Devil Takes His Innocent (7 page)

Slumping in defeat, too tired to
fight, she finally let her anger go and said,
“
It
doesn’t really matter anymore, Judge. What’s done is done! Tell him to move on
with his life. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“
You’re his mate, Gabby. He won’t
give up on you.”

Placing her hand over her heart
in preparation for what she was about to say, she spoke the words that she
suspected she didn’t mean. “Tell him I’m not interested.”

“
It doesn’t work like that. Once
we find our mates we can never let them go. You are Devil’s mate, and the
sooner you accept that, the better it will be for both of you,” Judge replied
gruffly.

“
I see, so it’s okay for him to
dismiss me after taking my virginity, but I can’t do the same to him?”

“
He didn’t know you were his mate
when he first met you. He wouldn’t have been able to let you walk away if that
was the case,” Judge informed in a gentler tone. “You see, vampires discover
their mates like shifters, through their exceptional sense of smell. Your
perfume did too good a job that night. It masked your scent from him.”

“
So how can he be sure that I
really am his mate?”

“Let
me ask you,
even
after what happened, when you’re alone where
are your
thoughts
?”

“
With him,” she conceded,
recognizing the truth in her words. No matter how hurt she had been by his
actions, her heart wouldn’t see any other man in her life.

“
Then what do you think?”

“
I think you’re saying that I’m
destined to spend my life with the Devil.”

“
Apart from Devil and me, you’ll
meet two other men. We consider ourselves brothers, though no shared blood runs
through our veins. We have all earned ourselves certain reputations and similar
names. But know this, no matter what you hear about Devil, as his mate, he will
always put you and your needs above all others. There will be times that you
disagree with his methods, but his sole purpose now in life is to ensure you’re
protected and healthy.”

“
What
about happy?
Does that even enter into the equation?”

“
Gabby, we are hard men who have
lived through times when survival of the fittest was tested every day. It’s in
our blood to fight for our continual survival. You need to remind Devil that
it’s acceptable to be happy and enjoy life,” Judge said. “I fear we have all
forgotten how to relax and play.”

“
How can you say you need to learn
how to play? You forget, I’ve seen you flirting with anything in a skirt,”
Gabby challenged.

“
I’m sharing this with you because
you’re now part of the family. The way I am with my pride mates is all part of
an overall strategic plan to maintain my control over the pride,” Judge admitted.
“That’s not to say I don’t like the company of a woman. I do.
Just on a short-term basis.”

“
What would you have done had I
been your mate?”

“
I would have claimed you, then
and there.
And then looked forward to a long life with you.”

“
What about love?”

“
Damn it, Gabby, you’re really
pushing my human side now,” Judge grumbled, but still he answered her question.
“Positive emotions don’t come easy for any of my brothers,
myself
included. We were raised to fight for our lives, take care of your own, and show
no weakness. According to our upbringing, love was the biggest weakness there
was. That doesn’t mean we don’t feel it, but we rarely show it, and if we do,
it’s not the way a man of this era would display it. Be patient with Devil. He
needs your soft, gentle heart, as much as I believe you need his hardened,
unforgiving one.”

“
Are you sure that’s what we both
need?”
Gabby asked, unsure whether she was strong enough to
cope with a man like Devil.

“
Yes, and I’m not the only one,
either. The fates paired you two for a reason, and let me tell you, they are
never wrong. So stop doubting yourself and the power you hold within you,”
Judge replied, accurately reading her. “There’s something I don’t understand
though,” he said after a moment. “Why would you go along with Jeffrey and hand
your virginity over to a stranger?”

“
I had little choice.”

“
How?” came the growled reply.

“
If I didn’t go, Jeffrey was going
to send Devil to Nikki,” Gabby explained. “I didn’t know anything about the
man, not even his name. And I can only assume with that amazing nose of yours
that you smelled Nikki’s fear last night. I had to protect her.”

“
Yes, both Devil and I did, and we
didn’t like it.”

And in that comment, Judge just
proved his point about his inability to verbalize his emotions, yet still he
was showing he cared for Nikki’s well-being. “She’ll be okay. She just got
spooked by Devil’s heavy-handedness. Not unlike you and Devil, not every person
has had a rosy past, which is why she knows nothing of Jeffrey’s threat, and that’s
the way it shall stay. That’s all I’m willing to say on Nikki. If she wishes to
share her story, then that’s up to her.”

“
Okay, I get the point. You really
are a mama bear, aren’t you?” he said, laughing. “Devil’s not going to know
what’s hit him.”

“
Laughing
at my expense, Judge.
Really?”

“
Only
over the phone.
I wouldn’t dare do it in person. You’d probably have my balls hanging from your
car’s rearview mirror before I could get
I’m
sorry
out of my mouth,” Judge replied. A phone suddenly began ringing in
the background. “Look, Gabby, I have to take this. I’ll speak to you soon. And
remember what I said about Devil.”

Remember! That’s all she managed
to do for the rest of the day. The conversation continued to play over in her
head as she thought about the interactions she had had with Devil. Judge had
managed to soothe some of the hurt associated to Devil’s treatment of her. It
spoke volumes that he had attempted to apologize even before he had discovered
what she was to him. But was that enough to allow this man permanently into her
life? Her heart screamed
yes
, while
her mind suggested a wait-and-see approach. She suspected she wouldn’t have
long to wait.

Chapter
Seven

“
Devil, we’ve got a problem,”
Judge said as he walked into the office.

“
What?” he asked, hoping this
issue wouldn’t interfere with his plans for the
night.
He and his mate were going to have a long overdue talk.

“
A woman was playing blackjacks
this afternoon. She won more than she lost.”

“
How
much more?”
Devil asked, knowing Judge wouldn’t be bringing this up had it not been
unusual. All four of them had been in the gambling game long enough to know how
true the saying “you win some, you lose some” was.

“
She was on her fifteenth hand
when I began to approach her, and from what I had seen, she had only lost
once.”

“
What did she have to say for
herself? Did she admit to card counting?”

“
That’s the problem. When I got
near her, she collected her chips and left. She didn’t even collect the
winnings,” Judge explained. “I have watched over the last few
day’s
footage. She’s been in the last three days, and the
first two times, she stayed for twenty hands exactly. Both days she lost only
twice and walked out of here with at least two grand each day. I don’t think
she was card counting. Her accuracy was too good. The hands she did lose on,
she bet small compared to those she won with.”

“
Shit, how did we miss this? And
how the hell did she escape you?”

“
I suspect she has someone taking
point. As for missing it, she made sure she didn’t place large bets, losing a
couple of hands and then leaving after a short period of time. She played it
smart,” Judge said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Out of all four of them, Judge
was the card shark. He knew all the possible cheats, which was another reason
why he was the head of security. He had spent many hours with the dealers,
showing them what to look for, helping them identify the cheats.

“
I take it she went to different
dealers each day?”

“
Yep,” Judge replied. “See what I
mean? Smart.”

“
What about the point man?”

“
I’ve got people combing the
footage from around the floor and bar area. As you can guess it’s a big job.”

“
Do you want a hand searching?”
Devil asked, looking at his watch.

It was only four o’clock in the
afternoon. Though he was tempted to leave now, he had decided to give Gabby
until six before he went over to her house. He intended on staying at her
place, so he wanted to ensure he had put some hours in at work first.

“
Actually, brother,” Judge said,
pulling Devil out of his ponderings. “You have another issue you need to deal
with.”

“
Oh, and what’s that?” Devil
asked, raising an eyebrow.

“
I spoke to Gabby this morning.”
Devil growled at Judge’s comment. “Quit grumbling, you’ll be glad I did. I
found out a few things.”

“
Spill them, Judge, before I spill
your blood.”

“
Firstly, we were right about
Nikki. She has lived through things that no woman should endure. I don’t know
the story, but it’s bad enough that Gabby would do anything for her friend,
including giving away her virginity to a stranger to protect Nikki.” Judge went
on to explain what Gabby had told him over the phone. Devil’s hackles rose, and
he was suddenly wishing he had done more damage to Jeffrey Harrison. His
attention was drawn back to Judge when his brother added, “And now it seems Gabby’s
half brother
is bothering her.”

“
What?”

Devil forced himself to remain in
his seat until he had heard what Judge had to say. The more he heard, the
unhappier he got. “You need to forget the card cheat for just know. Leave your
men on it, but she’s unlikely to return for a while if she’s as smart as you
think she is. I need you to find out everything there is to know about Grant
Harrison. Including what he had for breakfast this morning. That fucker isn’t
getting anywhere near my mate.”

Before he had even finished
speaking, Judge was on his phone, making the appropriate calls. Devil stood and
began collecting what he needed from his office. Shoving his laptop in his bag,
along with his phone and charger, he started for the office door. Judge was
beside him.

“
Put some people on her. Make sure
they remain with her at all times,” he added once Judge had ended his call.

“
She won’t be happy about that.”

“
I wasn’t going to tell her.”

“
There may be an issue with her
work, then. I can’t see the hospital allowing our guys to secretly follow one
of their nurses around. I can already hear their excuses. They’ll spout some
bullshit about patient confidentiality,” Judge warned.

“
Fine, but make sure they watch
her car at all times. From what I’ve read on the guy so far, I don’t think he’s
likely to cause problems for her at work. But make sure you tell me straight
away if I’m wrong.”

“
Do I need to ask where you’ll
be?”

“
I’ll be at Gabby’s.”

“
Just remember what I told you
about Nikki. Gabby all but confirmed this morning that she’s been through
something bad, and those two seem close. If you scare Nikki, you’ll lose
Gabby.”

“
I know, but I refuse to stop
being myself as well.” With those parting words delivered, Devil headed toward
his car.

****

“
How are you here?” Gabby asked,
immediately pulling Devil into the house and out of the sun. Her misgivings
over whether this man had a place in her future were forgotten and replaced
with concern for his safety when she saw him getting out of his car. “It’s
still daylight.”

“
You honor me with your worry,
angel,” Devil replied with a killer smile. “But it’s a myth that vampires can’t
go out in the sun.”

“
Really, what else is untrue?” she
asked, fascinated to see whether any of the books she had read were accurate.

“
I’ll tell you over coffee.”

“
You can drink something other
than blood?” Her surprise had her blurting out her question without censoring
her words.

“
Yes. Now no more questions until
we are comfortable on your sofa,” Devil said, chuckling. The sound had her body
instantly covered with goose bumps. “Where’s your friend?”

“
Work,” she replied, heading into
the kitchen and reaching up for two mugs.

“
So we have the house to
ourselves?” he asked, coming up behind her, his hands wrapping around her
waist.

“
I thought we were going to leave
the questions until we were seated.”

A low, sexy growl sounded in her
ear right before Devil warned, “Watch that mouth, angel, otherwise you’ll be
asking your questions with a sore backside.”

Pulling the mugs down from the
cupboard, she couldn’t help but groan at the imagery in her head. The idea of
this man spanking her again had her panties soaked. Devil noticed also, if the
low rumble and nip at her neck was any indication. If that was meant to calm
her down, it failed badly.

“
Woman, I have questions to answer
before we can end up back in bed. Now hurry up with the coffee so I can give
you the information you need, and then we can both get naked,” Devil said
before walking out of the kitchen.

Gabby would have reprimanded him
for his presumption, had she not noticed his uncomfortable gait as he walked
away. It would seem that she wasn’t the only one suffering from overactive
hormones. Quickly completing the task at hand, she had the coffees made in no
time.

As she moved toward the sofa
where Devil was sitting, he stood. When she drew near he took the mugs from her
and placed them onto the table. Turning back to face her, his hands came up to
her shoulders and his gaze fell upon hers.

“
Angel, I must first draw your
attention back to the night we met, if only so I can apologize for my behavior.
The truth is
,
I now suspect I was punishing you for
what I thought was your chosen profession, as well as the instant need I felt
for you. I’m not one to allow control over any aspect of my life, so when your
appearance had my need climbing beyond anything I had felt before, I was
incensed,” Devil explained. His voice never wavered in his apology, while his
eyes held her stare.

“
I spoke to Judge earlier.” Her
words were halted by the growl Devil was emitting. Instead of being scared by
the sound, both her excitement and curiosity grew. “Why are you growling?”

“
I am an extremely possessive man.
More so it would seem when it comes to you. The idea of you talking to any
other male, my brothers included, when I’m not present is a hard thing to
accept.” As if to further prove his point his fingers dug into her shoulders.
His hold was strong, yet not painful.

“
Well in my capacity as a nurse I
speak to many people, men included. That’s one thing you’ll have to deal with
if
our relationship were to continue.”

Another growl fell upon her ears.
“We are mates. There
is no ifs
about it.”

“
That’s pretty much what Judge
said,” she replied before dropping her gaze. “But how am I supposed to accept a
future with someone I know nothing about?”

“
Then ask your questions.”

“
So what’s the deal with the
sunlight?” she asked immediately, fearing her increasing arousal would override
her need to know more about this gorgeous man.

Instead of responding straight
away, Devil pulled her down with him as he sat back on the sofa. He lifted her
as if she were a rag doll onto his lap,
then
went
about rearranging her to his liking. Her skirt restricted many positions.
Finally, with her perched across his lap, he replied, “It’s untrue. Vampires
love the sunlight as much as humans. It was a lie perpetrated by greed.”

“
How?”

“
Many centuries ago, in a small
town just outside Paris, lived a young woman. Her older brother had betrothed
her to one man, but her heart belonged to another, whom she had secretly wed.
When her brother discovered her deceit, he went after the man. His family would
have lost a great deal of money and respect had the arranged marriage fallen
through, or so the story went,” Devil explained. The hand he was rubbing up and
down her back had her relaxing into his body. “The rumors of vampires were
ripe, so the brother used them and pointed the finger at his sister’s love. He
suffered an affliction that kept him housebound during the day. It is one that
even in current times some humans
suffer,
a severe
allergy to the sun. Due to his difference, people believed the lies about him.
Mobs stormed the man’s home during the day, while the woman was in the city
with her mother. They dragged him out and staked him to the ground, leaving the
sun to attack his sensitive skin. By the time the woman had returned, he had
been pinned to the ground for three days. He died less than a week later in her
arms. The rest of the story, while still sad, offered the woman an escape from
her greedy brother. As the man’s legal widow, she inherited his great wealth.
She never again spoke to her brother or those who were responsible for her
husband’s death, and less than eight months after she buried the only man she
had loved, she gave birth to his son.”

Gabby had tears rolling down her
face at the cruelty of people, and the suffering that poor woman had to endure
at their hands. Her nursing mind had her wondering what could have been done to
help the man. She sat in silence, absorbing it all, and still Devil’s comforting
touch remained at her back. “Why do people have to be so cruel?”

“
That’s a question I can’t
answer,” Devil replied. “And the truth is
,
I’m not
sure I would if I could. Many things I have done, and will continue to do for
protection of my family, might be considered cruel.”

Gabby was reminded of Judge’s
comment about himself, Devil, and the two other men. “Should I be worried?”

“
No, you have nothing to fear from
me, but you may not like my methods when it comes to ensuring your safety,”
Devil
said,
now holding her chin so she was looking
directly at him. “I am who I am, Gabby. I’m controlling, protective of what’s
mine, and I always get what I want. I’m not above using my enhanced strength to
send a message to an enemy or someone who’s wronged me and mine.”

“
Do you consider me yours?”