Page 47 of Scarlet Wars
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 awkwardfast. “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 waswhat?” 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.
MisterI’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…”
