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As she eed from the bathroom the bedroom door opened and Nikolai appeared He looked exhausted and he brought with him the acrid smell of smoke He stared at her with red-rih he didn’t knoho she was or what she was doing there

‘Hoas it?’ she asked uncertainly

Momentarily he closed his eyes and a faint shudder racked his lean, strong fra back his shoulders to shrug off his jacket ‘I stink of smoke I need a shower’

‘Was anyone hurt?’ she pressed

Halfway through unbuttoning his shirt, he looked at her, dark deep-set eyes seold ‘Yes I was at the hospital before I came back Three of hened ‘life-changing injuries’

‘I’m sorry, Nikolai You knew him personally?’ she prompted sickly

As the shirt fell to the floor he nodded in silence ‘I worked with the kitchen and bar staff as a student The fire started behind the hotel There was an explosion Two assistant chefs were hurt The bar ery,’ he coruffly

‘I’ain, because she could see by the fierce tightness of his facial muscles that it had all been al to stay in control and, sha in his dark eyes fascinated her

‘It could’ve been worse,’ he said as if he was re hiativity ‘The guests all got out in time The hotel’s wrecked but bricks and mortar can be rebuilt It’s lives that can’t’

He toed off his shoes, yanked off his socks and peeled off his trousers in his determined path to the shower She could see that he wasn’t even conscious that he was stripping naked in front of her The lithe bronzed perfection of his lean, powerful body was revealed and she strove to respect his lack of awareness by not staring He was drained and devastated and in a state she had never expected to see him in

‘Can I get you anything?’

‘Maxup breakfastnot sure I’ll be able to eat,’ he mumbled thickly

Ella became braver She moved into the bathroom doorway ‘It’s not your fault this happened, Nikolai’

‘It’s soround out rawly ‘The police suspect arson An accelerant was used Plastic bins shoved up against the oil tanks caused the explosion It was no accident’

‘Oh,back to the bedroom

Max brought a covered tray and told her that he had included her in the food order Butch pranced round her feet with Rory, both of thes back downstairs

‘He’s shattered He needs to rest,’ Max agreed ‘Sleeplook less dire’

Nikolai reappeared, a torapped round his narroaist, da untidily over his brow Ella poured coffee and thrust a knife and fork at him as he sank down in one of the chairs by the table at the

‘Eat,’ she urged ‘You need fuel for energy’

His wide, sensual reen eyes She was all warmth and softness but her sy on anyone and it had protected hierous ive his trust, it couldn’t be broken If he didn’t open up to other people, he couldn’t get hurt Well, OK, he was hurting now, but that couldn’t be helped because that was the kind of dae that life threw at everybody Only this tie, he reet a packed hotel with an arson attack? Nikolai kne fortunate it was that so many people had escaped the fire unscathed

He drank the coffee and ate some bacon but admitted that he had no appetite Ella wanted to ask him more about the fire but reckoned that a tactful silence was more welcome

‘I’ll go to bed I have to go back to the police station later,’ Nikolai told her wearily, walking back to the bathroom