Page 24 of Watch Me Burn
You just saw me an hour ago.
Me
Too long. I’m already looking forward to Saturday night.
Luna bites her lip as she reads my message, shifting in her seat. She types back with one hand while picking at her salad with the other. Maren says something that makes Luna nod.
Luna
Fair warning: I have no idea how to act at fancy galas. I might embarrass you.
I can already picture how every man in that ballroom will want what belongs to me.
Me
Impossible. You’ll be the most beautiful woman there.
She smiles, glancing around as if checking that no one can see her reaction before typing again.
Luna
Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Wolfe. Should I be worried about what kind of crowd you run with?
I smile.
Me
The kind that will be jealous they’re not going home with you.
Luna fans herself with her napkin, and I have to adjust myself through my jeans, my arousal spiking at her reaction.
Luna
You’re terrible. And I’m blushing in public.
Me
Good. I like knowing I can affect you even when I’m not there.
Luna sets her phone down and takes a long sip of water. Her lips press together, but the corners twitch upward. She’s fighting a smile.
“Are you texting her right now? While we’re discussing how to keep us all out of prison?”
I set the phone aside. Every muscle in my body coils with tension, demanding I go to her, be near her, and touch her.
“This conversation is over, Cade. You’ve made your point. I have no emotional capacity to be with her. But that doesn’t fucking matter because I’m in love with her. She’s permanent. She’ll know the whole truth soon, for better or for worse. And the gala is happening. She’s coming with me.”
He stares at me for a long moment. “I’ll go to the grave for you if it ever comes to that, Damien. You know that. But for all our sakes, I hope she’s as trustworthy as you think she is.”
He stands, grabs his laptop, and heads toward the door. He pauses with his hand on the knob.
“She’s already lied to the police for you. Already compromised herself. Now you’re going to burden her with the knowledge of your true identity? How much more are you going to ask her to carry before you’re satisfied?”
The door closes behind him with a soft click, leaving me alone with the monitors and the weight of his words. I sink back into the sofa cushions, staring at the feed of Luna finishing her lunch. She’s laughing again at something Maren says, unaware that I’m watching every micro-expression cross her face. God, I love how much she laughs. The sound would be musical if I could hear it through the cameras.
Outside, the snow continues to fall, blanketing the streets in pristine white that tire tracks and footprints will soon mar. Just like the purity I’m destroying in Luna with every secret I keep and every lie of omission.
My love for her, this all-consuming need that’s devoured obsession and morphed into a force that dictates my every breath, is dangerous in ways I haven’t experienced since I was seventeen and still learning boundaries I shouldn’t cross. Back then, it was about power and control, about making the first predators I knew bleed for what they’d done.
