Page 58 of Devil's Game

“Is everything okay?” she asked the moment I closed the door, shuttering the rest of the bar from us. Her tone revealed that she already suspected something was wrong.

“Everything is fine.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and hoisted her up so that she was perched on my desk.

I yearned to wash away that worry, to make her realize that not everything was a battle or a crisis, that amid all the chaos, I was her rock. There was always time for her to unwind, to let me take some of the burden of stress off her shoulders. Kellan was so attuned to her needs, I almost thought that he could read her mind at times, but I wanted to be that person she could lean on. We would battle through the tough shit together, side by side as partners. Sometimes she needed to get that shit off her chest, and I was here to listen to every single word.

“The real question is, what’s going through that head of yours, beautiful?” I pressed against her, her legs widening as Istepped between them. Her beautiful amber eyes gazed up at me, twinkling, as though I was the answer to her prayers, and I vowed I always would be.

“I want to kill them all.” Her eyes hardened, the softness gone as they glinted with steel. “Not just Barones’ men. I want to kill any man who thinks he can do that, corner a woman, force her to do anything against her will. I want to do exactly what I did tonight—cut off their hands, their tongues, their dicks, anything they can use to subdue someone else to take away their willpower, to take a piece of them.”

“The world is yours, Giana.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, so I continued, letting her know I meant it. “I’ll follow you anywhere. I’ll maybe just leave the . . . dick severing to you.” I shuddered, not even wanting to imagine the pain that bastard would feel, but if it was Giana holding the blade, he undoubtedly deserved it.

“I know I can’t be everywhere, but I want to make a difference. I don’t want to live in a world where there are men who think they can do or take whatever or whoever they wish—I want to live in a world where women don’t have to be scared walking down the street at night, where they don’t have to clutch their keys between their knuckles to feel a fraction of safety or remember to bite or scratch their assailant for DNA evidence.”

I clutched her tighter. “I’m serious, Giana. I’ll follow you down any path because I know that whatever you put your mind to, you’ll accomplish, whether it’s becoming a dick-slicing vigilante or putting this town back to how it should be, eradicating corruption from the inside out.”

“I’m serious,” she huffed, frowning.

“So am I.” I tucked the soft strands of her dirty-blonde hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “I have complete faith in you. I would follow you to the ends of the world, be the knight at your back or your support to lean on. I’m with you completely.”

Her eyes closed as she leaned into my touch, and I pressed my forehead against hers, needing to soak up her warmth, let it fill the void in my chest that had been there for too many years without her.

“I love you, Giana. I love you to the end of the world, and even the afterlife wouldn’t be enough to tear me from you.”

“You are everything I ever hoped for, Merrick. My rock and support, the fire within to keep moving, keep pushing forward when I’ve wanted to shy away or fade into the background. You’ve pushed me to do more than you know, given me your strength and taught me to defend myself and others, even though I pushed that knowledge down for years to survive.” Her head tilted up, her warm eyes meeting mine fervently. “I love you with every ounce of my soul, with every fiber of my being, and nothing could tear me away from you.”

I pressed my lips against hers, cutting off anything else she was about to say, needing to convey the depth of my emotion for her words. My heart and my soul were irrevocably hers. Not even the devil himself could pry me away. My tongue delved in desperately, caressing hers in long, languid strokes, tying us together more, if that was even possible.

My body craved her, begged to have her writhing beneath me, but I couldn’t—not here—not after the last two desperate times we’d come together. I wanted to take my time with her, worship her body the way it was meant to be.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from her, my heart thundering as lust coursed through my veins, but breathed through it, drawing in ragged pants until it was under control. Giana’s flushed cheeks and swollen lips had my cock straining against my jeans, vying for her attention. Groaning, I shifted a hand under her sweater, running my palm up her spine. My skin against hers was torture in the best way, the compromise I needed before I completely lost all sense of control.

She ran a hand over my chest, her eyes shuttering for a moment, as if she needed to feel my heartbeat beneath her palm to recenter herself.

“I’m scared that we’ll be replacing one monster with another,” she whispered, as though the thought had been on her mind for a while, but she’d been too scared to voice it. “Power corrupts, and what if it gets to our heads or to the heads of the people fighting with us?”

“It won’t.” I tilted her chin up, so her eyes met mine.

“How can you be so sure?” she asked, the incredulity in her voice making my lips twitch with amusement.

“Because we don’t want to be like them. We don’t want to run the state or have politicians in our pocket, and we don’t want to control a town, making the business owners pay us their last cent just to keep a roof over their head and food on the table.” I brushed my thumb over her cheek as some of the tension drained from her muscles. “Who knows what the future will hold? Maybe in five years, we’ll have escaped to some island to live out the rest of our days. Or you’ll be a politician, or a lawyer, working as hard as you can to hold people accountable. The world is ours for the taking, but we’re still ourselves, fully and completely. You will never lose that sense of justice or your heart.”

“You always keep me grounded.” She sighed in contentment, her hand sliding around my back, clutching me close to her like she never wanted to let go.

“And I’ll never stop.” I pressed my lips to her forehead, not trusting my willpower if I kissed her again.

I would follow this woman anywhere in this life and the next, so long as I got to keep her by my side.

Chapter Eighteen

Giana

“Ithink Soph mightlose it if we don’t get to the club soon.” I snickered, reading the text that just pinged on my phone.

Sophia: What is taking you so long? I can’t stand being with these assholes for another second. This week has been long enough.

Sophia: Get to the club now, or you’re no longer my best friend.

Sophia: Just kidding, but seriously, I need a break from them. Zane is so overbearing. I swear I can’t even go to the bathroom without him following me.

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