Page 46 of Scarlet Wars
Clearly all this grief had cracked something open inside me, letting everything spill out in ways I couldn’t predict. The harder I tried to shove the emotions back down, the stranger they came out, crooked, sideways, showing up where they didn’t belong.
“I heard you needed my assistance,” I said loudly, stepping forward and wedging myself neatly between them.
Rachel’s smile was warm and easy. “I’m glad you’ve accepted my proposal. We could really use your help, and we have a lot of questions.”
I tried to summon a smile back but couldn’t. My whole body still tingled with…envy. The word tasted sour, wrong, but nothing else fit.
Whatever the hell it was, I shoved the feeling down and extended my hand instead. “Lead the way.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Caden’s frown. His voice came low, meant only for me. “You okay?”
“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.”
