Page 67 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

I’m not completely sure what’s going on with Rhett. Wren’s logic is solid for the most part. If anyone other than Ludo had left Wren at that house, they’d be dead by now, thanks to Rhett. I don’t get why he can’t see that—he already knows it.

What I said doesn’t seem to help Wren’s nerves at all. “Are you sure Elliot isn’t mad at me? If trust is really important to him, and I lied, then—then how is henotmad?” Her voice sounds panicked, like she’s afraid he’s hiding it—or that it’ll come later, when she’s least expecting it.

I let out a tired laugh. “He has a lot of practice dealing with his partners fucking shit up.” I point to myself. “Exhibit A.”

“I’ve just never seen someone move on from getting hurt so fast.”

“Yeah. He had to do that growing up. Since his parents were constantly fighting or nitpicking at every little thing he did, he learned to brush things off quickly. Otherwise he never got a break from all the negative shit they threw at him.”

Her expression saddens. “That’s awful.”

“He found ways to escape. And now he doesn’t talk to his family often, so it’s not as much of a problem. But he’s always the first to cool off after a fight.”

“What about you?” she asks softly.

“I take a bit longer to process things.” My gaze falls. It’s the last thing she wants to hear right now, but I don’t want to lie to her. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place. “Can I ask you a question, princess?”

“Anything.”

“If you were worried about Rhett’s reaction, why didn’t you come to me? Or Ell? We know him a lot better, so we could’ve predicted his reaction better. Or, as Ell said, we could’ve stopped him from doing something stupid.”

She blinks rapidly, like my suggestion is a completely new thought to her. “I… I don’t know.”

“Was it because you thought we wouldn’t be able to help?”

It’s a stupid question to ask. Of course that’s not what she thought. But my own insecurities have a tendency to shine through at the worst possible times.

“Not at all,” she says. “I guess that since it matters to all of you, it didn’t occur to me to only tell one of you. There wasn’t much conscious thought put into it. My mind’s been pretty full lately.”

I nod. Ell is right—we’ve thrown a lot at her. With the amount of stress she’s been under, I can’t even fault her for not thinking straight. Maybe I should be more hurt, but the feeling that’s dominating my thoughts right now is how pissed I am at Ludo.

How could he just leave her? How could he be so heartless?

“I want to talk to Rhett,” Wren says quietly. “I want to explain.”

“That’s not a good idea tonight, princess.”

“I don’t want him to hate me.”

“He doesn’t.”

She doesn’t respond. Her brows are furrowed, and her eyes are blank. She’s getting lost in worried thoughts, which is a feeling I’m all too familiar with. Once that ball gets rolling, the thoughts only get worse and worse, until there’s little you can do to stop them.

“Hey.” I nudge her. “I promise he doesn’t hate you. Now, we both need to get to bed. I’m gonna sleep with you tonight, okay?”

“You don’t have to. If you need more time—”

I cut her off with a kiss. Yes, she lied, but she’s obviously broken up about it. If I was in her position, sleeping alone would only make things worse. “I don’t need more time to show you that I love you, and that I’ll always love you.” Standing, I pull her with me. “No matter what, Wren.”

Tears spring to her eyes, but she blinks them back. “I love you, too.”

I text Rhett to update him on our sleeping arrangements. Odds are, he won’t come to bed tonight, but there’s always a chance.

“I promise I’m not hiding anything else,” Wren says as I get under the covers with her.

“I believe you, princess.” I pull her body into mine. “Now go to sleep.”

***