by Nella Tyler
“No, it’s fine,” I replied, taking my glass by the stem. I gently swirled the wine and brought the glass to my nose to smell it. I took a sip, relishing the taste on my tongue before swallowing it. “It’s very good.”
Blaze smiled and so did I. We each picked a piece of bread from the basket in the center of the table. He spread butter on his piece, but I just tore off small pieces and stuck them directly into my mouth while I reviewed the menu. I hadn’t eaten much all day. I’d been too nervous about tonight. Now that I’d started, my stomach roared to life, demanding more. The bread was still warm and melted in my mouth. It was a struggle to keep from snatching all the bread out of the basket. I was starving.
As though on cue, the waiter arrived to take our order. I asked for the chicken saltimbocca and Blaze ordered the shrimp alfredo. Maybe it was getting rid of the menus, but things changed between us as soon as our orders were placed. We both loosened up at the same time, the tension just leaving the air circulating around our table, delivering us back to where we’d been the night of the ball before his ex-fiancée showed up.
“You look very pretty tonight,” Blaze said, his emerald eyes extremely warm. “I like your dress.”
I grinned at the compliment. “Thanks. You look pretty great yourself.” I loved this dress and felt confident whenever I put it on, like magic was stitched into the fabric and could enter my skin somehow. Naturally, I wore it sparingly, not wanting to wear out whatever spells it contained too quickly.
“There’s something I’ve been dying to ask you,” I blurted, my cheeks already burning red hot. “I’ve wondered about it since the night we met.”
He lifted his reddish eyebrows, a small smile on his lips. “What is it?”
“Were you really born with the name Blaze Simmers?”
He stared at me a moment before chuckling at little. “Yeah, I really was.”
“You’re sure you didn’t change your name after you became a firefighter? It’s just too perfect.” I had to stop going because I was laughing so hard. It was the amused shine to his eyes and how it lit up the rest of his face. He was blushing, too, but only a little. My entire face felt like it was on fire, the feeling even creeping up past my hairline to tingle on my scalp.
He waited for most of my giggles to subside before he answered, that high shine not dimming in his eyes. “My mom always wanted to name a son Blaze when she grew up. She didn’t give up on that even after marrying a man with the last name of Simmers. The rest is history.”
I giggled at that. “I’m convinced that name is singlehandedly responsible for your career choice.”
His grin sharpened. “You think so, huh?” He waited for me to nod. “So you think if my name was something like Justice Law, I’d be a cop or a lawyer or something like that?”
I nodded, swallowing back more giggles. “That seems perfectly reasonable. Imagine if your parents had named you Real Estate and you were stuck selling houses all day.” I gave an overdone roll of the eyes.
He looked at me and said, deadpan, “Why haven’t you changed your name to Real Estate? Think of the business you’d attract.”
I giggled so hard I snorted, which made me giggle harder. Blaze joined in, his laughter much deeper. I had force myself to cut it out before I destroyed my eye makeup, painstakingly applied before I left the house.
“Since you weren’t lucky enough to have a name that would naturally lead you into an obvious job,” he began, those green eyes burning into mine, just as hot as the rest of him, “how’d you end up selling houses?”
I set my wine glass down. He’d chosen the perfect white, dry with a citrusy undertone. Lisa preferred red wine when the weather turned cold, but I was a white wine girl through and through, regardless of the weather.
“I went to school and earned a degree in history, but didn’t really want to go for my Master’s or end up teaching social studies in school.” I shrugged and took another sip of my wine. “I went to a career fair a month after graduation, just wanting to find anything that would get me out of my waitressing job. I met the broker in charge of my firm that day and, like you said, the rest is history.”
“And you like it?”
I nodded. “I really do. It’s magical, helping people find the right house to suit their needs.” My cheeks colored, and I stared down at my wine. “That may be overdoing it a little. I’m not actually saving their lives.” I looked up at Blaze again, trying for a sly smile that fell slightly short. “Like some people I know who actually do save lives.”
He grinned, too, but warmly, his green eyes so soft I wanted to fall into them. “Being a firefighter isn’t as glamorous as you might think. Most of the day, I’m in the station doing chores or hanging out with the guys on my team. If there’s an emergency, we do get to save lives, but we also save homes. The homes you help people find, where their lives take place, where they raise their families. What you do is important.”
I smiled more sincerely this time, a warm feeling bubbling up inside of me. His gaze was toasty, and his smile made the air between us boil, like his whole body had gotten permanently hot from all the fires he fought.
The waiter returned with our meals, setting the steaming plates down in front of us. Blaze picked up the conversation right where we’d left off as soon as the man wished us bon appetite and left.
“Speaking of houses, how is yours?” he asked, auburn eyebrows raised.
I’d already stuffed some of the chicken into my mouth, where it instantly melted, and had to chew it in order to answer him, my cheeks blazing the whole time. “It’s back to normal, thank for asking. The insurance company sent out someone to inspect the damage and then cut a check for the repairs. It was much easier than I’d thought it would be.” I smiled at him. “None of that would’ve been possible without your help.”
He returned my grin, but it was small and measured, his green eyes lively. “I can’t take all the credit. It’s true I was the one in charge that night, but I had my team behind me. Firefighters are part of a brother and sisterhood. We watch each other’s backs. I know I can trust every man on my team, and they can trust me.”
I nodded, impressed by his genuine humility. You’d expect someone like him — devastatingly handsome, muscled from head to toe, and a fireman on top of that — to be so full of himself it would be annoying to be around him. But he was refreshingly down to earth, which made staring into his warm, beautiful eyes even more of a pleasure.
The more we talked, the more I found myself leaning into him, basking in the warmth that radiated from his skin and his gaze. I couldn’t deny the strength of my attraction to him, the same breathless connection I’d felt the night of the ball. It was more than a physical attraction — though the physical attraction was definitely present and accounted for! — because I hadn’t found myself drawn to any of the other muscly, attractive fireman at the ball, including the one with the blond hair and dazzling eyes that Amy had set her sights on. I felt comfortable with Blaze, like we’d known each other for years. I couldn’t explain the depth of the connection, only that it was there.
I was sorry to see the evening come to an end, even drawing things out with a dessert I really didn’t have the room to eat. Between the two of us, we made short work of it. We giggled at each other as we each took forkfuls of the tiramisu, talking about our jobs and our families. I couldn’t think of another date I’d been on where I’d had this much fun. I wanted to prolong it as much as I could, but we ran out of dessert and wine. I could see the regret in Blaze’s eyes, too.
“It’s getting late,” he said, and it was true. We’d kept the meal going for close to four hours, just talking and gazing across the table at each other, our cheeks warming from the heat of our connection. Around us, the restaurant was empty, the staff clearly busy with the necessary task of closing up for the night. We’d be shooed out if we dawdled any longer.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I have another open house tomorrow. I should probably be heading home
.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
We left the restaurant together, walking up the street, my shoulder brushing his arm. The air was cool and refreshing against my too hot skin as I leaned into the heat of Blaze. His name suited him and not just because of his chosen profession. He was warm to the touch and there was a fire in his eyes that stole my breath away every time I looked up at him.
“This is me,” I said as we approached my car, which was parked by itself at this hour. I stopped next to the driver’s side door and turned to grin up at him, the smile freezing on my face at the expression he was giving me.
The sun had gone down hours ago, leaving his eyes shadowy and dark, but I could feel the need his gaze, the hunger that was illuminating the pale, freckle-less skin of his face. That need drew me in, stirring up a companionable sensation in me that I could feel vibrating in my soul. In that moment, I wanted him more than I wanted anything. My whole body was thrumming with that sweet ache for him.
He took me in his toned arms, drawing me closer physically in a way I already was emotionally, and leaned to bring his lips closer as I tilted my head back to receive his kiss, the need in me ready to boil over. I’d wanted this so badly from the beginning of the night on New Year’s Eve. Hell, who was I kidding? I’d wanted this since he showed up on Christmas day.
His lips pressing onto mine stoked a flame that started at my core and radiated outward, heating my skin more than the February air could cool it. I opened my mouth to him, moaning a little when his tongue passed my lips and began to play with my own. His arms tightened around me, the passion an inferno between us. He tasted as spicy as he smelled and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to burrow into that warmth, to hold him as closely as I could with my shivering arms, lest by some cruel twist of fate, I lost him again.
He pulled away from me, leaving me breathless, his eyes wide and shining in the lack of light.
“I’d love to see you again,” he whispered, his voice rumbling through his chest and into mine. “Are you up for another date?”
I was still so busy swooning in his embrace, my face lifted to his, my lips eager for a second kiss, though I didn’t know if my body would be able to take the strength of it.
“That sounds wonderful,” I said.
When he released me, bidding me goodnight, I got into my car with my skin enflamed and insides fluttering. I had to wait a second before I could trust myself to drive off. I kept peeking back in the rearview mirror, watching the tall, solid shape of Blaze standing on the curb, watching me drive away.
Holy shit, that kiss. I couldn’t wait for the next one. I’d almost lost out on experiencing that heat. I was so glad to have another chance to see how deeply our connection could run.
Chapter Seventeen – Blaze – Later That Evening
I sat back on my couch, not even paying attention to whatever was on TV. The night with Sami replayed in my head, every smile, every bit of conversation, ending with that spectacular kiss by her car. I’d never kissed a woman who’d responded so completely the way she had, her body opening to me like a hungry flower as the heat rose between us.
I hadn’t wanted to stop with just a kiss. I wanted everything — to slide my hand into her jacket, to feel the heat of her skin beneath my fingers… That openness in her face had nearly undone me. I wanted her back at my apartment, in my bed, where I could become intimately acquainted with every inch of her body, tracing her curves with the tip of my tongue.
Fuck. I was rock hard just thinking about her. But I didn’t want to scare her away by moving too quickly. Our connection was strong as hell for having just met a few weeks ago, and we’d nearly lost that because of Lacey’s meddling. I didn’t want anything else to throw us off track. I needed to be patient, no matter how steamy the look in her eyes made me and the way her presence in the room turned the temperature up well past one hundred degrees.
My heat rose a little more when the phone rang. If it was Sami asking me over to her place, I wouldn’t be able to say no, fuck how I’d just decided I needed to take things slowly with her. I picked up my phone and the face of it was like a bucket full of ice cold water splashing onto the top of my head, putting an end to all that heat.
It was Lacey.
I didn’t have a damned thing to say to her, but she’d been pretty quiet for weeks, so I thought maybe something was wrong. Her mom had been sick lately. If she was calling about that, I was happy to let her bend my ear a little. She didn’t have many close friends, just one or two other women that she knew from the gym and would occasionally go out drinking with. I didn’t want to get tied into whatever mess she’d decided to share with me, but I didn’t like the thought of something happening with her mom and her having no one to turn to. Begrudgingly, I answered her call.
“Hello?” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice in case this was about something serious, but it was hard. I’d told her not to contact me again, and I suspected this call close to midnight on a Saturday evening probably wasn’t about her mother.
“Hello yourself, Blaze,” she said. I could tell by the amusement in her voice that nothing was wrong, which got me even more worked up, pushing me from irritated to pissed.
“Is something wrong?” I asked bluntly. “Because, if not, it’s late, and I’m about ready to go to sleep.”
“I was just curious to see if you were alone.”
“What?” I looked toward the window, instantly paranoid that I’d find her there peeking in, but that was ridiculous. I was on the tenth floor.
“I saw you out tonight.” When I didn’t respond right away, she added, “With the girl from the firefighter’s ball.”
That now familiar blackness fell over my vision, and I was so completely pissed in that moment that it took a second for me to remember how to formulate the words I wanted to say. Everything felt locked up tight — my breath, my words, the furiously beating heart in my chest.
“Lacey, what the fuck?” I spat. “Are you seriously stalking me now?” I hadn’t even told the guys at work where I was taking Sami on our first date since New Year’s, not that they’d have told Lacey even if I had shared the location with them.
She laughed long and loud. I had to pull the phone away from my ear, which heated me up even more.
“Please, get over yourself,” she replied, using that tone that always made me feel like a moron. I was even more annoyed to find that it still worked. “I have better things to do than stalk you.”
“Then why do you know what I was doing tonight?” I snapped.
“I was at the same restaurant. I was the one who took you there to begin with, remember?”
That cooled the flames licking my insides. It was true. We’d gone there early on together. Lacey had repeatedly mentioned how good it was before we finally went. I’d forgotten all about that.
“I just wanted to let you know that I saw you were there on a date, so I left you alone, not wanting to bother you the way I did on New Year’s.” There was an edge to her voice, but I couldn’t tell what her point was and why she’d felt she needed to call me to begin with. A normal person would’ve just seen me out with Sami and never felt the urge to call and gloat about it.
“Well, thank you for that,” I said, still not feeling great about her watching me on a date with Sami. But she could’ve wandered over and showed her ass again, so I guessed things could’ve been a lot worse. She loved drama — it was one of the absolute worst things about her. Behind cheating, that was, but I hadn’t known about that for most of the time we were together.
“I’m a little surprised you moved on so quickly,” she continued, stirring my blood up all over again with her words, though they sounded casual. “Kind of hypocritical, isn’t it? Considering what a big deal you made out of me sleeping around. We were together a long time, Blaze.”
“We’d probably still be together right now if you hadn’t been cheating on me, Lacey,” I pointed out without skipping a beat. “Going out wi
th someone else nearly two months after we broke up is completely different from fucking someone while we were engaged. Or can’t you see that?”
I hated how easily she could piss me off, even now. I’d never given anyone else that kind of power over me — not that I’d actually given it to her, but she’d still found a way to take it. Lacey was great at taking things. And once she had them, she didn’t want to let them go, even if she didn’t really want them anymore. I didn’t know what her game was tonight. She clearly didn’t want me, but seeing me with Sami had to burn her up.
“I’m not trying to upset you, Blaze,” she said in a more conciliatory tone. “Sorry if I did. I was just saying it surprised me to see you move on that fast.”
I clenched my jaw, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of jumping for the same bait more than once. Things were going well with Sami. That was my main concern. Let Lacey try all the weapons in her arsenal. I didn’t have to fight back. I just needed to let her exhaust her resources and then, finally, she’d move on.
“I just hope you won’t forget the good times we had. Unless you don’t think we had good times.” Her voice had changed, and she sounded close to tears all of a sudden. I never knew if she was really upset or just trying to find a way to manipulate me. There was always the chance it was a little of both.
“I did have good times, Lacey, you know that,” I said, speaking more softly. It was late, and I was too tired to spend however long it took to calm her down if she started sobbing. I’d never noticed how exhausting she was to deal with until I wasn’t doing it on a daily basis. Most of my time was spent trying to blunt her sharp edges without getting cut to shit myself. The lesson I’d finally learned was that there was no dulling the knifepoint of her personality. If you stood too close for too long, you’d get cut, plain and simple.
“But our relationship wasn’t what I thought it was,” I said. “And, you weren’t who I thought you were.”
She didn’t reply to that. After a few seconds of waiting in silence, I had to look down at my phone to make sure it hadn’t dropped the call.