Caleb

Chapter Twenty

Caleb~

The whole world felt different to Caleb and seemed to have shifted on its axis over the past twenty four hours. His feelings for Lainey had been simmering just below the surface since he'd arrived, but had exploded through the floodgates once his lips touched hers. That one kiss intensified every emotion that Caleb felt for Lainey and he was finding it difficult to navigate and control the new feelings.

Caleb and Lainey left the coat closet hand in hand as he led her back to the main room. Normally having Lainey in close proximity or within eyesight was enough to put him at ease, but now he wanted...needed physical contact.

Knowing that they were entering a gigantic room full of wolves in sheeps clothing who were out to hurt Lainey, put him on edge. He'd fight the whole damn world for Lainey, but had to keep himself in check because the last thing he ever wanted to do was suffocate her.

She longed for independence and he wanted to give that to her, trying his best to tamp down his overprotective nature and monitoring her closely from the sidelines, which was difficult, but necessary. He knew if he pushed too hard or overpowered her, he'd lose her and that's not the relationship that they had established. The truth was, allowing him to help her required a certain level of submission and trust that Lainey wasn't used to and she needed to become comfortable with that on her own time, but Caleb was patient and Lainey was worth the wait.

Escorting Lainey over to one of the bars, he ordered a drink for her and they both turned to watch Ricardo and Camila on the dance floor. Ricardo and Camila were elegant and poised with most of the eyes in the room glued to them and Lainey smiled brightly as she watched.

Caleb looked on with Lainey, but noticed a tall slender man with long hair who kept looking over at Lainey. Sure most men stared when Lainey walked past, especially with her in that fucking dress, but this man was shifty and trying to conceal his occasional glances as if he were working up the courage to walk over.

A few seconds later Lainey registered the man's gaze and whipped her head and body around to face the bar. Her body language was off and Caleb knew instantly that she was scared of the man.

She leaned forward on her forearm and stirred her drink nervously with the other hand.

"That guys been staring at you for the past fifteen minutes and by the looks of your body language, I'm guessing he's not a friend." Caleb said low into her ear.

"He's...no one...I just don't like him," she lied.

"You don't strike me as the type to dislike someone without cause. Talk to me Lainey."

Lainey didn't respond and he watched her mutter something inaudible under her breath as if she were giving herself a pep talk before she raised up from her leaning posture, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin.

Come on sweetheart you don't have to do that anymore. You don't have to fight all these battles on your own. I know you're scared. Trust me enough to tell me.

"It's nothing. I can handle him." she said forcing confidence into her voice that wasn't truly there.

She had armored up and was closing the man out, but closing Caleb out in the process. Luckily Caleb was patient and understood that taking down Lainey's defensive walls was going to take some time and effort, but he was willing to do that even if it was brick by brick.

"So you admit he needs to be handled?" Caleb said arching a brow at her.

"No...yes...I mean I can handle him on my own. It's not a big deal he just...we...I..." She couldn't form a complete sentence as the man made eye contact with her which told Caleb that she wasn't just intimidated, she was terrified.