Chapter 10 #3
Johanna gasped when he lifted her hips slightly and drove into her harder. The new angle hit something deep inside her that made her thighs quiver around him.
“Yes… right there,” she moaned softly.
Blaze cursed under his breath and repeated the motion, slower this time, grinding deeper. He lowered her back onto the bed and covered her body with his.
Their kisses turned hungry after that, open mouths and shared breaths as every attempt at restraint dissolved between them. Soft sounds escaped her while Blaze pumped his hips, the heat building steadily as they lost themselves in the familiar rhythm of each other.
Blaze whispered praises against her skin between thrusts, telling her how beautiful she looked beneath him, how wet she was, how good she felt wrapped around him. Every word sent fresh heat spiraling through her already sensitive body.
The rhythm between them grew rougher.
Needier.
Johanna clung desperately to him as his strokes became deeper, more powerful, the headboard beginning to tap softly against the wall from the force of his hips. Her breasts bounced with every thrust, nipples brushing against his chest while sweat slicked their skin together.
“Oh God, Braxton—”
“That’s it,” he growled. “Say my name again.”
She did.
Over and over.
By then her entire body was tightening around him uncontrollably. Pleasure coiled low in her stomach, growing hotter every second he drove into her. She could feel herself getting dangerously close.
She could tell by the way he was breathing, Blaze felt it too.
His jaw tightened as her inner muscles started fluttering around him.
“Fuck… you’re squeezing the shit outta my dick.”
Johanna cried out when his thumb slid between their bodies and pressed firmly against her clit. The added sensation shattered whatever control she had left.
Pleasure exploded through her body.
Her orgasm hit hard enough to steal her breath, spasms rippling through her core while she moaned his name helplessly and clawed at his back.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” Blaze hissed through clenched teeth. “Come all over me…”
The way her body clenched around him pushed him over. Blaze growled, thrusting hard once, twice more before burying himself inside her as release tore through him. His entire body tensed above hers, muscles flexing beneath her hands while ragged breaths broke from his throat.
He collapsed carefully over her body, still buried inside her, breathing heavily against her shoulder while Johanna wrapped her arms around him and trembled beneath the aftershocks still pulsing through her body.
Then the last of her strength drained from her all at once and she fell asleep.
* * *
Blaze’s breathing slowed the moment he felt Johanna relax completely against him.
The desire between them hadn't disappeared.
If anything, it had become almost overwhelming.
Every nerve ending in his body remained painfully aware of her, the softness of her beside him, the warmth of her skin, and the way her fingers continued to caress him as though touching him had become second nature all over again.
Somewhere between the kisses, their second round of lovemaking, and the quiet confessions exchanged in the darkness, this had become something far bigger than attraction.
This wasn't about chemistry, longing, or nostalgia.
It felt like finding a missing piece of himself he hadn't realized was still gone.
For years, Blaze had convinced himself he could live without her. He'd built a career, built a life, and erected enough walls to survive losing her. But lying here now with Johanna wrapped in his arms again, he realized something that should have been obvious all along.
Surviving wasn't the same thing as living.
He brushed one lingering kiss against her forehead before easing back enough to really look at her.
Moonlight filtered softly through the curtains, painting silver shadows across the room. Her curls spilled across the pillows in dark waves, her lips remained swollen from his kisses, and a faint flush still colored her cheeks.
But tonight, it had been her eyes that held him captive.
Those eyes had always been his downfall. Years ago, he'd seen love in them. Tonight, he saw something even more vulnerable.
Hope.
The sight landed squarely in his chest because trust had always been the harder thing to rebuild.
Johanna's fingers drifted along his jaw, tracing the edge of his ear while they slowly caught their breath.
"You're staring at me."
A smile tugged at his mouth.
"Just thinking."
Her eyebrow lifted. "That sounds risky."
"Probably is." Blaze laughed softly, the sound rougher than usual because his emotions felt close to the surface tonight.
He shifted beside her and pulled her naturally against him as though there had never been years between them. Johanna settled against his chest immediately, fitting there so perfectly it almost hurt. Like she'd always belonged there.
Blaze reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around both of them before pulling her closer.
It wasn't passion driving him now. It was something quieter and infinitely stronger, the need to protect her, keep her warm, and hold her close for as long as she'd allow it.
Outside, ocean wind rattled softly against the window. The room glowed with warmth, feeling miles away from the rest of the world.
For several minutes neither of them spoke. They simply lay together, breathing, resting, and relearning each other after years apart.
Blaze rubbed slow circles along her back beneath the blanket while Johanna traced absent patterns across the center of his chest. The touch felt intimate in a way that had nothing to do with desire. It felt intimate because it was familiar.
"You know what's crazy?" she asked eventually.
"Hmm?"
"I spent years convincing myself I was over you."
Blaze tightened his arm around her automatically. The reaction came without thought, born from equal parts protectiveness and possessiveness.
"And how's that working out for you?"
Her laughter vibrated softly against his chest. "Terribly."
The sound settled somewhere deep inside him.
God, he'd missed that laugh.
Missed all of it.
The way she smiled when she was happy. The way she laughed when she was trying not to smile. The way she laughed right before she rolled her eyes at him after he said something annoying.
Blaze lowered his head until his lips brushed the top of her hair.
"I never got over you either." The confession came quietly, stripped of pretense. "I just got better at pretending."
Johanna lifted her head. The vulnerability in her eyes smacked him in the chest. "Really?"
Blaze stared at her for several seconds. Then his fingers brushed gently along her jaw. "There has never been anybody after you that felt like you."
He watched the words land. Watched them settle.
Watched years of uncertainty begin to shift behind her eyes.
Because that had always been the truth. There had been dates.
Distractions. Women who were smart, beautiful, and perfectly nice.
But none of them were Johanna. None of them made him want to stay or ever felt like home.
Looking back now, Blaze realized he'd been measuring every woman against someone he'd never stopped loving. And nobody had ever come close.
He studied Johanna’s face for another long moment before his expression softened.
"You tired?"
A small smile touched her lips. "A little."
"Good."
She laughed softly. "Why is that good?"
His grin appeared immediately.
“Because I don’t plan on wasting the rest of this night.”
Reaching toward the lamp, he switched off the light. Moonlight instantly became the only illumination in the room, spilling silver shadows across the bed while soft darkness settled around them.
Johanna's warmth remained tucked securely against his side.
Perfect.
"Get you some rest," he murmured, pulling her even closer until she fit securely against him, "Because tonight you’re not going to get much sleep."
“You’re very confident.” Her laugh drifted through the darkness, content and sleepy. The sound wrapped around him like a promise.
Blaze leaned closer until his mouth hovered near hers again. “That’s because I know exactly what this feels like.”
Johanna’s fingers curled lightly against his forearm. “And what does this feel like?”
Blaze kissed her once before answering. Slow, yet deep enough to make her moan.
“Like I finally got something back I never stopped wanting.”
Before Johanna could respond, Blaze’s mouth found hers again, creating a rhythm, almost reverent beneath all the heat building between them.
For the first time in years, everything inside him felt still. The restlessness that had driven him for so long had quieted for the night. For now, there was no chasing the next goal, no wondering what came next, and no searching for something he couldn't name.
There was only Johanna. Safe in his arms. Breathing softly against his chest.
For tonight, Blaze felt he was exactly where he was supposed to be.