“You absolutely brood. You have a whole brooding corner in your room back home.”
I swallowed my laugh at that. I should say no. I should politely explain that this was a private event, that strangers couldn’t just show up uninvited, that we had protocols for newcomers. But Caelan was looking at me with those gray eyes, and my pulse was racing.
“Do you have the book?” I asked instead. “The one we’re discussing tonight?”
Caelan’s expression shifted. Hope, barely contained. “I can acquire it.”
“There are extra copies on the table.”
He moved toward the table, and I watched him, unable to look away. He picked up a copy of “His Darkest Obsession,” examined it briefly, then settled into a chair that seemed too small for his frame. His knees almost touched the undersideof the table. Thessa plopped down beside Jade, immediately striking up a conversation about cover art.
Caelan caught me watching him. The corner of his mouth quirked up, almost a smile, and I looked away fast. Oops. Caught red-handed. Shit.
I grabbed my wine glass, took a gulp, and pretended my hands weren’t trembling slightly.
This was going to be a long night.
***
I tried very hard to focus on the book and the discussion at hand, but I failed spectacularly.
Every time I looked up from my notes, Caelan was watching me. Not in a creepy way…Or maybe in exactly a creepy way, I couldn’t decide. But this quiet attention made my skin prickle, and every time our eyes met, he didn’t look away.
I blushed every fucking time.
He’d already skimmed most of the book, flipping through pages with impressive speed while everyone else settled in. The man read faster than anyone I’d ever seen. By the time we started the discussion, he was already three-quarters through, occasionally going back to reread sections. I didn’t know how it was even possible, and I really thought he was just goofing around, doing some bullshit skit about reading that fast when actually no words were sticking.
But when the discussion started, he participated thoughtfully, his observations oddly insightful for someone who clearly just speed-read the entire thing. I was speechless.
“The hero’s obsession isn’t actually about control,” he said during a debate about the love interest’s motives. “It’s about fear. He’s terrified of losing her, so he tries to hold on too tightly. The possessiveness is a symptom, not the disease.”
The room went quiet. Several women exchanged glances.
“That’s...” Margo tilted her head. “Actually a really good point.”
“Told you. He’s read romance before,” Thessa whispered to Jade. “Extensively. Don’t let him fool you with the brooding mysterious act.”
Caelan’s eyes found mine again, ignoring his sister entirely. “The best romances understand that obsession comes from vulnerability, not strength. The hero isn’t powerful because he’s controlling. He’s powerful because he’d do anything, become anything, for her.”
I felt tingles in my stomach, spreading all through my belly and down below to my pussy. I was suddenly breathless, mouth dry. Holy fuck. It should be illegal to be this handsome and have such a deep, sexy voice.
“That’s one interpretation,” I managed.
“What’s yours?”
I should have a clever answer. I was an author, for god’s sake. I thought about this stuff professionally. But his gaze was steady, and my brain had apparently gone on vacation.
“I think...” I paused, grasping for coherence. “I think the best romances show that love changes people. Not because they’re forced to change, but because they want to. Because the other person makes them want to be better.”
Caelan nodded slowly, understanding and approval filling his expression. “To become worthy of them.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
We stared at each other. The moment stretched, heavy with tension. The rest of the room seemed to fade until it was just him and me and this electric thing between us that I didn’t understand.
“Get a room,” someone muttered. I was pretty sure it was Patricia. Or maybe Ellen. They tended to share opinions.
“Seconded,” Marcus added, not looking up from his wine. The spell broke, and I looked away, my cheeks flaming hot.
