Page 69 of Burn It Down

Caleb handed Asher his smoke. “You all right after that? All that emotion coming off him, all that love, it’s a lot. He’s hard to deny.”

“You would know,” Asher said, blowing out his smoke over the porch railing.

“He needed to purge. I figured you’d be all for that, wanting him comforted.”

Asher stepped forward, and it was the first time I’d seen that menacing edge since he’d returned. They were turned to the side from my position so I could see both their expressions. Caleb’s was tight, but there was amusement dancing in his eyes too. And Asher… well, Asher looked pissed. “If he comes to you for that again, it only happens in my presence. Are we clear?”

The corner of my mouth turned up.

He was possessive of me.

Caleb grinned back at him. “Crystal.” He snatched his smoke back from Asher and took a long drag, then told him. “I’d rather have it that way, anyway.” He looked him up and down, none too subtly. “You think you can handle it, though? If I touched you right now, would you draw that knife you’ve got hidden beneath your tee and shove it against my throat like you did to Killian?”

He was starting the process with Asher now, trying to get a rise out of him, challenging him.

“Put out the smoke and let’s get started.”

“So, we’re gonna test the other thing later?”

“You won’t want me to test it, Cal.” He got up in his space, just shy of actually touching him, as he growled, “Because, it’ll be me owning you this time. Can you handle that?”

Oh fuck.

Caleb smirked. “Maybe I can.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah,” Caleb said, his smirk widening. “I’d say so.” He stubbed out his smoke with a chuckle. “Damn, I’ve missed this intensity you bring to every fucking thing.”

“It’s about to get a great deal more intense.”

“And you’re certain you want to do this?”

“I have to.”

“I agree.”

“You should know that I let it out a little at the auction that night.”

“What?”

“Carson pushed me. I almost killed him.”

“Almost? How is that possible if you were in that headspace?”

“For Aurora. I had to make a choice.”

“You’re telling me, she tamed it?”

“Partially.”

“Jesus Christ. All right, that’s… unprecedented. We’ll have to watch out for that when she’s near you again.”

“I know. I won’t allow it.”

“That might be easier said than done. Nothing and no one should be able to impact you when you’re in that bloodlusting headspace to begin with.”

Hmm. Maybe it was Aurora’s own darkness rubbing up against his? They were so similar with that, it made sense that it would knock him off-kilter as a result, like seeing his worst reflected back at him and jarring him from it as a result.

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