The Firefighter and the Virgin Princess Read Free Page A

flights in full
gear, through smoke. Princess Blue Eyes must know nothing about
hard work.
    Before she could move away, he spurted, "I'm
Joe. Joe Rossini. Lieutenant." He stuck out his hand again after
wiping it on his bunker coat. She looked horrified, as if he'd spat
on it first. In the next second she'd ducked around him and walked
on, merging into the crowd.
    "If you change your mind you can find me at
engine six," he shouted. "C shift!" She didn't look back. The way
she moved was elegant, smooth, her long dark hair flowing in a
ponytail behind her, gleaming with rain. He felt like grabbing that
hair and tugging her back.
    But he stood there, staring after her until
she disappeared around the corner.
    Gradually he became aware of his crew
hollering and laughing. Oh, they'd love this.
    "Doing your bit for public relations, eh,
Joe?" one of them exclaimed as he leapt back up into the cab of the
fire truck and slammed the door.
    "You runnin' for Mayor, Joey?"
    "Saw-ry about your coat, ma'am," another
teased. "Aw shucks, ma'am, let me pay."
    "She was drenched, okay?" he muttered. "And
she looked kinda sad."
    "Like every other motherfucker in the city.
Only the drunks and the junkies are happy."
    Joe looked out of the window as they pulled
away from the curb. Her eyes were so blue, it felt like they were
imprinted on his mind. But they were filled with tears.
    He couldn't forget that face. It reminded
him of one of those Egyptian statues in a museum. All noble and
haughty and mysterious. Nefertiti. Yeah, like
Nefer-fucking-titi.
     
    * * * *
     
    "Hey, Mike, your brother got off his leash
today and went roaming after a prissy bitch."
    "Chased a long-legged, snobby chick down the
street."
    "Offered the lady some laundry services, if
ya know what I mean."
    Joe good-naturedly let the laughter and
teasing continue. It would be a mistake to act like it bothered
him, for then they'd never stop. As it was, they'd soon find
something else to laugh about. There was plenty of material on a
twenty-four hour shift in the firehouse.
    His brother dropped to the bench beside
him.
    "Cute girl, huh?"
    "Yeah, she was okay."
    Don't touch
me , she'd exclaimed, looking at his hands
as if they had blood and brain-matter on them.
    The men around the table began shoveling
food into their mouths.
    "About time you got back in the saddle,
bro," Mike muttered. "What's it been? Six months?"
    "Four and a half."
    "Time enough then. Gotta get Donna out of
your system. She's moved on, right?"
    Like he needed that rubbed in. He and Donna
had been off and on for two years, but when he didn't buy her an
engagement ring exactly when she thought he should, she called it
quits. Apparently she'd already found someone else, because she'd
been shouting her mouth off about the new love of her life at the
hair salon where Mike's wife worked.
    "I'm not really looking for anyone right
now," Joe replied, reaching for a can of soda and popping it. "I
could do with a break."
    "Sure, but it does no harm to look."
    He shrugged. "Maybe."
Princess Blue Eyes probably had a boyfriend. Girls who looked like
that didn't usually lack for male company. And she hadn't even
given him her name so she wasn't interested in him . Why would she be— a waspy,
Upper East Side, good-looking girl like that? Christ, her legs went
on for days in those tight, black pant-thingys. And she smelled
real good.
    Grabbing another hunk of bread he mopped up
some sauce and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing fast.
    Yeah, she was hot. But in a cool way.
Nothing like the girls he usually went with— all lipstick, push-up
bras and Godzilla fingernails. She was different. Too cool for
him.
    Not that Joe Rossini didn't have his charms,
but he was just a regular guy and Blue Eyes was clearly out of his
league. Staten Island Joe knew his hunting ground and it didn't
include Park Avenue. That would be setting himself up for a whole
set of troubles and heartache. His idea of Friday night fun — when
he wasn't on