The second his full name left her mouth, something shifted visibly in his expression.
Darker now.
Needier.
“You gotta stop saying my name like that,” he said quietly.
Her pulse stumbled hard. “Like what?”
Blaze stared at her for one long dangerous second.
Then his hand slid gently into the back of her hair.
And when he kissed her this time, nothing about it felt soft.
The emotion from the overlook still existed beneath the surface, but this kiss carried hunger. Need too. Years of restraint collapsing all at once beneath moonlight and crashing waves.
Johanna gasped softly as Blaze pulled her closer against him. The solid heat of his body nearly melted her where she stood.
Oh damn! This man kissed like he intended to cause permanent emotional damage.
His mouth moved against hers slow and deep while waves crashed nearby and distant firelight flickered behind them. Johanna clutched the front of his shirt instinctively, and Blaze groaned quietly against her mouth at the feeling. That sound shattered what little composure she still possessed.
Because Blaze always looked so controlled. So steady. Apparently kissing her still affected him too. The realization sent desire swirling inside her.
Blaze finally pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers while both of them struggled to breathe normally again.
“Damn, Jo,” he murmured roughly.
Good.
Because her heart was still trying to figure out what just happened.
* * *
Blaze had kissed women before. More than a few. But none of them had ever affected him like this.
None of them had ever made him feel like every ounce of control he possessed was hanging on by sheer discipline alone.
Johanna stood wrapped in his arms beneath moonlight andocean wind, breathing unevenly while her fingers still twisted tightly in the front of his sweatshirt. Her body fit against his like something his hands remembered instinctively, and Blaze felt dangerously close to losing what remained of his composure.
Shit!
He’d forgotten how responsive she was.
Forgotten the way she softened against him the second she stopped overthinking everything. He remembered her sass, her sharp mouth, and that stubborn pride she carried like armor, but standing here now reminded him how warm and affectionate Johanna became once she trusted what she was feeling.
That realization hit hard.
Because Johanna was fighting this with everything she had. Fighting him.
And Blaze respected that. He truly did.
But standing here with her mouth still swollen from kissing him and her body pressed against his, respect was becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Blaze kept one hand low against her waist, his thumb brushing over the strip of soft skin exposed between her sweater and jeans while he forced himself to breathe like a civilized man.
Not easy. Not even a little bit.
