“Bear would be proud of me.”
“Yes, he would, Ollie-girl. He’d be damn proud.”
I curl into him. I can hear Blade and Winnie talking to Cross. There are other voices too, but I ignore them all. I space out and let the nothingness claim me.
20 BLADE
“I feel like I should go home and be with Olivia. She might need me.”
“She has Cross, honey. That’s who she wanted with her. He makes her feel safe.”
“But—”
“No buts. Cross thinks of Olivia as his daughter. He’ll take good care of her. Plus, I’ll honestly sleep better knowing one of our own is watching over her,” I tell her.
I don’t know what I expected when we confronted Ayita tonight. Watching Olivia go Dirty Harry on her though, wasn’t in the realm of possibility for me. Then again, after hearing what they did to Olivia, I find myself wondering how the woman is even standing. I rub the back of my neck and stare out the glass wall of my penthouse that looks over the Cherokee mountainside behind the casino. It’s beautiful and normally takes my breath away, but tonight I can’t even concentrate on it.
Arwen comes up behind me and I feel her arms go around me as she hugs me from behind.
“What’s going on inside your brain?” she asks.
“You don’t want to know,” I say at once, trying to close down.
“Hey, I know we’re kind of new and I’m not sure what we are, but I’m asking because I care. What happened tonight involved someone you thought of as family, your brother, and the woman you used to be in love with. You matter to me, Blade. That’s why I’m asking.”
I turn to face her, and I don’t even bother to hold myself back. “I know this is sudden, but Arwen, I think you know that after losing my brother, a relationship I thought was strong, and years of my life locked up for a crime I didn’t commit, that I don’t really feel like wasting a minute of my life.”
“I can understand that,” she says, still studying my face.
“I’ve only ever felt this way once before in my life, Arwen. I loved Olivia and I know it was love. Part of me loves her now, but it’s different. It’s a love that shows I care for her, but that’s all. She’s … family for lack of a better word. The thing is, I know without a doubt that I love you, Arwen. Yet I don’t know if it’s because of everything I’ve been through or because it’s just you. I believe it may be a combination of both. Whatever the reason is, this love I feel for you is much more intense. At the risk of scaring you to death, I’m not letting you go.”
“You realize how crazy that sounds, don’t you?”
“I do, but I also don’t give a damn. Are you going to tell me that you don’t feel the same thing for me? I have to tell you that if you try, I’m going to call you a liar.”
“I do feel a pull toward you,” she answers.
“Bullshit. You love me, Arwen.”
“We barely know each other,” she points out.
“Go ahead and be reasonable, but you’re not getting away from me.”
“I’d like to bring to your attention the fact that I haven’t asked to get away from you. I’m good with where we are. I want more.”
“I’ll take that for now,” I mutter. “Now, take your clothes off.”
“What?” she squeaks.
“I’m going to carry you into the shower and then I’m going to fuck you against the wall. Now, strip.”
“Did it occur to you that I might not want sex?” she huffs.
I grin at her. “Sweetheart. If I put my hand against your pussy right now, you would be so wet it’d take me an hour to lick it all up.”
She laughs. “I think you’re exaggerating a little there.”
I shrug. “Maybe, maybe not. Now, are you going to strip or not?”
