Page 4 of Sweet Hate
“You are not fucking fine, Haven. You’re hurt and god only knows how much smoke you inhaled in there while you werenotrunning away from the fire. You are getting checked by the medic. If you don’t go with Ryan, I’ll carry you myself.”
His words send a shiver down my spine, and it has nothing to do with my current cold and wet state and everything to do with his alpha male display.
The raging fire in his eyes and the promise in his words ignite something in me I haven’t felt in forever. I can’t look away, my breath stutters, and my heartbeat hammers in my ears.
Oh crap, I’m in trouble here.
Seconds later, the moment is broken. The bakery door opens, and Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” blasts out into the street from my little demonic speaker.
That bitch is absolutely haunted and needs to be put down.
Any plans for her demise come to a screeching halt when he slaps a Sweet Haven Fire Department T-shirt into my arms.
“And put this on. The whole town doesn’t need to see your tits.”
This guy wants to play? Lets play.
“Oh relax,Verona. They’ve seen worse—you’re the only one growling like you lost your damn chew toy.”
Game on, fucker.
2
AXEL
Islam my locker door shut with a bang before storming into the showers at the end of a long twenty-four-hour shift. Standing under the hot jets, I lean my head against the tiles, letting out a huge sigh.
Ten years, thirty-six weeks, and four days.
That’s how long it’s been since I said goodbye to her. Haven Blake. My ex-best friend.
And now she’s here, crashing back into my carefully ordered life with her pink hair and mouthwatering curves, knocking me on my ass.
It’s been hours, and she’s just as vivid in my mind as if she were standing right in front of me.Hauntingme.
Her damp, smoke smudged face. The sodden white cami clinging to every single one of her tempting curves. That ridiculous, lacy bra of hers doing nothing to hide those dusky pink nipples I used to love to roll between my teeth.
I shake my head, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t unsee it—unseeher.
And the worst part? Half my crew has now seen her basically naked from thewaist up.
I scrub myself clean, hoping to wash away that particular knowledge before I go out there and rip them all new assholes.
Get a grip, Verona.You shouldn’t even be thinking about her fucking nipples. She’s not your problem. Hasn’t been since she got on that plane.
All I see is her on the bakery floor again. The sensation of my heart slamming into my chest with blind panic when I realized it was her sweeping through me once more. Fists clenched, my mind races through all the ways she could have been severely hurt.
Or worse.
It was the first time in over ten years I held her in my arms, and if the fire had been larger and we’d been any later…fuck, my girl would’ve taken her last breath alone on that floor.
She’s not yours.
She’s never been yours.
I punch the tiled wall in frustration, the sharp burst of pain finally shaking her from my thoughts, before switching the spray to cold water.
“Yo, Axeman, you okay in there?” Beckett Fox, our EMT and one of my best friends, calls out from the cubicle next to mine.
