Will’s throat out later.”
“I wouldn’t have attempted any such thing,” Blade replied firmly as he stalked naked and unashamed
into the en suite. “I would have succeeded in tearing the man’s throat
out. Will has a strength and human power all his own,
and I’d certainly have a struggle to fight him. But I’d be damned if I’d ever
lose to the man. Not that it would ever come to that, but you know what I
mean.”
Blade opened the door to
the shower and turned the faucet on, then quickly adjusted the spray. Usually
he liked his showers hot anyway, but now he nudged the heat up as far as he
could bear, knowing he would need the needle spray to massage his muscles and
blast away any faint remnants of sleep that might be tempted to draw near.
Knowing speed was of the essence, Blade gathered the soap and cleansed his body of
their sex. A few minutes later, finished, he was about to turn the spray off
when he heard Ange step into the stall behind him.
“Hmm,” he murmured
throatily, his hands resting on the soft flare of her hips as he bent down to
taste her soft skin. “I don’t think we’ve managed to christen the shower yet.”
She laughed and shoved
him hard enough that he needed to regain his balance by pressing the palm of
one large hand against the tiled wall.
“I would love to,” she
countered, “but we’re already going to have to speed to get there on time. A
quickie in the shower will only make us later and more than a little
conspicuous.”
Blade unrepentantly
kissed her hard, their teeth clicking against each other while their tongues
fought for dominance. Growing hard yet again—a truly astonishing feat
considering how many times he’d come in the last four hours or so—Blade enjoyed
the steadily growing addiction she caused. He craved her touch, her taste. She
was a potent drug in his system now.
When they were clinging
to each other, only then did he pull away. Reluctance to leave the steamy
intimacy of their shared moment rippled through his body, but Blade knew and
agreed with Ange’s point. They were both consummate
professionals and prior to this situation he never would have even attempted to
drag out leaving a warm bed and willing witch. In the past he had always just
upped and left with a fond kiss and a scant backward glance.
Yet he was reluctant now,
with his witch.
“Next time,” he promised
them both. Ange’s eyes were darker than usual, her
pupils dilated so there was only a thin ring of dark-blue around the black.
“Next time,” she agreed
when she could muster the breath to do so. Blade climbed out of the shower
stall and quickly dried himself with a fresh towel, pulling a second one free
for Ange to use when she was done.
Moving back into his
bedroom, Blade opened drawers and quickly dressed in boxer briefs, black
camouflage pants, a comfortable dark button-down shirt and a black sweater. His
boots completed his outfit and he collected his keys and a few other items he
never traveled without, including his favorite pair of thin, deadly throwing
knives.
By then Ange had returned, fresh and dry from the shower. Blade
watched with admiration as she changed into a clean pair of dark denim skinny
jeans, a fresh shirt and a sweater. It took a moment for her to tug on her
leather boots, but then she was ready and clearly eager to get moving. He
smirked and almost commented on her having a few changes of clothes at his
apartment—a thing she had argued heatedly about not needing a few days
previously. Finally Blade had insisted it was wise, would certainly be needed
sooner rather than later, and eventually she had capitulated.
Considering the effort it
had taken to convince her and the fact that she had only brought the changes of
clothes and neatly tucked them into his spare drawer the day before, Blade had
to forcefully stifle the urge to make an amused comment. Eventually, after a
minute or more of internal wrestling, he decided not to, as it would make