Page 41 of Declan

“I’ll kill her and her entire fucking family.” The words boil up from deep within, but alongside my fury, a pang in my heart surprises me. Something that wasn’t there a week ago.

Fuck, not feelings!

Chapter 13

Declan

My mind races. She can’t be the one leakinginformation; she just can’t. But what if she is? What if this is all part of some master plan to infiltrate us, to dig deeper? Fuck!

I’d kill them all. I’ll ki—no. I can’t kill her. Shit. Maybe I could lock her away forever. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

“It’s not her.” Connor’s voice yanks me out of my spiralling thoughts; his eyes locked on mine.

My younger brother reads me like a damn book, and I hate it. “She hates all of this. I dug deep into her, Dec. She chose a one-bedroom apartment and a nine-to-five job over living in that mansion and never lifting a finger.” He shakes his head, staring out at the road as Kian drives us back to the estate.

I know he’s right. There’s nothing about her that screams betrayal. But… there’s always abut. If it is her, I’m already too attached. I’ve let her under my skin more than I want to admit.The thought of putting a bullet through her head makes my whole body shake.

My heart clenches like I’m taking blow after blow to the chest. I don’t know how I’ll handle it if it comes to that.

“But if it is her…” My voice cracks more than I intended. Kian glances at me, and I know they hear the fear in it.

“I’ll do it,” Kian grunts, his jaw tight. He’d do it for me, even though it’s the last thing he’d want. But I could never let him carry that weight—or Connor. This is on me. I let her in, let her get too close. I… I tasted her.

Damn it; she tasted like sunshine and sin; her voice, when she came, sounded like heaven splitting open inside me. The way her body tightened around my fingers, her warmth soaking my hand… I felt something I hadn’t in years.

Fucking hell.

Striding into the house, I try to keep it together, but the second I see her on the couch, it all goes up in flames. Those damn shorts, her pale legs catching the sunlight, making her look almost angelic. My heart skips a beat, a knot rising in my throat that I force back, shoving my feelings into the cave of my heart.

“Viviana,” I say, standing there, waiting for her to look at me. When her head turns, her fierce eyes pierce right into my soul.

“Declan.” She’s pure fire, pure sin, and it drives me insane.

“Why didn’t you run before the wedding?” I cut straight to it; I have no patience for games. It catches her off guard. She slams her book shut, her lips quivering with simmering anger I know too well.

“The contract.” She bites her bottom lip, the fire in her eyes intensifying as if she’s about to explode. “You spelled it out in detail: if I ran, you’d hunt me down and kill my entire family.” Her hands clutch the book so hard it starts to warp under her grip.

“And what if I kill them?” I press, testing her. “From what I hear, they made your life hell.” I cross my arms, trying to mask the tension in my fists. My pulse pounds loud and relentless, like a war drum in my chest.

She stands, chin lifted in defiance. “I would never intentionally hurt anyone, no matter what they’ve done to me, Declan.” Her voice is sharp, slicing straight through me. “I’m not like you.”

I smirk at her dig. Better to be like me than her bastard of a father, but I don’t say it. “Does that include not hurting me, Viviana?” I step in close, close enough to feel her breath hitch at the question. She swallows hard, her eyes flicking to my mouth and back again, her anger burning bright.

If she does that again, my restraint will go straight out the window.

“If I wanted to hurt you, I’d have pulled the trigger that day at the warehouses.” Her eyes flick to my mouth again, and that’s it—every shred of control snaps. I grab her waist, pulling her hard against me. She inhales sharply, and I don’t hesitate.

I dive in, my tongue pressing past her parted lips in a fierce, unrestrained kiss. She tastes like strawberries and spices; why does she always taste so good?

My hand slides to the back of her neck, angling her head just right so I can deepen the kiss. My fingers dig into her sides as her hands

tangle in my hair, pulling me closer. A soft hum escapes her lips into my mouth, making a groan rise from deep inside me. Her heart

thunders against my chest, her scent wrapping around me, pulling me into a warmth I haven’t felt since…shit.

My hands slide down to her ass—perfect, round, irresistible—and I grab it hard. She hums again, grinding against my leg, and I claim her lips with even more intensity.

I want to devour her, to taste every inch of her, to feel her melting under me. My cock strains painfully against my zipper, begging for release. I need her; I need this; I need her out of my head.