Chapter 11 #2
“I’m perfect,” I snarled back before I could stop myself, rage snapping through me like I’d tripped over my own emotions and decided to make it everyone’s problem. I was angry, angry at him, at Rachel, at myself. Angry, and I had no idea why.
Caden’s frown darkened, and before I could blink, his hand closed around my arm, firm, brooking no argument.
“We’ll be right there,” he bit out, not even glancing at Rachel.
He yanked me away from her side, steering me down the hall with quick, unrelenting strides. The nearest door creaked under his shove, and then we were inside an empty, abandoned room, where shadows swallowed us whole as the door slammed shut behind him.
“What’s going on?” he asked, sounding sharp, and controlled, but the question carried a dangerous undercurrent, which was impossible to ignore.
I tore my arm free from his grip, rubbing at the spot where his fingers had burned into my skin. “Nothing! Why would you drag me in here? I told you everything was fine.”
His expression tightened, cutting right through my bullshit. “Yeah. That’s not how this works. You lie to me, you tell me why. If you’re angry with me, you tell me why.” He took a step closer to me. “You pretend everything’s fine when it’s not…”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Let me guess. I tell you why.”
He smiled but it didn’t reach the rest of his face. “Look at you, mastering the basic art of communication.”
“Around the same time you seem to have mastered sarcasm. Just my luck.”
He leaned in slightly, the threat in his calm more obvious than a shout. “Enough stalling, Thompson. Start talking.”
Heat crawled up my neck again, though I couldn’t tell if it was from his nearness or my own humiliation.
And then I realized this gorgeous man had done nothing wrong, not in the slightest. What the hell was going on with me?
I released a shaky breath, then forced myself to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I don’t know what’s happening… I have all these emotions, and they come out at the most inconvenient times. I’m trying to get a hold of them, but…”
Caden’s expression shifted, his hard edges softening. “It’s the grief. It heightens everything you feel.” His voice dropped lower. “You should be careful with your translation during this time, it might be a little more volatile than you’re used to.”
I nodded. “I noticed while sparring with Sean.”
Caden closed the distance between us, and my breath caught at how close he suddenly was.
He noticed, of course he noticed.
“You’ll get a handle on those quicker than you think,” he said. His tone was exceptionally soft, and it made my heart kick against my ribs. “Don’t worry.”
“I feel so angry all the time… I don’t know why I projected it onto you,” I admitted, the words slipping out before I could second-guess them. “I shouldn’t have.”
He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, the gesture so careful, so intimate, I had to physically stop myself from leaning into it.
“I’m so hot and charming,” he murmured, the corner of his mouth tugging up, “you probably couldn’t resist vying for my attention.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “That has to be it, obviously.”
The smile that spread across his face was slow and devastating, like he knew exactly what he was doing to me. “Only reason that would make sense.”
I opened my mouth to fire back something clever, but the words froze.
His gaze caught mine and the intensity of it pinned me into place. It wasn’t a glance, it was a godsdamn eclipse, swallowing everything else until there was only him. Dark and searing, like he could strip me bare and bind me to the spot with nothing but his stare.
The longer it lingered, the more it carved straight through the flimsy walls I threw up around myself. His eyes raked across every hidden part of me, and still, I couldn’t look away.
It was ruin and worship at once, a tether I hadn’t agreed to but couldn’t break, not when he looked at me like that.
“The way you’re looking at me…” I whispered, unable to keep it in.
His gaze burned hotter. “How am I looking at you?” he murmured, inching closer, his voice rough enough to scrape across my skin.
My eyes searched his, desperate for a clue.
“As if…” I hesitated. If I was wrong, this could get awkward fast. “As if you’re looking at something you like.”
The corner of his mouth curved. “Hard not to when I’m looking at you.” His tone dropped, serious now. “But that’s not why I’m staring.”
I swallowed hard. “Then why are you?”
He leaned closer, his breath brushing mine, every word dragging slow over my skin. “Because it’s impossible not to.”
My breath hitched, lungs tightening. Holy shit…
But before I could say or do anything, he stepped back, hands flexing like he’d burned himself. “I’m sorry, I’m…” He shook his head. “I know you’re back with Walker. I shouldn’t have—”
My frown cut him off. “What? I’m not with James.”
Caden blinked, the sharp composure on his face cracking for a moment. “What do you mean?”
I lifted my brows, fighting the urge to laugh at how genuinely stunned he looked. “Not sure how else to put it. James and I are not together. We are not a couple.”
His face twisted, disbelief hardening into something darker. “You guys broke up again?”
“Again? No, just the one time. In Switzerland, remember?” I crunched my nose.
“He lied about a zillion times, hid the fact I was mind-raped into this life, then tried to fix it with a ‘whoops, sorry.’ You were there, if you recall, front-row seat to all the drama. Though I don’t blame you if you blocked it out of your—”
“What the hell?” Caden roared suddenly, the sound exploding through the room, making me jump back a little from the sheer force of it. “You guys didn’t get back together?”
“No… I thought you knew.”
“Well, I didn’t. Walker never said.”
I gave a small shrug, trying to defuse the tension. “No real surprise there. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I kind of thought it was—”
“It was what?” he snapped.
I blinked once. “Obvious.”
Caden dragged a hand over his face, jaw tight, burning with questions he clearly didn’t know how to ask, and I couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips.
Mister I’m-so-good-at-communication, suddenly at a loss for words. Excuse me for secretly reveling in it.
“But you went back to Cyclos? To him?” he pressed, sounding almost strained. “I don’t understand… What happened after you left Crown?”
I sighed before I spoke. “Well, it surely wasn’t uneventful. But…” My teeth caught my bottom lip. What I had to tell him wasn’t going to be easy.
“Don’t bite your lip,” he growled suddenly, almost sounding feral, the sound more animal than man.
“Caden…”
“What?”
And then I just told him. “I found out James is Alek’s father.”