To Love and Protect (Must Love Diamonds 4)

“You don’t have to—”

“I do,” he insisted. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to get home before two a.m.”

Shelby pressed her lips together while re-keying in her code. Here she was all wound up from his nearness, and he was right back to being a jerk.

She let him go inside first. As she closed the door, he strode from her foyer to the kitchen, to the living room, his gaze scanning every inch of her apartment. He even brushed aside her drawn curtains and shades to check each window lock along the way. She’d wonder what he thought of her place, but it was clear he wasn’t really looking at anything beyond security.

After shrugging off her coat and hanging it in the closet by the door, she kicked off her heels and slid her feet into her favorite pair of fuzzy slippers. By then, Dev had moved into the bathroom, and she heard the shower curtain zip along the rod. He came back out to check the guest bedroom and a linen closet across the hall, then disappeared into her bedroom.

She cringed when she thought about the fact she hadn’t made her bed or picked up her dirty clothes in a few days. However, it was better to think about that than the fact Devante Torrez was in her bedroom again after nine years.

Leaning one hip against the island counter, she reached up to start removing the silver pearl pins from her hair as she h

eard the shower curtain in her master bathroom. Wow. He was being awfully thorough.

When he strode down the hall toward her a minute later, she quipped, “Don’t forget to check under the couch.”

Annoyance tightened his features, and his gaze narrowed. “This isn’t a fucking joke, Shelby. You’re coming home with me right now.”

Chapter 9

Fury roughened Dev’s voice as adrenaline tensed every muscle in his body.

Shelby froze for a moment, then lifted her chin as she lowered her arms. “I’m not going anywhere with you. And I told you not to swear at me.”

Half her ebony hair cascaded in loose curls over her shoulder, past the swell of her breast. Melting snow glinted in her hair from the light overhead. Dev knew he shouldn’t be noticing how beautiful she was at a time like this, but the way the shimmery silver velvet of her dress contrasted with her dark hair and pale skin was stunning.

A flash vision of her mirror made his gut coil with another surge of rage.

“You’ll change your mind once you see your bedroom.”

His grim prediction subdued her defiance as color drained from her face. “What do you mean?”

He didn’t want to force this on her, but it was the only way to impress upon her how fucking serious the whole thing was. “Come see.”

Her gaze darted toward the hall and back to him as she slowly moved forward. Dev let her pass and then followed just behind her. She stopped two steps into the room, her gaze sweeping over the messy bed and clothes piled on the floor near the closet. He guessed she’d made that mess since she didn’t react to it at all.

But then she turned toward her vanity, and he saw her body stiffen when she spotted the block lipstick writing on the large mirror.

BEAUTIFUL SILVER BELLS. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN RED.

Her brown eyes went wide, and her hand flew to her mouth to smother a gasp. “Oh my God.”

“Pack a bag. You’re not staying here tonight.”

She stared for a long moment, frozen in her spot. The muscles in her throat worked in an audible gulp as she glanced toward the windows. “I double checked everything was locked.”

“It still is,” he confirmed.

She shot him a frown, then turned back to look at the mirror. After a long moment, her expression twisted, and she strode toward the vanity, her dress swirling about her legs. Dev let her go—until she swiped a handful of tissues from the box on her end table.

“Whoa—what are you doing?” He surged forward to catch her raised arm before she reached the mirror.

“Getting rid of it.”

She strained against his hold, and he wrapped both arms around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest to subdue her struggles.

“Let me go.” Anger vibrated in the sharp demand. “I want it gone.”