Page 85 of The Villain

He pulled away from the kiss, touching his forehead to mine as his breath warmed my face. “Okay,” he whispered. “You promise?”

“I promise.” I gave him a wry grin. “Maybeyou’llwake up five years from now and realize you promised yourself to some ugly motherfucker,” I said.

Devlin narrowed his eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“I know what I look like. Jace even made me dress up as The Hound fromGame of Thronesfor Halloween one year. Everyone said I was the spitting image.”

He curled his hands into fists. “I’m going to kill Jace.”

I laughed again, and the rumble in my chest felt so good. “I’m fine with how I look, Dev.”

He shook his head. “You don’t see yourself how I see you.”

No, I didn’t. But now that he’d said it, I realized I couldfeelit when he looked at me. I brushed his hair behind his ear. “That’s what matters to me, anyway.”

Satisfied with my response, he slid back down my body and rested his head back over my heart. I lit up another cigarette. A strip of sun colored the water and brightened the sky.

“I’ve never felt like this before,” he said softly. “Like I want to freeze this moment in time, but I’m also excited to see what comes next.”

I exhaled a plume of smoke. “And what do you want to come next?”

He did that happy little shoulder shimmy of his, and I was glad his face was turned toward the sun so he couldn’t see me smile.

“I want all the mundane shit with you. Picking out groceries—delivery, of course—deciding what shows to watch, learning how you fold your T-shirts, hanging out at O'Shea’s… I told myself I’d never dream about the future again. But I want one with you, Ci.” I let him shorten my name because I liked the way it sounded coming from his mouth. “And I want the crazy shit, too, like ambushing a cabin where twin assassins are waiting to murder us.”

Another laugh rumbled out of me that made Devlin’s head bob on my chest. He faced me with a grin, and I ran my fingers through his beautiful auburn hair. “I want the normal shit and the crazy shit with you too, Dev.”

He wrinkled his nose. “We can’t talk like this around Jace. He’ll never stop giving us shit.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks of us—not even Jace. I don’t care if they think we’re annoying, toxic, or all fucking wrong for each other. They don’t get it. All that matters is that we do.”

“It’s all that matters,” he echoed.

“And don’t worry about Jace. Or Rhys. They’re already coming around. They’ll probably end up liking you more than me.”

“You grew up with Rhys, right? Was he always…” He scrunched his face as if searching for the right word.

“…an old soul?” I finished

“Sure. We’ll go with that.”

“Rhys was always a serious kid. His dad was best friends with mine, and he was a good dad too. But he was killed when we were teenagers. Fucked us both up.”

“What were you like as a kid?”

“Angry.”

“You’re still angry,” he deadpanned.

I smirked. “Not right now.” Devlin grinned, and I cupped the back of his head. “I bet you were a sweet kid. You just wanted someone to hold you and tell you that you were safe and loved. Right?”

“Right,” he confessed, eyes blinking slowly.

I hummed. “That’s my job now.”

We ordered room service and ate breakfast on the balcony. Devlin licked bacon grease from my fingers, and I tasted maple syrup on his tongue. By the time we’d finished eating, the sun glowed a bright orange, and Devlin’s skin had begun to turnpink. He straddled my lap and ground his ass back on my hard dick. He arched his back and let out the prettiest little moan.

My breath caught. I stilled him with firm hands on his hips. “We’re outside.”