“A shower… that would be nice, and it’s so tempting, but I have an emergency. I have to go now,” he says sternly.
“Okay.” I get up and start putting on my shoes, as well.
When we reach the door of the hotel, Blaze turns to me and pulls me into his arms. With a ragged sigh, he pushes strands of my hair out of my face.
“I had an amazing night with you, Ari. It was better than anything we could have done sexually. I enjoyed just talking to you. It was really nice.”
I nearly dissolve in his arms. My heart is raging out of my chest. I feel like melting in this man’s arms over the way he’s looking at me. He doesn’t just say good things; he looks at me like he means every single word. Why does he have to be someone who picks up prostitutes?
“I had a great time, too,” I say, and his lips meet mine before the last word is spoken.
I freeze for a second, trying to halt the feelings I know are coming next. The comfort. The desire. The heat. He is so different than any other man that has tried to pick me up, and it’s easy to feel something for him.
“Let’s do this again tonight,” he says, pulling back to look into my eyes. “Minus the rain or fire, of course.”
“Don’t forget the screaming old lady,” I say with a chuckle.
“How could I forget her?” he laughs along with me. “I’ll see you tonight then?”
“Yes.”
“Great. I’ll come by after I get off work,” he says. He takes my hand and leads me out of the hotel hand in hand. The entire time my hand is in his, I feel as though I’m on fire…a blazing fire. I
can’t wait until nightfall.
Chapter Five
Blaze
I drop Ari back off at the motel and very pointedly analyze the fact that moments ago I felt so comfortable lying in bed with a suspected criminal. Sure, I spent most of last night stuck in traffic with her, talking about everything from when I was a young boy playing tee ball to my football days in college. Granted, she and I are so compatible, from our zest for life to our tarnished dreams, it’s easy to talk to her because she understands me. And that kiss. It took every bone in my body to pull me away from her lips. If the chief hadn’t called me, I’d still be drinking from her lips.
I miss her already, but she told me her room number, and I’ll be getting back to see her as soon as I can. At the moment, I have to go to the station to lend my hand to a cold case. Someone just called in a tip to the tip line. Had that call not come, I would have taken Ari up on that shower, and we would be rocking each other to ecstasy at this very moment. I have no doubts about that. Yeah, this so-called undercover sting has gone far beyond an officer looking for his next perp. I’m a goner.
I pull up to the station and immediately retrain my thoughts. It’s Monday morning, so hopefully, with the new week to come, I’ll get my head back in the game. I have a lot of cases to solve, a community to serve, and egos to stroke at city hall. Nowhere on my schedule is there time to fall in love.
My day is grueling, and the chief sends me all over town chasing tips. After a long day, I head home. I’ve already put in a full twelve hours looking for a missing young lady who we believe fell prey to the underground sex trafficking networks of NYC, so I’m taking the evening off to recharge.
The thought crosses my mind to go to Ari’s as I promised, but I fight it off, opting to eat, shower and lie down. I told her I would see her again tonight, but after I spend the day in cop mode, I have rearranged my thoughts and put my priorities in order. Her lifestyle is part of a bigger problem I work every day to fix. I can’t get my head clouded with feelings of love and lust. It will only hamper my ability to help others.
As soon as sleep assails me, dreams of Ari live on Broadway dancing and singing her heart out in a majestic type of stage play fill my head. The one recurring thing in this dream is her beautiful smile.
The next two nights are filled with the same—dreams about Ari. The dreams are enough to keep me satisfied. I’m not going to call her or try to see her ever again. I’m going to go about bringing these traffickers to justice another way that doesn’t involve her arrest. At least, those are the lines I feed myself.
By Thursday night, I can’t take it anymore. I have to see her. I’m standing in front of her motel room door, knocking, but no one answers. I go back to the park and then the alley where I first spotted her.
There she is in the alley, standing with her back pressed to the old stone wall and one foot propped up on an old stump for support. This woman has a stance like no other. Once again, I know it’s her by the nasty way she’s standing there watching me approach her.
As soon as I reach her, the lust, the feeling of love, the dreams, everything I’ve been feeling for her this past week erupts into an embrace, and my lips come crashing down on hers. It feels like heaven as we connect, my hands steadily moving up her thigh while I suck her tongue for its nectar.
The kiss gets increasingly heated. Ari climbs the wall as if she’s trying to get away from me yet come to me at once. I make a guttural sound at the sensation of my cock brushing against her womanhood. I tighten my grip on Ari’s hips so that I won’t try to rip off her clothes right there in the alley. At least, I have that tiny bit of control left.
Hey!” a familiar voice shouts, from an open window behind us, sounding furious. “How many times do I have to tell you two that this is private property! Be gone in five seconds, or I’m calling the cops. One— two—” the woman begins counting.
“Hold your horses, lady. We’re leaving!” I say and grab Ari’s hand. This time, I’m prepared. I didn’t come in my squad car. I drove a rental, ready to usher her to the nearest hotel and have my way with her.
“Can we stop for coffee?” she asks. It’s an unusual request, especially after the sexual tension we just shared, but her wish is my command.
“Sure. Anything you want,” I tell her, knowing she’s stalling and prolonging the inevitable. We are made for the love we are about to share, and she’s worth the wait.