Page 43 of Need

I bit my lower lip. He was waiting. “Yes, please,” I whispered, not knowing if that was the right answer, but wanting to be honest.

He nodded once and placed a kiss on my forehead before turning back to Cal. “You may come upstairs, and talk to her if you wish.”

Stephan didn’t wait for Cal to respond. He just turned the two of us, and we walked to the elevator. The doors opened and we stepped inside, followed by a not-too-happy-looking Cal.

For some reason, it felt small inside the elevator, much smaller than usual. Stephan didn’t let go of me the entire ride up. Not that I wanted him to.

We all exited the elevator, and walked to the only door on the top floor. I heard Cal mutter something that sounded like, ‘Penthouse. Figures,’ but I couldn’t be sure.

Once inside, Stephan told Cal to wait in the living room while he guided me toward his bedroom. I must have tensed up, because Stephan pulled me closer and told me to relax.

He released me once we were inside his room, and walked over beside his bed. I followed his every move with my eyes. He bent down and gathered the cords of his laptop before tucking them and his computer under his arm. He walked back to where he’d left me standing.

It was different here when it was just the two of us. The nerves I had felt just minutes before with Cal weren’t present. And even here, in his bedroom, I was okay.

Stephan turned slightly to his right, and laid his computer down on top of his dresser. He took a final step toward me, placing him so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

He just watched me. It was similar to what Cal had done earlier, but different as well. Both stares made me uncomfortable, but in different ways. I really couldn’t explain it. Maybe I should ask Lily.

His warm hand came up to rub lightly on my cheek. “Did you know Cal was coming over?” he asked, his voice soft.

“No. Tom called me from downstairs.” I paused and asked the question that had been on my mind earlier. “Was that all right?”

A crooked smile crossed his face. He didn’t look upset, but he didn’t exactly look happy either. “Yes, it was all right. You made a good decision, and I’m proud of you.”

Just hearing him say those words to me had me beaming. I so wanted him to be proud of me.

Suddenly, I was in his arms. One of his hands was around my waist. The other tangled in my hair. He held me close for several minutes before bringing his face to mine to kiss me. It was aggressive—more aggressive than I was used to from him. For a moment, panic crossed my mind, but then it was gone. This was Stephan.

I let myself return his kiss with everything I had. He seemed to like that as he walked me backward and pressed me up against the wall beside his door.

He pulled back after only a short while, and looked deep into my eyes. He was breathing harder than normal. “I don’t mind if you talk with Cal, Brianna, but I don’t want you to be alone with him. Do you understand? Will you do this?”

“Yes,” I said, still a little breathless.

“Good girl,” he said, and then placed another hard kiss against my lips.

He took a step backward to retrieve his laptop, and gave me a long look. A devilish smile that I didn’t understand crossed his face. With his free hand, he grabbed one of mine and led me back out into the main room where Cal was waiting.

Cal looked like he’d been pacing when we reentered the room. His eyes locked first upon me, then Stephan, and then came back to me. Again, his stare made me uncomfortable. It was as if he was trying to find something wrong with me.

I supposed that made sense, really. There was something wrong with me. A lot of somethings, actually. I was still scared of my own shadow most of the time.

Stephan placed a kiss on my hair. “I’ll be at the dining room table working. You’ll be fine. You’re perfectly safe.”

I looked up and met his eyes for a brief moment. He smiled at me and walked across the room past Cal, who gave him what I thought was supposed to be a menacing glare.

My eyes followed Stephan as he sat down at the table and began working. When I turned back to Cal, he was watching me again. I could do this.

Forcing myself to move, I started walking toward Cal. His face softened just a little as I drew near.

We stood facing each other for an awkward amount of time before he suggested we sit. I nodded, and we both sat on the couch. Without thinking about it, I kept two feet between us.

Cal looked over his shoulder at where Stephan was sitting, then back at me. “Protective, isn’t he?”

I looked up at Stephan. “Yes.” Stephan was protective. But he made me feel safe. Cal snorted. “What’s wrong?” I asked, not understanding.

“The pretty boy doesn’t have enough? He has to own you, too?”

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