Burning Love. by Emily Zimmerman. (classic novels for teens .txt) 📖

angry; it was only second to when she was happy. Her smile could light the room. Her eyes could shine like stars.
When I got home, she was standing on the porch with her arms crossed, glaring at me. I laughed before getting out of the car. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Don’t you “hello beautiful me-!”
I cut her off by grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into a long, demanding kiss. “Too late.” I whispered in her ear when I pulled back. I felt her shiver and smiled. “And you are mine, and you will always be mine. Deal. With. It.” I whispered slowly.
I let her go and walked in the house, acting as if nothing happened.
“What the hell? I am not yours! As I recall, you were the one who told me you couldn’t act on your love, and now you’re claiming me as your own? I don’t think so.” She said.
I sighed, but didn’t turn around, she was right, I did say that. God, I wanted her, I needed her, but I couldn’t, she didn’t want this, and my background didn’t allow anyone involved with me in that way. I had a lot of enemies, and I didn’t want to get Sky involved in it.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just…I can’t bear the thought of his hands on you…I’m in love with you, you have to expect jealousy.” I shrugged, turning to face her.
She stared at me for a few seconds, her eyes turning from cold and hard, to soft and caring. “I didn’t realize…I guess I didn’t think you’d be jealous.” She whispered.
I snorted a sarcastic laugh. “In all my years, I’d never been this jealous. I wanted to rip Blake’s hands off when he mentioned the date.” I told her truthfully.
She sighed. “I-I just…John is out there, and possibly Gram as well. I don’t want him to see us together, he’ll go into a jealous rage and do something rash, like kidnap Linda to get to you, or worse, he’ll sneak in like he did before and this time, he’ll kill you in your sleep.” She stressed.
I smiled, it wasn’t likely. I was trained to sleep lightly and I had a weapon easily reachable hidden in my pillow case. John wasn’t going to kill me that easy. “I’ll be fine. Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse.” I hadn’t realized what I’d said until it was out of my mouth. I’d practically just told her that I was in the war.
“What do you mean?” she asked me.
I hesitated. “Nothing. I…I was a cop before, I’ve dealt with rapists and murderers more times than I can count.” I said.
She didn’t seem to believe me, but before she could ask a question, my phone buzzed. “I almost forgot, how was the outing with your family?” I asked her as I looked at the ID.
It was Bernie, one of my men from the fire department. “It was…eventful. Mostly because my mother was driving and it’d been so long, she got lost.”
I pressed the call button, smiling. “Very interesting. You seem to know the roads better than your mother.” I told her.
“Daniel, it’s Bernie, we have a situation. The apartment down on third street, above the bakery.” Bernie said.
“How bad?” I asked him, my smile dropping.
“The whole place is up in flames, two people trapped inside.”
I cursed under my breath, glad I was still in my fire suit. “I’ll be right there.”
“What, what is it?” she asked me worriedly.
“A fire above the bakery, two people trapped inside.” I told her.
She leaned a hand against the wall and used her other hand to clutch her forehead. “Please don’t tell me it’s Haywood’s Bakery.” She whispered.
“It’s on third street.” I explained.
“My God…that’s my Aunt and Uncle’s bakery.” She said.
I rushed out the door. “If anything happens, I want you to call me immediately.” I said as I got in the car.
“Please get them out of the house!” she called after me.
“I promise!”
And I sped off.
Chapter seven.

I paced the floor for probably an hour, the TV on as I watched the live news feed from a helicopter. The apartment window above the bakery had flames shooting out of it. I saw a man in a full fire suit go in. I sat with my hands clasped together, praying that Aunt Mabel and Uncle Joe were alright.
I saw one of the men go in after his companion and what seemed like hours later, they came out with two people in their arms. “They have the victims, repeat, they have the victims!” The news anchor said with relief in his voice.
I almost cried in relief, my heart was pounding and I was cheering as I jumped up and down. “Thank you lord!” I exclaimed in relief.
“Wait…hold on…one victim seems not to be responding, I just got a report that she wasn’t breathing.” The anchor said.
My heart stuttered, she? That meant Aunt Mabel wasn’t doing well. I sat down and clasped my hands together, praying to God that she’d be alright. I didn’t think my mother could take losing her only sister, she’d be devastated, more so than she already. I felt tears brim in my eyes, please don’t die, I thought softly.
“They’ve got her breathing! What a remarkable crew! They’ve got her breathing, but she’s in critical condition, they’re getting her to the hospital right now.” The anchor said.
I sighed in relief, wishing I could be there for her. I watched as the sprayed the building with water, making sure it didn’t spread to other buildings. My Uncle and Aunt were going to be okay, I thought with conviction.
About two hours and a lot of pacing later, Dan entered the front door. He ran his hand through his messy brown hair; his uniform was covered in soot.
“They’re both alright, Cal and I got them out just before the ceiling-“ before he could continue, I threw my arms around his neck and laid my head on his chest. “Thank you so much.” I whispered.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against him. “Hey, I promised I would get them out. I never break a promise.” He said softly.
“Can I go see them?” I asked him, looking up to meet his eyes.
“We will if that’s what you want, Babe.”
I nodded and grabbed my jacket. “Let’s go.”
“Ah, Babe?” Dan asked, his voice full of amusement.
I looked back at where he stood by the living room door. “You’re in your pajamas.” He said.
I looked down and my cheeks grew pink. I’d changed when I got home, I was wearing my tank top and shorts that reached mid-thigh. “I forgot.” I muttered.
“You sure you want to go tonight? They’ll be in the hospital for quite a while.” Dan said.
I sighed and shook my head. “I want to see them.”

After getting changed, I slipped my jacket on and Dan led me out to the car, opening my door for me to get in. Making sure I was settled, he got in the driver side and started the car. I leaned my elbow on the door and put my forehead in my hand. “I need a vacation.” I muttered.
Dan chuckled. “Babe, you need a relocation. You have more stress and drama in your life than the soap opera channel can comprehend.”
This dragged a smile out of me. My entire life these days consisted of a dangerous man that claims to love me and to own me, a man that wanted to either kill me or make me his unwilling wife, and so much family drama I thought I could drown in it.
“Babe, you look like you’ve been put through the ringer.” He said, his voice softer this time.
I hadn’t even realized until he spoke that I was dozing off against the door. “I feel like I’ve been ridden hard and put up wet.” I mumbled.
We pulled up to the hospital and Dan helped me out of the car, supporting most of my weight with an arm around my waist because I was tired as hell. “Excuse us.” Dan said to the woman behind the counter when he and I walked up. “We’re looking for Mr. and Mrs. Williams. They came in from the burning apartment?”
The woman, who was attractive, with blonde hair, hazel eyes and a Barbie figure, looked a little flustered as she stared at Daniel. “Uhm…sure. Let me see, ah yes, Mabel and Jess are in the emergency ward, second floor, room 206.” She informed with a very, very friendly smile Dan’s way.
He nodded politely. “Thank you.”
“Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.” She said, fluttering her lashes flirtatiously and puffed out her oversized chest.
I resisted the urge to gag as Dan pulled me away from the desk. “She was…nice.” It felt like acid coming out of my mouth, and kind of sounded like it too.
Dan chuckled and pressed his lips to my temple. “No need to be jealous, she has nothing on you.” He whispered, leaning his head down so his lips brushed against my ear.
I gasped and pushed him away. “I was not jealous!” I denied, crossing my arms and staring ahead down the hall. I wasn’t jealous…was I?
“You’re absolutely right, I’m sorry for the false accusation.” He chuckled.
He took my hand and pulled me into the elevator, pushing the button for the second floor. Hospitals always gave me the creeps, and I think it showed on my face because Dan wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gathered me into him, kissing my forehead in a very comforting way. I cuddled into his embrace until the elevator doors opened. Dan reluctantly let me go and we walked out into the hall. Dan and I stopped as we reached room 206. I looked at Dan. “I heard…I mean I saw…they said that Aunt Mabel was in critical condition.” I whispered.
“Her lungs were collapsing from the smoke mixed with a recurring asthma problem. She’ll be okay, I promise.” He said, staring into my eyes.
I took a deep breath and nodded. Lifting my hand to the handle of the door. I cracked the door open and peeked in. The nurse was checking Aunt Mabel’s IV. “Is it alright if I sit in for a while?” I asked her in a whisper, as not to wake them.
The nurse looked up. “Of course. Are you family?”
“Yes, I’m their niece.” I said.
She looked behind me at Dan. “He’s a friend.” I explained.
“I’ll be close by if there are any problems.” She informed, leaving the room.
I walked over to Mabel; she looked so feeble compared to when I saw her this morning. I already missed the twinkle in her eye and the warmth her smile could give.
Jess was worse off. His arms were covered in gauze, with the blood slightly seeping through. His forehead was bruised and his