He lets out a slow breath. “Adrienne—”
A tall, thin woman with long brown hair and bright red lips walks up and hooks her hand around his bicep. She smiles up at him, and what’s left of my heart crumbles. The air rushes out of my lungs.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need you over there for a minute,” she says then faces me. “Your story was beautiful. You’re a strong woman for telling it.”
I’m not nearly as strong as you think. It’s taking all I have just to breathe right now.
I return her smile. “Thank you.”
Kai walks up and places his hand at the small of my back. “Can I steal you for a moment? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
I take in a shaky breath and force myself to look away from Blaze. I said goodbye to him once. I can do it again. “Of course. We were just about done here anyway.”
“No.” Blaze snaps out the word quickly. The urgency in his deep voice makes me shiver. “No. I watched you walk away from me twice, and I’ll be damned if I stand here and watch you do it again.”
My breath hitches at his words. My gaze tangles with his, and with just one look, I am mush. No one has ever owned me completely with a simple look the way Blaze does. He pulls a pen from his pocket then takes me by the wrist, flipping my hand over to write on my palm. The last time he did this was the first time we met. When he wrote the name of his brewery and told me to bring Liam there to help clean up what he destroyed.
I glance at the four numbers written in black ink. “What is this?”
“I destroyed something, and it’s time to start rebuilding it.”
Two hours later, I’m staring at the door that leads to room 1229. I lift my hand to knock then let it fall back down. Panic curls around my stomach. What if he’s in there with her? Is she “casual”? What does she know about me? I close my eyes and huff a breath. Then I hear the lock click and the door open.
“I got tired of waiting for you to knock.”
Every muscle in my body tenses at the sound of his voice. I slowly open my eyes. He’s casually leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. The tuxedo is gone, replaced with loose gray sweatpants and a white V-neck tee. His dark hair is a mess, like he’s spent the last two hours running his fingers through it, and his eyes… behind those eyes is a soul on fire. When he smiles, it’s so perfect it hurts to look at him. He’s so quiet, so still, and he’s watching me with an intensity that burns. God, it burns.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “If I say it out loud, you might run away from me again.”
“I’m done running.” My voice is a shy whisper, not at all as sure as I want it to sound.
I mean it. Whatever is going to happen between us will happen now. He will either tell me he wants me, or he wants her, or he wants nothing at all. I’m ready for it. I have to be. I can’t keep living with the pain.
He raises his eyebrows. “You sure about that? ’Cause it looked like that’s exactly what you were about to do.”
“I wasn’t going to run. I just… I was just thinking too.”
He wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me into him. His head dips down to the curve of my neck. His lips brush my throat as he breathes me in. “Say you didn’t mean it.”
God, the sadness in his voice is unbearable. I can’t deal with the sadness. I give in to the need to touch him and grab the back of his head, letting my fingers get lost in his hair. I lay my forehead against his shoulder and let myself get drunk on his clean scent.
“That I didn’t mean what?”
His mouth moves to my ear. “When you said goodbye.”
My stomach dips. I shake my head and try to step back, but he grips my waist tighter. “This isn’t right. You have someone.”
“The only someone I have is you, Adrienne.” He lifts his head to look my in the eyes then brushes his knuckles across my cheek. “Tell me I still have you.” The desperation in his tone brings a lump to my throat.
I swear I’m not going to cry. I don’t want him to let me go. I want him to hold me like this forever. “What about the woman from earlier?”
“Blaire? That’s Levi’s fiancée.” He brings his other hand to my ass and drags me even closer then presses his forehead to mine. “I need to hear you say it. I need to know it’s not too late. That I didn’t fuck this up.” His voice is rough. His breath brushes over my face. I can almost taste him. I want to taste him.
Suddenly, it’s as if the past two months never happened. As if we’re picking up right where we left off that night in my apartment when we watched The Golden Girls and ate chow mein. As if the time and space between us never existed.
I run my thumb over his lips. “It’s not too late.” I kiss one corner of his mouth. “I was lying when I said goodbye.” I kiss the other corner. “And you still have me. You’ve always had me.”
His mouth brushes mine with the softest touch, and I surrender to it, to him, to this. My hands slide down and clutch the fabric of his T-shirt. I part my lips, letting his tongue inside. My fists curl in his shirt, pulling him closer as his kiss grows harder and deeper, raw and demanding. It says all the things words could never convey.
I missed you.
I need you.
I’m sorry.
He cups my ass with both hands and lifts me off my feet. My legs circle his waist as he walks backward into the room, kicking the door shut. Our teeth clash, and he bites my bottom lip then pushes his tongue against mine again. We both fall onto the bed, me on my back with him between my legs.
He pulls back with a groan. His tongue traces my swollen lips. His breath is heavy and hard. “I’ve thought about this at least a thousand times.” His hands slide up my waist, slipping my T-shirt over my head. Then he leans down and kisses me again.
“Only a thousand?” I ask against his mouth.
My hands slip beneath his T-shirt and up his back. He lifts up and lets me pull the shirt over his head.
His eyes rake over me. “We can go slow.”
I reach inside the waistband of his pants. “I need you. Inside me. Right now.” He growls a “Fuck yeah” against my neck when I wrap my hand around his cock.
He slides a finger under my bra straps and guides them off my shoulders. Then he peppers my skin with kisses as he moves one hand behind my back and unhooks the clasps. My hand is still wrapped around him, pumping, stroking, firm and slow. I swipe my thumb over the tip. He’s so perfect, all thick veins and smooth head. He breathes harder against my skin and brings his mouth to my nipple as he pushes my bra away. I arch into him because God, he’s good at making me feel like I’m floating. He hooks a finger in each side of my leggings and slides them off along with my panties in one smooth move.
Then he’s touching me. Teasing me. Running his finger up and down, spreading me open but never going inside. I clench the sheets and push my hips into his hand.
“Please, Blaze.”
“You don’t get to say goodbye to me ever again.” He flicks my clit and I tremble underneath him.