Page 86 of Ruthless Raiders

But watching it unravelher—watching Jasmine twist and writhe in silence, trapped in a nightmare that clings like wet smoke—does something to me. Not pity. Not compassion.

Hunger.

Something raw curls low in my gut as I watch her. Her chest jerks with each breath, like she’s choking on air. Her hands clutch the sheets like they’re the only thing anchoring her to this world. The delicate muscles in her jaw twitch as she grinds her teeth, and I can see tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, catching on the pillow like glass.

She looksbeautiful.

Devastated and delicate in a way no one else sees. Stripped of all that fire she wields like armor. Just her, soft and open andreal.

And that’s what terrifies me.

Because Ilikeit.

I like her like this. I like seeing her cracked down the center, emotions leaking through in flashes no one else would ever be allowed to witness. I like the sound of her breathless sobs.

Which means I am not safe.

Which means I could hurt her.Would,if I let myself.

Her eyes snap open.

Wide. Luminous. Soaked in panic and something softer, something worse—recognition.They lock on me like she expected me to be there. Like I’m part of the nightmare but she’s still reaching anyway.

Her lips part, trembling. Her fingers twitch toward me.

Just the smallest movement—barely more than a plea. An instinct. A signal for comfort.

For me.

As if I could offer it.

As if I wouldn’t break her in half just to see what she looks like ruined.

I should step forward. Should go to her, wrap my hands around her wrists, murmur something that’ll ground her in the present.

But I don’t.

Because I’m not Landon.

I’m not the one who soothes nightmares.

I’m the one who dissects them.

Who marks the blood patterns on the floor and notes the angle of the fracture, not how it feels to be the onefractured.

So I stay frozen. Hands aching from restraint. Guilt boiling in my throat. I drink her in one more second—one more too-long beat—and then I turn on my heel.

Because if I stay, I’ll want to touch her.

And if I touch her, Iwillhurt her.

23

BROOKE

Brooke:Okay so you rock my world and then disappear off the face of the earth -- rude.

Brooke:Hello? Your wife is worried about you.