“You want to mark me?” That was sweet in a way she definitely hadn't been expecting.
“Does that scare you? Make you think of me as an animal?” he asked, a little defensively.
“No. Why would it? I'm not proud of it, but I was part of what was done to you, Blade. I'm the whole reason it started. I know that you're not an animal, and I wish I could undo all the horrible words Dr. Gardner said to you. I'm sorry that I didn't find a way to stop him,” she said softly. It seemed impossible that Blade didn't hold it against her, that it wouldn't come between them.
“You were just a little girl.”
“At first, yes. But I'm twenty-two now, I've been an adult for four years. I should have done something to stop it. Stop him.” Maybe he was prepared to let her off the hook, but she wasn't as generous when it came to herself and what she’d participated in. Those marks on her back were a permanent reminder of the deaths she had caused.
With another growl, Blade snatched her off the floor, and automatically her legs hooked around his hips, her arms around his neck. “You were manipulated and all but erased fromexistence. You had no choice, they were keeping you a prisoner. But that didn't stop you from finding a way to get yourself out. Despite what he told you, you are not responsible for any of those deaths.”
His hand swept up her back, tracing lightly over the brands on her skin. His words weren't enough to convince her even a little bit, but the sadness in his eyes, that hit her hard.
When his lips caught hers, it wasn't in a fiery, passionate kiss or a clumsy one like hers from the gym. It was soft and sweet, tender and affectionate. It was exactly what she needed.
“Go, take your shower, I’ll meet you downstairs,” Blade announced, pulling back and setting her on her feet, wasting the perfectly good erection that had been hardening as he kissed her. “Go,” he said again when she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from it.
“Thought you didn't want me to shower.”
“I don’t,” he snarled, making her giggle.
“I'm pretty sure they’ll know what we did in here,” she soothed him, secretly pleased that he wanted to mark her to show the rest of his team that she was taken. His at least for now.
“Oh, darlin’,” he called as she gathered some clothes and headed to the bathroom.
“Yeah?”
“You better not do anything about that throbbing between your legs. I'm the only one who gets to make you come.”
With a smirk, he left her standing there staring after him as he strode out of the room, the throbbing between her legs that much more prominent than it had been a few seconds ago.
Crazy caveman.
So possessive.
Still, she was smiling as she brushed her teeth and took her shower. And she didn't do anything about the need thudding through her system, although she desperately wanted to. Afterbreakfast, maybe she could convince Blade that a workout in her bedroom counted as part of the training system he wanted to set her up on.
By the time she was clean, her hair twisted into two braids, dressed in jeans that hugged her legs, and a pastel pink sweater that she hoped highlighted her breasts enough to capture Blade’s attention, Whitney was feeling more confident about herself, her body, and her life than she had in a long time.
In ever really.
That confidence carried her through the halls and down to the kitchen, where she could hear muted voices. But it wavered when she stepped into the room, and all eight heads turned in her direction. It wasn't that they were all looking at her, although she did hate to be the center of attention, that had her freezing, it was the worried expressions on all their faces.
“What's wrong?” she asked, already feeling the need to shrink into herself, make herself a smaller target.
Before anyone could answer, her gaze landed on the TV screen where a huge picture of her face was displayed along with a note saying she was wanted for murder.
Chapter
Sixteen
January 14th
8:10 A.M.
“I … I don’t understand,” Whitney stammered, her gaze locked on the news stream displayed on the TV. “I'm wanted for murder? They know?” At her words, her arms twisted behind her back, and he knew that she was fingering the brands on her skin.
This was not the news he’d been expecting when he’d caught the worried tones of his teammates while still in bed with Whitney.
