Sexual Games [The Heroes of Silver Springs 8] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Tonya Ramagos

pushed away from his desk. She didn’t reach for him, didn’t try to stop him, but he saw a flash of anger move through her angelic face.
    “You’re a pompous ass, Jack.” She slid off the desk and straightened her skirt, her movements jerky.
    Yes, I am. Calling on that part of him was the only thing that kept his head straight around her. “It’s been a long night, Mal. Are you going to give me a ride home or do I need to call a cab?”
    “Kick you out at the curb is what I should do.” Her heels clacked angrily on the tiled floor as she headed for the door.
    “At least I’ll be that much closer to home.”

Chapter Three
     
    “We’ve officially lost our minds.” Thaddeus’s gaze climbed the five-story tower where the firefighter challenge would take place for the next three days, and his gut did a funky little dance. He remembered watching the firefighter challenge as a kid, the intense longing that had overcome him to be out there, to be a part of it. It had taken him twenty years to get here, but tomorrow that dream would come true.
    “Aw, come on.” Terri gave his shoulder a playful slap. “You’re not intimidated, are you?”
    Thaddeus slid her a look. She’d dressed in a pair of short denim shorts, tennis shoes, and a pink and black polka-dot blouse. With her short bob of blonde ringlets, she looked like a sixteen-year-old school girl rather than a twenty-eight-year-old kick-ass firefighter/EMT.
    “And you aren’t?” He watched as her attention did the same slow climb up the tower his had done seconds before.
    She pursed her lips when her gaze reached the top and slowly nodded. “Yeah, okay, maybe a little. Good thing neither of us is afraid of heights.”
    “Nah, can’t say it wouldn’t be more fun to jump from the top, though. You know, as long as there’s a safety net waiting on the ground to catch us.”
    Terri barked a laugh. “You can be such an adrenaline junky sometimes.”
    Thaddeus lifted a brow. “Aren’t most firefighters?”
    “Well, yeah.” She stabbed a finger into his bicep. “What you have to remember, Road Runner, is to hit each and every step on your way back down that thing.”
    “Details, details.” Thaddeus grinned, but he knew she was right. The tower consisted of six sets of stairs, each with ten steps. The rules stated he could take those steps two at a time while carrying the forty-two pound, one-hundred feet of coiled hose on the way up, but he had to hit each tread while holding onto both handrails on either side on his way down or he would be penalized. During practice, he’d often gotten ahead of himself, especially when he neared the bottom. The instinct to jump over the final few steps to the ground took over without thought.
    That simply meant he had to think. Okay, no biggie there.
    “Details that will cause us to lose precious seconds, Vegister.”
    Thaddeus saw her gaze move over the rest of the course. The Firefighter Combat Challenge course had been set up on the grounds of the Waterston Coliseum, cordoned off from the spectator stands on either side. Food and memorabilia booths were scattered about the perimeter, waiting to serve the crowd.
    “We’ve trained for this, all of it. We’re awesome. You know we’re ready. We’ve got this licked, my fruity partner.”
    Her confidence was inspiring. Thaddeus would give her that. She was right, too. They had trained for it. They’d worked their asses off for close to four months preparing for the rigorous challenges they would face tomorrow and Sunday. And they were awesome. They’d registered for the challenge individually and as a coed tandem team. They would both compete in the individual divisions the next day. Sunday, when they competed as a tandem team, he would start off the course, knocking out the first half consisting of the high-rise pack-carry, hose-hoist, and forcible-entry events. Terri would complete the course with the hose advance and victim rescue.
    “My time is still off.