Daring Devotion Read Online Free

want to talk about it?” she asked quietly, already knowing the answer before he shook his head and rolled over.
    Almost every night he’d spent with her since the accident had been the same. She’d wake him in the middle of a nightmare, and he’d shrug it off as nothing, roll over and go back to sleep.
    â€œWhy won’t you talk to me?”
    â€œAbout what?” he mumbled into the pillow.
    â€œAbout the fire. About what really happened.”
    â€œI told you a thousand times, baby, nothing happened.”
    â€œIs this…” She hesitated. More than once he’d snapped at her when she attempted to ask questions regarding exactly what happened. “Because of Marco?”
    Marco had recently been released from the hospital. He’d had to stay longer than Cal to have a skin graft covering a six-inch patch of burnt skin on his arm. But given what could’ve happened, Andrea thought, the boy had been incredibly blessed.
    Of course, Cal had taken full responsibility for that, as well. “You saved his life, Cal, the skin graft was a small price compared to—”
    â€œI don’t want to hear it, Andrea! You weren’t there—you don’t know what you’re talking about!”
    A cold silence settled over the dark room.
    Sometimes Andrea felt as if she was trying to cuddle up to a wounded bear. She sighed in defeat and turned back over to her side of the bed and snuggled under the covers.
    She stared at the wall seeing right through the darkness. She studied the outline of the soft pink watercolor painting of a vase of peonies. Once again, her mind was swirling with conflicting emotions, many of which she knew she shouldn’t feel. Even in the midst of Cal’s crisis some part of her was blossoming with hope. There was no way he could go back to being a firefighter, not in his current state of mind.
    And as much as Andrea hurt for him, as much as it pained her to see him in such turmoil, some part of her still preferred it to the who-gives-a-damn way of looking at the world he had before. That attitude was dangerous, reckless, and…ultimately fatal.
    After several minutes, Cal turned over to spoon her. His large hand came over her hipbone and settled in the crook of her body. Although Andrea sensed the movement wasn’t meant to be arousing, she had no control over the tinkling sensation that started in her toes and worked its way up her body. It had been that way from the beginning. The most casual skim of his hand, an accidental brush of bodies and she was wired for action.
    Cal was the first man she’d ever known who had that kind of effect on her senses, and in her heart she knew he would always be the only one who could.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he whispered in the dark. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
    She sighed. “No, it’s my own fault. As many times as you’ve told me to leave it alone, you think I’d give up.”
    He snuggled in closer, wrapping his large body around hers. “Don’t ever give up on me, baby. No matter how much like a jackass I behave.” He squeezed her against him so quickly and so tight Andrea could barely breath, and just as quickly he released his viselike hold. “Don’t ever give up on me.”
    Andrea said nothing. His words were too close to her fretful contemplations.
    Cal propped himself up on one elbow. “Look, what happened to me is nothing new, it comes with the job. The bad dreams—all that will stop eventually. It’s just that it is still fresh in my mind. I’ll be fine.”
    She turned to face him. “So, it has nothing to do with feeling like you failed Marco?”
    â€œMaybe a little. But I’ll get over that, too. I just need some time and your understanding.”
    The patient look in his soft brown eyes and his gently spoken words made her brave, and Andrea decided to voice her one hope. “Cal, maybe