Burned (9 page)

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 behind. 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 the 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.”

Gabby entered the basement carrying a tray of sandwiches. Jon had remodeled the dingy basement into a man cave equipped with the bells and whistles required to carry the status. She looked at both men. “How are you feeling, Nick?  Are you experiencing any shortness of breath, any headaches?  I’m concerned since you blacked out. You could’ve hit your head when you fell.”

Nick rubbed his chest. It was sore and his jaw was swollen, but he would recover. His pride took the brunt of the damage. He didn’t take pleasure in Anthony’s cowardly ambush.  “Nah, I’m doing okay, Gabby.”

“I never thought Anthony was the violent type. He is such a sweetheart,” she said putting the tray of food on the table and handing him a fresh bag of ice for his face.

“After I drill him a new asshole, he’ll just be sweet,” Nick fussed. “I can’t believe this shit. I would never, ever, cross the line. Ant knows me better than that.”

Gabrielle rubbed his arms comforting him. “Nick, this is about a woman. He still cares about Lincoln.”

The anger in Nick’s eyes caused his dark pupils to resemble hot burning coals. “Then why is he treating her like a piece of shit?  Ant can’t have it both ways. He can’t have Melanie and keep Lincoln on the side in case they split again. Lincoln is damn attractive. Another man will grab her attention.”

Jon sat forward in the chair. “Nick, be totally honest with me. Are you attracted to her?”

He wanted to lie and say no, but he was attracted to her physically but not romantically. “No, I’m not,” he lied. “I was just with Linda last weekend.”

“And that means what?” Jon questioned. “You date a lot of women. Maybe Ant doesn’t want Lincoln to end up as a notch on your bedpost.”

He shot Jon a revolting look. “Seriously, Jon—that hurt my feelings. Orlando is one my best friends. Lincoln is about to be family to him. Do you think I would treat her like a common street whore?”

Gabby shook her head at her husband. “Jon, I’m appalled you’d think that about Nick. He has grown a lot as a person and a man. You owe him an apology.”