Tempting Devil: Sinners and Saints Book 2

by Eden, Veronica

  My nails dig into my blazer. “Why don’t you worry about yourself, Nina.”

  She shrugs. “I’m trying to help you out, girl. It’s not my fault. That’s just the tea.”

  “Thanks.” Fuck you.

  Even prepared for the attack, her words sting because they’re true. It casts everything I’ve been doing in sharp relief. I’ve been playing house with Devlin, but it started with a lie.

  Devlin turned me into everything I never wanted to be, forcing me across the last line standing that held my dignity intact.

  Revenge doesn’t end with happily ever after. My mistake was forgetting that.

  Thirty-Five

  Blair

  It takes almost all night, but I can’t hold it in anymore. I have to know, right now, if this is real or not. If the rumor is truer than the feelings taking root in my being.

  The feelings I thought might be love.

  I was an idiot.

  Gnawing on my thumbnail, I slip from my seat on the stool at the kitchen island. Devlin’s back is to me as he organizes ingredients for a smoothie. We’re supposed to go on a run, but I need to get this off my chest before the doubt eats me alive.

  “So, Sean said something funny today.”

  Devlin rolls his eyes as he passes me to grab bananas. “Doubtful.”

  “He asked about my rates.”

  Devlin pauses across the island, narrowing his eyes as he plants his palms on the cool granite. “What?”

  I chew on my nail and wrap an arm around my squirming stomach. “My rates. He’s under the impression I’m available to purchase. As a prostitute. Well, escort was the word he used, actually, but semantics aside—”

  Devlin snorts, the harsh sound caustic and dangerous. “If he comes near what’s mine, he’ll regret it. I’ll end him.”

  The possessiveness in Devlin’s tone twines around me, luring my hope out. It’s been more difficult to keep it at bay. My survival skills are getting rusty.

  “It’s not just him. Nina brought it up, too. The rumor is all over the school.”

  He cuts his hand through the air with a sharp gesture. “You’re mine, and that’s the end of it in my eyes.”

  I jerk my head back. “Bullshit.”

  “What’s bullshit is that you give a damn about this. Worse stuff has been said about you. How is this different from any other rumor? Besides, it’s true that you’re mine, so like I said, that’s the end of it.”

  My shoulders tighten. I smack my palms on the counter, matching his stance. “I’m yours and that’s the end of it? You can’t control me, Devlin. No matter how hard you fight to pretend you can.” I squint across the island at him, challenging his crappy logic. “And that bothers you, doesn’t it?”

  Devlin glares at me. “Willing to place money on that claim?”

  I take an instinctive step back.

  The expression on his face sends a frisson of unease through me. I’ve been able to read him easier than ever, but now it’s like his walls have come back down. As if he’s pushing me away, back to controlling me instead of fighting with me as an equal.

  “What are you going to do?”

  He stalks around the island, trapping me against the pantry door before I make a move. His hand holds my throat, thumb pressed to my pulse.

  “Prove you belong to me. You’re mine. That’s all that matters.”

  I open my mouth to contest, but his tongue plunges inside as he kisses me with an angry edge. I grab his bicep and t-shirt, nails scrabbling as he controls the kiss. A small sound escapes me. His hand flexes on my throat. As he pulls back, he drags my lower lip between his teeth.

  “Ah!”

  Devlin growls and hauls me over his shoulder, leaving the kitchen.

  “Hey! Where are you taking me?” A stinging smack on my ass makes me yelp.

  I get my answer when Devlin dumps me down onto the plush rug in the lounge, next to the low, modern gray sectional that takes up most of the room. He’s on me in a flash, caging me with his body. There’s a hardness in his eyes.

  “What are you doing?”

  “No more questions.”

  “Fuck that noise.” Twisting away, I drag myself across the floor.

  Devlin wraps one hand around my thigh and hooks his fingers in the waistband of my jeans, yanking me back with a dark, sinister laugh.

  “Stay,” he orders while he attacks my neck, scraping his teeth over my skin.

  “Ah! Damn you!”

  I scrabble for purchase on the rug while I fight him. We both grunt, wrestling for the upper hand. As we roll across the floor, he claims my lips in another punishing kiss that makes my heart beat hard and heat pulse between my legs as they wrap around him like I’m coming home. He grinds his stiff cock against me, both of us consumed by the carnal excitement of struggling for power.

  I don’t know if we’re fighting or fucking anymore, but it’s turned into vicious foreplay.

  And I fucking love it.

  Fire burns inside, hotter than any I’ve experienced before.

  It makes me feel alive, the pleasure and pain creating an intense mix.

  The realization hits me hard—he’s not pushing us back to our previous power struggle. When we’re like this, I have power over him, too. We share the control, trading it back and forth.

  A wild grin curves my mouth.

  Devlin sucks hickeys into my skin and bites a trail down my throat, stretching my loose shirt down to expose my breasts. I don’t have a bra on, giving him access to clamp his lips and teeth over my nipples.

  “Fuck!” I arch with wanton abandon as he bites at my breasts hard enough to leave marks.

  By the time we’re done, I’m going to be covered, my skin branded by Devlin as if he’s burning his name into my body with each scrape of teeth and forceful suck.

  I’ll brand him right back with the angry red trails my nails leave on his skin.

  “That’s right,” Devlin rumbles between sucking on one of my nipples before he moves to the other. He strips me, ripping the clothes from my body to continue his bombardment of brutal pleasure. With each new bruising bite, his voice is like gravel while he declares, “Here? Mine. Here, too. All of you—every inch—you’re all mine, little thief. That was the deal we made.”

  The urge to fight flares up. I pop up on one elbow, torn between dragging Devlin closer or pushing him away by my grip in his hair. “So you’ll just let them all believe I’m your live-in whore?”

  Devlin gets in my face after tearing his shirt off. He grabs my jaw in his strong grip. “You think I give a fuck about any of those puppets or what they think? The only thing I care about is you.” He gives me a searing, soul-twisting kiss. I gasp against his lips, and his tongue pushes inside my mouth, sliding against mine. The kiss is softer than the commanding arrogance clouding his actions. “They don’t matter.”

  I bite his lip, giving as good as he’s given me. He pins me to the floor, wrapping his fingers around my throat. It tugs on the desire pooling in my gut, throbbing through my body. I bare my teeth, ready for more.

  Devlin’s eyes flash with the challenge, his lips curling up. “Fucking fight me, angel.”

  With a raw sound, I buck up, managing to flip Devlin over to straddle him. My hands form claws as I scrape across his bare chest. He spurs me on with taunts, his ferocious grin devilishly attractive. The rush of power fills me as I roll my hips to feel him between my thighs while Devlin holds me in place by his grip on my waist with a groan.

  The wonder in his expression as I peer down at him with heavy-lidded eyes pours warmth through my body.

  “Give me all of your fight. This right here is why you’re mine.”

  Devlin tackles me onto my back again, pinning my wrists above my head in one hand. I struggle against him, but he bears down on me, nipping at my swollen lips. The rug burns against my bare skin as he spreads my legs apart and presses his hips into mine, the material of his jeans scraping against my pussy.

  My eye
s roll back in my head and a guttural sound tears from my throat at the sensation, the roughness of his jeans separating his cock from me.

  He flips me over, forcing a knee between my thighs as he keeps my hands pinned above my head. His erection presses against my ass mercilessly. I moan, delirious with adrenaline and lust.

  “I want you bare. Nothing between us this time.” Swallowing, I can’t stop my hips from rolling against him. Amusement laces his tone as he smacks my ass. “Oh? You like the sound of that, angel? You want me to fuck you raw?”

  It’s hard to cut through the lust fogging my head. “I’m not on the pill.”

  Not only that, a frisson of fear spirals through me, locking every muscle. My parents made that mistake. They were so young.

  His grip flexes on my wrists. “I don’t care.”

  The reckless disregard could bite us in the ass.

  “I’d take care of you no matter what, angel.” His husky voice softens at the edges.

  My chest squeezes tight. That’s all I want. “Okay.”

  “Stay.” The command is barked in a dangerous voice. He waits a beat, then peels back. I make a sound of protest as the cool air hits my sweaty skin, squirming against the rug to feel the tingling burn in my breasts where the bitten skin throbs with a dull, sensual ache. “Good fucking girl.”

  I gasp, trembling as a burst of heat overwhelms me. His voice is gruff and it dances along my nerve endings.

  When Devlin covers my back with his body, he’s naked. A wild moan leaves me as he glides the head of his cock between my slick folds. With a sharp tug, he repositions me on my hands and knees. His controlling grip finds my hair and he pulls, stretching the column of my neck back.

  “Ah! D-Devlin!”

  “You’re so wet already. Fuck, your pussy is glistening.” As his cock lines up, he pulls my hair harder so I’m completely at his mercy. “Is this what you’re moaning for? You want this cock?”

  An internal struggle wars within me. I’m caught between the heady surge of dizzying arousal from his roughness and fighting back for power. But I feel alive right now and so fucking turned on, drunk with desire for this wicked side Devlin is letting free.

  Not just letting free, but losing control of.

  This is Devlin beneath everything. Ruthless and vicious. It should scare me, but it doesn’t.

  “Please,” I beg, wound tight with the need he ignited like an inferno. “Come on, I want it. I want you.”

  Devlin’s lips graze my ear as he palms my hip with his free hand. “You hear yourself begging for me, Blair? That’s how I know you’re mine.”

  “Yes,” I gasp. He releases my hair to hold my hips in both hands. “Do it, just—” Devlin’s cock slips through the slick wetness coating my folds. “I need you inside me.”

  Devlin thrusts inside with a depraved sound.

  We both release choked groans. He fills me completely, so hard and perfect.

  Before I’ve caught my breath, Devlin’s hips snap, driving his cock into me.

  “Give me your screams, little demon.”

  “Oh god.” I arch my back as his dick hits a spot that sends electric bursts of pleasure to my core. “Fuck, yes!”

  Devlin hums in aroused satisfaction. In the huge windows, I glimpse what we look like in the reflection.

  Holy shit.

  Devlin’s head tips back as he pumps his hips, fucking me roughly. His hair is tousled, curling with sweat across his forehead. The muscles of his stomach and the cut V in his hips flex with each thrust.

  We look like a Bosch painting. Wild, and unchained. Hedonistic.

  “Christ, Blair. So fucking good. Clench that tight little pussy on my cock.”

  I gasp as I squeeze around him, feeling it more intensely. My nails dig into the thick carpet as his length fills me.

  Devlin bends over, kissing the star tattoo on my back, his hand wrapping around my neck again in an iron hold. I scream as his open-mouthed kisses end in him biting it hard. At the same time, he slams into me, making my breath catch in my throat as my core erupts in pleasure.

  “Oh fu-fuck, I’m coming!” My cries turn incoherent. Devlin doesn’t stop, but picks up the pace.

  “Yes,” he growls. “I feel you.”

  Before my orgasm fades, another is creeping up. I pant as I rock back to meet Devlin’s harsh thrusts. With a snarl, he whips my body upright by his tight hold on my neck.

  My stomach clenches. The new position makes his cock slide deeper. I stretch my head back to lean into him. Devlin squeezes my neck, almost cutting off my air. His other hand goes between my legs, rubbing my clit relentlessly.

  “You’re going to come again on my cock,” Devlin whispers darkly in my ear. “You’ll only come for me. I’m the only one that can give you this.”

  Devlin’s fingers circle my throbbing clit, making me feel so good that it’s overwhelming. My words are stolen away by the coiling heat winding tight enough to snap. His touch edges on brutal as he pounds deep and sharp inside me. A sob tears from me as the stimulation becomes too much.

  “I can’t.”

  “You will.” Devlin’s skin slaps against mine with each sharp thrust. I can hear the wet sound of our bodies connecting as my pussy clenches on his cock. “Fucking hell, yes, my siren.” The awe-struck words twine around me. His thumb strokes my pulse as his fingers put more pressure on my clit. “Tell me you’re mine.”

  I gasp for breath, hanging onto the arm cupping my neck for dear life as he bounces me on his cock.

  “D-Dev—”

  “Say it.”

  Everything is too much. The coil in my stomach breaks in an explosion of electric heat. It runs up my spine while my core quivers with wave after wave. My orgasm threatens to shake me apart at the seams as I scream.

  “I’m yours! I’m yours, yours, yours, fuck!”

  Devlin’s teeth sink into my shoulder with a fierce sound as his hips pump. His arms wrap around me as he tenses. His cock throbs inside me and I feel the hot sensation of his come.

  My heart pounds, rushing in my ears and thudding through my body as we shake together, wracked by aftershocks of our releases. Our breaths come in ragged pants, dragging air into our lungs.

  For a long stretch, Devlin holds me. I’m wrung out, my whole body aching pleasantly with the twinge of use, from my rug-burned knees to my tender skin where Devlin left his marks. He traces the tender bruise forming over my star tattoo with a gentle touch, following his caress with a light kiss.

  There’s a scary amount of truth in my answer to Devlin’s demand.

  I want to be his and I want him to be mine.

  “Are you okay?”

  I hum, too exhausted to form words and ready to collapse to the rug. Devlin places soft kisses wherever he can reach.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs. Put on one of my shirts and climb in bed.”

  I tense. “Where will you be?”

  “Out for a little bit.” A hardness creeps back into his tone. “I have a quick...errand to take care of.”

  “Now?” I twist to see him, but he hugs me tighter.

  “It’s important.” Devlin mouths at the crook of my neck. “Promise, I’ll be back soon.”

  “Okay.”

  Every muscle protests as Devlin helps me to my feet. I’m going to faceplant into bed. Devlin cups my face, gliding his thumb over my cheek. The wonder from before lingers, lighting up the ominous shadows in his eyes. He kisses my forehead tenderly.

  After Devlin heads for the garage, I go upstairs, not bothering with any of the clothes he flung around in our romp. Despite the exhaustion and satisfaction of the experience downstairs, a niggling restlessness prods at me while I clean up in the bathroom. We didn’t exactly address the point I brought up to him. With a ragged sigh, I slap the used washcloth in the sink, pad into the bedroom, and open one of the panels to Devlin’s closet. As I poke through his hoodies, I chew on my lip.

  It was great in the moment, but was I repeating the past b
y not using protection? There are options now, more than my parents had. Still, I can’t beat back the uncertainty welling in my chest.

  As I dig through the stack of t-shirts I love to steal from, a rustling makes me pause when I pull out the one I want. “What the…?”

  I tug on the shirt and a folded magazine page flutters to the floor from inside the shirt. My stomach sinks as I pick it up and open it.

  Our contract.

  “Shit,” I whisper, throat tight. “Why do you still have this if—?”

  The niggling worry roars to life, making my stomach roll. I thought Devlin and I were fighting together, but am I wrong? Are we back where we started? Did we ever progress in the first place?

  A pained gasp pierces the oppressive silence in the room.

  Maybe he forgot he had it.

  But the shirt I put on is one Devlin wore last week. The creases on the page speak volumes to how often it’s been opened and folded.

  “Damn it.” Rubbing my forehead, I pace at the foot of the bed. “Is he playing me?”

  He has to be if he still has this damn contract.

  It paints everything we did downstairs in a harsh light. I thought I saw awe in Devlin’s eyes, but now?

  What did I actually prove to him? To myself?

  Devlin never denied the rumor. He just wanted to claim me. How the hell can he go around calling me his girlfriend to his parents while he has the contract hidden in his closet?

  He only cares about me? What a joke.

  A lie.

  One I fucking fell for.

  With a frustrated grunt, I grab it by both ends, intent on shredding it. I stop before I rip it.

  As much as it hurts to find this, I can’t do anything yet. I need more answers first, and Mom is still in the hospital.

  My heart feels fragile, as bruised as my body.

  In a numb daze, I stick the contract in the stack of shirts in Devlin’s closet. I’m not ready to face what I’ve discovered until I’m better prepared for the fallout.

  Thirty-Six