Chapter 12
Blaze
When we’re done eating, I set the tray on the dresser and return to hovering over my woman. My mission is to convince her she’s mine. I’m not opposed to putting my mouth on her pussy to do so. I’ll do it ten times a day if it wears her down.
I’ll do it ten times a day because I fucking like my mouth on her pussy, and the noises she makes… Fuck me.
No way in fuck is she going to Phoenix. That can’t happen.
I climb over her again because I really like straddling her.
Her breath hitches as she flattens her palms on my chest. “You’re so intense.”
“I am.” I bend to kiss her. “How’s your leg?”
“Fine. How could it hurt? You keep giving me pain medication.” She narrows her gaze. “Maybe I should look at the bottle you’re getting the Tylenol from. Perhaps I should be questioning what you’re handing me. I’m starting to think it’s an aphrodisiac instead.”
I chuckle. “Don’t need an aphrodisiac. You’re hot for me without it. But I don’t like you in pain either. I’m going to pull out the Tylenol every time you wince.”
“How old are you?” she asks, abruptly changing the subject.
“Forty-one.” I don’t hesitate. She needs to know.
“Twice my age…” At least she doesn’t cringe. She simply states that as a fact.
“Does it bother you?”
She shrugs. “No. Not if it’s the reason you know your way around my body like you do. I feel like I won the lottery. I’ve never met anyone as confident or…I think the word is cocky, as you.” She grins.
Her hands keep wandering. She likes touching me. I like it, too. “Do you always date younger women?”
“I’ve never dated anyone more than a few years younger than me,” I tell her honestly.
“Why me, then?”
“I don’t know, baby. When I met you, I just knew. I don’t care how old you are, but I can’t say I’m disappointed to find out you haven’t slept with another man. I’ll be the only man who ever touches you.”
She shrugs again, nonchalantly. “I mean, what if I take a job in Phoenix and there’s some hot guy my age working there?”
I grab her arms, pull them over her head, and hold her wrists together with one hand, freeing the other one to tickle her.
Victoria squeals.
I grip her tiny waist and hold it. “Where is this interview exactly?”
Panting, she says, “At a museum.”
“A museum? So, a hot young paleontologist or something like that?” I tease.
She giggles. “Maybe. Though he probably wouldn’t be as buff as you or as talented with his tongue, so perhaps I should reconsider.”
I tickle her again. “You should definitely reconsider.” After lowering my face to her neck, I kiss her and repeat myself, whispering, “You should definitely reconsider, Victoria.”
“Mmm. I like it when you say my name.”
“I’m sorry your stepmom called you something else.” I lift my head.
“When she renamed me after my dad died, it was like she stabbed me. She erased me. She erased my dad. I was too young to realize at the time, but my father called me Victoria. My stepmother does not.”
Suddenly, this moment is very sobering. “I’m sorry, baby. That was cruel. Delete it from your head, Victoria.”
“Having kids scares me,” she murmurs. “I’ve always thought I wouldn’t bring a human into this world. What if I die? What if you die, too, and some bitch raises our baby and renames them?”
My heart hurts. How did we get so fucking serious? I don’t know, but this moment is important. I cup her face gently and give her a quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s go downstairs. You need to meet everyone. Then you’ll know who would raise our baby if something happened to us.”
Tears come to her eyes.
“We even have a lawyer in town. He’s the executor of the will. We can go to him tomorrow and have him write up exactly what our wishes are for our future kids.”
She sobs. “We just met yesterday.”
“It’s never too soon to plan, is it?”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m sure my mom didn’t plan on dying so young, nor did my dad, and yet he left me with my stepmom. I should be grateful she kept me. She could have tossed me into foster care, but I never felt like she loved me.”
“That will never happen in this house.” I climb off the side of the bed and jog over to the door. After opening it, I drag all the boxes in from the hallway.
Victoria wipes away the tears as she sits upright. “What are you doing?”
“Finding you some clothes. I love you wearing nothing but my T-shirt, but that’s not how I want you to officially meet my cousins and their spouses.” I start opening boxes and pulling out clothes.
She covers her mouth and giggles. “The loose things from the inside of the car are all dirty. Open my suitcase. That was packed to take into the bed and breakfast.”
“Ah.” I grab it and bring it to the bed before opening it.
Victoria reaches over and lifts out her toiletry bag first. She unzips it and pulls out a brush. “My hair is going to be wild when I brush it. I don’t usually brush it out when it’s dry, so prepare yourself.”
I sit on the edge, grinning like a loon. She’s so beautiful. Does she not realize that’s the only way I will ever see her? I don’t care if her hair is wild and untamed or a messy bounce of ringlets.
While she brushes, she nods toward the bag on her lap. “Can you find me a hair tie?”
I love that she trusts me to dig through her things. It feels so intimate and personal.
I quickly locate a black scrunchie and hold it up. “This?”
“Yep.” She gathers her hair at the top of her head and holds out a hand to take the hair tie from me.
I’m transfixed as she wraps it around the bundle of curls, doubling it until it’s up in a perfect bun.
“Why are you grinning?” she asks.
“Because you’re so gorgeous.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m a mess. I’m covered in bruises. My hair needs some serious help. And there’s a gnarly gash down my leg.” She holds up a finger. “Oh, and that’s just what people can see on the outside. The inside… Whoa, baby…” She rolls her eyes to the ceiling.
I chuckle. “Tell me about the inside, Victoria.” I want to say her name often because it makes her light up when I do. I had no idea she’d experienced so much trauma. She’s mine now. That shit is in the past.
At the same time, I’m worried. I don’t like the way the hairs rose on my arms when she told me about her childhood. Something doesn’t feel right. I’m going to hire a private investigator immediately.
She sighs as she hands me her brush and leans over to pull clothes out of her suitcase.
I watch, mesmerized. She tugs out a plain white bra and panties. Not a matching set. More like practical items. She rummages more and ends up choosing jean shorts and a pink top.
With all this in her lap, she looks up at me.
“The inside… It’s messy in there. The best years of my life were at college.
I pretended to be a normal girl. Someone from a normal home who showed up as a freshman, smiling and meeting new people.
I had never been away from home and surrounded by people who didn’t know me. ”
I set my hand on her thigh, listening intently, holding her gaze.
“I was so fake, but it didn’t matter. I felt normal for the first time in my life. Just one of thousands of co-eds. I told anyone who asked that my mom couldn’t be there because she was working.” Victoria rolls her eyes. “I’ve never known Sheila to work a day in her life.”
Sheila… So that’s her name.
“But I followed the other girls’ lead, made myself sound normal.
And I had a great four years. But then it was over.
I had to tuck my tail between my legs and go home.
I don’t even know why my stepmom encouraged me to move back in with her.
She isn’t my real mom. She’s never shown any particular interest in me.
I always felt like I was a random foster kid, beholden to her for taking me in. Which is essentially what happened.”
I grit my teeth. I hate this for her. I don’t know what to say. She needs me to listen, so I do. I have questions, but I won’t ask them yet.
Victoria sighs. “Sorry. I don’t mean to trauma dump on you.”
“Never be sorry. You’re not dumping. I want to be your rock. The person you can always offload on.”
She swallows. “Forgive me if that’s hard for me to grasp. I’ve never had a rock.”
“I hate that for you, but I will be that man. I will show you every day until you believe it.”
She smiles and sits taller. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“So I can get dressed.”
I chuckle. “Baby, I’ve seen every inch of you. I’ve had my tongue inside your cunt.”
Her cheeks pinken. “I don’t care. Let me put my clothes on without you hovering.”
“I like to hover. I’m a hoverer,” I tell her.
“You can’t micromanage me getting dressed, Blaze.”
“I bet I can.” I smirk.
She shoots me a glare. “Stand up, and turn around.”
I lean in to kiss her before doing as she asked. It’s a small thing, and it obviously pleases her. “This won’t be a habit,” I say, facing the door. “There won’t be distance or secrets between us in the long run, Victoria. I intend to be all up in your space.”
“I’m aware. I can’t believe you gave me a bath five minutes after we met.”
I chuckle, still looking the other direction. “I didn’t exactly give you a bath. You had already washed your body when I returned with the shampoo. All I got to do was wash your hair.”
“While I obediently sat naked. Were you even looking at my hair? What color is it?” she teases.
“Blue?”
Now I’m graced with another giggle. “I’m done. You can look.”
When I spin on my heels, I find myself facing my woman. Sadly, she’s now dressed, but I’ll get over myself. Maybe I’ll make a rule that she can’t wear clothes when we’re in our room or something, but I can’t expect her to go downstairs to meet my entire family without being properly dressed.
“I guess shoes are unnecessary. You’re not going to let my feet touch the floor, are you?”
“Nope.” I return to her side. “Ready?”
“Yeah, but will you give me five minutes in the bathroom first?”
I love how she asks, as if I might deny her permission to pee. That’s not what she’s requesting, though. She wants me to let her pee alone.
Fine. I can give her that tiny amount of privacy. Not forever, but for now. I carry her into the attached bath and lower her to her feet in front of the toilet. “Hold my shoulders, baby.”
Her breath hitches as I unfasten her jean shorts and lower the zipper. I don’t take it further, but I’m heartened by the fact that I could. She doesn’t protest. In fact, her fingers dig into my shoulders, and her breathing is erratic.
I stand slowly and tip her chin back. “No hobbling around on one leg. I’ll be right outside. Call for me, and I’ll help you.”
“Okay.”
It pains me to leave her, even for two minutes, but I do it anyway, reminding myself this is temporary. Soon, she will trust me with her body entirely.