Page 37 of Ruthless Vow
Renzo appears without sound. One moment I’m alone; the next, he’s beside me.
We stand in silence. Brothers who’ve learned not to need words.
“You sleeping?”
“Enough.”
He doesn’t respond. Just looks at me with eyes that see everything.
Eyes that say: I know you’re lying. I’m choosing not to push.
“If you need me.”
Not a question. A statement.
I nod.
He disappears back into the shadows.
When I climb the stairs, my body is heavy with exhaustion. Five days of running on fumes catching up, demanding payment.
She’s in bed. Turned away from my side. The curve of her shoulder visible above the blanket. The dark spill of her hair across the pillow.
I change in the bathroom. Delay the inevitable.
When I slide in beside her, she doesn’t stir. Breathing slow and even.
I lie on my back. The distance between us hums with tension.
I can want her without needing her.
The lie tastes like ash. I’ve been telling myself that for days. It’s bullshit, and I know it.
My eyes are heavy. The exhaustion dragging me under.
I shut my eyes.
And I sleep.
9
CASSIA
The mattress shudders beneath me.
My eyes snap open to moonlight and shadow.
For a moment I don’t understand what pulled me from sleep.
Then I hear it.
A sound dragged from somewhere deep. Low. Guttural. Coming from the man beside me.
His breathing has turned ragged. Not the slow rhythm I’ve memorized over the nights. Hunted. Jagged. A man fighting something he can’t escape.
I turn my head on the pillow.
Every muscle in his body is locked tight. Tendons standing out along his forearms where his fists twist in the sheets. Jaw clenched so hard the muscle jumps. Shirt dark with sweat, clinging to his chest. Lids moving, trapping him in terrors I can’t see.
