Page 67 of The Reaper
“That too.”
I grinned like a goddamn fool, and I pulled her to me, walking us back towards the asylum.
“Maybe, after we’ve dried off, I can show you some other ways I can use my mouth…”
“Why stop at the mouth?”
“Oh, I won’t. That’ll be just the warmup act.” I slapped her ass as we got to the back door and she ran in giggling, heading up the stairs. I slammed the door shut, about to run up after her, but my heart stuttered in my chest when I saw what had been forced onto an old nail on the back of the door for me to find. I pulled it down, shoving it into my back pocket, before schooling my features so she wouldn’t guess anything was wrong. But that ball of fire that I’d felt only moments ago had turned to unbridled fury.
He was here.
ChapterThirty-One
DEVON
Itook the steps two at a time, following her laughter as she sprinted ahead of me, but all the emotion I’d felt earlier had become clouded. Smothered under a swirling smokescreen that was fogging my brain, making it difficult to focus on anything other than the rage that was spreading through me. My vision was blurry, and my body was numb. I was going into defence mode. Next up would be attack, but I needed to get her somewhere safe before that happened, because the way I was feeling, I was about to go nuclear, and I had to protect her at all costs.
The sound of her laughter as she headed farther up the stairs penetrated through my dark thoughts. She thought this was a game, but I wasn’t chasing her. I was desperate to get inside, upstairs to where the others were. The games were over. This was war.
Once she reached the second floor, she stopped, bending over and gasping to catch her breath. I caught up to her and plastered on a fake smile. Wrapping my arms around her, pulling her to me, I whispered, “I need to go and speak to the others about something. Would you wait in my room? There’s towels in the drawers under the window so you can dry off.”
“Okay,” she replied, but there was a hint of disappointment that she tried to hide with her sweet smile. At least, she probably thought she did, but I could see the truth. I could always tell what she was thinking just by looking into her blue eyes. I hoped she couldn’t see the anger and unbridled fury reflected in my own.
“I won’t be long, and when I get back, I’m going to show you just what it means to be loved by me.” I leaned closer and growled, “I’m going to fuck your tight little pussy until you’re screaming my name. You’ll be begging for more. I’ll show you how good I can make you feel, baby.”
She blushed and bit her lip in reaction to my filthy promise, slapping her hand on my chest as if she disapproved of what I’d said.
“I shouldn’t find that so sexy, but I really do.” She sighed, giving me a peck on the lips, and then turned to head towards my room, shaking her ass in the dripping wet sundress that was clinging to every curve. When she looked over her shoulder and said, “Don’t be long. It’s more than my sundress that’s wet right now.” The fire inside of me ignited. No one was ever going to take her away from me, and I knew I had to take drastic action. I had to protect her.
I waited until she was in my room and the door had closed behind her, then I stormed off in the opposite direction, heading for the living room. When I burst through the door, I found all of them sat around laughing without a care in the world. Adam was the first to see me, and instantly, he scowled. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s fucking not!” I hissed, letting the anger flow freely now.
I took the Polaroid out of my back pocket and slammed it onto the table in the middle of the room. The laughter that I’d walked into died and every eye was on me.
“What the hell is that?” Liv asked, picking it up.
“You tell me,” I snarled, turning my anger on her.
Adam didn’t like that, and he came to stand by her side, taking the photo out of her hand and glaring back at me.
“Watch your tone. You might be my mate, but I don’t like the way you just spoke to my wife.”
“And I don’t like being taken for a mug,” I shot back.
He snarled, his eyes burning as he said, “Who exactly is taking you for a mug?” He shook the photo in his hand, then threw it back down onto the table and added, “I take it this is another one of your stepfather’s calling cards? Not sure why that makes you think you can speak to my wife like a piece of shit, but I’m going to put it down to the pressure you’re under and let it slide.” He took a step closer to me. “But do it again and I won’t be so understanding.”
I stepped away from him, my demons tempting me to go toe-to-toe with Adam, but my mind was begging me to keep my cool. Of every person in this room, he’s the one I trusted the most. I’d trust him with my life.
It couldn’t be him.
Could it?
I grunted in frustration, grabbing the back of my neck with both my hands and gritting my teeth. I needed to relieve some of the pressure that was building inside me like a fucking pressure cooker. I was about to explode, and I gave a feral growl in an attempt to hold on for just a little longer.
I stared at the photograph lying discarded on the table. The image of Leah and me sitting on the grass outside had been taken moments ago, just before it had started to rain. My head was leaning against hers, but whoever had taken the photograph had used a black marker to scribble me out. They were erasing me from the picture, but that was never going to happen.
On the back of the photo there was one word written in capital letters.
