Page 90 of Run of Ruin

There was a beat. A pause. Then she added, quieter, “He said I was lucky.”

The way she said it, like the word tasted rotten in her mouth, cut through me.

Lucky.

Lucky to survive an attack. Lucky to be paraded like a pawn in a game. Lucky to be given a resource she would never have received in Canyon.

None of us were lucky.

We were fighters. Survivors. Every breath we took now was the product of a war we had to fight.

“It’s not luck. It’s courage.”

She didn’t reply, just nestled a little closer, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The quiet wasn’t heavy though, it felt… earned, like a breath neither of us realized we’d been holding finally let out. But then, her voice broke the silence, soft and laced with guilt.

“I’m sorry you had to do that, Ezra. That I forced you into it.”

I shook my head and shifted, angling my body so she could see the truth in my face. “No, Bex. Don’t you dare think for a second that any of what happened out there was your fault.”

“But you were covering for my mistake,” she argued, her voice breaking on the words. “I was stupid and reckless. I never should have said any of that.”

“You didn’t say a damn thing that wasn’t true,” I told her, my voice low and steady. “If anything… It's my fault. I should’ve told you why I was on the ballot before it came to that. I should’ve never let them catch you off guard.”

She shook her head, stubborn to the end. “I told you I didn’t need to know.”

“And I should’ve told you anyway,” I said, my thumb tracing the curve of her cheek as I cupped her face. “You deserve to know every part of me, Bex. The good, the bad… the parts I still hate when I look in the mirror. I want you to know me. The real me.”

Her hand came up to cover mine, holding it against herskin. “I already knew who you were, Ezra,” she whispered. “I’ve known since that night at the train bar. You can lie to a thousand cameras, but you never could lie to me.”

Something in my chest cracked open at that, something raw and aching and so goddamn grateful it hurt.

I couldn’t stop myself and I didn’t want to. I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers. She let out a soft, desperate sound against my mouth, and I felt her fingers tangle in my shirt, pulling me closer like she could crawl inside my skin.

My hand slid to the back of her neck, holding her in place as my mouth claimed hers, tasting the hint of fire and sorrow and stubborn hope. The kiss deepened, hunger blooming between us like something feral. It was messy, aching, a tether between two people who knew the world was coming for them and wanted to steal whatever pieces they could before it did.

Her leg slid over my hip, her weight settling against me as she moved to straddle my lap. My body responded before my mind caught up, heat flaring under my skin as her hands cupped my face, her lips never leaving mine.

My cock was achingly hard beneath her warm core. She moved her hips, gliding her covered center over mine, and the friction was sinful and all too tempting.

I broke the kiss, barely. Logic winning out over lust. “Your head..” I whispered. “You should rest.”

She bent down, pressing a promising kiss to my throat before whispering in my ear. “I’ll rest when I’m dead.” Her hips swirled again, pressing her core against my hardened length. I gripped her hips with selfish and desperate fingers and guided her back and forth, relishing in the soft sounds the movement elicited from her throat.

I reached behind her, and without a care in the world, ripped the back of the stupid dress wide open. She gasped, butthen sought my lips again with more fervor. I tore the dress from her body, pulling the remaining fabric over her head until it revealed her bare breasts, and panty clad core. Sitting up, I claimed one of her nipples with my mouth. My tongue darted across the hardened peak as she arched into my hold.

“Ezra,” she exhaled, clawing at my button down until she pushed it off my shoulders and down my arms.

I needed her more than I’d ever needed air to breathe. Which is saying something considering I was moments from drowning just this morning.

I quickly slid my pants off my body as she rushed to remove her panties. Finally, we were both bare before each other, our chests heaved, our breath mingled, our eyes were locked. I pulled her hips down, until her wet core pressed against my cock. We both groaned, then she rocked her hips, slowly teasingly sliding her slickness along the length of me. My head fell back at the pure sensation of it.

“I need you,” she whimpered, and I forced my eyes open so that I could watch her as she lifted, wrapped a delicate hand around the base of my cock and lined me up with her slick entrance. The tip of my cock was notched at her opening, and I could already feel her stretching for me. Her teeth caught her bottom lip as she met my gaze, then nodded.

With my hands on her hips, I pulled her down onto me at a tantalizing slow pace. I wanted her to feel every single inch of me. I wanted to stretch her. To alter her body to fit mine. She was made for me.

For us.

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