Page 5 of Blade's Princess

Someone put their hands on her. Hurt her.

Chapter 3

Sophie

A sharp tapping jerks me from a fitful sleep. My heart hammers against my ribs as I bolt upright, disoriented. Nightmares of Aunt Margaret's rage blur with reality as my eyes struggle to focus in the darkness.

Another rap. Firmer this time.

I blink away sleep and confusion, registering the fogged windows of my car, the cramped position of my limbs, the bone-deep chill that's settled into my body despite the oversized shirt I'm wearing.Hisshirt.

A figure looms outside my driver's side window, broad-shouldered and intimidating. Fear spikes through me until my eyes adjust to the darkness and I see a face I've been fantasizing about for three days straight.

My teeth chatter as I stare up at him, wondering if I'm dreaming.

"Sophie." My name in his deep guttural growl sounds like both a prayer and a curse. His eyes track over my face, lingering on my eye. Oh, darn. I know it's swollen, I can feel it. It's probably discolored as well. "Open the door."

It's not a question. Not quite a command either, but something in between—a certainty that I will comply. And I do, fingers fumbling with the handle until the door creaks open.

He crouches beside the car, bringing himself to my eye level, and the gesture touches something fragile inside me. I still can't fathom the way this huge man tries to appear less threatening in front of me rather than use his height to intimidate me.

"What are you doing sleeping in a car?" His voice is controlled, but anger simmers beneath the surface. I flinch reflexively, and his expression softens. "It's below freezing."

I tug the sleeves of his thermal over my hands, suddenly self-conscious. The shirt still smells of him a little. "I—I sometimes sleep out here when..." What can I say? My mind is too foggy to come up with a reasonable excuse. My split lip throbs as I speak.

His jaw clenches, eyes hardening as they catalog my face. I know what he sees—black eye, split lip, finger-shaped bruises along my jaw and peeking out from under my collar.

"Who did this to you?" The question lands like a physical weight between us.

I look away, shame burning through me.

"I...um... I'm clumsy." I wince at how stupid I sound. It's an obvious lie.

"Bullshit."

The raw anger in that single word makes me flinch again. He notices and takes a deep breath, visibly reining himself in. One large hand curls into a fist by his thigh, then slowly unclenches.

"Who?" he asks again, gentler this time but no less insistent.

Something about this moment—his presence, his concern, the quiet determination in his eyes—breaks through walls I've been building for years. My lip trembles.

"My aunt," I admit, the words barely audible. "She was angry about..." I swallow hard, wincing at the pain in my throat where her fingers had squeezed. “She was angry.”

His eyes flick to the thermal I'm wearing, that Ive been wearing to bed every night—wrapped around me like a security blanket. Something dangerous flashes across his face, there and gone so quickly I might have imagined it.

"You're coming with me." Again, not quite a command but a statement of fact. He stands, extending a hand into the car.

Panic flares. "I can't. I—she'll—" My words stumble over each other as my breathing quickens. "Max. She'll hurt Max."

"Max?"

"Her dog. A German Shepherd." My voice cracks as tears threaten. "She locks him in his crate without food or water or exercise when she's angry with me." A sob catches in my throat. "He's the only comfort I have here and I can't let her hurt him because of me."

Blade studies me for a long moment, those intense eyes seeming to read every thought flashing through my mind. "I'll take care of the dog. But first things first—let’s go.”

I hesitate, torn. Aunt Margaret kicked me out of the house for the night, but she'll be livid if I'm not there in the morning doing my chores. She might take the baseball bat to me again, and I'll survive it, but what if she hits Max instead? She's done it before. I still remember Madison and Brittany laughing while I begged, pleaded, and cried for her to stop. I couldn't bear it if?—

"But Max..."

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