Blade

Chapter 20: Good gamer

Sienna

"You've got to be kidding me." I whisper-yell, rubbing my sore ass, though it does nothing to ease the sting from the spanks.

"Stop being stubborn and hand me the damn phone," he snaps, muttering a string of curses in Italian I can't quite catch through the anger in his tone.

"Fine," I grumble with a huff, dropping my phone into his open palm.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he says says with a smug smirk that makes my hand twitch as if to slap him, but I hold myself back because I know how badly that would end. I'm already aching from the harsh spanks; I do not need another.

Blade lifts my phone and strolls to the door, waving it like a trophy. "You're not getting this back." The hard edge in his voice is impossible to ignore, but it only fuels my anger.

"Haven't I been punished enough?" I grumble, a slight whine lacing my words. Blade glances over his shoulder, a blank look on his face, before a dark chuckle slips from him as he continues out of my room.

Asshole.

I collapse back onto the bed, biting down on my lower lip as a sharp wave of pain spreads through my sore ass. The ache is so deep it makes me want to whimper, but I swallow the sound, refusing to give him that satisfaction.

Reaching for the tray, I settle it across my lap and jab my fork into the cold, rubbery egg with clear disgust. I lift the glass of orange juice and take a sip, the tartness doing little to improve my mood.

My stomach gives an insistent grumble, and despite the unappealing food, I force myself to eat. Each bite is tasteless, heavy, but hunger wins over pride.

****

I spot the familiar figure lounging on the bright orange couch in the game room, his eyes locked on the massive flat-screen TV as his fingers fly across the gaming controller.

When his character dies, he mutters a string of curses under his breath before reaching for the root beer bottle on the table beside a stack of empty pizza boxes.

"Hi." I greet with a tentative smile, clasping my hands together as I rock on my heels, unsure if I'm welcome since Nico still seemed upset about me getting him in trouble with Blade.

"Sienna." He turns toward me with a wide grin and pats the spot beside him on the couch.

My first instinct is to bolt out of the room, unsure of how he'll react, but Nico just rolls his eyes. Standing up, he grabs my hand and tugs me over to the couch, pressing a bottle of root beer into my hand, which I refuse.

"It's fine, Sienna. I'm not mad at you," he says softly before taking another sip. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. It was just hard for me to process, you know?"

My eyebrows scrunch together in confusion at his words. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. "Apart from being his underboss and carrying a lot of responsibilities, Blade is my best friend, more like a brother. He was furious when you escaped under my watch. The insults he threw at me over that made me feel worthless, and he's thrown plenty before, but this was different. It just stung a little more, I guess."

My heart tightens as I move closer to Nico and pull his head onto my shoulder. "I'm sorry for that. I never realized my escape could hurt so many people."