Page 31 of Ruin Me Gently

And I didn’t know why. Didn’t know why I was having to swallow down the burn that was creeping through my chest, didn’t know why I was a hair’s breadth away from trembling with rage.

That was enough.

I wasn’t staying.

This wasn’t my business.

She could look after herself, she was a grown woman.

I’d done my part making sure Clark would stay away.

She was fine.

I shifted, ready to shove my hands in my pockets and disappear into the night, already bracing for the cold air outside.

But then he dropped into an empty barstool and pulled her onto his lap. Every muscle and tendon locked up, every thought screeching to a halt as my vision zeroed in.

No. Walk away.

His thumb brushed over her jaw, slow and deliberate, and I could see it happening before it even did.

Walk. Away.

I was stuck, rooted to the floor like some masochistic idiot, lungs locked tight as his hands roamed her body, lips pressing against hers in a messy kiss.

She wasn’t pulling away.

Something ugly clawed its way up my throat, something raw, something that ripped through every nerve ending like fire, something that made my vision flood with crimson.

I was moving before I even realised it, tearing through the crowd, shoving past bodies, not giving a single fuck who I knocked into. The air was thick with sweat and fog, neon lights strobing, flashes of colour igniting against my skin in violent pulses. The pounding bass throbbed through my bones, but I didn’t hear it.

I didn’t hear anything. Just the sharp, rhythmic crunch of my own breath, and the blood roaring in my ears.

I was there. Right there. A second away from ripping him off her. A second away from wrapping my hand around his throat and making sure he understood exactly why he should never touch her again.

“OH MY GOD.”

The voice cut through the music like a damn air horn.

I froze.

The back of my neck prickled, every muscle seizing like I’d been hit with a stun gun. The heat of my momentary rage fizzled out, replaced by something colder, pure, unfiltered—

Shit.

I’d been caught. Not just caught.Caughtcaught.

Mid-stride, mid-glare, probably mid-punch. And to make it worse, they didn’t even know me. From their perspective, I was just some random guy storming over like an unhinged cryptid emerging from the shadows.

I turned slowly, already bracing for whatever mess I’d just caused, expecting to see a bouncer looking at me like I’d lost my mind.

But no. Molly. Of course it was Molly.

She wasn’t even looking at me. She was looking straight at the kiss that was happening right in front of her. She made a beeline straight for Lilith, completely oblivious to whatever the hell had almost happened.

I manoeuvred myself and leaned against the bar, right behind them. So close that if I reached out, just a fraction, I could touch her. I could wrap a hand around her waist, pull her up off this asshole’s lap, and just… take her home.

Make sure she was safe, tucked up in bed, far away from some creep with grabby hands and way too much cologne.

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