Page 41 of Embrace

“The Woodlands a stiff drive from the shop. I’m cool with Katy or Pearland because of their proximity to the southside where the shop is located.”

“Right. We don’t want your commute back and forth to add an hour and a half to your daily travel. I’d be anxious as hell to get you back to me.”

Blaze smiled. “Cool. I’ll let the realtor know we want a spacious home, with a nice patch of land, and plenty of rooms.”

“Now, I’m kind of excited to get back to things. I hope I’m met with a lot of orders to occupy my time for a while.”

“I know you will. Business will be booming,” Blaze agreed.

He rubbed the small of my back while I gazed into his brown orbs.

“You have a look in your eye. What’s on your mind?” I observed.

“I thought I knew everything about you as your best friend. Over the last seven days, I discovered so much more. I know we’re going to have a beautiful marriage, but I do think it might take a little while to fully find a routine that works for us.”

“Patience is key and letting time tell. Like I pointed out earlier, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about moving in, now I’m all in. Every obstacle will be dealt with properly. I’m confident in our communication skills.”

“We’re so used to talking to each other when we have relationship problems, it’ll be interesting to see how we handle our own complications.” Blaze pointed out.

“I think we’ll do great,” I confirmed.

Blaze nodded and slid his hands into the band of my bikini. I wanted to have sex under the moonlight, but I knew if we got started, we wouldn’t be able to stop until the sun came up. We could never go one round and be done. It felt like a never-ending cycle of horniness and lovemaking.

“What time do we have to be at the runway?” I asked to take my mind away from the path of sex.

“Six o’clock on the dot,” he replied.

“We should go to bed soon. Six o’clock is going to approach us fast as hell, and we don’t want to miss our flight… Unless…” I dragged out the S in the word as I grinned at Blaze.

Blaze laughed. “Nah, I think my clients would send a search and rescue out here to get me if I’m not back at the shop bright and early Monday morning.”

“You’re right.” I pouted.

“Don’t trip, though. We gon’ be all right.”

Instead of replying, I laid my head on Blaze’s shoulder and rubbed my fingers through his beard. I wanted to savor the last few moments onourbeach. I wanted to brand the experience in my mind, so I never forget.

Six o’clock came fast. One minute we were on the beach, basking in each other’s energy and the next we were boarding the private jet on a course back to Houston. My eyes were heavy, but my spirit was light. Blaze helped me onto the plane, and we went through the safety rules again.

“I think I want the window seat,” I stated.

Blaze’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I want to experience the window. I’ve had such a great time with you the last seven days. Why not end our honeymoon by conquering a fear?”

Blaze smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

I took a window seat and lifted the window cover. The sun was still rising, so the colorful sky was mesmerizing. The light to put our seatbelts on lit up. I buckled the belt and gripped the hell out of Blaze’s hand. He rubbed my palm as we prepared for takeoff.

“You’re doing great, baby.”

I looked over at him as my heart began to race. “Thanks…”

My eyes gazed out of the window as the plane sped up on the runway. One minute we were speeding down the road, and the next the wheels were up, and I was in the clouds.

“The view is astonishing,” I commented in awe. I’d never known how breathtaking being in the clouds could be. I washighin the sky, heart pounding in my ear, but I did it.

“It sure is,” Blaze agreed. He wasn’t looking out the window but at me. I offered a gentle smile as I closed the window shade and unbuckled my seatbelt. I stood up and shook my limbs to ease the tension in my body.

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