Eighteen
Blaze
It was mid-morning on Tuesday when my phone vibrated on my desk. Without even looking at the screen, I already knew who it was. Or maybe it was that I had a hope about who it was and refused to believe I’d find that anyone but Harlow had texted me.
When I picked up my phone and saw her name on the display, I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my face. There was something about knowing she was thinking about me that just put me in a good mood.
Harlow
Feeling smart today, boss?
She must have had some time in between clients and wanted to send me another one of her riddles. I wanted to laugh just thinking about it. Harlow had been trying to stump me, and while she had given me a few tricky ones, she hadn’t yet succeeded. I loved playing this game with her and looked forward to it every time she sent one over to me.
Eager to play, I quickly tapped out a response.
Blaze
Considering I’m working on a case, I better be.
Harlow must have already had her response prepared, because no sooner had I sent my reply when I got one in return.
Harlow
What gets longer when pulled, fits between breasts, slides neatly into a hole, has choked people when used improperly, and works best when jerked?
Jesus.
What was this woman trying to do to me?
There was the clear and obvious answer to the riddle that I knew would be wrong. Unable to concentrate enough on figuring out the actual answer immediately, I set my phone back down on my desk and let the disbelief settle in.
I’d been feeling a lot of that over the last couple of days I’d had with Harlow. It was safe to say that things had changed a bit between us. And while there was the obvious change of the physical progression in our relationship, even if we hadn’t yet explored all the things I ultimately wanted us to, there was a new level of comfort and playfulness between us.
Harlow had come out and admitted she trusted me—something I hadn’t expected would impact me the way it had. We’d been seeing each other for nearly a month now, so it was nice to know that all we’d done together on our dates and the conversations we’d engaged in had evidently been enough for Harlow to build that confidence in who she believed me to be.
It was the strides we’d made in our physical relationship were easily my favorite, though. Those steps were additional proof of her conviction, and they were the greatest gift she could have given me. To know she’d never shared her body with another man and was not only willing but eager to explore that with me was the best feeling. I’d been longing to add that element to what we were building, and it was a relief to be able to have more ways to express my feelings for her.
For a woman who hadn’t experienced a whole lot in her life, Harlow was proving she wasn’t afraid. Not with the activities we planned, the physical affection, or the conversation, if this riddle was any indication.
Sending me a riddle like this not only gave me the reassurances I was on her mind throughout the day, but it told me what she might have been thinking about. And that was the kind of thing I couldn’t help but smile about, no matter how unexpected it had been.
I picked up my phone again.
Blaze
Is this a new segment? Dirty riddles with Harlow?
I stared at the screen for a beat, waiting for her response, and laughed when it finally came through.
Harlow
They’re only dirty because you’re making them that way. And that tells me I might actually stand a chance at stumping you now.
Yep.
She knew precisely what she was doing. If she threw me off balance enough, I might just be too distracted by the innuendo in the riddle to come up with the right answer.
Blaze
Do you think I’m that easily fooled? Don’t you worry, baby, I’ll figure this one out soon enough.
“Now that’s a look that’s become all too familiar around here.”
I glanced up from my phone to see Forrest strolling into my office, a knowing look on his face.
“Come again?”
Forrest held his hands up in surrender as he moved to sit down in one of the chairs on the opposite side of my desk. “No judgment from me, man. I’ve been there for a while now. I’m just pointing out the obvious. You’re caught up in a woman in a very serious way.”
While I’d started sharing the news of Harlow’s existence with my coworkers, I hadn’t shared specifics with anyone. I wasn’t about to start denying the truth when someone pointed it out. “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I confessed.
“That’s awesome, Blaze. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. I just wish I could feel this content all the time,” I shared.
He tipped his head to the side and eyed me curiously. “You’re worried about this case that’s been impacting those connected to Harper Security?”
I nodded. “She’s got a hair salon, so it’s possible that could be a target like the other spots. The only thing Harlow may have on her side is that it wasn’t until recently that anyone here even knew we were together. But since we just made this connection, and it’s been happening for quite a few weeks, it’s hard to say whether these people are even aware Harlow exists.”
“Does she know what’s going on?” he asked.
“I had to tell her,” I answered.
“How did she respond?”
I inhaled deeply and sighed. “Better than I expected. The truth is that I gave her an out. I told her if she wanted me to walk away so we could ensure her safety, I would do it. She refused, all but claiming she wouldn’t live in fear of something bad happening. The idea of us not being together scared her more than anything else.”
Forrest shook his head, a look of disgust marring his features. “I know just as much as the next guy how things can happen in someone’s life to lead them to being in danger, especially after Daisy’s situation. In those cases, it’s on us to do what we can to keep them safe from whatever that threat is. But this is different. Because this is on us. This threat is coming from us. I never would have thought we’d find ourselves in a position where there’d be a group of people with a grudge against us who would target the ones we love.”
The ones we love.
The moment Forrest said the word, it hit me.
That’s exactly what I felt for Harlow.
I loved her. I loved her so much, the thought of not being with her made it difficult to breathe.
“Uh, did I say something wrong?” Forrest asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I shook my head. “No. No, it’s just that I’m realizing how important Harlow is to me, and if something bad comes her way because of this, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Forrest offered a nod of understanding. “Well, I think we’re all feeling that, even if it seems as though the guys like you, Royce, Nixon, and Leo have more of a reason for it right now. To that end, especially after what you did to help me with Daisy’s situation, whatever I can do to help, you just have to say the word.”
Maybe it was best to take him up on his offer. At this point, the more eyes on this case, the better. “Are you busy now? I can show you what I’ve got so far.”
“Lay it on me,” he returned.
And with that, I had to pull myself away from the lightheartedness I felt in texting with Harlow, because I had a job to do. Something happening to her wasn’t an option, so the fun would have to wait.
The woman I loved was a potential target.
It wasn’t in me to sit back and do nothing.
“Alright, well, we’re working with the mindset that whoever has this grudge against us has to be someone from a relatively recent case. It just doesn’t make sense that someone from five or ten years ago would suddenly have an interest in doing something like this,” I shared.
“That’s a reasonable assumption,” he returned. “How far back are you looking?”
“For now, I’m not considering cases more than two or three years old. In addition, I’m narrowing the list by looking at cases where multiple individuals were involved. We’ve already had numerous accounts of incidences involving more than one culprit, so we can reasonably assume this isn’t just a single person,” I explained.
Nodding, Forrest asked, “What ones have you come up with so far?”
“Well, I haven’t gotten through everything just yet, because there’s certainly plenty to go through, but one of the most recent ones is the case that impacted Banks and Lamise,” I started. “There was a massive drug ring there, and it’s likely that not everyone involved was apprehended. Of course, on the topic of drug rings, there’s the case Royce worked on years ago when Tarryn decided to try to take down the guy who was responsible for distributing the drugs used by the guy who violated her sister.”
“That guy was arrested and charged, though, wasn’t he?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he was. Along with several other members of his operation. But there are still some people lower down on the totem pole I’d imagine who might not be profiting like they used to and could be upset about it.”
Forrest considered those words before he said, “So, still a possibility, but less likely, since it’s been so long. Anyone else?”
“There’re the people from out of state that were responsible for going after Sawyer, but I don’t think it’s them, because they’d have to have resources to watch us consistently. Ellery’s ex-husband had a massive operation, and while a lot of those men were apprehended, I don’t think it’s possible that everyone was taken down. That man has the resources to pull off something like this, too. He had the kind of power that means he could be pulling strings from inside a prison cell. But we also have to consider the exotic car ring Jax was responsible for taking down, or even Maren’s former best friend and the people she had working with her who could be guilty.”
Forrest sat back and sighed. “Well, if nothing else, you’ve already come up with a lot to sort through. Let me know where you’d like me to start, and I’ll try to help rule some of these out.”
With his offer to help, I slid a couple of files across my desk toward him, and the two of us got to work.
For the remainder of the day, I spent my time focusing all my effort on the work in front of me. But when the day was done, and it was time to leave, my mind went right back to Harlow.
Best of all, the minute I got in my truck to head home, it hit me.
I pulled out my phone, went to our text conversation, and sent one to her.
Blaze
A seatbelt.
Feeling proud of myself, I set my phone down, pulled out of the parking lot, and made my way home. By the time I got there, I wasn’t surprised to see Harlow had replied.
Harlow
You can’t be real! I thought that one was going to stump you!
A smile spread across my face. She might have seemed angry, but I knew she loved this little challenge. It made things fun for us.
I desperately wanted to respond and tell her something else, something far more important, but I didn’t.
The first time I told her the truth about what she meant to me wasn’t going to be via a text message. For now, I’d keep it to myself. But soon enough, she was going to know the truth.
Harlow
“Oh, this feels so nice.”
It was Thursday evening, and I’d just curled up on the couch with Blaze. He’d come over after work tonight, and it was the first time I”d managed to see him since he left my place on Monday.
At my declaration, his arms tightened around me. “I can’t say I disagree, but your statement seems to be about a bit more than just the two of us finally being here together.”
I pressed my face into his chest and inhaled the scent of him deeply. After giving myself a moment to do that, I pulled back, tipped my chin up to look at him, and explained, “It was just a very long day today. I packed a lot of clients in, and there were a bunch of wraparound appointments, which meant that I’d put color on one client’s hair and have another client getting a haircut before that color could be washed out.”
“Sounds like you had a busy day.”
“It was. But I was also probably just anticipating being able to see you tonight, too,” I noted. “Monday feels like it was years ago.”
Blaze smiled at me as he lifted one of his hands to the side of my head and began stroking his fingers through my hair. “I missed you, too.”
He knew precisely what I was trying to say without me needing to say the words. I loved it. He paid attention not only to the things I said, but he also heard the things I didn’t say. And if it was in him to fix it or make it better for me, he did.
“How has your week been?” I asked, cuddling closer to him.
“It was okay. I’ve been putting a lot of my focus into this case over the past week, so I’m just glad to be here with you now.”
It made me feel terrible to know I was complaining about how my day had gone when Blaze was doing something that had the potential to stop crime happening in town.
“Have you had any luck?”
“Not as much as I’d like, but I’ve got some of the guys working with me on it,” he shared. “We’ve really only been actively investigating this over the last week, so I’m not too upset that we haven’t had any major breaks in the case just yet.”
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help.”
Blaze continued to play with my hair, still smiling at me. “You already do help me, Harlow. I’ve told you this before, but whenever you reach out to me throughout the day with a simple text, or whenever I get a chance to talk to you or see you, it helps. That’s all I need from you. That, and to know that you’re happy as ever while you go about your days.”
If there was one thing that could be said about Blaze, it was that he had this thing about him that made him refuse to accept the idea of me ever being unhappy. I believed he was the kind of man who’d always take the load—physical, mental, emotional, or anything in between—so I wouldn’t feel an ounce of stress.
He was beyond selfless, and I considered myself to be an extraordinarily lucky woman. For that reason, I thought it would be best to talk to him about something else that could be bringing him a bit of anxiety.
“Are you ready for this weekend? We have my dad’s birthday dinner on Sunday.”
“I am. I’m looking forward to meeting your family,” he replied.
My brows shot up in surprise. “You’re not worried?”
He lifted a curious brow in return. “Should I be?”
I did my best to shake my head in the position I was in. “No. No, I think they’re going to love you, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t feel nervous about meeting them.”
“Not at all. But I’ll let you know if that changes for me.”
It made me feel good to know that Blaze was looking forward to meeting my family and didn’t have any concerns about it. Considering the way he made me feel all the time, I’d never want him to experience any sort of distress over something like this when it wasn’t necessary.
For a few moments, the two of us stayed like that in silence. We exchanged several appreciative glances before I asked, “Would it be alright with you if we just stayed curled up on the couch and watched a movie tonight?”
“Nothing would make me happier,” he revealed.
I tipped my chin up, scooted myself closer, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Then I turned around to face the television as Blaze draped his arm over my waist to spoon me. I loved having him close like that so much, it didn’t matter to me what movie we watched.
We eventually found something, and while I stayed awake and watched it, I’d have been lying if I said my thoughts didn’t drift throughout. Not only was I aware of his big, strong body holding me protectively and keeping me warm, but I thought about how much my life had changed over the last month and how grateful I was to have met Blaze, too.
If I was honest, when I signed up for that dating app nearly two months ago, I hadn’t anticipated I’d ever wind up here, especially not this quickly.
But Blaze had changed everything. He’d made me the happiest I’d ever been in my life. And I never wanted to let him go.
Perhaps that was the reason why, as soon as the movie was over, I flipped to my opposite side to face Blaze again and declared, “I wish you didn’t have to go.”
His eyes roamed over my face. “I don’t.”
“Well, sure, I mean, you don’t have to leave immediately, but I meant to say that I wished you didn’t have to go home tonight,” I clarified.
He stared at me a beat before he asked, “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?”
“Would you… would you do that for me?”
Blaze’s lips twitched with amusement. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to spend the night holding you close to me?”
I licked my lips. “I don’t know. I guess… I guess I didn’t think about it. But I’d love it if you’d stay with me tonight. I’ve missed you so much, and I love the way it feels to be wrapped up in your arms.”
A proud smile washed over his face. “Then there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you. Anytime you want that, or anything else, all you need to do is tell me, baby. I’ll do my best to give you whatever you want or need.”
And that when it happened. Right there, on the couch in my living room, held protectively in Blaze’s warm embrace, I fell in love.
Totally, completely in love.
I wanted to tell him. I thought he should know.
But I’d never done that before with a guy.
And unfortunately, I was too much of a chicken to admit it without hearing him tell me he felt that way about me first.
So, I kept it to myself.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t think about it nonstop after we’d made it to my bed and kissed each other endlessly.
The thought still didn’t stop filtering through my mind when, for the first time in my life, a man held me in his arms while I drifted off to sleep and stayed the night with me.