Page 6 of Ruin Me Gently

“Hey.” His voice was low now, softer, almost gentle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I… I get frustrated sometimes, you know?”

I didn’t say anything.

He shifted closer, his hand still resting on mine.

“It’s just… you’re always so worn out lately. And I worry, okay?” His fingers curled gently around my wrist. “I see you pushing yourself too hard, and then when I try to talk to you about it, you shut me out.”

“I’m not—” I started, but he cut me off with a tired smile, like I’d proven his point.

“You do,” he said quietly. “And I know you don’t mean to. I know you’ve been… dealing with a lot. But when you do that—when you pull away—it makes me feel like I can’t reach you.”

His fingers slid down to my thigh, right over the bruising pressure he’d left behind. He gave it a soft squeeze. Not enough to hurt this time, but enough to remind me it was still there. “And I don’t know what to do when you won’t let me in.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the lump in my throat.

“Angel… I need you to tell me when you’re feeling like that,” he said. “I need to know what’s going on in your head.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. I didn’t even know why I said it. The words slipped out like they were automatic. Like I was apologising for being tired. For being… me.

“I know,” he said, his smile widening as his hand slid higher, his fingers tracing slow circles on my skin. “I know you’re trying, angel.”

His hand moved to my face then, thumb brushing over my cheek—so soft, so careful, like he hadn’t left his fingerprints on my skin moments ago.

“You’re all mine, Lilith,” he murmured, voice soft and warm. “I just need you to stick with me, okay?”

Then he kissed me. Soft at first, like he was giving me the chance to pull away. I should’ve. I wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I leaned into the warmth of his lips, the familiar weight of his hand cupping my face.

There he is, I thought. The version of him I kept waiting for—the soft one, the sweet one, the one who made me feel like maybe I wasn’t so hard to love after all.

I kissed him back harder, and he hummed low in his throat like I’d done something right. Like I was back on track, behaving the way I was supposed to.

“That’s better, huh?” he murmured against my mouth.

And for a second—asplitsecond—I let myself believe it was.

Because I wanted to. Because it was easier that way.

CHAPTER THREE

“Hello? Earth to Lilith.”

Shit. How long had I been out of it?

Molly was sprawled across the opposite end of the couch, raising the bottle of wine like a distress signal as she leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at me. “I’m getting more attention fromCat Pisstonight than you.”

My gaze flicked to the glass tank in the corner of the room, where my chubby, emotionally unavailable bearded dragon lay splayed out beneath her heat lamp, eyes half-lidded, little lizard arms stretched out like she was sunbathing on the Amalfi Coast.

“One, her name isKatniss.And two, she’s good company,” I muttered, shifting in my seat. “She has layers.”

“Layers?” She barked out a laugh, propping her feet up on the coffee table. “She’s a scaly potato with commitment issues. She won’t look me in the eye. She refuses to eat when I’m in the room. I’m beginning to take it personally.”

“It’s probably because you keep calling her Cat Piss,” I replied, swirling the wine in my glass.

She laughed, but I could feel her gaze searing into me now. I knew exactly what was coming before she even opened her mouth.

“Lilith. Come on now. What’s going on with you?”

Right on cue.

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