Chapter 36
Blaze slept soundly.More soundly than he had in a long time. Until something tiny with claws and teeth pounced on his hand. He woke with a start to find Sassy in attack mode.
She was still adorable. He gently pried her away, pleased when she stopped biting immediately. Kittens didn’t know how sharp those pinprick teeth and claws were, but they could be taught to be gentle.
Sometime during the night, Blaze had slid down until he was lying on top of the covers. Sassy must have been sleeping on him for much of that time. A short distance away, Emma lay on her side, facing him, her eyes closed, mouth slightly open.
She’d dragged a blanket over herself, and her knees were curled up in a semi-fetal position. Not quite that tight, but close.
Sassy bounded up and down between them and Blaze was afraid she’d wake Emma. He sat up as gently as possible, picked the kitten up to cuddle her, and took her to the bathroom. She dove into the food and started crunching, and Blaze studied his reflection in the mirror.
He ought to go back to the guest room, but he didn’t want to. He felt settled lying in bed with Emma. Since he planned to stay near her, he took a swig of mouthwash from the bottle sitting on the counter and went back into the bedroom, closing the door softly on Sassy.
Emma had moved to her back, one arm flung out, a black brace around it beneath the elbow, her face creased from the pillow. She looked younger than her thirty-four years, and impossibly innocent. He knew she wasn’t, not with a job like hers. She said she’d had her hands in more guts than he or Chance had ever seen, and he figured she was right.
Emma Grace Sutton was one tough, badass woman, even if she didn’t realize it, and he wasn’t going anywhere tonight.
The next time Blaze woke, light streamed between the gap in the curtains. His arms were filled with soft woman. He lay on his side with Emma spooned against him. The sweet curve of her ass fit perfectly in the cradle of his hips. His cock nestled into the indent between her cheeks.
He was, of course, harder than stone.
“Shit,” he muttered.
Emma moved then, pressing her ass back against him in her sleep as she stretched. It took everything he had not to groan, especially when she turned and threw a leg over his. Her hands rested on his chest, and she sighed as she pressed her cheek into his shoulder.
If he’d thought having her ass against his dick was bad, having her facing him, her leg over his thigh, was worse. She wore pajamas, complete with pants and a button-down top, but he could feel the heat from her pussy. It wouldn’t take much of anything to reach down and cup her there, rub her through the pajamas.
He wouldn’t, because she wasn’t awake and he didn’t have permission, but God above, how he wanted to.
Blaze closed his eyes and bent his forehead to hers as he worked to keep from coming just because she was so close. He’d never done so from something so tame before, didn’t think he would now, but the truth was he didn’t know. She fucking excited him.
She sighed again and wriggled against him. His dick pressed forward, seeking more. It was delicious torture, her body rubbing against his.
And he couldn’t let it keep happening. Not when she wasn’t aware of it. Felt like a creeper thing to do.
“Emma,” he whispered. “Babe. Sunshine.”
Her eyelids drifted open, the blue depths fuzzy with sleep. He thought she might scramble away from him when she realized, but she only smiled. “Hi.”
God, this woman. “Hi.”
She blinked sleepily. “Is Sassy okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Sassy’s asleep, but probably not for much longer.”
Emma stretched against him, and Blaze bit back the groan in his throat as she brushed his dick. His very hard, very ready dick.
“Oh,” she breathed, her eyes widening.
“Yeah.”
They studied each other for a long moment without speaking. He could feel the tremor in her body, the way she waited for him to be the first to break the silence.
“I’m gonna get up and start the coffee,” he growled. “Give you a chance to breathe. You still want to say yes after that, I’m not saying no this time.”
Because he couldn’t anymore. He’d tried. For the mission, for her, for his own sanity.
It wasn’t working. Short of packing up his truck and driving away from Sutton’s Creek for good—not something he could actually do without being considered a traitor to his country—he wasn’t getting her out of his head. He didn’t even think that would do it, really.
“If you do say yes,” he continued, “you need to realize I can’t promise you a future. All I can give you is right now. No promises.”
“Didn’t ask for promises, big guy.”
“I know, but I gotta say it anyway.”
“Hooah.”
He blinked. “Did you just say hooah?”
“I did, and I believe it was proper usage. Heard, understood, and acknowledged.”
Blaze laughed. He was still hard, still horny, but she cracked him up. “You got it, Sunshine. Damn, you surprise me sometimes.”
She gave him a cheeky smile. “I’m a nerd, Blaze. I know things.”
He kissed her forehead and reluctantly slid away from her embrace. “You’re the prettiest nerd I know,” he told her. “Now, I’m going to fix that coffee and pray this erection subsides.”
“I know a cure for that.” She propped herself on an elbow, her dark hair cascading over one shoulder in a thick tangle. So fucking pretty.
“I do, too. But I don’t make major decisions while horny or in need of coffee. Neither should you.”
Emma grinned as she threw the covers back. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before.”
“It’s a Blaze Connolly original, learned the hard way, har-de-har.”
Emma laughed. “Cute. You should paint that on a sign and sell it on Etsy. You’d make a fortune.”
He loved the banter with her. He could picture mornings making love to her, then fixing coffee and breakfast, bringing it to her in bed, laughing and teasing each other before they ended up getting naked again. He’d go to work with a huge fucking smile on his face, and Emma would look dreamy and satisfied because he wouldn’t ever fail to please her. It’d be his mission to keep her happy.
The thought of missions made his gut tighten. It’d only been two nights since they’d infiltrated Royal Shipping and Chance got shot. They didn’t even have word on what the computer parts were for yet or what their next move would be.
Didn’t have to be a betting man to know this mission was nowhere near over.
“Hey,” Emma said softly, dragging his attention back to her. She was standing now, looking adorably rumpled in her pajamas, but her eyes were filled with concern. “You okay?”
“I’m great, Sunshine. There’s a beautiful, sexy woman in my bed, a kitten in my bathroom, and coffee on the horizon. How could I be anything but?”
“You looked far away, that’s all.”
He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. She came into them willingly, pressing her cheek to his chest and closing her eyes. She tangled him up inside, but he liked it because she made him feel more alive than he had in a long time.
“I’m right here, babe. Like I said last night, nowhere else I’d rather be.”