“It will never work, Blaze,” she says, looking back at me. “We were delusional to think otherwise. I can’t bring any harm to that little girl.” I look down at Annabelle, who is sound asleep in my arms.
“I will never let harm come to her.”
“You took that man’s daughter. Do you think your enemies won’t do the same?”
“No. They wouldn’t dare,” I tell her.
“They took me. So I damn well think they would dare.” Katarina closes her eyes and turns over on the couch, so her back is to me. I get up and walk Annabelle up to her room, laying her in her crib and covering her up. She doesn’t make a sound when I close the door and walk back down. Katarina’s back is still to me as she lies on the couch, and I walk over to her, climbing down next to her. She doesn’t protest as I push her over, so both our bodies now fit side by side.
“They regret their decision now and will forever,” I tell her. I kiss her shoulder and place my hand around her midsection, careful not to touch her stomach too tightly. Rochelle mentioned the bruise. “When I got the call, I imagined what it would be like without you in my life, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit,” I tell her. “I need you in it, and if you’ll have me, I’ll try to prove to you I’m worth it.”
She still says nothing, just lays there not moving, but I know she’s awake because I can feel her breathing, which is uneven beneath my hands.
“I’m going to tell you something, Katarina.” She sucks in a breath at the seriousness of my voice. “I’ve never loved a woman until you.” I kiss her shoulder again and hear her let out the breath she was holding. She turns to look at me and spins her body so we’re flush at the front. If she pushed me right now, I would fall off the couch.
“Those are big words you shouldn’t be playing with Blaze,” she says.
I eye her lips. Even busted up, I still want to kiss them, but I won’t. I stay where I am, watching her, letting her make the move.
“Is that what it takes, big words?” I ask her.
“No. I don’t care for words. I need action. Security. Not once in my life have I relied on a man. I can do everything without one. So, you need to show me that you make my life better, not just that you want to be with me. Because we can continue fucking, Blaze, but not in my house, and you don’t come near my daughter.”
“You want a relationship?” I ask her.
“Yes. Show me you are what fits in my family. Don’t tell me.”
“This is all very new to me,” I tell her the truth. “But I’m sure you’re worth it.” I wink, and she leans in, kissing my lips ever so softly. I hold back, not applying pressure, because if I had my way, she would be on top and I would be making her mine.
She breaks the kiss and pulls back. “Slow,” she says.
“That include no sex?” I ask her.
She giggles.
I stand, and she looks up at me, offering me her hands. I scoop her up and carry her upstairs to her bedroom, laying her on the bed. She reaches for her shirt and pulls it off, then shimmies her boxers down her legs.
“Gentle,” she says, looking up at me.
If you saw a goddess lying naked in front of you, what would you do?
Would you worship her, or run because you know you could never be good enough?
I’m not a clever man.
But I am also not stupid.
I lift my shirt over my head and kick my shoes off as I climb up her body, my lips touch hers ever so softly, being careful of her before I pull away. She goes to reach for me, but I manage to move out of her grasp before she can. My hand touches the top of her pussy, holding her as I lean down and kiss between her breasts. She moans when I blow on her pussy, then kiss it, darting my tongue out to taste her.
She’s addictive, and I’m a man with many addictions. And she’s just climbed right to the top of the list.
Tasting her, she moves, her hands go to my hair, and her hips lift and push up to meet my tongue.
There’s a knock on her front door, and I feel her body freeze. I know it’s only Rochelle, and she has a key.
“Blaze,” she says my name, warning me that we need to stop, but I won’t stop until she comes. Inserting a finger, I feel her body relax again, and her hand goes back to my hair.
“Oh fuck,” she says as I pump my finger in faster, my tongue circling her clit, licking up and down, her hips moving with each touch.
The knock on the door comes again—maybe Rochelle doesn’t have a key—but Katarina doesn’t make a move for me to stop. I know she’s close to coming because her pussy tightens around my fingers, and I pull my mouth away, blowing air on it before I go back and lick her right where my fingers start to the top. She screams and her body starts to shake.
A knock comes again, and I pull away and look down at her. Katarina’s hands are in her hair, her eyes are tightly closed, and I smile.
This is where I want to be forever.
“I’m moving in,” I tell her, and walk out to let Rochelle inside.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kat
What? I did not say he could move in. I hear his voice as he speaks to Rochelle. They both walk up while I still have nothing but the sheet over me. Blaze reaches for his shirt, pulling it over his head as Rochelle looks around and smirks.
“I have to grab a few things… I’ll be back soon.” Blaze walks over, kisses me on the forehead, and walks out.
“I think he likes me now,” Rochelle says when he’s gone, and jumps into bed next to me. “Oh God, am I sitting in sex right now?” she says, jumping straight back up.
“No, we didn’t have sex,” I tell her. She eyes me suspiciously. “We didn’t.” I smile. “But he has a really good tongue.”
“You know he doesn’t seem to want to leave?” Rochelle sits back down, but is careful to sit on the edge.
“He just said he’s moving in. That’s not happening,” I say, shaking my head.
“Well, he could be.” She bites her lip.
“What do you mean?” I ask her, confused.
“I don’t think Blaze takes things at a normal pace. He’s either all in or not.” She shrugs. “It’s one of the things Tanika liked about him.”
“Do you think he loved Tanika?” I ask Rochelle, and she should know.
“Tanika may have been falling for him, but for him, I think it was different. He didn’t look at her the way he looks at you.”
“And how does he look at me?”
“The same way Marcus looks at me, of course. As if we’re the only people on this earth that matter.” She smiles. “They don’t know love. They don’t understand it. They have never had it, Kat.” She touches my leg over the sheet. “You have to decipher their love, and I finally was able to do that for Marcus. It took me a while, but I got the way he loves me. And I accept it.”
“What if he can’t love me the way I want to be loved?”
“You’ve never been in love before either, Kat. So, maybe you two can discover it together.”
“He’s not moving in, though,” I say.