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“Over here.” I holler back. The fresh air from the broken window is now lightening the dense smoke.
Manny and Franco close the distance between us quickly as sirens wail from outside.
“Get them out of here.” I order.
“Fucking hell.” Franco roars. I transfer Lanah into his outreached arms while Manny helps Collin. I can feel Franco’s fear radiating off his shoulders as he takes hold of his wife. I recognize it because it matches the darkness tearing at me.
“It was Xander.” Callie whispers against my neck after I scoop her up in my arms. The water from the sprinkler system has molded the thin white fabric of her shirt to the curves of her breasts. Tears roll down the side of her face leaving tracks in the soot and ash that are everywhere the rag doesn’t cover. She’s soft and vulnerable and it sparks a red-hot rage inside of me that burns hotter than any fire I’d walk through for her.
When she wraps her arms around my neck a strange overwhelming sensation hits me in the chest. For the first time in forever, I don't feel alone, and I’ll be damned if anyone will take her from me. All that matters to me is her survival. The fear in her eyes is ripping my heart from my chest. When she coughs, I want to give her the air from my lungs but all I can do is run.
The second I burst through the broken window; she gulps for fresh air. The smoke is still clogging her lungs and she coughs uncontrollably. Paramedics rush to our sides guiding us to the back of waiting ambulances. The paramedics get to work, checking for pulses, accessing for burns, and fitting oxygen masks over their faces.
“I’m good.” Callie dismisses the paramedic and lowers the oxygen mask. “Are Collin and Lanah alright?”
“Keep it on a bit longer. I’ll check on them.” I drag the mask back over her mouth and nose and pin the paramedic with a demanding glare to watch her closely.
In three long strides I’m nearing the second ambulance to check on Collin. I haven’t given him the time of day, but I can see how much Callie cares about him, and he seems to feel the same way. I’m relieved, for her sake, to find Collin giving the paramedic a hard time.
“Just tell me if she's ok, dammit.” He curses, ripping the oxygen mask off.
He’s as stubborn as she is. The kid is growing on me.
“She’s alright.” I tell him and move on to the next. The one I dread. The one where my head security officer and friend is pacing erratically.
“How is she?” I slap Franco on the shoulder and pull him into a hug. Over his shoulder I see inside the ambulance, Lanah’s eyes are still closed, and the paramedic seems concerned.
“Smoke inhalation and a concussion. Who the fuck left them to die like this?”
His rage is justified. Our wrath will be equally brutal. “Xander Castillo.”
“That mother fucker.” Franco drags a hand through his hair, “What are we going to do about it?”
“Tonight, we will take care of our wives. Tomorrow, we hunt that son of a bitch down and show no mercy.”
Franco nods his head and climbs in the back of the ambulance. I return to Callie to give her the news on their conditions.
After hearing me out, she lowers her oxygen mask again, “Take me home.”
Framing her face with my hands, I seek out her mouth. Thrusting my tongue between her lips, I convey my emotions in the fierce possessiveness of my kiss. Giving her everything I have to give and taking as much as she’ll allow. Our embrace only lasts a minute before I release her and swoop her up in my arms.
She’s safe now but shear panic is still crawling up my throat. I wasn’t prepared to have these feelings for her. It seems impossible that in such a short time she could turn my heart inside out. It’s like I’m wearing it on the outside of my soaking wet shirt, bleeding for all to see instead of keeping it hidden securely underneath my Armani armor.
***
She’s still in my arms as we cross the apartment, but she’s stopped insisting I put her down. Even in her vulnerable state, she holds all the power. Her submissiveness to my demands gives her even more control over the part of me that’s involuntarily hard. Gently, I place her on the bathroom counter. She seems so small and fragile which makes me want her even more. All my walls are crashing down so hard, I can’t control the violent shudder moving through my body.
I shift myself, so she doesn’t feel the tremor and start the shower. The steam fills the bathroom, wrapping its warmth around us as I strip us both of our soiled clothes and help her inside. The paramedic said humidity would help heal her lungs and even though she stopped coughing an hour ago, I don’t want to take any chances. The moan that pours out of her when the water hits her skin, has my cock hardening even more.
“Wash his touch off of me.” She tilts her head back, lifting her face to the water.
“I’ll wash it all away. Every memory, every fear until you realize I’m the only man who will ever touch you again.”
Using her loofah, I wash her body. The water turns a dingy shade of gray and leaves behind soft, silky skin. Next, I wash her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her as she squeezes out the strands. She’s putty in my hands, molding to the callouses and scars on my hands as my fingers trail across her curves. “This body is mine.”
I cup her ass in my hands, holding her so close her soft breasts are pressing tight against my hard chest. Trailing my fingertips up her back and down her arms, I settle them on her hardening nipples, thumbing them with the gentlest touch I can manage.
“Show me.” Her eyes flutter shut, and she whimpers softly while I work them into peaks.
