Blade (RBMC: Dallas, TX #4)

Chapter Twelve

“Don’tLetMeDown”—FameonFire,Arcaeus

N one of us slept well overnight and then had a hard time getting out of bed. Sage spoke to Raptor again before they went to sleep. Sloane and Ember spoke to Phoenix and Ares too. The fact that Blade didn’t ask to talk to me left a hollowness in my chest.

That coupled with the still unreal knowledge that some of my friends were gone, left me depressed and angry. I hated that I had no idea that the last time I saw them would literally be the last time.

“I’m still in shock,” Sage said as she stared blankly into her mug. We were dragging ass thanks to the copious amount of wine we had consumed last night.

“I know,” I whispered.

“I only met those guys once, but they all seemed close. I can’t imagine what Phoenix must be going through,” Sloane murmured.

“Their families must be devastated,” Ember added before she bit her lower lip and shook her head in dismay.

“I tried to reach out to Loralei several times, but she isn’t answering. Not that I blame her.” Sage sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She glanced at the time on her phone. “I’m worried about Raptor and the boys.”

“Me too,” Sloane softly agreed. “I gave Phoenix a protection amulet before he left, but things happen sometimes…,” she trailed off.

We were all quiet for a bit—lost in our own thoughts.

“Do you want me to talk to Blade for you? See if I can find out where his head is?” Sage asked, throwing me for a loop because I didn’t expect that to be our next topic of conversation on that early morning.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“I know that you all have told me to be patient with him, but I really don’t think there’s any getting through to him. Blade is too closed off and angry. Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just not his type,” I morosely concluded over my cup of coffee. The eggs that Ember had made were mutilated on my plate, because after the first few bites, I just pushed them around. I’d eaten a slice of toast, but it sat like a rock at the bottom of my stomach.

All three women looked up in surprise. It was almost comical.

“What are you talking about?” Sage blurted out.

“Have you seen yourself?” Sloane asked at the same time.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I replied in confusion.

“I’m pretty sure they’re saying you’re likely every single man’s type. You have a great rack and I’m low-key jealous as hell,” Ember explained before she giggled.

“You’re like a freaking goddess,” Sloane added as she pushed her long ebony hair behind her ear. “Wrap a sheet around you with some gold rope and leaves and you’re something straight from Olympus.”

I laughed.

Outside it grew suddenly darker and lightning flashed. Ember leaned back in her chair to see the sky better through the window. “Was it supposed to storm today?”

“I didn’t think so,” Sage mused as it started to lightly rain. “Now I’m even more worried about the guys.”

“They’ll be okay,” Sloane assured, though I caught the brief pinch that appeared between her brows. But it appeared to appease Sage and Ember, so I let it slide.

“Back to our previous conversation,” Sage changed the subject. “I’m telling you, that man is holding himself back by a thread. I’ve known him since we were kids. If there’s something I know about him, it’s what he looks like when he wants something he thinks he can’t have.”

“We’re not talking about a new bike or a fancy car,” I argued with a snort. “He certainly doesn’t want me. Um… except for maybe sex.” My cheeks burned and my mouth went dry.

“I’m not talking about material things, honey,” Sage softly murmured. “I’m talking about the way he looks at Phoenix and Sloane when they’re together, or me and Raptor. The way he always looked at his brothers who had found their person. I’m talking about him wanting happiness but not believing he deserves it.”

I had no idea what to say to that.

“Maybe we should back up a bit. Is that even something that you want? Is it something you’re interested in after everything you’ve been through?” Sloane tilted her head curiously as she studied my reaction.

“Wh-Wh-What do you mean?” I stuttered suddenly nervous and embarrassed that the women all felt sorry for me.

Ember placed a small hand on my arm with calm understanding in her kind gaze. “I’ve seen your presentations. I attended one with my friend.”

I smacked my head with the palm of my hand. Duh . Sometimes, despite the advances I’d made and the state of my mind now, I still had setbacks. My brain would spazz and I’d be back to the broken and embarrassed woman I’d been after my ordeal. I’d have to shake it off and take several deep breaths to calm my head. It took reminding myself that I was free. I was safe. I was stronger.

My heart began to slow. I regained control.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s like I haven’t made advancements. You know?” I tried to laugh it off.

“Don’t ever apologize. You’re an incredible human and an inspiration to all women,” Ember corrected. She was so sweet, humble, and down to earth. It was hard to believe she was part of one of the wealthiest families in the nation, if not the world.

Calm settled like a comforting cloak around my shoulders. “Thank you.”

“So, you want him?” Sage eagerly asked as she leaned over her mug to grin at me.

My cheeks burned hotter. “I mean, that is why I chose to come here. I told myself I wasn’t going to be a chicken. That I was going to tell him how I felt.”

“Which is?” Ember appeared as excited as Sage, and I laughed in earnest.

“God, how do I explain this?” I rhetorically asked as I looked to the ceiling. Then I met their gazes again. “From the moment I met him in Ankeny, I knew there was something about him. Being close to him felt… safe. In a way that I’d never felt in my life. He was like a calm in the storm that was whirling around me.

Sloane’s gaze was wide. “Blade… makes you feel… safe?”

Sage elbowed her playfully and Sloane grinned. “I’m kidding. Sort of. He can be a scary dude. There’s… something about him. I have a feeling there’s more than meets the eye with him. He gives off a very different energy. Like he’s resonating on a different level. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Ember shot Sloane a worried look that I immediately interpreted. “It’s okay, Ember. I essentially lived with the Ankeny chapter for three years. I’m fully aware of their, um, secrets. Not to mention my ‘brother,’” I made the air quotes for it. “Is also, uh shall we say, special?”

“Who’s your brother?” Sloane asked.

“Well, he’s not actually my brother. It’s a long story, but over the years he’s become the closest thing to a brother that I’ve ever had. It’s because of him that I was saved by the Ankeny boys. His name is Calix,” I explained.

Sloane fell back in her chair. “Are you trying to tell me that Calix Medici is your brother?”

“Like I said, not actual brother,” I clarified with a confused shrug. “In fact, it’s been several months since I’ve seen him. You know him?”

“Um yes… you could say that.” Sloane blinked but didn’t elaborate.

“Ohhhh, did you and he….” I trailed off, not sure how to word it since I wasn’t sure exactly what she was getting at. Did they date? Sleep together? This could be awkward.

“Oh, good goddess, no!” She pealed with laughter. “Let’s just say my family has known him for a long time.”

The distant rumble of motorcycles had all of us freezing. The cry of several hawks set my hair on end. I still hadn’t figured out how a bunch of oversized birds were “friends,” but whatever.

“It’s them!” Ember called out from where she was peeking out the front blinds. “Oh dang, the rain quit too.”

None of us had noticed that little detail, but we were all relieved.

The sound of heavy boots coming up the stairs to the porch was followed by the code being entered in the front door. A road-weary Raptor entered with Phoenix and Ares close on his heels. They enveloped their women and the way they clung to each other made me feel like I was intruding.

As quietly as I could, I slipped out of the house. Though it was late morning, it was already hot as hell out. It was hard to believe it had been raining earlier as the ground was still dry and cracked and the sky was massive and blue. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to this heat. Not that I planned on staying now.

That thought pushed me into a melancholy mood, and I avoided looking down toward Blade’s little house.

As I crossed through the massive circular drive that ran in front of the small houses, I saw one of the hawks intensely watching me. He sat silently on the short fence that separated the houses from the clubhouse itself. It made me stop in my tracks. I’d always loved birds of prey, so I recognized its features as a hawk and not a larger bird. Yet I’d never in my life seen one that big. I bet its wingspan was easily five or six feet.

When it didn’t move, I cautiously proceeded up to the gate and passed through. I glanced over my shoulder to find it still watching me, its massive sharp talons digging into the wood of the top rail. It made me shiver and pick up my pace.

The interior of the clubhouse was nice and cool. One of the guys I knew was a prospect, immediately hopped up to his feet when the door opened. I smiled at him.

“Did you need anything, Miss Eliska?” he asked as he approached.

My anxiety started to rear its ugly head as he drew closer, but I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He’d been nothing but kind, attentive, and respectful since I arrived. Still, that instinctual knee-jerk reaction was there. “No, thank you. I’m good. Don’t worry about me.”

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to argue, but finally gave me a crooked grin. “Roger that, ma’am.” He went back behind the bar and started wiping things down and straightening the bottles on the back wall. I had a feeling that wasn’t going to change, but at least he was pretending for now. I smiled and went down the short hallway between the bar and the TV area.

Suddenly feeling incredibly lonely, I took a right and went to the room at the end where I was staying. Maybe I should break down and call my parents. Facet had given me a burner phone before I left, I just hadn’t wanted to tell them that once again I was involved in “drama.” Also, my parents were too busy living their best life as they traveled the world to care about me.

Truthfully, I don’t know why they even had me. As a wealthy couple of socialites from Nashville, they’d had me later in life. Raised by nannies, I rarely saw my parents. The one nanny I ever got close to was older when I was a kid and had passed away when I was in college.

With a sigh, I opened my door and went inside. Then I closed it and took a step toward the small, connected bathroom.

“Blade!” I practically shrieked when I saw him sitting on my bed. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“I can’t be gentle with you,” he said without an apology for letting himself into my room, or for scaring me. He stared at me with eyes that looked like shards of ice.

I blinked, processing his words.

Crazily enough I was okay with that. Perhaps it was because the man who used me pretended to be soft and sweet while he did vile things to me. Or maybe it was because my experience had actually broken me, I didn’t know.

I didn’t care.

The only thing I knew was that there was something about Blade that made me feel settled when I was around him. It was as if my senses recognized him and knew that we belonged together. Like he was my long-lost missing puzzle piece and he completed and brought a semblance of order to the jagged mess that I was alone.

I felt safe with him and like no one or nothing would get to me—that he would protect me.

“I don’t need gentle,” I bravely shot back with a lift of one brow.

His gaze seemed to darken as his pupils flared.

“You can’t fool yourself into thinking we’re going to fall in love—I’m not sure I’m even capable of the emotion.”

Foolishly believing love could grow, I lifted my chin. “I’m fine with that.”

For a split second, he looked shocked before he completely wiped the emotion from his face. He got to his feet and approached me. His movements were fluid and feral, leaving me feeling like I was his prey, and he was stalking me.

As he got closer, my heart rate doubled, and I had to crane my neck to look up at him. I could see the darker roots growing out in his blond hair. I could see every dark blue fleck in his gorgeous eyes. I saw a small scar that bisected his right brow, the earrings in his left ear, the way his silver chain peeked from under his T- shirt collar, every little detail. I wanted to reach up and run my fingertips along the tattoos that ran up his neck.

“Are you, Stormy? Are you truly okay with me bending you over and fucking you every chance I get? Gripping that thick blonde braid and pulling until your back arches and you can’t swallow? Are you okay with me tying you up? Spanking you?” He reached up and wrapped his tattooed hand around my throat. He leaned in and whispered, “Making my hand your favorite necklace?”

When he squeezed gently, I swallowed hard. He smirked.

Yet he didn’t scare me.

He excited me.

“My panties are wet,” I blurted out, then cringed.

He chuckled, soft and low. “Are they now? Show me.”

“Wh-What?” I asked, unsure if I’d heard him correctly.

“Your panties. Take them off. Show me how wet they are.”

Again, I just blinked.

He squeezed harder. “Do it.”

When my fingers fumbled to push my shorts down, he dropped his gaze to watch. I got them to my hips before I couldn’t reach further.

Eyes dark with lust, he pulled back, to scan down. His tongue slipped out and the tip wet his lower lip before he bit it. A barely perceptible moan left him before he reached down and ran his fingertips over the small patch of hair at the juncture of my thighs.

“I like this,” he murmured as he tugged on the hair. Then he slid two fingers between my thighs. When he did, he used the back of his hand to nudge my shorts down. It was as if they were waiting for that, because once they cleared my ass and hips, they dropped to the floor.

He stepped back, releasing my neck in the process.

I wanted to whimper, instead, I stood there, chest rapidly rising and falling.

“Pick them up.”

Brain foggy and slow on the uptake, I frowned and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Your panties,” he reminded me.

I wanted to say, “Seriously?” But by the look on his face, he was dead serious.

Nervously holding his gaze, I crouched down and picked them up. He held out a hand and I placed them there. He dropped his gaze to the scrap of pink and ran his thumb over it. To my absolute mortification, he lifted them to his face where he smelled them, then sucked the wetness from the center.

“Fucking delicious,” he whispered. Then he lifted his brilliant gaze to mine and instructed, “Get on the bed.”

I did as he said, feeling self-conscious of my bare ass being on display as I passed him. It was as if I could feel the heat of his gaze on it. More than anything, I wanted to pull my T-shirt down to cover it. I wasn’t exactly a twig—I loved tacos and donuts too much for that. I had curves and probably jiggled a bit too much. Usually, I preferred the lights off or dimmed.

Why hadn’t I thought this out when I decided I wanted him? Then again, he didn’t seem to mind. Not wanting to have all my lady bits on display as I climbed on the bed, I sat on the edge and started to scoot toward the pillows.

Like a viper striking, he shot forward and grabbed my legs, dragging me back to the edge where he then knelt between my spread knees. His inked hands parted my thighs further and I gasped when it dawned on me what he was about to do. I immediately grabbed his hair without thinking.

He cocked a single brow at me as if to ask, “Are you sure you wanna do that?”

Instead of saying anything, he ignored my grip on his hair and pushed closer to run his tongue through my slit.

“Blade! Oh God! I haven’t showered!”

He chuckled before he swiped through my increasing wetness. Then he looked up at me and replied, “You think I give a fuck? You don’t need a shower because I’m going to lick you clean.”

I about fucking passed out.

And he had me screaming his name in less than five minutes.