Page 41 of Dev

“Fabulous, that means I get to make another round of Jaw Lockers.” Quinn climbs the stairs in a bikini so fluorescent it reflects the sun onto my eyes.

“Tawk needs some stitches, and Sasquatch took a bullet to the shoulder, but it was a straight through.” I give her the heads up.

“Cool. Tell Pol, Tawks all hers.” She pulls a lipstick from her bikini top and paints her lips the same color as her bikini, before tucking it back, rearranging herself, and heading inside.

Wrath looks at me, shaking his head, and I’m about to laugh, until I see that it ain’t just Lettie, Freya, and Polly that's left on the beach.

“Millie?” I almost choke as her name comes outta my mouth. What thefuckis she doing here? Is she incapable of listening to a warning? And why the fuck does it feel this good to have her here?

“Seems like she can’t stay away.” Ruckus laughs as Freya rushes up the stairs and leaps at him.

“I missed you,” she tells him, grabbing under his jaw and kissing him as he carries her inside. Lettie scoops up her little boy, and she tugs on Polly’s arm as she leads her up the stairs, leaving Millie by herself.

“Go easy on her, she’s only here because she cares,” She warns me fiercely, and when I eventually turn around and see that everyone has gone inside, I stand gripping the wooden balcony till it splinters my hands.

I keep staring at the girl who remains sitting on the sand, staring out at the ocean with the bag I gave her yesterday resting beside her. She’s also wearing a bikini that shows off far too much of her, and I’m torn between wanting to cover her the hell up and ripping it off her body.

Deciding that I can’t just watch anymore, I charge down the stairs and onto the beach. Millie must sense me coming becauseshe stands up and turns around to face me. The calm, collected look on her face turns to fear when she sees me shrug outta my cut and throw it on the sand in temper. Her cheeks turn pink, and her lashes flutter when I rip my t-shirt up over my head and grip it in my fist as I near her.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here, dressed like that?” I shove it over her head and cover her up before anyone else sees her. She’d have been safer jumping into a shark pool with an open fuckin’ wound. Millie waits until I’ve pulled it down over her thighs before looking down at what she’s wearing, and when she notices that it’s covered in blood, her wide eyes fix back on mine.

“Jesus.” I look up at the fuckin’ sky for some strength.

“I didn’t come here to argue, Dev. I came to return this.” She quickly bends down and picks up the bag.

“I don’t want it. That money’s for you,” I tell her, trying my best to stay calm. Now that I’ve gotten closer and she can see the blood on me, she’s looking real fuckin’ scared.

“I take it that everything went well?” She looks back down at my t-shirt as she twists her foot, burying it deeper into the sand.

“They’re all dead, if that's what you mean.” I can’t help noticing how her hair is the same color as it.

“I’m not leaving town, Dev.” She looks back up at me, her green eyes sparkling full of determination. “I have a life here, a family. Long Beach may not be safe right now, but it will be.”

“Millie, I—” She suddenly interrupts the speech I’m about to give her when she stretches up on her toes and presses those perfect, pink lips against mine. I swear the world stops spinning, even the ocean goes fuckin’ silent, and when she pulls away from me, I have to take a few seconds to catch my breath.

“Sorry.” She bites her lip as she pulls away, looking both scared and embarrassed. I make those pretty eyes stretch wide again when I lose the fight. Grabbing hold of her face, I drag herback up to my mouth. I kiss her hard and deep, filling her mouth with my tongue so I can taste every crevice of it, and even though I know I’m squeezing her jaw far too tight, I don’t let up. I want her to feel me raw, to know that I’m not the guy for her, so she never tries to pull anything like that again. Releasing her, I take a step back, and when I see the smears of blood my fingers have left on her face, I can’t help wanting to kiss her all over again. Turns out, what was supposed to be a punishment for her has turned into one for me.

“You wanna stay in Long Beach? Fine, but you stay away from me, and you stay away from this club.” I leave her and the bag on the beach and storm back up the stairs to join my brothers.

One Month Later

“Agirl. I can’t believe I’m having a little girl.” I stare down at the sonogram picture of her in my hand and feel like I could burst from all the happiness I’m feeling.

“I was so sure it was a boy.” Vike tosses the car keys at the side cabinet and flicks through the mail.

"Thanks for coming today, I was really nervous about this one,” I admit, starting to get all teary again.

“Hey, I told ya, I’m here for anything ya need, and you had nothing to be worried about. You heard the doc, she’s doing great in there. She’s got all her little parts, and she’s growing perfectly.” His finger tickles at my tummy, and when he rests his hands on each side of my bump, I watch the way he smiles as he stares down at it. I don’t know what comes over me, but suddenly everything I’m feeling seems impossible to hold in. Leaning forward, I kiss him the way I’ve wanted to since the first day I laid eyes on him, and when I finally come up for air, the look on his face says everything.

“I just made this weird, didn’t I?” I cover my hand over my mouth and step back from him.

“What? No…” He shakes his head as if he’s still trying to process what just happened.

“I’m so sorry. I should not have done that. These hormones are kicking my ass.” I laugh awkwardly as I back myself up toward the door.

“Wait. Alicia, where are you going?” he asks, still unsure of what to do.

“I promised Griller’s mom I’d keep her updated; I got that extra picture from the sonogram for her, remember?” I try sounding cheery as I pick up my keys and purse from the side.

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