I couldn’t stand him. He had that look that made it clear he had more than a casual interest in Nina. It was the same look that made me want to punch him in the face.
He smirked as he looked me over. “Where’s Nina?”
I couldn’t hold back a sarcastic laugh. “You don’t knock before you enter?”
He raised an eyebrow, as if the concept of boundaries didn’t even exist for him. “We have a different relationship.”
I leaned back in my chair, my gaze narrowing. “Friendship,” I corrected.
His grin faded. “Why are you here?”
Taken aback by his audacity, I chuckled darkly. “Unless you’re stupid, which I’m starting to think you are, you wouldn’t be asking such an obvious question.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door swung open again, and Nina walked in.
“Ronan,” she said, her voice soft, and then her gaze shifted past me to Alejandro. “Alejandro.”
He walked over to her, wrapping her in a brief but meaningful hug. It was like a punch to the gut when I felt the subtle shiftin her stance, her body language as she stood so naturally in his presence. I almost lost it right there—my hands clenched at my sides, my thoughts running wild.
Nina pulled back first, turning toward Alejandro with a polite smile. “I’ll see you, Alejandro,” she said, almost as if to dismiss him.
I didn’t move at first. He looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face, then glanced at me with a little too much familiarity. Finally, he gave a half-assed shrug and turned to leave, his eyes lingering on Nina for a moment longer than necessary.
As soon as he was gone, I couldn’t keep the words down anymore, jealousy threading through every syllable. “He wants you.”
Nina’s eyes lifted to meet mine. “Don’t start.”
I leaned forward, my voice low and thick, a warning in every word. “I see the way he looks at you, like you’re something he could devour. Like he’s trying to figure out how he can make you his.”
She tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean?”
I exhaled, my gaze never leaving hers. “His eyes tell you he wants to taste you, feel you under his hands. He sees a fantasy in you, Nina. Theideaof you.”
Her lips parted, almost defensively. “And what’s the difference in the way you look at me?”
I closed the distance, my body vibrating with every step. I let the words come out raw, no softness to them, only truth. “I look at you like I can’t breathe without you. Like you’ve ruined me in the best way possible. I look at you because I don’t want anyone else,ever. I want to feel every inch of you,always. Not only in my hands but in my soul. Iseeyou. All of you. Not the polished version. Not the fantasy. I want the real you that keeps me up at night, the one who won’t let me forget that I’malive.”
Her breath hitched, her chest rising and falling like I had knocked the wind out of her. I saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes, but she didn’t turn away.
I stepped closer, my body pressing against hers from behind. “Lastly,tesoro…” My voice was a dark promise. “I look at you like you’re the one who could ruin me completely, because you are… Because youhave.”
She swallowed hard, her entire body trembling beneath my touch. My lips brushed against her ear, whispering, “You are the fire I don’t ever want to escape.”
I kissed her cheek softly, feeling the rapid beat of her pulse under my lips. The shiver that ran through her, the way her breath faltered, made it feel like I had the world in my hands. Spinning her slowly, I kept my hands on her, not letting her escape my gaze.
I leaned in closer, my lips hovering over her ear as I whispered, “Have a good day,tesoro.”
She didn’t say a word, but the tension in her eyes and the softness of her gaze spoke louder than anything she could have said.
Chapter Thirty-two
NINA
Present Day
NEW YORK CITY
Ronan invaded my thoughts before he ever invaded my dreams.
