Page 12 of Beautiful Ruins
“Oh my God.”I found it hard to breathe.“You’re serious.”
His eyes sharpened instantly, the warmth draining out of them like someone had flipped a switch.
I wiped at my face, still smiling.“That’s… wow.That’s actually funny.Do Ilooklike I work for someone?”
Silence stretched between us.Thickened.Took on weight.
He stepped closer.
I didn’t move.Didn’t step back.Even as my pulse kicked hard, even as every sensible instinct screamed at me to shut up and play nice, I held my ground.
“You think this is amusing.”
“I think you’re paranoid.”
He stopped an arm’s length away.
Close enough that I could smell him again—clean soap and danger stripped down to its essence.It knotted low in my stomach, traitorous and unwanted.
“People don’t wander into places like that abandoned factory by accident.”
“Or,” I replied, forcing my voice to stay light, “people who do usually aren’t chasing their idiot boyfriend through a maze of concrete.”
That did it.
Just a pause.Barely a fraction of a second—but enough.Enough to tell me I’d knocked something loose.
“Your boyfriend,” he repeated.
“Yes.The one I thought was cheating on me.Turns out he’s just very good at hiding things from me.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth and stayed there a beat too long.
“So let me get this straight.”He looked up at the ceiling, as though gathering his thoughts.“You were in that building, in the middle of the night, looking for your boyfriend.”
“I know.It sounds lame.Not exactly my proudest moment.”
A low sound slipped out of him then—not quite a laugh, more like something dragged up from deep in his chest.Rough.Unused.It sent a shiver skidding down my spine before I could stop it.
He straightened, the space between us widening just enough to let me breathe again.
“You’ll stay here,” he informed me.
I frowned.“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“You weren’t consulted.”
“There it is.The honesty.”
His smile came back slowly, unapologetic, like he was enjoying the fact that I hadn’t folded.
“I told you.Hospitality.I’m nothing if not a gracious host.”
I crossed my arms, mirroring him without meaning to.“And how long does this… hospitality last?”
His eyes didn’t leave mine.“Until I’m satisfied.”
Heat crept up my neck, sharp and unwelcome.“With what?”
