Priority One

It’s never easy being the new guy in town. Especially when you’re gay, single and broke. Not only does Dylan fall into every one of those categories, but he’s also homeless and heartbroken as well and all before he’s celebrated his twentyfirst birthday. Even though his older brother, Lucas, let him move in and found him a job at the local EMS company, Dylan has never felt lower. Hurt and betrayed by everyone he loved, with the lone exception of Lucas, Dylan vows he’ll never open himself up to the pain that comes with caring about others. If that means he dies alone and bitter, then so be it. It sure as hell beats getting kicked in the ass by life again. After working nearly ten years as a firefighter for Flint, Kaleb has seen all kinds of misery and broken spirits. Just when he thought nobody could tug at his heartstrings anymore, along comes a young, shy, dark-haired paramedic named Dylan. Even though he tries to ignore it, the haunted expression in Dylan’s gaze draws Kaleb in and before he knows it, he finds himself falling for the younger man. But will Kaleb be able to convince Dylan to open his heart one more time or will the past destroy both of their hopes for a future?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Priority One Copyright © 2010 Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-55487-624-2 Cover art by Angela Waters All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com

Priority One EMS Heat Book 4 By Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

A

ll in all, since this marked Dylan’s first month on the job, tripping over a patient probably didn’t make the best impression on his coworkers. Dylan didn’t just stumble either. No, he had to make a complete ass out of himself by falling flat on his face, with a loud oomph! His cheek even made an impressive smacking noise as it found the pavement. The trauma bag that had once rested on his shoulder fell as well and of course, it had to burst open so all the contents spilled out. As one, all the medics, cops and firemen on scene turned to stare at the green paramedic who had just pulled a dive that Greg Louganis would have been proud of. Worst of all, the whole reason for his tripping looked over at him, too. One hot as hell blond-haired fireman, who looked sexy as sin in his bunker gear pants and dark blue t-shirt. For one horror filled moment, Dylan found himself locked into the man’s amused blue-eyed gaze. Frantic to cover up his extreme fuck up, 1

Priority One Dylan tried to laugh, but all that came out a strange strangled noise that sounded more like a sick pig than anything. “Look at you laying down on the job,” an alltoo-familiar voice chided. Dylan gazed up Matt. A good looking blond, who had a small conceited streak and a smart mouth, he was one part of the paramedic crew Dylan was training under. He also happened to be Dylan’s brother’s partner. Which meant Dylan, lucky dog that he was, had to put up with the guy’s twisted sense of humor 24/7. Dylan once again made a silent vow that he needed to move out of his brother’s place as soon as he had the cash. “Are you going to get up? Or are you hoping one of the nice firemen will come over and assist you?” Matt tilted his head to the side, his sunglasses making him look as cool and collected as ever. Dylan bet that Matt had never done something as humiliating as performing a face plant in the middle of an accident scene. Embarrassed, Dylan started to scramble to his feet until he remembered his patient. His chest seized up as horror filled him. Fuck! Did I actually just trip over some poor injured person? What kind of medic am I? I think I’m probably the first one who actually left a patient in worse condition than when first found. He closed his 2

Stephani Hecht eyes and like some kind of child, wished the situation away. Maybe all this was one of those showing-up-late-for-a-final-in-your-underwear kind of dreams. But when he cracked his lids, he saw that everything still remained the same. With a held in breath, he forced himself to look over his shoulder at the patient. Instead of some poor bleeding soul, he found a scrawny, greasy looking, redheaded guy, flat on his back. He gave Dylan’s body a leering once over as he licked his cracked, blood-crusted lips. “Sorry,” Dylan mumbled as he scrambled over to the patient’s side. Behind him, he could hear Matt and the other paramedic, James, shoving the supplies back into the trauma bag. The patient gave another one of those shudderinducing looks. “Don’t be sorry, sugar. It’s not every day I have some pretty thing like you fall on me.” Dylan tried not to sway back as an alcohol vapor hit him. By the looks and smells of it, this guy had more booze than blood flowing through his veins. Dylan glanced around the scene to assess what could have happened and caught a glimpse of a red truck with some front-end damage, but it seemed kind of far away from his patient. A look at his patient’s leg told Dylan the guy couldn’t have walked the distance either. Not with his femur bone so deformed. By all rights, the 3

Priority One guy should be screaming his head off in pain. Dylan made a mental note to account for more than alcohol being in the man’s system. He had to have some heavy narcotics on board to be this calm with half his leg bone basically sticking out of his skin. Even though the last thing he wanted to do was encourage the perv’s attentions, Dylan had a job to do and that required he put his hands on the man. With a cool, detached professional manner, he ran his fingers over the patient’s body as he asked, “You want to tell me what happened?” “A perfect angel fell from Heaven and landed on top of me.” The drunk reached up and caressed Dylan’s chest. Or at least he tried to. With so much booze and God knows what else swimming in his bloodstream, all he managed was a lazy pass that seemed more like a slap. Dylan fought to keep his face blank, a task that became harder when he heard James and Matt’s stifled laughter. Giving them a weak smile, he asked, “Could one of you get the traction splint for me?” “Sure thing. We’ll leave lover boy in your hands.” Matt gave a mock salute before he ran off to the rig. Dylan returned his attention to the patient. “What’s your name?” “Big Red.” 4

Stephani Hecht Of course it was. Big Red grinned, showing off several tobacco stained teeth as he rudely grabbed his own groin. “Do you want to see why?” He leaned forward and placed his hands on either side of the deformity in the patient’s thigh to hold manual traction until the splint came. “Why don’t you lay off the bad pickup lines and just tell me how you ended up on your back with a broken leg? Where you driving the truck?” Big Red’s eyes grew wide as he shook his head. “Oh, no way I would get behind the wheel of a Ford. I’m a GM man all the way. That’s my buddy Frank’s truck.” “Okay, so where is Frank?” “He took off running. Not that it will do the prick any good since I know he always goes to his old lady’s when he’s upset. As soon as you guys fix me up, I’m going to go over there and kick his ass for running me over.” “He ran you over?” Dylan gave a slight shake of his head, disbelief ringing through his voice, although the patient’s wounds were consistent with being on the business end of a fender. James went on the other side and started to take the patient’s blood pressure. Dylan cast a furtive glance from the corner of his eye to see if Hotty Pants Fireman was still there. Bingo! Not only had he stayed on scene, but he stood even closer as he 5

Priority One watched them work. Fuck, at this distance, the man appeared even better. Now Dylan could tell that he had a perfectly chiseled jaw. That the tshirt, seemed to be stretched to maximum capacity over huge, hard looking muscles. “I didn’t want him to leave,” Big Red wailed, bringing Dylan back into focus. “You what?” He blinked in confusion as he wondered where in the hell Matt was with the damn splint. “I didn’t want Frank to leave so I jumped in front of his truck to stop him.” Stunned momentarily stupid, Dylan glanced over at James to see what he made of that statement. The thin, dark-haired medic wore a bored expression as he gave a slight shrug. Then again, since he’d been doing this for a while, he’d probably seen it all. “Let me get this straight,” Dylan said, trying hard to put on the same cool façade as James. “Frank was in his truck and getting ready to leave, but you didn’t want him to go. So, you got it in your head that you could actually use your body to stop a moving vehicle.” Big Red gave him a blurry eyed duh look. “Well…yeah. See, me and Frank got into it over a pool game and we were both really ticked.” Dylan’s hands had started to cramp up as he cursed Matt for taking so goddamn long. At the 6

Stephani Hecht same time, Dylan had to resist the urge to glance back over at the fireman. “All this was over a pool game?” That question seemed to piss off Big Red. His eyes grew wide as he gave a sound of outrage. “The mother fucker was cheating.” “Excuse me. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Matt finally decided to show up and he even had the gall to flash his cocky grin. Dylan lifted his upper lip in return. While he’d have rather lifted his middle finger, he couldn’t let go of manual traction until the splint was in place. “So, what happened to Frank and how did the truck end up all the way over there?” Dylan couldn’t believe he’d actually encouraged the crazy man to continue the crazy story. “After he hit me, Frank tried to make a U-turn and lost control of his truck and crashed it.” Red paused as his face grew long with concern. “Why do you suppose he was trying to turn around?” “So he could run you over again,” James deadpanned as he pulled out an IV catheter. Red winced as James stuck him with the needle. “Frank would never do that.” Both James and Dylan looked pointedly at Red’s broken femur. Once James had the IV in place, only then did Dylan and Matt work together to get the traction splint in place. It was tricky procedure since they had to time it perfectly 7

Priority One so Dylan didn’t let go until the splint was tightened just right. As soon as it was done, Dylan let go with a relieved sigh as he flexed his fingers. As they were strapping the patient to the backboard, James leaned over and whispered, “By the way, the fireman’s name is Kaleb.” Dylan’s heart pounded furiously as he realized he’d been caught salivating over another man. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” James gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, making Dylan wonder how much the paramedic knew. That made his heart beat even harder. Did everyone know about everything he’d gone through? As soon as that thought hit him, Dylan dismissed it. Seeing how not even Lucas knew the whole truth, there would be no reason to assume anyone else in Flint did either. “It’s okay, he’s gay, too,” James continued, obviously not aware of the emotions churning through Dylan. Dylan dared another glance at the fireman….er, Kaleb. So, that six-foot tower of sex was gay? That could prove interesting. For someone else. Dylan had no desire to get into any kind of relationship, except for maybe a casual fuck. But even then, Kaleb was way out of his league. **** 8

Stephani Hecht Kaleb felt a smile stretch out over his face as he watched the hot-as-fuck paramedic. Thin, not too tall, dark hair, deep green eyes and a perfect ass, he had Kaleb’s undivided attention even before the fabulous tripping episode. The medic kept darting little glances Kaleb’s way, but never long enough for a real exchange. Kaleb regretted that because he knew that one heated look and he could have the younger man right where he wanted him. “Who is that?” he asked his friend, Justin. As the only other openly gay fireman in their department, the two had become close when Kaleb first started working in Flint ten years ago. “I was wondering how long before that one fell under your radar.” Justin smirked, in that goddamn all knowing way of his. Look-wise, Justin had a lot going for him, with dark, almost raven, hair and smoky eyes. While those were both attributes that Kaleb found attractive, Justin had a little too much muscle mass for his liking. He preferred men who were thinner, more sleek. He glanced back over at the young medic and Kaleb’s cock swelled. Yeah, Trippy Feet fit that description perfectly. He had to resist the urge to lick his lips in hungry anticipation as he wondered to himself how long it would be before he could actually have a taste of that temptation. “So, who is he?” Kaleb demanded again, his voice 9

Priority One a bit sharp. “What makes you think I know?” Justin asked as he started to study the medic, too. “Because you always know all the latest gossip.” Justin blinked, clearly affronted. “Fuck you.” “Seriously, you’re worse than my Grandma Francis. She would spend most of her day sitting by her front window so she could spy on the whole neighborhood.” Even as he continued to insult his buddy, Kaleb had already returned his gaze back to the medic. The way the kid moved with hesitant, jerky movements showed his inexperience. It was a good thing they had set him up with James and Matt since they were one of the best medic crews in the city. “His name is Dylan, but if I were you, I would keep my dick in my pants as far as he’s concerned,” Justin cautioned. Now Kaleb was the one who smirked. “When have I ever done that?” He had the reputation of going through fucks faster than Paris Hilton switched pets so Justin should know better than to warn him off anyone. “This isn’t just anybody though. He’s Lucas’s younger brother so you know the St. Michael’s gang is going to very protective of him.” Even as Justin spoke those words, Matt reached out and batted the patient’s hand away as the guy 10

Stephani Hecht tried to cop a feel of Dylan’s ass. Not that Kaleb could blame the drunk. Dylan did have a really fine ass. One of the best, he’d seen in a long time. “I’m serious, the St. Michael’s clique has been very possessive of him,” Justin continued to warn him. “I tried talking to him the other day and Matt just about ripped my head off.” St. Michael’s happened to be one of the bigger hospitals in Flint. While Matt and James didn’t work there, they were still part of the small inner circle of friends associated with the hospital because their boyfriends worked there. Boyfriend. Kaleb tried not to shiver just from thinking the word. The mere idea of settling for the same thing day after day nearly made his balls shrivel in dread. Why anyone would willingly accept a life like that confused the hell out of him. “They’ll just have to get over it,” he said as he watched them load the patient onto the cot. “Besides, Dylan looks like a big boy to me. He doesn’t need a group of babysitters.” The medics lifted the cot into the back of the rig and Kaleb saw the smallest hint of muscles shift under Dylan’s dark blue medic uniform. Damn, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been this turned on by somebody. “He’s not even twenty-one, yet,” Justin sang. Ouch, that one did make Kaleb pause…briefly. It would make the kid about ten years his junior. 11

Priority One Still twenty was plenty old enough for Dylan to know what he wanted and the repercussions of his decisions. Now all Kaleb had to do was find a way for Dylan to decide that what he wanted most of all was for them to get to know each other a whole lot better.

12

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

D

ylan sucked in a steadying breath as he walked into Pandora’s. The biggest gay bar in Flint, it had a reputation of being a bit on the wild side. Even though he’d been dying to come to it ever since he’d first heard of the place a couple months ago, it had taken him all that time to work up the courage to actually make an appearance. The first thing he noticed was that he’d underdressed for the occasion. While his dark blue polo shirt and jeans looked perfectly fine at home, now he felt plain and boring. All around him, guys danced and mingled, not one of them showing any of the anxiety he currently suffered from. Meanwhile, he had to work hard not to let his jaw drop as he watched the overtly sexual way some of them danced. He wondered if Lucas had ever come here with Matt, and if so, had they danced this way. Not that Dylan could actually go to his brother and ask him. Every time Dylan had even brought up this 13

Priority One particular bar, Lucas had been quick to change the subject. Which had just made Dylan more curious about what went on at the infamous nightspot. Over the past months, his curiosity had grown to the point where he’d felt for sure he’d burst if he didn’t sate it. So, when Lucas and Matt had gotten a bit distracted with each after dinner that evening, Dylan had borrowed Lucas’s license. Okay, maybe it had been wrong to go into his brother’s wallet like that and it was probably a felony to use false identification, but it’s not like Dylan had been left with any other option. Pandora’s didn’t let anyone under twenty-one through the front doors and since he was still only twenty, it had called for some low level sneakiness. It had worked perfectly, too. While he and Lucas didn’t look exactly alike, they were close enough for him to be able to fool the guy working the front door. The problem was, now that he was finally there, he had no fucking clue what to do with himself. So he did what any other guy, who was eager to discover who he was and finally get lucky would do—he stood in the back corner, out of sight so he could gawk without fear of being approached. The music played so loud that the white, shiny floor pulsated under his feet. Several different colored spotlights darted across the room, 14

Stephani Hecht illuminating the multitude of gyrating bodies and the air was rich with the scent of numerous brands of cologne. Overwhelmed by it all, he pressed himself more firmly against a wall so he could take in the scene while being partly hidden. Not that he couldn’t have taken a seat if he had so chosen. While the large, filled-to-capacity dance floor took up the entire center of the building, there were several small circular tables dotting the perimeter. There were also numerous couches, but all of which were occupied by couples in various degrees of intimacy A heated blush came over his face. While he’d grown accustomed to seeing Matt and Lucas getting physical, it had usually been in the privacy of their apartment. The idea of doing it out in public like this, without fear of being judged or caring what others thought, both unsettled and sent a thrill through him. “You keep staring like that and everyone is going to know what a newbie you are,” a low voice murmured in his ear. So much for hiding out in the corner where nobody would find him. Dylan let out a small gasp of shock as he turned. When he saw who stood by his side, he was hard pressed not to let out another sound of surprise. Kaleb, the fireman from earlier today stood just inches from Dylan. His face was so close his lips were just a whisper 15

Priority One away from Dylan’s ear. Each breath the man took sent hot flutters of air skating across Dylan’s cheek. While Kaleb had changed out of his bunker gear and now wore a pair of snug jeans and even snugger red shirt, there was no mistaking smoldering gaze, the short, blond hair, the body that just begged to be touched. “It’s you,” Dylan said, knowing he probably sounded like an idiot. “So you remember me?” The fireman tilted his head to the side, the move somehow making him seem even sexier. Nerves shot through Dylan as he fiddled with the bottom button of his polo. “Well…yeah, I mean kind of.” “Wow, Dylan. That lie was almost convincing,” the man mocked softly. That hated burn on his cheeks grew. “Yeah, I remember you from the accident scene earlier today.” He paused as a realization hit him. “How did you know my name?” “I make it my business to learn the names of all the hot guys I come across.” A slight tremor of shock went through Dylan at those words. “Is this some kind of joke on the green medic?” “Once you get to know me, you’ll find out I don’t ever kid about this kind of thing.” “Know you,” Dylan echoed, his heart hammering with fear and arousal. “You haven’t 16

Stephani Hecht even bothered to tell me your name.” He didn’t add that he already knew it thanks to James. “Kaleb,” he replied, as he reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along Dylan’s jaw. Dylan jumped at the caress. He would have stepped away, but the wall pressed against his back, preventing it. “What are you doing?” Kaleb smiled. Instead of it making him look friendlier, it gave him a more dangerous edge, one that had Dylan’s cock standing at attention, despite his nerves. “You sure do ask a lot of questions,” Kaleb observed as his hand oh so slowly started to trail down Dylan’s chest…stomach…waist before settling onto his cock. Desire pooled in his gut at the unexpected touch. While he knew he should shove Kaleb’s hand away, Dylan felt paralyzed by the conflicting emotions bouncing around inside him. “What? Why?” Dylan sputtered out as his eyes fluttered shut. Damn, this felt so much better when it was something other than his own hand touching him there. So much so that when Kaleb abruptly pulled away, Dylan let out a moan of protest. Kaleb made a tsking sound. “There we go with more questions. I’m going to have to break you of that nasty habit. Maybe by finding something else to occupy your mouth with.” Dylan’s glance dropped to the fly of Kaleb’s 17

Priority One jeans. Even through the denim material, the outline of the firefighter’s massive, thick cock was evident. Before Dylan could censor it, a terrified whimper betrayed him. Then before he realized it, Kaleb had shifted so he stood directly in front of Dylan, pinning him fully to the wall. It all overwhelmed Dylan, the sensation of Kaleb’s hard, warm body pressing against him, the woodsy, slightly smoky scent of the firefighter, the desire coursing through his own body. Dylan’s breath started to come out in shallow pants as he craned his neck so he could gaze up into Kaleb’s eyes. “Are you usually this…” Dylan trailed off, not certain of how to finish his question without sounding insulting. “Quick?” Kaleb supplied before he reached up to cup Dylan’s cheeks. “Only when I see something I want.” “You want me?” Dylan blurted in an overly loud voice. He knew it probably made him sound like an idiot, but the thought of someone as sexy as Kaleb being attracted to a thin, fumbling nobody like him, just flabbergasted Dylan. Kaleb gave him an indulgent smile. “Why does that surprise you so much?” Dylan shrugged. “Well, because I’m me. Nobody special.” “Dylan, you’ve had my attention from the second you tripped over poor, broken Big Red.” 18

Stephani Hecht Before Dylan had a chance to get embarrassed at that comment, Kaleb kissed him. Not just any kiss either, but one that felt so hot, so carnal, that Dylan instantly got lost in it. The room even spun a bit, kind of like on those overly dramatic soap operas his mom always used to watch. A thousand questions quick fired through Dylan’s head. Why was someone as hot as Kaleb coming onto someone as insignificant as him? Was Kaleb disappointed by Dylan’s lack of kissing experience? Did guys usually stick their tongues in each other’s mouths this soon after first meeting? Did the spaghetti he had for dinner leave him with bad breath? And…ah God, did it always feel this good when someone groped your cock? Kaleb pulled back, but only a bit so their mouths were a few inches from each other. Dylan instantly missed the touch of the man’s soft lips, the velvet slide of his tongue and the wildly, enticing taste of his mouth. “That was interesting.” “Interesting?” The corner of Kaleb’s mouth kicked into a smile. Dylan’s gut turned as he realized that probably hadn’t been the savviest thing to say. “What I mean is that it was nice—really hot.” Something flickered in Kaleb’s eyes that Dylan couldn’t read. “You haven’t done this much yet, have you?” 19

Priority One Fuck! Dylan could have kicked himself for being so obvious. “Yes. No. Maybe.” In truth that had been his fifth kiss to be exact, but he’d die before he admitted it. Kaleb still pinned him with a knowing look. “How old are you?” “Twenty-one,” Dylan instantly lied. “Sure you are,” Kaleb drawled. Before Dylan had a chance to react, he found himself spun around, cheek pressed to the wall. Then he felt hands caressing his ass, before Kaleb reached in and plucked the license from his back pocket. Holding it up like some kind of prize, Kaleb read out loud, “Lucas Harris.” He gave a mock look of shock. “There must be some mistake, because you’re not Lucas.” Dylan curled his fingers against the wall as unwanted shame filled him. “I kind of borrowed it from him.” “Really? Why do I get the feeling that big brother has no idea what his little, baby Dylan is up to?” Kaleb moved in tighter, his strong chest pressing into Dylan’s back. When he felt the unmistakable hardness of the man’s cock brushing against his ass, Dylan couldn’t bite back a moan of desire. “I swiped it from Lucas’s wallet,” he confessed. As if on their own accord, his hips 20

Stephani Hecht thrust back so his ass ground against Kaleb’s cock. “How old are you? And this time I want the truth.” Kaleb nipped Dylan’s earlobe. Whether the move was to entice or discipline him, Dylan didn’t know. Either way, it set him on fire and made him want to do so much more than just grind against Kaleb. “I’m twenty, but I swear my birthday’s only a few months away. I just couldn’t wait any longer to find out.” “Find out what?” Kaleb gave another one of those bites. Dylan jerked at the touch as another spike of pleasure shot through his gut. “What it’s like to be with another guy. How it feels to fuck something besides my own hand.” As soon as that oh-so-cool statement slipped from his pie hole, Dylan wanted to die. Damn, would he ever learn how to keep some things on inner-monologue? He’d be lucky if Kaleb didn’t laugh in his face, then go off and find someone who at least knew what they were doing. “Do you want to find out tonight?” Kaleb crooned in his ear. “Huh?” Dylan gave a slight shake of his head, not quite certain he’d heard correctly. Kaleb’s hand reached around and somehow found its way back to Dylan’s cock. For one insane moment, Dylan wondered if Kaleb’s fingers had GPS or something on them and had been set to find the nearest hard dick. 21

Priority One “Come home with me.” All the air left Dylan’s lungs in one loud whoosh. Of fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. The hottest fireman in all of Michigan had just asked him to go home with him. Dylan knew they wouldn’t be going there to watch the latest Dancing With The Stars rerun either. No, Kaleb wanted him there for one thing and one thing only. To screw. This was it. Finally Dylan would be able to know what it felt like to be with another man. After tonight, there’d be no more lingering doubts. No more false hopes that maybe he’d been wrong all along and wasn’t gay and could make things right back home. If he did this, actually went through with it, there would be no question of what he was. “Okay,” he shocked himself by agreeing. “Excellent,” Kaleb all but purred. Almost as if afraid that Dylan would suddenly change his mind, Kaleb grabbed him by the hand and all but dragged him. They moved so fast that Dylan stumbled a bit in his haste to keep up. “As cute as it looks when you get clumsy, try to stay upright. At least until we get home,” Kaleb tossed over his shoulder. Dylan scowled. That was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one being led around like a naughty puppy. Before he could voice that complaint aloud, however, they’d reached the doors and 22

Stephani Hecht were out of the bar. As soon as the cool air blasted over his face, more doubt came along with it. He dug his heels in the pea gravel of the parking lot in an attempt to slow things down. Kaleb looked back over at him. “Problems?” “No, I just thought we could talk some more before we got to the good stuff,” Dylan tried, all the while praying that the poor lighting covered his embarrassment. He worried that Kaleb would get pissed and just call the whole thing off. Instead, he gently pulled Dylan into his arms and gave him a soft kiss. “Relax, we’re not going to do anything you don’t want to.” Dylan let out a sigh of relief as he splayed his fingers over Kaleb’s chest. “Thank you. Don’t get me wrong. I really want to do this. It’s just a little overwhelming.” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you,” Kaleb promised. Strangely enough, Dylan believed him. “Where’s your car?” he asked. Kaleb nodded to black, Z71 pickup. “Right there.” Somehow, Dylan didn’t find it too overly surprising the truck had an extended cab. With as fast as Kaleb moved, having a backseat probably came in handy. Kaleb unlocked the passenger side door and all but threw Dylan in before going 23

Priority One around and getting in behind the wheel. Just as he was about to put the key in the ignition, Kaleb paused, then looked over at Dylan. “Are you still sure about this? You look scared enough to piss your pants.” Dylan nervously gnawed on his bottom lip as he thought it over. If he did go home with Kaleb, he knew that someone would probably be having their ass pounded before the night was over. He was also pretty certain that someone would be him. Somehow he didn’t see a big, muscle bound guy like Kaleb bending it over and taking it from some naïve twink who couldn’t even manage to stand on his own frigging feet. Then Dylan realized that if he didn’t do this, he would regret it. For so long he’d been living up to other people’s standards, trying to be someone he wasn’t and having to live with the disappointment when he failed. It would be so good to finally be able to just go with the flow and fulfill his own desires—if only for one night. Dylan gave a smile that probably showed how nervous he felt. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”

24

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

K

aleb had to hand to it the kid. Even though this whole situation obviously scared the hell out of him, he seemed determined to see it through. He jammed the key into the ignition, but still hesitated. While he wanted nothing more than to take Dylan home and introduce him to all kinds of sin, a small part of him felt guilty, too. Which was a completely new emotion for him. Usually, Kaleb would just take guys home, fuck them and not even bother to think twice about it. With Dylan though, it was different and for the life of him, Kaleb couldn’t figure out why. Which meant he should call this whole thing off and just take little Dylan home to his big brother. He started to make that very suggestion when Dylan turned to him. “Can you kiss me again?” Those words coupled with the heated look in Dylan’s green-eyed gaze proved to be Kaleb’s 25

Priority One undoing. He reached over, cupped the back of Dylan’s head and brought the paramedic in for a hard, deep kiss. Before, Dylan had returned his kiss with short, timid moves, not unlike the way he’d worked on scene earlier. Now, however, Dylan kissed with a savage urgency that sent a thrill to Kaleb’s cock. “Somebody is learning fast,” Kaleb praised. “Shut up and give me another one, “Dylan ordered as he fisted one hand in the front of Kaleb’s shirt and pulled him closer So Kaleb gave him another, and then some more after that until they were both making out like a couple of horny teenagers. The windows even began to steam up a bit. When Dylan started to pull at the hem of his shirt, however, Kaleb broke away. “We can’t do this here.” “Why not?” With a dexterity he’d never come close to showing before, Dylan’s hand somehow managed to end up down the front of Kaleb’s pants. “I thought that’s what that big backseat is for.” Kaleb chuckled as he gently removed Dylan’s hand. “Sorry to break it to you, but I don’t think I could even fit back there.” “Oh,” Dylan replied as he studied the area. “It looks big enough to me. Not that I’ve been in that many back seats. Well, I have, but just to go on car rides, not to play around like we’re about to do.” 26

Stephani Hecht Kaleb ignored the comment. He was quickly learning that things were far easier if he simply overlooked some of Dylan’s odd comments and instead, just focused on the main gist of the conversation. “Besides, I don’t think it would be good for either of our careers to be arrested for public indecency.” That comment seemed to garner Dylan’s immediate attention. He jerked his hand away and settled back into the passenger seat. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good. Especially since I’m still on probation because I’m a new hire. The last thing I’d want is to let Lucas down by getting fired right away.” “You mean let him down in other ways other than stealing his license?” Kaleb stretched over and fastened Dylan’s seatbelt. Dylan flashed a look of pure guilt. “You’re not going to tell on me are you?” “Yeah, because that’s what I always do to any medic I find wandering around. Take them home. Fuck them. Then go tattle all their misdeeds to anyone who will listen,” Kaleb drawled as he pulled on his own seatbelt, then started to pull out of the parking lot. Dylan blushed before he looked away, directing his attention out the window. The drive only took a few minutes and blessedly, Dylan kept quiet the rest of the way. While he may be as hot as hell, 27

Priority One even a little cute, his mouth did tend to run on a bit much for Kaleb’s liking. Once he’d pulled into his driveway and turned off the truck, Kaleb saw the reason Dylan had been so silent. He’d been so busy chewing on his bottom lip, the flesh was plump and red. That coupled with the way his eyes were wide and glazed let Kaleb know the younger man was anything but relaxed. So Kaleb helped soothed him the only way he knew how. He undid his seatbelt and leaned in to capture Dylan’s mouth in another kiss. After a few moments, he felt the tension seep from Dylan’s body as he began to return the kiss. Kaleb had to admit the kid was a fast learner. He even thrust his tongue into Kaleb’s mouth in an aggressive way he hadn’t shown before. “How is it someone as hot as you doesn’t have more experience? I would think you’d have all kinds of men stalking you,” Kaleb asked between kisses. “Nobody ever wanted me before.” Dylan undid his own seatbelt and all but crawled onto Kaleb’s lap. “I find it hard to believe that.” Kaleb slid a hand down to cup the curve of Dylan’s ass. Dylan let out a whimper at the contact, but didn’t slow down in the kisses. Kaleb took as a good sign. Of course Dylan did 28

Stephani Hecht keep talking between caresses though. “It’s true. I’ve only had one boyfriend and even he decided I wasn’t worth it in the end.” “Lucky me. His loss is my gain.” Sure the cliché may be old, but it fit the situation. Dylan shrugged, the gesture making him look every bit as young as he was. “If you say so.” Kaleb wondered what had happened to make Dylan think so little of himself. Then just as quickly as that worry came to his mind, Kaleb pushed it away. This was just supposed to be a casual fuck, not an episode of the Bachelor, The Gay Version so he had no business caring about Dylan’s hang-ups. “Let’s get inside before we shock Mrs. Miller into a heart attack.” Kaleb tilted his head to the front window of the house next door. Sure enough, the blinds were parted ever so slightly so the elderly lady could spy on the neighborhood. For some reason that comment affected Dylan more than anything else spoken that night. He jerked back so hard and fast, his head thunked against the passenger side window. “Oh, shoot! I didn’t think of that. Sorry.” “Don’t sweat it. Ever since the leopard bodysuit and glitter incident, it’s pretty much been a give that she already knows I’m gay.” Dylan wrinkled his nose. “Did you just say leopard bodysuit and glitter?” 29

Priority One “Yeah. It’s wasn’t me who was wearing it though, but my friend Julian. He knew about Mrs. Miller’s nasty habit and decided to give her something to really watch. So he got dressed up and danced in my front yard.” Kaleb chuckled at the memory. “No way?” Dylan’s mouth opened slightly in shock. “I’ll bet you were so mad at him.” “Not really.” “But he outed you to the whole neighborhood.” Dylan’s outraged echoed in the closed confines of the truck. “I stopped caring what others thought about me a long time ago. If they don’t like the fact that I’m gay, they can just go fuck off.” Dylan gave a snort of derision. “It’s never that simple.” “Why would you say that? Lucas has never hidden who he is.” “That’s what you think,” Dylan muttered with an unmistakable trace of bitterness in his voice. “Is there something you want to share?” Kaleb cocked a brow. “No, I came here to fuck, not trade life stories. So are we going to do this? Because if not, then I would appreciate it if you took me back to the bar so I can find a guy who is willing,” Dylan retorted angrily. Now it was Kaleb who pulled back in surprise 30

Stephani Hecht as he wondered what had happened to the shy, little virgin who tripped over drunks and babbled for minutes at a stretch. “And just how are you going to manage that? Since you seem to like hiding away in corners so much.” With a snarl that may have been a swear word, Dylan got out the truck, then slammed the door. At first, Kaleb just assumed the brat would be taking off, instead he further shocked Kaleb when he walked up to the porch and waited by the weathered oak front door. He even went so far as to cross his arms over his chest and assume a bored pose. The blatant display of disrespect should have pissed Kaleb off. After all, didn’t that punk know that Kaleb called all the shots as far as hookups went? What made Dylan think he could just waltz into Kaleb’s life and switch everything around? Kaleb grunted. Yes, he should be pissed. Instead though, Dylan’s behavior sent white hot lances of desire shooting through Kaleb. He even let out a moan as he adjusted his pants to give his cock room to grow. He got out of the truck and forced himself to walk slowly to the porch. As he reached the top step, he met the wonderful scent that he’d begun to associate with Dylan. Clean, almost soapy smelling, it made Kaleb want to strip the medic bare so he could find out if every dip and ridge 31

Priority One had that scent. Dylan met him with an angry look that vanished as soon as Kaleb gave him another long, deep, open-mouthed kiss. Even though Dylan had acted angry, the way he instantly melted against Kaleb let him know the younger man still wanted this very much. Fuck…Kaleb had never been one for kissing, but with Dylan it was a whole new experience. From the timid way his hands petted Kaleb’s chest to the way his tongue hesitantly darted out to explore. It all let Kaleb know, that despite his brave words, Dylan felt all the things virgins did the first time—fear, excitement, nervousness and the heady sensation that comes with knowing that you will never be the same again. It brought out a savage need in Kaleb. One that had him wanting to pin Dylan down to the floor and defile him in so many ways. To fuck him so hard that all Dylan felt—all he knew—was Kaleb. Not breaking away from the kiss, Kaleb reached blindly out and unlocked the door. Since he’d lived in the house all his life, he knew the door and deadbolt well, so it only took a moment before he had it open. No words were spoken as he reached out and half-dragged, half-carried Dylan to the bedroom in the back of the house. Along the way, they kicked off their shoes and helped each other out of their 32

Stephani Hecht shirts. Kaleb couldn’t help but let out a low moan of approval at the sight of Dylan’s chest. Thin, but not skinny, he had just the right amount of muscles. Kaleb ran his fingers down Dylan’s sternum, delighting in the way his touch elicited a shiver in response. Dylan gazed up from under the fringe of his dark hair, his eyes dark with passion, his lips wet and swollen oh-so-perfectly. “Let’s get you into bed,” Kaleb said as he eagerly eyed up his large king-sized mattress. **** Before those slightly terrifying words could register in Dylan’s sex-hazed mind, Kaleb had picked him up and tossed him onto the bed. Dylan landed, bounced once and didn’t have time to recover before Kaleb was on top of him. As soon as the warm flesh of Kaleb’s chest touched Dylan’s cool skin, some of the doubts fled. This felt so good, so right that Dylan wondered why he’d waited this long to be with someone else. Then Kaleb grabbed the waistband of Dylan’s jeans and all the anxiety returned. His fear must have shown on his face because Kaleb paused in what he was doing as he gave Dylan a soft, yet still sensual kiss. “Don’t worry. We’ll go slow.” 33

Priority One “Thanks,” Dylan whispered. Kaleb smoothed the hair from Dylan’s brow. “Just close your eyes and let me take care of you.” After a slow nod, Dylan obeyed. Instead of thinking about what they were about to do, he focused on the sensation of Kaleb’s lips as they traveled all over his body. Fan-fucking-tastic. There were no other words to describe the pleasure Kaleb’s mouth brought. Dylan ran his fingers through Kaleb’s blond hair and allowed the desire shooting through his body to wash away that small bit of fear that remained. Damn if Kaleb’s lips didn’t go everywhere, too. They sucked on his chest before moving to his nipples, the hot suction almost making him come. Then Kaleb started to slowly rain kisses down Dylan’s stomach before he paused at the top of his jeans. Lost deep in the passion this time, Dylan felt no fear when he felt the fly of his pants being undone. He even went so far as to lift his hips up some so Kaleb could slide the jeans down, then off. Kaleb mouthed Dylan’s cock through his underwear before he took those off, too, leaving Dylan nude. He had only a few seconds to feel embarrassed before Kaleb started sucking him off. As soon as the velvet, wet heart of Kaleb’s mouth surrounded him, Dylan let out a sharp cry of pleasure. 34

Stephani Hecht “Oh fuck! That’s good,” Dylan yelled as he thrust his cock up. Kaleb grabbed him by the hips to still him, but otherwise didn’t react to Dylan’s outburst. Instead, he continued to suck and lick Dylan’s dick for what seemed like forever before he lifted his head. “Reach into my nightstand drawer for the condoms and lube.” “Lube?” Dylan asked, his voice coming out squeaky from shock and a sudden burst of fear. Not that he shouldn’t have expected that topic to come up eventually, but he’d been hoping to have a little more time to prepare himself. “It’ll be okay. I’ll go really easy,” Kaleb soothed as he ran his tongue over the head of Dylan’s cock. “Fuck, you taste good. I knew as soon as I saw you that your cock would be perfect.” Too jacked up with fear to worry about small talk, Dylan made the yeah-yeah-whatever gesture with his hand. “Did you also say condoms as in plural?” How many times did Kaleb plan on them fucking? If he thought that Dylan would let him invade his ass more than once, than the fireman had been inhaling too much damn smoke. Dylan still reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the requested items. His hands shook so bad that the condom packs flew from his hand, making it look like he’d thrown them at the other man. They hit Kaleb’s chest with a loud, embarrassing 35

Priority One thump. Dylan winced, “Sorry.” The corners of Kaleb’s lips twitched a little. “Will you just relax?” Dylan scowled. That was easy for him to say since he wasn’t the one about to have his ass split. Kaleb stood up and finished stripping. Dylan got too distracted to think of anything else but how damn good the firefighter’s body looked. Tan, hard with enough muscles to make most bodybuilders envious, Kaleb had to have been the hottest guy Dylan had ever seen. Even his cock was a work of perfection. Thick and long, it curved toward his stomach. Despite the dim lights of the bedroom, Dylan could see the drop of pre-cum lingering at the tip. Dylan licked his lips as he wondered what it would be like to be the sucker instead of the suckee, how it would feel to have another man’s cock in his mouth. Before he had a chance to sit up so he could find out, Kaleb climbed back on the bed and straddled Dylan’s legs. He grabbed the bottle of lubricant and Dylan’s heart raced as he watched the fireman crack open the cap and squeeze some of the thick liquid out. “I thought I told you to keep your eyes closed,” Kaleb gently admonished. “Sorry.” Dylan gasped as he felt Kaleb’s cool grip on his cock. “Stop apologizing and just follow my 36

Stephani Hecht directions.” Dylan nearly apologized again, but Kaleb silenced him by grabbing his cock. Pleasure ripped through Dylan as Kaleb’s strong grip quickly brought him to the edge. “What about you?” he moaned. “Don’t worry about me. In a couple more minutes, all that’s going to be taken care of when I’m pounding into your tight ass.” Even though Kaleb had brought up the whole anal sex issue again, this time Dylan didn’t feel nearly the same amount of anxiety as before. Maybe it was because the hand job felt so good and it had made him oblivious to anything else. Or it could have been the sincere look in Kaleb’s eyes moments ago when he’s promised to go slow and easy. Whatever the reason, Dylan found himself letting out a long moan as he started to slowly pump his cock into Kaleb’s fist. Kaleb had used some of the lube on Dylan’s erection so it made for a smooth ride. While it felt cold at first, the lube eventually warmed up and added to the pleasure. Then Dylan panicked as he realized it as almost too much pleasure. “If you don’t go slower I’m going to come,” he warned before he bit his bottom lip. “No, you won’t, you have better control than that.” Dylan opened his eyes so he could see if Kaleb 37

Priority One actually had been serious when he’d made that proclamation. Expecting to see a smirk, he was totally unprepared to see the tender, almost caring expression softening the hard lines of Kaleb’s face. “I’m going to start getting you stretched to take me,” Kaleb said. “Is that okay with you?” Well, that took care of the too-close-to-orgasm issue because a fresh wave a nerves all but ruined the moment. Then he reminded himself of Kaleb’s promises and Dylan realized that, yes it was okay with him. More than that, he suddenly felt a bit eager. He gave a short nod, then closed his eyes again. Even though he knew it was coming, Dylan still jumped a bit when he felt the cold, slickness of Kaleb’s finger at the entrance to his ass. “Take a deep breath and relax your body,” Kaleb advised. Dylan obeyed, filling his lungs and slowly releasing them. At the same time, Kaleb slid in one finger. It stung a bit, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Dylan had feared. He even let out a few moans of pleasure as Kaleb started to pump in and out. “Are you ready for another one?” Kaleb quizzed as he started to use his free hand to stroke Dylan’s cock again. “Yes,” Dylan hissed. The stretching and burning sensation in his ass grew as Kaleb slid in a second finger, but the pleasure also increased. 38

Stephani Hecht Then Kaleb did a strange twisting move with his wrist and Dylan nearly came off the bed it felt so good. “What was that?” he yelled as he thrust his ass against Kaleb’s hand. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you how good it was to have your prostate stroked?” Dylan shook his head as he wiggled his hips in an attempt to get Kaleb’s fingers to touch that special spot again. “I don’t know much of anything since this is all new to me.” Kaleb added a third finger, his hand working Dylan’s cock faster. “So Lucas didn’t have the whole Joy-of-Gay-Sex talk with you?” “No, he wasn’t around to do it.” Dylan swallowed hard. “Are you going to fuck me soon?” Since he still had his eyes closed, he couldn’t see Kaleb’s reaction, but did hear the amused chuckle. “Aren’t you the eager one?” “I just need to know for sure.” “What? That you’re gay? Since your cock is in another man’s hand and you’re loving every fucking minute of it, I’d say that you already have the answer to that one.” “Okay, than how about you do it because I feel like I’m about to bust from my skin if I don’t get to come soon,” Dylan panted. “That’s a much better reason,” Kaleb crooned as he moved his fingers. “Turn over on your stomach 39

Priority One for me.” As soon as Dylan obeyed, Kaleb grabbed his hips, then lifted. Dylan let out a short gasp as he found himself nearly on his hands and knees. The sound of the condom wrapper being open filled the room. Then he felt the pressure of Kaleb’s cock at his hole. Remembering his earlier lesson, Dylan took in a slow, deep breath and forced his body to loosen up. It still hurt like a mother scratcher, but it was a bearable pain. He fisted his hands tight into the sheets and instead thought about how nice Kaleb’s caresses felt and the soft, soothing words the firefighter whispered. Before he knew it, every inch of Kaleb’s cock was inside him. “Hell, Dylan, you feel like a fucking dream,” Kaleb moaned as he ran his hand over the small of Dylan’s back. No more words were spoken as Kaleb began to move in and out. He started slow at first, which allowed Dylan time to get adjusted to the hard, thickness filling him. Soon the pain ebbed to give way to pleasure and Dylan found himself letting out small mewls of pleasure that were punctuated by Kaleb’s thrusts. How could he have ever thought this was wrong? Every touch, push, kiss felt so good—so right. Now he understood why Matt and Lucas spent so much time locked up in their bedroom. If 40

Stephani Hecht every time felt half as fantastic as what Kaleb was doing to him now, then Dylan wondered why they ever left the bed at all. Just when he didn’t think it could get any better, Kaleb reached between them and began to stroke Dylan’s cock. At the same time, he started to repeatedly peg that sweet spot in his ass. A tingling started in Dylan’s spine and he knew he only had seconds left before he came. He tried to hold back. Kaleb leaned down and whispered, “I want to hear you scream my name.” So that’s what Dylan did. He threw back his head and yelled so loud it echoed through the room. At the same time, he came—thick, ribbons of semen shooting off into Kaleb’s hand. Kaleb let out a low moan as he found his release, too. After a few heartbeats, he bent down to give Dylan’s jaw a kiss. “Are there any more doubts about who you are?” Dylan shook his head. “I think they died somewhere during the time you were fucking the snot out of me.” The strange thing was, even with everything he’d gone through in the past few months, for the first time the thought that he was gay didn’t bother him.

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Chapter Four

K

aleb stood in his bathroom and stared at his reflection as he thought over the complicated situation he’d gotten into. Glaring at his own reflection, he started to give himself a thorough ass chewing. You just had to fuck Lucas’s brother, didn’t you? Would it have killed you to, for once in your life, keep your goddamn dick in your pants? Noooooo, you just had to take it out for a walk and now look what you’ve gotten yourself into. And with a virgin no less. You know how clingy they tend to be. He let out a frustrated, pissed-at-self growl as he ran his hands through his hair. This had to be one of the stupidest things he’d ever done. How was he going to handle it when Dylan asked him when they could see each other again? Not that the kid wasn’t cute as hell or anything. It’s just that Kaleb didn’t do relationships. Which meant he was going to break Dylan’s heart and make a whole bunch of people pissed in the process. 42

Stephani Hecht While he wasn’t overly close with the St. Michael’s group, they’d always been friendly with one another. In a macho career where it was hard to gay, he needed all the friends he could get, too. Now he’d gone and blown it by breaking in the young virgin of their gang. Since he knew he couldn’t put it off all night and leave Dylan hanging, Kaleb left the safety of the bathroom. When he got to the bedroom, he was a bit surprised to see Dylan already dressed and trying up his tennis shoes. He must have heard Kaleb walking in because he looked up with that cute-as-hell grin of his. “Oh good, there you are.” And here it begins. Dylan continued, “I wanted to thank you before I left, but you were taking so long I was about to just leave you a note.” Kaleb paused. That hadn’t been what he’d expected to hear. “You’re leaving?” Even as he reminded himself that’s exactly what he wanted, too, Kaleb still felt a little stung that Dylan could just blow him off like that. Dylan gave a one-armed shrug. “Sure, no reason for me to stay.” Again Kaleb had to remind himself that Dylan leaving was a good thing. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk of an attachment developing. Still, this had to be a first. Kaleb had never been on 43

Priority One the receiving end of an I’ll-call-you-in-themorning and that was what this was beginning to feel like. “Okay, just give me a minute and I’ll drive you back to your car,” Kaleb said as he started to search around for the rest of his clothes. “No need. I’ve already called a cab.” Kaleb froze. “You did?” “Yeah, like I said, I really need to get going.” “Do you have to work tomorrow or something?” Damn, how many kicks to his ego was this kid planning on delivering. “Nope, I’m off this weekend.” Dylan stepped forward and shook Kaleb’s hand like they’d just conducted a business deal instead of gotten nasty between the sheets. Dumbstruck, Kaleb dully returned the handshake. “Are you sure—” Dylan cut him off. “Look, not to be rude, but I’m not looking for a relationship or anything. I just needed some help with my situation.” That little shit! And since when did someone refer to their former virginity as a situation? A honk sounded from outside. “That’s my cab.” Dylan hooked a thumb toward the door. Before Kaleb could respond, Dylan left without so much a backward glance. For several moments, Kaleb just stood there in open-mouthed astonishment. 44

Stephani Hecht

**** Dylan unlocked the door, before he slowly opened it, careful not to make a sound. Since the lights to the apartment were off, Matt and Lucas must have gone to bed for the night and the last thing Dylan wanted was to wake them up and face a whole bunch of questions. While he felt grateful for everything they had done for him, sometimes Lucas could be a little too overprotective. He set his keys on the counter and had just started to kick off his shoes when the light by the couch turned on and he found himself locked in Lucas’s angry glare. “Where in the hell have you been?” “Out,” Dylan replied vaguely. “Were you alone?” Lucas pressed. Dylan sighed. There were times when it sucked being the baby of the family and this was definitely one of them. “Not exactly.” “Who was it?” “Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but it was some firefighter named Kaleb.” Lucas let out a loud curse as he sprang to his feet. “Please tell me that you’re just fucking with me.” “What’s the big deal? We’re both adults.” “I should have known. Matt told me about the 45

Priority One spectacle you made of yourself today on scene.” Dylan snorted as he walked to the fridge. “Did you just say spectacle? You sound like Dad.” He grabbed a beer before he slammed the door shut. Just as quick, Lucas reached out and snatched the cold bottle from Dylan’s hand. “I’m trying to be serious here. You need to stay away from Kaleb.” “It’s none of your business who I fuck.” Dylan tried to leave the kitchen, but Lucas put a hand in the center of his chest to stay him. “That’s just it. With Kaleb, all you’ll ever be is a fuck buddy at most. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ever be anything more to him.” “Good, because that’s all I want, too.” Dylan almost smirked at Lucas’s open-mouthed shocked reaction. Then he remembered how it had been Lucas who had taken him in when their father kicked him out and Dylan softened. “I know you’re just trying to watch out for me, but you don’t have to. The last thing I want is a relationship. I already learned my lesson on that the hard way.” “Did someone hurt you?” Lucas asked softly. A bitter laugh worked its way past the lump in Dylan’s throat. “Again, something that’s none of your damn business.” “Why are you being so hostile? I’m just trying to help you?” 46

Stephani Hecht And just as quickly, the anger came back in full force. “I don’t want your help now. I learned long ago that I couldn’t count on you for that.” The angry outburst was out before Dylan could censor it. He closed his eyes as he wished the words back, but going by the shocked gasp coming from Lucas, they had been heard loud and clear. “How can you say that after I took you in and helped your life back on track when Dad kicked you out?” “Because you weren’t there for me when he found out. When he…” Dylan trailed off, unwilling to relive that horrible moment. “You left and you didn’t even once look back or think about how hard it was for me to survive without you,” Dylan yelled. “While you were safe here in Flint with your fantastic life, your fantastic career and your even more fantastic lover, I was stuck with him and his hate. Did you ever fucking once think of me? Wonder if I was okay?” Lucas let out a small sound of distress. “Of course I did. I thought of you every day.” “No you didn’t. Because if you had, there is no way you could have left me behind in that kind of hell.” Shaking away the bad memories, he brushed by Lucas and retreated to the safety of his bedroom.

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Chapter Five

T

he first thing Kaleb did the following day was drive to his buddy Ben’s house. The two of them had been long time friends even before they had started working for Flint Fire. Over the years, they had only grown closer as they faced numerous bad calls and fires together. What’s more, even though he was straight, Ben had never judged Kaleb for being gay. Aside from Justin, the guy had to be the one Kaleb trusted the most. So, it would only seem natural that Kaleb could come to him for help. The only problem was Ben wasn’t the one who would have the answers to the questions nagging Kaleb. Ben’s wife, Janet, on the other hand would. When Ben opened the front door, Kaleb didn’t waste any time. “Is Janet here?” Ben blinked a few times. “Sure, is something wrong?” “I just need to ask her a few questions.” They walked inside to the small house to the kitchen. Kaleb had always liked the couple’s 48

Stephani Hecht homey, country style home. While he’d personally never want to decorate his entire place with checks, chickens and roosters, Janet seemed to make it work. The small, petite blonde, blue-eyed nurse was the complete opposite of her dark-haired, brown eyed, mass of a husband, but like the house, they somehow fit perfectly. She still had her blue scrubs on as she stood in front of the stove, stirring something. “Hey you!” she beamed up at him. He went over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “When are you going to get sick of the big meathead and run away with me?” “Are you talking to me or Ben?” Janet teased back, completing the same exchange they always shared. “Sit down and eat some dinner with us.” “Okay, but I have to leave right after.” He planned on going to the bar in the hopes that Dylan would show up again. All night and day long, Kaleb had been unable to get the visual of the man’s dark hair, green eyes and sweet ass out of his mind. “Big plans for tonight?” Janet cocked a brow at him. “I hope so,” he answered honestly. Unfortunately, given his past, she took that the wrong way. With a soft tsking noise, she gave him a playful swat on the chest. 49

Priority One “You are such a slut.” Instead of correcting her, he took a seat at the table. When she brought over a bowl of her famous chili, a grin spread out over his face. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” “No, but you can start now.” He took a bite and almost moaned in bliss. Janet had to be the best cook in all of Genesee County. “Kaleb said he needed to talk to you,” Ben said as he took the seat opposite of Kaleb. “Me?” Janet pointed to her chest. “Yeah, you still work with Lucas Harris, don’t you?” Kaleb started. Janet narrowed her eyes at him. “Yes, I do and he’s in a happily committed relationship with Matt, so you if you have something for him, forget it now.” “No, I was more interested in knowing some information about his brother, Dylan.” She let out a gasp of outrage. “I do know one thing. You better keep your hands off that one. Not only is he too young for you, but Lucas is very overprotective of him. If he finds out someone, especially you, is even looking cross-eyed at Dylan, Lucas will lose it.” Kaleb didn’t say anything, just fiddled with his spoon, but the silence must have damned him because Janet reached over and jerked his bowl away. 50

Stephani Hecht “Please, tell me you have not already gotten your claws into that sweet boy.” “Hey,” Kaleb protested, “That sweet boy used Lucas’s ID to sneak into Pandora’s last night. Then after I took him home and fu…slept with him, the brat just walked out on me like it was no big deal.” Janet studied his face several seconds before the corners of her mouth twitched. “You mean for once it was you who got the don’t-call-me-I’ll-callyou?” “He even shook my hand on the way out and thanked me for helping him get rid of that pesky virginity of his,” Kaleb replied with a sarcastic smile, surprised he’d actually revealed so much. After another pause of silence, both Janet and Ben burst out laughing. Feeling a bit betrayed, Kaleb ground his teeth as he waited of them to finish. Lucky duck he was, that took several, long, embarrassing minutes. By the end, Janet even had to wipe away tears of mirth. “So let me get this right. Super Stud Kaleb actually had sex with someone and it didn’t rock their socks off. Then that same unimpressed bed partner walked out without even a second glance?” She giggled as she slid his bowl back in front of him. “Here you go, sweetie, something tells me you need this to help wash away your sorrows.” 51

Priority One Kaleb ate a few more bites before he finally got his nerve back up. “So, what do you know about him?” Janet shrugged. “Not much really because he hasn’t shared with anyone, not even Lucas. All I’m certain of is that one day he showed up at Lucas’s. Their father had kicked him out because Dylan confessed to being gay.” “So he never mentioned being in a relationship prior coming to Flint?” Janet shook her head. “Not as far as I heard. Why would you worry about that? The last I knew all you cared about was what went on inside the bedroom and to hell with the rest.” Because when I saw that brief flicker of hurt in his eyes as he mentioned not wanting to get into a relationship, it bothered me way more than it should have. “No special reason.” Janet knew him too well to be fooled, however, and reached across the table and took his hand. “Oh, my God. You like him. I mean, really, really like him.” “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only know him a day. He means nothing to me.” But even as Kaleb spoke that denial, he knew it was a big, fat lie because Dylan had touched him a way no other ever had before. **** 52

Stephani Hecht

Dylan tossed back his shot and indicated to the bartender that he wanted another. As soon as the small glass got set in front of it, Dylan grabbed that and finished it off, too. “You keep that up and you’re going to be drunk before midnight.” Dylan couldn’t hold back a smile at the familiar voice. “How’s it going, Kaleb?” The blond fireman looked better than ever with a pair of just-tight-enough jeans and plain white tshirt. Kaleb leaned against the bar and eyed up the empty shot glass. “Still using Lucas’s ID I see?” “It’s not like he needs it.” Dylan shrugged. “He didn’t even notice it was missing.” “How about a misplaced brother? Do you think he knows about that?” Kaleb cocked his brow in a sardonic way that made him look even sexier. Despite his vow not to get too attached to the man, a warm buzz went through Dylan, especially when Kaleb moved in so close Dylan could feel the heat of his body. “Why should Lucas start noticing me now?” Dylan asked as he signaled for another drink. Since the bartender had been eyeing Dylan all evening, his request was filled in record time. Dylan raised the shot glass to his lips. Kaleb demanded, “What in the hell are you 53

Priority One drinking?” “Oatmeal Cookie shots,” Dylan replied before he tossed it back. Kaleb jerked the empty glass from him and slammed it on the top of the bar. “I should have guessed.” Dylan grinned at him, not feeling one ounce of embarrassment. “What can I say? I like sweets.” “I’m sure you do.” Kaleb grabbed him by the hand and tugged. “Come on. Dance with me.” Even though he knew it would be a mistake, Dylan allowed himself to be led to the center of the dance floor. Once there though, Kaleb spun Dylan around so they were back to chest instead of the more traditional cheek-to-cheek that Dylan had been expecting. “What are you doing?” he demanded somewhat nervously. “Just close your eyes and relax.” Dylan let out a soft chuckle. “You seem to be always telling me to do that.” “That’s because I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than the look of pure bliss on your face when you do so. Just like I’ve never heard anything hotter than the little satisfied sigh you make when you give in to passion. It’s a like a dream come true,” Kaleb murmured into Dylan’s ear. A low moan slipped past Dylan’s parted lips as he obeyed, allowing his eyelids to flutter shut as 54

Stephani Hecht he gave over to the sensation of Kaleb’s body pressed against him, the soft caresses the fireman left behind as his hands began to wander. Dylan even allowed his head to loll back onto Kaleb’s shoulder. “You know what I want?” Kaleb said as one hand reached down to rub against Dylan’s erection. “World peace?” Dylan teased before he groaned. “No, I want to take you home and fuck you. This time I want to do it all night, too. I want to screw you so many times that when you finally do leave in the morning, all you’ll be able to think about is how damn good it felt to have me inside your tight, little ass.” A shiver went through Dylan at that declaration. Really, who in their right mind would be able to refuse a request like that? “Yes,” he panted as he rolled his hips in one lazy circle. “Yes, what?” Kaleb pressed. “Yes, I want you to take me home and fuck the ever living snot out of me.” “And when are you going to leave?” Dylan almost whimpered in protest when Kaleb moved his hand away. “I’ll stay until the morning this time. I swear,” Dylan all but sobbed. He had been so close to coming before Kaleb had moved his hand that it 55

Priority One had reached a point of near pain. Kaleb gave a triumphant chuckle before he grabbed Dylan by the right wrist and all but dragged him outside. Once they got to the car, Kaleb hardly gave Dylan time to get in and buckle up before he pulled out of the parking lot. Luckily for them, the trip was short and before Dylan knew it, they were back at Kaleb’s house. They had barely got through the front door when Kaleb pinned Dylan face first into the wall of the foray and started to nuzzle his neck. “I’m going to do you here first,” Kaleb promised as he reached around Dylan to undo his pants. “Yes, please,” Dylan whimpered as the pants were roughly shoved down to his ankles. He trembled as he heard the sound of the condom package being ripped open. There were just a few moments of preparation before he felt the head of Kaleb’s cock pushing in. This time the pain lasted just a few brief moments before the pleasure took over. “Tell me this doesn’t feel right,” Kaleb challenged as he started to slowly thrust inside Dylan. “Can’t,” Dylan moaned as he curled his fingers against the wall. Fuck. Dylan realized he was playing with fire—pun intended. With each thrust, caress and touch, he could feel his 56

Stephani Hecht connection to Kaleb growing. It became so intense that when he came, Dylan didn’t even attempt to hold back. He yelled Kaleb’s name as thick waves of cum painted his stomach and the wall. After two more thrusts, Kaleb moaned his name in return as he came, too. After they both took a few minutes to catch their breath, Kaleb pressed a kiss to the nape of Dylan’s neck. “Finished getting undressed because I’m far from done with you.”

57

Priority One

Chapter Six

A

s they rushed to the call, going priority one, lights and sirens, Dylan mused on how much his life had changed in the past four weeks. Not only was he running calls as an equal partner now, instead of being a probationary third, but he was also in an actual frigging relationship since he and Kaleb had been spending every spare moment together. It had reached the point where even Lucas had accepted the two were a pair and had even begrudgingly gone out with them a few times. Of course, it had been to a simple restaurant because he’d finally discovered his missing license and confiscated it—buzzkill that he was. His partner, a tall, slightly overweight brunette named Sue, grinned wickedly once they neared the scene and were met with several big red trucks. “Why, would you look at that? Fire is already here.” Dylan felt a slight heat come over his cheeks. Since the EMS community could be small at times, 58

Stephani Hecht everyone knew about him and Kaleb. For the most part most of them were okay with it, Sue being one of them. In fact, she quite often demanded Dylan give her very explicit details of his more personal moments with Kaleb. “And look at that, there’s also two cars that are smashed to hell. Gee, I wonder if maybe that’s what we’re actually here for?” Dylan drawled as he blinked innocently at her. “Well, just make sure you don’t start drooling again and trip over another patient,” Sue returned sweetly. Dylan’s face plant had also been a big topic of discussion amongst the medics and firemen. So much so that a good portion of them didn’t call Dylan by his name, instead using the nickname, Trippy. He pulled on a pair of gloves as he quickly assessed the scene. Two vehicles stood several feet apart, both of them had their front ends completely caved in. It came as no shock that the smaller of the cars, a red Chevy Aveo, had the most damage. Another ambulance crew was already on scene the medic, Bud, waved Dylan over. One of the older paramedics in the company, he’d never made it a secret that he didn’t exactly like Dylan. “What’s going on?” he asked as he approached. “We have a case of small ass car meets with big 59

Priority One truck,” Bud jerked his head over to the other vehicle, a blue Ford F-250. “We’re getting ready to transport the guy from the truck, but there is still one patient trapped in the Aveo. Fire is going to have to cut her out. That’s where you come in. You’re going to have to crawl in there and hold CSpine until they get her out.” Bud’s request made perfect sense. Since the patient could very well have a spinal injury, the sooner someone could hold manual traction on her neck the better. When Dylan had been taking his medic’s course, they had mentioned on occasion where this very situation might arise. He had just never imagined it would be him that would have to crawl through a mangled car. “Why me?” he asked even as he took off his belt. Since it had several pieces of medical equipment strapped to it, there would be a good chance of something getting caught. Bud smirked as he rubbed his generous gut. “Because you’re the smallest one here. Even your female partner has more of a build than you.” As much as Dylan hated to admit it, Bud did have a point. While he wasn’t as small as Lucas, he did have the thinnest body there. “God, this sucks.” “You outta know,” Bud sneered. Dylan flipped him off and went over to the car. Fire already had wrenched both doors off and he 60

Stephani Hecht climbed through the passenger side one. He wiggled his body through the back seat so he could get behind the patient on the driver’s side. “Who’s that?” the patient called. Dylan cursed under his breath when he saw it was a young girl who looked barely old enough to drive. Her large brown eyes were wet with tears and she had glass and blood sprinkled in her mass of brown curls. “Make sure to keep looking forward,” Dylan quickly ordered. “I’m a paramedic and I’m coming in to keep you company while the firefighters get you out of here.” She obeyed, keeping facing forward. “Are they going to use the Jaws of Life? I saw a video about that in my driving class.” Dylan twisted his body to get into position and let out a low hiss as a sharp pain sliced through his lower back. “Yeah, the equipment is pretty loud, too, so don’t let that worry you. What’s your name?” “Theresa,” she replied, her voice trembling. “I’m Dylan and I want you just to relax, sweetie. I’m not going anywhere until they get you out of here and then we’ll get you to the hospital.” “I’m scared.” “I know you are and that’s okay. Nobody is going to blame you for that. Can you tell me 61

Priority One where you hurt the most?” “My legs. Oh God, are they going to be okay? I have my ballet recital next week.” The tears were now freely falling down her blood-streaked cheeks. Dylan craned to look at her legs and had to hide the wince of sympathy as he saw the way the dash was digging into her flesh. Until they got her fully out, he wouldn’t know the full extent of her injuries, but he’d be willing to bet that she wouldn’t be dancing any time soon. “Why don’t we just focus on getting you out of the car first and then we can worry about all that other stuff later on.” He finally got close enough to reach out and put a hand on either side of her head, thus holding manual C-Spine. His lower back continued to throb and he silently berated his body for picking this moment to get a cramp. A loud curse from outside the car grabbed his attention. Dylan looked over in time to see Kaleb approaching. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kaleb demanded as he leaned over to meet Dylan’s gaze. “Yoga,” Dylan deadpanned, earning a weak giggle from Theresa. “You could get hurt,” Kaleb snapped. “Then you guys better hurry up and get us out of here.” Dylan let out a long-suffering sigh, not 62

Stephani Hecht understanding why Kaleb had to make such a big issue out this. Any other medic would have done the same thing. “Then Bud should have dragged his fat ass back there. Why did it have to be you?” “Because it’s my job,” Dylan defended. “We’ll talk about this later,” Kaleb promised before he moved away. “Is he your boyfriend or something?” Theresa asked, her voice hesitant. Dylan thought for a few moments. Was Kaleb his boyfriend? Sure they’d been seeing each other for the past four weeks, but did that mean they’d fallen into—gasp—that kind of a monogamous relationship? Then Dylan realized how, somewhere along that time, he’d let down his guard and slowly became used to having Kaleb around. So much so that Dylan didn’t think he’d be able to manage without having the fireman in his life. “Yeah, he is,” Dylan admitted, glad Theresa couldn’t see the sure-to-be dopey grin on his face. “Lucky,” she sang out softly. “I guess I am.” “I was talking about him being the lucky one. You’re hot.” Before he could respond to that stunning compliment, another fireman came over and draped a heavy blanket over them. The equipment 63

Priority One was loud and he could tell by the way she trembled the noise unsettled Theresa. Dylan did his best to calm her, first by speaking soothing words and later, by her request, singing show tunes. As if that didn’t make him a stereotypical gay man. Bud would be so pleased to see him live up to those Neanderthal expectations. Even after they had cut off the entire roof of the car, he couldn’t let go of C-Spine. It wasn’t until she had been secured to the backboard and head blocked that Dylan finally could let go. He winced as the blood returned to his cramped hands and shoulders as he crawled out of the car. When he tried to stand straight, the pain in his lower back returned full force. Letting out a low hiss of pain, he went to touch it. Since he still had gloves on, he couldn’t feel much, but oddly enough, the fabric of his shirt seemed heavier than normal. Bringing his hand back around, he stared down in horror as he saw fresh blood covering the latex. A lot of blood and all of it his. He tried to call out for help as his vision started to swim. All that came out was a small gag, however. He swayed slightly on his feet. At the same time, he tried to give himself an internal shakedown. It was just blood for fuck’s sake and it’s not like he didn’t encounter that every day on the job. Just because this time the blood happened 64

Stephani Hecht to be his, shouldn’t make a difference. But it did. All of the sudden he felt transported back several months. To that day when he’d been curled up on the ground, at his father’s mercy. He even felt the pain from having his ribs and head kicked in. Smelled the puddle of blood that had surrounded him, seeping into the rug of his bedroom. “Shit, babe, are you okay?” Kaleb asked as he rushed over. Dylan blinked stupidly at him before he managed to shake his head. Then the darkness overtook him and Dylan knew no more. “I still can’t believe you fainted. Who ever heard of a paramedic being afraid of blood?” Gladys huffed as she finished bandaging Dylan’s wound. Dylan shot the mean spirited woman a jaded look. Sitting on the edge of one of the ER beds, he’d never felt more embarrassed or ashamed. Plus, as if his day hadn’t been bad enough, he’d drawn the short straw and had pulled the bitch of St. Michael’s as his nurse. Even if she hadn’t nearly gotten Lucas killed a few months back with her incompetence, Dylan would have found it hard to name one redeeming quality about the lady. Everything about her screamed mean. From the 65

Priority One way she styled her red hair in a severe bun to the way she always put her hands on her ample hips when talking down to others. Even her scrubs seemed mean, being a plain maroon. No cartoon characters or happy puppies on her clothes. That would make her almost human. “Where’s Lucas?” Dylan asked, working hard to keep his voice pleasant. “He’s helping another patient. Just because his brother got a scratch, then fainted like a little girl doesn’t mean he should be able to drop everything and shirk his responsibilities to the real patients.” Dylan finally gave into his childish urge and flipped the woman off. It only seemed to fuel her hatred though. “You’re lucky Kaleb was certified in first aid so he could take over and help transport the patient to the hospital. If he hadn’t of been there, God knows how long it would have taken another ambulance crew to show up.” He fumed over those words for a few minutes until he realized something. As Queen Bitch, Gladys had faced so much anger and spiteful statements herself, he wondered how she would react if someone tried a different approach. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he decided to test his theory. “Do you know how my dad found out I was gay?” Gladys snorted. “He caught you listening to 66

Stephani Hecht Judy Garland?” Dylan forced himself to ignore that comment as he continued, “He discovered me kissing a guy named Clayton. It wasn’t even that much of a kiss. No tongues were involved and we both kept our hands to ourselves, but it set my dad off into a rage for two reasons. Number one, he had said he’d be damned if he’d be shamed by having another gay son like Lucas, and secondly, Clayton was the son of our pastor.” Gladys shot him a what-the-fuck-do-I-care look, but otherwise kept silent. Dylan took that as a sign that maybe he was getting through so he continued, “My father threw Clayton out and then came back upstairs and proceeded to kick my head and ribs in. By the time he was done with me, I couldn’t see out of one eye because it was swollen so bad and he’d broken my nose.” If he hadn’t been mistaken, he could have sworn he heard Gladys gasp in shock. “Where was your mother? Didn’t she try to stop it?” Dylan snorted. “Stop it? She stood in the doorway and urged him on. Then she packed up all my clothes and told me never to come back. That was after she bitched me out for staining the rug with my blood.” “That’s why you freaked out today, isn’t it? The sight of your own blood made you remember that 67

Priority One incident,” Gladys took a couple of steps closer. “Yeah, I guess I’m still not completely over it.” Dylan gave a dry laugh. “Don’t ask me why I’m telling you all this. I haven’t even told Lucas. I crashed at a friend’s and healed up for a couple of weeks before I came to Flint.” “So why are you sharing this with me?” Gladys shook her head, her brow wrinkled in confusion. “Because I wanted to let you know that I realize what it’s like not to have anyone to go to. How it feels to be alone with only anger and hate for company. While I should despise you for what happened with Lucas, I’ve decided instead to reach out and offer you the one thing I think you need the most.” “What? A sad story that will bring me down for the rest of the day?” “No, a friend. Something tells me you need that more than my hatred.” She pulled a face. “As if some punk brat like you knows what I need.” She started to storm from the room, but paused at the doorway for several beats as she seemed to be going over some internal debate. “You should really tell Lucas all this. If for nothing else, to help you heal. You deserve that.” She brushed past Kaleb on her way out. Dylan swallowed nervously as he wondered how much the firefighter had overhead. 68

Stephani Hecht “She’s right. You should tell Lucas,” Kaleb said as he walked into the room. “You heard all that?” “Yeah.” “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it was impolite to snoop like that?” Dylan didn’t feel angry though. In a way, it came as a relief that Kaleb now knew the truth. Kaleb crossed the room, cupped the back of Dylan’s neck and tilted his face down until their foreheads pressed together. “You were waiting for him, weren’t you? Those few weeks you crashed at a friend’s, between the beating and coming to live with Lucas. It wasn’t so you could heal, it was because you wanted Clayton to come to you.” Dylan thought about denying it, but in the end, went with the truth, “Yeah, and that just shows what a pathetic loser I am because he never came. I thought he cared for me and in the end, he just left me hanging with nothing but scars and a broken heart. He didn’t even have the decency to leave me a fuck-off voicemail.” For the first time as he thought about that time in his life, Dylan didn’t have that dull ache in his chest. All that mattered was the tender way Kaleb now held him. “Are you still waiting for him? If Clayton were to come to you today, would you go back to him?” Kaleb demanded. Dylan found himself locked in Kaleb’s dark69

Priority One eyed gaze. The raw emotion, the vulnerability he saw there made him do something he’d never thought he’d be able to again. He gave over his heart. “No, it’s not him that I want anymore.” “What do you want?” Kaleb would have to make him say it. Talking in a deep breath, Dylan blurted, “I want you.” He steeled himself, praying that he hadn’t just made a huge mistake. After all, he and Kaleb had only been seeing each other a few weeks and no promises had ever been spoken. Then Kaleb captured his lips in a soft, sensual kiss and all of Dylan’s fears evaporated. “You have me, babe because, despite your overactive mouth and the way you can’t seem to walk across a room without tripping, I love you,” Kaleb declared once they’d broken apart. For the first time in over a year, Dylan had real hope. Something he’d thought had died that horrible day in his bedroom. Reaching out, he ran the pad of his thumb over Kaleb’s bottom lip. “I love you, too.”

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About the Author Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book.