Ruined 8

Avery

That son of a bitch had kissed me. And I had let him. Even knowing what I did about him, with our past I had still opened my lips to him.

Like a damn fool. 

It seemed when it came to Ruin, I had learnt nothing at all in thirteen years. He was as much an asshole as he had been back then, probably more so and yet my body still reacted to him instantly. He made me pant after him like every other woman he came into contact with.

They didn’t know better.

 I did. 

The whole point of coming here tonight was to hammer home that I wasn’t someone he could control. I hadn’t come to be pinned up against a wall melting under the feel of his lips. 

It was just because I was all worked up from Truths kisses. It was the only possible explanation. 

“Hey.” I slid back on to the barstool next to Truth, it was busier now and a small crowd had formed but my place next to him was still empty. It made me smile. He had obviously wanted me to come back, he had kept my space free. 

I touched my hand to the small of his back and he turned with a smile, one finger pressed to his lips. A phone pressed to his ear. Not that he ignored me totally, his giant paw of a hand slipped back around my hip as he angled himself between my jean covered knees. 

I hid my smile with a healthy gulp from my beer bottle.  Trying not to listen to his conversation. Whatever was being said on the other end wasn’t making him happy. He was positively vibrating with energy. Bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. 

“Hey.” He tossed the black rectangle onto the bar, his hand squeezing possessively. Truths eyes scanned my face. “You were gone a while….”

“Awww did you miss me?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, I fucking did. Thought you might have snuck out and gone home without me.”

“No… I would never do that… well I would …” I laughed, the beer bottle held loosely between my fingertips. “But not tonight.” I let my voice drop lower. I wanted my intentions to be clear. “Shall we get out of here?”

“I can’t.”

His words made me jump. What did he mean he couldn’t? Five minutes ago he was all for leaving and having a crazy sex-filled night and now he couldn’t? What could have happened in the few minutes I had been gone, unless of course Ruin had something to do with it? Had he told him what had happened outside the toilet?

But no, Ruin wasn’t anywhere in sight. 

“Don’t think it’s because I don’t want to.” The hand on my hip squeezed. “Because I do, I’ve just got to go. Club business you know…” he shrugged. “So I am hoping you will be staying in town for a little while…. maybe I can take you out….?”

I blinked at him. Take me out? “Look Truth, can I be honest with you?”

He nodded. “Yeah, telling the Truth is kind of my thing.”

“I’m going through a pretty messy breakup, I was just looking for a….” I struggled to find the right words but I didn’t have to worry. His chuckle was low and dirty. “A casual hook up who would fuck you hard and filthy all night?”

My laughter joined his as I nodded. “That’s the one.”

“Well, I can’t oblige tonight babe but …. Another time? I promise it will be worth the wait.”

His eyebrows waggled and a snort escaped my nose which only made both of us laugh harder. 

“That sounds good.”

“You want me to get you home?” He glanced at his phone, which was lit up and vibrating against the wood of the bar. 

I shook my head. “No it’s fine, I’m going to finish my beer first. You get going.”

“No chance of a quickie in the toilet?” His voice was half teasing and half hopeful. 

“You promised me a full night.” I tipped the bottle to my lips as my eyes met his.

“Rain check then?”

I grinned up at him. I wasn’t sure I would be able to go through with it after tonight. Not that Truth wasn’t fuckable because he was, it was more the fact that I wasn’t really this person. “Raincheck.”

***

Maybe just maybe I was slightly drunker than I had thought. I had felt fine in the bar, better than fine but being out in the fresh air? My head was spinning, saliva filled my mouth as I hobbled along Main Street on my high heeled boots. 

I should have let Truth take me home. Or even better I shouldn’t have drunk so much. It wasn’t like I was a young woman any more. 

My hand came down on the brick wall to my side as I struggled to steady myself. My eyes scanning the almost empty road for any sign of a taxi cab. There wasn’t one which meant I had no choice but to carry on walking home and hope I wouldn’t face plant the floor. 

“Avery?” 

I didn’t even stop at the sound of Ruin's deep voice. Instead, my feet moved quicker which just made me wobble more.

I didn’t want to see him. And I definitely didn’t want to talk to him again. Not in this state. Drunk, horny and Ruin just wasn’t a good mix. 

“Avery Stop.” His hand came down hard on my shoulder, spinning me around with such force I lost my balance. I would have gone down if his arms hadn’t clamped around my waist.  He pulled me into the warmth of his body. “What are you doing walking alone in the middle of the night?” Strong fingers tilted my chin up, his eyes searching my face. “Where is Truth?” His lips narrowed. “Why isn’t he walking you back?” There was anger in his voice. “He gets you drunk and then leaves you to fend for yourself?” He muttered and his arm tightened again.  

Suddenly I was hyper-aware of the feel of his hard body pressed against mine. 

“I’m a big girl… I can walk myself home….” I started to pull away but it was like my body was rebelling. Instead of stepping back, I snuggled into his chest. He was so warm, the bulk of his body so damn comforting. 

“You don’t have to though Avery and you definitely shouldn’t have to. He got you drunk, he should have made sure you got home ok.”

I blinked slowly. “He wanted to have a quickie before but club business meant he couldn’t come home for…”. Too late I realised what I had said. Ruins dark eyebrows slammed down. “That is not what I meant Avery.” His hand left my hip to run through his hair. Messing it up so it stood up in all directions. 

Part of me wanted to tug at it. Run my hands through it and pull his head down to mine. 

Drunk and horny that was me.

“Fuck that is not what I meant and you know it. I hated seeing you two together….”

“Why?” 

For a second he just stared down at me. “I don’t know Avery, I wish I did. There’s just something about you, I can’t seem to get you out of my goddamn head.” He pressed forward, trapping me against the cold glass of one of the shops. 

“Because you have found out I am the …..”

He silenced me with his fingers pressed against my mouth. “Not because of that, no, because since the moment I first saw you I had to have you.”

“You fucked up my life.”

“I know, but I’ve thought about you every damn day since. I regretted it, Avery, you got to believe that. I’d like to make it up to you. Be the man I should have been. For Parker but for you as well. You need someone to look after you as well Avery.”

“I don’t need anyone to look after me Ruin...I.” I froze. His words were genuine, or at least I wanted to believe they were.

“You don’t need it, I get that. I am saying I want to…. Avery, what’s wrong?”

I didn’t answer, instead, I pushed him away and vomited all over my suede boots. 

***

“Where are we?” Blinking my eyes blearily I came to. Only I wasn’t on the street anymore. I was on a bed. And it wasn’t my bed.

“Home .” Ruin's voice came from somewhere in the darkness and I felt his hands on my ankle, pulling the boots from my feet.

“This isn’t home,” I mumbled struggling to get my foot from his grasp. “And let go of me, I just want to sleep.” Yeah, sleep sounded like the best option right now. It was pretty much all I could think about.  The room didn’t spin quite so much with my eyes closed. “Just for a little while and then I can go home.”

“You’re not getting into my bed like this Avery. You’re covered in sick.”

Oh yeah, I frowned. I could faintly remember vomiting on my own shoes but how we got from the street to here, where ever here was, was a total blank. 

“I should go home…” struggling to stand I fell back with a giggle.

“No chance. I’ll drop you back when you have sobered up some….” Ruins lips quirked. “Come on arms up…” he tugged at the hem of my shirt. I swatted his hand away. “Stop trying to take my clothes off Ruin, that is not happening. I….”

“Like I would fuck you in the state you are in Avery. I’d like you to be a willing participant and not unconscious when that happens.”

“It’s not going to happen Ruin.” 

“Yeah, it is.”