Always His (Crazed Devotion #1) Read Online Free PDF

had a blood spot, and the surrounding area had already turned a bright purplish-pink.
    “Motherfucker,” I said as I turned back to Tyler, not giving a shit that he still lay half against the wall, half slumped on the floor. I wanted to break his fucking face.
    “I got this,” Greg, a guy who worked behind the bar, said as he stepped in front of Tyler, blocking my view. “Go help Nicole.”
    I was torn between going to her and beating the ass of the guy who’d hurt her. But she won. She’d always win.
    I followed Liz as she led Nicole to the back office. She had sobered up pretty quickly, it appeared.
    “Sit,” Liz insisted as she eased Nicole into a chair and knelt before her.
    “I’m fine,” Nicole tried to get up, but Liz pushed her back down.
    “Oh honey, you ain’t fine. In fact, you are quickly beginning to look like someone that’s having one hell of an allergic reaction. It’s like you’re trying to grow a whole new head out of your eye socket.”
    I hung my head and shook it. Liz had a way with words.
    “I brought ice,” Elle said as she rushed into the room. She looked back over her shoulder as she passed me and winked. Damn girl hadn’t changed, either. She was just as crazy as her older sister.
    “I need to get back out to the bar,” Nicole said.
    “Nope, we got it, no worries,” Elle said as she grabbed Liz by the arm and began dragging her out of the room. Of course Liz resisted until she saw me standing at the door. Her face lit up and she beamed.
    “Take care of her,” she said as they both exited. Liz had apparently just become my ally in this battle for Nicole’s love.
    “I’m fine, honestly. He hits like a girl,” Nicole said with a gentle laugh.
    Her comment made my stomach ache.
    “Has he ever hit you before?” I asked, kneeling in front of her and placing my hands on her knees.
    “No, Ryker,” she said, offering me a smile for the first time since I returned. “He’s never hit me before. In fact, after that one night, I refused to let him touch me in any way.”
    I looked down at her legs, trying to wipe away the image of him touching her at all. It pissed me off that he was given that privilege. He didn’t deserve it.
    “You know whatever it is you’re picturing, I can guarantee you’re not even close.” Nicole sounded sad, pulling me back out of my head. “The only good that ever came from that night with Tyler was Tori. If it wasn’t for her, I would completely regret that night.”
    I slid my hands up her thighs and gripped her hips as I nudged my way between her knees. I just needed to be a little closer.
    “I wish that had been me,” I whispered. “That I was the man that got you pregnant.”
    “But you weren’t,” she said in return.
    Silence settled over the room as I looked at her and she looked down at my body positioned between her thighs. “I’m sorry,” I said, my throat burning with the words. “I thought I was doing the right thing, because I didn’t want to hold you back. But now I wish I hadn’t.”
    She lifted her head, and her eyes were filled with tears. I cupped her jaw and forced her to keep her head up as I said what I had to say.
    “I love you, Nicole. I never stopped. It’s always been you in my heart. I meant what I said all those years ago: I’m forever yours, baby.” Without giving her a chance to fight it, I placed my lips against hers, and for a moment everything felt like it had fallen into place.
    Until she pulled back from me and I was forced to let her go. I sat back on my feet as she stood and rushed from the room, and I felt like my heart had split in two.
    I couldn’t help but wonder if the way I felt in that moment had been how she felt all those years ago.

“O h no, run, it’s a monster,” Liz said in mock terror. “Run, Tori, we need to hide.”
    She took Tori’s little hand and jogged down the hall as my daughter looked back over her shoulder, laughing.
    “Ha-ha, aren’t you a comedian.” I rolled