Chapter 10
BLADE
She’s married. Why is that the most devastating thing she told me? This Gideon Fox sounds like a fucking bastard, and he had his hands on her. This sweet woman who deserves none of the shit life flung at her. His wife. His fucking wife.
The words are screaming inside me as I struggle to understand why they affect me so much.
Delilah is quiet. I hate to imagine what’s tearing through her mind right now.
Is that the only memory she has? That she married the creep?
I wonder if piece by devastating piece the puzzle will connect and what if she wants to go back to him—for whatever reason?
Do they have a kid, two or three? My mind imagines all sorts right now and I can hardly breathe.
Why does this affect me so much?
“Blade.”
Her soft voice filters through my turbulent thoughts, and I say evenly, “Yes, darlin’.”
“I hate that I was married to him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a bad man. I don’t remember much, but the shivers that crawled through my body when my memory of him returned told me there was a very good reason why I hate him.”
“Men like Gideon Fox don’t make it a habit of being pussycats, darlin’. I’m guessing your intuition is spot on.”
“Do you believe your club can locate him?”
She sounds almost fearful of that, and I nod, no doubt in my mind. “Of course they’ll find him.”
“What happens then?”
Images of me tearing the fucker apart with my bare hands entertain me for a brief moment, but I merely say, “That’s not for me to second-guess. First, we find him; then we discover his importance.”
“Importance? I don’t understand.”
“Not many do, darlin’ but understand one thing. If there is one shred of evidence to indicate he deserves to take his last breath, you can be assured it will be, and I give you my solemn vow on that.”
I stop and pull her to face me, noting the doubt in her eyes merging with fear, and I soften my tone.
“One thing is definite: you are safe now. If you decide that you never want to set eyes on him again, we will make that happen.”
Her smile is faint, and her troubled expression rips apart my sanity.
“I’m not sure what I think, Blade. I don’t remember my name, where I’m from, or if I even have a family searching for me. All I know is that I was an evil woman’s slave and the man in charge of her was my husband. Make it make sense.”
For some reason, I do something I’ve never done before. I cup her face between my rough hands and force her to look into my eyes.
“I’ve got you, angel. You’re not on your own anymore.”
Tears fill her beautiful green eyes, and the gratitude on her face slays me inside. She’s soft, delicate, and vulnerable, which is like a dagger in my heart. I hate seeing a woman cry, and it appears I hate seeing her cry ten hundred times more.
I want to hold her, to wrap her in my arms and never let her go. To shield her from the world and keep it away from hurting her. I want this woman to smile with happiness and forget about her past. I want to discover her name—her real name and I want her to know mine.
The hope in her eyes cuts me deep. Like a wounded animal hoping for someone to take away the pain, she is looking at me now. Hope mixed with indecision, causing me to reassure her in the only way I can.
I drop my hands and reaching around her waist, I pull her close against me.
My hand holding her tenderly, securely, intending to offer comfort.
My breath hitches as she presses her cheek against my chest, her soft sigh admitting how lost she is.
Her arms lie flat against my chest, her palms pressing into it.
As if she is curling up in a ball to keep the world away.
I drop my head, the scent of flowers from the shampoo we use, heavy in her hair.
My heart beats steadily, my muscles bunched together as I protect her from her past. I ache to kiss the top of her head, to slide my hands around her waist and pull her in deeper.
To breathe her scent, to lick her neck—to kiss her skin.
A primal instinct that occurs when a beast finds its mate.
Desire, protection, lust, and fulfillment.
I am confused, but I want this moment to last forever because right now, if a fucking army abseiled down the mountain and attempted to take her from me, I would slay every miserable one of them.
This woman in my arms is mine to protect, and my heart is heavy when I face the understanding that the most imminent threat to her right now is me.
Delilah pushes back first and angles her head up to meet my gaze. “Thank you.”
I’m shocked when she stands on tiptoe and presses her lips to mine, a sudden attack I wasn’t expecting.
I say nothing, and she smiles sweetly. “I appreciate your help, Blade. I want you to know that.”
“I meant what I said.”
My tone is gruff, my heart racing at ten million miles an hour as I face something new. The desire for something more than just sex.
I incline my head toward the trail.
“Come. I want you to see this.”
I drop my hands and then falter as her soft hand finds mine, and she smiles, a faint blush stealing across her pale skin as she takes a deep breath.
My fingers close around hers, and my breath hitches. Why does this simple act affect me so deeply?
As we walk, I attempt to make sense of my turbulent thoughts, but there is no reason for the way I am feeling right now other than I’m going stir crazy.
We walk in silence, and as we make our way through the trees, it opens up to a view that not many get to see.
“Wow!” Delilah gasps, turning to me with an impish grin.
“Where are we?”
“On top of the world, darlin’.”
I’m not lying, it feels as if we are because the canyon that dips below us is seemingly endless. There’s a flat rock overhanging the view, and I guide her to the edge, making sure to retain my grip on her, keeping her safe.
We sit on the edge, our legs dangling to the cavern below, and it’s as if we are dancing with the angels in the heavens. One false move and we would crash and burn, which feeds the devil in me.
I’m impressed that Delilah isn’t scared. She appears almost fearless in this moment as we gaze out at paradise. The red mountains gleaming in the sunshine. The sun is hot, a ball of fire heating our skin.
Her head falls to my shoulder, her soft hair tickling my chin, and I tighten my hold.
“Tell me about yourself, Blade.”
A simple enough question that probably deserves an answer, but I’m a reluctant storyteller.
“Nothing to tell.”
My reply should shut down the conversation, but she won’t let it go.
“Is Blade your real name? I kind of think it’s something like Chad or Buck.”
Her soft giggle raises a smile to my lips.
“It’s a closely guarded secret, and men have died in their quest for it.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
She giggles. “I bet it’s Eugene.”
“Not even close.”
“Then tell me.”
She lifts her head and peers at me with a questioning gaze, and I can’t look away. It would be so easy to kiss her right now. She is mere centimeters from my lips and, as if she can read my mind, she whispers, “I want to kiss you so badly, but I don’t want to kiss a stranger.”
Despite her request, my lips tug into a smile, and the lust in her eyes tells me she’s feeling this too.
“It’s not Eugene.”
She shakes her head.
“Not good enough.”
She leans a little closer, the scent of flowers almost overwhelming, and her lips dance before my hungry eyes like the greatest prize.
“James.”
I’m amazed I gave it up so easily, and she raises her eyes. “James?”
“My mom loved traditional names. You can see why my name changed.”
“Blade suits you better.”
She inches a little closer, and I’m shocked when she trails a finger down my face and presses in, her breath dusting mine as she whispers, “Can I kiss you, James?”
Why does it ache so hard inside me as a woman like Delilah calls me by my real name? To my knowledge, nobody has for many years, and it affects me more than I thought it would.
“You don’t have to, darlin’.”
I’m almost positive she is only doing this because she thinks she should. She’s hurting and I would be taking advantage of that.
“You don’t want to kiss me?”
Her smile dips.
“More than I want to breathe right now, but I’m not a man to force a woman.”
“But I want to kiss you, Blade, and to be honest, I have wanted to for some time.”
As she says the words, she scoots even closer, and as I nod, she smiles, wasting no time in pressing her soft lips against mine. As her arms slide around my neck and her soft body presses against mine, I am lost forever and there is no going back.