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  “I overheard him on the phone. Look, Lincoln, I hate I kept what I knew about Ant away from you, but you have to understand where I’m coming from.”

  She raised her hand to stop him. “I do and I owe you an apology. I should not have asked you to spy on him.”

  Nick folded his arms across his chest. “So he confessed everything to you? You know they are living together right?”

  “Have you eaten yet?” She asked.

  Dammit to hell! If he could kick himself, he would. She didn’t know about Anthony’s living arrangements. “You didn’t know about that until now? Damn I’m special when it comes to putting my foot in my mouth.”

  He moved towards her and she stepped around him. “No, it’s okay. Umm, you didn’t answer my question about eating.”

  “No, I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Station 30 has been battling major fires that took forever to get under control.”

  “So, you must be famished besides dead tired. There are clean towels in the bathroom. Go take a hot shower while I cook dinner. Toss your clothes in the hallway and I’ll throw them in the washer for you.”

  Nick shifted his weight on his tired feet. “You don’t have to do that. I’m about to head home now.”

  She raised a sharp eyebrow that indicated she meant business. “Yes I do. Orlando and Regan wouldn’t appreciate it if I let you drive as tired as you are. The bathroom is down the hall on the left. You will have to make do with my soap until you get home. I’ll change clothes and start dinner while you clean up. I hope you like pork chops.”

  He covered his mouth as he yawned. It was a twenty mile drive to his side of town. He was sure he could make it without falling asleep at the wheel, but the longer he stood in her living room, the worse he felt. Even though he appreciated Lincoln’s help, he didn’t want to put her through any trouble by taking care of him.

  She snapped her fingers. “Well, don’t just stand there, you reek of smoke, and I’m sure you want that smell off of you.”

  Her smile was reassuring as he nodded. “Yeah, it’s giving me a headache.”

  “There is aspirin in the medicine cabinet and new toothbrushes in the vanity drawer; help yourself to both.”

  He followed her down the short hallway. She went into the bedroom and closed the door and he went in the bathroom. He lowered the lid on the toilet and sat down. His headache pounded against his temples and hunger pangs gnawed at his stomach. He wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t eaten in a day. The granola bars and bottles of water he consumed between fires had worn off long ago.

  Finding strength to stand, he turned on the water in the shower. The odor of the new shower curtain tunneled past the smoke in his nose. He looked around the bathroom. The walls appeared to be freshly painted. He saw streaks of yellow bleeding through the thin coat of white paint slapped over the top. The paint job definitely wasn’t done by a professional.

  Nick opened the medicine cabinet to look for the aspirin. He felt weird looking at her personal stuff on the shelves. He wasn’t a snoop by nature and never looked through the personal items of the women he dated. He noticed the aspirin bottle behind a box of tampons. He had sisters and was used to seeing them in the bathroom when he lived at home. However, this was Lincoln and she was not one of his sisters.

  Tenderly he inched the box over with his finger to get to the aspirin. Suddenly the shelf tipped and dumped the items from the cabinet into the sink. “Holy shit,” he muttered as he scrambled to pick up the items.

  “Oh, the stupid shelf in the medicine cabinet is broken so be careful.”

  Now she tells me. He picked the spilled items from the basin, lining them on the counter of the vanity. He drew in a breath when he picked up the dispenser containing birth control pills. “At least she’s responsible,” he said putting the pill dispenser on the counter. He popped two aspirin in his mouth and dipped his head under the spigot to wash them down.

  Nick stripped off his clothes and put them outside the bathroom door before he stepped into the shower. The pulsing stream of warm water instantly eased some of the aches from his tired body. Her shampoo sat on a corner caddy. He opened his hand and squeezed out a palm-full of the fruit scented shampoo and rubbed it through his hair to scrub away the dirt and grime.

  The shower revived him, restoring some of his energy, but not a lot. With his headache easing, the growl in his stomach intensified. Whatever she was cooking smelled delicious and he couldn’t wait to eat.

  Nick tucked in the ends of the towel to secure it around his waist and followed the aroma of the food. He found Lincoln in the kitchen tending to the pots on the stove. He stood with his shoulder braced against the doorjamb and watched her work. Her back was to him, her slim body looked sexy in the skinny jeans and thin cotton white t-shirt. Wisps of hair that hung from her ponytail drew his attention. The impulse to push them out of the way and press his lips against her sleek neck swept over him. He fought it off and scolded his libido for having such thoughts. It didn’t matter how attractive he found Lincoln; she was off limits.

  Although he and Anthony’s rocky friendship was close to being over, he had to stick with the code. The only way a firefighter at Station 30 would pursue an ex-girlfriend or ex-spouse of a fellow firefighter is if the firefighter left the house or God forbid, lost his life. He didn’t despise Anthony enough to wish that fate on him.

  Quietly, he continued to watch her not wanting to interrupt her concentration on preparing dinner. He knew he should announce he was standing there but instead stepped back into the living room to regain his composure. The thick towel wouldn’t be able to hide what was on his mind.

  Chapter Ten

  Lincoln took care in preparing dinner. She didn’t want to burn the first meal she fed to someone other than Anthony. She made gravy from the meat drippings and poured it over the pork chops before placing them in the oven to finish cooking. Stirring butter and cream into the mashed potatoes, those were done too. The peas and carrots also were ready to go.

  Getting dishes from the cabinet, she set the table. Nothing elegant was going on with this meal. The dishes were everyday dishes and the table was not fancy. There were no candles, champagne glasses, or linen napkins. Paper napkins and regular drinking glasses for soda or juice, whichever Nick preferred, graced this table.

  He was lucky she did that much. Normally, she sat in front of the television to eat. She nibbled on a piece of garlic bread as she finished the table.

  “Since you are busy cooking, I can put my dirty clothes in the washer.”

  She looked up and saw Nick standing in the doorway. She swallowed the bread too fast and almost choked. He wore nothing but a towel wrapped tightly around his waist. Her eyes traveled from his bare feet up his body to look him in the eye. The man was freaking gorgeous. He was built to be either a firefighter or a male model. From his broad shoulders, washboard stomach that led to a narrow waistline and athletic hips, he would look great on any billboard in Times Square. His arms were muscular and the large colorful skull tattoos that covered each bicep screamed ‘bad boy.’

  Nick had the reputation of a bad boy and the image in front of her depicted a true statement and made her melt inside. His dark wet hair was slicked back on his head to reveal how handsome he really was. His beautiful bedroom eyes hooded by thick black lashes were hard to ignore. The dimples in his cheeks when he smiled were super sexy. The Italian blood that ran through his veins reflected in his bold features.

  She dragged her eyes away. “Your clothes are in the washer already,” she said, pointing to the stacked machines running softly in a corner of the kitchen.

  Lincoln’s eyes burned from staring at him. He must have felt her ogling as he did a self-check to make sure the towel was secure. “Um, I’m sorry about the towel, but I don’t have anything to put on. Poor planning on my part,” he chuckled.

  “Oh…right, darn it, I didn’t think about that either,” she stammered. “Um, I threw away Anthony’s clothes he left beh
ind. But let me check the food in the oven and I’ll go look through my closet again. I might have a pair of sweatpants you might be able to fit.”

  He raised a questionable brow. “Will the pants reveal more than this towel?”

  Tilting her head to one side, she pulled at her earring. “I’m sure they will. But fear not, I know I have something you’ll be able to wear until your clothes are done.” She breezed by him and into her bedroom.

  Sifting through the closet, she had to find him something. There was no way she could sit across the table from a half-naked man and concentrate on her meal and not him. She hadn’t had sex in forever and her body was craving it. She had to admit she often wondered about Nick and what skills had women flocking to him.

  She pulled a hospital robe from the hanger. “Aha!” He would probably object to wearing it, but it was big, roomy, and better than the towel that that gave her an impression of what lay underneath.

  Nick was in the living room when she returned. “I found this old hospital robe. I wore it home from the hospital when I had my appendix removed.”

  He took it from her and slipped it on. “It will do until my clothes dry. I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable this time,” he said tying the strings of the robe together before removing the towel.

  Lincoln blushed after getting a glimpse of Nick’s body as he removed the towel. He was not lacking in the hardware department and the confident look on his face proved he was not shy about her knowing that. Her voice was shaky as she said, “No, not at all. It’s not like I’ve never seen a man naked before.” She turned her back to him to go to the kitchen. “I’m going to check on our dinner and switch your clothes to the dryer.”

  As they ate, they talked very little about Anthony. Lincoln wanted to know more about Nick, but his exhaustion was taking over. Through bites of food, he repeatedly yawned. She wondered if Anthony had worked and if Melanie was caring for his tired ass.

  Nick looked up causing her to shift her gaze down to her plate. “This is really good, Lincoln. Is this what you consider soul food?”

  She drank a sip of Pepsi. “I consider it food good for the soul.”

  “You know your way around a stove because it’s really good.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” She sliced off a piece of the pork chop and placed it in her mouth. “Did any firefighters get hurt last night?”

  Nick took another piece of garlic bread from the basket and mopped up the gravy left on his plate. “No, thank God. We emerged unscathed. Anthony is ok too, in case you’re wondering.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “He’s not my problem anymore. But I’m glad no one was hurt.”

  “Lincoln, it will take a while to get him out your system, so asking about him is not a crime. We have a hard job and it’s nice to know people care about us.”

  “Melanie has reclaimed that job. I don’t care what he does or how he is doing. I’m back to dating regular Joe’s again.”

  “Are you dating already?”

  She shook her head. “No.” She sat back in the chair pouting. “I cannot believe Anthony moved in with her already! He is such an ass. I gave that man everything he asked for and this is how he does me. I don’t understand him, Nick.”

  “Uh…”

  “He does this right before Regan’s wedding too! I was so excited to be a part of that function. We had planned to do the toast together and some other fun activities at the wedding. He has ruined everything.”

  Nick nodded as he listened to her spew about Anthony. “That’s rough. I understand why you hate him.”

  “Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to dump on you. You’ve had a hard shift and my whining about my love life is not your concern.” She got up from the table to clear the dishes.

  He got from the table stacking utensils on his plate. “Let me help you with the dishes.”

  “I got this. Why don’t you find something to watch on television unless you’re ready to go home?”

  His crooked grin showed the softer side of him. “I can’t go anywhere dressed like this.”

  “Oh, right. Your clothes should be finished; I’ll get them for you.”

  “I’m capable of getting my clothes from the dryer, Lincoln. You don’t have to wait on me.”

  “I know that but I don’t mind. What kind of shows do you like to watch on TV?”

  “Besides football and basketball, a lot of the shows on TV are crap. But I do like to go the movies. I was thinking about checking out the new Stallone movie.”

  “Oh, I want to see that too. I love any movies that involve SEALs or tough servicemen kicking some hostile ass.”

  He laughed. “You’re my type of girl. Maybe we can check it together.”

  She smiled. “Maybe,” she said disappearing into the kitchen.

  Chapter Eleven

  The clock on the wall read 7:00pm and he was dead on his feet. Nick couldn’t stop himself from yawning. He was embarrassed by his actions, but his body was shutting down. It was closing in on twenty-four hours since he had last slept. He trained himself to endure extreme conditions however; he had to get some sleep to replenish his energy levels.

  “Here are your clothes,” Lincoln said handing over his freshly ironed jeans. The smell from the clean denim drifted up his nose. His nostrils and throat were clear of the smoke finally. “Thank you. You didn’t have to iron them though,” he said covering his mouth as he yawned again.

  “No problem.” She threw him a grin, her brown eyes dancing over the hidden pain she was suffering internally. Damn, she is beautiful. The thought of her blindsided him again. He licked his suddenly dry lips. He wanted to kick Anthony’s ass for the hurt he caused this beautiful creature.

  “You’re exhausted, Nick.” She snatched the pants from his hands.

  He snapped from the cloud he’d lost himself in. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “You’re staying here tonight. I can’t let you drive in your condition.”

  Nick rested his head back on the sofa and closed his eyes. His lids were too heavy to stay open and he couldn’t stop them from closing if he tried. “Lincoln, I’m too beat to argue with you. If you let me sleep for an hour, I promise I’ll leave.”

  She pulled him up from the sofa. “Go get in my bed.”

  He stumbled and fell back down to the sofa. “The sofa is fine. I don’t want to take your bed.”

  “It’s too early for me to go to bed, plus the TV is out here.” She pulled him up again and pushed him in the direction of the bedroom. “I’ll wake you in an hour or so.”

  He staggered on his feet. “My mother warned me never to argue with a woman. Don’t let me sleep more than an hour.”

  “I promise.”

  Those were the last words he heard from her as he closed the door to the bedroom. Ditching the robe, he crawled in Lincoln’s bed. His body adapted to the firm mattress and he wondered if she had one of those mattresses that claimed to enhance the sleeping pleasure.

  Whatever the case, his body was ecstatic to be stretched out and ready to receive the sleep it craved. It didn’t take long for unconsciousness to take over. He was out like a light in record time.

  *****

  Nick rolled over on his back. The bright light filtering into the room caused him to throw a forearm over his eyes for a brief second before the call of nature got him to sit up. Disoriented, he didn’t recognize anything in the room. Then it hit him, he wasn’t at home.

  He put on the robe to cover his nakedness before heading to the bathroom. In the hallway, the apartment was quiet and still. He had no idea if Lincoln was in the apartment or had gone to work. After using the facilities, he washed his hands and dug out the toothbrush he had used before. His mouth was dry and tasted horrible.

  Nick stretched. His upper body ached from the grueling task of fighting the numerous fires. He went to pull back the shower curtain and saw Lincoln had hung a pair of nylons and other delicate items over the rod. His hand brushed over the soft fabric of t
he nylons and he decided to wait until he got home to shower.

  “Okay, time to get dressed and head home,” he said going into the living room to retrieve his clothes. He stopped and looked around. The shadows in the room didn’t seem right. If it were early morning, the sun should be coming in from the east. He checked his watch. Alarmed he said, “3:00pm! How in the hell did I sleep a whole damn day away!”

  Nick hurried and dressed. He had to clear Lincoln’s apartment before she got home from work and got the wrong idea. He grabbed his keys off the coffee table and made sure he had his wallet before leaving.

  He snatched opened the door only to have fast fists hit him in the stomach and chest and an uppercut land on his jaw so hard that it flattened him out on the floor. He grasped for air to fill his lungs. Coughing, he looked through squinted eyes to see Anthony’s form standing over him.

  “Stay the hell away from Lincoln! Or you’ll find your ass back in a wheelchair again,” he barked as the door slammed.

  Nick dropped back on the floor unable to get up. He felt dizzy and suddenly everything went dark.

  *****

  “Nick! Listen to me, man. You don’t want to lose your job over some dumb shit. Let me talk to Ant first.”

  Nick adjusted the ice pack on his jaw. “Jon, talk to him until you’re baby blue in the fucking face. His ass is mine! He drew the line and now I’m crossing it.”

  “I know you’re pissed he sucker punched you. He had no right to do that. But what were you thinking spending the night at Lincoln’s place?”

  Nick’s lips thinned. “I didn’t intend to spend the night! I went to check on her like Orlando asked me to do. I fell asleep and she didn’t wake me up. I’m not sleeping with her, I swear.”

  Jon rubbed his forehead. “That does make sense. We did have a long night. Did you tell her about this?”

  Nick frowned, “What do you think? I’m not gonna tell her I got knocked the hell out by her old ass ex-boyfriend….I don’t think so.”