Page 14 of Theirs to Rule

“Do you know if…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish the question.

“I called,” Dante said. “The hospital wouldn’t tell me much, but Callum answered. He said Kage was improving before he hung up.”

Relief and guilt hit me all at once. Kage had taken a bullet for me, told me to leave him in the Bugatti to save myself. Despite everything, I didn’t want him dead.

“Thank you for checking on him,” I said quietly.

“Of course. If you want me to take you back?—”

“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I can’t.”

Dante kissed my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. He’d been nothing but patient and selfless, but I couldn’t give him what he needed right now. I couldn’t give anyone anything.

“I’m tired,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I just… I need to sleep.”

His brow furrowed, but he nodded. “Okay. But only for a little while. After that, I’m dragging your ass out of this bed for dinner.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but his hand caught my chin, holding me in place.

“That’s the deal, Peaches. You don’t like it, fight me as dirty as you want. But you’re still getting up.”

Dante

I leaned against the kitchen counter, my knuckles pressing into the edge hard enough to whiten them. Camille had been on the couch for hours, staring at nothing, completely checked out. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I’d retreated to the kitchen to make something—anything—that might pull her out of whatever hell she’d been lost in.

Dinner wasn’t much. Just spaghetti with jarred sauce and a salad. Not exactly five-star, but enough to keep her from going to bed hungry again. She’d picked at the sandwich and soup earlier, just enough to shut me up, and I knew she was running on fumes. The betrayal she’d felt when Kage’s engagement came to light had gutted her.

The thought made my jaw clench, my grip tightening on the counter. Kage. That selfish bastard. Even if I wasn’t in love with her, even if my life didn’t revolve around her the way it now did, I’d still want to beat the shit out of him. Not telling Camille about Daniella? Letting her fall for him? I wanted to break him for that alone.

But then, wasn’t I just as bad?

My stomach twisted. I’d kept my own secrets. Maybe not the same kind, but I wasn’t clean in all this.

I ran a hand through my hair and pushed away from the counter. The food was ready. I needed to get her to eat.

When I reached the living room, the couch was empty. I scanned the room, my mind already racing through worst-case scenarios.

The sound of running water hit my ears, and my pulse slowed. She was in the shower.

I dropped onto the couch, elbows on my knees, hands cradling my head. Relief warred with the ache that wouldn’t let me go. Camille, in the shower, probably crying in silence because she wouldn’t let me see her break again.

She hadn’t shed a tear since the hospital. Since she’d learned about Kage’s betrayal. She’d retreated, pulled away from me and everyone else.

I hated it. Hated seeing her like this.

But some part of me, the dark, selfish part, couldn’t stop remembering the last time she’d been in my house.

I groaned, guilt already clawing at me as my mind drifted to that day when I’d come out of the shower to find her waiting for me, full of fire because I’d been trying to pull away from her.

She’d called me on my bullshit, and then she’d made it crystal clear she wanted me. And damn, I’d wanted her.

We hadn’t fucked, but I’d made her come before she’d sucked my cock. I hadn’t seen her completely naked, but she was naked now in the shower, and I could imagine just how she looked. Creamy skin. Pert breasts. A toned youthful body. She was petite, enforcing how different we were. I’d felt for myself how tight her pussy was because her walls had clamped around my fingers when I made her come.

I groaned imagining how she’d feel around my cock.

Jesus, you idiot. Stop it!

She didn’t need me thinking about her like that. Not now. Not when she was barely holding herself together.

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