Page 92 of Ruined Vows
She watches me for a few seconds, then asks, “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” I admit. “It’s just…what if he’s not trying to break me?”
Joanne raises a brow. “Like, that scares you more?”
I nod because it does. Because I never had a man come at me the way he is. He’s direct and intense. He has his cards on the table, which scares me more. What if I fall for him and he doesn’t return it?
And the reality is, if I stop fighting him?—
I might fall.
And I don’t know if I’ll want to get back up.
25
BIANCA
BIG JET ENERGY
Today. No weapons. Just heels.
You don’t get to make rules.
Princess, I don’t make rules. I just make sure no one breaks yours before I do.
I’m laughing. Laughing, becausedamn.
He’s never seen me in color. Not once. Not even that night at the warehouse when the world cracked open around us. I’d worn black like armor—tactical gear. Tear gas. Knives in my boots. War in my bones.
He saw me like that—and still wanted more?
You only want to see me in green because you want to take it off.
Exactly. And then watch you put it back on so I can take it off again, slower.
Heat licks up my spine. I hate that I smile. I hate that I like this.
His car pulls up like it ownsthe road—matte black. The engine purrs low like a threat.
The driver gets out to open the door for me, but I wave him off.
I can walk myself into bad decisions, thank you very much.
He stepsout of the backseat—black-on-black suit and sunglasses. He’s wearing his casual, sinful confidence like he didn’t just interrupt my entire life with a three-day abduction plan.
“Good morning, Princess.”
“I’m not a morning person,” I reply, dragging my suitcase with theatrical effort.
His driver pops out of nowhere and quickly takes it from me.
“Then I’ll ruin your mood more gently,” he teases.
Damn him. Why does he always say the sweetest things?
I don’t even have a retort for that, so I quietly slip inside his beast of a car.
The door shuts with the kind of hush that feels expensive. The interior smells like leather and something darker—cedar, maybe. Or war. He doesn’t speak right away. Neither do I. The silence is sharp enough to cut.
