Chapter Twenty
A scream tore from her throat when his arm came around her waist and lifted her off the floor.
Devon took her to the bed, flipped her face down on his lap, pulled up her skirt, and tore her panties from her.
She expected the sting of slaps to her ass, but all she felt was the heat of one of his large hands covering her butt cheeks.
“Settle down, pet.”
She exhaled and relaxed over his legs. There was no way she would be getting away from him until he was done with her.
“Fuck, man.”
Emma gasped and lifted her head to see Zackary in the doorway with a grin on his face. She could feel herself start to blush when she realized he could see her ass.
“Da … Devon. Don’t. Pull my skirt down.”
He snorted. “You’re worried about him seeing your bottom? You’ve got a few other things you should be worried about more.”
She tried to wiggle off his lap. “Just let me go. I’m bad news.”
She heard him snort.
“But, baby, you gave yourself to me. Remember?”
“So. That doesn’t mean you have to keep me.”
“Enough, pet. I’ve got a pretty good idea why you ran away, but I want you to tell me.”
“I … I don’t want to be with you…”
She squeaked when his hand came down on her ass.
“Don’t you dare lie to me, pet.”
All her energy and left her, and she started to sob. She lay over his lap like a boneless ragdoll. She heard him sigh, and then he lifted her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest.
He let her cry until she was finally able to settle. She hiccupped a few times and then tucked her head under his chin.
“Can you tell me now, baby?”
“I couldn’t bear it if you were to get hurt again.”
“Baby, I don’t want you to worry about this.”
“No, it was my fault.” She tilted her head up so she could see his face. Her gaze scanned over his handsome features. She lifted her hand and caressed his cheek with her fingertips. “I lo … care too much about you.”
“I love you, too, pet.”
Her eyes widened. They had never really talked about feelings. All he had said was he was keeping her, and he wanted her safe and happy.
She put her hand over his mouth. “No, don’t say that.”
Devon snorted and pulled her hand away from his mouth. “I’ll say it because I mean it. I love you, and I never want to lose you.”
She started crying again.
He sighed. “Baby, Cason, Zachary, and I found the house your mother was staying at before she kicked you out of your home.”
She was confused. “Why were you there? Isn’t my mom in jail?”
“She bonded out and disappeared.”
“Oh, no.”
“No, it’s fine. We know she left the area.”
“How do you know that?”
“There were a few guys at the house, and it got a little rough when we questioned them.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because we suspected they were the ones who vandalized this house. I really didn’t want you to see it like this. I had a cleaning crew set up to clean it tomorrow, and then I was going to talk to a contractor about fixing things.”
She thought about that a bit.
“Why did you just get hurt and not Zachary and Cason?”
Zachary chuckled, making her aware that he was still there. She’d forgotten all about him.
“I told them to stay out of it,” Devon told her.
“How many guys were there?”
“Just three,” Zachary said.
“They all beat on you?”