Page 102 of They Break Beauty

I recognized it as the same thing in myself—a trauma response. A symptom of PTSD that the two of us obviously shared.

It had taken everything in me not to react by lunging for the knife block and drawing a blade in the next split-second.

As it was, I managed to rise to my feet somewhat calmly, even though the sudden shock of the aggressive noise had made my pulse spike and adrenaline spark.

Shit, chill out. Get a hold of yourself, girl. It’s just a knock at the freaking door.

“It’s okay,” I told Levi, managing to dart in front of him as he went to storm toward the door like a war machine of some sort.

I pressed my hand to his chest and his now dark gaze snapped to mine.

His heart was thumping rapidly.

“I get it, but it’s just the door.”

He stared down at my hand on his bare chest, then back up to my face. “Yeah,” he murmured.

I smiled, then headed on out of the kitchen the very short distance to the apartment door, hearing Levi’s footsteps right behind me, so close I could feel the heat from him at my back.

“That door needs a peephole,” Levi groused. “Scratch that, you need a security camera and better locks. The building itself needs heavy security too.”

I looked over my shoulder at him and grinned.

“What?” he asked.

“Just understanding how much you care about my wellbeing. Who knew with the way you came across at first, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “Brianna.”

I chuckled, then unlocked the door and opened it carefully.

The careful part fell to the wayside almost instantly when I took in Colton on the other side.

“Hey, cutie,” he greeted with a smile.

But it wasn’t his usual big and bright one. No, it was restrained, and there was worry there in his smoky eyes. He looked on edge, his black and gold zig-zagging printed shirt was haphazardly done up only halfway with one side tucked into his ripped gray jeans, and his mohawk was mussed.

Levi was right beside me then, his arm brushing against mine. “Colt? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because you told me you were here,” he answered, matter of fact. The corner of his mouth turned up as he took in Levi shirtless and barefoot and me in only my robe. “So, it was what I thought.” He stepped across the threshold and fingered the scratch marks on Levi’s neck and down the length of his chest. “And it was also how I imagined it would be between the two of you.”

“You imagined the two of us having sex?” I asked.

“As soon as I saw Lev taking an interest in you. I imagined him fucking you, you fucking yourself, him fucking himself. Then as I started spending time with you too, it evolved to imagining me fucking you, then me and Lev fucking you, and then Mason and Lev devouring you while I—”

“Well fucking received, Colt,” Levi cut in, batting his hand off him.

Colton blinked out of the haze of lust he’d clearly just been caught up in, and then that anxiousness was back as he shut the door behind him. “Good thing you two are late for classes. In fact, it’s gonna be best if you get the material remotely for the next little while until things die down.” He eyed Levi. “You, because of how you’ll react to this attack. You know, with a destructive display of violence and payback?”

“Payback for what?” Levi demanded, getting agitated.

I was too, but from a rapidly rising worried standpoint.

What the hell had happened?

Colton shook his head at Levi. “This sort of thing is exactly why you need to be more active on social media. If that had been the case, you’d already know about this.”

“Like I need that hassle,” Levi muttered. “Now, what’s going on, Colt?”

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