“Oh, yeah?” I ask, smiling up at him as he carries me back into the bedroom. “Like what?”
My phone rings before he can answer and he scowls as he sits down on the edge of the bed with me in his lap. Nico’s name pops onto the screen and I smile as I answer it.
“Hey, girl. What time are you getting in?”
“I actually got in last night but I thought I’d get a good night’s sleep before meeting up with you to go over business,” she says and I look up at Sawyer and scrunch up my nose.
“I wasn’t actually planning on going into work today so you can take another day. Maybe explore the city or look for an apartment.”
There is a pause on the line and my stomach flips as I wait for her response. She sighs. “So you’ve decided to stay then?”
“I have and I would really love to have you here with me. It’s up to you, though.”
“Can I have a few days to think about it?”
I nod, smiling up at Sawyer who returns it. “Of course. In fact, take that time off as well. There really isn’t much we can do right now since the contractor is still making changes to the office.”
She agrees before promising to let me know her decision soon and I grin as I hang up and turn back to Sawyer.
“Now, what were those important things you mentioned earlier?”
“Well, for starters,” he murmurs, hooking his fingers into the edge of my robe. “The shower I promised you and then I figure we need to go home and move you into your new bedroom.”
I grin. “How do you feel about new curtains?”
“Oh, God,” he groans. “It’s starting already.”
“Get used to it, baby,” I reply and he rolls his eyes as he carries me into the shower and flips it on without stopping to let us get undressed first and I squeal as the robe molds itself to my skin. Sawyer looks down at me, fighting back laughter and I can’t help but smile. Life with this man is going to be so good and I’m more than ready to get started.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sawyer
The blare of an alarm rips me from sleep and I open my eyes, blinking into the haze in front of me as my mind slowly returns to consciousness. I struggle to suck in a breath and my brows draw together and I sit up and scan the room. My eyes burn and sweat drips down the side of my face. I can’t see more than a foot in front of me and it takes my mind a second to register the thick black smoke rolling into the bedroom under the closed door.
Fire!
Turning, I reach over to wake up Juliette but the only thing I find is cold sheets and my heart jumps into my throat, hammering so hard I think it might explode. Where is she? I roll to her side and check the floor next to the bed but she’s not there. Rolling to my back, I sit up and scan the room again, squinting into the smoke as it gets harder and harder to see.
No.
No.
No.
Where is she?
I try to scan the room but visibility continues to decline with each second that passes as more smoke rolls into the room. Stumbling out of bed, I find my jeans and slip them on before grabbing my phone and slipping it into my pocket. Crouching down, I move toward the door. Every fire drill I ever participated in as a kid flashes through my head, telling me to get myself to safety first but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving without Juliette. The heat and smoke intensify as I move closer to the door and I grab one of my t-shirts off the floor, covering my face with it before continuing toward the door. Reaching out, I press my hand to the back of the door and jerk back when the heat seeps into my skin, sucking in a breath as my mind stalls.
I try to picture the layout of my house, ticking through all the exits in my mind but it’s impossible to focus as the heat surrounds me, suffocating me just as much as the smoke rolling into the room. Juliette’s face pops into my mind and my chest aches.
Fuck it.
Jumping into action, I grab the door handle, yelling as it burns my skin, and yank it open. Black smoke pours into the room and orange flames lick up the wall of the guest bedroom as I run past it, looking frantically for my girl and my hand throbs.
“Juliette!” I scream over the roar of the flames, tears stinging my eyes as I start to cough. “Juliette!”
I don’t see her anywhere in the kitchen and I’m trying hard to ignore the idea that she could have been in the guest bedroom for any reason. After we got back from the hotel this afternoon, we moved everything into my room, our room now, so she would have no reason to go in there, right? My stomach rolls as I think about her stuck in that room, the fire raging all around her and shake my head.
No, she’s not in there.
A faint cry pulls my attention to the living room but I can’t see through the smoke.
“Juliette!”
Another cry greets me and I surge forward, crashing into one of my dining room chairs and stumbling to the floor as pain rockets through my body.
“Fuck!”
My eyes burn and it hurts to open them but I can’t stop, not until me and my angel are safe. I blink against the smoke and force them open again, letting out a sigh of relief when I see Juliette’s foot a few feet in front of me. Pushing through the smoke and heat, I crawl across the floor to her on my stomach, praying that she’s okay. She moans when I reach her side and I roll her to her back as I glance up at the front door. It’s a straight shot and I can feel the heat of the fire creeping up behind me so we don’t have time to wait.
Standing, I pick her up and try to cover as much of her with my own body as I run toward the front door and kick it open. Clean air smacks me in the face and I take a full breath for the first time since I woke up and started coughing. Red lights flash and bounce around the neighborhood as two fire trucks pull up to the house and people start jumping out. Two paramedics grab a stretcher and run up to me.
“Lay her down,” one of them orders and I shake my head. “Sir, we need to check the both of you over.”
“I’m not letting her go.”
One of them lays her hand on my arm and I jerk back. “Sir, we need to make sure she’s okay. She could have inhaled a lot of smoke and we need to work quickly.”
Sighing, I give in and lay her on the stretcher as her eyes flutter open and she coughs, looking up at me. “Sawyer?”
“Hey,” I whisper, forcing a smile to my face as I cup her cheek in my hand. Pain sears through me from the burn on my hand but I clench my teeth to hold my reaction in. “How are you feeling?”
“What happened?”
I glance up as the fire begins to envelop my house and shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you are okay.”
“Sir,” the other paramedic snaps but I flick her an annoyed glance before turning back to my girl. Juliette turns in the stretcher to glance back at the house and gasps.
“Oh my God…”
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper, my hand throbbing and my chest aching. She shakes her head and looks up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Your house.”
I shake my head. “It’s just a house, sweetheart. You and I are okay and that’s all that matters.”
“Sir, we need to look you both over,” the paramedic says again, more forcefully this time and I nod as I glance over at her.