Page 85 of Auctioned to the Devil

“What happens when there’s nobody left to save me from?”

His expression changes.

There.

That’s the question.

I force myself to finish. “Maybe you don’t actually want me, Caleb. Maybe you want someone to protect.”

He stares at me for so long I start wishing I’d kept my mouth shut.

Then he reaches past me.

Takes my suitcase.

Drops it on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Fixing something.”

“Caleb.”

He cups my jaw and my breath catches. “Do you know how many people I’ve pulled off this mountain?”

I blink. “What?”

“Dozens.”

His thumb brushes my cheek. “How many of them do you think I wanted in my bed?”

My face heats. “That’s not what I meant.”

“How many do you think I made breakfast for?”

“Caleb.” My throat tightens.

“Fixed their shit?”

“Okay.”

“Lay awake listening to them breathe because having them beside me was the first time in twenty years my head went quiet?”

That silences me.

His hand slides to the back of my neck. “You want to know if it’s real?”

“Yes.”

His forehead nearly touches mine. “Then listen.”

I do.

“I spent years believing this mountain was the only home I’d ever have.”

My eyes burn.

His thumb moves slowly beneath my ear. “Turns out it was you.”