Page 31 of Ruined Vows

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I pause. The honest answer?No.

Not when I’m still tasting her in the back of my throat and replaying the way she stood up to me like she’d just conquered an empire.

But I’ll lie about it to everyone except her.

I crack my neck and toss the ice pack to the side.

“She thinks this is her game.”

David raises a brow. “Isn’t it?”

I smile slowly.“Not anymore.”

She doesn’t know how dangerous I can be when committed to a cause. Sure, she saw me kill men. But she’s never seen me woo someone I intend to keep forever.

David leans back against the edge of the weapons rack, arms crossed, brow raised.

“How was the match?” he says,

I wipe a slow hand down my face, then crack my knuckles. “She thinks she’s in control.”

“You just said she punched you in the ribs,” he chortles.

“And Ilether.”

He snorts. “Sure.”

“So?” he asks. “What do you have planned for your five?”

I glance at him.

“Your five dates,” he says, clarifying the question.

I narrow my eyes. “These aren’t dates. They’re pressure points. I want her to be unsteady. I want her to question everything she thinks she knows about me. Aboutus.”

David tilts his head. “So you’re going full psychological warfare?”

“Exactly,” I say, grabbing the water bottle beside me. “She wants me to chase her, like the boys she’s dated. But I will show her what it’s like to be with a man. I will haunt her. I will leave her wanting me, and it will drive her nuts.”

He waits, expectant, so I give him the details he wants.

“One date will be a private dinner,” I say. “Just us. No security. No distractions. I want her to look me in the eye and realize I already know how she likes her wine, her music, and which side of the bed she sleeps on.”

David grins. “Creepy.”

“Effective.”

He nods, waving a hand for me to go on.

“Next?” I say. “A dive bar. I want her out of her element.”

He chuckles. “I’ve seen her on Page Six. She’s classy. Youmight convince her not to date you with that one. Are you trying to make her hate you?”

I see the concern in his eyes.

“I have to do the unexpected,” I explain.

“What do you mean?”

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