Burn So Bad

1. Levi

Chapter One

Levi

“Where’s Lucy?” I asked.

Amelia Masters sighed. “I just told you. Up…”

Her words were cut off by another voice.

“Oh for God’s sake, I’m stuck up here.”

I glanced up to see a flash of bright blonde hair just past the corner of the roof.

“Lucy’s up there?” Cade Masters asked over my shoulder as he approached us.

“Yes! I’m up here. How hard is this to figure out?” Lucy called from above.

I looked back to Amelia. Lucy Caldwell was her best friend, and they owned and ran Kick A** Construction together. We were at one of their current job sites where they were building a new home.

Cade and I were hotshot firefighters in Willow Brook, Alaska and had volunteered to help when Amelia, Cade’s wife, called. It was clear why she’d called Cade directly, rather than the main dispatch number. Lucy sounded pissed. Knowing Lucy the way I did, I’d bet she was beyond annoyed she needed help. She most definitely wouldn’t have appreciated an entire crew showing up to handle this.

“Care to explain,” Cade said dryly.

“We were working on getting the roof beams in place for the cathedral ceiling. Lucy got trapped up there when one of the beams fell and broke the ladder in half.” Amelia paused, her gaze concerned. “I’m guessing she got hurt too because the beam whacked a two-by-four on its way down, and it flipped and hit her. You know Lucy though, she told me to shut up and stop worrying.”

“Ah, so that’s why you told us to bring a ladder,” Cade said, his gaze clearing.

“Yeah, why’d you bring the cherry picker?” she asked in return, glancing over to our vehicle.

Cade and I had collectively decided it would be better to drive the large truck with its extendable arm and bucket if we needed it.

“In case Lucy was hurt,” I interjected. “We figured it was better to have this than to try to carry her down a ladder. All you told us was Lucy needed help getting off the scaffolding.”

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” Lucy hollered from her perch.

I walked around the corner of the partially constructed home and glanced up. Lucy was perched atop some scaffolding, her blonde hair standing out against the blue sky above.

“How ya doin?” I called.

“I’ll be better when one of you gets me down,” Lucy replied.

Even from two stories above, she managed to convey her prickly, get-the-hell-away-from-me attitude. From my vantage point, I could see her cradling her arm. I doubted she’d fess up to being injured, so I didn’t comment on it. A thread of worry wove through me. I didn’t like thinking about her being in pain. Not one bit.

“We’ll be up there in just a few,” I called up.

I walked back toward Cade. “Let’s do this. Better to use the bucket than a ladder.”

In short order, Cade was easing me upward in the bucket. Inside of another minute, I was level with where Lucy was.

The moment she saw me, her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened. That bit about Lucy not enjoying anyone’s help? Well, she was not pleased.

Even with her blond hair a windblown mess, her skin flushed and smudged with dirt, and wearing heavy-duty jeans and a loose t-shirt, she was flat out gorgeous.

“Hey Lucy,” I said, my eyes going to her arm.

She’d seated herself on the boards across the top of the scaffolding and slowly straightened, flinching slightly when her arm bumped against one of the metal bars on the scaffolding.

“Your arm okay?” I asked.

Lucy's wide blue eyes swung to me. ‘It’s fine,” she snapped.

I bit back a retort. Normally, I loved to tease Lucy. In fact, the crankier she got, the more I reveled in amping her up. A bit ago, I’d tried to get her to go out with me, but she wouldn’t even deign to have dinner with me, so I’d dropped it. That didn’t change the fact I wanted her. But I didn’t think about that now. Not the time or place. It was quite obvious she was in pain. She could be as cranky as she wanted. I just wanted to get her out of here safely and get her arm taken care of.

“Bring me a little closer,” I called down to Cade, eyeing the boards under Lucy’s feet and assessing whether it was best for me to lift her from here, or climb out.

Cade carefully adjusted the bucket, bringing it flush against the edge of the scaffolding.

“Perfect,” I called to him.

I looked over at Lucy. “How about…”

She stepped to the side of the bucket and started to climb in herself.

“Hey, slow down,” I said quickly. “Let me…”

The second I spoke, she lost her balance and reflexively reached to grab the scaffolding with her injured arm. She cried out and lurched, tumbling off the side of the scaffolding. In a flash, I caught her by her other arm.

For a few seconds, the nearly impenetrable get-the-hell-away-from-me expression fell from her face. Her sky blue eyes were wide with fear. I might’ve been calm—because staying calm in the midst of any kind of emergency was what years of training and working as a hotshot firefighter had taught me—but my heart clenched and worry roared through me.

“I’ve got you Lucy,” I said calmly.

I did. I had a firm grip on her arm. She didn’t weigh much. At all. Her attitude belied her size. She was quiet, her eyes locked to my face, before she nodded sharply.

Holding Lucy’s gaze, I adjusted my stance and slowly leaned over, hooking my other hand under her armpit. I lifted her up and into the bucket in one swift move. I cradled her against me when I drew her all the way over the side. Once I knew she was safe, I took a slow breath and glanced to her.

“You okay?”

Her eyes flicked away, and she looked at the scaffolding and back to me.

“I guess I should thank you,” she said, only the slightest hint of begrudging in her tone.

Leave it to Lucy to be annoyed I’d saved her from falling two stories and possibly killing herself in the process.

“No need to thank me. It's my job,” I replied with a wink.

Her eyes narrowed. I didn't know what it was about her, but damn she got to me. It didn't matter that she’d just had a pretty serious brush with danger. Now that her safety was certain, I couldn't help but try to tease her. She kicked her legs, her feet bumping against my thigh.

“Okay, you can put me down now. Consider me rescued,” she said with a little laugh.

I hesitated. This was the closest I'd ever gotten to her, and I didn’t want to give it up just yet. She thumped her feet against my thigh again.

“Seriously Levi, you can put me down,” she insisted, her tone flustered.

I reluctantly eased her down, taking care not to jostle her arm that was quite obviously injured whether she’d admit it or not. Once she was on her feet, I looked over at her as I stepped back.

“No sense in lying. How’s your arm?” I asked.

Amelia called up at that moment. “Is Lucy okay?

Lucy sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh my God. I can talk, you know. I’m fine!”

“Well, don’t get all pissy with me,” Amelia retorted. “You almost fell from up there. We get to be worried.”

I leaned over the side. “She’s safe and sound,” I called, giving Amelia a thumbs up. “Cade, you wanna bring this thing down now?”

I looked back to Lucy. The bucket jostled slightly as Cade started to lower us.

“So? Your arm?”

She met my eyes with an elaborate sigh. “I think I might’ve broken it.”

For a moment, I forgot this was Lucy, the living, breathing definition of touchy. I stepped to her side and slid my hands down her upper arm, carefully unfolding it. I was moving on reflex. As a hotshot firefighter, I was trained to handle anything and everything, including medical emergencies from minor to major. As my touch traveled along her forearm, I didn’t feel a break, but it was already swelling. She was so petite. She barely reached my chin. I could wrap one hand around her wrist with room to spare.

“I’m not feeling a break, but it could be just a c***k, or bad bruising. It’s swelling along your radius here,” I murmured, keeping my touch light as I brushed across the area.

When I glanced up, her gorgeous blue eyes were inches away. My gaze coasted over her face, taking in her fine-boned features—the slight tilt of her nose, her high cheekbones, the delicate arch of her brow, and her full, perfectly bow-shaped pink lips, complete with a dimple in the center of her bottom lip. A streak of dirt on her cheek was endearing, if only because it was so out of place on her face.

My gaze landed on the rapid flutter of her pulse in her neck. My c**k twitched, my body tightening in response.

I whipped my eyes back up. This was definitely not the time or place for me to be getting hot over Lucy.

I expected her to shove me away, not that there was much space if she did. Yet, she didn’t.

Her mouth twisted with a sigh. “Well, whatever happened, it hurts.”

I’d completely lost track of what I’d said for a moment. The feel of her arm resting in my hands nudged me back on track.

“Amelia mentioned she thought a two-by-four hit you.”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, the beam fell and hit the two-by-four on the way down. It whacked me good when it flipped over.”

She gave her arm a little tug. “Can I have my arm back?”

I reluctantly let go. Up to these last few moments, Lucy had been a challenge I wanted to beat. Always quick to argue, always turning me down, rarely smiling…and beautiful, so f*****g beautiful, she took my breath away.

Conveniently, or not, depending on how you looked at it, the bucket we were in jostled again as Cade brought it to the ground, nudging my attention off of Lucy. Amelia rushed over, just as Lucy started to climb out.

“Are you okay? Oh my God, I can’t believe…”

“I’m fine. Can’t you see…”

Their words crossed over each other. Meanwhile, I wrapped my hand around Lucy’s good arm. “Easy. Let’s get you out without jostling that break.”

Lucy spun in my direction, her eyes snapping. “I…”

Amelia cut her off. “Don’t be silly. Let Levi help you,” she ordered.

Amelia was the only woman I knew who might be bossier than Lucy. She was also close to six feet tall and tough as nails. Gorgeous too with her amber hair and eyes, and leggy, curvy build. She was like a sister to me. Good thing because Cade would probably kill any man who took a fancy to her.

He must’ve gotten out of the truck because he materialized at Amelia’s side. I didn’t wait to give Lucy any more time to debate how she was getting out. I climbed out swiftly and reached over, lifting her against me.

Her eyes collided with mine. For a flash, it was as if we were alone. With her body bundled up in my arms, she was warm and relaxed against me. The temptation to drag my tongue along the delicate skin along the side of her neck was so great, I had to grit my teeth.

Reality intruded in the form of Amelia demanding to know if Lucy’s arm was okay. I reluctantly eased Lucy down and stepped back.

“We need to get your arm looked at,” I said, my voice coming out gruff.

Lucy’s eyes flicked to mine again, the air going heavy in an instant. My body hummed in response to the electricity snapping between us.

“That’s it,” Amelia announced. “Let’s go.”

She all but dragged Lucy with her, calling over her shoulder at the last minute.

“Tell your dad I’m driving as fast as I want to the hospital.”

Cade chuckled, his eyes catching mine. “Only Amelia would think she could get advance permission to speed like a madwoman.”

“Well, your dad is the police chief.”

We returned to the rescue truck and headed back to the station. I was unsettled and bothered I hadn’t been the one to take Lucy to the hospital. Which was completely ridiculous. I might’ve had a thing for her for too damn long, but this urge to protect her, that was something different.

On the drive back, we got a call to a fire on the outskirts of town. There went the rest of my day.