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“Okay,” I agreed, my voice shaky as he ran his hand along my back, guiding me toward the building stairs.
“Fire was electrical. Caught in the cafe. Second floor only sustained smoke damage, which is good, and third floors and above are all untouched. Everyone has been evacuated, and arrangements are being made,” he said as he coaxed me along, never removing his hand from my back.
“Oh, okay,” I said, because I wasn’t sure what else to say. I guessed the paramedic was right, I was in shock.
“You can stay with me as long as you need until things get back to normal, okay?” he said as I followed him up three flights of steps and down the hall. I nodded, tugging his jacket closer. It smelled of fire and spice, and I liked it. I liked it a lot, because it made me feel warm and safe.
It made me feel loved.
But that was crazy, and I knew that. I blamed it on the shock, because there was no way in hell Dawson was in love with me. The man barely tolerated me, and had downright rejected my advances.
He’s just doing his job.
Dawson opened the door for me, and I stepped across the threshold into the darkness once more.
CHAPTER 24
Dawson
My heart thudded away in my chest as the sound of the shower filled the otherwise silent air of my home.
I’d fought plenty of fires in my lifetime, but this one was different. I’d never been in a position where I felt so powerless before.
It was my job to go in and save people, to pull them out of burning buildings and residences, get them the help they needed.
But as I ran with Nolan in my arms, it was the first time I’d felt sincerely panicked, worried that I might have failed.
And if something happened to him, I wasn’t sure I could handle it.
It had taken everything in me to leave him with Jordan and the other paramedics, and focus on my job.
But I prayed that when I returned, he’d be okay. I had to believe he would, because I couldn’t stand to think otherwise.
The sight of him, alive and okay, made my damn heart feel like it was going to explode. I knew his apartment would be out of commission for the next couple days until the claims and everything settled, and maybe I offered for him to stay out of a sense of guilt, or maybe I did it because somewhere deep down where I didn’t want to admit, I was scared. Scared that I’d almost lost him.
Scared that something could have happened to him and I wouldn’t have been able to protect him. It was a weird tug in my chest, the thought and desire to protect this bratty, infuriating, beautiful man.
There was no way I was letting him out of my sight.
Not tonight, not ever.
“Hey,” his voice cut through my wandering thoughts, bringing me back to the here and now, reality staring at me with a well-toned chest and a rather delicious Adonis belt poking out of the size too big sweatpants I’d loaned him.
Nolan’s hair was still wet from his shower, his dark eyes behind his glasses full of apprehension.
“Wow,” I murmured under my breath without warning, heat returning to my body to remind me I was alive, and Nolan was here.
In my apartment, dressed in my sweats, looking like my fantasy come to life.
“I, uh... appreciate your, uh... letting me stay. I promise, I’ll figure things out tomorrow. I just—”
I pushed away from my counter, taking my time as I walked across the room, drawn to Nolan Harding like kerosene to a fire.
“You can stay as long as you need,” I said as I stopped in front of him. Nolan’s gaze searched mine, for what I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t help myself in his presence.
Every time I got close to the man, I found it hard to resist touching him, to resist falling into his enchanting spell.
“Dawson, I...”
