“With… me?” I stammer.
“Only with you. I want to be your husband. I want a family with you. I know it’s absurd. It’s too soon, I haven’t even dated you properly, but… I’ve already made up my mind.”
“What if… I don’t think it’s absurd?”
Suddenly, Devlin smiles, a crooked, beautiful thing. “Last night and today have definitely been the best days of my life. And, yeah, you don’t think so, because you’re still very…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I seethe quietly. “I’m young and naive and a romantic. But you’re the bigger romantic! You’re an even bigger romantic than I am!”
He laughs, a hoarse sound that vibrates against my jaw before he catches the lobe of my ear between his teeth in a playful nip. “I’m only a romantic for you, Val. For the rest of the world, I’m just a bastard. But when it comes to you? I’m a total idiot.”
He pulls back just enough to look me in the eye, his expression darkening with a flicker of grim humor. “Of course, I’ll have to survive a few rounds with your brother first. He’s going to want my head on a platter for this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I grumble. I reach up, threading my fingers through his damp black hair. “I’ll marry whoever I want, whenever I want. Sasha might be big, but he isn’t the boss of my life. Now, stop stalling. What did you two actually say to each other? Give it to me straight.”
Devlin exhales a long, heavy sigh, his fingers tracing the line of my throat with a possessive touch. “He cornered me. Asked me point-blank if I had a crush on you. I told him the truth—that it was way past a ‘crush.’ That I was already drowning. He lost it. Demanded that I never go near you, never even look in your direction.”
He shifts, his weight a comforting, solid heat against me. “I told him he was asking for the impossible—that no man with a pulse could stay away from someone like you. We nearly tore each other apart over it. In the end, he made me swear I wouldn’t touch you for at least a few years. He wanted to give you space to breathe, to grow up without me crowding your world.”
I roll my eyes, a surge of irritation mixing with the heat still simmering between us. “Well,” I mutter, pulling him down for a kiss. “You didn’t exactly follow all his rules, did you?”
“I lasted two years, Val,” he whispers against my lips, his hand sliding down to grip my hip. “That’s longer than any guy like me should be expected to survive without his heart.”
I kiss him, rubbing against him. He exhales heavily before pulling me onto the bed and kissing my body.
“No, come up here,” I say, pulling him back toward my face. “I want more.”
“Only tonight. You need to rest.”
I knew he’d say that. “Then you’d better answer my question, since you’re denying me sex! Why do you hate my hobbies so much?”
Devlin nips my bottom lip, his teeth sharp and possessive. “I’m not denying you sex, sweetie. I’m just saying there are a thousand ways I can make you scream that won’t leave you too exhausted to walk. But I’ll answer you. ”
His gaze turns heavy, a dark seriousness settling over his features. “This hobby of yours, saving every unfortunate soul in sight… it’s a thankless, brutal stuff, Val. I don’t want towatch your dreams crumble. I don’t want you beating your head against a brick wall until you’re the one who’s broken. I want you to live a life without a single worry.” He leans in, burying his face in my neck, his breath hot and frantic. “I’ll take them all. Every burden, every hit—I’ll take them away for you, ”he whispers, his mouth finding the sensitive skin of my throat and sucking a slow, dark mark into the surface.
I tilt my head back, allowing him to claim me again,
15
Chapter 15
Ihave always had a soft spot for sunny winter days.
We don’t get much snow here, so the world isn’t exactly a picturesque wonderland, but there is something incredible about a sun-drenched, frosty morning.
The light is sharp, clear, making every brick and branch on campus stand out in high definition.
I’m not in any particular hurry as I walk across the quad, even though I have been late for literally everything for the last two days.
I can’t help it. My head is a permanent fog of daydreaming, all thanks to Devlin’s presence—or the lingering memory of it. Every time I close my eyes, I feel his hands on my waist or hear that gravelly voice calling me sweetie.
I tell myself that today, I’ll finally emerge from this cocoon. I have to.
Sasha is coming over this weekend, and I need to prepare for the inevitable collision of my overprotective brother and my possessive… boyfriend. Devlin refuses to call it “just dating”, just like he refuses to call our upcoming trip next week a “surprise.”
“I’m taking you away for the weekend, Val,” he had said, staring at me with that intense, unblinking focus. “It’s not a surprise. We’re going.”
When I asked where, he just grunted and kissed my neck until I forgot the question.
