Page 30 of Devil's Game

“You deserve more. You deserve a regular, normal life, one that you won’t get if you’re helping run the Devil’s Demons, because there’s no walking away from this life, at least not for me.” His jaw tightened as he looked down at our hands.

He’d taken on so much of this, running these operations to get the Devil’s Demons to where they were now. Putting us in the position of one day taking on the Barones and keeping the rest of the gangs that would come flooding back in at bay. I wouldn’t let him shoulder that burden alone, not anymore.

“Maybe I’m not normal, maybe I’ve never been suited for a regular life.” I pulled one hand from his to stroke through his short blond locks. He leaned into my touch, some of his hardened mask slipping away.

I thought back to all those times, when I’d craved the violence, when I’d delighted in watching Merrick pummel his opponents into the ground, seeing them beg for mercy. I pictured the hot blood pouring onto my hand as I’d plunged the knife into Mike’s chest, the light flickering out from his eyes as his heart took its last beats.

“But your dreams—”

“Were what I thought I wanted.” I cut him off, leaning forward until we shared the same breath. “I wanted to get the hell out of this town because I thought that was my only choice. I was stuck in a dangerous web, at the mercy of either Tommaso or my parents, but I don’t owe them anything. I’m free now, and I won’t spend another second following what someone else thinks is best for me.”

His lips pressed into a tight line, his eyes going distant for a moment as his throat bobbed. “I don’t want to be like him.”

Pain flashed in his gaze, uncertainty threatening to slam a barrier shut, as though he was just waiting for the moment he had to rebuild that wall between us, brick by brick.

My heart panged at the jagged edges he was showing me. All I wanted to do was put them back together, piece by piece, uncaring of the cuts and scrapes we’d both get along the way, because this man was worth it.

“You will never be like him, Merrick.” I gripped his face, forcing his gaze to meet mine, to make sure he heard and believed every word. “You built this life, you took on some of the toughest gangs, and instead of letting it go to your head, you kept fighting—for the people in town who could never stand up for themselves, for the families continually terrorized by the Barones, and for me.”

My last words seemed to snap his mind back into focus as his eyebrows knit together. “I don’t want you to think that you can’t take care of yourself.”

“I couldn’t, though.” I shrugged, smoothing my thumb over his cheek before I let it slip back down to capture his other hand in a reassuring grip. “You helped me remember my strength, my training. You helped me get out of there and gave me the opportunity and the will to fight.”

“It was you—”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without you.”

His mouth tightened, like he wanted to argue, and I couldn’t help but smile. That was Merrick—so sure, so strong, and so stubborn.

“That will always be the difference between you,” I said, leaning forward to brush my lips against his. “He wanted to keep me caged, like a trophy on display. But you—you empower me, you help me take action, but you’d never hold me back, you’d never keep me locked away.”

He loosed a shuddering breath, the last of his reservations crumbling away as his lips smashed against mine. The kiss was hard and desperate as he hauled me onto his lap, his fingers stabbing through my hair as he feverishly held me to him, like he was scared I might drift away on a silent wind. Clutching the lapels of his leather jacket, I desperately pulled his chest against mine, needing the pounding of his heart next to mine as his tongue delved between my lips, tangling with my own. Neither of us held back as we unleashed the full weight of our desire on each other, our breaths turning ragged as need scorched its way straight to my core.

He groaned into my mouth as I wiggled on him, desperately needing friction as I rubbed my legs together, the movement causing my skirt to ride up. His hard cock pressed into me, his jeans rough against my bare thighs. I slid my hands down his chest, about to reach for the button of his jeans, when a sharp rap on the door pulled me short.

Merrick growled as he reluctantly drew away, sliding a cutting glare over his shoulder at the closed door.

I tried my best to muffle my giggle with my hand, but judging by the roll of his eyes, I obviously didn’t do that great of a job.

“This better be life or death.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t be knocking if it wasn’t.” Eve’s voice echoed from the other side, wiping any trace of amusement from my face. Feigned confidence bolstered her tone, and I knew immediately that it had to be serious for her to even knock on his door.

I scrambled off Merrick’s lap, my earlier fears bubbling back to the surface. “Spade?”

Merrick tried to grasp my waist, but his hands only skated over the thin band of exposed skin between my crop top and skirt as I leaped for the door.

I was sure I looked the hot mess I felt like as I wrenched open the door, judging by the bewildered look Eve gave me, her gaze running down my rumpled clothes, but I didn’t care. “Spade?” I asked again, a note of desperation hitching my tone up an octave as panic surged through my veins.

“No, I haven’t heard anything about Spade.” Eve’s black brows scrunched together as she glanced from me to Merrick as his hard chest pressed against my back. He ran his hands down my legs, straightening my skirt, before they came to rest on my waist.

“What is it, Eve?” Merrick grumbled, a hint of warning in his tone.

Eve’s throat worked. “One of the groups had a run-in with the Barones. It almost went south, but Jack—”

“Are you okay here?” He spun me slightly, so I could gaze up into his hazel eyes, tight with concern.

“The only threat I have in here is this mountain of paperwork falling on me.” I attempted to inject some levity, but consideringthe way his mouth tightened as he looked over my head at the office I was taken from over a week ago, it didn’t work. “I’ll be fine.”

---