Page 4 of Marked By Blaze

“…so this man stops in the middle of the road and turns around to look at me. Then he just tells me to marry him…”

There is an undeniable pull between Ingrid and me. It’s like neither of us can look away even if we wanted to. I finally get an unobstructed view of those pretty eyes, and I’m hypnotized by their striking contrast.

“Can you believe that? He doesn’t even ask, he tells me that I am going to marry him and start a family with him. Not that he needed to ask, but a girl loves a bit of a chase, right? Ingrid?”

A slight tap on her arm forces Ingrid’s gaze away from mine to Jade’s. “Yeah, that’s crazy,” she says clearing her voice even when it’s clear she hasn’t heard a word of what Jade just said. “I…I mean every couple is different.”

“Suuure,” Jade drawls, turning to look at me, and there’s humor written all over her expression. It’s obvious that Jade isn’t oblivious to the tension in the room, and there is a teasing glint in her eyes as they shift between me and Ingrid. My eyes narrow in warning when I notice a devilish grin settle on her lips.

When Saint, the Steel Rebel’s president, asked me to babysit his bride-to-be for a couple of hours while he ran out to take care of business, I was annoyed. A month ago, Jade was kidnapped, and Saint has been overly protective over her since. She was abducted under the watchful eye of a prospect, so every time he needs to go anywhere, he asks us senior members to babysit his girl. The incident concerning Jade happened a monthago, and I doubt anyone will come looking for Saint’s girl after what he did to the last people who tried.

Few people try to mess with the Steel Rebel MC, and when they do, it’s always up to me, the club’s head of security and chief enforcer, to put them in their place. What happened last month was different. Someone tried to take Saint’s girl; it was the first time one of our enemies had gone after a loved one, rather than one of the members directly. But Saint made an example of them. I don’t think anyone would so foolish to try something like that again, but we had to stay vigilant.

I’ve never quite understood our president’s obsession with his girl, how a strong man like him could be brought to his knees by such a tiny woman.

Perhaps I was too quick to judge.

“Do you have any idea when Saint will be back?” Jade asks, but I sense something in her tone that makes my eyes narrow further on the girl.

“No.”

Jade rolls her eyes at me before turning back to Ingrid. “Jesus, I can never seem to get more than two words out of these guys; they’re so stubborn.” A teasing glint flashes in Jade's eyes. “Do you have brothers, Ingrid?”

“No, I’m an only child.”

Jade inspects her nails that are fresh with red polish. “A boyfriend?”

The girl in question flushes, and for a hot minute, I hold my breath as I anticipate her answer. “I…I’m not seeing anyone right now.”

Jade smiles. “So that means you are single?”

Ingrid grabs a tube and leans forward to apply some skin-colored goo under Jade’s eyes. “I don’t have time to date,” she says, those pretty eyes focused. “My work can be demanding, so it’s hard to get out and meet people or go on dates.”

She’s lying.

Years of working as an enforcer for the MC have taught me to tell when someone is bullshitting, and my pretty angel is lying. I want to know the real reason she is not dating, but I can’t exactly bring it up now.

“I could introduce you to some guys,” Jade says cheekily. “What’s your type?”

“I’m not… I don’t have time to date—”

“Humor me anyway.”

Ingrid chews on her bottom lip, and her head shifts slightly as she turns to look at me before quickly looking away, but not before I notice the pretty blush on her cheeks. “Um, a nice guy with a kind smile, I guess.”

“Yeah, nice guys are great and all, but you sure you wouldn’t pick a hot guy with strong muscles and a nice bod? Steely eyes… A six pack, maybe?” Jade says before turning around. “Oh look, there’s one such man in the room with us, and I happen to know that he is single.”

Ingrid flushes, her cheeks turning a rosy hue, and she bites her lip, clearly flustered by Jade’s words. Her eyes dart away, and she lets her hair fall back in place, hiding her face from view once more. “Please be still, Jade. I don’t want to poke you in the eye with the mascara wand.”

The room falls into a tense silence as Ingrid works, and it’s not until she walks back to her kit that Jade begins engaging her again, but this time, the girls talk on lighter subjects. I learnmore about Ingrid this way. She’s twenty and works for a famous cosmetologist in the city. An only child with divorced parents, Ingrid is a little careful with what she shares, weighing her thoughts before she can voice them. Easily changing the topic when she doesn’t want to answer something. A learned behavior. I realize that I admire this about her, but I find myself wanting to see her let go, to speak and act without thinking so much about the consequences.

I can make her let go,but I push back the thought for the moment, content simply watching her.

Ingrid is nearly done with her work when Saint arrives with the photographer in tow. Jade is out of the chair the second she spots the president. Everyone is forced to witness a long dramatic reunion scene of the two lovebirds making out. Well, everyone but me.

My eyes are on her.

I watch as she discreetly moves away and begins cleaning and packing her things. Saint is here, so my job is done. I can go back to taking care of club business, but I don’t move. Instead, I watch her. Truly, I never needed to be in this room at all. The clubhouse is secure; nothing can happen to Jade here. But from the moment she arrived, I was entranced by Ingrid and followed the women into this room without even thinking about it. That and my inability to take my eyes off Ingrid must have been what clued Jade into my interest.

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