Blade

Chapter 32: Uninvited

Sienna

My grip tightens on the fork as the girl approaches, the sharp click of her heels against the tiles making me wince while a pulse of pain throbs in my ears.

She stops beside Blade, resting her hand lightly on his shoulder, a wide grin spreading across her face. My ribs tighten instinctively as all eyes shift toward me, measuring my reaction.

I curl my fingers around the glass and lift it slowly, forcing the wine down my parched throat. The taste is unexpectedly bitter, lingering on my tongue.

"Natasha, what are you doing here?" Blade growls, his jaw tightening as he slowly pulls away from her touch, his glare locked firmly on her.

"You didn't invite me for dinner? I'm quite offended, Blade." She presses a hand to her chest in mock hurt, her eyes flicking toward me with a mischievous, almost dangerous smile.

"Why would he? This is a family dinner, Natasha, not a gathering for a couple of street sluts." Franco spits the words through clenched teeth, his eyes burning with hatred at her, but Natasha only waves him off, unbothered by the venom in his tone.

"Very funny, Franco. You haven't changed one bit." Natasha mutters with a sharp sneer, then turns her gaze to me. "And you must be... Blade's fiancée? Am I right?"

A shiver runs down my spine. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and gnaw at the inside of my cheek, tasting the metallic tang of blood. Taking a sip of wine, I try to calm the anger simmering inside me. "Yes. And you must be..." I let the words trail off, a faint smirk playing on my lips.

"Um, I'm just a friend." She giggles nervously and flops into the chair beside Blade, which leaves her sitting directly across from me.

"A friend?" I quirk an amused brow at her, forcing myself to ignore the shivers that Blade's stormy grey eyes send crawling through me.

"Yes. I'm a very good friend of Blade. We met a week ago to catch up on the times we've missed." Natasha offers a sickeningly sweet smile, putting extra emphasis on the words catch up.

My stomach twists into knots as the meaning sinks in, and the realization hits me fully.

She's the woman Blade fucked while I was chained to my bed.

The thought makes my chest tighten painfully against my ribs. I swallow hard, trying to force down the lump in my throat, while she flicks me a knowing smirk that only makes it worse.

Blade runs his hand through his hair, and butterflies flutter restlessly in my stomach at the simple, innocent motion. I curse under my breath and mentally slap my forehead for letting him have such a ridiculous effect on me.

"What are you doing in my house, uninvited?" Blade snaps, his knuckles whitening as he grips the edge of the table. "I warned you never to show your face to me again."

His eyes lock onto mine, and I quickly lower my gaze to the food in front of me, not wanting the storm of emotions lurking behind his irises to send my nerves into overdrive.

A soft giggle slips past her lips as her fingers trail down his shoulders to his arm. She leans closer and whispers, "Do I need an invite to come see you? Apparently, you've already forgotten how much fun we had last time."

"Unbelievable," Camila scoffs, glaring at Natasha.

My heart sinks to my stomach at her words, yet I force my face to stay blank, fighting the rush of emotions clawing at me. I don't even understand why I'm feeling this way when I know I shouldn't, but the harder I try to ignore it, the stronger it burns inside me.

When Blade pulls back from her touch, the crushing weight in my chest eases, a sharp relief flooding through me. God, what the hell is wrong with me? I don't want this. I don't want to feel this way.

It's not like I actually like him. Attraction, sure. Blade's the kind of man who pulls eyes without even trying, and I'm not blind. But that doesn't mean I have feelings for him. That can't mean anything.

I shove away the awkward tension creeping into the air, tilt the glass to my lips, and drain every drop of wine in one gulp, hoping it will wash the chaos out of me.

"Don't fucking push me, Natasha." Blade warns.

A frown pulls at Natasha's lips as her gaze flicks from Blade to me, her eyes narrowing with bitterness. "Oh, I get it. She has taken my place, right?"

"What place?" Blade shoots back, confusion flashing across his features even as his jaw tightens, irritation bristling beneath the surface.

Natasha lets out a humorless laugh. "All those nights we spent, all the sex we had, none of it satisfied you. That's why you went and found yourself a new fuck toy, huh? Oh, wait—" her eyes land on me with pure malice, "let me put it in terms she'll understand. A worthless whore."

My spine stiffens as silence gradually settles in the air around us. Blade's stormy grey eyes suddenly grows dark and dangerous, his chest rises and fall as his breathing becomes ragged.

"What did you just call me?" I whisper, biting down on my lower lip to keep myself from snapping.

"You're a worthless whore," she repeats, her smirk curling with venom.

I press my lips into a tight smile before pushing to my feet. Reaching for the cocktail sauce in the center of the table, I hurl the contents across her face. Satisfaction floods through me as she shrieks, clawing at her eyes, the sharp tang of tomatoes and spice burning her skin while I watch her struggle.

"The next time you call me a god damn whore, I'm gonna pluck out your eyeballs and force them down your throat." I tilt my head and give her the hardest glare I can summon, veins tight at my jaw.

Franco laughs, too loud, and gives me a ridiculous thumbs up.

Not bothering to check out Blade's reaction, I turn around and make my way up the stairs.

Shutting my bedroom door behind me, I let out a sigh and stride over to the bathroom. I stare at my reflection in the mirror and turn on the faucet, splashing the cold water on my face, I pull my hair into a low ponytail and take off my denim jacket that I hanged on the towel rack.

Before I can take off my black tank top, a knock resounds on my door making my eyebrows to knit together in confusion.

Who could it be?

I place my hand on the door knob but decide against opening it and proceed to take off my tank top but another knock stops me.

Letting out a low groan, I swing the door open and come face to face with Blade. I swallow hard as he takes a step into the bathroom, causing me to take a step back and he shuts the door behind him with his foot.

~•~

Thoughts??

I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you loved it.