Page 84 of Blade's Battle
“True, but I’d rather have you,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
“Are we still talking about the run?”
“Maybe.”
She laughed. God, he made her laugh so easily! “You’ll have me, Blade.”
Now his smile reached his eyes.
“Yes, in that way. I mean, you’re coming to the cabin with us, right? It gets rather cold up there at night and I’ll need someone to keep me warm.”
“Really? You’re okay with me coming?”
“Unless you prefer Frank keep me warm?” she teased.
He growled as he stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers. His tongue demanded entry and then swept through her mouth, drawing her in. She pushed up on her toes, eager to meet him stroke for stroke.
Okay, then. Frank is a definite ‘no’.
Blade’s hand held the back of her head, trapping her. He wasn’t going to let her pull away this time. And here she thought getting lost in her work was all-too-easy. No, she’d get lost in Blade. Already had. That last part was what worried her.
The way he was kissing her, holding her so possessively—so full of need—told her she had made the right choice. She couldn’t imagine being without him.
“No one warms you except me,” he said, loud and clear as he broke the kiss.
With her hands encircling his neck, she drew him down for another kiss, no longer caring who was watching.
* * *
BLADE
The run three nights ago had been fabulous, the best one in a long time and Blade knew the reason. Anna had been watching him from the rocks where he’d left her, waiting for his return. This was what life was meant to be. Surrounded by one’s pack, but having that one special woman to return to, to see her face light up when he drew near and to know that she was his.
And now he was trudging through the forest at a snail’s pace with his Angel and no privacy. Frank, Callen, and Pryce were escorting them to her cabin retreat, where she had been conducting her research after the WSSO destroyed her lab and sabotaged her government contract. Blade would have preferred spending his last few weeks with his pack on their territory, but as long as he had Anna by his side he didn’t care where they were.
“You’re awfully quiet this morning,” Blade said as he took her backpack from her, carefully slinging it over his shoulder so he wouldn’t jostle the fragile contents. Anna had taken dozens of blood and tissue samples from Tess, Damien, him, and many of the shifters who had been vaccinated and those who hadn’t.
Her sideways glance held the most devilish smile, one that had him picturing a poster bed and some ties. He hoped this place of hers had more than one bedroom. It was bad enough Frank, Callen, and Pryce would be staying with them, but his Angel didn’t do so well with an audience.
“I’m thinking about what I have to do to test my theories.”
Never had he seen her eyes so bright with excitement. Damien had been right to send her off to continue her research. She needed this, a purpose. Her work would give her the motivation to keep moving forward long after he was gone.
“Are we close?” she asked.
For as much as his Angel knew about shifter genetics, she had no concept of distance and time when it came to hiking through the woods.
“About two hours still, assuming the coordinates you gave were right,” Callen answered. “Blade, go scout ahead. Make sure the area’s clear. I’m scenting something in the wind I can’t quite identify.”
Blade scented. The scent had a slight tanginess to it, but he didn’t recognize who or what had made it.
“Here, I can carry that,” Anna said, taking the pack back from him. “Go do your thing.”
“You’ll be okay?” He wasn’t eager to leave her side, even though his brothers would protect her with their lives.
“Of course, I will. Callen’s here, and Frank and Pryce are nearby. I think.”
“Right here,” Frank shouted from somewhere behind them.
