Devoured - Cathryn Fox Page 0,53

and dump it into a nearby garbage can.

We head down the street, busy with tourists, and pass by all the lovely outdoor cafés. We stop by an alleyway and I gesture with a nod. “This is my old stomping grounds. Right there, that’s where I lost my virginity,” I tell her with a smirk.

Her brow arches. “Really?”

“Yup.”

“Romantic.”

I laugh at that. “I was seventeen.”

Her arm slides through mine as we walk, and I’m not even sure she realized she did it. Being together like this is just so natural for both of us. “Young.”

I give her a wink and hold her tighter. “She was eighteen.”

“Ooh, a cougar,” she teases, and I laugh, leading her to the walkway along the bay. We stop and stare out at all the boats bobbing in the water. She inhales, breathing in the salty air, and lets it out slowly. “I love it here.”

“I do, too,” I say, and give her a little bump with my body.

“What made you stay in the States when you could have this every day?” she asks, and waves her arms around.

“I needed to be away from my family for a while.” She looks down at her feet and my gut squeezes. Christ, this woman would do anything for a family and I spent years running away from mine. “Sometimes it’s nice to go where you can be under the radar, you know,” I add. “Somewhere where your every move isn’t scrutinized.”

She nods. “I can understand that.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m under the radar. People don’t really notice me.” I go completely still as she continues to walk. The second she realizes I’m not beside her she turns. “What?”

I shake my head, taking pleasure in her thick, auburn hair, the warmth and honesty in her green eyes, and the way that sexy dress hugs all her curves.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?”

She shrugs at the comment. “You don’t have to say that.”

“When you walk into a room, all heads turn, Peyton. You don’t even know.”

She looks away to gaze out over the water. A visible shiver moves through her, and I close the distance. I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over her. “I spent so many years trying to be invisible, Roman.”

My throat practically closes over as pain grips my heart. I put my arms around her and pull her in. I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I know.”

“If I didn’t cause any trouble, if they rarely saw me...” She goes quiet for a long time, and I just hold her quivering body to mine, tucking her safely beneath my arms so no one else can hurt her. “I...” Her voice hitches, and she adds, “I guess I figured if I was small and invisible, they wouldn’t be so quick to get rid of me.”

Jesus, I hate that her childhood was so damn brutal and her scars are still so raw. “No one is going to hurt you anymore, Peyton. I won’t let them.”

She puts her hand on my chest, and her eyes are watery when she lifts her gaze to mine. “My very own knight in shining armor,” she says.

I chuckle. “I thought you didn’t believe in fairy tales.”

“I don’t,” she says so quietly, so softly I almost missed it. I hug her tighter when a hard quiver racks her body.

“We should get you home. You’re freezing.”

I make a move to go but she stops me. “We should end this, Roman. I don’t want your sisters angry or hurt, and you’ve...you’ve helped enough.”

“No,” I say so forcefully, her eyes widen. “I’m seeing this through to the end. I told you that right from the beginning and I’m a man of my word.”

Really, Roman. Is that the only reason you can’t walk away from this?

“But your sisters—”

“I’ll deal with them.” I put my arm around her and we hurry back to the villa. Once inside I carry her shivering body up the stairs to the shower. “We need to warm you up.” I peel the zipper down on her dress, and there is something so completely open and honest about this sweet, vulnerable woman as she stands there stark naked, gazing up at me, I could fucking sob. The world might not have wanted her, but I sure as hell do.

I’m in love with her. So lost in her, I’ll never find my way out. Not that I want to. I might have been engaged, but this is the only woman who’s ever truly