Page 56 of His Puppet

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he says, giving my hand another squeeze. “I’m fully aware of the methods of controlling the vulnerable. You don’t need to worry about me judging you.”

I go to tell him that his opinion means little to me, but I stop myself from spilling the lie. It would be useless.

“Thank you,” I say instead.

He gives me a tiny, sad smile and pushes my hair back over my shoulder. He wipes a tear from my cheek, and I close my eyes and lean into his hand when he caresses me.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Blade says.

“Don’t be. I have a feeling what he did is child’s play compared to what he’ll do to me now.”

Blade pulls his hand away, and I open my eyes. His face is serious, the frown no longer there, and his jaw is clenched. “He isn’t going to hurt you again.”

I laugh dryly. “Oh, no?”

Blade shakes his head like he’s certain of it. I’ve never seen him look so… I don’t know. Hard.

“No, he isn’t. I’ll make sure of it.”

I raise my brows. “Before or after you kick me to the curb and pretend you never met me?” I sigh. “Don’t say things you don’t mean, Blade.”

“I’m not kicking you to the curb.”

I tilt my head and squint. “You said—”

“Forget what I said,” Blade spits out like he tasted something foul. “I’m going to help you.”

I blink and open my mouth just to close it. I give my head a shake. “How?”

He finally takes his penetrating eyes off me to glance around the room. “I want you to go back to your house and get your stuff. Make sure someone is following you when you do; I’ll show you how to spot an unmarked car. Then bring it all back here. You’re going to stay here for the time being.” He meets my eyes again. “If you come back with me to the farm, you’ll look like a prisoner. If you stay at your old place, it’ll be harder to keep an eye on you, and you’ll look like an associate. We want you to look like my girlfriend. If they don’t think you’re some girl I abducted, they shouldn’t run your image in a database. They’ll figure out your street name and who you’ve been pretending to be by following you.”

I sit up straighter and soak up every word.

“If we’re lucky, they won’t care enough to look into it any further. They would care if they thought you were a victim, but not if you’re some girl I’m fucking.”

When it seems like he’s finished, I nod but my eyes are still narrowed skeptically. “But the Grucos…”

“Forget the Grucos,” Blade says, his voice steel. “This won’t involve them.”

I place my hand on his arm and lean into him. “Blade, I… I don’t even know what to say.”

His gaze lowers to my lips, and it registers just how close we are. One dip and his lips would be against mine.

“Don’t say anything.” His eyes meet mine again. “I put you underneath a spotlight, and I need to fix it.”

My heart falls about an inch with his reasoning, but I take it.

He touches my face, and his eyes move to my lips again. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you,” he says, his gaze back to my eyes. “But Jesus fucking Christ, it made you strong.”

I don’t respond to that. I’ve never really looked at it that way. Living on the street made me smart, cunning, and taught me to be a survivor. My uncle taught me to be a victim. The only thing I felt like he made me was damaged. Still, Blade’s words fill my chest with warm honey.

It’s my turn to move my eyes to his mouth, and I’m pushing myself up before my mind can make the conscious decision to kiss him.

He cups my face and kisses me back, his tongue gentle as it slides over my lips. There’s nothing rushed about this kiss, unlike the others. It’s slow, driven by emotion instead of biology. I smooth my hand over his chest and tug on his tie, which he loosens without taking his lips off me. I toss his tie to the side and undo the top button of his shirt, bringing my legs up onto the couch and shifting to straddle him.

Blade undoes the rest of his buttons, and takes his shirt off, finally breaking the kiss when it’s on the floor.

“You sure you want this?” he asks, out of breath.

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