Page 101 of Blade's Battle
“Again with the challenge? I guess you haven’t learned a thing about me, he said as he lifted her dress and swatted her ass hard.
Her cheeks reddened. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“No one here. We’re all alone.”
“Just the same, first chance I get, I’m heading into the nearest town and buying more jeans. These dresses make things too easy for you.”
He slipped his hand under her panties and caressed her ass. “And here I envisioned you walking around in less clothing, not more.”
She turned bright red and pushed him away. “You’re terrible.”
She smiled despite her obvious embarrassment. It was nice to see her having fun. He took her hand to help her through the rockier part of the climb. Once they reached the summit, she stared out at the view. As she soaked in the grandeur of the canyon below, she raised her chin and closed her eyes, bathing her face in sunshine. Her features were as beautiful as the view, but her skin had lost its rich color. Too much time in that damn lab.
“Anna, I think you should stop the research. On both projects.”
“What? No. First off, one project is on hold while I await results. And I’m so close on the activation of Tess’s DNA. I realize I’ve been pushing myself harder than I should, but I can’t stop now. This is too important.”
“You’re tired, and—”
“This is for Tess and all the others. If it weren’t for her—” She choked up, couldn’t talk for a minute. “Tess kept me sane, Blade, at a time I was about to give up. And then she sent you to me! Where would I be if you hadn’t come?”
Images of how abused Anna had been—starving, dirty, naked, beaten. . . scared, so very scared—assailed him. He’d almost forgotten about how they’d met, how Tess had fought so hard for Anna before she even made it out of Drake’s compound. Anna would probably be dead if Tess hadn’t fought for her. Now, Anna was fighting for Tess. . . and maybe herself. She needed to have a win, to be able to save someone after all that she’d lost.
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
“Try to be patient a little while longer, okay?”
“You know it’s unfair. You flash me that smile and I forget whatever I was saying. I’m never going to win an argument, am I?” Her smile widened. Yup, he’d lose every time. Then she tilted her head for a kiss. He was the luckiest shifter in the world.
“Tell you what, let’s go back in a few days to blood-bond. Then we can return here,” she said.
“No honeymoon?”
“We’ll bealone.No Death Squad necessary. We’ll have miles and miles of empty territory to explore. . . each other.”
“Keep talking like that and I’ll take you up against that tree right now.”
“No condom,” she said that put an end to it. He wouldn’t mind a baby, in fact, the idea sounded really nice, but they’d have to discuss it first. He had a feeling her research came first at this point. She was leaning against him now, more relaxed than he’d seen her in a while.
“The view is spectacular up here. Thanks for bringing me.”
He kissed the top of her head as he took her hand and led her to the surprise he and Frank had been working on. She gazed up at the steel cable that started near the central trunk of a pine and descended over the valley to a platform some thousand feet across. “This is fantastic! I can’t believe you found a zip line out here in the middle of nowhere.”
He reached into a bag at the base of the tree and withdrew a harness and gloves. “Frank and I built it.”
“Are you serious?” She eyed the zip line that spanned the gorge. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“We’ve tested it several times.”
“When? How?”
“Angel, you’ve been buried in your work longer than you realize. That leaves us a lot of hours out here without much to do except run and hunt which can be tedious after a while. Frank’s like a brother to me, but he’s not much of a talker. He is, however, a mechanical whiz.”
As he secured the harness on her, she peered over the edge. The drop to the river below was at least five hundred feet. “I’m not sure about this.”
“Would I put you in danger?”
Just like that, her excitement returned and her hesitation washed away. It made him want to shift and prance at how easily and completely she trusted him. First, he wanted to watch his Angel fly. As she slipped the gloves on, he explained the process to her, including the automated braking system. Her smile said it all. His Anna loved the outdoors, loved life. She’d been wasting away, hunched over a microscope for too long. It was his job to make sure she didn’t lose herself in her work.
