Page 65 of The Devil's Redemption

The last party I went to, I ended up as the party favor.

As quickly as the thought of being tied up in the middle of that room enters my mind, I shove it right back out again.

“Okay, we don’t have to hang if you don’t want to,” Blade explains.

“But I want you to go if you want to go. I’m fine hanging out in your room by myself.”

“What would you do up here, all alone, little girl?”

Blade pushes off of his dresser and stalks toward me. Playing with him a little, I bite my lip and lay my arm on my lap so my hand is hanging down between my legs.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure I could findsomethingto do to pass the time.”

His playful face turns serious, and for a second, I’m actually a little scared. I haven’t seen that look on his face since he found me in the hotel room.

“If you’re going to tease me, little girl, you’d better be prepared to act on it, or deal with the consequences.”

I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat.

Oh, shit.

I crawl backward toward the headboard as he reaches the bed. My breath escapes me and I shiver as I remember trying to get away from Tweedledee and Tweedledum at Jasper’s clubhouse.

Immediately, the severity in Blade’s stare softens. He sits down in front of me with one leg hanging off the bed and grabs hold of my hands.

“Jesus, you’re cold as ice,” he exclaims.

Tugging his blanket out from under me, he wraps it around my shoulders and moves me onto his lap.

“Fuck, Sasha. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

I concentrate on my breathing as he rubs my arms, trying to deliver more warmth to me. Finally, after a minute or two, I’m able to speak.

“I—I’m sorry,” I mutter.

“Don’t fucking apologize. It’s me who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay. It’s just going to take more practice, pushing the thoughts and flashbacks from my mind. That’s all. I don’t want you to not act a certain way. I love you. I love everything about you, from the way you take care of me to the dangerous way you stalked over here. For a brief moment, I was turned on. But… I just couldn’t keep the thoughts from taking over.”

He hugs me tighter to him.

“I love everything about you, too, little girl.”

His words bring a smile to my face. I like who I am when I’m with him. I’m not going to lie, I almost miss our bickering. There was a little of it the other day before I jumped his bones after finding out about Lizzy and the Doxies.

Hmm… That gives me an idea.

“Maybe I will go to the party tomorrow,” I tell him.

“Oh yeah? You sure?”

“Yeah, maybe. It could be fun. I could get the chance to tell Lizzy off.”

That little Betty Bitch.

“I would pay money to see that,” he admits.

“You’d bet on me, obviously, right?”

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