Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 31

Josie's point of view

Oh s**t, I am in trouble. I was hoping Anders would cancel the swimming, and now I find myself agreeing to a drink, and a second meeting including a meal. All because I was riled up that he was going to not continue his lessons. However, I must admit, after seeing him vulnerable yesterday, I really felt sorry for him. Then on the phone just now, the little back-and-forth we had, made me feel like a giddy teenager.

However, I refuse to call the drink and meal dates, even though I am busy searching through my wardrobe like a crazy woman, literally trying on everything I have to wear, ready to meet him in his office at mid-day.

I mean, it makes sense for me to look my best, given I have a job of getting rid of his overzealous receptionist for him.

Who am I kidding? I want to look my best for one person and for one reason, only Anders-F*****g-Maxwell. This is not good. "I hate him," I shout to my wardrobe as I grab hold of a maxi dress, and pull it up against me, then discard it into the 'no' pile. “I f*****g hate him,” I repeat, as I grab another dress, and throw it once more into the 'no' pile.

I peer out of my bedroom window, to see yet again we have sunshine. God knows what that is about. I am sure we are due some rain soon. I pull out a white broderie anglaise skirt, that is gathered at the waist and hands to mid-thigh, then grab a plain black V-neck tight-fitting short, sleaved t-shirt that amplifies my bust. This will have to do. It is pointless wearing any make-up, as it will make me look like a panda as soon as I hit the pool, so I add some lip balm, and an extra coat of moisturiser, just to make my skin look a little better than normal. Slipping on a pair of black flip-flops that are decorated with small pearls along the V of the strap. I pull on a pair of cream-coloured full knickers, to match my skin tone, and a push-up bra, before changing into my outfit. Then gather my long blonde hair and pull it up into a high ponytail.

I go to my swimming bag, and groan. If I thought today could not go any further south, well, it just reached Antarctica. I forgot to take out my swimming costume and hang it out to dry when I got back from Ben's, and now it stinks, and is still damp. There is no way I can wear it. I let out a frustrated sigh, and go to the drawer under my bed, where I keep my holiday beach swimwear and pull them out. I have only two-piece bikinis that leave not a lot to the imagination, and one other full swimming costume, which is bright red, with a sweetheart neckline, that pushes the girls up with thin spaghetti straps, and is high legged. Thank God I got a full leg and Hollywood bikini wax after work on Saturday, that is all I have to say about that! With no other choice, I put the overtly sexy swimwear into my bag, and grabbed a fresh towel, cursing myself for being stupid and not hanging out my normal adidas one yesterday.

I look at the clock and see it is almost half-eleven, and nervous anticipation takes hold of me. Shit... I HATE HIM. I reminded myself for the umpteenth time. But I can already feel my n*****s pebble at the thought of seeing him in his trunks again. Taking a breath, to try and calm myself down, heading to the car.

As I pull up outside the new offices, I grab my kit, and make my way up the stairs to the top floor. Pausing slightly to compose myself once more. I headed into the reception area, as the guard dog greeted me with a scowl, so I did the only thing I could in this situation. I give her my biggest, brightest, friendliest smile.

"Hi, can you let Anders know I am here please? It is Josie."

I swear if looks could kill, I would be six-feet under! As she tells me to take a seat, and rather than pick up her internal phone, she wanders off to where I think his office must be. Then she returns a few moments later, looking like a bulldog chewing a wasp, and hisses at me.

"Mr. Maxwell is on a call, but he said, you can go wait in his office if you don't mind."

Again, I flashed her a bright smile.

"Thank you, what is he like? Always busy working."

"Well, he is a busy man." She all but growls at me.

"Yes, but never too busy for me." I gave a girlie giggle just for effect.

I sauntered off hoping I remember the way to get to his office, because I am not asking her. I deserve a medal for this s**t!

I find Anders' office easily enough and knock on his door. Rather than shout 'come in', he opens it, his mobile phone on his ear, and beacons me in. I walk in behind him, as he turns around, his fully dilated eyes wide, trailing up-and-down my body with a heated glaze. My skin feels like it is on fire wherever his gaze hits me, and my mouth suddenly goes dry, as I take him in, stood in a cream shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, the top two buttons of the collar open, so the wing of his eagle pokes out onto his neck. The pair of dark brown suit trousers has a visible bulge, that looks huge, and I feel my cotton panties moisten.

s**t, I. HATE. HIM!

I stood motionless, waiting for him to finish his call, unable to stop gawking at him like a love-struck teenager. I swear my mouth is open and I am practically drooling. This is not good, not good at all!

"I have to go, have that report ready by close of business today," Anders states to whoever he is speaking with, then hangs up the phone, placing it in his pocket of his trousers.

I still do not move or speak. Literally, I am back to the squeaking girl he first met, as he looks over at me then chuckles.

"Like what you see, Firefighter Edwards?" he asks.

Arrogant son of a b***h. Yeah, I HATE HIM!

"Can we go, I have a busy day," I managed to spit out, but my words do not even convince me, let alone the Arsehole.

"E ager to see my body again, are we?" He chuckles.

"Oh please, you are not all that." I sigh, but who am I kidding, he is all that with a dollop of cream and a cherry on top.

Anders lets out a laugh, shaking his head, then rounds his desk and opens the door to his office. "After you Josie," he whispers in my ear, turning my moist situation into a full-on soaked situation. I HATE HIM!

He placed his hand on the lower part of my back, and holy s**t, my legs go weak, my heart beats so loud it echoes in my ears, and my skin erupts with tingles from his touch.... I... HATE... HIM.

As we pass the guard dog in reception, he looks over to her. "Hold all my calls, I will be out most of the afternoon," he tells the clearly jealous receptionist.

I turn and flash her a smile, playing my part to perfection.

"Thank you," I say, sickly sweet, as Anders leads me out the door. As we reach the stairs, I turn to him.

"You can stop touching me now," I hiss slightly.

"I could, but I don't want to." He chuckles.

I sigh out in annoyance, but do not argue, because I kind of like him touching me.

I HATE HIM!

"Okay, well, I was not expecting to go swimming today, but I am sure they sell shorts at the gym," he states, as he leads me to his Porsche, opening the door for me. I climb inside, sinking down into the bucket seats, my skirt riding up, as I get a shock from just how low to the ground the seat is and let out a little squeal, then grab my skirt pulling it down.

Anders chuckles, then jumps in the driver's side and revs the engine, pulling away heading towards the Wearmouth Bridge and the A1231.

We arrive at his private posh gym in silence, then head through the doors. He grabs my bag for me. Who knew the arsehole had manners? Leading me inside, he goes to the posh reception area, where a man dressed in tight navy shorts and polo shirt smiles and scans us into the main area.

"Do you have some swimming shorts?" Anders asks him.

"Yes Mr. Maxwell, what size and I will fetch them for you sir," he tells him.

"Large please," Anders informs him and then looks at me and winks. Seriously! I HATE HIM.

"The changing rooms are mixed," Anders informs me, and I reply with a nod, as long as I have my own cubical, I do not care, after all, they are mixed at the Aquatic Centre.

The man from reception walks over with a pair of black swimming shorts, handing them to Anders, and we head into the changing room. I grab my bag from him, and head into the cubical, then remember the bloody sexy swimming costume I have with me and let out an internal groan of frustration.

Changing quickly, I walk out of the cubicle, to find Anders leaning against a locker, his arms folded across his large muscular, tanned chest, his six pack on show, a small happy trail leading to the promised land. His eyes once more look me up and down as he whispers, "F**k."

I clear my throat and decide to try and act professionally.

"Lead the way," I say to him, trying to keep my voice nonchalant, but failing miserably.

Anders nods then turns around, grabbing some floats from a basket at the side of the changing room.

"You don't need them today," I inform him.

Scowling, he looks at me.

"What the f**k?" he asks, and I see the lust in his eyes from earlier disappear and turn into pure fear.

"Nope, it was using a floating board yesterday that got you into trouble. Plus, you are getting one-on-one tuition, so you really do not need the arm floats. Today, you are going to learn how to float on your back without any aids." I nod at him. letting him know I meant business.

I see him visually begin to shake, taking a step towards him and offer a reassuring smile, placing my hand on his arm, ignoring how it is sending shockwaves through my body. "Trust me," I whisper.

Anders looks at me, and nods his head, as we make our way to the pool.

I jump in, then ask him to sit on the side with his feet dangling in the water. Hesitantly, he does as he is told.

"Now once you feel comfortable, I want you to turn around and shimmy down into the water, it is up to my chest, so it is shallow, I am right behind you." I attempted to reassure him.

I see his chest breathing in-and-out as he tries to calm his nerves, then slowly he turns around and, grabbing hold of the side, he shimmies into the water.

"Good job." I smile at him. "Now let go of the side and walk over to me."

He really needs to gain some confidence in the water before we do anything, so I want him to take baby steps at first. "Keep your eyes on me, Anders," I tell him as I walked backwards, and he came towards me. We reached the centre of the pool and I stop, then smile at him.

"Well done, you never went to grab the side of the pool, and look, you are in the middle now."

Anders looks around, and I see panic form in his eyes, so I quickly go and take hold of the top of his arms.

"Look at me Anders, you are safe."

His arms reach out and wrap around my waist, as he clings to me as if his life depends on it. I don't push him away; he needs to get his confidence back. Slowly his breathing returns to normal, and he looks down at me, then smirks.

"If you wanted me to hold you, all you had to do was ask, not take me into the middle of a pool." He winks.

I grin, shaking my head at him, at least he is getting over his fear, so I let the comment go, because there is no use denying the pure fact that I like him with his arms around my waist. Oh, wait a god-damned minute, I. HATE. HIM. "Now, I want you to lie back on the water. My arms will support you, look straight up to the ceiling. Then place your arms out either side of you. Trust me, you are safe," I tell him.

Slowly he lets go of me, then lies back looking at the ceiling, his arms stretched out either side of him. I place my hand under the small of his back as he begins to float around. The feeling of his skin is once more affecting me in more ways than I would like. However, as I look at him, I can see I am clearly not the only one affected, as his bulge protrudes out of the water. I try to ignore it, but I really cannot, it looks massive, and my heart begins pounding in my chest again. You can cut the s****l tension with a knife, and I find it hard to breathe without panting like a dog in heat.

"Keep looking at the ceiling," I tell him, my voice breathless.

Slowly, I move my hand from his back, and allow him to float on his own, when he realises, he stiffens, more than just his man bits and bobs, and begins to sink, so I quickly grab hold of him, as he puts his feet on the ground, then looking at me his eyes wide and dilated he grabs my waist pulling me to him.

I would like to say I don't know what came over me, but I do, l**t, pure undiluted [**t, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as his hands grabbed my behind. My lady area grinds against his bulge as he lets out a groan of appreciation. "I hate you," I whisper out.

"Oh, I know you do," he says as his lips crash into mine.