After a few moments, Blaze realized she was sniffling softly. “Oh god,” he said, his heart skipping a beat. “Rayne, honey, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she whispered her voice sweet. “Oh yeah, that was it. That was what I needed.”
Blaze let a breath out, relieved. They were happy tears. “I was afraid I hurt you.”
“Oh no.” She paused. “Well, yes, a little. But, it was a good hurt.”
Blaze hated the idea he’d caused her any pain.
“You’re bigger than anyone I’ve been with and I wasn’t expecting that,” Rayne explained. “But you felt so good inside me.”
“I can be gentler,” Blaze offered, wanting to make it up to her.
“Oh no, I loved it. You were perfect,” she said softly, kissing his chest. “You can do that to me any time you want,” she whispered into his ear. “And anything else you want.”
“Rayne,” Blaze started before she cut him off.
“Please don’t say no. Not right now. It’s up to you, of course, but if you’re going to fling me away, please wait until tomorrow.”
Blaze was dumbstruck. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. She thought he was going to throw her away, like some piece of discarded trash? She was beautiful, everything a woman should be and more. She was smart, funny, cunning, devious, exciting, and one hundred percent pure woman. And she was his, forever. There was no way he was letting her go, ever.
Blaze rolled to face her, not sure how to respond. They both lay facing each other for several minutes, her head on his arm, her breasts pressed against his, her right arm clinging to him, and her leg draped over his. Blaze could feel her wetness seeping out of her and onto his leg. He thought it was the more erotic feeling in the world. Their bodies stuck to each other, their body heat making things unbearable, but he wanted her as close as possible. He wanted her again. He needed to slip inside her one more time. He needed to make sure she understood that what he felt was a forever kind of thing. But mainly he needed to know if she wanted him, too.
Blaze ran his hand down her side, over her hip, around to her ass, which he gripped tightly. Her body was amazing, so soft, so curvy and feminine. He was getting hard again.
“You want more?” she murmured, feeling his arousal pressing against her belly. Good God the sweetness of her voice damn near undid him, so innocent and gentle. He’d never imagined she could sound so sexy.
“Always,” he whispered, reaching over, running his right hand over the swell of her breast. “I want you forever.” Her breasts were so round, so soft. She moaned lightly and got up onto her knees. She looked down at his cock and lightly brushed her fingers along the length of it. Her chin was down, her eyes huge and shy, but she didn’t look at him as she continued to touch and play with his cock.
Blaze felt a strange chasm opening up around them, as if one wrong move would close the doorway to her forever. It was as if time stood still, fate giving him this precious moment to seal her to him for all time. This was his second chance, this was the moment he wasted earlier, and he refused to do it again.
Gently, Blaze lifted her chin with his hand and looked at her. Unshed tears floated her sea of baby blues, and when she blinked, a tiny waterfall fell across her cheek.
Blaze spoke from his heart and said, “I want you forever. You belong to Ashe, and me, and I belong to you and Ashe. I’ve only ever loved one person in my life, and I thank God every day that he is still with me. I didn’t want to move here, but Ashe insisted. You see these burns on my face, there is a story behind them. Would you like to know?”
When Rayne gently nodded, Blaze continued. He was scared to death, but he knew if there was ever going to be anything real between them, he needed her to know the truth, everything.
“About two years ago, Ashe and I worked for the Widow Rock fire department, in Arizona. I loved my job, and was very good at it, so much so that I was in line for chief. I worked hard at my job, and partied just as hard. When I wasn’t at the firehouse, I went out scouting, looking for the perfect female to complete me and Ashe. I was good at it, too, and never failed to bring someone home with me at night. I guess what I am trying to say is that I relied on my looks, a lot. So much so that when I was hurt in a fire, I was devastated to find out that I no longer had the crutch I relied on. I was never good with words. Typically, when I spoke, I would stick my foot in my mouth. Ashe is the smooth talker. Me, well, I’d just smile and women fell at my feet. But when I realized that my looks were gone, I retreated into myself, and gave up the one thing I loved above everything else, my job. Ashe knew, and I think he was afraid he was next, that’s why he packed us both up and moved here. But since being here in Celestial, I’ve come alive again. I’m laughing and doing the job that I love.”
“That’s nice, Blaze. I’m happy for you. I really am,” Rayne, whispered, her face downcast as more tears fell.
Blaze wiped her tears away, and held onto her face, looking her directly into her eyes. “Don’t you get it, Rayne? It’s all because of you. I am living again because of you.”
“I understand,” she replied quietly. Blaze could tell she didn’t. Going with his gut, he said the only thing that came to his mind. “Baby, I love you. I fell in love with you the moment you yelled at Ashe and I in the Crystal Tumbler, telling us to sit our asses down.”
Her eyes widened in shock, and Blaze sighed in relief.
“You love me?” She gasped.
“Yes,” he replied, smiling.
Blaze had imagined the day when he finally told a woman he loved her many times. He saw cries of joy, laughter, lots of sex, and pure enthrallment, but never in his thirty years of living did he ever imagine what happened next.
Rayne slowly and quietly got up from the bed and started pacing. Blaze knew he had just laid a bomb in her lap, and was determined to give her time to process what he had said, but when she turned and looked pissed, well, he wondered if he hadn’t made another mistake somewhere along the way. Of course, that question was answered when she picked up her hairbrush off her dresser and hurled it at his head. Thank God, he had quick reflexes and ducked before it could leave a mark.
“You love me!” she shouted. “What in the hell am I supposed to do with that? I have plans. Lots and lots of plans. I’m running for mayor for goddess’s sake. I don’t have time for love. I wouldn’t even know how to fit it into my busy schedule!”
“Um…” Blaze stammered, not sure on how to respond to that.
“And what am I supposed to do with you now? I am your boss! It’s against regulations to fall in love with a subordinate. Haven’t you ever heard of sexual harassment?”
“I figured since we were already sleeping together…”
“That doesn’t mean love!” She ranted and ranted. Blaze could tell that she was just getting started, and when she finally got her mad on, he didn’t want to be anywhere around her when she did. Slowly getting up from the bed, he pulled his boxers back on and prayed he could make a silent, but swift exit from her room.
He had just made it to her door when Ashe barged in and said, “What the hell is going on in here?”
“You!” Rayne rounded on him, pointing her tiny finger at him. “This is all your fault!”
“My fault,” Ashe said, confused. “I was just eating lunch.”
“Back away, dude,” Blaze whispered as Rayne continued to rant and rave. “Slowly and steady.”
“What happened?” Ashe whispered, taking a step back.
“I told her that I loved her.”
“Damn,” Ashe murmured, then added, “God help us when we ask her to marry us.”
Chapter Eight
“Rayne, you need to calm down. You’re going to wear a hole in my new carpet.”
Rayne couldn’t calm down. She was so damn mad all she wanted to do was scream at the universe for dropping Blaze and Ashe into her lap. She couldn’t handle them. She wasn’t ready. She needed more time. She knew something like this would happen eventually,
but she figured she would have accomplished more in her life by then. As it was right now, she was still trying to finish so many things, and there just wasn’t enough time in her day to devote to them.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
That was the problem. She didn’t know where to start! Her whole life she knew what she wanted, had everything all planned. In addition, if she stuck to her ten-year plan, she would have accomplished everything she wanted to. It was too easy, and she was on the fast track to a perfect life. She had planned for every contingency, and was prepared. However, she was not nor did she ever factor in love.
Love! Who in the hell falls in love after two freaking days? Shaking the thought of them from her mind, she refused to fall into the love at first sight trap. Yes, they were handsome, sweet, and fun to be around. The sex was off the charts, smokin’ hot, and just thinking about them got her juices flowing, but she refused to believe in love. She couldn’t. It would ruin everything she had worked so hard for. With no other choice left to her, Rayne looked at Apollo, and said, “You have to replace them.”
“Replace who?”
“Those firefighters you hired. They aren’t going to work.”
“Why?”
“Because they won’t.”
“They’re not qualified?” Apollo asked, fumbling through a stack of papers on his desk. “I received your paperwork yesterday. I thought it was all in order.”
“Oh, they passed all the tests and they are good at what they do. Lazy sometimes, but that didn’t factor into my equations.”
Apollo looked up and questioned, “Then what’s wrong?”
“They said they loved me!” she shouted as if that solved everything.
“Who said?”
“Blaze!”
“Which one is he?” Apollo asked, looking more interested in the conversation now than he did before.
Rayne plopped into the chair before Apollo and put her feet up on his desk. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and said, “He’s the dark brooding one. You know, the one with the amazing smile, clear green eyes, the hair of fire, and a body that could melt the ice caps. He’s stunning, and smart, with the most kissable lips in the world, and when he holds me in his arms, he makes me feel safe.”
“Ah, the one with the scar.” Apollo nodded, leaning back in his chair.
“What scar?” Rayne asked. He was perfect in every way. Well he was. When she looked at him, she saw perfection, a beautiful soul worthy of the Gods. Oh, she knew he was hurt before, but when she looked at him, she saw his soul. The man beneath the mask, a man she could love and spend the rest of her life with. He was perfect, just the way he was.
“Never mind, continue.”
“Anyway, like I was saying…”
* * * *
Ashe was worried. He’d never seen Blaze so withdrawn, so upset before, and he really didn’t know how to help him. Add the fact that he was pissed at him for Rayne leaving the way she did, and well, what was supposed to be a fun day of love and acceptance turned into the biggest cluster fuck in the universe. Blaze didn’t know what he did wrong, and he was refusing to talk about what was said before Ashe walked in on him and Rayne.
When Rayne left, she was very clear when she ordered them to stay and not to follow her. To make matters worse, Ashe couldn’t get to the bottom of it all because the group of people Rayne had invited over for the safety seminar was sitting before them, waiting for the right time to lynch both of their asses.
How Ashe ended up the scapegoat of Blaze’s fiasco, he would never know.
“Now, boys, I know you both are new here in town, and so am I, but I should warn you that we do things differently in Celestial than in those big fancy, high-falutten cities. We’re a simple folk here and we tend to take things slow.”
“Slow my ass,” Charity huffed. “You, Virgo, and Hercules were fucking like bunnies not twenty-four hours after meeting each other.”
Savannah gasped. “Were not! We waited twenty-five hours.”
“Good grief.” Charity sighed. “There’s no talking to her.”
“Well, she is technically correct on one thing, we are a small town,” Capri uttered, then smiled.
“Yeah, I’ll give her that,” Charity conceded.
“Back to the problem, girls,” Heaven Meyer said firmly, turning to look at the both of them. Ashe looked at Blaze, who was refusing to say a damn thing to anyone. According to Ashe, it was all Blaze’s fault, and he should be the one to fix it. Instead, the brooding bastard was sitting on the couch sulking like a two-year old who’d just had his favorite toy taken away from him.
“I’ve never seen my sister so distraught. What exactly did you do to her?”
“Blaze did it!” Ashe said, pointing at the moody idiot. “It’s all his fault.”
“You told me to tell her, you bastard!” Blaze shot back.
“Yeah, but at the right moment.”
“It was the right moment!”
A loud, shrilly whistle shut them both up immediately. Turning, Ashe clamped his mouth shut when Ace Emerson, the local FBI agent, started speaking. “Let’s all calm down, and take this slowly. Who was the last person to speak to Rayne?”
Blaze pointed at Ashe.
“Was not,” Ashe replied.
“Were, too.” Blaze smirked. “You came into the room and asked what the hell was going on, and Rayne pointed her finger at you, and said you, and then we left.”
“Now…you pick now to have a clear mind?” Ashe grumbled.
“Just answering the question.”
“Before that.” Ace sighed. “Who was with Rayne before?”
“I was,” Blaze whispered.
“What happened?” When Blaze blushed scarlet and didn’t speak right away, the women before them smiled and snickered a bit.
“Okay, we can skip those details. What happened after the fact, and before you two left the room?”
“I told Rayne I loved her,” Blaze admitted.
“That’s it?” Ace asked, confused.
“Wow.” Savannah sighed and Charity laughed.
However, it was Heaven who stood, looking angry and pissed. Ashe didn’t know what the hell to make of it, especially when she pointed her finger at them and said, “You both just fucked up big time!”
* * * *
“So you see, Apollo, it’s all their fault and you have to replace them. I did nothing wrong,” Rayne finished, happy with how she explained everything. She couldn’t have been clearer if she had a PowerPoint and a diagram in front of her.
“Let me get this straight,” Apollo said, sitting up and looking her straight in the eyes. “Blaze and Ashe are qualified firefighters. Some of the best you’ve ever seen. Their good at what they do, and easy to work with, minus them being lazy a bit.”
“Yep.” She nodded.
“They’re clean, upstanding men, who do their job diligently when called. They have a wicked sense of humor, and make you laugh a lot. They make you feel giddy and special inside, and when you look at them your heart beats faster.”
“Uh huh.”
“The three of you get along and work well together. They make you feel wonderful when you are around them. You like kissing each of them, and hugging on them. You’ve slept with them repeatedly, and can’t wait to be with them again.”
“Yes.”
“And you love them.”
“Absolutely.” She grinned, and then shut her mouth. When her words registered, she shot up from her chair and said, “No! No, I don’t love them. I can’t love them. I have plans.”
Maybe she should have brought a PowerPoint, she thought when all Apollo did was lean back in his chair and smile up at her.
“Plans change, Rayne. You should know that more than anyone. You’ve had so many jobs since your parents left. You were a damn good waitress for me at the Rainbow Room, until you decided you wanted to learn about baby making. You then learned everything you could from Capri, until that wasn’t enough, and you wan
ted to learn how to be a paramedic. You keep taking class after class online, and are proficient in so many things. Remind me again how many degrees you have already?”
“Four,” she muttered.
“And you’re almost finished with your first responder qualifications. I should know, I have to sign off on them every month. Face it, Rayne, once you finish something, you move on to something bigger and better. You’re terrified and for the first time in your life there is no manual, no textbook with an ending, and it’s scaring the shit out of you. Your whole life you have done everything that was expected of you. You were the smart sister and you monopolized on that. You’ve done your job, sweetie. You have your degrees. When are you going to stop pleasing your parents and go after something you want? Love is forever, Rayne.”
Rayne didn’t know what to say, as she just stood there staring at the man who was more engrossed with himself than anyone else. The fact that Apollo knew so much about her, and understood, was bewildering. Shocking was more like it.
“Oh what do you know.” Rayne huffed, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. “You walk around in a damn loincloth!”
* * * *
“Could you please explain that?” Ashe asked. How telling the woman they loved that they loved her was wrong, he had no clue. Typically, when a man told a woman they loved her, the woman cried, flinging herself at the man. Well, at least that was how it was in all those stupid romance movies. How they fucked up was beyond him. Even Blaze looked stupefied, but at least he was now sitting up and paying attention.
“Okay,” Heaven sighed, and then began. “Rayne didn’t have the normal upbringing most of us did here in Celestial. She was always an overachiever, and our parents encouraged that. While I was having fun, getting drunk with friends, and getting into trouble, Rayne was herded toward books and learning. You see our parents were professors, and they believed that a great mind was a terrible thing to waste. Apparently, I was a lost cause because I had completely embraced the Celestial way of life. However, Rayne never truly did. Oh, she tries to fit in, and she is as sweet as pie, but she has never let the town, the residents, or anyone else get in the way of her ten-year plan.
Great Celestial Balls of Fire [Celestial Nights 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9