Chapter 7

Groaning,I stretch my limbs across my twin bed, recalling the events of last night. What I did. What he did.

Maybe it was all just a terrible dream. Or more of a nightmare.

But once I rotate my foot and a bit of pain radiates across my ankle, I realize there's no such luck. It all happened as I remember it.

Forcing myself up, I place both feet down while seated, testing it out some more.

Nothing too crazy. I'll live.

I run a hand down my face. I can't believe I stripped for him. How stupid could I be? What did I think would happen? He'd take one look at me and decide, yep, this is the girl for me. Just look at those nipples.

I laugh dryly at my own childishness. Instead, what I gave him was a full view of everything. Then he decided to enact his version of revenge and really humiliate me. What a jerk!

I seriously can't believe he did that. Punishment? I scoff. Well, hope he got to enjoy the view, because that's never gonna happen again. Devlin will never see me naked unless he puts a ring on it. Or at least buys me dinner first.

I really hate him right now, really dreading seeing that sexy, rugged face of his. My God, I love his thin stubble across that firm, sculpted jaw. Want to run my fingertips across it as he kisses me.

I grumble and reluctantly get to my feet, knowing that in reality, there's nothing about that man I can hate.

I take a couple of steps, and though I can walk on my injured foot, I decide I'm skipping class today. It still hurts, and I'm afraid I'll do more harm when walking from class to class. Plus, it would help not to see Devlin all day if I don't have to.

My face flushes just remembering what happened between us.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Getting back to bed, I get my cellphone from the nightstand and shoot Devlin a text, knowing he'll be showing up here to follow me to class.

Eriu

Not going to class today. Headache.

Devlin

Does your foot still hurt? I'm bringing you to the doctor.

Eriu

What? No. It's fine. It only hurts a little. Nothing to get crazy about.

Devlin

Fifteen minutes. Be ready.

I shake my head in frustration, knowing there's no way to make this man reconsider. I force myself to the shower and slowly strip my clothes off before getting in. The water is hot, and I'm careful so I don't fall.

The last thing I need is to call Devlin for help while I'm naked. Again. No, thank you. Once was plenty.

Karen, of course, is still not back at her dorm. She would've texted if she was. Unless she's still sleeping, which is possible. I'm thinking she's probably with some guy she met last night. She does that a lot. Wish I was more like her.

She's free, untethered by family obligations. Or, you know, her virginity?

If I was more experienced, maybe I'd know how to properly seduce a man like Devlin instead of falling on my behind and embarrassing myself.

Once I'm done, I step out and dry off, brushing my hair as I let the blow-dryer whisp through each strand. With a quick touch of makeup and ChapStick, I'm out the door.

And as soon as I am, there he is, waiting for me. Those strong, muscular arms crossed over his defined chest.

My pulse gallops in my throat, and my heart practically weeps. But I tuck those emotions in, that inexplicable longing, and I hide behind it.

His harsh expression softens just a fragment before it returns to its previous state.

I hate it. I hate everything about this.

I want to scream. Cry. I want to hate the world. Not even because he will never choose me, but because my father will eventually choose my husband, and there's nothing I can do about it. Devlin was my only shot at happiness, and he's never going to change his mind about us.

His eyes narrow while I try to stop looking at how handsome he is. A dark navy suit jacket is fitted over his white dress shirt with a button popped open. So insanely attractive, it hurts to look at him.

He assesses me with deep concentration, a furrow between his brows, not a hint of the seductive man who made me show him my body yesterday. He's back to his broody self.

He glances down at my foot. "How is it?"

"Fine." I exhale dramatically and speed past him. "Let's go. I have things to do."

"Like what?" He appears before me in an instant, his palms rounding my hips as he takes me into his arms like I weigh nothing.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Carrying you. If you're still in pain and can't go to class, it must still be bad. Wouldn't want you to make it worse."

I roll my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me." His mouth tremors.

"What are you gonna do about it? Dress me again?"

He grunts. "Don't bring that up."

I arch a brow. "Why? Regretting it?"

"I regret nothing." The thick vein in his neck throbs. "But we're done with that. I'm here to keep you safe. That's all this will ever be."

"Yeah, I got the message." My teeth grind as he carries me out the entrance and down a flight of stairs before we make it to the parking lot.

He opens the passenger side door and settles me in like I weigh nothing. As he clips my seat belt, his eyes hold mine for a moment, and I almost forget where we are.

He blinks away the flaming connection between us, rounding the SUV before entering and putting the car into drive.

My body deflates like a balloon.

Is it always going to be this way?

We're on the road in no time, and I hate being this close to him, smelling the woodsy cologne in the air, remembering the way he looked between my thighs when he put my leggings on. Placing one leg over the other, I attempt to quench the desire coursing through me. I take in each silent breath to relax myself, but it's no use, not when he's this near.

My cell rings in my bag, and I'm relieved at the disruption. I find Karen's name on the screen.

"Hey! How did it go last night?" I glance at Devlin from my periphery.

"Well…after you ditched Adam, he needed a shoulder to cry on, and I had one he liked." She giggles.

"Oh my God," I whisper. "No, you didn't."

"Sure did, and man, was he good. You really missed out on a great fuck."

My cheeks bloom with heat as she continues.

"He would've popped your cherry, and you would've loved it."

"No, thank you…"

"Yes, because Plan: Fuck Devlin's Brains Out went so well…"

Of course she knows I didn't get any. Devlin is a force too hard to break.

"It's okay," she says. "I'm just teasing, but you really should move on from him. If he didn't fuck you after last night, it's never gonna happen."

My sigh is doused with exhaustion. She's right, I know she is. But every time I want to give up, I'm right back to wanting him and wanting to fight for him.

"Anyway, I need to tell you the best part," she goes on, and I'm immediately curious. "After Adam and I were done with the best sex of my life, he told me all about his father and how connected he is. He's some congressman, yada, yada." She skips over that, as though that isn't a huge deal. "So he said because of his connections, he knows the best places to party. Exclusive places."

"Okay…" Not sure where she's going with this.

She laughs. "He invited me to some pop-up club."

"What's that?"

"It's when the party is at different locations every time. No one knows the address until the invitation is sent."

"Sounds interesting…"

That kind of thing isn't my jam. I know Karen would love it. I'm happy for her.

"It's exclusive. I mean really exclusive, Eriu." Her voice grows with excitement. "Like you need ten K just to be let in. And after you're accepted through some application process, they send an anonymous text with the address, then the text disappears after sixty seconds of opening it. Isn't that cool?"

"Umm…sounds like a good way to die."

"Orrr…and stay with me…" she teases. "A good way to have fun! Never know, maybe it's the perfect place for you to finally lose your virginity."

"Wait…" My eyes widen. "Is it a…you know?"

I sheepishly peek at Devlin, who glances at me suspiciously.

"Yes, it's that kind of club." Her short, mocking laugh slips through the line. "And Adam said I can invite you! He said he would sponsor us both, so we don't even need to pay! We'd be full members!"

No way can I go. And did she say I'd be a member? Of a sex club?! What? Did she forget who I am? Miss Virgin of the Century?

"You don't have to do anything there. You can just watch. Maybe learn a little something. Come on! You have to go with me! I need a wingwoman."

Watch people have sex? Okay, that's insane. Of course I can't do that. And here's the biggest issue: I wouldn't be able to step foot inside without Devlin. Unless I figure out a way to lose him. I've done it once before…

If he can't find me, he can't stop me. I can deal with his wrath after I'm back.

What am I even thinking? I can't do that to him again.

"When is it?"

Am I seriously considering this? But I did say I wished I could be more like Karen. I have to start somewhere. Just didn't think sex club was on my bingo card.

"In three nights." She tries not to sound excited just in case I tell her no. "What do you say?"

"Let me think about it, okay? I can't talk now. I am being driven to a doc appointment. May have sprained my foot last night."

"Oh shit, Devlin is there. Got it. Okay, let me know what the doc says. Love you. Debauchery, here we come. Also, what the hell happened to your foot?"

"Ugh, don't ask…"

"Ooh! Something did happen with sexy bodyguard man." She giggles before I end the call.

I can feel Devlin's eyes on me.

"What was that about?" he tosses out coarsely.

"Nothing." I throw on an innocent smile. "Just Karen being Karen. You know how she is."

"Mm-hmm. That's what I'm afraid of."

The appointment lasted all of twenty minutes, then we were out. Was told to take some painkillers, ice it, and elevate, but that I should be fine to go to school tomorrow as long as there is no major pain. Everything I already knew, but Mister Overprotective had to drag me out for no reason.

"I can walk, you know," I huff as he carries me into my dorm building like a child. Students whisper as they see us. "This is embarrassing. Seriously, the doctor said I won't die. You can put me down."

His bicep muscles tense around me, and the veins on the top of his hand ripple. "Not until you're in your room. Then I can go."

"Fine…"

I know there's no use in talking to him. Once he has his mind made up, a fight is hopeless. He always wins.

Entering my code, he opens the door and carries me to my bed.

When he gets ready to go, I have every intention of making him stay. But I know there'd be no point. He'd just sit here staring at me. The days when he could open up to me are long gone.

"Can you pass me my backpack?" I ask him, eyeing the black canvas bag on the desk, hoping to get some reading done for my literature class.

He reaches for it, and as he does, a book on creative writing slips out.

Shit. He can't see that.

He might realize I'm taking writing classes and report it to my dad.

My father believes I plan on becoming a vet. He has no idea I decided to follow my true passion and become a writer. I want to write for online magazines, or maybe even novels one day. But my father doesn't believe there is a career for writers, not one that is worthy of our name, so I have resorted to lying, but I know he'll find out eventually. I'm just not ready for that day yet.

I've been accepted into a small writing class for advanced students by Professor Montgomery. She's brilliant and has become a mentor of sorts. I've told her how my father has never been supportive of my passion. That he doesn't believe an English literature degree is going to take me anywhere. But this is what I want.

Once I get a job doing what I love, maybe he'll finally believe in me. Until then, this must remain my secret. Even Iseult doesn't know. I can't risk her slipping it to someone.

"What's this?" he asks.

"Um. Nothing. Just a book."

"On writing? Are you taking writing courses? I thought your father told you not to."

I grind my molars, my pulse racing in my ears.

Think. Think!

"Eriu…"

"You can't tell him!" I advance on my feet, dragging myself toward him, grabbing the collar of his shirt in my trembling grasp. "Please, Devlin, don't take this away from me."

His blue eyes soften, and for a moment, I wonder if it's sympathy.

"Why don't you tell him? Secrets are always bound to come out."

I snicker. "You know how stubborn my dad is! He'd never allow it. He'd take me out of school and move me back home. Then I'd have no life. I'll be married to some man who will probably beat me and I'll?—"

In an instant, he cups my chin and his eyes bore into mine. My breaths still.

"Lass, I'd never let that happen." His gaze turns intense, blazing with promise. "If you think that my vow to protect you will end when you're married, then you don't know me. Your husband will have to deal with me for the rest of your life."

My eyes lower to my feet. "You swear?"

Instead, I want to ask him how he can allow me to marry anyone but him. Is it that easy? Do I truly mean nothing at all?

"I swear it, love."

That word. I instantly melt. I could listen to him say it over and over again.

Our eyes lock, and through it, he brushes a thumb over the corner of my mouth.

My breath catches, and my pulse spikes.

He holds my gaze, his throat straining, and I don't so much as move, afraid of risking this moment, whatever it means.

My God, he smells good. And his chiseled jaw, the sharp edges of his face, that domineering appearance… It all does things to me.

I have no business feeling what I currently am. Yet here I am, feeling everything, wishing he was mine and I was his.

His cellphone rings, and it instantly has him dropping his hand off me and retrieving it.

"It's your father," he says before he answers. "Sir?"

I can't hear what my father says, but Devlin focuses on me as he continues to listen.

"I'll bring her right over."

"What?" I whisper.

"We will see you in a few hours."

When he drops the call, he stares at me, and there's something there I can't yet name. But it sends a jolt of anxiety through my limbs.

"What is it?" My heartbeats skip in my chest.

"Your father requested the family for a meeting. It's important."

"Why? I'm never included in those meetings. Why now?"

They're for the rest of them, the killers.

"He said you must be there, so come on, we've gotta leave ASAP. We have a long ride ahead of us."

With nerves jittering in my stomach, I run into the bathroom and grip the faucet, staring at myself in the mirror.

Something unsettling prances across my flesh, like a warning that whatever I'm about to walk into won't be good at all.