Page 56 of Ruin

I have to try—for Mom—to see her again.

A tear slipped down my cheek as Arik kneeled again, his hands taking my face between them as he spoke. “Claire? Why? Why tears?”

I inhaled, my chest rising as I calmed myself. “I just…” I shook my head. “I just wish the other night never happened.”

Arik’s eyes sank as he brushed the tears off my cheeks, his sorrowful eyes focused on my quivering lip. “Trust me, I know. But we will be okay, love. I promise you.”

He stared at me, waiting for a sign of acceptance, smiling wide when I nodded. I lifted myself from the bed and walked past him, trying my best to act natural.

I’m not a prisoner. I’m just a woman walking around her home.

I flicked the bathroom light on, illuminating the space as my mind flashed with memories of the last time that we were together in this room.

The shower. The counter. How badly my body had craved him.

I let my mind wander as I brushed my teeth.

Eyes closed, thighs clenched.

Good, Claire. Act just like this. Perfect.

The mechanical whir of blinds raising filled the room as a smile took over my face.

“I can feel that, you know?” Arik’s voice chuckled from behind me.

I opened my eyes to see him leaning against the wall. Blush crept across my cheeks as I cleared my throat and put the toothbrush away. I smirked as I pushed past him and walked into the bedroom.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Just as my hand reached for the door handle, Arik lifted me from the ground.

A shriek escaped from my throat as he growled, “Where do you think you’re going?”

My body froze as soon as my back hit the mattress. Arik stood before me, chest heaving, jaw tight—scanning my body with the same intensity that he did that night.

His dark hair fell into his face as his knee settled into the bed.

I closed my eyes as the fear paralyzed me. I felt his hand grip my hip as the other slowly slid up my inner thigh, like he was savoring the feeling of the delicate skin against his fingertips. The bed shifted as he squared his frame between my legs.

Oh fuck.

My head flew back as his mouth pressed hungry kisses into my thighs, pushing my sleep shirt up as his hands wrapped around my skin. I could feel fingertips digging into my inner thighs where his lips had just been. I reached down and dug my fingers into his arm. I needed to grip something, anything, to keep myself grounded.

“Arik,” I moaned as my head raised, my eyes meeting his.

His dark eyes darted up, meeting mine as his tongue lazily grazed my inner thigh. My gaps echoed in the room as he lifted my sleep shirt, licking his lips as he stared down. I could feel his hot breath against my skin as he tilted his head, his mouth closing in on…

“Stop!” I screamed. “Too soon. I can’t.” My shoulders shuddered as I stared at his face.

He crawled back from me slowly, standing from the bed and backing up into the open bathroom door. His eyes never looked away from between my thighs.

“Holy fucking shit,” I muttered to myself as I pulled my sleep shirt to cover myself.

My mind raced, juggling the heat my body had for him and the fear that permeated my mind. His face—stone cold and jaw tight with a restraint that rattled my core—flashed in my mind. My thighs squeezed together as I wondered what would happen if I just called him back into the room, parted my legs slowly, and bit my lip.

I opened my eyes to see Arik standing at the end of the bed again, arms crossed. He spoke low as he stared down at his feet. “You have to stop doing that…please.”

My eyes widened. “Doing what?”

Arik’s arms lowered, knuckles white as his tight fists fell to his side. He took a deep breath, his head low. “I feel…everything. I need you to get a handle on yourself…” His eyes shot up to me. “Before I do.”