I sighed. At least I didn’t think he would. That would be pretty fucking bold.
“Do you want to leave town?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Cause I have no problem driving us to the airport and putting us on a plane to the other side of the country.”
She smoothed her hands down her thighs. “The station is fine.”
Our quint truck, the one we used most often here since it was a combination of a pumper and ladder truck, perfect for small towns, flew by us heading toward the fire.
She gasped, and her head turned from the rig back to me, like she’d just realized I was still technically on duty. “Shouldn’t you be there to help them with the fire?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re my priority right now. Making sure you’re safe and stay that way.”
She stared at me and then finally let out a long sigh. So much resignation, but also a bit of gratefulness hung on that sigh. Then she was quiet throughout the rest of the drive.
My thoughts were anything but silent as the things left unfinished between us—the frustration and fear of not knowing where she stood—as well as the threat lurking out there flooded my brain.
Chapter Twenty
LYLA
Being backat the station felt weird. The last time I was there was right before the accident. I pushed away thoughts of that day. So far, I couldn’t remember much anyway.
I looked around as we entered the bay. Our main truck was gone, and the building was quiet. The crew was likely at Adam’s putting out the fire.
Exhaustion sat heavy in every part of my body. It had been a long, stressful day, and it looked like it was going to be a long night as well.
I followed Adam up the stairs. He looked back at me as I slowed, fighting a yawn with zero success.
“We should probably try to get a bit of sleep beforethe guys get back,” he said, spinning to face me as we stepped into the common area.
I nodded. Sleep sounded like a great idea. “Yeah, I need to lie down for a bit.”
Once in the bunk room, he stopped at his bunk. It was already made. I had almost forgotten he was supposed to be on duty tonight. I glanced around. Maybe I could just rest on an unmade bunk. Or one of the chairs in the common area.
He lifted his blanket with a wave. “Climb in.”
I raised a brow and looked cautiously around the room. He wanted to share his bed?
“Nothing’s going to happen,” he added quickly. “I just want to hold you, and I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
With a few words, I could’ve ended whatever we’d started earlier. But was that what I wanted? It appeared my decision was made when no part of me could utter those words.
Climbing in, I scooted over, leaving what I hoped was enough room for Adam. These bunks were definitely not made for two.
Laying down next to me, Adam wrapped his arm around my shoulder and brought me close to him. I breathed him in as I rested my head on his chest. His crisp, clean scent that always reminded me of a day on the water invaded my senses. And with my arm draped over his torso, it was impossible to ignore the muscles that lay beneath.
God, this felt good.
“We can take this slow, Lyla,” he whispered. “I wanted you to know how I feel, but I need you to be sure this is what you want before anything happens between us.”
I nodded, needing time to digest all of this. The thought of being with him was half exciting and half scary. I let myself inhale all that was him, comforted by his heartbeat and his soothing embrace, as I started to drift peacefully off tosleep.
My eyelids fluttered open again sometime lateras noise from the guys filling the common area filtered into our space. I raised up on my elbow and looked down at Adam.
He smiled sleepily at me and reached up, tucking my hair behind my ear. “I could get used to waking up like this.”
