Chapter 10
Neither of them spoke while crossing the sidewalk toward her building.
They didn't need to. Everything left unsaid stretched between them with enough force to fill the silence.
Johanna unlocked the front entrance to the building with fingers that felt suspiciously unsteady.
Blaze stood close behind her, one hand braced lightly against the doorframe beside her head.
The masculine warmth of him surrounded her, protective, overwhelming, and entirely too tempting for her peace of mind.
She pushed the door open and glanced back over her shoulder.
Blaze was watching her with a dark, focused intensity that sent desire tightening low in her stomach.
"Last chance," he murmured.
Johanna paused for just a moment before turning and climbing the stairs to the second floor while Blaze followed close behind.
The narrow stairwell, tucked beside the gift shop on Main Street, carried the faint scent of candles and ocean-themed souvenirs from below. Their footsteps echoed softly against the worn wooden steps, tightening the tension already wrapped around them both.
By the time they reached her apartment door, Johanna's hands no longer felt entirely steady.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. Blaze followed behind her, closing the door with a soft click that seemed to reverberate through the small apartment with surprising finality.
The sound settled over her nerves.
“Take off your jacket. Make yourself at home,” she said as she shrugged out of her coat and tossed it over a wooden chair near a narrow entryway.
He slipped out of his jacket and laid it across the arm of the overstuffed sofa.
Warm kitchen light spilled across the room, illuminating the cozy space. A dining table sat near the windows overlooking Main Street, where scattered storefront lights still glowed below.
Normally, Johanna loved the familiar comfort of her apartment, from the mismatched furniture to the collection of framed beach photographs lining the walls.
Tonight, however, none of it felt familiar.
Blaze’s presence had altered the space in ways she couldn’t explain.
Johanna crossed to the table and fussed with the bouquet, pretending she wasn’t acutely aware of Blaze watching her.
“You have a nice place,” she heard him say.
She swung around. “Thank—” the words died in her throat when she saw the look in his eyes. Blaze’s attention was focused on one thing:
Her.
Then he took one determined step toward her.
Then another.
And the room felt smaller.
Johanna's hip brushed against a chair, and suddenly it felt like the apartment had somehow shrunk around them.
Blaze stopped directly in front of her, close enough that she could feel the desire radiating from him.
He paused long enough to look at her.
Really look at her.
As if he couldn't quite believe she was standing in front of him.
"Come here," he said softly.
As if she wasn't already standing within arm's reach. Still, she moved closer. His hands settled firmly at her waist once again.
Those hands.
The familiar strength of them sent a rush of warmth gliding through her.
Blaze lowered his head and kissed her slowly this time, as though he intended to savor every second instead of losing himself in it.
Johanna melted against him almost immediately.
Being kissed by Blaze in private felt different. More intimate. More dangerous.
His mouth moved against hers with masculine confidence while his hands slid beneath her sweater, warm palms brushing across bare skin. The touch sent a shiver through her, and Blaze noticed instantly.
"Damn," he muttered, pulling back just enough to look at her. "You feel so good."
Heat flooded her face and chest, but Blaze never gave her space to retreat from it.
His mouth moved to her jaw and then lower, kissing along the curve of her neck while his hands tightened gently at her waist. Johanna's fingers slid across his hair, and the low groan that escaped his lips sent another sensation of need rippling through her.
"There you go," he murmured against her skin. "I like it when you touch me."
The masculine approval in his voice nearly dissolved her completely.
Blaze lifted his head, his eyes dark and his jaw tight with control. "You know how long I've wanted to get my hands on you like this again?"
Johanna could barely think straight anymore.
“Probably as long as I have.”
The admission hung between them, carrying years of unfinished feelings neither of them had ever truly buried.
That should have terrified her more than it did. Because every wall she’d spent years building seemed to weaken whenever Blaze looked at her like this.
And judging by the look in his eyes, he knew it.
The answer settled between them, warm and dangerous.
Blaze smiled with the kind of confidence that made her pulse stumble.
“Don’t worry,” Blaze said as he backed her toward the table until she felt its edge against the backs of her legs. “I plan on having my hands all over you tonight.”
Blaze’s grip tightened on her hips, pulling her body against the hard length straining beneath his blue jeans. The feel of him shocked her. Every inch of him felt powerful, solid, and undeniably male.
A helpless moan slipped from Johanna's lips when his mouth claimed hers again.
This kiss was deeper than before. Slower at first, almost teasing, until it built into something devastating.
Blaze kissed like a man who knew exactly how to take control without taking away her choice, and every lingering touch left her feeling hotter, softer, and far too vulnerable.
She tasted traces of beer and desire on his lips, but what truly undid her was the familiarity of him. No one else had ever touched her and made her feel herself unravel so quickly.
“You taste so damn good,” Blaze murmured roughly against her swollen lips. One large hand traveled down over her ass, cupping her in his palm.
She should have stopped this. She should have walked away while she still could.
Instead, she remained exactly where she was, and judging by the look in Blaze's eyes, he knew she wasn't going anywhere.
"You know what I want, don't you, Johanna?" he asked quietly.
The question stole what little breath she had left.
“You’ve always had this effect on me,” he admitted quietly. “One look from you, and suddenly I’m out here fighting for self-control.”
A soft laugh escaped her. “You seem pretty controlled to me.”
Blaze’s mouth curved. “Baby, that’s years of practice.”
Her breath caught.
His gaze locked on hers, raw with desire and something even more dangerous beneath it. Something emotional. Something that made her heart pound almost as hard as the attraction itself.
He wanted her.
And the truth she didn't want to examine too closely was that she wanted him just as badly.
"I want to make love to you," he whispered against her neck. "Slow. Deep. Until you can't remember your own name."
His fingertips traced a deliberate path along her skin while her breathing grew increasingly uneven. Her nipple tightened instantly beneath his hand, and Blaze groaned softly when he felt it.
"You like the way that feels, don’t you?"
"Yes, I do," she admitted shakily.
The kiss that followed felt less like seduction and more like determination.
His tongue thrust into her mouth harder now, greedier, while his hands roamed over her body without restraint.
Johanna felt consumed by the warmth of his mouth, the roughness of his palms, the deep masculine sounds vibrating in his chest every time she moaned.
Her entire body burned for more.
She pushed lightly against his chest, searching for a moment to steady herself, but Blaze brushed his mouth against her skin and whispered, “You can stop thinking now.”
The quiet certainty in his voice stripped away another layer of resistance.
"Yes," she breathed.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"Yes what, sweetheart?"
"Yes… you're driving me crazy."
His expression darkened with satisfaction. "I'm nowhere near done with you."
The promise in those words sent her pulse racing all over again.
His hands slid down to the hem of her sweater and lifted it upward, fingertips dragging over every inch of exposed skin.
Johanna’s stomach tightened with awareness as he stripped the fabric over her head and tossed it aside.
Then he reached behind her, unclasped her bra and sent it in the same direction.
The cool air hit her bare breasts instantly.
She moved instinctively to cover herself, but Blaze caught her wrists gently.
“Don’t,” he said softly. “Let me see you.”
The hunger in his voice made her tremble, and not entirely for the reasons she wanted to admit.
When he drew back slightly, his eyes traveled slowly over her body, over her breasts, her stomach, taking in every detail with an intensity that left her feeling exposed and cherished at the same time.
"Shit," he whispered. "I forgot how beautiful you are."
There was no exaggeration in his tone.
“I need to touch you.”
And he did.
His large hands closed over her breasts reverently at first, thumbs brushing over her nipples until they hardened painfully beneath his touch. Johanna gasped, her head falling back immediately as pleasure shot straight through her body.
Blaze watched every reaction closely.
Every shiver.
Every desperate breath.
“You like that?” he asked hoarsely before lowering his mouth to one aching nipple.
The first pull of his lips nearly made her collapse.
“Oh God—Blaze…”
His tongue circled slowly before he sucked harder, teeth grazing just enough to send sharp pleasure through her stomach and straight between her legs. Meanwhile his hand kneaded the other breast relentlessly, pinching and stroking until Johanna could barely breathe.
“Please…” she whimpered.
“Tell me what you need.”
“I don’t know,” she cried softly. “I just—I need more.”
Blaze groaned like that answer wrecked him.
His mouth crushed hers again while his hand slid lower.