Men of Station 23 [Uniform Fetish 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)
Uniform Fetish
Men of Station 23
Tammy Palmer can barely control her uniform fetish when she walks by Station 23. The four firefighters she fantasizes over are pure sex and muscle. But Tammy's not ready for love after her last disastrous relationship, not to mention she's not even in the same league as these delicious men.
When the newspaper she edits for gives her the chance for a promotion from pushing pencils, she jumps at the opportunity. The only problem is she's expected to spend two weeks at the new fire station in preparation for the article.
Tammy's wanton desires are soon unleashed when she moves into the station. But good things rarely last, and Tammy's crazed ex returns, luring the men away from the station. He's determined to get her back at any cost.
Will the men of Station 23 be able to save the woman they've grown to love in time?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among the men.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 36,155 words
MEN OF STATION 23
Uniform Fetish
Stacey Espino
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
MEN OF STATION 23
Copyright © 2012 by Stacey Espino
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-607-5
First E-book Publication: April 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Stacey Espino’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Espino’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
Dedicated to the brave men and women who keep our country safe. And thanks for looking hot in that uniform!
MEN OF STATION 23
Uniform Fetish
STACEY ESPINO
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Tammy Palmer reluctantly agreed to accompany her friend Stephanie to the fire station on the corner of Yonge and Bridgestone. Well, not to the station, more like by it. At two o’clock every day the men in Station 23 hit the gym. It was a glass-enclosed room on the northern corner of the new building. Since their office was less than a five-minute walk away, Stephanie insisted they spend part of their break casually strolling by at the same time each day.
The eye candy was nice, but Tammy was sure the men would figure out their game one of these days. She’d planned to stop the walks altogether but knew this was the week her men were on shift. These four were unlike any of the others. Their bodies looked GQ-worthy, so hard and ripped. When they’d occasionally notice them walking by, a couple of them would always smile or wink. It got Tammy’s heart racing and pussy moistening every time. Returning to the office all hot and bothered made for very uncomfortable afternoons sitting at a desk.
“Come on, Tammy. Hurry up!”
“Can I at least grab my purse?” If they were going to casually walk by, she at least wanted to be able to buy a coffee at Tim Hortons so the trip wasn’t completely pathetic. Tammy was thirty-six, not sixteen. She shouldn’t even be humoring her younger coworker, but they’d become best friends over the past two years they worked at the paper together.
Tammy had broken up with her controlling boyfriend, and Stephanie her cheating one, in the same week. It had been the catalyst to a deep, bonding friendship. It didn’t matter that her friend was twenty-five because they just clicked, and Tammy had never really felt her age.
The walk itself was one of the reasons she’d convinced herself to keep up the ritual. It was the only exercise she seemed to get each day. Today the skies were gray, warning of rain to come. She could smell it in the air, heavy and thick.
They picked up their coffee first. Tammy had her usual double-double with milk. It looked better to walk along sipping on their drinks rather than race by while gawking. When they neared the infamous corner, a familiar thrill raced up her spine. It wasn't like she had the nerve to act on her desires. She lived behind a desk at one of the larger newspapers, editing and preparing articles for the Wednesday and Saturday editions. Living the fantasy was not going to happen. Those muscled gods she enjoyed feasting her eyes on most afternoons were no more real for her than a picture in a magazine. It got depressing after a while, constantly craving but never getting the satisfaction.
“Look!” Steph bumped her with her hip, stealing glances from the corner of her eye.
Tammy followed her gaze. Like she’d expected and hoped, her crew was on shift. One was lying on a workbench, a metal bar propped up in his arms with a massive amount of weight on each end. His muscles bulged and strained, making her weak in the knees. Another sat on a bench doing arm curls with a barbell. The first two wore white undershirts, but the third was on the elliptical bare chested and glistening with clean sweat. He looked in her in the eye, not slowing down his vigorous pace.
“He’s looking at you,” Steph whispered, nudging her in the ribs.
Normally, Tammy would avert her eyes, but not today. Since this was the last time she planned to take this walk, she figured she may as well get a little brave. She smiled, a mix of flirting and sweetness. He was probably bored of all the women who came to gawk. Why would they enclose the firefighters’ gym in glass? Seriously. It was a traffic accident waiting to happen. That’s when she spotted the fourth man. He had been leaning over in a chair tying his running shoes, likely watching her the whole time. A conspiratorial smirk lit up his face, and she felt her own turn hot and flush.
“Let’s just get out of here, Steph.”
They turned around before they even reached the corner, looking like two desperados with no destination. Tammy supposed she was, in a way, considering she hadn’t been laid in over two years. She’d promised herself to make an effort at a new relationship but always chickened out. After her last experience, she was too leery to trust a new man.
“You’re such a party pooper,” said Steph as they neared their building. “Two of them were totally checking you out.”
“I don’t think it was me they were looking at. You’re young, cute, and your skirt is way too short. They probably thought I was your mother.”
Steph laughed. “Stop making excuses.”
“For what? You think I actually have a chance with one of them? Ha! I’d have better odds playing the lottery.”
“Not every man is looking for Barbie, Tammy. You can’t just hide away from life forever. Sooner or later, you’ll have to take that plunge into the sordid, occasionally rewarding world of dating again.”
“How about I hide a little longer?” Tammy opened the glass door into the office and went for her desk. Steph went her own way, back to the grindstone. It was stuffy inside, barely any daylight entering from the small windows at the one side of the building. This was her reality—work, sleep, work. At least she lived by her own rules, no overcontrolling boyfriend breathing down her neck. Brian had seemed normal at first, but within months of committing to each other his true colors emerged. He’d call her nonstop, show up at the office, leave random gifts at her door. She’d had to move twice and change her phone number several times. His Jekyll-and-Hyde routine could turn downright scary when he showed how violent he was capable of becoming.
Now she had a new job, new place, and answered to nobody. Unfortunately, Tammy quickly learned that peace and freedom weren’t enough for a satisfying life. She wanted so much more.
Why would God give her the desire for true love, passionate sex, and romantic fantasies, when they were out of reach or didn’t exist for her at all? It wasn’t fair.
Mr. Templeton came down the hall. “Back from your walk already?” he asked, dropping a stack of papers in her in-box.
“It’s not the best weather out.”
He sat on the edge of her desk, his eyes narrowed and brow lowered. He got the same look every time he wanted to talk about business, or something serious. “I’ve just been given a new assignment, Tammy. It’s a big one because it was sent to me directly by our municipal representative.”
Although she couldn’t do it in front of him, she was rolling her eyes in spirit. Tammy could care less about politics or kissing ass, but she needed this job, so humored her boss.
“Interesting...”
“Oh, it is. This is a big opportunity for the Heartland Tribute, and I want you to be the one on the assignment.”
It was probably going in the Saturday edition, which was already full. Tammy would have to shorten some of the highlights and juggle the paid advertising. “Okay. Who’s writing the article?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “You don’t seem to understand. I’m giving you a big chance here, Tammy. I want you to go out and do the interview and research hands-on, write the article, and get it in our big Sunday edition in three weeks.”
“Me?” She felt honored to be given an assignment other than sitting behind her desk correcting comma splices and run-on sentences. An advance in her career could be the catalyst to bigger and better things in her personal life. Her daily routine was dragging her down lately, and a real assignment promised new challenges and rewards.
“You’ve proved yourself an asset since you started. I know I can trust you to handle this with the utmost professionalism.”
“Of course, sir. Thank you for the chance.”
He stood up and adjusted his tie. “I’ll have all the particulars to you by the end of the day.”
Mr. Templeton strolled back down the hall. He wasn’t all bad, and he never lost his temper. His wife was the motherly type and often visited the office with freshly baked goodies. Not the best thing for Tammy’s expanding waistline, but she appreciated the gesture from the older woman.
By the time her boss returned to her desk a few minutes before five, her ass was numb and her vision was fuzzy from doing copy edits for hours. “As promised.” He set the file folder on her desk, a smile brightening his tired face. “You can get started tomorrow. Consider your regular responsibilities gone for the next two weeks. I’ll get Stephanie and April to handle your editions.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t forget, this is a top priority.” He made the assignment feel life or death. Maybe it was where her career was concerned.
She didn’t even stop to peruse the file once he left. The clock struck five and she wanted to be as far as possible from the gray, soul-sucking building. Tammy grabbed her purse from under her desk and bolted for the glass doors. The sunshine she’d hoped for didn’t greet her. A light drizzle fell down as she walked to her car parked around back. She had laundry to do, bills to pay, and she had to hit the grocery store on the way home. The glamorous life of a newspaper editor at the Heartland Tribute.
As she drove the city streets, curiosity began to fester about her new assignment. She assumed it was some political nonsense, but what if it wasn’t? Perhaps it was something interesting, maybe requiring her to travel or learn something new and exciting. Did she have to fly to Paris for the weekend? Go undercover in the Playboy Mansion? Tammy chuckled to herself as she drove along. Since the file was in the trunk of her car, she’d have to postpone finding out.
Tammy hit the grocery store, standing in line for ten minutes just to buy her milk, coffee, and breakfast bars. Her feet were killing her from standing in her heels. When she got home she lugged a load of laundry down to the basement of her apartment building and then washed the few dishes in her sink left from the morning. By the time Tammy sat down and turned on her laptop to pay her bills online, she was exhausted. It wasn’t so much the physical strain. Her issues were deeper, a weariness of life itself. That’s when she finally remembered the file. She sifted through her purse for the package her boss had given her.
She had the main lights off in the living room, as she often did in the evenings. Tammy preferred the ambience of candlelight. It helped her reflect, to connect with her inner self.
Her computer monitor highlighted the kitchen table enough for her to read. Holy hell! Tammy leapt up to her feet, her chair falling back onto the parquet floor. She stared at the files spilled over her table, afraid to touch them, as if they’d spontaneously combust. Tammy wished they would. Her mother had always told her to be careful what she wished for. It had come to reality once already with her psycho ex-boyfriend. She’d dreamt of commitment and adoration from a man, but instead got a jealous, controlling asshole who turned her world upside down. Now this...
Tammy righted her chair and sat down, taking a breath. She reread the assignment five times before the reality sunk in. Was it too late to ask Mr. Templeton to give it to someone else in the office? No, she’d appear ungrateful and never be given the opportunity again.
She’d wished for one of those hard-bodied firefighters to grace her bed, a silly fantasy exaggerated by her walks in front of Station 23 with Steph. Now she was expected to do a fully detailed article on the new fire station, requested by the mayor and a top priority for the paper. She was required to give up her life for two weeks to live amongst these heroes of their city, get into their heads, experience their lives, and then write the article of her life.
But she’d already made a fool of herself by acting like a horny teenager, passing by their weight room on an almost-daily basis just to gawk. They’d surely recognize her when she showed up at their door for the assignment. It would be the most humiliating experience of her life. She couldn’t do it, wouldn’t do it...had to do it.
Tammy no longer cared about her bills or her laundry which probably needed to go in the dryer. She slammed her laptop shut and paced her living room, occasionally glancing out her third-story window to the dark, wet streets below. The streetlights highlighted the steady fall of rain, so symbolic of her mood. If only she hadn’t gone for those walks with Steph. At least she’d have her dignity when she showed up at the station. But now she’d be a laughingstock, some middle-aged desperado trying to get an eyeful of the strapping young men responsible for protecting the city. They deserved respect, not to be treated like mindless sex objects.
There had to be something she could do. She pressed her forehead to the cool, humid glass of her window, watching the odd car splash through the desolate street. That’s when the idea struck her. Those firefighters had only seen her from a distance as she quickly walked by in the afternoons. If she altered her appearance just enough, maybe they wouldn’t recognize her. Tammy grabbed her car keys and purse and dashed out of her apartment.
Chapter Two
Tammy was expected at Station 23 at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. The meeting was already scheduled on one of her files. As instructed, she had her bags packed in her trunk just in case they were serious about her living at the station temporarily. She glanced at her watch from the driver’s seat of her parked car. 9:55. She didn’t want to appear overly eager and show up early, but being fashionably late would look bad on the newspaper. If she knocked on the door at exactly 10:00 they’d think she was a neurotic freak. Two more minutes.