Page 89 of Burn for Me

A pair of hands suddenly grasp my cheeks, drawing my attention to the man sitting so close I can almost touch him.Hesitantly, I pull off his mask, revealing his stunning deep brown eyes as they dart between mine.

I touch everywhere I can. His face, neck, chest, but I stop when I see his legs. His pants are torn and bloody. Below the red liquid, there's deep bruising on one side, and the other has a gnarly gash across it. My lips part, but my throat burns so badly that I can't form a proper word, let alone a complete sentence.He’s hurt, but he’s…

He jerks my head again, pulling my attention back to him. It’s a strange feeling to be able to breathe while still sensing that I’m not getting enough air.

But that’s what being with Sam is like.

It's pulling in the rapidly depleting oxygen, savoring the feeling of my lungs being full again, only to make me feel like I'm gasping for air all over again. It's horrifying, like fire, but just as beautiful.

“I guess it isn't time for us to meet in hell yet. It's a shame. I was looking forward to taking you home.” he murmurs.

I choke back a laugh, and his mouth is on mine without warning. It's not pretty by any means—my snot trickles onto my lips, and my tears slick the way for his thumbs to brush my cheekbones. The smell of burnt wood clings to him, masking the scent I had come to love and adore. His tongue pushes past my lips, but I barely get a taste before he pulls back, huffing for air.

“We need to—”

“I’ve been through a lot worse, darlin’.” Sam huffs, cutting off my statement while leaning back in again.

“We still need to get everyone checked out.” I glance at the authoritative voice behind me before Sam's lips meet mine again. Moe stands frozen, not even looking at us as he speaks. I follow his intense gaze to see Delilah and Jonathan climbing into a blacked-out vehicle. Typically, I’d try to read into it, but I onlywant to focus on Sam's hand curling into the hair at the back of my head, pulling me towards his chest.

“I'm so fuckin’ tired of fire.” Tide's voice grumbles, and Sharkie laughs.That makes two of us.Sam lets me go, and I stand, keeping my hand on his waist as Moe and Tide help him to his feet. I'm terrified that if I don't touch him, he'll disappear.

Once he's stable, I reluctantly step back, and Sharkie wraps her arm over my shoulder as we follow along.

“I like the crazy side of you. It felt good to see you fight back.”

I snort dryly and raise an eyebrow, marveling at how oddly unique she is. That’s what I appreciate most about her—she’s unapologetically herself, no matter how twisted that may be.

“I mean, it was a fair fight, you know? I wasn't caught off guard like during our first spar,” she continues, treating this like some sort of bonding moment. I start to understand her perspective and manage a slight grin. Out of everyone, she’s the only one I expected to treat me the same way, even after everything. She understands how exhausting it is to live with the mistakes made for good reasons. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m a terrible friend.

“Thanks, Shark,” I mutter.

I try to focus on each step Sam takes, but movement in my peripheral vision makes me scan the area. That's when I finally notice how many people are out here–most are dressed in lavish, flashy clothes that I recognize from the night, while others are soldiers from our team scraping the ground in an attempt to collect any evidence that we were here.

"Don’t thank me yet. Caspian is still upset, so I can’t promise that things will be easy at home. But between Sam and me, I think you’re kind of stuck with us.” She laughs. I don’t even want to think about the trouble I'm about to face, so I’ll just focus on how lucky I am.

My attention shifts to Dove, leaning against mine and Sam’s vehicle with her arms crossed over her chest, staring in my direction. I’d love to rush over to her, but as expected, Tide has members already fanning out toward everyone involved, including me, to gather a summary of the mission report.

Sharkie pulls away and glares at the man trying to talk to her while another person approaches me. Despite the rookie’s stuttering questions, my attention remains divided between Sam and Dove, ensuring both stay within my line of sight and don’t disappear into thin air. I’m still not convinced I’m not just having a fever dream—wondering if this will all fade into darkness when I wake up in a hospital bed.

Luckily, the reports didn’t take too long, but everyone looked ready to rip off someone’s head. We’re all exhausted, and some of us are sore. What’s worse is knowing we have many more places to visit before considering returning to our base. The sun beams off the matte black truck as Tide and Moe carefully load Sam into the backseat.

"Get the cleanup crew out here! Casey, get the media and cover this as a freak fire. Someone get me O’Handon, so I can clear my father's goddamn name!” Rurik barks over his shoulder as he steps beside us. I was hoping Dove would keep him cuffed for a bit longer.

I step away before Sam can reach for my hand and head toward my sister.

"I have to go before our dad sees me out here. If you don’t mind, I'll use your car. Don’t worry; I already gave the scary guy your stuff," she mutters, waving in Sam's direction.

"Thank you, and that's... um." I trail off nervously. "That’s Sam."

"He’s quiet and looks mean, so I’ll call him the scary guy."

I try to take her in since I don't know if my mother will ever allow me to see her again, especially after tonight.

"Promise you'll take care of yourself?"

“I promise. Can you keep a room open for me over there? If I ever manage to escape this psychopath, I’m going to need it.” I glance back at Rurik as she gestures toward him with an exasperated sigh. Now that I think about it, he reminds me a lot of Sam.

“You can stay with me, but if a wedding happens, send me an invitation, okay?”

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