Page 41 of Blind Devotion (Letters of Ruin #1)

“You look beautiful.” Adrien’s arms wrapped around me from behind, and he kissed up my neck. “An angel I thoroughly enjoy corrupting.”

I took a deep breath, sweeping my hands over the diamond and emerald necklace, then down my cocktail dress that molded to my body with a satiny feel. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

“Never. I mean, I’d prefer you took it all off and just sat on my face…

” I gave him a gentle slap on the arm. He chuckled, leaning to whisper into my ear.

“I’ll get you nice and sloppy wet. Coming for me…

over and over. And over again. Me owning this gorgeous body of yours forever.

You never leaving my bed again. I say win-win. ”

Turning my head, I caught his lips for a quick kiss. “Tempting, but they’re expecting us.”

We’d been in our own little world for days.

A fuck fest of the best variety, only coming up for food, bathroom breaks, and the occasional work interruption Adrien had.

After six days of that, my body was sated in a way I was certain it had never been before.

It was like we were making up for lost time, and while I wasn’t complaining, it made me wonder.

What about all the days we wasted before now?

What happened to us? Something had kept us apart, and I couldn’t ignore the danger or problem of whatever that was.

I eyed the dark blur that was Adrien’s head in the mirror. He was being surprisingly tight-lipped about it, no matter how many times I asked. Same thing about contacting my family.

He was hiding something from me. Something important. I couldn’t say yes to his marriage proposals until I knew what it was.

“I don’t want to share you,” he mumbled, nibbling at my skin.

“Seeing as Alizé’s the only one I’ve even seen in the last two and a half weeks, I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

He groaned. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

I rolled my eyes. My big ol’ grump at his best.

I elected to leave my mobility cane behind as he led me out of the room on his arm.

He was reintroducing me to his family, people I was just starting to remember from the occasional new memory.

They hadn’t seen me for five years, I knew that much.

Why? That was part of whatever secret Adrien was trying to keep from me.

Either way, I wanted to make a good impression. Five years was a long time.

“It’s just dinner. Stop fidgeting.”

“I can’t help it.”

He squeezed my hand. “They’re going to love you. They always have. I expect Maman to be thrilled I’m finally settling down.”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

He huffed his annoyance. “You will.”

“Cocky much?”

“You know I have every right to be.”

I bit my lip. Damn right he did. A cock like his, thick and a good length, was what dreams were made of, especially considering how gifted he was with it.

Nope—to his amusement, I shook my head—not thinking about sex right now.

I was about to meet the rest of the De Villiers, and a woman with a flaming face was not what I wanted them to see for our second first impression.

“Maybe a surprise will soothe your nerves,” he whispered in my ear.

“What?” He already gave me the delicate gem-covered jewelry gracing my neck, which I couldn’t even fully enjoy the beauty of.

“You always wanted to be a musician. Do you still want that?”

We played together several times in the last few days.

He even brought my violin up to his room.

I played it during lulls in our lovemaking, reacquainting myself with an old friend, even if it wasn’t the same instrument.

Music was a part of me, my happy place. I didn’t lose a moment’s love for it when my memories left me.

If anything, that love came back stronger.

The compositions never left me. I heard them in everything—heartbeats, footsteps, bird songs.

It probably played a part in keeping my sanity intact while on that boat.

“Yes,” I said cautiously, careful to contain a hope I hadn’t expected.

“Good, because I’ve pulled some strings. A panel of juries at the Lyon National High Conservatory of Dance and Music is willing to meet you on the second of July for an inscription audition.”

I held my breath, speechless. My head fell between my cupped hands, trying to fight back the wave of emotion. He did this for me. Only me. A sob escaped me.

“Don’t cry. I meant it only as a gift. You don’t have to go.”

“I want to. I didn’t even realize how much I wanted this. You’re giving me back what I lost.” I laid my head on his shoulder as we walked, no longer anxious, only excited. “It’s the best gift you could’ve given me.”

We met his family in the dining room. They stood in a small procession, a thin but tall shape with wide shoulders at the front.

I couldn’t make out a single feature with the faint eyesight from my left eye, but with the way I kept hearing this person shift from foot to foot, I guessed this was Thibault.

From what I remembered, he’d always been a bit of a powder keg with energy fit to burst, especially as a young teenager.

One time, Adrien chased him through the garden because Thibault stole an origami piece Adrien had given me.

They then fell into a grappling match, Thibault’s then twelve-year-old frame no match for Adrien’s nineteen-year-old fit shape. I tittered at the memory.

“What?” Adrien asked.

“Later.”

Thibault practically dove at me. I shrieked a little when he seized me into a bear hug and froze, expecting dread to cripple me. Surprisingly, it didn’t. Because he was familiar? Or was it the way he held me?

“You’re back,” he said, pulling back, his hands on my shoulder.

“Easy,” Adrien warned. “She’s still recovering.”

“Is that what she’s doing when you both are waking up the house at two a.m.?”

My eyes widened, my face flaring.

“Thibault…,” Adrien warned.

“Yeah, yeah. No face-breaking necessary. Just giving your girl the family welcome she should have had weeks ago.” Thibault tried to spin me around under his shoulder, but Adrien intervened, pulling me back to his side instead. “Jeez, the guy has no chill. You’ll work on that for me, right, Persy?”

“Tessa,” I corrected Thibault’s name choice. “Or Persetta. I’ve grown out of Persy.”

Maybe I’d start going by Persetta again. After all, it was the name my mother picked for me, combining the names of her grandmothers, Perla and Loretta.

“Excuse my brother. Thibault’s just excited because he’s leaving on a mission to Germany with my best team.”

“Excited? I’m fucking ecstatic. Fun doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

I could tell. He was practically bouncing in place like a kid in a candy store. Honestly, it felt weird that the two of us were only a year and a half apart.

“Are all of you as excited as he is about killing?” I asked as Adrien steered me toward the next person in line.

“Let’s call it the exuberance of innocent youth.”

Another man was next. I guessed him to be Erel, Adrien’s shadow, from what I remember.

He’d been kind to me back then. Aside from that brief interruption days ago, he didn’t seem to have changed much.

However, his size and posture were imposing, like a linebacker always ready to charge the quarterback at a moment’s notice.

There was nothing more than a short handshake exchanged between us and a clap to Adrien’s shoulder. That was more than fine with me. While Thibault’s familiarity didn’t bother me, I suspected that wouldn’t be the case with Erel.

Next was Adrien’s mother. From her, I expected the warmest welcome.

My arms were already up and ready to wrap around her for when she pulled me close.

Except she didn’t. She didn’t move at all, not one clip of a heel forward.

A glacial wall stood between us, her perfume choice making it worse.

It was almost spicy, tickling my nose, as if she had chosen it in preparation for battle.

“You could not have picked anyone else?” she said bitterly. “There are plenty good-looking women that will—”

“ Maman, arrête .” Mom, stop.

“Your father would be so disappointed.”

“He always was,” Adrien said, his tone cold.

“You should be ecstatic. You’re getting what you wanted.

I am no longer single, and Persetta will be my wife.

” I held my tongue not to contradict him, considering the tension.

“She will be the mother of my children, of your grandchildren. And you will respect her as a head of this family.”

He was getting a little ahead of himself. We barely spoke about marriage, and already he was leaping toward children.

Océane De Villier gave no response, but her heels clacked in movement…away from us and out of the dining room.

I stared blankly at her blobbed shape in the overly bright and effervescent room.

“I thought your mother liked me,” I muttered from the corner of my mouth as Adrien steered me away. I glanced at her over my shoulder. I remembered her loving me, actually.

“It’s been a few years,” Adrien answered cryptically. Yeah, I wasn’t buying that.

This was the woman who would go out of her way to make me chocolate chip peanut butter cookies whenever I visited because they were my favorite, even though sweet peanut butter was nearly impossible to find in France.

She used to read me bedtime stories and make plans for my wedding to her son with just as much excitement as my own mother.

She loved me. I was sure she had. Time didn’t just erase that.

“Adrien, don’t lie to—”

“Alizé.” He cut me off, stopping in front of the last family member. I still wasn’t sure how to act with her.

“Seems you two finally got out of your heads and figured things out.” Adrien’s sister greeted us. “You look great, Tessa. A whole new you without those bandages. Very trendy scars.”

“Thanks,” I said, surprised by her sincerity.

“See, I told you a good seduction goes a long way.”