Chapter 15
Dev
He was close to losing his shit. When he saw the rogues creeping around the perimeter of Kate’s house, he’d almost gone nuclear. Ren, Manny and himself quickly and efficiently handled the low-level vermin, but things could have ended very badly and the thought of Kate anywhere near Xavier had him seeing red. The only thing that had set him right again was touching Kate. When he grabbed her hand and she held on for dear life, he almost breathed an audible sigh of relief. What he’d wanted to do was haul her into his lap and not ever let her go.
As they pulled into his driveway, he’d already decided how he was going to explain his extravagant home. Be honest. He would have to tell her shortly of his true nature and the least amount of lies he had to build before then, the better.
“No. It’s my home. But you will be safe here, Kate. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you. This place is heavily guarded and very secure. No one will find you here.”
“Wow. I have a hard time believing that.” She looked at him incredulously. “You could spot this house from the space shuttle.”
Dev laughed. He loved her wit.
“It’s not as easy to spot as you might think.” For security purposes, they had a shrouding spell cast around the estate that made it invisible, appearing only as a cornfield to passersby.
Kate mumbled. “Yeah…I noticed the driveway kind of came up out of nowhere.”
Wow, she was very perceptive. Amazingly, though, she let it go.
They pulled up to the large circular drive and the car came to a stop. Dev opened his door and exited the car, holding out a hand to assist her. Their eyes locked. She took his hand and gracefully exited the car, without breaking eye contact. Adrenaline levels were still high from the short battle and he could hardly control his raging cock. Just the simple act of holding her hand in the car caused the beast to pound incessantly on his zipper, demanding escape from his metal prison. He wanted to pull her into his arms and devour her full berry-colored lips. The lust in her eyes, the smell of her arousal and the increase in her pulse all validated she would welcome it, but now was not the time.
He tugged her hand. “Come on, let’s get you inside and settled. I’ll give you a tour of the house tomorrow.”
“Dev.” She pulled on his arm, stopping their forward movement.
He turned to face her, running his free hand up and down her arm.
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” she responded, tears brimming in her spectacular shining eyes.
Dev smiled softly and pulled her into him. “You’re welcome, love.”
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Kate
Love…he’d called her that for days. Why did it send electric tingles through her body? She wondered if that endearment was for her or if he called all women that. The thought had her frowning.
Ren had grabbed her bags and they all headed up the marble staircase to the maple French doors encased in beveled glass. Dev had now set his hand on the small of her back and it turned her insides to mush. Her body was an inferno of lust. Maybe that was the adrenaline rush they always talked about when you were put in a fight or flight situation, but even as she thought that, she knew it wasn’t true. She’d been an inferno of lust for days now.
As they approached the house, the door opened and the next thing she saw made her stop short. Stepping out from behind the door was an exquisitely beautiful and very tall, lithe woman. Goddess was probably a more accurate description. She had to be at least six feet tall, but she had the most striking pixie features, perfect nose, bright blue eyes and creamy skin. Inferior popped into Kate’s head. She was definitely inferior compared to this stunning creature.
Who the hell was she and what was she doing in Dev’s house?
Dev introduced them. “Giselle, this is Kate. Kate, Giselle.” Giselle? Wow, she even had a killer name.
Kate held out her hand in greeting—and was surprised when Giselle just looked at her hand and back to her face. No change of expression, no greeting. Nothing.
Dev glared at Giselle and it felt like something passed between the two of them. Giselle then smiled tightly and extended her hand toward Kate. “Nice to meet you.” And she didn’t sound at all like she meant it.
What the hell? If anyone shouldn’t like someone here, it was Kate. Giselle was the type of woman that every other woman hated on principle alone. She made all other woman in the immediate vicinity look like a fugly frog.
“Nice to meet you, too, Giselle. What a beautiful name.” Giselle didn’t even acknowledge that Kate had spoken to her; she simply turned and walked back through the entryway, disappearing into the house.