Paul told me about your relation to Cade. That’s a blessing.”
I hadn’t thought that when the news was fresh, but since he was my only family—especially now that Sonny had cut me loose, I figured Sonny had a point. And I believed what he said. The man might be a thief, but he was an honorable one.
He dipped his chin at Rena. “You be good to my boy, yeah?”
In the elevator, she came to me and I folded her against my chest and rested my chin on her head. It felt good to have her there. She was good for me.
I thought about what Sonny had done for Cade. Letting him earn the money so he didn’t feel like a degenerate shit. How he sat now in the waiting room watching over the kid he’d put in life-threatening danger. He’d pay the hospital bill, too, knowing him.
Then I thought of Paul and hoped this situation would turn him around. If not, Cade’s sacrifice—and we didn’t know how big of one it was yet—had been for nothing.
As I walked to the SUV, Rena’s hand in mine, I noticed the way our fingers linked together like they’d been designed to. Like she’d been created to slot into my life seamlessly. The bad girl looking for her counterpart.
I knew now, and had suspected for a while, that she’d found him.
Chapter Sixteen
Rena
A mini-blizzard had blanketed downtown Ridgeway while we were in the hospital.
Devlin parked on the top floor of the garage and then we found ourselves in another elevator, snuggling close. He couldn’t seem to stay away from me tonight. I didn’t want him to. I felt fragile and tired.
Hand in hand—another habit he’d started that I never wanted to end—we entered his apartment. He shut and locked the door, slid the chain into place, all with his hand in mine.
His apartment was dark, the only lights coming from the buildings downtown that glowed beyond the wide windows. I reached for the light switch on the wall.
“Leave them off,” he muttered, tugging me close. “I made you a promise.”
He unwound the scarf from my neck and tossed it over the back of the couch.
“Well, then, you should keep it.” My voice trembled. I remembered that promise. The one to make love to me in his bed if I agreed to stay the night.
He unbuttoned my coat and parted the wool to place his hands on my waist. His actions were unhurried. Gentle. This wasn’t our usual frantic, feverish pairing.
He closed his lips over mine as he trailed his fingers down my neck. The tip of his tongue darted out to touch mine tentatively as he toyed with the neck of my shirt.
I arched toward him, moaning into his mouth. He tasted incredible. My entire body vibrated with need. When he palmed my breast over my shirt, I grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket and pulled. He resisted.
“No, Rena.” His warm breath tickled my lips. He thumbed my nipple, and though it was over a shirt and a tank top and a bra, I jerked as if he’d touched my bare skin.
“But I want you.” I tightened my grip on his coat.
“I want you, too, sweetheart. But we’re doing this the right way,” he murmured, melting me with another soft kiss.
His hand closed around my fingers. He led me through the living room and hallway, releasing me long enough to take off his coat. His bedroom was shadowed, the gargantuan bed against the wall. The blinds were drawn over the windows but I could make out the outline of his body as he stalked toward me like predator to prey.
I was willing prey.
He hooked his index finger in my waistband and I went to him, my palms resting on his chest. When I spread my hands over his pecs, he stopped me with two words.
“Hands down.”
Interested to learn the rules of this little game, I obeyed and dropped my arms to my sides. His head lowered, his open mouth suckling my pulse. The kiss was slow. Intentional. My world went black as my eyelids sank shut. His tongue slipped along my throat, down my neck, and his hands beneath my shirts burned a trail along my bare skin. He released me long enough to take off my shirt and my tank top. I rested my arms on his shoulders and played with his hair.
“Hands down.” He yanked my arms away, his voice firm. “Don’t make me tie you up.”
I pictured Devlin lashing me to