Claimed By The Devil (Devil's Riders 8)

My girl was not going to fall apart. Not on my watch. She had a shoulder to cry on and someone to pick up the slack.

She had everything I had to give and more. She had my family, too. The Riders weren’t going to let her suffer through this alone.

I lifted her and carried her toward the house, watching my step on the sometimes uneven path. I had precious cargo in my arms. I could not risk dropping her.

I opened the front door with one hand and carried her in and up. “Which room is yours?” I breathed, not willing to admit how many times I had fantasized about seeing where she slept over the past month. She pointed and I opened the door. The afternoon sun glowed softly against the faded floral curtains. A small twin bed stretched from the wall underneath the windows. A homespun bedspread lay on top.

My dick got hard. Just like that. Just from seeing where she slept. My mind wanted to spin off in the wrong direction. I had to get a grip on myself. She needed me now. Not my dirty mind. There would be time for that later, God willing.

But I couldn’t help but get turned on. Not around her. Not ever.

I was going to take care of her. I was going to get her through this. It was my job and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I thanked Christ we had gotten together in time. If she had been alone . . . or if God forbid, I hadn’t been at Honeycutt at the right time . . . she might not have me to look after her now.

I set her down on the wooden desk chair by the window. It looked like it had been painted a dozen times in different colors, with chips showing all the colors underneath. It was wholesome, quirky, and cute, just like she was.

I knelt to remove her boots. Her eyes got wide as I started helping her take her clothes off. I ignored her, undressing her like a child until she was in her bra and panties. She definitely did not look like a child with her luscious curves exposed. I gave her a single heated look before carrying her down the hall to the bathroom. I turned on the hot water in the shower and put a fresh folded towel on the sink.

“Need help with this part?” I asked with a hungry look in my eyes. She shook her head slowly and I chuckled ruefully. “PJs on after this. I’ll be back. Don’t lock it,” I warned, half afraid that she might fall asleep or fall down in the shower.

I shut the door softly behind me and headed to the kitchen. She needed to eat. Part of me was angry that she hadn’t told me she needed help with the stables and everything going on with her mom. But it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know that she was mine.

Well, that time was over. After today, she would know without a doubt who she belonged to. I would be gentle without leaving a singe doubt that she was my woman.

I pulled some eggs, cheese, and milk out of the fridge. There were a couple of tomatoes on the windowsill. An omelet it was, I decided. And I’d get someone to go grocery shopping for her so there would be more stuff ready tomorrow.

I pecked out a quick text to the guys and rolled my sleeves up.

“Wake up, sweetheart,” I said softly. I didn’t want to scare the girl. I knew she wasn’t used to strange men in her bedroom, after all. I’d fed her a tomato and cheese omelet hours ago and put her to bed. She had been out from the moment her head hit the pillow. As much as I wanted to let her sleep through the night, she was insistent on going back to the hospital before it got too late. I’d finally agreed to wake her and get her back to her mom. A promise was a promise.

But this time, she wouldn’t be going alone.

The girls had already come and gone, helping me prep snacks and sandwiches to bring with us and packing up an overnight bag for Melissa and a few things for her mom—a favorite photo, flowers, and a nightgown.

We still didn’t know if they were going to let Meg come home or what the prognosis was. We only knew it wasn’t good. Thankfully, we had some very smart people in our circle. We had two nurses in training among us, so I felt confident that we could handle the logistics of helping Melissa no matter what came.

The heartbreak of losing her mom, on the other hand, that was another story. I would be there for her, no matter what. I just hoped I was enough to carry her through it.