Page 25 of Ruined By a Devil

“You look beautiful, Jade.”

“Thank you,” she replies, her voice cold.

“I guess congratulations are in order,” his gaze returns to mine, that devilish smile never leaving his face.

I stay silent, so he continues. “I have to admit, I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the engagement, considering the stunt you two pulled at my party.”

“If you’re referring to kissing my then future fiancée at her father’s party, I guess you need to go out more, Nolan.”

His smile widens. “I wonder what Killian would have said about this union.”

“Unfortunately, we will never know that.” My words sting on my tongue, and it takes all of my self-control not to wrap my hands around his neck.

Mentioning my father is low, even for Nolan. It’s not a secret to anyone that the Devlins are the ones responsible for the death of both of my parents. But it’s a great reminder of why it was a mistake to invite Nolan. He’s not going to rest until he gets a reaction out of me.

“Yeah.” He swirls the liquor in his glass before taking a sip. “Just like my father will never get to see me get married and build a family.”

Of course, bringing Ronan Devlin into the conversation was his next move. Ronan Devlin was killed by my older brother, Zeke, after he kidnapped the girls working at Eden and was going to shoot Riley. Unlike my father, he had it coming, not that Nolan would admit that. I’m not sure if he’s aware of how predictable he is, but I’m not going to sit around and listen to him.

“We should say hi to the guests,” Jade speaks, realizing that the situation is slowly escalating.

“One more thing!” Nolan grabs the sleeve of my jacket.

“You have two seconds to let go of me.” When I turn around and our eyes meet, I can see nothing but ice behind his stare. He’s a man hungry for blood.

Jade goes still beside me, and I squeeze her gently, reminding her that she’s safe by my side.

“I was just wondering if you remember the time we spent together,” Nolan grins. “You know, in that basement? Though, I’d understand if the memory might be a little blurry given the… circumstances.”

“I remember,” I smile.

Instead of giving him the reaction that he’s fishing for, my hand remains firm on Jade’s waist as I turn around to face her. She looks up at me, relief washing over her face when she realizes that I’m not going to play into Nolan’s scheme.

“Everyone,” I call out, getting everyone’s attention. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. And especially Mr. Moretti for organizing this party and giving me the opportunity to announce the news publicly.”

I glance at Jade one more time and see her smiling. She’s doing a great job playing the role of my fiancée and if I didn’t know any better, I would say that the flicker in her eyes is real excitement for the marriage.

“We’re getting married in one week.”

Applause and loud congratulations break out across the room.

Before anyone can process the announcement, I wrap my fingers around the back of Jade’s neck, digging slightly into the hairline, and drag her mouth to mine.

I pull her flush against my chest, taking her mouth in a hard, deliberate kiss that leaves no room for debate. Her body freezes for a split second, before she gives in, her fingers twisting tight into the front of my suit jacket. A dark and heavy heat surges through me as she yields. One of my hands stays locked around her waist while the other firm behind her head, holding her still while the room watches.

When I pull back just enough to look into her eyes, her breathing is shallow and her skin is warm and flushed. She stares up at me, the noise of the crowd fading into background as she smiles.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Jade

My feet are starting to hurt as I make my way back from the restroom, and it’s making me realize a little too late that I should have worn different shoes. The music is louder when I step outside to look for Malachi.

One week.

I’m still struggling to process that we’re going to get married in just one week. I knew it was going to happen eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. And even though I’m still a little mad at him for announcing it like that before even telling me, at the same time I still feel the warmth of his mouth against mine and my lips tingle at the memory. I press them together, immediately annoyed with myself for feeling that.

He really has no idea what he does to me. Or maybe he does and is doing it on purpose, but I won’t be the one to let him know how much he’s affecting me. The truth is that with Malachi, I’m never sure what he’s thinking.