Page 67 of Nocturne

“Ivy, darling,” I say, gently. “When I say this, it comes from a place of love. But your choice in men is horrendous.”

She gasps, clutching her chest dramatically. “It’s not!”

I raise a brow and start counting on my fingers.

“There was the guy who used your card to pay off his debts to loan sharks.”

“He got caught by the police,” she argues, but her voice is weak.

“And what did they do? He didn’t have a single cent to his name. All they did was send him to jail, and you were stuck with the debt for months.”

“Fine, he sucked.” She blows out her cheeks like a pouting child.

“There was the physical abuser,” I add, holding up another finger.

“He never hit me! The one time he tried, I broke his arm.” She lifts her chin as if it’s a badge of honour.

“The skateboard in his trashy apartment did.”

“You said it counted!”

“I was throwing you a bone!” I snap, my voice rising.

I glance at her and catch her looking down at her iPad, brows scrunched like she’s seriously thinking it over.

Oh God, she’s serious.

As if you have any moral high ground. As if you weren’t thirsting after the devil himself.

I shove the nagging voice aside. I can’t control my emotions—or my hormones, apparently—but I can control my actions. That day in the casino was a one-off slip, fuelled by alcohol and stupidity.

What a load of bull.

I push the thought away again.

“Iblis seems like a gentleman,” Ivy says, tapping her iPad thoughtfully. “He handles diplomatic issues, and he’s always in the company of powerful people.”

I gape at her. “Are you insane? Do you forget who his boss is? What hedoes? And what ‘diplomacy’ are you talking about? The kind where he terrorised you out of your job?”

Ivy shrugs. “He might not be as bad as his boss.”

“Ivy, they’ve killed people.Hung their bodies.” I shudder, unable to relive that night fully.

She arches a brow. “The man who did that is currently upstairs fixing your plumbing.”

“And neither of us is interested in dating him! Eero is a friend—asafefriend. There’s a difference.”

“But—”

“Are we really having this conversation?Metrying to steeryouaway from a criminal? You were a bloody crime reporter, for heaven’s sake! Have some shame!”

Ivy sighs, leaning back in her chair.

“I don’t plan on dating him, Ara. He’s not the kind of person you can be with and not get hurt.”

I nod, relieved we’re on the same page.

From what I’ve seen, these men aren’t like the ones we meet in our everyday lives. They’re intense, more in touch with their primal instincts. I can’t say exactly how that shapes their behaviour, but one thing is certain—whatever drives them isn’t anything good for us to get tangled up with.

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