BLAZE (The HEAT Series Book 3)

by Deborah Bladon

  I tap my foot against the concrete that surrounds the bench. "You kept that?"

  "I wear this every day." He pumps his hand in the air, twice. The sunlight dances against the face of the watch. "It doesn't work anymore. The hands stopped moving years ago."

  My heart stops for a beat. "You told me you loved it when I gave it to you."

  "It was on Father's Day. You made me waffles for breakfast that day. I ate every bite. Then you gave me this watch."

  I turn away to hide my rising emotions. "I remember. I remember that day."

  "You told me I was the best father in the world. That was the best day of my life, Cady."

  I swallow hard to fight the tears but it doesn't help.

  "You said that whenever I looked at the watch I would know that you loved me at that minute, and the next too."

  I bow my head, the tears uncontrollable now as they slide down my cheeks.

  "I moved to Rome and two days later the watch stopped working." His voice vibrates with emotion. "I took it to get it fixed, but they couldn’t do anything."

  I feel his eyes on me but I remain stoic, the only outward sign of my emotions are the tears. "Why do you still wear it?"

  "I hope one day that the hands will move again." He taps the face of the watch with his index finger. "I want my girl to love me again."

  "I never stopped loving you, dad." I turn my gaze to the ground, inching it closer toward him. "I've been angry with you but I've always loved you."

  "I've always loved you too, Cady." He crosses his legs at the knee. I catch the movement from the corner of my eye. "I was forced to make a choice and I made the wrong one."

  "You love Asta," I say it calmly, finally turning to look at his face. "She was upset over what happened between us and she pushed you to give me up."

  "Don't make excuses for me," he goes on. "What I did was wrong. The love I had for her isn't the same as the love I have for you."

  I've never doubted that. I knew when he met Asta that she would become someone essential to him. He couldn’t get enough of her. When he was with her, he was happier than I'd ever seen him before.

  "I know, dad."

  "I'm not a perfect man." He chuckles as he swipes his hand over his face to chase away the tears. "I'll forever regret not standing beside you. I hate myself for walking away when you needed me."

  "Mom got me through it." I force myself to refrain from telling him how happy she is now. She met a man last year who has given her the only thing she's ever wanted, unconditional love. "I wouldn't have made it without her."

  He studies my face, his green eyes locking on mine. "I want to make it up to you, Cady. I want to start doing that today."

  If I was that fourteen-year-old girl who ached for her father's approval, his words may mean more than they do. I'm not her anymore. I'm an adult, one who has grown to understand that people will let you down and the best way to move on from that is to forgive them.

  I thought I'd done that until I saw him two days ago at Tyler's apartment. Anger overpowered everything else I was feeling. If forgiveness was there, it was buried beneath a mountain of frustration and rage.

  "We don't have to try and make this work, Sergio." I skim my gaze over his face. "It's too late to repair things at his point."

  His shoulders fall forward as a low noise escapes from the back of his throat. It's guttural and deep. There's pain woven into each note. His hands leap to his face, covering it as he sobs.

  I try to look away. I don't want this. I never wanted to be faced with his pain because I fucking knew it would mirror my own.

  "You are my girl," he whispers into his hands. "You are my little girl."

  "I'm not," I say, brushing another round of tears from my face. "I'm not her anymore. I'm a woman now. We can't go back in time."

  He sobs harder, each breath he takes more strained than the one before.

  "What we had is gone, daddy." I reach for his shoulder, but I fist my hand and pull it back before I touch him. "What's done is done."

  With those words, I slide off the bench and walk away, leaving him alone with his pain and regret.

  CHAPTER 16

  "Can I get a copy of all of these?" Tyler sifts through the headshot prints on the table between us. "I can't choose a favorite. I'm crazy about all of them."

  I slant my head to the side to look at the picture at the top of the pile. In it I'm dressed in a green blouse, holding a white ceramic bowl in my hands. I look happy and energetic thanks to the talent of Falon Shaw. When I met her at the television studio three days ago, she put me at ease immediately. We spent the next three hours working together to capture every shot that was on the list Barbara provided. We also took a few pictures of me at home, in my own kitchen, cooking a meal for Sophia.

  "They belong to the studio," I say with a grimace. "I can take a selfie and send you that."

  He smiles at the offer. "I have a bunch of photos of you on my phone."

  "You do not." I grin. "When did you ever take a picture of me?"

  His response is a push of his smartphone across the table toward me. I swipe my finger over the screen before I tap on the photo app. I open it and I'm greeted with several pictures of me in my apartment and one taken less than ten minutes ago inside Nova.

  "You're stealth, aren't you?" I tease. "I didn't realize you were taking these."

  I can't say I'm that surprised that he's captured me with the camera on his phone. We've only seen each other a couple of times since his birthday but on each of those nights, I took a picture of him when he wasn't looking.

  My schedule is filled with prepping for my first morning show appearance, and meeting with the web designer and social media manager that were hired by the studio.

  Tyler has devoted virtually every waking hour to Nova. Their soft launch is next week and although the restaurant doesn’t look ready for opening night, Tyler assures me it is.

  "Are they going to upload these to your website?" He pushes the top one aside to look at one of me at home, my hair pinned messily atop my head while I laugh at something Sophia said.

  "Some of them." I look over my shoulder to where Maribel is standing. She's been talking to a small group of employees since I arrived. "How's Maribel doing? She seems content."

  His gaze skims past my face to where she is. "She's good. I'm impressed with how she's handling her new position. I'm thinking of putting her in charge of the entrée station."

  It's a big step up for her. Heading that station is a position I would have coveted if I still worked here. I don't though, so it's becoming easier to feel happiness for Maribel. "She's a hard worker. I'm sure she'll do great."

  "I know it's not easy for you." He leans back in his chair. He's dressed as he always was when he was in the kitchen back at old Nova. He's wearing dark trousers and a white chef's jacket. He looks every inch the professional and consummate restaurateur and chef.

  The way he stared at me when I arrived made me weak in the knees. I'd chosen white shorts and a navy blouse when I dressed this morning knowing that I'd be seeing him. I'm hoping the bait I'm casting will land him in my bed again tonight.

  "We're never going to agree on the fact that I believe I should have gotten the senior chef job that you gave to Rolly."

  That draws a wicked smile to his lips. "I told you I admire your confidence, Chef. You're a strong and ambitious woman. That's one of the reasons I love you."

  My heart lurches as my lips part.

  "You're in love with her?" Maribel, as always, has the worst timing possible. She stops next to the table we're sitting beside. "Did you just say you love her, Chef?"

  His eyes brighten as he leans forward to rest his hands on his lap. "What's not to love? Just look at her, Maribel. Cadence Sutton is perfection and I'm the luckiest man in the world."

  CHAPTER 17

  "I meant what I said this morning," Tyler traces his index finger over my bare calf. "I love you. I know it's soon and probably scary as fuck
to hear me saying it, but it's true."

  "It's scarier than fuck," I tease as I close my eyes and lean back on the couch. "Is it really love if it happens this quickly?"

  "Give me a minute." He bends my knee so he can brush his lips against it. "Your legs are so smooth. Why haven't I noticed how smooth they are before?"

  I open my eyes to look at him. He's sitting on the couch at my feet. He'd stripped us both of our clothing when I first got to his apartment before he poured us one glass of red wine to share. He was in no rush to take me to bed. I'm not in a hurry to get there. I love that he's taking things slow, enjoying just being with me, talking and sharing.

  "I think I might love you too." I watch his face for a reaction. He gifts me with a soft smile.

  "You do love me." He glides his hand up my thigh. "I don't want you to say it until you're ready."

  "How will I know that I'm ready?"

  "Your heart will tell you," he says steadily. "It will feel so much that you'll have to express it. When that happens, you'll feel compelled to tell me that I'm the man of your dreams, the best lover you've ever had and that you love me."

  "My heart is going to tell me all of that?" I lift my arm over my head, feeling relaxed from his touch, enjoying how playful he's being.

  "All of that and more."

  I gasp when his fingers reach my pussy. He glides them along the seam. "What is your heart telling you right now, Cadence?"

  I let him part my thighs as he deepens his touch. I moan, unable to control the desire. "It's telling me it wants you."

  "I'll give it everything it wants and needs." His voice lowers as he pushes his finger inside me, edging me closer and closer to the pleasure I want to feel.

  ***

  "You can fuck all night, can't you?" I lean forward, pushing my tits into his face.

  He brushes his lips over my nipple, bringing it instantly to a hard pebbled point. "Not all night. You wear me down, Cadence."

  I laugh as I still, savoring the feeling of his rock hard cock inside of me. "You can go longer than me. You wore me out with your fingers."

  "Your cunt is sensitive." His tongue circles my nipple before he tugs it between his teeth. "I know just how to touch you to get you to come for me."

  That's not a lie.

  He proved that point when he brought me to the edge with just two of his fingers in my pussy and his lips on mine. I moaned into his mouth as I climaxed, my core clenching as the waves rolled through me.

  I begged him to stop then, covering my mound with my hands. He wasn't done and when he slid his fingers back over my wetness, I rocked my hips up. It felt too good not to let go. I clutched his wrist as I ground myself onto his fingers again. Just as I felt the orgasm cresting, he tugged a condom package from the pocket of his jeans that he'd taken off earlier. Then he sheathed himself and pulled me into his lap.

  "Ride me hard, Cadence." He pants as he holds tightly to my waist. "Use my dick to get yourself off."

  I rest my hands on his shoulders and push myself harder onto his cock. "I like it like this. I want to sit on you more."

  "You can sit on me anytime you fucking want." He drives his cock up and into me. "My dick, my face, or my hand. Sit on anything. This body is all yours. Use it."

  I do. I thrust up and down, grinding against his beautiful body until I come again.

  CHAPTER 18

  "I want you to be at Nova for the soft launch." He helps me step into my jeans. "It's important that you're by my side."

  I was planning on being there. I know that he's hired a PR company to send out invitations to the industry people that he wants there, but I didn't think there would be any question about whether I'd be in the restaurant when the doors open for the first time.

  "I'll be there," I say as I button up my white blouse. "Barbara may ask Percy to cover it for one of Rise and Shine's segments. I heard some whispers about that around the studio."

  "Around the studio?" His eyes dance. "I'm proud of you, Chef. I know you're doing your first segment tomorrow. Can I be there with you? I'll stand off to the side."

  "Tyler." I breathe deeply. "That would mean so much to me. I'd love if you were there."

  "I might have to wear a disguise." He rests his forehead against mine. "Pamela will be hanging around somewhere. I think she has a crush on me."

  "A crush?" I reach up to tap the tip of his nose with my finger. "That woman wants to fuck you, Chef."

  "What are you talking about?" he asks with a pathetic attempt at a straight face.

  "She was close to coming when you were demonstrating how to slice mushrooms." I step back to better gauge his reaction. "I heard those little moans she was making when she was grinding herself on that."

  I shamelessly look down at the front of his jeans.

  "That," he begins as his gaze follows mine. "That was dead asleep when Pamela was dry humping me. That woman has no shame."

  "She likes you." I adjust the collar of my blouse. "She flirted with you just as hard the other two times you were on the show."

  "That's nothing compared to the texts she was sending me." He rolls his eyes. "Pamela sent me a picture of her naked tits. Did I tell you that?"

  I laugh out loud. "She did not. You're not serious, are you?"

  "I should have showed it to you before I deleted it." He rakes both hands through his messy hair. "I don't know what she thought I'd do with that eyeful but it was too much."

  "You're too hot for your own good, Chef." My brows rise. "You must get propositioned all the time."

  "I get a few offers from time-to-time," he admits. "I'd pursue them before I met you."

  I'm not surprised by his honesty. Tyler has always been straight with me. It's who he is. "I would have chased you too if you wouldn’t have come on to me."

  "I came on to you?" He pushes a strand of my hair back behind my ear. "Is that what happened?"

  "You came to Skyn with Maribel because you knew I'd be there."

  His tongue slicks his bottom lip. "You're right. I came because I didn't want you going home with anyone else."

  "I knew it." My chin lifts. "I knew you weren't there just for a drink."

  "I came there for one reason and one reason only, Cadence." His tone lowers. "I saw you at Club Aeon the week before. You were dancing and having fun. You were also completely oblivious to how many men were staring at you, their dicks practically in their palms."

  I step back but his hands are on my waist before I can move again. "No one was staring at me."

  "You're wrong. Half of the men in that place couldn't take their eyes off of you." His grip tightens. "I should know. I was one of them."

  ***

  "I saw you," I admit. "I saw you at Club Aeon that night."

  "You did?" he whispers. "When did you see me?"

  "I was leaving," I say breathlessly. "You were by the exit. There was a woman with you."

  His brows jump. "I was with a woman? I don't remember that."

  Why does that fact make my heart leap? She was beautiful. I don't remember every detail but I know that I felt a stab of envy when I saw the two of them together. "She had dark hair. She was leaning against you."

  "You noticed all that?" The corner of his mouth rises. "What else did you notice?"

  She had perky tits that were practically spilling out of the top of the shirt she was wearing. Her lipstick was a deep shade of red and after I'd gone home I'd closed my eyes thinking about the lipstick rimming his cock. I had to chase that away with thoughts of my own mouth sliding over him, drinking his pleasure.

  "It doesn’t matter now."

  "She was nobody." He half-shrugs. "I can't tell you anything about her because there's nothing there. She was just a random who saw me on a cooking show and wanted to take me home."

  The obvious question is on the tip of my tongue but I don't spit it out.

  "I didn't touch her or anyone else. I wanted to fuck you that night." His finger trails over my collarbone through the she
er material of my blouse. "I thought about taking you from behind in the alley next to the club."

  A mental image of that overwhelms me. My dress bunched around my waist, my panties shredded from his eager touch and Tyler, with his jeans lowered just enough to free his cock, pounding himself into me while people walked on the sidewalk only a few feet from where we would have been.

  "I would have done it." I feel my cheeks flush. "I would have blown you in that alley too."

  His breath hitches. "Blow me now, Cadence. Show me what I missed that night.

  My hands are on his jeans before I drop to my knees. I free his cock. I flick my tongue to scoop up the bead of pre-cum and then I wrap my lips around the swollen head. He shudders through a low groan as I show him what could have been his that night.

  CHAPTER 19

  "I'm so nervous," I mutter to anyone within earshot. "Why did I agree to do this?"

  "Because you're a natural?" Barbara, in all her well-intentioned wisdom, thinks that is helpful. It would be if she didn't form it as a question.

  I'm set to go live for my first segment in less than ten minutes. I'm wearing a dark green dress that Sophia worked on most of last night so that it would be done in time for the show.

  The two of us are the only ones who know that the back of the dress is pinned shut. Sophia was distraught this morning when I put the dress on and it was too big. She grabbed her sewing kit, made me stand in place under the bright light in the bathroom and she literally pinned me into the dress. I can't take it off without her help. If I try, I'll end up with a bloody mess all over my back.

  I look fantastic though. The white apron I'm wearing today bears my name and a small logo of the show. I have no one to fall back on once I step on set. This is all me and it's freaking me the hell out right now.