Chapter 9
Victoria
“You mentioned your stepmom. Is she in Portland? Is that where you grew up?”
I reach over and set my empty teacup on the nightstand before leaning back against the pillows. “Yeah.”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re driving through Arizona alone with all of your belongings and no phone?”
I take a deep breath. “Not really, but I guess I don’t have a choice.”
Blaze props up on one elbow, resting his head in his palm.
He sets his other hand over both of mine, where I’ve been wringing them in my lap.
“You have a choice, baby. I want you to know that no matter what you’re running from, you’re safe here.
No one can get to you at this estate. It’s guarded twenty-four-seven. ”
I study his face. He’s not pushing me. He’s patiently waiting. “No one is after me, if that’s what you’re thinking. I didn’t break any laws or anything, either. I just got fed up with my stepmom trying to control my life, so I left.”
He nods slowly, squeezing my hands.
I chuckle. “Ironic since you’re bossier than anyone I’ve ever known, and now I feel like I just traded one controlling man for another.”
His body tenses. “Tell me about this man.”
After taking a deep breath, I continue, “He’s not someone I felt connected to. It’s complicated.”
“I’ve got the rest of my life freed up to listen to you,” he teases.
“You don’t have to be anywhere?” I ask again. It seems odd that he doesn’t need to be somewhere.
“Nope. I work here now. For the estate. I’m a business and finance guy. My job is to take over that side of things here in Wilde. It can all wait.”
A giggle erupts. “As long as you don’t fail to pay Gretchen on time.”
His grin captivates me. “I won’t let that happen. Promise.”
A few seconds go by while I organize my thoughts. I’ve never shared this story with anyone. I hadn’t intended to, but I feel drawn to Blaze, and I trust him for some reason. I’m pretty sure I’m half in love with him already, which is ridiculous and probably just a result of him saving me.
Nevertheless, there’s no harm in sharing my saga.
“So, my mom died when I was a baby. She had a brain aneurysm. My dad remarried when I was so young that I don’t remember anyone before my stepmom.
But then he died when I was six. Hit by a drunk driver.
He had a sizable inheritance from his parents, so my stepmom was set for life.
She’s spent the last fifteen years mostly having lunch with other rich women at her country club.
I don’t think anyone there really likes her, though. She’s not old money.”
Blaze chuckles. “I’m picturing someone with hot-pink yoga pants, a boob job, and bubble gum.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re not that far off.
I never felt like I fit into that world, and she never encouraged me to.
I wanted to get away, so I applied to college.
My stepmom wasn’t very supportive of that either.
She said I didn’t need ‘no schooling,’” I toss some air quotes up, “and I should get married. She tried to set me up with guys.”
Blaze winces. “When you were eighteen?”
“Yep.”
“Yikes. Did you go to college?”
“Yep. She said we didn’t have the money for it, which was ridiculous, but I didn’t argue.
I worked hard, got scholarships, and went to college a few hours away.
Those were the best four years of my life.
I didn’t have my fake-acting stepmom hovering all the time, trying to set me up with her other fake-faced friends’ sons.
She always embarrassed me, so I kind of kept to myself growing up. I never brought anyone home.”
Blaze frowns.
“But then I graduated from college. I probably should have thought through my degree choice a bit better when I picked it because there aren’t a lot of jobs available for someone with a BA in Art History.”
Blaze smiles. “But it’s useful here in this old mansion.”
“Yeah.” I cringe. “I still can’t believe we’re lying on this bed. It’s probably worth a lot of money.”
“To me, it’s just our bed, baby. I bought a new mattress for it, if that helps.”
I give my ass a bounce. “I see that. Very comfortable.”
“So go on. What happened after you graduated?”
Sighing, I run a hand over my messy curls. “I was blindsided when I couldn’t get a job right away, so I moved back in with my stepmom. She insisted. She was worse than ever, thinking I was the catch of the town now. Twenty-one, college degree, pretty… According to her.”
“She’s not wrong. You’re gorgeous.” Damn, his smile. It’s hard to look away.
“Whatever…” I roll my eyes. “Pretty is not the way I would have ever described myself. I was always more of a tomboy.” I hesitate, my lips parted, thinking back.
“No… Maybe that’s not true. My stepmom said I was a tomboy.
She made it a reality when I was a kid. She said I was too messy and played too rough for dresses and skirts, so she bought me jeans and T-shirts. ”
Blaze never glances away from me, and his gaze is so damn intense it’s unnerving. He looks pissed. “You didn’t choose your own clothes? Not even in high school?”
I shrug. “No. It always seemed easier to stay out of her way and just do whatever she said. She mostly ignored me as long as I didn’t rock the boat.
I was a wallflower. Though I’m pretty sure she made that a reality, too.
” I tap my lips. Now that I’m telling my life story out loud, I’m starting to realize some of my traits might not be my own.
“You’re not a wallflower, baby,” he says softly.
With a deep inhale, I continue, because it feels good to share this shit. It’s like it’s been bubbling up inside me with no outlet. Until now. Until Blaze. “Six is old enough to realize that I had no blood relatives. I needed my stepmom to raise me. If she didn’t, I would go to foster care.”
“Did she tell you that? Did she threaten you with that possibility?”
“I don’t think so… I just knew she didn’t really like kids. She tolerated me. She was young. She could have dumped me into the system and remarried. I think I was aware of that, so I just behaved, did what she wanted, stayed out of trouble.”
“What a horrible way to grow up.”
My saga sounds worse out loud. Maybe it was. I stare at my lap. At the way Blaze is holding my hands. I like the look. His fingers are so long. His hand engulfs both of mine.
“So… Let me guess. You moved back in, and she set you up with a man.”
“Yep. Preppy guy. Twenty-five. Thinks he’s God’s gift to humanity. Dresses like a moron. Works for his dad in corporate America. Mergers or something that sounded sketchy to me.”
Blaze laughs. “I know the type.” He strokes my knuckles. “Go on.”
“I never should have agreed to go to dinner with David. It was a disaster from the start. I knew it would be the moment I saw him at the restaurant.”
“Wait, you met him at the restaurant?”
“Yep. At least I was smart enough to insist on that much. Otherwise, how would I escape easily if I hated him?”
“But you did hate him…”
“At first sight. He was a pushy asshole.”
“I’m a pushy asshole,” Blaze points out, brow raised.
I shake my head. “Believe me, I’ve noticed, but it’s not the same.
David spent the entire meal looking at other women.
He talked about himself and his accomplishments.
Never once did he ask me about myself. I never got a word in edgewise.
He even ordered wine and poured it into my glass. I hate wine.”
“Noted. I won’t buy you wine.”
Yeah, there’s not a single thing in common between David and Blaze.
“Did you leave?”
“Eventually, but shit went way wacky before that. For some reason, David thought we were going to get married.”
Blaze lets go of my hand and pushes to sitting. His brow is furrowed, intensity written all over his face. His muscles are bulging as he leans over me and plants one hand on the other side of my hips.
Possessive. As if I’m telling him some other guy hit on me this morning.
At least Blaze put on a T-shirt while I was in the bathroom.
It’s black, though, and tight, so his chest is still distracting, especially since he’s also wearing nylon workout shorts as if he’s about to go for a run.
He had been wearing the shorts when we woke up.
I reach forward and set my palm on his chest, reminding myself how solid he is. “Chill, big guy. Do you want to hear the rest?”
“No, but go on.”
Those intense eyes never leave mine. Blaze has looked directly at me nearly every waking moment since I met him. He probably also stared at me while I was asleep. The rest of the world doesn’t even exist around us. Just me.
He’s not David.
“I nearly choked when David told me he thought we were ‘a good match.’ Based on what? I’m not sure he could even describe me.
He probably could have told me more about the woman with the giant fake tits in the booth across the room.
Yet, as soon as the plates were cleared, he finally faced me.
I felt like a business deal. I was too stunned to react as he told me I was the perfect look for him. We would be a good match.”
“The perfect look?” Blaze’s voice rises.
“Oh, yeah, and then he proceeded to ask me what my workout regimen was like and what I usually eat to stay skinny.”
Blaze’s eyes widen.
I grip his pec with my fingertips. He’s going to lose his shit when he hears the rest, and frankly, I’m on a roll now, and I like feeling heard.
I’ve never told anyone this story. It sounds even crazier saying it out loud than it was in real life or in my head.
Plus, I like the possessive reaction I’m getting from Blaze.
Like he’s on my side. No one’s ever been on my side before.
His nostrils flare. “You told him to fuck himself, right?”
I giggle. “It gets worse.”
Now his brows shoot up.
“Next, he asked me if I’m on birth control.”
Blaze sits all the way upright. But that’s not all. He comes to his knees, straddles me, and plants his hands on either side of my waist. He’s not touching me, but he’s claiming me, showing me how he would protect me from a bear. Or in this case, a man.
A strange, excited calm washes over me. I’m not done telling this story, but suddenly I really need Blaze to kiss me. So I slide my hands up his chest and wrap my fingers around his neck, pulling to draw him down to my lips.
My heart races as he tips his head slightly to one side and kisses me with more passion than I’ve ever read in a book. He even growls as he deepens the connection, adding his tongue and teeth.
I melt as he sucks on my bottom lip before biting into it. All the while, he holds my gaze, never looking away. He doesn’t close his eyes or even blink.
My fingers refuse to let go of his neck. It’s like I’m afraid he’ll back away if I let him. I want this. For the first time in my life, my body is on fire for a man. I was starting to think it wasn’t in the cards for me. It so totally is. I just hadn’t met Blaze.
We kiss for so long that I’m panting when he lets go of me. So is he. He’s also grinning. “Did you let that asshole kiss you?”
“Fuck no.”
Now his smile grows. “Good girl.”
My body shivers at his words.
He leans back a few more inches, still hovering, not touching me. The only part of him he touched me with was his lips. The rest was all me. “There’s more to your story, though. Finish it.”
“Yeah.” I swallow. “He said he would get me an appointment with his friend, who’s a gynecologist, to get an IUD because kids don’t fit into his life plan right now. Surely I agree. We look good together as a couple, with me so petite and all.”
I think flames come out of Blaze’s ears. He blinks several times, his mouth open, no sound coming out. Finally, he clears his throat. “How big is this fucker?”
I shrug. “Average. Maybe five-eight. You could take him,” I tease.
Blaze chuckles. “I’d rather never set eyes on him. I was just wondering why he thinks his woman needs to be so tiny.”
“I guess I made him feel big.”
“I need this story to have a satisfying ending, please,” Blaze pleads.
I laugh. “I picked up the glass of red wine that I hadn’t touched, tossed it in his face, and left him sitting there.
I was so mad that I drove to my stepmom’s, tossed everything I care about into my car, and left.
She wasn’t home at the time. I didn’t even leave a note.
But I did leave my phone. I didn’t want her tracking me. ”
“Good girl. I guess that’s why you didn’t want to place an insurance claim at the clinic.”
“Right.”
“What about your car? Could it be tracked?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you mind if I have someone look the car over to make sure it doesn’t have a tracking device?”
I shudder. That thought honestly never occurred to me. “Please do.”
As if he’s doing pushups, he lowers to kiss me again, this one sweeter.
I kind of hate it when he’s done. I also hate that he lifts one leg and returns to resting on his hip next to me. His hovering bossy self makes me feel protected even though there’s nothing threatening me.
Being careful with my leg, I turn onto my side so I’m facing him. “This is surreal. You’re going to break my heart.”
“Never.” He cups my face. “I’m going to keep you.”
I giggle. “We just met.”
“Yes, and you’re mine.”