Chapter 95
Carlo
The first thing I feel is heat. His body warm against mine, soft skin under my arm, the weight of him grounding me like gravity. Morning sunlight slips past the curtains, painting slow, gold streaks across the bed. I don’t want to fucking move. Ever.
Blaze breathes slow, still asleep, back pressed into my chest. He smells like sweat and oil and whatever soap he uses that always lingers on his neck. It used to haunt me. Now it’s here, real, right under my nose. I shift down, bury my face there, take a breath like I’m scared it might vanish again.
He stirs, his hips rolling back, grinding lazily against me.
“Hm!” he moans, not even opening his eyes. But that smirk on his lips? Yeah. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“You’re fucking dangerous,” I mutter, pressing forward just to feel that friction. My dick’s hard and angry from hours of being this close to him without doing anything about it.
I slide my hand under the pillow. The tiny cold metal’s still in my pocket from last night. I don’t even remember why I didn’t give it to him right after the shop… guess I was scared he’d think it was too soon. That maybe it’d push him away. But now? With his ass in my lap, his soft breath against my collarbone, his fingers lazily curling around mine in his sleep?
Fuck waiting.
I palm the ring. My other hand slides under his waistband, gentle, slow. He moans again as I wrap my fingers around his dick and stroke it lazily.
“Fuck,” he groans, writhing. “Just put it in already—”
“That’s not what I wanna do today,” I whisper, rolling my tongue against his ear, feeling him shudder. His grip tightens on my wrist as I pump him slow and steady.
He gasps, legs parting, hips bucking. “God, but I want you so bad…”
“I know,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
While his head falls back against me, distracted by my hand, I slip the ring onto his finger. Smooth. He doesn’t even notice.
He climbs on top of me not long after, impatient, whining under his breath as I grip his hips and guide him. We move slow, like we’ve got nowhere to be. Just hands. Breath. Heat. It’s not about getting off—it’s about feeling everything. All of it. His weight on top of me, our skin sticking together, his lips on my throat.
He leans down to kiss me. “Carlo…” he breathes.
His hand brushes over mine, and he freezes.
“What—” he blinks, lifting his hand. The ring glints in the light.
I kiss him before he can say a word, cupping the back of his neck. “There’s no turning back now,” I say into his mouth. “I want to live every day with you.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me. “You serious?”
I nod. “Dead fucking serious.”
He swallows hard, eyes glassy. Then he kisses me—soft and slow and deep—and I know I’ve got my answer.
“I want that too,” he whispers against my lips.
Later, when we’re both finally breathing normal again, Blaze lays next to me, fingers tracing the line of my chest. “We should go see my mom,” he says.
I blink, a little surprised. “Yeah?”
He nods. “If you’re serious about staying… she deserves to know.”
“She still lives with you?”
He grins. “Where else?”
I nod. “Alright then. Let’s go.”
We get up, both of us sore in the best way. The penthouse still smells like us. It’s exactly the same as it was three years ago—down to the damn couch I refused to throw out even though Blaze spilled engine oil on it.
“You kept this place?” he asks, pulling on his jeans.
I grab my watch off the nightstand. “Yeah. I bought another penthouse for Rebecca and my son. Didn’t want to erase this place. Didn’t want to lose you completely.”
He stares at me, unreadable for a second. Then he just nods.
When we get to his place, his mom’s in the living room by the window, wheelchair facing the sun. Her hair’s grown back. She looks better—tired, but good.
Blaze walks over, kisses her cheek. “Hey, Mom.”
"Good day Ma'am"
She looks up at me. Her eyes narrow just slightly. “That voice… I know that voice.”
"Oh, it's Carlo... You've heard his name severally from my friends especially Alexi." Blaze said bending in front of his mother.
I step forward. “Yeah. I used to visit you in the hospital.”
She squints. “Every morning. You’d sit there even when he wasn’t there.”
“Yeah,” I say quietly.
She nods, emotional. “I always prayed you’d find your way back.”
“I almost didn’t,” I admit.
She looks between us, then reaches out, taking both our hands. “I’m glad you did. Blaze wasn’t the same without you. He tried to be. But he was breaking inside.”
Blaze scoffs but doesn’t deny it.
She smiles, holding our hands tighter. “I bless you two. Don’t run from each other again. Okay?”
We both nod, silent.
Later, I offer to take her on a walk. Blaze helps me lift her into the motorized wheelchair, then goes to grab something from the kitchen.
Outside, the wind is nice. Soft. She watches the trees as I push her.
“You were the one who left flowers,” she says after a while.
I blink. “Yeah.”
“I figured.”
She doesn’t say much after that. She just smiles like something heavy’s been lifted off her chest.
Then my phone rings.
My mom’s name flashes across the screen.
I sigh and answer. “Mom?”
She’s crying. Sobbing.
“Carlo—Carlo it’s—there’s an emergency…”
Everything in me stills.
“What happened?”
Her voice cracks.
"I... Don't know we are in the hospital"