Page 20 of Flame it Up

Slowly, almost with trepidation, Pyrus let his eyes slide down her body. So far, he’d only seen her in her work clothes or the loose, cozy sweats she’d been wearing the night before.

Mazie wore a tight tank top with very slender shoulder straps. It showed off an impressive amount of bust and revealed her gorgeous, muscular shoulders. Her long, curvy legs were left bare by the very snug, short shorts she wore.

He was staring, but he couldn’t seem to stop. She looked good enough to eat, and his dragon agreed. It took Pyrus a couple of minutes to get a hold of himself.

“Are you ready?” Mazie asked almost shyly.

“I am,” Pyrus answered. Any thought of Richard or dodgy work situations had definitely flown from his mind.

There was only one thing Pyrus was thinking about right now, and that was Mazie.

EIGHT

MAZIE

When Pyrus pulled up at the marina, the sun had sunk to the horizon, spreading a bright, orange glow across the ocean. The sky shimmered with gold, silver, and blue. Tiny stars were sparking to life, heralding the clear night to come.

As she got out of the car, Mazie looked up at the yacht in astonishment. It was a lot bigger than she’d expected, and she was suddenly intimidated. Seeing the well-dressed, graceful people gliding up the gangplank only increased her anxiety.

Mazie looked down at herself in dismay. When she’d put on her favorite tank top, she’d thought she was showing off her sense of fashion but looking at the other women arriving at the party, Mazie felt like a dime store reject.

The tank top was a swirl of dark blue on black like a night sky covered by a storm. The black short shorts were fairly new and fit her perfectly. She was very comfortable and usually felt super sexy in this outfit … but she’d never had to compare herself to billionaires before.

Mazie surveyed the crowd moving toward the yacht. She recognized some of the people from last night’s benefit, and she was stunned to see others that she knew from social media. These people were famous …reallyfamous.

I’m nowhere near as important as any of these people. What the fuck am I doing here?

Pyrus came up beside her, stroking her arm gently as he took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You’re looking up at that yacht with a combination of fear and terror.”

“Is it that obvious?” she said, chuckling. “I was shooting for bored.”

“You definitely don’t look bored,” Pyrus answered, smiling. “But you do look worried.”

Her heart skipped a beat as a graceful woman paused at the bottom of the gangplank for a photographer. She was wearing a tiny string bikini with a wrap dress made of netting over the top.

Why didn’t I think of that?

Mazie’s thought was laced with sarcasm. She glanced down at her tank top and shorts, feeling like an absolute frump next to the model’s glittering, see-through cling dress.

“Hey,” Pyrus said, giving her hand another squeeze. “Don’t you want to get going? They’ll be setting sail soon.”

I can’t even … I’m just a nobody from Arkansas who joined the Peace Corps to see the world. I don’t belong here.

“Okay,” she said very softly. It did sound like lots of fun to sail out to that sunset, which was still slashing the sky and the sea beneath with vivid hues of orange and flaming pink. The sigh of the water against the dock was hypnotic and soothing. Mazie tried to relax.

“Yeah, we should get going,” she said, looking up at Pyrus. His gold eyes were catching the last of the light from the setting sun, and as he looked at her, his eyes widened, his lips curving into a happy smile. Her smile answered his, a pure expression of joy that came from her heart.

He really likes me. He wants to be with me. I’ve got to get a grip. I’m okay.

“Excellent,” Pyrus said. Mazie expected him to lead her to the gangplank, but instead, he let go of her hand, stepped away, and pulled off his shirt.

Mazie was so shocked by the reveal of his perfect, chiseled body that for a moment, she couldn’t think, let alone speak. She’d seen Pyrus naked the other day, but she had been trying to avert her eyes to be polite. Now, she could look as long and hard as she wanted.

Don’t think about things that are long and hard.

Mazie gulped. Pyrus tossed his shirt into the jeep, and his shoulders rippled. She swept her eyes down his hard abs, and her mouth watered as she thought about caressing those strong muscles with her tongue.

Pyrus kept his shorts on, and Mazie didn’t know if he had a smaller bathing suit underneath or if this was it and he was naked under there. A few seconds of silence passed, and Mazie realized she was staring. When she snapped her eyes back to Pyrus’s face, he was watching her with an amused smile dancing across his lips.

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