Page 59 of Ruin

Without thought, I slap him across the face, hard, the sound wet and loud. The fire in his eyes explodes, and he grabs my wrist.

We stand for a full minute, chests heaving, the rain pouring down, his grip on my wrist tight and unyielding. His gaze drops to my mouth.

“Do you love me, Giovanna?”

I’m floored by the question. “Do I—do I what?”

“Do you love me?”

Standing there, shivering in the rain, staring at him, that lock of hair falling over his intense dark eyes, tears well up again and spill down my cheeks.

I choke on the words. “Tommy—”

“Do you love me?”

When I speak, my voice comes out as a sob. “I don’t feel safe with you.”

“You don’t feel safe with me?” He releases my wrist, the menace melting off his face. His voice comes out broken. “But you feel safe with him?” He gestures toward the restaurant, toward where Antonio is sitting waiting for me.

“Yes! He can’t hurt me, Tommy. If I were to fuck him, be with him, it doesn’t matter what he does—cheat on me, ghost me, leave me—I’ll never get hurt.”

Tommy’s horrified gaze snaps to mine. He’s breathing heavily, his white t-shirt sticking to his skin in the rain. I can practically see the calculations ripping through his brain.

“He can’t hurt you because you don’t love him. But with me—”

“With you, I’m fucked no matter what.”

“Because you love me.” He stalks over to me, backing me into the wall of the restaurant. The rain is pounding on its roof, puddles forming in the mud around us. The heat from his body and mine are practically turning the rain to steam. He cups my face in his hands and stares at me searchingly. “I need you to say it, Gi.”

“I don’t really care what you need, Tommy.” I wipe my hand across my face, swallowing back a sob.

Tommy’s lip twitches into a sneer as he lets go of me roughly. He turns on his heel, walking toward the parking lot, his boots crunching on the gravel. I watch his back retreat, my heart shattering.

The rain is pouring down on us in a torrent, loud and relentless. I tilt my head up so that the water strikes my face, blending with my tears. When I look back at him, he is standing facing me, fists clenched, his gaze raking over my body with pure lust. I’m suddenly acutely aware that I’m not wearing a bra, that my dress is transparent and sticking to me.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, and Tommy sets his jaw. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. Then he closes the distance between us, grabbing my jaw with both hands, crushing hisbody into mine, pinning me against the wall.

“Fuck it,” he murmurs, and takes my mouth with his, his hard cock grinding into me as he pushes his tongue into my mouth, devouring me, his large hands sliding down around my throat.

He pulls back and we’re both breathless, panting. He shoves back the locks of wet hair hanging in my face, stares at me like an animal, a half sneer on his face.

“You were right about one thing: you’re not safe with me.” He rubs his thumbs across my cheekbones. His gaze bores into me, roves over my face, lands on my mouth, then back up to meet my gaze with a snarl. “I’m the worst decision you ever made, sweet girl.”

23

Giovanna

He bites my neck hard, brutal enough that I think he might break the skin. Warmth builds in my core, and my pussy is immediately as drenched as the rest of me. As I dig my nails into his shoulders, a whimper escapes me, and he pulls back a fraction, jaw clenched.

His voice is pained, harsh, his eyes tortured. “I fucking love you. But I can’t go slow. I want you too much.” His voice drops low, and he closes his eyes, pressing his forehead to mine. “It’s going to hurt.”

I slide my palms up over his soaked T-shirt, feeling the ridges of taut muscle beneath the fabric. “I know,” I whisper.

His eyes pin me, glittering coals drinking in my every detail, searching for confirmation. When he finds it, something dark and dangerous spreads across his face.

He crashes his mouth into mine, devouring me with his kiss, wrapping his arms around me so tight that I can barely breathe. Roughly, he drags his hands down my body, snagging the neckline of my dress, and yanks the fabric down. The straps snap easily, exposing my breasts to the rain, hishands, his mouth. My back scrapes against the wall as he nips and sucks, pinching my nipples, until a small, sharp sound tears out of me.

He shoves my panties to the side and rubs hard on my clit with his thumb, sinking his fingertip just inside my entrance. My nerve endings wake up with a jolt, sending sparks of euphoria through my entire body, and I grip his t-shirt collar with both hands.