Page 20 of Possessive

Finally, I slid the bookmark into place and closed the book. If anyone dogeared any of my books, they'd lose a few fingers. As they should. If I was obsessive over anything, it was the condition of my books. Meticulous, clean and with spines unbroken.

I placed the book on the table beside me and scrubbed a hand over my face. At the best of times, I couldn't sleep more than two or three hours a night. With Mina in the house, I was unlikely to get that much.

Gianni once suggested I was at least part vampire. I'd rolled my eyes at him. For his own amusement, he spent the next week with a scarf wrapped around his neck.

I ignored his attempts to goad me, and eventually he stopped wearing it. It might have been Damon's threat to use the scarf to strangle Gianni that did it. Damon was as quiet as I was and just as unpredictable. He may just as easily have carried out his threat on a whim.

Given how irritated I'd be if he killed Gianni, it was best he hadn't.

I suspected Gianni was safe from Damon's hands. They seemed to have some understanding that bordered on a fucked up bromance. Or at least, a mutual agreement not to take each other's lives. I didn't care as long as shit didn't get messy.

I looked up as Gianni slid into the room. Didn't say a word while he sat across from me, his hands steepled and pressed against his lips.

"I scared the shit out of her," he said finally.

"I saw." I heard a rapid shuffling, followed by a thump as she hit the floor.

I hadn't stopped to think, I'd just found myself at her door. Immediately, I wanted to soothe the expression of fear from her face. Fuck, I wanted to pick her up off the floor and wrap my arms around her. If I hadn't thought that wouldn't scare her more, I would have, so I kept my distance.

"I had no idea." Gianni's brow was as furrowed as I'd ever seen it. His dark eyes were troubled. "I showed her a video of her brother and I thought she'd like some other music."

"You couldn't have known," I said. "This won't be the last thing that triggers her."

"I know, I just figured if she could stand looking at my face, then a bit of music was harmless." His forehead smoothed and he smiled slightly.

I grunted softly. "Apparently there are things in this world more terrifying than your face."

He chuckled. "Reuben Brantley, did you just make a joke?"

My left shoulder rose and fell, barely more than a twitch. "I don't make jokes, just observations."

"I knew you secretly loved me." He laced his fingers together and placed them across his lap.

"So secretly I, myself, wasn't aware of it," I said dryly.

That made him grin more. "Ouch. I have knives gentler than you."

"I'm not supposed to be gentle," I said. "Gentle gets people dead."

He arched an eyebrow at me. "I saw the way you looked at Mina. There's gentleness deep inside you."

I arched mine back at him. "If you ever say that again, you'll be on the other end of one of your knives."

"You know what your problem is?" He tapped his hand against his thigh.

I gave him a flat stare.

As if I hadn't made it clear I didn't want to continue this line of conversation, he went on.

"Your problem is that you think being gentle is a weakness. Sometimes it's a strength. If you softened enough to let someone in, you might find it beneficial."

"I don't need to let anyone in," I said, my teeth gritted.

"Bullshit." He was unflinching. "Everyone needs to let someone in once in a while. Like I said, I saw how you looked at Mina. Like you wanted to tuck her into your pocket and keep her safe from the world. Or better yet, into your pants."

I gripped the arms of my chair and glared at him. "After all she's been through?—"

He smiled with something that looked like triumph. "See what I mean? I've never seen you protective of anyone before. Not like this."

---