Taming Blaze (5 page)

“Harder,” I begged.
I needed him hard and fast.

He gripped the sides of my thighs as he thrust into me, his movements more vigorous.
“Dani,” he said, his mouth close to my ear.

“Yes, yes.”  I couldn’t think about anything.  I was so close to the edge.  All I could say was yes.  I gripped him tightly, my hands sliding over his leather cut as he fucked me, harder and harder.

“Dani, I’m so close,” he said.

“Oh G
od, please.”  I was desperate now.  With one final thrust inside me, he came, and his climax triggered my orgasm, waves of pleasure washing over me.  I felt my muscles contract around him as I rode the waves of my climax.  As I slowly came down, each burst of pleasure was a little bit smaller than the one before, receding like an ocean wave.  

I sat there like that on the hood of the car, clinging to the back of his cut, my head buried in his neck, until the throbbing between my legs began to subside.  When I finally looked up at him, my vision clearing, I couldn’t help but grin.

“Consider that payback for the ride,” I said.

Blaze raised his eyebrows, his face close to mine.  He tilted my chin up, bringing my lips to his as he kissed me softly.  “I think I got the better end of that deal.”

“Not from where I’m sitting,” I said, gripping his bare ass cheek.

He laughed as he pulled out of me and stepped back.  I hopped off the car, wincing at the wetness as I pulled my panties and jeans back over my hips.  I’d just had sex on the side of the road with a biker named Blaze.  Nothing but class here, that was for sure.

My hand went to my throat, making sure my scarf was still intact.  I didn’t need anyone seeing the bruises, much less him.  “So,” I said.

“So.”  He looked at me, blue eyes that seemed to see through me, and I felt myself get warm again under his gaze.  God, this guy made me horny.  There was ju
st something about him.  I didn't know if it was the biker thing or what, but I just wanted to rip off his clothes and have my way with him.

Blaze slipped his arms around my back, pulling me toward him and lowering his lips to mine.  I felt a ti
ngle of arousal between my legs and silently cursed him.

“I’m not driving to Los- uh, San Diego tonight,” I said.  “It’s starting to get dark.  There’s a hotel up the road a little
bit- I can’t remember the name, but it’s the only one around here, I think.  If you want to join me…” My voice trailed off, the invitation clear.

He groaned.  “I-” He started to say something, but stopped. 
I couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“I mean- or not.  Either way.”  I shrugged.  “No big deal.”

“I want to,” he said, his hands gripping my arms.  “God, I want to.  I just- I have to get back.  I need to be back at the club.”

“Yeah, no problem.  Like I said, no big deal.  A little fun, that’s all.”  I don’t know what I was thinking anyway, that he was going to come spend the night with me at this posh little hotel on the coast, like we were a vacationing couple or something?  He was a biker.

“It was fun, though.”  Blaze looked at me, a crooked smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’m glad you stopped to help me.”

“So am I, Dani,” he said.  “So am I.”

Blaze waited behind me as I drove out, another
gentlemanly gesture, I suppose.  He trailed behind me until I pulled over to the hotel, a fancy little bed and breakfast where I’d stayed overnight once before on the drive back home when I’d wanted to decompress before seeing my father.  I waved as I pulled into the parking lot, and he returned the gesture before disappearing down the road.  I shook off the twinge of disappointment I felt at his not wanting to join me here.

No matter,
I thought.  I didn't even know him, and it was a side of the road quickie.  I didn't need any more shit right now.  Anyway, I think I only wanted him to distract me from what had happened with Billy.

I settled into my room, opened a bottle of wine, and poured a glass, letting it breathe.  I’d sprung for a suite- well, my father had sprung for a suite, and I figured a treat was in order.  It was a gorgeous room- four poster bed covered in pillows, expansive balcony overlooking the cliffs.  I had a suite in a perfect hotel, a glass of wine, jazz on the radio, and a bubble bath running in the tub built for two.  Well, it was only for one tonight.  Still, I was pretty lucky, despite everything.

I dropped my clothes in a pile on the floor.  My phone vibrated on the table, and I realized I had cell reception.  I’d forgotten about the phone.  I tapped the screen to open a text from a number I didn’t recognize.

Bitch.

Where are
my phone and my fucking wallet?

My heart racing, I tossed the phone on the bed as if it were radioactive. 
Billy.
  I gulped from the glass of wine, grateful for the warmth of the liquid as it slid down my throat.  I glanced at the door, irrationally thinking he may have followed me here.

No,
I reminded myself. 
He doesn’t know where you are.  He’s just being an asshole.  Besides, Billy is too lazy.  He’ll get distracted by someone else.  He won’t give you a second thought.  He was just pissed about his stuff.  Calm down,
I told myself, taking a few deep breaths. 
Relax.  It’s no big deal.
  Nothing was going to happen.

I gulped more of the wine until I started to feel calm, warmth spreading through my chest.  I grabbed the phone, typing a message.

In the trash.  Fuck you, Billy.

Then I deleted it. 
Screw him.
  Let him wonder if I was combing through his phone for information to blackmail him with. 
Damn it.
  I wished I would have thought of that before tossing his phone in the dumpster.  That would have been a lot smarter than throwing away all of Billy's shit.

A bath is
what I needed to distract me from all of this.  I turned toward the bathroom, and the phone in the room rang.  The shrill sound nearly gave me a heart attack.

“Hello?”  My voice shook. 
Billy is not here,
I thought. 
He doesn’t know where I am.

“Ms. Arias?  This is Roberto at the front desk.”

I exhaled.  It was only the desk clerk.  “Yes?”

“There’s a
-" 
Ahem.
  "
A gentleman
who says he’s here to see you.”

Oh shit,
I thought.  “Who is it, Roberto?  I’m not expecting any company.”

“He’s uh-” Roberto cleared his thro
at.  “He says his name, is-
Blaze,
ma’am.  He’s a rather large
biker
.”  He spoke the last word softly, barely above a whisper, as if he were trying to conceal it.  This was not the type of place where they saw a lot of bikers, I imagined.

Blaze.
  Not Billy. 
Blaze.
My heart beat wildly, but not out of fear.  “It’s okay, Roberto, you can send him over.”

“Yes.  As you wish.”

I hung up the phone.  “Shit.”

I’d been impulsive before, with the invitation. 
Stupid.  I wasn’t actually prepared for him to show up here.  A robe, I needed a robe.  I barely had time to throw it on, pulling it up around me as I glanced in the mirror.  My neck. 
Crap
.  The welts were dark, angry looking.  I hadn’t thought this through.

I grabbed the scarf, starting to pull it around my throat, then stopped.  I’d look like an idiot, in a bathrobe and scarf.  He’d think I had some weird fetish.  And my wrists were just as torn up.  He was going to see them.

But not if we do it in the dark,
I thought.  The robe covered my wrists, and I pulled it up around my neck.  You couldn’t really see the bruising if I just didn’t let it fall away from my neck, and if I dimmed the lights, maybe he really wouldn't be able to see it.  I raced around the room, kicking the clothes toward the wall.

The knock startled me, even though I knew he was coming. 
Breathe, Dani.  Breathe.
  I steadied myself before pulling the door open.

“Hey,” Blaze said.  He leaned against the side of the door, crooked grin on his face, looking at me with those blue eyes.  “So is that offer to join you still open?”

“I thought you had to get back,” I said, grinning despite myself.

“It can wait,” he said.

“Then the offer is still open.” I let the door swing back, and he walked inside.  I clutched the robe around me, pulling it toward my neck.  It was silly. I’d just screwed him on the side of the road, but I felt suddenly nervous.

Blaze stopped, looking around.  “Nice place,” he said, letting out a low whistle.

Great.
  Now he really did think I was some spoiled rich girl. 
So what?
  What did I care what he thought?  This was a one night stand with a biker, something to get rid of the bad taste Billy had left in my mouth.  Like wiping a hard drive on a computer.

Blaze turned, sliding his cut off and laying it over the chair, then peeling off his shirt.  I swallowed.  Yeah, he was as hot as I’d imagined.  Better, even.  Hard chest muscles, washboard abs.  Tattoos snaked up his arms, a piece over his bicep and shoulder, and an assortment of tattoos on his chest. 

He bent over, sliding off his boots, and I saw the motorcycle club’s emblem- is that what they called it?  I couldn’t remember- covering his entire back, one massive tattoo.  I stood there, like my feet were frozen in place, watching him.  Mesmerized by him.  He was beautiful, in this weird way, like he had been weathered by life or something.  You could definitely see it in his face, the years of riding in the California sun.

I watched as Blaze slipped out of
his jeans and crossed the room toward me.  He nodded in the direction of the tub.  “Your water’s going to get cold.”  He was close to me, his head near my ear, and I could feel my lips swollen from his earlier kisses.  I wanted him.

“I don’t care,” I said.

Before I could stop him, he reached under my hair, his hand at the base of my neck, lips covering mine.  I flinched at his touch there, my heart racing, and he stopped, squinting as he peeled the edge of my robe away from my neck.

“Don’
t-” I grabbed the fabric and tried to step away from him, but he wouldn’t let go, covering my hand in his.

“What the hell is-?” He gripped my waist with his other hand, staring at my neck, until I wrenched my hand from his grasp

“It’s nothing.”  I was angry at him for looking, angry at the violation. 

“It’s not nothing.  You look like you’ve been mauled.  The scarf - oh…”  His voice trailed off, and I clutched the fabric of the robe against me, holding it up around my neck.

Blaze brought his hand to mine, covering my fingers, pulling the side of the robe down from my neck, and I felt my eyes well with tears as he looked at me, with- what?  Pity?

“Who did this to you?”  Then he looked under his fingers at my wrist, the angry red welts from the rope
bright on my pale skin.  His eyes flashed, angry, and it scared me, not because he was upset with me, but because of the intensity that burned in them. 

“Nobody.  It’s nothing.”  He needed to stop prying. 

“Stop saying it’s nothing.”

“An asshole at school.  It’s done.”  I could feel my voice shaking, my eyes brimming.  I wasn’t going to cry, not in front of him.  And I didn’t want to talk about this, about how frightened I’d felt just a few minutes ago when Billy texted
.  About how exhausted I was.  I just wanted to screw someone who wouldn’t ask questions.  I wanted to go to sleep and wake up and pretend none of this had happened.  Tomorrow would be a new day.

“I hope he looks worse than you do.”

I laughed bitterly, choking back tears.  “I took his clothes and his phone and wallet when I left.  I threw them in the trash.”  It seemed stupid that was all I had done.

“Good girl,” he said.  Then I felt tears roll down my cheeks, hot against my skin, and I couldn’t stop them.  It was
like a dam bursting, and I couldn't stop crying, and then his arms were around me, pulling me against his chest, my face pressed to him as I sobbed.  His lips on the top of my head, he stroked my hair, silent.  I cried until I had nothing left, until I was leaning against him, depleted.

He would think I was an idiot, some weak immature little girl running away from her douchebag boyfriend.  I sniffed, trying to stop the snot from running down my face.  I was completely humiliated.  That was twice today I’d cried, the second time in years.  And
the second time in front of him. 
Blaze.
  It was mortifying.  I covered my nose with my finger. 
Gross.

“I’m not usually like this.”

“It’s fine,” Blaze whispered, still holding me.

“I think I got snot on your chest.”

“It’ll wash off.”

“I’m a mess.”  I sniffled again.  I had to look horrific.  Puffy eyes, snotty nose, bruised neck- totally attractive.  I bet this guy was really glad he had turned around and come back here for this.