Chapter 24
DAMIAN
One year later
I was never far from Alex. Hunting was my specialty, and when I set my sights on my prey, I had laser focus.
I leaned against the brick wall, the darkness obscuring my body. Waiting in the shadows, I stared across the street at her apartment building. Students passed by on their way across campus. It was after ten o’clock.
Alex hadn’t dated while attending RISD. Not even a single kiss. She shared an apartment with her twin and mostly kept to herself. But tonight, she was having company. Two girls from her art class and one of Aiden’s friends.
Whenever she’d gotten too close to another man, one of us put a stop to it. Death threats were incredibly motivating reasons not to touch our girl. I would have killed Aiden’s friend or anyone who got in my way.
Last night, we received intel that men were looking for the heirs to the Wellington fortune. And since I didn’t mind killing her enemies, I volunteered to drive to Providence.
Luca was in Cambridge, holding court for the new members of The Devil’s Knights.
Despite being a world-class dickhead, Luca never had a problem getting people to follow him.
The girls on campus flocked to him, begging for a minute of his time.
It was like high school all over again. And I was still the brother everyone feared.
No one spoke to me.
No one looked at me.
They knew better.
I liked it this way.
Around midnight, Alex left the apartment with two brunette girls and a boy with black hair. He was thin and tall, with a pointy nose, and wore faded jeans and a band T-shirt.
This guy wasn’t her type.
Alex paid him no attention and waved without looking at him. He headed in the opposite direction.
The girls crossed the street and turned left toward a bar. I pushed off the wall, keeping my distance, listening to their conversation as I trailed behind them.
“You should have a drink with us,” the girl on Alex’s right said. “I want you to meet Kieran.”
“Yeah,” the other girl said. “Just one drink. It won’t kill you.”
“I can’t.” Alex gave her a sweet but forced smile. “Aiden is waiting for me at home. Maybe next time.”
The girl bobbed her head. “If you change your mind, we’ll be here until two.”
Alex waited until they entered the bar and sighed. She brushed the blonde curls off her forehead, shoving them out of her pretty, blue eyes. I saw the longing on her face and knew how she felt. It was hard not to be like everyone else.
Carl Wellington warned his grandchildren to be careful on campus. He hadn’t given them the specifics about the danger, but he alerted them.
I didn’t bother hiding when she spun around, flicking the curls over her shoulder. Startled, she gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
“Hello, Pet.” I slid my fingers beneath her chin and pulled her closer. “Did you miss me?”
She blinked as if she didn’t believe I was really there. “Damian?”
Curling my arm around her, I felt the delicious curves of her perfect body. She was no longer the skinny girl we met in high school. Alex had big tits, thick thighs, and a sweet ass I dug my fingers into.
Her lips parted as I gripped her tighter. “What are you doing in Providence?”
I lifted her into my arms and led her into the dark alley, pressing her back against the wall. “I’m keeping the monsters away.”
She blew out a breath and seemed disappointed by my response. “Then who will save me from you?”
“Aww, Pet.” I stroked her cheek. “Don’t act like you don’t enjoy playing with monsters.”
“I’m still mad at you.” She shoved her palms into my chest. “You left me again. All of you did. And you didn’t even have the decency to return any of my calls or texts.”
I grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her toward me. “I’m here now, Pet. Be a good girl and stop acting like an ungrateful brat.”
She swatted at my hand and attempted to get out of my grasp. But I loved it when she squirmed and strengthened my hold on her.
“Damian, please.” Alex peeked up at me, tucking her bottom lip into her mouth. “Don’t be an asshole.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Pet.” I ran the pad of my thumb across her lip and breathed in the sweet scent of her perfume. “Did you miss me?”
I knew she did.
I wanted her to say it.
I needed to hear it.
Her cell phone rang, and she held my gaze, reaching into her jeans pocket to look at the Caller ID.
It was her twin brother.
“Lexie, where are you?” Aiden said on the other end.
I hated his nickname for her.
It didn’t match Alex at all.
“I’m coming home now, Aid.” She held the phone against her shoulder, rolling her eyes at me. “Be there in a minute.”
She stuffed the phone into her pocket. “I have to go, Damian. Put me down.”
“No.”
I leaned into her, our mouths so close that our lips nearly brushed.
“I drove over here to see you.” I sniffed her hair and drank in her delicious scent. She always smelled like candy. “I need to touch you. Taste you.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered. “Damian.”
I loved it when she said my name in that deep but sultry voice. Only Bash made my cock as hard as she did.
“When was the last time a man made you come?”
I knew the answer, but I wanted her to confirm it.
“I don’t know. I guess when you and Bash touched me in high school.”
“You haven’t been with anyone else?”
“Just you and Bash. And that one time Luca kissed me.”
“Good girl,” I praised, stroking my fingers through her blonde curls. “It will stay that way until we can be together again, understood?”
“Why all the games, Damian?” Alex sighed. “I don’t get it. Why did you leave me? Why haven’t any of you answered my calls, texts, or emails? I haven’t seen you in close to three years. And I got nothing.”
I rested my forehead against hers, reveling in the sensation of her skin against mine. It had been too long since I had touched her. Too fucking long since I held my woman and played with her.
“Do you want the truth?”
I could give this to her, but Luca would be mad that I talked to her.
He could fuck off.
Luca would be the Grand Master of The Devil’s Knights one day, but I was not here on The Devil’s Knights’ business.
This was personal.
Alex nodded. “Please tell me why. I need to know, so I can stop feeling like I did something wrong.”
“Baby, you did nothing wrong.”
I stared at her pretty face, surprised by the name I called her. It sounded good as it rolled off my tongue, but I preferred Pet.
Pet suited her.
She had a thin neck that would look good with my collar on it someday. It would happen eventually. I picked out a diamond choker for her.
“You’re in danger with us,” I confessed. “The Salvatores have a lot of enemies. So do The Devil’s Knights. Being seen with us would only make your life worse.”
“My family has enemies, too.” She frowned. “But you don’t see my grandfather not talking to Aiden and me over it.”
“It’s not that simple. Without us, you get to live your life in Providence. You get to be normal. Those girls you hang out with wouldn’t be safe around you otherwise. We are doing this for you. Not to you. Do you understand me?”
Alex hooked her arms around my neck and pressed her plump lips to my jaw, leaving a trail of kisses on my skin. “I missed you. But I’m still mad at you. At all of you. Please pass the message along to your asshole brothers.”
Her phone rang again.
“Damian, I have to go. My brother worries about me.”
She fished the phone from her pocket, but I beat her to it and answered.
“Aiden, your sister is with me. Stop fucking calling.”
“Damian?”
“Alex is safe. She’ll be home when I’m done talking to her. Don’t call again.”
I hung up and handed her the phone.
“You are such a dick,” she groaned, stuffing the phone back into her pocket.
I set her feet on the ground and unbuttoned her jeans, shoving them down her legs. “A dick who’s going to make you come.”