Page 50 of Ruthless Dream

I glance at my hands, trying to understand how my body belongs to my mind.

“What do you want?” Ciaran asks me.

For my family to take me seriously.

I know I’m my own worst enemy. That I’m being stubborn. That I want to prove to them that I know what I’m doing. That the man I’m dating is someone I picked for myself, rather than a man who simultaneously saved and trapped me in an alleyway.

There’s a glimmer of something else too, as I think about all the dismissive flicks anytime Ciaran appeared in my family’s eyeline.

They’re usually so much better than that, I want to tell him. Only I’m too busy trying to tell myself that as well.

“You’re mad that you keep getting outplayed, aren’t you?” Ciaran whispers, his chest brushing my back.

The muscles in my shoulders tighten.

“It was a good idea,” he says, “trying to flip the situation on its head. Get me as your ally.”

I wipe a tear from my face before he can see it.

“Partner,” I correct just for the hell of it.

His beard scrapes against my skin as he presses a kiss to my bare shoulder. “It almost worked.”

“Almost?” I ask, crumpled on the ground in a bloody ballgown.

“It just needs some finessing in the future.”

“I’m fairly certain you agreed to the terms when you stuck your cock inside me.”

His breath skates across my skin. “That was my favorite part of the agreement.”

I close my eyes.

“You know this hasn’t ended?”

My silence is an affirmation on its own.

“We’ll be good together, won’t we?” he says. I’m not sure who he’s asking.

For me, the only way forward is proving my family wrong. I must show them I can keep up with school, work, and Ciaran.

“Don’t forget about Wallen.” It’s the most important part of the deal.

He lets out a tired sigh, shifting behind me. “Are you sore?”

I shake my head.

“Adeline.”

“I’m fine.”

He unfastens the clasp at my neck, the halter straps of the dress falling. He takes off my shoes next. Bobby pins are plucked from my crushed chignon. “Come on.”

After he lifts me to my feet, the dress glides down my torso, and he pulls it down my thighs, the material falling to the ground. The nude thong I’m wearing isn’t worth trying to save.

Ciaran starts the shower. His wristwatch glints in the light, and he takes it off, oddly protective of the artifact.

“It’s warm now.” He motions for me to move forward.