Page 94 of The Lycans: Vol Four

But my default was sarcasm, so I teased, “It’s a good thing you didn’t come to me.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tossed the almost empty canteen back into the bag. “I probably could’ve done some serious damage to you.”

I eyed his big body, knowing there was no way I could do any kind of damage to a male his size.

He stood there in silence just watching me, and in turn I sat there in uncomfortable tenseness waiting for him to say whatever it was that was on the tip of his tongue.

“Do you want to talk?—”

“No.” I cut him off and closed my eyes tightly, hating that the nightmare stuck with me well after I’d already woken and knew I was no longer trapped in that situation.

But my back still burned, that pain I knew would stay with me forever, a lingering companion. It had taken months for those wounds to heal, for them to scab over and become the scars I now carried as a constant reminder.

I cleared my throat again. “No. It’s fine. I’m fine.” I was trying to convince myself more than him.

I stood and stared at the still-burning fire, realizing he must’ve added more wood and stoked it.

“How long was I out?”

He leaned against the rocky wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “A couple of hours, from what I can gauge anyway. Go back to sleep. Let me protect you. I’ll kill anything that comes close.”

Despite not wanting to, I felt the corner of my mouth lift. It was hard to keep my bitchy attitude in place when he said things that were pretty damn sweet.

“Is that your default?”

He lifted a dark brow.

“To just kill any threat?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

I felt an unexpected warmth bloom between my thighs when hearing him say that, as if the prospect of him being violent to protect me… turned me on.

I’m losing my damn mind.

“I know what it’s like, to have your demons haunt you long after they’ve been killed.”

His voice was low and deep, almost so low I didn’t know if I heard him correctly. But he stared at me as if he knew what I’d dreamed about, as if he’d plucked the images from my mind and saw for himself what they’d done to me.

I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say, because the truth was, the prospect of opening up to Sebastian didn’t sound all that… wrong. My heart cried out to share my pain, to let someone hold me and tell me everything was okay. But I was afraid, terrified of losing control, not with him but with myself.

I didn’t want to let what had happened forever define who and what I was now.

So I said nothing because I didn't know how to convey any of that to him, hell, to anyone. But before that awkward silence could descend further, I felt my eyes widen and shock fill me.

Instantly I felt a change in him. He grew tense, this icy air exploding out of him, a growl reverberating around us.

I got up so quickly that I stumbled forward and caught myself on the wall as I made my way toward the entrance of the cavern.

“What? What’s wrong?” His voice was hard and alert as he stepped in front of me, placing himself between me and whatever invisible threat he sensed.

I wasn’t thinking as I reached out and placed a hand on the center of his chest, bracing myself, or maybe it was to push him back so he wasn’t in the way.

But the feeling of his hard, warm chest against my palm had my body singing. I knew he felt it too because his heart started beating faster under my palm, and I heard his sharp inhale.

I glanced up at him, then looked down at where my hand rested, swallowing roughly at the same time I felt intense heat move through me.

“Let me carry your burden?” he said softly and leaned down, my breath coming out harder and faster, my focus trained on his lips.

I felt that familiar warmth settle between my legs all over again. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to.

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