Page 63 of Between Love & Ruin

I am keen to learn Sienna’s definition of love and become it. I want to be the person she needs at the end of the day, her safe place.

I just want to be hers.

I see a cab enter my driveway through the window of my room. I rush down the stairs to open the door for her.

I have no idea what happened between them or how it happened, but I do know she needs me right now, and that’s enough for me.

“Sienna,” I say the moment I open the door and look at her face. Her face is enough to tell anyone that she’s gone through enough emotions for one day. Tear strains are marred on her face, and her eyes look so incredibly sad. It makes me want to crawl deep inside her and pull out any sadness or grief that she might be carrying.

“I had nowhere to go,” she says, and against her demand, I pull her into my arms. I know she would never ask for me to comfort her upfront, but by now I have learned what she needs and what she wants. I am attuned to her needs more than I am to my own.

She stiffens against my hold for a minute before her body relaxes, before she realizes that she is safe here. She clutches the back of my shirt and buries her face within my chest. Her body feels so small like this as she quivers in my hold.

I shut the door behind her as I let her sob in my chest. I have never felt rage like I do right now. The urge to hop on a plane and go after that sick fucker who made her cry is clawing at my chest.

But the helplessness I feel for not being able to take away her pain is so much more.

“I’m here, Sienna,” I mumble, pressing a kiss on her head. “You are safe and okay here.”

“I’m so tired, Dom,” she says, and that one nickname makes me feel at home. “I broke up with him on the spot.”

My heart flutters in my chest when she says these words. I know it’s selfish to think about myself when she is so vulnerable, but God, I can’t help it. I can’t even lie that I wasn’t waiting for this.

I pick her up in my arms, and she lets out a surprised gasp. Even her tiniest movements are so adorable. I carry her to the couch in the living room and set her down on my lap.

She looks at me then, surprise filled in her eyes.

“Are you comfortable?” I ask, because I would never want her to not be comfortable with me.

She nods, a blush creeping up on her neck and face.

I wipe the tears from under her eyes, and she leans into my touch.

“Take a deep breath,” I tell her, rubbing a soothing hand up her back. “You don’t have to worry about anything now, hm? I will take care of everything.”

“Like always?” she asks, a hint of a smile on her face, warming my heart.

“Like always,” I press a kiss on her forehead because I can’t help myself. Maybe I should hold back, give her some space. But all of my control vanishes when she is in front of me.

She looks at me for a minute, and I let her eyes wander on me. I love it when she looks at me with so much patience. So much curiosity. Then she breaks my heart by getting off me.

“Could you get me some water?” she asks, looking away, and I furrow my brows.

“Of course,” I tell her, before getting on my feet to get her the same. I know if I made her feel uncomfortable, she would say so. But the change in her mood stresses me out.

She smiles at me when I hand her the glass, and relief floods my chest. So maybe I am overthinking.

“Are you ready to talk about it?”

She nods, keeping the glass on the side. I take a seat by her side, careful to not crowd her space.

“Mark had said he would meet me at the airport, so we didn’t talk the entire day,” she starts, and I listen carefully. “I don’t know what happened to him. The moment I reached there, he started accusing me of cheating. He had a photo of us from the last time you dropped me at the hotel.”

“Our photo?” I ask, confused. Who the fuck would spy on us?

“Yes,” she says, the same confusion in her eyes. She licks her lips before she speaks up again. “I don’t know why someone would take our picture. It’s not like we were doing anything. We were just talking, and they sent it to him, and he just started accusing me of cheating with you this entire time and so much bullshit.”

She takes a deep breath, and I take her hand in mine. I know it must have been so humiliating for her. Sienna takes pride in doing the right thing. That’s the reason why she has tried her best to not be with me, despite whatever kept growing between us.