Free Playing With Fire by Cathy McDavid Page B

wouldn't alter the older man's opinion. Lindsay, however, wanted the promotion and had worked harder than any of them to get it. Matt didn't doubt she'd be the next engineer for the City of Glendale Fire Department.
    He found her at the dumpster behind the station, discarding the soiled paper towels. The plain uniform did a poor job of hiding the sweet curves of her figure. The shorts, meant to be functional, accentuated her narrow waist and the slope of her hips, hips he'd held firmly in his hands while racing in a mad frenzy toward release. At the sight of her bare, tanned legs, his heart rate accelerated.
    Letting the heavy lid on the dumpster drop, she tracked his approach with wary green eyes. In his mind, he saw those green eyes widen in surprise when he entered her, warm with pleasure as he moved in and out, then squeeze shut at the moment of climax. Every muscle in his body involuntarily tensed.
    "Hi.” Leaning his back against the brick building, he shoved his fists inside his front pockets, hoping to appear casual and not like he'd purposefully sought her out. “Don't let Dennis get to you."
    "I'm not.” She kicked at a pebble, sending it skipping across the blacktop.
    "That wasn't his butt you just mentally kicked into the next county, was it?"
    She cracked a tiny smile.
    The last residuals of tension between them dissipated. Matt took full advantage.
    "I know Dennis can be a jerk sometimes, but he has his good qualities, too. Next to you, there isn't anyone else I'd rather have in the field with me."
    Lindsay studied him through slitted eyes, wondering if she should take his compliment at face value.
    "It's true,” he reiterated, correctly guessing her thoughts.
    "Thank you. That means a lot to me.” He probably didn't realize how much. Lindsay's struggle for acceptance by her male peers had been an ongoing battle since her first day at the academy. “I'm mad at myself mostly,” she admitted. “Sometimes, I think I play right into Dennis’ hands."
* * * *
    "Now that you mention it...” One side of Matt's mouth lifted in a dangerous grin.
    Dangerous because it cut through her carefully constructed defenses with the ease of a knife slicing soap suds.
    What am I so afraid of?
    It was the same question she'd asked herself over and over since spending the night with him.
    The answer wasn't Joey. They'd resolved their differences and returned to the kind of relationship they'd always had but not admitted to: friendship. He deserved to be happy, and she was glad for him, if a little concerned. Karyn had hurt him badly in the past. Lindsay didn't want the same thing to happen again and had cautioned him to proceed slowly. He'd assured her he would. Lindsay, however, feared he'd go off the deep end without so much as a backwards glance.
    Which is exactly what she'd done with Matt.
    He hadn't slept by himself that night in Joey's bed. She'd been with him, physically, emotionally, and in every way possible a woman can be with a man. He didn't deserve to be shut out of her life or the decisions she was making which concerned him. But how much should she let him in and what kind of impact would that have on their jobs?
    Changing the subject, Lindsay said, “Emilio mentioned the test results might be posted today."
    "So I heard,” he said, giving her a mildly curious look. “Nervous?"
    "Yes.” She hadn't intended to be so blunt and softened her response. “A little. You?"
    "Naw.” He made a face. “I don't stand a chance."
    "Of course you do."
    "I didn't study for the last part."
    "I don't believe you!"
    "Afraid so."
    Lindsay couldn't comprehend Matt's cavalier attitude about something so important. She wanted to make engineer. Needed to. That one feat, she believed, would earn her the respect she craved. Only then would the men stop treating her as second rate, like Dennis did. “I can't take things as they come, like you do."
    "Don't sweat it,” Matt said optimistically. “You're a shoo-in."
    "I'm not so