Sixteen

Blaze

Over the last three weeks, I’d learned to expect the unexpected where Harlow was concerned. But today I felt as though I’d been handed a double dose of disbelief.

It all started with the words she’d said to me in the parking lot beside my truck after we’d gone paintballing this morning.

I already had her heart.

I hadn’t woken up this morning intending to hear anything like that, but I wasn’t going to complain that I’d gotten that from her.

I couldn’t begin to describe how it felt to hear her say that to me. I knew she’d been growing more and more comfortable with me, but that was something I hadn’t been prepared to hear from her three weeks into this.

It meant everything to me.

For that reason, I’d have been utterly content for that to be the only thing I got from Harlow today. I didn’t need anything else beyond knowing how she felt about me.

But it seemed that Harlow wasn’t quite done yet with making me feel like I’d won the lottery. Unless, of course, I’d just heard her incorrectly. “What did you just say?”

Uneasiness washed over her, and she clammed up a bit. “I… well… I was just… it was only a suggestion,” she stammered. “I was wondering if you’d take me back to your place. I’d love to see where you live.”

I gave myself about half of a second to stare in disbelief at her, but I quickly snapped myself out of it, pulled out my wallet, and threw some cash down on the table. Then I stood, held my hand out to Harlow, and urged her to her feet.

The next thing I knew, Harlow and I were in my truck, and I was driving us back to my place. Silence filled the cabin, but there was so much noise already inside my head.

It was during that drive when I realized I needed to find a way to contain how I was feeling. Sure, this was a step in the right direction for us, but Harlow probably meant for this to be completely innocent.

And it was fine if that was the case. I loved where we were. I loved how things had been progressing between us.

But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more with her.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think daily about what it would be like to have her.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go home after spending time with her and need to find ways to relieve the sexual tension.

I’d be lying if I said she didn’t drive me wild with just one look or a simple touch.

Most of all, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything for her.

Because the truth was that I felt more for her than I’d felt for any woman who’d come into my life. And there was nothing I wanted more than to be able to show her how much I felt for her, to be able to do that by connecting with her physically.

But it had only been three weeks, and I didn’t expect a woman like Harlow made decisions like this on a whim. She was careful, cautious. She’d lived a bit of a sheltered life, and this wasn’t something I wanted her to feel rushed or pressured to do.

So, I had to have realistic thoughts about what her intentions were now and understand she was taking the steps necessary to get to know the man she was with before she took things further.

When we made it back to my place, I didn’t need to tell Harlow to wait in the truck for me to come around to open her door, because she was sitting there, staring at my home, looking awestruck. I didn’t think there was anything that should have been making her look that way. I lived in a small cape cod home. It was just big enough for me to not feel crammed, but it wasn’t a place I’d stay forever. It just wouldn’t be ideal for raising a family one day.

I met Harlow on her side, opened her door, and led her inside. “Welcome to my home,” I finally said.

She glanced around the space just inside the front door before bringing her eyes to mine. “I thought you were upset.”

“What?”

“That’s the first thing you said to me since I asked you if you’d bring me here,” she noted.

I wrapped my arm around her back, curled her in toward my chest, and kissed the side of her head. “I’m far from being upset, baby. I just hadn’t expected you to ask to come back here. Let me give you a tour.”

Since the house wasn’t very big, it didn’t take long to give Harlow the grand tour. The last room I’d shown her was my bedroom, and there was no question the tension amped up in there for me.

God, I wanted to throw her on my bed, make love to her, and inhale the scent of her lingering on the sheets days later.

“You’ve seen it all now,” I declared.

Seemingly unaffected by the fact we were standing at the foot of my bed, Harlow replied, “I think it’s lovely. Your home is so cozy.”

I shrugged. “It’s enough for me for now. One day, I’ll move.”

“Move? Not out of Steel Ridge, right?” she questioned me, the worry etched into her features.

My lips twitched as I shook my head. “No, baby. I’m not planning on leaving here.”

Relief swept through her. “That’s good to know.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

Harlow dipped her chin. “Sure.”

“Why did you want to come here?”

Her brows shot up, silently questioning me. “To see your place?” When I gave her a nod in return, she explained, “A couple of reasons, I guess. Meeting your sisters at lunch made me realize I don’t know everything there is to know about you. And while I don’t expect one trip to your home will tell me everything, I thought it would give me something.”

Just as I had suspected, Harlow hadn’t had any of the same thoughts I’d had about why she wanted to come here.

“Is there something specific you want to know about me?” I asked her.

“What do you mean?”

Taking a step forward, I closed the gap between us and took her hand in mine. “You said you believed a trip here wouldn’t tell you everything you want to know about me. I’m curious what it is you want to know. When it comes to you, I’m an open book, Harlow. All you’ve got to do is ask.”

The corners of her mouth tipped up as her eyes danced. She lifted her free arm and draped it over my shoulder, her fingers sliding up the back of my head. “There isn’t one specific thing I’m curious about. I guess I just want to know more about you, and coming here could give me answers to some of those questions.”

I raised her other hand up to meet the one at the base of my skull before I wrapped both of my arms around her waist. “What questions?”

“Well, for starters, are you a messy kind of guy, or do you keep a tidy home?” she began. “But I was also wondering about things like whether there was something you collected, or if you sing in the shower, are prepared for a zombie apocalypse, or have any allergies.”

My eyes searched Harlow’s face, trying to determine just how serious she was about this. And when I realized she wasn’t joking, I burst out laughing, eventually burying my face in her neck.

I hadn’t quite pulled myself together when, with a slight rasp in her voice, she asked, “Do I amuse you?”

If it hadn’t been for the fact I wanted to see the look on her face when her voice sounded like that, I wouldn’t have moved from where I was. The scent of Harlow—a misty, feminine fragrance—was enough to hold me captive.

Needing to answer her question, I found a way to rein in the laughter. “Immensely.”

“Why is that?”

Smiling at her as I held her in my arms, I explained, “You just said you were curious if I was prepared for a zombie apocalypse.”

“Because that’s important to know,” she argued. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“Right. Well, I agree that we should be prepared for things like that and will take the necessary steps to see that I am,” I promised her.

“You’re making fun of me,” she pouted.

I shook my head. “Not a chance, baby. I think you are adorable, and I love that you want to get to know all these random facts about me. Here’s what I can tell you. I’m clearly not a messy guy. I have a collection of pocketknives. I don’t sing in the shower, or anywhere else, for that matter. I wouldn’t say I’m prepared specifically for a zombie attack, but I’d like to think my line of work will give me an edge should we ever face something so horrific. I would do anything to protect the people I care about. And lastly, I’m allergic to kiwi.”

Harlow’s eyes widened. “Kiwi?”

Nodding, I explained, “My throat starts to tingle with even the smallest taste of it. I never knew it was a thing, but apparently, it is.”

“Wow. I’ll be sure to keep that out of my next fruit salad,” she assured me.

“That would be appreciated. Do you have any other questions for me?” I asked.

She pressed her lips together, a gorgeous flush adorning her cheeks, as she shook her head. “No. Not right now.”

Curious as to why there was a sudden change, I pressed, “I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Uncertainty and a bit of hesitancy moved through her features. Harlow swallowed hard, preparing herself to respond, and finally shared, “Well, I told you I had a couple of reasons I asked to come and see your place.”

My body froze. “Oh? What are your other reasons?”

Her eyes darted all over, and I could easily see the struggle. As much as I wanted to ease that for her, I didn’t want to make assumptions about what she was going to say. So, I remained patient and silent.

Finally, she whispered, “I didn’t think it would be appropriate to do what I wanted to do with you while we were at the restaurant.”

My heart was pounding in my chest. If it felt like this for me, I could only imagine what it felt like for Harlow. “We’re here now. You can do anything you’d like to do with me.”

Harlow nervously bit her lip. It took every ounce of self-control I had left not to react to that. “I was… I was wondering… it’s just that, well, I wanted to show you how much it meant to me to have all that I did with you today.”

I lifted a brow. “You want to show me what it meant to you?”

She nodded.

Curious as to what exactly brought her to this point, so I could be certain to do it all over again, I asked, “What is making you so compelled to want to show your appreciation?”

I knew I was delaying myself in getting whatever Harlow intended to give, but I thought it was just as important to know what made this woman tick.

“I would be lying if I said there was only one thing,” she confessed. “I think it’s a culmination of everything we’ve had between us to this point, but it’s different now. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like things changed today, and it started with that conversation and kiss in the parking lot.”

That conversation.

I still couldn’t get that conversation or that kiss out of my head.

And she was right. It had certainly felt like a turning point for us. It was her admission of her feelings for me. Since I’d been too moved by her words, and hadn’t been able to say exactly how I felt for her, I’d hoped she could tell how much it meant to me by the kiss I’d given her. She was giving me that confirmation now, and it felt good.

“It’s not just you, Harlow.”

She smiled at me and added, “Then you said what you did at lunch.”

“What did I say?”

Harlow remained silent a beat as thoughts raced through my head about what I could have possibly said at lunch that Harlow liked enough to want to come here. Nothing came to mind. Fortunately, Harlow put me out of my misery when she shared, “You introduced me to your sisters as your girlfriend.”

I wanted to say that was all the explanation I needed, but it wasn’t. “Well, you are, aren’t you?”

Another dazzling smile spread across her face. “We didn’t exactly have a specific discussion about it, so it was nice to hear you admit that to your family.”

“You didn’t think that was up for debate, did you?”

She shook her head. “Not necessarily. I just wasn’t prepared for how hearing you say that today would make me feel.”

Not wanting her to think this was all one-sided, I revealed, “If it’s anything like the way I felt to hear you tell me I had your heart, I can understand.”

Her eyes were shining, the look on her face indicating just how content she was. “I really like what’s happening between us, Blaze. I love the way you make me feel whenever I’m with you, and I want to make sure you get some of that same feeling in return.”

I touched my lips to hers in a chaste kiss. “I do, baby. I absolutely get the same feeling from you. Of course, I’m not going to turn down any attempts you want to make to go above and beyond that.”

Determination washed over her, and a moment later, her eyes slid to the side to glance down at my bed. When she returned her seductive, heated gaze to mine, I expected Harlow to act. I thought she’d say or do something, but she didn’t. She let the tension between us build with nothing but the heat of our stares.

Just before I thought I might break from the intensity of it, the fingertips of one of Harlow’s hands pressed in firmly at the back of my head while her other hand slid down and rested lightly against my chest. Then her mouth was on mine, and she was giving me everything.

The warmth of her kiss mixed with the scent of her, and I didn’t stand a chance. I was lost in her, fascinated by how one woman had the power to make me feel all that Harlow did.

I’d seen so many of my buddies from work fall for wonderful women. It was as though they were all under some undeniable spell that I couldn’t begin to grasp until now, until I met Harlow. I finally understood.

With one arm still wrapped around her waist and the other in her hair, I lifted her off the ground and turned us slightly. I fell to my back in my bed, taking Harlow with me.

She didn’t protest.

In fact, no sooner did I land on the bed with her on top of me, she parted her thighs and straddled me. God, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to have us both completely naked right now, so I could feel the weight of her naked body on top of me as I slid inside her.

Harlow deepened the kiss, taking just as much as she gave. The two of us stayed like that for a while, both consumed with one another and unable to resist each other. I relished the moment for all that it was.

That was something I’d learned recently. No matter what I was doing, if I was with Harlow, I never felt the need to rush anything. Not just intimacy, but everything else as well. I didn’t mind spending longer than needed at a restaurant to have lunch with her, simply because we were caught up in our conversation.

Harlow had taught me to appreciate the little things I would have easily overlooked otherwise.

And because she’d done that, I had forgotten to expect the unexpected with her. While I’d been perfectly content kissing her on my bed, Harlow had other things in mind. After some time, she tore her mouth from mine, looked down at me, and whispered, “Blaze.”

The need was dripping from that single word.

I lifted a hand to the side of her face, tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, and replied with a smile on my face. “I like the way you show your appreciation.”

“I want more,” she breathed, her voice desperate.

My arm tightened around her. “What?”

She swallowed hard and licked her lips. “I want you to touch me.”

I lifted a brow. “You want me to touch you?”

She nodded.

Needing her to be clear, considering my hands had done a lot of exploring with her already, I asked, “What exactly do you mean by that?”

A rush of air left her lungs. “God, this is embarrassing.”

I traced my finger along her jaw, my fingers eventually threading into her hair. “Baby, it’s not. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I’ll give it to you. But I need you to tell me what that is, because this is new for us.”

Nodding her understanding, she rasped, “I want to feel your hands on my skin.”

Maybe I should have found a way to contain my desire to have more of her, but something unexplainable came over me. I couldn’t hold back and instantly flipped her onto her back, my body coming over hers. With our faces just inches apart, my voice was a deep rumble when I asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “If that changes, you can tell me. Okay?”

Her head moved up and down slowly. “I won’t change my mind.”

“Are you okay with me taking off your top?” I asked.

Heat hit her cheeks before she rasped, “Yeah.”

I lifted my torso, brought my hands to the hem of her shirt, and pushed it, painstakingly slowly, up and over her head. Harlow’s breasts were on the larger side, so with her being on her back and the cup of her bra being a lower cut, there was an ample amount of cleavage to appreciate.

My hands came to her shoulders, traced lightly over her collarbone on both sides, and ultimately dipped down toward her breasts.

“Breathe, baby,” I said softly, lifting my gaze to hers.

She started breathing, and my fingertips continued their journey. I made it to the fabric of her bra, brushed my thumbs back and forth over her nipples, and reveled in the sound that escaped from Harlow. How was it possible for that one little whimper to feel like such a victory?

I didn’t come up with any answers to that question, but it was that sound which propelled me forward. If one whimper could make me feel like that one did, I could imagine what it would do for me to watch this woman come apart, to know I was the first man to make that happen for her.

Pulling both cups down, I exposed Harlow’s breasts and reacted. “God, you’re beautiful.”

Before she had the chance to respond, I leaned forward and dropped my mouth to one side. With one hand holding each breast, I stroked my thumb over her nipple on one side while my tongue came out to flick over her nipple on the other side.

Harlow rewarded me with another sound, a whimper that turned to a moan once I sucked her breast into my mouth. At the same time, her hips jerked beneath me. I continued to play there for a bit, giving attention to both sides, before I lifted my head up to look at her.

There was nothing but heat and lust and desire written all over her expression. And her chest was heaving with her labored breaths. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t know I could feel this good,” she rasped.

“Harlow, baby, that’s nothing,” I explained as I moved my body to the side of hers.

I kissed her mouth as my hand began drifting down her body. When I made it to her jeans, I tore my mouth from hers and searched her face. Keeping my eyes on hers, my fingers unfastened the button and slid the zipper down. And the moment I pressed my palm flat to her lower abdomen, I watched Harlow take a deep swallow.

My hand crept down, the tips of my fingers reaching the top edge of her underwear. Once they crawled beneath the fabric, Harlow licked her lips.

The next thing I knew, I was cupping her between her legs. Her eyes darkened in a way I knew I’d never forget the look on her face for as long as I lived.

“Are you ready to feel good?”

“I already do,” she confessed, her voice hoarse.

My lips twitched. “Want to feel even better?”

She nodded.

With her permission and request for more, my fingers played between her legs. I moved them through the wetness and watched as her lips parted when I applied pressure to her clit.

I circled, pressed in, and listened to the moans and whimpers coming from Harlow. She was enjoying this, but I wasn’t sure if it was nearly as much as I was.

For a while, I continued to touch and tease her without penetrating, but I upped the pleasure for Harlow by using my mouth on her tit. Her hips jerked violently, another deep moan filling the air around us.

Eventually, I wanted to give her even more, so I freed her breast from my mouth and watched as I positioned my finger to enter her. Though I felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to bring her to the brink, I knew this wasn’t something I wanted to rush.

So, I didn’t.

Slowly, I pushed a single finger inside, and the nails on the hand Harlow had resting on my shoulder dug into my skin. Just as languidly, I pulled my finger out and pushed it back in.

“Oh, wow,” Harlow rasped, the sound of wonder mixed with delight present in her tone.

“Good?” I asked, half of my mouth quirking in a smile.

“Unbelievable,” she panted as I picked up the pace.

“Want more?” I questioned her.

Her eyes had been focused on the ceiling, but at that moment, she turned her attention to me and countered, “Is that possible?”

Instead of giving her the words, I brought my ring finger to meet the middle one and slowly pushed them both inside. Harlow’s eyes widened at the fullness she clearly felt, and her lips parted again when I pressed my thumb to her clit again.

I alternated the pace of my fingers several times, occasionally sucking on and teasing her breast closest to me. Through it all, Harlow did not disappoint. She let me know just how much she liked what she was getting by not only moaning desperately, but also moving her hips hungrily.

When her breaths became short and shallow, I brought all of my focus to her face. If there was one thing I refused to miss, it was the way she looked when her orgasm tore through her.

Harlow had been looking at me, but the second it hit, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. I didn’t care at all, because I was thoroughly enjoying the view. Everything from the way her jaw fell open as her eyes squeezed shut to the way the heat crept across her skin and her moans of pleasure sounded around me.

I knew she liked what was happening to her body, but I truly believed I got far more out of it than she did.

Then again, I realized how important this was, how big of a step it was not just in our relationship but in Harlow’s life. Being able to watch her experience this for the first time, knowing I was the one who had given it to her, felt like the greatest gift.

After seeing her through, I pulled my fingers from her body, but kept my hand between her legs. And as she started to come down, her eyes fluttered open and found mine.

“You were right,” she breathed.

“About what?”

“Simply having your mouth on me was nothing compared to what you just gave me,” she explained. “I don’t even know what to say. I just… Wow, that was incredible.”

I smiled at her again. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“What about you?”

“What?”

“You need to enjoy yourself, too.”

God, I wanted nothing more. But for some strange reason, I thought delayed gratification would be a wise move. “I did enjoy myself. You have no idea how much fun that was for me to see you like that. This was about you, baby.”

“Are you… I feel bad. Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

She accepted my response, let out a breath, and smiled. “This was my favorite day ever, which is really saying something, because I loved our drive-in movie theater night a whole lot.”

I burst out laughing as I pulled my hand from her pants. Wrapping my arms around her, I buried my face in her neck and rolled to my back, taking her with me. And only after I’d gotten my laughter under control did I pull my face back so I could kiss her.

It was never a dull moment with Harlow, and I wondered how I ever managed to live without her.