Page 48 of Bound By Ruin

“You don’t,” I repeat, pulled in by the heat of her body and the sweat on her skin. The smell of sex clings to her, and I breathe in deep, shuddering as rawneedcourses through me. I growl in frustration and tell myselfno.Under no circumstances am I going to touch her right now. I’m going to walk away, because that’s what’s best for everyone. As soon as my business is done in this city, I’m walking away for good.

Celia Monrovia will never tempt me again.

“I don’t,” Celia mutters for the fourth time, her voice wavering at the end. “Ireallydon’t.”

“Me either,” I breathe, the tip of my nose brushing hers. “I really?—”

“Really—”

Don’t.

Chapter19

Ruin

All Celia needsis a little courage, so I flatten my palms against her shoulders and…

Push.

She tips forward, caught off balance, and her mouth lands on Thanatos’s, stunning them both into blessed silence. They were way too fucking loud. I exhale slowly, releasing some of the tension in my muscles as I continue holding her to the spot, rooting them together at the lips.

It doesn’t bother me that they want to fuck each other. The only one of us it bothers—besides Rage, but he’s got a jealousy problem—is the two of them, both of them too stubborn and prideful to get it over with. He likely thinks that he’s stepping on our toes, and she might still hold animosity towards him for all of the hateful things he said to her.

I still remember every word, and I bet Celia does, too.

That’s why they need to get all the poison out of their system so that they can start fresh. None of us will get any sleep at night if the two of them are at each other’s throats, especially if we have a newborn baby screaming at all hours of the day. Hopefully, the baby will take after… whoever has the best temperament. Probably Thanatos, which is why I’m okay with him and Celia being together.

It makes sense.

Neither of them moves, so I slide up behind her and block her in with my hands on her hips and her back pressed to mine, the same way Rebel did for me when I first kissed Celia, or she first kissed me. I’m not too sure who moved first.

The same is happening here—both Thanatos and Celia colliding without words. Briefly, a flash of a memory of Celia and Rage being pushed together at the club comes to mind, but it fades the instant that Thanatos finally moves, his hands wrapping around Celia’s fists. They’re clenched so tightly that he has to pry them open, and then—andonlythen—do either of them remember to breathe. Her eyes flutter open to find that his are shut, her lips parting as he deepens the kiss, pouring his weight onto her, and then onto me. I take a step back and she stumbles, but Thanatos is quick to catch her, dragging her back to his body and grabbing her hip to steady her.

They stare at each other with half-lidded gazes, drunk on the adrenaline flowing through their veins, standing at a crossroads.

Will they continue tugging this thread loose, or will they choose to tie themselves into knots over the clear attraction between them?

Clicking on my earpiece, I sigh. “We’re in the acrobat room. Employee entrance.”

“Fuckingfinally,” Rebel whines, making me flinch. My head throbs, and I quickly remove the ear bud and slip it into my pocket. That’s enough stimulation for one night, thank you. I reach into my back pocket and pull out a blunt, quickly lighting it and taking a deep pull. The smoke flows past my lips in a lazy haze as I watch Celia and Than.

They still haven’t moved.

“Let me go,” she whispers, fisting the front of his shirt and doing absolutely nothing about how he’s holding her.

“I can’t,” Than breathes, his eyebrows pinching together. “I can’t do that, Princess.”

She huffs, a single punch of air passing her lips. “Why not?”

His answer is immediate. “I don’t want to.”

Biting her bottom lip, she draws his eye to her mouth. “We can’t do this.”

“We can’t.”

“Wecan’t.”

With a frustrated growl, Thanatos cups her cheek and tilts her head back. “We fuckingcan.” His lips crash into hers, earning a heady moan from our girl. He plucks her lips between his and slides his fingers into her hair, snagging on the knots. She moans again, wrapping her hand around the base of his neck and pulling him in, deepening their connection.

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