Blazed by Corri Lee Page B

clothes I hadn't noticed were quite so big on me. The man had a great fashion sense— shame the same couldn't be said for his taste in women, though that lapse in judgement was now technically rectified if he'd seen sense. "You look great. Very London. Very much the multi-billionaire's prodigally alcoholic daughter."
    "Wow, thanks." I was suddenly far less keen on the blazer, vest and jeans combo if it made me look like a Tudor. There had been no shoe shopping, so the outfit was scruffed up with a pair of well-loved deck shoes.
    "Don't sweat it, you're still hotter than your sister."  Obviously.  "So have you tapped that yet?" Jonathan grinned at me cheekily and settled back down next to Daniel, who regarded me suspiciously. I was almost as transparent to him as I was to Blaze. "I knew you had that look about you. It's going to be two men in one day again, Emmy? I am in awe of you."
    "Oh, I..." My hair veiled my face as it filled with blood. "I think I've been used as a penile insertion point quite enough for one day." I looked up just in time to see Esme sit down next to Daniel and their exchanged glances.
    "Who's penile insertion point? Blaze?" She bit her lip to stifle a laugh. "Hallelujah, praise the lord. She finally nailed him. But this could get awkward because he just walked in."
    "What?"  
    Chris snorted grumpily next to me and scanned the room for a glimpse of Blaze. There he was , stood at the bar draped in a loose white cotton shirt and pinstripe trousers. "You should really drop your standards, Emmeline. Guys like that won't care about your quest to chase impossibly high standards and ideals because they think they have it all. He'll be expecting exceptional and preferential treatment because he's a pretty-boy with a loaded wallet and you'll end up in another one of your funks."
    "I'm already in one of my funks, Chris. She's been following me around all day." My pulse started to race when Blaze turned at the bar with a tray of six drinks and began to weave between the tables towards us. "And if you recall, I do drop my standards. Frequently. Don't tell me our nights together haven't been memorable because I'll call you a liar."  
    I stood when Blaze reached our table, and met his unusually cool gaze with one of my own, rife with confusion. Why had he come back? He looked fantastic, the shirt fitting the contours of the body I had spent an afternoon writhing against. God, I wanted him, and not just physically. I'd been so distracted by his disappearance that I'd been oblivious to the dull ache that had manifested in the depths of my chest in his absence — the acute need he'd left behind. It was a craving unlike any I'd ever known, and my point of relief stood only a foot away, looking stunning and smelling like expensive cologne and hot sex. He hadn't showered.
    "You look surprised to see me," he murmured so only I could hear.
    "You left."
    "I couldn't stay — couldn't fall asleep next to you and wake up with you in my arms. That would have been bad for both of us. But I couldn't go either." His voice cracked with sincerity, and I knew that he was one man who would be nothing but honest with me. I treasured that aspect of him. "No matter how many times I leave, I'll always be back. Remember that. So, is there room for one more in your coven?" 
    Nervously, I turned back to my four friends for their verdict. Esme and Jonathan were almost dancing in their places while Chris and Daniel shared aggrieved expressions, anticipating the inevitable disaster that would befall me. Daniel saw it, the bigger picture in the way our bodies leaned together and the fearful glint in our eyes. Chris saw nothing but an impending repeat performance of the keening and sobbing Hunter left behind when he visited, provided by a new source. They would always be standing on the sidelines waiting to be tagged into the ring.  
    And as Blaze took the seat next to me, I knew that when that firestorm of a disaster hit, we'd be thrown