Page 56 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

On autopilot, I clicked the video open and stared at the screen in a numb kind of daze. Ruby stumbled into the shot giggling. She tripped on something and fell on the floor, busting into more laughter.

“I think I had too much tequila.” Her voice was slurred. She was obviously wasted.

Scott moved into the shot. “Nah, just the right amount, beautiful.” He leaned down and roughly picked her up off the floor and dumped her on his bed.

“What’re you doing?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

She shook her head. “That’s a bad idea. We live together.” She smiled a dopey smile. “You just moved in. If I lose another roommate, I’m screwed.” I was going to throw up . . . but I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t make myself slam it shut.

Scott dragged her shirt off, and Ruby just lay there, too fucked up to even know what was going on. “I’m not going anywhere. You got a boyfriend?” Scott muttered, then started kissing her tits.

She shook her head in that sloppy way wasted people do. “No.” She pushed at his shoulders. “Come on, Scott. Let me up.”

Scott lifted his head. “Why? You still a virgin?”

She shook her head again. “I’ve done it once before.” She frowned. “Didn’t much like it.”

“Then whoever you were doing it with wasn’t doing it right.” Scott said.

Another shake of her head. “Maybe. But we’re roommates, we can’t do this,” she said again.

Scott turned his head, looking right at the camera, right into my eyes, like he knew I’d see this one day, and smiled. I couldn’t move, couldn’t fucking breathe as I watched him turn to her, shoving her legs apart.

“Come one, Ruby.” He ground against her and she gasped. “You know you want to.”

“It’ll make things weird between us,” she slurred in reply.

He kissed her softly. “No, it won’t. We’re just two people making each other feel good. That’s it. No reason to overthink it. Nothing will be weird,” he said, coercing her.

She blinked up at him. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He ground into her again. “You’re so fucking hot, Ruby.”

His hand dropped to her thigh and he shoved up her skirt.

She tried to sit up. “I don’t know, I still don’t think this is a good idea. Maybe I should go back to my room.”

Scott pressed into her, holding her down. “You don’t want to go back to your room.” Ruby bit her lip as Scott dragged down her underwear.

“I’ll make you feel good.” He was fumbling with the front of his jeans. “You on the pill?”

“Yes,” she mumbled. “But . . .”

“Shhhh.” His hips jerked back then slammed forward.

She cried out and it wasn’t from pleasure, hands, nails clawing at his back. She wasn’t wet, didn’t want him—didn’t even know what the fuck she was doing.

The hair on the back of my neck lifted, and I broke out in a cold sweat, salty-tasting saliva filling my mouth. I dragged in a breath through my nose, fighting the urge to vomit as my body started to shake so hard from rage, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I curled my hands into fists, knuckles cracking, fingers going numb I squeezed so tight.

I forced myself to watch the whole thing. Punishment for letting her go, for letting this happen to my woman. She never once told him to stop, but I wasn’t even sure she was still fucking conscious. It was over in a few minutes. Scott got up, wiped his dick on Ruby’s T-shit and grinned down at her, looking smug as fuck. Ruby was out cold. Scott walked to the camera and turned it off—but not before one last smirk into the lens, right at me. Then he waved. “Hi, Mom,” he said then snorted.

I slammed the laptop shut and stumbled to my feet, dragging my hands over my head. The fucker was sick, sicker than I thought. I was as close to the edge as I’d ever been. I stood there, emotions like a tornado inside me, whipping through me, tearing at my insides—fuck, shredding me. I was torn between going in there and holding her so tight she’d never get away from me, and shaking the fuck out of her for getting herself into that situation with a guy that, at the time, she’d hardly known. Shit, she’d never known.

It was wrong, I knew, feeling that way. None of it was her fault. None of it. It was all mine. I’d left her unprotected. I’d failed her.

I sucked down great lungfuls of air, but I couldn’t stop shaking, from the rage thrumming through me, from having no one to direct it at. I wouldn’t rest until I found Scott.