Page 58 of Ruined

“What’s going on?” Santino asked.

I plastered on a smirk. “Just patching up the idiot. He’s been pushing himself too hard, as usual.”

Santino glanced at the first aid shit on the coffee table. His gaze shifted to Luca’s flushed face. “You good?”

Luca nodded. “Yeah.”

Santino eyed us for a moment, then shrugged. He walked away, disappearing into the kitchen. We sat in silence as the fridge door opened and Santino began stocking its contents.

Luca’s hands trembled in his lap.

I touched his shoulder. “It’s okay. He didn’t see anything.”

He looked up at me, the need he tried so hard to hide naked in his eyes. I wanted to pull him into my arms and make him forget whatever had made him so scared, but I couldn’t. Not when his hands shook at theideaof being caught. So I let my hand fall away from his shoulder.

“You guys hungry?” Santino shouted from the kitchen.

Luca straightened. “No, we’re good.”

Santino had terrible timing. I wanted to march into the kitchen and tell him to leave so I could fuck his cousin, but I doubted that’d go down well.

Luca sat next to me, already composed into that mask he wore everywhere. His lips were still flushed. Judging by how he hugged that pillow like it was a life preserver, he still had an erection. He was probably beating himself up about it.

I leaned in close. “You can run, but you’ll always end up right back here.”

Luca’s gaze snapped back to mine, a warning swimming in lust. I didn’t give a fuck. He had nothing to hold over my head. I should’ve walked away by now. Let him keep running and save myself the trouble. But every time I got close enough to see past the anger, I couldn’t help myself.

He was stubborn, reckless, and so goddamn alive it made my chest hurt. Luca Costa was a mess, but he was my mess. And I wasn’t letting him go.

He wanted this as much as I did.

And I’d be damned if I let him forget it.

FIFTEEN

LUCA

Which of the following is an example of a chemical change?

A) Boiling water

B) Melting ice

C) Burning wood

D) Shattering glass

I stared at the question, tapping my pen against the table.Chemical change.Boiling water? It turned into steam, right? I circled it, then hesitated. It couldn’t be melting ice. Ice to water was still water. I crossed it out. Burning wood turned into coals, which turned into ash and smoke. I circled it, but my pen wavered. Shattering glass. Hell, I’d seen glass break plenty of times. It was the same, just in pieces. I crossed that one out too. I stared at burning wood again.

That has to be it.

Dominic stepped into the kitchen. “What are you up to?”

I closed the textbook. “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look it.”

I kicked up my legs on a chair, ignoring him.