Page 64 of Ruin My Life
Dangerous.
For her. For me. For everyone I hold close.
I drag a shirt over my head as I keep one eye on the screen. She moves through the apartment with nervous energy—rummaging through cabinets, peering over her shoulder.
She’s on edge. Rightfully so.
Then she spins suddenly, a solid wood cutting board gripped in both hands, poised like she’s about to bludgeon someone to death with it.
And for some reason, it’s hotter than it probably should be.
God. Maybe I did scare her too much.
She lowers the board slowly, her shoulders slumping. One breath. Then another.
I can’t stop staring.
What I wouldn’t give to be behind her right now—to snake my arms around her waist and pin her to my chest. To feel her shudder when I whisper taunts into her ear. To watch her fear melt into want.
To hear her say my name like it’s both a curse and a confession—
“Damon, are you up here?”
Connor’s voice barrels through the hall.
I nearly fling my phone across the room. It bounces off the mattress and lands near the foot of the bed. The kind of reflex you expect from a teenage boy getting caught watching porn.
Except this feelsworse.
Connor knocks once, then opens the door like he owns the place, leaning against the doorframe. “Hey, we got an alert. Rich CEO beating on his son.”
“Take Monroe and Chavez,” I say, threading a black leather belt through the loops of my jeans. “I’ll stay back. Cover the bar.”
Connor stares like I just told him I’m retiring in Georgia to raise goats and learn calligraphy.
“Damon Kingdoesn’t want to go out and kill an abusive asshole?” He squints, suspicious. “Are you sick?”
In the last twenty-four hours, I’ve realized how much Ihatewhen people say my full name like it’s a brand.
“I just woke up from the most stressful day I’ve had since leaving the Songbirds,” I say flatly. “Forgive me for taking one night off.”
I lean down and grab my phone.
The screen lights up—the camera feed still open.
Brianna is in her kitchen. Still in that robe. Still radiating tension as she looks down at her phone. Her face is paler now, lips parted like she’s just read something she didn’t like.
“Iknewthis was going to happen.” Connor folds his arms, giving me a slow shake of his head like a disappointed older brother. “You can’t stop watching her, can you?”
I stay silent.
He’s not wrong. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving him the satisfaction.
“I’m just making sure she’s not doing anything suspicious.”
“Uh-huh,” Connor scoffs. “You want to keep her from doing anything suspicious? Should’ve kept her locked up. But since she’s a feisty little brunette with pretty doe eyes and thick thighs—”
“Can you write your fanfiction somewhere else?” I snap.
