Wild Irish: Wild & Noble (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Shyla Colt

Author:Shyla Colt [Colt, Shyla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2018-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Noble

The key turning in the lock pulls me from my sleep. I rub my eyes and glance at the clock. Five a.m.? Mom’s still asleep. There’s only one other person who has a set of keys. My heart races. Is he hurt? I stumble off the couch and slide across the wooden floor in my socks. The defeat etched onto his smoke-smeared face makes the organ in my chest hurt. This is bad.

“Zeke?”

He stares at me blankly. His shoulders shake, and a slow panic detonates inside of me. I’m not used to seeing him like, so raw, and completely out of gas. He rests his head on my shoulder, buries his face into my neck, and unleashes. Tears soak my neck and T-shirt. The silent sobs rip my insides to shreds. I stroke his downy head. “It’s okay.” I kiss his temple and hold him up. He’s always been there for me. I’m not going to let him down when he needs me most. “I’ve got you. Let it all out.”

I kick the door shut and walk backward to engage the lock. I move toward the hallway, and he tightens his hold.

“I’m not going anywhere. We’re moving to my room, okay?”

He nods, and we manage to shuffle our way together. My ribs protest his tight hold. What the hell happened? Inside of my room, I plop down on my bed and open my arms. He climbs in. The acrid scent of smoke and burnt things surrounds me. He must’ve come here straight from work. His sobs ease and his body relaxes as he drifts into an exhausted sleep. His weight pins me to the bed. I don’t dare move for fear of waking him. I’ve never seen him this wrecked. Did Station 49 lose another firefighter tonight?

The thought shakes me to my core. Who was it? My eyes well with tears. Is there another family out there entering the grieving process my mother and I still have yet to work our way through? Nausea assaults me. I cling tightly to the man in my arms, saying a thankful prayer he was able to come here tonight. I’ve played hard to get, refusing to label what we’re doing, but the emotions are clear.

I’m already in over my head because I’m in love with him now. Jesus, help me. I let my own tears fall as I pray for him. Lord protect him, heal him, and show me how I can help. I kiss the face dear to me, reassuring myself with the physical contact that he’s here with me, safe and sound. That this isn’t a dream I’m going to wake up from only to realize he’s gone. My head pounds. I close my eyes. Gratitude fills me when the elixir of sleep washes over me, pulling me down into the darkness where no thoughts can penetrate.

A full bladder drags me to the word of the living. I wiggle, trying to crawl from beneath the massive deadweight.

“Don’t go,” Zeke mumbles.

“I have to pee.

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