Page 74 of Blade's Battle
How did he always seem to know what she needed? Keeping him from going feral meant offering a blood-bond, something she truly didn’t want. And he knew it.
Well, he had fought for her, protected her long enough. He was the one at risk of going feral. It was time for her to protect him.
She needed to get to her lab.
Or she might run out of time with Blade as she had with Kurt.
The blood-bond was the only choice.
“What’s wrong?” he asked suddenly.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said even as he released her.
“There’s no need to lie to me. I’m on your side.”
“What makes you think anything is wrong?”
“Your brow scrunches when you’re worried. And you checked out, mentally.”
“You need to blood-bond,” she blurted out. “Weneed to blood-bond.”
“I never met your husband, but I know he was one lucky bastard to have your love and devotion, even for a short time. Which is why I’m not blood-bonding you.”
“That makes no sense!” This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go.
“I won’t blood-bond out of desperation. It’s not fair to either of us,” he whispered.
“The hell with fair if it saves you from going feral!” she shouted as she headed for the door. She didn’t know where she was going, but she needed to get away from him and his arcane sense of chivalry. She didn’t need his protection, not in this, and certainly not at the expense of his life.
“I don’t know what your problem is. If you’re afraid of losing your shifter abilities or you don’t want to be stuck with me. I can’t help the former, but I can do something about the latter. We can blood-bond and then I can leave, stay out of your life forever.”
“Stuckwith you?” he railed as he cut her off and backed her against a wall, somehow still not touching her. She wanted him to touch her, to run his hands up and down her arms, to pull her into a kiss so deep she’d forget where she ended and he began.
“Is that what you think any of this would be like? You’re mine, Anna. You have been since the moment I saw you in that cell, naked, dirty, terrified, and braver than anyone I’ve ever known. I won’t let you sacrifice yourself, and that’s all there is to it.”
Then he cupped her face, touching her at last, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.
“Ah, hell, Anna. Don’t you understand? I love you! If you blood-bond me, it shouldn’t be something we do out of desperation.”
He loved her? No, he couldn’t. He only thought he did. Love took time. Love took getting to know one another.
“I can’t, won’t, let you enter a bond that way. You have to want me, as much as I want you.”
She did want him, didn’t she? Why would he think otherwise?
Because she had never told him that. She’d pushed him away at every opportunity, always talking about Kurt as if he had been the love of her life. And Kurt had been. But did that mean she couldn’t love Blade?
Anna closed her eyes as she pictured Kurt and everything they had had together. Blade’s image appeared, supplanting Kurt’s. Blade was full of life and hope, but she didn’t want to forget Kurt. She’d made vows to him. She hadlovedhim will all of her heart. God help her, the idea of forgetting Kurt—replacing him. . . it wasn’t right.
Slowly, she forced her eyes open, afraid of what she’d see in Blade’s face. He said he loved her, and she hadn’t said anything in turn.
“I meant what I said,” he added. His eyes and entire body brimmed with a fierceness that she wanted to lose herself in. She was so unprepared for this conversation.
“I. . .” she began.
Expectant eyes dimmed. “It’s okay, Anna.”
Did she love him? She shook her head and pushed the thought aside. Even if she did love him, love needed to stay out of the equation. Blade deserved to feel as if he was her world, not simply some guy who came in second place. She wiped the last of her tears with the back of her hand.
