I merely shrugged one shoulder, not letting them see my plans. Our little devil was exhausted, not just physically, but mentally too. She needed a moment to shake off that responsibility and let someone else take control, and that was exactly what I would give her.
Giana’s lips thinned as Kellan and Spade strode for the door, giving her one last look over their shoulders before they closed the door behind them. Giana’s shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders. But I would take care of that. There was no way I was going to let her walk into that house with anything, but a clear and focused mind.
“Giana,” I growled.
“Merrick.” She rolled her eyes like she already knew what I was going to say.
“I don’t like this plan. I hate the fact that you’re putting yourself in danger yet again.”
Her lips quirked to the side. “It’s the only way.”
My jaw ticked. I knew it was, but I hated it. If I could trade places with her, I would in a heartbeat.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, but she didn’t meet my eyes.
I crooked a finger under her chin, forcing her gaze to mine. “Tell me that again.”
She huffed. “I’ll be fine, Merrick. I know what I’m doing, plus it’s not like I’m going in there alone.”
She might as well be. “Let me go with you.”
“He’ll kill you.” She batted my hand away and glared back at me.
Fury blazed through my veins, and I almost blurted that I didn’t care, but that was no way to convince her. My stomach twisted as I wracked my brain for any other option, but we both knew there was none. I ground my teeth, my mind, and heart warring for supremacy. I wished I could just lock her up and take care of this with the Demons, but then I would be just as bad as Tommaso, locking her in a glass cage, stripping her of her freedom and her will to live.
I would never be like him.
“Let’s go to my room.” I kissed the top of her head, knowing only one thing could ease the churning storm raging through my head and body, and that was her, splayed out before me like my own personal buffet. Before she could take a step, I swept her up in my arms.
“Merrick,” she gasped, and I couldn’t control my grin as I imagined her moaning my name very soon.
I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time in my haste to have her all to myself. “Merrick?” Her tone was a warning this time. Oh, she had no idea what I had in store for her. “We are sleeping, aren’t we?”
“Eventually.” I shifted her so I could swing open the door, and I placed her onto the bed like the precious jewel she was.
She settled against the pillows as I locked the door. “I don’t think—”
“You’re thinking too much; that’s the problem. You’re taking everything onto your own shoulders instead of sharing the burden with us. If I hadn’t carted you up here, you would’ve insisted on going with the guys even when there wasn’t anythingfor you to do.” I stalked over to the side of the bed, crossing my arms over my chest as I lifted a brow, daring her to argue. She quirked her lips to the side, her nose wrinkling, but she didn’t say a word. “I refuse to let anything happen to you tonight because you’re too stressed, and you miss something.”
She opened her mouth and closed it as though she was searching for an argument. “What did you have in mind?”
Her throat bobbed as I grinned and opened my bedside table, pulling out a set of handcuffs. “I want you to let me take control, to let your stress and worries melt away as I bring you nothing but pleasure, to trust me with not only your heart, but your body.”
“Yes.” She nodded eagerly as though she’d been waiting for exactly this.
“We can stop at anytime, little devil. The reins are completely in your hands. You only need to tell me, and I will.”
Her tongue swiped over her bottom lip, and I watched it intensely, my cock twitching in anticipation.
“You mean a safe word?”
“We could use that or the traffic light system. Green means you’re comfortable, and we continue. Yellow means you’re uncomfortable with something, and we’ll take a break to check in. And red means we stop immediately.”
“I like that.” She grinned and held out her hands to me.
“First, arms up.”
Her arms immediately shot up, lust fogging her gaze as she watched me intently while I placed the handcuffs on the bed and sat beside her. My hand teased over the soft skin of her stomach as I slid her shirt up. She shivered at the contact, melting into my touch as I grazed her nipples. The band tee was up and over her head in the next moment, revealing her luscious breasts and bared skin.
