couch in her apartment to read and closed her eyes for just a second. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep
because the book was on the floor and a couple of hours had passed.
Ethan appeared from the hallway and checked the peephole before opening the door.
Chase walked inside and she hurried across the room to wrap her arms around his waist. He’d
gone to visit Richard and said he’d call when he finished. Had something else happened?
“Are you okay?” He had a shirt on she’d not seen. “Did you go shopping?”
“I stopped by the condo to get some clothes after I talked to Richard, but they smelled like smoke.
I bought a few new things to get me through a couple of days until everything is cleaned.”
Sabrina grimaced at the memory of the fire destroying his home. “I’m sorry it happened.” She
looked at the ground, but Chase tipped her chin up.
“Sabrina, this is not your fault.”
She blinked back tears. “But if I hadn’t—”
“Do you think it would have been better if you’d gone to your Master and left me alone?”
She glanced at Ethan standing near the kitchen table and back at Chase’s broad chest—the chest
she loved resting her head against, listening to his heartbeat, feeling him breathe. Could she have
given that up? “I want you to be safe,” she whispered.
Chase grabbed her shoulders and dipped his head to stare into her eyes. “Sabrina. I’m fine. I’ll be
okay.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head as tears flowed down her cheeks. “I can’t lose you,” she
said, her voice cracking on the last word.
“You’re not going to lose me.” He guided her to the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He
kissed her head and stroked her hair. “I’m a tough opponent.”
She choked as a laugh escaped through her tears. “I know.”
“So much has happened with us. But we’re still here. We found each other. We’re together.” He
tipped her chin up again. “Don’t you think that counts for something?”
She searched his eyes. “Doesn’t mean we’re safe though.”
“Life isn’t safe. It’s a dangerous world out there. All we can do is fight for what we believe in
and do the right thing. Everything else is out of our control.”
She leaned her head against his chest, listening to her favorite sound in the world. Slowly, her
tears subsided and she relaxed.