Page 21 of Theirs to Ruin

What the heck was wrong with me?

First Kage rescues me and I end the night masturbating to thoughts of him. Now I’m sitting in an Uber, my pussy wet because Dante just beat the shit out of a man and ordered me home.

Did I get off on violent men who weren’t good for me?

Was that it?

“I’m fine,” I lied.

Bianca wasn’t buying it. “Cami?—”

“For God’s sake, Bianca, leave it,” I said a little too harshly. I forced my tone to be calmer. “Sorry, but can I just have a few seconds to process what happened?”

Bianca nodded and turned away from me. I could tell she felt hurt. Silently, I reached for my sister’s hand and squeezed it, then I stared out the window.

Rain drizzled as the driver took us back to campus. The car went over potholes, the headlights illuminating the puddles around us, creating what I used to call “ghosts” when I was a kid. Shadows of light flickered in the darkness of the unforgiving forest filled with green pine boughs and trees with blood-red leaves.

The driver opened the university gates with his remote. He was one of a few vetted Uber drivers allowed to drive on campus. Students contacted them via a special app, so we were lucky he’d been so close to Devil’s Engine.

I glanced at Bianca who was fiddling with her phone.

I finally cleared my throat. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I’m just… in shock I guess.”

Bianca instantly set her phone aside. “I get it. Seems someone has a bit of a temper, at least when it comes to protecting you. Holy shit, Camille! Dan?—”

“Bianca!” I warned, shifting my eyes to the driver. There was no reason to think the drivers reported what we did and said, but I wasn’t taking any chances. If we were going to dish about what happened, I didn’t want Dante’s name mentioned in case it somehow got him in trouble.

Bianca leaned back, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "Protective of your protector, huh? Pretty sure that guy can take care of himself.”

Understatement of the year.

I was also sure he could take care of me in ways I could only dream of.

“Did you see his muscles flex, the sheer force he put behind every punch?” I whispered, trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach.

“Yes,” Bianca said with enthusiasm. “It was insane. Like watching an action movie hero come to life.” She side-eyed me. “Maybe I’ll take another shot at him. God, to have all that in my bed…” She gave a dramatic sigh.

An intense wave of jealousy hit me hard and for a second I wanted to scratch her eyes out.

At a school function last year, Bianca had made her move on Dante with mischief in her eyes and the cheeky smile that rarely failed her. Instead of being ensnared like most men, Dante had given her a gentle smile and skillfully sidestepped her advance. Bianca was a veritable hurricane in stilettos, a girl who left men strewn in her wake like discarded playthings, but Dante hadn’t been interested.

“I mean, you’re not into in him, right?” Bianca’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I shook my head, knowing she was testing me. “Not at all.”

I totally was—but that didn’t mean he was interested in me. I turned to look out the window as we got closer to campus.

Bianca nudged me, her laughter bright and genuine.

“You little liar. You’re totally into him. I knew you had a crush on him when you told me how sweet he was during your counseling sessions. How he held you when you cried.” She sobered momentarily, knowing I’d been crying because I’d been missing Mom. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, ignore me. I was only kidding anyway. I know he won’t have me. You, on the other hand…”

“You warned me off him, remember?” I was getting annoyed now.

“I did that before he came rushing to your aid like some kind of Viking Berserker. Now you absolutely have my permission to go for it.”

“I’m not going for anything,” I told her testily. “Can we change the subject already?”

“Sure. How about we talk about theotherguy who went allwhite knight and rescued you at The Roost last month? Ava’s hot older brother. Between the two of them, I’d say you should go to bars more often.”

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