Page 129 of Theirs to Ruin

I felt like I’d been sucker-punched, all the air whooshing out of my lungs. The words hung in the air like a bad smell,infiltrating every pore, every recess of my mind. The very first thing I thought was “bullshit.”

“She was twenty! How’s that even fucking possible?” My voice, usually so measured, betrayed the chaos within me. A heart attack? A heart attack at twenty made about as much sense as a monsoon in the Sahara.

Davis shifted uncomfortably. “There are various possibilities—the cold water, congenital issues, perhaps some drug complications.”

Drug complications? They were reaching, fishing in the dark. Ava wasn’t a saint, but she wasn’t stupid, either. “My sister didn’t do drugs,” I snarled. But even as I said it, a memory flickered to life from the time after Ava’s kidnapping years ago. Something she’d said.

I can’t stand the memories, Kage. I’ll do anything to forget. Anything.

Chapter 54

Camille

As soon as I got home after my last class, the first thing I did was go searching for Kage. All morning I’d been thinking about last night. How excited I’d been when he’d said he wanted to go down on me on the Lamborghini, knowing that someone might catch up. How that excitement had surged ten-fold when he’d let me know Dante was watching. Even as Kage wracked me with the pleasure of his mouth and hands on my body, watching Dante surrender to his desire for me had filled me with a feeling of power I’d never thought possible. It had dawned on me how much I’d changed. How ever since Kage had saved me at The Roost, I’d stopped holding myself back. Hell, I’d mouthed off to Vance and Talon at the coffee shop because of what they’d done to Dante. And I wasn’t letting Dante walk away. Not after last night.

When I didn’t find Kage inside the chateau, I thought about heading back to campus and demanding to see Dante at the counseling office. Only I suddenly caught sight of something through the chateau’s French doors. It was Kage, sitting on a bench, staring at the ground.

I opened the door and stepped out. “Hey you. How was your?—”

My words died in my throat, replaced by a sudden wave of concern the moment he looked up at me. His face was ashen, his eyes stormy pools of an emotion.

"What happened?" I asked, rushing over to him.

"The police think Ava's death was the result of a heart attack." He paused, swallowing hard, as if the words were shards of glass. "Unknown natural cause. Or maybe drugs.”

His words ricocheted through my mind, each syllable like a bullet that flung me back into the past. I remembered the biting cold of the river water, how it made my bones ache and my muscles seize. The murky depths had swallowed Ava before my eyes, pulling her into its dark embrace as I had helplessly screamed her name. But the clearest memory, the one that now came crashing back with terrifying clarity, was of the shadowy figure I’d seen. It could very well have been Ty, but I wasn’t ready to throw Ty under the bus and say I’d seen him there. And despite the river being bone-chillingly cold, I struggled to see how Ava could have died of a heart attack.

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said.

“I agree, but it’s the preliminary finding. We’re still waiting for the toxicology report but looks like you’ve been officially ruled out as a suspect by the police.” He tried to force a smile, but he failed.

Of course I was happy about not being a suspect, but right now my concern was for Kage. I sat beside him and took his hand. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling.”

“I’m thinking… I should be glad it was a heart attack rather than something that points to someone hurting her. She’d already suffered enough and maybe the heart attack would have been quick. But I can’t—I can’t believe it. That she’s gonebecause of something so…common place. That…that… she’s gone forever.”

He bent his head in defeat. It was as if the burden of carrying all that grief, that burning, indescribable grief, had finally become too much for him to bear alone. I saw a man ravaged by pain. A human being shattered by loss. I needed to be there for him, just as he had been there for me. Believing in me. Comforting me. Making me feel like life was worth living despite the relentless assault of one hardship after another.

Aware that Ty might show up any moment and knowing Kage needed privacy, I took his hand and pulled him into the house and up to his room. As soon as the door closed, we held each other, our bodies pressed close in an embrace that spoke volumes more than any words ever could.

Kage's lips found my neck, sending shivers down my spine. My senses heightened as his lips traveled from my neck to my face, his hot breath mingling with the electrifying feel of his mouth on my skin.

Then we were kissing, really kissing, the kind of kisses that feel like both a beginning and an end. His lips moved over mine with an urgency that matched my own, as if we could pour all our pent-up feelings, our sorrow, our frustration, into that single act.

It wasn't long before he pushed me on the bed and rolled on top of me, his body solid and warm against my own as he braced his forearms on the mattress so he didn’t crush me. A flush of heat surged through me, settling between my legs, making me a wet, aching mess. His hard cock pressed insistently against my pussy as my legs went up on either side of him.

His hands, strong but gentle, slipped under my shirt, moving higher and higher until they cupped my tits. I gasped at the contact, my back arching into his touch. It was incredible, my every nerve ending alive, awake, screaming for more.

And not just his touch. Not just this physical pleasure.

I wanted more ofeverythingthat was Kage.

Despite the dark circumstances we were navigating given Ava’s death, he’d brought new balance to my life. Shown me that fun wasn’t detrimental to success, that it simply enhanced it. Fun was a necessity. But Kage also made it clear we were temporary. That we’d never have a future. Given that, a rational part of me screamed to put on the brakes, but the rest of me was drowning in him. We kept kissing but soon kissing wasn't enough. I needed to feel him, touch him. My fingers trembled as they dropped to his pants, clumsily fumbling before finally managing to undo his button and zipper.

“I want you to fuck my mouth,” I said.

He pulled away abruptly, his eyes locking onto mine. "Are you sure?”

My response came out more assertive than I had intended. "I don’t care if it tastes like vanilla or chocolate or rainbow sherbet. I want to suck your cock."

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