Page 7 of Marked By Blaze

I fall back on my pillows, the fabric cool against my skin as I carefully check every profile before I feel my eyes grow heavy. I close my eyes for a second, and when I open them again to carry on the search, I’m surprised to see the morning light. All I did was blink, and it’s already morning. I let out a long, drawn-out yawn, stretching my arms above my head.

I linger in bed, tempted to go back to sleep. It’s a Sunday after all, and I don’t need to go to work. The urgent need to pee sends me climbing out the bed and shuffling to the bathroom. I finish my business and am about to climb back into bed when a loud thumping sound fills the air, making me wince. “There goes my plan to get a little some more sleep,” I whine, resenting my neighbor and his love for mind-numbingly loud rock music early in the morning.

Another yawn slips out as I drag my feet over the cool floor and walk to the kitchen, heading straight to the fridge. A wave of disappointment washes over me when I realize that it’s empty, save for a few condiments and a sad-looking piece of lettuce holding on for dear life. I stand there, contemplating my options, but I can barely think over the loud music.

“God,” I moan, dropping my head over the fridge door and closing my eyes as I consider going to my neighbor and asking him to turn down the music, but doing that didn’t wield any results the last time. My phone rings from my room, jolting me from my thoughts, and I welcome the distraction.

I walk back to my room to take the call, unsurprised to see Jade’s name flashing on the screen. Before I met her in person, we only texted about work, but ever since that day, we’ve been chatting constantly, and it feels like I’ve known her forever. There is a smile on my face when I answer the call.

“Brunch?” she chirps, sounding way too excited for an early morning. “You’re free, right? You said you don’t have work on Sundays.”

I nod until I realize she can’t see me. “I’m free.”

“Yay, so brunch? My treat. Saint is out of town to deal with club business, and I’m so bored.” That’s the other thing. It wasn’t until Jade let it slip that the place where we’d met is a clubhousethat I finally connected the dots. The walls lined with bikes, the men in leather vests covered in patches… God, how could I have missed it?

At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it all. Finding out that Jade’s fiancé is the Steel Rebel’s president nearly made me rethink things. Saint is an infamous name, linked to all sorts of crimes in the city. His name pops up on tons of crime investigation channels, and barely anyone has anything good to say about the motorcycle club.

But nothing on Blaze.

Jade offered nothing about the man, telling me I could learn anything I wanted to know from the source. As if Blaze would have a reason to tell me anything.

“Ingrid, are you still there?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “Where did you say we are meeting?”

“The Cozy Nook, it’s a café a few blocks from my place. Blaze will pick you up and…”

My heart jackhammers in my chest at the mention of his name before her words slowly filter in, and my eyes widen in alarm. “W-what? Picking me up? Why?”

“He’ll be there in an hour,” Jade says, completely ignoring my question. “Wear something pretty.”

“Jade, wait, why is he picking me up?”

“H-hello?” she calls out. “Ingrid, you’re breaking up. Hello?”

“Jade!”

“I think something’s wrong with the connection. See you soon!” she says, before hanging up. I glare at the phone, but onlyfor a second before I toss it on the bed and run to the shower. I strip down, already dreading the cold shower waiting for me. A shudder rolls down my back as I step into the shower, making a mental note to complain to my landlord again about the broken water heater, but when I turn the faucet, warm water showers down my body instead of the cold I was expecting. I jump back in surprise, nearly slipping on the tile from the move. I’ve been complaining to the landlord for months to fix the water heater. Did he finally listen? That would be a first.

But how would did he get into my apartment? I guess he could have used a master key to get in while I was at work yesterday and forgot to let me know.

“Who cares, I get to shower in hot water.” I sigh happily, stepping fully under warm water for the first time in what feels like forever. It feels amazing, and I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in months.

I’m still thinking about that glorious shower as I get dressed, suddenly in a good mood. I’m so excited about it that I almost don’t notice the sudden quiet in the apartment.

James, my loud neighbor, finally turned off his music.

First the shower, and now the music? What next? This has to be my lucky day. Am I going to discover that the broken closet light is fixed too? I chuckle at the ridiculous thought, but find my eyes shifting to the switch.

“That would be crazy,” I whisper, but find myself moving toward it. I bite my lip and flip on the switch, gasping when the bulb lights up.

How did he know? I didn’t tell the landlord about this busted light. I was going to change it myself when I found time, but he fixed it. I guess he does care about his tenants after all.

I’m practically skipping to the elevator, and it’s not until I step into the lobby and spot the giant of a man straddling a massive bike outside my building with his leather jacket flung over one shoulder that my smile drops and nerves set back in.

He’s here.

The morning sun hits my face and I quickly adjust my hair to cover my birthmark as I step out of my apartment building, the warmth of the sun on my skin reminding me that I’m too exposed. I squint against the brightness to get a better look at him. Blaze is dressed in all black, and it’s almost like the color was made for him. The fitted shirt hugs his toned arms, accentuating those beautiful muscles I’ve spent the better part of three days daydreaming about.

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