A tall, lean man with a mess of dirty blond hair stepped into the room, gun drawn, eyes shifting quickly across the room.
I made a move toward him, and surprisingly, he lowered his gun and ordered, “Stand down.”
Fuck that, I had nothing to lose. I was trained for the fight. I charged him, but when I tried to disarm him, he swung his forearm into my throat so quickly I never saw it coming. I stumbled after having the wind knocked out of me. My back hit the wall, and he immobilized me with little effort.
The man should not have been able to subdue me so easily. His green eyes had a menacing edge and a familiarity that stripped the fight from me.
“Stand down, Ward.” My surname rolled of his tongue like poison. He cocked his head, curled his upper lip in disgust, and snarled as he pushed away from me— knocking my head into the cement wall.
He turned, raised his weapon, and glanced at me over his shoulder. “Follow me, stay low, and if you get your ass shot, I’m not picking you up off the floor.”
Well, fuck. This asshole had a bigger chip on his shoulder than I did. I stared after him for a moment too long, and he barked, “Move!”
The gunfire had lessened, but there were still sporadic bursts of activity as we moved down through the dark dungeon-like basement they’d held me in. I had no idea who my rescuer was and why anyone would risk themselves for me. It was a completely foreign feeling—having someone shielding me from danger.
Making it out of that building had been no hardship for Tyler Preston, but the implications of what he’d done for me would follow us for years, forcing us to form a bond he’d never wanted and I'd never expected.
Juliana
Devlin came home extremely late. He’d been oddly distant all week, but I became a little alarmed when he spent several long minutes standing over the bed in the dark, staring at me.
“Dev?” I sat up in the bed, worried about this strange bout of behavior in the past few days. “Are you okay?”
He stared at me for several more silent minutes and then finally said, “One day you’re going to find out who I really am.”
I crawled to the edge of the bed and touched his face. “I know who you are, Devlin.”
He smiled sadly, cupped my face similarly to the way I held his. “I’ve done some shitty things, angel. When the day comes, just know I’m the man who loves you. No matter how you feel about me… I love you.”
Emotions overwhelmed me with his matter-of-fact confession. He was always so closed off, but in that moment I saw and felt the same love he did.
I rubbed my hand over down his neck and back up, cupping his face in my palms. “I know you do. I love you.”
He pushed a hand into his hair, then swiftly pulled his shirt over his head. Next, he loosened his belt and let his pants drop. As he climbed onto the bed, I didn’t know if I should stop him and see where his head was, but he didn’t leave me a choice. He pushed me back onto the pillow and crawled over like an animal on the prowl. His smooth skin and defined muscles were highlighted by the moonlight seeping through the blinds.
He fit himself comfortably between my legs and held me really tight as I smoothed my hand over his back. If he needed me to anchor him, I would in any way possible.
“It’s always really loud. When I’m with you, everything disappears. It’s the only time I can have a clear head for a long period of time. How do you get them to shut up?” He pulled back, held my chin between his fingers, and seemed to be searching for something in my eyes. “Tell me your secret.”
“There is no secret.” I was becoming so used to his out of place statements I didn't ask for explanations anymore.
“You’re wrong. There are always secrets, and some of them can destroy us.”
Before I questioned his cryptic words, he kissed me.
Suddenly, his fingers were beneath my panties, parting my flesh and stroking my clit. I clutched his biceps, my fingers digging into hard muscles. His tongue moved across my neck, down my collar, and latched onto my nipple. He was gentler than I was used to. His touches weren’t as urgent. He reveled in the feel and taste of every inch of my body. When he finally pushed his cock into me, it was a slow descent. The stretch felt more intense with his leisurely pace.
His arms trembled underneath my fingertips as he held still, balancing his weight above me. He gritted his teeth and fixed a fiercely carnal stare on me. “I forgot protection.”
I sensed a difference, but I didn’t realize how much his raw possession changed the magnitude of our joining. I ran a hand up his chest, around his neck, and pulled him down over me. I kissed the edge of his lips and said, “We don’t need it.”