Page 9 of His Wood Her Fire

With the fire lit, I walked to the bathroom, slipping off my flannel pajama pants and the thermal shirt I wore on top.

It was twenty-three degrees outside, and even with the heat on, I was still cold.

Steam rose from the tub, and I smiled as I stepped inside and lowered my body in the warm water.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, head back, and I just relaxed.

“Oooh, I could spend all day in here,” I said aloud to no one in particular.

Of course, that was when the fire alarm started blaring.I opened my eyes, panicking as thick, black clouds of smoke were coming into the bathroom from inside.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”

I opened the door, realizing I made a mistake not getting a towel or my robe first, because now I could not see a damn thing.

Choking on the smoke, I fell to my knees, trying to find the front door, but it was hopeless.Tears streamed from my eyes and the alarm was so loud I almost didn’t hear the slamming of the door as someone entered.

“HELLO!”

“Over here!”I called out.

“Shit,” a familiar masculine voice ran straight for me, and icy hands met my naked skin, causing me to yelp.

“Fuck.Come on.We have to get you out of here!”

Bo bent down and picked me up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.I felt something drape over me and could have kissed the man for grabbing the throw blanket from the couch.Only I was too busy coughing to do anything else.

“Are you hurt?Look at me, Gloria.Breathe.That’s it.Now, tell me, are you hurt?”he asked, sliding me down to sit on the rocking bench that sat on the porch.

His stare was so intense, but still I couldn’t talk.I shook my head, trying to suck in oxygen.I didn’t know what was worse, the smoke or the cold air.

“Stay right here!”

There was no mistaking the order in his tone.For some reason, it gave me shivers, and I wondered if he was bossy elsewhere.

Like in the bedroom.

But those thoughts would have to wait until I could breathe again, and it would also probably be better if I wasn’t covered in soot.

I shivered, wrapping the afghan more tightly around me.And wondering if I should go inside to help.

Two minutes later, Bo came out, shaking his head.

He dropped my boots on the ground and helped me into them.

“You didn’t open the flue,” he growled, putting one arm around my back and the other behind my knees.

“Ooh!I didn’t what?”I asked, still coughing, albeit a lot less than I had been earlier.

He grumbled something and stalked across the yard, through the trees separating the two properties with me in his arms.I was never the kind of woman men just picked up and carried, and to say I was shocked would be putting it mildly.

A few inches of snow covered the ground, and it was so beautiful.But I was too aware of the enormous man holding me in his arms like I weighed little more than a sack of potatoes to pay it any real attention.

“Um, you should put me down.I’m too heavy,” I said.

“Nah, Slick.You don’t weigh anything at all.”

“Slick?”