“Good.” He shifts onto his side and closes his eyes. “Maybe we can be a family someday,” he murmurs sleepily.
Denial would only break his heart, so I don’t tell him my fears. I can’t admit that she’s not going to be ours forever—that someday she’ll leave this place and us behind. I wait a few more heartbeats before rising from the bed. Leaving the door open just a crack in case he has a nightmare, I pad into the living room to find Ruby fast asleep with her legs curled under her.
Even after all these years, she still stops my heart from beating.
I can recall in vivid detail the first time Connor brought her home. She was like this blinding light walking into our gloomy house, with a smile so intoxicating I couldn’t help but stare. The spark was instant, almost desperate, but I couldn’t let myself feel it. That same spark is what brought her back to me. Now we’re like this raging wildfire, and I’m standing in its path of destruction, waiting for the flames to consume me.
Chapter 26
Hell in a Handbasket
? Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You (With Megan Maroney) - Brooks & Dunn
Ruby
Ihaven’t been sleeping well since Breanna showed up out of the blue, my mind plagued by a heavy mix of guilt and foreboding. It’s my fault we’re even in this position. Liam tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen.
Aiden’s been surprisingly ok, even though his dad had to take an extra shift to make up for leaving early. While Liam was away, we had our guitar lesson and spent some time with Connor. Aiden fell asleep with his head on my lap like he often does.
The last two days have passed in a haze, and the whole time I’ve had this sinking feeling in my gut that won’t go away. I don’t know enough about Breanna to anticipate what she might do next, and the unknown has always been unsettling to me. It’s like I’m caught in a current dragging me out to sea, unableto swim back to shore. All I can do is let it happen and hope someone throws us a life raft.
After dinner, Liam clears the table while I head into the kitchen and fill the sink with warm, soapy water. I start working on dishes from earlier in the day, just as he comes in with the stack of dirty dinner plates.
He places them on the counter and snatches the sponge from my hand. “What are you doing?”
My brow furrows. “Cleaning up. You cooked. I clean.”
He takes the dripping wet bowl from my hand next and places it back in the sink. “No.”
“Yes.” I move to take the sponge from him, but he holds it out of reach. I jump, hoping that’ll help bridge the gap, but it fails.
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Liam.” I grit out his name between clenched teeth.
“Ruby.” His voice is growly and so fucking addictive. “You’re already stressed. Let me handle this.”
“I’m capable of doing dishes. I know my dad calls me Princess, but you don’t have to wait on me hand and foot.”
He tosses the sponge into the sink and cages me against the basin with one hand on either side of my hips. “Good. You’re not a princess. You’re a queen, and you’re too goddamn stubborn for your own good.”
I roll my eyes and shove him back, but he doesn’t budge.
Instead, he grips my chin and brings my defiant gaze to meet his molten one. “Do you have any idea what you do to me when you’re being a little brat like this. Do you know what I want to do to you?”
My breaths turn ragged as he keeps me pinned to the counter, and my heart might beat out of my chest from the desire pulsing through my veins. There’s no logical reason for the way my body reacts to his every demand. I’m at his mercy, and he knows it.
“Tell me,” I murmur.
He leans in next to my ear, his voice little more than a gruff whisper. “I want to bend you over the counter and devour your perfect cunt until you’re soaking wet and begging to come. I’d fuck you with my fingers and tongue, listening to your cries and whimpers as I deny your release over and over again. You’d beg so prettily for me, wouldn’t you, baby? You’d take your punishment like a good little whore, and when I finally give you permission, you’d come so hard you wouldn’t be able to stand, let alone do dishes.”
He pushes away from me and crosses his arms over his chest. “Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax, or I’ll make good on every single promise.”
I open my mouth to speak, a challenge on the tip of my tongue, but I’m interrupted by my buzzing cell phone. The name on my screen is enough to sober me. There’s only one reason he’d be calling me right now. “It’s Adam. I should take this.”
I step out into the backyard and darkness envelops me, only the glow of my phone and the moon overhead lighting my path. I sit on the back steps and swipe to accept the call. “Hello?”
“Hey. I have that information you asked for.”
