Page 166 of Theirs to Ruin

A wicked grin spread across his face. "Damn," he whispered, almost reverently. "You look so fucking sexy covered in me. Come here.”

Dante swiftly lifted me from the couch and walked me into his bedroom. I barely got a sense of the room before I was in his bathroom. Again, the room was dated but clean.

He set me down gently on the cool tile floor. I watched, captivated, as he twisted the knobs of the sink, adjusting thewater temperature. The sound of rushing water echoed in the silent room.

Without a word, he dipped a washcloth into the warm water, wringing it out slightly before carefully cleaning the remnants of his climax from my skin.

"I didn't expect any of this," I whispered, breaking the silence. "Do you regret it?"

He paused before continuing to clean me. "It’s the only thing in my life I don't regret," he admitted.

“Does that mean you’re done pushing me away.”

“Yeah, it does.”

A small smile formed on my lips. “Can you take me for a motorcycle ride?”

He barked out a laugh. “Now? After seeing my injuries?”

I hesitated, memories of his injury flooding my mind. The danger, the risk. But the allure of the wind in my hair, the roar of the engine, the thrill of being close to him again was too hard to resist. “Yes. Unless you can’t. Or that bike outside isn’t yours.”

“The bike is a loaner and I’m already back to riding.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the shrill ring of a phone echoed from outside the bathroom. He cursed, wrapped himself in a towel again, then grabbed his robe from the back of the door and handed it to me. “Put this on.”

Happily, I put on the robe, inhaling his yummy scent then followed him back into the living room. He was pacing, his phone held up to his ear. “Jane, calm the fuck down," he snapped, his voice strained. "I can't just pick up and leave."

I frowned, wondering who he was talking to and why he was talking to her so harshly. That wasn’t him.

"Okay," he said. He sighed heavily. "I'll be there. Just wait for me."

He hung up, his expression suddenly tormented. He raked his hands through his hair.

I pulled the edges of his robe closer around me. "Dante, who was that?"

He stared at me a moment before he started to gather my clothes. His expression had grown distant. “I’m sorry, Camille, but we’ll have to take that ride another day.”

I stared down at the clothes he was holding out to me. “Is there some kind of emergency?”

His mouth twisted. “You could say that. Then again, Jane’s always got some kind of emergency going on.”

“Who’s Jane,” I asked.

“A mistake I can’t escape.”

I wanted to ask what that meant, but he suddenly dropped my clothes, pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight. “It’s nothing for you to be worried about, I swear. You’re the only girl I want.” He pulled back slightly and forced himself to smile. “Thank for coming to check on me. Now, let me help you dress.”

He kissed me lightly, then picked my clothes again. He helped me put them on, which was kind of awkward, but I appreciated that he was trying to ease the blow of him leaving me to go to another girl, mistake or not.

Once again, I wanted to push for an explanation, for him to tell me exactly who Jane was to him, but I also felt I didn’t have that right.

He walked me to the front door.

"Will you call me when you get back?" I asked.

“I will, I promise. And we’ll go for that ride soon. How about I pack a picnic?”

I smiled. Kage didn’t really cook, Ty cooked like a gourmet chef, and Dante’s fridge was packed with things from the health food aisle. “Will you pack some of your chocolate and peanut butter candies?”

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