His Fireman

Chapter One-2

ZACH’S TANK WAS RUNNING on empty. He’d barely eaten two sandwiches during his twenty-hour shift, and as he arrived at the station house, he looked around with a pretty jaded eye. He wanted to go home and get some much needed sleep.

“Hey, guys.” He lifted a hand and waved to a few of the fellas he knew from the parties Todd had thrown in the past.

“Hey,” they chorused. “Todd, Zach’s here.”

Todd came out and gave him a quick hug. His younger brother was a hard worker and a good guy, and Zach was lucky to have him in his life. Not all brothers were as supportive or loving.

“What’s up?”

Todd nodded towards the stairs, and Zach followed with a sigh. His legs ached as they began walking up the steps to where the beds were behind the kitchen.

“We had a pretty big house fire today, and Dylan actively participated in two rescues.”

Zach whistled. That was impressive. Either the guy was amazingly strong or had a superhero complex. But why had Todd called him? “So, is he okay?”

Todd pushed open the door to the bunk area and lowered his voice. “Yeah, I think so. But after we finished, he was complaining of his ribs hurting and he was sweating and stuff. Sorry for dragging you out to check on him, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

That sounds about right. f*****g macho bullshit I’ve seen time and time again.

Zach moved closer to the bunk bed and hissed in a breath at his first sight of his patient. He was a knockout. With short, tightly curled blond hair and pale skin, he looked like some sort of human depiction of Cupid.

His heart beat a little harder against his ribs, his aching legs forgotten. He knelt down next to the bed and put his hand up to the man’s sweating brow. His skin was a little sticky, but there didn’t appear to be any fever.

“Whaat?”

The man’s eyes opened and focused on him, the brightness of the blue just as shocking as Zach’s instant reaction to him.

Fuck. I’m getting hard over a patient! That’s a first.

He cleared his throat and continued squatting. “Hi, I’m Dr. Zach Shaw. How are you feeling?”

The man pushed himself up, his arms visibly shaking as he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and sat up.

“I’m okay, just cold and ... sore.” He put a hand across his ribs, and Zach forced himself to stand. The light wasn’t good, and his shirt was untucked, so he hoped no one would see the way his c**k had thickened in his pants.

“Todd, can you make some hot tea with sugar for...” Had Todd mentioned the guy’s name? He couldn’t remember now.

“Dylan. I’m Dylan.” The s*x god lifted his hand, and Zach took it, feeling the heat of the man’s skin against his, loving the roughened calluses against his smooth palm.

“On it.” Todd trotted off, and Zach reached for the lamp.

“Please don’t, I have a headache.” Dylan’s voice was a little weak, but his hand was firm as it wrapped around Zach’s forearm to stop him from turning on the light.

Again, that skin to skin contact was enough to make his c**k throb, his breath catching in his throat.

Focus!

“Are headaches normal for you?” Zach asked his patient as he grabbed a chair and pulled it across the room so that he could sit in front of Dylan.

“Yeah. I don’t always sleep well, and we’ve had a rough day.”

Zach knew that was a bit of an understatement but chose not to comment. “Can you lift your shirt? Todd said something about your ribs?”

Dylan nodded slowly, reaching over his shoulder with his right hand and pulling his white t-shirt over his head with one tug, hissing in pain and clutching at his left ribs.

Oh God, the man was simply stunning. Huge, wide, flat pecs, massive shoulders and sculpted abs. f**k!

“Here... I’m not sure what exactly happened.”

Dylan lifted his arm and pointed to a red patch of swollen and inflamed skin over the angle of ribs seven and eight.

Zach cleared his throat, feeling for all the world like an inexperienced student with his first hot patient. Away from the hospital, without the cold, bright white walls and his name tag, he was out of place touching this beautiful man.

“All right, I’m going to squeeze your ribs from the front and the side in a compression test to check for broken ribs. Ready?”

Dylan nodded, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his temple and hitting his chest. Zach’s eyes saw it fall and imagined the steam that would rise from such a hot body if this was a cartoon. He wanted to lean down and lick the drop of sweat off Dylan’s skin and groaned at the inappropriate desire.

“You okay?” Dylan’s question and concerned frown surprised Zach, as did the slightly wide-eyed look he had on his face.

“Yes. It’s just been a long day. Can you stand up for me?”

Dylan nodded again and lifted himself up. He gasped, and his shoulders sagged a little. Zach stepped forward to catch Dylan, his hands going out to the sculpted body before him.

“You sure you’re okay?” Zach asked, holding onto Dylan’s lean waist and loving the heat and weight of the male in his arms.

“Hmmm, yeah...” Dylan swayed closer to him, then seemed to shake himself and stand erect.

Zach lifted his palms and placed them against Dylan’s spine and sternum, squeezing gently.

“Hurt?”

Dylan exhaled sharply. “Not really.”

Zach moved his hands around to the ribs under Dylan’s armpits and applied pressure once again. “Now?”

Dylan shook his head and made eye contact with Zach, awareness and an attraction sizzling in the space between them like an electrical spark and fuse box.

Zach let his fingers trail down the sides of Dylan’s ribs, and Dylan swayed forward, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.

Oh God, should I kiss him?

“Found anything, Zach?”

Todd’s unwanted and unexpected voice made them both jump simultaneously, sucking the s****l tension right out of the moment like a vacuum vortex. They broke apart, Zach turning his back to face the door his brother walked through.

“Ah, thanks.”

Zach stepped forward and took the mug of tea, turning with it and handing it to Dylan.

He’s your patient, you horny asshole!

“I don’t think anything’s broken. I’d say the ribs are bruised, perhaps even a sprain of the costal cartilage. The shaking and sweats were probably the reaction to the original surge and resurge of adrenaline too close together. Dehydration, too.”

“Thanks for checking him out, Zach.” Todd patted him on the back, and Zach winced. It had been his pleasure. Gar too much for a professional relationship.

“No worries.” He turned to address Dylan, who was slipping his t-shirt back on. “Drink the tea, stay hydrated and rest. I’ll pop back in maybe tomorrow and see how you’re doing.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Dylan picked up the tea and took a sip, his tone casual as his eyes averted to the ground.

Zach forced himself to move past his brother, who was now smirking. He walked down the hallway and strode into the larger office space. Did his brother see what was about to happen when he walked in?

“You like him?” Todd whispered as he walked beside him.

Damn! Looks like he did.

Zach groaned aloud and turned on his baby brother. “Do not tell me this is a set-up, Todd. I’ll be beyond pissed.”

Todd grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, his dimples showing deeply. “Why? He’s a great guy and so are you. You’re both single.”

Zach rocked back on his heels as his heart leapt at the confirmation of what his body already knew. “He’s gay then?”

Todd nudged him with an elbow. “I thought you’d be able to tell.”

Zach looked away, far too aware of the heat flushing his cheeks. He had hoped, of course. Suspected, definitely. “I wasn’t sure.”

Todd laughed good-naturedly. His brother was one of those amazing people who didn’t have a cruel bone in their body. “Well, come back tomorrow like you promised and see for yourself.”

Zach nodded, hugged his brother in a brief embrace and headed home a little dazed. His life had been steady for so long. Easy and balanced. Work, work, and a little family/party time. He hadn’t wanted a boyfriend through his intern years, and now that he had more time, no one interested him.

He sighed as he climbed into his cold bed, his heavy c**k a persistent ache against his thigh. As he wrapped his fist around it and began to stroke himself, the vision swimming before him became the deep blue eyes and full, red lips of his after-hours patient.

As his body gave in to the pleasure and he relaxed enough to sleep, he knew he’d be keeping that follow-up visit tomorrow. No matter what.