Page 91 of Wild Devotion
“Yeah. Okay.” She drew herself up, squaring her shoulders. “You’ve got this, cocotte.”
“You know you’ve got this,” Caleb echoed beside me, his blue eyes steady on mine. “But we’re right here. Just in case.”
I turned to him, cupping his jaw, running my thumb over the hard line of his cheekbone. “Just in case,” I murmured.
His mouth found mine—soft, sure, and grounding. A kiss that didn’t demand anything. Just reminded me who I had standing beside me.
“For fuck’s sake,” Chantel groaned. “Unwanted audience over here.”
I smiled against Caleb’s lips and ignored her.
I let myself have one more second. Let his mouth hold me steady.
Then I pulled back. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Caleb
“Hey, Zee,” Sean greeted as we walked back into the room, Zadie in the lead.
He was no longer the unconscious wreck we’d left behind. Other than looking like he’d been dragged behind a truck, he seemed remarkably unaffected. His self-assured presence filled the room the same way I remembered—big, loud, impossible to ignore, even from a hospital bed.
Zadie approached him, her hands balling into fists at her sides.
I hung back near the door. Watching her tentative steps and Sean’s face as he tracked every one of them. Waiting for the spike of jealousy to fade.
Chantel breezed past me, reclaiming the chair she’d occupied before as though she’d never left.
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you,” Zadie told Sean, her voice tight. “Didn’t you get my messages?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, I got them. All of them.” He tried to shift in the bed and winced. “I just didn’t think it would be good for me to answer.”
“Good for you?”
“Yeah. I’ve been avoiding the things that tempt me. Booze, drugs, sex, caffeine.” His flashy, flirtatious grin didn’t give a shit about the bandage on his skull. “Added you to that list, since I could never resist you.”
“Me?” Zadie stammered.
“Hell, yeah. You’re temptation incarnate. One of my biggest weaknesses.”
His words hit me like a fist. I didn’t care that he was concussed. The urge to put my hands around his neck was immediate and savage.
“Stow it, Casanova,” Chantel ordered from her corner. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
Zadie shifted, clearing her throat. “Sean.” Her voice cracked. She hesitated, her shoulders shaking with each breath.
I couldn’t stand to see her struggle, drowning in the fear of facing this man who’d caused her so much damage. I’d promised myself I’d stay out of it. Let her handle it. But my resolve lasted about four seconds.
I stepped to her side and placed my hand on her back. Light, steady strokes. Not taking over. Just letting her know I was there.
“Caleb?” Sean noticed me for the first time. The way he’d been staring at Zadie, I could have been furniture.
“Hey, man.” I lifted my chin. “Glad you’re okay.”
“Damn, kid. You’ve grown. When was the last time I saw you? All I remember is a little shrimp who liked causing trouble.”
“It was just a couple years ago. At Christmas.”
