Chapter 94
Blaze
“You’re late again,” I mutter, not looking up. My hands are deep in the guts of this old engine, grease streaked up my arms, sweat clinging to my neck. The shop’s quiet today, just the low hum of the radio in the back and the faint scent of oil in the air. Feels like just another day. Same shit, different bike.
“Boss, the parts just came in,” Ricky calls from the back room. I grunt, tightening one last bolt before sitting back on my heels.
The bell over the front door jingles.
Without looking, I call out, “We’re backed up this week. You can drop it off or come back next Tuesday.”
The footsteps that follow are too sharp. Measured. Not one of the usual regulars. Not some random off the street either. There’s this… weight in the room now. Like the air’s gotten heavier all of a sudden.
Then—
“Blaze.”
I freeze.
That voice. Low. Steady. The one that’s lived somewhere in the back of my head for three damn years no matter how hard I tried to shut it out.
Slow, like I’m underwater, I turn.
And there he is.
Carlo.
Standing in the middle of my shop. Black suit, no tie. The shirt open at the collar. Expensive watch on his wrist. Hair perfect but a little mussed, like he’s been running his hands through it. His eyes locked on me. Intense. Unshaken. The fucking nerve.
I can’t move. Can’t breathe for a second.
Then he speaks again, voice even. “I divorced her.”
My throat tightens. I stay on the floor, just staring at him.
“I’m done,” he says. “My father’s out of my life. I’m not under his leash anymore.” His jaw tics. “I came back for you.”
A sharp clang echoes in the room — my wrench slipping from my hand onto the concrete.
For a moment, the whole place is silent. Thick. Heavy.
My heart’s pounding so damn hard I can barely hear anything else.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” The words come out rough. Shaky. A growl more than a sentence.
Carlo steps in, calm as hell. “I told you.”
“Three fucking years,” I snap, getting up, my chest tight, heat rising fast. “Three fucking years, Carlo. And now you just fucking walk in here like—what? Like nothing fucking happened?”
His gaze doesn’t move. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not.”
“You left,” I bite out, fists clenched at my sides. “You left and never came back.”
“I never wanted to.”
“Well, that sure as fuck didn’t stop you.”
His voice hardens. “You think I liked what I had to do? You think it didn’t fucking kill me every damn day?”
I can’t stand still anymore. My boots move, slow, closing the distance between us. The heat rolling through my chest is too much now. I want to hit him. I want to pull him in. I want to scream at him till my voice is gone.
“You should’ve fought harder,” I growl.
“I fought the only way I could,” Carlo says. “You know what he would’ve done if I hadn’t. I had to play it his way to get out.”
My heart’s racing. Palms sweating. It’s all too much.
“And now,” Carlo says quieter, eyes burning into me, “I’m free.”
The words hit something sharp in me.
I glare at him, teeth gritted. “You think that makes it okay? You think you can just fucking show up now and expect what, exactly?”
He takes another step, closing the last of the space between us.
“I’m not expecting anything,” he says lowly. “I just know what I want. And it’s you.”
The sound that leaves me is half a bitter laugh, half a groan. My whole damn chest hurts.
“Now?” I rasp. “Now that it’s easy?”
“It was never easy,” he says. “But this time… I’m not walking away.”
Something snaps.
Before I can think, I grab his shirt and yank him in. Our mouths crash together, hot, rough, desperate. All teeth and anger and years of fucking tension boiling over in one hit.
His hands are in my hair, on my back, gripping me tight. I can’t tell where the fury ends and the need starts. It’s all tangled up together. My head’s spinning.
I shove him back a step, slamming him against the wall near the counter, slamming my lips against his. The radio’s still playing somewhere in the background but all I can hear is the sound of our ragged breaths.
“Fuck,” I breathe against his mouth.
“Yeah,” Carlo pants, not letting go.
I press my forehead to his for a second. “You got a fucking nerve walking in here like this.”
“I know.”
“Three years, Carlo.”
“I know.”
“You left me.”
His hand slides to my jaw. “I never left you here,” he says, tapping his temple lightly.
Fuck.
The anger’s still there, but the weight of it’s shifting. I can’t hold it up anymore. I can’t fight this anymore.
“You better not be lying to me,” I grit out.
“I’m not.”
I grab him again, kissing him hard, the taste of him familiar and new all at once. My hands fist the lapels of that damn suit jacket, pulling him closer.
No, this won't do, and fuck getting home is a hassle…
“Door,” I pant.
He spins us, one hand reaching blindly to lock it behind us. Then he’s on me again, mouth fierce, body pressed tight to mine.
I don’t know how long we’re there, tangled up like this, grinding against each other like we’re both starved. My head’s buzzing, my whole body on fire.
Finally, I pull back just a little, breathing hard. Our foreheads stay pressed together, our chests heaving in sync.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter.
Carlo smirks, breathless. “Fuck.”
For the first time in three years, I let myself look at him — really look at him — close. The lines on his face are deeper. His eyes darker. There’s something harder about him now. Older. But the way he’s looking at me… that hasn’t changed. Not one fucking bit.
And goddamn it… I still want him. I never stopped.
He brushes his thumb over my cheek, slowly. “I’m not going anywhere this time.”
I stare at him, chest tight. My voice is hoarse when I finally speak. “You better fucking mean that.”
“I do.”
I wrap my legs around his waist, he understands what I want. He smirks and undo his belt and zipper. “We are in your shop Blaze”
“I don't give a fuck, the door is locked” why am I even acting like an animal? I mean he just got here, we should talk before fucking like rabbits. But he slips my pants down, hanging my legs on the right side of his shoulder. I watched him wet his fingers and rub it on his cock.
“The hell?” He growled. “Did someone fuck you in my absence?”
“Mr married man, you were fucking someone else for that long what did you think?” I mutter out between breaths as he slid inside me slowly, but as if showing how that pissed him off, he hit me in one go.
“Fuck you…” I scream out, arching my back.
He bends down to kiss the word out of my mouth, “I only touched her once and it was to get my cum in her for my father,” he whispers.
That sent chills down my spine, “Hey, I couldn't even love someone else, I missed you every day. Seeing the news didn't help, I barely survived…” I cry out in a low voice.
“I’m sorry” he pleads as he hugs me tight, burying himself more inside me. A few more thrust and we both shoot our loads, calling our names like an incantation.