Page 115 of Ruin Me With Lies

A scoff flies out of me.“Truth?I wish Iwasthe great deceiver you’ve made me out to be in your head.That me sounds impressive as hell.”

He leans in, catching me off guard as he cups my face in both hands, stealing every inch of space between us.“Tell me I can kiss you.”

Jesus.This man gives me whiplash.Heart palpitations.Puddle brain.“What happened to ‘next time I won’t ask’?”

“Something tells me I need to get it right with you.”

“Why do you care about getting it right with me?”I grip the cold metal bar to keep from grabbing his lapels and crushing my lips to his.“I’m nothing, remember?A nobody.”

“And yet...”His thumbs sweep gently across my cheeks, grounding me in a moment of consuming intensity.“You feel like…everything.”

“You should stick to being a heartless savage,” I whisper, wound tight with restraint.“You clearly aren’t very good at ‘feelings.’”

His gaze lingers on my mouth.“Can I kiss you?”

“No.”The word slips out, more breath than sound.

A slow, frustrated sigh flows from him as he leans his forehead against mine.His hands shift, one sliding to the back of my neck, his grip firm but tender.For a second, I think he’s going to take what he wants, just like he said he would.But instead, his voice drops, rough and hoarse.“Breathe on me.”

I’m dazed… “What?”

“Just...let me feel your breath on my lips.”He sounds like he’s breaking, almost pained.“Please.”

“I don’t—”

“Raya...”

My whole body’s on fire, my pulse pounding in every limb.Slowly, I part my lips and exhale across his lips.

His eyes shutter closed as he releases a jagged breath.“Again...”

I breathe across his lips once more, slow and steady.

He mutters a curse under his breath and urges desperately, “More...”

But I can’t.I can’t do this.I can’t be here with him.In this suspended space where everything I want is right in front of me but still out of reach.It’storture.

Stefano Castello is the man I want but can’t have.

I can’t kiss him.I can’t fuck him.If I open that door, I’ll be condemning myself to perpetual misery.I’ll want more.And more.And more…

And even ifhe’swilling to give it…being with him could only ever be a dream for me.Not a reality.

So instead of diving in headfirst, I do the opposite.I grip the metal bar above me, hoist myself up, and in one fluid swing, climb out of the cabin.

“What the—”

I move quickly, swinging from spindle to spindle, making my way down the frame of the Ferris wheel.

Stefano’s voice cuts through the night, sharp with surprise.“What the hell are you doing?”

Getting away from you before we slip up and make a life-altering mistake…

I keep going until I hit the bottom, then jump down and land with a clean thud.

Tilting my head back, I call up to him, “Buonanotte,bossman!”

“You’re fucking crazy!”he shouts, but there’s laughter in his voice now.