Desire Me If You Can [Novel] - Chapter 37

Even then, the house continued to collapse. Just as it seemed there was no time left, the firefighters positioned a ladder where Dane stood.
Amid it all, Dane handed the dog down first. Once another firefighter at the bottom took Charles, Dane carefully descended the rungs step by step. The moment his feet touched the ground, the building collapsed completely. At the same time, the firefighters rushed toward him with cheers.
“Dane, Daaane!”
“You idiot, do you know how worried we were? You’re unbelievable!”
“I knew you’d pull it off! I just knew it!”
“Charles, Chaaarles…! Ohhh…”
“Alright, Dane, you rest now. We’ll take care of the rest.”
“Someone get Dane some oxygen, quick!”
As they patted his shoulders, pulled him into a hug, and showered him with words of concern and relief, Dane simply said,
“Anyone have some water?”
With a tired face, brushing back his disheveled hair, his calm remark prompted everyone to thrust water bottles toward him in a rush.
Only after taking in some fresh oxygen and rehydrating sufficiently did Dane finally regain some clarity. By then, the fire had mostly been extinguished, and the firefighters were now wandering around, taking care of the remaining tasks.
It was at that moment that he noticed the eyes watching him. Turning his head, he saw Grayson looking at him. Dane held his gaze briefly, then finished the water he’d been drinking, set the empty bottle down, and spoke first.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
There was no trace of provocation in his question. Rather, his words, weary and indifferent, were probably genuine. He’d just been teetering between life and death, after all.
Grayson simply stared at him silently, then a faint smile touched his lips. Was this really the time to smile? Dane felt a flicker of curiosity but didn’t dwell on it. He waited quietly for a response, and Grayson slowly spoke.
“Aren’t you going to tell me that I’m not suited for this job, that I should try something else?”
Those were the words Grayson had just heard moments ago. Of course, it wasn’t the first time he’d faced such criticism and lectures.
Words like, “You’re reckless and you have no consideration for others, you don’t belong here, you’re not cut out for this job.” And in this case, they’d probably add an extra jab, “A selfish bastard like you wants to be a firefighter driven by a sense of duty? Don’t make me laugh.”
Expecting Dane to say something similar, Grayson waited. Guess it’s my turn to hear some sanctimonious lecture, he thought.
“Why would I?”
Grayson paused at the unexpected, indifferent reply. Dane, still gazing at him without moving an inch, continued with a tired expression.
“It’s your life. How you live it is up to you.”
With that, Dane reached for a new water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and chugged it down. Grayson could only stare at him, eyes wide with surprise.
…What is with this guy?
It’s said that when the platypus was first discovered, no one in the world believed such a creature existed. Right now, Grayson felt like the first person to lay eyes on a platypus.
What must that man have thought when he first saw that absurd creature? The same thing he’s thinking now, probably.
What the hell is with this guy?
Grayson looked at Dane with a bewildered expression. But Dane, as if he couldn’t care less about anyone else, simply sat on the sidewalk in front of a house the fire hadn’t reached, drinking water with a weary face.
Part 3: I Found the Most Perfect Chest
1
Naomi Parker, an Oscar-winning Best Actress, was memorizing lines for her new movie while cuddling her precious puppy as usual. Just as she took a bite of a biscuit and a sip of freshly brewed coffee in hand, her phone suddenly rang out of nowhere.
Puzzled by a call at such a late hour, she checked the number and her face immediately lit up. It was from another actress she’d been close with since her debut days.
“Hey, it’s me. What’s up? Sure, of course. Why? What is it?”
Answering the phone cheerfully, Naomi nodded with a series of uh-huhs before jolting in surprise.
“What?!”
She stood up abruptly, causing the script on her lap to fall to the floor, but she didn’t care. The news she’d just heard was that shocking. Holding her puppy carefully in one arm-unlike the discarded script-she continued the call.
“Grayson Miller became a firefighter? What are you talking about?”
-I don’t know either. How is that even possible?
A bewildered voice came from the other end of the line.
-I saw him by chance. Grayson Miller, in a firefighter uniform. I double-checked a bunch of times, and I’m 99% sure it’s him, but I called you just in case because it’s so unbelievable. You’re close with Grayson
Miller, right?
“Very close.”
Naomi said through gritted teeth, forcing a smile.
“Close enough to want to attend his funeral.”
-Really? Anyway… look it up. Search for…
Her friend, unaware of Naomi’s true feelings, told her how to find the video. As soon as she hung up, Naomi immediately opened YouTube and typed in what she’d been told.
The video was about a house fire in some town, showing several houses engulfed in flames, with numerous firefighters bustling around. Except for one.
“My God! It’s really him?”
Naomi exclaimed involuntarily, frantically pausing the video. No matter how many times she replayed it, it was the same. There couldn’t be another person on Earth with that face and physique.
Good Lord, a firefighter? This guy?
Even after seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it. Grayson Miller, a firefighter? Could there be
a more mismatched combination?
“Oh my God, oh my, oh my God.”
She kept repeating the same phrase, watching and rewatching the video, then, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she finally collected her thoughts. There was only one reason for that man to be
doing something so out of character.
To find his so-called destined one.
“Some people never change.”
Naomi was so flabbergasted, she could only let out a laugh. That disgusting bastard, she cursed Grayson inwardly. She would never forget the humiliation he’d put her through.
Naomi had met Grayson through his friend Keith, with whom she’d once had a contract. Keith Pittman, another Extreme Alpha, was single at the time and cycled through partners to release his pheromones. And that’s when Naomi had entered into a new contract with him.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Or rather, the contract itself lasted longer than with his other partners, but in reality, they were rarely intimate. After a few encounters early on, Keith stopped seeking her out, and the contract period simply fizzled out. She was technically Keith’s pheromone partner, but they hardly ever fulfilled their contractual obligations.
During that time, she met Grayson, Keith’s friend, and naturally, they slept together.
Naomi herself had also boasted a colorful dating history with men and didn’t hesitate to sleep with someone she was attracted to, and in that sense, she and Grayson were on the same page.