Page 28 of Blade's Battle
Gently, he pulled her hand from his cheek and kissed her palm. “You didn’t hurt me. Shifter here. Quick healer. Remember?”
Kurt had never been a quick healer.
Blade’s brows pinched as he kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, Angel. A mere slap, and a deserved one at that. I’m not angry at you, just myself.”
Her head eased against his chest as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to memorize the nuances of his scent, the hint of trees and sunshine mixed with his own personal musk. Blade smelled like her own slice of heaven.
“I came to say goodbye,” she said.
He pulled back suddenly. “What do you mean ‘goodbye’?”
“I have to leave tonight.” The moment she said it, she felt like she was abandoning him, and it didn’t sit well with her. She had stayed with Kurt until the end, never once thought of leaving him. Blade had his whole life ahead of him, and she had both Drake and the WSSO after her. Blade had already been shot because of her.
Blade’s shoulders tensed and he lifted his head, listening in every direction as if he was on full alert, and yet those deep brown eyes had locked onto her. She needed to go before Liam’s shifters returned from Drake’s. Once they learned who she was, there’d be no escape.
Blade looked out the window. The sun was already setting. No doubt he had figured out that her leaving wasn’t exactly with Liam’s permission. “We can’t leave quite yet.”
We? No!Blade had done his job. He’d rescued her from Drake. The rest was up to her.
“I screwed up, Blade. I told them Drake has a cure to the shifter virus, and Liam sent shifters to Drake’s. They’ll tell Drake I’m here.” She shook her head. “I won’t let him take me back.”
Blade considered it for a moment, looking anything but mad. Contemplative, but not mad. “If we go now, Liam will send every shifter he has after us.”
“That’s why I’m going alone. Besides, your part is done. Thank you for all you’ve done, but you didn’t sign on as my personal bodyguard. You should go back to your pack now.”
“Like hell, I’d let you leave alone. You’ll haveshifterstracking you, Anna. We stay here until we don’t have a choice if it comes to that. Liam won’t hand you over, not without good reason.”
“You don’t know that, and you’re not exactly his favorite shifter.”
“I only care that I’m your favorite shifter, Angel. The rest of them can go to hell.”
Chapter Five
BLADE
Anna stood there, a vision he’d never fully appreciated before. She’d showered, and her blonde, curly, hair hung in one glorious waterfall around her head to an inch past her shoulders, like a waterfall spun of golden sunshine. The yellow blouse wasn’t his favorite color on her, but it certainly hugged her curves in all the right places. And the tie-dye skirt wasn’t what he envisioned for her either, but she stood tall and proud. The shower and fresh clothing had gone far to return much of the dignity that Drake had stolen.
While this newfound confidence suited her, it was skewing her ability to think straight. Leaving here before Liam could discover what she meant to Drake was not the issue. Her thinking Blade would idly sit by and let her leave alone was.
Blade was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Anna’s mate was dead. He’d put his foot in his mouth big-time when he’d assumed her husband had abandoned her to a fate with Drake. Then she’d dropped the next bombshell, announcing her plan to leave in the middle of the night,withoutBlade. Forget the middle of the night part. There was no way he’d let her go out there alone, even if Liam didn’t send his guards after her, which he would.
Liam was no fool. The alpha knew something big was going on with Anna, and now that she’d told him Drake had a cure, Liam would gather all the information he could before making another move. Of the three alphas in this area, Liam was the one who took his time assessing before acting. Damien was quicker to act, sometimes too quick. As for Drake, no one really understood that crazy son of a bitch, except maybe Hayden.
“Stay with me tonight,” Blade said, holding his hand out to her. He wanted her near, where he could watch over her, like the past two nights.
Doubt pulled at her lovely face.
“No different than in the cave,” he reassured her. “Except with a soft bed. Well, a bed. Not very soft, but better than a dirt floor.”
She slid her hand into his. Trusting, so very trusting, his Anna. He led her to the bed. Blonde curls spread out on the pillow beneath her, like a halo encircling his Angel.
“Get some rest, Angel.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve rested enough.” He removed the bandage from his shoulder. The skin had already mended, leaving an angry scar that would fade and disappear soon enough. He could move without much pain. Another day or so and the pain and stiffness would be gone, and he’d be as good as new.
“I forgot, most shifters heal fast,” Anna said as she stretched out on the bed, her tension seeming to disappear as she sank into the mattress.
