Page 31 of Mine to Ruin

“You can’t be serious.” Her lips round in a silent O, and sympathy shines in her eyes.

“But I am, it’s true. There are people more entertaining than others, more talented than others, but that’s it.”

“You must lead a very sad and lonely life, Kian.”

“I have no reason to lie.”

“And this is perhaps the greatest lie you have ever told yourself.”

I lift her off my lap and place her on the couch beside me. How does she do it? Reverse the question, making me doubt, making me look deeper, almost giving in and tell her the sappy story of my fucked up life. I stand and retreat to the living room where I pour myself a finger of whiskey.

Chapter 12

Ellia

He’s running again, crippling any progress we’ve made. I search for him and find him in the living room, bent over the bar as he grips the ends.

His stare burns through me, as it has many times before, with an intensity flaming up my very soul. With every word, gaze and minute I spend with him, I fall deeper and deeper into his intricate web.

“You should leave,” he says.

Making my decision, I walk over to him and tip his glass to my lips. I swallow the cough and say, “I should. I will, if you tell me this is over before we even begin. Tell me you won’t follow me, that I am not yours, that I… Because for me, there won’t be a next time.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, angel.”

His laugh is empty of humor and full of bitterness. Ripples of restraint shake through him. He cocks his head, grazing a thumb over his lower lip.

“Here I am, doing the only honorable thing, and you tantalize me. So eager to be mine, so eager never to escape my clutches.”

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

His brows furrow, taken aback, and then he rounds the bar, prowling toward me. His hand curls around my nape, his thumb tracing my heated skin. My reaction to his touch is beyond my understanding, but his presence has awakened something dormant in me; an uncontainable fire that I fear will consume me whole.

Something shifts, his expression changes, becomes lighter. “You’re brave. I wonder for how long.”

“As long as I have to be.”

My head only reaches his chin, and still I feel strong, brave as a wild animal tamer. A small smile tips up the corner of his lips and I’m sure he knows what I was thinking. Wild animals can’t be tamed, but all I want is a piece of him. That’s only fair, as he already has so many pieces of me.

His fingers glide down my chin and neck. “You’re so beautiful. You are the most precious gem in this Godforsaken town, and of all the men, it’s me you want?”

There’s frustration and self-doubt in his voice.

I palm his cheeks and place a kiss on his lips. “You, Kian.”

“Just me. I am not bluffing, angel. Last fucking chance.” He grips my chin, his thumb brushing my lower lip, and he adds, “I am a collector of art because I appreciate beauty, but I do not know how to take care of it.”

I lean toward him, and his heart that pumps fiercely under my palms.

“If you keep coming back, I will take you.”

“I’m not the one running.”

“Hmm, I see you grew up from the runaway girl into a stubborn woman.”

“It was you.” I stumble back when realization crashes through my mind.

Kian was the one in the elevator that night, who gave me his jacket, made me feel safe after what happened, and helped me in the darkest moments of my life.

---