Page 53 of Cuffed By Love

"That's why I decided to come back. Dad, he wants to carry out his treatments here with his family close by just in case he…" Devin's eyes glisten, and he averts his gaze from mine with a sombre shake of his head. "I've wanted to tell you from the moment I got back, but I just didn't know how to bring it up to you, and honestly, Tinks, the constant bickering between us has taken my mind off the relentless worry and possibility of losing him."

I shake my head, roll my chair closer to his, take his face into my hands, and lift his eyes to meet mine. "You're not going to lose him." I gently brush away the tears that flow from those endless brown eyes I love with the pads of my thumbs. "He's going to be just fine. You'll see, he'll beat this Dev." I assure him, pressing my forehead to his. "He has too."

"Fuck Tinks, you have no idea how much I need that to be true or how hard I've been praying for him to pull through this." He asserts, choking on a sob, his head bowed and eyes cast down.

I've only ever seen Devin cry once, and it was when his Labrador retriever Harley had died. It wrecked me then, and it still does. Even though I'm still angry with him for hurting me, none of that matters now. In the face of what he's going through, how can I possibly not be there for him when my heart bleeds right along with his. I wrap my free arm around him when he buries his face into the crook of my neck. I can feel the warmth and wetness of his tears streaming down my neck, mixing with my own at the base of my collarbone. "He will, Dev; he's going to be just fine."

Devin pulls back and looks into my face and reaches up, and brushes the continuous tears that just keep streaming down my face. "This is why I didn't want to tell you." He utters woefully and drops a lingering kiss on my forehead before he whispers. "Please don't cry."

"Does my dad know?"

Devin nods, his thumb stroking my jaw soothingly. "He knows. He's known from the start, so does your mum."

I sigh and lower my gaze to my hands when Devin takes my slightly trembling fingers into his warm ones, "I can't believe they didn't tell Ayla or me."

I can sense Devin looking over my face almost thoughtfully before he speaks again. "My Dad asked them not to tell you or your sister. He didn't want you to worry."

Typical of Uncle Greyson to keep us out of the loop in fear he would cause 'unnecessary distress' as he liked to say. This is so far from unnecessary, though. It's not like he's got the flu or that time his appendix ruptured. He needed surgery and was in the hospital for days—this is cancer, it's serious, and there's a great risk to his life. If I'm supposed to be like family to him, he shouldn't have kept it from me. "Can I see him?"

"Of course, you can," Devin replies cordially and gives my hands a reassuring squeeze, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. "We'll go and see him tomorrow, yeah?" I only nod in response and chew on my bottom lip anxiously. Devin, noticing my unease, lifts my head so I could look him in the eyes. "What is it, Tinks?"

"I…" I shrug and search his eyes, "I'm really sorry, Dev, I've been such a bitch to you and all the while you've been dealing with—"

"Hey," Devin silences me by taking hold of my face with his large and balmy hands and gazing deeply into my eyes. "You've been no such thing. Like I said before, you've been a good distraction and kept my mind from wandering to places that would have had me falling apart. So, you have nothing to be sorry for; if anything, I should be thanking you."

I blink, "Thank me for almost killing you?"

Devin smiles tenderly and nods, "Yes, for almost killing me, too."

I give him a brief watery smile before it wanes when I see the sadness veiled deep in his eyes, "He's going to be okay, you'll see." Devin smiles gratefully and presses his lips to my forehead, his fingers combing through my hair affectionately. It was in that very wonderful moment that my stomach chose to make it known that it needed food with an audible growl.

I close my eyes tightly and pray he didn't hear it but much to my dismay, he pulls back with an amused chuckle while I sit there, turning every shade of pink known to mankind.

Thank you muchly for that dear stomach.

"I think your sto—"

"Shut up."

Devin laughs, "Shall we go to lunch?"

I nod appreciatively. "Yes please, let's."

* * *

The restof the afternoon went by pleasantly for Devin and me. We even managed to get a meeting booked with Wickham. We will find a way to convince her. Her book is great, and with the right marketing, it could be a real hit. I'm not much of an avid fantasy reader. I prefer romance novels to goblins and wizards. Still, nonetheless, her book is genius and could be the next Harry Potter. I mean, isn't it every author's dream to be published traditionally by a well-established, highly respected publishing company? I did hear through the grapevine that seven other smaller publishing houses rejected her book. I do wonder what they said to her to make her want to go down the indie route.

All we need to do now is charm the pants off of her and prove to her that publishing with Evans and King is the best way to go for the success of her book. We had till Monday morning to prep for the pitch to sway her. That's still, however, four more days of being handcuffed to Devin, which is absolutely in no shape or form good for me.

I look at the time on my MacBook as I type out another email and notice it's almost seven o'clock. We've been so engrossed in work that we lost track of time. I hit the send button on my email and close the laptop screen. Devin seems to be gripped in the document he's reading, utterly oblivious to everything. I take a moment to admire him subtly while he works. As he reads, his tongue darts across his bottom lip, his eyes thin at the corners in concentration.

"God, Mira, the way you sound, those sexy noises you're making is driving me in-fucking-sane, baby. Louder, say my name louder."

The sound of his raspy voice desperately groaning those words in my ear while he was buried deep inside me, thrusting steadily still causes my stomach to clench tight with wild elation.

Ayla and my mum always told me that a girl’s first time is rarely ever good. It's painful and clumsy and doesn't feel as good as it would for the boy. Well, they were right about the painful part, but not the rest of it. There wasn't an awkward moment between us. Still not sure how Devin managed it, but he made me feel the best I ever had.

It likely wouldn't have been a pleasant experience with anyone else, but it was Devin, who I trusted with my life. Honestly, it was a night I'd remember forever—in spite of all the heartache that followed, I never, not for one single second, regretted it even though he did.

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