Page 90 of Blades of Obsession

Blades pushes off the door frame. “But I prefer a knife. A gun is too easy, just a simple pull of a trigger. Where’s the fun in that?”

Mr. Adams shoots a look at him, then quickly pulls his hand away from my thigh. “Fuck,” he mumbles, clearing his throat and standing up. “So Amelia, like I was saying about the project—”

“Cut the crap,” Blade snaps. “I heard everything.”

Mr. Adams tries, but fails, to stammer out an excuse, but the words die in his throat when Blade fixes him with a cold, icy glare.

“You must want to die today, huh?” Blade’s voice slices through the air like a knife itself, sharp and simmering with rage.

Mr. Adams blanches, the bravado he had a second ago quickly crumbling, and that brings me a world of satisfaction. The creep. “I-I didn’t mean—”

“Shut up,” Blade growls, taking a step closer to him. “Surely you didn’t think you’d get away with this and still walk away alive.”

Mr. Adams looks like he wants to melt into the floor, his face drained of color. The room falls into a tense silence, the only sound I hear is my ragged breathing.

Blade turns to me, his expression softening. “Are you okay, baby?” I nod, though I’m still shaken. He glances back to Mr. Adams, but his words are meant for me. “Drive my car back, I’ll be there soon.”

I shake my head, knowing exactly what that means. Despite everything, I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Not even Mr. Adams, even though he’s a disgusting piece of shit. “Hurting him isn’t worth it. We can just report him to the board. We both have our words.”

Blade’s jaw tightens. “Amelia…”

“No. I don’t want anyone hurt because of me. I would never get it off my conscience. I’m not leaving.”

He exhales deeply, a conflicted expression crossing his face as he appears to wrestle with his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he nods. “Okay.” He turns to Mr. Adams, his body radiating anger, though his voice stays eerily calm. He must’ve mastered how to keep a calm voice when he’s angry. “She gets an A for the project. No, an A plus. She’s transferring out of this class, you stay your lousy self away from her, and count your fucking days.”

Mr. Adams nods and doesn’t say a word.

Blade outstretches his hand to me, and I take it, feeling relieved that this situation is all over. The project too—I was stressing that if I had turned it in, I’d get a bad grade. We walk towards the side door together. Blade calls over his shoulder, “Oh, and we walk around like we own the place because we do.” The door slams shut just as he gets out the last word.

As we step into the hallway, I notice something I hadn’t before—Blade is shaking, his whole body, and he’s breathing erratically.

“You’re shaking. Hey, you gotta calm down. You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack.”

“You don’t know how much strength it took to leave that classroom without bashing his fucking head in.” He starts rambling, the words pouring out in a rush, barely intelligible. “I swear, if he’s not gone by next week, I’ll—”

I pull him to the side, and do the only thing I can think of to calm him down. I kiss him, pressing my lips to his, silencing his torrent of anger.

He responds almost immediately, his hands gripping my waist tightly, pulling me close. His fingers dig into my hips harshly, echoing his anger. I can feel his heartbeat, fast and erratic, but it starts to slow as the kiss deepens, his body relaxing against mine. I pour everything I have into the kiss, I hate seeing him angry or upset.

When we finally break apart, both of us are breathless, but I manage to say, “If you keep saying crazy stuff, I’ll have to kiss you again.”

His eyes glint with a tinge of amusement. “Crazy stuff, crazy stuff, crazy stuff. Now kiss me.”

I laugh, a sound that feels like a release of all the tension that’s been building over the past week. Leaning in, I give him a light, teasing kiss. “That’s all you get.”

“C’mon,” he groans. “You can’t leave me hanging like that.”

“Nope,” I say, grinning. “You’ll just have to behave if you want more.”

“Oh, nowI’mthe one who has to behave, huh?” He steps closer. “I thought that was your job.”

I bite my lip. He unexpectedly grips my ass and I gasp, catching his arm and pulling it away. “Not here,” I whisper-yell, my eyes darting left and right. I’m relieved to find that no one is watching our intimate moment. I forgot we were even in the hallway for a second.

He pouts dramatically, putting on a show, and I laugh again. We continue down the hallways, his arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me close until we make it outside to the VIP student parking. It’s just a parking pass up close to the building that costs… well, I don’t know how much it costs. Come to think of it, I don’t know the prices of much of anything around here anymore. Blade just always handles it, or if I’m alone, I pick up what I want, and the cashier never even tells me the total.

When we reach the car, Blade opens the door for me and reaches over to buckle in my seatbelt. This is how our routine has been for a while—he drops me off at class in the morning, meets me outside of my last class of the day, and we head back to his place. The car door opening and seatbelt buckling have become everyday gestures as well. And I like it. I like the little gestures that show he cares.

As we drive, just a few minutes from the mansion, Blade speaks up, “We’re going on a trip tomorrow.”

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