A Slave to Love

Chapter 24: New Side

Blade cursed under his breath as he towed me quickly to the edge of the pool. He hefted me out easily and laid me down on the cement, leaning over me as he brushed my wet hair out of my face and I sputtered onto the cement.

"Dammit, Kiana are you okay?"

I couldn't answer on account that I still couldn't breathe, though if I could answer the only thing coming out of my mouth would have been a long string of profanities, instead of the mouthfuls of chlorinated water I was currently spitting out.

Finally, with several very unattractive coughs, sputters and hacks, and upchucking what felt like half of the pool, my throat cleared and I inhaled a blissful gulp of fresh air. Slumping onto the cement, I groaned and tried to remember what it was like to not have chlorine burning my sinuses and throat.

"You okay?" Blade asked once I got my breath back, still sitting on his knees next to me.

"Peachy."

He grinned impishly, as if now that I was alright it was okay to laugh at me. "Good. I forgot you're still living and need oxygen."

"You forgot?" I echoed as I sat up, "I almost died!"

"But you didn't," he replied, as if that ended the debate. Then he stood up, stretching a hand down to me.

I grasped it after a moment's hesitation and he helped me to my feet. "Yeah, well. I could have sworn I saw my Great Aunt Patty for a second."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for nearly drowning you," he said, tugging on my arm until our bodies were almost against each other, our forearms pressed together, tattoo to tattoo as he leaned his head down close to mine with a lazy grin that made my heart trip again.

Dammit.

"Apology not accepted."

"Well, that's too bad. I guess I'll just have to make you forgive me." 

"What do you—" he knocked my legs out from underneath me, caught me, and then took a running start before he leapt back into the pool. We plunged under water before he brought us back to the surface, me sputtering and coughing up more water.

"Ready to forgive me yet?" he asked, still holding me but now he shifted me so we were both vertical, pressed against each other.

"Never," I rasped.

"Hmm, pity." Then he pushed me underwater again.

"Blade!" I cried as I came up for air, only for him to dunk me again. "Stop...it!"

"What are the magic words?" he asked cheekily as he held me by the waist out of the water.

I put my hands on his shoulders, gripping him tightly so he couldn't dunk me again. As if that would ever work in a million years.

"I forgive you," I panted, "Now stop dunking me."

"Fine," he said, dropping me back into the water but keeping his hold on me. "So what do you want to do for fun?"

"Hmmm, does drowning you count as fun?"

"I can't drown. We'd be here forever...not that I would mind or anything."

I splashed him. "Sorry, but I can't live forever."

"You could if you wanted too," he said, starting to spin us in slow, lazy circles again.

"Oh yeah, here Blade, bite me," I said sarcastically. "Get real. Even if I wanted it, you wouldn't do it."

"So if you had the choice to turn, you'd want to stay human?" he asked, the question taking on a more serious edge.