Page 40 of Ruining Him

She snorts a laugh. “God, Cole. You’re a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying,” I say, slightly offended. I never lie to my sister. Ever.

She rolls her eyes again, giving me a derisive look. “Oh, brother of mine. I’m sure you do argue, and I’m sure that ninety percent of the time you can’t stand her… but what about the other ten percent.”

Easy. The other ten percent, I want to fuck her into oblivion. Carve my name into her soul and have her screaming my name, though I don’t think my baby sister needs to know that.

“The rest of the time…” I trail off, sighing and scrubbing a hand over my face.

Gracie gasps dramatically, clutching a hand to her chest. “Youlikeher,” she sing songs, and I open my mouth to refute it, only…

Wait, do I like her?

Of course not, she’s the bane of my existence. Though, I did like sliding inside her tight cunt… and I enjoy the push and pull between us, but I don’tlikeher, do I?

Just the thought alone is absurd.

I huff. “I don’t fucking know, Gracie. All I know is that I like pushing all her buttons, and she likes pushing mine.”

“And when you thought she was sucking Harley’s dick just now? Even though it was obvious to the rest of us that they were just looking at something on his laptop?” she asks with a nod towards the living room.

A growl rises from my chest so quickly that I can’t even stop it, and my sister laughs softly.

“Aww, my big brother’s in love.”

I don’t hide my cringe. In love? Fuck no. Absolutely not. Never.

“I don’t do love, little sis. A good, hard fuck? Yeah. Love? No chance.”

She balks at my words, her face paling.

“Andddd we’re done here,” she mutters and scoots off the bed. “Let me know when you finally come to your senses.”

Yeah… that ain’t ever gonna happen.

TWENTY-SIX

COLE

I’m late. Again.

I swear, I do actually want to complete this degree, I just have a hard time a giving a shit about the subjects I have to take in order to complete it.

According to my parents, it’s a privilege to be able to have the life I have, and I don’t dispute that. But I’m sick to death of having to live up to everyone’s expectations. To have to live up to the Aston name day in and day out is no small feat. To wear that mask, to pretend to be some stuck-up asshole when in reality I’m just… me.

The double doors into the main hall open with a bang as I barge my way through, and I’m just about to open the door to the lecture hall when a hand clamps over my mouth and I findmyself being walked backwards. I don’t fight it, I know exactly who it is.

I expected her to come after me straight away for what I did that night in her room, but she’s been biding her time instead, seemingly enjoying me being on edge and waiting for her to retaliate.

I’m shoved into an empty room that seems to be used as storage, and she lets go of me as soon as she locks the door behind us. I turn to look at her—really look at her for once.

When she first arrived, I figured she just didn’t give a shit about anyone or anything. But now, I’m beginning to think she does care. She just doesn’t know how to show it. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her that she wasn’t like the other students here, and while that remains true, I’m almost reluctant to figure out who she really is.

She gets this distant look in her eyes sometimes, like she’s not really in the present, and it makes me wonder what she’s been through.

The way she fights, the way she always carries weapons with her, the way she killed two men in cold blood right in front of me without batting an eyelash… What has she been through that made her this way?

I don’t think she was born this way. I think she wasmadeto be this way.