16. Crispy Dildos

Chapter 16

Crispy Dildos

Jade

This couldn’t be happening. Surely, I was trapped in some nightmare and would wake up in a cold sweat soon enough.

Only I didn’t, and as the blue and red lights flashed from out front, I dropped the hose that wasn’t helping anyway, my entire body trembling. I was frozen in place, watching flames crawl out of my closet window, licking at the roof of the house.

The fire department had been fast to arrive, since there was a station not far and my smoke detectors were connected to my security system, but even I knew that didn’t matter. Fire spread fast, and with it being in my closet, it had plenty of fuel to feed it.

Movement at the gate snapped me out of my shock, and I turned as Noah walked through, Captain clutched in his arms. I let out a sob and started forward before remembering the glass.

My cat squirmed in Noah’s arms as his terrified eyes met mine. Noah held on tight, even though his wince told me Captain was clawing him.

“He was already outside. Thank fuck I didn’t put the boxes in front of that door.” Noah handed him off to me, and his hand came to my cheek, wiping away a stream of tears. “They’re already in there working on putting the fire out. Let’s put Captain inside.”

I nodded, letting him wrap an arm around me and lead me to his back door. On the way, he grabbed my shoes and clothes, bringing them into the house.

“I need to go help.” I set Captain down on the couch, taking my shorts from Noah and sliding them on.

“There’s not much you can help with. I did tell them about what was in the closet.” He put my flip-flops on the floor in front of me and grabbed his shirt. “I didn’t know if a bunch of silicone would affect how they put out the fire.”

I covered my face with my hands. “Oh, my God.”

“Hey.” Noah wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. “It’s going to be okay. There were only flames shooting out of that one window, so maybe it didn’t spread very far.”

His words weren’t that reassuring. Even if only my closet was on fire, the smoke damage and smell would be everywhere, despite the size of the house. And the water damage from putting it out would more than likely affect downstairs.

“They told me the lieutenant is going to want to talk to you once they get the fire under control. Let me grab one of my sweatshirts for you.” Noah pulled away and jogged to a closet off his entryway and pulled out a Pacific Storm hoodie. “It’s going to swallow you, but you’re shivering.”

I let him pull it over my head, and it went past the hem of my shorts. Hugging my arms around myself, I let him lead me to the front door, his hand on the small of my back.

Captain had curled up on the couch, his eyes shut. I shuddered at the thought of him being trapped and was glad he’d had a way to get out.

The walk to my house felt like the longest stretch of pavement I’d ever covered. Fear gripped my chest as I moved close to Noah’s side, keeping my eyes down as we stopped at the front end of the fire truck to wait.

Judging by the smoke that was pouring into the sky and coming out of the open front door, the fire had definitely spread beyond my closet. I felt numb, like I was watching someone else’s house be violated by flames and smoke.

Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me against him, his presence a small comfort in the midst of this nightmare. “I’m right here with you.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice to tell him how thankful I was. The lump in my throat made it hard to swallow, let alone speak.

“Is that…” Noah let go of me and walked a few steps away from the front of the fire truck. Then he started to laugh. “What the hell?”

Confused, I moved to see what he was looking at. It was a chicken. A real-life chicken dressed in a little firefighter jacket with a mini helmet on her head. She was just sitting on the dashboard watching the scene. Were chickens the new dalmatians?

My hand came to my mouth to cover my giggle. And then I was giggle-sobbing, right there in front of all the nosy neighbors and emergency personnel.

Noah pulled me into his arms, one of his hands cradling the back of my head and the other rubbing my back. “I didn’t know you were scared of chickens.”

I laughed through my tears, clinging to his shirt. This man was everything I didn’t know I needed. Other men would have run the other way at the first sign of my baggage, but he’d stayed.

We stood like that for what felt like forever, and it probably was at least thirty minutes before a firefighter with a clipboard approached us, his face smudged with soot. “Are you the homeowners?”

“Yes,” I managed, my voice barely audible. “I am.”

“I’m Lieutenant Lucas Reese. Were you home when the fire started?” He looked briefly at Noah before his intense eyes came back to mine.

“We were in Noah’s backyard when we heard the window break and saw the smoke.”

Lieutenant Reese nodded, jotting something down on his clipboard. “The fire appears to have started in the closet. Can you tell me what was in there? Any electronics or appliances that were plugged in?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I thought about the contents of my closet. How could I explain to this stranger what I kept in there? Had he already seen them? Were they burned completely to ash, or were they just charred, half-melted cocks now?

Noah’s hand rubbed soothing circles on my back, as if he could sense my discomfort. I drew in a shaky breath. “I had a toy charging, but it should have been done. I plugged it in earlier today. One of my vibrators. Well, not my brand. It was another company’s.” The words tumbled out in a rush. I was stupid to leave a toy left plugged in and unattended for so long.

If my admission shocked the lieutenant, he didn’t show it. He simply made another note on his clipboard. “That could be a potential cause. We’ll investigate further and let you know our findings.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “For now, is there somewhere you can stay? With family or friends?”

“I can’t just stay in my guest room?” I hugged my arms around myself as I looked at the front of my house in disbelief.

The lieutenant gave me a sad smile. “I know it appears fine, but there is extensive damage to the upstairs, the attic, and to the rooms directly below, including the living room. My team is still dealing with some hot spots, but I should have a better idea of how far it spread in a bit.”

My breath hitched, and my lungs refused to inhale and exhale.

Noah’s hand came to the back of my neck and squeezed gently. “She’ll stay with me.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

I looked up at him, my heart flipping with an emotion I wasn’t ready to even think about. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose. ”

“You’re not imposing. I want you to stay with me. Please.” The intensity in his blue eyes threw me off guard, and I looked back at my house. It looked fine from the front.

“Can I see if anything is salvageable?”

“The investigator is en route, and everything will need to be inspected before we can let you reenter to retrieve any belongings. I recommend contacting your insurance company to report the fire and begin the claims process. The investigator will be over to speak to you as soon as he’s done with his initial assessment. You’ll be next door?” He pointed towards Noah’s property, and I nodded.

As he walked away, I sagged against Noah, the adrenaline that had been keeping me upright quickly vanishing.

“Let’s get you inside. You need to rest.” Noah took my hand and led me back to his house. Thankfully, all the onlookers had gone back to their homes, so I didn’t have to see people watching me with pity.

I was exhausted and ready to go to bed, but knew my night was far from over. As we started up Noah’s driveway, my mind was racing with all I needed to do. “I need to call my insurance. Kendall is on vacation this week, but how am I supposed to go into the office looking like this? I have no clothes or shoes. Do you think I should call the vet and have Captain checked out? What if he inhaled smoke? What if he’s never the same after this? He must have been so scared.”

“You aren’t going into the office tomorrow. There are other people who can run things.” He opened his front door for me. “The company isn’t going to fall apart.”

“But—”

“Jade.” He took my cheeks in his hands, forcing me to look at him. “The most important thing you can do for your business right now is to take care of yourself. Going into the office tomorrow should be the last thing on your mind.”

I bit my lip and nodded. “After I call my insurance, I need to email a few people to let them know what’s going on and to reschedule several meetings.”

“I’ll get you my laptop so you can do what you need to.” He kissed my forehead and disappeared down the hall.

I made my way over to the couch and sat down where Captain was still curled up. Lifting his head, he blinked up at me with tired eyes and let out a soft meow, as if trying to reassure me that he was okay.

Gathering him in my arms, I buried my face in his fluffy neck, my never-ending tears soaking into his fur. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”

He purred and nuzzled his head under my chin, his whiskers tickling my skin. He’d always comforted me, and the thought of losing him made me hug him closer.

Just when I thought things were looking up for my personal life, this had to go and happen.

The delicious aroma of bacon, and something with a hint of sweetness, drew me from a sleep I didn’t want to wake from. Noah and I had both been up late, and the last thing I remembered was putting my head on his shoulder after getting off the phone with my insurance company.

I sat up, noticing the bed had clearly been slept in on the other side. It seemed a little too soon to up and move into his bedroom, even if it would be for a short time. We had a lot to discuss when it came to me staying with him.

Everything was happening at lightning speed, and I needed it to slow down. It seemed like yesterday he was just my annoying, angry neighbor who hated my cat, and now I was going to stay with him.

Live with him.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, needing to get up before I let my mind think of the million reasons why living with Noah Badden was a horrible idea. It didn’t help when I finally took a good look around his bedroom and realized how cozy it was.

Directly across from the bed was an electric fireplace with a television mounted overhead. In the corner was a large, circular swivel chair that had several pillows. It made me want to grab a book and curl up. The color scheme of the room was neutral, but there were green and blue accents that complemented the medium wood tones of the furniture.

And to make it even better, it smelled like him. I wasn’t one to get lost in smells or even be able to identify them, but whatever it was, it was comforting.

With a shake of my head, I went into the bathroom, stopping in my tracks when my eyes landed on the pile of clothes and a small gift bag on the counter.

My eyes filled with tears as I looked through the stack of new tops, sports bras, leggings, and shorts from Badden Apparel’s sportswear line. It was a big relief to have something to wear other than my bikini and clothes from the day before .

I smiled when I looked inside the gift bag. Of course he’d managed to stop by a lingerie section somewhere and buy me lace thongs and underwear. Besides that, there was a toothbrush, hairbrush, and a set of hair ties.

Why had I tried to push this man away? If anything, I should be chaining him up to a bed and never letting him go.

After getting dressed, I headed downstairs, finding Noah sitting at his island with his laptop open in front of him. “Hey.”

He turned, his serious expression morphing into a smile. “Good morning. I was going to come wake you in a few minutes. I made breakfast.”

My stomach growled, surprising me. After everything that happened last night, food had been the last thing on my mind. Then again, it was after ten. My body was ready, even if my brain hadn’t caught up.

“You didn’t have to make me breakfast.” I looked around the living room for my phone.

“I made it for me too.” He got up and went to the oven, pulling out two plates with French toast and bacon. “If you want eggs, I can whip those up really quick.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you... for everything. How did you even get me clothes?” I grabbed the warm plates from him.

He went to the refrigerator. “I was up early and ran to the office and the store.”

I set the plates on the kitchen table while he got butter, syrup, and drinks. “You didn’t have to miss work.”

“I wanted to.” He sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. “Anything you need today, I’m at your service.”

My immediate thought was to tell him I’d be fine, but that was a complete lie. He wanted to be here for me, so I’d let him. It’s not like anyone else would be.

“Hey, do you have my phone?” I took a bite of bacon and practically moaned. It was perfectly crispy and the thick cut kind that melted in my mouth.

“I do.” He poured an ungodly amount of syrup on his French toast. “It was lighting up with tons of notifications and shit. Did you sleep well?”

I narrowed my eyes and watched him as I chewed. He wasn’t telling me the truth. Had he gone through it? I didn’t think Face ID would unlock with someone’s eyes shut, but maybe it did.

He sighed. “Eat first.”

Captain wandered through the kitchen to the table from wherever he’d been. He looked like his normal self and went straight to Noah, winding around his legs, purring.

“Wow. We’re here less than twenty-four hours, and you’ve already found your new bestie.” I put my hand down and lightly snapped my fingers, which got Captain’s attention, and he came to me. “We need to get you some food.”

“Already done. I didn’t know what you normally feed him, but clearly he enjoyed the fancy wet food I got him.” Noah’s cocky smile made me laugh.

We fell into a comfortable silence as we ate, and when I got up to clean the dishes, he took my hand and pulled me into his lap. I’d never sat on a man’s lap before, and it was strangely intimate.

“So... about your phone.” He kissed my bicep and sighed. “Seeing as we live in the area we do, there are a lot of celebrities. With that comes paparazzi. ”

My stomach dropped at the tone of his voice. “What do you mean?”

“They got through the gates and flew a drone to take pictures of your house.”

“Okay…” I didn’t quite understand what the problem was. “It could have been insurance too; they were supposed to come out this afternoon though.”

“Not insurance. They took pictures of your closet, and there’s an article. At first, I thought maybe someone in the fire department took the photos, but it’s from the window.” I tried to get out of his lap, but he held me tight.

I wanted to cry, but instead, started to laugh. “This can’t possibly get any worse.”

He winced, and I knew it was much more than just a picture of crispy dildos.