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“Wait.” She grabs his forearm, her mind on her dad. He ends the call. “Don’t mention Josh. Lily kept the father’s name off his birth certificate for a reason. She might have been protecting him. Until I know why, the fewer people who know where he is the better.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell him it’s a family emergency and we’re trying to reach Lily.”

He drags a hand over his bearded chin. “You know, I could move back in if you’re worried about his safety. Keep that bed of yours warm.”

She rolls her eyes. “Call your brother.”

He smirks and presses the phone to his ear. “Ty, it’s Blaze. Call me when you get this. It’s urgent.” He hangs up and tosses the phone onto the couch. His face softens and he lightly skims his fingers along her jawline. “You doing okay?”

She feels his touch all the way to her toes and her face crumples and her defenses fall. “I’m sorry. I screwed up. I got scared. I never should have assumed anything about you and Macey.” It feels good to admit what she feels, to finally be real with him, and to herself.

He traces the shell of her ear, tucks back her hair. “I wouldn’t cheat on you, Olivia. I learned my lesson.” His mouth angles up into a half smile.

She realizes that now. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Enough for me to keep my key?”

“Blaze ...” She rolls her eyes and he chuckles.

“It’s okay to love me. You told me once, long ago. You can tell me again.”

That once was a couple weeks before he hooked up with Macey, and he didn’t say the words back. Granted, they were sixteen, but it left an impression that’s rippled through her other relationships, including those with Lily and Lucas. She’s always hesitated to express her true feelings.

His demeanor softens, but there’s still a cocky edge. He presses a thumb to the corner of her eye, absorbing the moisture she didn’t realize was collecting there. “Where’s Josh?”

“Home, with Amber.”

He tucks a finger under her chin and coaxes her face up until their eyes meet. “Stay.”

“I can’t.” She wants to clear her head before they restart anything. She wants a future with him, but she’s still scared. She won’t plunge into their relationship if there’s the chance she’ll walk away when it gets too serious. “I have to go.”

She turns to leave and almost makes it across the room. But Blaze is the exercise band pulling the muscled limb back into place. She feels terrible for treating him unkindly, and she’s missed the hell out of him. Who is she kidding? Blaze is her family. He’s where she belongs, her safe harbor.

Turning back, she walks straight into his waiting arms. She clings to him, her raft in her sea of unrest. Lifting to her toes, she hooks her arms around his neck and kisses him. He sweeps her off her feet as if he’s afraid she’ll change her mind and walk out the door. Abruptly, he breaks their kiss, lifts his head. “You sure?”

She cups his cheek. Emotions soar like birds surfing air currents. “Yes.”

CHAPTER 26

Arms around her shoulders and hooked under her knees, Blaze carries Olivia to his bedroom. His mouth tangles with hers. The kiss is wet and sloppy because he’s multitasking: walking while devouring her like they’ve been apart for months rather than days. Olivia grasps his head, desperate with need. Desperate to forget everything since she went batshit crazy on him the other day. She sucks his lower lip and Blaze groans, stumbling into the wall. He grunts, almost dropping her.

“I can walk.” She tries to shimmy from his arms.

He holds her closer. “Uh-uh. I’ve got you.”

They enter his room and she expects him to toss her onto the bed in typical Blaze I’m-going-to-fuck-you style. But he lets her legs drop while holding her close. She slides down until her feet gently land on the carpet. He then slips her sweater off her shoulders, lifts her shirt over her head, and peels off her jeans, all the while kissing her. Her lips, underside of her chin, the soft skin between her breasts, her hip bone. She can hardly catch her breath. By the time he sheds his clothes, she’s clawing at his chest, urging him to go faster. “It’s been five days.” She feels the urgent need for a distraction, put the worry and pain that’s been plaguing her on pause, even if only for a momentary reprieve. But he’s taking his sweet time and it’s messing with her head.

He backs her up, moving with her. “Seems longer.”

Her calves bump against the bedside, and with a gentle nudge from Blaze, she falls back onto the covers. He crawls up her, the bed dipping under his weight, and settles between her legs. Blowing rightpast foreplay, he smoothly enters, sighing like he’s returned from an extended trip overseas. “Been too long.”

She urgently raises her hips, begging him to lose control, but he doesn’t take the hint. He draws back and pushes in achingly slow. He does it again, and then again.

“What are you doing?”

He lifts his brows. “Umm ...”

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