“Mine now, darlin’, not his,” he said, his breath hot against her skin as he nuzzled her neck. “You have all the time in the world to find out who you are, who you want to be, what you want to do with the rest of your life. You have a family now, people who will have your back, who will go to the ends of the earth for you. And you have me. I might not ever be good enough for you, but I will give you every single piece of myself, dedicate my life to making you smile.”
Giving a growl of her own, it sounded like a kitten’s in comparison to Blade’s, she scrambled around to face him again. “Don’t say that again. The way we met can never be erased, but everything since then, you’ve been exactly what I didn't even hope to want. Everything I needed. You're mine and I'm yours. Together we can both find the peace that has eluded us for so long. Bound by blood,” she reminded him as she found his hand and pressed her palm to his.
There was tenderness on Blade’s face as he guided her down to kiss her, and Whitney allowed herself to free-fall into thekiss, knowing that Blade would always be there to catch her, no matter what.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
January 18th
2:45 P.M.
“Did you know that a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope?” Whitney asked.
There was excitement in her voice as she used one of her self-soothing techniques to help her keep her emotions under control after a rough night of nightmares, and a panic attack earlier this morning when she hadn't heard one of the guys come up behind her in the kitchen.
“Nope, didn't know that one, darlin’,” Blade replied, happy to see a little color in her cheeks, and the haunted look in her eyes pushed to the background. At least for now. But he knew that Whitney had a long road ahead of her as she rebuilt her life and figured out what it would look like.
He had a lot to work through himself. Blade was trying his best to learn to ignore the sounds he heard so clearly. What he wanted for his future with Whitney was to focus on feelings, not on using his enhanced skill as a crutch for everything, and anexcuse to shut himself away from the others to at least attempt to get some peace and quiet.
“And did you know that a group of cats is called a clowder?”
“Didn't know that one either,” he told her as they walked into the kitchen, where the other two couples were sitting around the table drinking coffee and eating homemade cupcakes with cookie dough frosting that Whitney had made with Cassandra earlier.
“What's a group of frogs called?” Rose asked.
“An army,” Whitney said with a giggle, and it felt so wonderful to hear her laugh after all she’d been through. “Maybe we should start calling you guys frogs, cos you're a little army. Or Navy, I guess. Aren't SEALs called frogmen?”
“Think that’s funny, do you, darlin’?” he asked, tugging on the end of her ponytail as he pulled out a chair, sat down in it, and tugged her into his lap.
“Yep,” she agreed, shooting him a warm smile.
The bruises on her skin were darker today, and the shadows in her eyes, while receded a little, were still present. When they got home yesterday afternoon, he’d helped her wash up properly in the bath, although he’d cleaned her up in the car on the way to the airport. He knew from the way she constantly rubbed at her chest and face, that she still felt the phantom feel of Terry Richards’ semen on her skin.
But she was doing the best she could, and that was all he could ask of her.
Honestly, he was so proud of her, he was practically bursting with pride.
“What's a group of ladybugs called?” Steel asked, obviously noting that defaulting to random facts was helping Whitney remain calm and in control and playing along, something for which Blade was infinitely grateful. It helped Whitney to knowshe didn't just have him, but also his entire team as part of her new family.
“A loveliness,” she said with another giggle.
“Aww.” Rose smiled, snuggling into Steel’s embrace. “I'm glad you came up with the nickname ladybug for me, even if it was annoying at first.”
“Better than your nickname for me.” Steel smirked. “Mr. Bedroom Man doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.”
Rose shrugged. “Then maybe don’t break into people’s bedrooms in the middle of the night to kidnap them if you don’t want to wind up with a stupid nickname,” she sassed, making them all laugh, and Steel grabbed her chin and took her mouth in a fiery kiss.
“And a bunny?” Cassandra asked.
“Well, there are a few, like all of these, but my favorite one is a fluffle,” Whitney replied.
“Aww, adorable,” Cassandra cooed.
“I am not getting you an entire fluffle of stuffed bunnies to keep in our room.” Dragon huffed, although Blade was pretty sure the man would do anything, including fill his room with stuffed bunnies if it made Cassandra happy.
Whitney giggled again. “Did you know there are several names for a group of dragons?” she asked, and when they all shook their heads, she continued. “Flight is one, that’s used for a group of flying dragons. Then weyr is used for a group of non-airborne dragons. Clutch for hatchling dragons, and brood for young dragons with their parents. A wing is three to six adult dragons and their riders, and then there’s thunder for a group of large dragons flying.”
