Page 72 of The Devil's Pawn

“Fine,” I spit out with aggravation—not at him, but at this entire situation.

“I’m sorry, Raquel. I’m not trying to be a dick, baby. I want to protect you.”

“Yeah,” I mumble, pushing myself away from him. “That’s always everyone’s excuse for telling me what I can or cannot do.”

“That’s not how it is with me.” He clasps the back of my head, pulling me right back to him, his forehead landing over mine. “Forgive me. I promise, I’m not trying to hurt you.”

His raw tone grasps at my heart, tugging at every part of it.

“I’ve never cared about any woman as much as I do you, sweetheart. That’s God’s honest truth. You’re special to me. And if I let you do this and something happens to you…” He draws back, sighing harshly, his eyes locked to mine. “I’d kill every person who had a hand in hurting you. Do you understand what I am, baby? Do you understand I’d kill for you with no hesitation?”

My lips tremble at his solemn confession while my eyes sting with tears as they go downcast.

“It’s okay if you’re scared of me,” he goes on, nudging my chin up with a finger. “But you should know who you’re fucking.”

“I…I’m not scared.”

“Really?” His thumbs line my lower lashes, the corners of his mouth curling up with a mournful smile. “Your tears don’t lie.”

And he wipes them away.

“I’m not crying because I’m scared,” I explain, my hand falling over his.

“Then why, baby?”

My heart pounds in my throat, afraid to tell him the truth. Nervous that it makes me depraved somehow.

Taking a deep breath, I just say it. “I never realized how much I wanted someone to care about me enough to commit murder.”

He tilts his head back, looking at me like I have five heads. His hands move away, and then a boisterous laugh slips from his throat. He keeps laughing, unable to stop, and I join in, not even sure what I’m laughing at.

“Hey,” I giggle, smacking him on the chest. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Babe, of all the things you could’ve said, I never expected you to say that.” He runs a hand past his face, his chuckles slowing. “I thought you were about to tell me that you’re not just scared; you’re terrified. Shit, who knew you were just as crazy?”

“Hey!” I snicker, rolling my eyes. “Only on Sundays.”

“It’s not Sunday.”

I shrug my shoulders as my lips wind sideways.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He rolls on top of me, grabbing my wrists and pinning them on each side of my head. “Who the hell knew you’d be this perfect for me?”

He groans with an arch of his hips, his mouth descending to my neck.

“I hope you know…” he adds in between soft kisses down to my shoulder. “I’m gonna fight like hell to keep you.”

And with a hungry touch of his lips, he steals all the excuses from my mouth. All the reasons I can’t stay. He kisses me with all the goodbyes we haven’t yet had, convincing me to hold on even when it seems impossible.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

DANTE

“I don’t fucking understandhow we can’t find a bunch of old men!” Dom roars as he stands, his attention bouncing between each of our men in the basement of Vixen.

It’s early, so none of the club employees are here. It’s just my brothers and me, plus a few dozen of our men.

“It was a dead end, sir,” Reach, a new guy we hired, explains. “They were there, we know that much, but they must’ve moved to another location before we arrived.”

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