Page 49 of Ruthless Dream

I didn’t say anything.

He cupped my cheeks, pulling me in for a kiss. “Princess?”

“I really hate that nickname,” I told him, my lips brushing his.

He pulled away, his eyes hardening. He checked the hallway first and fidgeted with the sleeve of the jacket around my torso.

Either we got lucky on our way to the car, or I didn’t notice anyone. He opened the car door, and before I could argue, he drove us away.

I think I care more about him driving my car than the fact that his cock just tore into my cunt.

I add another tick mark, tallying all the ways I’m fucked up.

“Head inside,” he tells me when he parks along the curb. “I’ll make sure they get the keys.”

Marco’s followed us in a black SUV. A second guard will take my car away, back to my parent’s house. It’d been a random request in the first place, asking them to bring it out here just so I could treat myself to a drive.

Ciaran’s building buzzes with silence. I walk up five stories, pausing at his door. He’s there a second later, unlocking it.

“Adeline,” he calls after me.

The jacket around my shoulders drops to the ground. I head instinctively to the bathroom because while I might not be sexually active, I do know basic hygiene. I was supposed to pee right after sex, but that didn’t happen, and I’m not really interested in Ciaran watching me go.

He has no sense of privacy. He’s already in the doorway of the bathroom when I sink to the ground.

It’s a tiny space. The white tile cold beneath me. His bathmat is basic and boring, indicative of a guy living here.

“Adeline.”

The soft way he says my name tugs at me.

“I’m fine,” I murmur. I’d like to go to bed now.

He crouches behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get you in the shower.”

I don’t move.

“You should always make sure whoever you’re with takes care of you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Give me life advice.” I chose to sleep with him.

“Still can’t stand being told what to do?”

“We’re both using each other.”

He shifts behind me. I imagine he’s frowning. But it’s the truth.

“You want access to my father.” I’d been so pissed at him earlier that I went and slept with a man I knew he’d hate.

My family had acted so strange this evening, though.

Mom had barely looked at me. Nat’s passive aggressiveness turned into shouting. Dad hadn’t been his normal, usual self.

People say change should make you uncomfortable, but I didn’t imagine it would be like this. A month ago, I’d daydreamed about my life in the city. Now I recognize nothing, not even myself.