Page 19 of Burning for Him

A noise caught their attention, and they turned to see a black and brown mid-sized mutt trot in through the open front door, its nails clicking on the concrete floor. A quick peek told Doug it was a female. Her tongue lolled from her mouth as her tail wagged, but she kept her distance from them.

He squatted and held out his hand. “Hey there, girl. Are we in your home?”

The dog whined and lowered her head but didn’t come closer.

“Here. Try this.” Jenn opened the emergency kit on the table, found one of the unopened MREs, and pulled out a biscuit and a package marked"Sudado con Papas y Carne"–stew with potatoes and meat. After giving Doug the biscuit, she opened the coated cardboard bowl that came with the stew, added a little water, and used her finger to stir the contents.

Meanwhile, Doug held out half of the biscuit to the dog. “C’mere, pup. Want something to eat?” Realizing he forgot where he was, he rolled his eyes, then repeated the question in Spanish. That and the scent of food got her attention, and she inched forward, gently taking the biscuit from his hand. At least he didn’t have to worry about losing a finger since she didn’t appear feral. The dog gobbled the biscuit in two bites, and Doug gave her the second half. She then scarfed down the stew when Jenn set the bowl on the floor. Once it was empty, she refilled the bowl with some water, which disappeared as quickly as the food.

With a semi-full belly, the dog was content enough to wander over to the mats on the floor. She spun around three times on top of a blanket before lying down. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

“Guess she does live here.” Jenn added more water to the bowl and placed it by the dog.

“Hopefully, she’ll alert us to any danger.”

Her gaze whipped to his. “Do you think we’re still in danger?”

He was an idiot, scaring her like that after the day they’d had. “No, I don’t. But I can’t predict the future, and I don’t know the area, so it’s good that she’s here with us. Animals sense threats before we notice anything.”

“Like right before the landslide, they all started going nuts.”

“Exactly.”

Doug secured the front door and the wooden shutters on the home’s three glassless windows. He then grabbed the rescue blankets and the wool ones they got from the military supplies and handed Jenn one of each. Since the sun went down, the temperature had dropped by at least fifteen degrees. It was probably a lot warmer back at the commune, but they were now at a much higher elevation, and the blankets were needed. While there was a small stack of wood beside the potbelly stove, Doug didn’t want to risk using it. It was too dark out for him to climb onto the roof and inspect the exhaust pipe to make sure it wasn’t damaged during the quake and wouldn’t force carbon monoxide back into the cabin.

“You take the bed,” he told her. “I’ll put the other mat on the floor next to you and sleep on that.” He could have left the mat where it was and slept beside the dog, but he wanted to be near Jenn in case another earthquake or landslide struck.

He nearly jumped when she touched his arm, sending shocks of desire through his body. By the grace of God, he stayed still, though. “Doug, please. I’m not letting you sleep on the floor. There’s enough room on the bed.”

When he started to protest, she huffed, grabbed the lantern, and walked backward toward the bedroom, staring at him like he was the most idiotic man on the planet. “Oh, for Christ’ssake. We’re both adults—we can sleep beside each other,platonically.” She pivoted and turned her back to him. “I won’t tell anyone. Besides, I’m too exhausted to jump your bones, and I wouldn’t anyway after you’ve made it plain as day that you don’t find me attractive.”

What? She thinks I find her unattractive? What the fuck?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

His past interactions with Jenn flooded Doug’s mind, especially that kiss they shared. He kept his distance not because he didn’t think she was beautiful—she definitely was—but she deserved someone closer to her age who didn’t come with baggage like he did. He thought he’d made his reasoning for not pursuing her clear, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Regardless, platonically or not, he wasn’t sharing a bed with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. The problem was he didn’t trust himself unless he managed to stay awake all night, which would be impossible—he was as exhausted as she was. The last thing he needed was to reach for her in his sleep, pull her into his arms, and wrap his body around hers the way he ached to. So the only viable option was for him to sleep on the floor.

To avoid any inadvertent unconscious cuddling during the night, he grabbed the unoccupied mat, said goodnight to the dog, and then carried everything he needed into the other room. Jenn rolled her eyes when she saw the mat but didn’t say anything. While he prepared his sleeping area, she carefully inspected the mattress, blankets, and two pillows already on the bed. “No bedbugs or other creepy crawlers. That’s good. One less thing to worry about.”

She tossed him one of the pillows before spreading the rescue blanket over the entire bed, tucking the other pillow under it. The wool blanket went over that. After kicking off her sneakers, she turned away from him, pulled her shirt over her head, placed it on a bedside table, and started to remove her pants before he comprehended what she was doing. Doug’s eyes widened at the sight of the sports bra straps over her bare back. He quickly spun around, facing the other way and staring at the wall. “What the hell are you doing, Jenn?”

“Getting comfortable. My clothes are dirty and still damp, and I have nothing else to wear, so they at least have to dry before I put them back on tomorrow.”

As much as that made sense, he wasn’t happy about it. His dick was, but his brain was not. “Can you at least see if there is anything you can borrow to sleep in from whoever lives here?”

“Not necessary.” Squeaking and rustling sounds came from behind him, and he realized she’d climbed onto the bed. When he just stood there, unsure of what to do, she huffed. “You can turn around now. I’m under the blanket and still have my underwear on. Who knew you were such a prude?”

His temples throbbed as he gritted his teeth. “I’mnota prude.” Definitely not because now he tried to imagine what she looked like under the covers. Were her panties black like the bra? Did they have lace on them?Shit!

He furtively adjusted himself. “I was just giving you what little privacy I could in this fucked up situation.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then thank you.”

Pivoting slowly, he was grateful and more than a bit disappointed to see the blanket covered everything but her neck and head as she lay on the opposite side of the bed, with her back to him. Her clothes were draped over a chair in the corner of the room. She glanced over her shoulder before turning away again. “Feel free to get comfortable too. I won’t look.”

Shaking his head, he sat on the edge of the bed and unlaced his boots to get them and his filthy socks off. No way in hell would he strip down to his skivvies in the same room as her, but he did remove his shirt and hung it to dry on a hook he spotted screwed into the wall. During his time in the military, he learned to sleep in the worst of conditions, and being in damp, dirty cargo pants didn’t even come close to some of his experiences.

Jenn had set the lantern on a chest at the foot of the bed, and he moved it within reach before turning the switch until the light was almost off. It was just bright enough for them to see in case of an emergency, but it wouldn’t hinder their sleep. Exhausted, he stretched out on his makeshift bed on the floor and pulled the wool blanket over him. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep.

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