Page 52 of Ruined

Kellan and Cal exchange a glance, and Kellan pulls me away from Wes.

“You need to calm down, man.” Cal stands, pushing me and Kellan out the door. “You may be free ofhim,but that’s only one piece of this. If you actually want to get everything you’ve told us about—everythingwewant, too—then you’ve gotta chill out. Put yourself in her shoes.”

“Iwould never choose someone else,” Wes yells.

I flinch.What’s he talking about?Again, I think of Professor Kammes, but if they’re aware of that, then they’d know I didn’t choose him. Besides, Kammes is too good at covering his tracks.

“That’s not my point,” Cal says gently. “She paid for what she did. You know that.”

“I didn’tdoanything,” I mumble.

“Don’t,” Kellan whispers, and it’s so quiet I almost don’t hear him.

I shoot him my best glare. If he thinks I’m going to listen to him after tonight,he’sdelusional.

“You like hurting me,” I say, not directing it at anyone specific. It’s true of all of them. “Youwantto see me in pain. All this talk about me being your girl—of youkeepingme? Of me forgiving you? It’s never happening. You’re all out of your fucking minds.”

Wes only smiles. It’s cruel and cold, and I find myself stepping back as he moves toward me. I hit Kellan’s chest, and he places a steadying hand on my hip.

When he’s so close that he takes up most of my field of vision, Wes leans down until he’s right in my face. His dark brown hair is tousled, framing his face, and some of the longer strands fall into his eyes. “If I’m out of my mind, it’s your damn fault. You want to know what my first and last waking thoughts are? What consumes every moment of my existence? Even my fucking dreams?”

Dread pools in my stomach, and I shake my head.No.

“It’s you, Athelia,” he whispers, his eyes glinting with pleasure as my expression turns to one of horror. “My heart—mysoul—is drawn to you with so much force that even gods couldn’t stand between us.”

“That’s not my fault,” I choke out.

Wes shakes his head. “You’re not getting it. You’re as stuck with this as I am.”

My whole body goes rigid when he wraps his hand around the back of my neck. There’s barely any space between us, and Wes closes it with no remorse. His lips crash against mine in a kiss that’s so overwhelming that my knees give out.

I’m not sure who holds me up, but even as I try to pull back, I find myself gripping Wes’s shirt. He plunges his tongue into my mouth with a groan. When I try to turn away, he grips my head, refusing to let me.

So I do the only thing I can.

I bite his tongue.

Wes grunts, ripping away from me. But then he grins, giving me a full view of the blood coating his teeth. “Nice try, Athelia. But remember, just like you enjoy a little pain…” He reaches out and pinches one of my nipples hard enough that I wince. “So do I.”

“Enough.” Cal knocks away Wes’s hand. “She needs to sleep. I’ll take her to my room.”

“My bed’s bigger,” Kellan says, pulling me toward the turret.

For the moment, I let myself forget about the shit Wes just said to me. I have other things to focus on.

“I’m not sleeping with you,” I say.

Both Cal and Kellan give me looks of disbelief—and amusement.

Honestly, who can blame them? I’m naked, dazed, and exhausted. I have no clue where my clothes are, let alone my phone.

My phone.By now, Haven has probably texted me a hundred times. It’s possible she even called the cops. At this point, I hope she did.

“Where’s my phone?”

“Right where you left it.” Kellan pulls me into his room and up to the second floor.

There.I lunge for his nightstand, but he stops me with an arm around my waist.

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