Page 37 of Sheltered

The scent of pizza was already filling the room, but I was positive it was the taste of Blaze’s kiss and the clean, masculine scent of him which forced a moan from me.

“Hey, baby,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.

There it was.

My new favorite word.

“Hi, boss.”

I’d decided to go with a fun name for him. I thought boss was perfect, because he’d sort of been taking charge with planning our dates and leading things between us so well.

All I had hoped to accomplish in using that name was for Blaze to feel even a fraction of what I did when he called me baby. And though I couldn’t be certain exactly how he felt about it, judging by the way his expression changed, I believed he liked it.

He held up the pizza box and asked, “Are you hungry?”

I nodded and smiled as I closed the door behind him. “Starving. I pulled out the plates and napkins already.”

“Lead the way.”

Without wasting another second, I led Blaze deeper into the house. We made a quick stop in the kitchen to pick up the plates, napkins, and drinks before we made our way into the living room.

For the first few minutes, we got ourselves comfortable with a slice of pizza each and some easy conversation about our days at work.

“I hope I don’t look like a fool to you, but I couldn’t wait for my workday to be over today,” I revealed.

“Why would you think that would make you look a fool to me?” he countered.

After taking another bite of my delicious pizza, I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s because I’ve never felt that way before about my job. I love what I do, and I’ve always found it exciting and enjoyable. It felt like the day was dragging today, though.”

A smile spread across his face. “I can think of a lot of things that hearing you admit that to me make me feel, but not one of them is me believing you’re a fool.”

“That’s good to know. How was your day at work?”

“I couldn’t wait for it to be over.”

I tipped my head to the side, my eyes assessing him. “Do you really mean that, or did you just say it because I did?”

“Both.”

Following a beat of silence, I said, “This pizza is delicious. Where did you get it from?”

Blaze’s brows drew together. “You don’t know?”

“What makes you think I would just know where it came from? It’s not like the box gives any indication.”

He let out a laugh. “You told me yesterday that pizza was one of your guilty pleasures, so I guess I assumed you were a pizza connoisseur.”

Sending a dubious look his way, I replied, “I realize this is a small town, but I did tell you I didn’t get out much. I’ve always either made my own at home or gotten it from the same place. I’m not one for venturing outside of what I knew.”

“Fair enough. I got it from Vinnie’s Pizzeria.”

“I’ve never had it from there, but I’ve heard about it,” I told him.

“Vinnie’s is the best I’ve had in this town. I guess it’s possible yours could be better, since it’s homemade, but if I’m buying pizza anywhere in Steel Ridge, I’m going to Vinnie’s,” Blaze informed me.

Smiling at him, I said, “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to compete, but I’d love to make my pizza for you sometime.”

“That sounds great to me. In the meantime, there’s something else I’m hoping you’ll be willing to share with me.”

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