Page 264 of Ruin Me Gently

He didn’t move. Didn’t step away as I loaded the plates into the dishwasher. Instead, his hands found my waist, fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt.

I exhaled slowly, loading the last fork, fully aware of how his chest brushed against my back with every breath.

“You planning on helping, or just standing there, breathing dramatically?”

His grip tightened, just for a second. “Just standing here.”

I huffed out a soft laugh, shutting the dishwasher and turning in his hold.

The elevator chimed and Finn strolled in, hands in his pockets, a lazy smirk already tugging at his lips. “Alright, Lils, time to—”

He stopped dead. His gaze flicked from me, tucked against Silas’ chest, to Silas himself, whose arms remained locked firmly around me.

Silas’ voice was low. “What the fuck?”

Finn’s eyes went wide. “I’m thinking the same thing.”

I exhaled sharply through my nose, already bracing. “Finn—”

Silas turned his gaze down to me, then back to Finn, then back to me. “Time to what?”

Finn blinked, cleared his throat, and backpedaled toward the elevator. “Time to have lunch and talk about the weather. Rain’s been crazy, huh?”

Silas’ grip on my waist didn’t loosen. “Finn. It’s 9a.m.”

Finn grimaced. “Look, man. I thought you had a meeting this morning, okay? Before you get all… Silas… about it, let’s just—”

“No,” Silas cut him off. “I want to hear it from her.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I forced a completely unconvincing smile. “Finn’s been, uh… helping me out.”

“And what does that mean?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

I licked my lips, glancing at Finn, who was now doing a really terrible job of pretending he wasn’t there. “You know… just… the usual. Taxes, oil changes, navigating the treacherous world of extended warranties.”

“Lilith.”

“Fine. He’s been helping me throw punches properly. Teaching me how to you know… not get murdered.”

Silas went very, very still. “How long?”

I shifted on my feet. I’d never noticed how nice the kitchen floor was until now. “A while.”

“A while?” he repeated, voice tight.

I nodded. “Yeah. A while.”

His jaw ticked.

Finn took another step back toward the elevator. “Welp. Looks like you two have this under control. I’m just gonna…” He pointed vaguely at the elevator.

“Don’t.” His voice was sharp. His eyes locked onto me. “You’re staying for this.”

Finn huffed, muttering something about hating it here, before stepping towards the kitchen like a man walking to his execution.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Silas asked.

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