Chapter 5

His eyes flashwith something warm and inviting, our gazes battling. My racing heart doesn't stand a chance against what he does to me.

His lips near, almost against mine. "You're gonna get yourself into lots of trouble with that feisty mouth."

My body stills.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Praying for this very moment.

But then he grabs my wrist. "Let's go."

His demeanor shifts and he starts to pull me away.

"Hey! Stop!" I tell him, trying to keep my temperament at bay so no one calls the cops.

My dad would be furious with me, and I hate disappointing him. I've never done that except that one night I drugged Devlin.

I've always done what my father wanted. I was willing to go through my marriage with Gio because I knew I had no other choice. But faith intervened and I was saved. That won't happen again. A girl can only get lucky so many times.

Devlin stops mid-stride and turns to me. "You're either coming with me or I will throw you over my shoulder and take you out of this place. You know my word is good."

"Would like to see you try." I slant up my chin and keep a brave face, and when he cuts the distance between us and grasps my jaw possessively, I almost collapse.

The way my skin tingles, the hungered way his eyes cut into mine, it's all too much. My nerves hit my stomach, and my knees buckle.

His thumb reaches for my mouth, and slowly, he brushes it across my lips.

Every breath is trapped within me, the ability to utter a sound impossible, not with the way he touches me, holds my stare like we're one.

He moves nearer until I place my soft hands on his hard chest, those eyes never leaving mine. "You need to stop fighting me, love. I always get what I want."

Before I can say anything more, he grabs my hips and throws me over his shoulder as promised.

"Put me down!" I'm afraid my behind will be on full display, but he keeps his arm secured there.

"Next time, maybe wear a dress that covers your arse, because this one sure as hell doesn't."

"Right…" I scoff. "I forgot you hated my dress."

"Never said that," he grumbles.

Did he just admit he likes it?

"Why does it even matter who sees my ass? It's not like you care."

"In fact, I very much do care about your arse." He cinches his hold on it with a dry laugh. "It's why I'm taking it out of this place, full of boys who'd do wretched things to it."

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Protecting my virtue, are we?"

I hate him right now. Absolutely despise him. I'm only half-kidding…

As we pass Karen, she gives me a thumbs-up. My gaze narrows at her, but she grins wider. Only she'd be excited for me to get dragged out of a college party by my bodyguard.

Not like anything exciting will happen. Not with Devlin. He's a hardheaded brute of a man.

"You need to be careful around everyone. You understand? Your family's got too many enemies." He places me on my feet as soon as we hit outside, peering at me intensely, his irises deepening.

My stomach rolls.

"I don't want anything to happen to you."

And the way he says that, I know he cares. It's there, caught between his words, the true meaning, his true heart.

Or maybe I'm just dreaming it all up because I want him to care. I'm desperate for anything he gives.

His hand reaches for my face, fingertips stilling in the air between us like he's fighting the need to touch me. The anticipation causes me to shiver.

My God, I wish he would touch me. Just once, I want to feel this man's hands on me. What will it take for him to do that?

Heat builds between my thighs—this familiar, yet foreign feeling that I've never done anything about. I've been too shy to touch myself. But I bet he knows just what to do.

I wish I was more like the other girls, like Karen. She's had sex with plenty of guys. She knows what she likes and she's not shy about it. But I know nothing about my own body, and that's a little pathetic.

"I'm aware of how much danger I could be in." I clear my throat. "I'm not stupid."

"Don't go and put words in my mouth. Never said you were." His eyes scan my body. "You're cold."

It's when I glance down at my arms that I find them covered in goose bumps.

But it isn't the cold that caused it. It's him.

"I'm not." I bend my arms around my body.

His mouth flattens. "Put this on."

He shrugs off his suit jacket and holds it out for me to wear.

"Fine." I pretend he's doing me a favor.

Of course I don't want him to know how much I'm still obsessed with his grouchy, insufferable ass.

But really, my chest warms at the thought of wearing something that belongs to him. And as soon as I slip my arms into it, all I smell is Devlin. I practically sigh, feeling like I'm surrounded by heaven.

"Come on, let's get you home," he says while I fight not to smile.

I follow him down the stairs, but just as I do, I yelp when my stupid heel gets caught in the concrete, and I almost drop to my knees.

But his arm snaps around my back and he steadies me, tugging my body right up against his, chest to chest.

Always keeping me safe…

"You okay?" Warm exhales bathe my lips. "Almost took a real bad tumble."

His mouth lifts into a half-smile, and I forget I'm supposed to breathe.

His fingers sink deeper across my hip, keeping my body right up against his, close enough for the swell of his erection to push into me.

"Oh, God," I whisper, unsure if he heard it.

"You drunk?" He searches my gaze with concern.

Drunk on you, maybe.

My heart flips, and I swear I could cry with the way I love this man. And I know that's what I feel. Pure love. Yet loving someone who doesn't love you in return is unending torture.

"No, not drunk," I tell him. "Maybe a little?" My mouth winds up a fraction. "I'm a lightweight."

"Well, you're not twenty-one yet. I shouldn't even be letting you drink." His eyes dip to my mouth and his jaw strains before he looks back at me.

"Let me?" I laugh. "I don't belong to you, nor are you my father."

He releases an exasperated sigh. For a split second, he closes his eyes, and once he stares back at me, his arms scoop me up bridal-style.

I fist his shirt, and for a moment, I feel his skin and my body zaps with pleasure. "What are you doing?"

But I don't really care, because he's cradling me. My arms wind around his neck, and I could truly die happy right now.

"Carrying you. If you get hurt, I'll have to hear it from your father, and the last thing I want is to piss him off more than I did before."

My face falls. "I'm sorry. I'll spend my life apologizing for what I did. It's not your fault."

"Of course it is. You were seventeen, and I was your protector. I failed you, and I won't hear you blaming yourself anymore. Understand?"

His fingers roll up and down my shoulder, and with my sharp intake of breath, he instantly stops, like I'm made of acid or fire. Or both.

But his touch remains there long after it's gone, like a ghost I ache to hold on to.