Page 10 of Playing With Piper

“Were we always like this?” I ask Blade softly. He glances down at me. From this angle, his features look sharper, but there’s an air of calm exuding from him.

“Like what?” He shifts until he’s face to face with me.

“I don’t know… Toxic?”

“I used to sneak in through your bedroom window to watch you sleep, Piper. I don’t think there wasevera time when I could be normal about you. You drive me fucking crazy, and I’m okay with that. It doesn’t bother me because even though you act shocked and disgusted by my actions, we both know you love it. That’s why you were so willing to fuck your stalker. Whether you like it or not, you’re just as crazy as I am,” Blade answers evenly. I want to argue with him and tell him he’s wrong, but Blade has never been one to lie. We fall into silence for a while before-

“You used to watch me sleep?” I nearly gasp when I realize what he said.

“Piper, I’ve only been stalking you for about a year, but you’ve always had my attention,” he confides,and I sit up beside him. Blade’s muscles flex as he positions his arms behind his head. His dark hair is messy, and there’s a lazy smile playing on his features when he sees my jaw drop.

“Don’t say shit like that to me, Blade?” I groan, slapping his stomach lightly. His fingertips dance circles onto the skin of my thighs. I’ll get the patterns tattooed on me if he doesn’t stop.

“Why’s that, baby?” Blade teases. I glare at him in the darkened room. He knows exactly why. Blade has expressed to me his distaste for two things a thousand times. Condoms and children. I’m not sure how we’ve managed to avoid a shitty situation this long, and Blade likes to try his luck every time we’re together.

“Because if you don’t chill, we might have to postpone our plans of becoming serial killers to endure the unfortunate task of raising a child,” I deadpan. Blade cackles at my statement. This is serious. As badly as I love Blade, I will not be burdened with another person to keep alive in the midst of this chaos. I clearly don’t make smart decisions judging by the events I’ve allowed and willingly indulged in tonight.

“I’m serious about this, Blade. If you want them dead, then I’ll follow you. But, we have to be smart about this. We’re not even sure why you got shot in the first place, but-”

“I know why, Piper,” Blade sighs reluctantly. His shoulders drop when he says it, and another waveof anger rolls over me. I stare at him for a moment, trying to breathe through my frustration with him.

“You knew?” I ask him quietly, offended that he hadn’t mentioned it before.

“Not when it happened, Piper. Jesus, if I did then they would’ve been dead the day I got out of the intensive care unit,” Blade tells me. I sigh, relenting my anger.

“Tell me,” I demand from him, finally laying back down beside him. Blade’s hand finds my hair again, and for a moment, I pretend that everything is fine. Like this whole thing is perfectly normal. We are two, very normal, twenty-four-year-olds in love, and wedefinitelyaren’t scheming and plotting in the midst of fucking and kissing. Is it normal to be so turned on at the thought of a man, who is completely in love and obsessed with me, murdering people for the sake of protecting me and getting justice? The magic eight ball saystry again later.

“Hired hitman,” Blade mumbles. I look at him with wide eyes. As I stare at him, I realize just how exhausted Blade looks. The darkness in his eyes seems to be leaking down his cheeks with how dense the shadows are under his eyelashes.

“Someone waspaidto shoot you?” I ask incredulously. Blade shakes his head.

“No, they were paid tokillme. Turns out, he wasn’t a very good shooter,” Blade shrugs nonchalantly.

“Yet, you ended up in the ICU…” I trail off, looking at him like he’s insane. Honestly, he might be.

“I was being dramatic,” he waves me off. Oh, okay. I shake my head, settling against his chest. His heartbeat sounds like my favorite memory.

“Of course, you were,” I mumble, closing my eyes. His hand trails down my bare back, drawing lines up and down spine.

“Don’t fall asleep, baby,” Blade hums.

“Why not?” I whine, muscles relaxing further as I breathe out.

“Shower,” he answers like it’s obvious. My groan is answer enough, and it causes Blade to laugh lightly.

“Don’t be a brat, Piper.”

“Youlovewhen I’m a brat.”

He falls silent then huffs before slipping out from under me. Before I can continue with my complaints, warm hands are slipping under my legs and back, and I’m being torn from the warm covers. I yelp in surprise, wrapping my arms around Blade’s neck. We laugh together, and I feel peace wash over my soul. Even if it’s fleeting, I welcome it.

Silently, Blade carries me bridal style to the bathroom. If I didn’t already know that he’s been in my house a thousand times before this, I think there would’ve been some serious questions about how he managed to get through my house in nearly totaldarkness. Blade flicks the light on, and I squint as he places my feet gently onto the cold tile.

We settle into comfortable silence as the bathtub fills with warm water. I wait patiently with my eyes closed, swaying silently as I hug my arms to my bare chest. A few minutes later, the water shuts off, and Blade’s warm hand caresses my arm gently.

I smile lazily at him and press a soft kiss to his tattooed bicep. Then, I lift myself onto my tiptoes and pucker my lips. Blade gets the idea and leans down enough for me to press my lips softly against his. Our lips move slowly, lovingly, against each other. I’ve never believed in anything more than I have in Blade. My chest aches for him as I slip my hands into his hair, trying to pull myself closer to him. Blade slips his hands under my thighs, pulling me up, so he can hold me. I wrap my thighs around his waist tightly before kissing him harder. A whimper slips out, and I’m painfully aware of the heat growing between my legs again. I will never be satiated as long as Blade is still around. I will fully indulge in everything he has to offer, and I will never grow tired of it. Tears burn behind my closed eyes as I try to get impossibly closer to him.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Blade whispers against my lips. He pulls back to look at me, and I’m mesmerized by the amount of concern and love swirling in his green eyes. My heart sinks at the thought that he might not have ever seen those same emotions in myown eyes. Has he ever been able to detect how much love I have for him just by looking into my eyes?

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