Page 26 of Devil's Game

I had done this to them.

Holes littered the once pristine drywall, pipes and wiring exposed beneath them. They’d exposed the building we called home to its bones, as if destroying it would release them from the shackles my supposed betrayal and the memories that lived within them. Wood splinters littered the dust-covered floor, illustrating whatever furniture they hadn’t brought to the house with them had been shattered to smithereens beneath the weight of their pain.

“Say something.” Kellan’s voice pulled me from my shock. The simple words were a plea, and the gut-wrenching sorrow laced in them nearly brought me to my knees.

“I—I understand.” It was all I could say. I had no place to judge, yet I couldn’t deny the sting that reverberated through my chest.

This was a depiction of all the pain and grief I’d caused them—no, that Tommaso had brought upon us all.

“Giana,” Kellan whispered as he placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his grip helping me stay grounded.

Leaning into his warmth, I sucked in a shuddering breath as my back pressed against his hard chest. I committed every detail of the sight before me to memory, as though it was as intricate as one of his pieces of art, painting the story of love, loss, and betrayal better than words could ever convey.

“I want to spend every day for the rest of our lives making this up to you,” I said breathily, the image of the room still ingrained in my vision, even when my eyes fluttered closed.

“G—”

“I know,” I cut him off, not needing his words of reassurance right now. Instead, I focused on the fire that blazed in my chest, pushing me closer and closer to that place I needed to be to end this once and for all.

“We couldn’t bring ourselves to touch downstairs.”

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I drew in a deep breath, grateful he wasn’t in front of me right now, or else I wouldn’t be able to hold them back.

“I want to see.” I didn’t want to move, though, to break this connection between us.

But when I took a step forward, I wasn’t alone. Kellan kept pace with me, his steps an echo of my own as he maintained his grip on my shoulder, his warmth still a comforting cocoon around me.

My hand shook as I slowly turned the handle, but Kellan’s fingers slipped over mine, and we turned it the rest of the way as one. We kept a step between us as we descended the stairs,warmth seeping in to fill the cracks as I took in the basement we once thought of as home. Of course, some of the furniture was missing, now taking upon a new life in their house, but it was otherwise nearly untouched.

White sheets were draped over the two couches, protecting the worn leather from dust. I could imagine what they’d been thinking. That they could keep a piece of me with them, could pretend that nothing had changed if they kept this place intact.

“We wanted to destroy this place after graduation, when you left with him.” Kellan’s grip on my shoulder tightened, seeming to need the reminder that I was real, that I was here with him. “But neither of us could bear to take the first swing—which is probably why we destroyed nearly everything upstairs.”

I slipped from his grip and caught his hand in my own, the desire to stare into his sable depths bubbling up in my chest.

“I will never judge anything either of you did, Kellan.” His eyes searched mine, trying to find any hint of hurt on my face, but it was gone, now replaced with a steely determination that had only been growing since earlier today. “I will never know what it was like for you both.”

“Just like I’ll never know the pain you went through, but I will listen and do my best to feel it as deeply as if it was my own.” The vehemence in his tone sent a shiver of longing down my spine. I would never get enough of this man, never be able to show him how thoroughly he owned me, mind, body, and soul—but I could try.

I closed the distance between us in one step, my hands instantly smoothing over the planes of his chest, needing the warmth of his skin on my palms. He hissed in a breath, his eyes shuttering closed, as though the simple touch would send him over the edge.

“I love you, Kellan,” I breathed, a weight lifting off my chest at the admission. “I never stopped loving you, not for one second.”

“Giana.” My name sounded like a prayer on his lips, like he had found salvation in my love. “Even when I thought I hated you, I hated myself more because I couldn’t stop loving you. Ripping you from my heart would be like tearing the damn thing to shreds and hoping it would still beat the same.”

His lips were on mine before I could take another breath, his mouth consuming me like I was the air he desperately needed to fill his lungs. My hands had been a soft caress before, but with lust scorching through my veins, they turned ravenous, desperately clutching the hem of his T-shirt to tear it off him.

Kellan slipped my jacket off my shoulders, our hands and mouths desperate as we stripped each other bare, body and soul, until nothing was left to separate us. His tattooed skin was soft beneath my fingertips as I pushed against his hard pecs, easing him back until the backs of his calves pressed into the covered couch.

“Giana,” he protested, his brows furrowing. I knew what he was about to say, knew that he’d insist on taking care of me, but I wanted to be the one in charge this time. The one to comfort him and show him exactly how much I’d missed him.

I used the opportunity to reach around him and pull the sheet off the couch, drawing his attention long enough for me to gently push him back onto the worn leather cushions.

“Shh.” I pressed my finger against his lips before he could argue. “You look after everyone, let me take care of you this time.”

Kellan’s eyes searched mine, a frown pulling his lips down, but I could see the heat there, the desire burning just beneath the surface as he nodded.

He leaned back into the plush cushions, and I sank to my knees, running my hands over his corded thighs until I positioned myself between them. I ran my mouth over the inside of them, sucking and kissing along the sensitive skin, urged onas he sucked in a tortured gasp. I slid a palm up his other leg and loosed a chuckle as his hips jerked in anticipation, like he couldn’t help but urge me along.

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