Page 30 of Blind Devotion (Letters of Ruin #1)

The moment Tessa walked by the dark nook where I stood sentinel, all my reasons for avoiding her the last two days went up in smoke.

She was beautiful and real, and there was no denying that she was so very much mine.

Leontyev’s warning didn’t matter. Erel’s anger didn’t matter.

Something about her called to me on a molecular level.

Moonlight glimmered through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the end of the corridor.

It cradled the soft contours of Tessa’s cheekbones and chin while accentuating the curves of her plump, parted lips and the tenseness of her jaw.

The gray light reflected off her eye shields like beams and highlighted the blonde in her long hair.

With her silky nightgown gliding against her skin and shaping to her curves, she almost appeared ethereal. My cock twitched in my pants.

She had an ass worth biting and sinking into.

I imagined bending her over to put it further on display before glazing my fingers over its warmth.

I visualized it bouncing with every slap of my hand.

How it would dip around the press of my fingers as I gripped her hard and buried my cock in her over and over.

I would fuck her hard enough to leave an imprint that she’d feel for days until the next time and the next. I sucked air in with a hiss.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her out of my head. That mouth of hers. The way her leg wrapped around me. I wanted to haul her to me, grab her, and never let go.

“I know you’re there, Adrien,” she said, pushing off the walls and turning to face me. She looked like a queen commanding her general. “I’m not in the mood. Go away.”

“I’m certain I could get you into the mood.”

“You’re so arrogant.” She shook her head and huffed. “You’re not a very good hitman, you know. Isn’t being able to sneak up on your targets kind of a prerequisite? I was able to pick you out, and I’m more than half-blind.”

Testy. I was in awe of her, more so each day. A fire like hers needed to be worshipped and fed for eternity so that it never went out. What did it say about me that I wanted to be that fuel? It wasn’t even a want. It was a need.

“I told you it was more of a side job, but you’re not a target anymore.”

She snorted. “Just stay away from me.”

She backed up quickly: one, two, three steps. What she didn’t realize was how close she stood to the stairs. She spun around, her foot hovering over the nosing. Then her heel slipped, and her body teetered forward. She cried out, her arms flailing. I didn’t think. I lunged.

One hand snagged onto the sides of her gown.

My other wrapped around her collarbone, just above the mounds of her breasts, and hauled her against me.

Her back pressed to my front, her bare skin against my shirt, while the curve of her spine cradled my groin.

My cock flexed against the feel of her as her skin molded to my grip, almost begging for my touch. She was tense, her breath stuttering.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered against her skin. Slowly, her body relaxed against mine until it was soft and supple.

A flush darkened her pale skin in the somber lighting, working from her neckline up to her cheeks. I wondered how far down it went. We were so close I could see the pulse thrumming along her neck and could hear every hitch of her breath. Feel every shiver.

There was not a patch of skin where I wasn’t electrified by the touch of her.

Me, someone who couldn’t stand something as pathetic as the press of an unwanted finger.

Yet here she was, practically glued to me, and I yearned for more of her.

Her warmth. Her smell. Her presence. Dipping my head, I grazed my nose against her cheek and nuzzled in as she turned in my direction.

She smelled of a gentle breeze wafting in a meadow of wildflowers. The scent consumed me until it was all I could smell. It was simple and sweet, like the memories of better days, and I wanted to bury myself in it.

Her hand tentatively wrapped around my forearm. The contact was delicate and slight, just like the rest of her.

“This could have been your chance,” she said quietly. It seemed to echo in the night.

“For what?” I asked, high on her scent.

“To let me fall to my death.”

“Never. You’re not dying. I won’t let you.”

“Why? It’s all you’ve wanted since we met.”

“Because I’ve decided not to.”

“You decided?” She twisted around in my tight grip, shoving at my forearms. “What about what I want? What about what I decide? Let me go.”

She pushed and thrashed harder. She knocked her fists against me, jostling hard as she sobbed, tears dripping on me. Her breathing turned erratic.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I gave her a little shake to snap her out of whatever panic had taken over, then lifted her into my arms bridal-style. Her hands grappled against my chest. “I can’t let you go on the stairs like this. It’s not safe.”

I needed to get her something more practical to move around with. That long cane that blind people used or maybe a guide dog. Something to help her confidence and avoid these dangers.

“Tell me what you need, Tessa. Tell me and it’s yours.”

“I need…” She sucked in shaky breaths, her fists bunched into my dress shirt. “I need to be outside. Take me outside.”

I kissed her forehead. “Whatever you need, I’ve got you.”

She scoffed. Her breath still hitched, but it was better. “Do you actually believe the stuff that comes out of your mouth?”

“I said it, didn’t I?”

“Would have been nice the last two days,” she muttered.

“Avoiding you was wrong of me.” I wasn’t sure who was more surprised at the apology, her or me, but I ignored the heavy thumps of my heart. “Hold my neck.”

I didn’t let her down when we reached the bottom of the stairs, or when I crossed two of my men on patrol, or to open the sliding door.

Her head lay against my chest. Her exhales flurried against the exposed portion of the unbuttoned top of my dress shirt. I nudged her head with my chin.

“What do you need from me now?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck tighter.

“Would you take me to the beach? To the water?”

I didn’t question the request. The panic was gone, but she was still teetering at its edge from how shaky her voice remained.

It flared a roaring instinct within me. Protect .

I knew right then I was done for. Whatever she feared, I would vanquish.

Whatever she wanted, I would give. I was hers.

This fragile woman with the heart of a lion had conquered my beast of a soul.

As I walked down the shore, sand crunched beneath my oxfords.

Cicadas sang in the background as puffs of tepid wind carrying sea brine blew over us.

Small droplets clung to my skin and tongue within seconds, sticky with salt.

Waves crashed against the shoreline, then lapped with soft claps up and down the beach, all of it with the glow of the moon splayed over the water.

A mesmerizing sight, made all the more beautiful by the woman in my arms.

Her head was turned toward the Mediterranean, her lips parted, her body relaxed in mine.

“I have to get into the water,” she said.

Despite my shoes and dress pants, I didn’t hesitate to carry her in.