Burned

SEVEN

I STAND FROZEN in fear, my fingers twitch as my heart races.

"Emberly." A warm hand is placed on my shoulder. "Emberly are you alright? I'll walk in first, okay?" Nolan steps aside and walks into the dark cabin. I can't bring myself to move my feet. A few moments later Nolan comes back and stands in front of me, turning on the light. "It's alright, no one is here. I just checked the whole place." He grabs my hand and leads me inside.

I look around the room and notice no one else is here, I let go of the breath I was holding. I can't believe I thought he was back. There is no way he could find me, none. Taking a deep breath in I calm myself down and look at Nolan who watches me with concern.

"Sorry, I guess it threw me off to see the place unlocked." I gulp, I'm not sure how I can get myself out of this, I'm more than positive I've made myself look like some sketchy fuck.

"It's all good, you alright?" He leans against the hallway with his arms crossed.

"Yep, perfect." I force a smile before walking further into the house. "Do you wan-"

My mouth drops.

My kitchen has been completely fixed, a new stove and counter tops, a new fridge, along with groceries stored away. The white cabinets and countertops make the whole kitchen look larger.

"Uh, the real reason why the door was unlocked was because of Erick and I, we didn't want Mrs. Hoover to handle the remodel by herself and you needed a kitchen so the team and I got together to fix it up in time for you today." He smiles as he looks around the room, my heart melts even more.

For some disgusting reason, my mind flips to a sick fantasy of Nolan being my handy man. Shirtless clad in a pair of holy jeans with a hammer as he fixes up my house. Sweat falling down his head to his chest as his muscles would flex as he hammers away.

Snap out of it.

I shake my head, speechless at my fantasy and at the fact him and his team did something so kind for me.

"Wow, I- wow." I shake my head as I bask in the stunning kitchen. "I don't know what to say, I'm just, holy shit Nolan. This looks amazing." I walk over and run my fingers along the counters. The smooth shiny countertops beg for me to dirty them. "Any other talents I should know about Benson?" I smirk over at him as he proudly smiles.

"No, that's it. Whenever I'm not at the station I tend to engage in some DIY tasks." He shrugs his shoulders before stepping closer to me, he leans forward on the counter. I gulp as I watch his muscles constrict.

"What else do you like to engage in?" My throat feels dry as the words come tumbling out of my mouth.

A look of heat in his eyes flashes as he bites back his smile. His eyes slowly trail up my body to my face. Heat pools between my legs at the look he gives me.

"I like to engage in extracurricular activities, I'm not one to shy away from a challenge."

By the look in his eyes, I don't think he means an innocent hobby.

A loud knock makes me jump out of my trance, I give Nolan a small smile before quickly leaving the kitchen area- running my hip into the counter, earning a small yelp from me- I run to the front door. Molly stands there with a large smile on her face once I open the door.

"May I?" She motions to step in and I step to the side to welcome her in. We walk to the kitchen where Nolan stands, looking deep in thought.

"Nolan, I'm so glad to see you dear. You guys did amazing." She smiles before walking to him to give him a hug.