Free Always His (Crazed Devotion #1) by C.A. Harms

world lifted from my shoulders.
    “Please don’t hurt us.”
    I vowed in that moment I would always protect her heart and Tori’s. Whatever it took, no matter who I had to fight along the way, they would feel loved and treasured.

    After working an eight-and-a-half-hour shift, I walked to my truck, wanting nothing more than a shower and a pillow. After climbing into the cab of my truck, I opened the glove box and got out my phone, smiling at the text message that waited for me.
    Nicole: Tori’s making spaghetti for you.
    That sweet little angel looked at me like I hung the moon, and she made my heart ache with the kind of love that could make a grown man melt.
    Me: Do I need to bring anything?
    I started my truck while holding my phone, waiting for her response as I sat in the parking lot while dusk set in.
    Nicole: Not unless you want something special to drink, I don’t have any beer.
    Alcohol was the last thing on my mind. My earlier intention of going to bed early quickly faded. I was now alert and ready for a night with Tori and Nicole. I hoped one day I would be able to go home to them every night. But I had to pace myself and remember she was still hesitant after what I’d put her through. We were slowly working through this, and I’d wait as long as she needed.
    After a drive that felt like it took hours, I pulled up in front of her apartment building and grabbed my bag from the passenger seat. I had been staying at my uncle’s place because the drive back to my parents’ was just too long, but tonight it looked like I would be staying here.
    Walking up the steps, I could smell the aroma of garlic, and my mouth began to water. I had lived on fast food the last few days. My uncle was the ultimate bachelor and never cooked, so I’d grown accustomed to swinging through the drive-thru for something quick on the way to his place.
    Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard a car door slam behind me. I looked back over my shoulder to find Tyler walking toward me with a pissed-off look on his face as he glared at me. I knew that look.
    Tyler and I had never been friends, more like competitors. Throughout high school we were always trying to outdo one another in everything. And when I got Nicole, it was just another jab to his ego. It wasn’t even about him being in love with her too. He was angrier that I’d got something great because he didn’t like to see me happy.
    “Why the hell did you even come back?” he asked as I walked back down the steps toward him. If I could avoid involving Nicole in this mess, I would. She didn’t need this, and it was exactly what she was worried about.
    “I think we both already know the answer to that question,” I said as I reached the bottom of the steps and came face-to-face with him. “But for the hell of it, I’ll answer you.” I looked back over my shoulder at the front door of Nicole’s apartment to be sure she hadn’t overheard us. When I turned back to Tyler, his jaw was ticking in irritation. He was actually trying to intimidate me, but all I wanted to do was fucking laugh in his face.
    “I came back for my girl,” I stated.
    He laughed and shook his head. “Your girl?” He squared his shoulders and stepped in closer. “She stopped being your girl the minute she crawled in my bed.”
    He was going in for the kill, that was for sure.
    “The only name she screamed that night was mine. If she was your girl, then why’d she fuck me?”
    I fisted my hands, wanting nothing more than to beat his fucking face in. “You have about two seconds to back the fuck up before I move you myself.”
    “What’s wrong, Ryker, don’t like the visual?” he taunted. “It was my kid she carried for months,” he pushed even more. “They’ll never be yours.”
    “You really are a piece of shit, Tyler. You always have been, and that’ll never change.” I stepped closer, and he took a step back. “Nicole has always been mine. One night and one huge mistake on