Chapter 56.
The air in the car was thick, humming with tension-charged with something dark and dangerous. It wrapped around them, filling the silence, making it impossible to ignore the weight between them.
Devine’s right hand rested on Nuella’s thighs, fingers relaxed yet firm, claiming her with quiet authority. His other hand stayed on the steering wheel, his focus locked on the road ahead.
Nuella’s heart thrummed gently against her chest, the steady beat betraying the storm brewing inside her. She spared Devine a glance, quick and fleeting, like her courage was here one second and gone the next.
She turned her eyes back to the road, pressing her lips together to suppress the lump that had quietly formed in her throat.
Second by second, mile by mile, they inched closer to Mira and Daisy’s house-yet still, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to talk about it. About where they were going. About where she wanted to be.
The soft graze of his palm against her thigh lit a path of fire up her spine, making her breath catch.
Nuella lifted her gaze, snapping herself out of the daze she was sinking into. She tilted her head slightly-and found him already staring at her.
Nuella’s heart melted at the sight of him. His touch softened just then, caressing her thigh with a gentleness that contradicted the danger in his presence. He spared her a slow, knowing smile.
“Something is on your mind,” he said, his voice low and calm. His eyes darted briefly back to the road.
Nuella’s breath hitched.
She stared at him for a few long seconds before tearing her gaze away. Her cheeks flamed with heat, and her chest ached with a strange mix of guilt and longing. There was something almost unsettling-almost too intimate-about the way he could see right through her. About the way he noticed things that ordinary men failed to even work on.
“I’m fine,” Nuella replied, voice small as she tried to steady her thoughts.
Devine’s lips curled into a faint, knowing smirk. His fingers fondled her thigh again, his touch firm, grounding.
“I know when you’re lying, Momma. Tell me… what’s wrong?”
Nuella bit down gently on her lower lip, her stomach fluttering. There it was-that ridiculous part of her that wanted to be babied by him. Coddled. Spoiled. Treated special, like she mattered more than anything in the world.
And with Devine, she did need to doubt her place.
It was a lustful affair with her father’s friend but she didn’t need to be told about her stanz. She mattered him. She always did.
Her lips pressed together tightly, fidgeting with her fingers.
“I… I want to go see my friends,” she whispered, ” And the route is by the next turn. Right.”
Silence settled into in, prickling the air. Thick and pressing.
Nuella shifted in her seat, uncomfortable beneath the sudden weight of it.
Devine’s grip on her thigh tightened. His fingers dug into her skin-not painfully, but with enough pressure to make her look up at him.
“I knew you wanted to go somewhere, Momma,” he said, voice low and taut with restraint. “So why did you lie?”
His eyes stayed trained on the road, but his voice sliced straight through her.
Nuella swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. This shouldn’t have been a problem. It was such a small thing… so why did it feel like a big deal to him?
“Are you-”
“No.” He cut in before she could finish. He didn’t need her to finish. He already knew.
“I’m not angry that you want to see your friends, Momma. I know I am not thrilled about being away from you, no, but I’d never stop you from going to see your friends.” His tone softened, and this time, he turned to face her fully. “So why did you lie to me?”
His eyes searched hers-gentle but firm, calm but intense. Looking for something. Hoping, maybe, for honesty. For reassurance.
“I’m sorry,” Nuella whispered, blinking fast as she looked away, her heart squeezed by a strange ache. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. She hadn’t even realized she had.
Devine pulled the car to a sudden stop.
Her shift in energy hadn’t gone unnoticed-and it tugged at something deep in him. He knew the thoughts spiraling and couldn’t let her keep spiraling into that head of hers, not when he knew how quickly her thoughts turned on her.
“Hey,” he cooed softly, reaching for her hand and gently pulling her face toward him.
But she pulled her chin from his fingers, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Momma.” His voice lowered again-gentle, coaxing. He took her face in his palm once more, and this time, she didn’t fight him.
His knuckles brushed along her cheek, and he watched the way her hair shifted with the movement. Slowly, his hand cupped her cheek, thumb stroking softly across her skin.
His gaze held hers.
She would be the end of him. That much he was sure of. His heart, body, and soul- all was smitten by this creature that had zero ideas of the storm she unraveled in him.
“You’re not wrong…” he began, voice tender. “You’re not wrong for wanting to spend time with your friends. But what hurt was you not telling me. That made me feel unvalued. Like maybe you don’t feel safe telling me things.”
Nuella’s heart clenched. Guilt crept in, spreading slow and heavy across her chest. She hadn’t thought of it that way. She hadn’t meant to make him feel small. Of course he’d take it personally. He always cared too deeply.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured again, her voice tight as she bit down gently on her lip.
Devine’s eyes darkened at the sight.
“Sorry?” he repeated, his voice dropping-dangerous now, laced with heat.
His hand moved from her cheek to her jaw, firm and possessive.
Nuella’s breath caught as his gaze turned molten. Her walls clenched at the heat of it. His touch was commanding, and her body, as always, responded before her mind could catch up.
One finger grazed her lips, tracing the soft curve, stretching the corner slowly.
Nuella’s stomach coiled at the sensation.
Before she could react, Devine leaned in, his face hovering just an inch from hers.
“You don’t get to be sorry, Momma. Because I have better plans,” he whispered, voice velvet and steel.
Then he tilted her head and crashed his lips onto hers.
Nuella’s fingers twitched at the force of the kiss. A soft gasp slipped out-but she melted into it, parting her lips, letting him in.
Devine growled low in his throat, a muscle in his jaw ticking at her eager response. The sound of her surrender set his blood ablaze.
His tongue swept into her mouth, deep and commanding, tasting her, claiming her.
Hunger surged through his veins, thrumming at every nerve. His fingers pressed deeper into her neck, angling her head just the way he liked. His other hand slid around her waist, dragging her closer.
The kiss deepened-hard, heated, greedy.
Nuella’s core pulsed. She whimpered against his mouth, her hands rising-one clutching the collar of his shirt, the other curling behind his neck, pulling him closer.
They were consumed. By heat, by hunger, and by that familiar ache that only bloomed when they touched.
The kiss turned messy and desperate. He kissed her like he needed her to breathe. Like he would lose his sanity without her taste. Like she was the only thing keeping him human.
And Nuella? She sat there, utterly cosumed by him. She couldn’t think. She didn’t even want to. All she wanted was more. More of his tongue, more of his hands against her, more of his cock. And more of everything that made him her father’s most attractive friends.
Sensation coiled hard against her throat, snatching her breath away like a kiss. Her finger moved to his callused chest and she grabbed on it, pulling him closer into herself.
Devine groaned into the kiss, her hands tugging at the strands of his hair.
His cock stretched against his brief, fighting to be buried in the safest place in the world.
With the last thread of restraint, he pulled away, panting against her lips, their foreheads pressed together. Her breath hitched, and he watched her-eyes wild, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from his kiss.
He dragged his thumb over her bottom lip, dark gaze fixed on her mouth.
Then he smirked, devilish and dangerous.
“We should get going,” he murmured, brushing his knuckles down her cheek. “Before I change my mind… take you home… and spread your legs-”
He leaned in again, voice dropping to a wicked whisper.
“-and fuck you like the nasty little slut you are.”