Not a chance.
I sit up, running a hand through my hair, trying to scrub away the shock. I don’t get rattled easily. Women come and go, I’ve never cared, and I’ve never wanted more than a night, or a distraction, or a release.
But Ruby?
Ruby hit me like an impact trauma. Sweet. Sharp. Perfect. And now she’s gone.
I stand and walk to the window, staring out at the skyline while the truth burns into place.
I want her again. I want her under me, over me, around me. I want her laugh, her mouth, her smart mouth even more, because she pushed back in a way most women never dare. I want to learn every expression she makes when she comes. I want to know the exact moment her attitude melts into need.
One night wasn’t enough. It wasn’t even close.
My gaze snags on something near the minibar. A bar napkin, folded neatly, the bartender must have left it there.
I pick it up, and her lipstick is on it. There’s a single kiss-shaped stain, bright red, and mocking me.
I clench the napkin in my hand. If she thinks she can disappear, she doesn’t know me at all.
I find what I want. I keep what I want. And last night proved something I didn’t expect:
Ruby isn’t a distraction. She’s a problem. A delicious, addictive, need-under-my-skin kind of problem. And now that she’s walked away? Now I’m going to make damn sure she can’t. Notwhen I’m this certain. Not when my body is still craving her. Not when the memory of her moan is still echoing through me.
She thinks last night was a mistake.
I think last night was the beginning.
And the next time I see her? There won’t be a door she can slip through. There won’t be a chance to run. I’m done thinking in maybes.
I want her.
And I always get what I want.
Valentine’s Damage Report
SEXY NINE GROUP CHAT
Ava changed the chat name again.
Ava:
GOOD MORNING, MY LITTLE SLUT PUFFIN
Where are you? Alive? Hydrated? Walking funny?
Sienna:
If she’s not walking funny, I’m demanding a refund.
Trey:
It’s 9 a.m. I want gossip. I skipped breakfast for this.
Dr. Lana:
I told all of you to practice appropriate boundaries.
Also, yes, Ruby, please check in so we know you’re not dead.
