Page 84 of The Devil Can Be Kind

Surprisingly he didn’t bite—he just smiled.

“You give me your trust.” I opened my mouth to immediately protest, but he quickly cut me off. “You give me your trust, and if I so much as break it once, I will set you free. You can keep your car, the clothes and all the money you could ever need, but you would be free to disappear. You’d never have to see me again.”

I sucked in a breath, “How do I know you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?”

“How do I know you will hold up yours? Proof.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wad of paper. Slowly his large hands unraveled its contents, revealing a dark blue passport and some other documents. He gestured for me to take them.

For a second, I stared at the paperwork in my hands.

They were all the documents I would need to start over. A passport with my picture and my name, Adalyn Rossi. A new social security, bank accounts, identification documents, health card, and educational diplomas. All the documents that could get me wherever I wanted to be.

He wasn’t lying about the bargain. This was the proof.

He had done all this to get me to trust him and to trust the fact that Lexi’s words were just as fake as her personality. Something akin to hope burned through my chest as unease circled in my stomach.

He pulled the paper from my frozen fingers and carefully tucked it away. His eyes coasted over my body, a storm slowly brewing beneath their surface.

“Trust me now when I say that being with you is not a power move. That you are not part of some game, and you are not a tool for retribution.” His voice was so deep I felt it in my chest.

The documents, the care he’d shown, how he listened about the employees ofPretty Penny Loans… I nodded. Icouldtrust him.

“Prove to me that you believe me. That youdotrust me.”

My brain slowly caught up and I faltered, fresh out of ideas on how exactly to prove it.

He took a slow step forward, his hand rubbing across his lips as a dark smile tugged at their edges. It did nothing to ease the thundering in my ears or the tingle in my stomach.

“I have an idea.” His voice took on a rough edge, but he offered no further explanation.

He edged closer to me. His muscled form dwarfing mine as heat pulsed from him in waves. The back of one of his large hands came to rest on my cheek, a finger gently brushing my bottom lip. My breath hitched and butterflies pooled in the pit of my stomach, while his other hand weaved its way into my wet hair, and he pulled softly. Maneuvering my head to an angle where he'd have access to my neck.

His face lowered and my heart rate drummed in nervous anticipation as warm breath traced along my skin.

His lips came to rest at my ear, “Tell me something.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked breathlessly, completely absorbed by his touch.

“Something no one else does. Something you would only tell someone you trust.” His lips pressed against the hollow of my ear, making it difficult for me to focus on the words.

“I don’t… I can’t think of anything.”

“I need proof, Ada.” He scolded darkly. Teasingly.

Fuck I can’t think straight.

“I-I um… I watch porn sometimes.”

Marco pulled back and let out a quiet laugh, his shoulders shaking.

I instantly smoldered, having let outthatembarrassing morsel of information.

He shot me my favorite boyish smile before descending back onto my neck.

“I was thinking of something else…” He hinted, but at what exactly I wasn’t sure. I could barely see past the shiver stretching down my spine from where his lips met my skin. “How many men have you been with?”

That brought me somewhat out of my blissful reverie, and I gulped.

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