Free Ruin Me by Tabatha Kiss Page A

Europe not having full-length mirrors? Luckily, this room has one attached to the back of the bathroom door.
    “Well, you two bunking together is officially out,” she says. “It’ll break Shawn’s little heart, but he can deal with blue balls for the rest of the trip.”
    “No, it’s fine.” I pull my shirt off and toss it to the floor. “I don’t plan on coming back to the hotel tonight, so you two go ahead.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Oh, yeah.” I slip the new shirt on and pull it down. It gives just the slightest amount of bare midriff, exactly the look I’m going for. I grab the skirt next. “I can’t trust myself to come back and be alone with him.”
    “Well, if something changes, let me know, okay?” she says. “I’ll kick Shawn out in a heartbeat.”
    I push my jeans to the floor and slip into the skirt. “Thank you. I guess this means you’re not coming with?”
    She scoffs. “I don’t even know how you have the energy for it tonight, to be honest. That was the longest train ride ever.”
    “Oh, I have a lot of pent-up energy just begging to be released…” I look at her and smile. “We were both looking forward to this a week ago…”
    “I know…” she says. “But I don’t really know where this thing with Shawn is going. I don’t want to mess it up too early, you know?”
    I nod. “I get it.”
    “Don’t let that stop you from having all the fun in the damn world, though.”
    “Oh, it won’t. Believe me.”
    A knock strikes the door and Mandy hops off the bed to answer it. She pulls the door open and Shawn and Kai are standing in the hallway. I see Kai’s face in the mirror, his eyes gazing down my body as Shawn speaks.
    “You ladies hungry?” he asks. “There’s gotta be some good food around. It’s Italy, after all.”
    Mandy peeks at me over her shoulder. “You in?” she asks.
    My stomach growls. “Sure,” I say. I need all the fuel I can get for tonight.
    She turns back to the boys. “Give us a few minutes to get ready. We’ll meet you downstairs.”
    Kai’s eyes linger on me as she closes the door. My heart jolts in my chest. Every time I close my eyes, I see his dark gaze staring down at me in that train bathroom. I lick my lips. His flavor has faded from them now, but I can still feel him…
    Nope. Knock it off, Piper.
    I shake my head and reach for my makeup bag.
     
    ***
     
    It’s late but the restaurant still breathes life by the time we get there. The four of us sit around a small table at the adorable outdoor cafe on the corner, just down the street from our hotel. I smile at my surroundings, loving the local flavor wafting off every living thing. I make a mental note to buy myself a motorized scooter someday and laugh at a street magician down the road.
    When I finally look back at the table, I catch Kai staring at me. “What?” I bite, feeling balanced on the outer rims of self-consciousness.
    “I didn’t say anything,” he answers.
    “What are you thinking then?”
    He raises an eyebrow. “Nothing.”
    I look away as that smug look in eyes starts to take hold of his face. “So…” I look at Mandy sitting next to me and Shawn across the table. “How are we enjoying our trip so far?”
    Shawn rips into a stick of bread. “Oh, man!” he chews. “I fucking love Europe.”
    “Yeah, it’s not too bad,” Mandy agrees. “I can’t believe it’s almost over, though. It feels like we just got here.”
    “We did just get here,” I point out. “It’s only been like three days.”
    “That’s all?” she asks.
    “It’s scary what can change in so little time,” Kai adds with his eyes on me, obviously hinting at something more.
    Oh, what could you possibly mean, dearest stepbrother?
    “Yeah,” I say instead. I instinctively lick my lips. He notices.
    “No kidding,” Shawn says. He stares across the table at Mandy. “It may sound corny, I feel like my dreams are coming true.”
    Mandy smirks at him and shakes her head. “You’re