murmur, biting my lip and looking away, but Rhodes’s flexed fingers in my hair bring my gaze back to his.

  “I’ve already told Connor, Lily’s dad, and my dad about you and that I want them to meet you. That’s when they let it slip about the moms’ surprise party plans. I’m sorry that I forgot to mention it.”

  “I might forgive you . . .”

  He brings his face close to mine. “If . . .?”

  “If you tell me when and where, I can make sure Harvs is taken care of and Suzy is fine to cover me at the restaurant should any emergencies crop up and—”

  “Firstly, Harvs can come too.”

  My mouth drops open.

  “And second, it’s three weeks from today, and I’ve taken the entire weekend off, so if you and Harvey want to stay with us for those nights, I’d love that. Jake has even been asking about seeing Harvey again.”

  My head jerks back, my mind spinning like a Ferris wheel on overdrive as I try to catch up.

  Instead, I lean my forehead to his and breathe through it until my heart stops racing. Because it may have only been ten weeks since I first laid eyes on this man, but I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him.

  “Dee?” he whispers, his voice thick. “Is this a good moment or a ‘shit, he really screwed up’ moment? Because I really wanna kiss the hell out of you, and we’ve gotta get home to my kid.”

  “It’s an ‘I can’t believe you’re real and you’re here and that you’re mine’.”

  “Dammit. Now I wanna fuck you, and we can’t do that in the car on the side of the road. It would be just our luck for Gio to be on patrol and catch us.”

  A giggle escapes my lips at that prospect.

  “You’re mine too, Dee. I’m yours and you’re mine. That’s how this works. We’ll take it slow with the kids, but I can’t stop how I feel about you.”

  “And how’s that?” I whisper, my heart pounding against my chest.

  “You know I love you,” he says, like it’s a foregone conclusion.

  The side of my mouth quirks up. “Well, considering I just worked out that I’m in love with you, too, that’s news to m—”

  Rhodes shuts me up by slamming his mouth on mine and thrusting his tongue between my lips. I grip his shoulders, his jaw, and do everything possible to get as close as I can to him.

  When we pull apart, I stare at him with wonder, my breaths coming hard and fast as I try to slow my heart rate.

  Rhodes’s blue eyes roam my face as his perfectly parted lips suck in much-needed air. “I’m the luckiest bastard in the world.”

  I shoot him my most wicked grin. “How about we go home and test out just how lucky you can get.”

  Chapter 17

  Rhodes

  “I’m impressed that Dee is still sticking to the running,” Marco says as he drives the rig toward the elementary school we’re on our way to visit. “She’s not up to our distance, but considering we’re training for something specific and Ezra told me she’s not a running kind of girl, it’s surprising.”

  My lips quirk up. “Maybe I give her good incentive to come with us.”

  “Like?” Scotty pops his head between the two front seats.

  “Your ears flapping?” I ask.

  “Nope. Just looking out for my favorite lieutenant,” he says with a shit-eating grin.

  Marco snorts and shakes his head. “Stop kissing ass just because Rhodes doesn’t give you as much crap as I do.”

  Scotty shrugs, making me chuckle. “Maybe. Or maybe you’re already hooked up and happy, and I like seeing Anderson smile. He’s a bit easier on us when he’s not so . . . tense . . .”

  “Damn, Scotty. Them’s fighting words,” Luca calls out from behind us. “He’ll have you on muck-out duty for weeks if you keep this up.”

  “Nah,” Scotty replies, slapping my arm. “Rhodes has always looked out for me.”

  “I could look out for you a lot better if you weren’t poking the Rossi bear over here and sat your ass back in your seat.”

  “Damn, Lieutenant. That’s cold. I was being nice too.”

  I roll my eyes and smirk at Marco.

  “By the way, does Dee have a sister? I watched one of her videos, and da—fuck.” Scotty rubs the back of his head, and I turn my head to find him glaring at Luca. “Luc, what the hell was that—ouch. Quit it.” This time it’s Zach on the end of Scotty’s none-too-impressed glare. “Stop whacking my head.”

  “Was seeing if I could knock some brain cells loose. You forget we know you, Jones. I’m not sure we’d willingly let you loose on any single woman.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he grumbles. “Must be good at something if Hayley came back for more.”

  Marco growls and spears Scotty a death stare in the rearview. Hayley is Renee’s sister. She and Scotty had a one-time thing earlier in the year, but as far as we all know, it was once and done. Apparently not . . .

  I glance at Scotty to find his hands up in the air in surrender, his eyes locked on Marco’s in the mirror. “Okay. Okay. No talking about that.”

  “Smart man,” I snort before facing the front again.

  Soon enough, Marco is pulling into a no-parking zone outside the front of the school. “Right,” he says turning round in his seat. “Cap says this is a straight demo and show-n-tell. Nothing flashy. Just take a group and give them a tour of the truck, let them turn the sirens on if they want, and then the teacher will get some photos of them in the driver’s seat.”

  “How old are these kids?” Zach asks. “Seems a bit pre-K.”

  “Nine and ten. This is a part of their careers-week curriculum I’m told. They each signed up for things they were interested in. This is the first-responder group.”

  “All good. We all know how much Jake liked to hang around the firehouse when he was younger,” Luc says, bringing a smile to my face.

  “Yeah. And now I barely see him ’cause he’s always out driving,” I mutter.

  “That boy has goals. He’s not gonna fuck it up by doing anything dumb, and if he does, he’s got three firefighters and a cop to ride his ass. And that’s before Connor and Don even get involved,” Marco says with a smirk. “Anyway, he’s a good kid. He has to be—he takes after his godfather.”

  “Say hello to my little friend,” Luc says in a terrible Al Pacino impression, holding up one hand and then two, and then making a show of slapping Scotty around the ears.

  “Hey! Quit it,” the man screeches, making us all laugh, which we’re still doing when the front doors to the administration building open and a middle-aged woman appears, followed by two lines of kids, many of whom are almost pushing each other out of the way to look our way.

  “Rhodes!” A familiar, excited voice says. I search the group and sure enough, there’s a wide-eyed and amazed Harvey waving then pointing my way and talking to the guys around him.

  “You’re so gonna make his fucking day, aren’t you?” Marco murmurs.

  I nod. “You’re right about that.” Then I step forward to greet the teacher and introduce us to the group.

  Forty minutes later, all the kids have looked around the rig, asked a million questions, and taken turns at trying gear on. This is part of the job that never sucks.

  “Harvey Duncan, can you come up to the front and help me with a little demonstration?” I ask, watching Harv’s eyes go wide and his friends’ expressions turn to shock, wonder, and envy.

  He stands
and walks over to where Marco, Luca, and I are waiting in front of the group of sitting kids.

  “Hey,” I say when he reaches us. “This okay?

  “Um . . . yeah.” I can tell he’s trying to temper his excitement, but there’s no missing the way he’s holding his shoulders back and his little chest is puffed out.

  “Okay,” I reply with a nod before turning my attention back to the group. “So, when there’s an emergency, and a fire engine is needed, the dispatcher—that’s the person who takes the call when you call nine-one-one—will give the call a priority depending on whether it’s urgent or not. Then the bells at the firehouse will ring out. That’s when we have to jump into action, and we have about a minute to get our gear on and hop into the fire engine and hit the road. So, I decided we should make a bit of a competition out of this.” I turn to Marco and Luca and wave my arm at them. “Marco and Luca here are brothers, and they’re always wanting to beat each other—at everything.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the stopwatch I stashed there for this very moment and hold it up for everyone to see. “Harvey is going to be in charge of the timer, and when he says ‘go,’ the guys are going to race each other to see who can get geared up the fastest. So, with a show of hands, who here thinks Marco—the oldest brother—is going to win?” About two thirds of the kids put up their hands. “And what about Luca? Who thinks he can beat his big brother?” The rest of the children signal their support.

  I turn toward Harvey and hold out the stopwatch. “Okay. So, in a moment, I want you to yell ‘go’ and then stop the clock whenever the first person has finished putting their helmet on. Sound good?” I say, earning a beaming grin and an unmistakable nod.

  “Right.” I check that Marco and Luca are set with their gear in front of them.

  The rest of the guys standing in a line at the side watching with amusement as the brothers nudge each other with elbows and gesture to the kids to make some noise.

  “Okay, everyone, be quiet so the guys don’t miss Harvey’s signal.” I nod down at Dee’s son, and grin at him. “Ready bud?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s all up to you now. You start them off whenever you’re ready.”

  “On your marks, get ready, and go!” he yells, and the guys jump into action while I give a running commentary as the Rossi boys do what they do best—work as fast as possible while joking and jonesing around with each other.

  They’re putting on their turnout gear and suspenders, then head cover and jackets. When they’re neck and neck, Luca quickly slips his helmet onto his head and raises his hands over his head in victory with a big “Done!”

  Harvey’s eyes widen as he quickly stops the timer and lifts it up my way.

  I make a show of widening my eyes like it’s the fastest time I’ve seen. “Wow! That was done in fifty-five seconds flat! Let’s give Marco, Luca, and my helper Harvey here a big round of applause,” I announce, joining Harvey’s classmates as they clap and cheer. I give Harvey’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks, Harvs. You can help me anytime.”

  “That was awesome!” he whispers. “Best day ever!” Then he gives me a hug around my waist and runs back to his friends.

  “Now that makes it all worthwhile, man,” Marco says, bumping my shoulder.

  What can I say? The man isn’t wrong.

  Dee: You certainly made my boy’s day today. He called me as soon as he got home and raved about you. I think you’re his hero.

  Rhodes: He’s an awesome kid.

  Dee: And you’re a good man who made my son feel like the king of the world and most popular kid in the class today.

  Dee: Which means now I’m feeling kinda grateful.

  Rhodes: Is that so . . .?

  Dee: Such a shame you’re working until tomorrow and I have a private breakfast event I’m catering for in the morning.

  Damn.

  Rhodes: You do know that this is torture, right?

  Dee: Have you eaten yet?”

  Rhodes: Not yet. Scotty and the new candidate, Kyle, are on cooking duty, and Scotty tries to put that shit off for as long as possible, usually until someone gets sick of waiting and just cooks instead.

  Dee: Can you hold them off for an hour . . .?

  Rhodes: Yeah. Why . . .?

  Dee: Tell them dinner is being delivered in an hour and the wait will be worth it.

  Rhodes: Sweet cheeks, what are you up to?

  Dee: That’s for me to know and you to find out.

  Dee: But I promise you . . . it’s not only going to be worth it for the guys . . . See you soon.

  I turn around from where Luc, Marco, and I are chilling on the couch and let out a high-pitched whistle. “Dinner’s being delivered in an hour, so, Scotty and Kyle, you better go make sure the rig is squeaky fucking clean and ready to roll out for our next call.”

  “What’s on the menu?” Scotty asks, looking like a kid on Christmas morning who got everything he asked for.

  “Don’t know. Don’t care. Whatever it is, it’ll be fucking delicious. So you better get to work, otherwise I’m sure the guys and I can sit back and make sure no food is wasted.”

  “I thought you were my friend,” Scotty says with a pout.

  I snicker and shake my head at him. “I am. But if my woman is feeding you lot, you can bet your ass I’m making you work for it.”

  “Dee’s bringing us food?” Luc asks, suddenly all on board with this conversation. When I nod, he gets to his feet. “Then I’m gonna help them with the rig, because I remember how good her food was at the BBQ, and that’s all the incentive I need to get the chores done before she gets here.” Then he’s rounding up Scotty and Kyle, and the three of them walk out toward the garage.

  “Food deliveries. Someone scored brownie points today, didn’t he?”

  “Harvey? He definitely did. Dee is just grateful . . .”

  Marco smirks knowingly and shakes his head. “Yeah. Sure. That’s exactly why Dee is bringing food for the crew halfway during a shift.” He leans in close. “And ’cause I’m your best friend, I’ll keep the guys distracted so you can give her a tour of the firehouse.”

  “You are a good friend.”

  “Indeed. But don’t worry,” he says, straightening and shooting me a wink. “I’ll cash in the favor you now owe me some other time.”

  Shaking my head at him, I can’t help but chuckle. “Of course you will. What else are friends for?”

  Just over an hour later, Dee walks in, her arms laden with four big catering trays as she comes through the door. Luca and Scotty rush to her side before I can even get there.

  “Damn that smells good, Dee. What did you bring us?” Scotty asks, taking two of the trays off her hands.

  “There’s lasagna, green salad, those buffalo chicken wings you all loved at the BBQ, and then my specialty Greek orzo dish. And in that one . . .” She points to tray Luca has just placed on the dining table. “. . . there’s dessert for now or later. All of it will keep in case you get a callout too,” she says before turning her body toward mine. “Hey, honey.”

  “Hey,” I say, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her lightly on the lips. “You’ve probably just become Firehouse 101’s favorite person.”

  Tilting her head, she smirks at me with amused eyes. “Is that such a bad thing? Especially if it means I can visit you occasionally.”

  I dip my chin to bring my mouth to her ear. “You can visit me whenever you want, baby. My day was already good, but you’ve just made it even better.”

  She winks, her lips curving into a devilish grin as she lifts her hand to my chest and flexes her fingers against my shirt. “I’m sure there’s still room for improvement.”

  Fuck yeah, there is.

  I look over my shoulder and meet Marco’s eyes, and with a jerk of his chin, I know I’m covered for at least a while—or until the bells ring.

  After taking her hand in mine, we walk out of the living area and along the corridor, toward the back of the station. “S
o, do you want a tour?” I ask.

  “I want to know where your office is.” There’s absolutely no mistaking the low husky tone in her voice. My Dee is feeling grateful, and who am I to deny her—even though I’d never want to in a million years.

  As soon as I’ve led her into my office and shut the door, she’s pressing my back against it and crushing her lips to mine. With a groan, I grab her hips and hold her to me, letting her control the kiss for as long as I can stand it before I drag my arms up her back and into her hair. I chase her tongue with mine and deepen the connection, swallowing her moans as we attack each other’s mouths hungrily.

  She tears her lips from mine, running them over my stubbled jaw and down to my throat as my hands roam over her back and ass, grinding my hard cock against her, desperate to feel more of her. “How long have we got?” she whispers, dragging her teeth over my neck.

  “Not fucking long enough,” I grind out, loving the feel of her but wishing I could lay her out on my desk and bury myself inside her. The memory would definitely improve my mood when doing paperwork later.

  She straightens and brushes her lips against mine, pinning me in place with her heated gaze. “Guess I’d better get to work.” She drops to her knees and works my belt open before I can even utter a single word. Quick as a flash, she reaches inside my pants and pulls me out before locking eyes with mine. She wraps her lips around the tip and swallows me whole.

  “Fuck, baby,” I groan just as the head of my cock hits the back of her throat.

  I rest my hand on top of her hair in the way she likes me to do, watching as she takes me down deep, humming against the sensitive skin and sending jolts of pleasure through my entire body. When she adds her hand to the mix and strokes me tightly in rhythm with the searing hot heat of her mouth, there’s no way in hell I’ll last long.

  Still jerking her hand up and down, she moves to my balls before laving them with her tongue and humming. The vibrations make it hard to hold on to any self-control I’m fighting to keep. The whole time, her eyes stay aimed at me. “I’m going to take your cock in my mouth, and you’re going to take what you want. I want the boss to take what I’m offering him,” she says before she does exactly that, lifting her lips to the head and swirling her tongue around the sensitive skin before taking me deep again, lightly running her teeth against my aching shaft as she pulls out and does it all over again. Then she moans and reaches around, grabbing the globes of my ass in her palms and pushing me deeper, until I can’t stop rocking my hips.