Page 48 of Scars Run Deep

I reached up and cupped his face. “They call you Savage, but you’re actually a real sweetheart. With me. With Killian, always making sure he’s okay. With Asher, your attentiveness to him.”

He grasped my hand on his. “That’s as far as the sweetheart part goes, though. Just to you three.”

“For now. But once we’re done with our mission, things will be different. You won’t have to be shoehorned into anything. You can be whatever. Or stay the way you are if that’s your thing. The point is, there will be no more restrictions.”

He frowned at that.

Not what I’d expected.

Of all three of them, he was the one who could look on the bright and positive side of things the most often, the most consistently.

“Are you worried? About the change I mentioned?” I asked, tentatively. “I’m sorry that I brought it—”

“No,” he said, stroking my cheek. “Just imagining how it could play out. I mean, not so much for me. I can roll with it, with whatever. But Asher, you know, he’s very regimented, set in his ways. Sure, he can adapt to a situation, especially to a threat, but beyond that… he made himself into who he is now. Purposely. It was a reaction to the threat the Head Infidels posed to us, a way to hold back their control, to tame it. If that all went away—the threat—I just wonder who he’d be. If he could even relax and tone it down. If he could actually—”

“Love?”

Our gazes clashed.

He swallowed. “Yeah.”

“It’s more than even him being a brother-in-arms to you, isn’t it?” I breathed, the full force of the realization taking me aback. “More than what he can give you during your crazy intense fuck sessions.” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it sooner. But then again, a hell of a lot had been happening since I’d moved to Hexwood. “You love him, don’t you?”

He looked away, then stepped back.

Okay, he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Perhaps, not even to actually acknowledge it.

Thankfully, my phone buzzing again was actually a welcome interruption to the awkwardness that was about to descend on us thanks to me bringing that up.

I swiped my phone open and took in another message from Killian.

Killian: Does Ronan have a thing for you?

Where was that coming from?

Aurora: What? No.

Killian: You sure? The way he was talking you up begs to differ. He even had the balls to lay down the law to me about treating you right.

Aurora: Good thing he wasn’t on shift the night of that charade Jonah and I had to put on.

Killian: Don’t remind me of those fucked-up times. Jonah didn’t react well to it either, so it’s not just me who flipped their shit. For the record, you know.

Aurora: What do you mean he didn’t react well?

Killian: I’ll let him tell you. He’s with you right now, good time while you’re alone together.

He meant while Asher wasn’t here.

Aurora: He’s not gonna do that.

Jonah wasn’t as secretive as Asher, but he was still up there when it came to certain things, namely anything related to Infidels business.

Killian: He almost killed Hollis instead of just sending a message. I had to stop him.

I looked out at Jonah, then swallowed hard and responded to Killian.

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