Cards of Love: The Devil (Devil's Playground #1)(13)

“Geez.” She shuffles her feet nervously. “Sorry.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose when she fetches a stick of gum from her purse.

The girl is testing my patience, and if she’s not careful I’m going to strip her and fuck her little asshole…right before I drown her in my tank. “Jodie.”

I don’t have to look at the security screen to know she jumps. “Sorry, I have to chew gum when I’m nervous. Anyway, I didn’t talk to her for long. And to tell you the truth, she’s kind of a brat.”

Exhaling, I sit down in my seat. “How so?”

“Well, when I asked her if she was excited about the party tomorrow night—you know, before I brought up her being a whore—she gave me an attitude.”

Probably because she doesn’t venture outside, you idiot.

“Oh, crap. Hold that thought. I can’t believe I almost forgot.” She claps her hands like she’s about to share the latest news with some girlfriends. Which is exactly why I hired her in the first place. Young women leave out nothing when disclosing gossip.

“You were right. He’s totally screwing her.”

“What makes you so sure?”

I know Cain wants to, but I wasn’t aware they crossed that line…yet.

“You mean besides the fact that he ran into the room like a white knight when I made her upset?”

“I’m sure he was just concerned about his daughter.”

Or scared Eden slipped up about their inappropriate relationship.

I lean back in my chair and smirk. If she’ll disclose it to a stranger on the internet, what’s to stop her from telling anyone else?

She laughs. “Yeah, concerned about his image. He touched her when he walked in the room—nothing sexual. However, the second she told him I insinuated they were hooking up, he jumped back like she was made of lava.” She snorts. “Then he started acting all holier than thou. Like the thought of fucking his centerfold stepdaughter was something that never crossed his mind before.”

“Interesting. How did Eden respond?”

“Oh, homegirl was pissed.” She snaps her gum. “Although I don’t know why. If I was doing him—and I totally would because he’s hot as fuck—I’d be more than happy getting dicked down by him every night and spoiled rotten during the day.” She rolls her eyes. “I know she’s a blonde, but she can’t seriously be dumb enough to think it will ever be more than sex between them. I mean, hello—not only is he about to be mayor, but everyone knows he married and fucked her mom.”

She chews vigorously. “But yeah, that was basically it.” She drums her fingernails on my desk. “So, now that you have all this info, what are you planning on doing with it? Obviously, there was a reason you wanted me to ruffle her feathers and spy on them.”

Tuning her out, I draw my attention to the fish again.

They look so innocent swimming around in captivity. So content now that I’ve fed and taken care of them.

So pretty. Just like Eden.

She taps her foot. “Are you going to stare at those fish the whole time I’m here?”

“No.”

Pressing a button on my chair, I release the divider between the main tank and another one that’s hidden out of view. The one containing a very angry, very hungry red-bellied piranha.

In less than a minute…all my pretty fish are dead.

They never saw it coming.

I spin around in my chair. “Take off your clothes.”





Chapter 7





Eden





Ping.

I blink at the clock on my nightstand. It’s just after two a.m.

Even though I should know better, I open the Temptation app anyway.

I won’t respond, I tell myself. I just want to know what he has to say.



Devil: Happy birthday, beautiful.





My heart folds like a cheap lawn chair.

AngelBaby123: Fuck off.

Devil: You’re mad at me.

AngelBaby123: Wow, you don’t miss a thing.

Devil: Want me to kick his ass?

AngelBaby123: What I want is for you to stop hurting me.

Devil: I don’t mean to.

AngelBaby123: And yet you keep doing it.

Devil: I didn’t want to ignore you. I had some things to take care of.

AngelBaby123: This isn’t about ignoring me. This is about what happened tonight.

Devil: Tell me what hurt you the most so I can kiss it better.

AngelBaby123: You can’t this time. I’m not some little kid with a scraped knee.





I’m a girl with a permanent broken heart. Because I’m in love with a man I can never have.

Devil: I can if you let me. Give me your pain, Eden. Make me feel it so you don’t have to anymore.

Devil: I promise it won’t hurt so much once you do.





I wipe the tears dripping down my face with the back of my hand. This Cain always knows the right words to say.

But neither Cain knows how to prove it.

AngelBaby123: Don’t say things you don’t mean. And don’t make promises you’ll never keep.

AngelBaby123: And don’t tell me to give you my pain because unlike you, I would never hurt the person I love.