Blaise wraps both arms around me and brings his lips to my ear. “Go home and get some rest. I’ll come to you as soon as we’re done here.”
“But what if—”
Blaise pulls back and captures my face with his hands. “Baby, nothing is going to happen to me. The fire is secured and no one is inside. The immediate danger is done. We just need to be here to fight flames.”
I nod my head in agreement. I don’t like it, but I know I won’t be able to be at every fire and every accident he’s called to. I need to learn to cope with this.
“I’ll come to you as soon as I can, okay?”
“Okay.” I barely get the words out before his lips crash with mine.
Blaise gulps down two bottles of water and heads back to relieve members of his crew. Ember and I hug their mom goodbye and climb in her car.
“I called Asher, and he’s home. Why don’t we swing by and pick some clothes up for Blaise.” She smiles. “I heard him say he would come to you, and he’s going to want to shower and change. That is unless you were planning on keeping him in his birthday suit.” She winks.
I laugh, “That does sound appealing, but he’s going to be exhausted. I think he would really appreciate clean clothes. Good idea.”
It’s five in the morning and my ass is dragging. Dad called in today’s crew that was supposed to start at eight to relieve us. Standing outside their apartment, I try to be as quiet as I can so I don’t wake them. I’m going to have to shower. I hope Jackson has left some clothes here at some point; otherwise, my ass will be naked. Right now, at this moment, I couldn’t care less. I just want to shower and crawl in bed with my girl.
Her being there tonight, supporting me, my family, my crew members. I fall more in love with her each day. Beth would have whined and complained, not that she and Tatum are anything alike, thank God. Tatum is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I make my way down the hall and quietly let myself into her room. She’s curled up in a ball on the side of the bed I usually sleep on. She’s clutching the pillow tight. I see she also has her cell in her hand. My chest constricts just seeing how much she cares.
I walk into her bathroom and shut the door before turning on the light. I strip out of my clothes and lay them in a pile on the floor. I’ll have to clean up my mess tomorrow. I turn on the hot spray and let it massage my tired muscles. I reach for the shampoo and see mine sitting on the shelf beside hers. I smile. Tatum knew I would need a shower. She also knew I would keep my promise and come to her. Like there is anywhere else I would rather be.
I quickly wash away the grime and towel off. I make my way to her bed and gently remove the cell phone from her hands. She stirs and opens her eyes.
“Hey,” she says groggily. She scoots back to her side of the bed and I slip in beside her, pulling her into my arms.
“Hey you,” I say, kissing the top of her head. I drift off to sleep with her in my arms.
I wake up when Tatum tries to remove herself from my arms. “Quit it, I’m trying to sleep,” I mumble.
She chuckles. “I have to get ready for work,” she says.
“Don’t go. Call in sick,” I whine.
“I can’t.” She leans up and kisses my cheek. I grab her by the hips and settle her on my lap. Her long dark locks are in a jumbled mess and she’s wearing my shirt. She is so damn sexy; I want to engrain this moment in my memory. I always want to remember what she looks like, what this feels like, being with her like this.
I reach my hand up and cup her face, gently running my thumb across her bottom lip. “I love you, Tatum.” The words slip off my tongue like I’ve said them a thousand times. I have, in my head.
Tatum leans down, her lips close to mine, her green eyes filled with moisture. “I love you, too.” Then she kisses me.
Pulling away from her kiss, I grab her hips and flip her onto her back, and I’m pushing inside of her. Home. Tatum is home to me and home feels f*cking fantastic.
Tatum claws at my back trying to get me to go faster. I don’t want to for multiple reasons. I’m about to blow and increasing my speed would end this, and I’m not ready for that. We just said I love you for the first time; I want to take my time with her.
Leaning down, I capture her lips with mine, our tongues moving in time with our bodies. I’m not going to last long; she feels too good.
“Blaise,” she breathes my name and I feel her clench around me. She’s close. I deepen my thrust just enough to throw us both over the edge.
I roll to the side and wrap her in my arms. Once our breathing evens out, Tatum rushes to get a shower so she’s not late for work. “There’s clothes for you on the dresser,” she says, walking toward the shower.
I jump out of bed and slip into a pair of my sweats. She’s taking care of me. I smile as I head toward the kitchen to make my girl some breakfast.
Ember is in the kitchen pulling waffles out of the toaster. “Hey. What time did you get in?”
“Around five,” I say, popping two waffles in for Tate.
“What are you doing up?” she asks.
“Tate has to get up for work. I tried to talk her into calling in, but she wouldn’t,” I grumble, and my sister laughs.
Just as I’m taking her waffles out of the toaster, Tatum comes barreling into the kitchen, hopping on one foot as she slides her foot into her shoe.
I place them on a plate and add syrup. I motion for her to sit and eat; she does. I grab her a glass of orange juice and place it in front of her. Leaning down, I place a kiss on top of her head.
She scarfs down her food and quickly stands. I grab her wrist. “I got it, babe,” I say. She nods her head and grabs her purse. “Let me walk you out.”
“No, you need to go back to sleep. Are you at the shop tonight?” she asks.
“Yes, but I don’t even know what’s on my schedule.”
“Okay, I’ll call you later,” she says, heading toward the door.
I reach for her arm and tug her back against my chest. “Have a good day,” I whisper against her lips, and then give her a chaste kiss. She pulls back and smiles. “I love you.” I smile at how good it feels to finally be able to say those words out loud.
“Love you, too” she says with one last quick peck on the lips, and then she’s out the door.
“That’s new,” Ember says behind me. I can hear the smile in her voice.
“No, it’s not. Saying it out loud is new, but not the sentiment,” I tell her as I walk back to Tatum’s room to grab a few more hours of sleep.
I roll out of bed around noon and clean up my mess in Tate’s bathroom. After I get my clothes in a trash bag, I throw my bag in the back of my truck and head home to change. Rushing through another shower, and a quick sandwich later, I’m pulling into Self Expressions right on time. I unlock the door and get set up for my first client. Jeff, the artist we recently hired to pick up some of the work, walks in behind me.
“Hey, man. Haven’t seen you in a while,” he says in greeting.
“Yeah, we seem to be on opposite shifts and the other night, Ash took my two clients because my girl was sick.”
“Your girl? Holy shit, dude, it hasn’t been that long. You been holding out on me?” he laughs.
I smirk, but don’t reply. I’m ready for all they can dish out. Tatum is so worth it.
I’m in the middle of a skull chest piece when I hear Jeff talking to Asher. “Holy f*ck, she’s hot. I got this,” he says.