Page 87 of Run of Ruin

Annalese, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, leaned forward. “And there’s no jealousy? I mean, Thorne… she’s kissed the other two now at this point, but not you.” Her voice dripped with mock scandal, like she was setting a match to dry kindling.

“No jealousy at all, Annalese,” he replied playfully.

“You’re not desperate for a kiss?” she teased. “Because I think we all are, aren’t we?” she said, riling up the audience again into a loud roar.

“Kiss her! Kiss Her! Kiss Her!” They cheered.

“You’re right,” Thorne replied smoothly, the crowd rushing to hear his every word. His gaze cut to mine, electric and impossibly tender. He stood, slow and deliberate, like every movement was choreographed for maximum effect.

Then he looked at the screen behind us, now dark, and smirked. “And according to that little highlight reel, it looks like I’ve got a hell of a lot of catching up to do.”

The crowd roared. My heart hammered.

Before I could process it, he reached for me, his handsliding into mine, warm and steady as he pulled me to my feet. His other hand settled on my waist, sending a jolt of heat through me, and my palms found his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart beneath his shirt.

“What d’you say, love?” he asked, his voice loud enough to be carried to the crowd. “Wanna help me even the score?”

Then, softer, lips brushing the shell of my ear, “Let them have their spectacle, love. But later, I'll show you what a real first kiss feels like.”

I nodded, completely dazed, drowning in the storm of it, the blinding lights, the electric pulse of the room, the hunger in his touch.

Thorne grinned, wicked and breathtaking, then dipped me without warning. I gasped, my fingers fisting in his shirt as his mouth found mine. The world dropped away, the lights, the cheers, the cameras, until there was only the press of his lips, the brush of his tongue against mine, the intoxicating taste of him.

I didn’t care who was watching. I kissed him like I meant it.

When he finally pulled away and set me upright, my chest was heaving, my lips tingling. I barely registered the sound of the crowd’s wild cheering or the smug grin on Annalese’s face.

“What a kiss,” she purred, clapping as the audience lost their minds.

I darted a glance toward Ezra and Briar, both of them watching, not with jealousy, not with anger, but with a kind of resigned joy. Like they were proud of Thorne for claiming his moment. Like they were proud of me for letting him. It made my heart twist, made my pulse pound in my throat as I sank back onto the couch beside them.

But Annalese wasn’t finished.

“So, Brexlyn,” she purred, leaning in like a catthat had cornered a mouse. “No reservations? None at all?” Her voice dripped with sugar, but the sharpness beneath it was unmistakable.

I met her stare, forcing a steady breath past the knot in my chest. “None,” I said. And it wasn’t a lie.

“So, you know these people,” she pressed, her gaze flicking to each of them before returning to me. “You know what they’re capable of? You’re not just swept up in the adrenaline of it all?”

I swallowed hard, the air suddenly thick. I felt Thorne’s pinky brush against mine.

“I know everything I need to know,” I replied evenly, even though something in the pit of my stomach turned cold.

Annalese’s smile stretched wider, and I knew then she’d been leading me to this moment the entire interview. “Well,” she said, sitting back like a queen about to watch the walls crumble, “that’s good. Because if I were going to fall for a murderer… I’d want to be sure too.”

The room seemed to freeze. A collective, sharp inhale from the crowd. My heart stopped dead.

I didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

And then, slowly, inevitably, I turned my head to look at Ezra.

His eyes were already on me. Wide. Haunted. A thousand things in them, fear, apology, hope, love. No excuses. No denial. Just a desperate look that said please, please don’t look away.

The silence stretched.

I felt Briar shift beside me, Thorne tensed like a coiled wire.

“He’s got a body count. How can you trust him?” Annalese pressed.

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