Page 10 of Blade’s Protection

"You don't know what you're asking."

"Stop telling me what I know." I pressed closer, my hands on his thighs for balance. The muscle under my palms tensed, solid and warm through his jeans. "I know you think the age gap matters. It doesn't. I know you think you're too damaged. You're not. I know you want me as much as I want you."

His hands came to my waist, spanning it easily, holding me still. "This is a bad idea."

"The worst," I agreed, but my hands slid higher on his thighs.

"Once we cross this line, there's no going back."

"I don't want to go back." I rose on my toes, bringing our faces closer. "I want to go forward. With you."

The clinic's overhead light buzzed in the silence. Outside, Pike Creek continued its evening routine—someone heading into Buck's down the street, Elmer locking up the hardware store. Normal life happening while mine balanced on a knife's edge.

"Tell me about your service," I said, changing tactics but not stepping away. "Not the classified stuff. Just... you."

His hands remained on my waist, thumbs brushing the strip of skin where my scrub top had ridden up. "What do you want to know?"

"Why special forces?"

"I was good at it. Violence, strategy, eliminating threats. The Army gave me purpose, structure. Legal outlet for the darkness."

"And when you got out?"

"The darkness didn't go away just because the uniform did." His thumbs continued their maddening path along my skin. "Viper found me in a bar in Billings, beating the shit out of three guys who'd cornered a waitress. Offered me a different kind of brotherhood. The MC gave me purpose again."

"Protecting people."

"Protecting what matters."

"Am I what matters now?"

His hands tightened on my waist. "You've mattered since you walked out of that back room two days ago, terrified but trying to be brave. Maybe before that. Phoenix said he'd seen you around town, mentioned the pretty new nurse at the clinic. I should have stayed away."

"But you didn't."

"No. Viper called, said Dr. Tad needed help, and I came running like I couldn't help myself." He pulled me incrementally closer. "And now you're wearing my shirt to bed and making me breakfast and I can't imagine going back to my apartment without you in it."

"Then don't." I traced the edge of his jaw, feeling stubble catch against my fingertips. "Stop pushing me away. Stop deciding what's best for me. Just... stop fighting this."

"You don't understand what you're risking. Being with me means being part of the MC world. It means judgment from the town, danger from my enemies, a life that's never fully safe."

"I'm already in danger. Already being judged. At least with you, I'm not alone."

He studied my face like he was memorizing it. "You're younger than me.”

"Old enough to know what I want."

"And what's that?"

"You." I pressed against him, feeling his breath catch. "In your bed instead of on your couch. Your hands on me instead of maintaining distance. Your mouth⁠—"

He kissed me.

The first contact sent lightning through my entire system. His lips were firm, demanding, taking control like I'd known he would. One hand tangled in my hair while the other pulled me tight against him, eliminating any space between us.

I opened for him immediately, tasting coffee and something uniquely him. He kissed like he fought—with absolute commitment, devastating precision. My hands found his shoulders, holding on as he consumed me.

When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard.