Page 10 of Marked By Blaze

The fucker laughs, patting my shoulder. “I don’t want to worry about burying a body on a Sunday night. This is the one time of the month I get to relax and not worry about club business.”

“Who?” I ask again, and this time, my eyes shift to scan the men chatting and drinking around the firepit. I scan their faces, looking for anyone watching Ingrid, and I note a couple of guys looking her way. The interested look I read in their expressionssends possessive and murderous thoughts racing through my mind.

Axel places a hand on my shoulder when I take a step forward, stopping me in my tracks. “Calm down, tiger,” he says, serious this time. “You have not claimed that girl, and as far as anyone else is concerned, she’s here as Jade’s friend. Free for the picking.”

“She’s mine!” I growl.

“And everyone will back off once you make that clear. Hiding in the shadows and watching her proves nothing.”

Fuck, he’s right.

It’s no use picking fights with my brothers when none of them would prey on a taken girl. Ingrid is getting all the attention she is because, to them, she belongs to no one. If only she hadn’t returned my jacket earlier….

My eyes are locked on her when she excuses herself from the group, and I watch her leave, assuming she’s headed inside for the bathroom. I give it a few minutes before following her.

It’s time I stake claim over my girl before these fuckers get any ideas.

Ingrid walks alone downstairs to the hall bathroom, and I stop in the hallway a few feet from the door, leaning against the wall as I wait for her to come out. Following people undetected has always been my job as the club’s enforcer, but I never once imagined that I would stalk someone because I was attracted to them.

Attracted? I chuckle at the ludicrous word that pops into my thoughts. What I feel for Ingrid is far too strong and all consuming to be described by such a fleeting word.

Obsessed.

Now that’s the right emotion to describe how I feel about her.

My eyes are on her when she finally opens the bathroom door. Ingrid doesn't immediately move to return to the roof. She shuffles her feet, biting her lip the way she does when she’s contemplating something, and it drives me crazy every time she does it. She plays with her hands and fiddles with something out of sight on the bathroom counter, and I can tell she’s stalling for time. It’s clear she’s not ready to head back yet, and I don’t blame her. I love my club family, but they can be a lot to handle, especially for a newcomer.

Still oblivious to the man watching her in the shadows, Ingrid exits the bathroom and crosses the hall to look out the window on the opposite wall. The moonlight cascades through the glass, illuminating her in a soft, ethereal glow that makes her look like she’s been plucked straight from a dream.

Convinced that she's alone, she takes a moment to just breathe, and my heart races with the way the light dances across her features, highlighting the delicate curve of her jaw and the gentle swell of her lips.

She's not hiding.

Alone, she doesn't hide the way she does when faced with the rest of the world.

I watch with pleasant surprise as she runs her fingers through her hair and pulls it from her face, the dark strands shimmering under the moon's glow. She tilts her head slightly, looking up at the moon and letting the soft light caress her skin. The dark crescent moon birthmark is visible in the dim light, offering me a view of her I have not seen in my days of shadowing her.

It's enchanting.She's enchanting.

Suddenly, as if sensing my gaze, she turns around. Her eyes scan the darkness, and for a brief second, I hold my breath, hoping she doesn’t see me—I’m not ready for the show to end. But when her gaze finds mine, the world around us fades away. I see surprise flicker across her face, and I wonder if she can sense the way my heart beats just for her.

“Blaze.” I read my name on her lips. She stands frozen, but only for a moment before she quickly shifts in her demeanor. It’s like a switch has been flipped—the carefree girl I was just admiring suddenly becomes alert, her body tensing from being caught in a moment she didn’t want to share. I notice her instinctively reach up to touch her face, her fingers brushing against the birthmark she always tries to hide. I can’t help but feel a surge of frustration at the reminder that she feels the need to conceal any part of herself from me.

“I've never met anyone like you,” I say, my voice carrying down the hall to her. Everything in me wants to bridge the distance between us and kiss her. The moonlight continues to bathe her in its glow, and I can’t help but be entranced by the way it highlights her features, even the birthmark she's trying to conceal. “No one quite as stunning.”

I watch uncertainty flicker in her eyes, and I want to reach out and pull her into my arms where she belongs.

Patience!

I can't afford to send her running.

“Y-you think I'm stunning?”

“You are,” I rasp, but I can see it in her eyes that she doesn't believe me. “Do you even realize how much attention was on you tonight? How many guys were looking your way—wanting you.”

She shakes her head. “Jade—”

“They were looking at you,” I say firmly, a fresh wave of jealousy flooding in. “I know becauseI was looking at you.”

---