“I didn’t—”
“It would be so easy to make it look like you did.”
“You gave your word that what you did was payment for dropping the charges against Lucien.”
“The word of a mobster. Did you really trust me?”
He held my gaze. His blue eyes weren’t cold the way I expected them to be, they were dark and hot. “I think you’re a man who values promises. I don’t think you’ll go back on your word.”
“I fulfilled my end of the bargain, so now I’m free to go after you in any way I can. It doesn’t have to be Murphy. There are so many ways I could hurt you.”
He took another step toward me. He was close now. If he extended his arm, his gun would touch my chest.
“There are a lot of ways you could hurt me, but right now I’m the one with the advantage. I’m the one who caught you in my house, taking things that don’t belong to you.”
“The ring is mine. My nonna gave it to me, and I’m keeping it.”
Joe shook his head. “You really do think you can get away with anything, don’t you?”
“I always get my way. Just ask Lucien. It annoys the hell out of him, but he always gets his way too. He just has different tactics for making sure it happens.”
“You’re not going to get your way today. It’s my turn to be in charge.”
“I thought you didn’t like choices.”
“I didn’t want them before. I wanted to pretend this wasn’t happening. I’m over that now. I compromised myself with you, but now you’ve fucked up. Now you’re mine.”
My heart pounded. Focus on seducing him. Make him stupid with lust, then you’ll have the upper hand.
16
Joe
I looked Devil slowly up and down. I’d fantasized about this moment so many times. After I’d shown the ring to Mr. Bellini, I’d wondered how long it would take Devil to come here. I hadn’t been sure if he’d go after the ring or me or both. The sane part of me that used to be in charge of what I did, the part that valued right versus wrong, the part that had led me to be a cop in the first place, told me to resist the temptation he represented. As I lay there wide-awake, waiting to see if he’d show up, I’d pretended that might be possible.
It wasn’t because I wasn’t the man I thought I was before Devil pinned me against a wall, wrapped his hand around my cock, and shifted all my priorities.
He was a siren, and I was a ship captain who was about to crash against the rocks, but I was going to enjoy the hell out of myself before I did.
I closed the last bit of distance between us and stroked the tip of my gun over Devil’s lips like he’d done to me on that night months ago. He shuddered and the sheer power of affecting him like that, of knowing I could end his life or make him come so hard he saw stars, had me biting back a groan. “Have you come to confess?”
“Confess to what?” The words were unsure, lacking his usual bravado. Was he scared or just unsettled now that I was the one using my gun on him?
“Murder. Arson. A desperate need to be fucked.”
His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. “I’ll take door number three.”
“Will you? Will you kneel for me? Will you hold your ass open while I take you, fill you, show you that I’m in control now, that you fucked up and I have your life in my hands.”
I stroked his cheek with my gun, then slid it down his neck like he’d done to me.
“You can’t charge me with murder. You’ve got no proof, no motive, nothing.” He was right. I didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. He and his family were always careful. The only reason Lucien had nearly been arrested was because he’d been set up. I’d continued the investigation into Lily’s murder after I’d cleared him. I’d had to know if I’d lost myself so much that I’d let a murderer go, but my instincts had been right. I’d found evidence Murphy had been paid off to pin it on Lucien, but the case remained open. I was still trying to figure out who Murphy had been working for, but so far I only had a few rumors to go on. This time, though, my gut told me Devil was one hundred percent guilty.
“I’ve got instincts, and they’ll lead me to what I need.”
“They already have.” Devil dropped to his knees and wrapped his hand around the barrel of my gun. “You don’t need this. I’m not going to fight you. I don’t want to get away.”
“Are you confessing?”
“To needing your cock inside me?” My heart pounded so hard I wondered if I would faint. He was really going to let me do this.