Page 60 of Bear and Book

“Yeah,” I said, my voice dark, my fists clenched so tight my veins bulged. “I’ll make you. Decide if you want to leave this place with your clothes or without them.”

Another step. My bear’s heat bled into the air, the kind of fury you could feel in your bones. Jason faltered.

The smirk slid right off his face, replaced with something smaller, tighter. Fear. He backed away, muttering something under his breath, but his bravado was gone.

Jason ran to the bathroom, snatched his clothes, and bolted so fast he didn’t even look back. The apartment door banged shut behind him.

I stood there, chest heaving, adrenaline still pounding through my veins. My bear clawed at me, still hungry, still furious that it hadn’t been let loose.

It wanted more. Wanted to finish what Jason had started.

Elias’ hand was suddenly on the door, shutting it firmly, and then he turned to me.

I didn’t realize how much tension I’d been carrying until that moment. My shoulders sagged, the adrenaline crashing all at once.

My bear grumbled low, still pacing inside me, unhappy that I hadn’t ripped Jason apart. But Elias’ hand on mine was enough to quiet it. Barely.

Elias drew in a shaky breath and let it out slow.

His apartment smelled like stress. Fear sweat, old paper, coffee left too long on the counter, but underneath all of that was his scent. Warm, sharp, familiar.

It wrapped around me, grounding me.

Elias pulled me to the couch, his hands twitching in his lap, as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. His gaze flicked to me and then away.

I could see the shame flickering there, the weight of everything Jason had stirred up. I hated that bastard all over again.

“You don’t have to explain,” I said, voice still rough from holding back the growl that had wanted to tear out of me minutes earlier.

“Yes, I do.” His tone was stubborn, but his voice cracked.

Elias swallowed hard, then forced himself to meet my eyes.

He continued,“You walked in on a mess I should never have let inside in the first place. I need you to know I didn’t want him here, Leo. I didn’t want him.”

I leaned forward, catching his chin gently, making him look at me.

“I know that. I could smell it on you. You were scared. Angry. Not a damn thing about you wanted him here,” I told him.

His shoulders dropped, a tremor passing through him like relief. Then Elias laughed and it was a short, bitter sound. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Too bad,” I said simply.

His brows furrowed.

I squeezed his hand. “Elias, I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore. He shows up, you call me. You don’t need to be alone with him ever again.”

The silence stretched, but I didn’t fill it. He needed the space.

Finally, Elias blew out another breath, like he was expelling poison from his lungs.

“He always knew how to get under my skin. Twist me up until I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I thought after all these years, I thought I was free of it,” Elias said.

“You are,” I said fiercely. “He only had power because you let him step through that door. And you just kicked him right out. That’s freedom.”

His eyes softened, but there was still so much weariness there. I hated seeing it. Hated that Jason had left this shadow on him.

Elias suddenly stood, rubbing the back of his neck.