Page 108 of Wreck Me

He cupped her face. “Cal’s upstairs. He could come down any moment.”

“And you want to tell him about us in the right way, I know.” She stroked his hands on her face. “Sorry, I just got carried away.”

“You and me both.”

“It’s been all talking, picnics, no sexual stuff.”

“It’s called getting to know each other.”

She beamed up at him. “And I’ve loved every moment of it, even you teaching me some software tricks with Revit.”

“I’m just sorry we had to hide in the stairwell with our laptops to pull that off. To pull all of it off.”

“I know you’re just trying to protect me from the media circus that would result if us dating becomes public knowledge. Besides, after we no longer have to hide it from Caleb after today, we can meet here in the open.”

“Yeah,” he murmured. “There’s that.”

I winced.

So much for me giving him shit about all this deception.

He hated it so much that he couldn’t have a normal life, date like a normal person, or do anything at all, in fact. Not in the public eye. Not outside the confines of our place or King Manor. Me getting on his back about him keeping this development with Skylar a secret from me would just worsen all of that, and it was definitely bad enough already.

So, I pushed from my viewing position, and strode down the stairs, not softening my step even one bit.

They both spun at the sound, eyes wide as they took me in.

I held up my hand as I reached them. “I heard—and saw—it all. Cat’s out of the bag. And it’s all good.”

Skylar smiled happily and rubbed Bastian’s arm.

Bastian, though, his eyes narrowed and he asked, suspiciously, “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“After I kept this secret from you and Cas?”

“It wasn’t as much of a secret as you think. Cas knew you went to the Bennett home the other week and that you stayed for quite a while.”

“Of course he had eyes on me,” he muttered. “Didn’t fucking trust me.”

“We were just both concerned after you started reacting to things.” I gestured at Skylar. “To this mesmerizing and fearsome creature who’s somehow managed to upturn both our lives. Cas soon too, I’m sure, once they connect.” Believe me, I knew him well, he wouldn’t be immune to it. He’d be fascinated by her. He already had been enough to want to bring her in on The Jackals, but he’d only learned about her from a distance, from his research and our reports. In person would be beyond for him.

“But it didn’t result in a downward spiral as we’d feared.” I looked between them and in particular how upbeat and just… bright that he was. “The direct opposite, actually.”

He smiled and tucked Skylar into his side and surprised the hell out of me as he kissed the top of her head and then even nuzzled her hair. “What can I say? It’s what this one does to me.”

Skylar’s cheeks heated and she hid her face in his chest.

“Aww, you’re blushing again,” he teased.

I couldn’t help chuckling. “Damn. You guys are tugging at my heartstrings. I can’t decide if it’s in a sickening or sweet way. A bit of both, I guess.”

Bastian punched my shoulder with his free hand and that only had me laughing harder and slapping my hand to where he’d connected. “Ow.”

“Ow? Bullshit.”

Skylar lifted her head and looked out at me. “Yeah, I heard you’re a whore for pain.”

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