Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 44188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Lia
I avoid Blaze the rest of the day. It isn’t hard—he gives me wide berth. It’s not that I’m mad at him—maybe I am, a little. I’m just scraped raw emotionally, and I can’t look at the guy who put me there. I leave as soon as my shift is over and head home, my stomach still in knots over what went down.
He was right, of course. Running after the kid was rash and definitely not what I was supposed to be doing. Still, given a re-do, I’d probably do it all over again. I can’t shake the feeling that the kid needs help. Maybe I’m just projecting my own self onto him, but I remember what it was like to start fires—to crave the destruction they cause.
I don’t know why it’s such a release, but it is.
And I’m fairly certain all three of these arson fires were set by that one kid. He needs help. Because if someone gets hurt, he’s going to have to live with that for the rest of his life.
I change into a t-shirt and leggings and make myself a snack. When I’m done, I sit at my little two-person table with a book of matches in my hand. It’s a new book—every match intact, lined up in two perfect rows. Just the sight of them releases endorphins. I fold one down, debating whether I’m actually going to tear it off. Whether I’ll disobey Blaze and light it.
A knock sounds at my door. Probably my neighbor—it has to be a fellow resident, since no one buzzed to get in the main door. I open the door and then immediately swing it shut.
Blaze.
He thrusts his boot in the door to stop it from closing. “Hang on—just wait. I came to apologize.”
I can’t quite meet his gaze, although I feel its intensity. Instead, I stare at the hollow of his throat, at the stray chest hairs creeping above his collar.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you in front of everyone. I was an asshole. I didn’t mean to humiliate you.”
I don’t move. I still don’t meet his gaze, nor do I let him open the door any further.
“Let me in.” There’s no entreaty to his voice, only quiet command.
For some reason, I respond to this show of authority and drop back from the door.
He sweeps in, catching me up around the waist and walking me a few steps backward until I hit the wall. I push against his chest, but he catches my wrist and pins it to the wall beside my head. His mouth attacks mine in a searing kiss.
“Everything okay in there?”
Crap. Now it’s my neighbor. Blaze came in so fast he didn’t bother to close the door.
“Shut the door,” he barks now, not looking away from me.
“Lia? Are you all right?” My middle-aged neighbor is a nice enough guy—a computer geek who takes care of his elderly mom. But now is not the moment for a visit.
“Yes, please shut the door,” I answer.
Blaze rewards me with another brutal kiss. His thigh pushes between my legs, but when he comes up for air, he wants to talk. “You scared the shit out of me, Lia.” He leans against his forearms on the wall, framing my head. “I thought you were going to get shot or worse. And then I just blew a gasket.”
“I noticed,” I mutter.
“I’m sorry I yelled.”
It’s way more of an apology than I expected, mainly because everything he said to me was true. I don’t know what to say, so I simply lift my lips for another kiss. He delivers, softer this time, although not gentle by any means. He slides a hand up my shirt and palms my breast while his tongue sweeps between my lips. I kiss him back, lifting one leg to wrap around him, offering no resistance as he helps pull it higher.
He shoves my bra cup down and thumbs across my taut nipple at the same time he bites my lower lip. “You ever been fucked up against a wall before?” He pulls my shirt off over my head.
“Uh uh.” I unbuckle his belt.
“You’re going to get it now.” He whips his own t-shirt off and throws it on the floor beside mine. “Lifting that leg up around my waist. You’re just begging to be fucked right here, aren’t you, little dragon?”
I get his zipper down, but he catches both my wrists and lifts them up. “Interlace your hands and put them on top of your head.”
I steal a glance at the harsh lines of his face as I slowly obey.
“That’s right. Like you’re under arrest. Now hold them there. You move, you’ll be punished. Understand?”
I nod, my pussy clenching at the word punished.
“Good girl.” He yanks my leggings down and off my legs. I wasn’t wearing panties with them, so I’m standing in nothing but my tangled bra now. He taps my inner thighs. “Spread your legs.” When I do, he squats down and licks into me, feasting on my juices.