Page 27 of Blade's Return
“If we are a couple?” I echo. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean, Livy?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” she responds quietly. I take a large step closer, the distance between us shrinking quickly. “We’ve been eating dinner together almost every night. We talk every day. You sleep in my fucking arms. What the fuck are we if we’re not a couple?”
Olivia blinks, her voice quieter as she murmurs, “After yesterday and today, I figured we were nothing.”
A growl escapes me before I can stop it. I close the last of the space between us. “Fuck that. You’re mine, Olivia. I’m not giving you up. We can figure the rest of this bullshit out, but I’m not letting you go.”
“Blade—” she starts, but I cut her off the only way I know how.
I kiss her.
It’s rough, desperate, and full of everything I’ve been holding back. She gasps against my mouth, then melts into me. Her hands clutch my shirt as mine slide into her hair. The taste of her, the sound of her breath—it all hits like fire through dry grass. The world narrows to this one impossible, perfect, maddening moment. When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard. Her lips are swollen, her eyes wide and dark. She’s fucking gorgeous.
“Now,” I rasp, “tell me, Livy. What the fuck are we?”
She swallows. “I’m … not sure.”
“Then I guess I need to show you.”
Before she can protest, I scoop her up, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. She gasps, hands flying to my shoulders.
“Blade, what are you doing?”
“Showing you exactly what we are to each other,” I growl, still pissed over her words. I carry her down the short hall to her bedroom. The door’s cracked and I kick it open. I all but toss her on the bed, letting her fall through the air. Her body hits the mattress with enough force that her body bounces upon contact. She’s clearly startled. I’d enjoy that if she didn’t have me so unbelievably mad. When she starts to get up, I shake my head no. Her body completely freezes. “Don’t you fucking move,” I clip out—each word a struggle to say.
To her credit, she stops moving. I turn to close the bedroom door. Closing it quickly, I turn and cross my arms against my chest, lean against it and just stare at her. I know I need to get control of my anger before I go back to her.
“You’re going to wake Dad,” she whispers.
That spurs me on. She just doesn’t get it, but by God, she will before the night is done. I tug my shirt over my head, toss it aside. “Then you’ll have to be quiet, Usdi.”
Her eyes go wide, her breath catches, and for a heartbeat everything is suspended—me, her, and the space between us. It’s a space that is small, but huge because it represents what we want and what we’re afraid to reach for.
I kick off my shoes, leaning down to take off my socks—never letting my gaze leave hers. I finally get my feet to move, walking closer to her as I undo my pants.
“Blade, maybe we should …”
She stops talking as I lean down, wrap my hand against the back of her neck and pull her mouth up to meet mine so that I can kiss her again. The world fades to the rhythm of her breath and the pounding in my chest, the rest of it—fear, loyalty, doubt—leaves me at once. Now, there’s only the two of us and the hunger that is raging between us. Nothing is going to stop us from finally claiming one another. I’m going to prove to her that she is mine, and I am hers—and anything that tries to come between us, I will destroy. I’m done waiting for Olivia to give in to me. Tonight, I will take Olivia, and I’ll make sure she loves every single damned minute of it. When we’re done, she will never run from me again. If she tries?
I’ll fuck her into submission.
15 OLIVIA
My trepidation mixes with desire.
I want Blake, even with the fight and trouble between us. It’s not like I’m good at this kind of thing, though. I should probably warn him about that. I would, but it feels like my brain is frozen. I can’t seem to peel my gaze away from him as he undresses. Fear is rising inside of me, but at the same time I’m turned on. The only time I’ve felt mildly sexual was with Bear. It never reached this intense type of feeling though. That was probably because it ended before Bear, and I got to that point. I know what happened was how things were supposed to be. He and Ayita are happy, but it hurt. It also made me feel inadequate all over again. I never asked him, but I’ve always felt I lacked something for him. If not, he would have stopped dating Ayita when we began talking again. After all, I knew the minute Ayita was thinking of being in a true relationship with Bear and it was only a couple of weeks after Bear, and I met again. He could have ended it with her if he truly wanted me in his life. Over the years, I’ve realized that Bear does truly love Ayita. The man is also a protector by nature, and he would never want to hurt her. I love Ayita too, so I understand. I couldn’t build my happiness on her pain.
“What are you thinking Usdi?” Blade asks, and I realize that I let my thoughts pull me away from what is going on.
Blade is standing at the foot of the bed, staring down at me. His pants and belt are undone. I look up at him and this man is beautiful. His chest is beautiful and massive. He’s covered in tribal designed tatts and as always when I see him like this, it’s unexpected. I thought since he was an attorney and did his work in conference rooms or whatever, he’d not be into inking his body. With my history, I thought I’d dislike it. I don’t. He’s beautiful. I imagine if he let his short hair grow longer, he’d look like a Viking conqueror and that makes my body heat in reaction. I push thoughts of Bear away. He can’t be in my life in that way and it’s disrespectful to what Blade and I could share. Bear is my past, and I’m praying that Blade is my future. Of course, while wondering if he is, thoughts of my brother spring to mind. I need to tell Blade the truth. It’s something he deserves to know. I’m on the verge of telling him when I can only gasp because Blade is leaning over me, arms brace on each side of my body and his intense eyes staring into mine.
“Blade,” I pant, “I need to talk to?—”
“The time for words is over, Livy. Now, the only talking that will be done is with our bodies. You thought you could push me away, toss away what we have together as if it was nothing. That will not happen, baby. You and I are going to make this work. I will fight for it. I will go to war for it. I will even fight you my beautiful, Usdi, if it means keeping you in my life and in my bed. I won’t let you get rid of me.”
“Blade …” I whisper, his words undoing me.
“I love you, my beautiful Usdi. I love you and somewhere deep inside of you, you love me. I know you do. You just need to believe that you are safe with me, because you absolutely, fucking are.”
