Page 18 of Ruin

He drops the smile from everything but his eyes. “I am not dating anyone.”

“Interesting, because she’s telling everyone she fucked you.”

“She is?”

I hesitate. Did she actually say those words? Or did I just assume? I flush, embarrassed, and scowl at him. “So you just fuck women I know without dating them.”

“I don’t do either one, Gi.”

“Are you telling me you didn’t fuck Lexi Barrow on New Year’s Eve?”

That annoying, gorgeous, panty-melting grin is back. “Yes, counselor, that is what I’m telling you.”

I narrow my eyes at him. I know this man too well. There’s something he’s not saying. “Did you hook up with her?”

The grin fades, and a shadow crosses his face. “Are you asking what I was doing while you were fucking Tony the Hack?”

Fuck, something did happen with Lexi. My stomach twists. I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to handle the Antonio rumor, but I am now. “Why does who I fuck have any impact on who you fuck?”

Tommy looks wrecked. “I didn’t fuck Lexi. But you’re confirming that you—”

“I’m confirming nothing.” That look on his face crushes me, but there’s no way I’m admitting I was a drunk mess trolling the halls of Dragovari Tower looking for him while he was getting off with my best friend.

“What do you care? You had your chance, and Antonio is—” I stop myself because there’s no strong way to end that statement.

He raises an eyebrow. “He’s what?”

Think fast. “He gives me what I want.” Good, not great. Judging from the sick look on Tommy’s face, it was strong enough to hit.

Tommy clears his throat. “Which is?”

“His time. His attention. He doesn’t fuck my friends. He doesn’t boss me around in public.”

A lot of that is bullshit. Antonio fucked a lot of my friends, including Lexi. At best, he’s a placeholder, there only to distract my father and help me get Tommy’s attention.

But Tommy doesn’t know that, and the sick look on his face is somehow both a victory and devastating.

“You know he’s a Demonio family associate,” Tommy says finally.

What does that have to do with anything? “I do.”

“I thought you wanted a guy who wasn’t a fucking criminal.”

I scoff. “All men are criminals.”

Tommy closes his eyes for an extra long minute, the way he does when he’s fighting for control. When he opens them, his gaze is gentle. “I can’t believe that Lorenzo wants you with him,” he says softly. “He doesn’t want you with a thug.”

I bristle. “It’s none of his business who I fuck. Just like it’s none of your business, Tommy.”

He narrows his eyes, assessing me. It’s the same way he watched me on New Year’s Eve. “So you summoned me here to interrogate me about Lexi, but it’s none of my business what’s going on with you and Tony?”

I pinch my lips between my teeth, mentally scrambling for an acceptable lie, because he’s exactly right: I’m a hypocrite. “I asked you here because I don’t like what you did on New Year’s Eve and to ask you not to do it again.”

“Don’t do what again?” His tone sharpens. “Lexi? Or look out for you when you’ve had too much to drink?”

“I could give a fuck about Lexi,” I snap. Another lie. “You can’t treat me like a child. Do you know how degrading thatis?”

“It’s not degrading to take care of someone. You were drunk, and Tony was taking advantage—”