Page 54 of Loyalties & Longings

I leave Lucifer at home with Dad, as I have been doing this past week when I’ve stayed at Blaze’s house. Although Lucifer doesn’t love Dad, I hope my hellhound will defend him if needed.

And just like that, I’m less than twenty-four hours away from opening my first bar.

Chapter Thirty-One

Lake

When I wake up to the sun shining in on my face, I know it’s going to be a good day. With my eyes squinting against the bright light, I stretch my arm out to touch Blaze. All I feel is cold sheets and emptiness where he should be, and it takes my brain a moment to process. I didn’t hear or feel him get out of bed, and the bedroom door is closed.

I take in a huge breath, and the tantalizing scent of Blaze’s famously strong coffee reaches me. Another inhale—bacon.

Smiling, I roll over to check the time on my phone and see it’s still pretty early—and that damn light is back on again. I’m annoyed that the cell company had pushed the appointment for my phone back by a week, but I love that Blaze has let me sleep in. After rolling out of bed in only one of his T-shirts which is about four sizes too big for me, I pad over to the bedroom door.

The moment I open the door, the full scent of breakfast washes over me. God, it smells so good, and my body voices its own opinion in the form of a stomach rumble.

Blaze turns his head with a giant smile. “Morning, Siren. How’d you sleep?”

Taking a seat at the counter, I can’t help but let my eyes rake over him. He is wearing a pair of light gray sweatpants and absolutely nothing else. My eyes drag up his legs and land on the bulge at his crotch—the distinct outline of his dick is noticeable. He is clearly not wearing underwear either. Fuck, if those kinds of pants aren’t every woman’s wet dream. My eyes continue their journey up past his washboard abs, then over his strong and veiny, muscled arms, across his boulder-like shoulders, to his… dancing pecs?

“Siren?”

I was literally devouring his body with my eyes. I hadn’t even realized he’d asked me a question, yet he’d turned around and was snapping me back out of the trance his body had put me in.

“Yeah, sorry. I slept well. Waking up this morning, though, feels surreal. I can’t believe tonight is the grand opening of my very own bar.” I smile up at him, a little bit embarrassed he caught me ogling him. Although he knows he is no damn snack, he’s the whole freaking meal.

“Thanks for breakfast. You shouldn’t have, though. I’d rather not eat. I’m way too nervous,” I say as I sip the coffee he handed me. Just as it falls silent in the room, my stomach rumbles again.

Traitorous bitch.

“You have to eat at least a little something,” he says, pushing the plate of bacon my way. I concede and reach for one piece to nibble on.

Hopefully, it’ll be enough to stop him hounding me to eat more. With the state my nerves are in at the moment, I’m not sure if I’d be able to stomach much more than one piece anyway.

Thankfully, he doesn’t say another thing about it as we sit in a few more moments of silence. It seems a little awkward this morning as if my nerves aren’t the only ones filling the space between us.

“So, what are today’s plans? In the lead up to tonight, I mean,” Blaze asks, turning his whole body to face me and rubbing one of his hot hands over my quickly cooling leg.

“Well, I’ll have to get there early, obviously, to let staff in to set up and run over any last-minute, out-of-place things. I’ll come home quickly to change, then head back, and hopefully, the rest of the night goes off without a hitch.”

He nods, skating his hand over the skin of my inner thigh, slowly grazing higher.

“And what about this? Do we maybe have some time to have a little bit of fun today?” he asks, tracing the back of one of hisfingers over the slit between my thighs, tickling and arousing me all in the same motion.

Squirming and making a noise that’s a cross between a moan and a giggle, I push his hand away. “I’m sure I can find some time, but not right now. I’ve still got to have a shower.”

“I don’t mind getting a little dirty.” He smiles while licking the pad of his thumb and reaching between my legs, circling my clit. Another satisfactory moan escapes me. I let him circle once, twice, three times. Good Lord, I can feel my excitement building, nerve endings popping with electricity.

I squeeze my thighs together as tight as I can, trapping his hand in place. He stops.

“Later. I’ve got a special surprise for you,” I tell him, releasing his hand trapped between my thighs.

“Oh, speaking of surprises,” he says, jumping up off the bar stool he was sitting on. Fuck me, now I can definitely see the tent his erection has pitched in those pants. I take a sharp intake of breath.

Dammit, now I’m really horny.

“Wait here,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder before he jogs over to the spare room. I consider picking up my cell phone to play around with but before the thought can gain purchase, Blaze is coming out of the spare room with a box in his hands.

“I got you a gift for your grand opening, kind of a congratulations but without the cliché champagne or jewelry,” he says as he hands me a beautifully wrapped box.

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