Page 15

Ingrid

The firm press of lips and restless hands trailing my body is one heck of a way to wake up.

My eyes are barely open, and my lips part in a sigh as calloused fingers graze my nipples.

Blaze has been teasing me awake for a while, considering how wet I am.

The sleep has barely cleared from my mind when he slides a thick digit into my sex, making me cry out in pleasure.

His lips replace his fingers, and that is all it takes to snap me fully out of sleep.

Is this what it’s like ? I wonder as the man brings me to a climax with his skilled fingers. To be liked — loved?

“Good morning,” he rasps into my hair, and I chuckle.

My eyes flutter open, blinking at the bright light filtering in through the window.

A laugh bubbles out of me when I realize how ridiculous Blaze looks in this small bed.

When I first bought it, I never imagined I would ever have to share it with anyone, but somehow, I found myself a giant.

“Good morning,” I croak out, hugging him close and loving the way his muscles feel against mine. “How’s your shoulder? Does it still hurt?”

“It’s fine.”

“I don’t trust you,” I counter, pushing the man back, or at least I try to, but he weighs a ton. “Blaze—”

“I ordered breakfast. We have just enough time to shower before it arrives.”

His words bring me pause. “You did? When?” My eyes look over his broad shoulders and to the alarm clock. It’s barely seven.

“I’m an early bird, and you barely had anything in your fridge.”

I flush at that. “I’ve been meaning to go shopping.”

Blaze doesn’t say a word as he pushes back and climbs out of bed. I try not to blush at his nudity, but it’s hard when someone is built the way he is. And he’s still hard. I blush and feel a twinge of guilt when I realize that, while he brought me to orgasm so effortlessly, he didn’t come.

He grabs my hand and pulls me out of bed, nudging me toward the bathroom ahead of him. I have no idea what I expect to happen, but I’m backed up to the wall and his lips are on mine the second he turns on the water.

We make out for a few minutes until an idea occurs to me. I push against Blaze’s chest to back him up a step, then without a word, I drop to my knees. Raising a shaky hand, I curl my fingers around his hard shaft and give it a tentative stroke, meeting his dark gaze.

“Can I make you come, Daddy?” I ask, hardly recognizing myself through my newfound bravado.

Blaze smiles down at me and wraps his hand around mine, tightening my grip on his cock, then drawing it up and down his length, guiding me to twist my fist around his flushed tip on the upstroke.

My core clenches at the sound of Blaze’s pleased groan.

Soon, I’ve fallen into a rhythm as I watch his cockhead disappear and reappear with my strokes.

Blaze is blocking the stream of water with his back, and my gaze catches on a bead of precum on his tip.

Without giving it any thought, I lean forward and swipe my tongue over the slit of his cock, drawing a deeper, almost pained groan from Blaze.

The sound gives me confidence, and I move to wrap my lips around his shaft, still working him with strokes of my fist. Blaze slides a hand into my hair and rocks forward, sending his length a little deeper into my mouth.

The taste of him is intoxicating, and I get lost in the sensation of his cock sliding in and out of my mouth, hitting the back of my throat every few strokes.

My mind is just starting to go a bit hazy when Blaze suddenly grips me beneath my arms to haul me up.

Without a word, he presses me against the shower wall and claims my lips with his own.

My body is trembling when he slides his thick shaft into my pulsing sex, rocking into me with feral and desperate need, bringing me closer to yet another release. When I climax this time, it’s his name on my lips. Blaze follows right after, peppering gentle kisses over my face, kissing my…flaws.

Beauty marks. He calls them beauty marks.

This is…insanity.

There is no way I am going to survive if we continue this, and for that reason, I linger in the shower after he’s done washing.

He seems to sense that I need a moment, so he leaves me to my thoughts in the shower.

I take my time washing my hair, then linger over getting dressed.

When I finally walk out of my bedroom, Blaze is waiting for me in the living room, still in only a towel. He reaches for me, but I evade him.

“Scared?” he teases, lunging for me, but I slip away from his grasp, giggling as I run out of the room.

My lips are nearly splitting from the size of my smile when I walk into the kitchen, stopping short when I see the bag on the counter. It’s the same bag I’ve been receiving all week. With my favorite café’s logo stamped on the center.

I freeze by to the counter, staring at the bag for a long time, almost afraid to touch it. It’s not until a pair of strong arms cross around my waist and I am pulled into a firm chest that I quickly snap out of my stupor.

“You ordered this?” I ask.

“Yes, it’s your favorite,” Blaze answers nonchalantly. But his response has my pulse racing as I recall all the breakfast deliveries I’ve been getting. I’d only told Jade about my favorite café after I received the first delivery. No one else knows. At least, I hadn’t thought so.

“It’s you,” I whisper. “You’re the one that’s been sending me breakfast every morning.”

Blaze stills against me but doesn’t deny it. “I wanted to take care of you,” he says, nuzzling my neck. “I picked up on what you like the day you met up with Jade for brunch, so I’ve been ordering it for you.”

That makes sense, I guess. “How did you know this café is my favorite spot?”

“Is it?” he asks with surprise, but something about it seems forced. “Lucky guess, I suppose. They make the best avocado toast, and I wanted you to try it.”

“They do,” I respond, feeling at ease now that I know the breakfast has been coming from him.

Should I have eaten it before learning who it was from first?

Well, no. But when I didn’t drop dead the first time it arrived, I figured it was someone close and they would reveal themselves in time.

And I was right. Except maybe I shouldn’t have been so eager to receive gifts from strangers. “What did you get this time?”

“Let’s find out.”

We walk to the counter to unpack the items, and I smile when I see the egg benedicts with a side of avocado toast, crispy bacon, and fruit.

“Not many people know that I hate bananas,” I tell him, taking out the smoothie bowl.

“When I was young, my mother would force me to eat one with breakfast every morning and scold me when I got sick. I left home the second I turned eighteen and moved into this place. I can’t believe it’s been two years already; I feel like I’ve been living alone longer… ”

My voice trails off when I turn around and see the fury burning in his eyes. “They were cruel to you.”

My eyes widen in alarm, and I shake my head furiously.

“Oh, no. Please don’t misunderstand them.

They loved me and took great care of me, but I was just a difficult child to raise.

My…looks stood out, and my mother was always worried I’d get bullied.

It wasn’t their fault, they just wanted what was best for me. ”

“It wasn’t yours either.”

I chew on my lip, trying to think of how I can lighten the mood.

Sure, my parents and I aren’t as close as most, but that’s because I haven’t needed them in a long time and being around too much always seems to make my mother uncomfortable.

At some point in my childhood, they left me to my own devices, and when I grew up, I made no effort to bridge the gap between us.

I’m closer to my father than my mother, but he’s always been fairly content to go along with whatever my mother wants.

“How about we push that to the side and add it to the list of things we never need to revisit and focus on breakfast instead? I can apply more cream on your shoulder when we’re done.”

“Fine.”

Blaze nods, but it’s clear in his eyes that he’s not going to let it go forever. We warm up the food and settle down to eat, and it all feels so cozy. Not for the first time, I question why I ever fought this. Why I couldn’t love myself enough to allow myself to have this.

“You still haven’t told me how you hurt your shoulder,” I say, waving my fork at him.

“One of those…issues I had to deal with last night. Someone got lucky with a pocketknife.”

“Do you get hurt often in your work for the club?”

He smirks ruefully. “It’s not unheard of for an enforcer like me to end up with the occasional scrape or bruise.

It comes with the job. But it’s been a long time since I let anyone get the best of me.

” He reaches forward and takes my hand, studying my fingers as one might examine a rare jewel.

“Last night was no exception. You don’t need to worry.

I’m good at what I do, and I’m careful. I wouldn’t risk not coming home to you now that you’re mine. ”

I blush fiercely when he brings my fingers to his lips. I never expected to see this side from a rough man like him. Before meeting Blaze, I knew a bit about the Steel Rebels. Almost everyone has heard of the name, and nothing good ever accompanied it.

Maybe they are just harmless misunderstood men who love bikes and are capable of romance after all.

People just label them as outlaws because they’ve gotten to know one of them personally.

Blaze would never hurt anyone. Just as the thought pops in, I am reminded of how James was flung across the hallway like someone would toss away a rag doll.

Okay, Blaze would never hurt anyone without good reason . With James, he was just protecting me.

He’s been nothing but sweet and gentle to me from the moment we met.

I realize that I have fallen for this man.

It’s hardly surprising. What is surprising is that the feeling doesn’t make me want to run off like it would have a couple of days ago.

Instead, I welcome it as I flash him a smile.

“The food is getting cold,” I tell him, nodding at his plate.

“You know what I like, but I feel like I know nothing about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Your favorite meal, and don’t say it’s fried chicken and beer.”

“Okay then, I won’t say,” he responds, and I laugh, getting back to my breakfast, and we settle on small chatter.

I offer to do the dishes since he bought us breakfast. Blaze leans against the kitchen counter and watches me handwash the dishes.

I can feel the weight of his gaze, leaving a trail of heat everywhere they touch.

The now familiar tingle between my legs builds, and I shift uncomfortably, set on ignoring it.

There is no way I’ll get to work today if I encourage the man any further.

“You can make us more coffee,” I tell him, locking my legs together to ease the ache between them. How I went from someone who had never even had their first kiss to a bit of a sex addict in a matter of days is a mystery to me.

Get a grip, Ingrid!

“Coffee isn’t good for you,” he says, but he turns toward the coffee maker anyway.

“I know. The ground coffee beans are in a container in the…” My voice trails off when he reaches for the middle drawer and pulls it open. I watch with surprise as he reaches behind the tea bags I got from my boss and jar of sugar and baking supplies to grab the container.

He turns around to find me staring at him with surprise. He must’ve looked around while I was in bed. How else would he have known the exact spot where I keep the coffee grounds? It doesn’t bother me that he would look, so I push it aside, turning back to the dishes.

“You alright?” Blaze asks, glancing over at me and raising a single brow before starting on the coffee.

“Yeah, I… Oh, the coffee pot is a bit old and temperamental, so you should—”

Blaze taps it on the side—the exact thing I always do to get it started—and watches with disdain as it immediately starts.

“You shouldn’t have to go through all this trouble to make coffee,” he says with a shake of his head.

“If only it wasn’t so hard to find this model, I would have replaced it already. ”

I drop the wet sponge and plate I’m holding, the noise drawing his attention back to me. Those eyes , I think. A beautiful green, and yet dark like the night, they are beautiful…and dangerous.

“It’s you,” I whisper for the second time that morning, hurt and a bit of fear spreading through me. I chuckle, the sound empty of mirth and almost hysterical.

“Did it feel good? Sending that animal after me? That fucking beast punched me in the face and threatened to kill me if he ever heard a peep from my apartment.”

“Ingrid—”

“You were the one who threatened James to turn off his music.” How would he have known the music was an issue unless… Unless he’d been in my apartment. “You fixed the hot water and the faulty light bulb and replaced the leaky faucet,” I say, more to myself than him.

He freezes, his expression turning blank, and I can’t help but chuckle at my own naivety.

How in the world did I think my notoriously lazy and cheap landlord would take money out of his own pocket to fix anything without a threat to involve the housing authority?

Maybe a part of me wants to believe that is the case.

I closed my eyes to the fact that everything started working magically when I met this man.

I could have warm showers, use the light in my closet, have my favorite breakfast delivered to my door every morning, and enjoy the peace and quiet of my home.

“Ingrid—”

“You only knew what I liked because you were stalking me. You were too far away when I got brunch with Jade to know what I ordered.”

Blaze takes a step forward, and then another until he’s caging me against the sink. “Listen to me, Ingrid. I did what I did to take care of you. I love you—”

“No,” I whisper, shaking my head. Tears well in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. “You don’t expect me to thank you for stalking me, do you? For breaking into my house and violating my trust like this? How am I supposed to trust you now, knowing what I do?”

How can I move past this? Sure, he didn’t break in nefarious intent, but I question if it should make a difference. The eyes I’ve felt watching me this past week…. I wasn’t imagining it.

God, I just slept with my stalker. And then I fell in love with him!