Ruin Him (Wreck & Ruin, #2)

TWO

TWO

A beautiful friendship was right. Dam might have appeared from nowhere and made her suspicious, but Tulsi had come to rely on him. Not only had he built up her reputation and kept work rolling in, but he’d supported her acclimation to her new life.

The day after their initial meeting, he’d revealed what was behind the curtain in Fox Den. Well-lit and quieter than the bar outside, the room had a bunch of couches and a card table set up for the men who hung out there.

In the back corner were the stairs that led up to the bedrooms Dam had spoken about. They weren’t luxury, their quality was about the same as Betsy’s, but they kept everyone together. Dam’s adopted g**g was full of people with different skills and trades. Many of the newer recruits were uncertain and suspicious; those who had been around a while were more relaxed.

Dam didn’t live at Fox Den year round. But when he came south for the winter, it was his usual haunt. As it turned out, he didn’t sleep at Betsy’s at all. His people paid for a room there when they had meetings with associates that they didn’t want to take to their base. At Betsy’s, Dam also kept an eye out for new drifters coming through who might help his cause. Hence how he’d found her.

The booth where Bogey had accosted them was an extension of the den behind the curtain. An interview space as Dam liked to call it. Somewhere they could take people to introduce them to the building without drawing them into their private space.

After just a couple of days, Dam invited her to stay at Fox Den. The cost was about equivalent to Betsy’s and it did have an advantage over the flophouse. At Fox Den, Tulsi had access to a communal—often messy—kitchen. Given that Dam had set up her work bench in the room behind the curtain, living at the club made sense. Tulsi could work as late, or as early, as she wanted to and never had to worry about walking home alone at night.

Dam had also become her defender. None of the Fox Den guys had overstepped the mark in the way some men from her past had, but they didn’t mind flirting with her. Any time Dam thought one of them might be getting ideas, he’d step in. It had been his suggestion that Rook, one of the other guys, teach her how to throw a knife. Apparently, her newest friend hadn’t forgotten what she’d said about putting blades in men. Rook was proficient, an expert, and he was a good teacher too.

Tulsi didn’t exactly have a lot of free time, but she enjoyed learning a new skill, so didn’t mind staying up late. It was good exercise too. She’d started to run again as well. The beach was much better than her old trudge in the gym. Even though there was a room upstairs at the club full of gym machines, Tulsi preferred to be outside. Nothing in the gym matched and she wasn’t sure any of the equipment had been bought legitimately, but it was there for them to use.

After living in Fox Den for two months, Tulsi’s time with Dam was coming close to its end. They hadn’t talked about him leaving, but it was coming. She had no idea what her reaction would be when he told her he was going. If he even told her. Dam joked about hating goodbyes and how it was dramatic to just disappear. Each day for the last couple of weeks, Tulsi had woken up dreading getting up. She feared being told that he’d slipped away in the night without saying goodbye.

Rook didn’t go anywhere, as far as she knew, so she’d have one defender if she stayed. But staying in one place for too long might not be smart. This life on the lam thing was taking its toll. Any time she relaxed and felt herself drawn closer to the people at Fox Den, she’d get a harsh slap when a thought from the past snuck through her defenses.

That night, the club was in full swing. The bass of the music carried past the curtain as it always did, but she paid more attention to the men behind her playing cards. Tulsi’s focus was on the piece that she had to get finished. There were only a few more joins to make then she would leave it to cool.

Thinking that she might ask Rook for a few lessons that night, she hoped to get to bed before the club closed. Dam was at the card table with the half dozen other guys who’d already gone through a keg of beer.

“Patch,” Dam called out. “Get over here and show these guys who’s boss.”

She smiled, but kept her focus on the two pieces of metal and her weld. The magnifying glasses offered her protection and let her look at the minute pieces without straining.

“You still owe me fifty bucks from last week,” she called out without turning around. “You better not lose my money.”

“Don’t panic. I’ll just swipe it from one of these guys after they pass out like I usually do,” Dam said. She knew enough to laugh, but one of the newbies obviously glared because Dam laughed too. “Geez, Salt, I’m kidding, man… Patch, tell him I’m kidding.”

“He’s kidding,” she said, putting down her laser. “Or he paid me to agree with him.”

Dam laughed again. “s**t, babe, you trying to get me in trouble?”

“Gotta get my kicks somehow.”

From the response at the card table, she guessed that everyone was friends again. Salt wasn’t really that touchy, usually, but he was one of the guys not completely at ease yet.

“This is a private party,” Dam said. “Back out the way you came.”

Wouldn’t be the first time that a drunk wandered past the curtain looking for a restroom or to snoop. Obviously, whoever had come in wasn’t getting the message because Dam cranked up his anger and spoke again.

“Yo, buddy, what do you want?”

“Her.”

One syllable. That was all it took to rattle her whole world.

A thorn of sheer joy pierced her first. Just the notion that it could be true was enough to excite her endorphins. Yet, a background prickle of awareness reminded her to be cautious. The pessimism wasn’t welcome. Tulsi wanted her fantasy to come to life. She’d never let herself believe that it would and yet…

Slowly raising her attention, Tulsi caught sight of the last person she expected to see. In her dreams, in the night, her subconscious cried out for him. In the day, when she had her wits, Tulsi never let herself think of him. In fact, she’d chastise herself for being so juvenile as to expect some kind of fairytale ending.

Allowing herself to think of him without regret for the first time, Tulsi absorbed the moment. The truth infused her senses. He’d come for her. Somehow, he’d freed himself from the clutches of Merchant’s men and crossed the country to get to her. It was incredible. That he’d even thought to begin such a daunting mission was flattering. That he’d battled through and somehow found her was plain miraculous.

It was unbelievable. Wreck. Her Ruin… Her next inhale caught in the back of her throat. Struck dumb, she probably could have sat there staring into his fierce feral gaze all night.

The sound of someone c*****g a g*n distracted her.

“No,” Tulsi said, rising to her feet and opening a hand out to stall the men behind her. All the while, she kept her focus pinned to the man standing just inside the room.

“You know this guy?” Dam asked.

It took her a score of seconds to find her voice. “He’s my Ruin.”

Saying the words kicked her into action. Bounding away from the table, she couldn’t get around it fast enough. Tulsi rushed to her ruin and threw herself against him.

Grabbing for her in return, he lifted her clear off the floor. “Nymph,” he breathed the word into her hair.

It was so quiet that the others wouldn’t have heard it, but the edge of vulnerability in that single word brought tears to her eyes.

“You came for me,” she said, tightening her arms around his neck. “I never thought… How did you find me?”

Tulsi squeezed him tight. She feared ever having to let him go. Yet, she missed his eyes, the sight of his face. The memory of both had been her precious touchstone since fleeing the scene of her crime.

She lost track of time, and guessed maybe he did too, because he didn’t reply. They just stayed there, locked in each other’s embrace, absorbing each other again.

Clutching his shoulders, Tulsi pushed back to find his gaze, searching for an answer to her question.

Wreck put her back on her feet. “Want me to leave?” he asked, his scowl darkening.

“No!” she said. A whisper of her incredulity escaped as a laugh. “Definitely no.”

Staring into him, she still struggled to believe that he was really there in front of her. Wreck seemed content, looking down at her. There wasn’t as much wonder in his gaze as she imagined bled from hers, but he’d known this moment was on the horizon. Tulsi hadn’t believed for a second that he’d track her down. But there he was. He’d come for her.

“I’ve got a room in the city,” he said.

The obvious hint that he wanted them to be alone was no surprise or disappointment. The idea had occurred to her too.

Tulsi grinned and leaned closer. “I have a room in the building,” she said and grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

Dragging him to the other side of the room and up the narrow, walled-in staircase, Tulsi didn’t miss a beat. She pulled him along the shag pile carpet circa 1977 that was so bare in some places, the boards beneath were visible.

Shoving open her bedroom door, Tulsi got him inside and closed it fast. She could hardly believe it. Hardly believe he was there. But if this was a dream or some kind of d**g induced haze or concussion, she didn’t want to wake up. Not before she got the chance to taste him again.

As Wreck surveyed her modest room, which must have been decorated around the time the shag carpet was installed, Tulsi moved in close. Picking up his hands with hers, she laced their fingers together so they were standing palm to palm.

When his intimidating stare landed on her, she couldn’t be anything except thrilled.

“We both have our hands,” she murmured. “It’s been a while, huh?”

“Nympho,” he said in a low, rumbling tone.

The mention of the pet name made her smile widen.

“I can’t believe you came for me,” she said, pushing closer to inspect the darkness in his eyes. “Did you come here for me?”

“You think it’s a coincidence I showed up?”

She relaxed and shook her head. “A dream maybe.”

He took one of his hands from hers. With curled fingers, he caressed her cheek until his digits came to rest beneath her jaw. “Always were a dreamer.”

“What happened to your rules?” she asked, in a semi teasing tone. “You said no lovey stuff.” He didn’t respond, just continued to admire her. “And I said no. You said if I did that, you’d never touch me again.”

“Never heard you.”

Her smile grew. If that was true, he’d ask when she said it or he’d deny that she had. If he intended to follow his own rules, just the admission that she’d said no should be enough to make him back off.

But the man in front of her wasn’t interested in backing off. His fingers unfurled to curl around her chin. Tightening his possessive grip, he forced her head further back.

“Wreck,” she whispered. A shiver went through her just at the sound of his name. Tulsi closed her eyes as her fingers drifted downwards to curl around the buckle of his belt. “I need you… Satisfy my craving.”

“My little addict,” he murmured, sinister and satisfied. “You want it.”

“From you,” she said, arching closer. “Dreaming about you hasn’t been enough.” Tightening her hold, she retreated, pulling him deeper into the room. “I don’t have a bathroom or a vanity for you to put me on…”

Snatching her waist with a crushing grip, he spun her around to face the bed and dipped to force her head aside with his.

Digging his teeth into the side of her neck, he sealed his lips and sucked hard. The painful pinch of his mark would definitely bruise. Instead of hurt or horror, Tulsi drowned in the rushing hormones of a desire that made it almost impossible for her to stay upright.

Wreck continued to mark her as he unzipped her pants. He worked them and her underwear down from her hips.

He was going to do it; he was going to have her and Tulsi had no intention of stopping him. She raised her arms to let him remove her top. As her hair tickled her back again, he unhooked her b*a. There was barely time to free her arms before he shoved her down on the bed face first.

His tee-shirt was gone by the time she rolled over, then he was bending down to unlace his boots. Soon as he stood up to toe them off, his eyes landed on hers.

They were free. Together. It was more than she could have wished for. Until he’d appeared, Tulsi scolded herself any time she thought of him. Admitting they would never see each other again was too painful a conclusion to reach over and again.

If she was going to wake up, she wanted to take advantage of every lucid second.

Parting her legs, she pointed her toe to trail it up the front of his jeans as he unfastened his belt. She got a flashback to the first time they’d shared a shower… the first time she saw him in all his n***d glory.

Her lips were about to ask if he remembered when he dropped onto the bed on top of her. The weight of his incredible body smothered hers. For a second, she couldn’t breathe, then a sensation she hadn’t felt in months swamped her. Safety. Tulsi felt safe.

“You searched for me,” she murmured, coming to terms with what a task that must have been. “You found me… My Ruin.”

“Your Ruin,” he breathed the bassy words against her lips a fraction of a second before he kissed her.

Sinking into the warm bliss that enveloped her, Tulsi looped both arms around his neck, ready to take her time.

Wreck wasn’t so patient. All of a sudden, he straightened both arms to rise over her. He wasn’t taking his time to enjoy their reunion. He flipped her over, grabbed her hips and forced her onto her knees.

“Ruin—”

He yanked her back as he drove forward, impaling her hard, just like he had their first time together. All thoughts and words disappeared from her mind as her head sank down low between her straight arms that braced her weight.

“Jesus f*****g Christ, Nymph,” he growled, hissing the words as he stretched her for his pleasure. “Damn.”

It was impossible not to be flattered by straining his control. Maybe he’d forgotten how good it felt to be inside her. Tulsi had remembered how incredible it felt to be with him, but even she’d lowballed the pleasure her p***y felt to be filled with his c**k.

Their first time had been rough and fast. This time he withdrew and advanced at a slow pace. Either he was testing her or enjoying being in a familiar home.

“Baby,” she said, reaching around to slide her fingers over his on her hip.

The moment she began to rise, he folded himself over her to graze his teeth on her back through her hair, forcing her to bend again.

The contact kicked him into gear. He propelled himself deep into her, hitting her far inside. Tulsi gasped in a high pitched squeal of pleasure.

“f**k,” Wreck said, f*****g her faster. “Goddamn.”

After another gasp, she got into the rhythm with him. “Feel good, baby?”

“Primo p***y, Nympho…Shit, you take it good.”

“I want it bad,” she answered through panting breaths.

“You do,” he said, slamming into her. “f**k, my Nymph.”

He’d never claimed her before. In the haze of passion things were said that meant nothing. But she didn’t care. She wanted him to mean it and let herself believe he did. With adrenaline and l**t coursing through her at lightning speeds, she could convince herself of anything.

“s**t! Oh, f**k, Wreck,” Tulsi exclaimed, heaving in a breath. “Oh, I f*****g missed you.”

Bruising her hips in his strong, capable grip he tugged her back. “I’m right f*****g here.”

She slid her hand down her side. Wreck surprised her by anticipating what she needed. Smacking her hand away from her body, like it almost offended him that anyone else should touch her, Wreck took power of her.

Coiling his arm around her body, he kept working his c**k in and out of her as he toyed with her c**t.

“You remember who’s in control,” he growled, bowing over her again. “Right here.”

The pressure on her c**t pushed her into a powerful o****m that tightened each of her muscles. She didn’t breathe for half a minute, not until a desperate need to inhale engulfed her. Opening her mouth wide, Tulsi drew in as much oxygen as her lungs could hold and liberated a long scream.

The echoing sound of her c****x came just moments before Wreck’s growl that signaled his release.

She hadn’t had time to catch her breath before Wreck let her go. He didn’t lie down or even sit in her eye line. So although her heart was still pounding like a freight train riding down the tracks at top speed, she turned over and flopped onto her back.

Her lover was sitting at the end of the bed with his back to her. She wriggled down the mattress and pressed the sole of her foot to his spine.

Breathing out, Tulsi basked in her ecstasy. “Baby?” she said, but got no response. “There’s so much I have to tell you.”

Seeing Wreck again wasn’t just a shock to her carnal self, it was a shock to her emotional self. To the very stability of her existence. Tulsi was no longer a stranger to herself. The identity that she had left behind in Merchant’s blood wasn’t a myth anymore. Wreck knew her. They knew each other. A part of her ex-self was alive again. Not scared and confused, she could hold onto her bond with Wreck. No matter what anyone knew about her or what secrets she kept, the truth of her being would always exist in her ruin.

“You trust me.”

His words were so flat they were almost monotone. Tulsi wasn’t sure if he was stating fact or asking for confirmation. Wreck didn’t turn to look at her, so she got no clue from his expression.

“I’ve been staying here a while,” she said, choosing just to absorb his words rather than react to them. “I make a little money rigging accessories with weapons… I’m good at it…” When he said nothing, she worried about where his mind was. “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I know you must be mad about—”

“I’m not mad,” he said, twisting around to lay a hand on the bed to meet her eye. “Not at you.”

Tulsi didn’t quite know what that meant. He flipped over and ascended the bed to lie on his side next to her.

“We can make money here,” she said, stroking the back of her fingers up and down his chest. “Not a bunch, but at least it’s safe… Dam probably won’t be around much longer. We could go with him when he leaves, if you want to.”

“Where’s he going?”

Pushing one of his legs beneath hers, Wreck trapped her between his strong thighs. Once he had her secure, he rolled onto his back, putting her on top of him. The position reminded her of the first night they’d slept together.

“Don’t know where he goes,” she said, brushing her lips left and right on his torso. “He travels around, widens his network… I’m sure he’d take us along with him.”

Wreck put a hand on her head to push it down against his body. “You trust him?”

“He looked out for me… I would never have found this place without him.”

“What’d it cost you?”

Rising, Tulsi crawled up his body. His hand slid through her hair and down her back. She kissed him.

Keeping her eyes closed after she parted from him, Tulsi whispered, “I choose you.” Opening her eyes, she sought his. “Do you remember the first night I said that to you? I was as sure then as I am now. I will always choose you, Wreck.” He didn’t react, but that just reminded her how much she loved the intensity of his gaze. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Coming for me,” she breathed out and sank down to tuck her head beneath his chin. “I missed you… My Ruin.”

Every muscle relaxed. Just being near him was incredible. She was safe. For the first time since she’d last slept in his arms, Tulsi finally felt safe.