Chapter 23

Dalton

I was in no way leaving without her.

Sitting alone in the nearest corner by the dance floor, I watched the three women getting down to the latest mash-up of new versus old tunes that had furthered my woman’s endeavor of ignoring me.

Fuck, she could move. And I hadn’t been the only one to notice either.

That hip shimmy thing that she was doing was attracting attention from all angles, and by the looks she’d been giving me, Little Miss Innocent knew exactly how the local male population was affected.

I’d had enough of her games.

Halfway through their third song, I’d made my thoughts known.

Sneaking up behind her, I grabbed her by the tops of her arms, turned her to face me, bent forward, and hoisted her over my shoulder. It was a good thing I kept my arms locked around the back of her knees, because her kicking surely would have ended with a shot to the nuts, due to my high-handed behavior.

“Hey! Lemme go!” Devolin growled, her fists pounding my lower back.

Meeting both Tamara and Skylar’s gazes, my words were clipped. “You can choose to stay, but we’re leaving.”

“Let. Me. Go, Dalton!” Devolin ordered, still pounding on my back. “Right.” Pound. “The fuck.” Hit. Hit. “Now!” she growled the last.

My hand found her ass, smacking it five times in quick succession, causing my little spitfire to thrash in my grip, but I held firm. “Woman, don’t push me.”

“Hmph!” She sighed and then went limp as I turned and made my way toward the door, hearing Skylar and Tamara cackle.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” my half-sister called out as Tamara added, “Give ‘im hell, sister!”

“So, you’re a shark at pool, huh?” I asked within seconds of having Devolin in my truck’s passenger seat.

The woman ignored my inquiry, looking out her window.

I sighed, then tried again a few minutes later.

“I missed you,” came out just a hair above a whisper.

Nothing.

So I turned to gauge her reaction to my latest proclamation, and found her hunched toward the passenger door, her head leaning on the window, sound asleep.

I was thankful to find an empty spot in front of Devolin’s apartment building.

“Sweetheart?” I shook her thigh.

“Hmm?” was all I got from her.

It was impossible to stay mad at this woman. Shaking my head, unable to conceal the small quirk of my lips at her cuteness, I made my decision.

Jumping out of the truck after locating her keys in her purse, I made quick work of releasing Devolin’s seatbelt, and lifting her into my arms.

“Let’s me goes, Dalt,” she whispered drowsily against my collarbone, the effects of the alcohol she’d consumed more evident. “I can walk.”

I chuckled. “You can’t even lift your head off my shoulder to tell me that, woman. I’m not going to let you walk.”

“Stubborn, jackass…heartbreaker.”

The last had my breath freezing in my lungs.

What the fuck is she talking about?

As soon as I had her apartment door opened, I closed it behind us, locking the deadbolt, and headed past the living room, kitchen, and then into the hallway to locate her bedroom.

On my left, right off the kitchen, I found a linen closet, the bathroom being next to it. To my right, a soft glow beckoned me. I smiled at the sight I took in. Computers, laptops, a mounted TV, beautiful stylish furniture, and floor-to-ceiling windows. The rest of the décor was pure Devolin. This was her office. Her sanctuary. Not for the first time, it reinforced my desire to get to know the woman in my arms on a deeper level. I wanted to know the ins and outs. What made her tick. Why she was the way that she was. And I swore that I’d make that happen. Even if it meant having to reveal those deepest and darkest parts of myself to get her to stay.

Turning from her office, there was one last door at the end of the hall. Opening it, I was bombarded by the scent that was Devolin. Unlike the rest of her place, you could tell that her room was her domain. Where everything else had its place and was tidy to the point of compulsiveness, her bedroom looked as if a hurricane had broken through.

This had a laugh rumbling in my chest as I tried to remain quiet.

Devolin’s arms came around my neck as she tried to burrow in deeper into my chest, her nose nuzzling my jaw on a sigh.

With her action, the worry and anger that had been building since Brycen had called me let me know that she’d been out to meet with Hewitt, eased a bit. The fact that it hadn’t been once, but twice during my absence was temporarily forgotten. In this moment, a bit of clarity came. There may be a lot of things I had yet to discover about Devolin, but if there was one thing I knew about the innocent woman, with sassy tendencies, in my arms, it was that she had a kind soul.

Dodging the piles of clothes and shoes on the floor, I made our way to her unmade bed, glad that the sheets were already pushed toward the foot of it.

Setting her down, I proceeded to remove her shoes, then I took in her sleeping form as it curled in on itself until she lay on her right side in the fetal position.

Removing my own shoes and socks, I pulled my shirt over my head, stripping down to my boxers before folding the lot and setting it on the edge of her dresser.

Easing myself down behind her, I pulled the sheets and her duvet over us, and I settled onto my back, my left hand tucked behind my head while I stared at the ceiling. Within seconds, Devolin turned, then shimmied her body into my right side. My arm rounded the back of her torso to hold her close, as her head came to lay over my shoulder, her face nestled into my neck.

Next thing I knew, I was sound asleep. I just didn’t know how much of that sleep I would need until the sun rose the next day.