Page 20 of Blade's Return
Olivia chuckles softly.
“Are you hungry?” she asks. “I made grilled cheese. It’s not a huge dinner, but it settles Dad’s stomach. I make it fancy though, with three different types of cheese,” she adds with a wink.
I grin. “I thought you were spoiling me just by telling me you missed me and meeting me on the doorstep, but now with the offer of food? I’m certain of it.”
“You’re crazy,” she laughs.
I follow her into the kitchen. The counter’s cluttered, while music is playing softly on the radio. It’s so damn domestic it almost makes me laugh. I’ve broken bones, taken bullets, stood shoulder to shoulder with killers … but this? This right here feels dangerous in a whole different way. It also feels like being home after years of being lonely and isolated. I watch as she works, creating her magic with just cheese, bread, and butter. Eventually, she slides a plate toward me that is filled with three sandwiches. I don’t take it. Instead, I grab her waist and pull her in close. “Do you think about me when I’m not here?”
Her breath catches. “Way too much,” she says honestly.
Her words are spoken quietly, but with the force of a nine-pound hammer. It’s all the encouragement I need. I kiss her—slow at first, then deeper as she melts against me. Every bit of tension I’ve been carrying, every unspoken thought and unknown outcome that has been torturing me since talking to Bear and Hangman, disappears with the swirl of her tongue against mine.
When the kiss ends, she looks up at me, cheeks flushed. “Are you okay, Blade? You seem… off.”
I hesitate. Part of me wants to tell her everything—about Bear, about the club, about how close she’s getting to the parts of me she doesn’t even know exist. I know I can’t. In this instance, complete secrecy is needed. I don’t think Olivia would tell those she works with, but I can’t be sure—especially if she doesn’t like the fact that I am part of the club and that my brothers know more about guns than good intentions. I need to protect the club.
With a sigh, I continue to hold back the words that would either set us free or destroy us forever. “I’m good, Liv. Just … It has been a long day.”
She studies me, eyes sweet and gentle, filled with concern. “You don’t have to carry everything alone, you know.”
Christ, if she only knew. I brush a kiss onto her forehead. “Eat your sandwich before it gets cold.”
“Those are yours. I ate earlier.”
“I don’t like to eat alone. Here, you take one. You need to eat more anyway.”
“Did you just say I’m too skinny?” she huffs.
“You’re perfect. I just like your ass a lot and want to keep it the way it is. So, eat,” I counter with a grin.
“You’re horrible. I’ll get us something to drink.” She goes to the fridge and grabs me a beer and a bottle of water for herself.
I take a bite of the sandwich and nearly moan. “How in the fuck do you make something as simple as a grilled cheese taste like something that should be served at Per Se?”
“Per Se?” she asks, scrunching up her nose, clearly confused.
“A three-star Michelin restaurant in Manhattan. I’ll take you there sometime. The food is amazing.”
“It doesn’t really sound like my kind of place, Blade. You know, sometimes you’re so easygoing and casual that I forget you’re a big-city boy. It feels more like you grew up here,” she giggles, taking a bite of her sandwich.
“I’m a man of many talents, Usdi. I’ll show them all to you one day.”
Olivia’s eyes go big and wide. She gasps, getting strangled. I open her water for her, watching as she takes a drink—after calming her coughing. “You’re so bad,” she laughs.
We sit together and I listen to her as she tells me about her day at work. She’s trying to plan the annual Festival of the Arts, and it seems like all the main work is falling on her shoulders. She becomes so animated when she tells me about a local artist who has agreed to join this year. Her joy makes it easier to breathe. This woman is sunshine in a very dull and dark world.
But even while she’s smiling, all I can hear in my head is Bear’s warning that I might lose her. I can’t accept that. He’s wrong. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure of it.
Later, when Olivia’s curled up against me on her bed, her head on my chest, I make myself a promise. Tomorrow, I’ll start breaking down the walls between our two worlds. I’ll let her in—slowly, carefully—but not completely, at least not yet. I want her tied to me—to love me—before she knows who I really am. And if she can’t handle it … I won’t give her a choice. Olivia is mine and I will keep her.
Fuck, I’ll burn down anything that tries to come between us.
11 BLADE
Olivia’s house smells like coffee and muscle rub. The faint hum of the oxygen concentrator carries from the back bedroom where her father rests. The place is too quiet, too heavy. I’m sitting at her kitchen table, watching her move around the counter, pale under the harsh light, her movements small and tight like she’s holding everything together by will alone.
She finally turns, sliding two plates toward me—burgers she reheated from the takeout I brought with me earlier tonight—before her father got really bad. Olivia hasn’t taken a bite, just keeps running her thumb over a crack in the laminate countertop.
