Page 79 of The Villain

“Shut up,” I warned. “Anything you say is just going to piss me off more, and I’m so fucking tired of being pissed at you.”

He struggled against my hold, then gripped my knee and dug his fingers in around my kneecap, sending a jolt of pain up my thigh. I snarled and grabbed both of his wrists before slamming him onto his back in the sand, pinning his hands on either side of his head. He struggled until I rose over him and held him in place with my body.

“Fuck you,” he spat. “Fuck you!” Then he started fighting me even harder. I let him rage until his strength finally gave out and his body sagged.

“Is this what you wanted?” he shouted in my face. “Fine! You win. You’ve given me everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and now you can rip it away and watch me crumble. Go ahead, Cian.Fuck!” He made one last half-hearted attempt to struggle in my grip. “I’ll walk into the ocean and drown myself. You can watch.”

I squeezed his wrists until he grimaced in the pain. “That’s the last time you talk about offing yourself. Thelastfucking time.”

He choked out a sound beneath me, his expression twisted in an anguish that made my heart lurch. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle convincing Devlin that I was keeping him, but already I felt like fucking Sisyphus.

Tears squeezed out the corners of his eyes. “Just keep your promise,” he whimpered. “Don’t feed my hope.”

I let go of one wrist, and he left his hand flat on the sand. I gripped his chin and forced him to look at me as more tears slid toward his temples. “No.”

I leaned down, and he let out a wounded sound right before my lips brushed his. They trembled against mine, and I stilled for a moment before pressing closer. He bucked beneath me, and his hand left the sand to press against my chest. But he didn’t push me away. Instead, his fingers curled into my chesthair, and he let out the most delicious little moan that sent a shiver down my spine.

I plunged my tongue into his mouth and got my firstrealtaste of Devlin Walsh. As I lapped at him, he wrapped his arms around my neck and clawed the back of my scalp. His body arched up into mine as our teeth clacked and our tongues melded. His heart thundered against my chest, and his tongue swirled like an eager puppy against mine.

I pulled away from the kiss with a nip to his jaw. Devlin lay below me, mouth slack, lips swollen, eyes glazed, and the beast in me roared with possessiveness.

“I’m done telling you that you’re mine.” I cupped his cheek and relished the way he leaned into the touch. “It’s time toshowyou.”

Devlin

I moved in a daze. Somehow, we made it back to the car. Cian buckled my seatbelt. We drove down the street, and I stared at the buildings passing by without really seeing them. Cian’s taste still lingered as I ran my fingers over my lips, missing the pressure of his mouth.

We pulled into a parking garage and found a spot on the ground level. Cian grabbed a duffel from the back seat and got out while I followed behind, rubbing my wrists where he’d held me in the sand before giving me my first kiss.

We walked through a set of revolving doors, past a hotel front desk, and right into an open elevator. I felt like I was in a dream. Because no way was any of this happening. We’d gone from chains, to shock collars, to a bloody ambush, to… the beach. Towatching the sunrise and feeling the cold ocean on my toes. To claiming kisses in the sand.

We exited the elevators and walked down a long hallway. Cian stopped in front of room 724 and stared at the keypad for a moment. He took one deep breath. Then he shoved me against the wall so hard my back hit with a thud. I didn’t resist. I couldn’t. Not after that kiss.

He leaned in close. His skin smelled like saltwater and sun. “If you walk into this hotel room with me, that means you’re mine. When I want and how I want. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” His harsh breath tickled my skin. “I won’t be asking. I’ll be taking.”

“When have you ever asked?” I heard myself say.

A muscle in his jaw ticked, almost like he was nervous. Cian didn’t get nervous. “This is me asking before that door locks behind us. If you don’t want this, walk away now.”

Panic fluttered in my chest, and I clutched the front of his shirt. “You’d let me?” The desperation in my voice was impossible to hide.

His eyes dropped to where my fingers twisted in the fabric at his chest before returning to my face. His shoulders dropped a fraction. He slid a hand around my neck.

“No. I wouldn’t let you leave, Devlin. I’d hunt you down and drag you back here by your hair.”

“How many times?” I tugged his shirt tighter. I needed him to blast through every wall I put up. I had to know he’d fight for me despite my own self-sabotage. “How many times would you hunt me down and bring me back?”

He exhaled slowly, and the coiled tension bled from his face. He swayed into me until our foreheads touched. “Every time,” he said. “Over and over again. Until our last breaths.”

Our lips brushed as I whispered, “Open the door.”

He pulled up an electronic key on his phone and tapped it against the keypad. The door opened, and then we were inside. I had a moment to take in the suite. Heaps of pillows decorated a large king bed to my right. To my left was a sitting area with a couch, a few chairs, and a chaise lounge, all facing a large wall-mounted TV. Sliding glass doors opened to a small private balcony overlooking the ocean, and I found myself standing there, my nose pressed to the cold glass. Behind me, I heard the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on.

There were more people on the beach now, even though it was barely eight in the morning. I could see two teens digging a massive hole near the tideline. A toddler in a sunhat sprinted across the sand on tiny, impossibly fast legs until her dad caught her and kissed the top of her head.

I hadn’t realized Cian was out of the shower until I heard him call my name. I turned to find him wearing a pair of clean briefs and holding a box. Water droplets clung to his skin, like he hadn’t bothered with a towel.

He held the box out. “Shower and use this.”