Page 15 of Blade's Battle
Work for it?All of a sudden she was warm everywhere and her imagination was going places it shouldn’t. Why? What about him reminded her of Kurt? There had to be something to explain the level of ease she felt with him.
Blade had dark hair, eyes, and skin tone, and a slight beard that balanced his thick hair. Kurt had had dark-blond hair, pale-blue eyes, and had been clean-shaven. She knew every detail of Kurt’s life, and practically nothing about Blade’s. What little she knew about the shifter was that he was a good shifter who would protect her and keep his promise to get her home.
“When I was younger,” Blade began, rescuing her from her own traitorous thoughts. “I spent a lot of time throwing knives, which my family and pack thought was a waste of time. Wolves don’t need knives. Or guns. Simple.”
Simple? Nothing about him or this situation was simple. There was an easiness about Blade that reminded her of Kurt, but he wasn’t Kurt and she had to remember that.
“You tell me the story about your nickname, but avoid telling me your given name. It makes a girl wonder.”
“Like I said, if you want to know, you can work for it.” He waggled his brows.
She didn’t bother trying to hide her smile this time. “Okay, your turn.”
“What do you do for a living?” he asked.
“I’m a genetic engineer. Pretty boring, huh?”
“More like impressive. Then again, there aren’t a lot of shifters with higher education.”
“I know,” she said with a note of disappointment in her voice. Blade fell quiet and looked tense. Had she insulted him? “That didn’t come out right. I mean it’s a shame so many shifters don’t feel safe enough to go to college. They shouldn’t be stuck in a pack.”
“It’s not a safety issue. And most aren’tstuck.”
“Then what is it?”
“Is that your final question?”
“Sure,” she said with a shrug. She didn’t care what he talked about. Listening to him talk about anything, just having someone to talk to after such a long time, felt sonormal. She didn’t talk with Drake and his shifters, not after that first week of trying to convince them to let her go. Talking or doing anything to gain their attention had only invited trouble. But Blade wasn’t a threat, and he was smart, funny, and interesting.
“Humans don’t want us around. Simple as that, Angel. You don’t know what it’s like being with others who don’t accept you for who you are, or what it’s like having to prove you’re as good as they are, day in and day out.”
“I don’t think you realize how similar humans and shifters are.”
“More like you don’t realize howdifferenthumans and shifters are.”
That ache of guilt and loneliness returned. Shehadn’trealized how different humans and shifters were, and that was what had killed Kurt in the end. She had been too lost in her love for him to take into account their differences, and to properly weigh the risks of blood-bonding beyond the obvious weakening of Kurt’s shifter abilities. She had lacked objectivity and foresight, and it had cost Kurt his life.
With two fingers, Blade stroked her cheek, sending the most amazing tingling through her. “What are you thinking? You went somewhere out of your head just now.”
She raised her eyes as his lips drew near. Then he pushed a lock of hair away from her face, taking her breath away. It was such a simple, innocent touch. Why couldn’t that be Kurt standing there, ready to take her in his arms?
Even as those deep brown eyes of Blade’s caught her, she forced herself to pull away. She was dirty, smelled and was too broken. She needed to heal, to escape these woods, and to accept all that had happened. “I’m just glad to be away from Drake and his pack.”
Blade’s expression softened. “Not all shifters are like Drake.”
“You know him pretty well, don’t you?”
He hissed. He actually hissed.
“I’m nothing like that bastard.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“The only reason I was in his territory, looking for you, was because my alpha ordered it.”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t. . .” Her skin felt cool, clammy even, as she looked away. She’d put her foot in her mouth again. Would he leave her out here now that she’d insulted him a second time in as many minutes?
The back of his hand caressed her cheek. “I shouldn’t have gotten short with you,” he said, his voice soft and genuine. “Being compared to Drake, even unintentionally, aggravates my wolf.”
