Page 128 of Wreck Me

It was certainly something.

“He’ll get to that point. Just give it a little time. All of this is new to him.”

“Feeling after shutting down for so long?”

“More than that,” Caleb said, stroking a strand of her hair. “Falling in love, darling.”

Her lips parted. “I… I don’t know about that.”

Caleb chuckled. “I see you need some time to wrap your head around that. I’ll go find our boy.” He planted a kiss on the top her head, then stopped by me and kissed me on the cheek, then leaned in and whispered, “After your performance in that ring earlier, I’m barely keeping my dick in check here, Cas. Fucking need you tonight.”

I turned into him and whispered, “How do you want it?”

“Hard and dirty. Real dirty.”

Hmm, absolutely delicious. “Later then, lovely.”

He grinned, breathed in my minty cologne scent, then reluctantly pulled from me and strode out of the living room.

Leaving me alone with the girl.

Feeling the change in the atmosphere and the buffer that was Caleb now gone, I saw her tense, then shift her weight on the armchair, sitting up rigidly straight.

Yeah, I’d been known to have that effect on people, unnerving them without so much as a word.

“I didn’t say it yet, but thank you for what you did earlier,” she spoke.

“You’re welcome.”

A nervous smile played on her lips. She clearly knew she was in the lion’s den. Although, given her reputation and the fierce way she’d been with Bastian and Caleb, I’d expected her to be far less intimidated by that and not to balk. She was clearly still on edge by what had happened. Perhaps, also with Bastian’s pained and irate reaction to it all.

“You’ve got some skills… in combat, I mean.”

“You’re not lacking there yourself.”

“Something you were already well aware of before I even came back here.”

I smiled. There was that fight, that fire. Well, a spark of it at least. “You were regaining the upper hand by the time I arrived, you could’ve finished it yourself. You didn’t require my assistance.”

Realization shone in her eyes. “You did it for Bastian.”

“In a sense. It was also a lesson and punishment to Damien for stepping out of line.” I rose from my seat and crossed to her. She watched me carefully as I settled myself onto the coffee table just a foot from her. “The act itself also signified that you are under my protection now.”

She frowned. “You’re not known for being sentimental, so there’s a strategic reason for you doing that, right?”

“On the contrary, I am very sentimental. To those within my inner circle.”

“Bastian and Caleb.”

“Indeed. You and I haven’t been afforded the opportunity to develop a bond yet, although with the way my brothers have taken to you, I am intrigued about the notion. But that will require time. So, as for why I laid down the law where you’re concerned tonight, it’s become clear that it’s no longer possible for you to remain on the outside.”

“That’s… quite something.”

“That’s how deeply they’ve come to care for you. Especially Bastian. He’s never cared about anyone outside of our inner circle. We honestly thought he never would. Yet, here you are impacting him in ways none of us saw coming. Unfortunately, there’s also a negative side to that, a dangerous side for him. That’s why I need to bring you in now, pull you close to us, to prevent those unfortunate things from coming to pass.”

“I don’t want him hurt either, for the record.”

“I didn’t suppose that you did. At least not intentionally.”

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