His lips quickly replace his thumb, and it’s a powerful experience. His tongue probing deep, his passion intense.
Some kisses take on a magical experience, and this is one of them. The physicality mixes with emotions, rounding the edges, deepening the curves, and fulfilling the promise. Blade kisses like he’s declaring war on the world, strong, powerful, and protective. A huge heap of obsession coloring the edges. He is all man, a beast in fact, with the heart of an angel inside. God help anyone who attempts to go against this man because I don’t rate their chances, and I include myself in that.
CHAPTER 30
BLADE
It would have been so easy. I was so close to Nirvana, and I turned away. Delilah is a lady. She has been abused, and I will not add to that. The pleasure will be all hers until I earn the right, no matter how painful that is right now.
My cock throbs with anger; it’s mightily pissed at my decisions right now, but all good things come to those who wait, and I’ve waited a long time for a woman like Delilah.
Only when I’ve fought her demons, will I have earned the right to ask. It will be her choice—always her choice and as she clings behind me on my Harley as we roll into town, I am the proudest man in the fucking universe right now.
I pull up in the Crazy Skillet parking lot and cut the engine. The sun is high in the sky today and intense on our skin. Today will be about normality, as normal as life as a Reaper is anyway and as I help Delilah from my bike and she pulls off the helmet, my heart races as she shakes out her hair, her beautiful green eyes sparkling with happiness in the sunshine.
She is achingly beautiful, her skin a delicate shade of blush, courtesy of the unscheduled stop and the subsequent thrill of theride. She is small, delicate, petite, and feminine. The antithesis of me and the urge to protect is the strongest I have ever felt.
I reach for her hand, mine closing around hers as a warning to anyone who attempts to take her from me. To hurt her, demean her, and cause her pain won’t ever happen again because they will have to go through me first.
We head inside and one of the usual servers, Maria, heads our way, a wry twist to her lips.
“Blade, it’s good to see you, and with a guest, I see.”
Her amused smile is probably justified because I usually only head in here with my brother or the occasional Reaper. Never a woman. Delilah is the first.
Maria’s smile is a genuine one as she directs it at Delilah.
“Welcome, honey. I’ll seat you in the booth by the window. It’s such a lovely day you don’t want to be holed up in the back.”
Delilah’s smile is like an attack on your enemies. It could disable the fiercest army, and a hint of pride blooms in my chest.
As we take our seats, I shift in beside her, crowding her space rather than taking the opposite one. It’s a protective move knowing she is shielded by me, and Maria shakes her head.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable opposite your guest?”
She rolls her eyes, earning a small chuckle from me and a shy grin from Delilah, who whispers, “This is perfect.”
Maria winks before handing us a menu.
“I can’t say I blame you, honey. I’d probably feel the same.”
As she heads off, I’m surprised and a little touched when Delilah’s hand finds mine and she squeezes it softy, a happy smile on her face as she leans close and whispers, “You read my mind.”
Emotion is a powerful force I never realized the effects of before. As she smiles into my closed expression, something weakens inside me. I possess an overpowering urge to protect this woman, to make her world a better place, and the part I’mstruggling with the most is knowing I’m not worthy of a place in it.
I’m an assassin. It may be paid with government money, but I kill men for a living, and that takes a certain kind of man. Delilah deserves the American dream—I am far from that.
She leans in and kisses me softly on the lips, her breath sweet, her hand still in mine, and she whispers against my lips, “I’ll order what you’re having. For some reason, I’ve got quite an appetite.”
She pulls away and drops a sexy wink, and my balls are about to explode. Luckily, Maria heads back with coffee, and as I order two of the usuals, I attempt to stabilize my racing heart.
It turns out dining with a lady is far more pleasurable than my brother, and conversation is directed more at our surroundings and what the town has to offer. She doesn’t speak of The Rubicon. It’s an unspoken rule in public that she appears to understand before she is even told.
We eat as if we’ve always been here, an easy companionship between us that has grown since rescuing her from Rockwell. That surprises me the most, and despite wanting to know every small thing about her, I keep the conversation neutral, not wanting to run before we can walk.
I order the check and as Maria heads off, Delilah clutches my arm, her reaction to something she is seeing on the screen playing out over the counter.
It’s a news report, and the image is of a slick dude wearing a smart suit, holding the hand of a beautiful socialite.
