Fay tilted her head up, hating that she was cowering from him. Blaze Carter didn’t control her.
“I don’t want to be here!” She growled.
Why did he make her feel this way? She didn’t even understand these feelings herself. Blaze had never hurt her, never threatened her, but he evoked such a rush of … what? He was her best friend’s older brother. Scary in his own way.
He’d been taking care of Blair for as long as Fay could remember. The two were close. They had each other, while she had no one.
“My date brought me here, but I … he…”
“What have you been told about going out to dinner with strangers?” he asked.
“Damn it, Blaze, enough.” She wanted to push him away, but that would involve her putting her hands on his body, and she wasn’t going to do that. She never touched Blaze.
Never.
“Did he kiss you, Fay? Did he touch you?”
Fay frowned as she looked up at him.
Time seemed to stand still. She had no idea what was happening. It was rare for him to say her name. She couldn’t recall the last time he had. He always referred to her as you, or girl, or it.
She’d never heard him say her name and now, what was that tone to his voice? Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe she was imagining things. This had to stop.
“I want to leave, okay?”
“Tell me.”
“Come on, Blaze, I didn’t even know you were fighting or doing anything like that.”
Blair had begged her brother to stop going to the fights. It frightened her to think of him getting hurt. Fay couldn’t disagree. The sheer violence she’d just witnessed made her feel sick to her stomach.
Blaze gripped her chin and tilted her head back. “Did he touch you?”
He wasn’t going to budge. She saw it in his eyes.
“No. No. He didn’t. What is it to you?” she asked.
“Because if he had, I’d be the one heading back into the ring and calling on him.”
“I don’t know what is going on with you. I’m sorry I stumbled on your … secret. I won’t tell Blair.”
“That’s a lie.”
“No, it’s not a lie. If she doesn’t ask, then I won’t tell.” That way she wouldn’t be lying to her best friend. She hated lying, especially to Blair.
Blaze still didn’t let go of her chin. His gaze stared right into hers, and at first, she didn’t know what the hell to do. She was held completely captive. Under his spell. No way to move.
This was hard for Fay. She had always been a little … attracted to Blaze. He was her best friend’s older brother. The man responsible for her, even before their parents had died. The one thing she and Blair had in common was that their parents hadn’t cared about them, not at all. Blaze was the one who took care of Blair.
Fay had no one.
Watching Blaze taking care of Blair over the years, from treating her after she got sick, to driving her to school, and even handling the bullies, Fay had developed a crush. One she knew was never going to work.
Blaze didn’t go for women like her.
She’d seen him with women. Slender, blonde women. That was his type. At least from what she’d seen. That was all he went for.
Not chubby, brown-haired women. Not her.
“Or maybe I just need to give you a memory that is a lot better than fighting.”
Fay’s gaze grew wide as the small gap between them evaporated as he pressed his very hard body against hers. She felt every single inch of him as he touched her. Even his—she swallowed—hard cock as it pressed against her stomach.
This couldn’t be happening.
****
Blaze had promised himself he’d never do anything to his sister’s best friend. He’d also sworn to Blair that he’d never go for Fay.
Sweet, sexy, slightly broken Fay.
The girl who was constantly around growing up, and he knew why. He’d been the one to take her home late at night. Witnessed her parents’ disregard for her. How they didn’t care about her. Never had.
From the time she was a little girl, she’d always been alone.
He knew that. Which was why he had no qualms about approaching her parents and telling them to kick her out the moment she was eighteen. Fay didn’t know he was responsible.
From the time he hit fourteen, he’d been terrifying to most men. It was how he’d gotten into the fighting business. Some of the men he’d fought for had never seen a boy with so much rage inside him. No, he didn’t have rage, but a thirst to win. He didn’t give a fuck what it took to get there.
With Fay kicked out, he was able to steer her in the direction he needed her. Not moving in with Blair, but to an apartment she couldn’t afford. He dealt with the landlord, providing the necessary money to leave her be and to allow her to live there. He was the one who took care of the bills to ensure she was safe and warm.