Ruin (Dark Desires #2)

Chapter 1

OURS TO TAKE CARE OF

LILY

When I woke in the late hours of this morning, I was expecting today to be just another day.

I’ve spent the last three months hidden away within the walls of the exclusive club my best friend owns.

I’ve rarely set foot outside of the suite he’s marked as mine.

A place to heal, while hiding from the monsters from my past.

My stay here is a closely guarded secret. And I’d hoped to keep it that way.

But as soon as I open my bedroom door and find a man I’ve not seen in eight years leaning against the door to my suite, I know this isn’t going to be just another day. With his arms crossed and eyes blazing, his expression is a mix of concern and frustration.

And despite all the years apart, a long forgotten flutter grows deep in my belly.

And I know my life is about to change yet again.

Whether I’m ready or not.

I’ve long grown accustomed to having no say in how my life is lived. When your entire existence is at the whim of powerful men, you become complacent.

Meek.

Mild.

Small.

Mute.

Anything to keep those men from snuffing you out of existence entirely.

But the two men in front of me right now have never treated me as a commodity.

If anything, the DeLuca brothers are the only family I have ever really had, although there is no blood relation there.

My father viewed me as nothing more than a possession that he could use as a bartering tool to work his way up in the world.

And my mother never stood up to him. It was only once I met these two men as a doe-eyed teenager that I realised how a true family should behave.

Both of them have been in and out of my life for seventeen years, since I was fifteen. One is like a brother to me. The other?

Well, I guess that’s complicated.

I’ve been sitting in Daniel’s office for the last twenty minutes while he defends keeping my current situation from his older brother, Sebastian.

Sebastian has avoided looking me directly in the eye since he entered Dark Desires thirty minutes ago. I’d hoped that after eight years of silence things would be different, but I know now that those complicated feelings are still very much in play for both of us.

“I can’t believe you’ve kept this from me for the past three months,” Sebastian says, the slight shake in his voice the only obvious evidence of his anger as he keeps his gaze fixed on Daniel.

I sit perfectly still in the lone armchair, tension coiling throughout my entire body, while Sebastian sits on the leather couch across from me.

While he gives the impression of being relaxed, the muscle twitching in his jaw gives away just how hard he is fighting his emotions right now.

Anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

But I’ve been attuned to this man's tells since I was a teenager, and despite the years since we were last in a room together, it seems I can still read him like a book.

I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good thing or not, though.

To my right, Daniel rests his forearms on his solid oak desk, watching his brother process my presence with a small smile playing across his lips.

Now in his mid-thirties, with his jet black hair cut short, Sebastian has just the right amount of stubble to give him an almost dangerous appearance. With startling blue eyes and high cheek bones, his Italian heritage is more pronounced than Daniel’s. He is, in short, more beautiful than ever.

He’s filled out in the years since I last saw him. Though still tall and lean, the muscles in his arms strain beneath the sleeves of his shirt in a way they never used to as he scrubs a hand over his face. It’s obvious he spends a lot of time working out these days.

“I promised Lily that I wouldn’t tell anyone she was here,” Daniel replies, a lock of his blond hair falling across his green eyes as he flashes me a comforting smile, before turning back to meet his brother’s incredulous gaze.

The two of them have always been like different sides of the same coin. Although their facial features and builds are similar, Daniel was always the light to Sebastian’s dark in more than just physical appearance.

Quicker to smile.

Quicker to trust.

Quicker to love.

“I asked him not to tell you, Sebastian,” I say quietly, and both brothers turn to look at me.

It’s the first time I’ve spoken since Sebastian burst through the doors half an hour ago, his face a maelstrom of emotions while he’d run his eyes over me.

Only then had the anger ebbed away, morphing into something else that I’m not sure how to process.

A mixture of sadness and anger… tinged with something that, if I didn’t know better, I would say was longing.

“Why?” Sebastian asks.

His expression would be almost impossible to read for a stranger.

His presence is kind of hard to ignore at the best of times, but the anger that radiates from behind his cool, calm mask of indifference is obvious to those who know him well.

I was once one of those people, but I haven’t been able to call him a friend in a long time.

I force myself to meet his gaze, lifting my chin. “I was embarrassed.”

He raises an eyebrow. “But you were comfortable enough with Daniel knowing that Joseph was beating you daily?” His words land like a fist, and I can’t help but flinch as I look away.

The anger from earlier surfaces from beneath that mask of control he’s perfected over the years at the mention of his former friend.

The man who I have called husband for eight years now.

Seven years and eleven months since he started leaving bruises in strategic places.

Unseen by others, but used to keep me under control.

His control.

“Seb, ease up,” Daniel says quietly, shaking his head.

Sebastian’s expression softens a fraction. “Sorry,” he says gruffly. “I just don’t understand why you were embarrassed about me knowing. We would have gotten you out of there long ago Lily, if we’d known.”

I shake my head. “I wasn’t your problem to take care of anymore, remember?”

I know it’s a low blow, but he can’t sit there and act like he didn’t walk away from me all those years ago.

He baulks, raising an eyebrow before leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees, and my gaze falls to his tanned, powerful forearms. He’s rolled the sleeves of his business shirt up to his elbows, and it just adds to the overall sex appeal of this man.

“I’m not sure why you thought you were ever a problem.

But you were always ours to take care of.

And that’s what we’re going to do now. You can’t stay here.

Joseph knows your connection to us, and he knows about this place.

Unless you’ve changed your mind and wish to press charges?

” Sebastian says, studying my face properly for the first time since he sat down.

My brain stopped processing words the moment he claimed me as theirs, but my heart begins hammering in my chest at the very idea of pressing charges.

I know how this goes. Men like Joseph never face the consequences of their actions, and I don’t want to face him again, knowing he’ll just keep coming after me.

As far as he’s concerned, I’m his to do with as he wishes.

And after escaping his clutches three months ago, I know that if he ever gets his hands on me again, there will be nothing left of me by the end.

When I shake my head, Sebastian nods. “That’s what I thought. How does a change of scenery sound, then?”

I tilt my head, considering his words. “Where do you have in mind?”

Please let it be far, far away from Sydney.

“We have clubs in every capital city with round-the-clock security where you’ll be safe.

Would you like to go to one of those? It’s a little out of the ordinary for a non-employee to reside there, as you’ve seen here, but we can make an exception for you.

Perhaps Melbourne? Or Adelaide? Or there’s one of our hotels? We can take you anywhere you want.”

“Which one do you live in?” I ask, assuming he lives in one of them, like Daniel lives here.

It saddens me I no longer know the answer to that question. He’d left Sydney eight and half years ago. Right after Joseph proposed.

Right after things between us took a turn we could never come back from.

He considers me for a moment before answering. “Brisbane.”

“Then I’ll come to Brisbane,” I reply with no hesitation.

It’s the surest I’ve been of anything in years. While I hate the idea of relying on the brothers for anything, I know I’ll be safe if I’m with Sebastian, despite our complicated history.

He’s quiet for a few beats, and I notice the muscle in his jaw flutter again as those piercing blue eyes run over me.

“Alright then,” he finally says, crossing his arms.

I mimic his stance as I straighten in my seat. “Just like that?”

His head tilts slightly. “The decision is yours, Lily. If Brisbane is your choice, then that’s up to you.

But I’m sure you realise Dark Desires is a little out of the ordinary?

I won’t ask the people who live there to change their habits, so you have to be certain you are able to handle what you might see or hear there. ”

I nod, shifting in my seat under the weight of his gaze.