Page 43 of Blade's Battle
“No?”
“Get off.” She pushed against his chest.
He rolled off of her. “Did I hurt you?”
“This. . . us. . . it’s not right,” she said as she put her bra back on.
His face hardened with an edge she hadn’t seen before. “It’s because of Liam, isn’t it? I can smell him on you.”
“What? No! Nothing happened between us. I mean he licked my neck—” The moment the words tumbled out of her mouth, she knew that had been the wrong thing to say.
Blade leapt for the door. Anna grabbed his arm, and he flung her off of him, sending her crashing into the fireplace. The logs broke her fall, but she was sure she would have more bruises by the evening.
“Anna!” His hands were all over her, checking her over, almost frantic. “I was thinking about killing Liam and simply reacted. I know that’s no excuse. . . Hell, it was stupid and careless of me. Are you hurt?”
“Nothing happened between Liam and me,” she repeated, brushing the bits of bark off her hands as he helped her rise.
“Nothing?” His eyes darkened, doubt riding him hard.
Was that his wolf or Blade scrutinizing her? Her mind returned to the feral problem, remembering where she had left off in her research and what step she’d need to take next. For now, she needed to reassure Blade that he had nothing to fear or be jealous of.
“He made me an offer,” she answered as she grabbed her shirt off the floor and finished dressing.
“What type of offer?”
A low growl surfaced, placing Anna on edge. If Blade challenged Liam to a battle, he wouldn’t survive, but she wouldn’t lie to him. There were enough lies in her life already. “He offered to protect me if I become his mistress.”
“I’m going to kill—”
She placed her lips on his, to distract him, but mostly to calm him. Even as she stroked her tongue with his, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him. His hard length pressed against her belly, creating a need much lower. She couldn’t pull away from that toe-curling kiss that made her sink into his embrace.
“You’re mine,” he whispered in her ear as he finally ended the kiss.
She leaned back, putting much-needed distance between them. She wasn’t his, and he needed to stop thinking like that, but they both had bigger issues to worry about.
“Liam was testing me, to see what I’d do if I thought my life was at risk.”
“Why would he—”
“Ravirez had told him Drake’s version of events. Liam had asked me about Drake too, but he didn’t know if he could believe me, so he tested me.”
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth.”Most of it.
Blade hissed, and she recoiled. “What did I do now?” he asked.
“You assumed the worst of me.”
Blade scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. “I’m trying not to assume anything. I think you’re caught up in something that is beyond your control, but I don’t think you ever intended to harm anyone. You said you didn’t work for the WSSO, yet you gave them the virus. Ravirez said—”
“You believe Ravirez over me?”
“Of course not, but. . .” He began pacing the length of the cabin, mumbling to himself. “I need the truth, Anna. All of it, good or bad. Tell me, so I can help you.”
“I didn’t give the WSSO anything, let alone the virus. I’m a genetic engineer, not a virologist. I modify genes, add, delete, splice, and make new combinations essentially. I don’t create viruses. And even if I could, I wouldn’t create one that was so harmful, sodeadly. The only good virus is the one that’s used as a vector in gene therapy.”
“So you do use viruses?”
