Mastering the Devil (Rush Series Book 4) (24 page)

She nodded
and he glanced around the room, and realizing she didn’t have any clothing other than the hospital gown on her back, he grabbed the extra blanket out of the closet and placed it around her shoulders.

Tugging the blanket around her securely, he held onto the ends and stared down at her until she lifted questioning eyes up to his. “Everything will work out, Little Devil, you’ll see,” he promised, while silently hoping he could keep that promise.

She took in a shuddering breath. “I hope so.”

He tugged her up to her feet and into his body and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you Devon, I’d lay down my life to keep you safe.”

“I know,” she murmured, “that’s what I’m afraid of.”

He offered her a small smile. “How about we agree to keep each other safe?”

“I’ll do my best,” she promised.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pinned her to his side. They walked out of the room, down the hall, and out into the night to where Tipton now sat parked after having been summed earlier by Alex.
He smiled a silent thanks to him before climbing in after Devon. He turned towards her and carefully pulled her willing body close up against him and encircled her with his arms.

They made the ride to the hotel in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Every so often, Alex would press a kiss to the top of her head and she warm
ed to his touch, liking how normal it all seemed. She tried to remember a time when their time together hadn’t involved strife of some kind or other - but there’d never been such a time. Their entire relationship had been built around the insanity of Miguel Munoz. That thought caused her to shudder and she snuggled her body even tighter into Alex’s side.

Pressing another kiss against her head, he murmured, “Cold?”

She shook her head without answering.

She averted her eyes at those in the hotel lobby who turned to stare at the girl in the hospital gown with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She bet it was the first time those snooty patrons had ever seen such a sight. She hazard a quick glance in Alex’s direction to see if he’d noticed, but his gaze was fixed on the digital display of numbers located at the top of the elevator as it slowly make its descent to them.

She took a small step closer to him, wanting his protection from the prying eyes. Before he was aware of her shift in position, however, she stepped back. She’d not needed anyone’s protection in a long time. She was shocked at her actions. What had happened to her? How had she allowed this to happen?

When the elevator arrived , and unaware of her inner turmoil, Alex turned his head and gave her a small smile, before placing his arm around her shoulders once more. She told herself that she wasn’t burying herself against his side for her comfort, but because it was what
he
wanted. When the elevator doors slid smoothly open, he ushered her towards his suite.

As he withdrew the key-card from his wallet and held it against the electronic eye, he said, “So first thing tomorrow
, we’ll go down to the boutique downstairs and see about getting you some clothes and toiletries.” He opened the door and walked in ahead of her as he continued to speak. “I think we can get around your lack of identification for now…”

Even though he was talking about things that directly impacted her life, she found she couldn’t keep her mind on them.
It unnerved her to realize she was nervous about being in Alex’s hotel room. She’d never been nervous about being alone with Alex – not even the first time when she’d not even known his name. She glanced around the elegant opulence of the suite and then down at the faded hospital gown and shower slippers she wore. She had absolutely nothing to offer him… no job, no home… no nothing. She self-consciously tugged the even more faded blanket tighter within the grip of one hand. He was going to have to provide everything for her. Was that fair to him? She didn’t think so. She’d been independent for so long, the mere thought of having to stand with her hand out to someone – even if it was Alex – had her insides twisting.

Alex continued to
walk ahead of her, and began turning on lights, and tugged his shirt over his head. The sheer beauty of his muscular back took her breath away. His muscles bunched as he lifted his arms, then flexed as they worked to accommodate his actions. What had she been thinking? She needed to try and pull her own life together before committing to share a life with the magnificent man before her. She was sure, as she’d always been, that he had a number of other options available to him… who wouldn’t want him?

She lifted a hand to her long, dark hair which hadn’t been properly brushed in days, and encountered knots throughout. She cringed at how she must look. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d paid attention to her appearance.
How did she think she could possibly hold onto this amazing man with his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and stunning good looks? He had to see how mismatched they were. She remembered being like other women once, women who ensured their eyebrows were shaped, their nails painted, and their hair cut regularly… but it seemed like a long time ago.

It finally dawned on her how utterly completely she’d given her entire existence over to both working for the I.D.E.A and hunting for Miguel Munoz.
He’d ruled her life just as surely as he’d ruled her mothers. She might as well have been shackled in his house just as her mother had been. She sucked in a breath as her chest burned at her own shortsightedness. Somewhere, somehow, she’d forgotten to live her life. She pressed a hand to the pain in the pit of her stomach at how foolish she must have appeared to whomever was ultimately protecting Miguel when she’d ran around like a rat in a maze – probably directed by their hands. She swallowed against the bile which rose up. She had given up her life for nothing… she was nothing. Her chest heaved and she struggled to breath.

She hated the feelings of insecurity
and self-pity which swamped her. Always before, she’d had something to keep those feelings at bay, but now – as before when she’d sat outside the remnants of her home and old life – she felt lost and unanchored. She glanced up again at Alex, who was still talking as he moved easily through the beautiful room which he seemed to fit into perfectly. How long would it be before he grew tired of having to deal with the many crises of her life? There was a saying she’d heard all her life when dealing with other people’s drama – not my circus, not my monkeys. That’s exactly what he’d be saying to himself as he walked out the door.

She took a stumbling step backwards. She’d already lost him once and that had been bad enough. But to actually see the disdain on his face as he finally walked away - she didn’t think she could bear that kind of rejection; not from Alex. She swallowed hard and spun around
and took a step towards the door, not knowing where she’d go this time, when suddenly his arms surrounded her and brought her solidly against his bared chest.

“Uh uh,” he whispered against her ear,
his breathing accelerated as if he’d run a mile instead of just taking a few steps, “no more running, Little Devil.”

Her heart was pounding as emotions swirled around her like ribbons on a May Day pole. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled not to give into the feelings of
utter helplessness. She hated herself for them being exposed like the nerves in a broken tooth in front of Alex once again. Knowing that he’d found her before when she’d reached the depths of her despair outside of what had been her home, had been bad enough.

“I have nothing
to offer,” she whispered, as she sagged against him, a mantle of oppression weighing down her shoulders.

He stiffened behind her
, sucked in a sharp gust of air, and pressed his forehead against the back of her head. “Oh, Little Devil, that’s not true,” he said.

“It is, Alex. My life is a hot mess right now. I don’t even own the pathetic clothes on my back!”

“You have me,” he whispered, tickling the outer edge of her ear as he sensuously ran his hand down her arm to her elbow. “You’ve always had me. Don’t worry, I can afford to take care of you…” he began.

“I don’t want you to take care of me! Don’t you get it? I need to be able to take care of myself,” she cried
, as she tried to shrug out of his hold, but he wouldn’t allow it.

“Baby, you’re the most capable person I know.
I don’t
need
to take care of you, I
want
to take care of you… spoil you… love you,” he trailed off as he slid the flimsy blanket from her shoulders.

Slowly he untied the
bindings to her hospital gown and it joined the blanket on the floor. He bent and pressed his lips to her shoulder. “Let me do those things… please,” he whispered as he moved his lips across her shoulder and up the curve of her neck.

Her skin tingled wherever his lips touched and goosebumps rose up on her skin. “I want to touch you, can you do without the shoulder strap?”

She nodded jerkily while keeping her eyes closed.

She felt
tugs against the strap, then felt it fall away. He slid his hands from her shoulders, ever careful to avoid hurting her injured side, down the contours of her back, under her arms, until he had each breast encased within his hands. She moaned and nearly melted into him when he brushed his thumbs against her nipples.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he murmured against her neck.

She gasped and moisture pooled when he sensually twisted her nipples within his fingertips. “Alex, Alex, Alex,” she whispered repeatedly.

He began his exploration of her body by allowing his hands to drift down
over the ridges of her ribcage, across the flat planes of her stomach, before anchoring on her hipbones.

“I want you, baby,” he whispered, as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth.

She turned slowly in his arms and he slid his hands down her back to her well-proportioned bottom. She slid one arm up his chest, grabbed the back of his neck, and forced his head down. He met her lips hungrily and immediately forced her lips open with his tongue. He plunged into her mouth with the skill and mastery she’d always associated with him. He backed her up slowly until she was against the door. As he sucked and licked against her tongue, flames of want and need battled with her need to breathe. Instead of pulling away to suck in the much needed oxygen, she panted, pulling in small puffs of air. She tugged at the fastenings of his jeans and he hurriedly snatched at the suddenly offensive clothing, before successfully kicking his shoes and then his pants away.

Once naked, he thrust his leg between hers until
the flame of her need was resting against his leg. She pressed solidly against him, needing resolution from the stormy rush of sensations plaguing her.

“I need you,” she whimpered against his mouth.

Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her and pressed her more firmly against the door. His biceps bunched and bulged as he slid her up the door just a little ways before allowing her to slide back down. The powerful display of his body made her whimper in anticipation and want. On her descent, he simultaneously plunged his raging cock into her and urged her legs around his waist. He rocked into her moist opening like a bull in heat. She moaned and gasped at his size buried so fully and deeply within her. She felt complete… she felt she was finally home.

Tears gathered in her eyes and she clung to him as cascading emotions poured through her. She loved this man, had always loved him. The feel of him sliding so silkily
in and out of her, nearly drove her out of her mind. She whimpered and rocked against him as best she could within the tight confines of the door and his rock-hard body. She plucked at the curled ends of his blonde hair and gasped when he grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her head back so he could devour her neck.

“The smell of your skin taunts me,” he murmured as he licked against her neck. “It smells like rain
falling in the spring. Since I’ve met you, I’ve been forced to endure such raging, and often inconvenient hard-ons, during that season. You’ve turned my life upside down from the moment I met you. I always want you… even when we are thousands of miles apart.” As he spoke he began to slow his rhythm – she assumed to stretch it out. She whimpered at the injustice of it and clutched at his side with one hand.

“Please,” she begged, as desire washed over her
like the very rain he discussed, except with the rain was scorching hot and burned like acid.

He lifted his head and met her heavy-lidded
gaze and grinned devilishly. “Please what?” he asked innocently.

She threw out a curse word so foul that Father Andrew Michael would have not only rapped her knuckles five times, but would have forced her to wash the stone floors of the parochial school
she attended with a toothbrush.

Alex grinned at her, but didn’t increase his pace. Instead, he plunged into her until he was buried to the hilt
before spinning them around. She clung to him and struggle to wiggle her body around his hard shaft seeking just the right amount of pressure to get her off, but he grabbed her hips tightly and refused to let her move. “Soon,” he promised, with a quick kiss on her lips.

He walked them through the suite until he reached the bedroom and carefully, he laid them – still joined – on the bed. He stared intently into her eyes before leaning down to kiss her deeply and
with such intensity she ached. He lifted his mouth from hers and grinned again.