His grin appeared immediately.
“Because I don’t plan on wasting the rest of this night.”
Reaching toward the lamp, he switched off the light. Moonlight instantly became the only illumination in the room, spilling silver shadows across the bed while soft darkness settled around them.
Johanna's warmth remained tucked securely against his side.
Perfect.
"Get you some rest," he murmured, pulling her even closer until she fit securely against him, "Because tonight you’re not going to get much sleep."
“You’re very confident.” Her laugh drifted through the darkness, content and sleepy. The sound wrapped around him like a promise.
Blaze leaned closer until his mouth hovered near hers again. “That’s because I know exactly what this feels like.”
Johanna’s fingers curled lightly against his forearm. “Andwhat doesthisfeel like?”
Blaze kissed her once before answering. Slow, yet deep enough to make her moan.
“Like I finally got something back I never stopped wanting.”
Before Johanna could respond, Blaze’s mouth found hers again, creating a rhythm, almost reverent beneath all the heat building between them.
For the first time in years, everything inside him felt still. The restlessness that had driven him for so long had quieted for the night. For now, there was no chasing the next goal, no wondering what came next, and no searching for something he couldn't name.
There was only Johanna. Safe in his arms. Breathing softly against his chest.
For tonight, Blaze felt he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
Chapter 11
Johanna woke slowly, wrapped in the comfortable weight of a man stretched behind her.
For one soft sleepy second, she forgot where she was and who she was with.
Then a deep breath brushed across the back of her neck while his arm tightened instinctively around her waist, and suddenly every memory from the night before came rushing back all at once. She remembered the bonfire beside the ocean, the heated kisses inside Blaze’s truck, and eventually falling asleep tangled together in her bed after years apart.
Lord.
Johanna closed her eyes briefly.
This was risky.
Not because she regretted any of it.
That was the problem.
She didn’t regret a single thing.
The bedroom sat quiet beneath the pale gray-blue light of early morning. Somewhere outside, gulls cried faintly near the marina while ocean wind rattled gently against the windows.
Behind her, Blaze pressed a slow kiss against her bare shoulder without fully waking.
Johanna’s pulse immediately betrayed her.
“Mmm,” she murmured, her voice rough with sleep. “You’re still here?”
Blaze gave a low chuckle. “Good morning to you too.”
