Page 81 of Dev

I frown at her, wondering how she can be so courageous after all she’s been through.

“I’m still yours, Dev. What they did to me doesn’t change that, does it?” She looks so scared, and my fingers tense around her throat when I think about how I want them to suffer for ever making her doubt it.

“It doesn’t change a thing.” I lean my head down to kiss her, tasting the tears that slip between our lips.

“D’ya need me to remind you?” Sliding my hand down from her neck to her body, I speak against her sweet, soft mouth. I haven’t touched her like this yet, outta fear, but I’m getting a sense that this is what she needs.

“Will you?” She looks up at me with big, green eyes full of hope.

“I’ve wanted to since I found you. I was just?—”

“I think we’ve learned that we should always trust your instinct,” she tells me, with a cute little smile, guiding my hand lower between her legs.

“I need you to claim this body back, Dev. Make me yours again,” she whispers.

“There ain’t ever been a time when you weren’t.” I slide two fingers into her pussy and slip my tongue between her lips, lifting her up with my other arm. I press her against the wall and kiss every inch of skin that I can reach.

I’m trying my best to be careful, but something feral has unleashed in me, and I feel the urge to ensure this woman remembers who she belongs to.

Freeing my cock from my sweatpants, I replace my fingers with it, slowly pushing inside her and filling her pussy all the way to the hilt.

“You okay?” I check, knowing how tender she’s been and not wanting to cause her any more pain.

“I’m perfect.” She grips hold of my shoulder as I gently move inside her.

“You're mine, Millie Dawson. Ain’t nothing in this world that’ll ever change that,” I promise, meaning every word.

“That’s the best you’ve slept in days.” I wake up to find Dev resting his head on his hand and watching me. I’m sore between my legs because of him, not them, and I’ve never felt better.

Now it’s time for him to keep his promise.

“You need to tell me what happened now, Dev.” I look up at him and see the disappointed look he makes as he sighs. He must have been hoping I’d forget.

“Millie, there are some things that you're just better off not knowing.” His heavy hand plays delicately with my hair.

“I disagree. We have to be honest with each other. You knew what you were risking when you went back to that whore house to speak to that girl again. And those questions you asked me about Corey hurting me? They made no sense. I know you heard something that day that scared you, and I want to know what it was.” I sit up and let him see that I’m being serious.

“I can’t.” He shakes his head, looking almost as broken as he was when he burst through the door and found me being raped.

“Dev, I think after all I’ve been through, it’s safe to say I can handle it.”

“Baby, you got some real good memories of Corey, I don’t wanna ruin ’em. Let this one go, for your own sake.” He kissesmy forehead, trying to pacify me, but it only makes me more curious.

“Tell me,” I beg him. “It’s not good for you to keep things to yourself, and if you don’t tell me, my imagination is going to make it up anyway. I’ll just end up thinking the worst.”

“You won’t,” he tells me confidently, sitting up and looking up at the ceiling as if he’s torn.

“Dev, why did you move here from Nebraska? Corey always said it was because you wanted a fresh start. Was that girl something to do with what you left behind? You never talk about your past. Did you and her?—”

“Stop!” he yells, and I suddenly realize that I know nothing about where the man I’m in love with came from.

“I’d never met the girl before,” he tells me, looking guilty for raising his voice. “Millie, I don’t want you to worry about the past. We need to focus on our future, that's all that really matters.”

“Why would you think that Corey would have hurt me?” I lean forward and rest my head on his shoulders. “You knew how soft he was, he didn’t have a bad bone in his bod–”

“That’s what he wanted us to believe.” He quickly gets up out of bed and drags his hands through his hair. “But maybe I got it all wrong. I mean, the warning signs were all there, and I just…I ignored them. I put you in danger when I fuckin’knew.” He scrubs his hand over his face in frustration.

“Dev?”

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