“I need you,” she murmured.
His lips curled up, and he gave each of her hands a kiss before he folded them across her chest, placing his palms over them. “Stay in bed. I’ll be back soon.”
HE’D NEVER USED THE KITCHEN until now, preferring to order from one of the restaurants in Eclipse. He didn’t want to risk that today, in case a waiter caught a glimpse of Alyssa by accident. When he checked the fridge and cupboards, they were stocked. The staff did a good job, even though they knew the food would not be used. He set that posh coffee maker to work, placed bread in the toaster and then cracked eggs into a frying pan. Damn, if his partners could see him now, as he prepared eggs, toast and coffee for a woman, they’d never let him live it down. But there was something about Alyssa that made him want to take care of her. She deserved to be taken care of. Again, what was he going to do with her? Part of him wanted to keep her here with him, but sooner or later, James would find out and then the shit would hit the fan.
When he returned to the bedroom, she was sat cross-legged on the bed, propped against the pillows. She didn’t even notice him, she was that engrossed in the television. Her hair was wet, which meant she’d taken a shower, and she’d changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a tee shirt—probably from her rucksack, which had arrived here before he returned from last night’s meeting. For a moment, he stood by the doorway with the tray in his hands, watching her expressions: her eyes widening and a grin on that delicate face as she watched some comedy show. As he took in the joy on her face, something lit inside him, touching his damn soul. Right now, as she dropped her head back and laughed, her dyed hair falling behind her, there was no sign of the wrecked life she’d lived…
He cleared his throat, and she turned and looked at him, her eyes wide. A flush tinged her cheeks, making him smile. He stepped closer and placed the tray on the bed. He didn’t care if the expensive bed sheets got ruined—she was going to enjoy a good breakfast.
“Eat.”
She shook her head, a big smile on her face. “I’m not hungry.”
His lips twitched. “Go on, eat.”
“I said I’m not hungry.”
When he took a piece of toast, she automatically opened her mouth. Damn, had anything given him as much satisfaction as feeding her did? She chowed down bite after bite, his fingers barely able to keep up with her. Eventually, the tray was empty. “Want more?” When she refused, he frowned. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that?”
A small burp left her mouth, and she covered it with her hands. “Sorry.” He chuckled. At least she wasn’t hungry. He stood, intending to return the tray to the kitchen, but she grabbed his arm. “Sit, Blade. Please.”
He placed the tray on the table and when he sat on the bed, she cuddled against him. This was just too damn comfortable. “I’ll have to leave soon, Alyssa, because my partners will start wondering if I spend too much time away from the complex. But Junaid will stay here and look after you.”
“Junaid?”
“Handsome fucker with a goatee. The Oasis manager.” When her limbs stiffened, “Don’t worry. He’ll look after you. Trust me.”
She relaxed against him. “Thank you. For everything you’re doing for me.” He wasn’t doing anything, not really. She edged closer, and he inhaled the scent of her freshly washed hair. It was dangerous territory, but as he held her, satisfaction rumbled inside him. “How long have you been involved with Eclipse?” she asked.
“Since its inception. A few years.”
“Is it really such a big deal if the girls work here?”
It didn’t feel like such a big deal anymore, but to be honest, he didn’t want her working in this profession, full-stop. It was stupid, because he had no right over her and never would. “How about you? How long have you been in Manhattan?”
“Too long. Over a year.”
“You’ve been working for James all that time?”
She nodded against his shirt. “I came here, hoping for a better future. I only realized what the exclusive job offer was when I got here.”
“What about your family? Why didn’t you go back to them?”
“I’ve only got a dad. And, well, let’s just say he’d put enough scars on my body before James had a go.” He held her arm before him. For once, it was clean of makeup. Yes, there were old scars among the fresh ones. Marks that would always remain, reminding her of the shit she’d been dealt with. She’d been through enough without James wanted to get revenge for some imagined insult. “The number of times I wished I’d never come to Manhattan. But now”—she snuggled closer—“Meeting you…it’s been worth it.”
He didn’t want to hear those words, because eventually, he would have to let her go. His best bet right now was to buy her freedom from the mob boss and then send her away, somewhere she couldn’t be tracked down. But the idea of not seeing her again was killing him.
And he could deal with that in the only way he knew…by putting a distance between them. “I better get to work, Alyssa.”
“Stay,” she whispered.
He fought the part of him that wanted to. “Get some rest. Like I said, Junaid will look after you.”
And then he walked out of there, before that damn longing on her face made him change his mind.
BRANDED, ONE OF THE busy pleasure zones, was lined with cages, inside which men and women danced and moaned. Some of them were staff, dancers of the highest caliber who were paid excellent wages to titillate the clubbers. Others were clients, special ones, who were invited into the cages by the dancers. It wasn’t Blade’s favorite part of the complex, but although the partners had their own zones to manage, they rotated a few times a month, so they kept in touch with what was going on around the venue.
“What’s up?” the dragon Darius asked. “You’re distracted tonight.” The shifter would not get it, because he was nicely set up with a witch. Not only was she of his kind, a supernatural, but there were no complications to bother them. “How’s it going with the whole James situation?”
“Junaid’s taken care of that, and he’s doing a good job of running Oasis at the same time.” Speak of the devil, the lion shifter appeared at the zone entrance, dressed in a black two-piece even though he was spending the day at the villa. Why wasn’t he with Alyssa? Blade took one look at his face and then stood to follow him out of the zone and into the corridor that was only accessible to staff. He said nothing as they walked past crème walls and ornate wood doors. It was only when Junaid turned into one of the offices that Blade asked, “What’s going on?”
“James is here. He’s in the red VIP room.”
Fucking great. Blade sent Darius a message to let him know where he was going and then followed Junaid out of the area. “What about Alyssa?”
“I locked the villa before coming out. As soon as I knew it was James, I thought I’d better meet him myself.”
Good thinking. “Go back to the villa, and don’t leave until I ask you to.”
Tension took the form of silence and settled around them as they exited the complex through the nearest gate. They walked along the wall that led to the rear of Eclipse, and in the garden, they both went in opposite directions. When Blade entered the red VIP room, that worm James sat inside. Dressed in a tailored gray three-piece and with a drink in his hand, he leaned against the sofa as if he owned the place. As soon as he saw him, an image flashed before Blade’s eyes, of Alyssa’s scarred arms. He clenched his teeth, and it took all his willpower to prevent himself from taking the mobster’s head and smashing it against the wall.
He took a seat opposite the asshole, fighting for an air of nonchalance. “What’s up, James? All good?”
“Not really. I’m missing one of my girls…she’s special to me…my guys are everywhere but can’t track her down. You wouldn’t know where she is, would you?”
“You have to give me more information than that.”
“Her name’s Alyssa.” James took his phone from his jacket pocket and he
ld it out, his eyes fixed on Blade’s face. With fuck knew what strength, Blade kept his expression blank, but inside him, something died. The image was not that of the giggling woman he’d left in his villa. He would have turned his face, if it didn’t give away that he knew her. Alyssa…her eyes wild and mascara spoiling her face. Naked and spread-eagled, tied to a bed. The two naked guys on either side of her posed with their fucking thumbs up for the photo. What the hell did they do to her? He inhaled, deep. Something rushed through his system, indicating that the rage was on its way. But if that demon overtook him now, James wouldn’t make it out of here with his limbs intact.
“I don’t know who she is, James.”
“Are you sure?” James stared at the screen, frowning. “Because according to what I’ve heard, she’s been seen around here.”
“Maybe she was warned and then kept away?”
“She was given a warning, but she came back after that. Yet she wasn’t reported?” It didn’t matter where James had got the information. Blade just had to focus on getting Alyssa out of the villa fast. “She’s left her old apartment, which she used to share with another whore. My men have been all over the borough, and they even went as far as her washed up father’s place, but she’s nowhere.” He leaned back, his hands behind his head as he stared at Blade. “Someone’s hiding her, and when I find out who, they’ll pay.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less of you,” said Blade. “Was there anything else?”
James stood. “No. But considering that I came in personally, I hope you realize how important this is.”
“I do. And if she turns up here, you’re the first person I’ll contact.”
There was no way of knowing if the mobster believed him as he walked out of the room. Blade sat for a few moments, trying to figure out a solution for this mess, but each time, that image flashed through his head. Alyssa, tied up and tortured…he stood and also left the room to return to Branded. As he took his place next to Darius, this wasn’t where he wanted to be. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to take her in his arms to kiss and comfort her until she forgot everything she’d been through. And then he’d kiss her some more…
“James came to see you?” Darius asked.
“How the hell do you know?”
“Come on. We’ve got security all over the place here. If someone like him turns up, I’m going to find out. Why did he come?”
“You know that asshole. He likes throwing his weight around.”
The shifter grinned. “Well, if you have any problems with him, you know lots of us are looking forward to making a meal of the idiot.”
A fight with such a powerful gang was the last thing they needed. And yet, when that image of Alyssa flashed through his head again, Blade was so tempted…so fucking tempted to gather his friends and send that bastard James to the hellhole where he belonged.
CHAPTER NINE
* * *
ALYSSA SAT IN THE VILLA living room, watching comedy reruns with Junaid. She’d been shit-scared of being left along with the shifter after those times he threatened to rat her out to James, but he’d turned out to be good company, even if he was the silent, brooding type.
As the remaining tension between them eased, she asked the question that had been on her mind the whole evening. “So, how well do you know Blade?”
He frowned, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. “Not as well as you, judging by how he looks after you.” She felt her cheeks flush, and he grinned. “Sorry, couldn’t resist it. I’ve only known him a couple of years.”
“Oh. Has he always been like this?” When he frowned, “I just meant…he’s quite distant, isn’t he?”
“Perhaps you should speak to him direct—”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry—”
“It’s all right. It’s common knowledge that Blade wasn’t like this before…” He shook his head. “When the government found out about our kind, it just picked up everyone, you know. Put us all into holding units. When it came to Blade, they decided that because he was a demon, they would isolate him for months—”
“God, no…”
“There was no reason to but hey, that’s what happens when officials get their knowledge about a species from comic books. And of course, the religious organizations were particularly averse to Blade’s kind…said that demons came directly from hell and all that—” He caught himself, as if he’d said too much.
She asked no more questions, because what he’d told her was enough for her to understand why Blade kept to himself. And it only made her care for him more. What an idiot she was when she questioned him on being alone. She never imagined there might be a painful past behind his decision.
Junaid had turned serious, even scenes of outrageously silly comedy unable to elicit a smile. Silence descended between them, and she spoke again only to break it. “You know, Junaid. That time when you took your phone out to send my details to James, I never thought that we’d one day sit watching television together.” In Blade’s villa, too.
His jaw tightened as he glanced at the beer can in his hand. “Sorry about that, Alyssa. I wasn’t happy about doing it.”
“But you did it.”
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Why was she even going in that direction? She had no idea of how many days he might spend in the villa with her, and tension was the last thing they both needed. “If it makes you feel any better, your boss James was going to chip all the girls. If he’d done that, the girls would have been caught straight away, and they’d have chips inside them that James could use to track them and even cause pain.” He sighed, but his muscled body was rigid. “This way, the girls got a chance at least, didn’t they? We warned them first.”
“I suppose that was better than the first option,” she murmured. James was a bastard through and through, wasn’t he?
Should she speak to Blade about the situation? Maybe tonight…over the special dinner she’d prepared for them both? She was sure he didn’t believe that reporting the women to James was a good thing. Maybe they could come up with a solution together. The demon looked tough with that muscled body and the tattoo covering his back, but the way he’d taken care of her this morning, feeding her with his fingers, revealed a soft side that she wanted to see more often…
Junaid suddenly stood, surprising her. And when she saw the reason why, a little glow danced inside her, spreading until it filled her being. Blade stood outside, dashing in a black shirt and pants, and he stepped into the room as the glass doors opened. His eyes went straight to Junaid, as if she wasn’t even there. “There have been no issues?”
Junaid shook his head. “I made lunch here, as you ordered, but Alyssa took over the dinner.”
“There’s only so much scrambled eggs and toast a girl can take,” she piped up.
Blade grinned, making her belly do somersaults. “I appreciate this, Junaid. I’ll let you know if I need you tomorrow.”
“Sure, see you soon.” The shifter turned to Alyssa. “Take care.”
Her smiled was wide as she stared up at him. “Thank you for everything, Junaid.”
Once the shifter had left, Blade pressed a switch by the glass doors, and blinds drew across them. It was cozy, hidden inside here with him. “Did you eat enough, Alyssa?”
“A little.” She ventured, “I was hoping that when you returned, we could eat together.”
“I’ve already eaten.”
She forced a smile. “That’s all right. I’m not that hungry, not really.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look. How about we have a quick bite—”
“Wait a minute,” she squealed. “Don’t come into the kitchen yet.” She checked that he was going to do as she said, before she rushed to the luxurious kitchen, which looked as if it had fallen from the pages of a magazine. After Junaid had eaten, she’d set the dining table for two. She now took out the beef lasagna she’d left in the oven to keep warm and then arranged i
t on the table with a Caesar salad. After that, she increased the oven temperature to finish the apple pie. She lit two candles in the middle of the table and then stood back to take a look. It was…romantic. “You can come in now!”
He appeared at the kitchen door, but as he took in the table, his face darkened. He didn’t like it? Perhaps the candles were too much. She agonized over whether to use them, but she had so wanted this to be perfect…
“We’re not a couple.” His voice was hard. “Why are you playing at something we’re not?”
Her smile dropped at his harsh words, but she quickly recovered it. “I know we’re not. I just wanted us to have dinner together. It means nothing else. Promise.”
“No.” This was not what she’d expected as she counted the hours and seconds all day, wondering when he’d be back. She’d imagined that he would be unable to wait before taking her in his arms, but right now, it was as if he didn’t want to be near her. As she felt her lips tremble, he sighed. “Look, Alyssa. You’ll be gone soon.”
“Gone soon?” He was planning to send her away again. Nothing had changed…but what else did she expect? That just because he’d taken care of her, it meant something more…like he wanted to be with her? And then she thought of what Junaid had told her about the demon’s past. After knowing what she did, she felt an even deeper connection to him…they were both alone, but didn’t need to be, did they?
He cursed at her expression. “What did you think? That you could stay here?”
She might work the alleys when she had to, but that didn’t mean she had no pride. “I know I have to leave soon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have dinner together. But you’re right, it’s a stupid idea.” She blew out the candles, tears biting her eyes as she turned off the oven. As she took the food from the table and placed it inside the fridge, she said, “If you get hungry later, you know where to look.” She forced a yawn. “I’m pretty tired, so I’ll get to bed—”
As she walked past him, he held her arm. “Alyssa, don’t be like this—”
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