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After dessert—a delicious assortment of cookies from Cameron’s bakery—Devil pushed back his chair and looked at me. “I know you’re still tired. Are you ready to go upstairs?”
Angelo gave a low whistle. “Do remember the man has a concussion.”
Devil scowled at him. “That’s why I’m asking if he needs to leave.”
Angelo flipped him off, and Devil returned the favor.
“Ignore those two,” Lucien said. “Sometimes they forget they’re not five anymore.”
Angelo rolled his eyes. “And sometimes he forgets he’s not our dad.”
I had no idea family dinners could be so fun. “Thank you all for everything you did for me yesterday, and for dinner, and for having me here and accepting me.”
“Devil claimed you,” Lucien said. “You’re family now.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know if he realized how much that meant to me. I didn’t have the words to say it then, but maybe one day I would. “Good night.”
Devil stood, and I followed him from the room.
He paused when we reached the base of the stairs. “I know that was overwhelming. It always is for people who aren’t used to us.”
“It was, but it was way more fun than I expected. Anyone can tell how much you all care for each other. It feels good to be a part of that.”
“Would you like to step outside to get some fresh air before we head upstairs?”
I was tired, but fresh air sounded nice. “Yes. Maybe it will help clear my head. I know it’s partly because of my injury, but right now, none of this seems real—being here with your family, having them welcome me, you loving me.”
Devil smiled and took my hand. “It’s all very real. Come on. I’ve got a secret to tell you.”
He led me to the courtyard behind their house. They had a small brick patio with several chairs and a fire pit. It was a perfect spot to sit on a warm evening, but Devil wasn’t interested in sitting. He walked me backwards, cradling my head in his hands, and then, far more gently than ever before, he pushed me against the wall. “Someday I’ll be rough with you again, but right now you’ll just have to pretend.”
The gesture still had me hard. I tilted my hips, rubbing my cock against his. “You said you were going to tell me a secret.”
“Sylvester.”
“What?”
“Sylvester. That’s my name.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Why would I kid about that?”
“I just… I can’t see it.”
“Yeah, no shit. That’s why I’ve been Devil since I was like three.”
“Really? That long?”
“Yes. Our nanny started calling me Devil, and Angelo became Angel. Everybody thought it was cute, and it stuck.”
“So no one ever calls you Sylvester? Or Sly or—”
“No. Well, occasionally Nonna does, but she’s the only one who can get away with it.”
“And only your closest family knows?”
He nodded. “And now you.”
I remembered him telling me that only people so close they would die for him knew his name. “I would die for you, you know.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
I cupped his face and kissed him softly. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I trust you with my life.”
“If you’d been taken, I would have done anything I could to save you. I wouldn’t have cared about the law. I wouldn’t have cared if I got fired. Finding you would have been all that mattered.
Devil laid a hand over one of mine. “I know.”
He kissed me harder this time, but he still held my head so it wouldn’t press against the wall. I couldn’t help but think about our first time together in the alley after I’d watched him leap from one roof to another.
“If we keep doing this, I’m going to start getting turned on every time I see a brick wall. I won’t be able to think about anything but one of us pinning the other against it.”
Devil laughed. “I think I could live with that.”
I brushed a thumb over his cheek. “Yeah. Me too.”
“Could you live with me?”
My heart skipped a beat. “What? Permanently?”
“Yes. I want you here. I want to know you’re safe when we go to bed. I want to remind you every fucking night that your mine.”
“Even when you’re giving me that hot ass of yours?”
He grinned. “Especially then.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Say you’ll stay.”
“Yes. Home is wherever you are.”
35
Epilogue
Four months later
Joe
With some backing from Devil, I started a private investigation business. It was slow to take off, but so far I’d helped a woman solidify a case against her spouse, found some items that had been stolen, and proved a will had been forged.
I’d considered Devil’s suggestion to work with Giorgio’s organization. At first, I’d been unsure, but then I’d talked to Giorgio about being called in when they needed my skill set, and I’d just gotten my first assignment from him.
After a few months of living with Devil on a trial basis, the lease on my house had come up for renewal. I’d decided to stop pretending I was ever going to move back.
