“My head hurts…” Poppy rolls onto her side, and I turn to face her up on the bed. I told Victor I didn’t want to move into the pool house. Didn’t make a lot of sense since I didn’t want to be here long.

“Good. Then maybe you’ve learned your lesson.”

I jump up off the mattress on the floor, gesturing to the end of the bed. “You’re going to school with Ruby on Monday. Think you can handle that and not be a fucking idiot?”

“Lenny!” Poppy scolds, shoving her blankets off her body and swinging her legs over the edge. “Yes, I can. And speaking of…” She swipes a towel on the computer table, glaring at me in passing. “You think you and Ruby can simmer down the attraction? Anytime anyone is in the same room as you both it’s awkward, and I’ve never seen you with a girl before!” I hear the shower turn on, but the door is slightly ajar, which only means one thing. Poppy wants to try to talk about girl shit.

I grab a hoodie and slide it over my head, quickly dashing out of the bedroom before she can start but end up crashing into someone.

My hands fly out to catch Ruby before she collides with the hallway. “You good?”

“Shit…” She pulls the earbuds out of her ears, and I have to force my hands off her body to stop from shoving her up against the wall and doing all the bad shit I’ve pictured doing to her since I first saw her. The animal inside of me wants to break her apart to see what she’s made of. It’s that wild rush that courses through my veins knowing that I’m not supposed to touch her, much less ruin her. Her phone starts ringing in her hand and the photo that pops up on her screen is a selfie of her and the fuckboy who was hanging off her arm at the party last night. He’s looking at her, but she’s smiling at the camera.

Fuck. After last night, I know where she stands with him, but as long as she’s not on my dick, it’s going to be a problem. One I don’t want. She doesn’t look like the type of girl who would have some big mafia boss as her dad. She looks like a bitchy cheerleader, and I thought she was, but as time goes on, I’m second-guessing myself. The kindness that lingers within her words and the gentleness in how she handles Poppy. I know she probably doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, and if she does, I wanna see it come to life while I’m fucking hers out of her.