Marked By The Devil (Devil's Riders 5)

And she had a lot. I’d never let someone in like this. Never wanted to. But with her . . . she was it. She had more power over me than anyone, ever.

Tonight, I was going to show her how much.

I prayed to God she didn’t run away from me.

“Thank you. I feel human again.”

I shooed her away when she tried to help me clear the table. She was going to need her energy. Every bit of it.

“Why don’t you go sit on the couch? I’ll be there in a second.”

I made short work of the mess, leaving some things to soak and sticking a few things in the dishwasher. I put the leftovers into Tupperware and into the fridge. It wasn’t like I spent a lot of time cooking and cleaning, but I was no slob. Bonnie hadn’t raised me to be disgusting.

Even my messy day after party nights got cleaned up within twenty-four hours. Not that I ever brought the party home. But I had definitely tied on one in my apartment or finished up early in the morning at home. Most nights, I crashed at the club house, usually with a bed full of club girls.

Man, those days feel a million miles away. And not in a bad way. I couldn’t care less that my days of running wild are over.

I dried my hands and leaned against the door to the living room, watching my quarry. Molly was reading a magazine, something I’d had lying around. She was so serious, so proper-looking sitting there. My mouth twisted in a wry smile.

She’s a very proper young lady, and I’m about to do filthy things to her.

Filthy, unspeakable things. Things she had never done before. Things she had never imagined.

As soon as we had our little talk.

“So.”

Her head snapped up and she gave me a sweet smile. That smile melted my heart a little. But it wasn’t going to make me go easy on her. I had to be firm. Otherwise, she’d keep pushing me away.

“Things are going to change. Starting now.”

She blinked, her smile fading away.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean this morning. You said some stuff.”

“You said some stuff too.”

She crossed her arms over her curvy chest. I got momentarily distracted by her glorious rack before getting back to the matter at hand. I cleared my throat.

“You think it’s you and Tommy against the world. That’s over.” She opened her mouth to speak but I held up a hand. “You have me now. And you can’t just push me away every time you get cold feet. This is real. This is permanent.”

She didn’t say a word. Her eyes were very big and wide as she stared at me. Her gorgeous pink lips opened a fraction.

Damn, but I wanted to kiss that look right off her face.

She didn’t believe me. Well, before the night was over, she would. I would make sure she knew it real good.

“I am buying a house for us. All three of us.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts’. I was thinking about doing it anyway. And now that you’re in the picture, it makes more sense than ever.”

“You can’t just buy a house.”

“Yes. I can. My business is doing well. I have a waitlist.”

“But you can’t spend all your money on me!”

“Yes, I can.” I smiled at her coolly. “Besides, who said it was all my money?”

She stared at me. I stared back. I was still outwardly relaxed but my blood was pumping. I wanted her clothes off. I wanted her in my bed. I wanted to keep her in my damn pocket forever.

“You can’t just tell me to move in.”

“Yes. I can.”

“What gives you the right to tell me what to do?”

She stood up, looking like a furious kitten. If she had hissed at me or swished her tail, I would not have been surprised. My lips curled into a smile. She really did look beautiful when she was angry.

“Because I love you. That’s why. And you love me.”

I took three steps until I was standing toe-to-toe with her.

“And if you don’t love me yet, I will make you.”

Some of her anger melted away. I saw it leave. Her shoulders relaxed. The fierce glare in her blue eyes softened.

“You can’t make someone love you, Callaway.”

I leaned in close, tipping her chin up so that our lips were inches away.

“Watch me.”

My lips brushed hers and she sighed. It was a feminine, yielding sound. It said, ‘I’m not going to fight you.’ It said, ‘I will let you take my clothes off and have your way with me.’ It was the best sound I’d ever heard.

And I meant to hear it a hundred times before the night was over. Thankfully, it was still early, and she was well-rested and well-fed. So was I. And I’d been planning what to do the entire day while she slept.