Page 11 of Blade’s Protection

"Fuck," he muttered against my lips.

"Is that a promise?"

He groaned, dropping his forehead to mine. "You're going to be the death of me."

"I'm going to be the life of you," I corrected. "If you let me."

Before he could respond, headlights swept across the clinic windows. We both tensed, but it was just someone parking at Buck's next door.

"We should go," he said, but didn't release me.

"We should." I didn't step away either.

"Tiffany—"

"I know. Not here. Not now." I finally stepped back, already missing his warmth. "But soon?"

He slid off the exam table, his bandaged hand catching mine. "You sure about this? About me?"

"I've been sure since you walked through that door. The question is whether you're going to stop fighting it."

He tugged me close again, his mouth brushing my ear. "When I stop fighting it, when I finally take what I want, you're not going to know what hit you."

The promise in his voice made me shiver. "I'm counting on it."

We locked up the clinic in charged silence. Every casual touch—his hand on my lower back guiding me to his bike, helping me with the helmet, the necessary closeness of the ride—felt amplified. My body hummed with anticipation, with the knowledge that we'd finally crossed a line.

Back at his apartment, everything felt different. The space between us crackled with acknowledged want. When I headed for his bedroom, he caught my wrist.

"Take the bed," he said, but his voice held less conviction than previous nights.

"Come with me."

"Tiffany—"

"Just to sleep." I stepped closer, looking up at him. "Please. I know you'll still say we need to wait, to think, to be sure. But let me have this. Let me fall asleep knowing you're there."

His control visibly fractured. "Just to sleep."

"Unless you change your mind," I said with a smile that made him groan.

"You're trouble."

"You like trouble."

"I like you." The admission seemed to surprise him. "More than like. That's the problem."

"That's not a problem. That's a solution."

I tugged him toward his bedroom, and this time he followed. Tomorrow would bring more threats, more danger, more complications. But tonight, I'd finally broken through his walls.

And I wasn't letting him rebuild them.

CHAPTER 4

BLADE

Three AM, and I lay next to Tiffany in my own bed, counting her breaths and calling myself fifty kinds of fool.