Page 37 of Savage Ruin
She’s killing me. Slowly, but surely. Sleep is more elusive than ever to the point I’m barely functioning these days. When I’m lying alone in my bed at night, the image of her coming apart in front of me plays the second I close my eyes. Each time, the scenario changes, just a bit, enough to keep me coming back for more. One thing stays the same. In every instance, she’s holding my cock when she comes.
I can’t stop seeing it, and if I’m honest, I don’t want to.
My mind and body are at war with each other, and my mind is losing. Logical reasons to stay away from her are disappearing like smoke.
You’re a damn fool, I tell myself.
I take a drink of coffee, hoping it will wake me up. Mateo strides into the kitchen, followed by Thiago. Both are dressed for work. Thiago grabs a protein drink from the fridge. Mateo beelines for the coffee pot beside me.
“Mateo and I are going into the office today. He needs to work on a few preliminary bid items, and I need to prepare for the meeting with VRDeck,” he informs me.
“You’ve gone into the office every day. It’s almost as if you’re avoiding some… thing,” I taunt him, but he only raises an eyebrow in return. “Someone needs to stay with Henley.” I slide my gaze to Mateo.
Please don’t let it be me.I just took a cold shower.
“Actually, nobody is staying here today. I’ve arranged for Thomas and a team to go with you and Henley to your yacht. The arrangements for the launch party can’t wait,” Thiago explains, his voice gruff with emotion.
He hates the thought of her leaving the safety of the house. “Why don’t you have the team guard her here?” I suggest, desperate to get some space to think without her nearby.
“She doesn’t have a gun, and I promised her I would never ask her to stay with strangers again unless she had her phone and gun with her,” Thiago replies. He hesitates for a second, then continues. “And honestly, I don’t know our new security team that well. Can I trust them with Henley’s life? Yes, I believe so, but I’m not a hundred percent sure yet.”
Thiago rarely explains himself. He must feel strongly about it. And, if I’m honest, could I leave her here with a house full of strangers? No. Look what happened last time I left her. “I’ll take her with me to the yacht. She doesn’t need a gun today, but she does need one. Do you plan on getting one from Zane?”
“He’s working on it. Hopefully, I can bring one home today,” Thiago confirms before looking at his watch. “Are you ready, Mateo?”
Mateo leans in close to me and whispers, “Give Henley a good morning kiss for me.” He chuckles at the expression on my face. “And remember, I’m an excellent kisser, so do it right.”
I roll my eyes at the last statement and shove him toward Thiago. “Get out of here.”
“The team will be here in twenty minutes,” Thiago calls out on his way out the door.
Surprisingly, Henley walks into the kitchen a minute later.
“What are you doing up so early?”
She wrinkles her nose and makes a scrunchy face. “I’ve been up since five. Thiago’s teaching me self-defense, and it’s the only time he has available in his busy schedule.” Bringing the coffee to her nose, she inhales deeply, then takes a few sips.
I laugh. “How’s that going? Thiago’s extremely intense about self-defense. When Mateo and I were growing up, he forced us to join every martial arts class with him, even if we didn’t want to do it. I’m glad I did it now, but we had to sacrifice a lot of flirting time with the girls in high school,” I jokingly confide.
Her eyes spark with interest, then she laughs and explains what he’s taught her so far. “It’s mainly the basics, but I didn’t even know that much. And it isn’t really something I could learn from watching videos, although I tried.”
Tried and failed, I’m guessing from the tone of her voice. My fist clenches, but I shove it in my pocket. It’s hard to hear anything about the time she spent with that fucker, but at least she’s starting to open up to us. I clear my throat.
“Are you going into the office? I thought Mateo was going today?” she asks, a confused expression on her face. “You’re not leaving me here alone, are you? Or worse, with a bunch of strangers from your security team? If so, I’m going to need a gun. There’s no way I’m staying here without one.”
Fear rises in her eyes, and I raise a hand to stop the slew of questions. “We’re going to my yacht to meet with a friend of mine who’s a party planner and get the event kicked off. How does a day out of the house sound?”
“Like heaven,” she responds with a sigh of relief. A broad grin appears. “What time are we leaving?”
“The security team is going with us, and they won’t be here for at least another fifteen minutes. Sit down, and I’ll make you a quick breakfast,” I reply, motioning to the barstool on the other side of the island. “Eggs and toast?”
“Sounds delicious, thank you,” Henley returns, sliding around to grab a seat. ”You look tired. Is everything okay?”
I contemplate answering with the entire truth, but I don’t want things to stall before we get to the yacht. “My dreams have been keeping me awake at night,” I confide to her. “Maybe this afternoon, I can grab a nap and catch up on some sleep.”
She sighs. “I know the feeling. The past and present have been mashed together. The only time I can get some sleep is if I work myself to death or Mateo sleeps with me.”
I turn around and set her plate down in front of her. “Maybe we can both catch a nap this afternoon. Over the years, I’ve learned the nightmares tend to stay away from the light of day.” Or maybe we can nap together this afternoon. A groan rises at the thought of us in a bed, but I strangle it before the sound escapes. “I’m going to change into something more casual. I’ll meet you at the front door in a half hour.”
