《Devil Mine: A Dark Cartel Romance (London Underworld Book 1)》 Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 1 ¡°Can I be the one to kill him, Diablo? It¡¯s been almost a week since I had to load a new clip,¡± Marco says, knee bouncing frantically as he caresses the handle of the nine-millimeter pistol resting on his hip. ¡°I¡¯m getting a little twitchy.¡± I shift my gaze from where I was staring out the window at the passing river Thames over to my trigger-happy lieutenant sitting across from me in the back of the Rolls. I unwrap one of the cinnamon candies I always have on me and pop it in my mouth, moving it to one cheek. A humorless smile pulls at my lips. Marco has the youthful exuberance of an unbroken mare and the bloodlust of a cage fighting pitbull. He¡¯s barely restrained at the best of times, when potential violence isn¡¯t being dangled in front of him like a red handkerchief in front of a bull. That handkerchief is flying front and center right now. ¡°You can kill him when he¡¯s paid me back in full.¡± Marco¡¯s leg bounces even more agitatedly as his grip tightens on his gun. His jaw flexes and his lips purse into what might bebeled a pout if he was a teenage girl and not a ruthless hitman. When my father assigned him to me as my personal guard a little over a year ago, he didn¡¯t warn me that I¡¯d have to spend quite this much time managing Marco¡¯s anger at being ordered not to kill someone. All things considered, he¡¯s been exactly the type of lieutenant I needed when establishing the cartel in new territory ¨C violent, depraved, and psychotic. His bloodlust rivals my own but he lets himself be blinded by it, his hotheadedness routinely getting him in trouble. Together, we¡¯ve razed London to the ground, both in a bid to expand our territory and in search for much needed answers. Next to me, Arturo clicks his tongue against his teeth and res at Marco in reproach. He dislikes Marco¡¯s unbridled style and theck of deferential respect he shows me as his jefe. If anyone else spoke to me with such obvious defiance, I¡¯d put a bullet between their eyes. Transparently, I thought about doing just that in the early days of him working for me, but the value he brought to my life in sheer entertainment alone made that decision a hard one to make. Plus, the psycho turned out to be tirelessly loyal, as well as having a penchant for getting the job done with a ir for the dramatics much to the horror of our enemies, so he got to keep his brain intact. Arturo likes toin about him but even he has a soft spot for the younger lieutenant, although he¡¯d rather sheer off one of his own fingers than admit it. A little over a year ago, they were both part of an elite group of lieutenants sent by my father to scout new territories across the globe for potential expansion, so they¡¯ve worked closely together for a while now. Perpetually with a scowl on his face and a reproving word on his tongue, my second inmand is outwardly inplete opposition to Marco. He¡¯s more restrained, not so overt in his brutality and much more cerebral. He¡¯s been instrumental in helping establish an offshoot of the da Silva cartel from where my father started it in Medell¨ªn, Colombia to where we finally decided to expand; in London, Ennd, where I¡¯ve been based for the past year. At first nce, Arturo is easy to underestimate. With his sses perched on the tip of his nose and his paunchier belly, he¡¯s often mistaken as the cartel ountant. That misjudgment gives him a massive yet unnecessary advantage ¨C by the time our enemies realize their mistake, he¡¯s already relieved them of their heads. His violence might lurk beneath the surface, but he¡¯s as vicious as Marco and I. He was my father¡¯s man before he was mine and I¡¯ve known him since I was nothing more than a prepubescent boy. He¡¯s one of a select few people I trust implicitly. ¡°Always wanting to kill first and solve problemster, cabr¨®n,¡± he chides. ¡°How about you focus on the objective?¡± ¡°Now why would I do that when I know you get your rocks off worrying enough for the rest of us?¡± Marco quips with a yful grin. He points at his forehead. ¡°You should be careful, you know. Those lines in that dome of yours get any more pronounced and you¡¯ll have to get Botox. Maybe while you¡¯re there you can ask them to do a little mouth lift to curl those lips of yours into a smile one of these days? Just a thought,¡± he adds helpfully, putting his hands up in a picture of innocence. ¡°Hijo de p¨C¡± Arturo starts, lunging across the space to grab Marco. ¡°Stop,¡± I order, grabbing him by the cor and throwing him back in his seat. ¡°Enough.¡± My voice drips with ire, making them both freeze. Marco¡¯s leg instantly stops bouncing, halting the almost physical urge I had to plunge the de I¡¯m toying with into his thigh so as to bring an end to the annoying habit. ¡°Arturo is right. He doesn¡¯t get to die until he¡¯s repaid every penny he borrowed from us,¡± I grind out between clenched teeth. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t let you send him a message,¡± I add. Marco¡¯s eyes snap up to meet mine, a barbaric shine twinkling in his eyes at my concession. It¡¯s an easy one to make. People don¡¯t get to default on payment to the da Silva cartel and get away with it. And the man we¡¯re on our way to pay a visit to is about to understand that. I twirl the knife in my hands between restless fingers.The sharpened tip digs into my index until a trickle of blood erupts from beneath my skin and flows down my wrist. I notice it but don¡¯t feel it. Pain doesn¡¯t register in my brain. I¡¯ve been numb for years, my tolerance unusually high, blunted by uninterrupted bloodshed. My body is a canvas of healed bullet holes and cauterized stab wounds to illustrate the wars I¡¯ve won. I disy them as proudly as I do the tattoos that cover over half of my body. As the Rolls ambles slowly through the busy streets of London, my mind wanders back to my arrival here. London was such a perfect location for us that the scouts hade back from their mission with amon message ¨C the choice was obvious. It was a massive international city, close enough to a coast with plenty of legitimate shipmentsing in through which to divert attention away from us, and, importantly, an entry point to the rest of Europe. But it was also highly contested territory with almost every gang, mafia, cartel and criminal enterprise fighting for the same fuckingnd, the same money, the same power, regardless of global legitimacy or not. The da Silva cartel had the weight of being thergest criminalwork in the Americas behind it. Once we¡¯d run out thepetition in the North and South, we¡¯d looked to the East for expansion. We announced our presence in London subtly, by blowing up over five hundred kilos of imported blow from various sources. Italian, Armenian, Russian, English, it didn¡¯t matter. Thiago da Silva was here and they needed to know it. Since then, we¡¯ve had to fight for every square inch of the new territory we¡¯ve acquired in Europe. It¡¯s been a hard-fought year of blood and mud and sweat and death.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. And I¡¯ve loved every fucking minute of it. The adrenaline, the rush of a n going tits up. The surge of excitement when eliminating an enemy, whether a single man or an entire fucking army. Of their screams as they beg for mercy and I give them none, ofughing in their faces as I rip their throats out and bathe my hands in their blood, of them dying by my hand. They¡¯ve alle to fear me now, the one they call ¡°El Diablo¡±, and they should. The European arm of the da Silva cartel is mine and mine alone. My father remains in Colombia overseeing that part of the business while I continue to grow my empire here. I¡¯m a king who doesn¡¯t sit on a throne. The minute I getfortable in this leadership position is the minute I¡¯ll get my throat slit. Comfort is the enemy of ambition and the manic feeling violence gives me fuels me to newer heights. I won¡¯t stop until Europe ispletely ours. Completely mine. The reputation we¡¯ve cultivated since being here of beingpletely ruthless and merciless is one I fully embrace, born both out of necessity when establishing ourselves against more legacy yers and out of a purely visceral need for vengeance. Because the real reason I¡¯m in London, beyond the opportunity, the money, and the power, the reason I campaigned for this to be the base of our expansion and not another city, is very simple. I¡¯m going to find Adriana¡¯s body, and I don¡¯t care if I have to burn the entire fucking country down to do it. Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 2 The Rolls pulls up in front of a massive high rise in The City. Irritation rolls down my spine. These high-bred, silver-spooned English society motherfuckers have all the money in the world when ites to gaudy disys of wealth, but none when ites to reimbursing their debts. The door opens and I step out, buttoning my suit jacket as I straighten to my full height. I give an appraising look at the building and the ethnographical makeup of the people bustling about the busy business center. Marco echoes my thoughts out loud. ¡°He¡¯s going to hate being confronted here,¡± he says with a smirk. I grunt in acknowledgment, adding, ¡°I¡¯ll hang him out the window of his precious building by his balls if that¡¯s what it takes to get my money back.¡± Marcoughs loudly and follows after me as I stalk towards the revolving door, the both of them nking me as they keep a watchful eye on our surroundings. ¡°Jefe,¡± Arturo says, ¡°Have you thought more about what we discussed?¡± I groan loudly, dismissing him. Not one to let himself be dissuaded unless a gun is pressed against his family jewels, he continues. ¡°You can¡¯t keep putting this off, your father¨C¡± I spin on my heels and face him. He stops abruptly, almost colliding with me in the process. Most men would wilt under the dark re I pin on him, but he only drops his gaze. ¡°Do you work for me or do you work for my father?¡± ¡°My loyalty is to you¨C¡± ¡°Good,¡± I say, turning back around. ¡°Andthe entire da Silva cartel,¡± he finishes. I bite back a snarl, not wanting to draw attention to us before we¡¯ve entered the building. ¡°I don¡¯t press this topic lightly, Thiago,¡± he continues. My eyes narrow on him. He uses my name to cate me, to remind me that he¡¯s been myconsejero, my advisor, for years and has rightfully earned my trust. Grudgingly, I nod at him to go on. ¡°But you know this is the next move we have to y.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve destroyed the other cartels. The Italians are cowering in fear that we¡¯ll turn our attention towards them next. The Armenians are a minor nuisance. The Irish are our allies. The Russians are staying out of our way. We have a strong alliance with ckdown that gives us the cover of a legitimate business. We¡¯ve won. I don¡¯t understand why you or my father think I need a wife. What exactly will that buy me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve wonfor now. We shouldn¡¯t let arrogance blind us into thinking that makes us untouchable. If you want to actually solidify your position in London, to prove that the war of the past year wasn¡¯t a temporary power grab with you easily receable by the next well funded cartel, that the da Silva house is here to stay for good, then you need to marry.¡± He throws open the door and follows after me into the building. The security guard at the front desk stands when he sees us approaching the turnstiles. ¡°What are you¨C¡± His sentence cuts off abruptly when Marco points a gun at him. He nches when he recognizes the five dagger tattoos on his fingers that identify him as a da Silva cartel member. ¡°Let us through,¡± he orders. When he doesn¡¯t immediately obey the order, fear freezing him in ce, Marco steps up to him and presses the gun against his forehead. ¡°Let us through or find out what your desk looks like with your brain for decorations.¡± He gulps and nods repeatedly, shaking fingers reaching for a button hidden underneath the ledge. A light shes green and a metallic sound indicates that the lock is opening. ¡°A word of advice,¡± Marco tells the security guard as Arturo and I walk through. ¡°Keep this between us if you want to make it home to your family tonight.¡± ¡°Marry outside of the cartel, Thiago,¡± Arturo continues, ignoring the threats in the background. He presses the button calling for the elevator. ¡°Marry a good English woman to prove that you¡¯re making your home in London permanent.¡± ¡°And what am I going to do with a good English woman once I¡¯ve married her? Long walks in the park followed by daily tea and crumpets?¡± I shake my head. ¡°You know she won¡¯t fit into this life and thest thing I need is something like awifegetting in my way.¡± ¡°Who gives a fuck what you do with her? You just have to marry her, not live with her. Get a marriage certificate signed, put on a show for a brief honeymoon period, go to a few events together spread out over a year and then stick her in a country estate where she won¡¯t bother anyone.¡± I work my jaw back and forth as I think about his offer. ¡°And you think anyone will agree to that willingly?¡± He gives me a look. ¡°Their women aren¡¯t like ours. Whichever English rose you decide to pluck will probably prefer a quiet life in the countryside to dealing with youing home covered in blood every night.¡± We step into the elevator and he presses the button to the top floor. I lean against the wall and cross my arms, my teeth grinding together. ¡°Plus,¡± he adds. ¡°No one said she had toe willingly. Take the one you like if you want. Once the certificate is signed, there¡¯s nothing anyone will be able to do.¡± I grunt in response, effectively ending the conversation. Realistically, I know it¡¯s only a matter of time until I need to make a decision. Part of me knows it makes sense for me to use a marriage as an opportunity to advance the cartel¡¯s interests. The other part doesn¡¯t want to deal with the responsibility of having a wife, especially one I don¡¯t want. I¡¯ve been focused almost exclusively on business and expansion sinceing here. Nothing else has held my interest, not even being nine inches deep in a woman. Thest woman I¡¯d fucked was an uninspiringly dull encounter. She¡¯d been on her knees, talking about how huge my cock was, desperately trying to get my limp dick hard with her hand, mouth running a thousand miles per hour spewing some inane bullshit. It¡¯s only once I¡¯d taped her mouth shut and fucked her from behind, face down into the mattress, that I¡¯d been able to get it up long enough to pump into her five times before the most anticlimactic climax of my life. Her borately faked screams of pleasure had done my head in. I¡¯d thrown her out with clothes in hand and hadn¡¯t fucked anyone since. That was over a year ago. It hasn¡¯t been forck of opportunity mind you. No, women throw themselves at me constantly. Being queen of the da Silva cartel is a coveted position, especially these days, and I¡¯ve had no shortage of offers. Sex loses its luster when pussy is freely offered just for a grab at power. With barely a look in their direction, women spread their legs for me, their eyes shining with the possibility of being my wife. I can¡¯t fucking me them. My family was once digging itself out of poverty and grime, climbing up the bloodieddder of power, rung by rung and death by death until we reached the top. So game recognizes game and I don¡¯t judge them for it. But nothing kills my erection like the stench of desperation on a woman. Sticking my dick in my fist and getting off that way had provided just as much excitement as the countless faceless one night stands, with the added bonus of headache-free post-orgasm rity when I didn¡¯t have to kick anyone out as they tried to bargain staying overnight. Seems I¡¯m going to have to get used to it if I¡¯m going to pick one of these insipid debutantes to be my wife. If nothing else, I understand the argument Arturo¡¯s making regarding the value such an arrangement could bring to the business. And the cartel, my family, that alwayses first, even above my own interest. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll find a bride worth keeping around. I¡¯m not holding my breath. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I finally say. Marco whistles in shock, amazed that I¡¯m even considering this. Arturo looks up from his phone and gives me a surprised look. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, I¡¯m far from agreeing to this,¡± I snap back. ¡°But if I do, I get to choose.¡± He puts his hands up. ¡°That goes without saying,jefe,¡± he says as the doors open onto arge reception area. There are two corridors on either side of a concierge desk, each with arge meeting room in the corner faced with two more hallways leading to more offices. Arturo walks out, followed by Marco who throws me a grin and a quick, ¡°Let me know if you need help shopping for your wife,jefe. Happy to test out the merchandise for you before you make a decision.¡± The two of them make their way across the bustling reception area towards where we know the CEO¡¯s office is. I follow ten steps after them, still deep in thought. A heady, moody scent ms into me, star anise and ck liquorice, knocking me back and ripping me from my introspection. I stop in my tracks, disoriented and confused by the sudden, unexpected assault to my senses. I¡¯m caught off guard and Ineverget caught off guard. That¡¯s the difference between life and death in my line of work. I¡¯m immediately on high alert. My pupils dte at the potent scent. It wafts around me in this open space, teasing me and making me desperate for more. I sniff at the air like a dog, searching for the source of the bewitching smell. My eyes track the people traveling between the two different sections of the floor, looking for something I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll know once I find it. And then I see her. She¡¯s across the room and walking in the opposite direction, getting progressively further away from me, and taking her scent with her. It follows after her like a shadow, robbing me of the enthralling experience that almost brought me to my knees. Her back is to me so I don¡¯t see her face, but my dick twitches for the first time in months regardless. She¡¯s piqued my interest and awakened my long dormant curiosity and for that alone I want to follow after her. Long legs peek out from under a tight skirt that hampers her progress but highlights the curve of her very delectable ass. A tailored jacket hugs and emphasizes the slope of her t stomach and perky breasts. I wonder if she has it buttoned all the way to the top or if she¡¯s left a hint of cleavage visible to torture the men and women around her. I couldn¡¯t miss her even if her scent wasn¡¯t causing a cataclysmic reaction inside me. She¡¯s wearing pink from head to toe, from her stilettos to the clip holding back her long, blonde hair from falling in her face. She¡¯s incongruous with her surroundings, a burst of color amongst a sea of dreary dark tones. She turns her head slightly to the side to acknowledge what her colleague is saying and I get my first partial glimpse of her features. Maic blue eyes enhanced by dark makeup peek out from under thick eyshes and rest above high cheekbones. A slightly upturned nose scrunches in response as a hint of a smile curls her full lips. It¡¯s only a sliver of profile and I¡¯m breathless. ¡®Beauty¡¯ is far too small a construct to describe her. It¡¯s a designation that¡¯s been used to describe too many people. She¡¯s the kind of perfect that deserves its own word, one that is hers alone, that describes no one else.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Who the fuck is she? The question is bouncing against the walls of my brain on repeat, getting louder and more morous. My eyes don¡¯t leave her, the need to blink long abandoned. She doesn¡¯t notice me, somehow doesn¡¯t feel the weight of my gaze as it burns an imprint into the side of her face. My cock is rock hard in my trousers and demanding I go after her. But more concerning is the foreign feeling that squeezes my ribcage and chokes my major organs. There¡¯s a pinch that¡¯s almost painful and definitely unrecognizable. I shake my head to rid myself of those thoughts. Maybe it¡¯s time I getid. It¡¯s been way too fucking long, that¡¯s why I¡¯m having this confusing and altogether overly dramatic reaction to a stranger. Nevertheless, I n on following her. I¡¯ve only taken one step before a voice yanks me back to reality. ¡°Thiago.¡± I look over my shoulder and find Arturo standing with his hands in his pockets, his brow pulled into a quizzical furrow. Marco is nowhere in sight. Clearly, I fell behind them and, based on the confused expression on Arturo¡¯s face, he wants to know why. ¡°Are youing?¡± I look back at where I saw her, hoping to see the figure in pink in the distance, but she¡¯s gone. My fists clench in irritation and my mood darkens out of nowhere. What is this reaction I¡¯m having? It¡¯s unexinable. It has me rattled and unsteady, both feelings alien to me. Popping a cinnamon candy in my mouth to calm me, I stalk past Arturo and down the hall before throwing the door to the swanky corner office wide open. It bounces against the wall and rattles in its hinges as the eyes of the man who sits behind therge desk find mine. They widen in abject fear before he manages to school his features into an emotionless mask. But it¡¯s toote. He¡¯s fed me his fear and my anger is ready to feast on it. Marco smirks when I take my knife out and open the de, the silver shining with deadly precision under the bright lights. My own sadistic grin pulls at my lips as I turn to face the man who can¡¯t pay his debts. ¡°Alexander Noble,¡± I announce, voice reverberating against the office walls. ¡°Tell me, are you ready to meet your maker?¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 3 I¡¯m bored. In fact, I can¡¯t remember a time when I wasn¡¯t bored with my life. I¡¯m so bored that I¡¯m even bored of being bored. Isn¡¯t that just tragic? And the worst part is, I did this to myself. Every decision I¡¯ve made over thest eight years ¨C hell, every decision I¡¯ve made since I was old enough to understand and be dissatisfied by the position I was expected to upy in the world ¨C has brought me to this moment. I shut myputer and push back from my desk, standing to stare out of the bay windows of my office. I can¡¯t get any work done. I¡¯m annoyed and dismayed by the conversation I had with my father a few days ago. I¡¯d expected that after all the work I¡¯d put into hispany,oupany, after years of putting my life on hold and wholeheartedly devoting myself to growing the Noble Group as the Chief Financial Officer, that he¡¯d finally see I was worthy of taking over after him as CEO. Instead, he¡¯d cut me off the second I¡¯d uttered those three letters and dismissed me with the wave of a hand. ¡°Your brother will be the next CEO of the Noble Group, Tess,¡± he said with an annoyed sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve indulged your fantasies for too long, thinking it would satisfy you. I see now that I was wrong and I¡¯ve done nothing but encourage these foolish delusions of yours.¡± Bitterness welled inside me. I love my brother but he has zero interest and even fewer qualifications in taking over after our father. The only reason he¡¯s being handed the keys to thepany is because he has a dick between his legs where I do not. ¡°But Father¨C¡± ¡°No.¡± His voice was harsh and unforgiving. ¡°It¡¯s time I rectify this situation. I will allow you to keep working here for one more year while your brother straightens out his act in Switzend.¡± After one too many scandals, my father had banished Tristan to teach at RCA, a private school for the children of the rich and privileged, for a year. I wasn¡¯t allowed tomunicate with him at all while he was there. He¡¯s my best friend, and losing my closest ally and sounding board had been tough. I was already wondering how I was going to make it through without him and it had only been a couple of months. ¡°¡­That should allow me time to find a suitable match.¡± ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± I asked, having missed the first half of his sentence. He threw me a contemptuous look that revealed just how little he thought of me. ¡°You can keep your position at the Noble Group for one more year while I find you a suitable husband. Someone who can teach you some much needed discipline.¡± His words cleaved me. I took a step back, a yawning fracture splitting through me. ¡°No,¡± I gasped. ¡°You¡¯re twenty-five, Tess. You¡¯re not getting any younger,¡± he sneered. ¡°Who knows, maybe your husband will let you work.¡± A sadistic smile cracked his lips. ¡°But I highly doubt it.¡± Arranged marriages are standard in our echelon of society, but my father had never mentioned it for me. I thought I could be an exception. That¡¯s what I had worked for. There are no real, great female role models in my world. Women are defined almost exclusively by their husbands. There are only the lucky wives whose husbands ignore them and cheat on them, and then there are the unlucky wives. The ones that face a battle every time they¡¯re home with their spouses. The ones like my mother. Some of them don¡¯t survive their husbands. The exceptions are the girls who run away or turn their backs on their families, but you never really hear about them again. That¡¯s why I¡¯d invested all my energy into seeding. Into doing better than my brother on all the things he¡¯d be judged on. Luckily for me, he had no interest inpeting in this race so I¡¯d dusted him. I graduated first from Cambridge and then got my MBA from Wharton. I was top of my ss, as formidable with data and numbers as I was with people. Idid that. I did everything right. Everything. And it still wasn¡¯t enough. All those years of missed experiences. Of never traveling, never seeing friends. Of being head down, book open. Studying, reading, memorizing, revising, test taking. Putting the real world on hold to find sess in this fucked up high society world that men had created only for themselves. I¡¯d embraced what I was good at, data, and put everything else aside. I¡¯d never really had time for romance. I dated, but had never been in love. My experiences wereckluster because I was driven by more than was expected of me. I¡¯d helped grow our profits over the past two years by twenty percent, and still it wasn¡¯t enough. Because at the end of the day, all that mattered was that I was a woman and women got married, especially when they were getting a little too independent. The best way to break a mare¡¯s spirit is to chain her to a fence. ¡°What about Franklin Marsh-Sackville? That¡¯s a fantastic match.¡± Now I was sure I was having an out of body experience. How could he so callously drop a world-ending announcement on me and easily pivot into rattling off names of men he could sell me off to like I was a piece of chattel. Franklin is our Chief Operating Officer and a certified creep. He openly leers at me and routinelyments on my wardrobe. I always wear pink at the office, both because it¡¯s my favorite color and because I believe in unting the fact that I am a woman in a position of power and I¡¯ve had to fight for the right to be in this building. I refuse to blend in with the men or to make myself smaller in any way. Plus, why can¡¯t I be smartandpretty? Franklin¡¯s double barrelst name is an ostentatious show of his pedigree. He¡¯s very,verydistantly rted to the royal family, although closely enough that he¡¯s mentioned it on five separate asions in the two years we¡¯ve worked together. He¡¯s also twenty years older than me. A full body shiver racked through me at the thought of him touching me. ¡°Please reconsider this, Father,¡± I¡¯d begged. I knew I¡¯d made the wrong move when fury had ckened his face. I¡¯d made a quick exit out of his office before he lost control of his anger. He¡¯d never hit me before but I wasn¡¯t going to stick around and find out if that was going to be the day he started. All I could hope for at this point is that he¡¯d change his mind. That he¡¯d see my value where he never had before and realize that I could be much more useful to him in the office than I could be chained to some random man. ??? Revisiting the conversation with my father makes me restless. My office is stifling, the four walls of my achievements oppressing. I can¡¯t be in here a moment longer. I know just where to go. Carl, a colleague from sales, is walking by as I step out of my office. He apanies me down the hall and across the reception area towards the other corridor where the freight elevator is. As I¡¯m walking and listening to the updates he¡¯s giving me, something makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Awareness ms into me as does the heavy feeling of being watched. When I throw a quick nce over my shoulder, there¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary. People are milling about the reception area, going to and from meetings. ¡°You¡¯re officially losing it now, Tess,¡± I mutter under my breath to myself. My body must still be on high alert from reliving the news of my potential arranged marriage. I shake the feeling off and get in the elevator alone. The doors open onto a darkened hallway on the second floor. This area ispletely uninhabited except for one person and he prefers it that way. ¡°Hey, Wiz,¡± I say, walking into his office. Antoni ¡°Wiz¡± Wyszy¨½ski doesn¡¯t startle or even bother to turn around at my entrance. Instead, he burrows his head deeper into hisputer, his gaze flitting between the four monitors he has up. ¡°Hiding out again?¡± he asks. I groan, kicking off my shoes and dropping onto thefortable couch in the corner.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. He didn¡¯t used to have any furniture in here except the chair he¡¯s sitting on, his desk, and the dozens upon dozens of servers and otherputer equipment lining the walls. But it appeared one day, not long after I starteding here when I needed a break from the testosterone-fueled madness of upstairs. I like to think he had it brought in specifically for me. It¡¯s pink and inplete opposition to the entirely ck space, so my guess is justified. ¡°I recently learned my father is going to marry me off. I¡¯m trying to process it.¡± He twists in his chair, one eyebrow raised in surprise. ¡°To whom?¡± I shrug, ying with a loose piece of fabric sticking out from the couch cushion. ¡°To the highest bidder.¡± He doesn¡¯t answer, his face impassive. After a few moments, he turns around and gets back to work, typing away quietly on hisputer. Wiz isn¡¯t a talker, and certainly not someone who¡¯s good at reassuring people, but that¡¯s not why Ie here. I appreciate his silence, his quiet support. I need the safe space far away from the relentless and cutthroat pace upstairs. ¡°You want me to put a worm on hisputer that¡¯ll crash his entire system?¡± He says it nonchntly, continuing to type away. Iugh softly, shaking my head. ¡°That¡¯s a very kind offer, but it¡¯s okay, I know you¡¯re busy.¡± It¡¯s his turn to shrug. Outside of his eyebrow raises, that¡¯s about the range on his outward emotion spectrum. ¡°I can do it in under two minutes. Want to time me?¡± Wiz is our savant head of IT. We became friends when I spilled coffee all over my keyboard and fried my hard drive. I¡¯d been directed to go see some of his underlings who worked on the floor below mine. They¡¯d all said there was no hope for my data. When pressed they¡¯d told me about a man, their boss, on the second floor. They¡¯d spoken about him like he was some sort of bridge troll, but also said he was my only hope of getting any information back. So, I¡¯d traipsed down here, unsure if I was being sent on a wild goose chase as part of some prank, and found Wiz huddled in this dark, windowless room. He¡¯d been as surprised to see me as I¡¯d been to find him. Apparently, I was the first person toe to him since he¡¯d started here a few years prior. He didn¡¯t like people and still doesn¡¯t. He¡¯d demanded to work alone, far from others, and he¡¯d been granted everything he asked for simply because he was the best at what he did. By the following morning, he¡¯d retrieved all of my data. I bought him a funny mug to thank him and came back two dayster to give it to him. He¡¯d been unprepared to receive the gift and had stared at my extended hand for a good minute before tentatively reaching for it. He¡¯d turned back around to face hisputer and hadn¡¯t said a word. But when I moved to walk out the door, he¡¯d told me to stay. So, I had. An unlikely friendship had grown from there, one of few words exchanged but mutual understanding nheless. Now, Ie down here to escape and he lets me stay for the few moments of socialization. I never overstay my wee; I know when he starts to get fidgety that he wants to be left alone. I sigh. ¡°No, if hisputer crashes he¡¯s just going to find a way to me and yell at me. Thank you though.¡± He grunts in acknowledgment and we sit infortable silence for a few moments before he asks. ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The truth is, I¡¯m bursting for freedom. I¡¯ve spent all my life working to prove I¡¯m good enough to make up for the mortal sin of being born a girl, and it isn¡¯t going to matter anyway because my father is going to force my brother into my CEO role. I¡¯m weddable and beddable, those are the only assets of mine that my father sees as being valuable to him. ¡°You¡¯re just going to take it lying down? That doesn¡¯t seem like you.¡± Wiz¡¯s voice holds no trace of judgment. As always, he¡¯s making an astute inference based on a series of facts he knows about me. He¡¯s right. Why would I stop fighting now? I¡¯m someone who makes decisions on logic and probability. I¡¯m not one to let emotion cloud my judgment. It¡¯s not that I¡¯munemotional, I¡¯m just not driven primarily by my feelings. If I can take the same unemotional approach with my father, maybe I can convince him. There has to be an argument he¡¯ll listen to. I jump to my feet, grab my shoes in one hand, and dash barefoot for the door. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to him again,¡± I call from the door as I rush out. ¡°Thanks, Wiz! You¡¯re the best!¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 4 My father¡¯s office is located in a more secluded part of the building, away from the noise andmotion of the main floor. He has his own private reception to help filter the people who want ess to him. When I get there, his assistant, Eileen, isn¡¯t at her desk. I check my watch and see it¡¯s just past twelve thirty. Lunchtime. That exins her absence. My father and I don¡¯t have the type of rtionship where I can just walk into his office without an appointment. In fact, I¡¯d say we don¡¯t have a rtionship at all and this recent marriage announcement has soured what little there was. He won¡¯t appreciate me stalking in without warning but I don¡¯t appreciate him trying to sell me off to his golf buddies so we¡¯ll call it even. I straighten, draw my shoulders back, and march purposefully towards his office door. It¡¯s open, which is bizarre. He hates being interrupted as much as he hates hearing women speak, and that¡¯s saying something. In the two years I¡¯ve worked here, I¡¯ve never seen this door open while he¡¯s been in his office. But I hear a voice, so I know he¡¯s in residence. In fact, I hear multiple voices. Instinct and intuition warn me to turn on my heels and walk the other way, but my curiosity urges me to move closer, to see what¡¯s happening. A pained howl filters through the door. I know I should run, but maybe I¡¯m not as smart as I think I am, because I inch closer instead. I take my shoes off and pad quietly towards the door. Each office is outfitted with technology that turns the windows opaque onmand when privacy is needed. Thankfully, my father has that setting turned on right now. With my back pressed against the windows, I slide to the side until I reach the open door. Pained groans filter through. Even though I¡¯ve never heard him make those sounds before, I recognize them as my father¡¯s. What the hell is going on in there? My heart is pounding so hard I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to break free of my chest. Worse, I¡¯m afraid whoever is in there with my father will hear it. It¡¯s an impossible thought but my heartbeat is echoing so loudly in my ears it seems even more improbable that they not be able to hear it. I flip onto my stomach and push myself all the way to the edge of the door. When I reach it, I look around the lip of the frame and get my first look at the scene. My father is on his knees, head bowed, bleeding profusely from various cuts on his face. A man stands in front of him, tall and well-built, brass knuckles strapped on his fingers. Horror locks my muscle in ce, my fight or flight instinct telling me to freeze instead of run. I¡¯m powerless to move and for some reason, I can¡¯t look away. Another man stands off to the side, one arm resting on his belly, the elbow of the other propped on it as his face rests in his hand. He¡¯s older and looks on at the gory scene impassively. My gaze is forced back to my father when Younger Guy grabs him by the hair and yanks his head back. ¡°It¡¯s not a hard question,huev¨®n,¡± he growls. ¡°Where the fuck is our money?¡± ¡°I told you, I-I don¡¯t have it.¡± Dissatisfied with the answer, Younger Guy jerks his knee upwards. It smashes into my father¡¯s face. Blood explodes from his nose and stters across all the nearby surfaces. ¡°I find that hard to believe,¡± Paunchy Guy says, stepping closer. ¡°This entire building, a townhouse in Kensington, a mansion in the countryside, three houses in Greece, Italy, and France, a vi in Bali and you can¡¯t repay a little twenty million pound debt?¡± My eyes bulge at the sum. What has my father gotten himself into to owe these people, whoever they are, that kind of money? My mouth parts on a silent scream when the brass¨Cknuckled handes down once more on my father¡¯s face. Blood spurts from his mouth andnds on the white minimalist painting hanging on the wall. I¡¯m shaking, my knees weak, fear threatening to make my dder give in. Meanwhile, the two men are talking with ease, like this is a routine Wednesday afternoon. That only serves to push the terror deeper into my marrow, like wind slithering through my winter jacket and chilling me to your bones on a cially cold day. ¡°I-I swear! I don¡¯t have it, but I can get it. I promise,¡± my father pleads. ¡°I just need time!¡± I¡¯ve never heard my dad stutter, let alone beg, and he¡¯s done just that twice in thest minute. Blood thumps so loudly in my ears, I miss what Younger Guy says in response. I only hear the crack of the brass knuckles against bone and then my father is on the floor. I don¡¯t know what to do. What if they kill him? Patting my skirt and zer with trembling hands, I search for my phone. My heart drops into my stomach when I realize I left it on my desk. I didn¡¯t even bring it down to Wiz¡¯s with me. ¡°Stop.¡± I freeze. Dread unlike anything I¡¯ve ever known slides down my body, starting from the top of my head and moving down, spreading an arctic chill through me. I think I¡¯m about to die, that I¡¯ve been discovered. Tears sting my eyes at the thought. I can¡¯t die before I¡¯ve gotten to do anything. I can¡¯t die before I¡¯ve evenlived. But I realize two things simultaneously. First, the order wasn¡¯t directed at me, but at the two men. Both of them step back in deference when the single syble is uttered. And second, there¡¯s a third stranger in the office, one I hadn¡¯t noticed because he was sitting in a chair in the corner of the office along the wall of windows. It¡¯s only because I hear him stand, followed by the sound of his footsteps getting closer to my father that I know he¡¯s there. I jerk away from the door and flip onto my back, my chest heaving as I try to fight the hysteria crawling through me. I attempt to calm my racing heartbeat because my breaths are getting louder, more distressed, and those I¡¯m sure they could actually overhear. ¡°Alex,¡± I hear the man say, his voice nothing more than a whispered threat. It sends a shiver through me. No one calls my father ¡°Alex¡±. He hates it. He finds it disrespectful. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother teach you not to take money from people who¡¯ll kill you for not repaying it?¡± There¡¯s a dark edge to his tone that quietly emphasizes just how serious he is. This man, whoever he is, will kill my father if he doesn¡¯t pay him back. With my heart in my throat, I turn back around and look through the doorway once more, hoping to get a nce at the stranger. Paunchy Guy is standing closer to the door and in front of him, almostpletely obscuring my vision of him. All I can see is a ck suit and his left hand holding a lowball ss at chest level. He helped himself to my father¡¯s private whiskey collection. There¡¯s a tattoo running down his hand. It starts from the top of his index finger and goes to his thumb. There¡¯s a chain linking from the midway point of the tattoo down to his wrist. I realize with a scared shudder that it¡¯s an open metal cor. If he were to wrap those long fingers around someone¡¯s throat, the tattoo would close around their neck, making it look like he cored them. My lower belly flips, the feeling unexpected. It¡¯s almost like¡­ anticipation. Not fear. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal! I was¡­amgoing to pay it back. I¡¯m short on cash right now, a couple of bad investments, you understand.¡± Even to my own ears, he sounds pathetic. He¡¯s no longer the looming tower of terror. Part of me enjoys seeing him abased in this way. But it¡¯s the first I¡¯m hearing of him having money troubles. I¡¯m in charge of thepany¡¯s books and we¡¯re obviously doing well, but I have no visibility into his personal finances. ¡°You gambled and you lost Alex,¡± the man says, his voice fearsome even though he never raises it above a conversational volume. ¡°And now you need to pay.¡± My father flinches and looks away. I blink and the man is gone. His speed is unnerving, the way he was able to move across the room in a split-second downright frightening. The other two move deferentially around him, making it obvious that he¡¯s the boss of whatever enterprise they¡¯re a part of. I wonder if my father realized what he was getting himself into when he took their money. Hismoney. He¡¯s standing in front of him now, his back square to me. He¡¯s poised with his legs apart, his posture rxed, his left hand bringing the ss to his lips, his right buried in the pocket of his trousers. His suit is fitted. Designer. Expensive. Not what I expected. Not a thug. Even from the back, he screams power. It exudes from his frame, falling off him in almost suffocating waves, making him seemrger than he is. And he¡¯s big. Six foot four at least, with broad shoulders. Slopping, strong arms that bulge against the trappings of his suit. The only visible skin I can see is that of his hand and his neck, and every inch of it is tattooed. Two wings emerge from the cor of his dress shirt and spread out on either side of his nape. His ck hair is short at the back and on the sides, and longer on top. More tattoos crawl up the back of his head, disappearing under his hair ¨C roses, a crown, a massive skull, and words I can¡¯t make out from this angle, stamped along the side.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sick fascination ¨C there¡¯s no other way to describe what I¡¯m feeling ¨C momentarily stuns me. I¡¯ve never met someone who looks like him. He nods at Paunchy Guy who steps forward and grabs a chair, cing it next to my father. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He starts thrashing when the same man grabs him by the shoulder and lunges for his arm. ¡°No! No, what are you doing! Let me go!¡± A blood curdling scream rips from his lips. Younger Guy grabs a couple sheets of paper from his desk, bunches them and shoves them down his throat, effectively silencing him. Paunchy Guy punches my father in the face. Disoriented, he stops fighting for a moment. Paunchy Guy takes advantage of that mistake to grab his arm and pin it on the chair. ¡°Push his sleeve up.¡± When Younger Guy pulls a long, thin machete from under his suit my father screams once more, although the soundes out garbled around the paper. He ils about, trying to get away, but there¡¯s no give. Younger Guy approaches him with the machete. It glints sickeningly in the light and I feel my stomach threaten to turn. I p a palm over my mouth to stifle my scream. ¡°Please, I¡¯ll pay,¡± my father begs. A sour smell hits my nostrils, followed quickly by the awful realization that fear made him relieve himself. Younger Guyughs cruelly. ¡°He pissed himself, the disgusting fucker. Are you afraid,cabr¨®n?¡± ¡°I need you to pay that money back, Alex, so unfortunately I can¡¯t kill you,¡± the boss says, ignoring his man. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t start cutting little chunks off you, piece by piece, until you¡¯ve paid me back in full.¡± Another nod and Younger Guy ces the machete on the area where my father¡¯s arm meets his shoulder. He¡¯s outright sobbing now, a sight I¡¯ve never seen before. I have no idea what to do. I can¡¯t interfere, I can¡¯t watch. I can¡¯t look away. Both my hands are pressed against my mouth to keep the screams that demand to be set free from bursting past my lips. Younger Guy raises his machete. My eyes flutter shut. ¡°On second thought.¡± They fly back open at the words. The machete is down against Younger Guy¡¯s side. The boss leans forward and pats my father¡¯s cheek twice, hard, the gesture humiliating in its disdain. ¡°The only person I¡¯d be punishing by cutting your arm off is the cleaningdy who¡¯d have to scrub your blood off the floor. As it is, she¡¯s already going to have to clean your piss out of the carpet.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± my father mumbles. The boss straightens andughs. His entire frame shakes, the honeyed sound thick with obvious amusement. He steps up to him, raises his leg and brings his heel violently down on the joint at my father¡¯s shoulder. There¡¯s a nauseating crack and then his arm bends behind him at an unnatural angle. My father¡¯s agonized howl tears through the silence. My stomach turns. I think I¡¯m going to be sick. Paunchy Guy shoves my father halfway forward until his elbow hangs off the chair. The boss repeats the motion. A second crack, a second howl. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Even if I can¡¯t see it, I can hear the sadistic smile in his words. I stumble backwards, away from the wall. ¡°You have thirty days, Alex. Twenty million quid plus an interest payment of my choosing for your tardiness and to pay me back for the mercy I¡¯ve shown you today. If I have toe back here, I¡¯ll slice you into a hundred pieces and scatter them around this office you love so much.¡± Fresh panic seizes me when I realize the confrontation ising to an end. If theye out now, they¡¯ll find me. I look around frantically, my eyes stopping on Eileen¡¯s desk. I dart across the reception area and duck under her work station just in time. Momentster, I hear footsteps walk past her desk and down the hallway. Their steps soundposed, unhurried. They don¡¯t seem scared in the least to be apprehended for what they just did. And that scares me almost more than anything. I stay under that desk for long minutes, searching forposure. I¡¯m shaking like a leaf, my body struggling to calm down after the extended bout of fear and trauma. I¡¯m inplete disbelief at what I just witnessed. This isn¡¯t our life. Criminality, violence,torture. Those aren¡¯t words I ever thought I¡¯d have to use, let alone witness. When my legs stop shaking long enough for me to stand, I crawl out from under the desk and get to my feet. I smother the small part of me that wishes I¡¯d seen his face. I¡¯d probably be a dead woman walking if I had. Whoever that man was, I hope I never see him again. He¡¯s a monster. But maybe I¡¯m no better than him in the end, because I don¡¯t go and help my father. I don¡¯t stop to consider it, I don¡¯t even look back at his office. I put my pink stilettos back on and walk away. Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 5 ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be here, jefe. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± I lift my head from where it¡¯s resting against the soft cushions of the velvet couch I¡¯m sitting on and look at Arturo. ¡°Let theme,¡± I say, dropping my head back against the couch and closing my eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve been watched from the moment you set foot in this club. We¡¯re vastly outnumbered, we¡¯repletely exposed and we¡¯re surrounded by hundreds of civilians,¡± he says, disapprovingly. Lower, he adds. ¡°You¡¯re being reckless.¡± ¡°Rx, Turo. They won¡¯t kill me here.¡± I bounce my head along to the club music, enjoying the moment of rxation. It¡¯s been a busy two weeks and I¡¯ve hardly had a moment to rest, let alone sleep. ¡°And why are you so sure of that?¡± ¡°Because they¡¯ll be thinking I¡¯d never be stupid enough toe to a rival organization¡¯s club with only five men,pletely exposed and with no way out,¡± I say, grinning at him. ¡°They¡¯ll assume I have additional men undercover in the crowd and reinforcements outside. They won¡¯t risk starting something without making damned sure they¡¯re not encircled and trapped themselves.¡± Arturo is entitled to question the folly that is deciding to go to a club likeFirenze. It¡¯s owned by the Italian mafia and run as a joint venture with Armenian organized crime. Thefamiglia, once a pinnacle of the Underworld, has grown cancerous under the current leadership. They¡¯ve sacrificed their morals and any hard lines they once had for short-term profits. I know that in addition to the usual drugs and guns, they¡¯ve allowed the Armenians to run a sex trafficking ring through the club. Disgust forces my fists to clench. The da Silva cartel doesn¡¯t deal in women. Never has, never will. It¡¯s bad business, one that leaves too many loose ends and is easily and often targeted byw enforcement. It¡¯s a selfish line we¡¯ve drawn in the sand, not one born out of mercy or goodness. There are simply far better uses for women than forcing them into sex very. Marcoughs. ¡°So the reason they won¡¯t attack is because they simply won¡¯t believe you¡¯d be stupid enough to do exactly what you¡¯re doing. Respectfully,¡± he adds. ¡°Stupid, maybe.¡± I down the rest of my drink and wave at one of my men for a refill. ¡°Or, maybe I¡¯ve just outwitted them all.¡± ¡°You better be right, Thiago. This is a hell of a risk to take.¡± I lean forward, narrowing my eyes at Arturo. He knows more than anyone exactly what I¡¯m doing here. ¡°This is where she disappeared. This is probably where they murdered her. I don¡¯t give a fuck aboutrisk. I¡¯ll kill them all whether it¡¯s tonight, tomorrow, a week, or a year from today. They¡¯ll all die.¡± He inclines his head, knowing to back away from this particr subject. Marco hands me a fresh ss and squeezes my shoulder in quiet solidarity. I shake him off. I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s pity. I need revenge. And that¡¯s why we¡¯re here tonight. Three months before I arrived in London, my sister Adriana came here on holiday with her best friend, our unofficial adoptive sister. They¡¯d both recently graduated from university and were in London celebrating, enjoying being young and excited for the promise of the future. They came toFirenzelooking for a night of booze and fun like so many other young people in their early twenties. Only one of them came home that night. Adriana disappeared into thin air, never to be heard from again. Intel flowed in from multiple sources that she¡¯d been raped and killed by an Armenian she crossed paths with that night. An Armenian who¡¯d remained unidentified until yesterday when Joaqu¨ªn, one of my men, hade to me with a name he¡¯d gotten out of an informant. Yuri Dadurian. Adriana was never involved in cartel business. My father and I made sure of it, but she was never interested regardless. We¡¯d hidden her identity and encouraged her to focus on her studies. She¡¯d excelled and she¡¯d graduated and then she¡¯d walked right into the lion¡¯s den,pletely unsuspecting of the danger around her. She was innocent. She didn¡¯t deserve to die. I didn¡¯t understand why she was killed. It didn¡¯t make sense. It made even less sense that the Armenians would do it. Sure, we didn¡¯t have a presence in Europe at the time but the da Silva name was still recognized globally. They should have known to stay away. The muscle in my jaw ticks dangerously. I¡¯m going to make sure that anyone involved in her death dies a death a hundred times more painful than what she suffered. And I¡¯m going to find her body so that I can give her a proper burial back home and my father can finally mourn his daughter¡¯s death in peace. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± Arturo says, finally connecting the dots. His gaze turns wary. ¡°You have a lead on Adriana?¡± ¡°Yuri Dadurian.¡± Marco¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°Armenian gun for hire. He was seen with her that night. And he¡¯s here tonight.¡± Turo scratches his nose. ¡°And why couldn¡¯t we go after him in the street or at his home. Or frankly anywhere that isn¡¯there?¡± ¡°Because,¡± I say, standing and walking over to the edge of the balcony and looking down at the crowd of people below me. I throw a look over my shoulder at him. ¡°I wanted to send a message.¡± Arturo gets to his feet and joins me on the balcony. ¡°We need to leave. You¡¯re going to get us killed.¡± ¡°You knew that was a possibility when you signed on to be myconsejero.¡± My gaze scans the crowd. ¡°Plus, I have no ns on dying tonight.¡± ¡°Fuck yes, let¡¯s do this,¡± Marco exims, jumping excitedly beside me, his bloodlust needing satiating. ¡°I¡¯ve been here before, I¡¯ll get the back room ready and see if I can find Dadurian.¡± ¡°Thiago, think about this,¡± Arturo implores. ¡°I am,¡± I answer, eyes scouring the crowd looking for the man whose photo I spent hours studying since seeing itst night. Arturo probably says something in response. If he does, I don¡¯t hear it because at that very moment my eyesnd on pink. A pink dress in the crowd, shining like a beacon as brightly in a nightclub as it had in her office space. It¡¯sher. Unexpectedly, like a mad twist of fate, she¡¯s here. Dancing with abandonment, arms above her head, neck thrown back, pleasure stamped across her features as her body undtes to the beat of the music. Lust ms into me like a runaway train, with no more warning than it hadst time. I¡¯m immediately enthralled and unable to look away. Is that the face she makes when shees, I wonder? I intend to find out. Sex has always been merely transactional for me; a way to release some tension with whoever was willing and avable, no names, one and done, no strings attached. And now I¡¯m imagining all the ways I¡¯m going to fuck her. How I¡¯m going to bend her over my desk and pound into her until her hips are bruised. How I¡¯m going to take her against the wall and watch as her eyes ze over before she shatters around me. How I¡¯m going to force her to her knees and shove my cock so far down her throat that she¡¯ll feel me for days. Scanning the people around her, I realize with annoyance that I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s noticed her. Suddenly shooting into the crowd doesn¡¯t seem like such a terrible idea anymore. Turo won¡¯t be happy, but I¡¯ll be satisfied no other fucker will put his hands on her and that¡¯s all that matters. I don¡¯t understand my reaction to her. Inexplicably, she¡¯s a distraction. One I don¡¯t need. She¡¯d distracted me when we were dealing with Alex Noble. I swear that I could smell faint traces of her perfume, almost like it¡¯d followed me into his office. It had taunted me, engrossed me to such an extent that I¡¯d sat quietly and watched Marco have his way with him for the first twenty minutes we were dealing with him. Since then, she¡¯s randomly popped back into my mind and pulled my focus away from the task at hand. I nearly got shot in the chestst week because of my inattention. And now here she is again, thedy in pink. She throws her head back andughs. Something ugly and possessive pulls at my lower stomach. I want that blonde hair spread out on my pillow, her ass nuzzled on my dick as she sleeps against me. Whatever this obsession is, I intend to follow it. I¡¯m not one to let something, or someone, slip through my fingers once, let alone twice. ¡°What?¡± Arturo asks, seeing the captivated look on my face. ¡°Did you find him?¡± His eyes follow mine and search the crowd until they find who I¡¯m staring at. His brows furrow momentarily before recognition ckens them. He shakes his head firmly, repeatedly. ¡°No. Fuck no. That¡¯s a bad idea,jefe.¡± I ignore the fact that he¡¯s getting much toofortable telling me no and focus on what¡¯s important. Arturo has a working knowledge of the most powerful families in the UK with legitimate businesses; if he knows her that means she¡¯s someone worth knowing. ¡°Who is she?¡± Excitement tingles through my arms and down into my hands where they grip the railing at the potential reveal of her identity.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. ¡°Helen of Troy.¡± I turn and give him an unimpressed look. He points down into the crowd at her. ¡°Figuratively that¡¯sexactlywho she is,¡± he exins. ¡°You¡¯ll start a war if you mess with her.¡± An intrigued smile stretches slowly across my lips as I look back at her. ¡°Will I?¡± He groans when he hears my tone. He knows me well enough to realize he¡¯s unintentionally issued a challenge. One I¡¯m unlikely to pass up. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say that as some sort of dare,¡± he says, exasperated. ¡°You¡¯re not listening to me. Not her. You know her father.¡± Surprise twists my features. ¡°Do I?¡± Arturo sighs. ¡°You dislocated his shoulder and shattered his elbow a couple weeks ago.¡± He turns around, leaning back against the railing. ¡°That,¡± he says, ¡°is Alexander Noble¡¯s daughter.¡± I throw my head back andugh. Now,thatis fucking hysterical. Truly. Somehow, it only strengthens my interest in her. He¡¯s a problem I intend onpermanentlysolving two weeks from today and she¡¯s his daughter. A pretty English rose I intend to pluck with dirty, bloodied fingers. Now it makes sense why she was there that day, why I continued to smell her in his office long after she was gone. Looking back into the crowd, I¡¯m unprepared for my gaze to immediately collide with hers. I feel tectonic tes shift beneath my feet, powered by the impact of our eyes meeting for the first time. I¡¯m hyper aware of the zap of electricity that travels uninterrupted through my body like an opiate through my veins. I lean forward, my gaze riveted on hers. She startles, like the contact physically pushes her back a step. She¡¯s not dancing anymore; she stands still amidst the crowd, staring brazenly back at me. Even from this distance, her gaze traps me as mine seems to do with her. She appears as affected by whatever this connection is as I am. ¡°He took something of mine, Turo. What better justice is there than taking something of his in return,¡± I tell Arturo. Arousal makes my voice hoarse, so I clear my throat. ¡°Has he made any payments yet?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m serious Thiago. If you fuck her and throw her away, if you break her heart, she¡¯ll run to daddy and all his buddies and there¡¯ll be hell to pay. They won¡¯t get involved in his gambling debts, but that changes if you start interfering with their women.¡± ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t take her then,¡± I say with a ruthless smile as an idea forms. ¡°I¡¯ll y by their rules.¡± Reluctantly, I look away and turn towards him. ¡°Byyourrules.¡± He frowns beforeprehension smooths his features. He drops his head in his hands and starts rubbing his temples. ¡°Joder, that¡¯s an even worse idea.¡± I don¡¯t think so, especially not when I see her looking up at me like a believer worshiping at the altar of her God. She looks away, severing the connection and sending my blood pressure rising. She doesn¡¯t get to look away from me before I¡¯m done with her. I watch her tap her friend on the shoulder, trying to get her attention. ¡°Jefe!¡± Marco calls. I turn to find him back in the VIP area, a ck look on his face. ¡°Dadurian is gone. Apparently he slipped out the back when he heard you were here.¡± Fury wraps around me and squeezes. It¡¯s a band around my brain that blinds me with a rage beyond my control. My hands grip the railing, my knuckles going white with the effort. I shake it so hard, I feel the hinges go loose. ¡°Where did he go?¡± Marco has the good sense to not meet my eyes when he answers. ¡°We don¡¯t have eyes on him,¡± he admits. I push away from the balcony and punch the wall. My fist explodes through the cheap ster and drives into the studyer. Shitty fucking club. I roar in frustration as I extricate my fist from the wall. ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± I announce. ¡°Marco, find out where that piece of shit disappeared off to. I want him dead by the end of the week.¡± I¡¯m rattled. This is unlike me. I don¡¯t let people get away, I don¡¯t let them get the best of me. It¡¯s because of her. She distracted me again, pulling my focus away from what¡¯s important. From Adriana. And still the madness finds a way to pierce through the rage. I round on Arturo. ¡°What¡¯s her name? Noble¡¯s daughter?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Find out,¡± I order. ¡°And find out where she¡¯s going to be the next few weeks. This isn¡¯t over.¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 6 Igrab a champagne flute off a passing tray and down it. When the waiter moves to walk away, I stop him. ¡°Not so fast,¡± I say, grabbing a fresh ss. ¡°I¡¯m going to need this.¡± He gives me a look that¡¯s half-impressed, half-sympathetic and walks away. ¡°Everything alright, darling?¡± My mother asks,ing to stand beside me on the perimeter of the dance floor. ¡°Just peachy,¡± I answer, taking a sip and enjoying the way the crisp bubbles burn a delicious path down my throat. I spent the afternoon getting my makeup done, getting my hair coiffed and teased in every direction, and contorting my body to fit in this tight dress so I didn¡¯t have time to eat. A ss and a half in and I already feel a slight buzzing on. It¡¯s exactly what I need to get through tonight. The charity g being held at the Natural History Museum is for a good cause ¡ª providing continued housing and job assistance for the homeless ¡ª but that¡¯s not what¡¯s troubling me. This event is attended by the who¡¯s who of London society and beyond. Anyone with an ounce of power in Ennd will be here tonight. A.K.A. it¡¯s the perfect ce for my father to identify potential husbands for me. Gag. Anxiety swirls in my gut at the thought and leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. I take anotherrge sip and hope that alcohol will give me the strength I need to just grin and bear it. My father is here somewhere, no don¡¯t doubt investigating eligible bachelors he can foist on me. And he¡¯s doing so with his arm cushioned in a custom-made Christian Door sling. When he stumbled home that night three weeks ago, he exined that he was hit by a bicycle as he was crossing the street and that the impact had thrown him. ording to him, he¡¯d rolled a few times which exined the injuries to his shoulder and elbow and he¡¯dnded face down on the pavement which exined the stitched-up cuts on his face. He lied, and he made others lie for him. No one at the office mentioned a thing. When I¡¯d asked Eileen if she¡¯d seen my father after he was injured, she¡¯d nched and shaken her head, avoiding eye contact before skittering away. The upside of him getting assaulted is it distracted him. He hasn¡¯t brought up marriage since, although I¡¯m not naive enough to think he¡¯s forgotten about his decision. He¡¯s probably just been too preupied trying to figure out how he¡¯s going to repay his twenty million pound debt and the associated interest he owes. My stomach flips thinking about crossing paths with that monster again. The devil. It¡¯s a different sensation than the sour feeling from earlier. More¡­anticipatory. I¡¯ve been inmed by what I witnessed andpletely unable to move past it. The faceless man shows up in my dreams, dark and terrifying, his hands outstretched as if to grab me. I wake up breathless, heart thundering, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. I¡¯ve even convinced myself that he¡¯sing for me. I know I¡¯m being irrational. I have nothing to do with any of this. My father dug his grave and if he doesn¡¯t pay, the devil will bury him in it. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not overrun with pity for him. The logical side of me knows that actions have consequences and he should have been ready to deal with them. The emotional side doesn¡¯t necessarily want him to die but draws the line at helping him regardless. ¡°You look beautiful tonight, darling,¡± My mother says. ¡°That color really suits you.¡± I look down at the dusty pink evening gown I chose to wear tonight. It has an impossibly tight corset that I had to be strapped into like that scene fromPirates of the Caribbean. It forces my breasts up so high on my chest that they¡¯re nearly bursting out of the top of my square neckline. The corset flows down into rivers andyers of tulle in gradually darkening shades of pink. It really is an absolutely stunning piece, custom-made for me by my designer best friend, Dagny. She had me pair it with teardrop diamond earrings and an old Hollywood hairstyle, the left side slicked back and pinned behind my ear. I lock my arm with my mother¡¯s and nudge her with my hip. ¡°Thanks, Mum. You look absolutely unreal yourself.¡±T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. She¡¯s wearing a ssic navy gown with long sleeves that she¡¯s essorized with gold bangles on each wrist and a red lip. I know those sleeves are more functional than a fashion choice ¨C they hide bruises my father gave her. A real smile graces my Mum¡¯s lips. It pains me. I wonder when thest time was that someone told her she was beautiful. I should be more attentive. I¡¯m distracted from those thoughts when a peculiar awareness washes over me. I feel like I¡¯m being watched. I scan the dancefloor, the bar, the attendees milling about the perimeter of the room, but there¡¯s nothing. And yet, there¡¯s this inexplicable weight that settles on my nape and makes the hairs all over my body stand on end. ¡°Tess.¡± I look up to find Franklin standing in front of me. He does a mock bow and extends his hand towards me like we¡¯re at a seventeenth century ball. ¡°Can I have this dance?¡± Oh, god. Absolutely not, I want to scream. My palm itches to smack his hand away. ¡°I¡¯m actually enjoying my mother¡¯spany¨C¡± ¡°She¡¯d love to,¡± my father interrupts. He appears from out of nowhere like a bad dream. ¡°Wonderful,¡± Franklin answers, ignoring my own answer, grabbing my hand and tugging me onto the dance floor. I stumble after him, throwing an rmed look over my shoulder at my mother and wordlessly asking for help. Her eyes widen and I think she¡¯s going toe after me, but my father¡¯s hand closes menacingly around her arm and she freezes. Franklin swings me around and I fall into his arms. His mmy right hand sps mine and holds it up. His left finds my waist, inappropriately low and dangerously close to my ass. Disgust roils in my stomach when he presses me against him close enough that I can feel his semi-hard penis against my stomach. There¡¯s not much there to feel but I say a quick mental thanks to Dagny for the corset. It provides a much-neededyer of protection. I shove delicately against his chest with my free hand, keeping up all appearances of civility. ¡°I think we should leave some room for Jesus,¡± I joke, hoping he¡¯ll respond well to humor. He presses me even tighter against him until his putrid breath hits my face. ¡°You should know that I¡¯ve been speaking to your father about a match between us. This union will be blessed by forces much more powerful than God.¡± So my father hasn¡¯t only been focusing on his debts as I thought. I¡¯m considering the pros and cons of stomping on Franklin¡¯s foot when I sense that familiar weight on me once more. I feel the ownership of someone¡¯s gaze caressing my skin, leaving a burning path in its wake. Am I actually losing my mind? Franklin has me pinned so tightly against him that I can¡¯t even twist my head to look around me without fear of our lips touching. I¡¯ll actually be sick all over myself if that happens. Part of me wonders if it¡¯s worth it if it means he¡¯ll let me go. Franklin has never been this offensive to my senses before. But then again, he¡¯s never manhandled me like he is now. He twirls me around, the crowd parts and my gaze ms intohis. Golden eyes stare back at me, a dark, chaotic look shining in them. The surge of lust in my stomach is immediate. No. It can¡¯t be. I twist my head to look back, to make sure it¡¯s him, but Franklin continues twirling me until I¡¯m facing him once more and my back is to the man. The same man I¡¯d spotted atFirenze. Dagny had insisted we go out clubbing that night. There was a guest DJ she wanted to see and she¡¯d been ready to beg me to go. She hadn¡¯t needed to. I¡¯d needed a night of fun, of letting loose. Finding out I was going to be married off, realizing I¡¯d wasted my life working towards something that was going to be taken from me anyway, and witnessing my father¡¯s attack on top of it all had been too much. I¡¯d needed a break. This was the start of a new Tess, one who prioritized herself and not others or what they wanted. I was dancing with abandon, enjoying the alcohol, the music, the loosening of my muscles, when I felt myself being watched. It was so simr to the feeling I had tonight that I¡¯m ashamed I didn¡¯t connect the two. I opened my eyes to find a man perched on a balcony high above me, hands spread wide on a railing,staring. Unabashedly. At me. He was too far away and too doused in the darkness of the club for me to make out his features, but those golden eyes weren¡¯t ones I could easily forget. They were prating in their unflinching study of me and I found myself looking right back at him. When a slow smile tugged at his lips, liquid heat pooled between my legs. I tried to point him out to Dagny, but by the time I got her attention, he was gone. There¡¯s simply no way it¡¯s him. I must be imagining things in my moment of need, conjuring a man I could actually want. ¡°Twirl me again,¡± I ask. Franklin grins. ¡°You like that?¡± I suppress a gag. ¡°Sure.¡± He does as I ask and I find myself twirling once more, this time focusing my eyes on the ce where I just saw the mystery man. I¡¯m prepared for his gaze, or so I think. I quickly learn differently when our eyes sh once more and the breath disappears from my lungs. It¡¯s definitely him and he¡¯s definitely looking at me. Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 7 We have barely a second to stare at each other before I¡¯m spinning again, but in that time he undresses me swiftly with his eyes. They rake hotly over me, igniting something in my belly I wasn¡¯t even aware was dormant. He wets his lips slowly in appreciation and I almoste on the spot. There¡¯s no calming my galloping heartbeat or the catastrophic chain reaction tumbling through me like falling dominoes. Even though I don¡¯t have much time, I get a good enough look to fuel my nighttime fantasies. Some people are quietly maic, and he¡¯s anything but. He¡¯sloud, in every way. Sex oozes off of him and crashes against me in thick, powerful waves that pull me in with the strength of a rip tide. Everything about him is ck ¨C his suit, his hair, his tattoos, his features, his entire aura. Everything except his eyes and his skin, both of them golden like rich honey. I¡¯m pulled away before I¡¯ve had close to my fill of looking at him, and I¡¯m yanked back to my sad reality, the one where I¡¯m being crushed in Franklin¡¯s arms. When will this godforsaken song be over? ¡°You¡¯re going to make the perfect wife,¡± he presses against my ear. He mistakes my answering shudder for an aroused shiver. ¡°So reactive to my touch,¡± he croons. ¡°It was kind of your father to allow you a hobby, but I¡¯ll take over once you¡¯re mine. Your only job will be waiting with your legs spread for me toe home.¡± His hand slides lower until his fingers brush the top of my ass. I grab his hand, crushing his fingers in mine, and yank it to my mid back. ¡°Keep your hand off my ass Franklin, unless you want to lose it.¡± His face turns cruel. His hand digs into my waist so hard that I know my skin will bruise even through the corset. ¡°You need to be taught some discipline. I¡¯ll make sure your education is a top priority the moment you move into my house.¡± He presses me close, his threats muttered nauseatingly against my ear. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy breaking you.¡± I don¡¯t let panic take me. There are many more eligible suitors in London. I refuse to believe my father will marry me to someone who¡¯s only im to power is that he¡¯s a third cousin to the eighty-seventh person in line for the throne. Over his shoulder, I see Dagny. She¡¯s staring at Franklin¡¯s back with something akin to pity in her eyes, probably because of the disgusted look on my face. I wave at her with my free hand to get her attention over to me. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± I mouthe. This is far from ideal as modes ofmunication go, but it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got right now. I don¡¯t want her to miss seeing the mystery man again. Thankfully, Dagny and I once identally entered a twelve-round bar charadespetition with an entire bottle of tequ already in our systems and won, so if anyone¡¯s prepared for this moment, it¡¯s us. She grabs an unsuspecting passerby who was ambling past her and pulls him onto the dancefloor with her. The poor bloke looks like he¡¯s just been rocketunched to the moon when he finds himself a foot away from Franklin and me, his hands on Dagny¡¯s waist, attempting to dance a waltz. ¡°Who¡¯s here?¡± she mouths back. ¡°The man fromFirenze,¡± I answer, tilting my head back over my shoulder in his direction. Her eyes widenically. ¡°Come on pal, we¡¯re moving,¡± I hear her say to her dance partner. He squeaks out an ¡°okay¡± and lets himself be shoved past me so she can get a better look. His relief is second only to mine when the song ends a few momentster and she releases him. I shove Franklin away the second the music fades. ¡°You¡¯ll never touch me again,¡± I vow. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Not bothering to wait for a reply, I spin on my heels, grab Dagny¡¯s hand, and march off the dance floor. Much to my chagrin, the mystery man is gone, disappeared once more. We exit the main hall where the event is being held and head into one of the grandiose hallways. I feel my heart rate start to even out as we escape the loud music and sounds of the party. ¡°Are you alright? Franklin looked like he was trying to suffocate you to death using the force of his beer belly alone,¡± Dagny asks, concerned. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m going to have Wiz install the mother of all viruses on every single one of his devices Monday,¡± I say, dismissing that whole interaction with a wave of my hand. ¡°Did you see the mystery man this time?¡± She nods excitedly. ¡°I did! He¡¯s insanely hot. You should have seen the way he was ring at Franklin. I thought he was going to drag him off you.¡± If only I were so lucky. ¡°I wish.¡± ¡°Have you met him before? Why was he looking at you like that?¡± I rack my brain. Something about him feels familiar, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve never met. I¡¯d remember his face, the way he looked at me. ¡°No, never¡­ and I¡¯ve never seen him at other society events either.¡± ¡°Same. He certainly doesn¡¯t fit in, what with the tattoos and the glower. The people around him were giving him averywide berth. I swear I saw Lydia Hightower¡¯s granny faint at the sight of him.¡± I chuckle. ¡°And yet, he¡¯s clearly invited. Or if not invited, at least allowed to stay after having crashed the party. So someone must know who he is.¡± ¡°Leave it with me, I¡¯ll track him down,¡± Dagny announces. I smile at that. Dagny is half-American, half-Norwegian, my best friend, and an unabashedly self-professed gossip queen. Her internationalwork of ¡°tea¡±, as she calls it, would rival most criminal enterprises. If anyone can find out who the mystery man is, and quickly, it¡¯s her. ¡°Thanks.¡± She quirks an amused brow at me. ¡°What are you going to do once you know who he is, Tessie?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± I answer, honestly. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought that far ahead.¡± A waiter exits the kitchen and walks past us with a tray full of fresh champagne flutes. Dagny snatches one and blows him a cheeky kiss when he flicks her a look, then hands the flute to me. ¡°You should jump his bones,¡± she deres. I choke mid-sip. ¡°I shouldwhatnow?¡± I ask, coughing. ¡°Fuck him,¡± she rifies. ¡°You should absolutely fuck him. As many times as possible in as many positions as imaginable before your dad ships you off to sexual Siberia for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°Jesus. Thanks for making me feel better, Dags,¡± I say dryly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry my time wille too and then you can be as brutally honest with me as I¡¯m being with you right now,¡± she says, patting my shoulderpassionately. ¡°Seriously though, you¡¯ve got too nice a pair of tits for them to go unfondled by someone as attractive and as clearly sexually gifted as that man.¡± I blush the same color as my dress. ¡°He might be just average.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t,¡± she asserts. ¡°I felt like I was intruding on Tess-Mystery Man private sexy time just watching him staring at you. Those were someverygraphic fantasies being yed out behind his eyes, I promise you.¡± She sighs dramatically. ¡°What I would give for a man to look at me like that.¡± There was definitely something explicit about the way he watched me. It¡¯s almost as if he was trying to brand me with his gaze. I can still feel the ghost of his eyes on me like a physical caress. I crave more of it. I¡¯ve never been spontaneous. I¡¯m someone who always has a clearly thought out and researched n and then executes it to the letter, but for some reason the thought of not exploring whatever this thing is between us leaves me with a disappointed feeling in my chest. I¡¯ve never had such an immediate sexual connection with someone and even I can recognize that I¡¯m unlikely to find such a connection again soon. Especially if I¡¯m married off to a sexagenarian. ¡°Did you see where he went?¡± I ask. Dagny¡¯s eyes shine mischievously. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve decided to go find him and let him do unspeakable things to you?¡± She ps her hands happily before opening up her clutch and taking out a pink lipstick. ¡°Pucker up,¡± she orders, applying a fresh coat when I do as instructed. ¡°Just so you know, I one hundred thousand percent support every bad decision you¡¯re about to make,¡± she says, closing the lipstick and putting it back in her purse. She grabs the bottom of my corset and tugs it down, making my breasts almost jump out of the other end. ¡°Dags!¡± I exim, bringing a hand up to my neckline. ¡°Franklin had these beauties crushed up against that gross chest of his so Mystery Man never got to see them and that¡¯s just a shame. This time, I want him to get a good long look at what you have to offer.¡± ¡°You mean my brilliant mind and razor-sharp wit?¡± I quip sarcastically. That makes the rational, sensible side of me pierce through, sobering me in an instant. Looking at this empirically, this is not a statistically sound decision I¡¯m about to make. I have nothing to gain from chasing after a stranger. I¡¯ve never even had a one-night stand. I should just go home, put my pajamas on, grab a pint of ice cream and eat it in front of a trashy movie instead. Dagny sps my face in her hands and squeezes my cheeks, cutting off my mental spiral. ¡°Ouch,¡± I churn out through puffed cheeks. ¡°Put your brilliant mind to the side for now, no man will ever truly appreciate it anyway. This is purely physical. You deserve a night of really good sex. You deserve a night where you¡¯re taking a risk and doing somethingpletely uncharacteristically unlike yourself. A night of freedom, just like you wanted.¡± I¡¯m still unsure. ¡°Is this a good idea?¡± ¡°Probably not, which is exactly why you should do it,¡± she smacks a kiss on my lips, releases my face, and ps my ass. ¡°Now chin up, shoulders back, tits out, and go give that man exactly what he was desperate to get a taste of twenty minutes ago.¡± ¡°You really need someone to tame you, you know that right?¡± I tell her, rubbing my stinging cheeks. ¡°Ugh I know, and no one¡¯s lining up to do it. So tragic.¡± She points at a winding stone staircase. ¡°I saw him and another man go up that way. He¡¯s probably in one of the exhibits.¡± She gives me one final quick hug and then says, ¡°Don¡¯te back until he¡¯spletely defiled you. I want you looking unsuitable for mixedpany and with stories about how you broke atleastfive internationalws. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll distract your parents in the meantime and sneak you out when you¡¯re done. And I¡¯m going to see if I can find out who he is while you¡¯re getting shagged.¡± I nod, down my champagne, hand her the empty flute and head for the staircase. I¡¯m halfway up the first flight when she issues a bted warning. ¡°Be careful about one thing, Tess.¡± I pause and look back at her. ¡°The way he was looking at you tonight¡­if you do find him, know that he might never let you go.¡± In retrospect, I should really have listened to her. ??? I walk down the dark hallways, unsure if I¡¯m even allowed to be here. There¡¯s no sign of life whatsoever. After traipsing through an entire exhibit searching for him, I¡¯m about to give up when I see a streak of light filter through an open door. My heart jumps into my throat at the thought that I might actually meet him face to face. How am I going to exin what I¡¯m doing in this darkened part of the museum? Isn¡¯t it a little desperate of me to have followed him here? He had eyes on me when I was dancing, he could have cut in if he wanted, or at the very least waited for me when I was done. Maybe he¡¯s not interested after all. Oh god, he¡¯s definitely going to think I¡¯m desperate. I¡¯m second guessing being here. I¡¯m about to turn around and walk back to the event when I hear a scream. It¡¯sing from the open door. This all feels eerily familiar, the situation all too simr to what I witnessed at our offices. Clearly, I learned nothing from my first experience with violence because instead of leaving like I should, like you would think I¡¯d have learned was the smart thing to do, I inch closer. For the second time in three weeks, I find myself listening at a door and peering in on something I definitely shouldn¡¯t be seeing. I press my face against the frame and look through. Like before, I arrive mid-way through an argument. There¡¯s a man on his knees that I don¡¯t recognize but think I saw briefly at the event and three other men standing to the sides of him. Unlike before, this time there¡¯s a different ending. Because no sooner do I make sense of the scene does an arm raise and a gun get pointed at the prone man¡¯s head. Immediately, I recognize the very familiar tattoo decorating the hand ¨C an open cor and chain. The man who attacked my father. Surrealistically, I¡¯m so focused on the tattoo that even though I¡¯m effectively staring right at the gun, I don¡¯t register that I am until he squeezes the trigger and fires. There¡¯s a deafening bang. The man¡¯s head explodes, his brains sttering everywhere. His body falls forward and hits the hardwood floor, making me jump. It¡¯s over in less than a second.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. A terrified scream bubbles up my throat and demands to be set free. I p my hands over my mouth to suffocate it. I¡¯m screaming and screaming and screaming in my head but letting nothing out. Somehow, self-preservation pierces through the fear just enough to keep my instincts sharp. If they find me, I¡¯m dead. I rock back into my heels, crouched at the bottom of the door. Once again, I¡¯m shaking like a leaf. Terror leaves me cold as ice. I desperately tell myself to move, but I can¡¯t. My limbs are locked. The man¡¯s handes nonchntly down at his side. My eyes haven¡¯t moved from the gun, from the fingers that so easily killed someone. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed him here,¡± Paunchy Guy says with a sigh. He¡¯s got a cut on his lip and blood at the corner of his mouth. ¡°The clean up is going to be impossible.¡± They¡¯re talking about it like it¡¯s spilled merlot on a carpet, not a man¡¯s brain matter. ¡°Nail his body to the wall and leave him,¡± amanding voice orders. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m sending a message. The Italians should know that they¡¯re under attack.¡± The cial, remorseless tone sends apletely different shiver sliding down my back. That kind of cold, murderous fury mixed in with his clinically authoritative tone scares me to my bones. Finally, I¡¯m able to lift my gaze from the gun and up his arm until I find the side of his face. And the world drops out from under me. Because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man who just killed the guy on his knees, the man who attacked my father and broke his arm, the man with the open cor tattoo, is the same exact man I saw atFirenze. The same one who stared at me when I was in Franklin¡¯s arms. The same one I came to find, with the hopes of having a one-night stand. He¡¯sthe devil. It¡¯s literally tattooed on him. His profile offers me a view of the lettered script carved into the side of his head, ¡°El Diablo¡± in big bold, ck letters right above his ear. Abject horror makes my head spin until I can no longer think. The world has tilted on its axis and I don¡¯t know which way is up and which way is down. A scared squeak erupts from my lips when he turns towards the door, almost as if he can sense me there. His nostrils re like he cansmellme and it¡¯s the most primitive, animalistic thing I¡¯ve ever seen a man do. There¡¯s something savagely carnal about it and my throat dries until it¡¯s impossible for me to swallow. Even through the disastrous reaction pummeling through me, I can¡¯t believe how beautiful he is. No, he looks like death incarnate. HeisDeath. ¡°So it really was the Italians then. They took her,¡± I hear one of the other men say. It distracts the devil and he looks away from the door. ¡°Theykilledher.¡± His low voice echoes menacingly, challenging anyone to correct him. ¡°And I won¡¯t rest until I kill every single one of them for what they did to Adriana.¡± He¡¯s adamant. A level of furious I¡¯ve never heard before coloring every terrifying threat he utters. Clearly, his lover was murdered and he¡¯s seeking revenge. My stomach twists for an altogether different reason, an insane mix of something akin to jealousy and the awful realization that no one¡¯s ever loved me nearly as much as he clearly loved her. Lovesher. A loud noise echoes in the silence and my heart stopspletely. Unearthly, deathly quiet falls over everything around me. It¡¯s my phone, set to loud and pinging with iing texts. I dive for my purse with frantic, trembling hands, struggling to open the sp because of how much I¡¯m still shaking. I feel like time slows, every new ping echoing as loud as a gunshot around me. I pray to whatever gods might be looking over me that the notifications are quiet enough that the men aren¡¯t hearing them. I finally dig my phone out of my purse and throw it on silent, clutching it against my chest in agonized anticipation as I wait for my death toe to me. When nothing happens after long seconds, I look down at the screen and find panicked texts from Dagny. Dagny:ABORT MISSION!!! Dagny:I KNOW WHO HE IS Dagny:DO NOT GO FIND HIM, TESS. TURN AROUND AND COME BACK IMMEDIATELY. Dagny:WHERE ARE YOU??? Dagny:His name is Thiago da Silva, HE¡¯S THE HEAD OF A FUCKING CARTEL. My stomach sinks. I know that name. The double doors I was hiding behind burst wide open, bouncing loudly off the walls. I look up and my blood runs cold when I find myself staring right into the barrel of a gun pointed down at my face. It¡¯s so close to my forehead that I can feel a chilling off the metal. ¡°Well, well, well. What do we have here?¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 8 Paunchy Guy yanks me to my feet by my arms. By some miracle, my legs manage to hold my weight and I remain upright. His grip on me is brutal and bruising, and he drags me into the room, kicking the doors shut behind him. Fear makes me want to avert my gaze or close my eyes, anything not to face this reality, but I fight against my baser instincts and yell at myself to keep my head up. There¡¯s no use pretending I don¡¯t know what just happened here, I¡¯ve already seen too much. There is no saving me now, but I won¡¯t cower. If he is going to kill me, I intend to look him in the eye when he does it. To humanize myself so as to appeal to any shred of mercy he might have buried inside him. Although, with the way I just watched him clinically dispatch the now dead man into the afterlife, I doubt he has any. Think, Tess. How can you get out of this? I feel my bravado slip the closer I get to him. Wee to a stop when just a few feet separate us and he¡¯s so much more terrifying up close. His physical presence dwarfs me. Even with my heels on, the top of my head only reaches the tip of his chin. My gaze hovers around the cor of his suit jacket until I feelposed enough to look up. Finally, I peer into the eyes of death. A lethally ck gaze stares back at me with unbroken intensity. Gold eyes soften a chiseled face. He¡¯s got sharp cheekbones, a nose that¡¯s been broken before, a square chin. His eyes are like a big cat¡¯s looking at its prey ¡ª unfeeling and callous. Tattoos burst out of his cor and tentacle up the entirety of his neck, including the underside of his jaw, and continue into his hair. There¡¯s a rose tattooed vertically on his face, right next to his ear, and the outline of a teardrop etched below the corner of his left eye. His entire appearance is rough, from his broken knuckles and the daggers on his fingers, to the trace of scars visible on his neck and face. He¡¯s no gentleman ¡ª he¡¯d probably consider that an insult ¡ª and nothing like any of the men I grew up around. Fear should be the only thing I feel, and it¡¯s definitely there, but there¡¯s also that same pull from earlier. He sucks on something, a sweet of some kind that he rolls from one side of his mouth to the other. His mouth parts slightly and his tongue peeks through, wetting thick lips. The juxtaposition between the gore and violence I just witnessed and the almost juvenile act of sucking on a candy chills me. I¡¯ve never seen someone so unforgiving yet attractive at the same time. The revulsion and hatred my mind feelpletely oppose my body¡¯s visceral reaction to him. The more my brainbels him a sociopath, the more lust unfurls in my belly, powerful and unrelenting. He looks almost amused by my perusal of him and watches me watch him. I get the sense that he¡¯s toying with me and I realize I¡¯d be a fool to underestimate him ¡ª he¡¯s not just a mindless brute, there¡¯s a shrewd mind lurking behind those dead eyes. I carefully avoid looking at the body. When he¡¯s had enough of me scrutinizing him, he utters two words that make my blood run cold. ¡°Hello, Tess.¡± His voice is deep, his ent wrapping deliciously around the one syble of my name like he has any right to know it, let alone speak it. But he says it like he owns it, like it belongs to him. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I¡¯m pleased at the perfectly even tone of my voice. I was afraid it¡¯de out shaking and broken. ¡°Let her go,¡± he orders. I¡¯m immediately released. He nods once at the two men, keeping his eyes on me. ¡°Leave us.¡± I don¡¯t know how I feel about thatmand. Thest thing I want is to be alone with him, but if it means Paunchy Guy who pointed a gun at me and is currently still ring in my direction will go, I won¡¯t fight it. ¡°We¡¯ll be right outside,¡± Paunchy Guy says, shooting me onest re. I don¡¯t know what his deal is ¡ª his boss is the one with the gun and the sociopathic tendencies, not me. He and Younger Guy exit, closing the door behind them, and instead of seeming bigger, the room feels like itpresses down around us. ¡°I looked for you afterFirenze,¡± the devil answers. His words are said dispassionately and yet they reveal that he was also intrigued enough by me to look into me after that night. ¡°Do you know my name?¡± I nod and his eyes darken. Goosebumps roll across my skin at his reaction. ¡°I know who you are.¡± Everyone in London knows the name Thiago da Silva. The rule of violence and destruction he¡¯s rained down on the city are all anyone¡¯s talked about for thest year. He¡¯s never photographed and he obviously isn¡¯t invited to society events so I¡¯ve never seen his face until now. His reputation is a lot uglier than he is. Knowing who he is now, I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t use the machete on my father. Cutting up people is certainly a signature of his. He¡¯s everything I hate. He¡¯s part of the ruling ss in the seedy underbelly of the city I love, colloquially referred to as the Underworld. He thrives in this bastion of criminality, running drugs and guns and most likely women. Murder is just one in a long list of offenses I judge him for. ¡°And who am I?¡± ¡°A criminal, a murderer, a sociopath, take your pick.¡± He¡¯s going to put a bullet between my eyes before I blink next if I don¡¯t shut my mouth. I find that I can¡¯t seem to control myself anyway. A malevolent twinkle shines in his eye and he takes a step towards me. It takes everything in me to stand my ground and not stumble backwards. ¡°All of the above,¡± he agrees. ¡°Say my name.¡± ¡°Thiago.¡± It just slips out, more breathless than I¡¯d have liked. A pleased hum rumbles up his chest and hits me right between my legs. This is dangerous territory for me, probably more dangerous than the gun still clutched in his hand. ¡°I saw what you did to my father.¡± I mention it to show him that I¡¯m not scared, that he can¡¯t intimidate me. Maybe he won¡¯t kill me if he realizes I didn¡¯t snitchst time I witnessed him assault someone. ¡°I was there that day, standing right outside his office.¡± He cocks his head to the side and smiles. He fuckingsmiles. ¡°Really? And you didn¡¯t intervene?¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± His smile stretches into an outright grin now, revealing rows of pearly white teeth. ¡°Fair enough.¡± His answer leadens my heart. He doesn¡¯t contradict me, doesn¡¯t tell me he¡¯s not going to kill me. I guess I really have nothing left to lose. Thiago pushes the candy around his mouth as he eyes me thoughtfully. ¡°Is there a reason you keep stumbling upon conversations that will get you killed?¡± Is he getting off on this, scaring me to death before he actually kills me? Didn¡¯t his Mum teach him it¡¯s bad manners to y with your food before you eat it? ¡°A lifetime of bad luck?¡± I reply pluckily. Thiagoughs in response, the ink on his face creasing into the corner of his eye. ¡°Your luck doesn¡¯t seem to be improving.¡± The tattoo smooths back out when he catches me staring at him. ¡°Why do you have that teardrop on your cheek?¡± I¡¯ve surprised him with my question, I can tell that much. He looks pleased with me, happy to give me an answer even. ¡°It¡¯s a death I owe. Blood to be spilled.¡± ¡°For who?¡± ¡°For a man who took someone I loved from me.¡± Ah, yes. Adriana. Anger festers in my belly. Why would he look at me the way he did, the way he is even now, if he¡¯s hellbent on getting revenge for another woman? And why, in the context of what I just witnessed, do I fuckingcare? He waves his hand casually around the room. ¡°You¡¯re taking all of this surprisingly well,¡± he notes. Oh god, I momentarily forgot about the body. Wide-eyed, I stiffen in sudden realization and he recognizes it. ¡°Don¡¯t look at him, it¡¯ll upset you,¡± he predicts matter-of-factly. I look only because he told me not to and he¡¯s right. It does upset me. Bile rises in my throat but pure stubbornness keeps me from being violently ill. ¡°You¡¯re a fool,¡± he adds, clicking his tongue against his teeth. ¡°Brave, but foolish.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t scare me.¡± That¡¯s a lie. Heughs again, sharper this time. ¡°You should be more afraid of me than anyone.¡± I freeze, my gaze slowly shifting back up to meet his. He¡¯s unmoved, his devastating stare still stuck on me. ¡°Why?¡± Hees towards me again, azy, unassuming-looking step that¡¯s anything but. This close, I can look into his eyes and see the ckened abyss that is his soul. There¡¯s something unhinged in his gaze that he doesn¡¯t bother to tuck away behind the pretense of civility. I guess with a lifeless corpseying a few feet away from us courtesy of his left hand, he doesn¡¯t need to. A loud crunch tells me he¡¯s crushed the candy down to dust between his teeth. He sucks briefly on the pieces, then swallows. My eyes track the leisurely movement of his throat, then fly up to meet his gaze when he speaks. ¡°You¡¯ve caught my attention.¡± My breath catches in my throat at his deration. I shake my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you,amor.¡± He might as well have branded me with a hot poker. His lips roll over that ¡®r¡¯ like they¡¯ve beenmissioned to do so. Something much more dangerous reces the crazed look in his eyes. Hunger. His gaze drops slowly down to my neckline where my breasts are still obscenely on disy thanks to Dagny. I watch as a storm rolls through his features, twisting them with desire so potent that this time I do take a step back. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± He lifts his gaze back up to mine, that same aroused look still stamped on his face. ¡°How am I looking at you?¡± ¡°Like¡­like you¡¯re picturing me naked.¡±This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. He inhales like he¡¯s absorbing my perfume and his eyes close briefly. When they open, the pupils are so dted the golden color makes up nothing more than the outer ring of his iris. ¡°I¡¯m not picturing you naked,¡± he purrs. Shakily, I say, ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m imagining how pretty you¡¯re going to look on your knees, wide-eyed and staring up at me as I fuck your mouth. Yes,¡± he adds throatily in response to my open-mouthed reaction. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the face I¡¯m picturing you making.¡± I take another step back and he follows, those samezy steps looking far more predatory than before. His gaze drops seductively back down to my neckline. ¡°Now I¡¯m thinking about how I¡¯m going to fuck these tits and cover them in my cum.¡± I put a hand out to keep him froming any closer. My fingers graze his chest and a jolt thunders up my arm. I pull my hand away at the burn. My back bumps against one of the enclosed exhibits. I have nowhere to go, I¡¯m truly trapped. ¡°And I¡¯m obsessing over how you¡¯re going to moan for me when I sink into your tight cunt for the first time.¡± Absolute shock stabs through my chest. No one¡¯s ever spoken to me that way before. My treacherous pussy clenches in response. ¡°I¡¯d rather you kill me.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± he whispers, reaching for my face. I duck under his arm and turn back around to face him. I gulp when the hand holding the gun moves, but he simply holsters it. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± I snarl. ¡°Everything about you disgusts me.¡± He snorts,ughing at me. ¡°Is that why you came looking for me? Because I disgust you?¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 9 Her pretty blue eyes widen. She has no immediate answer, she can¡¯t conjure a lie fast enough. I watch as her cheeks flush with the embarrassment of having been caught out. I don¡¯t press her on it, a rare kindness I won¡¯t be offering in the future. She¡¯s still in shock at what she witnessed, both tonight and back at her office apparently. Now I know why her scent had taunted me that day. She¡¯d been right outside the door the entire time. It¡¯s a pleasant surprise to find out Tess has a backbone. She¡¯s no meek society girl. She doesn¡¯t do what I say just because she¡¯s afraid I¡¯m going to kill her. She doesn¡¯t throw herself at me knowing it can save her, knowing being with me can give her protection and power. No, she¡¯s reckless with her mouth, her words, and her actions. Like me. She¡¯s perfect. So fucking beautiful it steals my breath away. ¡°Who was that man you danced with?¡± I¡¯d walked into the charity event to find her clutched in the arms of some geriatric fucker, pressed so tightly against him she couldn¡¯t move. A primitive type of anger had filled me when I thought she was willingly throwing herself at him. It¡¯d devolved into outright rage when I saw her face and realized she was more a prisoner than anything. Arturo had yanked me back by my shirt when I¡¯d made a move towards her, reminding me that we were here to follow the lead on Adriana. Marco found Dadurian the day afterFirenzeand tortured a confession out of him. He¡¯d quickly admitted to having seen Adriana that night two years ago. He¡¯d been in charge of slipping something in her drink but wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d kidnapped and eventually killed her. That man was an Italian, one Dadurian hadn¡¯t named before dying, simply telling us he was a Leone. The family of Augusto Leone, the capo. Angelo Leone, a distant cousin of Augusto, presentlyys dead at my feet. Turns out he wasn¡¯t the man I was looking for either, had no idea what I was talking about or who Adriana even was, but he¡¯d gotten a bullet in the head nheless. In no particr order, I was going to destroy every single member of the Leone family one by one until I found the man responsible for Adriana¡¯s death. It made sense that it was the Italians. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d have let the Armenianse to their club and create such a mess without their involvement or supervision. Unlike them, they have the manpower and firepower to take me on.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Arturo had been right to stop me from making a scene, redirecting me instead to the rare species exhibit where Marco had plucked Angelo from the charity g and was holding him captive. Nheless, the second we¡¯d stepped away from the event I¡¯d clocked Turo in the jaw for getting between me and Tess. And now anger burns in her gaze, but it doesn¡¯t seem directed at me. At least not entirely. ¡°He¡¯s a colleague.¡± She spits it out like it¡¯s an insult. She¡¯s beautiful when she¡¯s mad, her cheeks red, those delectable tits of hers straining to escape. If I make her angry enough, will one finally slip free, exposing one of the nipples I¡¯m so desperate to bite? ¡°Do you let all your colleagues touch you like that?¡± If she does, that¡¯s going to stop right fucking now. ¡°No.¡± She looks down at the exhibit of thousand-year-old insects. Softer, she adds, ¡°He thinks he¡¯s going to marry me.¡± The thought of that man or any other getting their hands on her makes my eye twitch dangerously. I don¡¯t fucking think so. ¡°He¡¯s wrong.¡± Sheughs humorlessly and doesn¡¯t say anything. My cock throbs painfully in my trousers. He¡¯s finally found someone he wants to fuck into next year and he doesn¡¯t appreciate not being allowed to do so. I let the silence stretch between us until eventually she speaks again. ¡°That man you killed,¡± she starts, nodding her chin in his general direction. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything to you?¡± ¡°Not specifically, no.¡± ¡°And you killed him anyway?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She looks at me like I¡¯m an abomination. ¡°You¡¯re a monster.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Unlike her, I won¡¯t deny the truth. Her eyes narrow when I prowl towards her. ¡°Don¡¯te near me. I¡¯ll scream.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather you scream in other ways.¡± She gapes at me, mouth parting in shock. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You really think I¡¯m going to sleep with you after I watched you assault my fatherandkill an innocent man?¡± An arrogant smile graces my lips. ¡°I do.¡± She sets her jaw and lifts her chin at me in challenge. ¡°So you¡¯re nning on assaulting me.¡± Iugh, actual mirth shining in my eyes. I¡¯m enjoying this game we¡¯re ying; I don¡¯t know to what end, but I¡¯m more entertained than I have been in years. ¡°We both know you¡¯ll fuck me willingly, even if you¡¯re not ready to admit it just yet.¡± I step up to her and this time she stays put. Her head tilts back to keep her eyes on me, exposing her open throat. My eyes drop to the expanse of her skin. I¡¯m desperate to im her, to mark her in a way that identifies her as belonging to Thiago da Silva. My gaze moves back up to find her eyes hazed over with lust. ¡°Not just willingly, Tess.Repeatedly. I can tell by the way you¡¯ve been eye fucking me since you walked in. You¡¯ll beg me to make youe and then you¡¯ll beg me to please stop making youe. Depending on how merciful I feel that day, depending on how much of a good girl you¡¯ll have been for me that day, I¡¯ll decide then whether to use your pleasure as a reward or a form of torture.¡± Her lips are parted, her breaths shallow. Her eyes pinball between mine as she rides the wave of lust my words have unfurled inside her. I know if I were to put my hands in her panties, I¡¯d find her soaked for me. It¡¯s an exercise in control that I don¡¯t actually have to not reach out and touch her. ¡°If you¡¯re so convinced I¡¯ll willingly sleep with you, then let me go,¡± she challenges. I smirk. Extending my arms casually to either side of me, I look at her questioningly. ¡°Am I holding you prisoner?¡± Her eyes widen then turn wary. When I don¡¯t move or touch her, she slides one foot to the side, then the other. She repeats the motion with her eyes trained on me like a skittish animal surveying a looming predator until I¡¯m no longer standing between her and the door. She doesn¡¯t run even though I know she must be dying to, and that only makes me harder for her. I¡¯m dizzy with the need to have her, to fuck her. ¡°Tess.¡± She freezes, less than a foot from the door. The way her back tenses and her shoulders bunch around her ears tells me she¡¯s afraid I¡¯m going to hurt her. That I dangled the hope of an escape in front of her only to yank her back from the clutches of freedom at the veryst second. Nevertheless, she looks over her shoulder at me. She doesn¡¯t bow her head or avert gaze. She looks me straight in the eye and defies me. She should be scared of how violent my lust is for her. I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t hurt her when she does eventually submit to me. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I will have you.¡± She scoffs. ¡°It¡¯s not up to you. I¡¯m not for sale, Thiago.¡± Her use of my name is intentional. It¡¯s meant to equalize us, to reduce me from violent killer and cartel leader down to just a man who might show her some mercy. It does the opposite, because I don¡¯t hear my name often and I¡¯ve definitely never heard it lobbed at me with such venom before. I love it, that fire of hers. She unintentionally marks me as hers with my own name. ¡°Everyone has a price.¡± ¡°Not me.¡± I face her and bury my hands deep in my pockets. ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t,¡± I acquiesce. A slow, dark smile stretches my lips. ¡°But we both know someone else who does, don¡¯t we,amor?¡± She nches and I¡¯m seconds away froming in my trousers at the sight of her pale face losing all its color. Her submission is going to taste so fucking sweet. I whistle, a shrill sound that pierces the air, and the doors open. ¡°Let her through.¡± I turn away and don¡¯t watch as she leaves. ??? Arturo walks back into the room with Marco in tow. The expression on his face tells me he knows what I¡¯m going to say before I even say it. ¡°Her,¡± I tell him. ¡°I want her.¡± Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 10 Aweekter, Alexander Noble picks up the phone and summons Tess to his office. I knew she was in residence when I forced my way into her home to meet with him, but I hadn¡¯t wanted to see her until it was done. Turns out the conversation with her father took less than ten minutes. He wasn¡¯t given any choice in the matter, but he readily agreed to my proposition nheless. That selfish, narcissistic prick was more than happy to give me exactly what I wanted if it meant he wouldn¡¯t die. Even if it meant sacrificing his own daughter. Tess walks in with a determined look on her face. She looks like she¡¯s ready for battle when she can¡¯t know what¡¯s about to happen. She¡¯s wearing a baby pink sweater, bell bottom jeans, and a pair of fluffy slippers. Out of her work clothes and evening gowns, she looks warm andfortable. Completely pluckable. I haven¡¯t seen her in a week and something ckens in my stomach atying eyes on her again. I take note of my body¡¯s reaction with dispassionate interest. Now that I know the perky tits she has hidden underneath all that cashmere, I want to rip it off her with my teeth. ¡°You rang, Father?¡± She finally spots me standing arms crossed in the far corner of his office and her expression grows first rmed, then wary. Heat sshes across her cheeks, whether out of surprise or arousal, I¡¯m not sure. She narrows her eyes on me, seeming to forget that her father is still in the room with us.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. That is, until he speaks. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re getting married,¡± Alex deres. The announcement has her head whipping back around to look at her father. ¡°What?¡± She exims, bewildered. ¡°To whom?¡± ¡°To me,amor.¡± I¡¯d made my decision the moment she¡¯d told me the senior citizen who¡¯d danced with her thought he was going to marry her. That was thest time another man was going to touch her. Outrage twists the features of Tess¡¯s face when she sees my satisfied smile. She looks more horrified than she did standing next to Angelo Leone¡¯s dead body. She looks away from me, promptly dismissing me to focus her attention back on her father. My eyelid twitches in response. I¡¯ll make her pay for that. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± He stares emotionlessly back at her, saying nothing. Shock makes her voice raise an octave. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why? You said I had ayear! It¡¯s only been a month; Tristan isn¡¯t evening back until the summer. Why did you change your mind?¡± When he doesn¡¯t answer, focusing back on his papers instead, she continues, words spilling out of her mouth a mile a minute. ¡°I have a job, I have projects, I havens. You can¡¯t just make this decision without talking to me first!¡± I stand quietly aside, watching this all unfold. Noble doesn¡¯t even deign to lift his head and look at her. When he still doesn¡¯t speak, she rushes towards the desk and ms her hands on the surface to get his attention. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me! This is mylife.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my daughter, which means your life is mine,¡± he says detachedly. ¡°I decide what to do with it.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t do this,¡± she begs, changing tactics. ¡°Please.¡± Her voice wobbles. If she was asking for anything other than not marrying me, I¡¯d have moved heaven and earth to make it happen for her. ¡°It¡¯s already done.¡± A sob crawls up her throat but she swallows it before any tears fall, much to my chagrin. I want her tears. I want her anger. I want her smiles and herughter. I want it all. That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking it all. Understanding dawns on her face as she seems to grasp the finality of her situation. Still, she refuses to ept it. ¡°If you¡¯re intent on marrying me off this quickly then please,please, pick someone else.Anybodyelse. Not him.¡± She doesn¡¯t even look at me when she says it. My mood ckens in an instant like a rolling storm thundering through my body and mind. ¡°He¡¯s a criminal!¡± Looking at her profile, I can see how panicked her eyes are. They touch on his arm, still wrapped up in a sling. ¡°I-I know what he did to you, Father. I know it wasn¡¯t an ident, that he actually attacked you. I saw him kill a manst week. He¡¯s amurdererand you want me to marry him? Do you not care about me at all?¡± I hate how small and brittle her voice sounds. He better not answer her question honestly, even if the answer is painfully obvious ¨C Alex Noble cares only about himself. I take a step forward and re at him when his mouth opens to respond. He flinches and looks down at the contract Arturo had drawn up. He signs it and looks back at his daughter. ¡°If you know that, then you know this tantrum you¡¯re throwing will only lead to unsavory consequences for you. Word of advice? I suggest you do whatever he wants.¡± ¡°I suggest you refrain from giving her any advice,¡± I snap. She¡¯s no longer his to worry about, if he ever did. Her eyes follow his uninjured hand as he picks up the contract and extends it towards me. Desperation mars her beautiful eyes. She detes when I take it and smile at therge signature decorating the bottom of the page. But her fight is back just as swiftly. She shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t care what agreement you¡¯ve made or what paperwork you¡¯ve signed. I won¡¯t do it.¡± With that, she turns on her heels and stalks out of the office. ¡°Tess!¡± Noble shouts after her. ¡°Let her go,¡± I order. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her.¡± He nods wordlessly and gives me an anxious look, probably wondering why I¡¯m still here. ¡°Her job is important to her,¡± I note. ¡°She gets to keep it.¡± ¡°But I¨C¡± ¡°She gets,¡± I repeat slowly, looming over him and setting a menacing hand on his shoulder, ¡°to keep it.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I fold the contract and tuck it into the inside pocket of my jacket, keeping the paperwork that proves Tess is mine close to the thundering beat in my chest. ¡°This is only the first part, Noble. I expect payment for the interest portion to be sent to me by end of day.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Marco walks into the office with his machete hanging loosely by his side and gives Alex a sadistic grin. I sp his shoulder and look back at Noble. ¡°You remember Marco from our little visit to your office. He¡¯s going to stay with you until it¡¯s done. Consider it my insurance policy in case you have a change of heart.¡± With the debt settled and the financials ironed out, I leave and go in search of my runaway fianc¨¦e. Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 11 Iprowl the dark hallways of her house, one floor at a time, checking every room and passing four guards stationed at each level of the home along the way. Noble didn¡¯t used to keep so much full-time security at his private residence. He must have hired them after our little talk at his office. I¡¯m ttered. They make no move to stop me, all of them seasoned enough to know that would be a losing battle. I finally track Tess down. She¡¯s not cowering in her bedroom as I expected. In fact, she¡¯s not hiding at all. She¡¯s standing at the end of the hallway on the fifth and final floor, staring out of the porthole window at the pouring rain. Moving within the shadows, I approach quietly. I know I don¡¯t make a sound but Tess must feel the shift in the air because I see the moment she knows I¡¯m here. Her shoulders tense and her neck straightens. She whips around, fury and betrayal and heartache stamped on every feature of her face. Her cheeks are dry, no sign of tears in sight. She¡¯s incandescent with rage but fully in control of her emotions. I hadn¡¯t nned on defiling her until she was officially my wife, but her irate expression is making me question all my carefullyid ns. I want to wipe the sneer off her lips by shoving my dick down her throat. Ending my celibacy by hate fucking my fianc¨¦e is exactly what the doctor ordered. I can feel the muscles in my neck loosening just thinking about it. ¡°Stay away from me,¡± she hisses. ¡°I meant what I said back there. I won¡¯t marry you and you can¡¯t force me to.¡± How little she seems to know about my world. ¡°Of course I can. And I will. I have no problem dragging you kicking and screaming down the aisle if that¡¯s what it¡¯s going to take. In fact, I might just prefer it. I¡¯ve always liked the fight.¡± I prowl closer to her, keeping my movement progressive so she doesn¡¯t see me approach. This time, her voice does shake. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Her lower lip trembles slightly and I find myself wanting to lean forward and bite it. ¡°I told you; you caught my attention.¡± She gapes at me. ¡°So, you force a marriage between us?¡± Her eyes track my tongue as it darts out to moisten my lips. ¡°It was the only way I could have you.¡± Tess crosses her arms and tips her chin up at me. ¡°I¡¯d rather throw myself out of this window than marry you.¡± ¡°Dramatic,¡± I quip drolly. Her eyes sh with anger. ¡°You think this is funny?¡± ¡°I think this is wholly unnecessary. You¡¯re wasting your breath and my time throwing a tantrum that I do, in fact, find very amusing. You¡¯re lucky I seem to have developed patience and a sense of humor where you¡¯re concerned,amor, I¡¯m not famously known for having either. But this only ends one way, no matter how much you fight me ¡ª with my ring on your finger and you warming my bed.¡± Her eyes widen enough that I can see how her pupils dte. As much as she wants to deny it, her body is far more agreeable to my proposal than her mind is. ¡°You disgust me.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯ve imed.¡± ¡°You have no moral code, no ethics,¡± she continues, undeterred. ¡°You ruin people¡¯s lives for the fun of it. Your world is nothing but pain and death and you revel in it. I¡¯ve seen it. Seen how you toy with people just because you can.¡± Iugh at that, a dark sound that rattles up my throat, and creep even closer. She¡¯s less than a foot away from me now but so angry that she doesn¡¯t notice I have her trapped in a dark corner with no escape. This close, I can smell her perfume again. It¡¯s intoxicating. The scent is so much moodier than she is with her pink clothes and soft eyes and blonde hair. It¡¯splicated. Layered. Spicy, like the personality she reveals when she¡¯s around me. I¡¯ve been watching her. She¡¯s a good girl when I¡¯m not there. Goes to work, does what she¡¯s told, smiles when she¡¯s being belittled. It¡¯s only when she goes toe to toe with me that the sparkes out. Her attitude intrigues and amuses me, it¡¯s why I let her speak to me the way she does. I¡¯d have slit the throat of any other long ago. Her chest heaves with the angry breaths she drags in. I want to bite those lips until they bleed. Maybe I¡¯ll have myst name tattooed on the bottom one since she¡¯s so repelled by the thought of wearing it. ¡°Get your head out of your SWOT analyses and spreadsheets and into real life, Tess. There¡¯s a very real game of thrones that¡¯s fought in every single city in the world, and I¡¯m a yer in it, just as you are. For every white knight, there¡¯s a ck one. Where there¡¯s good, there¡¯s evil lurking right beneath the surface. That¡¯s the checks and bnces of humanity. That¡¯s how the worldworks. I¡¯m a facilitator of the Underworld, not its creator. That darkness exists whether I¡¯m involved in it or not, I just happen to master it.¡± I reach up and hook a strand of her hair around my finger, still not touching her otherwise. With every passing minute, I¡¯m losing the remaining grip I have on my control. ¡°I am a criminal, a viin, a monster. The devil. I¡¯m proud of it. It¡¯s who I am, it¡¯s in my blood, it¡¯s a goddamn physical craving that I feed every single fucking day. Power and influence and crushing anyone who¡¯s in my way, those are the only things that matter to me. But now there¡¯s you,¡± I growl. ¡°And you¡¯re a distraction. I don¡¯t know why, I don¡¯t understand it, but I don¡¯t need to understand it to take you simply because I can. Simply because I want to. So I am. I don¡¯t care what you think of me and I don¡¯t give a fuck how much you fight this, because now you¡¯remine. Whether you want to be or not. You should be thanking whatever god you believe in that it¡¯s me who wants you ¨C that I¡¯ll do anything to have you ¨C and not anybody else. Or would you prefer I leave you to that pervert who groped you on the dance floor?¡± Tess¡¯s eyes ping rapidly between mine, caught off guard by my diatribe. Her head is tilted back to look up at me. I pin her against the wall and bring my face down until mere inches separate it from hers. I note how her breath hitches, how her pulse jumps on the side of her neck. I note how my hands shake with the need for this fix. ¡°The only thing that separates me from people like your father is that I¡¯m honest about my quest for power at any cost. That¡¯s it,¡± I tell her, my voice dropping an octave. ¡°You¡¯re being naive if you think your multibillion-dorpany, your perfect house and fancy cars can exist without what I do. The white elites have convinced themselves that they¡¯re the righteous simply because their oppression of people happens via the confines of legitimate business and not out in the open or on the streets. But we¡¯re two sides of the same coin, you and I. One can¡¯t exist without the other.¡± Tess puts both palms on my chest to shove me, but she hesitates the moment she touches me. I use that split second to press against her, molding my body to her curves. ¡°Underneath the pristine exterior of your life, can you really say your world is any different than mine?¡± I murmur, bending until my face hovers right above the crook of her neck. ¡°Your father beats your mother. He sold you to me to cover his gambling debts. I¡¯d say that his morals and those precious ethics you want to lord over me are just as pitch ck as mine. You can see that for the truth that it is or continue to bury your head in the sand, that¡¯s up to you. Like I said, your opinion of me doesn¡¯t weigh in the bnce here.¡± I curl a finger inside the high neck of her sweater and slowly pull it down and away from her skin. Her heartbeat is racing, galloping dementedly at her throat. ¡°Now tell me,¡± I purr, ¡°do you always wear pink?¡± It¡¯s irresistible, unstoppable even, the need I have to finally touch her. I¡¯ve waited long enough. It feels like years when it¡¯s only been weeks. So I finally,finally, lean in and take it. My tongue moves past my lips and makes contact with the now exposed skin of her corbone. I groan loudly and she shudders in response, making my hard cock throb. I yank her cor further down, satisfied when I hear fabric rip. And then I run my tongue from her corbone and up, slowly and deliciously up, until I find the soft spot behind her ear. I¡¯m assaulted by dangerously unhinged thoughts and cravings of cannibalism as she hits my taste buds with an explosion of vor. It¡¯s like the experience of having pop rocks for the first time ¡ª surprising, confusing, addicting, and it immediately has you going back in for more. Before I can go further, a hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me backwards. I was so absorbed by her that I didn¡¯t even feel the person creeping up on us. She dulls my senses, murdering my honed survival skills with just one look. She¡¯s fucking dangerous. And I¡¯m fucking furious we¡¯ve been interrupted. ¡°Get your hands off Miss Noble,¡± a voice grunts at me. My back is to my attacker so I can¡¯t see him. Whoever he is, he¡¯s a dead man. His forearmes against my throat as his other hand holds a knife and swings it straight down towards my face. Amateur. I duck under his arm and twist it behind his back, holding him prone. It¡¯s a fifth security guard. I should have known to ount for him, that there¡¯d be one assigned to this floor like every other, but I saw Tess and I forgot everything else. He¡¯s younger than the others, the poor idiot. They probably put him up here because they thought the risk to him would be minimal. It¡¯s too bad he has to die, his parents will probably miss him. I elbow him in the face and take advantage of the fact that I¡¯ve stunned him to grab his other hand and redirect it towards him. I use his hand to plunge his own knife swiftly into his throat. His blood sprays out of the punctured artery and sshes across my face. There¡¯s something satisfying about its warmth. It was pumping dutifully through his veins before he decided to make an enemy of me. Now it¡¯s not. Tess screams in the background.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. The guard¡¯s eyes are wide and startled, staring uprehendingly up at me, his hands grasping at the air as he slowly begins to fall. It all happened so fast his brain didn¡¯t have time to register that he¡¯d moved from attacker to attacked before the knife was embedded in his throat. He¡¯s dead before he hits the floor. Devil Mine: Part 1 – Chapter 12 Agaping pit of fear opens in my stomach when I watch the security guard fall to the ground, lifeless. I don¡¯t know his name, don¡¯t know anything about him except that he died protecting me. I¡¯m petrified as I look up at Thiago. He¡¯s covered in his blood, reveling in it. It¡¯s dripping from his forehead, down his eyelids and onto his lips. He steps over the guard¡¯s body with deranged nonchnce like the man is nothing more than trash that he doesn¡¯t want soiling his shoes, andes to me. He presses me into the corner with no escape and his armse down on either side of me, caging me in. I never thought there¡¯de a time where I¡¯d yearn for the boredom I felt a month ago. ¡°I¡¯ll kill anyone that gets between you and me,amor. Take that as my first wedding vow,¡± Thiago says with a grim, evil smile. ¡°Now where were we?¡± My throat is closed, constricted. I can¡¯t make any wordse out no matter how hard I try. All I can do is watch as lust rolls through his gaze once more, thick and blinding, and then he bends his head and shoves it back into the crook of my neck, going back to his carnal attack like he didn¡¯t just ughter another man in front of me. I jump when his lips close around the skin on the side of my throat. He suctions it into his mouth, his tongueving feverishly at it. I¡¯m no longer in control of my own body. I have no idea what¡¯s happening. I¡¯m staring into the dead man¡¯s eyes as Thiago sucks at my throat like an animal. I should be horrified. Nauseated. I am. I am. But my body is a riot of emotions and none of them have anything to do with disgust. ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± I say, searching desperately for aplete sentence. For the first time in my life, my body masters my mind. I feel shut out of all rational thoughts and who am I without those? His handes up to cup the other side of my face, then slides into my hair. He grips it and pulls my head to one side, giving him better ess to my neck. He runs his nose up the expanse of my throat. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m a murderer and you hate me, we¡¯ve already been over this,¡± Thiago rasps gutturally against my ear. ¡°But here¡¯s something new. Apparently, death makes you wet.¡± The rumble in his voice tells me how turned on he is by this new discovery. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± I pant. My voice pitches up when his hand slides underneath my sweater and makes contact with the skin of my stomach. ¡°Oh.¡± His palm slides up the ne of my abdomen. The contact is barely a graze and I feel so sensitive, fragile almost, because of it. He curls a hand around my waist, fingers digging into my skin, possessive and greedy, adding pressure to his touch that I didn¡¯t know I needed and pulling me closer against him. He¡¯s stroking me exactly where Franklin hurt me, erasing bad memories with what should be worse memories but is just pure, primal arousal instead. ¡°Look at you,amor. I¡¯m barely touching you.¡± His fingers ghost down to my lower back and tease the skin at the hem of my jeans. ¡°And you¡¯re a trembling, whimpering mess.¡± I realize that I am shaking. That I¡¯m clinging to him like I¡¯m drowning and he¡¯s my life raft. That my eyes are closed and my lips are parted. ¡°It¡¯s the shock,¡± I deny. I hate how breathy my voice sounds. ¡°Is it the shock that¡¯s making your pussy wet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not!¡± I cry out, embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯mnot.¡± How could he possibly know that? I push him this time, but he refuses to budge or let me go. Instead, he presses me against his body until Ifeelhim against my stomach. My eyes fly open to find him staring down at me with a dark, erotic look on his face. I realize he¡¯s studying every single expression flitting across my features with unflinching intensity. He likes the way my mouth parts when I feel his cock against me, I can see it in his hooded gaze. ¡°You are. I can feel it in the way you¡¯re panting. Those hot breaths hit the side of my face every time I touch you. You¡¯re aching for me. You¡¯re archingintome, desperate to get your pussy anywhere near my cock.¡± His voice is ragged with his arousal. He pulls my hair and yanks my head back, keeping me under his control like it¡¯s a leash. ¡°Underneath all that dainty pink, those professional suits, and that socially eptable behavior, I think you¡¯re hiding a secret.¡± I gasp and a smug smirk pulls at his lips. ¡°Do you even know it? Are you even conscious of the dark urges you have, of the fantasies that you suffocate inside you because you think good girls like you shouldn¡¯t have them?¡± His voice is liquid lust, intoxicating and persuasive as he rasps low, ¡°I want them all. They belong to me. Give them to me and I¡¯ll do every single one of them to you. Tell me all the dark, deviant fantasies you dream of and I¡¯ll teach you how to be a good girl and a whore for me, just like you want.¡± My pussy clenches painfully in response. ¡°You¡¯re a lunatic and you¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± That deranged look is back in his eye again and I swallow thickly in anticipation. Excitement sizzles treacherously in my veins, impossible to extinguish no matter how hard I try. ¡°Prove it.¡± All of a sudden, Thiago¡¯s hands are on the button of my jeans, flicking it open, and I¡¯m panicked at the thought that he¡¯s going to find out the truth.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. So I pummel my fists on his chest and shove him away with all my might. Desperation gives me strength that I don¡¯t have, but I¡¯m still no match for him. He grabs my hands like they¡¯re nothing more than a slight annoyance and pins them behind my back. I feel somethinge around them and then they¡¯re shoved tightly together against my will. I try separating them, but they won¡¯t move. stic digs into my wrists and I realize he used a zip tie to bind them behind my back. ¡°Does fighting turn you on, is that the first of your fantasies?¡± Thiago wonders aloud, chuckling darkly. The zipper of my pantses down and I feel air touch the skin above the line of my panties. I can¡¯t do anything to stop him but arousal douses any rm I¡¯m feeling and somehow he knows it. ¡°Do you prefer being tied up like this so I can discover your lies for myself? So you can pretend you don¡¯t want it when you¡¯re actually desperate for it?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± I cry anyway. ¡°You said you¡¯d only touch me if I was willing!¡± ¡°Your body is willing,amor. More than willing,begging, to be touched. It¡¯s my husbandly duty to give you what it wants.¡± His eyes drop to look at the triangle of fabric now visible through the opening of my zipper. When he sees the pink of my panties, his eyes turn ck with lust. The gold ispletely gone, reced by a ck hole that sucks all the light in the vicinity into its depths. ¡°Now be quiet, I need to savor this. I only get to see my fianc¨¦e¡¯s pussy for the first time once.¡± All pretense of civility between us is gone. He skims his fingers reverently along the top of my panties, leaving a scorching trail of fire wherever he touches me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is about you that has me so enthralled,¡± he murmurs, gaze almost hypnotized. His eyes are pinned unwaveringly where his fingers brush against the top of my panties. Thiago slips a finger right below the band of my panties and stays there, his presence almost like a threat. Then he runs it the entire length of the hemline, sneaking in his remaining fingers. I shudder at his words and touch, my skin heated. But I shake my head and struggle, more afraid of how I¡¯ll react if he touches me there than of what he¡¯ll find. ¡°Please, no,¡± I beg. ¡°What are you hiding from me,amor?¡± ¡°Nothing.Nothing! You¡¯re assaulting me,¡± I say, hoping that¡¯ll scare him away. But I should know better than to try to appeal to the devil¡¯s good side. It doesn¡¯t exist. He smiles and looks at me, face still streaked with a dead man¡¯s blood. ¡°I¡¯m getting the truth.¡± I turn my head aside as he shoves his hand down into my panties. This is going to be so much more humiliating if I have to look him in the eye when he discovers what a liar I am and I refuse to do it. He doesn¡¯t give me a choice. He grips my face and forces me to look at him. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to touch you. I can smell your arousal from here. But because I know you love data and likely need empirical proof¡­¡± With almost relieving finality, his fingers part my folds and slide into the valley of my pussy. My soaking wet pussy. ¡°¡­Is this enough for you?¡± It¡¯s almost cruel how he barely touches me. He just nces over my clit and entrance and then immediately pulls out of my panties. Thiago¡¯s smile is arrogantly victorious as he shows me his middle and fourth fingers, both of them glistening and covered in the slickness of my arousal. I whimper, defeated. But he¡¯s no gracious victor. He squeezes my jaw until my lips part and shoves both fingers into my mouth. ¡°Taste how much you want me,¡± hemands. My eyes widen in outraged surprise but I have no time to process it. His other hand takes the ce of the first and pushes back into my panties. He slips between my folds to my entrance and shoves a finger inside me. ¡°Omf¨C¡± My exmation is muffled around the fingers he¡¯s thrusting down my throat. Thiago pulls out of my pussy and sucks that finger into his own mouth. I watch as his eyes roll back into his head, pleasure contorting his features. He pushes the finger in and out of his mouth in tandem with the ones still in mine. There¡¯s something so unbelievably obscene about both of us licking my juices together and I¡¯m d he¡¯s no longer in my pussy so he can¡¯t feel how I just clenched at the sight. ¡°You taste so good, your juices are all over my hand,¡± he says, moving to lick his palm and wrist like a rabid animal. He¡¯s right though, my arousal soaks his hand. ¡°Are you ready to admit it yet?¡± He pulls his fingers out of my mouth to let me answer. ¡°That means nothing,¡± I stammer. ¡°It¡¯s my body¡¯s uncontroble reaction.¡± Something dangerous sparks in Thiago¡¯s eyes. He yanks my hair again, sending a jolt of delicious pain running up my neck. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t tell anyone how desperate you are to fuck your criminal of a fianc¨¦.¡± I gasp when he pushes a finger back inside me, thrusting it in to the hilt. His hold on my hair keeps me from toppling into him but I¡¯m helpless to keep my eyelids from fluttering shut. I can¡¯t take his hot-blooded stare on my face any longer, it¡¯s too intimate. Just when I think I can¡¯t take any more, he presses a second finger next to the first and shoves inside me. I hiss at the tight fit. My pussy is stretched tautly around his digits and they¡¯re only about halfway in. His mouthes down to my ear, making me shudder. ¡°Are you a virgin?¡± he growls. ¡°No,¡± I say smugly, happy to show him I¡¯m not just his possession. He bites the line of my jaw, his teething viciously down on my skin. Pain explodes along the side of my face before he licks it away. ¡°How many?¡± he drawls. ¡°How many men am I going to have to fuck out of your tight cunt?¡± I¡¯ve always hated overly possessive, controlling men, so logically, I should hate everything about the brutish, caveman way he¡¯s demanding answers. Logically. Instead, his crude, primal words heat my blood until I feel like I¡¯m about tobust. How is he doing this, how is he rewiring everything I thought I knew about myself? ¡°I¡¯m spoiled goods, already used up,¡± I answer haltingly. ¡°Get yourself a virgin bride, you don¡¯t want me.¡± Poison settles in my stomach at my own challenge. It straight up boils when I think about Adriana and how I¡¯m already just a recement for his real love. ¡°It¡¯s not about starting, it¡¯s about finishing,¡± he purrs, unfazed. ¡°And I¡¯m going to be thest man to ever fuck this sweet pussy.¡± He thrusts in and out of me, loosening me, making me lose my ever loving mind. ¡°A hundred,¡± I gasp. ¡°A hundred men.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He pauses, then shoves his thick fingers inside me to the hilt. I cry out at the roughness of his intrusion, at the stretch, at the impossible feeling of his fingers so deep inside me. ¡°And you¡¯re still this tight?¡± His words are teasing, revealing he doesn¡¯t believe me for a second. He¡¯s toying with me again, except this time it¡¯s in a game where he¡¯s a grand master and I¡¯m just a beginner. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you¡¯ve fucked,amor. I doubt any of them meant anything to you, and if they did, you¡¯ll forget about them the moment my cock sinks into this tight pussy and ims it as his home.¡± His thrusts turn rougher, punishing, as he inches his face towards mine until a hair¡¯s breadth separates our lips. For a moment, I think he¡¯s going to kiss me and instead of turning away, lust makes me tip my chin upwards. ¡°But from this day onwards your pussy ismineand mine alone. If I see you flirting with someone else, if I see you dancing with, smiling at, or entertaining another man in any way.¡± He pauses, his mouth stretching into a cold, terrifying smile. ¡°You¡¯ll find out just how the devil came by his reputation.¡± Indecipherable moans and cries fall from my lips as he brings me closer and closer to the edge of a cliff I didn¡¯t even seeing. He¡¯s careful to avoid touching my clit, knowing one brush of his thumb would make mee apart. He curls his fingers inside me and brushes against a soft spot that has me seeing stars. I¡¯m right there, right at the edge about to crest past that delicious pause before I tumble off the side of the cliff when he abruptly pulls his fingers out. I sag against him, my legs giving out. Ragged breaths rip from my throat as I try to make sense of what just happened. I¡¯m frustrated and unfinished but I can¡¯t scream at him for not making mee when I was screaming at him for touching me in the first ce. I peer up at him from below my eyshes to find his gaze already trained on my face. ¡°You don¡¯t get to cum until you¡¯re legally mine.¡± Arousal makes his voice throaty and hoarse. ¡°That¡¯ll never happen.¡± His hard cock is still pressed against me, throbbing with need. His eyes drop to the stubborn set of my lips and his pupils dte once more. He reaches between us and with two fingers, spreads my arousal across my lips. I¡¯m mid-gasp when he bends his head and ims my mouth. Shock freezes me. Then, slow, unexpected electricity sizzles sharply through my body when our lips touch. Cinnamon explodes on my tongue, the remaining spiciness of his candy making me dizzy. He tastes like darkness. Like blood spilled and bad decisions. He wraps a hand around my nape and angles my face up towards him. The other digs into my hair and grips it tightly. His tongue parts my lips and dives into my mouth. He doesn¡¯t ask, his strokes tentative and beguiling. No, he takes with a dominance that steals my breath away. The softness of his lips is in stark contrast with the assault of his tongue. He wars passionately with mine, conquering it like he conquers everything else. This kiss has the gravitational pull of a ck hole and I¡¯m sucked in with no hope of escape. Distantly, I¡¯m aware of one hand leaving me, of feeling cold metal against my skin but not even registering that I should be afraid, and then my own hands are free. He licks the arousal from my lips. A moan of pure male satisfaction leaves his throat and hits me between my legs, reigniting the still frustrated spot. He bites my lower lip at the same time as I feel pressure on my hand, distracting me, and then he rips his mouth off mine. Desire makes him look almost unrecognizable. His chest rises and falls angrily as he pulls in ragged breath after ragged breath. ¡°Keep telling yourself that,¡± he growls, voice roughened by lust. I don¡¯t even know what he¡¯s saying that in response to. The kiss has wiped my memories of any prior conversation and stolen the breath from my lungs. ¡°Be a good girl for me,amor,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ll be back to take you soon. For good this time.¡± He¡¯s gone before I can say or do anything, slinking off and disappearing into the shadows with an ease that shows how dangerous he is. He leaves me with a dead body, blood on my lips, and raging arousal with no outlet. The haze of lust recedes quickly with his departure. The sobering realization of everything that just happened hits me in stark color. Looking down at my left hand, I find a massive twinkling diamond upying the better half of my fourth finger. He slipped it on when he freed my hands and kissed me, and like a lust-struck fool, I didn¡¯t even notice. I stare at the diamond and see it for what it is. A life sentence as the wife of a criminal. A life metaphorically ¡ª and potentially literally ¡ª cored to someone I despise. A life where I¡¯m no more in control than I am now, where fear and violence reign. A life that is not my own. In the end, I was right. The devil in my nightmares dide for me. So I do the only thing that I can think of, the only thing that makes sense to me. A decision that¡¯s both logical and emotional. I run. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 13 Part 2 ¨C Chased I¡¯m at my home in Knightsbridge, working with Arturo on ironing out thetest contract with ckdown when Marco walks in. Immediately, I know he¡¯s bringing bad news. I can tell by the look on his face that whatever it is he¡¯s about to tell me, I¡¯m not going to like it. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. ¡°Jefe,¡± he says, pausing there. I¡¯ve never seen Marco at a loss for words. Arturo frowns at him. I settle back into my chair and bounce it a few times, looking at him appraisingly. ¡°Is it the Italians? Did you learn something new about Adriana?¡± ¡°No,¡± he says, grimacing. ¡°It¡¯s Tess.¡± I stop my chair mid-bounce, and my heart momentarily follows. ¡°What about her?¡± She was fine when I left her. If something happened to her, if her father did something¡­There are two hundred and six bones in the human body and I¡¯ll filet every single one out of him like a fish. ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± I stand abruptly, cing both of my palms on my desk. Heat crawls up my neck at his words. ¡°What do you mean gone? Where is she?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,jefe. We put a couple falcons on her like you requested and they lost her.¡± ¡°Where?¡± He winces. ¡°They¡¯re not sure. She seemed to be following her normal routine. She took her car to work, they watched her walk into the Noble Group building, watched here out around lunchtime with a couple of colleagues and head toBistro Barb¨¨s. ording to them she returned to the office around one thirty and never came back out. They haven¡¯t seen her since.¡± I look down at my watch. ¡°It¡¯s noon right now.¡± He grimaces again, his expression pained. ¡°This was the day before yesterday.¡± An arctic chill lowers the temperature of the room. My palms clench into tight, bloodless fists. My ears must be deceiving me because surely I¡¯m hearing the informationing out of his mouth incorrectly. ¡°You¡¯re telling me they waited almost forty-eight hours to tell me she was missing?¡± ¡°They wanted to make sure she was really gone before they gged it to me. I came as soon as I heard.¡± I roar furiously, pounding my fists on the table with such force that everything jumps up half an inch,nding haphazardly back on the surface a secondter. ¡°Kill them,¡± I order cold-bloodedly. ¡°Thiago¨C¡± Arturo starts. ¡°Kill them. Send their heads to their families, wherever they are.¡± It¡¯s standard punishment for betraying the cartel. They deserve no better fate. ¡°Consider it done,¡± Marco answers with a sober nod. The emotion I¡¯m feeling is unfamiliar. Something akin to agitation. Our engagement hasn¡¯t been announced so the risk to her is low, but her position as my fianc¨¦e makes her vulnerable. Tess being missing triggers shbacks to when I found out Adriana had been taken. I never got her back. I won¡¯t let the same happen to Tess. My features shake under the weight of my fury and uncertainty. My being this rattled by news that she¡¯s disappeared is concerning for a whole other set of reasons. ¡°Are you sure she isn¡¯t at home? Or that she didn¡¯t stay overnight in her office for some reason?¡± ¡°No, I sent other men to her home. Noble confirmed she isn¡¯t there, that she hasn¡¯te back since she went to work Monday. I have men at her office now¡­Hold on, this is an update from them.¡± He looks down at his phone, the screen lighting up with a notification. He reads whatever message he just received, his eyes shing before he throws me an indecipherable look. I have to actively work to keep my breathing regted. My clenched fists hold my weight on the desk, keeping me stable. If he¡¯s about to tell me she¡¯s dead my reaction is going to be less than pleasant. ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t at her office.¡± I breathe an internal sigh of relief. ¡°But there was a note on her desk.¡±T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°A demand for ransom?¡± ¡°No.¡± He extends the phone to me. ¡°You should read it for yourself.¡± I take it and look at the photo he has pulled up. It¡¯s a picture of a crisp, white notecard monogrammed with Tess¡¯s initials,ying squarely on her desk. I zoom in closer and read the words written in tidy handwriting. I will never be yours, legally or otherwise. By the time you find this, I¡¯ll be long gone. Get yourself another ything and don¡¯te looking for me. Screw you, Tess I straighten, my spine uncoiling as every vertebra slots back into ce. Amusement curls the corner of my lips, even as anger lurks just beneath the surface. So, she made a run for it. A move that¡¯s both foolish and brave, just like I told her she was. At least she¡¯s safe. Where others have thrown themselves at me in the past, she literally chose to run away from her life and home just to escape me. The unfeeling sociopath in me gets hard knowing I can have that kind of uprooting effect on her. She continues to be a surprise wrapped in an enigma, and one I¡¯m even more desperate to get my hands on than ever. My fianc¨¦e wants to y? So be it, we can y. And when I drag her back to me, it¡¯ll be my pleasure to show her exactly what the punishment is when you lose a game against me. ¡°I¡¯m going after her,¡± I dere. She has a two-day headstart on me which puts me at a disadvantage, but tracking down people who hide from me is what I do for a living. There¡¯s no way an innocent, sheltered twenty-five-year-old London girl can get the best of me. ¡°Thiago, you can¡¯t.¡± I nt Arturo a murderous look, poison seeping into my gaze. ¡°Tell me again what I can and can¡¯t do.¡± He stands to match my posture. ¡°Respectfully,jefe, we need you here,¡± he reasons, picking up the contract we were just reading over. ¡°We need to get these back to ckdown this week. There¡¯s producting in from the North Coast from a new supplier of your father¡¯s who you need to meet. Our cleaners won¡¯t be able to take on this new load with the turnaround we need. We have a couple other names but they¡¯re going to need to be vetted. You¡¯re the only one who can do that. Plus, there¡¯s the Switzend issue; if we¡¯re going to transfer funds to the Caymans, Bachmann will want to meet with you.¡± I scrub my hand over my face and think. Business is booming and that means we¡¯re having a shit load of expansion-rted issues getting our money cleaned and housed somewhere untraceable byw enforcement. I can¡¯t be everywhere so I¡¯ve turned over running some operations to Arturo and Marco, but I still oversee the majority. It¡¯s an impossible time for me to be chasing after a runaway fianc¨¦e. ¡°When I said to get a wife, I didn¡¯t say get a new headache,¡± he adds cautiously. ¡°Your engagement wasn¡¯t announced so there won¡¯t be a reputational hit from letting her go and finding someone else¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t push a wife on me and then tell me you don¡¯t like the one I chose. I want and I willhaveTess Noble. Understood?¡± He nods, although unhappy lines remain around his mouth. He hasn¡¯t been shy about his dislike of my choice but I¡¯ve just ignored him. ¡°I want her found, Marco,¡± I snarl, mming my fist once more against the desk. ¡°Yes,jefe.¡± ¡°When you find her, you don¡¯ty a hand on her, you hear me? I¡¯ll deal with her myself.¡± He nods and awaits my dismissal. I look at them both, one after the other, and then address Arturo. ¡°He has two weeks to find her, Turo. If she¡¯s still missing after that, I¡¯ll go after her myself and you won¡¯t stop me. I don¡¯t care how much security I need to bring with me or how many back and forths I¡¯ll need to make to London to keep the business running, you¡¯ll make it happen.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± he agrees before turning towards Marco. ¡°Better find her fast, we can¡¯t afford to lose the boss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he assures. ¡°I¡¯ll find her.¡± Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 14 One monthter ¡°Another churro and cafe con leche, se?ora?¡± I lift my eyes from the pages of my book and look up at the young waitress. She looks in her early twenties, just a couple of years younger than I am and she¡¯s smiling warmly down at me as she clears my cup and te and puts them on her tray. It¡¯s the middle of the afternoon on a cold winter day and I¡¯m sitting in a heated patio with a view of the?a de Sagrada Familia,enjoying tapas and reading what¡¯s turning out to be a nail biter of a crime novel. Life is good. ¡°Why not?¡± I answer with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± I¡¯ve been in Spain for three days and I think I might never leave. Life is so peaceful and rxed here. Unhurried. Every moment feels like it can be savored. It¡¯s so different to the hustle and bustle of LA where I first went when I left London. I enjoyed the extravagant, over the top, fast-paced way Americans lived. I went to parties and fashion shows and movie premieres. During the weekend, I went hiking or swimming in the ocean. When I felt like I¡¯d seen it all, I went to Jamaica. I tried cliff diving in Montego Bay and smoked a joint ¨C excitingly, my first ever ¨C with a ride operator at a local theme park. From there, I took a flight to Casanca. I camped in the desert and ate the most delicious foods I¡¯ve ever had in my life, making my way up the country to Tangier where I took a ferry to Mga before eventually making it to Barcelona. To resume what I¡¯ve been doing since I¡¯ve been gone ¡ª I¡¯ve beenliving. Doing all the things I dreamed of my entire life, crossing item after item off my very long bucket list. All while staying one step ahead of the people I know are looking for me. I know I should be further away, that Spain is a little too close to Ennd forfort, but that¡¯s what I¡¯m hopinghe¡¯llthink. That his search will be focused on tiny remote viges in Thand and not a major city a couple hours flight time away from him. After what happened with Thiago at my house, I ran to Wiz in a panic and told him I needed to run. He helped me transfer arge sum of money into an ount under his name and gave me unrestricted ess to it. He used one of his contacts to get me a couple fake passports under different identities. He even set up an encrypted email address I could use to keep working remotely without being traced. In short, he helped me disappear. I didn¡¯t tell him why I was running and, much to my relief, he never asked. He thinks I¡¯m hiding from my father. I know because a week after I ran, he told me he¡¯d detected hacks on everything in my name ¨C my old credit cards, my phone, my email, my social media ¨C and that my father had put trackers on them which would ping him if I ever essed them. I didn¡¯t correct his assumption, even though I knew who was really behind it. Thiago and his men have been looking for me since the moment I left. It¡¯s why I keep moving every week or so, to ensure that I never stay in a ce long enough to leave a trail that could lead him right to me. When I close my eyes at night, I can imagine those brooding eyes and the angry sh of his lips. How furious he must have been when he discovered I¡¯d disappeared. The way his fist probably balled up the note I left him before hurling it at the wall. He must have hated that I vanished from right under his nose. He seems to me like a man who doesn¡¯t appreciate his things being taken from him. And that¡¯s exactly what he thinks of me as ¨C- his possession. He¡¯ll eventually tire of looking for me and will find himself another bride. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll think about going back, because I can¡¯t run forever. So, good riddance. And yet¡­ It¡¯s frustrating, that¡®yet¡¯, because why has he been on my mind so often since leaving? ¡°Here you are,se?ora,¡± the waitress says as she ces a te and steaming cup on my table. ¡°Thank you.¡± I reach for the cup and pick it up, warming my fingers as I blow softly on the surface. ¡°It¡¯sse?oritaby the way, I¡¯m not married.¡± She ces the tray under her arm and straightens, giving me a smile. ¡°Maybe not yet,se?ora, but judging by the size of your engagement ring, I¡¯d say your fianc¨¦ wanted it made abundantly clear to anyone who speaks to you that you¡¯repletely off the market,¡± she says with a cheekyugh. ¡°Buen provecho.¡± She walks back into the restaurant, leaving me to stare down at the massive rock still adorning my left hand. My stomach flips like it always does every time I look at it. I shouldn¡¯t be wearing it. It¡¯s why I ran away in the first ce. The only reason I am is because it keeps other men away. They think I¡¯m taken so they leave me alone when I¡¯m out, especially at night. As a woman traveling alone, I need that additional security. That¡¯s it. That¡¯s the only reason, even though sometimes I feel like I still have the taste of him on my lips, intense and intoxicating as ever. Randomly, I¡¯ll have shes of his demanding mouth on mine and flush bright red, the temperature of my body skyrocketing out of nowhere. I swear I¡¯ll hear echoes of his voice, throaty and effortlesslymanding, telling me he¡¯s going to take what he wants and then doing just that. He left a reddish bruise on the side of my throat that took weeks to disappear, but not before it taunted me every time I looked in the mirror. On more than one asion, I found myself absentmindedly grazing against the sensitive flesh with unsteady fingers, thinking about howpletely he had me at his mercy with just his tongue on my neck. And, eventually, his fingers in my pussy. I shift in my seat, ashamed that there¡¯s a sudden rush of arousal coursing through me and not the difort I should be feeling. Thiago had deduced and known things about me that he couldn¡¯t know, that no one has ever known because I¡¯ve never dared to say them out loud. Things I crave deep in my belly that are inplete opposition to the things I know Ishouldwant. The rtionships I¡¯ve had in the past have been boring, nd, and predictable. So deeply uninspiring that they¡¯re not even worth thinking about. Missionary sex under the covers, fumbling fingers barely and rarely getting me to orgasm, and rolling over and immediately falling asleep once the deed is done. The kinkiest thing I¡¯ve ever done is having sex in the kitchen with my ass resting on the ind. Thiago blew all of my previous sexual experiences out of the water in twenty minutes, using two fingers and his tongue and not even letting mee. Where my mind despises him, my body is in riotous opposition and hungers for him.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. I hate it, hate to admit it even just to myself, but the truth is I ran because if he ever gets me alone again, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t put up a fight. I ran because he thinks that he can take everything from me and that one encounter in the hallway proved that he absolutely could if he tried. Worse, that if pushed, I might actually justgiveit to him. And here I am, still wearing his ring. He¡¯s right, I am foolish. More foolish still, I find myself wondering if he¡¯s at all involved in the search for me or if he¡¯s running business as usual while his men do the hunting. It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like I want to be found. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 15 At that exact moment Ipound against the closed front door until it opens, revealing Dagny Hanssen, Tess¡¯s best friend. Her mouth drops and she takes a terrified step back when Marco raises his arm and points a gun at her forehead. ¡°Where is she?¡± I ask calmly. The lethal edge in my voice reveals that I¡¯m anything but.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. The amusement I felt when Tess first disappeared is long gone. Whatever patience I had is too, short lived and easilybusted by the mes of the fury raging inside me. She¡¯s been gone a month and with each passing day I lose more of my fucking sanity. I didn¡¯t have much to begin with and my reserves are getting dangerously low now. I¡¯m tormented by visions of her, seeing her where she isn¡¯t, I¡¯m tortured by thoughts of who she¡¯s spending time with, and I¡¯m gued by dreams where I get my hands back on her curves and finally take what¡¯s mine. I¡¯ve been in a state of perpetual difort since Ist saw her, my mood pitch ck and my cock angry, hard, and throbbing. Arturo brought a woman to my officest week, shoved her inside, mmed the door behind her and disappeared. I think he was hoping she¡¯d fuck the tension out of me and I¡¯d return to being the usual asshole he¡¯s used to working for instead of the tyrant he¡¯s had to deal with this past month. When I finally lifted my gaze from the financial report I was going through and looked at her, the woman dropped her coat to the floor, revealing her stark-naked body beneath it. Much to my disappointment, my cock hadn¡¯t even twitched, obsessed with one person and one person only. My lip had curled up in disgust and I¡¯d snarled at the woman. She¡¯d seen something in my gaze that had sent her fleeing nude from the room without even bothering to pick up her discarded coat, uncaring of her nakedness. I¡¯d been in a ck mood to begin with because the financial reports weren¡¯t adding up, but her appearance only exacerbated it. I didn¡¯t want to look at any bodies except the one that belonged to me. Even though I hadn¡¯t seen Tess naked,yet, I¡¯d run my hands over enough of her curves to conjure her from memory. So I¡¯d closed my eyes and used my imagination to get myself off, fisting my cock angrily until I reached a necessary but unsatisfying finish. What¡¯s most frustrating is how severely I underestimated her. She¡¯s beenpletely untraceable since she left. Her phone has been off, her cards unused, her work conducted via encrypted address and calls. There¡¯s no way she¡¯s doing this herself but I haven¡¯t been able to track down who¡¯s helping her. I¡¯ve officially reached my limit, and ying nice ends today. Tess knew who she was dealing with and what she was risking when she ran away. She called me deranged and psychotic ¨C she was right. It¡¯s time I proved it to her. ¡°Whereis she?¡± I snarl. ¡°Don¡¯t make me ask you a third time, Dagny.¡± She backs away slowly, burrowing deeper into her apartment and trapping herself with no escape. Fear twists her features even though she doesn¡¯t seem surprised. Based on her reaction, she knows exactly who I am and why I¡¯m here. I follow her inside, stalking after her and forcing her to stumble further back into her living room. She bumps sightlessly against her furniture in her desperation to get away from me. Behind me, I hear Marco close the door. Dagny¡¯s handse up defensively, shaking violently. ¡°I have no idea,¡± she swears. ¡°Please, I don¡¯t know! She didn¡¯t tell me where she was going.¡± Staring at her, I let the difort of the drawn-out silence keep her talking. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, I have no idea. But if you shoot me, she¡¯ll nevere back,¡± she tries to reason. ¡°I disagree. If I kill you, I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t skip your funeral.¡± Dagny swallows thickly, her eyes widening. Her arms drop and she wraps them protectively around her middle. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunately a great counterargument,¡± she admits, gnawing at her lower lip and somehow finding reserves of strength to tap into humor when there¡¯s a gun still trained on her. ¡°Not one I love, obviously, but great nheless.¡± She lifts her chin and tips it at me. ¡°She¡¯ll hate you if you kill me.¡± A sinister grin pulls at my lips, making her flinch. ¡°You say that like I give a fuck. Hate I can work with, absence I cannot. Tell me where she is, Dagny, otherwise Marco here will put a bullet in your brain.¡± ¡°I have no idea!¡± ¡°Marco.¡± With no other order needed, Marco fires twice into the ground on either side of Dagny¡¯s bare feet. She screams and jumps around on her tiptoes to avoid being shot. He¡¯s an excellent marksman. If his intent was to hit her, not scare her, he would have. ¡°Hey!¡± she shouts, eyes ring angrily when she sees the holes in her wooden boards. Eventually, she looks up and res vexingly at him. ¡°Ijusthad these floors redone. That¡¯s Versailles parquet you¡¯re riddling with bullet holes, you brute. They cost me an absolute fortune, and that¡¯s without factoring in the emotional cost to my sanity, so can you please do me a favor and just shoot into the wall or TV next time?¡± Marco¡¯s hand drops to his side, a mix of annoyance and incredulity marking his features. ¡°What is your malfunction, woman? Why aren¡¯t you scared?¡± Dagny nts her fists on her hips and res back at him. ¡°l¡¯m terrified ¡ªMarco, was it? ¡ª but I don¡¯t need to spend what¡¯s possibly myst minutes on earth watching you torture my beloved apartment, so if you¡¯re going to keep doing that, I¡¯d rather you just put me out of my misery, okay? A clean shot between the eyes should do the trick.¡± Irritatingly, I find myself understanding why this woman is Tess¡¯s best friend. She¡¯s just as much of a brave little fool as my fianc¨¦e. Marco looks at me with a bewildered look on his face. For only the second time in his life, I think he¡¯s actually at a loss for words. ¡°So¡­ do I shoot her,jefe?¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Dagny begs, hands up once more, all traces of humor gone from her face. ¡°I¡ªI was kidding about the whole shooting me thing. I joke when I¡¯m nervous and, well, you have a gun,¡± she exins. ¡°I really have no idea where she is, I promise. She made a point not to tell me because she knew you¡¯de here looking for her.¡± ¡°That was her mistake,¡± I answer cold-bloodedly. There¡¯s always this split-second before a person gets shot when realization hits. That sudden cognizance of what¡¯s about to happen to them bes visible on their face, in the ckening of their features and the abject terror that takes over their gazes. It¡¯s an innate understanding that they¡¯re about to die, that moment where their life shes before their eyes and regret hits as they think about all the dreams they had that they never made a reality. I fuckinglovethat moment, the sheer humanity of it just before a life is snuffed out forever. It¡¯s the very definition of power. It gets my dick hard knowing thest thing people see before they simply cease to exist isme; that I was judge, jury and executioner with their lives in my hands. That the decision was easier than deciding which mug to pour my coffee into that morning. Unfortunately for me but luckily for Dagny, I don¡¯t get to experience that moment today because she manages to snatch her life from the jaws of death. ¡°She¡¯ll never get over losing me,¡± Dagny whispers, holding my gaze. ¡°It¡¯ll devastate her and change her forever. You¡¯ll never get the old version of her back.¡± There¡¯s no way she thinks that¡¯ll actually work on me. Emotion is thest thing that weighs in the bnce when ites to taking someone¡¯s life. And yet. I¡¯m about tough derisively when an image of Tess broken by the death of her best friend shes through my mind. She¡¯s sobbing, cheeks wet with tears, eyes wide and haunted. That vision does something absolutely perplexing to me. Something that¡¯s never happened before. It makes me pause. And it makes me waver. Puta madre. I¡¯m faltering from making a decision I¡¯d otherwise make in a heartbeat because I don¡¯t want my fianc¨¦e to be sad. What the actual fuck? Since when do I fuckingcare? I can¡¯t be defective like this in my position ¡ª my ruthlessness can¡¯t be impaired by thoughts of how one blue-eyed woman will react, no matter who she is. I¡¯ll have Marco beat the weakness out of me with his fistster. Hopefully that¡¯ll also drill some sense back into me. Cursing at myself internally, I change the n through angrily gritted teeth. ¡°Brazo,¡± I bark. Marco fires. If he¡¯s surprised by theck of kill shot, he doesn¡¯t show it. The force of the bullet makes Dagny¡¯s body jerk backwards. She flies a couple feet and hits the floor, screaming as the slug buries itself into her right arm. Blood spurts haphazardly from the visible hole in her flesh. Silent tears stream down her face as she continues to scream, her other handing up to clutch the wound to staunch the bleeding. She uses her operational arm to drag her body backwards, crawling away from my approaching form as best she can. She¡¯s whimpering in pain, her face fractured when I crouch in front of her. Surely she must realize the mercy she¡¯s just been given. A non-lethal gunshot wound is a generosity she wouldn¡¯t have received without uttering herst words. I toss a kitchen towel at her and she catches it, staring at me with wary eyes. I continue to toy with her, hoping it¡¯ll reignite the previous interest I had in taking her life. She nches, losing all color in her face, when I take my gun out of the band of my trousers and press it against the open skin of her throat. ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± I appreciate the directness of her question. Not many would dare. Her muscles work beneath the cold metal as she swallows thickly. As scared as she is, there¡¯s still a defiant look in her gaze. Grudgingly, I feel a touch of respect for her. Ignoring her question, I say. ¡°You might not know where Tess is, but you know someone who does, that I¡¯m sure of.¡± I lift the gun slowly until it rests against her forehead. My words are low and chilling when I speak next. ¡°You tell my fianc¨¦e that I want her backnow. If she doesn¡¯te back to me, I¡¯ll happily pay you a second visit and this time Marco won¡¯t stop shooting until you look like a piece of Swiss cheese. That¡¯s my promise to herandyou. Can I trust you to deliver that message, Dagny?¡± She nods tremulously, staring unflinchingly back at me. Blood oozes between her fingers and down her arm but she doesn¡¯t pay it any attention. ¡°Good,¡± I say, rising to my feet. Marco is already out of the apartment and I¡¯m standing in the doorway when Dagny speaks again. ¡°I did warn her. I told her you wouldn¡¯t let her go.¡± Looking back at her over my shoulder, I find her standing, clutching her arm and giving me an assessing look. I nod, my face devoid of any emotion. ¡°She should have listened to you.¡± Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 16 The next day ¡°We killed two more Italians this morning, jefe. Both of them were Leone cousins,¡± Marco says. I¡¯m in my home office, in a meeting with my top lieutenants across all the branches of the business. The producers, smugglers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, ountants, moneyunderers, and enforcers are all giving me status updates. I¡¯ve had to rely on them more over thest couple of weeks as my main focus has been getting Tess back. My phone rings on the desk, distracting me from answering Marco. It¡¯s an unknown number, likely one of the ground level operatives checking in, so I pick up. ¡°Speak,¡± I answer gruffly. An irate voice shouts through the line. ¡°Youshotmy best friend?¡± My eyes close as a violent jolt electrifies my body. I breathe in for the first time in what feels like weeks, almost as if I¡¯d spent thest month holding my breath underwater and am only now erupting past the surface and able to pull in a massive inhale. ¡°Get out,¡± I order, moving the phone away from my mouth. When nobody immediately moves, I roar. ¡°Get the fuck out.¡± Understanding passes over Marco¡¯s face and he grins at me, grabbing Arturo by the cor and yanking him out. The others quickly follow suit after them, leaving me alone with the woman on the other end of the line. My fianc¨¦e. Leaning forward, my hand gripping the phone so tightly I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll crack under the pressure, I speak my first words to Tess in over a month. ¡°Amor,¡± I say, unable to stop the rumble in my voice caused by the intensity of my reaction. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s calling, that I¡¯m this excited by the prospect of a phone call, like I¡¯m some seventies middle schooler. I hear the way her breath catches between her lips at my rough tone before she masks it away. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, you psychopath. You shot Dagny. Are you clinically insane? If you haven¡¯t been diagnosed yet, I¡¯ll dly be a character witness to your madness.¡± Fuck, just the sound of her voice is enough to get me rock hard. Excitement painfully stiffens every muscle in my body. I can¡¯t focus on anything but my need for immediate relief. I won¡¯t be able to ess a single rational thought until Ie. I yank my zipper down, reach into my trousers and pull out my cock. ¡°It was a means to an end.¡± ¡°A means to an end? She¡¯s aperson.¡± I spit into my hand and wrap it around my dick, imagining her electrified by her own anger, shoulders back and cheeks sshed red with emotion. ring daggers into me, that fuckable mouth of hers parted as she yells at me. Groaning, I pump up and down my length with vicious strokes as I picture her irate and within arms reach. ¡°Shooting her aplished exactly what I wanted,¡± I breathe. ¡°Getting your attention. You shouldn¡¯t have run away from me.¡± ¡°You absolutely got my attention, you nutjob¨C¡± she abruptly cuts herself off when I groan once more. I¡¯m not subtle. This isn¡¯t how I imagined making contact with her again would go, but I¡¯m so dizzy with pent-up lust I can¡¯t think. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asks cautiously. My grip on my cock turns almost violent in response to the cutely inquisitive tone of her voice. My hips roll, thrusting into my hand mindlessly as I search for that peak of pleasure. ¡°I¡¯m getting myself off to the sound of your voice,¡± I purr, my own voice thick with arousal. My head falls against the back of my chair, my throat bobbing as I pleasure myself to thoughts of her. ¡°Thiago,¡± she gasps, shocked.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Yes,¡± I moan. ¡°Fuck yes, say my name like that.¡± She stays quiet and there¡¯s no amount of money in the world I wouldn¡¯t give to see her face right now. To know if she¡¯s silent because she refuses to help me get off or if she¡¯s truly at a loss for words. If I¡¯ve surprised her with the primal, near animalistic need I have for her. ¡°Keep talking for me,amor,¡± I encourage, my thrusts picking up in speed and force. ¡°Tell me how much you hate me.¡± If only she knew how much I¡¯ve touched myself to thoughts of her, so much so that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I develop calluses on my cock from manual overuse. ¡°I wish I could taste you right now,¡± I grunt feverishly, thinking back to the way I¡¯d sucked her juices off my finger. ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up,¡± she finally says, flushing. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I grit out through clenched teeth. ¡°I¡¯m close.¡± ¡°Find someone to take care of that for you,¡± she bites. ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± I gasp, my cock jerking at the angry undertone of her voice. ¡°But she keeps running from me.¡± My toes curl and my muscles tighten as a storm of pleasure gathers in my belly, growing and growing until it¡¯s almost blinding. ¡°So all I¡¯m left with is imagining what it¡¯ll be like when I finally get my hands on her¡­how I¡¯ll bite her lips and lick her throat and suck on her tight nipples¡­how I¡¯ll kiss my way down her belly towards that ce between her thighs I¡¯ve dreamed of.Fuck, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± I¡¯m panting, muscles coiled as I inch close to a release I¡¯ve been needing for months. My breathes faster, my heart galloping in my chest as I approach that elusive climax. ¡°How I¡¯ll part her legs and bury my face deep in that sweet pussy of hers, inhaling her scent and getting drunk off those intoxicating juices. How I¡¯ll fuck her with my fingers, rake my teeth over that needy clit and finally,finally, slide my cock all the way home. I won¡¯t go easy on her,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m going to make her pay for the weeks of torture. I¡¯m going to fuck her until I fuckingbreakher.¡± ¡°Oh, god.¡± That one breathy, needy, hardly audible little moan that barely squeaks out past Tess¡¯s lips is all it takes. I throw my head back ande with an unhinged roar, continuing to pump furiously up and down my cock as cum erupts from my tip andnds on my stomach, my trousers, and my desk, making a mess. ¡°This is what you do to me,¡± I pant, breathless. ¡°This is why I need you back.¡± Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 17 I¡¯m frozen on my bed, captivated by the sound of his jagged breathsing haltingly through the phone. Looking down, I find that my hand is still buried deep inside my panties. Embarrassed and self-conscious, I pull it out. In the cold, harsh, post-orgasmic, light of day, I¡¯m deeply ashamed of what I just did. I couldn¡¯t help it¡­when he started moaning in my ear, groaning like he was almost in pain, begging me to talk to him, then describing all the dirty things he was going to do to me in that gravelly voice, I was powerless to resist it. My hand found itself slithering down my belly and into my panties in search of my aching clit. Flicking it and rubbing it as I listened to his feverish pants. My pleasure waspletely mindless,pletely dependent on him. Like a violinist following her conductor, I took my cues from him, pleasuring myself quietly until I heard him fall apart. He¡¯s not shy about his pleasure, the moans and groans falling liberally from his lips without a hint of self-preservation, making it impossible for me to hold back my own climax. I quickly followed suit,ing faster than I ever had before. I turn my face into my pillow, trying to ignore the humiliating reality that there¡¯s something very wrong with me. I just got myself off while listening to the man who shot my best friend make himselfe. I¡¯m sick. This is asickness, one that¡¯s clearly already metastasized to my brain. Probably beyond salvation, terminal diagnosis. ¡°Fuck, that feels good,¡± he growls, satisfied. ¡°Nowhere near as good as when I¡¯ll get to actually fuck you, but I assume that¡¯s why you¡¯re calling. When are youing back to me?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking, Thiago, I¡¯m noting back. Especially not now that you¡¯ve hurt one of the people I¡¯m closest to.¡± ¡°Tell me where you are,¡± he demands, ignoring me. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did Dagny pass on my message?¡± Dagny had gotten herself to the hospital where she¡¯d been stitched up. She recorded a video exining what happened and sent it to Wiz who¡¯d passed it on to me. She was fine, she assured me, a little banged up and obviously sore, but true to form she seemed angrier about the state of her floors than anything else. I told her to go to her family¡¯s ce or to a hotel and that I¡¯d pay for it, but she promptly declined. She was back in her apartment and sleeping in her own bedst night, refusing to be scared away from her home. ¡°Did she?¡± he presses, and I hiss in a breath at his bleak tone. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her again, Thiago,¡± I say, steeling my voice. ¡°Turn on your camera.¡± Themandes out of nowhere and I balk. Suddenly restless, I jump out of my bed. If he can see me then that means I¡¯ll be able to see him, and there¡¯s no way I can face him. ¡°No,¡± I reply, ambling into the kitchen. I grab my coat off the hook and wrap it around me before going out onto my patio. The air has felt almost suffocating inside my ce since his voice started bouncing off the walls. It¡¯s like his entire physical presence is there, growing and looming and taking up all the oxygen. ¡°Turn on your camera,amor, and we can negotiate,¡± he purrs, his voice sending an irresistible shiver down my spine. Before I can answer, the requestes through. My phone starts vibrating with the iing video call. I find myself nervously fixing my hair and then, iprehensibly, answering the call. There¡¯s a couple of seconds ofg while the software works to transfer us over to video where I regret every decision I¡¯ve ever made that¡¯s brought me to this moment, and then there he is. Sitting like a king on his throne in the middle of a dark, opulent office, wrapped in all ck himself. The very picture of a demonic presence. The fingers of one hand caress his jaw back and forth. The move is so simple but so dominatingly male, my body can¡¯t help but react. A thick five o¡¯clock shadow adds a rough edge to his already dangerous appearance. I want to run my own fingers through that stubble and find out how bristly it is. I imagine his face between my legs, the scruff of his nascent beard abrading my thighs, making me even more sensitive. In the darkness, I swear his tattoos move, dark tentacles undting up his neck. His eyes shine like a ck cat¡¯s, the only parts of him that aren¡¯tpletely void of life and color. He stares at me predatorily, unyielding and unapologetic in his perusal. His head falls back to rest against his chair as he rakes his eyes over every visible part of me. Even through the phone, I can sense the vtile energy around him. It shifts and gets more charged the longer he stares at me. The connection turns taut between us even as burning need swirls in my belly. Being aroused by him has be a part of my automatic nervous system, I¡¯m incapable of controlling it. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m running from. ¡°Amor,¡± he calls. He might as well have whispered it right into my ear, his body pressed against my back and his hands on my throat for how much it affects me. If I wasn¡¯t sitting on a chair, my knees would have given in. But he¡¯s a remorseless killer and I can¡¯t lose sight of that, no matter how much my body tries to get my mind to submit. ¡°You have to know that attacking the people I love isn¡¯t going to get you what you want.¡± Instead of focusing on my point, his eyes sh in response. ¡°Who else do youlove?¡± he asks, his lip curling up in irritation and his features drawing down into a re. ¡°Names.¡± ¡°A littlete to worry about that, isn¡¯t it?¡± I answer suggestively. Extra rich of him to give a shit when he¡¯s pining after a dead woman while continuing to make my life hell. His aura turns downright hostile. He sits forward,ing dangerously close to the camera. ¡°Dagny lived because I knew she¡¯d lead me to you somehow,¡± he rasps ruthlessly, jaw so tense it looks ready to snap. ¡°But if I find out you have a lover waiting in the wings for you,amor, I¡¯ll feed him to my dogs for breakfast and make you watch.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t control my life that way,¡± I exim. He bares his teeth, standing now. I feel intimidated even though he¡¯s sitting hundreds of miles away and isn¡¯t actually in front of me. ¡°Yes, I can,¡± he growls. ¡°Iownyou.¡± ¡°Nobody owns me.¡± Thiago grabs a sheet of paper just off camera and holds it up for me to see. ¡°This contract says I fucking do. I paid twenty million pounds for you.¡± He sure keeps that paperwork close. I wonder if it enrages him every time he looks at it knowing that his investment is gallivanting across the world, running from him. Bitterness simmers in my stomach being reminded of just how casually he bought me. How easily my father sold me.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. I blink back tears thinking about it and scoff derisively instead to cover my moment of weakness. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± His voice is perilously low when he responds. ¡°I was willing to pay a hundred times that,¡± he mutters. ¡°But in what seems like a lifetime of stupid decisions, the biggest one your father made was letting you go for such a cheap price.¡± I shrug my shoulders like it doesn¡¯t matter and look away. ¡°My father has never seen any value in my existence. Who cares how smart or capable I am? At the end of the day, I¡¯m just a daughter. He was probably overjoyed that someone was willing to pay that much money for little old me,¡± I add acerbically. ¡°I guarantee you he thinks he came out the winner in your deal.¡± Thiago remains silent for so long that I flick my gaze back at him. When I do, I find him staring at me, eyes shining with keen interest. There¡¯s something about his gaze that feelspletely denuding, like he¡¯s seeing past the surface and peeling back everyyer to expose me to my core. ¡°Just because he doesn¡¯t see how exceptional you are, doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t. It¡¯s why I need you back.¡± Need, not want. I¡¯d be a fool to take those words as anything more than an unintentional slip up. Still, my heart trips over itself in response. His words ring with authenticity, almost as if he¡¯s imploring me to believe him. But he¡¯s a master maniptor ¨C how can I trust anything he says? ¡°You hurt my friend. Why would I ever go to you when you could just as easily hurt me?¡± ¡°I will hurt you,amor,¡± he promises, making me shiver. Somehow, it¡¯s not fear that I feel, but excitement. ¡°I¡¯ll punish you for being a bad girl, but you¡¯ll fucking love it.¡± ¡°Then¨C¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll also make sure no one ever touches you. You¡¯ll be my queen and I¡¯ll protect you with my dying breath if I have to. Whatever it takes to keep you safe, I¡¯ll do it without batting an eye.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t protect me from you.¡± ¡°Come back and I¡¯ll show you just how good pain and submission can feel. You¡¯ll beg me to do everything I want because deep down that¡¯s what you want. It¡¯s just a matter of getting you to admit it.¡± I shake my head, ignoring him. ¡°Why can¡¯t you find someone else, I don¡¯t get it. You don¡¯t even know me.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re mine.¡± He says it categorically, believing in it more fervently than I¡¯ve ever believed in anything my entire life. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I knew it the moment I saw you.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s enough for you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all that matters. You¡¯re the only wife I want.¡± His possessive words heat my blood, making me shaky. ¡°I want a husband who doesn¡¯t kill people. One who doesn¡¯t hurt my friends or doesn¡¯t want to hurt me,¡± I say, shaking my head. We¡¯re going around in circles. This was a mistake. ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up now.¡± His eyes sh. ¡°I guess Dagny has served her purpose then.¡± His threat is crystal clear; he doesn¡¯t even bother to conceal it. Ice steels my spine. ¡°I asked you not to hurt her.¡± ¡°The only person who gets to ask things of me is my wife. You¡¯ve been very clear that¡¯s not you,¡± he says silkily. ¡°So, tell me ¡ª what will you give me in return?¡± We¡¯re bargaining with my friend¡¯s life and all I can focus on is his lips. How plump they look, how they moved and danced against mine when he kissed me. I used to be governed by logic and ruled by my mind. I have no idea what happened to that version of me and if I¡¯ll ever get her back, but I definitely need her right now. Clenching my jaw, I roll my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll hate you the same amount I hate you right now instead of the exponentially higher amount I will tomorrow if you kill my friend.¡± ¡°I already told you it doesn¡¯t matter what you think of me. I think hating me turns you on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re afflicted by severe delusions.¡± ¡°I hope Dagny has a will ready.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I exim, desperate now and searching for something to offer him. ¡°I¡ªI¡¯ll call.¡± He stares at me, unblinking, for long moments. So long that I start to wonder if the call didn¡¯t drop and I¡¯m not just left with a frozen frame of him. ¡°Are you there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he finally says. ¡°I¡¯ll call again.¡± It¡¯s a terrible idea, but short of me going back to London, it¡¯s the only thing I can think of that he might ept. ¡°We can talk.¡± His voice is gruff beyond recognition when he replies. ¡°When?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Tonight.¡± ¡°What? No.¡± Why does he want to talk to me again today? ¡°I¡¯ll decide when.¡± ¡°Tomorrow,¡± he orders. ¡°Thiago, I¡¯ll hang up right now and you¡¯ll never hear from me again if you push me.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± he concedes grumpily. ¡°But it has to be this week. Any longer and my trigger finger will get restless.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an animal.¡± A slow, smug grin pulls at his lips and hits me right in my core. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything.¡± The sexual undertone of his deration has goosebumps breaking out all over my body. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now,¡± I announce. ¡°Alright,amor. I¡¯ll miss you.¡± I pause, realizing that no one outside of my mum, brother, and Dagny has ever said those words to me. Not any of my past rtionships, not any of my other friends. He stays on the line, watching me. Waiting for me to end the call. I find myself thinking about tracing every single one of his tattoos with my tongue. ¡°I¡¯m noting back; you know that right?¡± I¡¯ve said it before, but this time is different. I want him to hear the sincerity in my voice, the categorical truth of my statement. If I expected him to growl or get angry, he surprises me. He simply sits back in his chair and wraps one hand around the fist of the other. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll let me go?¡± I question, surprised. Maybe even a little disappointed. ¡°No,amor.¡± He shakes his head slowly, like what I just said is the most ridiculous thing he¡¯s ever heard. ¡°I¡¯m going to track you down and drag you back here myself, just like you want.¡± ¡°Good luck with that,¡± I answer flippantly. The pleased smile he gives me chills me to my bones. It¡¯s almost unnatural in its satisfaction. ¡°There¡¯s a very fine line between confidence and arrogance,¡± he notes. My hand tightens around the phone, my own smile tensing in ce. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°You made a mistake.¡± ¡°What?¡± I ask, rattled. He leans forward and crooks a finger at me toe closer. Like a marite on a string answering to its puppeteer, I do as hemands. I lean forward and tilt my face slightly to the side, keeping my eyes fixed on him. Thiago¡¯s mouth opens and my own lips part as I wait for whatever he¡¯s about to say, transfixed by him and hanging on to his every word before he¡¯s even spoken. His eyes ze heatedly on me, victorious and cocky. ¡°Barcelona.¡± The line goes dead, leaving me to stare at my horrified expression reflected back at me on the ck screen. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 18 Igrin down at my phone, feeling something akin to glee for the first time in a long time. What I¡¯d give to see that panicked expression on her face again, to have a view into what she¡¯s going to do now that I¡¯ve told her I know where she is. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything. Telling her I know she¡¯s in Barcelona means she¡¯s going to run now. But I just couldn¡¯t fucking resist. She looked downright edible in her fluffy sweater and pink barrette. I wanted to see the way her skin flushed when she realized I¡¯d one-upped her, wanted to see her reaction when she found out I wasing for her. She didn¡¯t disappoint. Her mistake was taking the video call outside. She¡¯d shifted when I¡¯d talked about how much I wanted to fuck her, identally revealing more of the background behind her. It was day, so she was in a simr time zone to me. Discreetly, I screenshotted the tip of a spire above her right shoulder and the facade of what looked like a building with Gothic architecture to her left, and forwarded the picture on to tech. Julio, who we used mainly to hack into legal documents and to hide our money trail, used image recognition software and satellite imagery to map the photo and triangte where she was. It¡¯d taken him less than ten minutes toe back to me with an answer. Spain. Better yet, a specific neighborhood in Barcelona. I didn¡¯t have an exact address but it didn¡¯t matter. I¡¯d find her once I was there. ??? Four hourster, I jog down the steps of my private jet and set foot on the tarmac at the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. I¡¯m apanied by Marco, a reluctant Arturo, and five other men. Arturo insisted I bring additional security since we were operating without a n and going into a country where we had no foothold. I¡¯d have opted to travel with a smaller crew but had acquiesced if it meant he¡¯d stop bitching in my ear. Plus, the manpower was going to be useful in helping to actually track Tess down. The second I alight from the ne though, I know she¡¯s gone. Inexplicably, I can feel it in my bones. Taunting her cost me, but now that I know she¡¯s going to call again and isn¡¯t goingpletely off the grid, the disquiet in my body lessens. I can y this cat and mouse game with her if that¡¯s what she wants. Better that she get it out of her system now, because the second I get my hands on her, I¡¯m never letting her out of my sight again. Three ck cars take us to her neighborhood. I stare at it appraisingly. It¡¯s got narrow, twisty, pedestrian-only streets, hangingundry lines between old-fashioned buildings, and small businesses with owners you can tell were born, raised, and will die there. It¡¯s quaint and quiet and homey, the opposite of a sweeping mansion or a bustling London high-rise. It makes sense why she¡¯de here to escape. I turn towards my men. They stand at attention, expectantly awaiting orders. ¡°Show her photo around the neighborhood. See if people recognize her. This is the type of ce where neighbors know each other by name.¡± ¡°Yes,jefe.¡± They disperse just as my phone starts to ring. Pulling it out of my jacket pocket I see it¡¯s from someone whose calls I always pick up. Bringing the phone up to my ear, I answer. ¡°Valentina.¡± ¡°Where are you? I stopped by the house to do my check in with Turo but he wasn¡¯t there. Diana told me you were both gone.¡± Diana is my housekeeper and house manager. I¡¯ve known her for years; she¡¯s part of the staff who came with me from Colombia when I moved to London. ¡°He¡¯s with me. Something came up,¡± I answer, keeping it vague. ¡°Is this really the time for you to take a holiday?¡± she asks, misunderstanding. Irritation seeps into her voice. ¡°We have more pressing things to deal with, Thiago.¡± My eyes narrow, my voice dropping to icy levels. ¡°Careful, Valentina.¡± She sighs. ¡°Lo siento.¡± She sounds tired, weary beyond simple sleeplessness. ¡°I¡¯m on edge. I feel like I should be doing more.¡± I take a breath and work to reign in my temper. Valentina is, or was, my sister¡¯s best friend. She was with Adriana the night she disappeared; she¡¯s the one who¡¯d convinced her to go toFirenzethat night. They¡¯d danced and drank and partied until Valentina whispered in her ear that she had to use the bathroom. She told Adriana she¡¯d be right back and to get shots for them while she waited. She was in the bathroom for less than ten minutes. When she came back, Adriana was gone. Valentina never moved on from that night almost a year and a half ago. She mes herself for making my sister go out, for leaving her. It eats at her even more than it does me. When it became clear that Adriana was dead, Valentina refused to let the cartel handle the retribution without her involvement. She came to my office every day demanding that I let her work for me. I refused time and time again, not because I didn¡¯t think she was capable, but because I knew it was a business that would get her killed. Valentina grew up with my family from the time she was a toddler, so she¡¯s like another little sister to me. I had, and continue to have, a responsibility to keep her alive. A couple of months after the kidnapping, we had to rescue Vale from a confrontation in a bar with two Armenians. By the time we got there, she¡¯d rendered one unconscious but the other was about to kill her. We intervened just in time. I tried to get her to see sense, to get her to stop and protect herself and let me and my men find Adriana¡¯s killers, but she told me to fuck off in not so many words and got herself stabbed a weekter in another confrontation. When it became clear that she was going to get revenge with or without my blessing, bringing her into the fold of the da Silva cartel became the only way to keep her safe. She¡¯s flourished since and is one of my most trusted soldiers and advisors, but to this day I still have to spend an inordinate amount of time making sure she doesn¡¯t get herself killed. Which is why I always answer the phone. Valentina¡¯s continued survival has be a proxy of what I should have done for Adriana. I should have protected her, saved her, but I failed. I won¡¯t fail again, with herorTess. ¡°We¡¯re making progress, Vale. There¡¯s nothing else for you to do. We¡¯ll find him soon, we¡¯re getting close.¡± ¡°So, what? I¡¯m just supposed to sit around twiddling my thumbs, waiting for you toe back from whatever side mission you¡¯re on right now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here to stop me,¡± she challenges. I give my own world-weary sigh, massaging my temples with my free hand. Sisters, even adoptive ones, are impossible to deal with. Especially the ones who know how to shoot a gun and are reckless with their lives. ¡°Go find Fabian,¡± I instruct. ¡°He¡¯s down in the death room.¡± The death room is a padded, soundproofed section in the basement of my home where we carry out interrogations and executions of captured prisoners. My house acts as something of a base for some of our operations in the city and the death room is a perfect ce for extracting information without being disturbed. Fabian is one of the cartel¡¯s Butchers and my personal favorite. He¡¯s endlessly creative and always goes the extra mile when ites to torture methods. I like a man who doesn¡¯t let something as gauche as squeamishness hold him back when ites to getting the information I need. That¡¯s real loyalty. ¡°Who does he have down there?¡± ¡°Rardo Leone.¡± A shocked gasp rips from her lips. ¡°You have a Leone cousin down there and you didn¡¯t tell me?¡± she cries out, upset. ¡°Valentina¡­¡± I caution once more. ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± ¡°Tell Fabian I allowed you ess to Leone and you can ask him whatever questions you want before he kills him.¡± Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get anything out of this particr cousin. He was at university in Rome when Adriana was kidnapped and hasn¡¯t shown any clear ties to the family business. The main purpose of killing him is continuing to work through the Leone family tree until we get to the perpetrator. If they want to put an end to the deaths before their family reaches extinction, they¡¯ll turn the killer over to me. That¡¯d be the smart thing to do, but then again the Made Men are no longer known for their adroitness in intellect. In the meantime, it¡¯ll distract Valentina long enough for Arturo to go back to London and keep a watchful eye on her. ¡°Thank you,Diablo,¡± she says, sounding relieved. ¡°Where are you anyway? Or can you not say?¡± ¡°Spain.¡± ¡°So youareon holiday?¡± ¡°Every time you give me lip, I¡¯m knocking one question off what you¡¯re allowed to ask Rardo Leone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a monster. No wonder your fianc¨¦e ran from you.¡± She pauses. I can almost hear the moment the lightbulb goes off. ¡°Wait a minute, is that why you¡¯re in Spain? You¡¯re looking for her?¡± Valentina is one of the few people I trusted with the information that I got engaged. To say she was greatly amused by the development that Tess had subsequently run away from me would be an understatement. I put up with it because it upied her and kept her out of trouble. Now I wonder if she can help me get inside Tess¡¯s head and figure out where she could be going next. ¡°I need your help thinking like a woman.¡± Her response is equally as dry as it is flippant. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too much of a reach for me seeing as I happen to be one.¡± My eyes close in exasperation. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time I find you a husband so you can have a built-in audience for this ongoing littleedy show of yours.¡± ¡°Ha, you know no man can handle me.¡± ¡°Exactly, it¡¯ll give me a well deserved break from having to deal with you myself. I have my own woman to tame.¡± ¡°Tell me about her. I like her already, by the way. Any woman who can make the great Thiago da Silva lose his nerve and chase after her across the continent is a friend of mine.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t lost my nerve.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in Europe for over a year. The farthest you¡¯ve been from the UK is France, and only because you were inspecting shipment lines. Then your fianc¨¦e runs away and now look at you. In Spain. Looking for that nerve you lost.¡± A muscle ticks in my cheek. ¡°Finding you a husband just jumped to the top of my priority list.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. You don¡¯t always have to resort to threats you know?¡± she says, hurriedly. ¡°Before you say my name in that authoritative tone of voice again, I really will shut up this time. What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Where would you go?¡± ¡°If you forced me to marry someone?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I grit out. ¡°The moon, probably.¡± ¡°How about I tell Fabian to put you on the table next once he¡¯s done with Leone?¡± ¡°You know, if you¡¯re going to start cracking jokes out of the blue after almost thirty years of being humorless, you really need to learn to modte your tone a bit. That morbid delivery of yours makes it sound like you¡¯re being serious.¡± The silence stretches when I don¡¯t answer. Sheughs uneasily in response. ¡°I see now that you¡¯re not in the mood forughter when ites to her,¡± she says nervously. ¡°Noted.¡± Her voice turns thoughtful. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize this was about more than just hurt pride.¡± ¡°I want what belongs to me back.¡± ¡°You wantherback.¡± There¡¯s no need for delineation in my eyes. Tess is mine, nothing more, nothing less. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get her back,¡± she says determinedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know her so it¡¯s hard for me to guess where she¡¯d go.¡± She pauses before adding. ¡°But if I needed help, I¡¯d go to you.¡± I¡¯m not surprised that Valentina would choose toe to me for help. I meant what I said to Tess ¡ª I always protect what¡¯s mine. The answer is so obvious all of a sudden, I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t think of it before. Actually, I do. It¡¯s because I can¡¯t think clearly when ites to my fianc¨¦e. ¡°Does Tess have a brother?¡± Valentina questions, unknowingly echoing what I¡¯ve just figured out. ¡°Yes, she does.¡± Turning around, I see Joaqu¨ªn walking back up the street towards me. ¡°You¡¯re a genius, Vale. I have to go. Stay out of trouble while I¡¯m gone.¡± ¡°No promises.¡±This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. I¡¯m putting my phone away in my jacket pocket when Joaqu¨ªnes level with me. ¡°Put a full time falcon on Tess¡¯s brother. He¡¯s somewhere in Switzend. She¡¯ll go to him at some point.¡± ¡°You got it,¡± he assures me. Joaqu¨ªn is a couple years younger than me but has quickly climbed the ranks to be an invaluable part of my core team. It¡¯s not easy to get noticed, especially by me, but he¡¯s smart, fast, and strategic, all skills I rely on to survive. ¡°What do you have for me?¡± ¡°Caroline Mason,¡± he answers. I frown. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°We showed Tess¡¯s picture around and a bakery owner two streets away recognized her as being Caroline Mason, a remote worker from London.¡± I¡¯m already halfway to the car to go interview this bakery owner myself when he stops me. ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± I turn around. ¡°The owner also told me she has an apartment she rents out by the week. Guess who the most recent tenant was?¡± A delighted smile pulls at my lips. ¡°Tess.¡± I don¡¯t like thinking of her by any other name but her own. ¡°Bingo. Apparently she abruptly moved out a couple hours ago. The owner says she came in carrying a suitcase and a backpack, paid for thest week in full and then ran out.¡± ¡°Credit card?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Cash.¡± He hands me a set of keys. ¡°The address is on the keychain.¡± My fingers close around them until I¡¯m clenching the keys in my fist. Satisfaction curls inside me, following the movement of my fingers. ¡°Well done,¡± I say. It¡¯s rare praise and it¡¯s deserved. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 19 Tess¡¯s apartment reveals just how hastily she left. There are clothes in the closet, dishes in the sink, and an open milk carton on the counter. It still smells of the fig candle she had burning in the living room. I make my way into the bedroom, wanting to see where she slept. It¡¯s sparse but there¡¯s traces of her passage left behind. On a small desk, I find a notebook. A third of the pages are filled with words written in a neat handwriting I recognize from the note she left in her office. Skimming through the first few pages, it seems like she wrote the tales of her travels so far; of the things she did and the people she met along the way. It¡¯s as I¡¯m closing it that I spot a doodle on the back page. ¡®El Diablo¡¯ written in block letters. It matches the tattoo I have engraved along the side of my head. A crude chain and cor hang off the letter ¡®o¡¯, just like the tattoo on my hand. Dark satisfaction slips into my veins and heats me from the inside. She¡¯s not as aloof and unaffected as she likes to pretend to be. I close the notebook and slip it into my jacket pocket to readter. I¡¯m distracted, wondering what else I¡¯m going to find between those pages. It burns a hole in my pocket; I¡¯m itching to read it so I can get a sliver of understanding into what¡¯s going on in that pretty little head of hers. The bed is neatly made. On the side table there¡¯s a book titledThe Alchemy of Financeby George Soros. I¡¯m not surprised that she¡¯d consider that type of material light reading. Based on what I know of her, she¡¯s brilliant, as sharp-minded as she is sharp-tongued. Next to it, there¡¯s a cotton scarf. Pink. The color that¡¯s starting to haunt my dreams and nightmares alike. My hand closes around the material until it¡¯s bunched in my fist. I bring it up to my face and bury my nose in it. My eyes flutter close as I inhale deeply, that heady scent of star anise hitting my olfactory receptors with a punch. I shove the scarf closer against my face, trying to permanently imprint her scent in my nose. Theck of outlet I have for the powerful lust that hits me makes me dizzy. She smells so fucking good I can only imagine what she¡¯s going to taste like when I finally bury my face between her thighs. ¡°Thiago.¡± I shove the scarf into my pocket and turn, finding Arturo standing in the doorway of the bedroom, face managing to be both nk and disapproving. ¡°The men went through her trash. There¡¯s nothing to indicate where she¡¯s going next.¡± I nod, clenching my jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll have the ne readied to take us back to London,¡± he deres. He¡¯s halfway through the doorway when I stop him. ¡°No.¡± Arturo doesn¡¯t immediately turn back around, his entire body tensing instead. Finally, he looks over his shoulder at me, the rest of him soon turning as well. ¡°I¡¯m not going back until I find her.¡± He doesn¡¯t say anything and the strained silence speaks volumes. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. He chooses not to mince his words.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°Some would question your focus.¡± I prowl towards him, my movements as lithe and dangerous as a panther¡¯s. I stand a mere foot away from him, towering over him. ¡°What?¡± My tone dares him to repeat what he just said. ¡°You¡¯re preupied¨C¡± I grab him by the cor and jerk him violently towards me. He drops his gaze when he¡¯s inches from my face, the only sane decision he¡¯s made since stepping into this room. ¡°Neverquestion my dedication to the family,¡± I snarl quietly, baring my teeth. ¡°You won¡¯t live long enough to feel your death if you do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not and I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Turo answers, angrily holding my gaze now. ¡°My job is to keep you alive and to keep you safe. To keep you in power. I¡¯m not questioning your dedication to the family, but rather how vulnerable your distracted state leaves you. How vulnerable it leaves the rest of us who follow you. You can¡¯t deny that you¡¯re not one hundred percent focused on the cartel.¡± I shove him back. ¡°Leave,¡± I order, not wanting to hear this. ¡°How long?¡± he asks, refusing to be dismissed. ¡°How long are you going to be away from London?¡± Painnces through my jaw from how tightly I¡¯m clenching it. ¡°However long it takes,¡± I grit out. It¡¯s only because Arturo is like a second father to me that he hasn¡¯t gotten a bullet in the head for his insubordination. ¡°You¡¯re risking it all for her and she doesn¡¯t even realize it. She¡¯s not worth it.¡± Never mind. I whip my gun out and have it pressed against his forehead in the next breath. ¡°Watch it,¡± I hiss. Heughs humorlessly, unphased by the metal digging into his skin. ¡°I¡¯m yourconsejerofor a reason, Thiago. It¡¯s my job to give you advice, even when I know you¡¯ll put a bullet in my head for hearing it. You don¡¯t have unlimited time to waste here.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°You¡¯re so blinded by your obsession, you can¡¯t even see it. You would never have let a woman interfere in running the business the way you are now. All I¡¯m asking is that you understand what you¡¯re risking by staying here. If word gets out that you¡¯re gone, the Armenians, the Italians, hell, the fuckingEnglishwille for us, weakened as we are by your absence. They¡¯ll smell blood in the water and they¡¯ll attack. With everything that¡¯s been going on, you know they¡¯re looking for any opportunity to take us down right now.¡± He¡¯s speaking to me like I¡¯m still the untrained teenager I was before he helped turn me into a ruthless killer, but that kid is long dead. I know exactly what¡¯s at stake if I extend my trip. I know exactly how much I¡¯m risking for a woman who¡¯d rather run from her life than face being in mine. What he doesn¡¯t understand ¨C what, frankly,Idon¡¯t even understand ¨C is that I am willing to put it all on the line. This obsession has burrowed its way deep into my system, spreading roots that have grown until they¡¯ve tentacled around every part of me. There¡¯s no excising it, there¡¯s only feeding it. And that means chasing after her until I find her. ¡°What option do I have?¡± ¡°Let her go, Thiago. Find someone else.¡± If only it was that easy. Fuck knows, I would if I could. I lower my gun and holster it, my face as upromising as ever when I look at him. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± It¡¯s the truth. My only hope is believing that it¡¯s the chase keeping me interested. That once she¡¯s locked away in my home, she¡¯ll fade to the fringes of my mind, getting progressively less and less invasive until she takes no ce at all. But until then, I have no recourse. He nods, lips falling into a t line. He understands there will be no convincing me away from this path. ¡°Then we better find her quickly.¡± ¡°Go back to London,¡± I order. ¡°I trust you more than anyone. You can be my boots on the ground presence while I run things from here. If things start going tits up, I promise I¡¯ll go back.¡± Arturo steps up to me, pping me on the shoulder. The tension between us has gone, as quick to dissipate as it was to appear. ¡°With all due respect, no. I¡¯m not leaving you here,¡± he says, before adding with a hint of a smile. ¡°Someone needs to keep you in check so you don¡¯t start shooting into crowds if we don¡¯t find her soon. Have Marco go back and forth.¡± I p him on the shoulder in silent thanks and he pulls me into a paternal hug. ¡°Jefe,¡± Joaqu¨ªn, calls as he walks into the bedroom. ¡°Julio just called. Apparently there¡¯s a record of a Caroline Mason getting on a flight to Rome an hour ago.¡± I look at Arturo and he nods. ¡°I¡¯ll get the ne ready, destination: Italy.¡± ??? One weekter, exactly one hour before a full seven days have passed and her window to hold up her end of our deal has psed, Tess calls again. It¡¯s from an unknown number, but I know it¡¯s her. ¡°You¡¯re cutting it close,¡± I rumble, picking up. ¡°Were you waiting anxiously by the phone?¡± she snarks in return, her breathy voice doing absolute numbers inside me. ¡°Something like that,¡± I say with a smirk that she can¡¯t see. ¡°Turn on your camera.¡± ¡°No,¡± she answers firmly. ¡°I know that¡¯s how you found mest time, I pieced it together after you hung up. I¡¯m not falling for it again.¡± ¡°Clever girl,¡± I purr, the praise ringing clearly in my voice. ¡°Put yourself against a nk wall indoors if you¡¯re afraid then. If there¡¯s no information in your background, there¡¯s nothing for me to trace you with.¡± ¡°Then why do you want me to turn on my camera?¡± ¡°I want to see you. Don¡¯t you want to see me?¡± ¡°No.¡± I chuckle, the sound deep. ¡°Liar.¡± A video requestes through and then she¡¯s on my screen, as close to in the flesh as I¡¯ve seen her in weeks. Her hair is up in a ponytail, her makeup is light but shiny, making her look young and innocent. Pink bowtie earrings adorn both her ears. ¡°I¡¯m not a liar,¡± she exims, immediately hissing in a breath when sheys eyes on me. ¡°Why¨Cwhy are you¡­?¡± ¡°Shirtless?¡± She nods, eyes fixed on my chest, her throat working overtime to swallow. ¡°Yes.¡± I lean backwards into the high-backed desk chair of this office so she can get a good view of my bare torso. Her eyes trace slowly down the expanse of my chest, examining the tattoos and scars with obvious interest. They re sharply when her gaze falls on the defined muscles of my abdomen and the fine trail of hair that disappears down into the waistband of my trousers. ¡°I wanted you to see what¡¯s yours,¡± I answer throatily, my voice like velvet. ¡°By default,¡± she mutters bitterly. I frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she adds quickly, dismissing me with a wave. Her gaze moves back to my bare torso like she can¡¯t seem to look away. Her eyes ze over and she absentmindedly licks her lips, her expression turning almost ravenous. I groan, adjusting myself in my trousers and enjoying the way her eyes widen in response. I grab her pink scarf from where it¡¯sying on my desk and hang it loosely around my neck. ¡°I¡¯d say based on the look on your face,amor, you did want to see me.¡± She ignores myment, focusing on the ends of the pink material resting on my chest. ¡°That¡¯s my scarf,¡± she calls out, confused. ¡°You¡­how do you have my scarf?¡± ¡°I found it in your apartment. Along with a few other very interesting items.¡± A handes up to her mouth as shock paints her features. She looks so pretty, fine and breakable like a china doll, and I want her. I want to put her on my shelf. I want to brush her hair and run my fingers across her pink lips and I want to break her. I vacite between possessiveness and an extreme, dangerously uncontroble blinding need to own her in every way. It¡¯s dark and primitive and might lead to her idental destruction in the process. It¡¯s like the excitement of trying to catch a bubble ¡ª so hard to capture, so easy to break if overzealous. ¡°Why did you keep it?¡± She doesn¡¯t even question the fact that I found her apartment. I bunch the scarf against my nose and inhale, looking exactly like the sicko I know I am. When I open my eyes it¡¯s to find hers visibly dted, a captivated look on her face. ¡°It smells like you,¡± I growl. She tries to hide her reaction, but I see the way she shivers in response. ¡°You look¡­¡± she trails off. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Unhinged,¡± she finishes. I take another hit of her scent like an addict puffing on a pipe. ¡°And how does that make you feel?¡± ¡°Scared,¡± she answers. ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± I prompt. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± she says stubbornly. ¡°Not ording to this,¡± I retort, holding up something to the camera so she can see it. She frowns before realization ckens her features. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Your journal?¡± I say, finishing her sentence. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t read that, that¡¯s private! Don¡¯t you have any manners?¡± ¡°None,¡± I quip, opening up the notebook and fluttering the pages tauntingly. An arrogant smile stretches my lips as I look back up at her. ¡°You wrote about me.¡± The satisfaction I felt discovering my name on those pages rivals what I felt during the greatest aplishments of my life. ¡°I said that you were a criminal,¡± she says with a sniff. ¡°You wrote about me,¡± I repeat smugly. ¡°And you¡¯re right, there¡¯s a lot of your usual references to me being a ¡®criminal¡¯, ¡®murderer¡¯, ¡®psychopath¡¯,¡± I say. ¡°But then there¡¯s this one little entrance. My personal favorite from mid-December.¡± ¡°Oh my god, did you read the whole thing?¡± she wails. ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I dreamed ofst night. I¡¯m so embarrassed, I can barely write the words,¡± I vocalize, reading her confession.¡°I woke up trying to make sense of what happened in my dream; all I know is my hand was in my panties and I was touching myself.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Tess cries, red exploding across her cheeks. ¡°¡®Touching myself¡¯ is putting it mildly. I was almost violent with my clit, with giving myself pleasure,¡± I continue, ignoring her plea. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t really me. My hand was just a physical manifestation of what Thiago was doing to me in my dream. Naked. Sweaty. Dominant. His massive body crushing mine as he took what he wanted.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not listening to this,¡± she exims, but she doesn¡¯t make a move to end the call. ¡°He was so rough, his huge cock punishing me, his hands greedy and demanding, his words vulgar and indecent. He pressed his mouth hotly against my ear, praising me for being his good little whore as he thrust inside me. And I loved every second of it. I came so hard on my fingers, that¡¯s what woke me. What¡¯s wrong with me? Why can¡¯t I stop thinking about it?¡± I pause when I finish reading, then close the book, caressing the cover almost reverently. ¡°Sounds like you don¡¯t hate me at all,¡± I say smugly. ¡°You can¡¯t hide from your own words,amor. You¡¯ve got dark wants and desires, just like I thought. I think you¡¯re hiding from them more than you are me. And you were right,¡± I chant, my voice thickening with lust. ¡°I do have a big cock. I¡¯d show you now, but he¡¯s really only avable for in-person introductions.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± she says, burying her head in her hands and refusing to look at me. I hiss in a breath and m forwards until I¡¯m inches from the phone. There¡¯s a veryrge, very familiar diamond on her fourth finger. ¡°You¡¯re still wearing my ring.¡± I¡¯m usually better at hiding the emotion in my voice, but even I can hear how shocked I sound. Her face snaps out of her hands and she pulls them quickly offscreen, as if I could unsee what I just saw. She bites her plump lower lip and looks away, her cheeks still pink and her chest heaving like she just ran a marathon. ¡°You¡¯re horny for my dick and you haven¡¯t taken off the proof that you¡¯re mine,¡± I growl, voice so low it¡¯s barely audible. ¡°Come to me tonight and I¡¯ll make those dreams a reality.¡± Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 20 ¡°I-I can¡¯t. I¡¯m taking a dancing ss.¡± I¡¯m aware it¡¯s the most ridiculous thing I could have answered, but I¡¯m frazzled beyond reason right now. Embarrassment crawls up my torturously heated skin, my body still in riotous uproar at his deep, gravelly voice reading out my dream back to me. He made me literally run out of Barcelona without looking back and I left half of my things behind. I realized my notebook was among them, but I never thought he¡¯d find my apartment. The acutely aroused look on his face as he read those words made it so much worse. He wasn¡¯t making fun of me, no, his tongue caressed every word with intent, like he was promising he¡¯d do everything I dreamed of. ¡°I¡¯ll take you dancing.¡± My heart lurches in response, a much more dangerous reaction than lust simply pooling between my legs. ¡°How will you find the time in your busy schedule of violence?¡± ¡°If we n ahead, I¡¯m sure I can easily slot it in between two murders without any disruption to my calendar,¡± he quips back drolly. I roll my eyes, fighting the unwanted smile that tugs at my lips. He brings the scarf back up to his nose and inhales once more. There¡¯s something effortlessly attractive about how turned on he is by my scent. ¡°If you¡¯re toozy to catch me, I¡¯m not going to make it easy for you and simply give up.¡± I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m goading him. ¡°Ask me where I am,amor.¡± He settles back into his chair, giving me a look at his entire torso once more. His shoulders are impossibly broad, his chest strong and defined leading into a tapered waist with rock hard abs. He¡¯s so much more intimidating with his clothes off than on, every single inch of his body covered in tattoos. It¡¯s not at all my style. Prior to meeting him I would have said that I disliked tattoos, that my type was someone more clean cut and ssic. But he¡¯s a work of art, all rough edges and violence and menace. I want to run my hands from his shoulders down his chest and to that trail of hair leading to the happynd. I¡¯mpletely losing a hold of myself, easily distracted by his body like some horny teenager. At this point, I¡¯m one more idental eye-fucking away from pping some sense into myself. ¡°Where are you?¡± I ask, absentmindedly, working to control myself. ¡°Rome.¡± My eyes snap up to meet his. I¡¯m trying to hide my reaction but I can feel the blood slowly seep from my face and I know I must go pale.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. He doesn¡¯t miss a thing, he never does. ¡°So youarestill here,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ve spent a week looking for you, I was wondering if maybe you¡¯d left. That¡¯s good to know.¡± How could he know where I am? I haven¡¯t done anything differently, I¡¯m still using the same cards and phone and emails from before. Nothing¡¯s changed and yet he found my location. I need to leave immediately. ¡°How¡¯s Dagny?¡± he asks, like he can tell I¡¯m about to hang up and run. I snort. ¡°Like you care.¡± My mind is still racing, trying to figure out how he traced me. I¡¯ve continued to do my job exactly like I would if I was still in London, except just doing it remotely. I was surprised when I never heard from my father, when he didn¡¯t forbid me from working or lock my ounts, but I thought maybe he had bigger fish to fry. Now I¡¯m wondering if that¡¯s how Thiago traced me. I¡¯ll need to talk to Wiz tomorrow and make sure I haven¡¯t been detected. He would have told me if there was an obvious hack, but maybe one went undetected? He huffs out a coldugh. ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t. It doesn¡¯t pay to get attached in my line of work, people die every day.¡± ¡°Does it pay to be an unfeeling, hard-hearted asshole?¡± He gives me a sharp smile. ¡°I¡¯m not burdened by trivial, unnecessary emotions. There are very few people I trust, even fewer I care about, less than the fingers I have on one hand. Everyone else is expendable to me. I already told you others will do whatever it takes for a chance at my status and power, and having too many people I care about is a vulnerability I can¡¯t afford. Never forget that, especially when you take your ce as my queen.¡± ¡°That sounds lonely,¡± I can¡¯t help but say. He thinks about it, I can see it in the way his jaw moves back and forth, mulling it over. When he looks back at me, his jawline has gone rigid. ¡°It is.¡± I nod. ¡°I get that.¡± Our lives couldn¡¯t be more different and yet it seems we¡¯re connected by this one very obvious thing. A life that we¡¯ve had to sacrifice a lot for, but that¡¯s ultimately unfulfilling. His gaze is inscrutable but intense on me. ¡°I have to go,¡± I say, my tone light. I find that I didn¡¯t hate our conversation tonight, aside from theplete humiliation of him reading my journal. ¡°I can¡¯t be here now that I know you are.¡± ¡°Go dancing,¡± he says softly. Softer than I¡¯ve heard him say anything. ¡°Run again tomorrow. I won¡¯t look for you tonight, I promise.¡± I scoff. ¡°Pff, do your promises mean anything?¡± ¡°They do. I don¡¯t make promises I can¡¯t keep.¡± His gaze sweeps possessively over my face, warming my cheeks and igniting a low hum inside me. He really is gorgeous, a dark devil inexplicably fascinated by me. ¡°Why do you care if I go dancing?¡± ¡°Because you wrote about it in this,¡± he says, holding up that infernal journal to camera again. ¡°I want to take dance lessons at night. It must be so magical to dance under the stars. I¡¯ve never done it but it¡¯s been on my bucket list forever,¡± he recites, seemingly from memory. There¡¯s a tension between us born from him quoting a wish of mine. It feels so intimate, him having ess to pages in which I poured my heart out. It feels unfair that I wouldn¡¯t get something simr in return. ¡°Do you know it by heart?¡± I say jokingly. Dark eyes bore into mine. ¡°I¡¯ve read it enough times.¡± I blink. ¡°Oh.¡± I wasn¡¯t expecting that response. ¡°Well, you need to give it back.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he says, lips stretching into a grin. ¡°Come and get it.¡± He outrightughs at the expression on my face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think so.¡± He ces the notebook on his chest and it stays there as he bounces barely noticeably back and forth on his chair. ¡°I will give it back once I have you. Until then, this is the best I can get of you so I¡¯m keeping it.¡± He remains unchanged in his fervent pursuit of me. I thought he¡¯d give up long ago. Find a distraction elsewhere, find someone else. But he¡¯s still here, seeking me out, chasing me. Fighting for me. No one¡¯s ever fought for me before. ¡°Ahem,¡± I say, clearing the thick mass in my throat. ¡°I¡¯m going to go, otherwise I¡¯ll bete. I¡¯m trusting you to keep your promise,¡± I say, pointing at him. I don¡¯t know why I do. He called me foolish once and this is a foolish move, but something tells me to believe him. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Bye then.¡± He sits up abruptly. ¡°You¡¯ll call again,¡± he orders. I open my mouth but before I can get a word out he says. ¡°I can threaten you to get you toply if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll call. You suck, you know that right?¡± He chuckles, the muscles of his stomach moving hypnotically as theughter leaves his lips. ¡°So you keep telling me.¡± ¡°Bye, Thiago.¡± ¡°Bye,amor. Have sweet dreams of us tonight, I certainly will.¡± Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 21 Caroline Mason flies to Paris the next morning, and I follow. Like in Rome, she manages to evade us in the city. We¡¯ve been here for a week and I still haven¡¯t found her. No one¡¯s ever run from me before, certainly not for this long or this sessfully. The part of me that¡¯s intrigued and almost proud of my fianc¨¦e¡¯s cunning gets smaller and smaller by the day. This has gone on for far too long now. I need her back. I¡¯m agitated, unable to focus. Partially worried about being away from London for so long and also not giving a flying fuck about the business so long as she continues to evade me. My thoughts are consumed by her. By whether or not she enjoyed her dance ss. By visions of another man sping her waist and pulling her close as she crossed a wish off her bucket list. Poisonous bile burns my throat just thinking about it. And now she¡¯s in the most romantic city in the world, beautiful and smart and no doubt wearing pink, and my eyelid twitches almost incessantly the longer I go without finding her. When I do, I¡¯ll tie her up and inflict the same torment on her as she has on me these past weeks. My phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. I groan when I see the name shing on the screen. I knew this call wasing, it was only a matter of time. ¡°Jefe,¡± I say, answering. To the cartel, that¡¯s my title. But there¡¯s one man who outranks me, one man who¡¯s earned the respect of being addressed as such for far longer than I have. My father. ¡°Hijo,¡± he answers, voice warm. ¡°How are you?¡± Tom¨¢s da Silva is ruthless, a coldblooded murderer who¡¯d hang his own flesh and blood by their entrails if they betrayed him. He¡¯s someone who¡¯s feared globally except in remote parts of the world where inte ess is still limited and thus his name hasn¡¯t circted, but when ites to his children, he¡¯s as close to a big softie as a cartel king can be. He¡¯s indulged us our whole lives. It¡¯s why when Adriana came home from the first day of kindergarten iming she¡¯d made a new friend named Valentina and asking if she could live with us, he agreed. It¡¯s why when she begged to go to London on a graduation trip, he let her. It¡¯s why he greenlit an expansion in Europe. Not because he was power hungry, but because I am. I¡¯ve missed his warm voice and his guidance. We haven¡¯t spoken muchtely, partially because I¡¯ve been busy but equally because I¡¯ve been avoiding him. It¡¯s time to face the music now. ¡°I¡¯ve been well. Business is booming.¡± That part is still true, regardless of where I¡¯m currently located. ¡°How about you?¡± My father hasn¡¯t been the same since Adriana passed. The first hit came when we lost my mother to cancer when I was ten. He¡¯d survived, barely. Losing Adriana was too much for him. Outwardly, he seems much the same. Only those closest to him can see how weathered his soul is. He¡¯s tired and I¡¯m doing him no favors by worrying him. He doesn¡¯t answer my question, instead getting straight to the reason he¡¯s calling. ¡°You¡¯ve been neglecting your duties.¡± I grit my teeth to stop myself from barking back an answer and exit the car instead. We¡¯ve been driving across Paris all day, going from neighborhood to neighborhood, clearing them one by one as we searched for Tess. I hear car doors open as my men follow me out of the car and onto theRue de Rivoli, a famous street bustling with small souvenir shops and overrun by tourists. Unlike with Arturo, I can¡¯t just simply deny my father¡¯s allegation. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy,¡± I answer, holding the phone close to my ear as I walk casually down the street. Passersby give me a wide berth when they see the tattoos and the dark expression on my face. ¡°Busy searching for your runaway fianc¨¦e.¡± My jaw clenches, my teeth grinding side to side to keep my temper in check. Clearly, someone¡¯s been giving him reports on my actions and whereabouts. It¡¯s not too difficult to figure out it¡¯s Arturo. ¡°I¡¯m close. I know she¡¯s in Paris, it¡¯s just a matter of days until I find her and bring her home.¡± He sighs. ¡°When I told you to get married, I didn¡¯t imagine you¡¯d attach yourself to a problem. She might be from a good background and give you ess to London¡¯s elites, but that won¡¯t be of any use to you if she makes a mockery of you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a temporary setback. I¡¯ll find her soon.¡± I set my voice in the way he recognizes and knows means I¡¯m not going to change my mind. He ignores me. ¡°I¡¯ll find you someone else,¡± he offers. ¡°You remember Cardenas?¡± I smile. ¡°I¡¯ve only been gone a year, of course I do. He¡¯s one of your generals, he oversees theCariberegion.¡± ¡°He has a daughter, udia. She¡¯s been living in London for twelve years now. She came for her studies, met an aristocrat, married him and never left. He died a couple of years ago and left her a substantial fortune on top of all his connections. She could make a very good match.¡±T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. If only those few closest to me would stop trying to get me to find someone else. If only they understood that I would if I could. I stop outside a souvenir shop and lean against one of the arches framing the sidewalk, looking out at the road and theJardin des Tuilerieson the other side of it. There¡¯s no use having this battle with my father. If I pretend to be at least partially open to the idea, it¡¯ll go a lot further for me than just outright refusing. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,jefe.¡± He seems pleased by my answer. ¡°Good,¡± he says. ¡°Everything else going well otherwise? How about¡­¡± he pauses. I don¡¯t let him finish his sentence. ¡°We¡¯re making good progress with the Leones. We captured two more guards yesterday. We¡¯ll find the killer soon.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he answers, his voice taking on a distant edge. ¡°Very good.¡± The ache in his tone makes me want to kill every single Italian still walking this earth. ¡°I have to go,¡± I finally say, rather than causing him more heartache. ¡°Take care of yourself,jefe.¡± ¡°You too,mijo.¡± We end the call without any further words of care orfort. We¡¯ve never been those people, we wouldn¡¯t know what to say. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 22 ¡°Merci, monsieur,¡± I say to the shop owner as I reach across the counter and take the bag he hands me. ¡°De rien. Bonne journ¨¦e, mademoiselle.¡± I spin on my heels and walk towards the exit, happy with my purchase. I found a super cute ma with Dagny¡¯s name on it, the first I¡¯ve seen since being in Europe. It¡¯s got a drawing of the Eiffel Tower and one of Paris¡¯ iconicmp posts on it. She¡¯s going to love it. Briefly, I stop and take a photo of the ma before sending it off to her. I want her to know I¡¯ve been thinking about her because who knows when I¡¯ll be able to see her next. And maybe this will go some way towards apologizing for my fianc¨¦ shooting her. Walking out of the souvenir shop, I turn my head to the left then right, debating which way I want to head next, when I m to an abrupt stop. My heart crashes violently against my rib cage and bounces right off with enough force to make me dizzy. Leaning against the archway, standing not ten meters from me, is Thiago. His back is to me, his face turned to the side as he scours the crowds of tourists. I only have a partial view of his profile, but that¡¯s exactly how I firstid eyes on his face. I¡¯d know him anywhere. Tall, dark and imposing. Sticking out like a sore thumb on this fancy street, getting the attention of all the women and the jealous res of all the men around him. He¡¯s in his signature ck suit, his glower firmly in ce. I¡¯m frozen watching him, warring feelings of disbelief, fear and attractionpeting for dominance. The crowd between us feels like it moves in fast forward as I simply stare at him, drinking in my fill of his features. He¡¯s so close I could take three steps and touch him. Inexplicably, my knee twitches, almost as if it¡¯s urging me to take those steps. The sound of my thundering heartbeat is loud in my ears, drowning out the noise around me. It¡¯s all I can hear. I wish I could convince myself that it was fear making my heart race, but fear isn¡¯t responsible for the yearning in my belly, for the potent lust pooling even lower. He¡¯s still in Europe. He¡¯s still looking for me. Somehow he found the city I traveled to,again. He isn¡¯t giving up, just like he promised. ¡°Thiago!¡± The sound of his name piercing through the air snaps me out of my thoughts and into action. I dip back into the store, hiding behind a postcard stand. I rotate it slightly, pretending to browse but taking advantage of a gap in between the rows to continue staring at him. He turns and my breath catches between my lips. FaceTime doesn¡¯t do him justice; he¡¯s so much more attractive in person. Video does nothing to capture the power of his gaze, the charisma that oozes off him, and the sheer size of his physical presence. He¡¯s a masterpiece adorned with tattoos, making him even more spellbinding. If he¡¯d turned a couple seconds earlier, he would have seen me. ¡°What is it?¡± he asks. ¡°Did you find her?¡± I almost go into cardiac arrest for the second time in five minutes. Just when I think he can¡¯t possibly affect me any more, he raises his hand. Clutched in his fist is my pink scarf. He presses it against his face and inhales like an animal, his eyes rolling back into his head. My knees go weak and waves of arousal hit me in the belly. ¡°Mademoiselle?¡± I nearly jump out of my skin at the voice behind me. The shop owner is staring at me weirdly, probably wondering why my face is pressed halfway into his postcard stand. ¡°Desol¨¦e,¡± I answer, flustered. Desperately, I clutch at the remnants of my secondary school French to form what I hope is a cogent sentence. ¡°Deux minutes.¡± He walks away muttering something under his breath that I¡¯m pretty sure are colorful expletives cursing the British. When I turn back around, Thiago¡¯s hand is down by his side and his guard is level with him. It¡¯s the one I recognize as his lieutenant, the one I¡¯ve been referring to as Younger Guy in my mind. ¡°No,jefe. Sorry.¡± A look of annoyance crosses Thiago¡¯s face before he waves at him to continue. ¡°Fabian just called. He took care of the two Italians we capturedst night.¡± ¡°Did they give him a name?¡± The guard stands with his back to me so I can¡¯t see his expression, but he shakes his head. ¡°No. They said they had no idea who was responsible. They were in the death room for twelve hours and never wavered from that. Fabian thinks they were telling the truth.¡± Thiago roars furiously, scaring unsuspecting people walking past him in the process. His expression ckenspletely, all traces of humanity gone from his face now. ¡°Fuck!¡± he thunders. He starts pacing, uncaring of the crowds around him who jump out of the way to avoid his storming presence. Finally, he stops in front of Younger Guy and points a finger at him. ¡°Enough of these low level footmen who don¡¯t know shit. I want Augusto.¡± I can see Younger Guy¡¯s face now and he nches. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Augusto Leone. The capo. I want him captured alive, whatever it takes. He¡¯ll know who was responsible.¡± A chill rolls down my spine at his tone. I know the name Augusto Leone, all of London does. He¡¯s the head of the Italian mafia, a key part of the Underworld, and a ruthless killer. Going after him is a death sentence. ¡°Jefe, you know I¡¯d never question your orders but Augusto Leone¡­he¡¯s untouchable.¡± Thiago grips his guard by the cor and yanks him against his chest. ¡°Find a way, Marco. I¡¯ve been ying nice for far too long. That ends today. I don¡¯t care what it takes or how much it costs, but you get me Augusto Leone. He¡¯ll answer firsthand for what his family did to Adriana.¡± I turn away from the postcard stand and stumble back deeper into the store. I¡¯ve heard enough. This connects back to what I overheard at the charity event. He¡¯s avenging his lost love even as he¡¯s scouring Europe looking for me. Frustration and disappointment swirl in my gut. Frustration that I let myself think for even a second that his search for me was anything but wounded pride. Disappointment that I was stupid enough to think that someone could be doing something forme. ¡°Vous¡­avez sortie autre?¡± I ask the shop owner in butchered French. When he gives me nothing but a quizzical expression in return, I sigh in annoyance. ¡°Oh, sod this.¡± I take a hundred euro bill out of my wallet and p it on the counter. ¡°Can I use your back exit?¡± He picks up the bill and pockets it, pointing behind him. ¡°Of course, right this way.¡± And of course he speaks English now. Heading towards the back door, I go through a stock room of sorts, and finally erupt onto a side street. I don¡¯t even bother looking back to make sure no one is following me, I run. I run and I run until Ie to a Metro station. I buy a ticket and blindly get on a train, not even checking the direction in which it¡¯s heading. Settling in by the door, I look out of the windowpane. Exhaustion hits me out of nowhere. It¡¯s bone deep and it overtakes me, making me fall back against the section divider. I¡¯m so, so tired. Of running. Of being constantly on guard. Of being alone. I drop my head back against the partition as the doors close. The train doesn¡¯t move yet and I stare absentmindedly off into the distance, watching unseeingly as long legs wrapped in tailored ck trousers run down the steps, taking them three at a time. His top half isn¡¯t visible yet but whoever he is, he must bete because he¡¯s running furiously to catch the train. I feel bad that he¡¯s just missed it. I lift my head when the man reaches the tform. Realization hits me at the same time as my gaze collides with a pair of vivid, honey-colored eyes that I¡¯vee to know all too well. I straighten, my heart lurching violently into my throat. My mouth dries instantly, my tongue bing rough as sandpaper. Oh, god. I blink, thinking the exhaustion is making me imagine things, but when I open my eyes he¡¯s well and truly there. Thiago. He marches determinedly towards me, the energy that¡¯s swirling around him dangerously vtile and destructive, until hees to a stop right in front of me. All that separates us is two inches of plexiss. His chest heavesboriously, pushing insistently against the material of his dress shirt as he stares back at me. His eyes rake almost manically over my face like they don¡¯t know what to look at first. Like they can¡¯t get enough of looking at all. I must be as taken in by my own perusal of him because I don¡¯t notice that his hand moves to clutch the exterior handle of the train door until I hear him try to yank it open. Mercifully, it doesn¡¯t budge. I¡¯m shaken out of my stupor when he tries once more, then a third time, making the door shake in its hinges. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s actually going to manage to force it open, the brute. I clutch the interior handle to help keep ittched. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m actually doing anything worthwhile, but I have to try. Why isn¡¯t this freaking train moving? I have my answer secondster when an operatores on the speaker and announces that we¡¯re waiting for a train at the next station to leave before we can move. We¡¯ll be stationed at this tform for a couple more minutes in the meantime. ¡°Amor.¡± A shiver runs down my spine, raising goosebumps all over my body. His voice is as clear through the ss as if he¡¯d whispered the pet name right up against my ear. Slowly, I lift my gaze back up to meet his. His eyes darken to midnight, the pupils dting and suffocating the color from his irises. That look is all-consuming, as iming as two arms physically wrapping around me. No one¡¯s ever stared at me that way before. I can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯m in danger. Not of bodily harm, no. Of something far worse. It¡¯s too much and I break our eye contact, looking down and away. I hear an angry, menacing growl followed by a loud crack that makes my bones rattle and startles the other passengers around me. His tone is lethal. ¡°Look at me,amor,¡± he orders. I do. His right hand is smashed against the ss, fingers syed wide at chest level. I¡¯m transfixed by the size of his hand, howrge and dominating it is, seemingly taking up half of the window.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Slowly, gaze locked almost hypnotically on his palm, I raise mine to his and ce it softly on the other side of the ss. His fingers are over an inch longer than my own. A shudder runs through me when I remember how he¡¯d gripped my hair, how those very same fingers had thrust inside me while he whispered dirty things up against my ear. His gaze slides unhurriedly down to where our hands meet through the ss. We both stare until I notice his eyes turn disturbingly possessive when he sees the diamond ring still adorning my fourth finger. His fingers bend as if wanting toce his with mine but he grunts in frustration when he remembers the barrier that keeps him from me. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you home,¡± he vows gutturally. His words rumble up his throat, deep and hoarse and more of a guarantee than a suggestion. He tries the door again, to no avail. His men have gathered behind him, overtaking the tform and sending any other potential passengers scurrying. He speaks to me like it¡¯s just the two of us, like no one inside or outside the train stares when in reality dozens of eyes watch us. The operatores back on the speaker to announce the train will be moving soon and just like that, the spell is broken. Reality rushes back in. I drop my hand from the ss and take a step back. rm shes across his face when he overhears the announcement and realizes this ising to an end. Three long beeps sound and then the train begins to move, slowly making its way out of the station. My heart starts racing once more, equally d to put distance between us and dismayed it¡¯s over. He walks alongside my carriage, never quickening his steps and easily keeping pace. I stay at the window, both handsing up to brace myself. ¡°Say something,¡± he asks. There¡¯s an imploring note to his words that heats my blood. He¡¯s never been shy about revealing exactly how I affect him. I shake my head no and then he¡¯s walking faster, abandoning all pretense of casualness. ¡°Say something,¡± he repeats. ¡°Anything.¡± I¡¯m certain the tone he uses is a rare urrence and it pulls at something low in my stomach. A sh of an unidentifiable emotion darts through his eyes before quickly disappearing. I don¡¯t know what it was exactly but it has an unstoppable urge bubbling up my throat and bursting past my lips in the form of a word, my voice unrecognizably soft and longing. ¡°Thiago,¡± I whisper. It feels, somehow, like a confession. He stops abruptly in his tracks. By now, the train has picked up enough speed that it outpaces him and I lose him. I¡¯m not ready to lose him yet. Twisting my neck, I try to look for him through other side windows but there¡¯s no clear view. Something like anxiety twists in my gut and I find myself making my way down the wagon, pushing past passengers with polite ¡°excuse me¡±s and ruder shoulder shoves when they don¡¯t immediately move, until I get to the end of the carriage and can look at him through the back window. He¡¯s standing on the edge of the tform, rapidly receding into the distance. But he¡¯s still staring unflinchingly at me and his expression? His expression is grippingly territorial, downright animalistic even. It sends a fresh shiver coursing down my spine. I blow him a kiss and turn away, thankful to have narrowly escaped. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 23 ¡°You¡¯re a hard man to track down, Tristan.¡± ¡°Fuck me,¡± my brother exims as he jumps, startled by the sound of my voice. When he turns, he finds me standing at the bottom of his front steps with a huge grin on my face. It¡¯s been too long since I saw him, almost half a year, and I¡¯ve missed him. I can tell by the expression on his own features that he feels the same. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he exims, bouncing down the steps and swallowing me up in a bear hug. I can¡¯t help butugh when his familiar armse around me, the relief I feel instantaneous. ¡°What the hell are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?¡± The answer to his first question is far moreplicated than the answer to his second. The truth is, I¡¯d been so turned around by my encounter with Thiago that I ended up taking the train all the way to the end of the line. I got off, disoriented, and took a taxi to the Gare de Lyon where I got on a TGV to Geneva. It doesn¡¯t matter that our father forbids contact between us, I need my brother. Outside of Dagny, he¡¯s the only person who can bring mefort, and I sorely need it. I¡¯m tired of running, of constantly looking over my shoulder, and of being alone. I know that Tristan will make meugh, in the way only your little brother can, and that¡¯s exactly what I need. There¡¯s no danger of Thiago catching up to me. I left him in Paris, probably raging at my narrow escape, and I ditched my identity as Caroline Mason. It took me too long to realize that¡¯s how he must have been tracking me. So now I¡¯m Sabrina Baker, at least for the foreseeable future, and Sabrina can keep running tomorrow.Tonight, Tess is going to enjoy dinner and some banter with her brother. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too,¡± I tell him honestly, stillughing at the shocked expression on his face. ¡°Seriously, what are you doing here? Why did you risk it? Where does the tyrant think you are? How¡¯s mum?¡± My stomach knots painfully at hisst question. I have a lot of things to catch him up on. ¡°Let¡¯s go to dinner and we can talk. I¡¯ll answer your questions then, okay?¡± ??? Tristan correctly guesses that I¡¯m dying for Italian food and takes me to a delicious restaurant in Geneva. There, he tells me all about Nera. While I¡¯m concerned that he¡¯s broken our father¡¯s main rule for his exile, I¡¯m also unsurprised ¨C Tristan has always had low impulse control, especially when ites to women. I assume this is just another of his many meaningless conquests. But then he starts talking about her, his eyes zing over and a smitten smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. His words tumble furiously past his lips, almost like he can¡¯t physically keep up with everything he wants me to know about her. He¡¯s different from thest time I saw him. Happy. Settled. In love, although I¡¯m not sure he even knows he is yet. I¡¯m thrilled for him, but I can¡¯t help the twinge of jealousy that gnaws at me. I never thought my self-proimed manwhore of a little brother was going to meet someone before me. I don¡¯t tell him about our father¡¯s gambling debts or Thiago and our engagement. Where would I even start? I want to focus on the happy news for once. My brother is in love and spending more time pursuing his passion of bing a chef, and that¡¯s all that matters. After sharing an ungodly amount of food, I pay the bill and we wrap ourselves back up in our winter coats before heading outside into the frigid January air. ¡°How have you been?¡± Tristan asks, holding the door open for me. ¡°And how¡¯s Mum? Has dad been leaving her alone?¡± And there it is, the question I¡¯ve been dreading. Guilt eats at me, voracious and relentless. How am I going to tell him that I abandoned her? ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± I finally admit. Tristan frowns, turning to stare at me. ¡°What do you mean? Didn¡¯t you see her this morning before you came here?¡± It¡¯s unbelievably cold outside and my remorse does nothing to warm me up. I look away, unable to meet his gaze. He¡¯ll hate me once I tell him. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but no. I haven¡¯t. I haven¡¯t seen her¨C¡± My words trail off when Tristan¡¯s eyes lift from my face to something over my shoulder. His face falls, the easy smile wiping instantly off his lips. A look unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen etches itself across his face. I feel a presence, something dark and terrifying moving behind me, and my stomach falls because I know deep in my bones exactly who it is. I¡¯m familiar with how his body moves in the dark, like an assassin mastering the shadows and bending them to his will. Warmth spreads at my back, ushering away the cold like it was never even there. This is where I stop running, I realize that now. He¡¯s found me and unlike Paris, this time there¡¯s no plexiss to protect me. Taking a deep breath, I turn around ande face to face with my very own devil. Even though I expected it, a shocked gasp still rips from my throat when our eyes collide. He doesn¡¯t give me the opportunity to even try and run this time. His hand closes around my throat and squeezes. A squeak falls from my lips and I grab his wrist, but he yanks me against him, his other hand closing around my upper arm. I¡¯m pinned against him, inches from the deranged, fric look in his eyes as his gaze roves over my face. Vtile energy pours off of him in waves, making it clear that this situation could easily turn explosive. The air is charged with his anger, his obvious possessiveness. He hasn¡¯t blinked since heid eyes on me. Neither have I. His hand burns around my throat and when I swallow, he squeezes harder. There¡¯s an invisible thread pulling between us, so strong that when he leans forward I find myself tilting my chin up slightly, inadvertently bridging the gap between us. I¡¯m tethered to him, hooked like a fish on a line as I wait for him to speak. My eyes drop to his mouth where he¡¯s sucking on a piece of candy. His lips part and the familiar smell of cinnamon hits my nose. ¡°Found you,¡± he rasps, something akin to relief echoing briefly in his tone. I inhale sharply, not in fear but in response to his heated breath caressing my face. His exhales abrade against each and every single one of my nerve endings, overshadowing the tight emotion in his words. Hungry eyes lower down to my mouth, and I start shaking. His hand tightens around my throat. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Tristan demands. ¡°Get your fucking hands off her.¡± Reality crashes in, shattering our bubble. I¡¯m ashamed to say I momentarily forgot about my brother. Reminded of his presence, I¡¯m concerned for his safety, especially since he¡¯s being held by Marco and Paunchy Guy, who remains nameless still. I¡¯ve seen what Thiago did to my father, what he won¡¯t hesitate to do to anyone who gets in his way. ¡°Tristan, it¡¯s okay,¡± I answer, my voice tremulous. Thiago still hasn¡¯t looked away from me, which is good. Hopefully Tristan can get out of this unscathed. ¡°Let my brother go,¡± I order, with more confidence than I feel. He doesn¡¯t answer. I¡¯d believe he didn¡¯t hear me if his head didn¡¯t tilt in response, his eyes continuing to dissect me. ¡°Let him go and I¡¯lle with you,¡± I offer. This time, Thiago¡¯s reaction is immediate. His lip curls up, his grip turning bruising as he snarls, ¡°I¡¯m taking you regardless.¡± His words are ice cold, delivered on the edge of a de, and I realize I¡¯m dealing with the cartel boss now. So I give him the one thing I know he wants above all else. My total submission. For now, at least. I look up at him from beneath myshes. ¡°I¡¯ll gowillingly.¡± A harsh, low sound jerks from his lips. His hand rxes a fraction, just enough for me to breathe, and then he¡¯s nodding his head and Tristan is released. My brother takes one look at the Rolls Royce that pulls up next to us and shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you with a stranger who¡¯s trying to fucking kidnap you.¡± I need him to leave before Thiago loses all patience and slits his throat. Already, his fingers are drumming against the side of my neck, rapping impatiently over my pulse point. ¡°He¡¯s not¡­¡± I hesitate, my gaze trailing over to meet Tristan¡¯s. ¡°He¡¯s not a stranger,¡± I admit. A rumble from deep within Thiago¡¯s chest erupts into the silence and pulls my attention back to him. He slides his hand around the back of my neck until it closes around my nape, forcing my head back to stare up into his eyes, his massive palm controlling mepletely. ¡°Tell him who I am,¡± he orders, sharp teeth on disy as he grins. I whimper and his thumb rubs gentle circles on the side of my neck. A more naive girl would mistake the gesture as being soothing, but I know he¡¯s just trying to manipte me into giving him what he wants. ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± I start, then stop, unable to finish my sentence. There¡¯s a savage gleam shining in his eyes as they drop to my mouth. He looks to be holding his breath, like he¡¯s hooked on what I¡¯m about to say, like he can¡¯t breathe until I admit what he is to me. I¡¯ve never said the words out loud. He wants to hear them, but I think he wants to see me give in even more. My lips part again and he leans forward, spellbound. ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± His patience snaps. ¡°Tell him,¡± he orders hoarsely. All it takes to sign my life away is saying three little words. I know that once I say them, there¡¯s no turning back. I¡¯m crossing a line that I can¡¯t uncross. His eyes glide back up to mine and snuff out my remaining resistance. I swallow thickly, then finally, almost like a confession, I say the words he¡¯s waited to hear for months. ¡°He¡¯s my fianc¨¦.¡± Thiago unfurls to his full height, an arrogant, deeply victorious look stamped across his features. His eyes gleam with satisfaction and something like pride. ¡°What?¡± Tristan turns an incredulous look in my direction. ¡°When west spoke, I told younotto be in an arranged marriage the next time we saw each other. Did you forget to Q-tip that morning or what?¡± ¡°In my defense, you said I shouldn¡¯t get engaged to a ¡®stuffy prick¡¯. Does he look like one?¡± Tristan eyes him critically before muttering under his breath, ¡°He looks like he fulfills one of those two criteria.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. My eyes widen, but Thiago brings a swift end to our sibling banter. He uses his grip on my nape to angle my face back up to his. ¡°Get lost, Tristan,¡± he snaps, not bothering to even look at him. A lethal glint shines in his gaze and I know referring to him as my fianc¨¦ was only a temporary truce. He¡¯s going to make me answer for the past couple of months. ¡°Your sister and I have things to discuss. Don¡¯t we,amor?¡± I shudder in his grasp and he feels it. He doesn¡¯t bother to wait for a response from either of us and uses his grip to push me towards the car instead. I throw a look and a quick wave over my shoulder at Tristan before I¡¯m unceremoniously shoved into the back of the car. Devil Mine: Part 2 – Chapter 24 The Rolls has two opposing sets of bench seats that face each other. I stumble onto one, crawling to the other end of it in my dress until I¡¯m pressed against the door on the opposite side. I¡¯m surprised to find a man sitting facing me. He looks as startled by my sudden appearance as I am by his, but gives no clue as to his identity. I notice he has a white cor, but don¡¯t have the time to process him or that information before Thiago follows me into the car and ms the door shut behind him. The windows are cked out and that,bined with his massive, stormy presence, makes the space feel like it shrinks down around us. ¡°Father,¡± Thiago says, ignoring me. ¡°Proceed.¡± ¡°Father?¡± I question. My head whips back to the man. More precisely, my gaze drops to his cor and the dots finally connect in my head. ¡°Jefe,¡± he says, inclining his head deferentially. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Panic stretches the edges of my voice, a hint of mania shining through. ¡°Get on with it,¡± Thiago clips impatiently. ¡°Just skip to the important part.¡± The man clears his throat. ¡°Do you, Thiago da Silva, take this woman, Tess Noble, to be yourwfully wedded wife?¡± Horror dawns as my suspicions are confirmed. This is a priest and Thiago intends to have us married this very instant. ¡°Hold on¡ª¡± ¡°I do.¡± I gasp, my gaze pinging back and forth between the two men. ¡°No!¡± Thiago¡¯s hand wraps around my wrist and he tugs me until I fall against him. My chest touches his, my wide eyes shing with his narrowed, angry ones. ¡°Remember your promise,¡± he orders. I¡¯lle willingly. ¡°Do you, Tess Noble, take this man, Thiago da Silva, to be yourwfully wedded husband?¡± I hadn¡¯t known what I was signing up for. I thought I¡¯d have more time. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± I plead. Thiago¡¯s hand wraps once more around my throat, the tattooed cor literally and figuratively closing with the gesture and shackling me for good this time. ¡°So you never run from me again,¡± he growls. ¡°Now say the words.¡± I feel like I¡¯m on fire. The air is both insufficient and suffocating. I¡¯m gasping for breath, considering my options and fighting against the inevitable even when I know it¡¯s a losing battle. There is no escape. ¡°I do,¡± I whisper, barely audibly. ¡°Louder.¡± ¡°I do!¡± I snap, eyes zing with fury as they fly up to meet his. But I only find deep satisfaction burning in his irises. ¡°Yeah,¡± he purrs. ¡°You do.¡± I re at him, venom shining in my eyes. ¡°You can force me to marry you, but you can¡¯t force me toeversubmit to you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± he promises. An ufortable throat clearinges from the opposite seats. ¡°Wonderful,¡± the priest says. ¡°Now to make it official.¡± Thiago snatches a paper from his hands and ces it on myp. A pen is foisted into my fingers next. ¡®Certificate of Marriage¡¯ is stamped at the top, my name engraved below a nk line at the bottom. I stare at it uprehendingly. It feels surrealistic to be looking down at my marriage certificate. To know this one flimsy sheet of paper is all that¡¯s needed to tie us together. Did he have it drawn up the day I ran away? ¡°Sign,¡± he orders. A storm of emotion rolls through me. I¡¯m trapped. Trapped in a loveless, likely abusive marriage just like my mother is. I was so desperate to escape her fate. For a second, I thought I had. Tears sting at the corners of my eyes. ¡°Sign it or I¡¯m going back out there and properly introducing myself to your brother.¡± I throw him a scathing look that would level anyone else down to dust. Thiago simply grins, seeming to enjoy my anger as much as he does my capittion. My hand shakes as the pen makes contact with the page. And then it¡¯s done, over in less than a second, almost underwhelming in itsck of pomp and circumstance. Thiago rips the paper from beneath my palm and stares at my signature for a long moment, a sinisterly satisfied smile pulling at his lips. He signs above his own name, takes a picture, and then hands it back to the priest. ¡°The witnesses are outside. Have them sign, then get it registered.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°First thing tomorrow.¡± The priest visibly swallows at the sternmand, understanding the not-so-subtle subtext of what¡¯ll happen to him if he doesn¡¯t deliver. Thest ten minutes feel like aplete blur. I just signed my life away to this man who wants everything from me. This man who wants everything while not being able to give me anything remotely close to the same in return. Bitterness chokes me, as does the unfairness of my circumstances. I¡¯m married. Married. Thiago removes his ck suit jacket, his shoulder nes moving erotically beneath his dress shirt as he does so. Even though I can¡¯t see his skin, I can imagine the way his muscles move lithely to shuck off the offending garment. He folds it, then tosses it on the other seats. His eyes flip cially back up to meet the priest¡¯s. ¡°Get out,¡± he snaps. ¡°Wait¨C¡± The priest does as ordered without even sparing me a nce, happy to save his own skin. Then the door ms shut. My disbelief over my marital status evaporates in an instant as I suddenly realize that I¡¯m stuck in a cage with an angry predator hellbent on eating his prey. But Thiago doesn¡¯t look at me. He bends his arm at the elbow and unbuttons the wrist cuff of his dress shirt before he starts to slowly ¡ª so slowly, it¡¯s torturous to watch ¡ª roll his sleeve up his arm. My throat dries, my eyes glued to the skin he reveals inch by inch. His forearm is covered in tattoos and made up of corded muscles and pronounced, masculine veins traveling up the length of his arm and disappearing into his shirt. He repeats the same process on his other sleeve, his movements as unhurried as with the first because he knows he has me trapped with nowhere to go. When he¡¯s done, he grabs the knot of his tie and yanks it down. He rips it off like it suffocates him and stuffs it inside the pocket of his trousers, his action inplete opposition to the care he showed his sleeves. His fingers dance at his cor next, opening first one button, then another, exposing more tattooed skin.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Then, and only then, does he finally look at me. Animalistic eyes find mine and rob me of my breath with one devastatingly searing look. His gaze drives through me with the destructiveness of a shrapnel explosion, sending fragments shattering and piercing through all my vital organs. Hees towards me, his body growing in size until I feel like he eats up the entire space, and then his lip curls back and his teeth bare and he utters one word. A promise, a threat. A physical brand. ¡°Wife.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 27 Part 3 ¨C Owned ¡°Wife.¡± The word rolls off my tongue with ease andfuck, does it make the possessive devil inside me roar in satisfaction to finally be able to say it. Tess flinches. ¡°What are you¡ª¡° I reach across the distance separating us and wrap a hand around her nape. The words die instantly on her tongue as an indecent smirk tugs at my lips. My eyes meet hers, my pupils dting with erotic intent. ¡°Time to kiss the bride,¡± I rasp darkly. She hisses in a sharp breath. Good. She¡¯s going to need it. I drag her across the seat and crash my mouth down on hers. She whimpers, handsing defensively up to my chest, but I crush her against me. My tongue shoves roughly past her lips in search of hers. The taste of her again after having shared only one kiss, after all those weeks, is a heady nightmare. I fist her hair to keep her from moving away but it also has the unintended effect of making her intoxicating scent waft off her locks and up to my nose, electrifying me. This kiss is an attack more than it is a seduction, a nned revenge for running away from me more than a happy reunion. I bite her lip until it bleeds and swallow her answering gasp into my mouth. I¡¯m hard as fucking stone just off one kiss. She¡¯s so reactive, her hands no longer pushing me but holding tightly onto my shirt instead. And when her tonguees tentatively out of her mouth to meet mine, I groan loudly. Even through the spice of my cinnamon candy, I can taste her. Potent and fresh, like the first sip of Coca-C after a hot summer day. I pull her lower lip between mine, soothing the tenderized skin. When she moans softly, I rip my mouth away. Wide, unfocused eyes meet mine, blinking rapidly as they fight through the haze of arousal. I thumb her lower lip, tugging it slowly down before releasing it. ¡°My wife has a hot little mouth,¡± I rumble. ¡°Shall we see what else it can do?¡± She jerks away, twisting her head out of my hold. ¡°No!¡± My eyes harden. ¡°Wrong answer.¡± Grabbing her by the nape once more, I force her down across myp. One second she¡¯s half-sitting, half-kneeling beside me, the next her face is pushed into the seat, her ass perfectly perched over my thighs. Bunching the fabric of her dress in my fist, I shove it up over her hips, revealing the most perfect ass I¡¯ve ever seen, wrapped like a present in a pretty pink thong. When I caught her, I was disappointed to find her wearing blue. I wondered where the pink went, if it was only a phase and one I was forced to miss. Turns out it was waiting for me in my favorite ce. Tess reaches back with a frantic hand to try and stop me. ¡°Thiago¨C¡± I grip her wrists together and pin them against the small of her back. Her saying my name reminds me of thest time she said it ¨C yesterday, when I came within seconds of catching her. When I was alerted by the falcon tailing her brother that she finally showed up at his apartment, I¡¯d been almost blinded by relief knowing I was finally going to catch her. And now she¡¯s going to pay for every single way she¡¯s tortured me over thest six weeks. She shivers when my palm touches the top of her thigh, my hand still cold from being outside. I run it up over the curve of her cheek and to the meaty part of her ass. The contrast of my hands on her skin makes me lightheaded with lust. Her, blonde and petite and innocent, getting sullied byrge, tattooed, bloodied hands. Tess tries lifting her head, but the position makes it impossible. Her voice trembles when I continue caressing her cheek, the movement ominously intentional. ¡°What¡­what are you doing?¡± My finger curls under the fabric of her thong at the junction of her ass and slowly follows it down, removing the offending garment from between her cheeks and tucking it off to the side. Goosebumps break out over her skin when my finger nces against her pussy. ¡°Do you want me to fuck you?¡± She bucks when I press my finger at the bottom of her ass, working my way back up her slit in reverse. I nce over her tight asshole, circling her rim once so she understands who¡¯s in control here. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s not what you wrote in your journal.¡± She blushes. ¡°That was just a dream, it meant nothing. Reality is far different.¡± Ignoring her answer, I ask. ¡°Do you want me to punish you?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°No.¡± The first p to her ass surprises her. She jerks, almost unseating herself from myp and freeing her hands in the process. ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­spankme!¡± I shove her back down, pping her cheek again for good measure. My grip tightens on her wrists until I know they¡¯ll bruise. I want everyone to see them and understand that she¡¯s mine. ¡°Pick one.¡± Her voice shakes. ¡°W-what?¡± A third p makes her bite her lip to suppress a scream. So I add a fourth and pull that delicious sound out of her anyway. ¡°Pickone. Ask me to fuck you or ask me to punish you. You¡¯ve got some making up to me to do,amor, and those are your options.¡± I want her to crawl to me. To admit that she needs me,wantsme, as much as I want her. ¡°You¡¯re already punishing me!¡± she cries out. ¡°How is that a choice?¡± Chuckling darkly, I run my hand over her reddened, heated skin. I dig my fingers into her bruised cheek, making her whimper. Then I spank her ass again. ¡°This is hardly a punishment. You should pick getting fucked if you think it is.¡± Ind four more hard blows, alternating between each cheek. My hand is merciless,ing down time and time again without giving her a second of relief. Her flesh flushes redder and redder with every targeted strike of my palm, my cock throbbing painfully at the color. Tess struggles, but has nowhere to go. She arches her ass, identally serving herself up for more in the process. So that¡¯s exactly what I give her. Two more blowsnd on the meatiest part of her cheeks. She cries out and falls back onto her stomach, tightening her ass instead. ¡°If you clench, it¡¯ll only hurt more.¡± She gasps for breath, her face turned to the side, her eyes finding mine and skewering me with a re. Her cheeks are flushed the same color as her ass and I can¡¯t resist it ¨C I take a picture. She looks downright edible and I want to memorialize the first time I spanked my wife¡¯s ass. Mywife. I can¡¯t imagine I¡¯ll ever grow tired of calling her that. Every time I think it, I feel myself getting more and more territorial over her. Wanting to find a way to permanently mark her. ¡°How can you say this isn¡¯t a punishment, you sadist?¡± My eyes darken in response. I press down on her lower back, pushing her against my hard cock, and shove her legs open. When she immediately tries to close them, I p the inside of her thighs until she¡¯s lewdly spread. ¡°Because of this.¡± Lightly, I p the tips of my fingers against her pussy. The car echoes with the sounds of her dripping wet pussy. ¡°Listen to how soaked you are,amor. Does that sound like pain or pleasure to you?¡± Her legs fly shut, trapping my hand between her thighs. It¡¯s a strategic mistake that I¡¯ll make her pay for. Curling my fingers, I find her opening and thrust two in to the hilt. ¡°Oh, god,¡± she cries, spine arching and hands wringing together at the small of her back. ¡°Just as tight as I remember,¡± I hiss between clenched teeth. ¡°You didn¡¯t let anyone touch you here?¡± She doesn¡¯t answer, but she doesn¡¯t need to. My ring is still on her left hand, my fingers still getting squeezed by her tight heat. I can tell she hasn¡¯t spread her legs for anyone since she ran. Her dreams must have kept her busy. I thrust into her, wishing I had a third hand so I could also cor her neck and squeeze the breath from her throat. ¡°Every time you pretend you hate it when I touch you, I¡¯ll prove to you what a liar you are. You won¡¯t be able to run from the truth like you ran from me, I promise you that.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± she mumbles, face pushed into the seat. She bites the expensive leather to keep from moaning and it enrages me. ¡°Ask me to fuck you.¡± I repeat the order once more, voice so deepened by lust it¡¯s no longer recognizable. Her resistance makes me crazy. She told me she¡¯de willingly and I intend for her to mean that in every single fucking way. ¡°Never,¡± she pants. Iugh, a dark, humorless sound, and pull my fingers from her tight heat. She whines softly at the loss. It turns into a sharp exhale when I fist her hair and use it to yank her backwards. Her back is arched unnaturally as I press my mouth against her ear. ¡°Then you¡¯ll beg,¡± I promise sinisterly. ¡°Only then will I fuck you. I can oust you,amor. I¡¯ve waited long enough to have you. But I¡¯ll need you on your knees begging me to take that sweet pussy before I do.¡± I shove her back down into the seat without waiting for an answer and rip her thong clean off. She gasps again. It¡¯s quickly bing one of my favorite sounds. ¡°Punishment it is,¡± I grunt, reaching for the buckle of my belt. The metal nks in the silence, pulling her attention down to my waist. When I yank on one end and the entire length of the belt whooshes through the loops with an ominous snap, her eyes widen in fear. Maybe she was right to call me a sadist because I feel my cock harden even further at her obvious anticipation. ¡°Changing your mind?¡± She shakes her head stubbornly, but the rm in her gaze remains. ¡°Good,¡± I say, folding the expensive leather so it forms a loop in my hand. ¡°Because nothing¡¯s going to stop me from marking this ass now.¡± ¡°You really are the devil,¡± she bites. I caress her ass with my belt and she flinches at the contact of the cool leather. ¡°And you¡¯re an angel,amor. My angel,¡± I purr. ¡°But I won¡¯t stop until I¡¯ve dragged you down into the depths of hell for eternity with me.¡±T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. With that, I lift the belt and bring it swiftly back down. It whistles excitingly through the air before it strikes her ass. She screams, an open-throated sound that sends a pleasing tingle down my spine. Her hands are white-knuckled fists by the time the second thwackes down on her cheek. A bright red welt lifts on her skin, matching the first. Seeing them appear soothes something that¡¯s been dangerously untamed since she left. ¡°Only five today,amor. But if you run from me again, I won¡¯t stop until you bleed.¡± When she doesn¡¯t answer, I whip her again. Her answering scream is ragged, her throat worked raw from the pain. Thankfully the car is soundproofed, otherwise I¡¯d have to shoot Arturo and Marco for listening to sounds that belong to me. ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°W-what do you want me to say?¡± There are tears in her voice, a wobble to her tone that should make me stop but doesn¡¯t. ¡°Tell me you understand.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t run again.¡± Her mouth ttens into a stubborn line and she turns her face away from me. ¡°Fine. Have it your way.¡± The next three strikes of my belte one after the other, without reprieve. I don¡¯t hold back. I want her to feel pain every time she sits. I want her to remember why it hurts, why her choices made it hurt. ¡°That¡¯s six!¡± she chokes out. ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t run again,¡± I demand. Silence. Except for the whistle of the belt as it strikes her two more times that is. She¡¯s outright crying now. She¡¯s quiet about it, biting her lip so I can¡¯t hear her fall apart, but her shoulders shake nheless. I yank her up by her hair and lick the tears off her cheeks. ¡°You should have asked me to fuck you. I could have been licking that wet pussy or sucking on your tight nipples instead right now.¡± Her mascara runs down her face. She¡¯s never looked more beautiful. The only way she¡¯ll top this moment is when she finally gives in. But for now, I¡¯ll enjoy the fight and the stubbornness. I strike her again. And again. ¡°Thiago!¡± she cries out. Her ass is nowpletely red, a beautiful mosaic of raised, painful welts. I caress them gently with my thumb and she hisses. ¡°You know what I want. Say it or I keep going.¡± Fresh tears pearl at the corner of her eye and travel down her cheek. I scoop them up with a finger and suck them into my mouth, unwilling to waste even one. I lift the belt. ¡°I won¡¯t¡­¡± I stop, frozen by her barely audible interruption. And I wait. Five seconds. Ten. The belt connects with the top of her thighs this time, the ce where they meet her ass. She jolts and screams, falling limply back against the seat. ¡°I won¡¯t run away from you again,¡± she finally whispers, spent. Perverse victory erupts in my veins at her first submission. I toss the belt to the other side of the car and release her wrists, flipping her over in my arms. She cries out when her welted asses into contact with the rough material of my trousers, so I quiet her with a kiss, swallowing up all of her whimpers. ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise,pping at her face like an animal, searching for the salty remnants of her tears. ¡°Was that so hard?¡± ¡°It hurts,¡± she moans, face twisting in agony. I im her mouth once more, licking soothingly at her lips before pulling away with some difficulty. I can¡¯t get enough. ¡°Good girls deserve rewards.¡± Setting her down on the seat, I position myself between her legs. Her eyes go from sluggish to wide open and alert when she sees me kneel on the floor, hooking my arms under each of her bent legs. My gaze drops from her shocked face and moves slowly down her body. I wish I could strip her naked and admire her entire naked form, but I can¡¯t fathom stopping right now. Finally, my eyes fall to the apex of her thighs, focusing on that beautiful spot between her legs that I¡¯ve imagined and pleasured myself to for months. She¡¯s bare except for a perfectnding strip, her pussy and thighs glistening with her arousal. No matter how much she screamed when I used my belt, her wetness proves how turned on she was by the pain. I smirk, suddenly famished, and look back up at her. She swallows thickly when she sees the ravenous expression on my face. ¡°As pretty as I knew you would be.¡± She blushes deliciously and cum leaks from my dick in response. I¡¯m painfully hard. If she doesn¡¯t do something about it soon, I might explode on the spot. I settle back into my haunches, keeping my gaze trained on hers as I lean down towards her center, so that when my tongue first makes contact with her pussy, I¡¯m staring deep into her eyes and taking in her reaction. One soft swipe and she¡¯s gripping the seat, arching her back and pushing her pussy into my face. Grinning, I go back in for seconds, this time finding her entrance and slowly licking up her folds until I reach her clit. Just before I touch the sensitive nub, I reverse and swipe back down to her entrance. She whimpers discontentedly at myck of attention to her clit and her eyes close. ¡°Open your eyes and look at me. Keep looking at me or I stop. Nod if you understand.¡± She nods. ¡°Good girl.¡± When I dive back between her legs this time, it¡¯s no longer soft or exploratory. I devour her,pping aggressively but skillfully at her folds. Moving down to her entrance, I plunge my tongue into her opening, thrusting in and out until she¡¯s panting and moaning my name. She fights against the call to close her eyes and enjoy the ride, surprising me by doing what I asked and keeping them on me instead. I groan happily in response, tightening my hands around her thighs and pulling her partially off the seat so I have better ess to her pussy. She gasps, surprised, her hands clutching desperately for purchase but she doesn¡¯t need it because I¡¯ve got her. I reach for her tits with one hand, squeezing them then pinching her taut nipples. With the other I finally give some attention to her clit, ncing over the sensitive skin only just enough to drive her wild but not to give her relief. Her legs are over my shoulders, her thighs mping my head and her knees crossed at my back to pull me deeper into her pussy. I¡¯m thrusting in and out with my tongue, feeling her muscles tightening, desperately searching for relief. I lick up her juices as theye out of her, not missing a drop of it like I did with her tears. The way she¡¯s arching into me, trying to get more, harder, deeper, confirms everything I already knew about her. She¡¯s a wanton temptress, refreshingly unrehearsed yet absolutely lethal in her seduction. I¡¯ve never felt so fucking turned on eating anyone out, ever. No words are spoken between us, so focused as I am on her pussy and so overwhelmed as she is by her pleasure that the only sounds around us are those of my tongue ying through her wetness. I could stand up right now with her dangling by her knees from my shoulders and I know she¡¯d just hang there, letting me do what I want to her. Tess¡¯s eyes are hooded and hazed over, unseeing but dutifully locked on mine and I don¡¯t know who¡¯s in control here because if she asked me for anything right now, I¡¯d give it to her. Her moans get progressively louder, alternating with frustrated whimpers as she searches for a climax that¡¯s both on the brink of being explosive and just out of reach. When I feel her legs start to shake, I pull my tongue out of her pussy, lick her clit once and blow a breath on it. She freezes, her entire body racking over with shivers. I wait, then close my lips around her oversensitized clit and suck it into my mouth. Tess screams, her hand flying down to my head. She fists my hair as if to keep me from moving away and starts to ride my face as the orgasm hits her. ¡°Oh, my¡­I¡¯m¨CI¡¯m¡­Oh,god.¡± Her eyes roll back into her head as she¡¯s sted to the highest level of pleasure. Her muscles tense and she trembles violently. Her hips push up and into my mouth, asking for more, and I keep suckling until she screams even louder, unbelievably turned on by the way shebusts, then falls apart. She doesn¡¯t hold back in any way, she just lets herself gopletely. When I sense her on the other side of her orgasm, I release her clit and she goes limp. Pushing up onto my elbows, I sink them on the seat on either side of her and drape my body over hers, finding her mouth and kissing her. I want her to taste herself, more precisely to taste what I do to her. Cupping the back of her neck, I angle her head and deepen the kiss. She doesn¡¯t push me away but she doesn¡¯t kiss me back. Not at first. But then her tongue darts hesitantly across my lips. She moans softly and goes back for another taste and a third until she¡¯s meeting me stroke for stroke. My cock is pressed against her lower stomach and I know she can feel it throbbing, desperate for his own introduction to my addiction. Pulling back, I give her a dark, possessive look and palm the de at my ankle. ¡°Remember the night we officially met, when I caught you snooping on cartel business?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t snooping.¡± Her eyes widen when theynd on the silver de that I bring up between us. Fear dtes her pupils, drowning out the clear blue I¡¯m obsessed with. Frowning, I realize she thinks I¡¯m going to hurt her with it. Haven¡¯t I made it clear how deep this obsession runs? ¡°Remember what I told you? The fantasies I have about you?¡± She swallows thickly, nodding almost imperceptibly as her eyes remain trained on my knife. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we make a couple of those a reality.¡± I bring the knife down to the neckline of her dress and cut it off her with one precise, lethal swipe. Her bra gets shredded next, both items falling off her chest and revealing a perfect pair of plump tits and dusky pink nipples. Pink. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 28 Icry out in rm when my breasts bounce free of my bra. Immediately, I try to cover myself. Thiago just had his mouth on my pussy but beingpletely naked in front of him is a whole new level of vulnerable that I¡¯m not ready for. He grabs my wrists in each hand and pins them on either side of my head. Eyes that shine with dark intent stare heatedly at my chest, hypnotized by what they see. The intensity with which he looks at me rivals the ferocity with which he handled me when he was punishing me. The burn in my cheeks radiates white-hot heat across my entire ass. My brain is still operating at a thousand miles per hour trying to process what just happened. He hurt me then gave me the most intense orgasm of my entire life, both in terms of skill and the way he¡¯d stared possessively at me through it all. He enjoyed causing me pain and getting me to submit. He¡¯d promised me months ago that he would, so I don¡¯t know why I was surprised when he pulled me over hisp and spanked me. I can¡¯t believe he did it, but even more shocking, I can¡¯t believe I let him. The spanking had hurt beyond measure, and even though I hadn¡¯t wanted him to see any weakness, I hadn¡¯t been able to stop myself from screaming and eventually crying. But the more his belt came down, the more he forced me to submit to him, the stronger the heat in my core had grown. With each strike on my cheeks, an electric tingle had zapped through me. By the time he was done, my pussy was throbbing so painfully with need that when he put his mouth on me, I¡¯d been powerless to resist him. If he¡¯d asked again if I wanted to fuck him after he ate me out, I don¡¯t know if I would have found the strength to say no. And now he looks at me with even more ownership in his gaze, raking those honeyed eyes over my breasts like he¡¯s trying to imprint them in his memory. I struggle against his hold, trying to free myself. That only results in his eyes darkening further when he sees the way my breasts bounce on my chest. ¡°Get off me, Thiago. I¡¯m done with this,¡± I hiss, finding a shred of mental rity. Fingers close around my throat and squeeze violently. I grip them with my now free hand, trying to loosen his hold so as to let the air back in. Thiago bends over me until his face is inches from mine. This close, he¡¯s the perfect picture of violent beauty. The teardrop and rose tattoos have liquid lust swirling low in my belly, amplified by the dizziness from theck of oxygen that¡¯s starting to muddle my thoughts. ¡°We¡¯re married now,¡± he whispers angrily through gritted teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll never be done with me.¡± I loosen a finger and manage to squeak out one word. ¡°Divorce.¡± I regret it almost instantly. The crazy that shes in his eyes and stays there tells me that was the wrong thing to say. He releases my throat and grips my hair instead, using it to yank me down horizontally along the seat bench of the car. Sharp pain spikes at the base of my head and throughout my raw ass. He¡¯s hardly being gentle. When I¡¯mying t on the seat, he pins my hands above my head and straddles me. Using the tie he¡¯d stuffed into his pocket earlier, he wraps my wrists and secures them tightly to the locked door handle. He sits on my chest, his weight on me a threat in it of itself. ¡°Utter that word one more time and I¡¯ll make sure you never see the light of day again.¡± I tug at the restraint in vain. Frustrated, I look back up at him. ¡°You¡¯d prefer killing me to having me divorce you?¡± I never thought that my husband might be responsible for the ¡°til death do us part¡± section of our vows. But then again, I also never thought I¡¯d be mentioning divorce within thirty minutes of getting married. Thiago runs a palm from my neck and slowly down my chest, eyes heating what feels like hundreds of degrees as he worshipfully contours the curves of my body. He doesn¡¯t miss the way my nipples pebble into hard tips at his touch. ¡°I¡¯d never kill you, I think about you too much,¡± he admits almost offhandedly. My heart jolts in my chest and I wonder if he can feel it. His gentle caress turns proprietary and he palms my breasts, massaging the flesh roughly with calloused hands. He tweaks my nipple and I cry out sharply. ¡°But I¡¯ll chain you to my bed and keep you away from prying eyes. I¡¯ll whip your ass and use this tight little body every day until you can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯ll make it so that you can¡¯t live without me, so that the thought of divorcing me alone will kill you.¡± I watch with wary, exhrated eyes as he straightens on his knees and starts to unbutton his trousers. ¡°You have no idea how much I¡¯ve waited for this moment. How I¡¯ve imagined catching you and finally unwrapping you.¡± His zipperes down, the metallic sound unbelievably erotic. ¡°The ways in which I pictured taking you, each more depraved than the next. Each growing progressively more deranged with every passing day. And now I have your perfect bodyid out before me, even more wless than anything I dreamed of, and you¡¯re making me hold back. Ask me to fuck you,amor, or know that I¡¯ll have to satiate myself in a very different way.¡± He pushes his trousers down around his ass, his cock bouncing free of his boxers and bobbing between us. My throat dries when I get my first look at him. He¡¯srge and thick, his skin golden like the rest of him. A throbbing vein runs along the underside of his shaft, his tip curving slightly upwards. Saliva pools in my mouth at the sight of him. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever thought a penis was pretty before, but his is an absolute turn on. Swallowing thickly, I shake my head. A dark grin touches his lips when he sees the way I stare at his cock. He reaches into apartment between the two rows of seats and pulls out a small bottle full of brown liquid. Opening it, he dumps the contents onto my chest. I squeal when the cool liquid hits me, the smell of whiskey simultaneously assaulting my nostrils. He just poured a mini of Jack on my breasts. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, tugging at my restraints. He grips my hair and pulls my head up, positioning it so it rests angled against the door behind me, my chin touching my chest. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± A violent shiver racks my body at his order and I find myself obeying. My lips part. ¡°Wider.¡± Pre-cum glistens on his tip. He spits in his hand and starts stroking his lengthnguidly, staring down at me as I do what he says. My pussy clenches at the dark look on his face. ¡°If I feel teeth, I¡¯m fucking your ass raw,¡± he warns. ¡°No amount of whiskey will make that easy for you to take.¡±This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Before I can react, he pushes my breasts together with both hands and slides his hard cock into that dark passage. His tipes out the other side and plunges into my mouth, catching me off guard. I gag loudly, unprepared for his size and the bite of alcohol thates with it. ¡°Rx your throat,¡± he orders, pulling out then thrusting forward once more. I open wider and loosen those muscles. ¡°Good girl.¡± His grip on my breasts is rough, bruising almost, as he presses them together to create the tightest passage possible. He pumps through the valley slowly, paced thrusts that allow him to watch as his length travels from between my tits and straight into my mouth. Every push of his cock past my lips is dizzying, the size of himbined with the strong, potent alcohol pushing me past my limits. My head spins, my breathse in ragged, limited bursts and I think I¡¯m going to pass out. Only the sounds he¡¯s making keep me from doing so. Unintelligible moans, corrupted sounds of pleasure, and dirty praise fall in garbled groans from his lips. He throws his head back in the throes of passion and I stare up at the way his Adam¡¯s apple dances while his cock is halfway down my throat. ¡°This mouth,¡± he praises. His own breathse in pants ripped from deep within his chest and even though he¡¯s got me tied up and is straddling me, I feel the power of this moment like a surge of adrenaline in my veins. He¡¯s at my mercy now and he doesn¡¯t even know it, so I stick out my tongue and suction my lips around his dick, suckling him deeper into my mouth with every one of his thrusts. Triumph burns in my belly when I see the answering violent shudder that racks through him. It¡¯s darkly rewarding to see him as affected as I am. His chin drops down, his ckened, demented eyes finding mine and taking stock of the fact that I¡¯m in control. A crazed level of lust shes through them and he releases my breasts. One hand wraps around my throat and the other sys against the window as he leans forward, hips hovering above my face now. This new angle gives him unprecedented ess to my mouth. He grins when he sees the way my eyes widen, and then he starts plowing into me. His thrusts reach so far down into my throat that they cut off my air supply and gag me. He pounds into my mouth with rapid, vicious thrusts, enjoying the choking sounds falling from my lips. ¡°I said I wanted toe all over your tits, but I¡¯m going to paint your tight little throat instead to thank it for all its hard work,¡± he growls. Tears squeeze out from the corners of my eyes but I refuse to look away from him. Based on the sounds he¡¯s continuing to make, I¡¯m still in control and I won¡¯t let him take that from me. I hum around his length, sending vibrations running up his shaft. He bites out a curse and shoves in to the hilt, holding himself there. My mouth is stretched to beyond the point of pain, my lips one move away from splitting. I try to breathe through my nose, but there¡¯s no oxygen. ¡°Do you like getting your mouth fucked by your husband?¡± I shake my head once, forced to move his cock with my mouth, and heughs. ¡°You look obscene.¡± He pulls out. I rip in a desperate breath, mouth wide, and he uses the opportunity to plunge right back in. All nine inches make their way back down my bruised throat. He grabs my wrists where they¡¯re tied together and uses them as an anchor as he pulls his hips away, rolling them back and forth as he picks a rapid rhythm back up. Saliva and pre-cum mix together and leak from the corners of my mouth and down my cheeks. ¡°I think you love it. And I think you¡¯re going to look beautiful with a mouthful of my cum.¡± Thiago¡¯s eyes close, his face screwing with pleasure, his thrusts getting progressively more frantic. I shift my tongue from side to side, brushing wetly against his shaft and he groans loudly. Finally, he shoves all the way back down my throat and stays there. A harsh wave of shivers hits him, making him shake, and then he¡¯sing with a loud curse. His cock pulses in my mouth, jet after jet of warm cum hitting the back of my throat just like he promised. I do my best to swallow it down, but between that and his hard dick still being in my mouth, I choke. He stays there for a couple more minutes, enjoying the heated warmth of my mouth as hees down from his orgasm. Finally, he pulls out. He puts himself away and pulls his trousers back up his hips, tucking his shirt in his waistband. I¡¯m breathing roughly, my face a mess of saliva, cum, tears, and mascara. When his eyese back to mine, there¡¯s a soft look in them. It¡¯s almost scarier than the unhinged violence I¡¯m used to because of the way it tugs at a part of me that resides deep in my chest. Thiago leans in and kisses me, a decisive iming of my lips with his, his tongue swiping confidently against mine. I expect him to keep going, to angle my face and extend the kiss but instead he pulls back. His gaze tracks my lips as he retreats, a slow, cocky smile pulling at the corners of his mouth and revealing white teeth. His eyes flick to mine and raze me to the ground with one possessive look, his smile widening when he takes in my blown pupils, my parted lips, and the fact that I¡¯m leaning in, wordlessly searching for his retreating mouth with my own. With one look, he makes me understand who¡¯s really in control here. I may have run from him for a couple months, I may have made him chase me, but as easily as with the press of his lips against mine, he¡¯s got all the power back over me. He makes it clear that what I ran away to avoid ¨C that feeling of being entirely consumed and obsessed with him ¨C he can flip back on inside me with no effort at all. And that¡¯s how I know I have to resist the call to sleep with him. Already, the urge sings through my veins, begging me to ask him to fuck me, but it needs to be ignored. Only once he¡¯s rubbed my face in my own desperation for him does he bring his mouth crashing back down on mine, devouring me. We eventually separate, both of us gasping for air. Thiago pushes the hair lovingly back from my face, the touch more tender than anything he¡¯s done since catching me. I can¡¯t tell which part of him is more possessive; his stare, his touch, or the words he whispers sinisterly against my mouth. ¡°My pretty little wife,¡± he purrs. ¡°You¡¯re all mine now.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 29 Ispend the vast majority of the flight back to London reying images of Tess in the various positions I¡¯d put her in in the back of the Rolls. She hasn¡¯t spoken since I told her she was mine, refusing to acknowledge Marco and Arturo when they joined us in the car. The air was still thick with our shared lust, but if they noticed it, they didn¡¯tment on it. Tess keeps ignoring us once we get on the jet, going to the back of the ne into the bedroom and mming the door shut behind her. If she knew how hard her shitty attitude made me, she¡¯d change her tactics. The more she throws these little tantrums, the more I want to strip and spank her again. Not touching her is going to be a fucking mission, but one I¡¯m happily taking on. I want to see her finally break for me, admitting she wants me as much as I want her. ¡°So,jefe,¡± Marco starts with a grin, throwing an ace down on the table. He, Arturo, and I are ying cards. ¡°Was it everything you imagined?¡± ¡°It?¡± ¡°You know,her. Was she everything you thought she¡¯d be? You¡¯ve certainly waited long enough for her.¡± I stare at him over my cards. ¡°Are you asking me if I enjoyed fucking my wife?¡± We¡¯ve been drinking tequ, throwing back shots with each lost hand, so his tongue is loosened beyond caution.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Marco gulps and looks at Arturo for assistance, but the man in question avoids his gaze. ¡°Well¡­not in so many words.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Do you want to know what the punishment is for disrespecting my wife?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°Death.¡± I throw my cards on the table. ¡°Do you want to rethink your question?¡± ¡°What I meant is, are you happy to have found her?¡± I give him a withering look and ignore him, speaking to Arturo instead. ¡°Send out a marriage announcement for us. By tomorrow, I want the entire country to know that Tess Noble is mine.¡± ¡°What photo should I use? I don¡¯t believe we have any of the happy couple,¡± he answers. Arturo should be thrilled that I¡¯m on my way back to London and my responsibilities, but he¡¯s still got a sour expression on his face. He doesn¡¯t like her, and I¡¯m not sure why. I nod. ¡°Bring your phone,¡± I tell him, standing. ¡°Marco, you stay here.¡± I head to the back of the ne towards the bedroom and throw the door open. Tess isying on the bed on her stomach, kicking her feet yfully as she reads a book. Only I know that she¡¯s not wearing any panties under that short dress and that she¡¯s notying on her back because her ass is covered in painful welts. She startles when I burst in and then scrambles to her feet, making sure to put the bed between us. I notice that she¡¯s cleaned up. Her hair is tamed, her makeup perfect. I miss the mess she¡¯d been after the Rolls. ¡°Hello, wife.¡± ¡°Hello,devil,¡± she snarks back. I make a mental note, adding to my marriage bucket list to get her to refer to me as her husband. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Arturo is going to take a picture of us for our wedding announcement.¡± I move deeper into the bedroom. ¡°Nowe here and pretend to be in love with me.¡± She snorts, crossing her arms. ¡°That¡¯s simply beyond my abilities. You should have forced an Oscar-winning actress to marry you if that was a requirement.¡± ¡°Come here,amor.¡± ¡°And what if I don¡¯t? Are you going to tie me up again?¡± ¡°Not until you beg me. I told you, I keep my promises.¡± ¡°Happy days then because that means you¡¯ll never touch me again.¡± A grin pulls at my lips. ¡°I think you want to provoke me into action,preciosa. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the one who came looking for me at the museum, and it wasn¡¯t because you wanted to exchange business cards. I give it less than two weeks before I make you eat those words.¡± She scoffs. ¡°Alothas changed since then. If you¡¯re waiting for me to beg, you¡¯ll be waiting a very long time. They¡¯ll engrave ¡®died waiting for something that was never going to happen¡¯ on your tombstone.¡± ¡°What¡¯s changed?¡± She gives me a bewildered look. ¡°Are you serious? You shot my friend!¡± ¡°And you ran from me.¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t equatable actions, Thiago.¡± ¡°They are to me,¡± I clip harshly. ¡°You took something of mine and I damaged something of yours in return. We¡¯re even.¡± I¡¯m aware that Arturo is watching this entire exchange go down, an inscrutable but unconvinced look on his face. ¡°And yet here I am,¡± she says, extending her arms to either side of her. ¡°Back in your possession. You can¡¯t un-shoot Dagny.¡± ¡°She¡¯s alive, isn¡¯t she? Like I said,¡± I retort, ¡°even.¡± ¡°That¡¯spletely irrational. You hurt her, you threatened my brother a couple hours ago, who knows what else you¡¯re capable of? How am I supposed to ever trust you with them, let alone with myself?¡± Arguing with a bed separating us is a special kind of irony. It¡¯s doubly infuriating because it keeps me from being able to reach for her when I¡¯m desperate to grip her throat in my fist. My hand tightens at my side instead. ¡°Nobody and nothing else mattered to me except finding you,¡± I growl. ¡°It¡¯s simple; never run from me again, never push me to that limit again, and your friends and family will be safe. I don¡¯t give a fuck about any of them if I have you.¡± Reaching out a hand towards her, I motion for her to take it and join me on this side of the bed. ¡°Nowe take a picture, otherwise I¡¯ll use the one I took of you face down and ass up on myp.¡± Tess blushes furiously, but ces her hand in mine and walks across the bed towards me. When she¡¯s at the edge, I sp her waist and bring her down, pulling her against me so my chest is to her back. I ce a hand low on her hip, hovering dangerously close to her pussy, and brush her hair off her shoulder and behind her ear. Bending my head, I bring my mouth level with hers and whisper. ¡°Embrace the way I made you feel in the car, the way I made your body sing.¡± Goosebumps break out over the slope of her neck, the fine fairs standing to attention at my every word. ¡°I could be sweet to you,amor,¡±I breathe into her hair,¡°if you let me.¡± She turns her head towards me, lips brushing against mine. Her breaths skate against my mouth, her eyes lifting to meet mine and¡ª ¡°Done,¡± Arturo clips harshly. One curt syble and the spell is broken. Tess walks out of my arms and turns her back to me. ??? The gates to my property open and the car ambles down the private drive. Tess¡¯s eyes widen when she sees my home for the first time. It¡¯s a sprawling mansion, an impressive structure with a massive greenhouse off to the side. I needed something big that could house theings and goings of my team, and something off the street to avoid suspicious eyes. ¡°This is where you live?¡± she asks as we exit the car and walk up the front steps. ¡°Clearly the murdering business is a lucrative one.¡± ¡°Very,¡± I confirm. Marco calls for me as we approach the front door. ¡°Jefe.¡± I turn and he walks up to me, whispering in my ear so Tess can¡¯t hear him, ¡°we have Augusto Leone.¡± Adrenaline shoots through my veins, immediately pulling my attention from my new bride to my lieutenant. He nods when my gaze flies up to meet his, arge grin spreading over his face. I grab Marco¡¯s arm and walk back down to the bottom of the steps. Tess pauses and turns to watch us both, a suspicious look stamped on her features. ¡°Alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Joder. How?¡± ¡°You know the Italians pride themselves on their traditional marriages. Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s pretty frowned upon for anybody, let alone thecapo, to be fucking around on their wife. Turns out Augusto has a bit of a vice; he likes them young. The falcons have been watching him for weeks and every other Friday he visits a certain Lolita at Madame Marceline¡¯s. It¡¯s an escort house if you couldn¡¯t tell. Anyway, he only brings two men with him since he doesn¡¯t want Mrs. Leone to find out about it.¡± He outrightughs. ¡°I caught him with his pants around his ankles and hisid dick in his hand. You should have seen the look on his face,jefe. Priceless.¡± While I¡¯d been focused on finding Tess, Marco had traveled back and forth to London a few times to be my eyes and ears on the ground and to help lead the capture of Augusto Leone. Leone is a paranoid motherfucker and thus heavily guarded at all times. I hadn¡¯t expected my men to be able to catch him this quickly. I p him on the shoulder. ¡°Well done, Marco. That¡¯s exactly the kind of good fucking news I wanted on return to London.¡± A relieved look crosses his face. He¡¯s been on edge since the idiotic remarks he made on the ne. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s being held in one of the bomb shelters.¡± During the Second World War, an intricate maze of underground bomb shelters were built under the heart of the city to protect civilians from German shellings. We bought a number of them when we came to London, seeing them as an easy way to transport drugs across the city while avoiding detection. They¡¯ve also been useful in other ways, namely for detaining prisoners we don¡¯t want traced back to us. I look up at Tess who¡¯s watching me suspiciously. ¡°Wait for me in the car,¡± I instruct Marco and Turo, before jogging back up the stairs to her. When I¡¯m level with her, I bend and scoop her up into my arms. ¡°Hey!¡± she cries, startled. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to carry my new bride across the threshold, aren¡¯t I?¡± I say, walking us both through the front doors after the staff opens them. Her arm is around my neck, her other hand t on my chest as she holds on to me. I¡¯m not even sure she realizes it. ¡°You forced me to marry you in the back of a car in a ¡®ceremony¡¯,¡± she says, using air quotes, ¡°performed by a priest who looked about as thrilled to be there as I was. No need to start following traditions now.¡± I set her down, making sure to glide her body down mine as I release her. Based on the way her eyes widen, she doesn¡¯t miss the feel of my hard cock against her backside. ¡°H, jefe,¡± Diana says, walking into the foyer and giving me a warm smile. ¡°Bienvenido a casa.Y qui¨¦n es este?¡± she asks, turning towards Tess. ¡°Diana, this is Tess, my wife.¡± It¡¯s a credit to the years Diana has spent in my employ that she doesn¡¯t react to the news I¡¯vee back married. ¡°She doesn¡¯t speak Spanish. Tess, this is Diana, my house manager.¡± Tess takes a step forward and extends her hand. ¡°H Diana, me mo Tess.Hablo un poquito de Espa?ol, pero estoy mucho m¨¢s c¨®moda hando ingl¨¦s,¡± she tells her with a smile before turning a withering re my way. ¡°Maybe you should learn a thing or two about me before you start speaking on my behalf with any sort of confidence.¡± I throw my head back andugh. Yet again I¡¯ve underestimated her. That¡¯s not a mistake I¡¯ll make a third time. cing a hand on Tess¡¯s waist, I tip her chin up with my other. ¡°I look forward to discovering every little thing about you,amor.¡± Diana watches the exchange between us with fascinated eyes. Releasing Tess, I turn towards her. ¡°Diana, please show Tess around the house and grounds. In terms of rooms, you can set her up in the second master. She won¡¯t sleep in my bed until she asks,¡± I add with a grin. Tess snorts in response, but I catch the way she swallows thickly and quickly averts her gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t hold your breath.¡± ¡°Get settled. I¡¯ll be backter,¡± I say, heading for the door. ¡°Wait,¡± Tess calls out, making me stop. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°When will you be back?¡± My brows raise in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d care,amor. In fact, I thought you¡¯d be happy to hear I¡¯d be gone.¡± She walks up to me. ¡°You kidnap me, force me on a ne back to London, and now you¡¯re going to abandon me in your home with people I don¡¯t know? Why not just leave me in Switzend?¡± I reach up and cup her chin, running my thumb over her lower lip. ¡°Because this is your home now too. Better get used to it.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 30 Thiago doesn¡¯te back that night, nor the next. He leaves me in this strange house, full of staff who give me looks ranging from interested to wary. They incline their heads when I walk by, muttering a whispered ¡°se?ora¡± before walking away. I spend the weekend exploring the house and familiarizing myself with the floor n. The second floor features two master suites connected by one extravagant bathroom, eight additional bedrooms, a game room and arge study. The ground floor was conceived with hosting in mind, featuringrge, open rooms ¡ª a recently renovated kitchen, multiple living rooms, a billiards room, a cinema, a library, and even a ballroom. The house feels endless and also not what I expected of a cartel boss. I thought death would cling to the walls, but it¡¯s a beautiful home mixing English and Colombian influences. While exploring the house, Ie across a door that seems to lead to a third floor, a basement of some kind. But when I go to open it, I¡¯m stopped by a guard who tells me the area is off limits. I have no doubt that whatever I¡¯d find down there, I wouldn¡¯t want to see anyway. I don¡¯t put up a fight and walk away instead. I spend the rest of the weekend FaceTiming Dagny to show her the house, watching TV, reading, and generally wallowing in utter frustration that Thiago left me here alone, with no timeframe for his return. Now it¡¯ste Sunday night, he¡¯s still not back and I can¡¯t sleep. Lifting up on one elbow, I see the rm clock on my bedside table indicates that it¡¯s one a.m. I blow out a frustrated breath and settle back into my pillows. At least I have my first day back at work tomorrow. I¡¯ll be able to leave this empty house where no one speaks to me and get back into my routine. The hardest part of being away has been working remotely, so I¡¯m excited to be back in the office and to see my team again. Anxiety swirls in my belly just thinking about seeing my father again, and wondering if he¡¯ll throw me out the second I walk through the building doors or not. When I¡¯m no closer to sleep by two a.m., I throw back the covers and get out of bed. Donning my slippers and wrapping a robe around myself, I leave my room and amble down the stairs. I stop in front of a framed photo of a beautiful woman taking pride of ce on a mantel in the foyer. It¡¯s the only photo there and something about her stops me every time I walk past it. Warm chocte-brown eyes twinkle above a bright smile and stare straight down the lens. She¡¯s breathtaking. This must be Adriana. Setting the frame down and wrapping my arms around myself, I head back towards the kitchen. I¡¯m in desperate need of ice cream. The kitchen is sorge that there are two full fridges, plus a third in the pantry. The first freezer is filled with dozens of ice packs and nothing else, sending a shiver down my spine. I open the second expecting to find much the same, but instead see various boxes of frozen meals. ¡°This is a good sign,¡± I mutter to myself, rummaging around until my fingers brush against a rounded shape I¡¯d recognize anywhere. Pulling it out, I let out a happy whoop when I see it¡¯s cookie dough vored. ¡°Victory!¡± ¡°Find what you were looking for?¡± I shriek and whirl around, pping a hand over my racing heart as if to slow its beat. Thiago is standing by the door, encased in shadows and barely illuminated by a sliver of moonlight. His hands are buried in his pockets, his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck, the top three buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned. His jacket is slung casually over his wrist. ¡°Are you trying to scare me to death?¡± I ask, working to calm my breathing.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. He appears in the kitchen as if he hasn¡¯t been gone for two days. I hate the needy feeling that tugs at my core when a smile pulls at his lips. He moves further into the room,ing to stand on the other side of the ind. ¡°I made quite a bit of noiseing in. Although not as much as you were, rooting around in that freezer like you were digging for gold.¡± ¡°You did say this was my home now,¡± I answer, opening up a drawer and taking out a spoon. He hums approvingly, setting his jacket down on the counter. I¡¯m surprised when he takes a seat and stays, my body on high alert like it always is when he¡¯s around. ¡°You like ice cream?¡± ¡°Do I like ice cream,¡± I repeat. ¡°You don¡¯t know your wife at all.¡± He settles back into his seat, crossing his thick arms over his chest. The move stretches the fabric until it looks like it¡¯s going to burst at the seams. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get to know her.¡± This close, I can see that his cor is covered in blood. I can even smell the metallic notes of it. My heart races faster, but this time I can¡¯t im it¡¯s due to the surprise of his reappearance. Swallowing thickly, I stab my spoon directly into the top of the ice cream and bring it up to my lips. His eyesnguidly trace everything I do,ing to rest on where my mouth closes around the spoon. ¡°When I can¡¯t sleep, I eat ice cream,¡± I admit. ¡°There¡¯s something about having it in the middle of night, maybe because it¡¯s so cold, it just helps me rx and go to sleep.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your favorite vor?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a rocky road kinda girl. I assume cookie dough is your favorite since it¡¯s the only one you have?¡± ¡°It must be Diana¡¯s. I¡¯m not a huge fan of ice cream.¡± ¡°Right. Plus, Hell is obviously too hot a ce for it to be a viable desert option anyway,¡± I add with a winsome smile. ¡°Does the devil perhaps prefer snacking on innocent souls?¡± Scooping another spoonful, I lift my eyes to meet his. I find them burning intensely on me already. They darken infinite degrees when my lips close around the metal once more. ¡°Give me a bite,¡± he asks, voice rough like gravel. He leans forward when I open the drawer, gaze boring into mine as he shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need my own spoon. Yours will do.¡± Butterflies erupt in my belly. I immediately want to douse them in mes. Nothing he does should be attractive to me. I dig my spoon into the ice cream and am lifting it back up to my own lips when his hand shoots out and wraps around my wrist, stopping me. Electricity sparks to life, sizzling where he touches me. Keeping his eyes on mine, he redirects my hand to his mouth. His lips close around the spoon and he groans as he licks the ice cream up with his tongue. His eyes re as he pulls back, releasing the now empty utensil. ¡°Delicious,¡± he growls. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s talking about the ice cream or the taste of me hepped off the spoon we shared. ¡°Obviously not as tasty as innocent souls, but maybe you¡¯ll convince me if I try it enough.¡± My breath catches in my throat when he stands. He¡¯s still holding my arm and he turns it over carefully. Bending, he ces his lips on the sensitive skin of my wrist. There¡¯s no way he misses the frantic pulsating of my heartbeat. His mouth barely grazes me when he kisses me, the touch more teasing and maddening than anything. He hovers there for a second, then pulls away. With one final indecipherable look, he walks out, leaving me with rapidly melting ice cream and a civil war raging inside my body between my heart who wants to throw caution to the wind and follow my husband up to his bedroom and my head who knows better. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 31 The next morning, I¡¯m finishing up breakfast at the kitchen ind when Diana walks in carrying three very full and very obviously heavy shopping bags. ¡°Oh, let me help you with those!¡± I say, walking up to her and taking two out of her hands. ¡°Thank you,se?ora, that¡¯s very kind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the bare minimum,¡± I say, setting the bags down on the counter. ¡°Gosh, these are heavy. What did you even need to buy this early in the morning?¡± As I ask, I open the first bag to start putting away the groceries and pause when I see its contents. There are half a dozen pints of rocky road ice cream of three different brands in it. In the second bag, I find yet another half dozen pints, also of different brands. I throw Diana a puzzled look as she starts pulling even more tubs out of the third bag. ¡°First thing this morning,Diablotexted me a list of ten different brands of rocky road ice cream he wanted me to keep stocked in the freezer. He didn¡¯t borate on why he needed it so I don¡¯t know, but I have a feeling you might,¡± she adds with a cheeky smile. ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell him which one was your favorite once you¡¯ve tried them all.¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t even know what to say,¡± I say, staring at the pints I¡¯m holding in each hand, at a loss for words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry he made you do that this morning, I can¡¯t even imagine how many stores you had to go to to find all of these.¡± Diana takes my hand and pats it in her warm, calloused ones. ¡°Don¡¯t be. He hasn¡¯t been the same since Adriana died, but I saw the way he looked at you Friday. It¡¯s good to see someone bringing a smile to his face and maybe healing his broken heart.¡± The smile slips off my own face and I yank my hand out of hers, startling her. Bitterness swells like poison in my gut at her words. I¡¯m not surprised Diana would know about Thiago¡¯s lost love, but I hate the ease with which she just brought her up to me. Am I meant to live with the ghost of her,peting for position in this house? I refuse to. The ice cream can go straight to the trash for all I care, the gesture is meaningless. ¡°Please don¡¯t speak to me about Adriana again, Diana. I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± Guiltnces through me at her reaction to my harsh tone, but I turn away from her confounded, hurt expression. ¡°Oh. All right.¡± ¡°Thank you for buying the ice cream,¡± I say, grabbing my purse off a nearby chair. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡± I walk out of the kitchen without waiting for a response, my gait stiff and uneven. Annoyance hazes my vision. I hate that anything to do with Thiago can impact my mood this way. I need to get out of this house before I erupt. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, Barbie?¡± a rude voice asks from behind me. Five minutes ago, I likely would have been able to ignore and brush off the sneered nickname. But fresh off my conversation with Diana, I¡¯m spoiling for a fight. Turning, Ie face to face with Paunchy Guy, who I now know is called Arturo. He¡¯s the man who caught me listening at the door at the museum, the one who¡¯s red at me every single time we¡¯ve made eye contact since, and now the one getting in my way. ¡°My name is Tess,¡± I say through gritted teeth, my fists clenching at my sides. ¡°And I¡¯m going to work.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Visions of my father¡¯s vtile mood swings sh through my eyes. The fear that I might inherit those genes is always in the back of my mind. I¡¯m forever conscious of my outward reactions andrgely favor rational responses, always working to control my temper when it arises so I don¡¯t spiral into an emotional reaction, but I¡¯m on edge right now. I squeeze my fists to keep myself collected. ¡°Listen, Arturo. I understand you don¡¯t like me. The feeling is entirely mutual, although I¡¯m not sure what your issue is with me, whereas you¡¯ve pointed a gun at me, kidnapped me and are now trying to hold me captive. Regardless, you¡¯re out of your mind if you think you¡¯re going to stop me from going to work.¡± With that, I turn my back on him and reach for the front door. The handle doesn¡¯t budge an inch. It¡¯s locked from the inside.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Slowly, I face him once more. ¡°Open this door.¡± ¡°Go back to your room, Barbie. It¡¯s safer for you there.¡± ¡°What do you think your boss is going to say when I tell him you stopped me from leaving?¡± He throws his head back in an open-throatedugh. The longer he mocks me, the more I feel the blood draining from my face and my anger rising to rece it. Finally, he stops. Takes a step towards me. ¡°Who do you think told me to keep you here?¡± And I snap. I shove my bag at Arturo, catching him off guard enough that he stumbles backwards, and take off for the stairs. I came willingly as promised, I didn¡¯t put up a fight, I even stayed put over the weekend when Thiago left, but I won¡¯t be held prisoner here. I¡¯ve had enough. ¡°Stop.¡± Arturo calls out after me. My anger renders me deaf and blind to anything but tracking down my either soon to be dead or ex husband. ¡°Joder,stop!¡± When I¡¯m on the second floor, I fly down the hall to his study where I know I¡¯ll find him. My strides are long and determined despite my tight, pink skirt and matching heels. My chest heaves against my white blouse, stretching the fabric. I don¡¯t stop to think about the wisdom of my decision, that rational part of me gone for now. I barge into his study without knocking instead. The door flies open with such force that it bounces off the wall with a deafening bang. ¡°I won¡¯t be controlled like my father controls my mother, Thiago. Like he¡¯s controlled me mywhole life. I need my independence. If you think you¡¯re going to make me give up my job, you can go screw yourself. I won¡¯t do it!¡± Deafening silence meets my tirade as Ie to a stop in the middle of his office. I¡¯m met with half a dozen pairs of eyes looking back at me in shock. Thiago sits behind his desk surrounded by a group of his men, each looking more dangerous than the next. Each looking at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind. And maybe I have because the deadly quiet has a dousing effect on my anger. It¡¯s so silent that my ears pick up a passing breeze in the room. The soldiers seem both frozen in disbelief and tensed, as if bracing themselves for a cataclysmic explosion. ¡°Sorry,jefe,¡± Arturo says out of breath, having finally caught up with me. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t listen.¡± Thiago¡¯s gaze is pitch ck as it bores into me, his face grim. ¡°L¨¢rguese,¡± he orders. His men shuffle towards the exit and my bravery leaves the room with them. Marco gives me a pitying look on his way out. The door clicks softly closed behind thest of them and I¡¯m left alone with the giant, angry bear I just cattle prodded. The air feels thin all of a sudden, like I¡¯m bartering for oxygen with every breath I pull in as the weight of his dark re crushes my lungs. Dark eyes track me. ¡°Fine.¡± I startle. That¡¯s the veryst thing I expected him to say. ¡°¡®Fine¡¯?¡± He remains seated, settling back into his chair in a deceptively rxed manner. I know better than to let my own guard down, however. ¡°Yes, fine. No one asked you to give up your job.¡± I stalk up to his desk and scowl at him. ¡°Stoplyingto me. Arturo just stopped me from leaving and said you ordered him to keep me here.¡± He narrows his eyes on me, clearly not liking my tone. ¡°Because it¡¯s our honeymoon. What kind of bride goes to work the week after getting married? This marriage serves a purpose. We need to keep up appearances outside these four walls ¡ª we wouldn¡¯t want people thinking this is anything other than a happy union, would we?¡± I don¡¯t let him see the stung expression on my face. I thought it was pure interest driving him to find me, it never dawned on me that he might want to marry me for reasons of social advancement. Stupid and naive of me really, he¡¯s told me from the beginning that all he cares about is power. Still it¡¯s unexpected, the sharp pain that ws at my chest. Unexpectedandunwanted. Leaning forward, I ce my palms on his desk and bring our faces level with each other¡¯s. ¡°You left for two days the second we set foot in Ennd,¡± I use. ¡°Tell me how that helped with this fictional image of a happy union?¡± ¡°No one except my most trusted men knew I was gone. To everybody else we were both home, fucking like rabbits in happily wedded bliss.¡± His jaw works and I can tell he¡¯s holding himself back. ¡°Obviously, your little performance just now will require damage control.¡± His voice dips. ¡°You¡¯ll help me fix your mess.¡± Straightening, I cross my arms once more and give him an uncertain look. ¡°You¡¯re really fine with having a wife who works?¡± I ask distrustfully. ¡°I told you you¡¯d be my queen, Tess.¡± He knows how to punish me with harmless words. He hasn¡¯t called me anything but ¡®amor¡¯ or ¡®preciosa¡¯ since our encounter at my father¡¯s house, so his use of my name feels like a reproach. It makes me dig my nails into my palms. ¡°The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. I¡¯d be a fool to get in her way. You can return to work in two weeks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a surprisingly advanced train of thought for someone in your position.¡± ¡°Half of my lieutenants are women and the vast majority of them are far more valuable to me than their male counterparts. Only idiots underestimate the limitless potential of female rage. I choose to weaponize it.¡± Inexplicable jealousy burns hot red in my veins, catching me off guard. Just exactly how are these women making themselves valuable to him? Conflicting emotions constantly war for dominance inside me. One minute I loathe him, the next I¡¯m possessive of him. I go from pleasantly surprised, to hopeful, to hurt and disappointed like the swing of a pendulum. It¡¯s been three days and I¡¯m already doing a piss poor job of protecting myself against him. ¡°Okay then, so long as we understand each other.¡± I nod sharply and turn on my heel, intent on ending this conversation, happy to be getting out of there unscathed. ¡°Tess.¡± This time, my name feels like thesh of a whip against my back. I wish he¡¯d stop saying it like that. Or saying it at all. When I turn, he¡¯s rounding his desk anding towards me. It dawns on me that I was a fool to think he¡¯d just sit there and quietly take my anger. His hand finds my throat, the cor closing around my skin, and he squeezes. He shoves me backwards until I hit the study wall where he locks me in with his other hand above my shoulder. Eyes darken on me and his tongue turns lethal. ¡°Watch the way you fucking speak to me.¡± Turning my face, I avert my eyes. He grips my jaw and forces me to look back at him instead. Chaotic golden eyes meet mine, demented energy swirling in his irises. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for any of this, Thiago. This is who you married, so I¡¯ll talk to you how I like. If you don¡¯t like it, then feel free to let me go.¡± Fingers cuff my throat once more, toofortable with the controlling, dominating gesture. ¡°In private, maybe.¡± His face hardens, his jaw setting. ¡°In public, you¡¯ll obey.¡± ¡°I¨C¡± ¡°Or you¡¯ll learn to take public punishments too.¡± My throat dries, the meaning of his words making my eyes widen. Swallowing is difficult around the mass in my throat. ¡°I give you a long leash because your mouth amuses me, but don¡¯t forget who I am. Disrespect me in front of my men again and I¡¯ll fix your attitude for you while they watch.¡± He squeezes my throat and I whimper. ¡°Got it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Now, turn around. Face the wall.¡± He releases me. Dizzying arousal makes me do what he orders without even questioning it. I press my cheek against the wall and wait for him to tell me what to do next. Wait for him to hopefully touch me. The hum thates from deep within his chest tells me he approves. ¡°Lift up your skirt.¡± I grab the hem and shimmy it up my thighs, shaking my hips to make the tight fabric go over my cheeks. ¡°You like my attitude,¡± I argue defiantly. His eyes are stuck on my backside, unblinking. ¡°What was that?¡± I bunch my skirt around my waist, revealing my ass in a pair of cheekyce undies. ¡°Youlikemy attitude,¡± I repeat, the note of defiance louder this time. A sharp pnds swiftly on my cheek, connecting with one of the still healing welts, and I yelp. ¡°I do,¡± he purrs. Thiago¡¯s facees, his mouth hovering over my ear. ¡°Are you trying to use that pretty mouth to provoke me into fucking you?¡± I hear the smirk in his voice, the cocky bastard. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re hoping will happen?¡± There¡¯s a sound of a buckle opening, followed by a zippering down. My stomach flips. Another hard p falls on my cheek, making me cry out. ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± he rumbles disappointedly. Another p. The sting radiates through my cheek. ¡°Because I¡¯m dying to feel your tight pussy wrapped around my cock.¡± And then I feel his length pressing against my ass. I¡¯m panting, my breathsing in ragged, excited exhales. Thiago carefully fingers the line of my panties on my cheek, driving me wildly impatient, until a finger curls under the fabric and he lifts it. I feel him push his cock into the opening, then remove his finger so that he¡¯s held snugly against my ass by myce underwear. He grabs my waist with both hands and repositions himself until his chest is glued against my back. The move shifts his cock and it slips between the cheeks of my ass, slotting in perfectly like a key sliding into a lock. He groans loudly, the rough, guttural sound hitting my ear and raising goosebumps all over my skin. ¡°Hands together above your head,¡± he orders. When I do as he asks, he grabs my wrists with one hand and cuffs the back of my neck with the other, pressing me even more firmly against the wall. And then he starts moving. He rocks his hips, splitting my cheeks with every back and forth movement, my panties keeping his dick in ce. The sensation of his thick cock pumping obscenely between the lobes of my ass and forcing my cheeks to part has my eyes rolling back into my head. Desire coils hot and needy in my belly. ¡°Ask me,¡± he grunts. His thrusts are rough and fast, his quest for pleasure mindless. This is purely selfish, purely for him. He uses my body to get himself off, uncaring of my own arousal, his groans turning more and more chaotic the faster he thrusts up between my cheeks. Still it feels like my blood is boiling in my veins. He ps my ass again when I don¡¯t answer, the sting traveling down and straight to my clit. ¡°Come on, ask me to fuck you,¡± he coaxes. ¡°Ask me.¡± Knowing just standing like this is enough to get him to act like aplete animal, one devoid of any humanity who ruts mindlessly against me to get off, makes me feel powerful and aroused beyond measure. I shake my head weakly. He snarls in response, using his hold on my nape to twist my neck to the side. The muscles of his stomach tighten and when he pauses at the top of a thrust, his mouthes down onto the slope of my shoulder. He bares his teeth and drives them deeply into my throat, breaking the skin and staying locked there as his climax hits. I scream at the pain of his bite, but he doesn¡¯t let go. The suction of his mouth and theps of his tongue offset the ache caused by his teeth. His entire body shudders as hees endlessly, covering my entire ass and lower back in jets of his cum. His teeth are buried so deep inside my flesh, I¡¯m sure the mark they¡¯re going to leave will be permanent. Finally, he releases my throat and wrists. He squeezes my reddened cheeks painfully then grabs my skirt where it¡¯s still bunched at my waist and tugs it back down over my butt, trapping the mess of his cum on my ass and panties beneath it. He smooths a hand down my covered backside, ensuring the skirt sticks to the proof of his pleasure. ¡°Don¡¯t clean up, I want you to wear this all day. Every time you feel my cum on your cheeks or sliding down your thighs, think about how you arched your back and shook your ass so your husband could get off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Disobey me and I¡¯ll do it again, except this time I¡¯ll make you walk around this house naked with my cum dried on your lips, tits, and your ass.¡± I¡¯m panting, a coiled live wire of frustrated arousal desperately needing relief. But I know he won¡¯t give me any unless I ask. When I turn around, there¡¯s blood on his teeth and lips. My fingers lift to brush against the raw skin where my neck meets my shoulder ande away with red on them. The psycho drew blood. His eyes darken to ck, something scarily possessive shining in them as he watches a drop of blood roll down my neck. He picks it up on his index and stares at it before sucking his finger deeply into his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s sealed in blood. You¡¯re officially imed,amor.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 32 Ifeel more than hear her approach me as she makes her way quietly into the kitchen. There¡¯s an excited pinch in my stomach knowing she chose to meet me again tonight. Without turning around, I head to the freezer and ask. ¡°Which brand do you want to try this time?¡± A few nights ago, I¡¯d been trying to sleep when the possibility that she might go in search of another midnight snack had driven me out of bed and down to the kitchen. I¡¯d sat at the ind, watching time tick away slowly on the clock above the stove, wondering if this was a futile effort. After a couple hours, I realized she wasn¡¯t showing up and went back upstairs. I¡¯de down the following night and waited, but she hadn¡¯t shown. The next night had gone much the same as the two previous, except this time when I stood and turned to go back upstairs, I¡¯d been stopped in my tracks by the sight of Tess hesitating in the entryway of the kitchen. She¡¯d looked unsure whether toe in or not. The way my insides softenedying eyes on her should have been rming, but I ignored that physical warning like I had so many others before it. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you,¡± I¡¯d said. A hint of a smile tugged at her lips. ¡°Tonight?¡± ¡°Every night.¡± She¡¯d sat down at the ind and tipped her chin at the freezer. ¡°Let¡¯s start your rocky road education then.¡± We¡¯d found each other the following evening, and again tonight, making this the third night in a row. It¡¯s be an unspoken ritual, one we don¡¯t discuss during the day but one that I also don¡¯t want to miss. The truth is, I haven¡¯t been home much this past week. I¡¯ve been keeping Augusto alive, albeit just barely at this point, and have spent thest few days trying to extricate the location of Adriana¡¯s body and the name of the man responsible for her death out of him. His men are tearing the city apart looking for their missingcaposo every extra day we keep him alive and in our custody is a massive risk. But turns out he¡¯s a stubborn bastard. He¡¯s refused to give us anything useful, no matter how much fun Fabian and Marco have had with him. During the long, fruitless days I spend in hispany, the only thing I look forward to are these midnight encounters with my wife. More than I should, especially since there¡¯s something else entirely that I should be focused on. When heys bleeding at my feet, all I can think about is the way her blonde hair falls across her face when she bends her head to take a bite of ice cream. How she closes her eyes and savors that first taste. How they¡¯re apletely different shade of blue when they reopen.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. It¡¯s starting to be a problem, how much she upies my thoughts. Even now, as I look back at her over my shoulder because she hasn¡¯t answered my question, my breathing deregtes seeing her in a two-piece silk pajama set withce trim. Groaning, I drop my forehead against the freezer and will my cock to stop throbbing. ¡°Do me a favor and close your robe.¡± ¡°Says the guy without a shirt on.¡± Turning, I see her eyes are hooded and tracing down the slope of my back. Her chest rises noticeably with every one of her deep inhales. ¡°There¡¯s a simple solution to this¡­ difortwe¡¯re both feeling,¡± I point out. She sniffs, closing her robe. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Laughing, I turn back towards the fridge. ¡°Which one do you want tonight?¡± We¡¯ve already tasted half of the brands of rocky road Diana bought, ranking them from worst to best. Soon we¡¯ll either have to change vors or go out of the country to find brands we haven¡¯t tried. ¡°Hmm, how about the one that has a cow on the front,¡± she suggests, taking a seat as I grab the pint and a spoon and set both on the ind between us. ¡°For a guy who doesn¡¯t like ice cream, you¡¯re sure making a habit of staying upte to have some.¡± My eyes find hers as I remove the tub¡¯s lid. ¡°Who said it¡¯s the ice cream I¡¯m staying up for?¡± She blushes prettily, looking down and away, and that softening in my chest is back, more acute than ever. When I hand her the pint, she pushes it back towards me. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to try first tonight,¡± she exins. ¡°Then your turn tomorrow night?¡± I ask. She nods, blushing once more when I say, ¡°It¡¯s a date.¡± I try the ice cream, enjoying the way her eyes stay fixed on my face to take in my reaction. ¡°You were right, rocky road really is a superior vor.¡± ¡°I told you,¡± she says with a pleased smile, reaching for the spoon in my hand and taking a bite herself. ¡°Mhmm, this oneisgood. Very nice marshmallow to chocte ratio.¡± ¡°Where does it fall in the rankings for you?¡± ¡°First, I think.¡± I whistle, impressed. ¡°First ce, huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s by far the best one. Here, try another bite,¡± she adds, lifting the spoon to my mouth. Before I can eat it, a drop of melted ice cream slides off the rounded surface of the spoon and falls onto my chest. Both of our gazes fly to the spot, watching as it slowly trails down between my pecs. Lifting my eyes to hers, I find them heated, her cheeks flushed pink. ¡°I can practically hear your thoughts,amor.¡± She doesn¡¯t acknowledge me, her handing towards me instead. Gently, delicately almost, she traces the path of the ice cream with her index, scooping it up and bringing it to her mouth. ¡°Yum,¡± she says, smacking her lips. My pupils dte, my eyes darkening with lust. ¡°There you go again, provoking me.¡± Tess eyes me innocently. ¡°It¡¯s too good to waste even a drop.¡± A growl rumbles deep in my chest, making my voice vibrate when I speak. ¡°I¡¯m keeping note of all of this.¡± ¡°I hope you are,¡± she whispers. My eyes snap to hers. ¡°What was that?¡± Clearing her throat, she answers. ¡°Nothing. Here have some more ice cream.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 33 Im the book I¡¯m reading closed and rest it on my stomach. I¡¯m so restless. Golden eyes torment me, a deep, raspy voice talking over reading the words in my head. After licking the ice cream off my fingerst night, I gave an excuse about being tired and ran out of the kitchen. The tension had been so taut it felt like an explosion was about to go off if I didn¡¯t get myself out of there. With every passing day, I feel my resolve weakening. I spend the day alone, upied by nothing other than thoughts of Thiago and looking forward to the brief moments we share when the staff has gone to bed and the night leaves us as just a man and a woman, alone. At this point, it¡¯s solely my pride and morals keeping me from giving in. I¡¯m so desperate for release that my mood is impacted. I¡¯m more prone to frustration, to anger, over the littlest things. I¡¯ve lived my entire life in the shadow of a violent man and I balk at the thought of tying myself to another, especially one exponentially more dangerous. But something about him calls to me, refusing to be ignored. I know he¡¯s home, I stood at the window in my room and watched him walk in earlier, but he didn¡¯te find me and I didn¡¯t go to him. My restlessness changes that, driving me out of my bedroom to go in search of my husband. Exhration buzzes like static electricity on my skin. He¡¯s not in his study or his bedroom, so I head downstairs. I¡¯m about to go towards the kitchen when something tells me to check the library instead. The door is slightly ajar. I push it open. The room is warm and inviting, with luxurious rugs in red and brown tones covering every inch of the floor. The walls are outfitted with vintage bookshelves, each full to bursting with books. The soft, golden lighting makes me think of Thiago¡¯s eyes. The man in question is sitting in an expensive leather chair, settled deep into it with his legs spread. A lowball ss of clear liquid hovers near his lips as his eyes find mine over the rim. I¡¯ve seen him drink it before but have never asked what it was. ¡°Is that tequ?¡± He shakes his head, his enigmatic eyes following me as I close the door behind me. ¡°Aguardiente.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± A slow smirk pulls at his mouth. He drinks the remaining ounce of liquid in one go. I¡¯m hypnotized by the way his throat works as he swallows, by the way his tongue rolls over his lips. A powerful ache pulsates in my core. He sets the ss down before flicking his eyes back up to me. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe have a taste?¡± Arousal lurches into my veins with the force of a tsunami. How is he so effortlessly dominant and attractive? Categoricallymalein a way I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever like. His head slowly reclines back against his chair as I approach, his eyes tracking me with dark, focused intensity. The alcohol glistens on his lips, illuminated by the subdued lighting above him. There¡¯s a loud voice pulling at me to lick it off. The daring look he gives me throws that same challenge down between us like a gauntlet. Disappointment shes in his eyes when I pick up his empty ss and pour myself a shot instead. I hate the way I immediately want to correct my behavior, hate how important it suddenly is to me to see that pleased look back in his eye. But it is. Bringing the ss up to my lips, I run my tongue along the entire rim, searching for his taste. Staring into his eyes the entire time I do so. The air is so taut between us, it¡¯s hard to breathe. And when his eyespletely haze over with lust like a thunderous fog rolling through his pupils, my stomach contracts painfully. Finally, I take a sip and the liquid burns my throat. The brief pain is a wee distraction from the desire pulsing in my pussy for this man. It allows me a moment of reprieve, of shaking my head to rid myself of these dizzying thoughts. ¡°ck liquorice,¡± I note, surprised. ¡°Like my perfume.¡± He nods, eyes locked on my lips. ¡°Now you see why I¡¯ve been hooked on you from the beginning.¡± Thiago looks at me like he did through FaceTime when I was in Rome, with eyes so intense they¡¯re almost suffocating. That singr look has me bncing on a tightrope of emotion with precipitous drops on either side. On the one hand, his clear obsession with me is riveting and intoxicating. On the other, can I trust that his intensity won¡¯t one day trante into actual violence towards me outside the bedroom? I take another sip, really tasting theaguardientenow. Immediately, I start coughing. Wincing, I say. ¡°I like how it sits on the tongue, but I see why it¡¯s called ¡®burning water¡¯. It¡¯s fiery going down.¡± Another smile pulls at his lips and I light up on the inside like a kid who just got a gold star from her teacher. ¡°Your Spanish is better than you intimated to Diana.¡± ¡°Forget you know that, I need to be able to listen in on your conversations without you censoring yourself.¡±This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . He chuckles softly, taking the ss from me and drinking. ¡°It¡¯s a Colombian liquor. My favorite.¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯d drink something that moody,¡± I note, getting distracted by the way his ck shirt stretches across his chest. His defined shoulders tighten the band of fabric around his chiseled arms. Masculinity rolls off him in confident waves. He¡¯s a master at seduction even when stationary, even when he¡¯s not even trying. It¡¯s distracting. Maddening. ¡°It¡¯s my father¡¯s drink of choice. I grew up having it with him on our terrace while he taught me everything about the business.¡± He swirls the liquid around in the bottom of the ss, a thoughtful look taking his gaze somewhere faraway. ¡°I think of him every time I have some.¡± ¡°Is he¡­¡± He looks up at me, understanding my unasked question. ¡°He¡¯s still alive. He lives back home in Bogot¨¢.¡± Envy fills me at the fondness with which he speaks about his dad. Clearly they have a close rtionship, even with the distance. When I ran away, my father made no attempts to even try and contact me. He hasn¡¯t reached out now that I¡¯m back and he knows I¡¯m married. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there one day and show you where I¡¯m from. Show you the city that made your husband the way he is,amor.¡± The pace of my heartbeat is unnatural, its cadence far faster than what the rest of my body can seemingly keep up with. Thiago points at the bottle ofaguardiente. ¡°What¡¯s the verdict? Do you like it?¡± Maybe it¡¯s because of the way he looks at me, or maybe it¡¯s the alcohol or even this entire sexually-tense moment between us. Whatever the reason, something loosens my tongue and makes me say, ¡°At first sip, yes. But it¡¯s hard to confirm without tasting it on the skin.¡± He doesn¡¯t immediately react. Then his brow quirks. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t go to uni so you really can¡¯t be med for not knowing this, but the biggest lesson I learned there is that alcohol tastes better when done as a body shot.¡± It¡¯s a lie. I spent my time at Cambridge and Wharton with my head firmly in my books, studying and stressing over exams. The closest I¡¯vee to a body shot is spilling tequ on myself when someone bumped into me and licking the stickiness off my forearm. But desire emboldens me to foolish heights. And when he stands, his tall body unfurling to his full height above me, that desire spreads like wildfire throughout my entire body. He¡¯s so close that I need to tilt my chin up to meet his gaze. I¡¯m about to speak when he grabs his t-shirt by the cor and effortlessly removes it, stealing the words from my throat in the process. Hissing out a breath, my gaze drops to the golden, tattoo-covered muscles rippling under the dim lighting. It¡¯s like he¡¯s been lit by a professional crew with state of the art equipment, every sinewy muscle of his looking carved to perfection. I¡¯ve seen him shirtless but never this close with this clear an opportunity to examine him. Dark tattoos of passion and anger and war artfully cover his entire torso. He¡¯s built but lean, power exuding effortlessly off him without needing to rely on physical intimidation. Saliva pools in my mouth just watching him. He¡¯s magnificent. Chiseled. My fingers twitch by my side, longing to run through and trace those very visible grooves. I¡¯m not sure how long I¡¯ve been staring. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d be mortified if I knew because when I finally look up into Thiago¡¯s face, amusement curls his lips. ¡°If this is what you look like when you¡¯re disgusted, I can¡¯t wait to see the expression on your face when I sink inside your tight pussy.¡± Before I can answer he bends at the knees and slowly lowers himself to the floor. Heys on his back, his arms crossed underneath his head. In this position, the muscles of his lower abdomen constrict and emphasize the defined V lines that disappear into his trousers. I rip my gaze away from his stomach before I give in to every destructive urge I¡¯ve been resisting since I walked into this room and do something stupid like pull his cock out of his trousers and suck him into my mouth. It¡¯s toote to try and walk this back, but I attempt anyway. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about doing a body shot off you. I meant it generally.¡± He chuckles again, the sound both warm and infuriating, but his eyes sh in warning. ¡°You need to be put in your ce.¡± ¡°And where is that?¡± I ask flippantly. He licks his lips, drawing my attention down to his mouth. ¡°Tied up in my bed.¡± My pussy clenches at the warning in his words. He¡¯s fifty percent yful but a hundred percent serious. He reaches for the bottle on the side table and uncaps it. I watch, frozen, as he looks down at his stomach and pours a line of the clear liquor into his navel. I can barely swallow around therge mass in my throat. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± he asks, the challenge clear in his tone. ¡°Get on your knees.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 34 Tess¡¯s legs fold like my words were a hand on her neck forcing her to the ground. Her hands flutter hesitatingly, hovering over my chest and thigh before she ultimately decides she¡¯s safer setting them down on either side of her legs. She gathers her hair in one hand and ces it over her left shoulder, then slowly bends towards my navel. I stop her before she gets anywhere near me. ¡°Other shoulder,¡± I grunt. Startled by my gruff tone, she looks up. I repeat the same roughly orderedmand, emphasizing it with a lift of my chin. ¡°Put your hair over your other shoulder.¡± With it gathered on the left side, it obscures her face when she leans forward, hiding her from me. My jaw is set, the muscles in my cheek twitching. I need to see her face, need to see her every microexpression when she puts her mouth on me. Fuck, that reminds me of how she¡¯d sucked my cock in the back of my Rolls. Eyes wide, tears slipping from the corners. Cheeks flushed, mascara running. Beautiful. I growl approvingly when she does as I ask and moves her hair over to her right shoulder. She flicks onest nce up at me before her lips close around my navel. Her warm mouth on my skin shocks me. I suck in a sharp breath of surprise. Her eyes widen when the alcohol hits her tongue. My gasped inhale is followed by a hissed exhale when she darts her tongue into my navel and swirls it around, gathering the remaining liquid. I hadn¡¯t expected to be this sensitive. My hand weaves into her hair, fingers wrapping possessively around the thick strands and staying there. It¡¯s an act of dominance and one of encouragement at the same time. Her handse up to grip my thigh and rest on my chest. My head falls back as I groan. The pleasure is painful, verging on being agonizing. Her hand is so close to my thick cock that I have no doubt she can feel it throbbing violently against my thigh. My entire body shakes with need. ¡°Joder,¡± I groan. This was a dangerous game to y. Tess sucks thest of the liquid into her mouth and sits back into her hips. My hand falls from her hair andes to restzily on the small of her back. But she¡¯s not done, diving back in to lick the skin around my navel when she sees the excess wetness still remaining there. When she sits back up and finally looks at me, her pupils are blown wide, the blue of her eyes snuffed out by smoky, lustful ck. The fierce expression on my face must have reality mming back into her because her gaze shutters and she looks away, clearing her throat awkwardly. ¡°I was wrong. It tastes better in a ss.¡± She wipes the back of her hand against her lips and starts to stand. ¡°Not so fast,¡± Imand. Then I grab her waist and pull her down onto the floor, rolling myself so that I¡¯m on top of her, positioned between her now spread legs. It happens so quickly that I¡¯m met with a pair of surprised, blinking eyes. ¡°I think I get an opinion,¡± I murmur roughly. Then I yank the bottom of her blouse out of her skirt and shove it up over her breasts, revealing tight nipples straining against a ckce bra. My hands still clutch her waist, my thumbs nearly connecting in the middle of her stomach, and I run them unhurriedly up the expanse of her skin, reveling in being able to touch her like this. Staring up at her, I bend my head and press my lips hotly against her lower belly. Her muscles tighten in response, goosebumps erupting across her skin before my eyes. Moving down, I press a kiss over her covered pussy. She shivers, running her hands through my hair and grasping the thick strands tightly. I keep kissing every inch of her skin, moving from her lower belly up to her abdomen, to the area just beneath her covered breasts where I can feel the way her heart beats erratically for me. ¡°You taste so fucking good,¡± I purr, voice muffled against her skin. She gasps in a breath, eyes closed, brow drawn down in rapture. ¡°Focus,¡± she manages to rasp out. Grabbing the forgotten liquor bottle, I pour a continuous stream into her navel and lick it up, tongue digging into her belly button andpping up the liquid as if I was eating her out. Tess thrashes beneath me, body writhing and arching up into my face, then away when the sensations get to be too much. It takes everything in me not to reach between her legs and plunge my fingers into her tight pussy. Finally, I pull back and wipe my own mouth, looking down at my wife syed out on the floor beneath me. Hair spread every which way, her clothes pushed up indecently, liquid glistening on her skin and covering the floor.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . ¡°I disagree,¡± I say hoarsely, licking my lips. ¡°I think it tastes much better on your skin. I might have to exclusively drink it this way from now on.¡± Eyes so innocent they seem overwhelmed by how turned on she is meet mine and undo me. Leaning back over her, I bury my face in the crook of her neck and lick at the mark I left there a few days ago. I¡¯d been like some kind of animal with his mate, desperate to leave a mark that showed all other lurking predators she was mine. Clearly I let my passion run away from me because the bruise is as vivid today as it was when I first bit her five days ago. Ip at it gently, soothingly, groaning as I do so. ¡°You¡¯re so vocal.¡± She whispers it tremulously, voice uneven. ¡°I make my pleasure known,¡± I say, every word shaking with the force of my desire. ¡°You have no idea the noises I¡¯ll make for you,amor. Panting for you. Moaning your name. Gasping and cursing as Ie in your tight pussy.¡± I murmur against the shell of her ear, ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold anything back.¡± ¡°Oh, God,¡± she moans back, her legs tightening around my waist. ¡°I can prove it to you right now.¡± Tess yelps when I bite her earlobe. ¡°All you need to do is ask,¡± I coax. Her handse up to my nape, one tangling in my hair and pulling my face closer against her as I kiss her open throat, her corbone, her shoulder. ¡°Do it,¡± she whispers, like she¡¯s ashamed. I growl angrily, moving lower until I¡¯m between her breasts. I grope one in each hand, pushing them up and burrowing my face between those lush peaks. So fucking close. ¡°Not until you ask.¡± Come on, ask me to fuck you. ¡°Just do it.¡± ¡°No.¡± She makes a frustrated sound, one caught between desire and refusal to give in to what her body wants. To what we¡¯re both dying for. ¡°I won¡¯t touch you until you own up to it, until you give up on this silly game of pretending like you don¡¯t want it. When I finally fuck you, I won¡¯t have any part of you hiding from me.¡± She hesitates, eyes closed as she vacites between two decisions. I hold my breath. Her lips part¡­ and then shut. Eventually, I feel her shake her head. It¡¯s the hardest thing in the fucking world to rip myself away from the warmth of her body, from the wide open opportunity of fucking her even if she won¡¯t say the words, but I do. With an angry grunt, I pull back, abruptly cutting off all contact and standing. Tess doesn¡¯t understand what just happened, that much is clear by the adorably frazzled, confused expression on her face as she ces her weight into her elbows. She pulls her blouse down with shaking fingers,prehension dawning as she looks up at me. It¡¯s clear she didn¡¯t think I was being serious when I said I wouldn¡¯t touch her. ¡°You¡¯re only punishing yourself by being so goddamned stubborn,¡± I grit out, beyond sexually frustrated. Letting loose a muttered curse, I turn and stomp out. I¡¯m at the door when I remember. ¡°We¡¯re going to a g at the home of one of my business associates tomorrow. It¡¯ll be a good opportunity for us to show the world what a happy couple we are,¡± I add acerbically. ¡°ck tie. I¡¯ll send a dress.¡± Then I walk out, mming the door behind me. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 35 The next evening, I¡¯m waiting in the foyer for Tess when she appears at the top of the stairs. A band wraps around my lungs and strangles the breath from them as I watch her walk down, her hand carefully ced on the banister. A massive smile breaks out across Diana¡¯s face and she leans towards me, whispering, ¡°E es tan hermosa.¡± I nod, swallowing to clear the sudden mass in my throat. She¡¯s a vision in a floor-length, dark navy velvet gown. The blue is so dark the dress looks almost ck. Off the shoulder sleeves rest on her arms and rejoin a tight corset that pushes her breasts appetizingly high. A long slit splits the gown, exposing her left leg up to mid-thigh. My eyelid twitches looking at that bare skin, knowing every single man there will be staring and fantasizing as I am. She¡¯s going to remain pinned to my side all night. As beautiful as she looks, this isn¡¯t the dress I had delivered to her this morning. I¡¯d chosen mine for a specific reason. ¡°Where¡¯s the pink one?¡± She kisses Diana on the cheek and brushes straight past me, not even throwing me a nce. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing pink when I¡¯m in mourning,¡± she quips. I bark out augh and follow after her out to the Rolls. When she stops in front of the car, I palm her nape and pull her back against my chest. ¡°What are you mourning?¡± I ask, pressing the words softly against her hair. My thumb rubs soft circles on the side of her neck, over her pulse point. I feel it flutter as her body reacts to my words. She¡¯s an unwitting cocktease and I¡¯m bursting at the seams, seconds away from breaking. I was so close to snapping in the library yesterday and used up the veryst vestiges of my control to get myself out of there. Even now, my fingers beat a restless rhythm in my pocket, the months of unspent energy leaking out of me in the ways it can. ¡°The death of my freedom.¡± My driver waits for a signal to open her door. I dismiss him with a nod and open it myself, standing off to the side to let her in. Tess ces a hand on the door and leans in, but stops when I speak again. ¡°Were you ever really free,amor?¡± Her hand tightens in reaction, but she gets in without a word. I close the door behind her and get in on my side. ??? The second we leave the coat check area, Tess spots Dagny in the crowd and goes off with her, leaving me alone and annoyed. I¡¯d nned on introducing my wife to my various business partners in attendance tonight but instead she took the first opportunity to run from me. Again. The drumming in my fingers gets more frantic, my tuxedo feeling suddenly constrictive on my tense body. I want to rip my bow tie off and stalk after her but I don¡¯t. No need to cause a scene this early in the evening. ¡°Diablo.¡± I¡¯m heading towards the bar when I turn around at the sound of my name. I extend my hand in greeting at an old ally. ¡°Cillian Tellier. Good to see you.¡± ¡°You know, if you smiled, I might actually believe you meant that.¡± He ps a friendly palm on my shoulder and shakes my outstretched hand. Cillian owns arge stake in ckdown, thergest weapons manufacturer in the world, although it¡¯s his brother, Callum, who¡¯s the boss and brains of the operation. Importantly, Cillian owns a number of sessful cash businesses such as restaurants, pubs, clubs, and even a fewundromats, through which weunder our money. ¡°It¡¯s been too long. I heard you were out of the country for a while, is that true?¡± ¡°You know how the rumor mill goes,¡± I answer cryptically. ¡°I do,¡± he says with an unhinged smile. ¡°And your name¡¯s been gracing more than a few of those headlines recently. You wouldn¡¯t believe the stories flying around about you and all these dead Italians.¡± The Telliers straddle the line between legitimate and illegal businesses, making them incredibly useful and powerful allies. Their ties to international governments surpass even the ones they have in the Underworld. They¡¯re not enemies I¡¯d make lightly, especially given their¡­ personal quirks. Cillian is unashamed of the madness that shines brightly in his eyes even now and Callum is an unfeeling, merciless machine. They¡¯re fire and ice, those two. ¡°Are you fishing for information?¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± he says, pretending like what I just said is the craziest thing in the world and not exactly what he¡¯s doing. ¡°Just wondering who would be psychotic enough to kidnap the head of the Italian mafia, especially when he was balls deep in a hooker at the time, or so I heard. Whoever it is, they have my respect for the ballsiest move of thest decade,¡± he adds with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s probably someone who won¡¯t stop until he gets the answers he¡¯s looking for.¡± He quirks a brow at me. ¡°You want me to pass that message on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what you do.¡± He barks out a loudugh, pping me on the shoulder once more. ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m d you¡¯re back Thiago. Shit¡¯s significantly less interesting around here when you¡¯re gone.¡± His thick British ent wraps around every word. ¡°Also, I hear congrattions are in order for your recent nuptials. Is she here? I¡¯d love to meet her.¡± ¡°Refrain from using the word ¡°love¡± in any way when talking about my wife, Cillian.¡± He puts his hands up, a knowing smileing across his face and irritating me. ¡°And yes, she¡¯s in the restroom with her friend,¡± I lie. ¡°Where¡¯s your better half?¡± If possible, the crazy in his eyes turns up a couple dozen more notches. A violently possessive look burns in his irises when he talks about her. ¡°You know my Dahlia, independent as always,¡± the older man says fondly. ¡°We found out one of our daughter¡¯s schoolmates was bullying her. Dahlia stormed out of the house with two cans of gasoline, a blow torch, and a bad attitude.¡± He looks down at his watch and nods. ¡°She should be burning their house down right about now. She¡¯ll join us when she¡¯s done and if anyonees asking, two hundred witnesses will im she was here all night.¡± His eyes lift above my shoulder and soften. ¡°Oh, look. She¡¯s ahead of schedule,¡± he says adoringly. I turn and watch a strikingly beautiful woman I know well stalk into the ballroom, her long red gown billowing intimidatingly around her. Dark hair frames a pale face that boasts even darker eyes. A scowl twists her features and curls her blood red lips into a daunting sneer as she scans the room. She looks formidable and deadly, someone who absolutely shouldn¡¯t be fucked with. Her features smooth out when she spots her husband, the calmness that washes over her transforming her. ¡°Good seeing you, Thiago,¡± Cillian says, striding past me in his rush to get to his wife. ¡°Bring Tess by the club sometime, we¡¯d lo¨Cliketo meet her.¡± I watch him walk up to Dahlia and scoop her up in a gruff embrace like he hasn¡¯t seen her in months. ¡°Topping my ¡®Things I¡¯m Deathly Afraid Of¡¯ list is identally getting on Dahlia Tellier¡¯s bad side one day,¡± a voice calls from behind me. There¡¯s a smile on my lips before I¡¯ve even turned around. ¡°Valentina.¡± She puts her fists on her hips and raises a brow at me. Her gold dress highlights the bronzed color of her skin. ¡°Hermano,¡± she answers with a cheeky grin. She knows better than to hug me in public, but she does it anyway.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . ¡°Where the hell have you been?¡± I ask. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since I¡¯ve been back. Arturo says you haven¡¯t checked in.¡± She looks down and off to the side which I know is her tell. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy.¡± My eyes narrow on her. ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Side projects.¡± ¡°Valentina¡­I¡¯ve already warned you about doing your own investigation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± she says innocently, putting her hands up. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s lying now. ¡°I¡¯m taking a couple of sses, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°What kind of sses?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­dance?¡± Not what I expected her to say, butpletely harmless. If that¡¯s what¡¯s been keeping her busy, I don¡¯t mind, even if it takes her focus away from the cartel. ¡°You better not be lying to me. I¡¯ll find out what happened to Adriana, but you stay out of this. I don¡¯t want to have to worry about you too,¡± I add. She opens her mouth to answer when she spots something, or someone, in the distance. Whoever or whatever it is that she sees, she nches. Her skin pales, losing its healthy color. ¡°I-I have to go,¡± she says, stumbling away from me. I turn and scan the people behind me to see who could have spooked her like this. No one stands out. ¡°Vale,¡± I start, turning back towards her, but she¡¯s already gone. ¡°Hijueputa,¡± I curse. She¡¯s fucking slippery and I¡¯m annoyed I haven¡¯t been able to nail her down and figure out what¡¯s going on with her. ¡°Macan, neat,¡± I order, taking an immediate drink when the bartender ces it in front of me. My mind wanders, wondering how this expensive scotch would taste on Tess¡¯s skin. There¡¯s no reason I shouldn¡¯t drink every one of my favorite liquors off her body. As it is, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to drinkaguardientein a ss again. She took a drink that I¡¯ve always associated with my father and in one evening made it so that I¡¯ll never be able to have it without thinking ofherfirst. ¡°Jefe.¡± I turn, hiding my wary reaction behind an expressionless mask. There are only a handful of people at this g who would refer to me by that moniker and I know them all. The owner of this voice is not one of them. A woman I¡¯ve never met before stands behind me, a bright smile on her face. ¡°Who are you?¡± She doesn¡¯t let my unweing tone shake her confidence, her smile turning beaming. Something about it rankles. ¡°I¡¯m udia. udia Cardenas.¡± That name means nothing to me. Distantly, something deep in the back of my brain tells me I know it, but I don¡¯t bother to dig for the memory. Not interested. ¡°Am I supposed to know who you are?¡± She takes a step forward, almost closing the gap between us. Her boldness makes my jaw twitch. ¡°I¡¯m Leandro Cardenas¡¯s daughter,¡± she says, and I suddenly remember where I¡¯ve heard her name before. Batting her eyshes coyly, she adds. ¡°Your father thought I should introduce myself.¡± On the outside, I bring my ss up to my lips and drink, but internally I groan loudly. This is the woman my father suggested I take as a recement bride when I was still looking for Tess. Clearly, he¡¯s upgraded from mere suggestion to taking action if he¡¯s pushing her on me like this at an event. Frankly, I¡¯m surprised by it. Tom¨¢s da Silva believes in the sanctity of marriage having been married to my mother for twenty one years before her death. Having this woman approach me while my wife is in attendance is contrary to anything I¡¯d expect from him. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Cardenas family saw a clear opportunity for advancement and decided to foist her upon me regardless of what my father said. She puts her hand on my arm and officially pisses me the fuck off. Everyone in the cartel knows I got married two weeks ago and by touching me, she¡¯s disrespecting my wife. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 36 Dagny and I spot each other from across the room at the exact same time. We run to each other, shrieking inappropriately and drawing attention to ourselves. She jumps into my arms and gives me the best hug I¡¯ve ever received. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you, Tessie. I missed you so much. Next time you decide to run away from your life, take me with you, okay?¡± ¡°No more running away for me sadly, not unless youe and break me out of my tower.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± she says. When I give her a questioning look, she pulls her phone out of her clutch and starts going through her camera roll. ¡°I saw your wedding announcement, darling, which means I saw the way you look at your husband. You guys aredefinitelygetting it on.¡± I¡¯m momentarily stunned by what she says. So first Thiago decides to shoot my best friend and now he¡¯s sending her our wedding announcement in the mail like they¡¯re the best of friends? One thing men will always have in spades is theaudacity. ¡°We are not!¡± I answer, affronted. She gives me an unimpressed look. ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit a professional bullshitter.¡± ¡°Dags, we¡¯re really not.¡± ¡°Then either it¡¯s only a matter of time until you actually willoryou¡¯re inplete denial,¡± she says, handing me her phone. ¡°Look at this.¡± Rolling my eyes, I take the phone from her and look at the picture, expecting to be unmoved. Instead, I¡¯m struck by the expression on my face. By the way I look up at Thiago; lips parted, eyes hooded and fixed intently on him, my stare¡­longing. My hand flies to my mouth and I give Dagny a shocked look. ¡°I know,¡± she agrees, like I spoke my thoughts out loud. ¡°I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw it. Your husband shot me like, a month ago, so I¡¯m not exactly his number one fan, but it¡¯s tough to argue with this,¡± she says, tapping my face with her index. ¡°Or this,¡± she adds, tapping Thiago¡¯s face next. Because as longingly as I look up at him, he stares even more fiercely back down at me. He looks like he has blinders on, his gaze so focused on my face he couldn¡¯t possibly be aware of anything else happening around him. If Thiago wanted to sell the idea of us as a happy couple, then this photo does just that. We look¡­intoxicated by each other. ¡°Couldn¡¯t be me,¡± she adds. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m keeping all bloodthirsty psychos at arm¡¯s length. One gunshot wound was enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.¡± ¡°You better pray you never catch one¡¯s eye then. If you haven¡¯t noticed, they¡¯re not big on asking.Takingis more their thing.¡± My head spins. I hand her phone back, clearing my throat to calm the tornado of emotion sweeping through me. She stares down at the photo once more and smiles. ¡°What¡¯s that famous saying again,¡± Dagny ponders aloud, drumming her index thoughtfully against her pouted lips before snapping her fingers in a lightbulb moment. ¡°Oh,right¡ª the camera doesn¡¯t lie, Tessie. You¡¯ve got a thing for your husband.¡± I scoff. ¡°I¡¯d have to have Stockholm¡¯s Syndrome for that to be possible.¡± ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re going to have a mental illness might as well have the one that gets you into bed ying naked hide the sausage with the insanely hot cartel boss who kidnapped you. Sounds way more fun to me than, say, having anxiety.¡± I choke out augh at the visual, but opt to change the subject to a topic far safer than Thiago and I ¡ª gun violence. ¡°How is your arm? Are you still in pain?¡± Dagny¡¯s strapless dress has a sweetheart neckline so her arms are on disy, but she¡¯s wearing a che armband with a gold chain to cover her still fresh scar. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how sorry I am that he¡­shotyou,¡± I tell her for the dozenth time. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he did.¡± ¡°Completely healed and zero pain,¡± she says, choosing to indulge my evasion tactics. ¡°And I told you, you never need to apologize to me. I actually should thank that degenerate husband of yours for helping me create a new essory. I¡¯ve gottendozensof requests for armbands like this one. Vogue even wants to interview me for, and I quote, ¡°being a trendsetter¡±. If only they knew what I¡¯m hiding under there.¡± Iugh loudly. ¡°Only you would see getting shot as a business opportunity.¡± She does a few poses with the armband, pretending she¡¯s in front of a camera. ¡°Bullet wound fashion, baby. Come and get yours before stocks run out, actual bullet wound not included and sold separately.¡± I¡¯m wiping tears ofughter from my eyes when I spot a woman in a gold dress over Dagny¡¯s shoulder lean in and hug Thiago. The easy smile he gives her in return makes my heart shrivel up in my chest. She¡¯s there and gone before I can even begin to process the wide array of emotions pummeling the battered organ. Thankfully, he doesn¡¯t go after her. Dagny is still talking about her recent work and doesn¡¯t notice my abrupt change in mood. ¡°Wedding dresses still drive thergest part of my business. I actually have an appointment with a new bride in a few weeks who wants me to custom design a piece for her, so that¡¯s exciting,¡± she says. ¡°It is!¡± I interject, still distracted. Scenes of Thiago licking the alcohol off my stomach while Iy on the floor of the library sh through my mind. I¡¯d wanted him to fuck me, had told him to justdo it, but he¡¯d been as stubborn as me, refusing to go any further unless I said the words he wanted to hear. He left me needy and lightheaded with arousal, his anger clear in the way he mmed the door closed behind him. But I still went down to the kitchen in the middle of the night like I had every night before, and I waited for him. He never came. A nameless emotion had grown in the pit of my stomach as I sat there, hopeful minutes turning into lonely hours. And now he¡¯s on the other side of the room alone, because I was still upset with him for standing me up and I¡¯d wanted to make him feel a sliver of what I feltst night, so I¡¯d abandoned him the second we got here. Sometimes the queen makes a bad move on the board, a mistake that she has to pay for. I¡¯m certainly paying for mine now. ¡°¡­I definitely want to diversify my portfolio though. I love wedding dresses, but I want to try everything. Gowns, every day attire, business wear, lingerie, you name it. I think this¡¯ll be thest bridal client I take on for a while,¡± Dagny finishes. Guiltnces through me. I¡¯m a terrible friend, I can¡¯t even listen to her for five minutes without worrying about my own problems. ¡°Please let me wear whatever you design,¡± I beg, grabbing her hand. ¡°You know I¡¯m your number one fan ¡ª whatever you make, I want to wear it. If you¡¯ll have me, that is.¡± ¡°Duh,¡± she says with a smile. ¡°A smoking hot blonde wearing all of my designs? You¡¯re the one doingmea favor.¡± I scoop her up into a tight hug, twirling her around. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a household name with the best of them in no time, Dags, and I can¡¯t wait to have a front row seat to it when it happens.¡± Her beaming smile wipes suddenly off her face, reced by a dark scowl taking over her features. Her eyes are trained on something in the distance behind me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I ask, concerned. She growls angrily. ¡°You¡¯re going to turn around and see this for yourself so let me warn you first. There¡¯s a doe-eyed, homewreckingbitchsmiling vapidly up at your husband like he just told the funniest joke ever recorded.¡± I dete, the air exiting my lungs. ¡°Gold dress?¡± I ask, already knowing the answer. ¡°No.¡± My eyes snap to hers and I whirl around to find that it is indeed apletely different woman hitting on Thiago now. His back is to me so I can¡¯t see his face or how he reacts to her.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. My cheeks heat in anger. The first one hugged him and left so I did nothing, but this second one fingering her hair and giving Thiago an inviting smile makes my blood boil. Dagny gives me a pointed look. ¡°That¡¯s your man she¡¯s publically salivating over, Tessie. Might be time for you to admit to the Stockholm¡¯s Syndrome, don¡¯t you think?¡± I aim for nonchnce, for an unaffected shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t ca¡ª¡± My words cut off abruptly when I watch the woman step closer. She puts her hand on Thiago¡¯s arm, cocks her head to the side andughs flirtily, the whole thing happening with the slow motion precision of a car crash, one I can¡¯t look away from. I¡¯m charging across the room before I can even process it, my temper ring bright red and my vision tunneling venomously in on them as I approach from behind him. Even though the ck haze of fury renders me nearly sightless, I manage to rip her hand off his arm and throw it back at her, enjoying the way it falls limply at her side. I position myself between them, my back turned to him. The woman has the audacity to give me a puzzled look. I¡¯ve never understood violence until this very moment when I have to physically restrain myself from scratching her eyes out for looking at my husband like he¡¯s a snack and me like I¡¯m crazy. I might just be discovering that I am. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who are you?¡± she asks. ¡°Who am I? I¡¯m hiswife,¡± I snap. An arm wraps around my waist and arge hand sys inappropriately low on my belly, sending a needy pang straight to my core. Thiago pulls me snuggly against his chest, his warmth immediately seeping into my back. When I angle my head against his shoulder and look up at him, I find darkly pleased eyes burning hotly into the side of my face. His obvious smugness at my interruption does nothing to calm my anger. ¡°Oh.¡± The clear disappointment in her tone has my eyes snapping right back to hers. ¡°Well, I was just introducing mys¨C¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to introduce yourself to my husband,¡± I clip. ¡°He already knows enough people.¡± Thiago¡¯s arm tightens bruisingly around me when I finally refer to him as my husband. His cock hardens, throbbing intently against my lower back. I¡¯m momentarily stunned by how much two words spoken from my lips can affect him. The woman looks to Thiago for help,ughing derisively. ¡°Well, it can¡¯t hurt,¡± she says. That¡¯sit. I try to step up to her, deciding that in the end she does deserve that eye wing, but Thiago keeps me pinned firmly against him. She takes a fearful step back anyway. My answering smile is slow and sharp, my voice deceptively sweet. ¡°It just might.¡± Thiago¡¯s chest moves against my back and I know he¡¯s trying not to openlyugh. Bastard. ¡°Good to meet you, udia, but if you¡¯ll excuse us, I need to take my wife for a dance. Say hello to your father for me.¡± Without waiting for an acknowledgment, he curls me into his body and walks us both to the middle of the dancefloor just as a new song starts. Twisting me around, he sps my hand in his and takes my waist with the other. My skin is hot from my anger, my body temperature at least ten degrees warmer than usual. ¡°Our first dance,¡± he purrs. ¡°And it¡¯ll be ourst if you don¡¯t give me some answers,¡± I snap, fuming. ¡°Tell me, was it ¡°good to meet her¡±, Thiago? Hmm? Did you enjoy your chat?¡± His smile is deeply smug and obviously pleased. ¡°Are you feeling possessive,amor?¡± ¡°You said we needed to look in love tonight,¡± I huff. ¡°Would a real wife stand idly by and let another woman put her hands all over her husband, especially in public?¡± ¡°Is that the only reason?¡± ¡°Who the hell is she?¡± I snap. ¡°That¡¯s two women you let touch you tonight, Thiago.Two.¡± The look he gives me is inscrutable. ¡°I don¡¯t want either of them. The only woman I want is the one that refuses to admit she¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°Who. Is. She?¡± I demand. I¡¯m barely aware of the fact that he twirls me around the dancefloor. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s music ying but it doesn¡¯t filter in through the loud ringing in my ears. ¡°The daughter of one of my father¡¯s generals,¡± he answers. He pauses, looking above my head, then adds. ¡°When you ran away, it was suggested to me that I take her as my wife instead. She either didn¡¯t see our wedding announcement or she did and thought she¡¯d try her luck anyway. Runaway anger coils in my core and poisons me, sending acidic bile shooting straight into my throat. ¡°You¡¯d flip to the next page of the bride catalog that easily, huh?¡± I ask, bitterly. ¡°Just another nameless, faceless woman you can put a ring on and stick your cock in?¡± ¡°¡®Stick my cock in¡¯?¡± he repeats throatily, eyes pinned on me. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve had the pleasure.¡± ¡°Screw you.¡± Somewhere I know I¡¯m being irrational but between her and Adriana, I feel sick to my stomach. I was right not to trust him if he believes I¡¯m that easily receable. ¡°Believe me, I¡¯d like nothing more.¡± The cocky smile that pulls at his lips does nothing except piss me off further. I stomp on his foot. Hard. He winces, his arm tightening around me until he¡¯s carrying me, my feet no longer touching the floor. ¡°Why are you upset,preciosa?¡± he coaxes seductively. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± ¡°Smile like that again and I¡¯ll give you a dose of your own medicine,¡± I snarl, my jealousy making me spiral. I¡¯ve never felt this way before. Making a point of looking around the room at all the men in attendance, I add. ¡°After all, I don¡¯t think a marriage is official if it hasn¡¯t been consummated.¡± Strong fingers wrap callously around my jaw, digging into my cheeks and using brute force to turn my face back towards his. ¡°Careful,¡± he warns, voice tight. ¡°Remember who you¡¯re talking to.¡± I tip my chin stubbornly up at him. ¡°The infamous ¡°Diablo¡±, you mean?¡± ¡°No, yourhusbandwho won¡¯t fucking share you,¡± he corrects, livid. Squeezing my jaw, he brings his mouth inches from mine. ¡°But if you push me to it, then yes,El Diablo. You¡¯ve seen what I¡¯ll do to a man who didn¡¯t slight me. Imagine what I¡¯m capable of doing to one whoes anywhere near you, one who touches what¡¯smine.¡± I rip my jaw out of his hand and shove at his chest until he releases me. Back on my feet, I tilt my chin up until our faces are inches from each other¡¯s. The other couples keep dancing around us, paying us no mind, while we stand off like we¡¯re about to kill each other. ¡°It¡¯s not sharing,¡± I hiss. His jaw clenches, the muscle in his cheek twitching erratically. ¡°We haven¡¯t slept together. I amnotyours.¡± I won¡¯t ask him for anything when he¡¯s made no room for me. Chasing me was all about his ego, not aboutme. Not when I was clearly so receable. I¡¯ve had enough. ¡°Don¡¯t test me, Tess,¡± he warns, his voice dangerously soft now. I walk right off the dancefloor without answering, leaving him standing in a sea of couples, staring after me. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 37 Ikeep walking, unsure where I¡¯m going, my rage and jealousy alone directing me as I get lost in this massive mansion. The g area was cordoned off and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve wandered into the private residence area now, but I don¡¯t even remember making that decision. The home is old and beautiful, built in the 1950s or earlier if I had to guess. I¡¯m trying to focus on its careful detailing to calm myself down, but my blood is still thrashing in my veins. There¡¯s no one,no one, who can make me lose my entireposure like Thiago can. He does it effortlessly, that¡¯s the most infuriating part. I pace back and forth in a foyer of some sort, willing my heart to settle so I can ess the rational part of my brain instead of the jealous viper that¡¯s still shouting at me to track udia down and, frankly, p the living shit out of her. More worrisome than the anger though are the tears threatening to appear. I¡¯d like to pretend I don¡¯t know why I want to cry, but I do. Because after the long phone calls, after the shared ice cream and banter, after the arguments and the heated, tense moments of passion, he¡¯d started to feel like maybe he might be mine. I hadn¡¯t considered that other women could also think the same. Contending with a ghost is already enough of a weight without adding livingpetition. Stomping my foot in irritation, I let out a frustrated scream at my na?vety. At those inexplicable, impractical feelings swirling around in my chest.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. My eye catches on something red. It¡¯s an envelope ced on top of a bowl of keys and other knick knacks on a mantel. Something about it looks familiar to me, but I don¡¯t know why. It¡¯s not the wisest idea ¡ª but it¡¯s certainly the rudest ¡ª to go through a stranger¡¯s things. I realize I don¡¯t actually know whose house this even is. I never asked Thiago. Curiosity makes me pick up the envelope anyway. Idefinitelyrecognize this crest. ¡°Snooping around this house is an incredibly dangerous and ill-advised gamble,¡± a deep, cold voice informs me. The threat is mild but somehow present in his tone, like he knows he doesn¡¯t have to exert much effort to scare me. Startled, I turn around ande face to face with thergest man I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. This part of the house is bathed in darkness, the lights all off except for one dimmed above the mantel, so I can only make out part of his features. He looks to be about mid-forties, incredibly attractive with brown hair, scalpel-drawn cheekbones, and startlingly striking gray eyes. He¡¯s a veritable mountain of a man standing atleastat six foot five withrge, expansive shoulders straining beneath his tuxedo. ¡°No!¡± I say, waving my hands like there¡¯s an easy exnation for my presence here. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone. I just thought I recognized the crest on this envelope, I¡¯m not a thief or anything like that.¡± Hees forward, sharp, silver eyes examining me. ¡°It¡¯s the crest for my secondary school.¡± ¡°Oh, this is your house,¡± I saymely, my cheeks ming red. ¡°Then I¡¯m doubly sorry for snoopingandnot knowing who invited me into their home.¡± He gives me a calcting smile. It¡¯s not unfriendly but there¡¯s zero hint of warmth in it either. Still, he continues to entertain me. ¡°Royal Crown Academy,¡± he says. ¡°That¡¯s the crest.¡± My mouth drops in a shocked ¡®o¡¯ before I smack my forehead andugh. ¡°That¡¯s why I recognized it. My brother is a professor there.¡± Clear interest appears in his gaze where there was none before. He closes the space between us, taking the envelope from me and looking thoughtfully down at it. After a moment, his eyes lift back up to mine. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting coincidence. My daughter is currently a student there. I wonder if he¡¯s one of her teachers,¡± he says. Extending his hand, he adds, ¡°I¡¯m Callum.¡± I ce my much smaller one in his. ¡°I¡¯m¨C¡± ¡°I see you¡¯ve met my wife, Tellier.¡± Thiago emerges ominously from the shadows, a destructive expression etched across his features. The ck look in his eye when his gaze flicks down to where Callum and I hold hands is so visibly hostile that a powerful tremor rocks me. The teardrop tattoo twitches menacingly beneath his dark gaze. ¡°Remove your hand,¡± he orders. ¡°Or lose it.¡± I immediately cken my grip and pull my hand back, but Callum holds onto it. He draws the moment out for an insolently long breath. Thiago¡¯s jaw clenches dangerously. He looks about ready to snap when Callum finally does as requested and releases my hand. I¡¯m not sure what game our host is ying, but the temperature around us just dropped twenty degrees. My husband walks stiffly towards me, shoulders taut as he keeps an antagonistic eye on the other man. I¡¯m silent, eyes pinging between the two of them, unsure what to do with such palpable tension hovering menacingly above us. When Thiago reaches my side he throws a venomous re at Callum before turning towards me, cupping my nape and mming his mouth savagely down on mine. I gasp breathily, caughtpletely off guard, and he uses the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. Greedy, impatient hands grab generous fistfuls of my ass and use them to pull me tightly against him, his entire body rigid with aggression. He bites my lower lip in warning, sucking the tender skin into his mouth as he fists my hair and yanks it painfully. I grasp desperately at thepels of his tuxedo, attempting to keep up with the violent, territorial assault, andpletely forgetting that we have an audience. God, it¡¯s been weeks since he kissed me. I¡¯ve missed the feeling of his lips on mine. The kiss is over almost as abruptly as it started. Thiago pulls away just enough to make me stumble into him, his pupils blown, his eyes ck, and his now lipstick-covered mouth stretching into a darkly arrogant smile. Dazed, I let him drag me into his side, locking me against him with a hand clutching my waist. He turns towards Callum with my lipstick still all over his mouth. The obscenely possessive way hezily licks his lips is done purposefully, the dangerous tone and throttled emotion in his voice an explicit warning. ¡°Mywife, Callum,¡± he snarls. ¡°Mine.¡± My stomach sinks. This has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s a power y between the two of them, with Thiago feeling threatened. A cartel boss can¡¯t have somebody else hitting on his wife so he just did the human equivalent of pissing all over me to mark his territory. My earlier angeres roaring back to life. Callum smiles at Thiago, clearly amused by this crude disy of jealousy. ¡°Very entertaining,¡± hements unemotionally, before sliding his eyes slowly back to me. ¡°So, you¡¯re Tess,¡± he adds, smile growing. It looks almost unnatural on his face, like he isn¡¯t used to it. Thiago¡¯s hand tightens painfully on my waist. Pressed up against his side, I can feel the anger vibrating through his body growing more powerful with every passing second. He¡¯s clearly furious. But so am I. ¡°I am. It¡¯s lovely to meet you,¡± I say, sweetly. I¡¯ve never used that tone with Thiago. Angry eyes whip down to stare at me, the intensity in them likesers trying to bore a hole into the side of my face. ¡°Likewise. We should continue our conversation at another, less inopportune, time.¡± An irate growl starts deep in Thiago¡¯s chest and rips from his throat. He pushes me behind him and goes toe to toe with Callum. Even after everything, my reflex is still to protect him, to grab his arm with both of my hands and try to hold him back. Thiago might be meaner, but Callum is bigger and I don¡¯t want him to get hurt. Instead of being able to restrain him, he pulls my weight easily after him. He keeps his arm extended behind him, shielding me away from the other man. Impulsively, I thread my fingers together with his. ¡°You won¡¯t be continuinganythingwith my wife. And if I ever find you alone with her again, I¡¯ll kill you without a moment¡¯s hesitation,¡¯ Thiago promises, teeth bared. An amused smirk is the only answer that meets his furious threat. Next thing I know, he releases my hand and punches Callum in the jaw. ¡°Thiago!¡± I shout, grabbing his arm once more. This has gone too far now. Callum¡¯s face snaps to the side and stays there. He doesn¡¯te back swinging. He chuckles humorlessly, gingerly cuffing and stroking his jaw before turning back towards us. Those gray eyes ignore me and focus solely on my irate husband. ¡°I¡¯ll let that one go because you¡¯re clearly feeling territorial over your new bride,Diablo.¡± His eyes narrow to murderous slits. ¡°That same kindness will not be extended twice. Question mymitment tomywife again and I¡¯ll find my finger twitching on the button next time I¡¯m ying with the F42 missiles.¡± ¡°Get the fuck out of my face while I¡¯m still ying nice,¡± Thiago sneers. The standoff between them goes on for fifteen more taut seconds before Callum jerks his head, turns on his heel and starts to walk away. He pauses at the door. I hold my breath, afraid that he¡¯s going toe back. Instead, the corner of his lip lifts and he simply adds, ¡°Upstairs, second door on the left.¡± I have no idea what that means, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Because then Callum disappears, leaving me alone with my husband in a foyer that isn¡¯tnearlrge enough to house both of our eruptive, trigger-happy tempers and all the anger we¡¯ve amassed between us. I back away, putting as much distance between us as possible. Thiago turns slowly back towards me. My heart jumps into my throat when my eyes collide with his erratic, unhinged gaze. His nostrils re in bad temper, his jaw so tense it looks painful. He works it back and forth angrily, no doubt grinding away the topyer of enamel on his teeth. His chest heaves angrily, a massive ck cloud hanging over him. ¡°I¡¯m not a prop, Thiago,¡± I snap. ¡°You can¡¯t just kiss me to score points in whatever pissing contest just went down between you two.¡± His voice is quiet but his words are vicious and demanding when he speaks. ¡°Did you enjoy having his attention on you?¡± He¡¯s got to be joking. He was just upstairs entertaining his backup bride in front of me. Furious, I brush past him, intent on storming out without a backward nce. His fingers close around my elbow and he yanks me back against his hard chest. ¡°I asked if you liked having thatmotherfucker¡¯sattention on you, Tess,¡± heshes out, shaking me. ¡°Were you trying to make good on what you threatened me with just now?¡± I re at him, eyes shining with wrath. ¡°You deserve nothing less.¡± With a teeth-baring snarl he fists my hair and yanks my head back, opening my throat up to him. His hand closes around my neck, coring me tightly. He runs his nose up the column of my throat, inhaling gutturally. ¡°I can fucking smell him on you.Him,¡± he snaps. ¡°Onyou.¡± A dangerous rumble vibrates in his chest and then he¡¯s growling in my ear. ¡°It¡¯s lingering on you and changing your scent and it¡¯s driving me fucking crazy. You should smell likeme, not him.¡± He bites my neck punishingly. ¡°Were you hoping he¡¯d fuck you just so you could prove a point to me? Or was it your n for me to walk in and find you two together all along?¡± I whine when he bites my ear next, his jealousy turning him feral. ¡°You have a cruel streak in you, Tess. I was wrong, you¡¯re no angel.¡± His mouth crushes mine, the kiss made up solely of violence and fury and territorial rage and absolutely no care or attention. Arousal and need war inside my brain and heart, but I won¡¯t be distracted by my physical reaction to him like I was ten minutes ago. Gripping his hand, I rip it from my throat. ¡°You¡¯re a selfish, hypocritical,prick,¡± I seethe. ¡°Iam?¡± he questions incredulously. ¡°You¡¯re the one who reacted upstairs when udia touched me when all you needed was five minutes with the first man you ran into to turn around and do the exact same thing you used me of.¡± ¡°I shook his hand!¡± ¡°You werealonein a dark, isted area with him,¡± he shouts furiously, crowding me against the wall and forcing my head to tilt all the way back. His eyes drop to where my lips part in shock. He doesn¡¯t stop to let it moderate his sharp tongue. ¡°Would you have opened your legs for him next?¡± he demands, irate, eyes remaining fixed on my mouth. His voice drops to a cruel hiss. ¡°Used those pretty lips to beg for him when you should have been begging for me instead?¡± Howdarehe? Ragees to a boil inside me and my hand flies. I p him. The crack echoes against the walls. Then terrifying silence descends between us. I realize just how dangerous it is to strike a man like him when his head turns slowly back towards me, all traces of humanity gone from his gaze. Pinning me against the wall, he takes my wrists and shoves them brutally above my head. ¡°What the fuck is your problem?¡± ¡°You are!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t apologize for my reaction to finding you alone with another man,¡± he seethes through clenched teeth. ¡°That¡¯s not something I ever want to fucking see again.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about Callum. Or udia for that matter. It¡¯s aboutyou. About me,¡± I shout. ¡°You married me only because you needed to win. There¡¯s no way you could let the bride you bought run away from you. Your ego simply couldn¡¯t take the rejection of being told no. You did it to control me. To show that no one triumphs over thegreatThiago da Silva,¡± I spit out bitterly. ¡°And, bonus, you did it for the boost in social capital my name gave you. You didn¡¯t marry me because you wantedmeor were nning on making room in your life for me. Your heart ispletely closed off, so stop with the possessiveness and the jealousy and leavemyheart to its own desires. I¡¯m just a stand-in, so don¡¯t pretend to care, don¡¯t pretend you want anything from me other than getting me to finally submit to you so I can be the most expensively purchased prostitute of all time.¡± Iugh humorlessly. ¡°Well I refuse to be someone who warms your bed simply because the person you really want is dead. Go mourn your precious Adriana and let mego.¡± My voice cracks on myst plea and I hate it. Hate that he hears that weakness, that he likely sees the tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, but weeks of pent-up anguish and resentment are trying to break free. Then his hands are tangling in my hair again and his mouth is back on mine like he didn¡¯t hear a single word I said. I shove at him. I bite. I try to p him again. Shock freezes me in ce when my left hand connects with his lip. He fingers the spot, his thumbing away from his mouth with a thin pinprick of blood. My ring must have cut his lip. But instead of getting angry, his heated eyes find mine and his smile stretches into an evil grin, revealing teeth partially stained with blood. ¡°That¡¯s right, fight for me,amor.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 38 ¡°What?¡± she asks, troubled by my bleeding lip. ¡°I¡¯m in love with someone else,¡± I confess to her, eyes searching hers. ¡°What do you feel?¡± The care in her gaze shutters, the concern over my cut wiping away in a heartbeat. She shoves at my chest, those tears I¡¯d spotted earlier back in her eyes once more. ¡°I hate you,¡± she promises, her lower lip trembling. ¡°You hate me.¡± ¡°Iloatheyou,¡± she cries, voice breaking. ¡°Why?¡± Her arms il and I grab one forearm, then the other, and yank her forward, pinning them both against my chest. ¡°I can¡¯t stand you,¡± she says, fighting against my hold on her. ¡°Why?¡± I repeat through gritted teeth. ¡°Why does Adriana bother you so much?¡± I¡¯m not sure how Tess knows of my sister¡¯s existence when I haven¡¯t mentioned her yet. Nor do I understand how she came to think Adriana was a previous love interest of mine. But I¡¯m not afraid to use this opportunity to get to the truth, because stalking after Tess and tracking her down only to find her in a darkened hallway alone with another man did something ungodly to my insides, something I¡¯m still recovering from. The first thing I noticed before I even recognized Callum was that their hands were joined. The gut punch had been swift and debilitating, the feeling that I¡¯d been shoved off an incredibly tall building and was quickly hurtling towards solid, deadly ground,pletely crippling. Jealousy had mmed into me, brutally primitive and vicious. The fact that we hadn¡¯t slept together meant that she wasn¡¯t mine, not fully at least, and the need to immediately im her had been crushing. I barely even registered the fact that I¡¯d punched one of my closest allies, a man who I know has been very happily married for a long time. Tess thrashes against me, furious tears seeping from the corners of her eyes and finally tracing down her reddened cheeks. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing her cry outside of her spanking and it¡¯s not because of her father, or what I did to Dagny, or because she¡¯s homesick, it¡¯s because ofme. Because the thought of me loving another woman drives her crazy. And if I had any doubts about whether any parts of my soul are salvageable, those areid to rest with a resounding ¡®no¡¯. Because I love it. I fuckinglovethat she¡¯s shedding tears for me. ¡°Are these tears because of Adriana?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say her name when you¡¯re touching me. I¡¯ll leave you,¡± she vows emphatically. ¡°I swear to god I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll run away and this time I¡¯ll make sure you never,evey eyes on me again.¡± The smirk drops off my face faster than she can probably see it. One second it¡¯s there, the next it¡¯s gone, reced by a livid expression. I grab her face and crush her jaw in my fist. ¡°Threaten to leave me one more time, Tess. I dare you.¡± She sobs openly, tears rolling down her cheeks as she closes her eyes and hangs her head against my chest, exhausted and upset. ¡°Last time I ask you, Tess, and I want a real answer,¡± I demand, wrapping her hair around my fist. ¡°Why does Adriana bother you? Why does mentioning her make you hate me?¡± Her head snaps back, her gaze finds mine and she¡¯s never looked more beautiful. Her eyes sh furiously, the anger and torment and pain in them obvious, and with that one look, the final shred of her resistance finally shatters, exploding to pieces around us. ¡°Because you¡¯re supposed to bemine,¡± she cries, eyes shing. ¡°You made me put on this ring,¡± she says, thrusting her left hand in my face. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have to share you with anybody else, just like you don¡¯t have to share me.¡± Triumph bleeds into my veins at her surrender, a breath I¡¯d been holding for a long time finally exhaling as the truth flows from her lips. Her hands drop limply to her sides when I release them. My arms fold around her and I pull her tightly against me in a suffocating embrace. ¡°I am yours,¡± I whisper, face buried in her hair. ¡°There¡¯s no one but you.¡± Tess whimpers, handsing tentatively up to my sides and staying there. I¡¯m not sure if she intends to push me away or pull me closer, and she seems as in the dark as to her decision herself. ¡°udia means nothing.Lessthan nothing. I didn¡¯t even remember who she was. You interrupted as I was about to tell her the only person who¡¯s allowed to touch me, the only one I want smiling at me, isyou. And Adriana.¡± Tess stiffens. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you think Adriana is an old lover, but she¡¯s not. She¡¯s my little sister. Was my sister.¡± Tess pushes gently against my torso. Reluctantly, I let her move me so she can peer up into my face. Her eyes search mine, wide and unsure. ¡°Was?¡± ¡°She was murdered almost a year and a half ago. I¡¯m searching for the people who killed her so I can avenge her death. If you overheard anything that made you misconstrue who she was to me, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll tell you all about it. Fuck, I¡¯ll evenshowyou if you want, butter. Right now¡­¡± I lick my lips. ¡°Right now, I need you. Do you need me, Tess?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± My hands tighten painfully on her, but then she whispers, ¡°Call meamoragain.¡± Dark lust born out of territorial need sts to life, spreading through my veins like wildfire. I reach down to the slit of her gown and palm the inside of her thigh, myrge hand gripping her tightly. She gasps when she feels the bite of cold metal from my rings burning against her skin. Her pupils are dted, her eyes are fixed raptly on me. ¡°Do you need me,amor?¡± I breathe. She nods urgently. A punishing smack to the inside of her thigh makes her whimper. ¡°Say the words.¡± Tess reaches for me and that alone nearly brings me to my knees. After all this time and tension between us, seeing her handsing towards me of their own volition to bring me closer feels like I¡¯m about to be embraced by the only God I believe in. Her arms lock around my neck, her fingers run up my nape and dive greedily into my hair, and my eyes flutter shut in worship at her altar. It might sound sacrilegious, but this devil lives proudly in sphemy. ¡°There¡¯s only me?¡± I nod, my voiceing out throaty when I confirm, ¡°Only you.¡± She leans forward and ims my lips, initiating a kiss between us for the very first time and almost making mee undone in the process. I cup her neck to keep her mouth pressed against mine, but eventually she pulls back. Her lips hover a hair¡¯s breadth away from mine because I won¡¯t let her go any further. She looks into my eyes and says, ¡°Then fuck me.¡± My eyes flutter close, savoring the hard-earned victory. ¡°Beg.¡± She arches her hips towards me, bringing the hand that I still have between her legs closer to her pussy. ¡°Please.¡± My fingers caress the sensitive skin of her inner thigh and she moans. ¡°Again,¡± I order. She cups my face, forcing my eyes to open. Her gaze movesnguidly over my features, her own eyes turning heavy. She rolls her lower lip and traps it between her teeth.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Please fuck me,¡± she pleads. A smirk stretches slowly across my face. ¡°It¡¯s about fucking time.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 39 Igrip her ass and hoist her up into my arms. Her legs part and wrap around me, her gown falling back to reveal the smooth expanse of her thighs as her center presses against my throbbing cock. She kisses me as I carry her up the stairs, her hands still on my face, her mouth moving easily over mine. I¡¯m trembling with excitement, hardly able to contain the tion I feel. Upstairs, I go for the second door on the left. With Tess still kissing me, I reach blindly for the handle and throw the door open, walking us into the bedroom. My handse back on her body, squeezing her curves tightly, still in some disbelief that they¡¯re entirely mine, before I pull her off and drop her onto the mattress beneath me. She looks dazedly around the room, her expression turning bewildered. ¡°How did Callum know¡­?¡± A displeased rumble echoes in my chest. I crawl over her prone body and trap her beneath me. ¡°Because if he¡¯d found his wife in the same situation I found mine in, he would have done exactly what I¡¯m about to do now,¡± I growl. ¡°Don¡¯t say his name again.¡± Bending my head, I lick and nip at the faint traces that still remain of the bite mark I left on her weeks ago, raising its color once again. Her anis scent hits my nostrils and dazes me with its potency. ¡°You smiled at him.¡± I can¡¯t help the guttural, usatory note in my voice. Eyes closed, throat open, lips parted in pleasure, she shakes her head ¡®no¡¯ wordlessly. ¡°I saw you,¡± I grunt, making my way down her neck to her chest where the corset of her dress pushes up her breasts temptingly. ¡°When will you smile for me?¡± I question territorially, nipping at the soft skin there. She whimpers. ¡°It wasn¡¯tforhim,¡± she denies. ¡°I smiled because he mentioned my brother.¡± ¡°I can do that too,¡± I reply, desperate to please. ¡°I can talk about your brother, I can get to know him. I¡¯ll be the best fucking friend he¡¯s ever had if that¡¯s what you want.¡± She opens her eyes slowly and smiles at me, those baby blues shining sweetly. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I groan, burying my face into the crook of her neck. ¡°?Qu¨¦ me est¨¢s haciendo?¡± I mutter. The giggle she lets loose when my breath hits her skin shoots straight to my cock. Grabbing her by the waist, I flip her onto her stomach. With a gasp, she ces her weight on her forearms and arches her spine, her belly pressed against the bed. I¡¯m back over her in an instant, caging her in. ¡°I can sense everything about you,¡± I purr. ¡°The steady pick up of your heartbeat, the way your breath hitches, the expansion of your rib cage as you desperately pull in a breath. I¡¯m attuned to every single part of you.¡± Starting at her nape, I caress my fingers gently down her bare back, making her shiver. When Ie into contact with fabric, I sp the zipper of her dress and pause. ¡°I wanted you wearing pink the first time I fucked you,¡± I rasp moodily. ¡°You took that from me.¡± Tess blows out a choked breath when I yank the zipper down roughly,pletely exposing her bare back and ass covered ince underwear. After pushing the sleeves off her arms, I bend and sink my teeth deep into the flesh of her ass. She yelps and rolls onto her back, revealing her almost entirely nude body to me. Straightening to my full height, I drag in a shuddering breath at the alluring way she looks at me. The squeezing in my chest is violent and such a bad fucking sign, but I can¡¯t get myself to care right now. Fisting the skirt of her gown, I pull it past her legs andpletely off her with a tug. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking beautiful,¡± I whisper. ¡°I find it hard to breathe when I look at you sometimes.¡± She blushes. I yank at my bowtie, ripping it from my neck before shrugging off my jacket. I unbutton my white shirt next, looking down at her with barely restrained civility. ¡°Are you ready,amor?¡± She licks her lips and nods vigorously. Her pupils dte dramatically when I shed my shirt, my belt, my shoes and trousers, standing before her in tight ck briefs. My cock tents the fabric, straining against it and begging to be let out. Tess gives a surprised gasp when I wrap my hands around her thighs and tug her to the edge of the bed. Dropping to my knees between her legs, I look up into her heated eyes as I grab her panties between my teeth and slowly pull them off her. The firstsh of my tongue against her pussy makes her squirm. The second makes her cry out. By the third, she¡¯s fisting the bedsheets, her back arched towards the ceiling. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve missed this pussy,¡± I grunt. ¡°So pretty and wet for me.¡± Pulling her lips apart, I expose her swollen clit, trembling and glistening under my perusal. My tongue moves up and down her slit, paying special attention to her entrance but never prating her. Two fingerse down and rub her clit. She bucks but I hold her firmly against the mattress. The need to own her body, to get it to sing and fall apart for me, drives me to tongue her folds like a mad man. ¡°Oh god, Thiago.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°I¨C¡± she gasps, gripping my hair. ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡± Something about her scent drives me absolutely feral, the little humanity I have receding to the background as the animales roaring forward. I can¡¯t get enough of her. ¡°No,preciosa. This is nothing at all.¡± Tickling her entrance with my fingers, I push one in to the hilt. A loud groan rips from her throat as her hipse off the bed. The tightness and warmth of her channel sends fresh arousal to my dick. Turning my face away from her folds, I bite the juicy flesh of her thighs, first one, then the next. Her legs shake on either side of my face. I continue biting up and down her skin, marking up the pale canvas with traces of my passage. The feverish moans that fall from her lips heat my blood. Staring up into her face, I watch her features flex erratically as I add a second finger next to the first. ¡°This pussy is so tight,amor. So tight. Don¡¯t you ever fuck your fingers?¡± I question. ¡°How have you been getting yourself off?¡± ¡°A¡­¡± She bites her lip and moans when my fingers start to move. ¡°A little vibe.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I rumble, aroused. ¡°You press it against this horny clit?¡± The tip of my tonguees back down on her clit, aggressively flicking the little nub and coaxing a building climax from her. ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re upstairs in your room? While I¡¯m down the hall, lying awake thinking about you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I groan. ¡°Confiscated.¡± Tess nods, agreeing blindly. The thrusts of my fingers turn rougher, encouraged by the flustered mewls falling haphazardly from her lips. ¡°The only vibrators you¡¯re allowed from now on are the ones I¡¯ll use when it¡¯s time for us to y. I¡¯ll stuff your holes so full of them, you¡¯ll forget ever having used one without me.¡± She shudders, her words stuttering out when she speaks. ¡°Okay¡­ Oh! What¨Cwhatever you say.¡± Dark satisfaction slithers through me at her words. ¡°Ride my fingers,amor. Ride them like they¡¯re my cock because that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting next.¡± Tess arches her hips and bucks them furiously into my hand, grinding her clit on my palm. Curling my fingers, I brush against a sensitive spot inside her and she groans. The fluttering of her muscles around my fingers tells me she¡¯s on the edge. She throws an arm over her face, shielding herself. I grab her wrist and pin it back down by her side. ¡°Never hide from me when you¡¯re about toe. I want to see your face, I want to categorize the different expressions that fly across your features every time you fall apart for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so close,¡± she pleads. ¡°Ask me to lick your clit.¡± ¡°Please,¡± she gasps. ¡°Please.¡± With a groan of approval I close my lips around her clit and suck the hard, throbbing nub into my mouth. My fingers graze that soft area inside her with rough strokes and she stills. Her eyes fly open and find mine over the mound of her pussy. There¡¯s a long second where all she does is look at me with stunned eyes, and then I scrape my teeth mercilessly over her clit. She throws her head back and screams, her muscles spasming violently around my digits as she falls apart. I continue finger fucking her through the waves of her climax and long after its done, shoving her off the cliff and straight into a second orgasm. Standing, I grip one of her thighs in each hand and look down at her. Her head is turned to the side, eyes closed. She¡¯s catching her breath, trying to settle her racing heartbeat and it¡¯s the hottest thing in the fucking world knowing I did that to her. I pull off my briefs, straightening to find her gaze pinned on my hard cock where it bobs between us. She licks her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± I order. Her gaze snaps up to mine. ¡°You want my cock in your pussy don¡¯t you?¡± She nods and I wrap my fist around my length, stroking itzily. ¡°Stare at my dick like that again and I¡¯ll shove it down your throat first.¡± Her eyes widen before hooding over in arousal and I truly think this girl is going to be the death of me. Dropping a knee down on the bed beneath her bent leg, I drag the head of my cock obscenely up and down her slit, coating myself in her wetness, hyper fixated by the sight of her flesh on mine. ¡°Wait¨C¡± My eyes snap up. ¡°Don¡¯t even try suggesting condoms.¡± She blushes, biting her lip, before admitting, ¡°I¡¯m not on birth control.¡±This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°So?¡± ¡°Well, what if¨C¡± ¡°What if you get pregnant?¡± I finish. My gaze tracks down to where I¡¯m still rubbing my dick against her. Positioning myself against her entrance, I look into her eyes and start to push in. ¡°What if I can¡¯t imagine anything hotter than your belly growing with my child?¡± I question throatily, my tip breaching her. Her mouth parts in a silent gasp as she looks down at where I¡¯m iming her tight pussy and making it mine. ¡°Mywife, havingmybaby. That¡¯s exactly what I want every man who¡¯s ever had designs on you to see,¡± I exin. ¡°No condom.¡± She mewls softly andys back down, brows twisting in concentration as she struggles to take me. ¡°You¡¯re getting ahead of yourself,¡± she breathes. Ie down over her, bracing my hands on either side of her head. Her eyes fly open when my lips touch hers, iming them at the same time as I shove forward a few inches. ¡°Ow,¡± she whimpers softly against my mouth. Her pussy is strangling my cock, the pressure so acute that I can barely move. Gripping her thigh, I bend her leg at the knee and hold it against my side, opening her wider for me. I sink further inside her, but am still only about halfway in. ¡°Rx,amor. Come on, you can take me.¡± A shuddering breath tears through her. ¡°I am,¡± she pants, exining, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­it¡¯s been a while.¡± I still. Possessiveness rolls down my spine and powers my hips forward until I¡¯m thrusting all the way inside her. She chokes out a stunned breath, eyes locking emotionally on mine. I stay buried impossibly deep, unmoving. ¡°How long?¡± I grunt. Vulnerability shades her eyes. She gasps in a needy breath. ¡°A couple of years.¡± The territorial rumble that rips from my chest sounds more animal than man. It might scare her, but I¡¯m powerless to keep it in. ¡°Same.¡± Finding her mouth once more, I kiss her eagerly. I feel her startle against me at my deration and then she¡¯s cupping my jaw and gently pushing me back. Disbelief swirls in her eyes. ¡°What did you say?¡± Throwing her leg over my shoulder, I pull out until only the tip remains inside her. ¡°I haven¡¯t fucked anyone in almost two years,¡± I grunt, wrapping my hand over the front of her throat. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t interested,¡± I answer with azy shrug. Rocking my hips forward, I plunge all nine inches back inside her at once, tightening my hand on her throat and adding darkly. ¡°You¡¯ve changed that. Now that I¡¯ve felt how tight this pussy is and heard the way you moan when I sink inside you, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to be insatiable.¡± A garbled moan rips from her lips but she doesn¡¯t look away. And when I thrust again, and a third time, and a fourth, my thrusts getting progressively faster and rougher, she never takes her eyes off me. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 40 My nerves short circuit, my breathing turning ragged until it¡¯s nothing more than desperate, shallow inhales and sandpapery exhales. Thiago controls my body like a switchboard, making me squirm until it feels like my skin is on fire. He leans over and kisses me, cinnamon exploding on my tongue once again, the taste I¡¯vee to know as his. His hand stays wrapped around my throat as his hips rock back and forth, burying himself inside me, the pace increasing and increasing until I¡¯m a whimpering, sobbing mess. Thiago is equally affected, loud moans slipping through our joint lips and into my mouth. He doesn¡¯t hold back his noises as he pumps inside me. He¡¯s vocal,pletely shameless in the way he announces his pleasure, just like he promised. ¡°You feel so fucking good,¡± he breathes against my mouth. Shivers rack his body as his hips move. ¡°You¡¯re taking me so well.¡± I whine in response and he moves from my lips down to the line of my jaw, alternating between kisses and nips, until his mouth is pressed against my ear. ¡°Let it out,amor,¡± he rasps, hot breath on my skin. ¡°Feel the way my cock is iming this pussy. Feel how you¡¯re taking every inch of me. All that attitude and sass but underneath it you¡¯re such a good girl for me.¡± The way he talks me through it, praising every moan, every flutter of my muscles has me spiraling towards a blinding pleasure I¡¯m not sure I can handle. When rough hands grip my waist and a hot mouth closes around my needy nipple, I freeze, right on the edge. Thiago rips his mouth off me and meets my gaze. ¡°Don¡¯te without asking me,¡± he growls. Reaching down, he starts furiously rubbing my clit and I shriek. ¡°Oh,god! Can Ie?¡± ¡°No.¡± My eyes fly to his, wide and panicked. I¡¯m no more in control of the looming, explosive climax as I would be an approaching tornado. ¡°Pl¨C¡± ¡°Hold it,¡± he orders. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I cry.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°You haven¡¯t begged enough.¡± ¡°Thiago,¡± I gasp, clenching around his length in my desperation to keep my orgasm at bay. He groans loudly, throwing his head back. ¡°Please. Please let mee. I really need toe.¡± He squeezes my throat once more, leisurely strokes pushing in and out of me. ¡°Will you let me fuck this pussy whenever I want?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± he curses when I squeeze him again. ¡°You¡¯re choking my dick.¡± The effort of holding my climax back starts to turn the pleasure into pain. I beg one final time, my voice threadbare. ¡°Please¡­¡± His hips pull back and then he powers inside me with one devastating stroke. ¡°Come for me,amor.¡± White-hot heat pulses behind my eyes as I let go. My orgasm rolls destructively through me until I shatter with a loud scream, my muscles spasming almost violently around Thiago¡¯s cock. He keeps pumping roughly inside me, talking to me and praising me the entire way through. When I open my eyes, I find him smiling smugly down at me, a darkly pleased look on his face. ¡°I told you you¡¯d beg.¡± The satisfaction in his eyes wraps around me. My earlier confession had been a long time in the making. It hadn¡¯t felt dirty at all, like I was giving up a part of myself by giving in. Like I thought it would. Thiago slides his arms under my knees and scoops me into his arms. My handse around his neck with a shocked gasp when he stands. It quickly morphs into a low moan when I settle into his embrace. At this angle, seated on him with my legs spread to the sides, I¡¯m so deeply impaled on his length that I¡¯m stretched to the limit. My head drops onto his shoulder, my face burying into his neck as he pins me against the bedroom wall. ¡°I¡¯m not done,¡± he breathes, rocking his hips up and driving inside me to the hilt. ¡°I can¡¯t get enough of you.¡± Our first time isn¡¯t going the way I thought it would. I expected the violent madman topletely take over. And yes, he¡¯s rough and he¡¯s crude, making me blush to the roots of my hair, but he¡¯s also tender, almost reverently so. He looks at me like he can¡¯t believe he¡¯s fucking me. Unblinkingly, as if he¡¯s afraid that if he closes his eyes, I¡¯ll disappear. I lick tentatively at his neck, aiming to mark him like he marked me. When he moans encouragingly, I suck him into my mouth, suctioning the sensitive skin between my lips. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s been celibate like me for thest couple of years. I¡¯d prioritized my job, wanting to prove that I was deserving to take over from my father, so romantic and sexual rtionships had been deprioritized and ultimately had faded to the background. But I¡¯d assumed Thiago was a manwhore, that he¡¯d at least slept with other people while I was on the run. Women throw themselves at him constantly, you only have to look at tonight to know that for the truth it is, and still he never gave in. ¡°My body will fail me before my mind does,¡± he grunts, thrusting up inside me. ¡°If it was up to me, I¡¯d fuck you uninterrupted into next week. Until you can¡¯t walk, until you can¡¯t remember what it feels like to not have me between your legs. You¡¯ll never know that feeling again.¡± Thiago wraps my hair around his fist and tugs my head back, pulling my mouth off his neck and opening my throat to him. He starts pumping into me so roughly, my teeth rattle. He watches my face, taking in every flutter of my eyelids, every blush of my cheeks. One arm holds me up by my ass, grabbing fistfuls of my cheeks with greedy fingers and making me moan dementedly in the process. The heat builds inside me, the intimacy of being pinned between his body and the wall, of feeling his heartbeat through his chest, making me delirious. Leaning forward, I im his lips in a burning kiss as oblivion takes me and Ie loudly once again. He makes a pained sound against my mouth and pulls away. The expression on his face is tormented, like he¡¯s trying to hold his own climax back. ¡°Look how easily youe for me,¡± he grits out, still fucking me. ¡°I barely have to do anything and look at you. Coming apart again, your juices dripping every fucking where.¡± I reach for him with one hand, cupping his nape and bringing him closer to me. With the other, I wrap around his body and grip his ass, my fingers digging eagerly into his flesh. His eyes sh hotly, his muscles tensing. ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± I breathe. ¡°I love the way your cock feels.¡± Thiago grits his teeth, his eyes closing. Then he throws his head back and he roars, thrusting his cock all the way inside me and staying there. His abdomen works, flexing and constricting against my belly as hees, shooting his load into my pussy. He slumps forward, the hand in my hair pping against the wall next to my head. He holds me tightly against him as his foreheades down on my shoulder this time. Frantic breaths rip from his chest as he works to calm his breathing. I drag my nails up his back on both sides, the gentle caress making him shiver. Finally, he turns his face and presses an open mouthed kiss against my throat. ¡°Do you understand what you do to me now? Why I had to chase you halfway around the world to have you?¡± Softer, he mumbles, ¡°I knew I was supposed to wait for you,amor.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 41 Thiago pulls out and I whimper. He sets me on the ground, his handing up to hold my hip. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nod, finding my feet. ¡°Just a little sore.¡± Cupping my nape, he bends and kisses my forehead. ¡°Lo siento, preciosa.¡± I push off the wall and close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek against his chest. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ready for this to end this just yet,¡± I admit softly. His arms close around me, holding me tight. ¡°What do you think is ending?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say with a casual shrug. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± He palms my shoulders and pushes me back, looking keenly down into my eyes. ¡°Home.¡± I think about his home, about how things have been for us there. The only times we¡¯ve reallye together are in the middle of the night, almost in secret like we didn¡¯t want anyone to know. I realize I¡¯m the reason things have been that way, but I don¡¯t want that anymore. ¡°Each in our own bedroom.¡± His fingeres under my chin and he lifts it until I meet his eyes again. ¡°No,¡± he says simply. ¡°No more separate bedrooms. You¡¯ll sleep in our bed moving forward,amor.¡± My heart lurches against my rib cage at his emphatic tone. Is it reallyourbed, I wonder? ¡°Has anyone else slept in it?¡± A slow grin spreads across his face and his arm tightens around me. ¡°You have no idea how much I love this jealous side of you,¡± he purrs. ¡°No other women outside of the cartel have ever even been to the mansion. That¡¯s why it¡¯sours.¡± A timid smile touches my lips. ¡°Okay.¡± For a moment, Thiago looks down at me. There¡¯s a quiet, forceful intensity in his stare that creates a swell in my chest. He reaches out to cup my face, the pad of his thumb gently stroking my cheek, his gaze contemtive. ¡°Are you ready to ept the fact that you¡¯re my wife now?¡± I never thought there¡¯de a day where that question didn¡¯t immediately make me want to run for the hills, but I¡¯m standing in front of him still, feet firmly nted on the ground. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore, both against what feels like the inevitable but also against my own emerging feelings. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do this¡ª¡± ¡°This?¡± he questions. ¡°Be married.¡± His hand tightens on my cheek, his eyes shing. ¡°There¡¯s no if,amor, you¡ª¡± I set a palm on his chest, quieting him. ¡°If we¡¯re doing this, we should try and do it right. That¡¯s what I was going to say. I have to be able to trust you and you have to trust me in return.¡± When a shift in the air makes me shiver, Thiago reaches for my discarded gown and gets down on one knee, helping me put it back on until I¡¯m holding the front up against my chest. Hands on my hips twist me to face the wall as he silently pulls the back zipper closed. He grips a handful of my ass when he¡¯s done, making me yelp. ¡°Sorry, couldn¡¯t help it.¡± He doesn¡¯t sound sorry at all. In fact, I can hear the smile in his words without even turning around. When I do, I find him already in his trousers, looking down at his belt as he tightens it. He reaches for his shirt, looking back expectantly at me. ¡°Trust obviously isn¡¯t going to happen overnight, but maybe,¡± I pause, finding my words. ¡°Maybe you can start by telling me about Adriana.¡± A shadow crosses his face before he hides it smoothly behind the mask of control he always wears. I wonder if he¡¯s grieved her death. Vengeance is one thing, but grief is another altogether. Something tells me he hasn¡¯t let himself feel that pain. He looks down at where his hands work the buttons of his shirt. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± His fingers falter when I touch him. I take over for him, slowly buttoning his shirt from the bottom up. ¡°How old was she?¡± ¡°When she died? She¡¯d just turned twenty-three.¡± My stomach twists in response. We¡¯d be more or less the same age today. ¡°What happened?¡± I question softly. ¡°She was kidnapped from a club.Firenze.¡± Realization shes in his eyes and his handse back to my waist, his touch urgent. ¡°You¡¯re forbidden from ever going back.¡± I part my lips to tell him his tight grip is hurting me, but he mistakes my mouth opening as potential disagreement. ¡°That¡¯s non-negotiable. I don¡¯teverwant you going back there. If you feel like going out, I¡¯ll take you somewhere better. Somewhere safer.¡± The chaotic look in his eye pierces right through my chest. It exposes a part of him I haven¡¯t seen before. I shake my head. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t go.¡± His shoulders drop with his low exhale, the sudden tension in his body easing somewhat. He releases me and even though I¡¯d been about to tell him he was hurting me, I find myself missing his touch. ¡°After she was kidnapped, my father received an anonymous, untraceable message telling us she was murdered in retaliation for crimes of the cartel. To punish him for unnamed acts he¡¯dmitted. They included her finger.¡± I inhale sharply, my hand flying to my mouth. ¡°She always wore our mother¡¯s engagement ring on her right hand. You can imagine it being returned to my father in that way.¡± He breathes violently through his nose. ¡°Their final act of punishment was telling us they¡¯d never reveal the location of her body. That we¡¯d have to live the rest of our lives wondering what happened to her in her final hours and what they did with her remains.¡± It¡¯s my turn to cup his face, forcing him to look back down at me. His brows twitch when he sees the tears on my face. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I can¡¯t even imagine going through something like that. You didn¡¯t deserve it.¡± ¡°Yes, we did.¡± He sps my hands and removes them from his face, bringing them down between us. ¡°Don¡¯t cry for me,amor, I don¡¯t deserve your tears. You know exactly who I am. What I¡¯ve done. My father made me in his image; whatever I¡¯m guilty of, he¡¯s done a hundred times over. This business is war and people pay in blood for every victory, for every new inch of power. There are an innumerable amount of people who would slit my or my father¡¯s throats for revenge if given the opportunity.Wedeserve worse than death. But Adriana.¡± He stumbles. ¡°Adriana did nothing wrong. She was never involved with the business, never wanted anything to do with it. She always said she was a pacifist,¡± he says with a rueful smile. ¡°She studiedbotany, for fuck¡¯s sake. All she wanted was to work with nts, to have a couple cats, and to live in a home with arge garden where she could nt anything she wanted. That¡¯s it. She came to London to celebrate her graduation. She was innocent. Killing her never made any sense to me,¡± he continues. ¡°I never understood why anyone would willingly make an enemy out of us. They had to know our retaliation strategy would beplete annihtion.¡± I blow out a shuddering breath. The truth is so far from what I expected. I¡¯d fabricated this entire story in my head about her, blindly hating her based on my own foolish rush to judgment. ¡°Have you found the person responsible?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± He looks off to the side and awareness brushes up my spine. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± His gaze slides back to mine, his brow raising. ¡°Or at the very least, you¡¯re hiding something.¡± The ghost of a smile touches his lips. ¡°You know my tells already,amor?¡± Picking up his discarded bow tie, I slip it around his neck, leaving it hanging on his chest. I can¡¯t bring myself to finish tying it. There¡¯s something about him looking unruly, about him looking just a little undone, that I love. He¡¯s ck tattoos and a lethal gaze and bloody knuckles. He was never meant to be constrained by something as formal and restrictive as a tuxedo. My eyes flick up to meet his. ¡°This is about trust, remember? So trust me. Earlier, you said you¡¯d show me something if I wanted. What was it?¡± Those same knucklese up to brush my cheek, the contrast between the knives etched on his skin and the tender touch ridiculous. ¡°You want to see?¡± I nod. ¡°Why? he asks. ¡°I thought you hated this world even more than she did.¡± ¡°Because she was innocent and whoever killed her should pay,¡± I exin. ¡°Protecting the ones you love at all costs is not something I have any trouble understanding. So show me.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to scare you.¡± I lift an unwavering look at him and set my jaw. He already knows how stubborn I can be. ¡°I can handle it.¡± He hums thoughtfully and thumbs my lip, staring at my mouth contemtively for long moments. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. ¡°Nothing.¡± His eyes lift to mine. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering how your father could ever have willingly parted with you.¡± His words are raw and honest. They hit me like a punch to the sr plexus. I have a hard time reconciling this man with the violent cartel boss I know him to be, and yet they¡¯re one and the same. ¡°When he finally realizes his fuck up, it¡¯ll be toote. I won¡¯t give you back.¡± ¡°He¡¯s unlikely to ever see it as a mistake.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he growls, kissing my forehead again. ¡°I can show you what I know about Adriana now if that¡¯s what you want.¡± My heart picks up in anticipation. I nod. ¡°I want to know. Show me.¡± Thiago gives me a pleased smile, then looks around onest time to make sure we¡¯re not forgetting anything. His palmes to the small of my back as he guides me out the door. ¡°We¡¯ll take the car. It¡¯s about a twenty minute drive from here so it won¡¯t take long.¡± He keeps talking, walking beside me as we head back towards the main entrance where we left our coats. On impulse, I reach for his hand and take it in mine. Hees to a slow stop, eventually looking down at where our fingers are threaded together. His expression is somewhere between riveted and mystified. I¡¯m about to pull my hand out of his and mumble some kind of embarrassed apology when he lifts it to his mouth. He presses a soft kiss on the back of my hand, his eyes staring intently deep into my soul. Something indescribable passes between us in that small, unimportant moment, but I know I¡¯ll keep a memory of it in my heart forever.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Without another word, he takes off again. Except this time, my hand is buried in his and he¡¯s squeezing my fingers like he¡¯s nning on never letting go. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 42 The car pulls up outside of what looks like an abandoned Tube station. In the ck of night, the location looks even more eerie and unweing. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Thiago announces. He turns towards me. ¡°Last chance to change your mind.¡± I shake my head stubbornly, looking a lot more confident than I feel. My first foray into this world scares me, but if I¡¯m going to survive the Underworld, I need to know it. I need to master it like I would anything else. And if the roles were reversed, I¡¯d want him to do everything he could to help me find my brother¡¯s killer. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I say assertively. ¡°What is it you¡¯re showing me exactly?¡± ¡°Augusto Leone.¡± My breath falters, but I don¡¯t let him see it. I don¡¯t know the name. Part of me had expected this to involve a captive of some sort, but the confirmation is still jarring to hear. ¡°Who is he? Is he the one who killed her?¡± ¡°He ims to know nothing about any of this,¡± Thiago answers, getting out of the car and extending a hand out to me. Taking it, I follow after him. ¡°But he¡¯s lying. And he¡¯s thecapoof the Italian mafia.¡± My eyes widen in shock and dart around us to see who can hear. Arturo and two other mene out of a follow car, staying a secure distance away from us but eyeing our surroundings carefully to scope out any threats. ¡°You kidnapped the head of the Italian mafia?¡± I ask disbelievingly. I know nothing about how his world works but it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that move is akin to dropping a nuclear bomb on the London Underworld. ¡°Isn¡¯t that insanely dangerous? Do they know you have him? Are they going to attack us?¡± I don¡¯t miss the way I refer to the cartel asusand neither does Thiago. He lifts an interested brow my way but says nothing. He simply drops my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t hold my hand again once we go in,¡± he instructs. He turns on his heel and disappears into the abandoned station. I try to hide the wounded expression on my face, but I¡¯m pretty sure I fail. At least he¡¯s gone so he doesn¡¯t see it. But someone else does. ¡°Well, are you going to follow him in or not, Barbie?¡± Arturo asks impatiently. ¡°Or perhaps you¡¯re too afraid?¡± I re at him and do something that would send my mother into a fainting spell if she ever saw me. I flip him off, coupling it with a snide expression. It feels almost therapeutic. I might have to start doing it more often. Without waiting for his reaction, I push into the darkness and follow after my husband. My vision adapts quickly to the dark but it doesn¡¯t go on for long anyway. Bulkhead lights are affixed to the walls every hundred feet or so. They illuminate Thiago¡¯s back as he waits for me at the bottom of a set of stairs that lead into a long hallway. ¡°What is this ce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dmissioned bomb shelter from World War II.¡± I nod, looking around me in awe. ¡°I heard these were all over the city, but I¡¯ve never seen one, let alone been in one.¡± ¡°First andst time,¡± he notes. He starts walking again, turning left, then right, until we¡¯re so deep into the maze I have no idea how to get out. Hisfort with the space reveals how much time he¡¯s spent here. This must be a base of theirs, which makes sense. Although I never thought the Underworld would actually beunder. It¡¯s brilliant. We pass a number of rooms with metallic doors sporting sliding speakeasy grills. It sends a shiver down my spine thinking about how many people must have been held here. Footsteps behind me tell me the other three men are following us. I¡¯m surprised there¡¯s not more security dedicated to protecting the space, but I assume that would draw unwanted attention here. Finally, Thiagoes to a stop in front of arge door. His palmes up to push it open, but he pauses. His face turns to the side and then his eyes flick up to mine. There¡¯s hesitation in them when he looks at me and that too is new. I¡¯ve never seen him be anything other than overly confident in every one of his decisions. But now he falters, indecision shing in his gaze and jittery energy making his fists clench restlessly as he grapples with whether or not to let me in. ¡°Show me,¡± I say encouragingly one final time. His jaw shifts side to side, his gaze assessing for long moments. Then he nods once, sharply. I watch in real time as his gaze shutters. He straightens and cool menace washes over his entire body. He looks like apletely different person, distant and indifferent as he stares down at me, and I realize that the man from earlier who took so much delight in giving me pleasure is gone. Standing before me instead is the ruthless cartel boss. The ease with which he shifts between the two is hair raising, but he¡¯s doing what I asked. I¡¯m the one who wanted to see this. Thiago shoves the door open and strides in easily, the other men following after him with their guns drawn, leaving me alone in the hallway. I step out of my stilettos, bending to carry them in one hand by the heel. The idea of standing in that room in them makes me feel vulnerable and I need all the armor I can get right now. With a breath, I steel my shoulders and follow after Thiago. The room isrge and empty. The only thing inside it is one chair on which sits one man. Or at least, what remains of one man. He¡¯s tied by thick lengths of rope, his head drooped forward, and he¡¯s entirely covered in blood. There¡¯s so much of it, my brain can¡¯tpute where it could all possibly being from. Behind him, stand Marco and a man I know is named Fabian. The barbaric expression on his face terrifies me, as does therge cleaver dripping with blood that hangs from his hand. ¡°Leone.¡± Thiago¡¯s voice slices through the silence with the kind of authority most men only dream of having. I¡¯m frozen to the spot, barely five feet inside the room and unable to make my body move any further. I¡¯mpletely out of my element here and my muscles shake with unease.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Augusto Leone doesn¡¯t react for so long that I start to think he must already be dead. That would certainly exin the amount of blood. Then, so slowly I miss it at first, he starts to lift his head. He reveals his face little by little and I bite back a gasp. Joker lines have been carved into either side of his mouth, pulling it into a terrifying makeshift rictus. Leone keeps lifting his head until his eyes are fully visible. But they don¡¯t go to Thiago, who¡¯s standing in front of him, and they don¡¯t go to Arturo, who¡¯s just off to the side, gun drawn but hanging by his side, or to Marco and Fabian who hover right over him. Theye straight to me, where I¡¯m still hesitating by the door. And any pity I may have started to feel evaporates in an instant because his pupils cken sadistically and his eyes rake lewdly down my body with the promise of the kind of violence women don¡¯t survive shining in them. Fear grabs me by the throat and chokes me. The eye contact ends after less than a second when Thiago shifts to the side and ces his body in front of mine,pletely blocking me from Leone¡¯s view. ¡°Don¡¯t look at her,¡± he says dispassionately. ¡°Look at me.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 43 Idon¡¯t make many mistakes. They¡¯re an anomaly if they happen and so rare that in a scientific analysis of my game y, they¡¯d be considered statistically insignificant. But it takes me less than five seconds to realize I made a mistake bringing Tess here. ¡°Who¡¯s the girl?¡± Leone rasps interestedly. They¡¯re the first words he¡¯s spoken in days and they¡¯re about to be hisst. It takes burying my hands in my trouser pockets to hide just how tightly my fists clench in response to his suicidal question. ¡°You can speak,¡± I say, ignoring him as I fight to regain control over my focus. ¡°And here I thought Marco might have cut out your tongue and forgotten to tell me about it.¡± Bringing Tess here after I just fucked her for the first time was a bad idea. I¡¯m beyondpromised. I¡¯m edgy, shaky, and uneasy, like a lifetime smoker who¡¯s on hour forty-eight of nicotine withdrawal and about to lose it. Protectiveness contorts my insides. I can¡¯t let the fucker see it. All I can think about is the fact that she¡¯s within ten feet of a man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to cut her to pieces if he thought it would hurt me in any way. I should have set up a camera and remote feed and shown her that way. I don¡¯t let myself look at her or acknowledge her in any way. His eyes flicker interestedly when I move to stand between them. Fuck. ¡°Tell me why theFamigliawent after Adriana,¡± I demand. ¡°What did you gain from having her killed?¡± Leone should understand better than anyone my need for revenge. His son, Ro, was found murdered in an alley a month ago, his killers still in the wind. We should be united by amon goal, but it¡¯s toote for that now. He ignores me, his gaze meeting mine when he repeats his question, intelligent eyes watching to pick my reaction apart. ¡°Who¡¯s the girl?¡± The muscle in my jaw ticks dangerously in response. ¡°Why did you involve Dadurian?¡± I continue as if my temper isn¡¯t ticking like a time bomb. ¡°If you wanted to keep your hands clean, you did a piss poor job of it. That fucker led us right back to your family with barely any effort.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a tasty little number,Diablo. I didn¡¯t peg you as someone who¡¯d have a thing for blondes.¡± He licks his lips. ¡°Looking at her though, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t get it.¡± My eyelid twitches. My jaw ticks dangerously. He¡¯s baiting me and I won¡¯t rise to it. I¡¯m chanting it to myself over and over again, hoping if I say it enough times, I¡¯ll actually fucking listen. ¡°Tell me where the fuck Adriana¡¯s body is.¡± Blood leaks from his mouth, seeping from between his teeth and from the cuts on his face, and continuing gruesomely down his chin. Speaking is excruciating for him, the effort of moving his lips draining him almostpletely. With a ghastly-sounding inhale, he throws his head back and opens his mouth once more. And based on the expression on his face, I know that I¡¯m not going to like whatever it is he¡¯s about to say. ¡°When I have Blondie here taken from you, I¡¯ll make sure they give you her body back this time,¡± he rasps, voice barely lifting above a whisper. ¡°She¡¯ll be well used, her holes nice and stretched out for you from her time spent with theFamiglia, but at least you¡¯ll know what happened to this one.¡± Pressure explodes bright and white behind my eye and I ck out. When Ie to mere secondster, I¡¯m standing over Leone with his hair clenched in one fist and my knife clutched in the other, stabbing him repeatedly in the throat with frantic, jerking shes of my wrist. The de jams in again and again, all the way to the hilt with each vicious stroke as I hack away at him barbarically. There¡¯s a fric mindlessness to my actions as I roar my fury dementedly in his face. Blood gushes in increasinglyme spurts from his wounds and covers me. When the adrenaline recedes, I realize that he¡¯s long dead even as I continue to butcher his body. His lips are twisted and frozen in a final, gleeful smile like he got what he wanted. He wanted me to kill him, to end his misery. ¡°Fuck!¡± I boom deafeningly, kicking the chair until he falls back and shouting my wrath open-throated at the ceiling. ¡°Fuck!Maldita sea.¡± ¡°Jefe¨C¡± Arturo starts. I cut him off with a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t say a fucking word.¡± I can hardly see. The anger is still throttling me and dangerously dotting my vision. I need a second to breathe before it takes him out next. There¡¯s nothing he can say that I¡¯m not already screaming at myself. I justpletely fucked our only lead. Leone never spoke, he never gave us anything to go on from here, and I killed him. He was trying to get me to do exactly that and I lost my shit and fell for it in less than ten minutes. But the vision of Tess that my imagination was kind enough to conjure and burn into the back of my eyelids at his words, the one of her broken, mangled body returned to me, is still so fresh and vivid in my mind that I¡¯m about to continue desecrating his corpse just for the fun of it. My blood rings in my ears and thrashes in my veins and I¡¯m d thehijueputais dead because there¡¯s no universe in which she lives where I would have allowed him to keep breathing too. I would never have slept again knowing she could be in danger. When I turn around, I find her standing by the door, hair wildly down around her shoulders, her blue dress criminal in the way it¡¯s hugging her curves and her heels held in her hand. There¡¯s something about seeing her barefoot, holding her shoes, that undoes mepletely. She looks so young. Fragile, even though I know she isn¡¯t. Completely at odds with the situation. The thought that this is what Leone saw when he looked at her makes me even more furious. She¡¯s shaking violently, a shocked expression on her face, and she¡¯s white as a sheet. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s horror at what she just witnessed, terror at her seeing with her own eyes exactly what kind of monster I am, or pure, unadulterated disgust at the blood dripping off my clothes and hand. I stride towards her, needing to touch her, to take her away from the darkness where she doesn¡¯t belong. Relief loosens the muscles of my stomach when she takes a stumbling step towards me instead of shrinking away. It immediately leadens when a haze passes over her eyes. And then she faints, crumbling to the ground like a broken doll. I catch her inches from the floor, scooping her into my arms and holding her tightly against my chest. She¡¯s so pale the veins under her eyes appear beneath her skin. ¡°Is she alright?¡± Arturo questions,ing to my side. ¡°Just shock, I think. I¡¯m taking her home. Clean this up,¡± I ask. ¡°Dump his body on the front steps ofFirenze.¡± ¡°If we do that, it¡¯ll be like leaving a calling card saying that it was us.¡± Fresh anger fires through my veins when I look down at an unconscious Tess and hear Leone¡¯s threats against her echo in my head. ¡°I want them to know it was me. Let them know no one is safe until Adriana¡¯s killer is dead at my feet.¡± He nods, looking back at Leone thoughtfully before facing me. ¡°Guess this leaves the door wide open for Matteo Leone to be the newcapo.¡± Matteo Leone is a mystery. Very little is known about the only living son of Augusto Leone and the apparent heir to the Italian mafia. If he¡¯s a sadistic, violent, piece of shit, he hasn¡¯t been a show off with his tendencies, unlike histe father and brother. But the Italian mafia is like a hydra ¨C you cut off one head, they grow back and multiply. I have no doubt he¡¯ll do anything to avenge his father. Well, like I said. Let theme. ??? Tess doesn¡¯t open her eyes again until we¡¯re back home. I brush Diana away when she runs up to me, face worried, and take my wife up to the master bathroom instead. ¡°What happened?¡± Tess asks,ing to. I¡¯m relieved to see most of the color is back in her cheeks. She rubs at her eyes as I set her on the counter next to therge marble sink. She looks around with an intrigued look on her face. ¡°Is this your bathroom?¡± ¡°Our bathroom,¡± I correct, holding her by the hip to make sure she doesn¡¯t topple over. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Fine, I¨C¡± A confused look furrows her brow, her eyes scanning side to side as if searching her memory. ¡°I can¡¯t remember what happened, did I faint?¡± I grab her ankles and turn her so she faces the sink, her shoulder resting against the bathroom mirror. ¡°You did.¡± ¡°Wh¨C¡± With a guarded look, I watch as realization crosses her features. She reys the moments leading up to her fainting spell, her eyes widening. I expect her expression to turn to one of fear or disgust, for her to pull away again, but instead it¡¯s dismay that appears next. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she whispers, looking down.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . My back tenses. ¡°What for?¡± I hate the way she won¡¯t meet my eye. ¡°I thought I could handle it, but I couldn¡¯t.¡± Her tone cleaves at my chest. I cup her face and force her to look at me. She tilts her cheek into my touch, looking up at me with soft eyes. Eyes that hold the depths of the entire ocean in them, ones whose gaze slithers beneath my skin and burrows deep into my bones. ¡°You have nothing to be sorry for,¡± I answer quietly. ¡°Was it the blood? Or because I killed him?¡± Turning the sink on, I test the temperature of the water with my finger until it¡¯s warm, waiting for her reply. ¡°No, not that. He¡­¡± she trails off when I take her ankles and ce her feet in the sink, under the hot jet of water. ¡°He scared me,¡± she admits, her tone embarrassed. ¡°The things he said he¡¯d do to me.¡± My eyes close, my hands tightening stiffly on her. In a heartbeat, I¡¯m back there, standing in front of Leone, all the blood in my body freezing in ce as he threatens Tess. Hearing that he scared her so much she fainted makes me want to discover the cure for bringing a man back to life just so I can kill him again. Slower this time. Breathing out a steadying exhale through my nose, I reach for the soap and pump some into my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll never let anything happen to you. I promise.¡± She wraps a hand around my elbow, pulling my attention to her. ¡°And you keep your promises.¡± My eyes flick up to hers before I smirk and answer. ¡°Always.¡± Her gaze turns thoughtful, her fingers digging into my flesh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to kill him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I reply through gnashed teeth. She shakes her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sorry he¡¯s dead. I¡¯m sorry that he won¡¯t be able to tell you where Adriana¡¯s body is. I never meant for that to happen.¡± Grabbing the top of her foot, Ither it with soap until thick suds fall off her skin. I do so for long seconds, getting lost in the motions of washing her. Eventually, I say. ¡°I¡¯ll find another way.¡± My hands move to her other foot, repeating the same process I did with the first. ¡°What are you doing?¡± My hand slips around to the bottom of her foot, passing over it repeatedly until it¡¯s clean. She giggles softly, instantly hardening my dick in the process. ¡°Washing your feet,¡± I answer. ¡°Why did you take your shoes off?¡± Her tone is bemused when she replies, as if she can¡¯t quite believe what I¡¯m doing. Understandable, I¡¯ve never washed anyone else¡¯s feet before. ¡°I wanted to be morefortable.¡± ¡°One of my men could have gotten you a chair. Ask next time so you don¡¯t have to dirty these pretty little feet,¡± I growl, looking at her and pressing a kiss against the top of her now clean foot. Sheughs. ¡°Do you have a foot fetish or something?¡± I shake my head slowly, the ghost of a smile tugging at my lips. ¡°No, I have a you fetish.¡± Lust blooms like plumes of smoke in her eyes and she reaches for me. Her arms twine around the back of my neck and her lipse down on mine, wiping away thest lingering thoughts of violence with a sweet kiss. My hands go to her waist, pulling her off the sink and wrapping her legs around me. With her clinging to me, I march us into the bedroom where I take my wife for the first time in our marital bed. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 44 ¡°It¡¯s great to have you back in the office, Tess,¡± a colleague of mine named Chelsea says when we cross paths in the break room. ¡°We missed you around here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so good to be back!¡± I exim truthfully. ¡°I missed you guys like crazy.¡± She walks off with her coffee in one hand, waving with the other, leaving me to wait for my still brewing coffee. I¡¯m buzzing with excitement and hardly able to stand still. My return to the office has gone even better than I could have imagined. I¡¯d ended up dying it by another week, convinced by a very persuasive Thiago to extend our so-called honeymoon a few more days. Although, thest week has felt much more like an actual honeymoon than the first two. Ever since that night at the Telliers¡¯, we¡¯ve spent almost every moment together. He simrly didn¡¯t leave the house for work, taking the rare urgent meeting in his study and thening to find me immediately after. True to his word, he¡¯s been absolutely insatiable. Every time I came out of the shower, he would inevitably rip the towel off me and fuck me on the bed. We also kept up our midnight ice cream ritual and he got his revenge for all my previous teasing by bending me over the kitchen ind and sliding into my pussy while he fed me some rocky road. There was even one time where I was bent over helping Diana empty the dishwasher when he came up behind me and grabbed my hips. Poor Diana had less than five seconds to run out of there before my pants were off and he was burying himself inside me to the hilt. I apologized to her the following day, taking the opportunity to also say sorry for previous bad behavior. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for how I reacted when you mentioned Adriana a few weeks ago,¡± I¡¯d said. ¡°That¡¯s alright,se?ora.¡± ¡°No, you see, I thought¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t know. I thought she was¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t been able to find the words to exin the story I¡¯d invented in my head, but Diana had understood. Her eyes widenedically. ¡°You thought she was his lover?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her face had fallen into a kind smile. ¡°Ah,querida, then you reacted appropriately. Maybe you even underreacted. If I thought you¡¯d brought up my husband¡¯s ex-lover to me, I would have scratched your eyes out.¡± I¡¯dughed and we¡¯d hugged. Then I¡¯d had her tell me all about Adriana. The more I learned about her, the sadder I became that I¡¯d never gotten to meet my sister-inw. She sounded fun and vibrant, the kind of person Dagny and I would have been instant friends with. It only further strengthened my resolve to help Thiago find her killer. He told me he didn¡¯t have any other leads yet, and I believed him. But when he¡¯de out of his study after those urgent meetings over the past week, he¡¯d looked stressed. Well, as stressed as he could look. His shoulders were tense, his face tight, his mind faraway. When questioned, he wouldn¡¯t tell me what was going on. My fainting at the bomb shelter had hardened him against involving me in his affairs. I couldn¡¯t fault him for that decision, but I was determined to get him to confide in me what problems he was facing. Even now, my skin still gets cold thinking about what Augusto Leone threatened me with. His face had been obscured by Thiago¡¯s body so his words alone had been spine-chilling enough to scare me to my bones. Over the past week, I¡¯d woken up on more than one asion in the middle of the night, my heart racing in fear that someone wasing to take me. Each time, I¡¯d awoken held tightly in Thiago¡¯s arms, his bare chest enveloping me like a cocoon and immediately calming my anxiety. They¡¯re nightmares and not reality, and I know I¡¯ll get over them soon. Still, being able to go back to work this morning has been a blessing. Now I¡¯ve got something else to upy my racing thoughts so I¡¯m not continually spiraling in a swell of anxiety. ¡°So the rumors are true. You are back.¡± A smile breaks out across my face before I¡¯ve even turned around. I fling myself into the speaker¡¯s arms, hugging him tightly even though I know he¡¯ll hate it. ¡°Wiz,¡± I whisper affectionately. Pushing him away but holding onto his shoulders, I look up into his face. He¡¯s unchanged and familiar and I¡¯m so happy to see him. ¡°What the hell are you doing up here?¡± ¡°I had to see for myself if the gossip was true.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know the gossip traveled all the way down to the second floor.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be surprised,¡± he replies in his usual even tone. Grinning, I turn away and grab my coffee mug. He walks alongside me as we head towards my office. ¡°You didn¡¯t have toe up yourself, I know you don¡¯t like to. I was going toe to see youter, it¡¯s just been a crazy first day back as you can imagine.¡± ¡°I hacked your calendar and emails to make sure you were free before I came up, so I have no need for imagination.¡± With a snort, I head into my office and settle behind my desk. He follows, dropping easily into the chair opposite me. ¡°Why did youe back?¡± he asks. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly of my own free will,¡± I exin. ¡°Your father forced you back?¡± My father is apparently away on business, so I haven¡¯t had to see him. It¡¯s made the return to the office that much smoother. ¡°No, I¡­ I was never running from him, Wiz. I was running from someone else. He found me and brought me back. But I¡¯m not¡­ I don¡¯t mind. I think I¡¯m making it work. I¡¯m happy to be back.¡± I stumble on the words,cking the appropriate self-awareness to correctly diagnose what I¡¯m feeling and how tomunicate it back to my friend. Ithasbeen nice being back, something I never thought I¡¯d be caught dead saying a month ago. And the way thest week has gone has me feeling embers of the most dangerous emotion of all. Hope. Hope that maybe this could be a life I could make something of. Hope that one day my marriage with Thiago might even turn into something more than just a physical rtionship. ¡°Can I assume that whoever ¡®he¡¯ is, he¡¯s responsible for that massive ring on your finger?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I look down at the diamond, ying with it absentmindedly before flicking my gaze back up to Wiz¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m married now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t escape the arranged marriage?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to hear that. Happily married at least?¡± I blow out a breath, going for the easiest answer. ¡°Sort of?¡± Heughs, the first time I¡¯ve ever heard him do so. ¡°You¡¯re one of a kind, Tess. Whoever he is, I hope he knows that.¡± He stands, heading for the door. ¡°Let me know if you ever need to run away again. I¡¯ll do better next time.¡± ¡°Wiz.¡± He pauses, turning back towards me. ¡°You gave me a taste of freedom when you helped me disappear, and I know you risked a lot to do it. I can¡¯t ever thank you enough for what you did for me, but I hope to try one day.¡± He looks at me impassively, not doing well with processing the note of emotion in my tone. ¡°You were kind to me. You decided to be my friend.¡± He scratches his nose ufortably. ¡°I don¡¯t have many of those but I think this is what you¡¯re supposed to do for your friends, isn¡¯t it?¡± He leaves without waiting for a reply and I know that he¡¯s not likely toe back upstairs anytime soon. The next time I want to see him, I¡¯ll go down to two and sit on my pink couch, talking his ear off while he types away studiously.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Exactly the way it¡¯s always been. ??? After finishing myst meeting of the day, I head back from the conference room to my office. I set myputer and files on my desk and take a moment to stretch my arms behind my back. It¡¯s been a long day. Productive but also overwhelming, with every second I wasn¡¯t working spent reuniting with people I haven¡¯t seen in months. Looking down at my watch, I see it¡¯s three thirty. Maybe I¡¯ll sneak out a little early and help the chef cook dinner. And by help I mean watch Mari do all the work while I sit on the other side of the ind and talk to her because I¡¯m hopeless at anything rted to kitchen work. The feedback I¡¯ve received when I¡¯ve attempted to cook in the past has been far fromplimentary, and I¡¯m woman enough to admit when I know I¡¯ve been bested in an area. So I usually sit down with her instead, staying out of her way and chatting with her as she cooks. I¡¯m surprised to find I¡¯m this excited by the prospect of an evening at the house. It¡¯s nothomeyet, but it¡¯s somewhere I¡¯m feeling increasingly morefortable with each passing day. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be attached to it this quickly, especially not enough to consider leaving work early when for years I¡¯ve considered this office to be my surrogate home. But I find that I really like having something to look forward to that isn¡¯t work. I¡¯m putting myputer away when my office door opens. I look up to find Franklin hovering by the entryway. My mood turns instantly sour. I haven¡¯t seen him all day and was hoping to leave without a run-in with him, putting off the inevitable awkward encounter until at least tomorrow. He¡¯s the one part of work I absolutely have not missed and being confronted with him as I¡¯m walking out is not how I nned on ending my first day back. ¡°It¡¯s professional courtesy to knock before entering someone¡¯s office, Franklin.¡± I don¡¯t spare him a nce and continue putting things away in my bag. The click of the door closing resonates as ominously loud as a gunshot in my office. I¡¯m instantly tense, the hairs on the back of my neck raising. I straighten, abandoning the task at hand and staring at Franklin. ¡°You run away for months and think you can juste waltzing back in like nothing¡¯s changed?¡± he demands, voice cold and devoid of all emotion. ¡°Open the door,¡± I ask calmly. ¡°But thingshavechanged.¡± There¡¯s a chill in the air, a sinister warning that tells me I¡¯m in trouble. Working to mask the tremble in my voice, I repeat. ¡°Open the door, Franklin.¡± Ignoring my demand, he moves towards where I¡¯m standing. He puts himself between me and the door, cornering me. I try to hold my ground as long as I can, my hand clutching the back of my chair desperately, but there¡¯s a terrifying air of violence wafting off him that scares me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, hoping to keep this civil. When he rounds the desk towards me, I put my hand out. ¡°Stay over there. Franklin,¡± I warn. He keeps advancing. ¡°If youe any closer, I¡¯ll scream.¡± I¡¯m hoping this is all a misunderstanding. That he¡¯s trying to intimidate me for whatever sick reason, but that this will be quickly over. That my words will make him back off. But when a cruel smile twists his lips, I realize I¡¯m very wrong. ¡°Go ahead and scream. I sent Crystal on an errand, there¡¯s nobody at her desk. Nobody to hear your screams except me. But believe me, I¡¯ll enjoy them enough for the wholepany.¡± ¡°What do you want, Franklin?¡± I ask, backing away with small, barely noticeable steps. ¡°What are you after?¡± My stomach falls when my back hits the farthest corner of my office, one shouldering against the wall of windows and the other against the bookshelf behind me. There¡¯s nowhere left to go. ¡°I want what was promised to me, what was supposed to be mine before you got yourself sold off to someone else and ran away,¡± he snaps, before correcting himself. ¡°I¡¯mtakingit actually.¡± He mentioned marriage during our dance at the g but I didn¡¯t realize he said it because there was an actual deal being put in ce between my father and him like he seems to be suggesting now. It doesn¡¯t matter. I would never have married him. Unlike Thiago, if he¡¯d caught me I would have given my life trying to escape him again. My hands go discreetly behind my back and start feeling along the bookshelf for anything I could use as a weapon. ¡°You¡¯re not taking anything from me,¡± I hiss. Franklin stands less than ten feet from me with an awful rictus on his face, a sadistic predator taking pleasure in having trapped his vulnerable prey. It puts every encounter I¡¯ve had with Thiago into perspective. While he¡¯s more dangerous and definitely more violent, he¡¯s never made me feel unsafe like this and he¡¯s never threatened me with his size or physicality like Franklin is now. ¡°Watch me,¡± he sneers. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time your pussy got a good fucking from a real cock.¡± My stomach twists in revolt at the thought and bile rises into my throat. I can¡¯t let this happen, I won¡¯t survive that kind of victimization. I¡¯d rather he kill me. My searching hands turn desperate, blindly scanning every inch of the shelf until my fingers brush against something made of ss. When they close around it, I realize it¡¯s my Women in Business award I receivedst year. I won it based on the vote of hundreds of my peers for my contributions to the media profession and the broader industry atrge. It was the proudest day of my life, my crowning achievement to date, one I¡¯d worked myself to the bone to get. The irony in this award bing my weapon of choice is not lost on me ¡ª no matter where we are, no matter how safe a woman feels, it only takes one man to rip that illusion away. This is a reminder of that. But today my tenacity and my obstinate refusal to bend the knee to my father might just save me. ¡°Youdisgustme,¡± I dere. ¡°And you¡¯ll never touch me.¡± Then I hurl the award at him as hard as I can. My aim is true and the triangr trophy hits him in the head as I¡¯d nned. Instead of knocking him out it only momentarily stuns him. I run past him but he recovers quickly. His arm stretches out and easily catches me around the waist, yanking me back against his torso. Dread leadens my stomach at my failed escape, at the prospect of what he¡¯s going to do to me in retaliation. ¡°Bitch.¡± He ms me violently back against the windows. Stars explode behind my eyes at the force with which my head bounces off the ss. I¡¯m dazed and more pliant because of it. He pins me by my wrists, his mouth opening to reveal sharp looking teeth and a monstrous smile. I turn my face to the side and whimper. His mmy, fetid breath hits my cheek and it¡¯s all I can do not to pass out, but I won¡¯t have a repeat ofst week. My thoughts fly to Thiago, wishing with all my heart that he could be here to protect me like he did with Leone. I don¡¯t question why he¡¯s the one I think of, I just know it¡¯shimI need. ¡°You want to piss me off, little girl?¡± Franklin taunts disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯ll rip through your pussy and make you bleed for that little stunt. Maybe that¡¯ll teach you some obedience.¡± ¡°Get off me,¡± I cry, thrashing violently. ¡°I¡¯m married!¡± Before this moment, I would have said I was strong. I go to the gym multiple times a week. I lift weights. My body is toned and in shape. So when I fight against Franklin¡¯s hold, I expect to do some damage. To at least free one of my hands. But in a millisecond and with barely any effort whatsoever, he easily uses his own strength to overpower me and keep me prisoner. My wrists remain trapped above my head, my body prone and exposed to whatever horrors he wants to do to me. The stark realization of how much physically weaker I am than a man as out of shape as he is stops the blood cold in my veins. The abject terror I feel makes me want to freeze in ce. I have to fight against my base instincts to try and survive. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± he snarls, pping a hand over my mouth. ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you.¡± I scream and scream but his hand muffles every sound that rips from my throat. My thoughts go once again to Thiago and my heart splits in two. What will he say when he finds out what happened to me? Will he ever be able to touch me again or will he throw me out and divorce me for being damaged goods? The thought alone is painful enough to bring tears to my eyes. When I feel Franklin¡¯s fingers brush against my thigh beneath my skirt, my eyes bulge. I kick at him, thrashing furiously, but it¡¯s in vain. His hand inches higher. His hard length presses into my stomach. I close my eyes even as I continue to try and scream, hoping that I can disassociate from my body and go to another reality. Franklin¡¯s facees to within inches of mine. His putrid breath falls against my face. I press my cheek into the window to avoid it. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard of him, I don¡¯t think your husband will mind if I have a taste,¡± he croons. ¡°Wrong. Her husband is going to fucking kill you for trying,¡± a terrifying voice announces, slicing through my nightmare with an arrow of hope. I turn my head to find Thiago standing in my doorway, the ckest look of fury I¡¯ve ever seen nketing his face. ¡°Take your fucking hands off my wife,¡± he booms. ¡°Now.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 45 He¡¯s a sight for desperately sore eyes. The relief I feel when I see him is so powerful that my knees buckle. I feel like I conjured him, like he heard me pleading for him and knew toe save me. For a moment all I do is blink to make sure my eyes aren¡¯t deceiving me. Then, taking advantage of Franklin¡¯s surprise, I shove him off me and stumble away from him, wrapping my arms protectively around myself as I huddle in the corner at a safe distance. ¡°So you¡¯re the husband,¡± Franklin says casually, turning and extending his hand towards him. He must be clinically insane. ¡°Franklin Marsh-Sackville.¡± Thiago doesn¡¯t blink, his wrathful stare never wavering from Franklin¡¯s face as long seconds tick by. His anger pulses around us like the beat of a heart. Tick.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Tick. Tick. Thiago moves towards the hand that remains outstretched between them and brushes right past it, walking up to me instead. When his eyes find mine, the unbridled fury in them instantly washes away, reced by the kind of burning intensity all women dream of seeing in their husband¡¯s gaze. The look in them is borderline manic, like he¡¯s barely holding himself together. With his mouth set in a grim line and that muscle ticking dangerously in his cheek, Thiago rakes a clinical gaze slowly down my body, inspecting me for any injuries. When he¡¯s satisfied that I bear no visible marks, his eyes lift back up to mine. Hands twitch as they move cautiously from his sides. He speaks and there¡¯s a slight tremor woven into his guttural words that betrays the heavy emotion he¡¯s feeling. ¡°I¡¯m going to touch you,amor. Is that okay?¡± I nod and throw my arms around his neck in the same breath, going to him before he can reach for me himself. His hands wrap tightly around my lower back and he drags me into him with a rough exhale. He crushes me against his chest, cupping the back of my head and burying my face in the crook of his neck. For a moment all I can hear, all I canfeel, is theforting pulse of his heart beating frantically against my cheek. Like a fragile bubble bursting, the dam holding back my tears shatters the second I fall into his arms. It starts with one single teardrop squeezing quietly past myshes and then I¡¯m crying with total abandon, my face hidden in his throat as he holds me. My body shakes uncontrobly with the force of my sobs as the terror and panic of thest fifteen minutes pour messily out of me. Thiago caresses my hair softly, pressing his face against my cheek and humming soothingly. His other arm stays wrapped protectively around my waist like he¡¯s afraid someone will try to rip me away from him. He consoles me patiently, as if we¡¯re alone, as if he has all the time in the world, simply repeatingit¡¯s okay, you¡¯re okay, you¡¯re safeuntil he¡¯s chanting it reassuringly into my ear. There¡¯s a strain in his voice that makes me think those vehement reassurances might be as much for him as they are for me. I don¡¯t know exactly when he started to feel like my safe space, but I do know that he¡¯s the only person I wanted when I was in danger. The only one I needed. That being in his arms is the only ce I want to be right now, the only ce I feel safe. When my sobs lessen and eventually subside, he pulls back slightly. He cups my cheeks and peers down at my face. My walking, talking killing machine of a husband looks at me like he¡¯ll rip apart the entire world for the crime of hurting me, just so he can rebuild it piece by piece into one where nothing will ever happen to me again. Whatever it is he sees in my face, it makes his golden eyes darken to the color of obsidian, snuffing out any humanity in them like the me of a candle. ¡°Hold him down,¡± he orders, the arctic cool in his voice in total opposition to the way he gently brushes away the tears from my cheeks. His cruel tone sends a chill down my spine on Franklin¡¯s behalf. Over his shoulder, I see that Arturo and Marco apanied him into my office, ever his shadows. They each grab one of Franklin¡¯s arms and use their grip to m him face down on my desk. He howls for his release. Thiago¡¯s body turns to face the scene, his hand circling around my waist and continuing to hold me close. I look up at him to find his eyes already on the side of my face. ¡°Does he live or die?¡± he asks me. Swallowing, my gaze goes back to Franklin who¡¯s doing his best to struggle against both men. Watching him fight against them makes me wonder if that¡¯s what I looked like, if I was that helpless. Arturo looks down at the floor and spots my discarded Women in Business award. He tosses it and catches it in his palm a couple of times before smashing it down on Franklin¡¯s face, knocking him out cold. Marco grabs my water bottle and dumps it on the side of Franklin¡¯s face. ¡°Wakey, wakey, sunshine,¡± he says, smacking him around. They¡¯re toying with him. ¡°If it were up to me, he¡¯d die. Eventually.¡± The set of Thiago¡¯s jaw tells me just how slowly he¡¯d eviscerate him if given the chance. ¡°But it¡¯s your decision.¡± It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to kill him. It would be so easy to make that decision, to rid the world of one less abuser. But I can¡¯t make myself say it. I can¡¯t condemn him to death, no matter what he just did to me. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him,¡± I ask. Thiago nods once, epting my decision with a clenched jaw. He cups my chin and kisses my lips. The simple touch is enough to spark the fire in my belly back to life. His mouth moves over mine, his hand gripping the back of my neck to hold me close. I lean into him, wrapping my fingers around his forearm to keep myself steady. With one final peck on my lips, he releases me and steps up to the side of my desk. He bends at the waist so his face is level with Franklin¡¯s. ¡°What kind of psychosis made you think you could touch my wife?¡± His voice cuts across the word ¡®wife¡¯ like a knife slicing through skin, the possessive fury evident in the one syble. ¡°Please, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Franklin pleads. ¡°She was promised to me fir¨C¡± A fist ms violently down next to his face, cutting him off. ¡°She wasn¡¯tanythingto you.¡± Thiago snarls. He straightens, looking over at Marco. ¡°Machete,¡± he asks. With a savage smirk, Marco ps a broad, crude de about thirty inches long into his hand. It shines menacingly under the office lighting. Franklin¡¯s panicked eyes widen until they¡¯re bulging white. He thrashes against the hold, shouting garbled pleas. When he realizes that¡¯s getting him nowhere, his gaze slides to mine. ¡°Tess, please. Tell him you don¡¯t want this. Tell him¨C¡± Quick as lightning, Thiago grips him by the hair and smashes his face mercilessly down on my desk. ¡°Speak to her again and I¡¯ll rip out your vocal cords.¡± It was a useless endeavor anyway. I won¡¯t be intervening to give him any additional mercy beyond saving his life. He deserves every single thing that my husband is about to do to him. As Dagny likes to say, y stupid games, win stupid prizes. ¡°That¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve watched you touch my wife now. Luckily for you, she wasn¡¯t my wife the first time. But this time¡­¡± Thiago circles the desk slowly, like a predator assessing its prey,ing to stand on the other side of Marco and Arturo. He ces the sharp edge of the machete de on Franklin¡¯s forearm, right below his elbow. I watch the man stop breathing, terror rendering him stock still. ¡°This is the hand you had between her legs, correct?¡± Franklin starts shaking at Thiago¡¯s lethal tone. ¡°No!¡± ¡°I saw you. Are you calling me a liar?¡± Franklin gulps, emitting a scared squeak. The dichotomy between the way he¡¯d used his physicality over me to try and vite me and the gutless wretch he is now, currently begging for his life could not be more apparent. He¡¯s a coward, always has been, I was just an easy target for him. ¡°She¨Cshe wanted it. She was asking for it.¡± My heart stutters in my chest thinking that he might believe what Franklin is iming. Thiago has restrained me in the past, but¡­that was different. I never wanted what Franklin did to me. Thest time he caught me alone with another man, he didn¡¯t react so well. Thiago doesn¡¯t give it a second thought. The demented grin that stretches across his face chills even me. ¡°Is that why you had her pinned against the wall? Is that why you had your other hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming? Because shewanted it?¡± ¡°She said she wanted it rough¨C¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Thiago snarls, bringing the butt of the de down on his temple. Blood bursts from his skin and explodes across my desk. ¡°My wife doesn¡¯t want me to kill you, so I won¡¯t. But open your mouth again and even she won¡¯t be able to save you. I¡¯ll shut you up for good.¡± Franklin nods frantically, lips zipped shut. ¡°You should never have touched her.Never.¡± Thiago¡¯s voice shakes under the weight of his fury. While he speaks, Marco rolls up Franklin¡¯s sleeve so that it¡¯s above his elbow. ¡°You could have touched anybody else and walked out of here whole, Franklin. But not her.¡± Thiago flicks a watchful eye at me over his shoulder. He¡¯s two men at once in this room, a vengeful husband and a protective lover. His tone softens when he speaks to me. ¡°Look away,amor.¡± He raises the machete above his head and this time, I do as he says. I look away. I have time to see the dee hurtling back down before I close my eyes and turn my face. The sound of metal slicing through the air is followed by the terrifying noise of it cutting through flesh and bone before it buries itself in the wood of my desk. A blood curdling scream that raises the hairs on the back of my neck and turns my stomach echoes through my office. I keep my eyes screwed shut even as Franklin¡¯s excruciated howls filter through my ears. ¡°You¡¯ll hand in your letter of resignation tomorrow,¡± Thiago orders stoically over his screams. ¡°Typed, obviously. And then you¡¯ll disappear.¡± I finally open my eyes and look at the grisly scene before me. Franklin is white as a sheet, his eyes bulged and crazed as he stares in shock at the hand Thiago severed from his body. Blood leaks in thick waves from his stump before Arturo rips Franklin¡¯s belt off him and uses it to tourniquet the wound. ¡°Contact her again and I take the other hand. Talk to or touch her ever again, Franklin,¡± Thiago says dangerously, ¡°and I¡¯ll tear out your intestines with my bare hands and use them to hang your body up from the nearest streetlight.¡± The two guards pull him up to his feet and release him. Franklin wobbles dangerously, his knees giving out, so they catch him again. He¡¯s ashen, almost gray in color, and holding his stump protectively. ¡°Get the fuck out,¡± Thiago orders. He turns on unsteady feet and heads slowly towards the door when Thiago calls after him. ¡°And take this shit with you,¡± he adds disgustedly, grabbing his severed hand by the fingers and tossing it at him. It hits Franklin in the chest and nearly topples him over before floppingmely down to the ground. He manages to remain standing, bending at the waist to pick up his hacked off limb before he leaves. ¡°Go with him,¡± Thiago instructs his two guards. ¡°Take him into the freight elevator and make sure he doesn¡¯t talk to anyone.¡± ¡°Jefe,¡± they confirm with almost military nods, unperturbed by what just transpired. They go to turn but hesitate. Finally, both of them give me a curt nod and exit, closing the door behind them and leaving me with my husband. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 46 There are some moments that you just know are going to stick with you for the rest of your life. For me, those are few and far between, simply because there¡¯s not much that can affect me on that level. But when I open the door to Tess¡¯s office expecting to surprise her and instead find her pinned against the wall of windows with one hand pped over her mouth and the other working its way up between her legs, I know that memory is going to remain scorched in my retinas forever. My brain empties. I¡¯m both quick to understand and slow to ept the horror show that¡¯s unfolding before my eyes. The fear that ms into me is debilitating, as surprising as it is unusual. I can count on one hand the amount of times I¡¯ve felt panic for someone else and Tess now owns two of them in the span of a week. If I¡¯d been five minutester, if I¡¯d hit one or two more red lights on my way to her office, who knows what I would have walked in to find. The thought alone makes me want to chase after Franklin and finish what I started. The rage that still thrums through my veins is hard to control. It wires every part of me, making me twitchy and full of bloodlust. But when I turn away from the desk and find my wife still huddled in the corner, a shell of her usual confident self, that anger withers away like smoke on a windy day. ¡°Come here.¡± Tess does as I ask without hesitation, arms dropping to her sides as she walks up to me. Her gaze is raw and earnest, those eyes like troubled waters instead of the clear blue I¡¯m used to. I¡¯d do anything to scrub that murkiness away, to steal the pain of thest hour from her and bury it deep inside myself instead. She closes the remaining distance between us and wraps her arms around my middle, pressing her cheek against my chest right above my racing heartbeat. It¡¯s not dissimr to the way she threw herself at me when I walked in earlier. I was lightheaded from discovering her being assaulted, uprehending of the situation but only focused on examining her from head to toe to make sure she was alright, at least physically. Selfishly, I¡¯d needed to touch her. I¡¯d thought that might be the veryst thing she wanted, but she¡¯d fallen into my arms, holding onto me desperately as she cried. Her whole body had racked with her sobs, splintering a part of me that I didn¡¯t even know existed before today but was already entirely hers. Now I squeeze her against me, relieved that even though she just watched me unleash the most demonic side of myself, she still knows there¡¯s nowhere safer for her than with me. Cupping her cheeks gently in my hands, I tilt her face back to look up at me. Her arms are still around my middle as we stand chest to chest. The urgency in my voice reflects the way my eyes rove eagerly over her face. ¡°Did he hurt you anywhere that I can¡¯t see?¡± She shakes her head and a monumentally relieved breath expels loudly from my lips. ¡°You stopped him before he could do any real damage.¡± A cloud passes over her eyes. ¡°Thiago, what he said¡­it¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Her throat works. ¡°I just wanted you to know that I would never have willingly let him touch me.¡± I ce my index over her lips, shushing her. ¡°Stop,¡± I repeat, softer. ¡°He assaulted you. Even if I hadn¡¯t witnessed it, I would never have doubted that.¡± Brushing her hair gently back from her face, I add. ¡°This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I¡¯d dealt with him at the charity event when he first touched you.¡± Her hands tighten on me. ¡°You couldn¡¯t know he¡¯d do what he did. This was a crazy esction, I still can¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d already decided you were mine back then. I should have protected you better. I will moving forward.¡± Bending my head, I bring my face inches from hers until our lips brush. ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask,¡± she breathes, tilting her face up. ¡°Please, don¡¯t start asking just because he¨C¡± Her words cut off when I press my lips against hers in a heated, owning kiss. My bottom lip slips between hers and she sucks it into her mouth, taking control. She pushes me backwards with hands on my abdomen as mine lift to tangle in her hair, angling her face to the side so I can deepen the kiss and thrust my tongue into her mouth. The back of my knees hit soft material and Tess shoves me. I drop into a chair, my handsing up to grip the armrests as I rip in a ragged breath and stare up at my wife. My brave, beautiful wife. She leans over me, her lips finding mine again in a passionate kiss. When I use my hold on the armrests to try and get up, she pushes me back down with firm hands on my shoulders. Tess stands before me with an intense, imprable look on her face. Her chest rises and falls as she drags in breath after breath, staring intently down at me with her hypnotic blue gaze. And then she lowers herself slowly. My eyes track her closely until she¡¯s down on her knees between my spread legs, her handsing to rest suggestively high on my thick thighs. Never cutting off the eye contact between us, she runs her palms carefully up my quads and to the buckle of my belt. Heat shoots straight to my groin. ¡°Stop,¡± I order, grabbing her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fuck you after what just happened.¡± Her answering look is assertive and confident. ¡°I want to,¡± she clips. ¡°Ichooseto.¡± There¡¯s a fierceness to her tone that reveals she won¡¯t be dissuaded. I¡¯m not a decent enough man to try and talk her out of it a second time anyway. Tess shakes off my hand, pulls the leather out of the buckle and pops open the button of my trousers. I settle all the way back into the chair, groaning loudly when she pulls my zipper down and palms my dick over my briefs. ¡°Don¡¯t move your hands from the armrests or I¡¯ll stop,¡± she orders. There¡¯s something about her taking control and ordering me about that sizzles the blood in my veins. ¡°That¡¯s going to be hard,amor,¡± I mutter. A hitched breath leaves my throat when she squeezes my length and rubs me up and down. There¡¯s a mischievous twinkle in her eye. ¡°Not as hard as you,¡± she replies, before popping the band of my briefs down and freeing my cock. My dick bobs between us, thick and angry and hard as stone like it always is when she¡¯s near. Tess leans forward and dribbles saliva directly onto my tip. The visual is obscene and I¡¯m already struggling not to release the armrest so I can bury my hands in her hair. She runs her palm over my head and down my shaft, wetting my length. Gripping me tightly in her hand, she starts moving up and down in twisting, squeezing motions. A trail of goosebumps explodes up my back and my breathing falters. The physical sensations are nothingpared to the total mindfuck that is seeing the expression on her face. She stares at my dick wide-eyed and open-mouthed like she¡¯s never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Her gaze pings from my length to my face, her attention drawn to my mouth when I drop my head back and curse loudly. Growling, I lift my head and stare down at her. ¡°What did I tell you about looking at my cock like that?¡± ¡°That you¡¯d¡­that you¡¯d shove it down my throat.¡± Darkness gleams in my eyes. ¡°So what are you waiting for? You wanted to get on your knees for me. Why don¡¯t you open that pretty mouth and remind me what it can do?¡± I grunt when she squeezes my shaft in warning, eyes shing. ¡°No. You¡¯re not in charge right now. I¡¯ll suck your dick when I¡¯m good and ready to.¡± Then she leans forward and tentatively licks a line up the seam of my balls, blowing a breath on the wet skin. A full body spasm ms through me. ¡°Jesus,¡± I rasp. Encouraged by my violent reaction, she sucks one of my balls into her mouth. Rolling it gently between her lips, shebinesps of her tongue against the soft flesh with swift pumps of her hand up and down my shaft. My pulse pounds loudly in my veins as my eyes roll back into my head. ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± I moan. The way she stares up at me with her nose pressed up against my cock is criminal. Power shines brightly in her eyes. She¡¯s getting off on her control, on seeing me lose mine. She alternates between my balls, sucking one into her mouth, then the other, as her other handes up to join the first on my shaft. And then she¡¯s jerking me off with both hands at once, making me lose my mind as she continues to tongue me with the skills of a pro. Red, angry possessiveness slithers into my veins, making my hands twitch dangerously on the armrests. ¡°Who the fuck taught you how to do this?¡± I demand. Realizing any answer is going to piss me off, I screw my eyes shut, grit my teeth and throw my head back against the chair. ¡°Never mind, I don¡¯t want to know. Whoever he is, he¡¯s dead,¡± I grunt, mindless with lust. ¡°He¡¯s fucking dead.¡± The thought of her doing this with another man is enough to kill my erection, so I wipe the visual from my mind before it does. I thrust savagely up into her grip, trying to get more, harder,faster. Desperate to stuff her mouth full of my cock so she forgets every single fucker that came before me. ¡°Met¨¦rt en boca,¡± I demand, so dazed with desire that I lose mymand over the Englishnguage. Pleasure tightens my abdomen until I can barely breathe. I¡¯m white knuckling my hold on the armrests to keep myself from reaching for her, the wood creaking loudly under the force of my grip. When she licks a straight line from the seam of my balls up my entire shaft and then swirls her tongue around my tip, collecting the pre-cum glistening there, I nearly blow. She traces the deep groove of my head, circling it over and over with her hot tongue. ¡°Amor¡­ugh. Ah, god,amor,I¡¯m not going tost if you keep doing that.¡± ¡°Your cock is so pretty, did you know that?¡± she purrs,pping at my shaft with greedy, speedyps of her tongue. Peering up at me from beneath her eyshes, she trails her tongue slowly up to my tip, pauses, then closes her mouth around my head.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Then she takes the entirety of my cock between her lips and pushes down, continuing until her face is pressed against my groin and my dick hits the back of her throat. I suck in a shocked breath. My head goes back and I let loose a long list of vulgar expletives as pleasure fires through every synapse in my entire body. Not wanting to miss a second of seeing her mouth stretched around my cock, my neck snaps forward and I stare down at her. I find her eyes still on me, gleaming arrogantly at my reaction. She pulls back and releases me with apopbeforeing all the way back down once more. ¡°Good girl,¡± I groan. ¡°Suck it just like that.¡± Pleased by my praise, she hums, sending a flurry of vibrations up my shaft. More goosebumps erupt up my back and over my nape, making me shudder violently. She rolls my balls with one hand, the other wrapping around my base and moving in conjunction with her wet mouth. I thrust up into her throat and she chokes loudly. The obscene sound has dark possessiveness sting through me. The visual of her unable to breathe because my thick cock gags her is almost too much to bear. ¡°Let me touch you,¡± I breathe. My grip is painful on the armrest, my fingers red and strained from the effort. Her hair falls in front of her face as she bobs up and down, sucking my dick into her mouth with unabashed enthusiasm. I¡¯m itching, twitching,dyingreally, to push it off her shoulders so I can see her. To fist it in my hand and use it to guide my cock deeper into her throat. I¡¯m desperate to get involved. ¡°Say I can touch you,amor.¡± Her tongue ttens and swipes across my shaft as she takes me in and out of her mouth. Her lips suction around my base, suckling me deep, adding a kind of dizzying pressure that makes me lightheaded. The wet sounds of my cock fucking her mouth, of every inch sliding into the back of her tight throat, drive me insane. Just when I think she¡¯s going to ignore me again, she releases my cock and her eyes find mine, dark intent shining in them as she licks her lips. ¡°Beg.¡± She issues the simple, single-wordedmand and immediately takes me entirely back into her throat. I hiss in physical response, hiss at the clear power y that is the gauntlet she just threw down. Her satisfaction at turning the tables on me is evident in the way her eyes sh brazenly. She¡¯s got a vengeful side to her, my wife, and that hardens my dick even further. I don¡¯t beg. It wasn¡¯t hard for her to deduce that without me having to confirm it. What she didn¡¯t take into ount is the fact that none of my normal rules apply to her. They never have. I¡¯d beg her for thirty days and thirty nights if it meant spending just thirty more seconds with her. I¡¯d get down on my knees and plead if it meant I¡¯d get just one more soft touch from her. I¡¯d throw myself at her feet for one smile. Begging implies desperation and that¡¯s exactly what I am when ites to getting more of her. Desperate. Beyond salvation. ¡°Please.¡± Her eyes re wide in a mix of surprise and arousal. She chokes, caught off guard by my easy capittion. I¡¯m already moving before she¡¯s even nodded, wrapping my hands in her hair and guiding her head down until she¡¯s taken all of my cock. ¡°Mhmm,¡± I say, moaning approvingly. ¡°That¡¯s how you do it. Take me all the way back into your throat. Yes¡­yes. Take it all.¡± I¡¯m delirious with lust, my hands unable to stay in one ce. They go from her hair, to her cheeks, to her tits where I tweak her tight nipples, and back to her hair. When I hear her choke again on one of my upward thrusts, I grab her around the waist and pull her up until she¡¯s straddling myp. ¡°Hey!¡± she whines, surprised at the abrupt change. ¡°I wanted¨C¡± ¡°Another time,¡± I grunt, positioning her knees on either side of my legs. ¡°I need inside you now.¡± Iugh when she pouts adorably at my refusal toe down her throat, and lean forward, capturing her lips with mine. Reaching up between her legs, my fingers find her panties and tear them off. The sound of ripping makes her gasp and I thrust my tongue inside her mouth, tasting myself on hers. Two fingers go to her center, testing her preparedness. My smile is arrogant. ¡°Wet and ready for me as always.¡± I catch her answering moan with my lips, kissing her again. My cock finds her entrance and then I¡¯m pushing in, pressing her hips slowly but relentlessly down until she¡¯s fully seated on me. She whimpers into my mouth at the tight stretch. There¡¯s something about kissing her while I¡¯m sliding inside her that makes my heart trip exultingly in my chest. Knowing that someone almost forced her to do this against her will, that someone tried to take what belongs to only me and her, has fresh fury ring in my eyes. Tess sees it, her own gaze softening at the anger she finds in mine. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it,¡± she whispers, cupping my jaw and pressing featherlight kisses on my lips. ¡°Fuck me. Fuck me knowing that I want it, that I wantyou.¡± If she was trying to make mee in record time, she couldn¡¯t have picked better words. I clench my teeth to keep my orgasm at bay and tear at her blouse instead. Buttons go flying, revealing a pretty pink bra holding even prettier perky tits. With one hand, I dig my fingers greedily into the cheek of her ass, using it to guide her hips as I thrust into her. With the other, I pull down the cups of her bra and suck her taut peak into my mouth. Her back arches wantonly in response. She hovers just above myp, the perfect position for me to pound inside her as I bite the tight little bud. Her hands are in my hair, clutching me impatiently against her chest as she moans loudly. ¡°Please,¡± she gasps, begging herself now. ¡°More.¡± I capture her other nipple between my teeth and tug at it, making her shriek. My thrusts turn savage, my pace brutal as my hips power up into her. Then I reach between her legs and find her clit, rubbing it with rough fingers. ¡°Your clit was getting a little lonely without any attention, wasn¡¯t it,amor? We can¡¯t have that.¡± I pinch it between my thumb and index and Tess¡¯s eyes roll back into her head. Her mouth parts on a silent scream as her gazees to mine. She shudders violently, her muscles mping down forcefully on my cock as shees, and then she falls forward against my chest, spent. Her armse around my neck, her face burying in my throat like she did earlier. Harsh breaths hit my skin as her lungs search for oxygen. She¡¯s still fully impaled on my cock and I¡¯m thrustingzily, my handsing to caress her back and waist. ¡°You¡¯re not done,¡± I murmur against the shell of her ear. She pulls back to rest her head on the edge of my shoulder so she can look at me. ¡°You wanted to be in control, so do it. Get me off.¡± Challenge shes in her eyes and then she starts rolling her hips. She doesn¡¯t move, doesn¡¯t get up, her chest still against mine, her arms still around my neck as she starts riding me with undting hips. The closeness causes her clit to rub against my groin with every bounce and I can see the fresh pleasure etching itself on her features. ¡°You have no idea how beautiful you look when you¡¯re bouncing on my cock,¡± I growl. ¡°But bouncing on my cock in your corner office? That¡¯s hot as fuck.¡± She mewls pornographically, her face flushed. A pleased smile tugs at her lips and a matching onees across mine. My hands grab her cheeks, using them to guide her deeply down on my length. I¡¯m obsessed with her ass. Gripping and parting it now as I fuck her leads to new lewd fantasies. There¡¯s one final little hole that I need to make mine, but not now. She¡¯s not ready. Tess takes a page out of my book and tears the top buttons of my dress shirt. When she rakes her nails down my chest, my abdomen tightens and she feels it. ¡°You¡¯re fucking incredible,¡± I moan gutturally. ¡°I¡¯m going toe so hard.¡± Her pace increases, her hips mming down on mine dementedly. I hiss when she squeezes her pussy and she hears it. Encouraged by my reaction, she squeezes again and again, tightening around my cock like a vise and pulling me towards an explosive orgasm. Sensing that I¡¯m close, she tilts her face up into my neck and sucks my pulse point into her mouth, then grinds her pelvis down on me, taking me impossibly deep. White-hot stars of pleasure shoot into my eyes and Ie with a loud roar. Greedy hands keep her speared on my dick the entire time I climax, making sure every drop of cum shoots into her tight pussy. She shatters noisily, her muscles fluttering enthusiastically around me as wee together. We stay like that for a long time, with herying on my chest and my arm wrapped around her lower back, holding her to me. My cock is still hard and remains so the longer it stays in her pussy. She giggles softly and I look down at her in question. ¡°Having sex in my office has always been one of my biggest fantasies,¡± she exins. A displeased rumble rolls up my chest. I palm the side of her throat in warning. ¡°Tell me I¡¯m the only man to have made your fantasye true before I burn your office down.¡± Sheughs easily, unfazed by my jealousy. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t do that with just anyone.¡± ¡°Only with your husband.¡± My tone is distinctively satisfied when I answer, my hand squeezing her neck possessively. ¡°Only with my husband,¡± she agrees, calming the territorial devil inside me. ¡°It was on my bucket list.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realize this was adirtybucket list.¡± She giggles softly. ¡°Some items are naughty, some are nice.¡± I groan, tightening my grip in response. After a few moments offortable silence, I add, ¡°I missed you today.¡± Tess sits up on myp, whimpering softly when she identally pushes my cock further inside her. I hiss in a breath myself at how sensitive it is. ¡°Is that why you came here?¡± I shake my head and her face falls slightly. She masks it away but not before it sends a pang to my stomach. Her every facial expression has me in a lethal chokehold and I¡¯m not sure she even knows it. Missing her is my baseline state of being when she¡¯s not around. It would have been enough to bring me here even without the other, more pressing reason ¨C I couldn¡¯t spend another day without publicly iming her. ¡°I came because I had to give you something and I didn¡¯t have the patience to wait until you came home to do it,¡± I say, reaching deep into my pocket and stretching my palm out between us. Looking down, her brows furrow briefly in confusion before smoothing and raising in surprise. Her eyes flick up to mine, wide and open. ¡°Is that¨C¡± ¡°A wedding ring.¡± Taking her left hand in mine, I remove the diamond and slide the gold band down her slender finger. Her lips part as she then watches me push her engagement ring back into ce. I keep her hand sped in mine, tattoos contrasting with pale skin, as she looks down at it quietly. Her eyes lift up to mine with an unasked question in them. ¡°You¡¯re my wife, not my fianc¨¦e. Wives wear two rings.¡± I reach up to wrap her throat in my hand, smirking at her. ¡°More if you keep sucking my cock like you just did. I¡¯ll buy you diamonds for every finger.¡± Blushing, she tips her chin at me. ¡°What about you?¡± A crooked grin touches my lips. I was hoping she¡¯d ask. Digging into my pocket again, I pull out a matching ring for me and show it to her. ¡°Wait,¡± she exims, stopping me when I try to put it on. ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t put that on yourself.¡± Tess sps my hand in hers and takes the ring from me with the other. I watch, transfixed, as she slips the band slowly on my fourth finger, all the way down until it slips into ce with decided finality. It feels a lot more intimate than our actual roughshod wedding, not because I¡¯m still buried deep inside her, but because I¡¯m not forcing her this time. She puts the ring on me voluntarily and that does something absolutely devastating to my insides. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 47 ¡°Come on. Outside,¡± I order, pping her ass sharply when I walk past her. Tess jolts forward and yelps, covering her backside with her hands and turning towards me with narrowed eyes. ¡°That stings.¡± ¡°Consider it a part of your self-defense training then.¡± She groans, dropping her toast on her te. ¡°I¡¯m eating breakfast.¡± ¡°And it¡¯ll still be there when we¡¯re done, right Diana?¡± My housekeeper nods, a bemused look sshed across her face at our easy interaction. The household staff in general have all been giving me simr lookstely, almost like they don¡¯t recognize me. ¡°Fine, but be careful what you teach me,¡± she warns, pointing at me as she follows me into our backyard. ¡°I might turn around and use it against you.¡± I chuckle, spreading my arms and walking backwards. ¡°If you can defend yourself against me then I¡¯ll consider myself an excellent teacher and my job will be done.¡± ¡°You say that now, but wait until I kick your ass.¡± It¡¯s been a week and a half since the attack at Tess¡¯s office. She wouldn¡¯t stand for it when I suggested that maybe she should wait a couple days before going back, reminding me that her job was hers and I wasn¡¯t allowed to tell her what to do. She was right, so instead I¡¯d ordered Arturo to apany her as her bodyguard. There was no way I was letting her back in that building, or frankly anywhere else out of my sight, without an armed escort. I don¡¯t know which of the two had been more annoyed by the assignment, him or her, but when she realized I wasn¡¯t going to change my mind, she acquiesced. They¡¯d settled into a Cold War-like rtionship that included a lot of bickering every night when they came back from her office. But she had the peace of mind she needed to focus on her work and she was being kept safe which is what I needed to let her leave my sight. Still, the whole incident was hard for me to shake, especially with everything going on with the business. We¡¯d had three shipments attacked in thest month, including one that took down an entire warehouse and cost millions of pounds. It isn¡¯t unusual to have some shipments targeted, but the rate at which it¡¯s happened since I first left for Spain has been rming. As has the fact that the dates of those shipments were never publicly dered. There are a number of people in the cartel who were aware of them ¨C lieutenants, crew, shippers, distributors, ountants ¨C so any one of them could have sold us out, I just can¡¯t see who or why. With the cartel under attack, Tess¡¯s safety is even more at the forefront of my concerns, which is why I¡¯ve decided to teach her a few self-defense pointers in the unlikely but incredibly terrifying event that she finds herself without myself or Arturo to protect her. Tess stands in the middle of the backyard, wearing leggings and a tight workout tee and holding a water bottle as she watches me prowl around her. My eyes drop to her ass. I have to rein my focus back from going somewhere X-rated. ¡°Alright. Obviously, you¡¯re not going to turn into a martial artist overnight, so we¡¯re just going to focus on teaching you the basics of self-defense.¡± Arturo leans against the doorframe of the ss double doors leading out into the garden. Marco follows him out and drops down on the small steps that connect the two spaces, biting into an apple and grinning at the scene before him. ¡°Why do I need to learn self-defense when you¡¯ve given me my very own shadow?¡± she says, waving at Arturo. ¡°He has a gun. It doesn¡¯t need to be ornamental, he should feel free to use it if the asion arises.¡±This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . ¡°If any of my men are with you, they¡¯ll defend you with their lives. This is worst case scenario nning, in the event something happens that would see us separated.¡± She swallows, something approaching fear shing in her eyes. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let it happen easily,amor, I promise you that. But the chances aren¡¯t zero so I can¡¯t ignore it.¡± The second I frame it in stats, her brow smooths. ¡°I understand,¡± she says, turning and setting her bottle on the grass behind her. ¡°So where do we star¨C¡± Her words cut off with a sharp cry when I sneak up behind her, lock my forearm around her throat and yank her backwards against my chest. My lips press against the shell of her ear. ¡°The first lesson is to never turn your back on someone, whether you think you trust them or not,¡± I say, grazing her ear. ¡°They¡¯ll make you pay for that mistake. You have to always be at the ready.Oof.¡± The wind expulses from my lungs when she elbows me swiftly in the stomach, surprising me. I make out Arturo chuckling in the background, but I don¡¯t release her. ¡°Good!¡± I praise. ¡°Good reflexes. Reacting quickly and precisely like that is perfect. You want to catch your attacker off guard.¡± ¡°Not very effective though,¡± she answers. Both her hands hold on to my forearm and try to pry it off. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get you to release me.¡± ¡°No, but you stunned me, which is the first step. The key to self-defense is using the hardest parts of your body as weapons. They¡¯re going to inflict the most damage. Your elbows. Your knees. And in this case, your head.¡± My other handes around her front and lightly sps the underside of her jaw, using it to move her head back and forth. ¡°Once you¡¯ve stunned me, you thrust your head backwards as hard as you can and you headbutt me. That¡¯ll break my nose. It also works if you¡¯re facing your attacker. Go ahead and try.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± A pleased rumble rolls up my chest and against her back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,preciosa. I¡¯ll move. I want to see you do it.¡± She takes a deep breath and then throws her head violently back. ¡°Well done,¡± I say, releasing her. Instead of stepping away, she spins and crouches down to the ground in one agile move. Her hand shoots out and she jabs the back of my knee with the side of her hand. I¡¯mpletely unprepared for a counter attack; my leg buckles and I fall to the ground. She¡¯s crawling over me in an instant, straddling my chest and smiling smugly down at me as my handse up to grip her waist. ¡°Andthat,¡± she taunts, ¡°is what I like to call the ¡®Tristan Special¡¯. He¡¯s been pulling that move on me for over fifteen years and always at the worst times. Typical little brother stuff. I¡¯m happy to have gotten some use out of it finally.¡± Leaning closer, she grins. ¡°What happened to ¡®always being ready¡¯, Thiago?¡± Iugh loudly, delighted by her fire. More of my crew spill into the garden, intrigued by the sight of my wife kicking my ass. She pumps her arms up and down in celebration as they cheer. Money exchanges hands between the cartel as they ce bets on the oue of our self-defense session. This isn¡¯t doing anything to maintain my hardened reputation, but I can¡¯t bring myself to care. My hands move possessively down to her hips where they meet her thighs. ¡°Counter attacking is always an option, but I¡¯d rather you defend yourself, then get out at the first opportunity. Don¡¯t stay back and try to fight. Men will most likely overpower you with their size and strength.¡± She nods, a shadow passing through her gaze. I know she¡¯s thinking about that one-handed fucker. I¡¯ve dreamed of tracking him down and finishing him off every night. It¡¯s only because she asked me not to that I haven¡¯t gone through with it. ¡°While you¡¯re down here, next lesson. Like I said, the hardest parts of you are your weapons. Use them to hurt the softest parts of your assant. That means thecojones¡ª I¡¯m not going to have you demonstrate that one,¡± The menugh in the background, bantering loudly in Spanish. With a grin, I take her hands and bring them up to my face instead. ¡°¡ª and the eyes.¡± ¡°Fifteen hundred on her identally castrating the boss during this exercise,¡± Joaqu¨ªn calls out. ¡°I¡¯ll take that bet,¡± Luisa answers, pping her hand in Joaqu¨ªn¡¯s to seal the bet. ¡°I¡¯ll double it,¡± Marco adds. Tess ignores them, looking at me instead. ¡°What do you mean, the eyes?¡± ¡°One of the most effective defenses, other than going after the family jewels, is gouging out the eyes. You take your hand and you press your fingers as hard as you can into your assant¡¯s eye sockets.¡± As I speak, I move her hands over my eyes, demonstrating as best I can. ¡°The goal is to blind them, or at the very least disorient them. The eyes are soft tissue and have very little defenses, making them an easy area to target.¡± Tess recoils. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could do that.¡± Moving her hands back down to my chest and holding them tightly there, I open my eyes and look up at her. ¡°I need you to. If anything happens to you¡ª¡± My breath catches imperceptibly between my lips. ¡°If anything happens to you, I need you to try everything. To kick, bite, p, w, whatever you can think of, whatever it takes. To fight dirty. To fight like fucking hell. I need you to fight for your life and I need you towinso that whatever happens ends with youing back to me. I didn¡¯t chase you around Europe for months just to be a widower.¡± She leans forward and pecks me chastely on the lips before patting my chest once, reassuringly. ¡°This is purely theoretical. None of this is real.¡± ¡°It is until it isn¡¯t.¡± My voice is roughened. Coarse. ¡°And if my nightmare ever bes a reality, I promise there¡¯snothingI won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll move Heaven, Earth, and the seven circles of Hell myself to find you and bring you back home. But I need to know that while I do that, you¡¯ll be fighting every minute to survive ande back to me. Promise me you will.¡± Tess takes a deep, shuddering breath in response and smiles softly down at me. ¡°I promise.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 48 Ifly down the hospital hallway, nearly colliding with a nurse who rounds a corner and steps in front of me. ¡°Careful!¡± she calls. My brain is so engulfed by the swell of emotions crashing through me that I¡¯m not even sure I call out an apology. I¡¯m running frantically, uncaring of who or what I run into, arms pumping as I careen towards the information area. I¡¯m unable to stop my momentum as I approach; I m into the reception desk ribs first, my hands loudly pping the counter as I catch myself. That¡¯ll leave arge, painful bruise tomorrow, but I don¡¯t even feel it right now. The nurse behind the desk raises a startled look at me, waiting patiently for me to rip in a breath so I can finally speak. ¡°Yes, hi. Sorry¡­,¡± I gasp. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Bettina Noble. She was admitted a couple hours ago apparently. I just received the notification. I¡¯m her daughter, Tess.¡± Oh god, I can feel the tears gathering behind my eyes, threatening to make an appearance. Guilt eats at me. I¡¯ve been so caught up in my own life sinceing home that I¡¯ve only seen my mother once, over a brief lunch. We ate in my office, as I periodically checked my emails. I didn¡¯t even take her somewhere nice. And now she¡¯s in the hospital and I don¡¯t know what state she¡¯s in or the extent of her injuries. ¡°Okay, Miss. Take a breath, we¡¯ll help you find your mum, alright?¡± I nod shakily, those tears pearling at the corners of my eyes. ¡°Thank you,¡± I choke out, hastily wiping them away. The hospital notified me as her next of kin thirty minutes ago. I was in the office bathroom when I answered the phone. My stomach plummeted so suddenly, I thought I was going to pass out. Everything between then and now is a little fuzzy. All I know is that my legs carried me mindlessly out of the bathroom and straight into a taxi. I left without my purse or coat, without informing Arturo. The entire ride here I considered calling Thiago. No, consider isn¡¯t right. I fought against the desperate urge to call him. He was the first person I thought about when I got the news. I¡¯d wanted to bury my face in his chest, to feel his thick arms closing around me as he held me and told me she was going to be okay. In the end, I didn¡¯t call. We¡¯ve never talked about these types of situations, him and I. He might be my husband, but we don¡¯t exactly have a traditional rtionship or marriage. Would he even care if I called him and told him what happened? I was afraid that he¡¯d say he had more important things to do than take time away from his work to be there for me. I was afraid of how much hearing those words would hurt me. Somehow, somewhere along the way I¡¯ve given him the power to cause catastrophic, irreversible harm to me. I have no doubt that he¡¯d use it if he knew, but the fact that he doesn¡¯t even seem aware of it means he can hurt me without even trying. I need to be cautious of guarding myself against him, of not letting myself fall the rest of the way for him. Thatdamage would be fatal. Instead, I broke the no contact rule with Tristan and texted him the news about our mum being in hospital. Then I texted Arturo and sent him the same update. I didn¡¯t want anyone worrying unnecessarily about me. ¡°Found her. She¡¯s in a private room, number thirty-two, in our East wing. What you¡¯re going to do is¡­¡± I thank her for the instructions and make my way to the East wing. As Ie up to a door marked with the number thirty-two, a doctores out, closing the door behind her. ¡°Excuse me, were you just in with Bettina Noble?¡± I ask. Pretty green eyes lift from the chart in her hands to meet mine. ¡°I was.¡± ¡°I¡¯m her daughter, Tess. Can you tell me what happened?¡± The doctor¡¯s gaze softens. ¡°Your mother has a broken arm, severalrge hematomas to her face, and small cuts on her body.¡± ¡°Oh, god.¡± My hand flies to my mouth and I peer in at my mother through the bay of windows. Her arm is in a cast, but her face is turned away so I can¡¯t see her injuries. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine, but she has a bit of a recovery ahead of her.¡± ¡°Did she say what happened?¡± The doctor¡¯s silence makes me turn back towards her. Her mouth is set in a t line. ¡°She says she fell.¡± The pit in my stomach widens into a cavernous crater. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve heard my mum use that excuse and it¡¯s never been because she actually fell. I know exactly what it means. ¡°I tried to talk to her about it, but she wouldn¡¯t deviate from her original exnation.¡± I shake my head, sadly. ¡°She won¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time?¡± ¡°No.¡± The doctor looks at my mum¡¯s file, then back at me. ¡°She¡¯s only been admitted to the hospital once before and it was for a ski rted fracture. No other previous visits.¡± To make sure I understand, she adds inly. ¡°He¡¯s escting.¡± I nod, the mass in my throat thick and obstructive. ¡°I can give you the address of a shelter.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll never go.¡± I look back at my mum. ¡°She has the resources to leave, she just¡­won¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard for a lot of women. But when a situation esctes like this,¡± she pauses. ¡°Leaving bes a matter of life and death.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The doctor puts a reassuring hand on my upper arm, giving me a sympathetic look. I¡¯m struck by her warmth. ¡°You can go in there and see her. I¡¯m Dr. Cavanaugh. Ask for me at the desk or call me if you have any questions,¡± she says, handing me her business card. ¡°I will, thank you.¡± She starts to walk away but then stops and turns back towards me. ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention we had to give your mother some intravenous pain medication. Fair warning, it should be hitting soon. She might be a little loopy but she¡¯ll eventually go to sleep and it¡¯ll wear off.¡± When I open the door to her room, my mum¡¯s head turns towards me and a happy expression crosses her face. I barely notice it because all I can focus on are the mottled red and purple bruises covering half her face. I sag against the door, the emotion right back in my throat. She doesn¡¯t even look like my mum right now. And my father did that. ¡°Darling,¡± she sings, extending her uninjured hand towards me. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to take time off work toe see me. Bute in,e in.¡± She says it like I¡¯m visiting her in her boudoir at home, not a hospital room where she¡¯s surrounded by half a dozen beeping machines. ¡°Mum,¡± I croak out, my voice breaking. I clear my throat to rid myself of the obstruction and walk over to her bedside. ¡°Are you alright? What happened?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing serious, darling. A little fall down the stairs but they¡¯ve patched me up. I¡¯ll be back in top form before you know it.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell them dad did this to you?¡± She flinches and I hate it. I hate that I made her react that way when she¡¯s injured. I hate that she¡¯s so concerned with keeping up appearances that she¡¯ll never leave him. But more than anything, I hate that bringing him up has that effect on her. ¡°Because it¡¯s not true,¡± she says quietly, averting her gaze. ¡°What if hees here?¡± She pales. I continue anyway. ¡°What is it going to take for you to finally tell the truth? How badly does he need to hurt you next time?¡± ¡°Oh darling, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I wouldn¡¯t.¡± I say, my jaw locking in ce. ¡°What if it was me?¡± Her eyes fly up to mine. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Remember Franklin, from work? The man he made me dance with at the charity g?¡± She nods. ¡°He attacked me at the office. He hurt me. He tried to sexually assault me. He would have seeded if Thiago hadn¡¯t intervened.¡± Thiago and my mum haven¡¯t met yet. I¡¯ve been so busy trying to settle into my new reality, my marriage, that I never even considered setting something up. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d even be interested. He often speaks with his dad on the phone, but hasn¡¯t once introduced me either. Her eyes widen in horror. They have a hard time focusing on my face for a second, but then she clutches my hands in hers. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m so sorry. I hope karma catches up with him in the end.¡± If only she knew that it already has, in the form of my merciless husband. I squeeze her hands in return. ¡°Have that same empathy for yourself. Please, Mum. If it¡¯s uneptable to you that it happen to me, then the same should apply to you.¡± When her eyes unfocus again, I remember the doctor¡¯s words about the IV drip. She spreads her hands on her duvet, marveling at her fingers. ¡°Gosh, what beautiful linens.¡± I look down at the drab hospital bedding knowing that sober Bettina Noble would judge them to be approximately fifteen levels below hideous. Her eyes snap up to a spot just above my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t turn around just yet but there¡¯s an incredibly handsome man staring at me through the windows.¡±T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. I snort. ¡°What kind of drugs are they giving you?¡± She sighs wistfully, a longing look on her features. ¡°A face that chiseled must make for a wonderful seat. I sure hope someone¡¯s taking him for a ride. s, I¡¯m no longer in the appropriate age bracket or I might be tempted.¡± ¡°Mum!¡± I exim, flushing beet red. Hearing my uptight, etiquette-conscious mother say that is absolutely shocking, and frankly, a bit traumatizing. The unexpected levity caused by the introduction of drugs into this tragic moment considerably lightens the weight in my stomach. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Looking up at the IV bag, I mutter, ¡°They must have you hooked up to the really good stuff.¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯sing in Tessie,¡± my mom says excitedly. I hear the door open but I¡¯m so caught up in her use of my nickname that I don¡¯t acknowledge it. She hasn¡¯t called me that since I was fifteen. I didn¡¯t realize how much I missed it. ¡°Tess.¡± My heart trips hopelessly in my chest at the sound of that deep voice. My pulse speeds up, the mad organ banging against my ribcage like it¡¯s trying to break itself out. If it could, it would run across the room and throw itself straight at the man who just walked in. Unfortunately, my husband has turned my heart into a bit of an attention-seeking slut where he¡¯s concerned. When I turn around, Thiago is standing in the doorway wearing a long ck coat over his customary all ck suit, one hand buried deep in his pockets with an intense yet unreadable look on his face. The other hand holds my coat and purse tightly in his fist. Those tattoos crawl up his neck like tentacles reaching out to me. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I ask huskily, so happy to see him that my breathing deregtes. He steps into the room,ing closer. Behind him, Arturo reaches in and closes the door, but not before throwing me a dark re. Okay, I probably deserve that one. Thiagoes to a stop inches from my body, hisrge form towering over me as he stares down into my face. He eyes me intently for long moments before he speaks. ¡°Showing up for you,¡± he replies, eyes locking on mine and shing. ¡°Something I could have done earlier if you¡¯d called me yourself instead of forcing Arturo to handle it.¡± There¡¯s a hint of reproach in his tone. If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d believe he was genuinely upset that I didn¡¯t call. But that¡¯s not possible. I swallow thickly and continue whispering, staying out of my mum¡¯s earshot. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was important,¡± Looking down, I quickly rify. ¡°That it would be important toyou, I mean. I know you¡¯re busy, I didn¡¯t want to pull you away from work just to deal with my problems. I can handle it, I always have.¡± Thiago takes a deep breath, his chest settling at the bottom of a slow exhale. ¡°If it¡¯s important to you, it¡¯s important to me,¡± he corrects. ¡°When I said you were mine, I didn¡¯t mean just on the good days. Your problems also belong to me; I¡¯m as possessive of your rainy days as I am your sunny ones. Got it?¡± My cheeks warm and I nod, whispering. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to deal with these things alone anymore. You have me now.¡± That mass is back in my throat for an altogether different reason now. He told me once that he could be sweet to me if I¡¯d just let him. He has been. The butterflies that take flight in my stomach are worrisome, a reflection of how hooked I am on him. His presence alone has brought a lightness to my body that wasn¡¯t there five minutes earlier, even though part of me still has a hard time reconciling the fact that the violent psycho and the unexpectedly supportive husband are the same person. Thiago palms the side of my neck, forcing my face back up towards his. His thumb brushes affectionately back and forth across my cheek, that same hot-blooded intensity still shining in his gaze. ¡°And no more ditching your escort. I don¡¯t ever want to get another panicked call telling me that you left Arturo behind and disappeared alone into the streets of London.¡± Part of me wants to rail at him that I¡¯m not a prisoner, but the urgent undertone in his voice makes me pause. Softer, he admits, ¡°For a moment, I thought he was calling to tell me that you¡¯d run away again.¡± My heart seizes. I reacted on autopilot when I heard my mum was in the hospital so I can¡¯t regret the way I handled it, but I am remorseful that I didn¡¯t even stop to consider how my actions might be perceived by him. Reaching for his hand, I take it in mine and give it a firm, reassuring squeeze. ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise.¡± He doesn¡¯t rify if what I¡¯m promising is not to run from him again or not to go anywhere without my escort. I wish he¡¯d ask. ¡°Good girl,¡± he praises, pressing a sweet, lingering kiss on my forehead. Then he moves past me and walks up to the hospital bed. I turn to find my mum staring up at him with intrigued eyes. I¡¯m ashamed to admit I¡¯d temporarily forgotten she was there. That¡¯s how all-consuming he is. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Noble. I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°A word of warning,¡± I interrupt as I move to the other side of the bed. ¡°She¡¯s high as a kite.¡± His lips twitch in amusement. I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re meeting under these circumstances. He looks down to find my mum wagging a finger up at him in reproach. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s in need of a warning, flirting with my daughter and looking at her like you just did. She¡¯s married, you know.¡± I cover myugh with a cough. She must not recognize Thiago from our wedding announcement. I really do need to organize a brunch for them to meet, preferably at a time when she¡¯s sober. Thiago¡¯s eyes lift slowly to mine, mirth shining in his golden irises. ¡°Is she?¡± he asks unhurriedly, ying along. ¡°Recently, yes, and I doubt her husband would like another man kissing her the way you just did.¡± It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue to correct her when he answers. ¡°I know for a fact he wouldn¡¯t like that at all.¡± The humor slowly disappears, his gaze turningnguid and possessive as it settles on me. My belly flips as unexpected warmth unfurls in my stomach at his heavy perusal. His words rumble thickly in his chest. ¡°He¡¯s a very lucky man to get to call her his.¡± ¡°Yes, he is,¡± my mum answers, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly. ¡°I just hope he knows it.¡± ¡°He does.¡± Thiago¡¯s answer slips effortlessly past his lips. Heat res across my skin at the possessive way he stares at me. A girl could believe she was the center of his universe if he kept looking at her like that for too much longer. His gaze trails back down to my mum. ¡°Are you being taken care of?¡± ¡°Oh yes, I have lovely doctors.¡± ¡°They told me what happened to you. Their theory of whatreallyhappened.¡± I gulp, emotion clogging my throat. She¡¯s never been confronted about this by someone other than Tristan or myself. I know she¡¯s not likely to give any more away to him than she did to us, but his deep voice is so intimidating that it impacts her anyway. She winces and looks down. There¡¯s shame wafting off of her and it makes me so, so angry.My fathershould be ashamed of what he did, not her. Thiago takes note of her reaction, understanding in a split second what he¡¯s dealing with. ¡°It¡¯s not my ce to make you talk about things you¡¯re not ready to discuss. That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here. I wanted you to know there¡¯s nothing for you to be afraid of. A guard will be positioned at your door 24/7. He¡¯ll make sure nobodyes in unless you expressly allow them to. He¡¯ll stay until you¡¯re discharged and will remain with you in your home until we can guarantee you won¡¯t fall ever again. Alright?¡± Thiago¡¯s unexpected act of kindness and thoughtfulness does absolute numbers to the poor organ in my chest that I¡¯ve been trying to protect from his assault, in vain. I can¡¯t believe the extent he¡¯s willing to go for her. For the first time ever, there¡¯s someone other than Tristan standing by my side and helping me through the lowest moments in my life and I want to throw myself in his arms to express my gratitude. Her eyes blink slowly, sleeping to pull her under. ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± she asks, resting back against the pillows. Her eyes close. ¡°I don¡¯t even know you,¡± she adds foggily. I assume she¡¯s drifted off into drug-induced sleep but then her eyes flutter open. For a moment, she looks more lucid than she has in thest ten minutes as she waits expectantly for a response from him. Thiago ces a hand on her shoulder and speaks to her with a kind of evocative sincerity that echoes in every word. ¡°For your daughter,¡± he exins. ¡°Because it fucking kills me when she¡¯s sad.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 49 Iwalk into the library to find Tess curled up on one of the velvet couches, snuggled up under a cover and reading a book about the evolution of math and its role throughout history. A ball of warmth moves from my stomach up to my chest watching her bepletely at ease in our home, especially knowing it wasn¡¯t always that way. We¡¯ve settled well into our life together thest few weeks and I have a hard time remembering what my life was like without her in it. Smaller, that¡¯s for sure. Much, much smaller. Her mother¡¯s hospital visit has been weighing on her. Even though Tristan came home and convinced her to move out, the remnants of that whole ordeal still hang like a stormy cloud over Tess. And I wasn¡¯t kidding ¨C I fucking hate it when she¡¯s sad. She¡¯s in need of a good distraction. Over the pages of her book, she spots me hanging in the doorway. A slow but heartfelt smile stretches across her lips and punches me right in the gut. ¡°Hey, handsome.¡± I quirk a brow,ing in and sitting next to her, setting my palm on the other side of her bent legs. ¡°Handsome?¡± She blushes adorably. I love that I can make her react that way. ¡°You have a few names for me. I thought I¡¯d try out a couple for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I answer, nuzzling her hip. ¡°I look forward to all the little pet names you¡¯re going to give me.¡± Even through the nket covering her, I can still smell her addictive scent. I¡¯m even more dependent on it than when I first smelled it all those months ago, time having done nothing to dull my obsession as I once hoped. Her handes down to my face and she rakes her fingers through my hair in a gentle caress. Goosebumps erupt down my neck in response and I shudder. Setting my chin on her hip, I look up to find her attention back on her book, her hand still stroking my hair. This simple picture of domesticity squeezes my heart in a vice. ¡°We¡¯re going out tonight,¡± I announce. She shuts her book, her eyes shining as they meet mine. ¡°Really?¡± she asks excitedly, sitting up and crossing her legs. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Excess. It¡¯s Cillian Tellier¡¯s club, Callum¡¯s brother.¡± My face darkens. ¡°You remember him.¡± She smiles, reaching for my neck and hooking a leg over myp to straddle me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I do. What I do remember from that night is my husband taking me upstairs for the first time.¡± My smirk is smug. I smack the side of her ass sharply before grabbing a cheek in each hand and she yelps. ¡°Good answer.¡± ??? Tess stalks out of her walk-in wardrobe in nothing but a pink bra, matching underwear, and a ck pair of heels. She ces her fists on her hips and narrows her eyes on me where I¡¯m sitting on the edge of our bed. ¡°I have nothing appropriate to wear. None of the options are going to cover these up,¡± she says, pulling her hair up into a ponytail with one hand and pointing at her chest and the column of her neck with the other. Half a dozen bruises stain her skin, all of them made by my mouth over the past couple of days. ¡°Why would you want to cover them up?¡± She releases her hair, her mouth dropping open along with it. I think she forgets that she¡¯s standing almost naked in front of me and that I¡¯m about thirty seconds away from adding another trophy on her skin next to the others. I suck on the cinnamon candy in my mouth to keep myself from pouncing on her. ¡°I can¡¯t go out in public looking like this.¡± ¡°You can and you will. Quite a few other cartel members will be atExcesswith us. I want everyone to see that I¡¯ve imed my queen.¡± She flushes. ¡°I¡¯ll look like a slut.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll look like your husband is obsessed with marking you, and he is,¡± I counter. ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing I¡¯m obsessed with. Come here,¡± I say, spreading my legs and motioning for her toe stand between them. Desire blooms in her gaze but she shakes her head. ¡°Not right now, I have to get ready.¡± ¡°Come here,amor.¡± She does as I ask, her breaths deepening as she approaches me. When she¡¯s between my legs, I cup the back of her thigh, rubbing up and down the soft skin in a iming motion. ¡°You can¡¯t walk out in pretty little lingerie that¡¯s just begging to be ripped off your body and ask me not to react.¡± She moans at the contact, her handing up to the back of my neck. ¡°We¡¯re never going to make it out,¡± she answers breathlessly. ¡°We are. I have ns for us.¡± I reach for the small box I ced on the bed beside me and pop it open, revealing what¡¯s inside. ¡°And they include this.¡± My hand trails up to her ass, pushing under the fabric of her panties to grab her cheek. She looks at the small pink toy and swallows thickly. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± She nods. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a plug.¡± My hand tightens on her ass and her eyes move from the plug over to me. ¡°There¡¯s one more hole left for me to im,amor. Then you¡¯ll bepletely mine.¡± Her breath hitches when one of my fingers slips into the crack of her ass. Her pupils dte when it trails down the valley of her cheeks until it finds the tight ring of muscles.T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Has anyone ever taken you here?¡± I circle her opening and her mouth parts. She stares unseeingly into my eyes as she takes in the reactions coursing through her body. The longer she waits to answer my question, the tighter the band of possessiveness squeezes my chest. The jealousy nearly blinds me, the thought of someone else taking her ass making me want to put my fist through a wall. When she shakes her head again, a poisonous breath expels from my lips, clearing my lungs. ¡°What about a plug? Fingers?¡± ¡°Never.¡± A territorial rumble rips from my throat. ¡°Good. It¡¯s mine.¡± I add a bit of pressure, not enough to press in but enough to give her a taste of what it could feel like. I remove my hand and flick a finger under thece of her panties. ¡°Take these off.¡± Tess does as instructed and I love how docile she¡¯s be, how she takes orders and does them without questioning me. She straightens, showing me her pretty little pussy. Standing in front of me in heels, it¡¯s perfectly in line with my face. I lean forward and flick my tongue once across her slit. She gasps, handing to my shoulder. ¡°Get on the bed,¡± I say, looking up at her. I stand and turn, watching her sit on the bed andy back on her elbows. I grab her by the ankles and flip her in one swift move so that she¡¯s on her stomach. She yelps when I grab her hips and pull them back, leaving her chest syed on the bed. ¡°You¡¯re going to show me this ass when I y with it for the first time,¡± I say, smacking her cheek. She bucks forward but I hold her back with a hand on her hip. Her pussy glistens between her legs, beckoning to me. I fall to my knees and bury my face in her warm heat. She moans loudly when she feels my tonguep at her folds. I eat her out like a man possessed, licking lines, circles, and a dozen other shapes into her wet flesh as she writhes beneath me. Her legs shake so hard that it takes me wrapping my arms around her thighs to keep her upright. I suck her clit into my mouth, pulling it between my lips and grazing over it roughly with sharp teeth. ¡°Oh, my god, yes.Yes,¡± she gasps. ¡°That feels so good.¡± Moving higher, I find her entrance, circling it over and over until she¡¯s mewling loudly. Taking the cinnamon candy I¡¯d stored in my cheek, I ce it on my tongue and push it into her tight pussy. It¡¯s notrge but she feels it going in anyway, her eyes widening and finding mine over the cheeks of her ass. I press it further into her channel until itpletely disappears. ¡°Push it out for me.¡± A blush explodes across her cheeks even as arousal blows her pupils wide. ¡°Use your muscles and push it back out onto my tongue,¡± I order, cing my tongue right beneath her opening, waiting to receive the candy like I asked. A look of concentration crosses her face and then she tightens her pussy. I watch, transfixed, as the candy reappears, dropping from her hole back onto my tongue. ¡°Thiago,¡± she gasps. I suck it into my mouth, closing my eyes and concentrating onpping at the juices coating the hard edges. My candy has never tasted this fucking good. My eyes flutter open, dark and aroused as they find hers. ¡°Delicious,¡± I rasp. ¡°Do it again.¡± And then I force the candy back into her tight passage. Again and again until her pussy tastes like cinnamon and the candy ispletely gone. She¡¯s so sopping wet it¡¯s dripping down the side of her thighs. I drag my tongue up the inside of her leg, taking all those juices into my mouth. ¡°I knew you liked it dirty,amor,¡± I grunt gutturally. ¡°You¡¯re going to love having your ass yed with.¡± Parting her cheeks with both hands, I expose that tight, winking hole to my eyes. Pink, just like the rest of her. I can¡¯t resist licking around those curves for a few demented seconds. She moans when I dip two fingers in her pussy and bring them up to her ring of muscles. I circle the pretty whorl, loosening the outer muscles and getting herfortable with being touched there. Little by little, the muscles of her low back cken, revealing just how much she¡¯s enjoying my caresses. I go back into her pussy and bring additional lube up to her hole. ¡°You¡¯re so wet, I think you¡¯ll take me easily.¡± Tess tightens again when she feels me adding pressure. I smack her cheeks sharply, twice. She yelps, rxing, and I press a finger past the tight ring of muscles and into her ass. ¡°Holy¨C¡± Her words cut off on a swift inhale. Her shoulder nese together at the top of her back, but her hole offers very little resistance to my pration and I slide in easily all the way to the webbing. ¡°Fuck, look at that,¡± I breathe, rocked by how firmly her walls clutch my digit. ¡°I was right. Look how easily you took my finger in your ass.¡± When I pull almost all the way out and push right back in, she keens loudly. ¡°How does it feel?¡± The tenor of my voice scares me, the obsession sounding almost like mania. ¡°Strange. Tight.¡± She pauses. ¡°Good.¡± When I press a second finger next to the first, she stills. ¡°Rx. You can take it.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s too much.¡± I spit on her hole, using my second finger to rub it in at her entrance, and she shudders in response. ¡°Oh god, Thiago.¡± ¡°I love it when you moan my name like that.¡± Both fingers press forward, stretching her ass. They break through the ring of muscles with more difficulty, but when they do, Tess screams. ¡°Oh!¡± Her eyes are wild and frantic, but delirious with lust. Pushing them further into her passage, I try not toe in my trousers staring at how her ass stretches for me. The thought of putting my cock there one day sends a shiver down my spine. I pump them a few times inside her until she¡¯s breathingboriously and squirming all over the bed, her hands desperately clutching the sheets. Then I pop them out and grab the toy. ¡°Look at me,amor.¡± When she does, I keep my gaze on hers and dribble thick saliva onto the rounded end. Her eyes ze over, her teething out to bite her lower lip. ¡°This plug is only a little wider than my fingers, but you can take it.¡± When it¡¯s sufficiently wet, I ce it against her entrance and start pressing it in. She whimpers loudly but keeps her hole rxed like a good girl. Her sphincter doesn¡¯t immediately give in, so I push the plug against her resistance, repeatedly moving back and forth until she¡¯s muttering unintelligibly. My thumbes down to find and press down on her clit. I rub it roughly, adding another dimension to her pleasure until she¡¯s nearly bucking off the bed. When I pinch the throbbing nub between two fingers, shees with an explosive orgasm that has her toppling down to the bed and her ass finally gives in, swallowing the plug entirely into its depth. ¡°Fuck,¡± she moans, legs shaking wildly. I love it when she curses. I part her ass while sheys on her stomach, taking a second to admire the pink plug snuggled deeply in there and the glistening jewel that crowns the tip. Tess shrieks when I push on the jewel with my thumb, shoving it deeper inside her. I smack both cheeks and stand, admiring how pretty my wife looksid out and spent beneath me. ¡°Go finish getting ready.¡± She turns her head and looks up at me, confused. ¡°T-That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± I confirm as she stands. She winces when the plug moves with her and I wish I could put a camera on her to capture every reaction she has to it. ¡°Go get cleaned up.¡± ¡°What about¡­ what you just put inside me?¡± ¡°The plug?¡± I cup her cheek and kiss her lips, softer than I¡¯d like. If I don¡¯t restrain myself, we¡¯ll never leave our rooms. Pulling away, I add. ¡°I want you to wear it all night, the difort and the pleasure and the stretch making you think of the day I¡¯ll rece it with my cock.¡± Her eyes sh but with interest, not distaste. I was so right about her and the dark fantasies she has. ¡°You want me to wear this to the club?¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I hum. ¡°I want to watch you taking a sip of your drink, I want to watch you talking to people, I want to watch you dancing, all the while knowing you have a plug in your ass and that I put it there.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 50 Arturo paces in the front courtyard, raking his hands through his hair. ¡°Today¡¯s loss was the biggest yet.¡± Another one of our shipments was targeted this morning, resulting in a hundred kilo loss of merchandise. I¡¯d expected some blowback from the Italians, but not this targeted. Their attacks are too precise to be operating off blind luck. Arturo¡¯s frustration pales inparison to mine but I refuse to let any of my men see me be affected by this. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Tellier while we¡¯re atExcess. He has his ear to the ground, I want to know if he¡¯s heard any whispers about where they could be getting their info.¡± My gaze darts back towards the front door. Tess is finishing getting ready and I¡¯m eagerly waiting for her toe out. Arturo¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Is that really the best ce to discuss this?¡± ¡°You¡¯d rather I wait until we schedule something formal, potentially after a couple more shipments are hit?¡± ¡°No,Diablo, but¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him tonight.¡± He picks up on the finality in my tone and doesn¡¯t respond. At that moment, the door opens and outes Tess. She walks down the stairs in the most sinful dress I¡¯ve everid eyes on ¨C chrome pink, tight, and short. The fact that it matches the plug still buried in her ass drives me wild. Every time her leg lifts toe down a step, she nearly shes me. The cocky smile she directs my way tells me she knew exactly how it was going to affect me. Her hair is down around her shoulders, her eyes lightly shaded with soft pink hues that entuate the blues of her irises. My gaze rakes over her curves, over those very apparent love marks, leaving a warm imprint of my possessive gaze behind. ¡°Jefe,¡± Arturo warns. ¡°She¡¯s barely wearing anything. Maybe she should change¡­¡± Tess frowns when she hears him, clear hesitation marking her features. I reach out a hand to her, pulling her close. ¡°No longer in mourning?¡± I smirk. Her smilees back, her eyes glittering. She shakes her head softly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I whisper. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking hot.¡± Turning towards my lieutenant, I add. ¡°Let them look, Turo. They¡¯ll see she belongs to me.¡± He nods stiffly, then gets into the ck car waiting behind us. Tess makes a move to go in after him, but I stop her with a hand on her lower belly. ¡°We¡¯re not taking the car tonight,amor.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Grabbing her by the hips, I turn her to face the grass just off to the side of the house where my Arc Vector motorcycle awaits us. ¡°That¡¯s our ride.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± She lets me take her hand and walk her over to the feat of engineering that is my bike. The uncertain look on her face remains even as I throw my leg over one side and get on. ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± she whispers. If there was any amount of money I could pay to make her never experience that emotion again, I would. I palm the helmet hanging from the handlebars and bring it onto myp, opening the chin strap and visor. Reaching for her, I brush the hair back from her face carefully and then put it on her head. She looks adorable with the helmet on, strands of blonde hair framing the visible band around her eyes. ¡°I¡¯d die before I let anything happen to you on this bike,¡± I tell her, clipping the chin strap back in ce. Then I unzip my jacket, revealing my ck tee, and motion at her to slip it on. ¡°So you¡¯re not cold. It gets chilly.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you pressed up against my back, your hands wrapped securely around my body. Nothing¡¯s going to keep me warmer than that.¡±This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. She smiles, leaning in for a kiss when she remembers the helmet she has on andughs instead. ¡°Come on, get on,¡± I say, putting on my own helmet. Tess ces both hands on my shoulders and one hand on her foot hold, using it as momentum to get her leg over the other side. When she sits, she groans loudly, her covered foreheading down against my shoulder. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°No,¡± she says on a sharp inhale. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ sitting like this, with my legs spread. It¡¯s adding pressure on the plug.¡± Lust shoots straight to my groin at the tormented undertone in her voice. I look over my shoulder back at her. ¡°Wait until the bike¡¯s vibrations pulse against it,amor. If you don¡¯te from that stimtion, I¡¯ll have taken the bike out for nothing.¡± She gasps. ¡°Is that why you¨C¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say, reaching a possessive hand back to cup to the top of her exposed thigh. ¡°I want you toe while you hold onto me for dear life.¡± I m her visor shut, then mine, cutting off the words on the tip of her tongue. She tentatively grabs me, one handing around each side of my ribs. I grab her wrists and yank them forward until she falls against my back. ¡°Keep your arms wrapped around my waist,¡± I order and she does as I ask, long nails scraping against my abdomen. I rev the engine loudly and then we¡¯re off. The wind whips around us, brisk and sharp, but Tess¡¯s body stays pressed against mine. The bike roars vigorously between our legs and as we weave between cars and down open roads, I¡¯m reminded of the power this machine makes me feel. Tess doesn¡¯t know that mics in our helmets connect us. Mine is muted to avoid distracting her so all I focus on are the sounds she¡¯s making. And they¡¯re unbelievable. She pants and gasps and mewls and mutters cursed call outs for God as the juddering of the bike pushes and shakes the plug deeper inside her. She presses her hips forward, trying to add simr friction to her clit. When it makes contact with the leather, her fingers w at my stomach and she shatters with a loud cry. Wee to a slow stop at a massive triple intersection and I pop my visor open, looking back at her with dark, gleaming eyes. ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise. She opens her own visor, the top of her cheeks bright red. ¡°You heard that?¡± I press a button on my phone that unmutes me and I speak into the mic. ¡°Every.Single. Moan.¡± Her eyes widenically when my voice echoes in her helmet. She ps my upper arm and Iugh boisterously. ¡°Get my seat dirty,preciosa. I want you toe on everything I own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of orgasms,¡± she points out. I tip her chin under her helmet. ¡°We¡¯ve got time.¡± She yfully smacks my visor closed and I turn back around, waiting for the light to turn green. That¡¯s when I feel her hand drop from my stomach down to cup my cock through my trousers. I hiss in a breath, tensing against her chest. ¡°Careful,¡± I warn silkily. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who can have fun.¡± I grip her wrist and bring her hand back up to my abdomen. ¡°I just promised you I wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to you. If you stroke my cock while I drive, I¡¯ll crash us within the next fifteen seconds.¡± Tess shakes my hold off and squeezes my dick one more time before resting her hand on my thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you when we get there,¡± I growl. ¡°I look forward to it.¡± A Hummer pulls up in thene next to ours. Tess rakes her nails gleefully down my stomach, making me groan. She¡¯s teasing me and driving me to the very edge, but short of fucking her in front of an audience, which isn¡¯t fucking happening, there¡¯s nothing I can do. My right hand reaches up to finger the fabric of her dress, tugging it down. It¡¯s so short that it rides almostpletely up her leg when she¡¯s seated, so I keep my hand syed protectively on her thigh. Awareness filters down my spine when the Hummer¡¯s driver window rolls down. An elbowes out to rest on the car door, followed by the face of some twenty year old frat boy turning to stare lewdly at Tess. His friends in the passenger and back seats egg him on encouragingly, wide grins splitting their faces. ¡°Hey, baby,¡± the driver drawls out in a thick American ent, a suggestive smile pulling at his lips. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe over here and wrap your legs around a real man for a change?¡± ¡°Yeah, between the three of us we could put those holes to good use,¡± his friend chirps. Tess¡¯s arms tighten around me. My ckout visor stays down as I turn my head slowly towards the driver. His smile wipes off in a decidedly less cheerful manner than it appeared when he finds himself looking cross eyed into the barrel of my gun. My arm is outstretched, bridging the gap between the twones until the pistol is less than a foot from his face. His friend slumps bonelessly down into his seat, disappearing from view. ¡°Repeat that.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Arctic frost sweeps into my tone, my finger flipping the safety off with a loud, chilling click. ¡°Apologize.¡± ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, miss,¡± he answers, voice shaking. I¡¯d bet a hundred grand he¡¯s pissing himself right now. ¡°Misses,¡± Tess corrects easily, holding up her left hand in his direction. My approving growl echoes territorially between us, my other hand tightening bruisingly on her thigh. He turns ghostly pale as he takes in her diamond ring and wedding band. ¡°Roll your window back up.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he squeaks. He rolls it closed then blows through the red light, just nearly avoiding colliding with oing traffic. A pity. The car behind him slowly advances into the vacant spot, the driver keeping his wide eyes dutifully on the road. ¡°That was reckless,¡± Tess admonishes me softly. She¡¯s not wrong. But it¡¯s not like Iwantto be threatening, maiming, or killing every fucker wee into contact with. It¡¯s Tess who makes them lose their minds, their entire sense of self-preservation. If I didn¡¯t have such a beautiful wife, the life expectancy of London¡¯s male poption would be much higher, the mortality rate significantly lower. I remember months ago when I was worried about my growing obsession, about her bing a vulnerability of mine. I tried to stop it, tried to guard against the tentacles of those feelings encroaching around my heart. Now I¡¯m rashly killing important leads, chopping off limbs in public spaces, and whipping out my gun on an open road. In retrospect, trying to stop myself from caring about Tess was like asking the Earth to stop rotating around the Sun. Simply impossible. She¡¯s my biggest weakness. My Achilles¡¯ heel. The easiest, most obvious, and certainly the most lethal way somebody could hurt me. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 51 Excess is the living embodiment of its name. Opulence rolls from it in waves, from the vintage chandeliers on the ceiling, to the velvet walls, to the talented, half-naked dancers upying the various podiums around the club. The ceiling is raised at least thirty feet withvish candbras hanging from it. The dance floor ispletely packed as music res from bass boosted speakers. Thiago pulls me through the throng of people towards stairs that¡¯ll take us up into the VIP area. His arm is outstretched behind him and he holds my hand firmly in his as he shoulders through the mass. I hold on for dear life, afraid of being separated in this crush. When we¡¯ve only made it a third of the way through the crowd, he abruptly stops and turns around. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. His hands find my waist and he pulls me against him. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work. I don¡¯t like you being behind me. I need eyes on you.¡± He folds me into his side and one armes vigntly over my shoulder. Then he starts pushing through the crowd once more, using his free hand to move people out of the way. Nestled as I am in his chest, I can feel his heart beating against my shoulder, the rhythmic thuddingforting. I sneak a thoughtful nce up at his face, at the determined look in his eye, the decisive set of his jaw. I let my hatred of Thiego¡¯s background and his workpletely blind me to him for so long. In reality, he¡¯s been my protector. He defends me with a fierceness that knows no bounds, like when he pulled out a gun earlier. He saves me every day, in countless ways, big and small. He always has, since we first met. He might bepletely unhinged but not with me. Never with me, except in the ways I want him to be. That¡¯s been the biggest surprise of our entire marriage. I¡¯m bursting at the seams to tell him how I feel, but I can¡¯t. Not without knowing where he stands. As we break through the other side of the crowd, Thiago feels the heat of my stare on him and looks down. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asks, his hand on my low back as we go up the stairs. When we get to thending, I turn and palm his side. ¡°No,¡± I say, looking up at him from beneath myshes. ¡°I just wanted you to know¡­ I misjudged you when we first met. You¡¯re not what I expected, what I thought you were.¡± I grin. ¡°Well, no, youare, but you¡¯re not that way with me. You always protect me and I¡­ I¡¯ve never had that before.¡± He¡¯s dressed more casually than usual in a simple ck tee leading into equally dark trousers. The short sleeves of his shirt reveal his corded, tattoo-covered arms. Seeing his sinewy frame against the backdrop of this sultry club sends a pang of lust shooting straight to my pussy. It turns downright painful when those dark, gleaming eyes of his find mine and a smile tugs at his lips. ¡°I¡¯d protect you with my life,amor.¡± My heart pinches at his husky rasp. Thiago bends his head to find my lips, but I turn my face away. He freezes, eyes boring questioningly into the side of my face as a muscle twitches in his jaw. There¡¯s a mass in my throat that makes it hard to speak. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of effort to go to for someone insignificant.¡± He straightens, his tone sharp. ¡°Insignificant?¡± ¡°Actually, that wasn¡¯t quite the word you used. You said you weren¡¯t burdened by ¡°trivial, unnecessary emotions¡± like caring about other people because it would make you vulnerable. That you don¡¯t get attached.¡± I can hear the bitterness in my voice. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten it. It¡¯s a good thing for me to remember.¡± The words feel hollow and taste acrid on my tongue, but they have to be said. I¡¯d be a fool to ignore what he told me, to hope that it could change. Thiago nods slowly. Pensively. He reaches for my hand, hooking a finger with mine. I stare at where we¡¯re joined, taking in the familiar jolt of electricity. He tips the underside of my chin and forces me to look up at him. ¡°Why?¡± he asks, eyes searching mine. ¡°Do you want me to feel those emotions for you?¡± I try tugging my hand out of his, but he squeezes tighter. ¡°No, I¨C¡± ¡°Because I do,¡± he finishes, bringing my hand up to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss on my wrist. ¡°I do.¡± Emotion rushes to my head and makes my legs quake. Thiago pushes me backwards until we disappear into an obscured corner. His eyes shine in the dark like two beacons hypnotizing me. ¡°And my obsession, my feelings, my constantneedfor you do make me vulnerable. They¡¯re all weaknesses I can ill afford, that I should protect myself against.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°By letting you go.¡± I flinch, unprepared for that answer. The cavernous void that cleaves itself through my stomach leaves destruction and chaos in its path. As desperate as I once was to escape him, the thought of him discarding me now like I mean nothing is a hundred times more painful. ¡°You¡¯re going to let me go?¡± His nostrils re. ¡°No.¡± My mouth dries at his harshly clipped response. ¡°Why not?¡± A hand palms my throat and angles my head back against the wall. Golden eyes that shine in the dark stare down at me, going from my dted pupils to my parted lips. ¡°I¡¯m even more vulnerable without you.¡± He sounds almost frustrated by the admission. ¡°I¡¯m distracted. Unfocused.Elsewhere. Wondering where you are, what you¡¯re doing, and who you¡¯re with. Whether you think of me and if you smile when you do. I had the mattress in the guest room burned into inexistence simply because I hated the fact that you slept anywhere but with me when you first got here.¡± His hand tightens around my throat, his thumb rubbing against my pulse point. ¡°I have to change everything about how I operate, how I survive, how I keep myself as invincible as possible, because now my heart walks out in the world free from my chest, wrapped in pink and looking dangerously appetizing to every single fucker in this city and if something ever happened to you I don¡¯t know what I would do.¡± My lungs empty at his deration. At the tormented look in his eye. Then I¡¯m standing on my toes and reaching for him, whispering, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t survive it if anything happened to you,¡± before I¡¯m iming his lips with mine. It¡¯s as close to telling him the whole truth as I can give him right now, those three little words hanging back just behind my lips. Thiago drags me against him with rough hands on my waist, his lips opening to wee my tongue into his mouth. He groans sultrily, heating my blood, and grips generous handfuls of my ass, pulling me against his hard cock. His hold jostles the plug inside me and I moan loudly. A throat clears behind us. ¡°Sorry to interrupt,jefe. I need a word.¡± Thiago¡¯s lips pull away with an audible sound and he looks over his shoulder at Marco. ¡°The ountant called with an update.¡± He curses, breathing heavily. ¡°Let me get her settled, then we can talk.¡± Thiago levels me with a sexually frustrated look that I¡¯m sure mirrors my own. I know it must because his pupils dte and his teeth grit in pained restraint before he looks away. He grabs my hand and pulls me down the hallway into arge,vish room with a private bar, multiple dancers, and couches upied with tattooed men and women who clearly all belong to the cartel. They all stand and nod at us when we enter and walk past. ¡°Valentina,¡± Thiago calls out and a woman around my age with luscious, long brown hair stands and turns around. I recognize her instantly, even if I only caught a glimpse of herst time. She¡¯s the woman in the gold dress. ¡°This is Tess. Marco and I need to talk, can you look after her while I¡¯m gone?¡± Her stunning hazel eyes widen when he introduces us. ¡°Of course I can! I¡¯m so happy to finally meet you, Tess. I¡¯ve heard so much about you.¡± Thiago kisses my forehead and walks off, leaving me with her and no exnation of who she is to him. I watch him go unhappily, then turn back around with a sour look on my face. ¡°So you¡¯re close with my husband then?¡± Valentina¡¯s eyes widen at the hostility in my tone, her gaze pinging back and forth between mine as she tries to decipher me. Eventually, sheughs, her nose scrunching up adorably. She reaches out to sp my hand in hers and motions for me to sit next to her on a couch away from the others. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much he¡¯s told you about me, so let me make sure there are no misunderstandings between us. I have no interest or designs on Thiago. There is nothing and willneverbe anything between us. He¡¯s my adoptive brother, that¡¯s it,¡± she swears. ¡°Plus, he only has eyes for one woman these days so I wouldn¡¯t be concerned about his attention swaying.¡± He just confessed that he has feelings for me, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯llst forever. My father once allegedly loved my mother and look where they are now. ¡°All men¡¯s attention sway eventually.¡± ¡°His won¡¯t,¡± she vows. ¡°Nothing¡¯s been able to take his attention away from the business, and certainly not a woman. Then one day out of nowhere, he¡¯s chasing you across Europe and forcing you to marry him. He¡¯s yours. If you want him to be, that is.¡± She tilts her head cutely to the side and peers at me. ¡°And based on this five minute conversation, I think you do. He¡¯s the best you know, underneath all that murderous angst is the most loyal man you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± I blush, looking down at my hands. ¡°You speak so highly of him, it¡¯s nice to hear.¡± ¡°I grew up with him, he really is my brother. And he cared for me after¡­¡± she trails off abruptly, her eyes ssing. She blinks and looks away, shielding the sudden sheen of tears from my view. It¡¯s my turn to squeeze her hand. I can guess what made her emotional. ¡°After Adriana?¡± Surprise colors her features when she turns to look at me. ¡°He¡¯s already told you about her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± In fact, he¡¯s been telling me more and more about her since visiting my mum in the hospital. It¡¯s like realizing we have shared trauma when ites to the women in our lives bonded us and made him open up even further. ¡°Then he¡¯s definitely never swaying,¡± she says, proudly adding. ¡°You¡¯re in this for life.¡± Carefully, I say, ¡°I hope so.¡± She ps her hands happily and cheers. ¡°So I was right! I¡¯m thrilled to hear it.¡± She grabs her ss of champagne and raises it in toast to me before taking a sip. ¡°Does he know you feel this way?¡± The truth is I¡¯ve been falling in love with Thiago from the very beginning. It didn¡¯t happen overnight, far from it. It started with raw lust, grew to interest with distance, expanded to fondness when he made sure the fridge was stocked with my favorite ice cream, developed into deep affection when I checked the time on his phone one night and saw that his wallpaper was the hastily taken photo of our signed marriage certificate he¡¯d snapped sitting in the back of his car, bloomed to admiration when he let me rehearse a work presentation with him for hours because I was anxious about it, swelled to adoration when he saved my life, and ballooned into limitless, unyielding love when he took care of my mum. When he checked in with her every day for a week after she came home from the hospital. When he told me punishment for touching her would be the same as the one for touching me. ¡°He knows I care about him. Deeply. He doesn¡¯t know that what I feel is a little more serious than that.¡± She beams. ¡°You should tell him.¡± I shake my head vigorously. ¡°No way. We literallyjusttalked about our feelings and he didn¡¯t say it. He would have if he felt it. I¡¯m not going to be the one to say it first if he¡¯s not on the same page.¡± I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m spilling my guts to Valentina when she¡¯s a perfect stranger. It¡¯s something to do with the openness of her face, the way she holds my hand. She makes me want to confide in her. And there¡¯s instant relief in the form of a weight lifting off my chest from letting someone in on my secret, even if I can¡¯t tell Thiago yet. ¡°Anyway,¡± I add, waving my hand to put the topic behind us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being a bitch ten minutes ago. You understand why now. But if you¡¯re Thiago¡¯s sister, that makes us family so I¡¯m hoping we can be friends. I promise you I¡¯m usually quite nice.¡± Valentinaughs delightedly, hooking her arm in mine and leaning close with a mischievous smile on her lips. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re absolutely going to be friends. Technically we already are because I¡¯ve considered you my friend since you made Thiago chase after you, but I¡¯ll give you some time to catch up to me.¡± I giggle happily, relieved to have made a new friend on the other side of the cartel line. Except for a couple core people who I see every day, I haven¡¯t really interacted with any of them. That side of Thiago¡¯s life still remains a mystery and I know he likes to keep some separation, to not involve me. But if we¡¯re going to have a sessful future together, we can¡¯t keep our lives separate forever. I assume that¡¯s why he brought me here too, as a first initiation. ¡°This club is amazing,¡± I tell her. ¡°Have you been here before? Do you know the owner?¡± ¡°I have, plenty of times. The cartel has its own clubs and restaurants, but this is one of our regr haunts when we want to focus on pleasure, not business. And yes, I know Cillian well. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll meet him at some point,¡± she says, before adding. ¡°A piece of advice though ¨C don¡¯t stare at him for too long. His wife isinsane. She¡¯ll cut your eyes out of your head for looking.¡± Before I can answer, a man appears behind her. My gaze lifts to him and just by his size alone, I deduce that he¡¯s Callum¡¯s brother. Valentina¡¯s eyes widen when she sees the look on my face. She¡¯s got an apologetic expression pasted on before she¡¯s even turned around. ¡°Sorry, Kill,¡± she says sheepishly. Luckily, he doesn¡¯t seem put off by her assessment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he grins at me, baring sharp teeth, ¡°I promise that my wife is only as insane as I am.¡± That manically handsome smile tells me that¡¯s no small amount. I remind myself not to drink too much tonight. I might not make it out of this club if I do. Cillian crosses his arms and stares down at me. ¡°I¡¯m d you likeExcess, you¡¯re wee anytime you want.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I answer, rising to my feet to look him in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m Tess, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, I know who you are, Tess. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. Although, more from my brother than your husband.Diablo¡¯skeeping his cards close to his chest when ites to you.¡± A warm hand wraps around my low back and Thiago pulls me easily into his side. ¡°There¡¯s a reason for that. Tell your brother if he talks to you about my wife a second time, I¡¯ll make sure he won¡¯t live long enough to do it a third.¡± Cillianughs boisterously, pping his friend good-naturedly on the shoulder. ¡°He mentioned you might say something along those lines.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± Thiago responds, hand moving past my hip to cup my ass. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the stories of how insane he was when he first met his wife. You¡¯d think he¡¯d know not to y games with men who feel simrly about their own.¡± ¡°Yes, Ad?de has my brother wrapped around her little finger. Always has, even when he pretended he wasn¡¯t interested. Always will, ¡± Cillian says, speaking fondly of his sister-inw. ¡°But you know Callum, war and chaos are his business. He can¡¯t resist the games.¡± Thiago grumbles moodily so I wrap my own arm around him and squeeze him yfully. His attention falls to me, his gaze hooding affectionately. ¡°Come dance with me,¡± I ask. Running a finger along my jaw, he questions. ¡°Down in the pit?¡± I shrug. ¡°Sure. Anywhere. I just want to dance with you.¡± He smiles slowly. Releasing me, he pulls Cillian to the side and whispers something in his ear.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. ¡°Of course,¡± Cillian answers. ¡°I¡¯ll get that arranged for you newlyweds. Give me ten minutes.¡± He disappears. Without looking away from me, Thiago calls out. ¡°Get lost,Vale.¡± ¡°Not so fast,hermano,¡± she says, handing me her phone. ¡°Put your number in. I¡¯ll text you next week and we can get a coffee or something.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love that,¡± I reply honestly, typing in my number. She beams when I hand her phone back to her, then narrows her eyes on my husband. ¡°Good to see you too, Thiago. Always a pleasure.¡± Paying her no mind, he sits on the newly empty couch and grabs my waist, pulling me down onto hisp. I whimper when the plug jostles inside me. His hand palms my ass to keep me tightly against him. ¡°We¡¯re not going dancing?¡± I ask with a pout. He thumbs my lips, looking at them lustfully. ¡°We are, but somewhere I think you¡¯ll prefer.¡± Looking down, I notice that his gold chain is twisted. My fingers curl under the metal and I tug it around his neck so the sp is at his nape, the skull and cross hanging on his chest. ¡°Careful.¡± Looking up, I find his head tilted back against the seat, his eyes half-lidded as they stare heatedly down at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting my cock hard.¡± As he says it, I feel his length throb against my ass. ¡°All I did was fix your chain.¡± The corner of his lip pulls up in a thoughtful smile. ¡°I have no willpower when ites to you, so if you want to make it to the dancefloor, I suggest you stop touching me with those dainty fingers and stop grinding your ass down on my cock.¡± I pout again. ¡°Well, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Thiagoughs loudly, his belly moving against my side, and I feel my cheeks burn with pleasure at having pulled that reaction out of him. He nuzzles my neck, his lips finding the column of my throat and leaving a wet trail of kisses that make me shiver against him. Moving up until his lips find the soft skin behind my ear, he whispers. ¡°You¡¯re everything I hoped you would be.¡± A weightless emotion floats up into my chest. Before I can answer, a woman approaches us. ¡°Sir? We¡¯re ready for you now.¡± Keeping his hands on my waist, Thiago helps me off hisp and stands. He takes my hand in his muchrger one and follows after the woman. She takes us up a flight of stairs and down a few more darkened hallways until we reach another set of steps with an ominous looking door at the top. Stopping by the railing she points to the door and motions for us to go up. ¡°It¡¯s unlocked,¡± she says, giving me a smile. ¡°Enjoy.¡± She disappears and I nce up at the door before looking at Thiago. ¡°Sketchy location. Have you perhaps finally decided to kill me?¡± I joke. ¡°What a plot twist that would turn out to be.¡± ¡°Not one I¡¯d personally be a fan of,¡± I quip back. He grins, pulling at my hand to make me go first as we ascend the stairs. ¡°Come on.¡± When we reach the top, he reaches past me to turn the handle. The door opens and I gasp. In front of me is arge rooftop with the same decorative style as the rest ofExcess. I step outside, stunned by the beauty around me. Thousands of string lights hang overhead and from the sidings, making the entire space look magical. Heatingmps stand at all four corners, basking it in additional warm light and afortably cozy temperature despite the frigid winter air. Soft, romantic music ys in the background. It¡¯s empty save for the two of us. Turning, I find Thiago leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed casually, a captivated look on his face as he watches me. ¡°This is so beautiful,¡± I whisper in awe. ¡°Why is nobody else up here?¡± Pushing off the door, hees towards me. ¡°It¡¯s closed until April. The staff only opened it up for us tonight.¡± I look up at the tiny lights. Between the rows of strings, thousands of bright stars shine against the ck night sky. ¡°Why?¡± I ask, breathless with excitement when I look back down at my husband. Thiago takes my hand and pulls me against him, his other palm finding the curve of my waist. ¡°¡®It must be so magical to dance under the stars. I¡¯ve never done it but it¡¯s been on my bucket list forever.¡¯¡± He quotes the line from my journal from memory still, the words as fresh in his mind as if he¡¯d read them yesterday. His facees down to press against mine and he whispers, ¡°I want to be the one you cross things off your bucket list with.¡± Releasing his hand, I wrap my arms around his neck instead and squeeze him against me. ¡°Baby,¡± I hum heavily, unable to say anything else. ¡°¡®Baby¡¯?¡± he groans huskily. ¡°Don¡¯t look any further for pet names. That¡¯s the one I want. That¡¯s what I want you to call me.¡± ¡°Okay, baby,¡± I answer and he murmurs happily. We hold each other that way, swaying slowly around the rooftop in a dance that¡¯s more of an embrace than anything else. ¡°This is our first dance,¡± I say and he lifts his head from my shoulder to look at me. ¡°The one at the g didn¡¯t count since I walked off. But this one is real and it¡¯s everything it should be.¡± The words are on my lips to tell him what I feel, to confess what he should know, what Iwanthim to know, because I¡¯m in too deep to turn around anyway, but something tells me it¡¯s not the right time. Not yet. He threads our fingers together and extends his hand, using the momentum to twirl me away from him. After a second of pause, he tugs, spinning me back down his arm until I¡¯m wrapped against his chest. His lips search for mine and then his tongue sweeps into my mouth and he kisses me with a relentless passion that steals my remaining breath away. There¡¯s an intimacy to the way he holds me while assertively moving his lips over mine that I¡¯ve never felt before. Pulling back gently, I look up into his tattooed face. For long moments, we simply stare at each other infortable yet charged silence. We dance for another song, then another. And another, until it¡¯s impossible to tell where one song ends and the next begins. The more time passes, the more he rxes. He seems lighter than he has recently, the tension having eased from his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve looked stressed the past couple of weeks. I haven¡¯t wanted to pry, but is everything okay?¡± An angry rumble rolls up his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin the moment.¡± My free handes up to brush the teardrop on his cheek. I press a soft kiss against his lips. ¡°What you said about being there for the rainy days applies to me too, baby.¡± He chuckles. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± That tension from earlier returns in the way his jaw sets and his eyes darken. Whatever it is, it¡¯s more serious than usual. ¡°Someone¡¯s been attacking our shipments over thest few weeks. Based on the specific ones targeted and the frequency, it can¡¯t be someone working independently.¡± ¡°So you mean¡­¡± His mouth ttens into a grim line. ¡°There¡¯s a mole in the da Silva cartel.¡± I let him continue to guide us around the rooftop even as my stomach cramps at the thought of what that means. ¡°Shit,¡± I say. He snorts. ¡°Shit is right.¡± He looks above my head, his eyes preupied. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure whoever it is is also stealing from me.¡± I perk up. Moles and attacked shipments, I know nothing about. But finance? That¡¯s my area of expertise. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. But I strongly suspect it. I have since before I brought you back to London.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve looked at the books?¡± A storm rolls through his gaze. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re all adding up, but it makes no sense. Some of our suppliers have reached out to me personally to say they haven¡¯t been getting paid. Those payments to them are logged and the paperwork seems to track. I¡¯ve been pouring over it for months but I can¡¯t make sense of it. I need an expert to figure this out but I don¡¯t trust anyone else to look at them, especially not the ountants since at least one of them is involved in some way.¡± ¡°Let me have a look,¡± I blurt impulsively. His gaze slides down to mine, the emotion in them hard to decipher. ¡°I know what to look for when someone is embezzling from apany,¡± I continue, the words spilling out of me a mile a minute. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before and I¡¯m always on the lookout for it in our own reporting. All it takes is one person to pull this off and they can get away with it for years if they go unnoticed. But you¡¯ve been alerted to it so the hardest part is already behind you. There are ways to catch them now. Traces and clues and digital footprints they likely left behind like breadcrumbs. I can help you, you just have to trust me.¡± Thiago eyes me thoughtfully but says nothing. Uncertainty grabs me around the throat and squeezes. I¡¯ll be beyond embarrassed if he turns me down. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t do anything with the information you share with me if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about. I can sign an NDA if you want. I just thought¡­¡± I pause, looking off to the side. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just thought that I could help you.¡± Seconds trickle by and then a finger tucks under my chin and turns my face back towards him. Golden eyes search mine inquisitively. ¡°If I give you ess to the books and you help me, you¡¯ll effectively bemitting a crime.¡± I nod, swallowing thickly. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be crossing a line and stepping into the Underworld, which you told me you hated. There¡¯ll be no going back once it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You could be convicted as an aplice of mine. You could go tojail.¡± My eyes close. ¡°I know!¡± He nudges my chin, motioning at me to open my eyes. I do. ¡°Then why do it?¡± There¡¯s such an easy answer to that question and it¡¯s on the tip of my tongue, begging to be set free. I¡¯d do anything for the man I love. Instead, I tell him a version of the truth. ¡°Because you need me and I have the skillset to help you, so I will,¡± I say fiercely. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m your wife which means I can¡¯t bepelled to testify against you ¡ª or vice-versa ¡ª so I¡¯m the perfect aplice. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡± He hums, satisfied, and bends his head, nuzzling his face against the side of mine. ¡°You¡¯vee a long way these past few months,amor,¡± he murmurs, kissing my neck. A contented sigh leaves my lips. ¡°You can be very convincing,¡± I say breathily, cupping the side of his face to hold him against me. ¡°You tell no one about this.¡± His tone is categorical. ¡°And if a time everes where the NCAes after us, you will lie and say you never saw a single document, email, receipt,nothing. All you know is I dabbled in imports and exports. You will hide that clever brain of yours behind averyconvincing dumb blonde act and you will feign ignorance, do you understand me? You leave me to rot in prison and you save yourself.¡± It¡¯s toote for me to do that, I¡¯m too far gone. Instead of arguing about it with him now, I curl a strand of my hair around a finger, look up at him with wide eyes and jokingly say, ¡°Huh?¡± He smirks, eyes shining with pride. ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡°Protecting me again?¡± I ask. ¡°What did I tell you?¡± A smile tugs at my lips. ¡°With your life?¡± ¡°With my life.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 52 Just when I thought my wife couldn¡¯t get any more addictive, she goes ahead and proves me wrong. Her willingness to put herself at risk to help me may be the hottest thing she¡¯s ever done, and that¡¯s saying something. When I was strongly advised to marry and then when I decided to take her specifically, I never expected to get an actual partner out of it. It wasn¡¯t something I was interested in and it wasn¡¯t something I thought she could ever, or would ever, want to provide. The fact that she¡¯s even offering her help cracks through the finalyer of ice around my heart and makes that dark organ hers. It starts to beat again after years of inactivity. Slowly, carefully, as if scared of its own strength, of the way the pulse announces its revival with thunderous aplomb. I wonder if she knows. Does she have any idea at all that her very breathing controls me? That I can¡¯t focus when we¡¯re in the same room because my senses are entirely trained on the rise and fall of her breaths to pick up on any shift that might indicate difort? Any power I have pales inparison to the one she wields over me. She has the ability to control me with nothing but a smile and a whispered word, a power that hundreds of men would kill to possess, and I¡¯m not sure she even wants it. I never expected this obsession to turn into more. To not only have her be my greatest weakness, but to truly embrace it. My mouth finds hers with the same kind of urgent desperation that¡¯s racing through my mind. Heat barrels through me at the first contact of our lips. She reaches to cup the back of my neck and pulls me closer, extricating a lustful groan from me in the process. Reaching into my pocket, I find the small remote I tucked in there earlier and press the button. Tess startles, a surprised gasp falling from her lips and into my mouth as she jumps back. Wide blue eyes framed with longshes look up at me in shock as a buzzing soundes to life between us. ¡°What¨C¡± she gasps again, her features twisting erotically. ¡°It¡¯s a vibrating plug,¡± I purr, kissing her lips. ¡°Oh, god,¡± she whispers, hands fisting my shirt as her knees falter. My eyes are trained on her face, unable to look away from the spectacle that is her growing pleasure. ¡°How does it feel?¡± She groans. ¡°You¡¯re¨C you¡¯re evil for this.¡± I chuckle darkly, lifting my phone to my ear. ¡°Yes?¡± Cillian answers. ¡°Turn the cameras off on the roof.¡± Tess¡¯s eyes darken and she takes a step back. My gaze tracks her like a hunter as heughs. ¡°You think I left those on? I¡¯m quite attached to my staff these days. Thest thing I need is you taking them out one by one on your way home because they might have watched you defile your wife. They¡¯re off. Enjoy.¡± I hang up and pocket my phone, advancing on Tess. My voice is rough as gravel when I speak. ¡°Lift up your dress.¡± She grabs the hem of the tight material and starts shimmying it slowly up her hips, revealing the pink panties I saw earlier. She keeps retreating, her eyes two pools of liquid lust. Her back hits the wooden railing at the edge of the rooftop and shees to a stop, tilting her chin up at me as I continue approaching. I stop less than a foot away from her, the glow from the string lights casting a looming shadow of my body over hers. My hand reaches out and I trace two fingers slowly up herce-covered slit. She trembles, her whole body racking with shivers. ¡°Is this my pussy?¡± I ask quietly. She nods, the up and down movement of her chin frenzied. ¡°Words.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she admits breathily. Adding more pressure now, I move my hand higher and rub the tips of my fingers over her clit. Thecy fabric abrades harshly against her flesh, making her legs quiver. ¡°I could make youe just like this,¡± I note. My gaze lifts to hers. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± She shakes her head, her eyes still as wide as when I first turned on the plug. ¡°No.¡± Even as she issues a denial, her back arches, pushing her pussy into my hand. ¡°What do you want?¡± She moans, dropping her head back against the wooden panel behind her. Her eyes flutter close, delirious arousal leading to her total submission. ¡°Your mouth on me.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Her handse up to her chest and she cups her breasts through her dress, pushing them together. ¡°H-here.¡± Her legs shake violently as the plug continues to buzz loudly inside her, stretching her forbidden hole. ¡°Show me my tits,¡± I ask hoarsely. Her eyes open, the pupils blown wide. She fingers the left strap of her dress and pulls it down her shoulder, repeating the move again with the right. Then she grabs the front neckline with both hands and yanks it down. Her breasts spill out of her top, bare and unrestrained. She left her bra at home when she picked this dress, and I¡¯ve never been happier about anything in my life. Tess swallows thickly at the raw hunger that marks my face. ¡°Fucking perfect,¡± I whisper huskily. I lift my eyes back up to hers. ¡°Put them in my mouth.¡± Her lips part, her breaths turning threadbare. She reaches for the back of my neck once more and pulls me down towards her chest. When I¡¯m inches from her tits, I look up at her expectantly. ¡°Ask me,¡± I demand. ¡°Put your mouth on me.¡± ¡°Where?¡¯ ¡°On my breasts,¡± she whines, driven mad with desire. ¡°Ask me nicely.¡± She arches into me frustratedly, her mouth turning down into a pout. ¡°Please. Please lick my b¨C oh,god,¡± she shrieks when my lips close around her taut nipple. I suck the tight peak into my mouth, rolling it between greedy lips. ¡°Yes¡­yes,¡± she moans haltingly. I alternate harshshes of my tonguepping at the unbelievably hard nipple with suckling at it like a newborn, once in a while throwing in grazes of my teeth over the sensitive skin. When I look up at her, her head is thrown back in rapture, her fingers digging savagely into my hair. She¡¯s trembling so uncontrobly that Ice my free hand around her waist to keep her upright. My right hand remains between her legs, ying with her clit as I move to her other nipple. Tess writhes, her moans turning to cries of desperate pleasure, and when I bite the tight peak of her nipple in conjunction with pinching her clit, shees quick and hard, surrendering to wave after wave of her powerful climax. She slumps against my chest, but I don¡¯t give her time to catch her breath. I thumb the remote and press the button again, upping the speed of vibrations by two levels. Tess shrieks in surprise and her legs give out, but I catch her, holding her tightly against my chest. My lips brush the curve of her ear. ¡°Where do you want me tonight, wife? In your tight cunt or your virgin ass?¡± She shudders powerfully against me, her loud breathing almost drowning out the buzz of the plug still buried inside her. I start to think she¡¯s not going to answer, but then she whispers, ¡°My pussy.¡± ¡°Mhmm, not ready to take my cock back here?¡± I question, reaching around to grab a handful of her ass. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I can be patient for you,amor.¡± Wrapping an arm around her elbow, I pull her along the edge of the rooftop until the upright wooden panels end, leaving only the railing. I cup her nape and m my mouth down on hers in a heated, possessive kiss. Her arms twine around my neck as my hand reaches between her legs and fists the fabric of her panties, ripping them clean off. She gasps, eyes flying open to find mine already on her. ¡°Bend over the railing,¡± I order against her lips. Tess turns in my arms, keeping her gaze on mine over her shoulder. Her back is pressed to my chest as she peeks over the railing and down. Below us, there¡¯s a thin stream of people milling about the club¡¯s entrance, smoking and bantering. ¡°Pull your dress back up to cover your tits,¡± I grunt territorially, the thought of anyone looking up and seeing her bare nipples as appealing as being cattle prodded for twenty four hours straight. She does as instructed, hiding away those perfect, perky tits for now. I palm her nape in my hand. ¡°Now bend over and push your ass out.¡± She moans wantonly and leans forward over the railing. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to be real quiet,amor,¡± I murmur, bending over her and rubbing a casual hand across her ass and down her thigh. ¡°If a single one of those men looks up and sees you like this, their blood will be on your hands.¡± ¡°No,¡± she gasps. ¡°I¡¯ll be quiet.¡± ¡°Good girl,¡± I purr. ¡°Now reach back and spread your cheeks for me. Show me my toy.¡± Her face flushes a violent color of red, one that tightens my stomach in excitement. I love her shyness in bed. It¡¯s so innocent, like I haven¡¯t already seen and kissed every inch of her body. Tentative, trembling hands reach back and each grab a cheek. And then she spreads for me, revealing that perfect pink jewel. The powerful vibrations coupled with the removal of her cheeks which had been keeping it in positionbine to make the plug bob obscenely back and forth.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. She keens loudly at the new sensation, then violently sinks her teeth into her lower lip and muffles her cries when she remembers she needs to be quiet. Looking down, I see that everyone is still upied with their conversations and no one is looking up. ¡°That was close,preciosa, and we haven¡¯t even gotten started.¡± She nods, speechless, her hold on her ass faltering when I drop to my knees behind her. ¡°So pretty,¡± I murmur heatedly. Leaning in, I circle my tongue around the base of the plug, licking at the taut skin. ¡°Soaking wet too.¡± ¡°It feels so good,¡± Tess pants, working to keep her voice barely above a whisper. Standing, I spank her ass and she cries out. She releases her ass and ps a hand over her mouth, her eyes bulging. Then she res over her shoulder at me. ¡°Are you trying to make me scream?¡± ¡°Always,amor,¡± I say, ripping my trousers open and mming my cock inside her to the hilt in one brutal thrust. Her hips drive savagely into the railing and I wrap a hand over her mouth to smother the loud scream that rips from her lips. She pants raggedly against my fingers, groaning noisily despite her covered mouth. I¡¯m as affected as she is, needing this momentary respite to get used to being buried so deeply inside her. The double pration with the toy constricts her pussy until I¡¯m stretching her to the limit. Her passage is impossibly tight, squeezing me greedily and making me lightheaded beyond belief. The plug¡¯s vibrations pulse through the thin wall of her pussy and up to my cock, sending a trail of electricity straight to my balls. I remove my hand and drop my forehead against her neck, seeking calming breaths. I¡¯m about to blow from one stroke alone. ¡°Oh, my god, Thiago.Move,¡± she begs, desperation coloring her tone. ¡°Move?¡± I repeat. ¡°You want me to fuck you?¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± she pants. ¡°So polite,¡± I praise, drawing back my hips then thrusting forward. She chokes out a breath. ¡°Like this,amor?¡± Grabbing her waist, I drive inside her again, using all of my concentration to think about war and famine and death so I don¡¯te on the third stroke. Garbled words fall from her lips as I m back into her, her body thrashing under the power of my thrusts. ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re dripping everywhere,¡± I grit out through clenched teeth. ¡°You love having both your holes stuffed.¡± She nods dementedly, head bobbing back and forth wildly. I pound savagely inside her, the crude noises of my hips mming against her ass the best melody I¡¯ve heard in years. ¡°The plug in your ass is making your pussy so tight.¡± With each stroke, I pull her hips back to meet mine, the rhythm absolutely brutal. ¡°So fucking tight. You¡¯re wrapped around me like a fucking vise.¡± I hate that I can¡¯t see her face, that I can¡¯t watch her reactions as I bottom inside her with each thrust of my hips. That won¡¯t do. I slide an arm beneath her until my hand finds and closes around her throat. She gasps when I yank her upright by her neck and m her back against my chest. My other arm wraps around her lower stomach, keeping her pinned against me. She¡¯s immobile, trapped in my arms, one of her handsing up to clutch the wrist at her throat. She doesn¡¯t remove it but uses it to hold on for dear life. ¡°Reach down and spread your ass again. I want to be able to go so fucking deep inside you that you won¡¯t know where I end and you begin.¡± ¡°Yes, baby,¡± she moans, making me growl animalistically at the pet name. When she opens her cheeks, my cock slides all the way inside her until my groin is pressed against the plug and my balls p against her pussy. The blood rushes down to my dick and I roar loudly, pulling us both away from the edge as I plow all the way inside her. They¡¯ll have definitely heard that. ¡°Holyfuck,¡± I bark, squeezing her neck tightly. I¡¯m silent for long, focused minutes as I pound inside her tight pussy with the single-minded focus of a Mormon on a mission. Her muscles flutter around me, mping and releasing my cock and driving me absolutely fucking wild. I¡¯m never going to get tired of fucking her. Every day I discover something new that makes mepletely feral. If anything, I fear for my sanity. I had a tenuous hold on it to begin with and my grasp has only gotten weaker with every passing moment spent with Tess. ¡°Talk to me,¡± she churns out between thrusts. ¡°Hmm?¡± I can¡¯t be any more eloquent than that right now. ¡°Keep talking,¡± she gasps. ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°What is it you want,amor?¡± ¡°Say¡ª¡± she bites her lip and moans loudly when I thrust particrly hard. ¡°Say dirty things.¡± A pleased rumble rolls up my chest as I look down at her pretty face. Eyes closed, lips parted, cheeks flushed. Writhing against me. So perfect that she must be a divinity sent to Earth for the sole purpose of tormenting me. ¡°You want me to say filthy things to you,amor? To talk you through how much of a good little slut you¡¯re being for me?¡± She rolls her lip beneath her teeth and groans lustily. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so pretty when you beg.¡± ¡°More,¡± she pleads, face screwed in pleasure. I squeeze her throat again and viciously bite her ear. She yelps. ¡°Your sweet pussy is crushing my cock in its tight grip. It¡¯s like you never want to let me go,¡± I growl. ¡°You can¡¯t get enough, can you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she breathes, and fuck, this conversation is bringing me to the brink. I move the hand on her stomach down between her legs, searching for her needy, throbbing clit. When my fingers graze over the nub, her mouth falls open. I can¡¯t resist, I thrust my tongue past her lips and inside her wet mouth, taking advantage of the opportunity to ravage her. She groans loudly, meeting me with eager strokes of her tongue. ¡°What about now?¡± I ask. ¡°Is this enough?¡± She shakes her head, pupils so wide the blue haspletely evaporated from her irises. I pound into her punishingly, pushing her up onto her toes. My fingers on her clit turn almost cruel in their attention as my other hand leaves her throat and reaches between the cheeks of her ass for that buried jewel. Gripping it tightly, I pull it out and m it back into her ass. I smirk manically down at Tess when she screams, her eyes rolling back into her head. ¡°How about now,amor?¡± I start fucking her with the plug, pushing it in and out of her tight hole in tandem with my brutal thrusts in her pussy. ¡°Oh, my fucking god.¡± ¡°There is no God here,amor. Only the devil.¡± Her legs shake powerfully against mine. She¡¯d fall to the floor if I wasn¡¯t holding her up with fingers on her clit, my cock driving into her unbelievable pussy, and my plug diving into her forbidden hole. Kissing her temple, I bend and brush my lips against her ear. ¡°One day when you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m going to take this ass,¡± I murmur. ¡°I¡¯m going to y with it first and make sure you¡¯re prepared, and then I¡¯m going to ce my cock against those untried muscles and I¡¯m going to push in slowly, so slowly you¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re dying. And you¡¯ll scream,¡± I say, plunging the vibrating plug all the way in. Then back out. And in. ¡°You¡¯ll scream so loudly that you¡¯ll wake up the whole damn house. I¡¯ll work myself deep inside you, stretching your ass until you¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re on the verge of breaking. But you¡¯ll open to ept me and you¡¯ll take all nine inches. And then I¡¯ll fuck you. I¡¯ll fuck you so hard and for so long that you¡¯ll feel me in your ass for the rest of your life.¡± Tess thrashes against me, her entire body aze from my multi-front assault. I know she¡¯s close, I can feel her orgasm coiling madly inside her, climbing and climbing. ¡°Then, and only then, will I finally own every single part of you. That¡¯s why I want your ass,amor, because it, like everything else about you, belongs tome. It¡¯s mine, and I¡¯ll be counting down the days until you let me fucking prove it.¡± My fingers dance mercilessly over her clit as I emphasize my words with a decided shove of the plug and my cock in both her holes at the same time. Pressing my lips roughly against her ear, I whisper, ¡°Is that dirty enough for you,amor?¡± I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my actions or my words or both, but her mouth parts, her eyes m shut, and shees with a lung-emptying scream. Her pussy squeezes me, her belly spasms and then fluid spurts from deep inside her, sshing everywhere. ¡°Fucking hell, did you just squirt?¡± I ask disbelievingly. I thrust even faster into her, my fingers turning frenzied on her clit. There¡¯s another spasm, her thighs shaking violently, and more liquid gushes from her. ¡°Puta madre. Keeping like that. Come on, squirt for me!¡± Ie with a roar, unable to hold back with her pussy contracting around my cock the way it is, and spill my hot cum inside her. When I calm down, I cup her throat and pull her head back against my shoulder. A smug, satisfied grin tugs at the corner of my lips. ¡°My hot little wife, you¡¯ve been hiding this from me.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± she answers, shame-faced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry? Your pussy went off like a fountain taking my cock, that¡¯s the hottest thing I¡¯ve ever seen and felt,¡± I growl, turning off the plug, removing it, and wrapping both arms around her. ¡°It¡¯s never happened before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Burning, bright red mes of possessiveness lick at my insides and I grin. ¡°What?¡± she asks. ¡°I fucking love hearing that no other man has been able to make you squirt, that your pussy only cries for my cock. If you needed any more indication that you were made for me, that you belong tome,¡± I breathe, ¡°this is it. Look no further.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 53 ¡°Careful, Arturo!¡± I jump out of my chair and catch the stack of folders before they tumble off the side of my desk and to the floor. He¡¯s already broken a small statue with his fidgeting around my office and if he inadvertently messes up the files I spent a full two days organizing, I¡¯ll actually kill him. I point to the furthest corner of my office where there¡¯s nothing but a chair and a side table. ¡°Go sit over there before you cause any more damage.¡± He grumbles, cursing under his breath just loud enough for me to understand every word, and moves as instructed. Ever since the day Franklin attacked me, Arturo hase to work in the mornings and gone home in the evenings with me. He¡¯s got a face like a smacked ass, the same miserable expression that¡¯s been my constantpanion these past few weeks and I¡¯m getting tired of it. ¡°Listen,¡± I say with a tired sigh. ¡°I know you hate being here. You won¡¯t be shocked to hear that I¡¯m not thrilled with this arrangement either, constant ray of sunshine that you are,¡± I add drolly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk to Thiago? I¡¯m sure he can rece you with someone else if you ask and it¡¯ll be a nice break for me to spend some time with someone who can actually tolerate my presence.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t. I¡¯m the only one he trusts to protect his wife.¡± Warmth unfurls inside me at his words. It¡¯s been two weeks since Thiago and I went toExcessand we¡¯ve grown closer every day since. We¡¯ve even crossed a couple other items off my bucket list ¡ª seeing Ludovico Einaudi live and taking a Thai cooking ss. The next item on my list was skydiving but he categorically refused, saying that he wasn¡¯t going to endanger me ¡®for the fun of it¡¯. I¡¯m not giving up on it, it¡¯s just going to require a bit more convincing from me. ¡°It¡¯s an honor,¡± Arturo continues. ¡°An honor?¡± I repeat, surprised. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s high praiseing from you.¡± He scowls. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart, Barbie. It has nothing to do with you.¡± I¡¯m putting a book away on my shelf and pause at his sharp tone. I look over my shoulder and find him sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, eyes keenly tracking my movements. Arturo has been cold with me from the very beginning. I¡¯ve never understood what his problem is; I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever done anything to deserve his ire. Whatever the reason, I¡¯m tired of dealing with the bickering and tension. It can¡¯t go on forever. ¡°Why do you hate me? Did I do something to offend you?¡± I turn to face him. ¡°You know, if you took the time to get to know me, you might discover that I¡¯m not so hateable after all.¡± Arturo sits back in his chair and gives me an appraising look. He seems to measure his words before speaking. Finally, he sighs. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you.¡± I raise an unconvinced brow at him. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t like me either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not personal.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You distract him,¡± he exins through clenched teeth. I frown, confused. ¡°Not intentionally.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even worse.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re going to get him killed one day.¡± I rip in a shocked breath. The suggestion alone wraps around my lungs and suffocates the air out of them. My chest constricts painfully at the usation. ¡°You think I would risk him?¡± I realize that Arturo doesn¡¯t know the extent of my feelings, why would he? He doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯d do whatever it took to protect him, even if it meant sacrificing myself.N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°I told you, it¡¯s not personal.¡± He exins, ¡°It¡¯s not about what you would or wouldn¡¯t do. It¡¯s about whathewould do for you. He¡¯d run into a burning building and jump head first into a riptide for you. His feelings blind him to his own weakness and that¡¯s a dangerous ce for any man to be, let alone this man. It¡¯s my job to advise and protect him against all potential threats, so Ican¡¯tlike you. Not when I think you might be the biggest threat of all to his survival.¡± Arturo has known Thiago his whole life. He¡¯s his most trusted advisor, hisconsejero. I¡¯d be a fool to ignore his warning. I was so caught up in my own safety, I never stopped to consider how I could unknowingly hurt him. I swallow painfully. ¡°What would you have me do?¡± Arturo¡¯s gaze softens somewhat, the first glimpse of something other than frost covering his features when he looks at me. ¡°If he¡¯s going to continue to risk it all for you at every turn, you need to decide once and for all if this is the life for you or not. You can¡¯t be one foot in and one foot out, with him but disgusted by the world he leads. He can¡¯t be running out of meetings to track you down because he thinks you might have run away again. He can¡¯t be murderingcaposif you¡¯re not actually nning on remaining his wife. If even part of you is unsure aboutmitting to him, tothis, for the rest of your life, then you need to walk away.¡± I shake my head. ¡°He¡¯ll never let me.¡± A humorless smile tugs at his lips. He doesn¡¯t like this conversation any more than I do, but he¡¯s looking after his boss¡¯s best interest. Although, I think the man in question would disagree. If Thiago ever found out about this conversation, the following day we¡¯d learn on the news that Arturo¡¯s body parts were recovered scattered across the English countryside. ¡°You¡¯re a clever girl, Barbie, you¡¯ll find a way.¡± He pauses, then adds, ¡°If that¡¯s what you decide.¡± His nickname for me doesn¡¯t carry its usual venom. Instead, he says it with the familiarity of a friend like it¡¯s some inside joke between us. The door to my office flies open, mming against the wall with a deafening sound and cutting our conversation short. I feel the color drain from my face when I see my father haunt the doorway. I haven¡¯t seen him since I¡¯ve been back. ¡°Tess.¡± He says my name with the warmth one might reserve for dog poop on the sidewalk and takes a step into my office. His gaze cuts to Arturo who jumps to his feet. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± He turns ashen when recognition dawns on him. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, Alex?¡± Arturo says jovially, walking towards him and cing himself between us in a not so inconspicuous disy of protection. No matter his personal feelings about me, Arturo has never done anything other than guard me. ¡°What if I break your other elbow to see if we can jog your muscle memory into activating your actual memory?¡± My father shakes his head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Bodyguard duty,¡± he says, tipping his head in my direction. My father straightens, trying to regain some semnce of power here. ¡°Wait outside,¡± he orders. Arturo¡¯s answeringugh is long and loud. A handes to his belly as his shoulders shake. ¡°You¡¯re a realedian, Alex.¡± I ce a hand on his arm and his attention slides down to me. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Arturo.¡± His jaw clenches and he doesn¡¯t move, staying stoically in ce. I nudge at his arm, edging him towards the door. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯ll be right outside,¡± I say, before looking at my father. ¡°I¡¯m sure he just wants a debrief onst quarter¡¯s reporting.¡± I don¡¯t know what he wants to talk about, but I know I¡¯ll be safe with Arturo right outside the room. He grits his teeth but does as I ask, stopping next to my father on his way out to add, ¡°If her voice raises even one decibel above its current volume, you won¡¯t walk out of this room.Comprende?¡± The door closes behind him and then we¡¯re alone. ¡°Where have you been?¡± I ask. He came back from his business trip weeks ago but he hasn¡¯t made it into the office since. His head snaps towards me. ¡°Who do you think you are to question me?¡± My heart races so fast, I hear the frantic beat in my ears. I tip my chin up at him defiantly. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you anymore.¡± Heughs, a cruel sound. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°I finally see you for what you are. A coward and a bully. A pathetic excuse for a man. I¡¯m d Mum finally left you, although if you ask me she would have done so fifteen years ago.¡± He takes a dangerous step towards me, a sneer twisting his features. ¡°Look at this brave little girl act. You get yourself a husband with an ounce of power and you think that protects you from me, is that it? It doesn¡¯t. Your husband is gutter scum, not worth the air it takes to keep him alive and not worthy of ever being around people like us.¡± A red mist descends over my eyes and suddenly I¡¯m going toe to toe with him. ¡°My husband is a thousand times the man you¡¯lleverbe. He has more dignity and honor in his little finger than you could ever dream of having. And he has a code of ethics even in the Underworld, whereas you beat women for sport. You could never measure up to him. The way you look disdainfully down your nose at a man who is your better in every way is proof of that.¡± My father¡¯s eyes jump skyward and then heughs loudly. Unease coils in my belly at his reaction. I¡¯d expected anger, not¡­ whatever this is. ¡°Tess,¡± he starts, stillughing and making a joke of me. He makes me feel so small and insignificant that I want to disappear. ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re notactuallyfalling for Thiago da Silva?¡± Silence robs the words from my tongue and I find I can¡¯t answer. I look down instead, the unease turning to full blown difort. ¡°You are,¡± he notes, voice tinged with mirth and shock. ¡°You¡¯re actually falling for the man, if you haven¡¯t already.¡± He gives me a pitying look that makes me want to zip myself out of my skin and seep into the floorboards beneath us. ¡°I didn¡¯t have high expectations for you, but I thought you¡¯d at least be smarter than that. All those years of trying to prove yourself to me and now you¡¯ve finally shown yourself to be exactly what I always knew you were ¨C brainless, stupid, and emotionally unbnced. Categorically unfit to work here.¡± Ice crawls down my spine. I still can¡¯t speak. I hate that he can reduce me to being nothing more than a speechless moron with just a few snarled words. ¡°Did you forget that he paid for you?¡± he continues. ¡°You fell for a man who chose to buy you rather than woo you. You¡¯re just as stupid as your mother.¡± My throat dries, tears stinging my eyes. ¡°When he came to me and proposed forgiving my debts in exchange for your hand, do you know what he told me?¡± I shake my head, not in answer to his question but because I don¡¯t want to hear the next words thate out of his mouth. I don¡¯t want to know. ¡°He said he wanted a woman who would be seen and not heard. Someone quiet who he could manipte and get to bend the knee to him. I lied and promised him you fit that brief to a tee so I could save myself, but now I can tell you delivered on it anyway.¡± My world spins under the weight of his verbal assault. ¡°You were never meant to be anything more than wallpaper to him, a nice decoration on his arm whose biggest contribution was yourst name and nothing more.¡± Heughs again. ¡°You pride yourself on being so smart Tess, but you¡¯ve gone ahead and done the dumbest, most predictable thing in this situation. I¡¯m embarrassed you were so weak. Even I didn¡¯t expect that low of you.¡± Every word is a stabbing knife wound to the gut. I feel fresh tears well in the corners of my eyes, but I blink them away. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± A slow, arrogant grin stretches his mouth as he reaches into his pocket. Lead weighs me down, a massive fog rolling into my brain and making my movements sluggish. My father presses y on his phone and Thiago¡¯s voice echoes in the room like he¡¯s here with us. And I hear every horrible word he once said to my father from his own lips. ¡°After he attacked me, I started recording our conversations in the event I needed them as insurance,¡± he exins as Thiago keeps talking in the background, every word causing more pain than the next. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯de in handy this way, but I¡¯m not mad about the additional use case.¡± He pockets his phone once more and looks at me. ¡°Which brings me to my original reason foring in here. I¡¯ll be back in the office full time and your brother will return to London in a few months so your services are no longer required. You have until the end of next week and then I want you gone. Think about all the free time you¡¯ll have to spend with your loving husband now,¡± he finishes, throwing in onest loudugh before walking out of my office. He stalks past Arturo who takes one look at my face andes marching back in. My father was right ¨C I¡¯ve been so stupid. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 54 Mymute home is spent in a blurred torpor. I don¡¯t remember leaving the office. One second I¡¯m standing in front of my desk bereft and feeling dangerously adrift in my own reality, the next I¡¯m in my kitchen, pouring hot water in my mug and watching swirls of color from the tea bag mix with the clear liquid. Arturo threw concerned nces my way the entire drive home but wisely chose not to ask me any questions. Now he¡¯s disappeared, leaving me with my storming, embittered thoughts. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of how our story started. Hearing the words from Thiago¡¯s own mouth that he wanted a living statue for a wife and nothing more tears at my insides. Could I really have been that naive as to fall in love with a man who¡¯s been ying me from the beginning? My father certainly thinks so. Humiliation burns my cheeks and rots my insides. I hate that he has the ability to reduce me to the scared little girl version of me from when I was younger. No one affects me like he does. No one can crawl under my skin and pick at all those old wounds like he can. ¡°Amor,¡± a deep voice rumbles from behind me as my husband walks into our kitchen. ¡°There you are.¡± The sultry velvet of Thiago¡¯s tone wraps around my belly and squeezes even as my shoulders stiffen. I don¡¯t turn around. His warmth envelops me as he steps up behind me and presses his chest to my back. His hand finds the curve of my waist andes to rest possessively there. I shake him off. I can¡¯t have this conversation if he¡¯s touching me, I¡¯ll lose all rational thought. Grabbing my mug, I walk around the other side of the kitchen ind, distancing myself from him. After what feels like ages, I look up at him. He¡¯s got an unsettled look on his face, his hand still hanging in the air at the level where he was touching my waist like he¡¯s expecting me to slot myself right back into his embrace. Gold eyes search mine questioningly. ¡°Why are you upset?¡± he asks, astutely picking apart my emotions like he always does. ¡°I saw my father this afternoon.¡± He turns to face the counter, his palmsing down to brace against the surface as his shoulders tighten. ¡°Oh?¡± I¡¯m spoiling for a fight, the angry, pent-up energy that¡¯s swirling in my body needing an immediate outlet. All I can think about are Arturo¡¯s words. I¡¯m at a fork in the road and I need to make a decision on what future I want. Love might not be enough to ovee all the obstacles in our path, including our two very different backgrounds.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°He yed a recording for me.¡± Thiago¡¯s face twists in confusion. ¡°A conversation the two of you had when you were negotiating my purchase like I was a piece of chattel,¡± I add with a bitter, humorlessugh. The change in Thiago¡¯s mood alters the chemistry of the air around us. He goes from a casual posture topletely alert. Thick darkness seeps from him, reminding me of just how dangerous he is. It¡¯s easy to forget sometimes. ¡°Amor¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you thought I was the winning candidate given the criteria I heard you list. ¡®Quiet¡¯. ¡®Maniptable¡¯. ¡®Seen and not heard¡¯,¡± I hiss, cutting him off. ¡°I mean, why even get yourself a wife at that point? A blow up doll would have sufficed.¡± Thiago¡¯s face darkens, his features tightening. His hands clench into fists and he ms one down on the counter, making me jump. ¡°It¡¯s no business of his why I wanted you.¡± His tone, which was so warm when he walked in, is downright frigid now. ¡°I said what was necessary in order to manipte him into giving me what I wanted ¡ª you.¡± ¡°Sounds like you didn¡¯t actually want me though,¡± I counter. ¡°None of those descriptors are me. I think you let yourself get led off course by lust when you saw me. You thought with your dick instead of your head and tied yourself to the wrong girl. One day you¡¯ll wake up and regret it, if you don¡¯t already.¡± Acid swirls in my stomach. The thought that he could one day cast me aside is excruciating. Thiago¡¯s jaw ticks dangerously, the muscle in his cheek popping then retreating as he res at me. I don¡¯t know whyhe¡¯smad, I¡¯m only repeating his words back to him. Anger fuels and expands the tension in the room until it¡¯s coiled around us and threatening to snap. ¡°None of what I said to him was true, Tess. I like your attitude, I like your fire, I like that you give me shit and you aren¡¯t afraid of me. That¡¯sexactlywhy you¡¯re my wife.¡± I shake my head and whisper, ¡°I¡¯m not your wife.¡± My words have the effect of throwing a lit match into a barrel full of gasoline. Thiago rounds the ind and storms towards me, fury rippling across his face. I take a step back but he pins me against the counter. Strong fingers grip my jaw and angle my face up towards his. I shiver when I look into his eyes, now hardened into imprable metal. ¡°Watch your mouth,¡± he warns, his voice quivering dangerously. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I double down. ¡°I¡¯m at worst your kidnapping victim, at best your prize. Just a pawn in your power y with my father, with this whole system you operate within. Nothing more than something for you to have unfairly won.¡± If he really wants me for the long run, then he needs to tell me. I¡¯m desperate to hear him admit that he feels even one tenth of the feelings I have for him. To know that I¡¯m not alone putting my heart on the line. Instead, his whole body shakes with the force of his anger. He looks like he¡¯s holding on by a thread, only seconds away frompletely losing it. But that¡¯s all I want. That total abandonment of his senses that¡¯ll lead him to say the words I want to hear. ¡°You¡¯re mywife. Deny it again and you won¡¯t sit for a month,¡± he snarls. ¡°I knew I wanted you from the moment I saw you and I stand by that. I never wavered from it. You judged me the second you found out who I was. Fine. I own who I am, I¡¯m not ashamed of it, but you would never have given me a chance because of it. So I took you. I can¡¯t apologize for that. You want me to tell you I regret forcing you to marry me? I don¡¯t. I never fucking will.¡± Emotion forms a mass that blocks my airway, making it hard to breathe. I look off to the side, blinking away the tears in the corners of my eyes. I need more from him. More than just his possessiveness and territoriality over me. Real emotion. Realfeeling. I deserve that. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I admit. ¡°I would never have let myself get anywhere near you if given the choice.¡± I stare up at him. ¡°And maybe there was a very good reason for that.¡± Anger shes in his eyes. Instead of forcing me to bend to his will like I expected, he takes a step back. I feel the loss of his body immediately, like a ship bing unmoored and drifting away in the ocean towards an uncertain future. ¡°You¡¯re pissing me off.¡± His voice is flinty, his eyes hard as steel. I snap. My bitterness and resentment overflow and make me fling careless words I don¡¯t mean. Words I regret the second they leave my lips. ¡°You should give udia another look then, she might be a better match for you than me.¡± Thiago cuts me a lethal look that would wither any other living organism down to ash. His jaw snaps shut so violently that I hear it. His lip curls up into a furious sneer before ttening into an emotionless line. Distance takes over his gaze and he looks at me like I¡¯m a stranger, like he doesn¡¯t know me at all. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± The muscle underneath his eye twitches vtilely. ¡°I won¡¯t do this with you.¡± Without another look in my direction, he storms out of the kitchen. I assume he¡¯s gone up to his study or our bedroom for some space. Then I hear the front door open and m shut so violently that the walls shake. I slide down the side of the kitchen ind and fall to the ground like I¡¯ve been cut off at the knees. He walked away from me. We¡¯ve argued before, but he¡¯s never walked away. Not once. This is the man who chased me across the continent and today he¡­ left. He just left. No, he didn¡¯t just leave. I pushed him away. And now, with him gone and nothing remaining with me except the silence of his absence and the cold sinking into my bones from the loss of his warmth, all I feel is fear. Did I push him into another woman¡¯s arms? The thought eats at the lining of my stomach, causing physical pain. It¡¯s like he pulled on a loose thread when he walked out, but it was a catastrophic one that unravels the entire piece with one tug. He unknowingly pulls and takes the whole fabric of my heart with him when he walks out that door. When he¡¯s still not back hourster, I pace and I pace and I pace. My phone is gripped tightly in my hand and I look down at the screen for the thousandth time, hoping to see a message from him. There¡¯s nothing. I want to call him, but I¡¯ve already caused enough damage. What if I make it worse? So I keep pacing, refusing the dinner the chef offers me and choosing to stare out of the front windows instead, hoping to catch sight of him when hees back. But he doesn¡¯t. He neveres home that night. And Iy alone in our bed, my knees held tightly against my chest, and I cry. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 55 If I thought a night away from home would dull my fury, I find out the next morning just how wrong I was. Not just because I wake up with a crick in my neck from sleeping on the shitty couch in my office at Tanta, the cartel¡¯s biggest club, but because the first thing I think about when I open my eyes is Tess. ¡°I¡¯m not your wife.¡± The fist of anger squeezing my heart crushes it once more just reying those words in my head. They¡¯ve been on a constant, endless loop in my mind since she said them. I didn¡¯t want to go home in the mental state I was inst night. I¡¯d been so blinded by my rage that I¡¯d feared going too far with her and actually hurting her. Visions of tying her up, of gagging her, of torturing her until she admitted to being mine had assaulted me almost nonstop since I¡¯d left. Keeping the monster away from her was in both our best interests. She already thought the worst of me and proving I was even more reprehensible than she could imagine wasn¡¯t going to help my cause. So instead I spent the vast majority of my day staring at my phone, looking at the dot that represented her location. After Franklin assaulted her, I¡¯d gifted her a gold ne. What I didn¡¯t mention was that it doubled as a tracking device. I knew if I told her about it, she¡¯d refuse to wear it, so I¡¯d said nothing. I¡¯m incredibly happy about that decision now as I stare at her unmoving dot. She hasn¡¯t left the house since I stormed out yesterday. Today is Friday, she should have gone to work, but she didn¡¯t. She hasn¡¯t missed work since our ¡®honeymoon¡¯. I let myself hope that today¡¯s exception is because of me. I clench my phone so tightly in my fist, I¡¯m surprised the screen doesn¡¯t shatter. She thinks she isn¡¯t mine. She thinks I could eventhinkabout another woman. She thinks she doesn¡¯t consume my every waking and sleeping thought. I¡¯m going to kill her father for poisoning her mind against me. I know he had to say a lot more to her than just ying a recording of our conversation. We were fine and then we weren¡¯t, and it¡¯s because of him. It¡¯s simple, really. Iloveher. So much that there¡¯s nowhere for me to keep it. It overflows out of my heart and past my ribcage and spills embarrassingly out of me. I would give it to her if I thought she wanted it, butst night¡¯s argument proves she doesn¡¯t. That she isn¡¯t ready to hear it. She¡¯s softened to me over the past few months, yes, but she doesn¡¯t love me back. Not yet at least, but I won¡¯t stop until she does. I just can¡¯t rush it. She¡¯s like a skittish mare, ready to run away at the first sign of fear, and thest thing I want to do is scare her. What if she disappears again? It¡¯s a looming worry in my mind that¡¯s never far away. The door bursts open and Arturo stalks in, the severe expression on his face getting my immediate attention. ¡°Matteo Leone wants to meet.¡± I lean back in my office chair. That¡¯s a surprise. I hadn¡¯t expected the newcapoto try and take the diplomatic route with me. ¡°When?¡± ¡°Now,¡± Arturo answers. ¡°He¡¯shere.¡± Not the diplomatic route then. He wants all out war. Adrenaline roars to life in my veins. I stand, reach into my desk drawer and pull out a second gun. I check the magazine to make sure it¡¯s full and tuck it into the back of my trousers. ¡°How many men did he bring with him?¡± I ask, clinically inspecting the magazine of the gun already in my holster. ¡°None. He came alone.¡± Surprise res once more and I pause. Matteo Leone has caught me off guard twice in under a minute now, which puts him way ahead of the curve. He has to know thating here, and especiallying alone, is a death sentence. ¡°Alone?¡± ¡°He says he wants to discuss a truce.¡± ¡°He knows I¡¯m the one who killed his father.¡± Arturo shrugs, looking as uncertain as I feel. Being off-footed like this feels like we¡¯re at a disadvantage even though he¡¯s the one who¡¯s defenseless and on my turf. ¡°What do you make of him?¡± I ask. ¡°Young. Cocky. Brash,¡± he states, adding, ¡°Dangerous. Very dangerous. Easy to underestimate.¡± I grunt in acknowledgement and tip my chin at him. ¡°Let him in.¡± Arturo ushers in four more of my men, each with their weapons drawn as they stand at the four corners of the room. And then Matteo Leone saunters in, jacketless with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and not a care in the world. He¡¯s got an easy grin on his face and pretty boy good looks. He looks more suited to the front pages of magazines than the Underworld and that,bined with his obvious youth at twenty-seven, makes him someone easy to look over. But I see why Arturo told me not to underestimate him when my gaze meets the cold green of his eyes. There¡¯s an edge there that reveals he¡¯s much more calcted and conniving than one might believe on first impression. He¡¯s been temporarily relieved of his weapons, so he walks in here at my mercy. Every gun in the room save my own are pointed at his head and yet he ignores them with ease. He gives the impression of not having a care in the world. rm bells go off in my head that this is a trap, but I can¡¯t see how it possibly could be. He plops down in the chair opposite my desk and rests his elbows on either armrests, threading his fingers together over his stomach. ¡°Interesting tactic, showing up here.¡± He grins, a quick sh of teeth before he says, ¡°I¡¯m not one to y childish games.¡± His gaze turns shrewd and he cuts straight to the chase. ¡°You killed my father.¡± He says it with about as much emotion as if we were discussing our tax returns. The newcapoof the Italian mafia isn¡¯t what I expected him to be. I can already tell that he¡¯s a different adversary than what I¡¯m used to dealing with from the Italians, one that¡¯ll require more brain power than usual. I wee the challenge. It¡¯s about time. ¡°I did.¡± He waves a dismissive hand between us. ¡°I should thank you for doing my dirty work. I¡¯d been trying to think of ways to get rid of the old man. You went ahead and did it for me and I got to keep my hands clean.¡± I lean back into my chair, looking at the man opposite me. If I was sitting in front of the man who¡¯d killed my father, he¡¯d already be dead. ¡°Not a fan of his?¡± I ask. He barks out augh. ¡°Not at all. He was bad for business. Thefamigliaused to be the crown jewel of the Underworld, and look at us now. Barely scraping by on historically earned respect and nothing more. I intend to restore us to our former glory and I finally might be able to with him out of the way.¡± ¡°And why would I let you do that when I could just kill you right now and knock another piece off your family¡¯s board?¡± He gives an easy smile. ¡°You can, if you want. There¡¯s an endless line of Leone cousins waiting to becapoafter me so you¡¯ll just be recing me with someone far less amenable to working with you.¡± He rubs a hand over his jaw, considering me. ¡°There¡¯s room enough for both of us. If we work together, we can pull each other towards the top and maximize our profits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already at the top,¡± I point out, unsure why I¡¯m even entertaining this conversation with a man who is at best rted to the people responsible for Adriana¡¯s death. ¡°Take my family¡¯s situation as proof that getting to the top is far easier than staying there. If the two of us stand shoulder to shoulder, we can fight off those encroaching on our territory. We could expand beyond the UK, which I know you¡¯re interested in.¡± This isn¡¯t an impromptu drop-in. Clearly the man did his research on me beforeing here. That exins why there was no immediate eye-for-an-eye killing retaliation after Augusto¡¯s death. Matteo takes in my nk expression and adds, ¡°I have something to offer you that¡¯ll sweeten this deal.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you find your sister¡¯s killer.¡± My eyes narrow on him at the same time as I hear the sound of a safety clicking off a gun from behind me. I look over my shoulder and see Joaqu¨ªn with a livid expression on his face, his gun hand shaking as he points it at Matteo. The man in question barely flicks him a look, remaining unaffected by the danger aimed at him. ¡°Why would you do that?¡± I ask, not correcting Joaqu¨ªn for his protectiveness. ¡°I don¡¯t want a rogue individual in my organization any more than you do and, unlike my father, I won¡¯t protect him. I¡¯ll help you get to the bottom of what happened and will hand any culprits over to you. I won¡¯t interfere with whatever punishment you choose.¡± ¡°What do you want in return?¡± Matteo spreads his arms, the very image of congeniality. I see him for the chameleon that he is. ¡°A truce. No more bloodshed. No more going after members of my family. This ends today. If I walk out of this door without an agreement, then it¡¯s war. But if you can agree to those terms, then I¡¯ll overlook your crimes against my family up to this point.¡± He smiles. ¡°I think you can agree my offer is extremely generous.¡± I examine him, trying to see the lie in his eyes. He¡¯s right. His terms are almost charitable in their leniency. I wouldn¡¯t forgive crimes against my family for so small a price. The smile fades, his lips pulling down into a t, serious line as he clenches his jaw. The muscle in his cheek twitches. ¡°And,¡± he adds after a moment. There it is. I knew it was too good to be true. I lift a brow at him. ¡°I knew this wasn¡¯t a selfless pursuit.¡± ¡°Never imed it was,¡± he quips back. ¡°What do you want?¡± Sharp, intense eyes pierce mine. Whatever it is he wants me to give him, he¡¯s ready to go to war for it. ¡°The woman in the gold dress.¡± I stiffen, my shoulders straining against my shirt. That¡¯s just about thest thing I expected him to say. His fists clench when he notes my reaction. ¡°What?¡± ¡°At Callum Tellier¡¯s g a couple months ago, there was a woman there in a gold dress. I saw her hug you.¡± His eyes glitter angrily in the most palpable disy of heated emotion I¡¯ve seen from him. ¡°I assume she¡¯s one of yours. I want her.¡± He leans forward and for the first time, I see the man behind the mask. Cunning, scheming eyes, determined set of his jaw, ruthless expression on his face. Thisis what he came here for. This is what he set out to achieve, to walk out of my office with. This is what victory looks like to him. It¡¯s not about a truce or an alliance. No, those are secondary objectives. This is about Valentina. The vehemence in his tone ispletely at odds with his previously easy going demeanor. rm bells go off at the way he speaks about my little sister. ¡°How do you know her?¡± He stands and stares down at where I¡¯m seated. ¡°That¡¯s not relevant, nor is it any of your concern. What is, is the fact that I want her and I will have her. Give her to me and you have my word that I¡¯ll help you find out what happened to your sister,¡± he announces. ??? Later, I¡¯m sitting alone at the bar beforeTantaopens for the night, trying to nurse my bad mood with a fifth ss of whiskey. No matter how much I drink, I can¡¯t make the images of my wife go away. They¡¯re engraved into the backs of my eyelids. Every time I blink, she¡¯s there. Tempting me, luring me to her. Hitting me like a goddamn earthquake and jumbling all the pieces inside me. My phone is in my other hand. I watch the blinking, unmoving dot that is her location. I¡¯ve been staring at it for hours. Meanwhile, I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t even spared a thought for me since I stalked out yesterday. I grunt angrily and bury my face back in my ss. ¡°What are you still doing here,jefe?¡± Arturo asks, walking up to the bar and sitting on a stool next to me. ¡°Drinking.¡± ¡°I can see that. Are you going to sleep here again tonight?¡± When I look over at him, he exins, ¡°Marco told me, although I could have guessed based on the shit mood you¡¯ve been in since yesterday.¡± ¡°Careful,¡± I warn. He snorts and waves at Sofia, the bartender, to pour him a drink and refill mine. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a certain blonde anxiously waiting for you to go home?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I clip, picking up my ss. The ice clinks loudly. Silence stretches as he takes a sip of his drink. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡± I twirl my ss haphazardly on its side, my eyes zing over. Alcohol loosens my tongue until I¡¯m doing my version of spilling my guts. Part of me feels like a frustrated teenager for being unable to resist talking about my girl troubles.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. ¡°We argued.¡± ¡°Because of her father?¡± I re at him. ¡°How the fuck is it that you seem to know everything all the time?¡± ¡°I overheard part of their conversation,¡± he admits. He turns his head towards me, looking into my eyes when he adds, ¡°He fired her, Thiago.¡± My blood turns to ice, my features ckening in fury. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°He told her she has until next Friday and then she¡¯s out.¡± To know Tess is to know that her job is the most important thing in the world to her. The fact that he could so easily fire her, that he even has the power to do so, sickens me. Rage churns in my gut on her behalf. No wonder she was that angry yesterday. She may have been arguing with me about important things to do with our rtionship, but that wasn¡¯t the underlying issue. Like a roaring beast, my protectiveness rises to the surface once more, called to action by this injustice against her. I won¡¯t let it stand. ¡°Call thewyer,¡± I ask Arturo. ¡°I want him here in the next thirty minutes.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 56 I¡¯m sick to my stomach. Where is he? It¡¯s been over twenty-four hours and he hasn¡¯te home. He hasn¡¯t texted or called. He hasn¡¯t given any signs of life whatsoever. It¡¯s just after eleven pm now and he still hasn¡¯t returned. What if¡­what if he neveres back? ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± What did he mean by that? Did he¡­was he really saying he was done with me? Withus? It¡¯s wing at my insides not knowing if he truly meant those words. If we¡¯re over. A sob rolls unbidden up my throat at the thought. I took it too far yesterday, I know I did. I was so angry and hurt. By him, yes, but mostly by my father. I took years of resentment at feeling inferior out on Thiago instead of having a conversation and I regret it. I regret it so fucking much. If he just came home, I could tell him that. I could apologize. I¡¯m not too proud to admit when I¡¯ve been an asshole. Being in this big house without him is a miserable experience. Last night was the worst night of sleep of my life. I kept jerking awake at the smallest noise, hoping that it was the sound of his key turning in the lock or his footstepsing up the stairs that had awoken me. And every single time when I realized it was nothing, that I was alone in our massive, cold, empty bed, I dropped dejectedly back onto his pillow, sniffing for traces of his scent like a crazy person to try and imprint his smell into my senses. When sleep wouldn¡¯te, I stared up at the ceiling for hours, tears silently falling off the sides of my face. I can¡¯t believe that I used to wish for this. For separate lives and never seeing him. I¡¯ve had a taste of it for a day and I¡¯ve hated every single moment of it, so much so that I couldn¡¯t go to work. Couldn¡¯t focus on anything but those all-consuming thoughts, the distress making it impossible for me to eat anything. The only thing I¡¯d been able to do was start to look at the financial files Thiago had given me. There were thousands of pages over years but I focused first on the past year and a half, the key timeframe when the cartel had expanded to the UK. I¡¯ll need a lot more time to review the paperwork and understand the whole story, but patterns are starting to emerge. Pieces that indicate there¡¯s indeed someone embezzling from thepany. The picture ising together little by little and I hope that with a bit more time, I¡¯ll be able to go to Thiago with my findings. If I do have more time, that is. If he¡¯s still interested in keeping me. Violent nausea twists my stomach when I let my mind roam to thoughts of where he could have spentst night and ofwhohe might have spent it with. I run to the bathroom and fall to my knees, dry heaving painfully into the toilet as I clutch the bowl for both physical and emotional support. Could he have cheated on me? A painful pang stabs my belly once more. I¡¯d have no one to me but myself if he did. But, God, I really,reallyhope he didn¡¯t. It would destroy me to hear he¡¯s been with another woman. I¡¯m disgusted by the mere thought of another man touching me and I¡¯d hope he would feel the same, but I just don¡¯t know. He wassoangry when he left. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± My stomach churns at the painful memory, but another emotion pokes out from behind it. It starts out small, then progressively grows until it steels my spine. Stubbornness. Determination. What am I doing here, just waiting for him to maybee home? He¡¯s notallowedto be done with me, actually. I won¡¯t let him. He¡¯s the one who married me, he has to own that decision until the very end. I¡¯m not going to wait and see if he makes the decision I want him to tonight, if he chooses to continue things with me. Our story started with him chasing me down and it¡¯s my turn to go after him now. I¡¯m going to find him myself and bring him back. And just like he did with me, I won¡¯t be giving him a choice.N?velDrama.Org content. I press a number in my contacts and bring my phone up to my ear. ¡°Where is he?¡± I ask. A relieved sighes through the line. ¡°It¡¯s about time you called. He¡¯s atTanta,¡± Arturo answers, rattling off the address without hesitation. I think I hear the hint of a smile in his voice. It¡¯s more pronounced when he adds, ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve made your decision.¡± ??? When I arrive atTantaless than thirty minutester, Arturo is waiting for me outside the club. ¡°Did you take a taxi here?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He groans. ¡°He¡¯s going to have mycojonesfor that. Maybe don¡¯t mention it to him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still here?¡± ¡°In his office. I¡¯ll take you to him.¡± I follow him inside, the noise of the club immediately overwhelming me. It¡¯s almost midnight now and the party is raging. There are girls everywhere, every one of them more beautiful than the next. My belly flips in anxious agony. We climb a set of stairs and head towards the back of the building where Arturo points to an unmarked thick ck door. ¡°He¡¯s in there.¡± ¡°Did you tell him I wasing?¡± He shakes his head. Uncertainty fills me, making my heart race. I¡¯m afraid of what I¡¯ll find on the other side of that door. ¡°Is he¨C¡± My words die in my throat. ¡°Is he alone?¡± The corner of his mouth lifts. ¡°Open the door and find out.¡± Completely unhelpful. I take a deep breath, my palm closing around the handle. The breath gets caught in my chest as I press the door open and walk in. Thiago is sitting at his desk. He¡¯s leaning back in his chair, his head resting against the seat, his eyes closed. His chest rises and falls rhythmically as if he¡¯s sleeping. I¡¯d say he looks almost peaceful except his brows are furrowed like he¡¯s being haunted by nightmares. And he¡¯s alone. A tidal wave of relief consumes me, one so powerful that my knees almost give in. Emotion lodges itself thickly in my throat. He¡¯salone. His eyes open slowly at the sound of the door utching. They visibly dte when he finds me standing in his doorway. The emotion in his gaze is indecipherable. I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s d, annoyed, or angry to see me, but there are unhappy lines around his mouth that open up a gaping hole in my chest. Even still, the electricity between us is tantalizing. He stares silently, his eyes boring so intently into mine that they raise my body temperature. I feel hot and flush. Weak-kneed and shaky. Worse, unsure. I hate this. Unfastening first the belt of my jacket, then the buttons, I shuck my trench coat off and toss it on the couch to my left, getting immediate relief from the air circting in the room. His nostrils re and his jaw grinds together when he takes in what I¡¯m wearing. I¡¯m in a matching pink pajama set consisting of tiny silk shorts and a strappy top, paired with low rise Ugg boots. I¡¯m hardly in leaving-the-house appropriate attire ¡ª let alone in going-to-a-club appropriate attire ¡ª but I ran out of our home without bothering to change, grabbing my keys and coat and nothing else. I walk up to Thiago¡¯s desk with my heart in my throat. He licks his lips predatorily as he watches me approach but says nothing. His silence is so much worse than any recording my father could ever y for me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I offer candidly. When I lift my gaze to meet his, I find gleaming eyes fixed on my face. Gruff words tumble precariously from his lips. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For taking my anger out on you and for the terrible things I said yesterday.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it, any of it, and you didn¡¯t deserve it. You were right about everything. It doesn¡¯t matter to me what you said in that recording. You¡¯ve only treated me well since marrying me and that¡¯s what¡¯s important. Actions, not words.¡± My throat works with difficulty around the mass of emotion, but sincerity echoes in my voice. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± My pulse thrashes loudly in my ears as I wait for his reply. He doesn¡¯t make me wait long. ¡°Why did youe here?¡± he asks, low and uneven. I lift my chin. ¡°To bring you home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you want?¡± he demands roughly. I nod. ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend another night in our bed without you.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Because it was a miserable experience. Because I love you. ¡°You take up so much room, you¡¯d think I¡¯d sleep like a baby without you there, but¡­ everything waswrong. The sheets were too tight. The bed too big. And I was so cold, no matter how many nkets I wrapped myself in. I hated being in that bed without you. Wherever you sleptst night, I¡¯ll be burning that mattress like you burned the one in the guest room.¡± I pause, my lips twitching with emotion. I shake my head. ¡°And just like you came after me once, it¡¯s my turn to do the same and bring you home.¡± He rakes his gaze slowly down my body before lifting heated eyes back up to mine. ¡°Dressed like that?¡± I look at my long, bare legs and haphazardly buttoned top. My cheeks flush. ¡°It¡¯ste, I was ready for bed but waiting up for you. When it became clear that you weren¡¯t nning oning home tonight, I left.¡± I lift a helpless shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about changing. All I cared about was finding you,¡± I admit. He burns me up with his stare, but his gaze gives nothing away beyond that, making my anxiety soar. Silence stretches for long moments before there¡¯s a knock at the door. ¡°Come in,¡± Thiago orders brusquely. I look away, dismayed that he¡¯d let someone interrupt us before saying something. He must still be furious with me to draw out my torture like this. Joaqu¨ªn walks in carrying a brown man envelope and stops when he sees me standing there. He takes quick note of my attire, orck thereof, and looks hastily up at the ceiling. ¡°Jefe, thewyer just dropped off the documents you asked for,¡± he says, handing him the envelope. Thiago takes it and my stomach hits the floor. Awyer? Documents he wanted? And at this hour? Surely that can¡¯t be what I think it is¡­ Not after one silly argument. It must be cartel-rted business. ¡°Thanks, you can go.¡± As Joaqu¨ªn closes the door behind him, Thiago slides his arm to the side and extends the man envelope towards me. ¡°These are for you,¡± he says. My fingers close around the documents and my heart cracks in half. Like the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, the impact fractures the surface of the needy organ, splitting it beyond repair. I¡¯m surprised he doesn¡¯t hear it rupture when the sound echoes so resoundingly in my own ears. If this envelope contains what I think it does, then this is the end. ¡°Are these divorce papers?¡± I whisper, my voice so small it¡¯s barely audible. Thiago¡¯s face darkens violently, as if a supercell thunderstorm takes over his features and ckens them entirely. He stands, slowly unfolding himself to his full, towering height. There¡¯s absolutely no trace of humor in his voice when he speaks, only a lethal edge. ¡°Are you hoping that¡¯s what I just gave you?¡± ¡°No!¡± I shake my head vehemently. ¡°That¡¯s not what I want at all, but you spoke to awyer thiste, so¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± A satisfied look gleams in his eye at my response. A small glimmer of hope flickers to life in my chest. ¡°Open it,¡± he orders. Turning the envelope over, I reach inside. I take out a stack of documents about a quarter of an inch thick. I read the first line of the top page and my eyes fly up to Thiago¡¯s in shock. The corner of his lips stretches into a smug grin and he tips his chin at me to keep reading. So I do. I read the entire topsheet before I look at him again. ¡°What¡ª what is this, Thiago?¡± He starts making his way around his desk. Every step that takes him closer to me steals breath from my chest until I¡¯m finding it hard to ess any oxygen at all. ¡°When your father couldn¡¯t repay his twenty million pound debt within the allotted thirty days I gave him, he started owing me significant interest for every extra day he took beyond the deadline.¡± He nods at the documents. ¡°What you have in your hands is what he used to pay off said interest. Five board seats for the Noble Group.¡± I gape at him, my mouth on the floor. ¡°He gave these to you?¡± ¡°He was happy to part with them when presented with the choice of them or his life.¡± ¡°But these are in my name,¡± I say, looking down at the topsheet held in my shaking hands then back up at him. ¡°You¡¯re giving them to me?¡± Thiagoes to a stop before me, hisrge form towering over me. Heated, possessive eyes burn into the side of my face, lighting mes of arousal in my belly. ¡°It¡¯s yourpany. I¡¯m simply giving you what rightfully belongs to you. What your father should have given you himself,¡± he adds with a dangerous growl. ¡°Arturo overheard him firing you. He has no right to take the thing you care about the most away from you and I certainly wasn¡¯t about to let that happen while I stood idly by and did nothing. I believe that these five seats, coupled with the two you and Tristan already have should give you the majority. With these, you can do more than keep your job; you can oust him and be CEO.¡± Hisrge hand closes around mine, calming the trembling that makes the pages shake. Warmth bursts to life where he touches me and spreads throughout my entire body. My eyes lift back to his but I find that his gaze is fixed determinedly on the pages in my hand. ¡°But I¡¯m also giving them to you for a selfish reason. You were right ¨C you didn¡¯t get to make a choice. Your father forced you and then I forced you. These give you the autonomy and financial freedom to choose for yourself ¡ª stay with me or leave me.¡± He stares at the documents for a long time before his eyes slide up to mine, full of raw vulnerability and yearning. I don¡¯t think this is a side of him he lets anybody else see. His hand moves up my arm and to my face where he cups my cheek. I tilt my head and press into hisrge hand. ¡°Stay,¡± he whispers, the word caught somewhere between a plea and a prayer. ¡°I want you to stay.¡± I blink and a thick tear crests past my waterline and falls down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb. rm edges his tone. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± The maelstrom of emotions is overwhelming. I¡¯d walked in so worried and scared for our future together, only to find that he had once again been working to protect me. ¡°Yesterday¡­you said you were done,¡± I say, my voice breaking as more tears slip down my face. ¡°Done?¡± Thiago¡¯s face softens but his voice takes on an upromising edge. ¡°I was done arguing that specific topic, but I willneverbe done with you. Get that through your head.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯te home after I¨C after I told you to go to udia. I wondered if¡­¡± I trail off, incapable of even saying the words out loud. ¡°Amor,¡± he growls, gripping my face tightly between his hands. ¡°I slept on the couch behind youst night. You¡¯re the only woman I¡¯ve slept with in years. The only woman I think about all day long and want to bury myself inside the second Ie home. Why would I ever go to anyone else?¡± ¡°Because I was stupid and pushed you away.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t stupid. We had a fight and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have many more. I¡¯m sorry too, for making you think for one second that you weren¡¯t exactly who I wanted.¡± He brushes the hair gently away from my face. ¡°But you were wrong. I wasing home to you tonight and I was nning on doing whatever it took to make you see the error of your ways. All I was waiting for was the documents to be notarized over to you. You beat me to it bying to find me, but I couldn¡¯t have stayed away another night either.¡± His hand tightens on the side of my neck. ¡°And you,ing here, looking for me?imingme?¡± he murmurs throatily. ¡°You have no idea. If I could cut myself up and show you how frantically my thoughts race for you, how madly my blood runs for you, how desperately my heart beats for you, it would scare you to fucking death.¡± A bubble of relief bursts past my lips when his mouthes down and covers mine. The kiss is hard and desperate and full of deep longing. He ims my body with greedy fingers and rough caresses, his mouth moving over mine with a famished kind of hunger that takes my breath away. He¡¯s gentle at first, but then his grip turns bruising and possessive. He rips his lips off mine, breaking away from me to catch his breath and leaving me with lips swollen from his attack. His chest rises and falls jaggedly, but that¡¯s not what captures my attention. It¡¯s the expression in his eye. He looks at me like he physically needs more, like not having his lips on mine causes him bodily pain. ¡°What do you choose?¡± he asks, voice roughened by lust. Hard breaths fan across my lips. ¡°I should warn you that if you decide to leave me it doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t follow. I¡¯m giving you a choice when I don¡¯t have one, because I can¡¯t live without you.¡± My armse around his neck and I pull him down to me, finding his mouth with mine and kissing him with all the emotion held in my soul. He groans as he pulls me closer, trapping me against his body with rough hands. It¡¯s only been twenty four hours, but I¡¯ve missed him terribly. Being back in his arms feels like being anchored back at home after a night out on stormy seas. I don¡¯t want to be anywhere else. ¡°I don¡¯t need documents, I made my choice a long time ago,¡± I breathe. ¡°I¡¯m never leaving you.¡± Golden eyes sh, his pupils dted to the size of quarters. ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Thiago ms his mouth savagely down on mine, pushing me roughly back against his desk. He grabs my ass and hoists me into his arms. Our mouths are level now and he uses that new angle to deepen our kiss. My pussy rubs lewdly against his hard length until we¡¯re both making obscene sounds of pleasure. His hand closes around the front of my throat and squeezes, applying pressure to separate us. ¡°Remember what I told you would happen if you ever brought up divorce again?¡± I shake my head even though I do remember. His voice turns honeyed as he whispers the words against the shell of my ear. ¡°That I would whip your ass.¡± I moan in response and his hand tightens around my throat. ¡°Do you think you deserve to be punished?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± He releases me and I slide slowly down his body until my feet touch the floor. ¡°Bend over my desk and show me where you want me to punish you.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 57 Pulsing need shoots straight to my pussy at his sultry order. I turn around and grab my shorts, shimmying them down my hips and stepping out of them as requested. Thiago presses suddenly against my back, his hand wrapping around my throat from behind. His lips find my ear. ¡°Those shorts,amor,¡± he growls. ¡°Never wear them out of the house again.¡± I nod wordlessly, my skin burning up, and he takes a step back. My pantiese off next as I hear him walk to the door and lock it. When he turns back towards me, I¡¯m already syed across his desk with my ass on disy for him. He groans loudly as he walks back up to me. ¡°So pretty and so obedient.¡± A reverent handes down to gently caress my bare skin. ¡°I won¡¯t use my belt today. I need to feel this ass heating beneath my palm.¡± And then he pulls back and a vicious pes down on my right cheek. I jerk forward, my hips hitting the edge of the desk and adding to the delicious pain. He bunches my strappy top high on my back and licks a sloppy line from my ass and up my spine as his handes down once more, this time on the other cheek. I moan loudly, the cool air brushing against the wet spot on my back and making me shiver. He yanks my cor and tugs it down, then sinks his teeth into the skin where my neck meets my shoulder, this time pping my ass three times in sharp session. Between the attentions of his mouth and the pain of his palm on my skin, I¡¯m near delirious with lust. ¡°Never mention divorce again,¡± he warns. ¡°I won¡¯t be so forgiving next time.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± I gasp, trying to catch my breath. ¡°I thought that¡¯s what you wanted.¡± Thiago cups my nape and pins me against the desk, keeping me from arching upwards every time he spanks me. His handes down time and time again, alternating between savage hits and greedy caresses of his fingers digging into my reddened skin. Tears sting the corners of my eyes at the same time as arousal coils tightly in my belly. I¡¯m soaking wet and desperate for him to fuck me. ¡°If someone held a gun to my head and had me choose between death or divorcing you, I¡¯d reach up and pull the trigger myself,¡± he replies gutturally. He flips me over and sits me on his desk. I flinch when my burning ass makes contact with the cold surface but he yanks me mercilessly to the edge, positioning himself between my parted legs. Grabbing my top with both hands, he tears it off me and sends the buttons flying. I reach for him as his lipse down on my breasts, sucking my hard nipples frenziedly into his mouth. I groan as I arch into him and he fumbles blindly with the button of his trousers like an excited teen. He gets them opened and pushes them past his ass and then his cock is pressing against my entrance and he shoves in to the hilt. A shocked breath expels from my lungs at the savageness of his thrust. My nails dig into his back as I hold on for dear life. He fucks me dementedly. It¡¯s hard and desperate. Angry and possessive. Rough and uncaring. And totally,pletely, soul-destroying. His hands are everywhere as his cock moves in and out of me, iming my pussy with vicious thrusts. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and when his lips close around my pulse point, I fall apart. Ie loudly and liberally, grinding my clit against his pelvis as I hold him against me.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . ¡°I love it when you scream for me,amor,¡± he grunts against my throat. He keeps fucking me through my orgasm, lifting me into his arms and walking me around to the other side of the desk. He¡¯s so strong that he bounces me up and down his length as he walks, impaling me so deeply on his cock that he reaches a ce he never has before. He lifts me off his cock and flips me over his desk, driving back inside me from behind with a feverish groan. I hear the sound of a drawer opening followed by rustling around and then my cheeks part and a wet finger presses against my ring of muscles. ¡°Time for me to im all of you,¡± he announces. I stiffen and a keening cry leaves my lips when he pushes in, sliding his finger in to the hilt. There¡¯s a bite of pain, but the main sensation is fullness. He starts thrusting his finger in tandem with his cock in my pussy. My eyes roll back into my head at the overwhelming feeling of being taken in both holes. I feel the loss when he pulls out but gasp loudly when he pushes his finger in my pussy next to his cock, stretching me beyond my limit. ¡°Mhmm¡­you¡¯re soaking wet,amor. Do you like the idea of getting your ass fucked?¡± I moan incoherently, unable to provide a more articte response when he pushes back into my ass with two fingers this time. Meanwhile, his cock continues its furious rhythm. He ms inside me, making my torso move up and down repeatedly and abrading my taut nipples against the rough surface of his desk. He scissors his fingers, stretching me indecently and I almoste again. I didn¡¯t know it was possible to enjoy backdoor action but thebination of pain and pleasure from the way his fingers stroke up against my walls is overwhelming. ¡°You¡¯re ready,preciosa. You¡¯re squeezing the life out of my fingers.¡± Thiago pulls out of mepletely and then I feel his fingers back on my rim, rubbing a wet substance over the ring of muscles. I look over my shoulder and find him fisting his cock and covering it in vaseline. His gaze lifts to mine, the predatory, ravenous look in his eyes sending a shiver down my spine. He stares at me as he pumps up and down his shaft a few times, the obscene act sending fresh arousal pooling between my legs. Anticipation hums in my veins. ¡°Stay like that,¡± he orders, cing the thick head of his cock against my untried hole. My breath catches in my throat. ¡°Look back at me with those wide eyes as I sink into your virgin ass,amor.¡± ¡°Okay, baby,¡± I answer, right as he pushes in. He hisses at the affectionate nickname and the way my rim parts to let him in. My back bows and my muscles tighten at the pain of his intrusion, but I keep my eyes on him as requested. White hot heat fires into my ass as it tries to stretch to let him in, but he¡¯s so thick. The girth of his cock splits me open, the sensation nothing like taking his two fingers. He grabs my hips to keep me in ce, his hands rubbing soothing circles on my overheated skin. He pulls me back and pushes forward, forcing my muscles to bend to him and I cry out. Thiago¡¯s face is a picture of concentration and crumbling control. His brows are furrowed, his eyes intensely focused on where his cock attempts to gain entry, his teeth digging into his lower lip as he tries to hold back. He looks seconds away from losing it. ¡°I¡¯m almost there,amor. Rx and push out for me. Let me in.¡± He thrusts against my resistance and my mouth parts on a silent scream. My eyes turn half lidded and something gives way inside me. His gaze lifts to mine as the head of his cock breaches the tightness of my sphincter and slides into my ass. ¡°Oh, God,¡± I scream. A shiver racks down his whole body. His hands tighten brutally on my hips. His eyes never waver from mine, even as he groans loudly. ¡°Madre de Dios,¡± he mutters reverently. He slides in an inch, then another, and I throw my head back. He fists my hair and yanks my head to the side, forcing my gaze back to his. ¡°You keep your eyes on me,¡± he orders. ¡°You have no idea what you look like right now. If my cock wasn¡¯t already halfway up your ass, I¡¯d be shoving it down your throat for looking at me like that.¡± He grabs his phone and before I know it, he snaps a picture of me. He stares down at his screen with a savage smile, his other hand still on my hip and guiding his cock further inside me. ¡°I¡¯m going to start a photo album of you bent in all my favorite positions, taking me in all of your holes. This one is my favorite so far. I¡¯m going to fuck my hand staring at this photo of you for years toe.¡± I¡¯m delirious and can¡¯t respond. My body feels like it¡¯s breaking under his assault. Every inch that his cock ims of my ass sends a fresh wave of pain shooting up my spine and tingling into my skull. I feel stretched beyond the limit, one tiny move away from being torn to pieces. But lurking behind that pain lies unbelievable pleasure. It¡¯s a weird sensation, unlike anything I¡¯ve ever felt before. It feels taboo, but that¡¯s part of what¡¯s adding to it ¡ª the fact that we shouldn¡¯t be doing this, that dark desire fuels him to take my ass because he wants to own me entirely and in a way a person should never own another. I love it. Thiago parts my cheeks and looks down at where his cock is splitting me open. I follow his gaze and feel arousal gush from my pussy at the lewdness of seeing half of his dick buried inside me, the other half still working to gain entry. He stares unflinchingly into my eyes as he dribbles a line of spit directly onto my asshole, using his thumb to rub it into my taut, white rim. I whimper at the erotic sight, goosebumps erupting up the column of my spine. ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± he asks, voice rendered unrecognizable by thick, forbidden arousal. ¡°Do you like watching my cock take your ass?¡± I moan but he wraps a hand around my throat and jaw from behind and arches me further back towards him. ¡°Answer me. Do you want to see more?¡± He thrusts another inch savagely inside me and I cry out. ¡°Ask me to give you another inch.¡± ¡°Please,¡± I beg. ¡°Ask. Say ¡°please push another inch of your cock into my ass, husband¡±.¡± God, he¡¯s so dirty and obscene. He won¡¯t stop until he owns every single part of me. Every thought, every word, every action. ¡°Please push another inch of your cock into my ass, husband,¡± I repeat, voice broken by lust. Eyes gleam possessively on me and then I watch as he shifts his hips back slightly and powers forward until he buries the entirety of his cock into my ass. A loud scream rips from my lips and I go limp. His hand on my throat keeps me upright. He pulls me against his chest and his lips find the shell of my ear. ¡°I gave you three inches for the price of one. Now I¡¯m all the way inside you,¡± he whispers smugly, ownership ringing loudly in his tone. ¡°Say thank you.¡± ¡°T-thank you, baby.¡± A territorial growl rumbles in his chest. ¡°You¡¯re wee,amor.¡± He holds me against him, my back against his chest, and then he starts moving. Fuck, he startsmoving. At this angle, he¡¯s so deeply inside me it feels like he¡¯s in my throat. ¡°Do you feel me where no man has taken you? Where no other man ever will?¡± he demands darkly. ¡°Y-yes.¡± He pulls out gently until only the head of his cock remains in my ass. I feel his loss immediately, but not for long. He thrusts back inside brutally, sending me lifting onto my toes at his intrusion. ¡°Oh my God, Thiago.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± he hums, establishing a punishing rhythm as he starts to drill inside me. ¡°Such a good girl for taking me here. You feel so fucking good. I¡¯m going to be living inside this ass from now on, are you ready for that?¡± I shake my head and he chuckles darkly against my throat. He presses a iming kiss to the back of my neck and pounds savagely back inside me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you ready.¡± For long minutes, he holds me against him as he fucks my ass, taking his pleasure from my body and giving it back to me in the form of new, extreme sensations. The sounds he¡¯s making are unbelievable. They heat my skin and turn it electric, making the pain fadepletely away as I focus solely on them and the feeling of his ownership of me. They¡¯re primal, animalistic, and so deeply erotic they make me feel like I¡¯m on fire. His mouth is against my ear, his carnal groans falling right against my skin and making me lose my mind. If I thought he was noisy when he was in my pussy, that was nothingpared to this. I fear he¡¯s lost his sanity and he may never find it again. He fists my hair and yanks my head viciously back against his shoulder, the bite of pain mixing deliciously with every other sensation coursing riotously through my body. I look up into his darkened, feral eyes. ¡°Say you¡¯re mine,amor.¡± Thiago punctuates the order with deep thrusts into my ass. He uses his other hand to pull my cheek to the side, sliding his cock even further inside me than before. My eyes flutter close at the new stretch, unsure how I¡¯m ever going to be able to walk again. I wrap a hand back around him and dig my nails into his ass, using my hold to pull him closer to me so he can bottom all the way inside me. He releases my cheek and his handes to my throat where he squeezes violently. My eyes fly open at the suddenck of oxygen. ¡°Tell meyou¡¯re mine,¡± he repeats harshly. That¡¯s the easiest thing in the world for me to do. A smile stretches my lips even as my body thrashes from his assault. ¡°I¡¯m yours.¡± The dark satisfaction that erupts across his face should scare me, but it doesn¡¯t. Not anymore, not for a long time now. His hand leaves my throat and then I feel him push a finger in my ass next to his cock. My eyes widen and I choke out a surprised breath. ¡°Is this my ass?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Mercifully, he removes his finger and plunges it into my pussy next. He pumps into it a few times, the obscene, wet noises of his intrusion echoing around the room. ¡°Is this my pussy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± And then his finger is shoving past my lips and into my mouth. I taste myself on his digit and nearly pass out from the lewdness of the act. ¡°Is this my mouth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A feral growl rumbles in his chest and he bites my lobe. ¡°Good girl.¡± He pushes me down on his desk, grabs my hips with both hands and yanks me back to meet his thrusts. I scream and hold on to the table for dear life. ¡°Your ass issofucking tight. No matter how much I pound into it, every time I thrust forward I have to breach your walls and stretch them again.¡± He takes my arms and bends them behind me, pinning them together at the small of my back with his hand. ¡°But you¡¯re soaking wet for me, little wife. Your thighs are running with your juices. You love getting your ass fucked. I knew you would.¡± He reaches around my hips and his other hand finds my needy clit. When he takes three fingers and rubs over it, stars explode behind my eyes and Ie with a throat-ripping scream. I thrash against the desk, arching my back and unwittingly throwing my ass back at him as I ride the waves of the most powerful climax I¡¯ve ever had. Thiago smacks my ass painfully, extending the orgasm for long seconds that feel like they stretch into minutes. ¡°Fuck!¡± he screams, pping my pussy and driving me wild. ¡°Being inside your ass while you came was unbelievable. Your muscles squeezed me so hard you almost sucked the blood right out of my cock.¡± His fingers slide down and then three thrust into my soaking pussy. ¡°Do it again,¡± he orders. ¡°Ah, I c-can¡¯t. Oh my¡ª oh, fuck.¡± ¡°You can.¡± His fingers start pumping loudly inside me alongside his cock in my ass and I feel the need coiling in my stomach once more. I¡¯m so wet that he easily slides a fourth finger inside me, making my entire body shudder at the stretch. I¡¯ve never in my life been so full and the approaching orgasm scares me. It feels like I¡¯m climbing the highest mountain possible and the fall on the other side is going to tear me apart. He¡¯s uncaring of that, his fingers and his cock edging me blindly towards the cliff. My arms remain pinned at my back as his thrusts in my ass turnpletely manic. He¡¯s pounding inside me so hard that my teeth rattle. I¡¯m barely holding on, barely keeping a hold on my own sanity, barely even conscious at this point. And then his fingers curl inside me and start rubbing against the special spot in my pussy that¡¯s hyper sensitive. My entire body locks and I freeze. ck takes over my vision as I go temporarily blind. He drives to the hilt inside my ass until my cheeks are pressed against his pelvis to either side of his cock. My mouth falls on the ghost of a scream and everything breaks. The scream finally rips from my throat and the muscles of my ass mp on his cock and juices gush madly from my abused pussy as Ie ande ande. Thiago roars loudly from behind me, bottoming inside me as his own orgasm ims him. Hot cum bursts from his cock and shoots inside my used ass. It feels like it goes on for hours before he slumps over my body, trapping me on the desk beneath him with his cock still inside me. Wey there catching our breaths for a long time before he pushes back the hair from my face, revealing my eyes to him. He brushes kisses along my jaw and up the side of my face to my ear. ¡°If you¡¯re going to squirt every time I fuck you in both holes, then that¡¯s the only way I¡¯m going to take you from now on.¡± An erotic shiver flutters down my spine and I giggle breathily. Thiago presses gentle kisses along the line of my shoulder and to the back of my neck, his mouth reverent in its devotion to me. When he¡¯s caught his breath, he turns me over and scoops me into his arms. Mine wrap around his neck with ease and I look up at him from under myshes. He stares down at me like I¡¯m an addiction he has no hope of ever getting rid of, his eyes burning with fanatic adoration. ¡°You torment me, you know that right?¡± His arms tighten around me. ¡°You gue me. Youconsumeme. You have since that very first day. And now you¡¯repletely mine.¡± The smile he gives me lights my insides on fire, fueling the mes of my love for him that much higher. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,amor.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 58 Over the next few weeks, we settle into the happiest part of our marriage so far. Thiago works mostly from home so that when Ie home from the office, he¡¯s there to greet me. After some maneuvering and negotiations with other board members, Tristan and I sessfully ousted my father out of the CEO position. My brother was never interested in taking over the role so he breathed a major sigh of relief when I stepped in. It¡¯s been chaotic and hectic, the most grueling weeks of work I¡¯ve ever had because of the state my father left thepany in. It¡¯s also been thebestweeks of work. I¡¯m excited for the challenge ahead, for fixing the years of bad decision making and poor strategy with him at the helm. When I¡¯m not working, I¡¯m spending time with my husband. We still meet in the middle of the night for ice cream, although this time we go down to the kitchen together, holding hands and giggling like we¡¯re teenagers. He still ims not to like ice cream, but he downs half a pint every time I bring it out. I should specify that he likes to put it in my mouth first, then kiss me andp it into his own mouth with his tongue. He says it¡¯s just an excuse to kiss me, but he¡¯s still eating the ice cream, so it counts. He takes me on dates, to restaurants like he does to business dinners and events. I¡¯m turning into quite the mafia wife, something I never thought I¡¯d say even six months ago. I meet more of his allies and witness the burgeoning rtionship with Matteo Leone and his second-inmand and cousin, Enzo Leone. They¡¯re getting close to finding out what happened to Adriana. It¡¯s in the air, that feeling that they¡¯re closing in. I know that once Thiago has resolution on that front, once he can finally put her to rest and mourn her, a colossal weight will be lifted off his shoulders. Sometimes when we¡¯re together, I see his gaze turn faraway. He seems like he disconnects from the present and travels to another point in time, maybe to another reality altogether. I watch over him carefully, letting him go for those precious moments where he thinks about his sister. He alwayses back, always with a bemused expression on his face like he only noticed he was gone because hees abruptly back into his body. And I¡¯m always there with aforting touch and an encouraging word, ready to listen. The more he tells me, the more I¡¯m determined to help him. So I do in the only way I know how right now ¨C I pour over the hundreds, if not thousands, of documents he gave me. Adrenaline carries me through the hours upon hours of research. I¡¯m looking for patterns, for recurring payments made specifically to the list of vendors Thiago provided who said they hadn¡¯t been paid when there were clear transactions listed in the financial documents to the contrary. After weeks of work, I narrowed it down to a few dozen transactions I feltfortable ssifying as being shady for a variety of reasons. They were all made to vendors who either imed not to have been paid or whose services I couldn¡¯t trace. Some of them were also made on dates when I knew Thiago was out of the country because he¡¯d been in Rome looking for me. Finally, they were also all payments handled by one ountant. From the digging I¡¯d done, that man, Jorge Diaz, seemed to be based back in Colombia. That in it of itself was odd ¨C all of the cartel¡¯s UK finances went through London-based ountants. The fact that these transactions weren¡¯t was clear proof that they were dodgy in some way. I hadn¡¯t told Thiago about this discovery yet. I knew that the moment I did, he¡¯d take a ¡®kill first and ask questionster¡¯ approach which, while I¡¯m sure would be very effective, wouldn¡¯t give us the answers of who was behind this. The ountant was just the money mover, but someone else was calling the shots and putting this n into action. Someone close. Last night, Thiago told me that he was being called away from London this evening to meet with a new supplier. It¡¯s not the first time we¡¯ve been apart obviously, but it is the first time since we got married that he¡¯s traveling and isn¡¯t in the same city. I don¡¯t know why, but something about that gives me anxiety. I have no reason to be wary and yet the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end knowing he isn¡¯t immediately close by if I need him. To distract myself, I¡¯m pouring over those remaining documents to get to the bottom of who is behind all this. There has to be a trace somewhere, I refuse to believe whoever did this could cover their tracks entirely. I¡¯m on my third hour staring at this paperwork and I¡¯m starting to get cross eyed. Time for a well deserved break. I pick up my phone and head into the kitchen. It¡¯ste, so the staff has either gone home or to bed, leaving me alone for the night. My stomach rumbles loudly. My cooking abilities stretch about as far as making a semi-decent grilled cheese, so that¡¯s what I set out to make. I consider calling Thiago but then think better of it. He¡¯s probably in a meeting, working, and thest thing he needs is his wife bothering him. So I call the next best person. ¡°Hello, hot stuff,¡± Dagny answers, in a bra and nothing more. ¡°Oh God, there¡¯s a pan in your hand. What culinary atrocity are you about to unleash on that poor, unsuspecting husband of yours?¡± She pauses to think about it. ¡°Actually, I take that back. Give him food poisoning, he deserves it.¡± ¡°First of all, I¡¯ve cooked things for you in the past that you liked¨C¡± ¡°I was understudy for the lead role in my senior year y, believe me, I pulled on that experience to get me through.¡± ¡°Secondof all, he¡¯s not here. He¡¯s traveling for work.¡± ¡°Out shooting some more innocent bystanders perhaps?¡± Sheughs when she sees the look on my face. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, Tessie. They¡¯re so easy to make, it¡¯s hard for me to pass up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re entitled to a lifetime of jokes on the subject.¡± She snorts. ¡°You should have told me you were alone tonight, I would havee over for a sleepover.¡± I pause mid-flip of my grilled cheese and itnds on the counter. ¡°Wow, if I¡¯d recorded that you could have gone viral.¡± ¡°Is it toote for a sleepover?¡±This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Her face falls. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I wish I¡¯d known earlier. I have that bridal clienting to the store next week so I¡¯m prepping some initial designs for her to react to.¡± ¡°Send them to me when you¡¯re done, I¡¯d love to see them.¡± I pick the sandwich off the counter and take a bite. ¡°Delicious,¡± I say, sticking my tongue out at her. ¡°I will! Are you still going through the financial reports?¡± ¡°Slowly but surely.¡± ¡°Find anything good?¡± ¡°I think so. I just can¡¯t findwhoyet.¡± ¡°You will.¡± Her tone is easily confident. ¡°People get cocky and then they getzy, especially when they think they¡¯re getting away with it.¡± Something about her words makes me realize that I¡¯ve been narrow minded in my search. The answer isn¡¯t going to live solely in a financial report. I need to look where people are much more likely to mess up ¨C email. ¡°Dags, I¡¯ve got to go.¡± Her mouth ttens sympathetically. ¡°It¡¯s the grilled cheese isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Wha¨C no, it¡¯s not. You¡¯re the worst, goodbye,¡± I say with augh, hanging up. The sandwich long forgotten, I rush back into the living room where I¡¯d previously been sprawled on the floor with the documents all around me. I shuffle the papers around looking for Jorge Diaz¡¯s emails but remember I didn¡¯t print them out because there were hundreds, if not thousands. I open myputer and start pouring through them there. And then I find it. Lady luck shows up on my side tonight because it only takes me about fifteen minutes. It¡¯s an email to him confirming one of the payments I now know to be fraudulent. I¡¯m stunned into silence at the discovery. I can¡¯t believe that after all these weeks I¡¯ve finally found the evidence I¡¯ve been looking for. It feels both like a significant moment and also weirdly anticlimactic. It¡¯s only an email. Part of me had expected a dramatic reveal culminating in the traitor would be unmasked, not me sitting alone on my living room floor. When I see who authored the email and sent it, my blood runs cold in my veins. I can¡¯t believe it. I wouldn¡¯t if there wasn¡¯t proof in my hands written in his own words, confirming what he¡¯s done. This is a betrayal that¡¯ll rock Thiago to his core. Someone he trusted above almost any other. Someone who¡¯s been at our dining table, who we¡¯ve drank with, who¡¯s smiled in our faces while stabbing us in the back. My heart breaks at the perfidy of it all. This is going to change everything. I need to tell Thiago,now. All of a sudden, it doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s in a meeting or working. I can¡¯t hold on to this information without letting him know. If Thiago is with him, he could be in danger. ¡°Shit.¡± I curse out loud when I realize I left my phone in the kitchen. I run back there and find it where I left it on the counter when I hung up with Dagny. My screen is unlocked and my thumb is hovering over Thiago¡¯s name when someone reaches over my shoulder and snatches the phone right out of my hand. Fear ms into me. I didn¡¯t hear anyonee in. Didn¡¯t know I wasn¡¯t alone. It morphs quickly into dread when I turn ande face to face with dark, cruel eyes. How I ever thought this man was trustworthy is beyond me. Staring into his eyes now, I see him for the ruthless, remorseless traitor that he is. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Me.¡± He says it almost arrogantly, like he¡¯s proud of what he¡¯s done. I don¡¯t have to wonder how he got in here, he has the keys. Thiago never considered the threat might be quite this close to home, and neither did I. ¡°Give me back my phone.¡± He grins, sharp teeth on disy. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that. Can¡¯t have you telling your husband what you¡¯ve discovered. You really should have kept out of this and minded your own fucking business.¡± He looks down as he pockets my phone before his gaze lifts icily back up to mine. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to have to deal with you.¡± The dread moves up my chest and to my throat where it cuts off my air supply. ¡°Thiago will kill you.¡± Heughs. ¡°He won¡¯t know it was me.¡± He ms his fist into the side of my face and I crumple to the ground. Thest thing I see before I pass out are his ck shoes nearing my face. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 59 ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯te to the phone right now, but if you leave me a mess¨C¡± Frowning, I hang up the phone without leaving a voicemail. That¡¯s the fifth time I¡¯ve tried calling Tess tonight with no response from her. I¡¯m in the car on my way back to London. The new supplier I was supposed to meet with tonight never showed, the number I was given to reach him disconnected when I tried to call. My lieutenants who are usually always by my side are both gone tonight ¡ª Marco had surgery to remove problematic scar tissue from an old bullet wound and Arturo was called unexpectedly away for an emergency with his daughter ¡ª so I can¡¯t ask them to look into the supplier. It would be surprising not to talk to Tess even on a normal night, but something about the coincidence that I would be stood up on the same night that I can¡¯t reach her doesn¡¯t sit right with me. Years of experience have the back of my neck tingling, telling me that something isn¡¯t right here. Instinct tells me I was lured away tonight. For what purpose, I can¡¯t tell. The more I can¡¯t get through to Tess, the antsier I get. The stronger the tingling in my neck gets, until it¡¯s a full on buzzing. When I try calling a sixth time and she doesn¡¯t answer, I consider lobbing my phone out of the window. It¡¯s only the fact that she would have no way to reach me that keeps me from doing so. ¡°How far away are we?¡± I ask my driver. ¡°Thirty minutes,jefe.¡± I¡¯m going to turn the back of the Rolls into my personal rage room and destroy it in that time. ¡°Drive fucking faster,¡± I snarl. I unlock my phone and call Dagny. ¡°Well, well, well,¡± she answers mockingly. ¡°This is a surprise. Dare I dream that you¡¯re calling to generously offer to pay for my floor bill? Or is this some sort of courtesy call before you shoot me again?¡± I cut straight to the point. ¡°I can¡¯t reach Tess. I¡¯ve tried calling six times.¡± She sobers instantly, immediately understanding the serious tenor of my voice. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get through and call you right back.¡± My phone rings thirty secondster and my stomach plummets. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t answer.¡± My jaw works back and forth silently. Maybe she doesn¡¯t have her phone on her. Or maybe¡­ Dagny reads my mind. ¡°She didn¡¯t run.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Well, apart from the fact that she¡¯s in lo¨C¡± She starts coughing violently. ¡°Sorry, something in my throat.¡± She clears it once more, then starts again. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t leave you. You know she wouldn¡¯t.¡± She¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think Tesswouldleave me. But her leaving me would be preferable to the only other option her silence could mean ¨C that something happened to her. ¡°I spoke to her earlier tonight when she was cooking,¡± Dagny continues. I groan loudly and sheughs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she was just making grilled cheese.¡± ¡°And she was fine?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡­¡± Her voice trails off suddenly. My hand tightens around the phone. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°She was looking into the embezzlement. We were talking about it and then she abruptly said she had to go. She sounded like she had an idea of where to look¡­ Maybe she found something?¡± ¡°She would have called me if she did.¡± ¡°Not if¡­¡± Dagny doesn¡¯t finish her sentence. She doesn¡¯t need to. Not if something happened to her. That possibility chills the blood in my veins. After I hang up, I find myself praying for the first time in years. Praying that she left her phone in the other room and that I¡¯m going to find her in her favorite spot on the living room couch, reading a book, lost to the outside world. Praying that I didn¡¯t put her in danger by letting her help me while leaving her vulnerable tonight. Praying that she¡¯s alright, that those big blue eyes will lift to mine and smile at me when I walk in. But when I burst through the doors of our home, I already know that she¡¯s not here. I can feel it. The air is too still. The silence too quiet. The walls too stiff, like they witnessed something they¡¯re desperate to confess to. ¡°Tess!¡± I scream her name, going from room to room, searching for her, refusing to believe what I know deep in my core to be true. My desperation grows with every empty room I find until it feels like my heart is going to crawl out of my throat and fall lifelessly at my feet. There are traces of her everywhere. An openptop on the living room floor. A dirty pan in the sink. A half eaten grilled cheese on a te. Her phone on the counter. Dread wraps its tentacled fingers around my lungs and squeezes. I pick up the phone and the screenes to life, reflecting a picture of us back to me. It¡¯s a selfie we tookst week; my forearm is wrapped around her shoulders, my lips pressed into her hair. She¡¯s midugh, giggling at something I said. I can¡¯t remember what it was. Seven missed call notifications sit just above her face. Rage mes to life in my belly. Someone took her. I have to fight my own body to get through the haze of fury and adrenaline that sweeps over my body, murdering the rational part of my brain. Think. If she¡¯s wearing her ne, I can track her. Sometimes she takes it off for bed. I send up prayers begging for her to still have it on. I click the security app on my phone and the dot immediately beeps to life, bringing with it a small measure of relief. Until I see where she is. In the very same underground bomb shelter I took her to the night I killed Augusto Leone. There¡¯s no way she would have gone there by herself, not only because she¡¯d have no way of remembering exactly where it was, but also because she has no reason to go. And the only people who know about it and are still alive to discuss it are cartel members. Dagny was right, she must have found the mole. My breathing is uneven, my heart arrhythmic. I don¡¯t know how long she¡¯s been there, how long they¡¯ve had her, if I¡¯m toote¨C No, I can¡¯t let myself think that. She¡¯s okay, she has to be. I run blindly for the car, desperate to get to her, but herptop on the living room floor stops me. There are papers strewn every which way around it. I tap the mousepad and the screenes to life. There¡¯s a password, but I know it. RockyRoad21 The day we first met in the kitchen for ice cream. Multiple windows pop up, but the top one is a historical email from a batch of files I sent her. From what I can tell, it¡¯s an approval for a wire transfer. The vendor is one I recognize ¨C they were among those who told me they hadn¡¯t been paid.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. But when I see who signs the email, who authorizes the payment, who Tess discovered had betrayed me, my blood goes from chilled to frozen. It¡¯s a name I know well. A betrayal that stabs a knife deep in my back. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 60 As I make my way through the twisting hallways of the underground bomb shelter, I discover the depth of the betrayal. Half a dozen cartel members cross my path as I follow the blinking dot to Tess¡¯s location. They seem surprised to see me. I kill them all. Without a second¡¯s hesitation, they each get a bullet to the head or the heart. No thought, no emotion. Just death. They swore undying loyalty to me and broke that blood oath. Their deaths are meaningless, just like their lives were. I don¡¯t mourn them as I step over their bodies and I forget them the second I leave them behind me. The gunshots announce my presence, my furious, explosive arrival, as I get closer and closer to her location. You want the advantage of surprise in warfare, but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m too far gone to consider my own safety when I know Tess was taken by people she trusted only because I did. One more corner and I¡¯ll be at her position. I turn it and cross the threshold into therge room where we once held Leone, my gun arm raised before me. My heartes to a terrified, abrupt stop. Tess is on her knees, her hands tied behind her back. Her head is bowed and her hair hangs limply around her shoulders. Her mouth is taped shut. There¡¯s arge emerging bruise on her temple. Marco looms above her, pointing a gun down at her head. Marco, who I¡¯d protected and elevated through the ranks. Who I¡¯d turned to for advice and relied on as a partner thisst year and a half. Who I considered as close to a brother as I could. He¡¯s who betrays me. And yet, I barely throw him a nce, because Tess is there and she¡¯s hurt. Nothing else matters.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . She lifts her face and I see dried tears on her cheeks. Her eyes are hollow and scared, but they re when they see me. Not with hope, with fear for me. Emotion crushes my windpipe. My heartbeat thrashes resoundingly in my ears, deafening me with its franticthump,thump,thump. When I see that gun pointed at her, I know what it is to die. A part of me shrivels up and withers away like ash in the wind. I struggle to catch my breath, my entire body in outright revolt at witnessing the love of my life at the mercy of another. I look away. I can¡¯t look at her. Not without losing all focus, all objectivity. All ability to get us out of this. ¡°You okay,amor?¡± I ask carefully, as I move around the perimeter and further into the room. I keep my gaze and gun locked firmly on Marco. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her nod. Tears appear in her eyes and y me alive. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I whisper reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m taking you home soon.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on that,¡± Marco says with a cruelugh. ¡°Toss the gun aside,¡± he orders, waving his weapon closer to Tess. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± I agree, holding my hand up in capittion. I lower the gun carefully to the floor then kick it to the side and stand, lifting my newly freed hand to join the first. I track Marco¡¯s gun warily, not liking his twitchiness one bit. ¡°How did you find us?¡± he demands angrily. I can tell he didn¡¯t expect me to show up here, especially not this quickly. I lower my hands. ¡°There¡¯s a tracker on her.¡± His head falls back, his eyes closing in eptance. ¡°I should have thought of that.¡± My jaw ms violently shut. ¡°You should have thought about a lot of things.¡± My hands clench into tight fists. It takes everything in me not to fly across the room and beat him to death. ¡°It was you. You¡¯ve been stealing from me. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been selling our shipment information to rival organizations.¡± A proud rictus twists the features of his face. ¡°Took you long enough to figure it out.¡± ¡°How long?¡± He grins. ¡°It¡¯s been happening under your nose since we came to London and you¡¯re just now figuring it out. Not so smart, not so mighty, are you,Diablo?¡± So he¡¯d been stealing from me from the very beginning. He was right, I should have seen it earlier. But I¡¯d been distracted. By expanding the business, by Adriana¡¯s murder, and then by Tess. My eyes drift over to her the second her name crosses my mind and I find her trembling. The expression on her face is indescribable. It tugs viciously at my core. I rip my gaze away from her with difficulty. ¡°Why?¡± He scoffs. ¡°Money and power, why else? I never believed you were the right person to run this organization. And why should it be you? Just because you¡¯re a da Silva son?¡± He shakes his head in mockery of me. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were the right man for the job and, as it turns out, a lot of your crew agreed.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find the bodies of those who agree with you littering the hallway.¡± ¡°You think that was it?¡± He grins again and I hear footsteps from behind me. I turn to find three more of my mening into the room. ¡°I had a good number of your crew in full mutiny of you. I could have kept going until I overthrew you if it wasn¡¯t for this bitch right here,¡± he sneers, pressing the gun against Tess¡¯s temple. Her eyes widen horrifically. I take a violent step forward when his gaze cuts back to me. ¡°Take anotherfuckingstep and I¡¯ll blow her brains out.¡± My handse up defensively, my frantic eyes locked on where the barrel touches her perfect skin. Breathing is impossible, brain function even more so. ¡°I won¡¯t move,¡± I promise. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her.¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t the first bitch who couldn¡¯t mind her own business.¡± His lip curls up contemptuously. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her like I dealt with Adriana.¡± The room goes unearthly quiet. Tess stiffens, her body mirroring mine, and then she turns her face slowly up towards him. Even from where I¡¯m standing, I can see her eyes glowering at him, skewering him alive. A deathly unease washes over my body as his words permeate. Swift disbelief hits me next. ¡°What the fuck did you just say?¡± Heughs callously. Unfeelingly. ¡°You were so focused on the Italians, you never stopped to wonder if the threat could be closer to home. I was lucky, it distracted you.¡± He pops open the magazine of his gun and starts removing bullets. ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong, itwasthem. But it was me as well. When you were given the greenlight to expand the cartel, I knew that was my chance to undercut you. So I came to London and I met with Ro Leone and his guards. They brought their Armenianpdog with them, Dadurian. We were discussing a deal wherein I¡¯d guarantee the cartel would be brought here, that I would siphon money and confidential information to them for a couple of years and in return, when the time was right, they¡¯d help me lead the insurrection against you and put me in your ce.¡± A red haze throttles my vision and takes over my motor control. I feel minutes away from losing it entirely, but the puzzle is finallying together. ¡°How does Adrianae into y?¡± One by one the bulletse out until there¡¯s only one remaining in the magazine. He rolls it close with a decided snap. A stab of apprehensiveness prates my spine. I ask questions to keep him talking so he doesn¡¯t point his gun back at Tess. ¡°She overheard us. Call it bad luck, call it fate, I don¡¯t know what it was, but that night she happened to be atFirenzeand she saw me. She followed me and listened in on our conversation. She confronted me and said she was going to tell you everything. We had to get rid of her.¡± The final piece of the puzzle slots in and I finally realize how blind I¡¯ve been. He¡¯s the one who tortured the so-called ¡®confession¡¯ out of Dadurian. He¡¯s the one who miraculously kidnapped Augusto Leone when no one else could. The only way he could have done that is if Leone trusted him enough to let his guard partially down around him. He¡¯d yed us all. I should have seen it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Augusto rat you out when he realized he was going to die?¡± ¡°He knew. He wasn¡¯t at that meeting Adriana overheard, but he sent Ro in his ce. And when Ro was killed, well, it was easy to threaten Augusto with the life of his only remaining son if he said anything. So he provoked you into killing him.¡± ¡°Are you the one who killed Ro?¡± It¡¯s the one Italian death I¡¯m not responsible for. I¡¯ve wondered since learning of his death who could have been behind it. Who could have motive. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no shortage of options; the man made sadists look like harmless kindergarteners. Marco frowns, the first emotion other than sheer arrogance and glee that crosses his face since he started his monologue. ¡°No, I have no idea who killed him.¡± Bizarrely, I believe him. ¡°Was Matteo involved?¡± How wrong had I been? Had my gut instincts betrayed me so much that I¡¯d let another viper into the nest? ¡°No, he knew nothing about it. He was only a second son, he didn¡¯t need to be involved.¡± I breathe the smallest sigh of relief. It dies a quick death when Marco points the gun at Tess¡¯s head once more. A cruel, emotionless smile contorts his mouth. Her eyes flutter close. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± I shout. He turns his head slowly towards me. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of Russian Roulette?¡± I hear a sob roll up Tess¡¯s throat. It finds no outlet. A tear rolls down her face and over the tape covering her mouth. I reach a desperate hand out towards him. Sweat trickles down my back. Short, terrified breaths rip from my lungs. ¡°Stop. You don¡¯t need to do this. You don¡¯t need to kill her too, I already know.¡± ¡°Too?¡± he questions. ¡°Adriana,¡± I grit out. He shakes his head. ¡°You always assumed she was dead, but did I say we killed her?¡± My vision blurs, my body temperature dropping abruptly. ¡°Wesoldher. Well, after Ro had his fun with her, that is. He was obsessed with Adriana. Dadurian drugged her, that part was true, and then we left her with Ro. Who knows what he did to her while he had her, but I doubt it was pretty. When he was done with her, he sold her. She¡¯s probably dead by now, but she was alive for far longer than you believed.¡± My lungs empty at the unimaginable horror of what he tells me. I can¡¯t bear to think about what my sister lived through. What I couldn¡¯t save her from. Raw emotion mangles my organs into useless pieces of flesh. I have difficulty swallowing around the mass present in my throat. My thoughts rac¨C Click. There¡¯s a click. A terrifying click that I recognize instantly. My heart lurches into my throat as I realize that Marco just pulled the trigger of the gun he has pointed at my wife¡¯s head. ¡°One bullet. Six shots left.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± I roar. ¡°What the fuck do you want? Tell me what you want and I¡¯ll give it to you, just don¡¯t hurt her.¡± Dead eyes find mine. ¡°What are you willing to give me?¡± ¡°Anything! Anything you want.¡± I vow, my eyes wild. They ping back and forth between the two of them. ¡°Take me. Kill me. I¡¯m the one you want. Tess doesn¡¯t know anything and she doesn¡¯t even want this life. If you kill me, she¡¯ll go back to her CEO role and her society events and she won¡¯t have anything to do with cartel business again. You kill me and you take my position without a war. It¡¯s yours. You can have it, you can have everything, just, please, save her.¡± Tess thrashes on the floor. She shakes her head violently, her eyes pleading with me when her mouth can¡¯t. She shouts unintelligible words behind the tape. She doesn¡¯t want me to do this, but I won¡¯t let her die for me. I can¡¯t. I look away from her and at him. He considers me thoughtfully for long moments. Then he nods. ¡°I ept the trade. Tie him up,¡± he orders. I¡¯m forced violently down to my knees. Hands pull at my hair. Others yank my arms behind my back. A fistes down on the side of my face. A foot between my shoulder des shoves me face down into the floor. I don¡¯t fight them. I let myself be pushed and dragged, my eyes never wavering from Tess. She jerks towards me, but Marco grabs her by her hair and yanks her back. ¡°Let her fucking go,¡± I shout. ¡°You said you¡¯d let her go.¡± There¡¯s a dark gleam in his gaze that makes me think he¡¯s not going to do it, but then he takes a knife out and swipes at her back. He releases her and she falls to the ground. The second her hands are free, she rips the tape off her mouth, crawls up to her knees, then her feet, and runs to me. She shoves the men off me with an enraged cry and pulls me to my knees. Her face is a picture of raw emotion, fear and desperation battling for dominance as she cups my face. ¡°I won¡¯t let you do this,¡± she whispers brokenly. Tess throws her arms around me and falls into my body. She hangs from my neck, her knees settled between my bent legs, her chest pressed against mine. She holds onto me for dear life. I can feel her heart beating madly against my body. For a moment, I experience what it¡¯s like to live with two hearts. One upies each side of my chest until the jerky, irregr beats merge into one steady rhythm. My eyes flutter close. This is real power. I realize everything that came before it was a poor substitute. I¡¯d give anything to have my hands free for thirty more seconds so I can hold her back, so I can crush her against me one final time before I die. Then I open my eyes and remember the gravity of our situation. I remember that holding onto me is the veryst thing she should be doing. ¡°Tess,¡± I warn urgently. ¡°Get out of here. Run.¡± She doesn¡¯t budge. I feel something wet hit my neck and I realize she¡¯s crying. ¡°Tess, please. Get the fuck out of here now.¡± I try shrugging her off, but she holds on. I realize that she¡¯s protecting me with her body. That she doesn¡¯t intend to leave. Hopelessness has my tone just past the threshold of hysteria. ¡°Amor. Please, go.Run.¡± The longer she stays, the more time Marco has to change his mind. I feel my sanity start to fray at the edges. ¡°Tess!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you to die.¡± Her voice is muffled against the crook of my neck. My throat is wet from her tears, but her tone is undeterred. Determined. Behind her, Marcoughs cruelly. ¡°How touching,¡± he jeers. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 61 Idon¡¯t choose to stay. That implies there was a choice to begin with. But there was no world in which I was going to run out of the bomb shelter to save myself and leave him behind. I¡¯m crying as I hold on to Thiago¡¯s neck like my life depends on it. In many ways, it does. He didn¡¯t hesitate to offer himself up to save me. He sacrificed himself blindly for me when he has a father who loves him, a sister who might still be alive, and an adoptive sister who worships him. He¡¯s ready to give it all up just so I can walk out of here freely, and I¡¯m supposed to leave him behind? If I walk out, then he¡¯s walking out with me. And if he dies here, then so will I. But not without me finally admitting the secret I¡¯ve been holding onto for far too long. Facing my death makes me realize I should never have hesitated to say it in the first ce. I turn my face and bring my lips up to Thiago¡¯s ear. ¡°I love you,¡± I breathe the confession. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I never told you earlier. I should have.¡± ¡°No!¡± he shouts when the words are barely past my lips. He throws his body forward and tries to trap me against the floor. Hovering above me, his hands still handcuffed behind his back, his eyes roam my face wildly. ¡°Don¡¯t say it like thatamor, don¡¯t say it like you¡¯re telling me goodbye. I won¡¯t ept it.¡± I blink and a tear squeezes out of the corner of my eye and down my cheek. My lips part but hands reach out and grab me, then brutally drag me away from him before any words can leave my mouth. Thiago lunges forward, a roar of pure demonic rage tearing from his throat. Tied up as he is, he can¡¯t get far. He ms into the ground, immediately rolling onto his side, his frantic eyes tracking me upside down as I¡¯m dragged by Julio back towards Marco. ¡°Get the fuck off her! I¡¯ll kill you, you hear me? I¡¯ll fucking kill you,¡± he roars before the two other mene down on him. I¡¯m yanked up to my feet to stand in front of Marco.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°You had your chance to run, you didn¡¯t take it,¡± he croons, a hand reaching out to stroke my cheek. I spit at him. Satisfaction ripples through me when itnds on his face, momentarily stunning him. I smirk defiantly at him. ¡°If you¡¯re killing him, kill me too.¡± Julio ps me. My face flies to the side, a loud ringing explodes in my left ear. Behind me, I hear Thiago thrash on the ground. Marco only smiles, a grin that twists my stomach into knots, and wipes my spit away with his thumb. He grips my jaw, crushing it in his fist. ¡°Kill you? Oh, baby, no.¡± He chuckles, the sound sending a draft of cold down my spine. ¡°No, that¡¯s changed now.¡± He grabs my jaw, his grip bruising and painful. ¡°Why kill you when I can fetch a good price for you? Just like Ro did with Adriana.¡± A furious animalistic scream erupts from behind me. It¡¯s followed by the sound of scuffling. If I could turn around, I would, but Marco holds me steadfast. I don¡¯t need to witness it to know that Thiago is grappling with the men holding him hostage. ¡°Put her in my room,¡± Marco orders Julio. Fear unlike any I¡¯ve ever known freezes me at his cold order. I recognize the look in his eye; it¡¯s the same one Franklin had before he tried to assault me. Marco releases my face with a shove and forces me to look over at Thiago. He¡¯s still on his back, chest rising and falling violently with his enraged breaths, being held down by the two guards. His eyes are pinned hauntingly on mine, his expression caught somewhere between rage and pure terror. A feral growl shreds his throat. I¡¯m staring back at him, the connection between us pulsing and alive. I¡¯m trying not to let the fear drown me. Unspeakable horrors await me if I leave this room, but I don¡¯t currently see a way out. Marco runs the back of his fingers down my cheek. Goosebumps raise chillingly down my spine and my skin turns mmy. My reaction to him couldn¡¯t be further from my reaction to Thiago. ¡°I always wondered what about her made you lose your fucking mind,¡± he deres, staring gleefully down at my husband. ¡°I¡¯m about to find out for myself now.¡± ¡°NO!¡± the scream rips from Thiago¡¯s throat, the pain audible in his voice. Hearing his cry is intolerable, it¡¯s ugly and distorted, and it tears me apart. Marco¡¯s hand moves to caress my lips and I nearly gag. ¡°I love you,¡± I murmur, as fresh tears roll down my face. And then I open my mouth and bite Marco¡¯s thumb as hard as I can. Fucking bastard. That¡¯ll teach him to touch me without my consent. ¡°Fuck you,¡± I hiss at him, the vitriol flying from my lips. He howls woundedly, clutching his hand against his chest. Then his eyes find mine again, shing in rage. His fist flies and he punches me in the face for the second time today. I fall to the floor and unconsciousness takes me. ??? Ie to almost immediately. My hair covers my face, obscuring my vision. I can see the ground moving beneath me, a pair of feet taking me somewhere. I¡¯m being carried in someone¡¯s arms. ¡°Put her in my room.¡± Fresh panic swells inside me. My frantic heart pounds loudly in my ears. My vision narrows. I take discreet deep breaths to calm myself down and stay the hysteria. If I let it take me, I won¡¯t get out of this alive. I need a clear mind. I work to rx my body, to keep my eyes closed. My captor can¡¯t know that I¡¯m conscious. The element of surprise is what¡¯s going to save me here. That¡¯s what Thiago taught me. I let myself be carried seemingly lifelessly to what looks like a makeshift bedroom. I can make out a rug and a dirty mattress on metallic legs. Nausea rises into my throat, but I swallow it back down. I¡¯m thrown onto the mattress and I let my body bounce without trying to catch my fall, continuing to feign my unconsciousness. Peeking through myshes, I recognize Julio as he turns towards the door. I quickly shutter my eyes when he looks back at me. My heart pounds in fear as he stares lengthily at me. Leave. Leave. Leave. I chant it over and over in my head, praying that he buys my passed out act, praying that he doesn¡¯te back towards me. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he leaves. My survival instincts kick in and a voice in my head yells at me torun. To get out of there while I¡¯m alone and unbound. That this is my chance. But the reality is that I don¡¯t know where Marco is. He said he wasing here to¡ª I can¡¯t bear to think the words. But he¡¯sing. He could be on the other side of that door as we speak, or just down the hall. If I move too soon, I could sentence myself to a fate worse than simply death. So I make the impossible decision to fight against my body¡¯s instincts and I stay. I don¡¯t move. I remain in the ufortable position in which Julio carelessly dropped me on the bed, my torso half twisted onto the mattress, my arm caught under my body, in case there are any cameras on me. I stay and I wait for the man who¡¯s going to try to rape me. Time feels like it drags on forever. The seconds tick ominously on by, apanied by the hollow knock of my pulse. I don¡¯t waste a single moment though. I use the time to retreat back into my mind, to remember the self defense lessons I¡¯ve had with Thiago. I¡¯m going to need them. The door opens once more, bringing with it a new wave of fear. Dread opens a gaping pit in my belly as rm bells go off inside me, warning me that I¡¯m in danger. I don¡¯t dare open my eyes for fear that he¡¯ll see me. But I don¡¯t need to. I can smell him. Marco. He¡¯s in the room with me. The door closes behind him with a decisive click. I¡¯m trapped with a monster. ¡°Still unconscious,¡± he notes silkily. He sounds thrilled by the discovery. ¡°I prefer it when they fight, but we¡¯ve got time for that.¡± I hear him advance on me. ¡°For now, it¡¯ll make the first time easier.¡± His handes down on my thigh and it takes every ounce of my self-control not to jerk at his touch. Wait. I need towait. To find the perfect moment to strike. Hardest parts of my body against the softest parts of his. He grabs the hem of my skirt. A loud ripping noise tears through the silence. His hand moves higher up my thigh until he touches the hem of my panties. Disgust roils violently in my stomach. Bile rises into my throat, threatening to make an appearance. Marco grabs my shoulders and turns me over so that I¡¯m t on my back. His putrid breath falls on my face. And then he gets closer, arrogant in his confidence and incapable of resisting relishing in his victory. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy desecrating the woman Thiago da Silva loves most in the world.¡± He relishes too early. My eyes blink open only long enough to see the stunned look in his gaze, and then I m my forehead into his nose. The loudcrunchthat follows is the most satisfying noise I¡¯ve ever heard. Marco howls in agony. His hands fly to his face where blood spurts freely from his nose. Unlike him, I don¡¯t rest on myurels. I take advantage of his surprise and the fact that he¡¯s released me and sit up to get more leverage. And then I pull my leg back as much as I can and swing it back up, hammering my shin right into his balls as hard as I can. I hope he feels them go hurtling back up into his stomach, because that¡¯s what I was going for. The miscalction I make is that the shock makes him fold, then drop onto the bed. Right on top of me, trapping me beneath him. His dead weight as he fights for breath almost suffocates me. I scream, the bloodcurdling sound ripping from my throat as I fight for my life. His handse around my neck and he starts to squeeze. Think,Tess. Think. My vision blurs, spots dotting my eyes. Softest parts. I try to reach for his eyes, but he tilts his head up and keeps them out of reach. His vicious smile as he chokes the life out of me sends fresh fury through my veins. This asshole doesn¡¯tgetto win. I reach for his hair and grip it in both fists. Then I use it to yank him towards me. He shrieks in pain, probably not used to anyone pulling his hair, and his hands momentarily rx around my throat. Closing the distance between us, I lift my head and bite his already broken nose with the savagery only someone who¡¯s doing anything to live possesses. I spit a piece of his flesh at him. I bit off part of his nose. ¡°Rapist piece of shit,¡± I sneer, taking advantage of his now half-seated position to push him off me. Something knocks into my hip as he falls onto the bed next to me, clutching his destroyed face. A gun. I reach for it with shaky hands, in disbelief that he would have a gun on him and within reach when he tried to assault me. He underestimated me. My fingers close around it and I pull it out of the band of his trousers. I¡¯m on my feet and I¡¯ve taken a step towards the door, towards freedom, when I hear a furious roar from behind me. I turn in time to find him lunging at me. I could shoot him, but I¡¯ve never fired a gun before. That split second of hesitation costs me dearly. Marco tackles me to the ground. The breath expels violently from my lungs when my back hits the floor and his weightes down on top of me once more. ¡°Stupidbitch,¡± he yells, pping me. Blood from his nose drips onto my face. I¡¯m close. I¡¯msoclose to making it out. That belief that I can save myself from this, that I can hopefully go save Thiago after I¡¯m free, powers a new wave of adrenaline into my veins. The gun is in my hand, at my side. My finger curls around the trigger and squeezes. The gunshot echoes loudly, startling Marco. The bullet fires into the wall, nowhere near him. But now he¡¯s distracted. I lift the gun and m it down into his temple. He groans loudly, more blood exploding from this new wound. I crawl out from under him and back away on my hands, my palms scraping against and getting cut up by the rough, dirty floor. Marco staggers up to one knee, then the other, refusing to give up. My hand shakes so hard when I lift my arm that I almost drop the gun, but I hold firm. I won¡¯t look away this time. Enough is enough. I stare into his hateful eyes as he stumbles towards me. All I see is the betrayal, the greed, the remorselessness of the coward who helped traffic Adriana, the murderer, the man who tried to assault and kill me. I see who the real devil is and I fire again. The bullet hits him in the gut and he falls backwards, clutching his stomach. His eyes widen in shock. He didn¡¯t think I would do it. A pained groan falls loudly from his lips. The gun falls from my hand. I don¡¯t stick around to see more. I stand and I throw onest look at the man responsible for so much heartache in my and the people I love¡¯s lives. Only then do I run for my life. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 62 Marco punches her and Tess falls lifelessly to the ground, her body crumpling under her. The helplessness I feel is matched only by my fury. It¡¯s like a raging wildfire, the inferno spreading and eating up everything in its path. I throw myself towards my wife but the two men behind me restrain me. They force me back down to the ground at their feet. ¡°Let me go, you bastards! Let me fucking go.¡± I turn my attention back to Marco. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± I vow between clenched teeth. Julio crouches down and picks Tess up in his arms. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I question, my voice tipping over into mania. He ignores me and starts to walk away with her unconscious body in his arms. Every step he takes away from me is a fresh stab wound to my heart. ¡°Stop! Where the fuck are you taking her? Come back! COME BACK!¡± Her head lolls to the side, her hair covering her face entirely. Something rips inside me watching her be taken from me. I thrash, I kick, I fight like fucking hell. I go berserk. I manage to break free and make some progress towards her, but with my hands cuffed behind my back, I¡¯m quickly caught and yanked away.¡¯ ¡®Calm the fuck down,¡¯ one of the traitors orders. My powerlessness when she needs me most kills me. Crazed, demented energy takes over until the rational part of me is no more. All that¡¯s left is the animal need to protect my wife. An unhinged scream tears from my throat when Julio disappears out the door, taking her with him. Raw desperation tears at my insides like I¡¯m being hacked apart by a meat cleaver. Marco smirks down at me with a vindictive smile. I need to keep him talking, to keep him with me. To do anything I can to stop him from leaving this room and¡­ I can¡¯t think about what will happen if I don¡¯t stop him. ¡°How did you do this? Turn my men against me?¡± ¡°You made it so easy for me and for that, I have to thank youDiablo. Arturo warned you what the dangers would be if you left London, he just never imagined how close the threat might be. I amassed support while you were gone. It was painstaking work, turns out a lot of the cartel is loyal to you. Finding people willing to turn against you was harder than I thought it would be,¡± he churns out, the muscle in his cheek ticking angrily. ¡°But I found them eventually.¡± I¡¯m powerless to stop my anger from boiling over. ¡°You know exactly how traitors die,¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯ll die a traitor¡¯s death. It¡¯ll be my pleasure to send you into the afterlife.¡± The smile wipes clean off his face. He walks up to me and drops into his haunches so our faces are level. Behind my back, my hands work conspicuously to dig the de out of the sheath built into the interior side of my trousers. ¡°I was going to kill you right now,¡± he announces. ¡°But I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m going to keep you alive while we all take turns fucking your wife. I want that to be thest thing you picture, thest thing youhear, before I kill you.¡± I roar savagely, the sound unlike anything I¡¯ve ever made or heard. I throw myself at him like a rabid dog, but he easily stands and steps back. A sick, sour feeling burns my throat. ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± he says smugly, cupping his cock obscenely through his trousers. ¡°Put him in one of the rooms, I¡¯ll be back for himter.¡± And then he walks out. The bottom falls out from beneath my feet and I lose my shit. The thought of another man touching her, of another man positioning himself between her legs and taking her body for his own pleasure makes me sick to the point of pain. Nausea twists my belly and I dry heave. Bile and saliva hit the floor as my stomach turns against me. The falcon whose name I don¡¯t even rememberughs cruelly. He circles around to my front. ¡°Look at this whipped pussy. Literally hacking up his guts at the thought of us testing out his wife.¡± I spit out the remaining bile and snap my ck eyes up to meet his. He must see something in my gaze that warns him because the smile wipes abruptly off his face. I turn on my knees and use my legs to kick his feet out from underneath him. He falls to the ground and I throw myself down on him, the knife now firmly clutched in my hands driving into his flesh. With my hands tied behind my back, I¡¯m attacking him blindly. He yells when the knife sinks into his belly. I pull it out immediately, going higher, searching for weaker flesh. I hack at him, in and out, in and out, until I feel the de sink into his throat. He dies with a pathetic gurgle. The other falcon stares, wide-eyed and afraid. He¡¯s younger, inexperienced. He probably had no idea the magnitude of the decision he was making when he was roped into this mutinous n. It doesn¡¯t matter. He made it anyway. He stands, frozen. It gives me the time to maneuver my tied hands from behind my back, over my feet and to my front. The process is excruciating. My shoulder rips out of its socket as I dislocate it to free myself. The agonizing pain tears through me, still nowhere near as searing as the pain in my heart. The falcon jerks into action when he sees I have my hands in front of me, but it¡¯s toote. Hees at me with a knife and I knock it out of his hand with a simple move, adrenaline keeping my injured arm from being a hindrance. Then I use the chain of the handcuffs and choke him to death. It¡¯s as his dead body slides down mine that an ear-splitting, hair-raising, dread-filled scream rips through the air. I¡¯d know it anywhere.N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°Tess!¡± I roar, a guttural scream that rocks the walls of the bomb shelter. Buzzing erupts loudly in my ears. I realize that it¡¯s the sound of my blood thrashing madly through my body. My shaky, fric hands search the first body, then the second, until my fingers close around a pair of keys to open the handcuffs. I¡¯ve got the first one off when a sound worse than her screams tears through the silence. I didn¡¯t think such a thing existed until I hear the very recognizable, very loud bang of a gunshot. Followed almost immediately by a second one. I start running before the echoes have even stopped. There¡¯s no word in eithernguage I know to describe the terror that ms into me. It undoes my chemical makeup, rewrites the strands of my DNA, and changes me forever. Truth is, I¡¯ve lost my grasp on my sanity. I¡¯m met at the door by a third falcon. I drive the open handcuff into his neck and sever his carotid, not stopping to watch him fall at my feet. I run through those halls barely aware of where I am or what I¡¯m even doing. I¡¯m on autopilot, my body knowing who it needs to find without needing to get my brain involved. Pure, animalistic need pushes me through those hallways. The need to find her and kill anyone who touched her. My injured arm hangs limply at my side as I run faster than I ever have in my life. I don¡¯t let myself think about what state I¡¯m going to find her in. Alive, that¡¯s all that matters. Alive, alive, alive. If there¡¯s a limit on prayers allowed in one night, then I¡¯m fucked. I hear someoneing down the hall so I stay around the other side of the corner, waiting to ambush them. They¡¯re running, their feet pping loudly against the concrete floor. Getting closer. They round the corner at a frantic run. My arm wraps around the person¡¯s waist at the same time as I spot a mass of blond hair, at the same time as a spicy scent hits my nose with a punch of relief. I¡¯m pushing her against the wall in the same split second. When clear blue eyes meet mine, a massive bubble of relief bursts from my lips. ¡°Tess?¡± I ask disbelievingly. ¡°Thiago?¡± Her eyes widen. Her handse around my neck and she throws herself into my arms. ¡°Thiago!¡± I stumble two steps into the closest room and then I fall to my knees with her clutched in my arms. She¡¯s shaking powerfully against me as I crush her to my body, ignoring the screaming in my shoulder. ¡°Tess,¡± I groan, burying my face in her neck. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m holding her. That she¡¯s alive. That she¡¯s safe, at least in this moment. It doesn¡¯t feel real. Part of me wonders if this is a hallucination brought on by the hysteria roiling through me. I cup her face and push her back, brushing the hair behind her ear. There¡¯s blood on her cheeks, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be hers. It soils her perfect skin and I can¡¯t bear to see it. I rub it off her with rough thumbs, focusing on this because I can¡¯t bring myself to look down and see what I fear might have been done to her. ¡°Amor,¡± I mutter, emotion hollowing my words. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she promises. Finally, with my heart in my throat, I look down at her body. The first thing I see is therge tear in her skirt, all the way up to the top of her thigh. The only thing keeping the garment attached to her body is the thicker band at her waist. Fresh nausea threatens to make an appearance. Hollow silence echoes loudly in my ears as my trembling handes to her thigh. Hell opens up a pit in my stomach as I¡¯m confronted with the potential confirmation of Marco having vited her. ¡°Did he¨C¡± My words catch in my throat. ¡°Are you okay? What happened? Did he¡­Did he¡­¡± My voice cracks in torment. I can¡¯t bring myself to say the words. I don¡¯t know how to ask if he touched her, if he¡­ She cups my face and raises my eyes to hers. ¡°He didn¡¯t touch me. I managed to get away.¡± She presses her lips heatedly against mine. With one chaste kiss, she restarts my dead heart. I grip her waist tightly. She pulls away and ces her forehead against mine. ¡°I used the hardest parts of me against the softest parts of him,¡± she breathes. ¡°I listened to what you taught me.¡± A shattered growl rumbles up my chest and bursts from my lips. I press my forehead back against hers, my eyes fluttering shut. ¡°Thankfuck. I couldn¡¯t live with myself if he¡¯d hurt you that way, if he¡¯dtouchedyou because of me.¡± The agonizing pain starts to recede to a dull ache. I kiss her fiercely,municating the depth of the fear, worry, and love I have for her in one press of my lips. ¡°He didn¡¯t. I managed to get his gun and I¨C I shot him, Thiago.¡± I still, then pull away. ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He was on the floor, bleeding when I left. I hit the wall once and then hit him somewhere in the stomach.¡± ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise. She took those self defense lessons to the next level. ¡°Where¡¯s the gun?¡± Her eyes widen and she nches. ¡°I¨C I left it. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think, I ran scared after shooting him. He has it.¡± ¡°Shh,¡± I quiet her, kissing her forehead. ¡°You did exactly what you needed.Moreactually. I¡¯m going to go finish this now.¡± I start to rise to my feet but she grabs my arm and pulls me back down. When I hiss, she startles. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your arm?¡± ¡°My shoulder is dislocated,¡± I say grimly. ¡°Let me help you.¡± She gets to her feet, feeling gingerly around my shoulder until she finds the problem. ¡°This is going to hurt.¡± I look her in the eye. ¡°Nothing canpare to thest half hour of my life.¡± Her gaze softens. She pops my shoulder back into its socket and I wince. Her hands massage the tender flesh as her eyes beg me. ¡°Don¡¯t go. Please don¡¯t go.¡± ¡°I have to. We¡¯re not out of the woods just yet, and we won¡¯t be until he¡¯s dead. I¡¯m going to kill him and then I¡¯lle back for you.¡± Her chin sets stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯m not staying here. I¡¯ming with you.¡± ¡°No,amor. You need to hide and you need to wait for me.¡± She shakes her head obstinately. ¡°What if he hurts you?¡± I cup her face and force her to look at me. Those blue eyes eat me up from the inside out the way they always do. ¡°The only way he can hurt me is if he hurtsyou. I won¡¯t be able to focus, to think about anything else, if I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re safe, do you get that? I need you to stay back and hide.Promise methat you¡¯ll hide, Tess.¡± She still looks uncertain. ¡°Promise me.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± she whispers. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 63 The fury coursing through my body is bone deep. It¡¯s buried so inextricably in my marrow that I¡¯ll carry traces of that anger with me for the rest of my life. Betraying me carries its own death sentence, but going after my wife? Death is a mercy Marco will be begging me for before I¡¯m done with him. The violence that thrums through my arms makes me feel invincible as I stalk down the halls of the bomb shelter in search of the man I¡¯m going to eviscerate. I follow the trail of blood he left behind. There is no rational thought, no care for my own safety, just single-minded focus on hunting down the animal who hurt my sister and tried to assault Tess. Rounding a corner, I see Julio. He was born into the cartel, both his parents have been a part of the family since my father was in his twenties. His death will hurt them, but his betrayal will destroy them. I¡¯m behind him, forearm locked around his throat, before he¡¯s even aware that I¡¯m there. ¡°Dile a tu dios que el diablo dice h, hijueputa.¡± He has a split second to stiffen before I slit his throat, the viciousness of my stroke nearly decapitating him in the process. I release him and his body falls to the ground just as someone rounds the corner at the opposite end of the hallway. Fredo. Julio¡¯s brother. My knife whips through the air and buries itself eight inches deep into his eye from across the hall. He dies with a pathetic whimper, no more a man in death than he was in life. I stalk up to his body, pulling the knife from his head and slotting it away in the band of my trousers. His other eye is frozen in disbelief, staring sightlessly back up at me. With a roar, I reach into his eye socket and grab that useless eyeball, ripping it out of his head with ease. It¡¯s clutched tightly in my fist as I follow the trail of blood to a closed door. I should have known the night of Augusto Leone¡¯s death that Marco was the mole, or at least suspected. I¡¯d been so consumed by Tess that I hadn¡¯t seen anything else. And that motherfucker had used that weakness against me, just like I¡¯d predicted. The door shatters open when I kick it in, the top hinges pryingpletely loose. Marco is sitting on the same chair on which Leone died. There¡¯s a certain poetic justice in knowing that he¡¯ll die there as well. ¡°Your little mutiny failed,¡± I drawl, tossing the eyeball at him. It hits the ground and rolls to his feet. Tess did a number on him. His face is a bloodied mess. He¡¯s pale, his skin white as a sheet, and he¡¯s clutching his abdomen. There¡¯s a thick pool of blood beneath his chair; it leaks out of him and drips slowly onto the floor. Tess unknowingly gave him a kill shot. He¡¯s bleeding out and judging by the quantity surrounding him, he doesn¡¯t have long to live. His mouth is open, lips parted around his ragged breaths as he watches me with crazed but quickly fading eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you die on me, Marco,¡± I seethe. ¡°I still need to fucking kill you.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to end this way,¡± he mutters. ¡°How did you think it would end? You betrayed the family, you were never going to get away with it.¡± ¡°I did for over a fucking year!¡± he says, finding enough strength to spit the words at me. ¡°You never suspected me, never thought I could have been involved in Adriana¡¯s death. I could have continued for years if it wasn¡¯t for your stupid cunt of a wife.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to rip your lungs out and feed them to you, Marco. I¡¯m going to shove them so far down your windpipe you¡¯ll choke, you piece of shit.¡± He rasps out a painful-soundingugh. ¡°It¡¯s unlike you to be so obvious in exposing your weaknesses, Thiago. Tess blinds you, she makes you make mistakes, you know she does. And I got greedy because of it. I saw the way she distracted you and I wanted more, so I took it. If I¡¯d just stuck to my n and continued slowly turning your men against you, I would have won. You would be sitting here dying, and I would be taking your ce asjefe. I underestimated you and her together.¡± ¡°You lost, Marco. And now you¡¯ll pay.¡± I stalk towards him. His right arm, which had been hanging limply by his side, raises and he points a gun at me. A demented smile pulls at my lips. I keep advancing on him. He can shoot me all he wants, nothing is going to stop me from getting to him and disemboweling him with my bare hands. He keeps lifting the gun until he¡¯s pointing it up at the ceiling and then he fires. One. Two. Three. Four. Four shots. I pause dead in my tracks, confusion knitting my brow. He had a clear shot at me. He could have buried every single one of those bullets in my chest instead of leaving himself with almost no chance of killing me. With these four bullets now in the ceiling and the two that Tess shot at him, that leaves him with only one shot to finish me. His gun hand drops into hisp, spent. The energy it took him to raise his arm and hold it as the bullets charged through nearly finished him off. He stares at me and there¡¯s something in his gaze I can¡¯t quite make out. A calctedness that doesn¡¯t make sense to me but chills my spine in foreboding nheless. ¡°It¡¯ll take a lot more than one bullet to kill me,¡± I say coldly. Marco smiles, an ugly grimace that freezes the blood in my veins. How I once considered this man a trusted advisor, a friend even, is beyond me. He raises the gun once more, this time aiming it at me. ¡°I learned something thesest few months,¡± he exins. ¡°Something a lot more valuable than money.¡± My hand shifts slowly to behind my back, inconspicuously making a move for the de that I¡¯d hidden back in my trousers. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I clip. Marco¡¯s head tilts to the side and he closes his eyes slowly. When they reopen, triumph shines in them. My stomach twists, like my body understands what¡¯s about to happen before it actually urs. ¡°¡®You don¡¯t y the board, you y your opponent¡¯,¡± he parrots. ¡°You taught me that. It doesn¡¯t matter to you whether you live or die, so you make for a difficult opponent to beat. You¡¯re not afraid of death and because of that, killing you holds very little appeal to me,¡± he exins, his voice devoid of all emotion. ¡°Destroying you on the other hand, does.¡± A rasping wheeze shakes his lungs until he coughs blood into his hand. ¡°While you may not be afraid of death for yourself, the exact opposite is true when ites to protecting the one person you care about most in the world.That¡¯syour single biggest fear, a fate that¡¯s worse than a death sentence for you. I realize you¡¯ve shown me exactly how I win.¡± A slow grin stretches across his face. ¡°And to make that final move,jefe,¡± he starts, sneering mockingly, ¡°I only need one bullet.¡± As if in slow motion, I watch as he glides his arm to the side and aims the gun away from me. His stare remains fixed hatefully on my face as he coldly deres, ¡°Checkmate.¡± And then he fires. The shot whistles loudly past me, making my ears ring. I feel the heat of the bullet as it travels inches from my body, expecting to then catch the telltale sound of ster exploding as the slug makes contact with the wall. Instead, I hear the bullet bury itself in a much softer target. And then a startled, pained whimperes from behind me, clear as a bell in the thick silence. It¡¯s a sound that¡¯s going to echo in my ears until the day I die. Ice crawls unnaturally slowly down my spine, the hair raising chillingly on the back of my neck. Intrinsically, I know. Marcoughs and drops the gun. No. ¡°Thiago¡­¡± a soft voice calls out for me. NO. Dread reaches out to me with lethally cold fingers and squeezes my heart in its deadly grip. It ws at my organs, cutting me up from the inside and already killing me as slowly as Marco predicted. When I turn around, a broken moan rattles up my throat as Ie face to face with my worst feare true. Tess. Tess, with her cheeks still flushed from having just burst into the room. Tess, with a surprised look on her face as her wide eyes stare at me in shock. Tess, as she stumbles back a step, confused, her face slowly tilting down to look at her stomach. In the flutter of a heartbeat, everything stops. All the air rushes from the room like it¡¯s been sucked out. Time slows until ites to a quiet, devastating end. She¡¯s not supposed to be here. She was supposed to hide, to note out, to wait for me toe find her. Shepromised. But then her handes slowly away from her stomach and it¡¯s covered in blood. Red blooms from her pink top, spreading like a watercolor painting of a gory horror scene. Her eyes widen and lift back up to mine and they¡¯re so white. So white and scared. ¡°Thiago,¡± she murmurs again, reaching out for me. The spell of horror is broken with one disbelieving word, the air rushing suddenly back in, bringing with it stark reality on its wings. ¡°Tess!¡± I roar. She falters down to her knees, clutching at the rapidly expanding stain of red on her stomach. And then she falls forward, her body hitting the ground. ¡°NO!¡± A cacophony of tortured, anguished screams hit my ears. I realize with detached incredulity that they¡¯reing from me. That I¡¯m howling my terror with full-throated wails. Raw, unadulteratedpainunlike anything I¡¯ve ever felt punches through me. I lunge for her but my legs give out and I stumble to the ground. Distantly, I hear another gunshot. Arturo finally appears and rushes past me, likely to make sure Marco is dead. But all I can see is Tess¡¯s face pressed against the floor, her scared eyes brimming with tears and searching desperately for mine. And red. Red everywhere. Red where there should be pink. Red matting the blonde hair I love so much. Red on my hands as I crawl to her, dragging my body on my forearms, my defective legs unable to take me the distance. I didn¡¯t keep my promise,that¡¯s what the usatory voice in my head screams at me.I didn¡¯t keep my promise. When my hands find her, a bubble of emotions rips from my lips. ¡°No, no, no,no,¡± I yell frantically, grabbing her shoulders and turning her over. An agonized scream that sounds unrecognizable even to my own ears ms against the walls.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . ¡°Tess,¡± I bellow, my frantic hands covering her bloodied ones as I try to staunch the bleeding. ¡°Tess,¡± I repeat, softer this time, the one syble garbled by the gigantic mass in my throat. ¡°Tess, what did you do? What did youfuckingdo? Oh, god,¡± I shout, feeling the warm blood bubbling against my hand. As real as any truth has ever been, I know in my heart that she came for me. That the gunshots Marco fired into the ceiling were meant to draw her out of hiding. That she fell for it, more worried about my safety than she could ever be about her own. That those shots made her run blindly through the maze of halls to find me. That she came to save me and ended up sacrificing herself instead. I chant her name as I scoop her into my arms, chant it like it can rewind time and I can step in front of her and take that bullet. My voice is hoarse and unrecognizable, the tears crawling up my throat like jagged knives stabbing at my flesh. ¡°I thought¡­I thought you were hurt,¡± she exins. Her lips are so dry, her eyes so wide and blue, but that usually bright color now bleeds in fear. ¡°I couldn¡¯t stay hidden not knowing what happened, wondering if you were alive and terrified that you might not be.¡± She smiles, she fuckingsmileseven as sheys bleeding all over me. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°Amor,¡± I cry brokenly, gathering her closer in my arms. I stroke her hair back from her face, identally smearing blood on her cheek and forehead in the process. ¡°You were supposed to hide even if he killed me. It wasn¡¯t your ce to get hurt for me.¡± ¡°Yes, it was. Don¡¯t you know¡­¡± she rasps with difficulty. ¡°The queen always protects the king.¡± ¡°No,¡± I cry ferociously. ¡°Not like this.Neverlike this.¡± I¡¯m covered in her blood. It¡¯s everywhere and it grabs me violently about the throat, making me so nauseous I can¡¯t breathe. I¡¯ve never minded blood before, I¡¯ve reveled in it in fact. But not hers. Not hers. I remove my hand from her stomach to peer at the gunshot and I feel the fabric of my world rip out from under me. The wound is gaping, the flesh torn. The second I remove the pressure of my hand, blood pours out of it in waves. The need to vomit, not in disgust but in abject fear, seizes me again. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, I promise,¡± The words tumble in a rush reassuringly from my lips as I staunch the bleeding once more. ¡°Arturo!¡± I roar, looking around for him. ¡°Turo, call an ambnce, please call an ambnce,¡± I implore frantically. He¡¯s already on his phone, pacing and throwing anxious looks at us. I can¡¯t handle seeing his face, I can¡¯t look at it because everything about his expression tells me he thinks she¡¯s going to die. I shake my head continuously, over and over, so violently I hear my neck snap. ¡°Don¡¯t make a promise you can¡¯t keep,¡± she rasps, ghostly pale. I didn¡¯t keep my promise. I didn¡¯t keep her safe. ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± I say. I¡¯m trying to notpletely lose it, to hold myself together somewhat so as not to scare her, but I¡¯m failing. I¡¯m failing miserably. ¡°You¡¯re going to make it out of here.¡± There¡¯s so much fucking blood. It seeps past my fingers and flows in thick rivulets off the side of her body. It doesn¡¯t matter how hard I press, it just keepsing out and I know what this means, I know it¡¯s not good news, but I can¡¯t ept that. I refuse. A handes to gently palm my cheek. I look up into her eyes and find them shining with tears. And then her lips part and she whispers the sweetest words I¡¯ve ever heard again. ¡°I love you,¡± she says with quiet intensity. ¡°No,¡± I respond, categorically. ¡°Fuckno.¡± Her eyes flutter shut and an agonized look crosses her face. It¡¯s the first sign of pain she¡¯s shown and it¡¯s in reaction to my words. Her hand pulls slowly back from my face. ¡°You don¡¯t love me?¡± she asks softly, her voice breaking on the pain of a thousand sorrows. And I marvel at what a beautifullyplicated thing it is to be human that sometimes we can hurt more with our words than we can with bullets. She¡¯s cradled in my arms, held tightly against my breast, bleeding all over me while I¡¯m losing my mind and she thinks I don¡¯t love her? Didn¡¯t she hear me when I told her she was my heart walking free from my chest? And look how I took care of it. ¡°Of course I love you,¡± I say heartbrokenly, the first tears falling down my face. Her eyes flutter open and I watch as her pupils dte like they have so many times in the past when she¡¯s looked at me, when I¡¯ve kissed her, when I¡¯ve made herugh. A thousand tiny, insignificant memories of our life together shing through my eyes. Except this time, it¡¯s different. This isn¡¯t a look of lust orughter or longing. Her pupils continue expanding, growing bigger and bigger, until the ck of them could house the whole night sky in their depths. And within them shines a bright light that she aims at me. No, this is a look of love and it glows for me. It¡¯smine. My heart fractures and I choke back a pained breath. Why didn¡¯t I tell her before? Why didn¡¯t I tell her the moment I felt it and every single second after that? I don¡¯t want to have loved her toote. One of my hands presses against her wound, the other holds her against me. But I want to push her hair behind her ear and wipe the tear cresting past her waterline and brush her cheek and cup her face. I need so many more hands tomunicate the love I have for her. ¡°I love you so much that I can¡¯t breathe. I think I¡¯ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. You¡­¡± I can¡¯t speak around the sudden obstruction that closes my throat. There¡¯s a swell of emotion that jams the passage. If I jimmy it loose, everything wille with it, including the raw pain and anguish splintering me to my very core. ¡°You came into my life and turned it upside down. You changedeverything.¡± The word rips from my throat on a jagged sob. Tears pour from my eyes. They roll down my face, over the curve of my jaw and fall onto her cheek. Her pale, almost translucent cheek, devoid of its usual pink color that makes her look alive. ¡°I love you,¡± she repeats, and there¡¯s a serene smile on her lips. Another grief-stricken howl tears from me. I bring my forehead down on hers, washing her face with my sorrow as my body racks with tortured sobs. She¡¯s so cold, so unbelievably cold. Where the fuck is the ambnce? ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say those words to me as a goodbye. So you wait, okayamor?¡± I say, kissing her forehead. ¡°Tell me you love me when we¡¯re at the hospital, when you¡¯re better.¡± ¡°I think¡­ I think I have to tell you now,¡± she murmurs, face fracturing as tears slip down her own cheeks. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die without having told you how much you mean to me.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, shaking my head again, refusing to listen to this. ¡°You¡¯re not goinganywhere. You wait. Youliveand you tell me then,amor. Please.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying, Thiago,¡± she whispers, voice breaking. ¡°No you¡¯re not! You¡¯re not.You¡¯re not.¡± My mouthes down on her face, covering her cheeks, her lips, her eyelids, her nose, every avable inch of her skin in kisses. ¡°The love of my life doesn¡¯t bleed out in my arms, Tess. That¡¯s not something I survive. You have to live for me.¡± I whip around to look at Arturo. He stands mutely off to the side, surrounded by a dozen of my cartel, men and women who rushed to help me, to save Tess. They have stricken expressions on their faces as they look down at her, then at me, ten steps beyond sanity and falling faster and faster into madness. I look back at Tess, at the way her pupils have contracted back down to the size of a pinhole. That light that shined so brightly in them moments ago is quickly dimming. Her eyelids flutter, closing and reopening. She¡¯s just tired, that¡¯s it. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not losing her. ¡°Stay with me,amor,¡± I beg, rocking her in my arms back and forth. ¡°If you really love me, you¡¯ll stay with me.Stay with me.¡± I don¡¯t know how many times I say it, only that my throat is raw and sandpapery as the words jumble into sounds instead of meaning. ¡°That¡¯s¡­not fair.¡± My voice cracks. ¡°Youpromisedme you¡¯d never leave me. You promised. Please just don¡¯t go. What am I supposed to do without you?¡± My voice cracks, every syble broken. ¡°I can¡¯t do it, I can¡¯t live without you.¡± The pain is crushing. It¡¯s stifling. It strangles my lungs until I can¡¯t breathe. The tears continue streaming down my face as I look down at her. I¡¯m crying my entire heart into her. If she dies, it won¡¯t be anything more than an empty shell anyway. Her skin is ice cold. Beads of moisture dot her brow. Her lips turn blue, the life draining out of her with every passing moment. ¡°WHERE IS THE FUCKING AMBULANCE?¡± I roar. Her eyes flutter shut a couple more times. She has to blink them open as if she¡¯s fighting invisible weights. But there¡¯s a haze over them now; they¡¯ve lost focus and she looks through me, her stare unseeing and haunted. ¡°Stay with me,amor. Please,please, stay with me,¡± I cry, torment echoing freely in every word. I find myself praying to Gods I don¡¯t believe in to grant me mercy I don¡¯t deserve. ¡°Stay with me,¡± I beg. ¡°I love you. Iloveyou.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Her voice is nothing more than a throaty rasp. Every word sounds like it hurts her. She blinks and another tear slips down the side of her face onto my arm. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For making me your wife. I didn¡¯t need to run away¡­ or see the world to get¡­ the adventure I wanted. Being your wife was¡­the greatest adventure of them all.¡± She tries reaching for my face again, but her arm falls limply back down to her chest. I cup the back of her hand and carry it back up to my wet cheek. The warmth of my skin heats her cold fingers. ¡°Is,amor.Isthe greatest adventure of them all,¡± I correct, crying inconsbly into her palm. Tess smiles, shifting her thumb to brush my cheek. ¡°Falling in love with you is¡­ was¡­ the best thing to ever¡­ happen to me. My final¡­ bucket list item.¡± ¡°No,¡± I press my cheek into her hand and shake my head. ¡°No, I know there¡¯s plenty left on your bucket list. You want to skydive. You want to learn BSL. You want to be the veryst person to leave a wedding. You have a million other dreams and we¡¯re going to have all the time in the world together to make every single one of them a reality. We can start the second you¡¯re out of the hospital. You have so much more to do and so many more people to impact. You. Are. Not.Done. Don¡¯t give up,amor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­I think I¡¯ll close my eyes.¡± ¡°No!¡± I cry, startling her. ¡°You said you¡¯d fight. Do you remember? You promised me you¡¯d fight until the end, sofight. Please. I won¡¯t ever ask you for anything again.¡± cing my forehead back on hers, I plead softly, ¡°Please,amor, stay with me. We¡¯ve¡­ we¡¯ve still got ice cream in the freezer we need to finish.¡± Another tear slips down her cheek. ¡°Te quiero mucho, baby,¡± she whispers. Distantly, I hear sirens. Finally. I lift my head, about to order Arturo to go meet them and guide them here, but he¡¯s already running out the door. ¡°Do you hear that,amor? That¡¯s the ambnceing for you. You¡¯re going to be okay. It¡¯s all going to be okay.¡± When I look back down at her, her eyes are closed. And with a breath, my heart constricts then shatters into a million pieces. ¡°Tess?¡± I call. ¡°Tess?¡± I say again, my tone more frantic. When she doesn¡¯t answer, I pat her cheek gently, then harder, trying to get her to open her eyes. ¡°Tess! Tess, wake up.¡± The hand I hold pinned against my face goes ck and lifeless. ¡°I need you to wake up and open your eyes.TESS!¡± I roar. No matter how hard I try, I can¡¯t get her to wake up. Her head lolls to the side, her body goes limp, and her breathinges to a painful, jagged end. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 64 There¡¯s no pain. There¡¯s only shock and a chill so cold it slowly ices me to my core. But there¡¯s also a glowing warmth that morphs into a freeing calm when Thiago says he loves me back. It¡¯s followed quickly by bone deep, soul destroying sorrow that I won¡¯t get to grow old with him after all. It takes thest of my strength to open my eyes one final time. His face hovers above mine, awash with tears. The pain etched in his features is so raw and visceral that it¡¯s almost enough to keep me from losing consciousness. I ripped something inside of him. It¡¯s a wound he¡¯ll never heal from. I don¡¯t want to leave him with that pain. I want to protect him as much as he¡¯s protected me. I¡¯m not ready to go. The injustice of it kills me.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Another tear trails down the side of my face. But my breathing gets shallower and the lights start to dim and the birds stop singing and the darkness calls to me with the seductive voice of a siren guiding sailors to their deaths. I guess it¡¯s time, even though I¡¯m not ready. No matter how much I try, there¡¯s nothing I can do to stop it. With a devastating finality, the world goes ck. Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 65 ¡°Tess Noble, twenty-five-year-old female, gunshot wound to the abdomen. Coded in the ambnce on the way to the hospital but was resuscitated. She¡¯s been unconscious for approximately fifteen minutes. We started an IV and packed the wound which seems to have stopped the bleeding, but she¡¯s lost a lot of blood. She¡¯s going to need a transfusion ASAP,¡± the paramedic tells me as the woman is wheeled into the ER. ¡°Put her in Trauma Two,¡± I order, as nurses help me put on a gown and pair of gloves. ¡°Pulse is thready and blood pressure is low,¡± Dr. Jake Winter, my junior resident, informs me as the patient gets hooked up to our machines and a rhythmic beep starts sounding in the room. ¡°Page surgery stat and let them know we¡¯ve got a high priority caseing up to them. Let¡¯s get her stabilized and up to those guys, there¡¯s not much more we¡¯re going to be able to do for her down here,¡± I order. Noble. I know thatst name. The team busies themselves around the patient, following the trauma response instructions I¡¯ve given them. I walk around one of the nurses and go to the patient¡¯s head, looking down at her face. I try never to look at patients, using only their names to humanize them. It¡¯s easier that way. Easier to keep my distance from the pain of losing them. But my stomach clenches when I look down. Even with her face half-obscured by the oxygen mask, I recognize her. She was in the ER weeks ago, responding as the next of kin to an assault on another patient of mine, her mother. Seeing her unconscious and fighting for her life on my table is surreal. I lose all objectivity as I feel an inexplicable connection develop, linking us together. I won¡¯t let her die. I can¡¯t. All of a sudden a strident beeping noise explodes around us and all heads turn towards the monitors. ¡°She¡¯s tlining,¡± Jake yells. My pulse pounds loudly in my ears as my body reacts to the burst of adrenaline. ¡°Startpressions.Now,¡± I direct. Jake threads his hands together and starts pumping Tess¡¯s chest. Her whole body thrashes as he presses hard enough to crack her ribs. My eyes remain trained on the monitor, not seeing any changes. ¡°Charge two milligrams of epinephrine.¡± ¡°Yes, Doctor.¡± Loud noises sound through the walls,ing from the hallway, but I ignore them and focus on her vitals.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Still no change. My own pulse starts racing. ¡°Alright, prep for the defibritor. Keep performing CPR in the meantime.¡± Jake continues chestpressions as one of the nurses readies the AED. She puts the pads on Tess¡¯s chest, but her head snaps to the side when the sounds of themotion in the hallway get louder in the background. ¡°Are the pads in ce?¡± I ask, grabbing the paddles from her. ¡°Yes, Doctor.¡± ¡°Charge to two-fifty.¡± ¡°Charged.¡± ¡°Everybody clear,¡± I order. I look down at Tess, at the white of her face and the red drying her blonde hair in clumps. Knowing what she looks like when she¡¯s not at death¡¯s door butalive, as a breathing, feeling human being triggers me. I¡¯ve only had that happen one other time and I¡¯ve worked hard to forget those memories. Tess is going to live. She has to. One by one, all seven nurses and doctors in the trauma room remove their hands and step away from her until everyone is clear. ¡°Shocking,¡± I announce. There¡¯s a loud electricalthumpand Tess¡¯s body jerks once. I stare at her vitals, looking for any sign of change in activity. Something pinches in my belly when her heart rate stays in tline. ¡°Come on, Tess,¡± I shout, desperation making my voice unrecognizable. ¡°Come on, stay with me.¡± Louder, to the rest of the room, I say, ¡°Charge to three hundred.¡± ¡°Charged.¡± ¡°Everybody clear?¡± ¡°Clear!¡± ¡°Shocking.¡± Tess jerks again and silence descends on the room as we all stare at the monitor. It feels like it stretches on for hours as I hold my breath, as we all do, hoping and hoping to see signs of a pulse. And then there¡¯s a beep. One single beep, threadbare and timid. The most beautiful sound I¡¯ve ever heard. I feel emotion crawl up my throat and I¡¯m not sure why. Maybe it¡¯s because I saw the way she cared about her mother, maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s only a year younger than me, but the relieved breath that expels from my lips feels like it releases twenty tonnes of pressure off my chest. That one beep morphs into a steady beat as her vitals level out. It¡¯s not strong, but it¡¯s there. ¡°We¡¯ve got a pulse,¡± I announce. I witness the relief I also feel etch itself on the faces of every single other person in that room. ¡°Let¡¯s stabilize and monitor her closely.¡± I lean in close to her ear and whisper so only she can hear me. ¡°You¡¯re a fighter, Tess. You¡¯re going to get through this.¡± A thrashing noisees from outside, this time much louder than previously. The sound of distressed voices follows, moring unintelligibly for something. It seems like the situation is escting. ¡°What the hell is going on out there?¡± I demand, my mind clear now that the code is out of the way. A nurse exits to assess the situation andes back minutester with an upset expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s the victim¡¯s husband, Doctor,¡± he tells me. ¡°Pardon my French but he¡¯s losing his shit out there and demanding to see her. The furniture¡¯s bearing the brunt of his anger.¡± I can only imagine the agony of waiting for news about your loved one, not knowing whether they¡¯re going to make it or not, not knowing whether to hope or grieve and caught in that unbearable moment of suspension between both. ¡°Is the surgical team ready for us?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, Doctor. Dr. Whiteshaw is ready to operate.¡± ¡°Finish prepping the patient and I¡¯ll go talk to the husband. Winter, you¡¯ve got this?¡± ¡°Sure do, Doc.¡± Snapping my gloves off and removing the surgical gown, I dispose of both in the bin before taking a deep centering breath and walking out into the private waiting area. The first thing my gaze catches on are the two chairs and side table strewn in the middle of the hall,pletely at odds with the usual clinical cleanliness of the hospital. Then my eyes lift to therge, intimidating man who¡¯s furiously pacing at the other end of the hallway. He¡¯s wearing all ck but he¡¯s covered in blood. I can smell it even from over here. How he can stand to be drenched in his wife¡¯s blood is beyond me. He rakes anguished hands through his hair, pausing only to ost hospital staff as theye through the area. Half a dozen equally terrifying men and women surround him, not quite nking him but clearly ready to intervene if necessary. Who the hell is this guy? ¡°WHERE IS MY WIFE?¡± he roars at a passing nurse, livid with fury. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t let me in the ambnce with her. She¡¯s been here for twenty minutes and no one will tell me where the fuck she is or how she¡¯s doing.¡± Two of the men grab his arms, holding him back from destroying the reception desk. ¡°Take me to her before I start tearing this hospital apart and find her myself.¡± The nurse freezes in fear, cowed by his formidable presence, but she¡¯s already lost his interest. The man¡¯s gaze snaps over to me when he notices me standing in the hall. He takes one look at my scrubs and the way I stare back at him and charges towards me. Having him descend on me with single-minded purpose is akin to standing in front of an angry bull and waving arge red g, but I don¡¯t let him scare me. The irritation that¡¯s locked my spine since I saw him yelling at the staff and causing a scene evaporates in an instant when he gets closer and I gaze into the open pools of despair that are his eyes. There¡¯s an immense amount of pain contained in his tormented stare, pain he doesn¡¯t bother to conceal away. It radiates off him. I clear my throat. ¡°Are you Tess Noble¡¯s husb¨C¡± ¡°Is she dead?¡± My heart leaps into my throat at his swift interruption. The question is clinical in wording but delivered with such visceral,rawemotion it punches me in the gut. The air is tense around him, thickened by his misery. His gaze pings wildly between my eyes, desperately searching them for an answer I haven¡¯t given him yet. His shoulders are tense, like he¡¯s bracing himself to receive the worst news of his life. It tells me everything I need to know about him; this is a man who wouldn¡¯t survive the death of his wife. ¡°No.¡± His face crumples, his expression fracturing like fine china. A broken moan slips past his lips and then his entire body sags forward in relief. His shoulders slump and his head bows as the anger abruptly drains out of him, leaving behind only a gut-wrenchingbination of fierce sorrow and frail hope. He runs a shaky hand over his face, obscuring his eyes from me as he takes in a deep, haltering breath andposes himself. ¡°Are you her husband?¡± I ask gently. He nods, working to control his emotions. ¡°Da Silva,¡± he finally says, face still in his hand. ¡°Her name is Tess da Silva. She¡¯s my wife.¡± His voice cracks on the word ¡®wife¡¯. I already know she is, but he says it with the vehemence of someone who used the word ¡°soulmate¡±, as more a designation of exactly what she means to him than a legal ssification of their partnership. Thest name registers only secondarily, as does the realization of who I¡¯m dealing with. There¡¯s only one man with thatst name in this town and he¡¯s not someone to be crossed. But it doesn¡¯t matter to me if he¡¯s a random man off the street, the King of Ennd or the Pope himself, the standard of care Tess is receiving is the same regardless of who he is. ¡°Is she going to die?¡± he asks, voice brittle like blown ss. From the little I know of the Underworld, those men are meant to be nigh invincible. Watching a man like him showing such distraught emotion, clearly brought to his knees by what¡¯s happened to his wife is shocking. It doesn¡¯t take a genius to guess that may be why she has a bullet in her abdomen and is currently fighting for her life. She must have been targeted to get to him. It¡¯s working. ¡°Not if we have anything to do with it.¡± His eyes finally lift back to mine. He looks at me like he can see me for the first time. ¡°The most talented doctors in the country work at this hospital. She¡¯s in the best care possible. I¡¯m Doctor Cavanaugh. Cassie,¡± I add, pausing for a moment before deciding to tell him, ¡°I met your wife a few weeks ago, very briefly, when her mother was admitted.¡± Awareness seeps into his gaze. ¡°I liked her. She seemed strong. A fighter.¡± The ghost of a smile touches his lips, the first sign of an expression other than devastation. ¡°She is.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s a very good chance she¡¯s going to make it.¡± Steel makes its way into my tone before I continue. ¡°But we can¡¯t focus, let alone do our jobs properly, if you¡¯re out here destroying our waiting room. Your wife is going into surgery as we speak so it¡¯ll be a few hours before you get any updates. I suggest you head to our guest area, take a shower and clean up. Make yourself presentable so that when your wifees out of the operating theater you don¡¯t scare her.¡± One of the men behind him gives me a warning re as another¡¯s eyes widen in shock at the way I order their boss around. I don¡¯t give a shit who he is out there, but in here he¡¯ll follow my rules. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving her,¡± he growls. I tip my chin up at him. ¡°Do you want the first thing she sees when she wakes up to be you covered in her blood?¡± He looks disbelievingly down at his body, having seemingly forgotten the state of his appearance. The ck of his clothes might hide most of the blood, but it¡¯s also everywhere on his arms and up to his neck, contrasting obscenely with the borate tattoos on his skin. One of the men, an older guy with a paunchy stomach, ces a strong hand on his shoulder. ¡°Jefe, I¡¯ll stay.¡± ¡°We all will,¡± another adds, stepping up to him. ¡°We¡¯ll look after her,¡± a third assures, and I wonder if Tess knows she has an army of people waiting for her toe back. He nods slowly, throat working thickly. ¡°Gracias,¡± he says to his entourage, before looking back at me. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know the second there¡¯s news,¡± I tell him before he can even ask, then add, ¡°Just so you know, your wife will likely need a transfusion due to the massive blood loss.¡± ¡°Take it from me,¡± he says, immediately extending his forearms at me like I¡¯m going to extract it from his veins right here. ¡°What¡¯s your blood type?¡± ¡°B.¡± Pity crosses my face but I¡¯m quick to mask it away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s type A negative, so you¡¯re not a match. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll look at what we have avable and call other hospitals to find what we need.¡± ¡°Joder,¡± he curses, rubbing another over his face. ¡°Go,¡± I order, pointing in the direction of the guest showers. ¡°You¡¯ll have me notified the second there¡¯s news?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he says, and I watch as he walks off with one of his men, saying to him, ¡°Tr¨¢eme un cambio de ropa.¡± When I turn back around, I find the others still looking at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you know who that is?¡± one of the younger guards asks. ¡°I deduced it about two minutes into the conversation.¡± The paunchier older man chuckles softly. ¡°Then you¡¯re one brave woman. You¡¯ll get along well with our Tess when she wakes up.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 66 Iset out to take a quick shower so I can get back by Tess¡¯s side. When the water hits my body, the amount of blood that washes off my skin and gathers at my feet before disappearing down the drain haunts me. I suddenly can¡¯t stand to have it on me. I end up spending almost an hour scrubbing every avable inch of my body until my skin is raw and the water is crystal clear once more. The shower has decent pressure and I bow my head, letting it massage the muscles of my back for long minutes, hoping it¡¯ll also wash the fear and torment out of my body. Between the moment where Tess was put into the back of the ambnce and when I spoke with her doctor, I spent thirty minutes thinking she was dead. Thirty.Fucking. Minutes. There¡¯s a sharp ache pulsing in my chest. It¡¯ll dull with time once Tesses out of surgery, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll ever go away. I can¡¯t unlive those thirty minutes or the damage they inflicted on my soul. It doesn¡¯t matter. I can bear the scars I need to, no matter how deep, no matter how painful, so long as she makes it. If I was a kinder, better man, the lesson I¡¯d learn from this is that this life isn¡¯t safe for her. That I can¡¯t protect her from everything that could go wrong, let alone all the people who want me dead. That I should let her go once and for all. But that¡¯s not what my obsessed mind or my greedy, selfish heart have learned. They confirmed what I¡¯ve known for a long time now ¨C that a life without Tess is simply not possible. I love her and that¡¯s made everything else obsolete. Nothing matters as much as she does. Instead of pushing her away, I¡¯m going to hold her closer. Instead of giving her up, I¡¯ll wage war on those who would even dream of harming a hair on that perfect head of hers. ??? After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I roughly towel dry my hair and make my way back towards the wing where Tess wille out of surgery. I stop in my tracks when I find the hallway lined with my crew. There are men and women of varying rank within the cartel, every single one of them sitting in a chair with their arms outstretched and resting on individual rolling carts. There¡¯s at least a dozen of them filling up the passage and at least as many more waiting in the wings. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask Arturo, walking up to where he stands at the end of the line overseeing them. Several of them try to stand as I approach, much to the nurses¡¯ dismay. ¡°Sit back down!¡± one of them admonishes Lucas, a low level falcon. ¡°Thest thing we need is you all passing out, cracking your heads open, and taking up our hospital beds. Sit and don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°It was Joaqu¨ªn¡¯s idea,¡± Arturo answers, nodding at the man in the question as he walks up to me. ¡°Jefe,¡± Joaqu¨ªn says, nodding curtly. ¡°I heard from the others what happened to Tess and came as quickly as I could.¡± ¡°I appreciate it,¡± I tell him honestly. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± I ask, nodding at the crew. ¡°We put a call out to the cartel and asked anybody that has a blood typepatible with A negative toe and donate if avable,¡± he says, turning to look at the scene before us with a somewhat bewildered look on his face. ¡°This is just who showed up in the first thirty minutes. The hospital started having us turn people away after that. Apparently they¡¯ve already collected five times the amount they need.¡± A nameless emotion tightens like a band around my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe. I look over at Arturo. ¡°They all came for her?¡± He nods solemnly. ¡°And for you. She¡¯s their leader¡¯s wife. Their queen.¡± That band squeezes further and steals the words from my throat. I find myself nodding slowly, repeatedly. With a betrayal and failed attempted coup just behind me, I¡¯m arguably in the weakest position I¡¯ve been in sinceing to London. Having the cartel show up in droves like this to show their support and help reinforce my position while also saving my wife is no small thing. Every single pair of eyes looks at me as I walk down the line. ¡°I won¡¯t forget this,¡± I vow, shaking their hands one after the other. When I get to the end, I sit in an empty chair, drop my head into my hands and wait anxiously for news of how Tess did, praying that she survives surgery.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 67 I¡¯m not a surgeon so I don¡¯t operate on Tess, but when my shift is done, I find myself waiting outside the theater for news of how it went. When Dr. Whiteshaw finally emerges hourster, he finds me still waiting there and debriefs me. I ask if I can be the one to rte the news to her husband given I treated her in the ER and he agrees. When I make my way down to the guest area, I¡¯m informed by the charge nurse that the ¡®da Silva army¡¯ as she refers to them has been moved to a private waiting room because the sheer volume of people who turned up to wait for news had be unmanageable. At least two dozen men and women fill the room they¡¯ve been moved to. They sit in smaller groups, talking quietly and lending silent support to their boss. There¡¯s something about seeing that disy of loyalty that warms my heart. He¡¯s sitting between two men, his elbows on his knees, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. It¡¯s still full and it¡¯s clear he¡¯s using it more as a fidget prop than for the caffeine. His eyes snap up to mine when I walk in and then he¡¯s up and striding across the room towards me, an expectant and cautiously hopeful look on his face. I smile and he stops abruptly, his eyes widening. ¡°She¡¯s alive and she¡¯s stable,¡± I tell him. An unrecognizable noise bursts loudly from his lips as if all of the swirling emotions inside him try to rush out at once. He bends at the waist and ces shaky hands on even shakier knees as he fights to control what I can only assume is the mad torrent of feelings crashing through him. ¡°The bullet tore through her spleen so she¡¯s going to have a bit of a recovery, but they were able to stitch her up. She¡¯ll be sedated for a while, but you can go see her. You can sit with her.¡± He straightens and hugs the man I¡¯ve nowe to realize is his second inmand as the others whoop around him and celebrate. Before I know what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m engulfed in a bear hug by one of the other men in the room. He picks me up off the ground and sets me back down only long enough for someone else to hug me. I can¡¯t help butugh at their collective happiness. ¡°Congrattions,¡± I say, genuinely happy for them. They deserve a few minutes alone before I take them to her room, so I start to walk out when he stops me. ¡°Doctor,¡± he calls. I turn to find him walking towards me. He looms over me, every inch the intimidating cartel boss. Then he extends a hand towards me. ¡°Thank you,¡± he says profoundly, inclining his head. ¡°I¡¯m forever in your debt for saving her.¡± I know what that means in his world. I take his hand even as I say, ¡°That¡¯s not necess¨C¡± ¡°Anything you want, anytime,¡± he interrupts. ¡°It¡¯s yours. No questions asked.¡± He motions over his shoulder without looking and a man walks up to us. Equally as tall, equally as attractive as his boss, he rakes an assessing gaze down my body. His stare feels anything but clinical. He looks at me like a man stares at a woman in a bar, except I¡¯m makeup free, in scrubs, and sporting a messy bun. ¡°I¡¯m Thiago and this is Joaqu¨ªn. When you decide to call in your favor, he¡¯ll help you get in touch with me. Day or night. He¡¯ll exin how it works, then you can take me to see Tess,¡± he says, nodding at his man then walking back to get his things from his seat. Joaqu¨ªn hands me a card, never ripping his gaze away from mine. ¡°When you¡¯re ready, call this number and I¡¯ll pick up.¡± His intense stare drags across my face and down to my mouth, sending an instant tingle down my spine. ¡°That¡¯s quite a power you¡¯ve been given. Use it wisely¡­?¡± ¡°Dr. Cavanaugh.¡± His lips twitch. ¡°No first name?¡± Something in his gaze tells me to be on guard around him. ¡°I didn¡¯t spend six years in medical school just to hand out my first name to every man who asks for it.¡± The slow smirk that pulls at his mouth sends a delicious shiver rippling through my body. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to discover it for myself then, won¡¯t I?¡± The interest in his eyes is misced and unwee. At least that¡¯s what I try tomunicate to my body when deep arousal wakes and coils hotly in my core in reaction to the matching dimples that appear on either one of his cheeks. I pocket the card and leave, noting with dispassionate interest that my heart is beating faster than before. Awareness crawls up my back in response to the stare I feel burning ardently into my ass as I walk away. Thiago meets me outside the waiting room and we walk together to the second floor where all post-op patients are housed until they move out of critical care. The blinds are pulled up when we get to her room. Thiago¡¯s gaze moves through the window to where Tess lies intubated in arge bed. She looks small in the bed surrounded by all those machines. Chaos swirls in his eyes as he stares at her. He lifts a hand to the ss, resting his palm against the window and I swear, I can hear his fluttering heartbeat from here. His voice is rough as gravel when he speaks.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Can I touch her?¡± I¡¯m about to say no but then I think about what I¡¯d want if the roles were reversed. If I loved someone that much, no one could stop me from touching them. I nod slowly. ¡°Just be careful not to jostle her or move her body in any way. And if anyone asks, I said that you absolutely could not touch her. No way in hell, in fact.¡± A smile touches his lips. He¡¯s moving and pushing the door open before I speak again. ¡°Mr. da Silva¨C.¡± ¡°Thiago,¡± he corrects, looking. over his shoulder at me. ¡°Thiago.¡± I lift my eyes up to his. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing you should know before you go in there.¡± Devil Mine: Part 3 – Chapter 68 The first thing I see when my eyes open is a white ceiling. I don¡¯t know why, but I guess I didn¡¯t expect the afterlife to have ceilings. And if it did, I certainly didn¡¯t expect them to be white. Feels a little clich¨¦. Plus, I was married to the devil before I died so I assumed that my stay in the afterlife would feature more of the promised fire and brimstone than these spa-like white walls. It¡¯s only after all those thoughts flit through my mind that I realize I can¡¯t speak because there¡¯s something in my throat. My lips also appear to be at least partially taped. It hurts to breathe and there¡¯s a throbbing ache in my ribs and abdomen. My gaze slides from the ceiling, down the equally white walls and to some nondescript furniture. I frown. Where am I? Looking down as much as I can without being able to move my head, I see a tubeing out of my mouth. I¡¯mying in a bed with ugly, pale green bedding. Noises filter through, the steady beeping of medical machinery, and I realize I¡¯m in a hospital. My eyes flutter close in relief.N?velDrama.Org content. I didn¡¯t die. They fly open in a panic when I think about Thiago. Where is he? Is he okay? Is he safe? Movement pulls my attention to the right. A doctor stands there, beaming down at me. It takes me a second to ce her, but I soon recognize her from when I¡¯d visited my mum. ¡°Wee back.¡± She grabs my hand and squeezes itfortingly, giving me a brilliant smile. ¡°Your husband is going to besopissed you woke up when he wasn¡¯t here.¡± She must read the question ring in my eyes because she adds, ¡°He¡¯s fine. He hasn¡¯t left your side for a single second in thest two days, he¡¯s even been sleeping in that chair. I finally convinced him to go shower and get changed so he¡¯s going to kick my ass when hees back and sees you¡¯re awake,¡± she says with augh. ¡°Why don¡¯t we remove the intubation so you can talk to him when he¡¯s back?¡± I nod, thanking her with my eyes. Five minutester, the tube is gone and my throat is clear. It¡¯s sore and I¡¯m not sure I can even speak, but I try anyway. ¡°Thank¡­you,¡± I say and then smile. For a second there, I thought I¡¯d never get to speak again. ¡°You¡¯re very wee. It¡¯s good to see you again, Tess. I¡¯m Cassie, by the way.¡± I¡¯m about to answer when I hear a choked sound of surprise. Cassie turns, revealing Thiago standing in the doorway behind her. He looks exhausted and distraught. Like he¡¯s been put through hell. Haunted eyese back to life when theynd on me. He lifts a hand and rubs it across his jaw, his gaze raking disbelievingly down my entire body. ¡°Amor,¡± he chokes out. ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± Tears immediately blur my vision and I reach for him. Cassie quietly slinks away as Thiago clears the space in two steps and grabs my face. His mouthes down fiercely on mine and he kisses me. They¡¯re harsh, quick kisses, one after the other, his mouthing down time and time again like he can¡¯t get enough of touching me. I¡¯m gasping for air when he pulls away. ¡°Never do that to me again,¡± he begs, pressing another kiss on my lips. ¡°Never.¡± I grab his arms, my hands roaming over his shoulders, as obsessed with feeling him as he is with touching me. Tears of relief and joy stream down my face knowing that we both made it. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I promise hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯m okay. What happened to Marco?¡± He grabs my hand and squeezes it in his. ¡°He¡¯s dead. Arturo killed him. You never have to worry about him again.¡± ¡°And Adriana?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent men to all major cities in Europe to look for her. We¡¯re also keeping an eye on dark web trafficking sites to see if she pops up.¡± His jaw works angrily before his eyes drop back to mine and soften. ¡°We¡¯ll find her, I¡¯m sure of it. We can talk about itter.¡± Thiago climbs onto the bed beside me and sneaks his arm below my head. He tucks me against his chest, careful to avoid jostling my abdomen. His indexes under my chin and he tips my face up towards him. ¡°How are you feeling? Are you in pain?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Just a little sore.¡± A heartbroken smile curls the corner of his lips upward. He strokes my cheek worshipfully with his finger. ¡°I thought I lost you.¡± His voice cracks and tears ss his eyes. Seeing my immovable husband emotional over almost losing me is painful and healing at the same time. ¡°I thought you were going to die and that the only time you heard me tell you I loved you was when you were bleeding out in my arms.¡± He kisses my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t keep you safe, but I¡¯m even more sorry that I didn¡¯t tell you every day how much I love you. That it took almost losing you to make me realize how stupid I¡¯d been in keeping my feelings close to my chest. I kept waiting for the perfect moment to tell you. I only realized when you were dying that every moment was perfect because it wasus.¡± ¡°I love you so much,amor. More than I could ever convey with all the words in the English and Spanishnguages. You areeverythingto me. I knew it before but thest fifty eight hours of agony have made that crystal clear. I will give this all up ¨C the cartel, the money, the influence ¨C if that¡¯s what you want because all that matters to me is keeping you safe.¡± His arm tightens around me. ¡°We could move to Colombia. I could be a farmer and you could find a way to turn our farm into a profit machine. We could have a smaller life. Any life with you will be big enough for me; all I need to be happy is you.¡± My face is a mess of happy tears. When I¡¯d lost consciousness after being shot, I¡¯d gone towards my death at peace having heard his confession. He¡¯d told me he loved me with a fervor and urgency that made it clear he meant every word. But hearing it again now when my life isn¡¯t on the line, when he says it with no obligation or time limit, the words are even sweeter. ¡°I love you too, baby.¡± His eyes flutter close and his foreheades down to rest against mine. ¡°If you¡¯d asked me six months ago if I¡¯d ever say those words to you, I would have said you were out of your mind. But I mean them now, and I mean them from the bottom of my heart. Love was an afterthought in my life, something I was unlikely to experience given I was going to be in an arranged marriage, and if I did, well, ¡°love¡± in my life hasn¡¯t exactly been pretty so it wasn¡¯t something I yearned for. But I love you in a way I never knew was possible. I didn¡¯t know love like this even existed and I¡¯m so lucky to be able to experience it. You¡¯ve given me the greatest gift I could ask for. I know I judged you and your life, but you¡¯ve proven me wrong time and time again. You¡¯ve been the best husband and partner to me. I never want to be separated from you, not even if we have an argument.¡± I reach up and kiss him softly. ¡°And you aren¡¯t giving up your family for me. I¡¯m not afraid of this life anymore and I refuse to let Marco change that or have any impact on us beyond today. He doesn¡¯t get to win.¡± Thiago smiles delightedly at me. ¡°You¡¯re the strongest woman I know,¡± he says. His hand slides from my face and slowly down my body where ites to rest on my belly. ¡°And you¡¯ve givenmethe greatest gift.¡± I nce down and frown before looking back up at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant,amor.¡± I gasp and my hand flies to my mouth in shock. Fresh tears pool in my eyes. I¡¯m a mess. ¡°What?¡± I ask, voice quivering. He nods, a euphoric smile lighting up his face. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant,¡± he confirms. ¡°The doctors discovered it when they were running tests. Thankfully, the bullet didn¡¯t go anywhere near your uterus, so the baby wasn¡¯t harmed. You¡¯re only about one month along so they thought you might not even know.¡± ¡°I¨C I didn¡¯t,¡± I stutter. ¡°I would have told you if I knew. I can¡¯t believe it. Did¡­ I mean, are you happy about it?¡± ¡°Happy? I¡¯mecstatic. I¡¯ve been wanting to get you pregnant since the first time I fucked you, remember?¡± He bends his head and drops a lingering kiss on my belly. ¡°I thought you were kidding.¡± ¡°No,amor,¡± he replies,ing back to a seated position and wrapping his other arm around me. ¡°I¡¯ve always known it was you. Since that very first day.¡± I run my fingers lovingly through his hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it took me a while to catch up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡± He presses his forehead against mine and breathes his next words contentedly. ¡°You were worth the wait,amor.¡± Chapter 1 ¡°Can I be the one to kill him, Diablo? It¡¯s been almost a week since I had to load a new clip,¡± Marco says, knee bouncing frantically as he caresses the handle of the nine-millimeter pistol resting on his hip. ¡°I¡¯m getting a little twitchy.¡± I shift my gaze from where I was staring out the window at the passing river Thames over to my trigger-happy lieutenant sitting across from me in the back of the Rolls. I unwrap one of the cinnamon candies I always have on me and pop it in my mouth, moving it to one cheek. A humorless smile pulls at my lips. Marco has the youthful exuberance of an unbroken mare and the bloodlust of a cage fighting pitbull. He¡¯s barely restrained at the best of times, when potential violence isn¡¯t being dangled in front of him like a red handkerchief in front of a bull. That handkerchief is flying front and center right now. ¡°You can kill him when he¡¯s paid me back in full.¡± Marco¡¯s leg bounces even more agitatedly as his grip tightens on his gun. His jaw flexes and his lips purse into what might bebeled a pout if he was a teenage girl and not a ruthless hitman. When my father assigned him to me as my personal guard a little over a year ago, he didn¡¯t warn me that I¡¯d have to spend quite this much time managing Marco¡¯s anger at being orderednotto kill someone. All things considered, he¡¯s been exactly the type of lieutenant I needed when establishing the cartel in new territory ¨C violent, depraved, and psychotic. His bloodlust rivals my own but he lets himself be blinded by it, his hotheadedness routinely getting him in trouble. Together, we¡¯ve razed London to the ground, both in a bid to expand our territory and in search for much needed answers. Next to me, Arturo clicks his tongue against his teeth and res at Marco in reproach. He dislikes Marco¡¯s unbridled style and theck of deferential respect he shows me as hisjefe. If anyone else spoke to me with such obvious defiance, I¡¯d put a bullet between their eyes. Transparently, I thought about doing just that in the early days of him working for me, but the value he brought to my life in sheer entertainment alone made that decision a hard one to make. Plus, the psycho turned out to be tirelessly loyal, as well as having a penchant for getting the job done with a ir for the dramatics much to the horror of our enemies, so he got to keep his brain intact. Arturo likes toin about him but even he has a soft spot for the younger lieutenant, although he¡¯d rather sheer off one of his own fingers than admit it. A little over a year ago, they were both part of an elite group of lieutenants sent by my father to scout new territories across the globe for potential expansion, so they¡¯ve worked closely together for a while now. Perpetually with a scowl on his face and a reproving word on his tongue, my second inmand is outwardly inplete opposition to Marco. He¡¯s more restrained, not so overt in his brutality and much more cerebral. He¡¯s been instrumental in helping establish an offshoot of the da Silva cartel from where my father started it in Medell¨ªn, Colombia to where we finally decided to expand; in London, Ennd, where I¡¯ve been based for the past year. At first nce, Arturo is easy to underestimate. With his sses perched on the tip of his nose and his paunchier belly, he¡¯s often mistaken as the cartel ountant.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. That misjudgment gives him a massive yet unnecessary advantage ¨C by the time our enemies realize their mistake, he¡¯s already relieved them of their heads. His violence might lurk beneath the surface, but he¡¯s as vicious as Marco and I. He was my father¡¯s man before he was mine and I¡¯ve known him since I was nothing more than a prepubescent boy. He¡¯s one of a select few people I trust implicitly. ¡°Always wanting to kill first and solve problemster,cabr¨®n,¡± he chides. ¡°How about you focus on the objective?¡± ¡°Now why would I do that when I know you get your rocks off worrying enough for the rest of us?¡± Marco quips with a yful grin. He points at his forehead. ¡°You should be careful, you know. Those lines in that dome of yours get any more pronounced and you¡¯ll have to get Botox. Maybe while you¡¯re there you can ask them to do a little mouth lift to curl those lips of yours into a smile one of these days? Just a thought,¡± he adds helpfully, putting his hands up in a picture of innocence. ¡°Hijo de p¨C¡± Arturo starts, lunging across the space to grab Marco. ¡°Stop,¡± I order, grabbing him by the cor and throwing him back in his seat. ¡°Enough.¡± My voice drips with ire, making them both freeze. Marco¡¯s leg instantly stops bouncing, halting the almost physical urge I had to plunge the de I¡¯m toying with into his thigh so as to bring an end to the annoying habit. ¡°Arturo is right. He doesn¡¯t get to die until he¡¯s repaid every penny he borrowed from us,¡± I grind out between clenched teeth. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t let you send him a message,¡± I add. Marco¡¯s eyes snap up to meet mine, a barbaric shine twinkling in his eyes at my concession. It¡¯s an easy one to make. People don¡¯t get to default on payment to the da Silva cartel and get away with it. And the man we¡¯re on our way to pay a visit to is about to understand that. I twirl the knife in my hands between restless fingers.The sharpened tip digs into my index until a trickle of blood erupts from beneath my skin and flows down my wrist. I notice it but don¡¯t feel it. Pain doesn¡¯t register in my brain. I¡¯ve been numb for years, my tolerance unusually high, blunted by uninterrupted bloodshed. My body is a canvas of healed bullet holes and cauterized stab wounds to illustrate the wars I¡¯ve won. I disy them as proudly as I do the tattoos that cover over half of my body. As the Rolls ambles slowly through the busy streets of London, my mind wanders back to my arrival here. London was such a perfect location for us that the scouts hade back from their mission with amon message ¨C the choice was obvious. It was a massive international city, close enough to a coast with plenty of legitimate shipmentsing in through which to divert attention away from us, and, importantly, an entry point to the rest of Europe. But it was also highly contested territory with almost every gang, mafia, cartel and criminal enterprise fighting for the same fuckingnd, the same money, the same power, regardless of global legitimacy or not. The da Silva cartel had the weight of being thergest criminalwork in the Americas behind it. Once we¡¯d run out thepetition in the North and South, we¡¯d looked to the East for expansion. We announced our presence in London subtly, by blowing up over five hundred kilos of imported blow from various sources. Italian, Armenian, Russian, English, it didn¡¯t matter. Thiago da Silva was here and they needed to know it. Since then, we¡¯ve had to fight for every square inch of the new territory we¡¯ve acquired in Europe. It¡¯s been a hard-fought year of blood and mud and sweat and death. And I¡¯ve loved every fucking minute of it. The adrenaline, the rush of a n going tits up. The surge of excitement when eliminating an enemy, whether a single man or an entire fucking army. Of their screams as they beg for mercy and I give them none, ofughing in their faces as I rip their throats out and bathe my hands in their blood, of them dying by my hand. They¡¯ve alle to fear me now, the one they call ¡°El Diablo¡±, and they should. The European arm of the da Silva cartel is mine and mine alone. My father remains in Colombia overseeing that part of the business while I continue to grow my empire here. I¡¯m a king who doesn¡¯t sit on a throne. The minute I getfortable in this leadership position is the minute I¡¯ll get my throat slit. Comfort is the enemy of ambition and the manic feeling violence gives me fuels me to newer heights. I won¡¯t stop until Europe ispletely ours. Completelymine. The reputation we¡¯ve cultivated since being here of beingpletely ruthless and merciless is one I fully embrace, born both out of necessity when establishing ourselves against more legacy yers and out of a purely visceral need for vengeance. Because the real reason I¡¯m in London, beyond the opportunity, the money, and the power, the reason I campaigned for this to be the base of our expansion and not another city, is very simple. I¡¯m going to find Adriana¡¯s body, and I don¡¯t care if I have to burn the entire fucking country down to do it. Chapter 2 The Rolls pulls up in front of a massive high rise in The City. Irritation rolls down my spine. These high-bred, silver-spooned English society motherfuckers have all the money in the world when ites to gaudy disys of wealth, but none when ites to reimbursing their debts. The door opens and I step out, buttoning my suit jacket as I straighten to my full height. I give an appraising look at the building and the ethnographical makeup of the people bustling about the busy business center. Marco echoes my thoughts out loud. ¡°He¡¯s going to hate being confronted here,¡± he says with a smirk. I grunt in acknowledgment, adding, ¡°I¡¯ll hang him out the window of his precious building by his balls if that¡¯s what it takes to get my money back.¡± Marcoughs loudly and follows after me as I stalk towards the revolving door, the both of them nking me as they keep a watchful eye on our surroundings. ¡°Jefe,¡± Arturo says, ¡°Have you thought more about what we discussed?¡± I groan loudly, dismissing him. Not one to let himself be dissuaded unless a gun is pressed against his family jewels, he continues. ¡°You can¡¯t keep putting this off, your father¨C¡± I spin on my heels and face him. He stops abruptly, almost colliding with me in the process. Most men would wilt under the dark re I pin on him, but he only drops his gaze. ¡°Do you work for me or do you work for my father?¡± ¡°My loyalty is to you¨C¡± ¡°Good,¡± I say, turning back around. ¡°Andthe entire da Silva cartel,¡± he finishes. I bite back a snarl, not wanting to draw attention to us before we¡¯ve entered the building. ¡°I don¡¯t press this topic lightly, Thiago,¡± he continues. My eyes narrow on him. He uses my name to cate me, to remind me that he¡¯s been myconsejero, my advisor, for years and has rightfully earned my trust. Grudgingly, I nod at him to go on. ¡°But you know this is the next move we have to y.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve destroyed the other cartels. The Italians are cowering in fear that we¡¯ll turn our attention towards them next. The Armenians are a minor nuisance. The Irish are our allies. The Russians are staying out of our way. We have a strong alliance with ckdown that gives us the cover of a legitimate business. We¡¯ve won. I don¡¯t understand why you or my father think I need a wife. What exactly will that buy me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve wonfor now. We shouldn¡¯t let arrogance blind us into thinking that makes us untouchable. If you want to actually solidify your position in London, to prove that the war of the past year wasn¡¯t a temporary power grab with you easily receable by the next well funded cartel, that the da Silva house is here to stay for good, then you need to marry.¡± He throws open the door and follows after me into the building. The security guard at the front desk stands when he sees us approaching the turnstiles. ¡°What are you¨C¡± His sentence cuts off abruptly when Marco points a gun at him. He nches when he recognizes the five dagger tattoos on his fingers that identify him as a da Silva cartel member. ¡°Let us through,¡± he orders. When he doesn¡¯t immediately obey the order, fear freezing him in ce, Marco steps up to him and presses the gun against his forehead. ¡°Let us through or find out what your desk looks like with your brain for decorations.¡± He gulps and nods repeatedly, shaking fingers reaching for a button hidden underneath the ledge. A light shes green and a metallic sound indicates that the lock is opening. ¡°A word of advice,¡± Marco tells the security guard as Arturo and I walk through. ¡°Keep this between us if you want to make it home to your family tonight.¡± ¡°Marry outside of the cartel, Thiago,¡± Arturo continues, ignoring the threats in the background. He presses the button calling for the elevator. ¡°Marry a good English woman to prove that you¡¯re making your home in London permanent.¡± ¡°And what am I going to do with a good English woman once I¡¯ve married her? Long walks in the park followed by daily tea and crumpets?¡± I shake my head. ¡°You know she won¡¯t fit into this life and thest thing I need is something like awifegetting in my way.¡± ¡°Who gives a fuck what you do with her? You just have to marry her, not live with her. Get a marriage certificate signed, put on a show for a brief honeymoon period, go to a few events together spread out over a year and then stick her in a country estate where she won¡¯t bother anyone.¡± I work my jaw back and forth as I think about his offer. ¡°And you think anyone will agree to that willingly?¡± He gives me a look. ¡°Their women aren¡¯t like ours. Whichever English rose you decide to pluck will probably prefer a quiet life in the countryside to dealing with youing home covered in blood every night.¡± We step into the elevator and he presses the button to the top floor. I lean against the wall and cross my arms, my teeth grinding together. ¡°Plus,¡± he adds. ¡°No one said she had toe willingly. Take the one you like if you want. Once the certificate is signed, there¡¯s nothing anyone will be able to do.¡± I grunt in response, effectively ending the conversation. Realistically, I know it¡¯s only a matter of time until I need to make a decision. Part of me knows it makes sense for me to use a marriage as an opportunity to advance the cartel¡¯s interests. The other part doesn¡¯t want to deal with the responsibility of having a wife, especially one I don¡¯t want. I¡¯ve been focused almost exclusively on business and expansion sinceing here. Nothing else has held my interest, not even being nine inches deep in a woman. Thest woman I¡¯d fucked was an uninspiringly dull encounter. She¡¯d been on her knees, talking about how huge my cock was, desperately trying to get my limp dick hard with her hand, mouth running a thousand miles per hour spewing some inane bullshit. It¡¯s only once I¡¯d taped her mouth shut and fucked her from behind, face down into the mattress, that I¡¯d been able to get it up long enough to pump into her five times before the most anticlimactic climax of my life. Her borately faked screams of pleasure had done my head in. I¡¯d thrown her out with clothes in hand and hadn¡¯t fucked anyone since. That was over a year ago. It hasn¡¯t been forck of opportunity mind you. No, women throw themselves at me constantly. Being queen of the da Silva cartel is a coveted position, especially these days, and I¡¯ve had no shortage of offers. Sex loses its luster when pussy is freely offered just for a grab at power. With barely a look in their direction, women spread their legs for me, their eyes shining with the possibility of being my wife. I can¡¯t fucking me them. My family was once digging itself out of poverty and grime, climbing up the bloodieddder of power, rung by rung and death by death until we reached the top. So game recognizes game and I don¡¯t judge them for it. But nothing kills my erection like the stench of desperation on a woman. Sticking my dick in my fist and getting off that way had provided just as much excitement as the countless faceless one night stands, with the added bonus of headache-free post-orgasm rity when I didn¡¯t have to kick anyone out as they tried to bargain staying overnight. Seems I¡¯m going to have to get used to it if I¡¯m going to pick one of these insipid debutantes to be my wife. If nothing else, I understand the argument Arturo¡¯s making regarding the value such an arrangement could bring to the business. And the cartel, my family, that alwayses first, even above my own interest. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll find a bride worth keeping around. I¡¯m not holding my breath. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I finally say. Marco whistles in shock, amazed that I¡¯m even considering this. Arturo looks up from his phone and gives me a surprised look. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, I¡¯m far from agreeing to this,¡± I snap back. ¡°But if I do, I get to choose.¡± He puts his hands up. ¡°That goes without saying,jefe,¡± he says as the doors open onto arge reception area. There are two corridors on either side of a concierge desk, each with arge meeting room in the corner faced with two more hallways leading to more offices. Arturo walks out, followed by Marco who throws me a grin and a quick, ¡°Let me know if you need help shopping for your wife,jefe. Happy to test out the merchandise for you before you make a decision.¡± The two of them make their way across the bustling reception area towards where we know the CEO¡¯s office is. I follow ten steps after them, still deep in thought. A heady, moody scent ms into me, star anise and ck liquorice, knocking me back and ripping me from my introspection.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. I stop in my tracks, disoriented and confused by the sudden, unexpected assault to my senses. I¡¯m caught off guard and Ineverget caught off guard. That¡¯s the difference between life and death in my line of work. I¡¯m immediately on high alert. My pupils dte at the potent scent. It wafts around me in this open space, teasing me and making me desperate for more. I sniff at the air like a dog, searching for the source of the bewitching smell. My eyes track the people traveling between the two different sections of the floor, looking for something I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll know once I find it. And then I see her. She¡¯s across the room and walking in the opposite direction, getting progressively further away from me, and taking her scent with her. It follows after her like a shadow, robbing me of the enthralling experience that almost brought me to my knees. Her back is to me so I don¡¯t see her face, but my dick twitches for the first time in months regardless. She¡¯s piqued my interest and awakened my long dormant curiosity and for that alone I want to follow after her. Long legs peek out from under a tight skirt that hampers her progress but highlights the curve of her very delectable ass. A tailored jacket hugs and emphasizes the slope of her t stomach and perky breasts. I wonder if she has it buttoned all the way to the top or if she¡¯s left a hint of cleavage visible to torture the men and women around her. I couldn¡¯t miss her even if her scent wasn¡¯t causing a cataclysmic reaction inside me. She¡¯s wearing pink from head to toe, from her stilettos to the clip holding back her long, blonde hair from falling in her face. She¡¯s incongruous with her surroundings, a burst of color amongst a sea of dreary dark tones. She turns her head slightly to the side to acknowledge what her colleague is saying and I get my first partial glimpse of her features. Maic blue eyes enhanced by dark makeup peek out from under thick eyshes and rest above high cheekbones. A slightly upturned nose scrunches in response as a hint of a smile curls her full lips. It¡¯s only a sliver of profile and I¡¯m breathless. ¡®Beauty¡¯ is far too small a construct to describe her. It¡¯s a designation that¡¯s been used to describe too many people. She¡¯s the kind of perfect that deserves its own word, one that is hers alone, that describes no one else. Who the fuck is she? The question is bouncing against the walls of my brain on repeat, getting louder and more morous. My eyes don¡¯t leave her, the need to blink long abandoned. She doesn¡¯t notice me, somehow doesn¡¯t feel the weight of my gaze as it burns an imprint into the side of her face. My cock is rock hard in my trousers and demanding I go after her. But more concerning is the foreign feeling that squeezes my ribcage and chokes my major organs. There¡¯s a pinch that¡¯s almost painful and definitely unrecognizable. I shake my head to rid myself of those thoughts. Maybe it¡¯s time I getid. It¡¯s been way too fucking long, that¡¯s why I¡¯m having this confusing and altogether overly dramatic reaction to a stranger. Nevertheless, I n on following her. I¡¯ve only taken one step before a voice yanks me back to reality. ¡°Thiago.¡± I look over my shoulder and find Arturo standing with his hands in his pockets, his brow pulled into a quizzical furrow. Marco is nowhere in sight. Clearly, I fell behind them and, based on the confused expression on Arturo¡¯s face, he wants to know why. ¡°Are youing?¡± I look back at where I saw her, hoping to see the figure in pink in the distance, but she¡¯s gone. My fists clench in irritation and my mood darkens out of nowhere. What is this reaction I¡¯m having? It¡¯s unexinable. It has me rattled and unsteady, both feelings alien to me. Popping a cinnamon candy in my mouth to calm me, I stalk past Arturo and down the hall before throwing the door to the swanky corner office wide open. It bounces against the wall and rattles in its hinges as the eyes of the man who sits behind therge desk find mine. They widen in abject fear before he manages to school his features into an emotionless mask. But it¡¯s toote. He¡¯s fed me his fear and my anger is ready to feast on it. Marco smirks when I take my knife out and open the de, the silver shining with deadly precision under the bright lights. My own sadistic grin pulls at my lips as I turn to face the man who can¡¯t pay his debts. ¡°Alexander Noble,¡± I announce, voice reverberating against the office walls. ¡°Tell me, are you ready to meet your maker?¡± Chapter 3 I¡¯m bored. In fact, I can¡¯t remember a time when I wasn¡¯t bored with my life. I¡¯m so bored that I¡¯m even bored of being bored. Isn¡¯t that just tragic? And the worst part is, I did this to myself. Every decision I¡¯ve made over thest eight years ¨C hell, every decision I¡¯ve made since I was old enough to understand and be dissatisfied by the position I was expected to upy in the world ¨C has brought me to this moment. I shut myputer and push back from my desk, standing to stare out of the bay windows of my office. I can¡¯t get any work done. I¡¯m annoyed and dismayed by the conversation I had with my father a few days ago. I¡¯d expected that after all the work I¡¯d put into hispany,oupany, after years of putting my life on hold and wholeheartedly devoting myself to growing the Noble Group as the Chief Financial Officer, that he¡¯d finally see I was worthy of taking over after him as CEO. Instead, he¡¯d cut me off the second I¡¯d uttered those three letters and dismissed me with the wave of a hand. ¡°Your brother will be the next CEO of the Noble Group, Tess,¡± he said with an annoyed sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve indulged your fantasies for too long, thinking it would satisfy you. I see now that I was wrong and I¡¯ve done nothing but encourage these foolish delusions of yours.¡± Bitterness welled inside me. I love my brother but he has zero interest and even fewer qualifications in taking over after our father. The only reason he¡¯s being handed the keys to thepany is because he has a dick between his legs where I do not. ¡°But Father¨C¡± ¡°No.¡± His voice was harsh and unforgiving. ¡°It¡¯s time I rectify this situation. I will allow you to keep working here for one more year while your brother straightens out his act in Switzend.¡± After one too many scandals, my father had banished Tristan to teach at RCA, a private school for the children of the rich and privileged, for a year. I wasn¡¯t allowed tomunicate with him at all while he was there. He¡¯s my best friend, and losing my closest ally and sounding board had been tough. I was already wondering how I was going to make it through without him and it had only been a couple of months. ¡°¡­That should allow me time to find a suitable match.¡± ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± I asked, having missed the first half of his sentence.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. He threw me a contemptuous look that revealed just how little he thought of me. ¡°You can keep your position at the Noble Group for one more year while I find you a suitable husband. Someone who can teach you some much needed discipline.¡± His words cleaved me. I took a step back, a yawning fracture splitting through me. ¡°No,¡± I gasped. ¡°You¡¯re twenty-five, Tess. You¡¯re not getting any younger,¡± he sneered. ¡°Who knows, maybe your husband will let you work.¡± A sadistic smile cracked his lips. ¡°But I highly doubt it.¡± Arranged marriages are standard in our echelon of society, but my father had never mentioned it for me. I thought I could be an exception. That¡¯s what I had worked for. There are no real, great female role models in my world. Women are defined almost exclusively by their husbands. There are only the lucky wives whose husbands ignore them and cheat on them, and then there are the unlucky wives. The ones that face a battle every time they¡¯re home with their spouses. The ones like my mother. Some of them don¡¯t survive their husbands. The exceptions are the girls who run away or turn their backs on their families, but you never really hear about them again. That¡¯s why I¡¯d invested all my energy into seeding. Into doing better than my brother on all the things he¡¯d be judged on. Luckily for me, he had no interest inpeting in this race so I¡¯d dusted him. I graduated first from Cambridge and then got my MBA from Wharton. I was top of my ss, as formidable with data and numbers as I was with people. Idid that. I did everything right. Everything. And it still wasn¡¯t enough. All those years of missed experiences. Of never traveling, never seeing friends. Of being head down, book open. Studying, reading, memorizing, revising, test taking. Putting the real world on hold to find sess in this fucked up high society world that men had created only for themselves. I¡¯d embraced what I was good at, data, and put everything else aside. I¡¯d never really had time for romance. I dated, but had never been in love. My experiences wereckluster because I was driven by more than was expected of me. I¡¯d helped grow our profits over the past two years by twenty percent, and still it wasn¡¯t enough. Because at the end of the day, all that mattered was that I was a woman and women got married, especially when they were getting a little too independent. The best way to break a mare¡¯s spirit is to chain her to a fence. ¡°What about Franklin Marsh-Sackville? That¡¯s a fantastic match.¡± Now I was sure I was having an out of body experience. How could he so callously drop a world-ending announcement on me and easily pivot into rattling off names of men he could sell me off to like I was a piece of chattel. Franklin is our Chief Operating Officer and a certified creep. He openly leers at me and routinelyments on my wardrobe. I always wear pink at the office, both because it¡¯s my favorite color and because I believe in unting the fact that I am a woman in a position of power and I¡¯ve had to fight for the right to be in this building. I refuse to blend in with the men or to make myself smaller in any way. Plus, why can¡¯t I be smartandpretty? Franklin¡¯s double barrelst name is an ostentatious show of his pedigree. He¡¯s very,verydistantly rted to the royal family, although closely enough that he¡¯s mentioned it on five separate asions in the two years we¡¯ve worked together. He¡¯s also twenty years older than me. A full body shiver racked through me at the thought of him touching me. ¡°Please reconsider this, Father,¡± I¡¯d begged. I knew I¡¯d made the wrong move when fury had ckened his face. I¡¯d made a quick exit out of his office before he lost control of his anger. He¡¯d never hit me before but I wasn¡¯t going to stick around and find out if that was going to be the day he started. All I could hope for at this point is that he¡¯d change his mind. That he¡¯d see my value where he never had before and realize that I could be much more useful to him in the office than I could be chained to some random man. ??? Revisiting the conversation with my father makes me restless. My office is stifling, the four walls of my achievements oppressing. I can¡¯t be in here a moment longer. I know just where to go. Carl, a colleague from sales, is walking by as I step out of my office. He apanies me down the hall and across the reception area towards the other corridor where the freight elevator is. As I¡¯m walking and listening to the updates he¡¯s giving me, something makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Awareness ms into me as does the heavy feeling of being watched. When I throw a quick nce over my shoulder, there¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary. People are milling about the reception area, going to and from meetings. ¡°You¡¯re officially losing it now, Tess,¡± I mutter under my breath to myself. My body must still be on high alert from reliving the news of my potential arranged marriage. I shake the feeling off and get in the elevator alone. The doors open onto a darkened hallway on the second floor. This area ispletely uninhabited except for one person and he prefers it that way. ¡°Hey, Wiz,¡± I say, walking into his office. Antoni ¡°Wiz¡± Wyszy¨½ski doesn¡¯t startle or even bother to turn around at my entrance. Instead, he burrows his head deeper into hisputer, his gaze flitting between the four monitors he has up. ¡°Hiding out again?¡± he asks. I groan, kicking off my shoes and dropping onto thefortable couch in the corner. He didn¡¯t used to have any furniture in here except the chair he¡¯s sitting on, his desk, and the dozens upon dozens of servers and otherputer equipment lining the walls. But it appeared one day, not long after I starteding here when I needed a break from the testosterone-fueled madness of upstairs. I like to think he had it brought in specifically for me. It¡¯s pink and inplete opposition to the entirely ck space, so my guess is justified. ¡°I recently learned my father is going to marry me off. I¡¯m trying to process it.¡± He twists in his chair, one eyebrow raised in surprise. ¡°To whom?¡± I shrug, ying with a loose piece of fabric sticking out from the couch cushion. ¡°To the highest bidder.¡± He doesn¡¯t answer, his face impassive. After a few moments, he turns around and gets back to work, typing away quietly on hisputer. Wiz isn¡¯t a talker, and certainly not someone who¡¯s good at reassuring people, but that¡¯s not why Ie here. I appreciate his silence, his quiet support. I need the safe space far away from the relentless and cutthroat pace upstairs. ¡°You want me to put a worm on hisputer that¡¯ll crash his entire system?¡± He says it nonchntly, continuing to type away. Iugh softly, shaking my head. ¡°That¡¯s a very kind offer, but it¡¯s okay, I know you¡¯re busy.¡± It¡¯s his turn to shrug. Outside of his eyebrow raises, that¡¯s about the range on his outward emotion spectrum. ¡°I can do it in under two minutes. Want to time me?¡± Wiz is our savant head of IT. We became friends when I spilled coffee all over my keyboard and fried my hard drive. I¡¯d been directed to go see some of his underlings who worked on the floor below mine. They¡¯d all said there was no hope for my data. When pressed they¡¯d told me about a man, their boss, on the second floor. They¡¯d spoken about him like he was some sort of bridge troll, but also said he was my only hope of getting any information back. So, I¡¯d traipsed down here, unsure if I was being sent on a wild goose chase as part of some prank, and found Wiz huddled in this dark, windowless room. He¡¯d been as surprised to see me as I¡¯d been to find him. Apparently, I was the first person toe to him since he¡¯d started here a few years prior. He didn¡¯t like people and still doesn¡¯t. He¡¯d demanded to work alone, far from others, and he¡¯d been granted everything he asked for simply because he was the best at what he did. By the following morning, he¡¯d retrieved all of my data. I bought him a funny mug to thank him and came back two dayster to give it to him. He¡¯d been unprepared to receive the gift and had stared at my extended hand for a good minute before tentatively reaching for it. He¡¯d turned back around to face hisputer and hadn¡¯t said a word. But when I moved to walk out the door, he¡¯d told me to stay. So, I had. An unlikely friendship had grown from there, one of few words exchanged but mutual understanding nheless. Now, Ie down here to escape and he lets me stay for the few moments of socialization. I never overstay my wee; I know when he starts to get fidgety that he wants to be left alone. I sigh. ¡°No, if hisputer crashes he¡¯s just going to find a way to me and yell at me. Thank you though.¡± He grunts in acknowledgment and we sit infortable silence for a few moments before he asks. ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The truth is, I¡¯m bursting for freedom. I¡¯ve spent all my life working to prove I¡¯m good enough to make up for the mortal sin of being born a girl, and it isn¡¯t going to matter anyway because my father is going to force my brother into my CEO role. I¡¯m weddable and beddable, those are the only assets of mine that my father sees as being valuable to him. ¡°You¡¯re just going to take it lying down? That doesn¡¯t seem like you.¡± Wiz¡¯s voice holds no trace of judgment. As always, he¡¯s making an astute inference based on a series of facts he knows about me. He¡¯s right. Why would I stop fighting now? I¡¯m someone who makes decisions on logic and probability. I¡¯m not one to let emotion cloud my judgment. It¡¯s not that I¡¯munemotional, I¡¯m just not driven primarily by my feelings. If I can take the same unemotional approach with my father, maybe I can convince him. There has to be an argument he¡¯ll listen to. I jump to my feet, grab my shoes in one hand, and dash barefoot for the door. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to him again,¡± I call from the door as I rush out. ¡°Thanks, Wiz! You¡¯re the best!¡± Chapter 4 My father¡¯s office is located in a more secluded part of the building, away from the noise andmotion of the main floor. He has his own private reception to help filter the people who want ess to him. When I get there, his assistant, Eileen, isn¡¯t at her desk. I check my watch and see it¡¯s just past twelve thirty. Lunchtime. That exins her absence. My father and I don¡¯t have the type of rtionship where I can just walk into his office without an appointment. In fact, I¡¯d say we don¡¯t have a rtionship at all and this recent marriage announcement has soured what little there was. He won¡¯t appreciate me stalking in without warning but I don¡¯t appreciate him trying to sell me off to his golf buddies so we¡¯ll call it even. I straighten, draw my shoulders back, and march purposefully towards his office door. It¡¯s open, which is bizarre. He hates being interrupted as much as he hates hearing women speak, and that¡¯s saying something. In the two years I¡¯ve worked here, I¡¯ve never seen this door open while he¡¯s been in his office. But I hear a voice, so I know he¡¯s in residence. In fact, I hear multiple voices. Instinct and intuition warn me to turn on my heels and walk the other way, but my curiosity urges me to move closer, to see what¡¯s happening. A pained howl filters through the door. I know I should run, but maybe I¡¯m not as smart as I think I am, because I inch closer instead. I take my shoes off and pad quietly towards the door. Each office is outfitted with technology that turns the windows opaque onmand when privacy is needed. Thankfully, my father has that setting turned on right now. With my back pressed against the windows, I slide to the side until I reach the open door. Pained groans filter through. Even though I¡¯ve never heard him make those sounds before, I recognize them as my father¡¯s. What the hell is going on in there? My heart is pounding so hard I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to break free of my chest. Worse, I¡¯m afraid whoever is in there with my father will hear it. It¡¯s an impossible thought but my heartbeat is echoing so loudly in my ears it seems even more improbable that they not be able to hear it.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . I flip onto my stomach and push myself all the way to the edge of the door. When I reach it, I look around the lip of the frame and get my first look at the scene. My father is on his knees, head bowed, bleeding profusely from various cuts on his face. A man stands in front of him, tall and well-built, brass knuckles strapped on his fingers. Horror locks my muscle in ce, my fight or flight instinct telling me to freeze instead of run. I¡¯m powerless to move and for some reason, I can¡¯t look away. Another man stands off to the side, one arm resting on his belly, the elbow of the other propped on it as his face rests in his hand. He¡¯s older and looks on at the gory scene impassively. My gaze is forced back to my father when Younger Guy grabs him by the hair and yanks his head back. ¡°It¡¯s not a hard question,huev¨®n,¡± he growls. ¡°Where the fuck is our money?¡± ¡°I told you, I-I don¡¯t have it.¡± Dissatisfied with the answer, Younger Guy jerks his knee upwards. It smashes into my father¡¯s face. Blood explodes from his nose and stters across all the nearby surfaces. ¡°I find that hard to believe,¡± Paunchy Guy says, stepping closer. ¡°This entire building, a townhouse in Kensington, a mansion in the countryside, three houses in Greece, Italy, and France, a vi in Bali and you can¡¯t repay a little twenty million pound debt?¡± My eyes bulge at the sum. What has my father gotten himself into to owe these people, whoever they are, that kind of money? My mouth parts on a silent scream when the brass¨Cknuckled handes down once more on my father¡¯s face. Blood spurts from his mouth andnds on the white minimalist painting hanging on the wall. I¡¯m shaking, my knees weak, fear threatening to make my dder give in. Meanwhile, the two men are talking with ease, like this is a routine Wednesday afternoon. That only serves to push the terror deeper into my marrow, like wind slithering through my winter jacket and chilling me to your bones on a cially cold day. ¡°I-I swear! I don¡¯t have it, but I can get it. I promise,¡± my father pleads. ¡°I just need time!¡± I¡¯ve never heard my dad stutter, let alone beg, and he¡¯s done just that twice in thest minute. Blood thumps so loudly in my ears, I miss what Younger Guy says in response. I only hear the crack of the brass knuckles against bone and then my father is on the floor. I don¡¯t know what to do. What if they kill him? Patting my skirt and zer with trembling hands, I search for my phone. My heart drops into my stomach when I realize I left it on my desk. I didn¡¯t even bring it down to Wiz¡¯s with me. ¡°Stop.¡± I freeze. Dread unlike anything I¡¯ve ever known slides down my body, starting from the top of my head and moving down, spreading an arctic chill through me. I think I¡¯m about to die, that I¡¯ve been discovered. Tears sting my eyes at the thought. I can¡¯t die before I¡¯ve gotten to do anything. I can¡¯t die before I¡¯ve evenlived. But I realize two things simultaneously. First, the order wasn¡¯t directed at me, but at the two men. Both of them step back in deference when the single syble is uttered. And second, there¡¯s a third stranger in the office, one I hadn¡¯t noticed because he was sitting in a chair in the corner of the office along the wall of windows. It¡¯s only because I hear him stand, followed by the sound of his footsteps getting closer to my father that I know he¡¯s there. I jerk away from the door and flip onto my back, my chest heaving as I try to fight the hysteria crawling through me. I attempt to calm my racing heartbeat because my breaths are getting louder, more distressed, and those I¡¯m sure they could actually overhear. ¡°Alex,¡± I hear the man say, his voice nothing more than a whispered threat. It sends a shiver through me. No one calls my father ¡°Alex¡±. He hates it. He finds it disrespectful. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother teach you not to take money from people who¡¯ll kill you for not repaying it?¡± There¡¯s a dark edge to his tone that quietly emphasizes just how serious he is. This man, whoever he is, will kill my father if he doesn¡¯t pay him back. With my heart in my throat, I turn back around and look through the doorway once more, hoping to get a nce at the stranger. Paunchy Guy is standing closer to the door and in front of him, almostpletely obscuring my vision of him. All I can see is a ck suit and his left hand holding a lowball ss at chest level. He helped himself to my father¡¯s private whiskey collection. There¡¯s a tattoo running down his hand. It starts from the top of his index finger and goes to his thumb. There¡¯s a chain linking from the midway point of the tattoo down to his wrist. I realize with a scared shudder that it¡¯s an open metal cor. If he were to wrap those long fingers around someone¡¯s throat, the tattoo would close around their neck, making it look like he cored them. My lower belly flips, the feeling unexpected. It¡¯s almost like¡­ anticipation. Not fear. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal! I was¡­amgoing to pay it back. I¡¯m short on cash right now, a couple of bad investments, you understand.¡± Even to my own ears, he sounds pathetic. He¡¯s no longer the looming tower of terror. Part of me enjoys seeing him abased in this way. But it¡¯s the first I¡¯m hearing of him having money troubles. I¡¯m in charge of thepany¡¯s books and we¡¯re obviously doing well, but I have no visibility into his personal finances. ¡°You gambled and you lost Alex,¡± the man says, his voice fearsome even though he never raises it above a conversational volume. ¡°And now you need to pay.¡± My father flinches and looks away. I blink and the man is gone. His speed is unnerving, the way he was able to move across the room in a split-second downright frightening. The other two move deferentially around him, making it obvious that he¡¯s the boss of whatever enterprise they¡¯re a part of. I wonder if my father realized what he was getting himself into when he took their money. Hismoney. He¡¯s standing in front of him now, his back square to me. He¡¯s poised with his legs apart, his posture rxed, his left hand bringing the ss to his lips, his right buried in the pocket of his trousers. His suit is fitted. Designer. Expensive. Not what I expected. Not a thug. Even from the back, he screams power. It exudes from his frame, falling off him in almost suffocating waves, making him seemrger than he is. And he¡¯s big. Six foot four at least, with broad shoulders. Slopping, strong arms that bulge against the trappings of his suit. The only visible skin I can see is that of his hand and his neck, and every inch of it is tattooed. Two wings emerge from the cor of his dress shirt and spread out on either side of his nape. His ck hair is short at the back and on the sides, and longer on top. More tattoos crawl up the back of his head, disappearing under his hair ¨C roses, a crown, a massive skull, and words I can¡¯t make out from this angle, stamped along the side. Sick fascination ¨C there¡¯s no other way to describe what I¡¯m feeling ¨C momentarily stuns me. I¡¯ve never met someone who looks like him. He nods at Paunchy Guy who steps forward and grabs a chair, cing it next to my father. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He starts thrashing when the same man grabs him by the shoulder and lunges for his arm. ¡°No! No, what are you doing! Let me go!¡± A blood curdling scream rips from his lips. Younger Guy grabs a couple sheets of paper from his desk, bunches them and shoves them down his throat, effectively silencing him. Paunchy Guy punches my father in the face. Disoriented, he stops fighting for a moment. Paunchy Guy takes advantage of that mistake to grab his arm and pin it on the chair. ¡°Push his sleeve up.¡± When Younger Guy pulls a long, thin machete from under his suit my father screams once more, although the soundes out garbled around the paper. He ils about, trying to get away, but there¡¯s no give. Younger Guy approaches him with the machete. It glints sickeningly in the light and I feel my stomach threaten to turn. I p a palm over my mouth to stifle my scream. ¡°Please, I¡¯ll pay,¡± my father begs. A sour smell hits my nostrils, followed quickly by the awful realization that fear made him relieve himself. Younger Guyughs cruelly. ¡°He pissed himself, the disgusting fucker. Are you afraid,cabr¨®n?¡± ¡°I need you to pay that money back, Alex, so unfortunately I can¡¯t kill you,¡± the boss says, ignoring his man. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t start cutting little chunks off you, piece by piece, until you¡¯ve paid me back in full.¡± Another nod and Younger Guy ces the machete on the area where my father¡¯s arm meets his shoulder. He¡¯s outright sobbing now, a sight I¡¯ve never seen before. I have no idea what to do. I can¡¯t interfere, I can¡¯t watch. I can¡¯t look away. Both my hands are pressed against my mouth to keep the screams that demand to be set free from bursting past my lips. Younger Guy raises his machete. My eyes flutter shut. ¡°On second thought.¡± They fly back open at the words. The machete is down against Younger Guy¡¯s side. The boss leans forward and pats my father¡¯s cheek twice, hard, the gesture humiliating in its disdain. ¡°The only person I¡¯d be punishing by cutting your arm off is the cleaningdy who¡¯d have to scrub your blood off the floor. As it is, she¡¯s already going to have to clean your piss out of the carpet.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± my father mumbles. The boss straightens andughs. His entire frame shakes, the honeyed sound thick with obvious amusement. He steps up to him, raises his leg and brings his heel violently down on the joint at my father¡¯s shoulder. There¡¯s a nauseating crack and then his arm bends behind him at an unnatural angle. My father¡¯s agonized howl tears through the silence. My stomach turns. I think I¡¯m going to be sick. Paunchy Guy shoves my father halfway forward until his elbow hangs off the chair. The boss repeats the motion. A second crack, a second howl. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Even if I can¡¯t see it, I can hear the sadistic smile in his words. I stumble backwards, away from the wall. ¡°You have thirty days, Alex. Twenty million quid plus an interest payment of my choosing for your tardiness and to pay me back for the mercy I¡¯ve shown you today. If I have toe back here, I¡¯ll slice you into a hundred pieces and scatter them around this office you love so much.¡± Fresh panic seizes me when I realize the confrontation ising to an end. If theye out now, they¡¯ll find me. I look around frantically, my eyes stopping on Eileen¡¯s desk. I dart across the reception area and duck under her work station just in time. Momentster, I hear footsteps walk past her desk and down the hallway. Their steps soundposed, unhurried. They don¡¯t seem scared in the least to be apprehended for what they just did. And that scares me almost more than anything. I stay under that desk for long minutes, searching forposure. I¡¯m shaking like a leaf, my body struggling to calm down after the extended bout of fear and trauma. I¡¯m inplete disbelief at what I just witnessed. This isn¡¯t our life. Criminality, violence,torture. Those aren¡¯t words I ever thought I¡¯d have to use, let alone witness. When my legs stop shaking long enough for me to stand, I crawl out from under the desk and get to my feet. I smother the small part of me that wishes I¡¯d seen his face. I¡¯d probably be a dead woman walking if I had. Whoever that man was, I hope I never see him again. He¡¯s a monster. But maybe I¡¯m no better than him in the end, because I don¡¯t go and help my father. I don¡¯t stop to consider it, I don¡¯t even look back at his office. I put my pink stilettos back on and walk away. Chapter 5 ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be here, jefe. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± I lift my head from where it¡¯s resting against the soft cushions of the velvet couch I¡¯m sitting on and look at Arturo. ¡°Let theme,¡± I say, dropping my head back against the couch and closing my eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve been watched from the moment you set foot in this club. We¡¯re vastly outnumbered, we¡¯repletely exposed and we¡¯re surrounded by hundreds of civilians,¡± he says, disapprovingly. Lower, he adds. ¡°You¡¯re being reckless.¡± ¡°Rx, Turo. They won¡¯t kill me here.¡± I bounce my head along to the club music, enjoying the moment of rxation. It¡¯s been a busy two weeks and I¡¯ve hardly had a moment to rest, let alone sleep. ¡°And why are you so sure of that?¡± ¡°Because they¡¯ll be thinking I¡¯d never be stupid enough toe to a rival organization¡¯s club with only five men,pletely exposed and with no way out,¡± I say, grinning at him. ¡°They¡¯ll assume I have additional men undercover in the crowd and reinforcements outside. They won¡¯t risk starting something without making damned sure they¡¯re not encircled and trapped themselves.¡± Arturo is entitled to question the folly that is deciding to go to a club likeFirenze. It¡¯s owned by the Italian mafia and run as a joint venture with Armenian organized crime. Thefamiglia, once a pinnacle of the Underworld, has grown cancerous under the current leadership. They¡¯ve sacrificed their morals and any hard lines they once had for short-term profits. I know that in addition to the usual drugs and guns, they¡¯ve allowed the Armenians to run a sex trafficking ring through the club. Disgust forces my fists to clench. The da Silva cartel doesn¡¯t deal in women. Never has, never will. It¡¯s bad business, one that leaves too many loose ends and is easily and often targeted byw enforcement. It¡¯s a selfish line we¡¯ve drawn in the sand, not one born out of mercy or goodness. There are simply far better uses for women than forcing them into sex very. Marcoughs. ¡°So the reason they won¡¯t attack is because they simply won¡¯t believe you¡¯d be stupid enough to do exactly what you¡¯re doing. Respectfully,¡± he adds. ¡°Stupid, maybe.¡± I down the rest of my drink and wave at one of my men for a refill. ¡°Or, maybe I¡¯ve just outwitted them all.¡± ¡°You better be right, Thiago. This is a hell of a risk to take.¡± I lean forward, narrowing my eyes at Arturo. He knows more than anyone exactly what I¡¯m doing here. ¡°This is where she disappeared. This is probably where they murdered her. I don¡¯t give a fuck aboutrisk. I¡¯ll kill them all whether it¡¯s tonight, tomorrow, a week, or a year from today. They¡¯ll all die.¡± He inclines his head, knowing to back away from this particr subject. Marco hands me a fresh ss and squeezes my shoulder in quiet solidarity. I shake him off. I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s pity. I need revenge. And that¡¯s why we¡¯re here tonight. Three months before I arrived in London, my sister Adriana came here on holiday with her best friend, our unofficial adoptive sister. They¡¯d both recently graduated from university and were in London celebrating, enjoying being young and excited for the promise of the future. They came toFirenzelooking for a night of booze and fun like so many other young people in their early twenties. Only one of them came home that night.N?velDrama.Org content. Adriana disappeared into thin air, never to be heard from again. Intel flowed in from multiple sources that she¡¯d been raped and killed by an Armenian she crossed paths with that night. An Armenian who¡¯d remained unidentified until yesterday when Joaqu¨ªn, one of my men, hade to me with a name he¡¯d gotten out of an informant. Yuri Dadurian. Adriana was never involved in cartel business. My father and I made sure of it, but she was never interested regardless. We¡¯d hidden her identity and encouraged her to focus on her studies. She¡¯d excelled and she¡¯d graduated and then she¡¯d walked right into the lion¡¯s den,pletely unsuspecting of the danger around her. She was innocent. She didn¡¯t deserve to die. I didn¡¯t understand why she was killed. It didn¡¯t make sense. It made even less sense that the Armenians would do it. Sure, we didn¡¯t have a presence in Europe at the time but the da Silva name was still recognized globally. They should have known to stay away. The muscle in my jaw ticks dangerously. I¡¯m going to make sure that anyone involved in her death dies a death a hundred times more painful than what she suffered. And I¡¯m going to find her body so that I can give her a proper burial back home and my father can finally mourn his daughter¡¯s death in peace. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± Arturo says, finally connecting the dots. His gaze turns wary. ¡°You have a lead on Adriana?¡± ¡°Yuri Dadurian.¡± Marco¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°Armenian gun for hire. He was seen with her that night. And he¡¯s here tonight.¡± Turo scratches his nose. ¡°And why couldn¡¯t we go after him in the street or at his home. Or frankly anywhere that isn¡¯there?¡± ¡°Because,¡± I say, standing and walking over to the edge of the balcony and looking down at the crowd of people below me. I throw a look over my shoulder at him. ¡°I wanted to send a message.¡± Arturo gets to his feet and joins me on the balcony. ¡°We need to leave. You¡¯re going to get us killed.¡± ¡°You knew that was a possibility when you signed on to be myconsejero.¡± My gaze scans the crowd. ¡°Plus, I have no ns on dying tonight.¡± ¡°Fuck yes, let¡¯s do this,¡± Marco exims, jumping excitedly beside me, his bloodlust needing satiating. ¡°I¡¯ve been here before, I¡¯ll get the back room ready and see if I can find Dadurian.¡± ¡°Thiago, think about this,¡± Arturo implores. ¡°I am,¡± I answer, eyes scouring the crowd looking for the man whose photo I spent hours studying since seeing itst night. Arturo probably says something in response. If he does, I don¡¯t hear it because at that very moment my eyesnd on pink. A pink dress in the crowd, shining like a beacon as brightly in a nightclub as it had in her office space. It¡¯sher. Unexpectedly, like a mad twist of fate, she¡¯s here. Dancing with abandonment, arms above her head, neck thrown back, pleasure stamped across her features as her body undtes to the beat of the music. Lust ms into me like a runaway train, with no more warning than it hadst time. I¡¯m immediately enthralled and unable to look away. Is that the face she makes when shees, I wonder? I intend to find out. Sex has always been merely transactional for me; a way to release some tension with whoever was willing and avable, no names, one and done, no strings attached. And now I¡¯m imagining all the ways I¡¯m going to fuck her. How I¡¯m going to bend her over my desk and pound into her until her hips are bruised. How I¡¯m going to take her against the wall and watch as her eyes ze over before she shatters around me. How I¡¯m going to force her to her knees and shove my cock so far down her throat that she¡¯ll feel me for days. Scanning the people around her, I realize with annoyance that I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s noticed her. Suddenly shooting into the crowd doesn¡¯t seem like such a terrible idea anymore. Turo won¡¯t be happy, but I¡¯ll be satisfied no other fucker will put his hands on her and that¡¯s all that matters. I don¡¯t understand my reaction to her. Inexplicably, she¡¯s a distraction. One I don¡¯t need. She¡¯d distracted me when we were dealing with Alex Noble. I swear that I could smell faint traces of her perfume, almost like it¡¯d followed me into his office. It had taunted me, engrossed me to such an extent that I¡¯d sat quietly and watched Marco have his way with him for the first twenty minutes we were dealing with him. Since then, she¡¯s randomly popped back into my mind and pulled my focus away from the task at hand. I nearly got shot in the chestst week because of my inattention. And now here she is again, thedy in pink. She throws her head back andughs. Something ugly and possessive pulls at my lower stomach. I want that blonde hair spread out on my pillow, her ass nuzzled on my dick as she sleeps against me. Whatever this obsession is, I intend to follow it. I¡¯m not one to let something, or someone, slip through my fingers once, let alone twice. ¡°What?¡± Arturo asks, seeing the captivated look on my face. ¡°Did you find him?¡± His eyes follow mine and search the crowd until they find who I¡¯m staring at. His brows furrow momentarily before recognition ckens them. He shakes his head firmly, repeatedly. ¡°No. Fuck no. That¡¯s a bad idea,jefe.¡± I ignore the fact that he¡¯s getting much toofortable telling me no and focus on what¡¯s important. Arturo has a working knowledge of the most powerful families in the UK with legitimate businesses; if he knows her that means she¡¯s someone worth knowing. ¡°Who is she?¡± Excitement tingles through my arms and down into my hands where they grip the railing at the potential reveal of her identity. ¡°Helen of Troy.¡± I turn and give him an unimpressed look. He points down into the crowd at her. ¡°Figuratively that¡¯sexactlywho she is,¡± he exins. ¡°You¡¯ll start a war if you mess with her.¡± An intrigued smile stretches slowly across my lips as I look back at her. ¡°Will I?¡± He groans when he hears my tone. He knows me well enough to realize he¡¯s unintentionally issued a challenge. One I¡¯m unlikely to pass up. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say that as some sort of dare,¡± he says, exasperated. ¡°You¡¯re not listening to me. Not her. You know her father.¡± Surprise twists my features. ¡°Do I?¡± Arturo sighs. ¡°You dislocated his shoulder and shattered his elbow a couple weeks ago.¡± He turns around, leaning back against the railing. ¡°That,¡± he says, ¡°is Alexander Noble¡¯s daughter.¡± I throw my head back andugh. Now,thatis fucking hysterical. Truly. Somehow, it only strengthens my interest in her. He¡¯s a problem I intend onpermanentlysolving two weeks from today and she¡¯s his daughter. A pretty English rose I intend to pluck with dirty, bloodied fingers. Now it makes sense why she was there that day, why I continued to smell her in his office long after she was gone. Looking back into the crowd, I¡¯m unprepared for my gaze to immediately collide with hers. I feel tectonic tes shift beneath my feet, powered by the impact of our eyes meeting for the first time. I¡¯m hyper aware of the zap of electricity that travels uninterrupted through my body like an opiate through my veins. I lean forward, my gaze riveted on hers. She startles, like the contact physically pushes her back a step. She¡¯s not dancing anymore; she stands still amidst the crowd, staring brazenly back at me. Even from this distance, her gaze traps me as mine seems to do with her. She appears as affected by whatever this connection is as I am. ¡°He took something of mine, Turo. What better justice is there than taking something of his in return,¡± I tell Arturo. Arousal makes my voice hoarse, so I clear my throat. ¡°Has he made any payments yet?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m serious Thiago. If you fuck her and throw her away, if you break her heart, she¡¯ll run to daddy and all his buddies and there¡¯ll be hell to pay. They won¡¯t get involved in his gambling debts, but that changes if you start interfering with their women.¡± ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t take her then,¡± I say with a ruthless smile as an idea forms. ¡°I¡¯ll y by their rules.¡± Reluctantly, I look away and turn towards him. ¡°Byyourrules.¡± He frowns beforeprehension smooths his features. He drops his head in his hands and starts rubbing his temples. ¡°Joder, that¡¯s an even worse idea.¡± I don¡¯t think so, especially not when I see her looking up at me like a believer worshiping at the altar of her God. She looks away, severing the connection and sending my blood pressure rising. She doesn¡¯t get to look away from me before I¡¯m done with her. I watch her tap her friend on the shoulder, trying to get her attention. ¡°Jefe!¡± Marco calls. I turn to find him back in the VIP area, a ck look on his face. ¡°Dadurian is gone. Apparently he slipped out the back when he heard you were here.¡± Fury wraps around me and squeezes. It¡¯s a band around my brain that blinds me with a rage beyond my control. My hands grip the railing, my knuckles going white with the effort. I shake it so hard, I feel the hinges go loose. ¡°Where did he go?¡± Marco has the good sense to not meet my eyes when he answers. ¡°We don¡¯t have eyes on him,¡± he admits. I push away from the balcony and punch the wall. My fist explodes through the cheap ster and drives into the studyer. Shitty fucking club. I roar in frustration as I extricate my fist from the wall. ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± I announce. ¡°Marco, find out where that piece of shit disappeared off to. I want him dead by the end of the week.¡± I¡¯m rattled. This is unlike me. I don¡¯t let people get away, I don¡¯t let them get the best of me. It¡¯s because of her. She distracted me again, pulling my focus away from what¡¯s important. From Adriana. And still the madness finds a way to pierce through the rage. I round on Arturo. ¡°What¡¯s her name? Noble¡¯s daughter?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Find out,¡± I order. ¡°And find out where she¡¯s going to be the next few weeks. This isn¡¯t over.¡± Chapter 6 Igrab a champagne flute off a passing tray and down it. When the waiter moves to walk away, I stop him. ¡°Not so fast,¡± I say, grabbing a fresh ss. ¡°I¡¯m going to need this.¡± He gives me a look that¡¯s half-impressed, half-sympathetic and walks away. ¡°Everything alright, darling?¡± My mother asks,ing to stand beside me on the perimeter of the dance floor. ¡°Just peachy,¡± I answer, taking a sip and enjoying the way the crisp bubbles burn a delicious path down my throat. I spent the afternoon getting my makeup done, getting my hair coiffed and teased in every direction, and contorting my body to fit in this tight dress so I didn¡¯t have time to eat. A ss and a half in and I already feel a slight buzzing on. It¡¯s exactly what I need to get through tonight. The charity g being held at the Natural History Museum is for a good cause ¡ª providing continued housing and job assistance for the homeless ¡ª but that¡¯s not what¡¯s troubling me. This event is attended by the who¡¯s who of London society and beyond. Anyone with an ounce of power in Ennd will be here tonight. A.K.A. it¡¯s the perfect ce for my father to identify potential husbands for me. Gag. Anxiety swirls in my gut at the thought and leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. I take anotherrge sip and hope that alcohol will give me the strength I need to just grin and bear it. My father is here somewhere, no don¡¯t doubt investigating eligible bachelors he can foist on me. And he¡¯s doing so with his arm cushioned in a custom-made Christian Door sling. When he stumbled home that night three weeks ago, he exined that he was hit by a bicycle as he was crossing the street and that the impact had thrown him. ording to him, he¡¯d rolled a few times which exined the injuries to his shoulder and elbow and he¡¯dnded face down on the pavement which exined the stitched-up cuts on his face. He lied, and he made others lie for him. No one at the office mentioned a thing. When I¡¯d asked Eileen if she¡¯d seen my father after he was injured, she¡¯d nched and shaken her head, avoiding eye contact before skittering away. The upside of him getting assaulted is it distracted him. He hasn¡¯t brought up marriage since, although I¡¯m not naive enough to think he¡¯s forgotten about his decision. He¡¯s probably just been too preupied trying to figure out how he¡¯s going to repay his twenty million pound debt and the associated interest he owes. My stomach flips thinking about crossing paths with that monster again. The devil. It¡¯s a different sensation than the sour feeling from earlier. More¡­anticipatory. I¡¯ve been inmed by what I witnessed andpletely unable to move past it. The faceless man shows up in my dreams, dark and terrifying, his hands outstretched as if to grab me. I wake up breathless, heart thundering, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. I¡¯ve even convinced myself that he¡¯sing for me. I know I¡¯m being irrational. I have nothing to do with any of this. My father dug his grave and if he doesn¡¯t pay, the devil will bury him in it. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not overrun with pity for him. The logical side of me knows that actions have consequences and he should have been ready to deal with them. The emotional side doesn¡¯t necessarily want him to die but draws the line at helping him regardless. ¡°You look beautiful tonight, darling,¡± My mother says. ¡°That color really suits you.¡± I look down at the dusty pink evening gown I chose to wear tonight. It has an impossibly tight corset that I had to be strapped into like that scene fromPirates of the Caribbean. It forces my breasts up so high on my chest that they¡¯re nearly bursting out of the top of my square neckline. The corset flows down into rivers andyers of tulle in gradually darkening shades of pink. It really is an absolutely stunning piece, custom-made for me by my designer best friend, Dagny. She had me pair it with teardrop diamond earrings and an old Hollywood hairstyle, the left side slicked back and pinned behind my ear. I lock my arm with my mother¡¯s and nudge her with my hip. ¡°Thanks, Mum. You look absolutely unreal yourself.¡± She¡¯s wearing a ssic navy gown with long sleeves that she¡¯s essorized with gold bangles on each wrist and a red lip. I know those sleeves are more functional than a fashion choice ¨C they hide bruises my father gave her. A real smile graces my Mum¡¯s lips. It pains me. I wonder when thest time was that someone told her she was beautiful. I should be more attentive. I¡¯m distracted from those thoughts when a peculiar awareness washes over me. I feel like I¡¯m being watched. I scan the dancefloor, the bar, the attendees milling about the perimeter of the room, but there¡¯s nothing. And yet, there¡¯s this inexplicable weight that settles on my nape and makes the hairs all over my body stand on end. ¡°Tess.¡± I look up to find Franklin standing in front of me. He does a mock bow and extends his hand towards me like we¡¯re at a seventeenth century ball. ¡°Can I have this dance?¡± Oh, god. Absolutely not, I want to scream. My palm itches to smack his hand away. ¡°I¡¯m actually enjoying my mother¡¯spany¨C¡± ¡°She¡¯d love to,¡± my father interrupts. He appears from out of nowhere like a bad dream. ¡°Wonderful,¡± Franklin answers, ignoring my own answer, grabbing my hand and tugging me onto the dance floor. I stumble after him, throwing an rmed look over my shoulder at my mother and wordlessly asking for help. Her eyes widen and I think she¡¯s going toe after me, but my father¡¯s hand closes menacingly around her arm and she freezes. Franklin swings me around and I fall into his arms. His mmy right hand sps mine and holds it up. His left finds my waist, inappropriately low and dangerously close to my ass. Disgust roils in my stomach when he presses me against him close enough that I can feel his semi-hard penis against my stomach. There¡¯s not much there to feel but I say a quick mental thanks to Dagny for the corset. It provides a much-neededyer of protection. I shove delicately against his chest with my free hand, keeping up all appearances of civility. ¡°I think we should leave some room for Jesus,¡± I joke, hoping he¡¯ll respond well to humor. He presses me even tighter against him until his putrid breath hits my face. ¡°You should know that I¡¯ve been speaking to your father about a match between us. This union will be blessed by forces much more powerful than God.¡± So my father hasn¡¯t only been focusing on his debts as I thought.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. I¡¯m considering the pros and cons of stomping on Franklin¡¯s foot when I sense that familiar weight on me once more. I feel the ownership of someone¡¯s gaze caressing my skin, leaving a burning path in its wake. Am I actually losing my mind? Franklin has me pinned so tightly against him that I can¡¯t even twist my head to look around me without fear of our lips touching. I¡¯ll actually be sick all over myself if that happens. Part of me wonders if it¡¯s worth it if it means he¡¯ll let me go. Franklin has never been this offensive to my senses before. But then again, he¡¯s never manhandled me like he is now. He twirls me around, the crowd parts and my gaze ms intohis. Golden eyes stare back at me, a dark, chaotic look shining in them. The surge of lust in my stomach is immediate. No. It can¡¯t be. I twist my head to look back, to make sure it¡¯s him, but Franklin continues twirling me until I¡¯m facing him once more and my back is to the man. The same man I¡¯d spotted atFirenze. Dagny had insisted we go out clubbing that night. There was a guest DJ she wanted to see and she¡¯d been ready to beg me to go. She hadn¡¯t needed to. I¡¯d needed a night of fun, of letting loose. Finding out I was going to be married off, realizing I¡¯d wasted my life working towards something that was going to be taken from me anyway, and witnessing my father¡¯s attack on top of it all had been too much. I¡¯d needed a break. This was the start of a new Tess, one who prioritized herself and not others or what they wanted. I was dancing with abandon, enjoying the alcohol, the music, the loosening of my muscles, when I felt myself being watched. It was so simr to the feeling I had tonight that I¡¯m ashamed I didn¡¯t connect the two. I opened my eyes to find a man perched on a balcony high above me, hands spread wide on a railing,staring. Unabashedly. At me. He was too far away and too doused in the darkness of the club for me to make out his features, but those golden eyes weren¡¯t ones I could easily forget. They were prating in their unflinching study of me and I found myself looking right back at him. When a slow smile tugged at his lips, liquid heat pooled between my legs. I tried to point him out to Dagny, but by the time I got her attention, he was gone. There¡¯s simply no way it¡¯s him. I must be imagining things in my moment of need, conjuring a man I could actually want. ¡°Twirl me again,¡± I ask. Franklin grins. ¡°You like that?¡± I suppress a gag. ¡°Sure.¡± He does as I ask and I find myself twirling once more, this time focusing my eyes on the ce where I just saw the mystery man. I¡¯m prepared for his gaze, or so I think. I quickly learn differently when our eyes sh once more and the breath disappears from my lungs. It¡¯s definitely him and he¡¯s definitely looking at me. Chapter 7 We have barely a second to stare at each other before I¡¯m spinning again, but in that time he undresses me swiftly with his eyes. They rake hotly over me, igniting something in my belly I wasn¡¯t even aware was dormant. He wets his lips slowly in appreciation and I almoste on the spot. There¡¯s no calming my galloping heartbeat or the catastrophic chain reaction tumbling through me like falling dominoes. Even though I don¡¯t have much time, I get a good enough look to fuel my nighttime fantasies. Some people are quietly maic, and he¡¯s anything but. He¡¯sloud, in every way. Sex oozes off of him and crashes against me in thick, powerful waves that pull me in with the strength of a rip tide. Everything about him is ck ¨C his suit, his hair, his tattoos, his features, his entire aura. Everything except his eyes and his skin, both of them golden like rich honey. I¡¯m pulled away before I¡¯ve had close to my fill of looking at him, and I¡¯m yanked back to my sad reality, the one where I¡¯m being crushed in Franklin¡¯s arms. When will this godforsaken song be over? ¡°You¡¯re going to make the perfect wife,¡± he presses against my ear. He mistakes my answering shudder for an aroused shiver. ¡°So reactive to my touch,¡± he croons. ¡°It was kind of your father to allow you a hobby, but I¡¯ll take over once you¡¯re mine. Your only job will be waiting with your legs spread for me toe home.¡± His hand slides lower until his fingers brush the top of my ass. I grab his hand, crushing his fingers in mine, and yank it to my mid back. ¡°Keep your hand off my ass Franklin, unless you want to lose it.¡± His face turns cruel. His hand digs into my waist so hard that I know my skin will bruise even through the corset. ¡°You need to be taught some discipline. I¡¯ll make sure your education is a top priority the moment you move into my house.¡± He presses me close, his threats muttered nauseatingly against my ear. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy breaking you.¡± I don¡¯t let panic take me. There are many more eligible suitors in London. I refuse to believe my father will marry me to someone who¡¯s only im to power is that he¡¯s a third cousin to the eighty-seventh person in line for the throne. Over his shoulder, I see Dagny. She¡¯s staring at Franklin¡¯s back with something akin to pity in her eyes, probably because of the disgusted look on my face. I wave at her with my free hand to get her attention over to me. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± I mouthe. This is far from ideal as modes ofmunication go, but it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got right now. I don¡¯t want her to miss seeing the mystery man again. Thankfully, Dagny and I once identally entered a twelve-round bar charadespetition with an entire bottle of tequ already in our systems and won, so if anyone¡¯s prepared for this moment, it¡¯s us. She grabs an unsuspecting passerby who was ambling past her and pulls him onto the dancefloor with her. The poor bloke looks like he¡¯s just been rocketunched to the moon when he finds himself a foot away from Franklin and me, his hands on Dagny¡¯s waist, attempting to dance a waltz. ¡°Who¡¯s here?¡± she mouths back. ¡°The man fromFirenze,¡± I answer, tilting my head back over my shoulder in his direction. Her eyes widenically. ¡°Come on pal, we¡¯re moving,¡± I hear her say to her dance partner. He squeaks out an ¡°okay¡± and lets himself be shoved past me so she can get a better look. His relief is second only to mine when the song ends a few momentster and she releases him. I shove Franklin away the second the music fades. ¡°You¡¯ll never touch me again,¡± I vow. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Not bothering to wait for a reply, I spin on my heels, grab Dagny¡¯s hand, and march off the dance floor. Much to my chagrin, the mystery man is gone, disappeared once more. We exit the main hall where the event is being held and head into one of the grandiose hallways. I feel my heart rate start to even out as we escape the loud music and sounds of the party. ¡°Are you alright? Franklin looked like he was trying to suffocate you to death using the force of his beer belly alone,¡± Dagny asks, concerned. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m going to have Wiz install the mother of all viruses on every single one of his devices Monday,¡± I say, dismissing that whole interaction with a wave of my hand. ¡°Did you see the mystery man this time?¡± She nods excitedly. ¡°I did! He¡¯s insanely hot. You should have seen the way he was ring at Franklin. I thought he was going to drag him off you.¡± If only I were so lucky. ¡°I wish.¡± ¡°Have you met him before? Why was he looking at you like that?¡± I rack my brain. Something about him feels familiar, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve never met. I¡¯d remember his face, the way he looked at me. ¡°No, never¡­ and I¡¯ve never seen him at other society events either.¡± ¡°Same. He certainly doesn¡¯t fit in, what with the tattoos and the glower. The people around him were giving him averywide berth. I swear I saw Lydia Hightower¡¯s granny faint at the sight of him.¡± I chuckle. ¡°And yet, he¡¯s clearly invited. Or if not invited, at least allowed to stay after having crashed the party. So someone must know who he is.¡± ¡°Leave it with me, I¡¯ll track him down,¡± Dagny announces. I smile at that. Dagny is half-American, half-Norwegian, my best friend, and an unabashedly self-professed gossip queen. Her internationalwork of ¡°tea¡±, as she calls it, would rival most criminal enterprises. If anyone can find out who the mystery man is, and quickly, it¡¯s her. ¡°Thanks.¡± She quirks an amused brow at me. ¡°What are you going to do once you know who he is, Tessie?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± I answer, honestly. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought that far ahead.¡± A waiter exits the kitchen and walks past us with a tray full of fresh champagne flutes. Dagny snatches one and blows him a cheeky kiss when he flicks her a look, then hands the flute to me. ¡°You should jump his bones,¡± she deres. I choke mid-sip. ¡°I shouldwhatnow?¡± I ask, coughing. ¡°Fuck him,¡± she rifies. ¡°You should absolutely fuck him. As many times as possible in as many positions as imaginable before your dad ships you off to sexual Siberia for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°Jesus. Thanks for making me feel better, Dags,¡± I say dryly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry my time wille too and then you can be as brutally honest with me as I¡¯m being with you right now,¡± she says, patting my shoulderpassionately. ¡°Seriously though, you¡¯ve got too nice a pair of tits for them to go unfondled by someone as attractive and as clearly sexually gifted as that man.¡± I blush the same color as my dress. ¡°He might be just average.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t,¡± she asserts. ¡°I felt like I was intruding on Tess-Mystery Man private sexy time just watching him staring at you. Those were someverygraphic fantasies being yed out behind his eyes, I promise you.¡± She sighs dramatically. ¡°What I would give for a man to look at me like that.¡± There was definitely something explicit about the way he watched me. It¡¯s almost as if he was trying to brand me with his gaze. I can still feel the ghost of his eyes on me like a physical caress. I crave more of it. I¡¯ve never been spontaneous. I¡¯m someone who always has a clearly thought out and researched n and then executes it to the letter, but for some reason the thought of not exploring whatever this thing is between us leaves me with a disappointed feeling in my chest. I¡¯ve never had such an immediate sexual connection with someone and even I can recognize that I¡¯m unlikely to find such a connection again soon. Especially if I¡¯m married off to a sexagenarian. ¡°Did you see where he went?¡± I ask. Dagny¡¯s eyes shine mischievously. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve decided to go find him and let him do unspeakable things to you?¡± She ps her hands happily before opening up her clutch and taking out a pink lipstick. ¡°Pucker up,¡± she orders, applying a fresh coat when I do as instructed. ¡°Just so you know, I one hundred thousand percent support every bad decision you¡¯re about to make,¡± she says, closing the lipstick and putting it back in her purse. She grabs the bottom of my corset and tugs it down, making my breasts almost jump out of the other end. ¡°Dags!¡± I exim, bringing a hand up to my neckline. ¡°Franklin had these beauties crushed up against that gross chest of his so Mystery Man never got to see them and that¡¯s just a shame. This time, I want him to get a good long look at what you have to offer.¡± ¡°You mean my brilliant mind and razor-sharp wit?¡± I quip sarcastically. That makes the rational, sensible side of me pierce through, sobering me in an instant. Looking at this empirically, this is not a statistically sound decision I¡¯m about to make. I have nothing to gain from chasing after a stranger. I¡¯ve never even had a one-night stand. I should just go home, put my pajamas on, grab a pint of ice cream and eat it in front of a trashy movie instead. Dagny sps my face in her hands and squeezes my cheeks, cutting off my mental spiral. ¡°Ouch,¡± I churn out through puffed cheeks. ¡°Put your brilliant mind to the side for now, no man will ever truly appreciate it anyway. This is purely physical. You deserve a night of really good sex. You deserve a night where you¡¯re taking a risk and doing somethingpletely uncharacteristically unlike yourself. A night of freedom, just like you wanted.¡± I¡¯m still unsure. ¡°Is this a good idea?¡± ¡°Probably not, which is exactly why you should do it,¡± she smacks a kiss on my lips, releases my face, and ps my ass. ¡°Now chin up, shoulders back, tits out, and go give that man exactly what he was desperate to get a taste of twenty minutes ago.¡± ¡°You really need someone to tame you, you know that right?¡± I tell her, rubbing my stinging cheeks. ¡°Ugh I know, and no one¡¯s lining up to do it. So tragic.¡± She points at a winding stone staircase. ¡°I saw him and another man go up that way. He¡¯s probably in one of the exhibits.¡± She gives me one final quick hug and then says, ¡°Don¡¯te back until he¡¯spletely defiled you. I want you looking unsuitable for mixedpany and with stories about how you broke atleastfive internationalws. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll distract your parents in the meantime and sneak you out when you¡¯re done. And I¡¯m going to see if I can find out who he is while you¡¯re getting shagged.¡± I nod, down my champagne, hand her the empty flute and head for the staircase. I¡¯m halfway up the first flight when she issues a bted warning. ¡°Be careful about one thing, Tess.¡± I pause and look back at her. ¡°The way he was looking at you tonight¡­if you do find him, know that he might never let you go.¡± In retrospect, I should really have listened to her. ??? I walk down the dark hallways, unsure if I¡¯m even allowed to be here. There¡¯s no sign of life whatsoever. After traipsing through an entire exhibit searching for him, I¡¯m about to give up when I see a streak of light filter through an open door. My heart jumps into my throat at the thought that I might actually meet him face to face. How am I going to exin what I¡¯m doing in this darkened part of the museum? Isn¡¯t it a little desperate of me to have followed him here? He had eyes on me when I was dancing, he could have cut in if he wanted, or at the very least waited for me when I was done. Maybe he¡¯s not interested after all. Oh god, he¡¯s definitely going to think I¡¯m desperate. I¡¯m second guessing being here. I¡¯m about to turn around and walk back to the event when I hear a scream. It¡¯sing from the open door.N?velDrama.Org content. This all feels eerily familiar, the situation all too simr to what I witnessed at our offices. Clearly, I learned nothing from my first experience with violence because instead of leaving like I should, like you would think I¡¯d have learned was the smart thing to do, I inch closer. For the second time in three weeks, I find myself listening at a door and peering in on something I definitely shouldn¡¯t be seeing. I press my face against the frame and look through. Like before, I arrive mid-way through an argument. There¡¯s a man on his knees that I don¡¯t recognize but think I saw briefly at the event and three other men standing to the sides of him. Unlike before, this time there¡¯s a different ending. Because no sooner do I make sense of the scene does an arm raise and a gun get pointed at the prone man¡¯s head. Immediately, I recognize the very familiar tattoo decorating the hand ¨C an open cor and chain. The man who attacked my father. Surrealistically, I¡¯m so focused on the tattoo that even though I¡¯m effectively staring right at the gun, I don¡¯t register that I am until he squeezes the trigger and fires. There¡¯s a deafening bang. The man¡¯s head explodes, his brains sttering everywhere. His body falls forward and hits the hardwood floor, making me jump. It¡¯s over in less than a second. A terrified scream bubbles up my throat and demands to be set free. I p my hands over my mouth to suffocate it. I¡¯m screaming and screaming and screaming in my head but letting nothing out. Somehow, self-preservation pierces through the fear just enough to keep my instincts sharp. If they find me, I¡¯m dead. I rock back into my heels, crouched at the bottom of the door. Once again, I¡¯m shaking like a leaf. Terror leaves me cold as ice. I desperately tell myself to move, but I can¡¯t. My limbs are locked. The man¡¯s handes nonchntly down at his side. My eyes haven¡¯t moved from the gun, from the fingers that so easily killed someone. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed him here,¡± Paunchy Guy says with a sigh. He¡¯s got a cut on his lip and blood at the corner of his mouth. ¡°The clean up is going to be impossible.¡± They¡¯re talking about it like it¡¯s spilled merlot on a carpet, not a man¡¯s brain matter. ¡°Nail his body to the wall and leave him,¡± amanding voice orders. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m sending a message. The Italians should know that they¡¯re under attack.¡± The cial, remorseless tone sends apletely different shiver sliding down my back. That kind of cold, murderous fury mixed in with his clinically authoritative tone scares me to my bones. Finally, I¡¯m able to lift my gaze from the gun and up his arm until I find the side of his face. And the world drops out from under me. Because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man who just killed the guy on his knees, the man who attacked my father and broke his arm, the man with the open cor tattoo, is the same exact man I saw atFirenze. The same one who stared at me when I was in Franklin¡¯s arms. The same one I came to find, with the hopes of having a one-night stand. He¡¯sthe devil. It¡¯s literally tattooed on him. His profile offers me a view of the lettered script carved into the side of his head, ¡°El Diablo¡± in big bold, ck letters right above his ear. Abject horror makes my head spin until I can no longer think. The world has tilted on its axis and I don¡¯t know which way is up and which way is down. A scared squeak erupts from my lips when he turns towards the door, almost as if he can sense me there. His nostrils re like he cansmellme and it¡¯s the most primitive, animalistic thing I¡¯ve ever seen a man do. There¡¯s something savagely carnal about it and my throat dries until it¡¯s impossible for me to swallow. Even through the disastrous reaction pummeling through me, I can¡¯t believe how beautiful he is. No, he looks like death incarnate. HeisDeath. ¡°So it really was the Italians then. They took her,¡± I hear one of the other men say. It distracts the devil and he looks away from the door. ¡°Theykilledher.¡± His low voice echoes menacingly, challenging anyone to correct him. ¡°And I won¡¯t rest until I kill every single one of them for what they did to Adriana.¡± He¡¯s adamant. A level of furious I¡¯ve never heard before coloring every terrifying threat he utters. Clearly, his lover was murdered and he¡¯s seeking revenge. My stomach twists for an altogether different reason, an insane mix of something akin to jealousy and the awful realization that no one¡¯s ever loved me nearly as much as he clearly loved her. Lovesher. A loud noise echoes in the silence and my heart stopspletely. Unearthly, deathly quiet falls over everything around me. It¡¯s my phone, set to loud and pinging with iing texts. I dive for my purse with frantic, trembling hands, struggling to open the sp because of how much I¡¯m still shaking. I feel like time slows, every new ping echoing as loud as a gunshot around me. I pray to whatever gods might be looking over me that the notifications are quiet enough that the men aren¡¯t hearing them. I finally dig my phone out of my purse and throw it on silent, clutching it against my chest in agonized anticipation as I wait for my death toe to me. When nothing happens after long seconds, I look down at the screen and find panicked texts from Dagny. Dagny:ABORT MISSION!!! Dagny:I KNOW WHO HE IS Dagny:DO NOT GO FIND HIM, TESS. TURN AROUND AND COME BACK IMMEDIATELY. Dagny:WHERE ARE YOU??? Dagny:His name is Thiago da Silva, HE¡¯S THE HEAD OF A FUCKING CARTEL. My stomach sinks. I know that name. The double doors I was hiding behind burst wide open, bouncing loudly off the walls. I look up and my blood runs cold when I find myself staring right into the barrel of a gun pointed down at my face. It¡¯s so close to my forehead that I can feel a chilling off the metal. ¡°Well, well, well. What do we have here?¡± Chapter 8 Paunchy Guy yanks me to my feet by my arms. By some miracle, my legs manage to hold my weight and I remain upright. His grip on me is brutal and bruising, and he drags me into the room, kicking the doors shut behind him. Fear makes me want to avert my gaze or close my eyes, anything not to face this reality, but I fight against my baser instincts and yell at myself to keep my head up. There¡¯s no use pretending I don¡¯t know what just happened here, I¡¯ve already seen too much. There is no saving me now, but I won¡¯t cower. If he is going to kill me, I intend to look him in the eye when he does it. To humanize myself so as to appeal to any shred of mercy he might have buried inside him. Although, with the way I just watched him clinically dispatch the now dead man into the afterlife, I doubt he has any. Think, Tess. How can you get out of this? I feel my bravado slip the closer I get to him. Wee to a stop when just a few feet separate us and he¡¯s so much more terrifying up close. His physical presence dwarfs me. Even with my heels on, the top of my head only reaches the tip of his chin. My gaze hovers around the cor of his suit jacket until I feelposed enough to look up. Finally, I peer into the eyes of death. A lethally ck gaze stares back at me with unbroken intensity. Gold eyes soften a chiseled face. He¡¯s got sharp cheekbones, a nose that¡¯s been broken before, a square chin. His eyes are like a big cat¡¯s looking at its prey ¡ª unfeeling and callous. Tattoos burst out of his cor and tentacle up the entirety of his neck, including the underside of his jaw, and continue into his hair. There¡¯s a rose tattooed vertically on his face, right next to his ear, and the outline of a teardrop etched below the corner of his left eye. His entire appearance is rough, from his broken knuckles and the daggers on his fingers, to the trace of scars visible on his neck and face. He¡¯s no gentleman ¡ª he¡¯d probably consider that an insult ¡ª and nothing like any of the men I grew up around. Fear should be the only thing I feel, and it¡¯s definitely there, but there¡¯s also that same pull from earlier. He sucks on something, a sweet of some kind that he rolls from one side of his mouth to the other. His mouth parts slightly and his tongue peeks through, wetting thick lips. The juxtaposition between the gore and violence I just witnessed and the almost juvenile act of sucking on a candy chills me. I¡¯ve never seen someone so unforgiving yet attractive at the same time. The revulsion and hatred my mind feelpletely oppose my body¡¯s visceral reaction to him. The more my brainbels him a sociopath, the more lust unfurls in my belly, powerful and unrelenting. He looks almost amused by my perusal of him and watches me watch him. I get the sense that he¡¯s toying with me and I realize I¡¯d be a fool to underestimate him ¡ª he¡¯s not just a mindless brute, there¡¯s a shrewd mind lurking behind those dead eyes. I carefully avoid looking at the body. When he¡¯s had enough of me scrutinizing him, he utters two words that make my blood run cold. ¡°Hello, Tess.¡± His voice is deep, his ent wrapping deliciously around the one syble of my name like he has any right to know it, let alone speak it. But he says it like he owns it, like it belongs to him. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I¡¯m pleased at the perfectly even tone of my voice. I was afraid it¡¯de out shaking and broken. ¡°Let her go,¡± he orders. I¡¯m immediately released. He nods once at the two men, keeping his eyes on me. ¡°Leave us.¡± I don¡¯t know how I feel about thatmand. Thest thing I want is to be alone with him, but if it means Paunchy Guy who pointed a gun at me and is currently still ring in my direction will go, I won¡¯t fight it. ¡°We¡¯ll be right outside,¡± Paunchy Guy says, shooting me onest re. I don¡¯t know what his deal is ¡ª his boss is the one with the gun and the sociopathic tendencies, not me. He and Younger Guy exit, closing the door behind them, and instead of seeming bigger, the room feels like itpresses down around us. ¡°I looked for you afterFirenze,¡± the devil answers. His words are said dispassionately and yet they reveal that he was also intrigued enough by me to look into me after that night. ¡°Do you know my name?¡± I nod and his eyes darken. Goosebumps roll across my skin at his reaction. ¡°I know who you are.¡± Everyone in London knows the name Thiago da Silva. The rule of violence and destruction he¡¯s rained down on the city are all anyone¡¯s talked about for thest year. He¡¯s never photographed and he obviously isn¡¯t invited to society events so I¡¯ve never seen his face until now. His reputation is a lot uglier than he is. Knowing who he is now, I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t use the machete on my father. Cutting up people is certainly a signature of his. He¡¯s everything I hate. He¡¯s part of the ruling ss in the seedy underbelly of the city I love, colloquially referred to as the Underworld. He thrives in this bastion of criminality, running drugs and guns and most likely women. Murder is just one in a long list of offenses I judge him for. ¡°And who am I?¡± ¡°A criminal, a murderer, a sociopath, take your pick.¡± He¡¯s going to put a bullet between my eyes before I blink next if I don¡¯t shut my mouth. I find that I can¡¯t seem to control myself anyway. A malevolent twinkle shines in his eye and he takes a step towards me. It takes everything in me to stand my ground and not stumble backwards. ¡°All of the above,¡± he agrees. ¡°Say my name.¡± ¡°Thiago.¡± It just slips out, more breathless than I¡¯d have liked. A pleased hum rumbles up his chest and hits me right between my legs. This is dangerous territory for me, probably more dangerous than the gun still clutched in his hand. ¡°I saw what you did to my father.¡± I mention it to show him that I¡¯m not scared, that he can¡¯t intimidate me. Maybe he won¡¯t kill me if he realizes I didn¡¯t snitchst time I witnessed him assault someone. ¡°I was there that day, standing right outside his office.¡± He cocks his head to the side and smiles. He fuckingsmiles. ¡°Really? And you didn¡¯t intervene?¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± His smile stretches into an outright grin now, revealing rows of pearly white teeth. ¡°Fair enough.¡± His answer leadens my heart. He doesn¡¯t contradict me, doesn¡¯t tell me he¡¯s not going to kill me. I guess I really have nothing left to lose. Thiago pushes the candy around his mouth as he eyes me thoughtfully. ¡°Is there a reason you keep stumbling upon conversations that will get you killed?¡± Is he getting off on this, scaring me to death before he actually kills me? Didn¡¯t his Mum teach him it¡¯s bad manners to y with your food before you eat it? ¡°A lifetime of bad luck?¡± I reply pluckily. Thiagoughs in response, the ink on his face creasing into the corner of his eye. ¡°Your luck doesn¡¯t seem to be improving.¡± The tattoo smooths back out when he catches me staring at him. ¡°Why do you have that teardrop on your cheek?¡± I¡¯ve surprised him with my question, I can tell that much. He looks pleased with me, happy to give me an answer even. ¡°It¡¯s a death I owe. Blood to be spilled.¡± ¡°For who?¡± ¡°For a man who took someone I loved from me.¡± Ah, yes. Adriana. Anger festers in my belly. Why would he look at me the way he did, the way he is even now, if he¡¯s hellbent on getting revenge for another woman? And why, in the context of what I just witnessed, do I fuckingcare? He waves his hand casually around the room. ¡°You¡¯re taking all of this surprisingly well,¡± he notes. Oh god, I momentarily forgot about the body. Wide-eyed, I stiffen in sudden realization and he recognizes it. ¡°Don¡¯t look at him, it¡¯ll upset you,¡± he predicts matter-of-factly. I look only because he told me not to and he¡¯s right. It does upset me. Bile rises in my throat but pure stubbornness keeps me from being violently ill. ¡°You¡¯re a fool,¡± he adds, clicking his tongue against his teeth. ¡°Brave, but foolish.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t scare me.¡± That¡¯s a lie. Heughs again, sharper this time. ¡°You should be more afraid of me than anyone.¡± I freeze, my gaze slowly shifting back up to meet his. He¡¯s unmoved, his devastating stare still stuck on me. ¡°Why?¡± Hees towards me again, azy, unassuming-looking step that¡¯s anything but. This close, I can look into his eyes and see the ckened abyss that is his soul. There¡¯s something unhinged in his gaze that he doesn¡¯t bother to tuck away behind the pretense of civility. I guess with a lifeless corpseying a few feet away from us courtesy of his left hand, he doesn¡¯t need to. A loud crunch tells me he¡¯s crushed the candy down to dust between his teeth. He sucks briefly on the pieces, then swallows. My eyes track the leisurely movement of his throat, then fly up to meet his gaze when he speaks. ¡°You¡¯ve caught my attention.¡± My breath catches in my throat at his deration. I shake my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you,amor.¡± He might as well have branded me with a hot poker. His lips roll over that ¡®r¡¯ like they¡¯ve beenmissioned to do so. Something much more dangerous reces the crazed look in his eyes. Hunger. His gaze drops slowly down to my neckline where my breasts are still obscenely on disy thanks to Dagny. I watch as a storm rolls through his features, twisting them with desire so potent that this time I do take a step back. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± He lifts his gaze back up to mine, that same aroused look still stamped on his face. ¡°How am I looking at you?¡± ¡°Like¡­like you¡¯re picturing me naked.¡± He inhales like he¡¯s absorbing my perfume and his eyes close briefly. When they open, the pupils are so dted the golden color makes up nothing more than the outer ring of his iris. ¡°I¡¯m not picturing you naked,¡± he purrs. Shakily, I say, ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m imagining how pretty you¡¯re going to look on your knees, wide-eyed and staring up at me as I fuck your mouth. Yes,¡± he adds throatily in response to my open-mouthed reaction. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the face I¡¯m picturing you making.¡± I take another step back and he follows, those samezy steps looking far more predatory than before. His gaze drops seductively back down to my neckline. ¡°Now I¡¯m thinking about how I¡¯m going to fuck these tits and cover them in my cum.¡± I put a hand out to keep him froming any closer. My fingers graze his chest and a jolt thunders up my arm. I pull my hand away at the burn.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . My back bumps against one of the enclosed exhibits. I have nowhere to go, I¡¯m truly trapped. ¡°And I¡¯m obsessing over how you¡¯re going to moan for me when I sink into your tight cunt for the first time.¡± Absolute shock stabs through my chest. No one¡¯s ever spoken to me that way before. My treacherous pussy clenches in response. ¡°I¡¯d rather you kill me.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± he whispers, reaching for my face. I duck under his arm and turn back around to face him. I gulp when the hand holding the gun moves, but he simply holsters it. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± I snarl. ¡°Everything about you disgusts me.¡± He snorts,ughing at me. ¡°Is that why you came looking for me? Because I disgust you?¡± Chapter 9 Her pretty blue eyes widen. She has no immediate answer, she can¡¯t conjure a lie fast enough. I watch as her cheeks flush with the embarrassment of having been caught out. I don¡¯t press her on it, a rare kindness I won¡¯t be offering in the future. She¡¯s still in shock at what she witnessed, both tonight and back at her office apparently. Now I know why her scent had taunted me that day. She¡¯d been right outside the door the entire time. It¡¯s a pleasant surprise to find out Tess has a backbone. She¡¯s no meek society girl. She doesn¡¯t do what I say just because she¡¯s afraid I¡¯m going to kill her. She doesn¡¯t throw herself at me knowing it can save her, knowing being with me can give her protection and power. No, she¡¯s reckless with her mouth, her words, and her actions. Like me. She¡¯s perfect. So fucking beautiful it steals my breath away. ¡°Who was that man you danced with?¡± I¡¯d walked into the charity event to find her clutched in the arms of some geriatric fucker, pressed so tightly against him she couldn¡¯t move. A primitive type of anger had filled me when I thought she was willingly throwing herself at him. It¡¯d devolved into outright rage when I saw her face and realized she was more a prisoner than anything. Arturo had yanked me back by my shirt when I¡¯d made a move towards her, reminding me that we were here to follow the lead on Adriana. Marco found Dadurian the day afterFirenzeand tortured a confession out of him. He¡¯d quickly admitted to having seen Adriana that night two years ago. He¡¯d been in charge of slipping something in her drink but wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d kidnapped and eventually killed her. That man was an Italian, one Dadurian hadn¡¯t named before dying, simply telling us he was a Leone. The family of Augusto Leone, the capo. Angelo Leone, a distant cousin of Augusto, presentlyys dead at my feet. Turns out he wasn¡¯t the man I was looking for either, had no idea what I was talking about or who Adriana even was, but he¡¯d gotten a bullet in the head nheless. In no particr order, I was going to destroy every single member of the Leone family one by one until I found the man responsible for Adriana¡¯s death. It made sense that it was the Italians. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d have let the Armenianse to their club and create such a mess without their involvement or supervision. Unlike them, they have the manpower and firepower to take me on. Arturo had been right to stop me from making a scene, redirecting me instead to the rare species exhibit where Marco had plucked Angelo from the charity g and was holding him captive. Nheless, the second we¡¯d stepped away from the event I¡¯d clocked Turo in the jaw for getting between me and Tess. And now anger burns in her gaze, but it doesn¡¯t seem directed at me. At least not entirely. ¡°He¡¯s a colleague.¡± She spits it out like it¡¯s an insult. She¡¯s beautiful when she¡¯s mad, her cheeks red, those delectable tits of hers straining to escape. If I make her angry enough, will one finally slip free, exposing one of the nipples I¡¯m so desperate to bite? ¡°Do you let all your colleagues touch you like that?¡± If she does, that¡¯s going to stop right fucking now. ¡°No.¡± She looks down at the exhibit of thousand-year-old insects. Softer, she adds, ¡°He thinks he¡¯s going to marry me.¡± The thought of that man or any other getting their hands on her makes my eye twitch dangerously. I don¡¯t fucking think so. ¡°He¡¯s wrong.¡± Sheughs humorlessly and doesn¡¯t say anything. My cock throbs painfully in my trousers. He¡¯s finally found someone he wants to fuck into next year and he doesn¡¯t appreciate not being allowed to do so. I let the silence stretch between us until eventually she speaks again. ¡°That man you killed,¡± she starts, nodding her chin in his general direction. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything to you?¡± ¡°Not specifically, no.¡± ¡°And you killed him anyway?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She looks at me like I¡¯m an abomination. ¡°You¡¯re a monster.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Unlike her, I won¡¯t deny the truth. Her eyes narrow when I prowl towards her. ¡°Don¡¯te near me. I¡¯ll scream.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather you scream in other ways.¡± She gapes at me, mouth parting in shock. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You really think I¡¯m going to sleep with you after I watched you assault my fatherandkill an innocent man?¡± An arrogant smile graces my lips. ¡°I do.¡± She sets her jaw and lifts her chin at me in challenge. ¡°So you¡¯re nning on assaulting me.¡± Iugh, actual mirth shining in my eyes. I¡¯m enjoying this game we¡¯re ying; I don¡¯t know to what end, but I¡¯m more entertained than I have been in years. ¡°We both know you¡¯ll fuck me willingly, even if you¡¯re not ready to admit it just yet.¡± I step up to her and this time she stays put. Her head tilts back to keep her eyes on me, exposing her open throat. My eyes drop to the expanse of her skin. I¡¯m desperate to im her, to mark her in a way that identifies her as belonging to Thiago da Silva. My gaze moves back up to find her eyes hazed over with lust. ¡°Not just willingly, Tess.Repeatedly. I can tell by the way you¡¯ve been eye fucking me since you walked in. You¡¯ll beg me to make youe and then you¡¯ll beg me to please stop making youe. Depending on how merciful I feel that day, depending on how much of a good girl you¡¯ll have been for me that day, I¡¯ll decide then whether to use your pleasure as a reward or a form of torture.¡± Her lips are parted, her breaths shallow. Her eyes pinball between mine as she rides the wave of lust my words have unfurled inside her. I know if I were to put my hands in her panties, I¡¯d find her soaked for me. It¡¯s an exercise in control that I don¡¯t actually have to not reach out and touch her. ¡°If you¡¯re so convinced I¡¯ll willingly sleep with you, then let me go,¡± she challenges. I smirk. Extending my arms casually to either side of me, I look at her questioningly. ¡°Am I holding you prisoner?¡± Her eyes widen then turn wary. When I don¡¯t move or touch her, she slides one foot to the side, then the other. She repeats the motion with her eyes trained on me like a skittish animal surveying a looming predator until I¡¯m no longer standing between her and the door. She doesn¡¯t run even though I know she must be dying to, and that only makes me harder for her. I¡¯m dizzy with the need to have her, to fuck her.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Tess.¡± She freezes, less than a foot from the door. The way her back tenses and her shoulders bunch around her ears tells me she¡¯s afraid I¡¯m going to hurt her. That I dangled the hope of an escape in front of her only to yank her back from the clutches of freedom at the veryst second. Nevertheless, she looks over her shoulder at me. She doesn¡¯t bow her head or avert gaze. She looks me straight in the eye and defies me. She should be scared of how violent my lust is for her. I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t hurt her when she does eventually submit to me. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I will have you.¡± She scoffs. ¡°It¡¯s not up to you. I¡¯m not for sale, Thiago.¡± Her use of my name is intentional. It¡¯s meant to equalize us, to reduce me from violent killer and cartel leader down to just a man who might show her some mercy. It does the opposite, because I don¡¯t hear my name often and I¡¯ve definitely never heard it lobbed at me with such venom before. I love it, that fire of hers. She unintentionally marks me as hers with my own name. ¡°Everyone has a price.¡± ¡°Not me.¡± I face her and bury my hands deep in my pockets. ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t,¡± I acquiesce. A slow, dark smile stretches my lips. ¡°But we both know someone else who does, don¡¯t we,amor?¡± She nches and I¡¯m seconds away froming in my trousers at the sight of her pale face losing all its color. Her submission is going to taste so fucking sweet. I whistle, a shrill sound that pierces the air, and the doors open. ¡°Let her through.¡± I turn away and don¡¯t watch as she leaves. ??? Arturo walks back into the room with Marco in tow. The expression on his face tells me he knows what I¡¯m going to say before I even say it. ¡°Her,¡± I tell him. ¡°I want her.¡± Chapter 10 Aweekter, Alexander Noble picks up the phone and summons Tess to his office. I knew she was in residence when I forced my way into her home to meet with him, but I hadn¡¯t wanted to see her until it was done. Turns out the conversation with her father took less than ten minutes. He wasn¡¯t given any choice in the matter, but he readily agreed to my proposition nheless. That selfish, narcissistic prick was more than happy to give me exactly what I wanted if it meant he wouldn¡¯t die. Even if it meant sacrificing his own daughter. Tess walks in with a determined look on her face. She looks like she¡¯s ready for battle when she can¡¯t know what¡¯s about to happen. She¡¯s wearing a baby pink sweater, bell bottom jeans, and a pair of fluffy slippers. Out of her work clothes and evening gowns, she looks warm andfortable. Completely pluckable. I haven¡¯t seen her in a week and something ckens in my stomach atying eyes on her again. I take note of my body¡¯s reaction with dispassionate interest. Now that I know the perky tits she has hidden underneath all that cashmere, I want to rip it off her with my teeth. ¡°You rang, Father?¡± She finally spots me standing arms crossed in the far corner of his office and her expression grows first rmed, then wary. Heat sshes across her cheeks, whether out of surprise or arousal, I¡¯m not sure. She narrows her eyes on me, seeming to forget that her father is still in the room with us. That is, until he speaks. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re getting married,¡± Alex deres. The announcement has her head whipping back around to look at her father. ¡°What?¡± She exims, bewildered. ¡°To whom?¡± ¡°To me,amor.¡± I¡¯d made my decision the moment she¡¯d told me the senior citizen who¡¯d danced with her thought he was going to marry her. That was thest time another man was going to touch her. Outrage twists the features of Tess¡¯s face when she sees my satisfied smile. She looks more horrified than she did standing next to Angelo Leone¡¯s dead body. She looks away from me, promptly dismissing me to focus her attention back on her father. My eyelid twitches in response. I¡¯ll make her pay for that. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± He stares emotionlessly back at her, saying nothing. Shock makes her voice raise an octave. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why? You said I had ayear! It¡¯s only been a month; Tristan isn¡¯t evening back until the summer. Why did you change your mind?¡± When he doesn¡¯t answer, focusing back on his papers instead, she continues, words spilling out of her mouth a mile a minute. ¡°I have a job, I have projects, I havens. You can¡¯t just make this decision without talking to me first!¡± I stand quietly aside, watching this all unfold. Noble doesn¡¯t even deign to lift his head and look at her. When he still doesn¡¯t speak, she rushes towards the desk and ms her hands on the surface to get his attention. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me! This is mylife.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my daughter, which means your life is mine,¡± he says detachedly. ¡°I decide what to do with it.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t do this,¡± she begs, changing tactics. ¡°Please.¡± Her voice wobbles. If she was asking for anything other than not marrying me, I¡¯d have moved heaven and earth to make it happen for her. ¡°It¡¯s already done.¡± A sob crawls up her throat but she swallows it before any tears fall, much to my chagrin. I want her tears. I want her anger. I want her smiles and herughter. I want it all. That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking it all. Understanding dawns on her face as she seems to grasp the finality of her situation. Still, she refuses to ept it. ¡°If you¡¯re intent on marrying me off this quickly then please,please, pick someone else.Anybodyelse. Not him.¡± She doesn¡¯t even look at me when she says it. My mood ckens in an instant like a rolling storm thundering through my body and mind. ¡°He¡¯s a criminal!¡± Looking at her profile, I can see how panicked her eyes are. They touch on his arm, still wrapped up in a sling. ¡°I-I know what he did to you, Father. I know it wasn¡¯t an ident, that he actually attacked you. I saw him kill a manst week. He¡¯s amurdererand you want me to marry him? Do you not care about me at all?¡± I hate how small and brittle her voice sounds. He better not answer her question honestly, even if the answer is painfully obvious ¨C Alex Noble cares only about himself. I take a step forward and re at him when his mouth opens to respond. He flinches and looks down at the contract Arturo had drawn up. He signs it and looks back at his daughter. ¡°If you know that, then you know this tantrum you¡¯re throwing will only lead to unsavory consequences for you. Word of advice? I suggest you do whatever he wants.¡±N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°I suggest you refrain from giving her any advice,¡± I snap. She¡¯s no longer his to worry about, if he ever did. Her eyes follow his uninjured hand as he picks up the contract and extends it towards me. Desperation mars her beautiful eyes. She detes when I take it and smile at therge signature decorating the bottom of the page. But her fight is back just as swiftly. She shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t care what agreement you¡¯ve made or what paperwork you¡¯ve signed. I won¡¯t do it.¡± With that, she turns on her heels and stalks out of the office. ¡°Tess!¡± Noble shouts after her. ¡°Let her go,¡± I order. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her.¡± He nods wordlessly and gives me an anxious look, probably wondering why I¡¯m still here. ¡°Her job is important to her,¡± I note. ¡°She gets to keep it.¡± ¡°But I¨C¡± ¡°She gets,¡± I repeat slowly, looming over him and setting a menacing hand on his shoulder, ¡°to keep it.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I fold the contract and tuck it into the inside pocket of my jacket, keeping the paperwork that proves Tess is mine close to the thundering beat in my chest. ¡°This is only the first part, Noble. I expect payment for the interest portion to be sent to me by end of day.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Marco walks into the office with his machete hanging loosely by his side and gives Alex a sadistic grin. I sp his shoulder and look back at Noble. ¡°You remember Marco from our little visit to your office. He¡¯s going to stay with you until it¡¯s done. Consider it my insurance policy in case you have a change of heart.¡± With the debt settled and the financials ironed out, I leave and go in search of my runaway fianc¨¦e. Chapter 11 Iprowl the dark hallways of her house, one floor at a time, checking every room and passing four guards stationed at each level of the home along the way. Noble didn¡¯t used to keep so much full-time security at his private residence. He must have hired them after our little talk at his office. I¡¯m ttered. They make no move to stop me, all of them seasoned enough to know that would be a losing battle. I finally track Tess down. She¡¯s not cowering in her bedroom as I expected. In fact, she¡¯s not hiding at all. She¡¯s standing at the end of the hallway on the fifth and final floor, staring out of the porthole window at the pouring rain. Moving within the shadows, I approach quietly. I know I don¡¯t make a sound but Tess must feel the shift in the air because I see the moment she knows I¡¯m here. Her shoulders tense and her neck straightens. She whips around, fury and betrayal and heartache stamped on every feature of her face. Her cheeks are dry, no sign of tears in sight. She¡¯s incandescent with rage but fully in control of her emotions. I hadn¡¯t nned on defiling her until she was officially my wife, but her irate expression is making me question all my carefullyid ns. I want to wipe the sneer off her lips by shoving my dick down her throat. Ending my celibacy by hate fucking my fianc¨¦e is exactly what the doctor ordered. I can feel the muscles in my neck loosening just thinking about it. ¡°Stay away from me,¡± she hisses. ¡°I meant what I said back there. I won¡¯t marry you and you can¡¯t force me to.¡± How little she seems to know about my world. ¡°Of course I can. And I will. I have no problem dragging you kicking and screaming down the aisle if that¡¯s what it¡¯s going to take. In fact, I might just prefer it. I¡¯ve always liked the fight.¡± I prowl closer to her, keeping my movement progressive so she doesn¡¯t see me approach. This time, her voice does shake. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Her lower lip trembles slightly and I find myself wanting to lean forward and bite it. ¡°I told you; you caught my attention.¡± She gapes at me. ¡°So, you force a marriage between us?¡± Her eyes track my tongue as it darts out to moisten my lips. ¡°It was the only way I could have you.¡± Tess crosses her arms and tips her chin up at me. ¡°I¡¯d rather throw myself out of this window than marry you.¡± ¡°Dramatic,¡± I quip drolly. Her eyes sh with anger. ¡°You think this is funny?¡± ¡°I think this is wholly unnecessary. You¡¯re wasting your breath and my time throwing a tantrum that I do, in fact, find very amusing. You¡¯re lucky I seem to have developed patience and a sense of humor where you¡¯re concerned,amor, I¡¯m not famously known for having either. But this only ends one way, no matter how much you fight me ¡ª with my ring on your finger and you warming my bed.¡± Her eyes widen enough that I can see how her pupils dte. As much as she wants to deny it, her body is far more agreeable to my proposal than her mind is. ¡°You disgust me.¡±This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°So, you¡¯ve imed.¡± ¡°You have no moral code, no ethics,¡± she continues, undeterred. ¡°You ruin people¡¯s lives for the fun of it. Your world is nothing but pain and death and you revel in it. I¡¯ve seen it. Seen how you toy with people just because you can.¡± Iugh at that, a dark sound that rattles up my throat, and creep even closer. She¡¯s less than a foot away from me now but so angry that she doesn¡¯t notice I have her trapped in a dark corner with no escape. This close, I can smell her perfume again. It¡¯s intoxicating. The scent is so much moodier than she is with her pink clothes and soft eyes and blonde hair. It¡¯splicated. Layered. Spicy, like the personality she reveals when she¡¯s around me. I¡¯ve been watching her. She¡¯s a good girl when I¡¯m not there. Goes to work, does what she¡¯s told, smiles when she¡¯s being belittled. It¡¯s only when she goes toe to toe with me that the sparkes out. Her attitude intrigues and amuses me, it¡¯s why I let her speak to me the way she does. I¡¯d have slit the throat of any other long ago. Her chest heaves with the angry breaths she drags in. I want to bite those lips until they bleed. Maybe I¡¯ll have myst name tattooed on the bottom one since she¡¯s so repelled by the thought of wearing it. ¡°Get your head out of your SWOT analyses and spreadsheets and into real life, Tess. There¡¯s a very real game of thrones that¡¯s fought in every single city in the world, and I¡¯m a yer in it, just as you are. For every white knight, there¡¯s a ck one. Where there¡¯s good, there¡¯s evil lurking right beneath the surface. That¡¯s the checks and bnces of humanity. That¡¯s how the worldworks. I¡¯m a facilitator of the Underworld, not its creator. That darkness exists whether I¡¯m involved in it or not, I just happen to master it.¡± I reach up and hook a strand of her hair around my finger, still not touching her otherwise. With every passing minute, I¡¯m losing the remaining grip I have on my control. ¡°I am a criminal, a viin, a monster. The devil. I¡¯m proud of it. It¡¯s who I am, it¡¯s in my blood, it¡¯s a goddamn physical craving that I feed every single fucking day. Power and influence and crushing anyone who¡¯s in my way, those are the only things that matter to me. But now there¡¯s you,¡± I growl. ¡°And you¡¯re a distraction. I don¡¯t know why, I don¡¯t understand it, but I don¡¯t need to understand it to take you simply because I can. Simply because I want to. So I am. I don¡¯t care what you think of me and I don¡¯t give a fuck how much you fight this, because now you¡¯remine. Whether you want to be or not. You should be thanking whatever god you believe in that it¡¯s me who wants you ¨C that I¡¯ll do anything to have you ¨C and not anybody else. Or would you prefer I leave you to that pervert who groped you on the dance floor?¡± Tess¡¯s eyes ping rapidly between mine, caught off guard by my diatribe. Her head is tilted back to look up at me. I pin her against the wall and bring my face down until mere inches separate it from hers. I note how her breath hitches, how her pulse jumps on the side of her neck. I note how my hands shake with the need for this fix. ¡°The only thing that separates me from people like your father is that I¡¯m honest about my quest for power at any cost. That¡¯s it,¡± I tell her, my voice dropping an octave. ¡°You¡¯re being naive if you think your multibillion-dorpany, your perfect house and fancy cars can exist without what I do. The white elites have convinced themselves that they¡¯re the righteous simply because their oppression of people happens via the confines of legitimate business and not out in the open or on the streets. But we¡¯re two sides of the same coin, you and I. One can¡¯t exist without the other.¡± Tess puts both palms on my chest to shove me, but she hesitates the moment she touches me. I use that split second to press against her, molding my body to her curves. ¡°Underneath the pristine exterior of your life, can you really say your world is any different than mine?¡± I murmur, bending until my face hovers right above the crook of her neck. ¡°Your father beats your mother. He sold you to me to cover his gambling debts. I¡¯d say that his morals and those precious ethics you want to lord over me are just as pitch ck as mine. You can see that for the truth that it is or continue to bury your head in the sand, that¡¯s up to you. Like I said, your opinion of me doesn¡¯t weigh in the bnce here.¡± I curl a finger inside the high neck of her sweater and slowly pull it down and away from her skin. Her heartbeat is racing, galloping dementedly at her throat. ¡°Now tell me,¡± I purr, ¡°do you always wear pink?¡± It¡¯s irresistible, unstoppable even, the need I have to finally touch her. I¡¯ve waited long enough. It feels like years when it¡¯s only been weeks. So I finally,finally, lean in and take it. My tongue moves past my lips and makes contact with the now exposed skin of her corbone. I groan loudly and she shudders in response, making my hard cock throb. I yank her cor further down, satisfied when I hear fabric rip. And then I run my tongue from her corbone and up, slowly and deliciously up, until I find the soft spot behind her ear. I¡¯m assaulted by dangerously unhinged thoughts and cravings of cannibalism as she hits my taste buds with an explosion of vor. It¡¯s like the experience of having pop rocks for the first time ¡ª surprising, confusing, addicting, and it immediately has you going back in for more. Before I can go further, a hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me backwards. I was so absorbed by her that I didn¡¯t even feel the person creeping up on us. She dulls my senses, murdering my honed survival skills with just one look. She¡¯s fucking dangerous. And I¡¯m fucking furious we¡¯ve been interrupted. ¡°Get your hands off Miss Noble,¡± a voice grunts at me. My back is to my attacker so I can¡¯t see him. Whoever he is, he¡¯s a dead man. His forearmes against my throat as his other hand holds a knife and swings it straight down towards my face. Amateur. I duck under his arm and twist it behind his back, holding him prone. It¡¯s a fifth security guard. I should have known to ount for him, that there¡¯d be one assigned to this floor like every other, but I saw Tess and I forgot everything else. He¡¯s younger than the others, the poor idiot. They probably put him up here because they thought the risk to him would be minimal. It¡¯s too bad he has to die, his parents will probably miss him. I elbow him in the face and take advantage of the fact that I¡¯ve stunned him to grab his other hand and redirect it towards him. I use his hand to plunge his own knife swiftly into his throat. His blood sprays out of the punctured artery and sshes across my face. There¡¯s something satisfying about its warmth. It was pumping dutifully through his veins before he decided to make an enemy of me. Now it¡¯s not. Tess screams in the background. The guard¡¯s eyes are wide and startled, staring uprehendingly up at me, his hands grasping at the air as he slowly begins to fall. It all happened so fast his brain didn¡¯t have time to register that he¡¯d moved from attacker to attacked before the knife was embedded in his throat. He¡¯s dead before he hits the floor. Chapter 12 Agaping pit of fear opens in my stomach when I watch the security guard fall to the ground, lifeless. I don¡¯t know his name, don¡¯t know anything about him except that he died protecting me. I¡¯m petrified as I look up at Thiago. He¡¯s covered in his blood, reveling in it. It¡¯s dripping from his forehead, down his eyelids and onto his lips. He steps over the guard¡¯s body with deranged nonchnce like the man is nothing more than trash that he doesn¡¯t want soiling his shoes, andes to me. He presses me into the corner with no escape and his armse down on either side of me, caging me in. I never thought there¡¯de a time where I¡¯d yearn for the boredom I felt a month ago. ¡°I¡¯ll kill anyone that gets between you and me,amor. Take that as my first wedding vow,¡± Thiago says with a grim, evil smile. ¡°Now where were we?¡± My throat is closed, constricted. I can¡¯t make any wordse out no matter how hard I try. All I can do is watch as lust rolls through his gaze once more, thick and blinding, and then he bends his head and shoves it back into the crook of my neck, going back to his carnal attack like he didn¡¯t just ughter another man in front of me. I jump when his lips close around the skin on the side of my throat. He suctions it into his mouth, his tongueving feverishly at it. I¡¯m no longer in control of my own body. I have no idea what¡¯s happening. I¡¯m staring into the dead man¡¯s eyes as Thiago sucks at my throat like an animal. I should be horrified. Nauseated. I am.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . I am. But my body is a riot of emotions and none of them have anything to do with disgust. ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± I say, searching desperately for aplete sentence. For the first time in my life, my body masters my mind. I feel shut out of all rational thoughts and who am I without those? His handes up to cup the other side of my face, then slides into my hair. He grips it and pulls my head to one side, giving him better ess to my neck. He runs his nose up the expanse of my throat. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m a murderer and you hate me, we¡¯ve already been over this,¡± Thiago rasps gutturally against my ear. ¡°But here¡¯s something new. Apparently, death makes you wet.¡± The rumble in his voice tells me how turned on he is by this new discovery. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± I pant. My voice pitches up when his hand slides underneath my sweater and makes contact with the skin of my stomach. ¡°Oh.¡± His palm slides up the ne of my abdomen. The contact is barely a graze and I feel so sensitive, fragile almost, because of it. He curls a hand around my waist, fingers digging into my skin, possessive and greedy, adding pressure to his touch that I didn¡¯t know I needed and pulling me closer against him. He¡¯s stroking me exactly where Franklin hurt me, erasing bad memories with what should be worse memories but is just pure, primal arousal instead. ¡°Look at you,amor. I¡¯m barely touching you.¡± His fingers ghost down to my lower back and tease the skin at the hem of my jeans. ¡°And you¡¯re a trembling, whimpering mess.¡± I realize that I am shaking. That I¡¯m clinging to him like I¡¯m drowning and he¡¯s my life raft. That my eyes are closed and my lips are parted. ¡°It¡¯s the shock,¡± I deny. I hate how breathy my voice sounds. ¡°Is it the shock that¡¯s making your pussy wet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not!¡± I cry out, embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯mnot.¡± How could he possibly know that? I push him this time, but he refuses to budge or let me go. Instead, he presses me against his body until Ifeelhim against my stomach. My eyes fly open to find him staring down at me with a dark, erotic look on his face. I realize he¡¯s studying every single expression flitting across my features with unflinching intensity. He likes the way my mouth parts when I feel his cock against me, I can see it in his hooded gaze. ¡°You are. I can feel it in the way you¡¯re panting. Those hot breaths hit the side of my face every time I touch you. You¡¯re aching for me. You¡¯re archingintome, desperate to get your pussy anywhere near my cock.¡± His voice is ragged with his arousal. He pulls my hair and yanks my head back, keeping me under his control like it¡¯s a leash. ¡°Underneath all that dainty pink, those professional suits, and that socially eptable behavior, I think you¡¯re hiding a secret.¡± I gasp and a smug smirk pulls at his lips. ¡°Do you even know it? Are you even conscious of the dark urges you have, of the fantasies that you suffocate inside you because you think good girls like you shouldn¡¯t have them?¡± His voice is liquid lust, intoxicating and persuasive as he rasps low, ¡°I want them all. They belong to me. Give them to me and I¡¯ll do every single one of them to you. Tell me all the dark, deviant fantasies you dream of and I¡¯ll teach you how to be a good girl and a whore for me, just like you want.¡± My pussy clenches painfully in response. ¡°You¡¯re a lunatic and you¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± That deranged look is back in his eye again and I swallow thickly in anticipation. Excitement sizzles treacherously in my veins, impossible to extinguish no matter how hard I try. ¡°Prove it.¡± All of a sudden, Thiago¡¯s hands are on the button of my jeans, flicking it open, and I¡¯m panicked at the thought that he¡¯s going to find out the truth. So I pummel my fists on his chest and shove him away with all my might. Desperation gives me strength that I don¡¯t have, but I¡¯m still no match for him. He grabs my hands like they¡¯re nothing more than a slight annoyance and pins them behind my back. I feel somethinge around them and then they¡¯re shoved tightly together against my will. I try separating them, but they won¡¯t move. stic digs into my wrists and I realize he used a zip tie to bind them behind my back. ¡°Does fighting turn you on, is that the first of your fantasies?¡± Thiago wonders aloud, chuckling darkly. The zipper of my pantses down and I feel air touch the skin above the line of my panties. I can¡¯t do anything to stop him but arousal douses any rm I¡¯m feeling and somehow he knows it. ¡°Do you prefer being tied up like this so I can discover your lies for myself? So you can pretend you don¡¯t want it when you¡¯re actually desperate for it?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± I cry anyway. ¡°You said you¡¯d only touch me if I was willing!¡± ¡°Your body is willing,amor. More than willing,begging, to be touched. It¡¯s my husbandly duty to give you what it wants.¡± His eyes drop to look at the triangle of fabric now visible through the opening of my zipper. When he sees the pink of my panties, his eyes turn ck with lust. The gold ispletely gone, reced by a ck hole that sucks all the light in the vicinity into its depths. ¡°Now be quiet, I need to savor this. I only get to see my fianc¨¦e¡¯s pussy for the first time once.¡± All pretense of civility between us is gone. He skims his fingers reverently along the top of my panties, leaving a scorching trail of fire wherever he touches me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is about you that has me so enthralled,¡± he murmurs, gaze almost hypnotized. His eyes are pinned unwaveringly where his fingers brush against the top of my panties. Thiago slips a finger right below the band of my panties and stays there, his presence almost like a threat. Then he runs it the entire length of the hemline, sneaking in his remaining fingers. I shudder at his words and touch, my skin heated. But I shake my head and struggle, more afraid of how I¡¯ll react if he touches me there than of what he¡¯ll find. ¡°Please, no,¡± I beg. ¡°What are you hiding from me,amor?¡± ¡°Nothing.Nothing! You¡¯re assaulting me,¡± I say, hoping that¡¯ll scare him away. But I should know better than to try to appeal to the devil¡¯s good side. It doesn¡¯t exist. He smiles and looks at me, face still streaked with a dead man¡¯s blood. ¡°I¡¯m getting the truth.¡± I turn my head aside as he shoves his hand down into my panties. This is going to be so much more humiliating if I have to look him in the eye when he discovers what a liar I am and I refuse to do it. He doesn¡¯t give me a choice. He grips my face and forces me to look at him. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to touch you. I can smell your arousal from here. But because I know you love data and likely need empirical proof¡­¡± With almost relieving finality, his fingers part my folds and slide into the valley of my pussy. My soaking wet pussy. ¡°¡­Is this enough for you?¡± It¡¯s almost cruel how he barely touches me. He just nces over my clit and entrance and then immediately pulls out of my panties. Thiago¡¯s smile is arrogantly victorious as he shows me his middle and fourth fingers, both of them glistening and covered in the slickness of my arousal. I whimper, defeated. But he¡¯s no gracious victor. He squeezes my jaw until my lips part and shoves both fingers into my mouth. ¡°Taste how much you want me,¡± hemands. My eyes widen in outraged surprise but I have no time to process it. His other hand takes the ce of the first and pushes back into my panties. He slips between my folds to my entrance and shoves a finger inside me. ¡°Omf¨C¡± My exmation is muffled around the fingers he¡¯s thrusting down my throat. Thiago pulls out of my pussy and sucks that finger into his own mouth. I watch as his eyes roll back into his head, pleasure contorting his features. He pushes the finger in and out of his mouth in tandem with the ones still in mine. There¡¯s something so unbelievably obscene about both of us licking my juices together and I¡¯m d he¡¯s no longer in my pussy so he can¡¯t feel how I just clenched at the sight. ¡°You taste so good, your juices are all over my hand,¡± he says, moving to lick his palm and wrist like a rabid animal. He¡¯s right though, my arousal soaks his hand. ¡°Are you ready to admit it yet?¡± He pulls his fingers out of my mouth to let me answer. ¡°That means nothing,¡± I stammer. ¡°It¡¯s my body¡¯s uncontroble reaction.¡± Something dangerous sparks in Thiago¡¯s eyes. He yanks my hair again, sending a jolt of delicious pain running up my neck. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t tell anyone how desperate you are to fuck your criminal of a fianc¨¦.¡± I gasp when he pushes a finger back inside me, thrusting it in to the hilt. His hold on my hair keeps me from toppling into him but I¡¯m helpless to keep my eyelids from fluttering shut. I can¡¯t take his hot-blooded stare on my face any longer, it¡¯s too intimate. Just when I think I can¡¯t take any more, he presses a second finger next to the first and shoves inside me. I hiss at the tight fit. My pussy is stretched tautly around his digits and they¡¯re only about halfway in. His mouthes down to my ear, making me shudder. ¡°Are you a virgin?¡± he growls. ¡°No,¡± I say smugly, happy to show him I¡¯m not just his possession. He bites the line of my jaw, his teething viciously down on my skin. Pain explodes along the side of my face before he licks it away. ¡°How many?¡± he drawls. ¡°How many men am I going to have to fuck out of your tight cunt?¡± I¡¯ve always hated overly possessive, controlling men, so logically, I should hate everything about the brutish, caveman way he¡¯s demanding answers. Logically. Instead, his crude, primal words heat my blood until I feel like I¡¯m about tobust. How is he doing this, how is he rewiring everything I thought I knew about myself? ¡°I¡¯m spoiled goods, already used up,¡± I answer haltingly. ¡°Get yourself a virgin bride, you don¡¯t want me.¡± Poison settles in my stomach at my own challenge. It straight up boils when I think about Adriana and how I¡¯m already just a recement for his real love. ¡°It¡¯s not about starting, it¡¯s about finishing,¡± he purrs, unfazed. ¡°And I¡¯m going to be thest man to ever fuck this sweet pussy.¡± He thrusts in and out of me, loosening me, making me lose my ever loving mind. ¡°A hundred,¡± I gasp. ¡°A hundred men.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He pauses, then shoves his thick fingers inside me to the hilt. I cry out at the roughness of his intrusion, at the stretch, at the impossible feeling of his fingers so deep inside me. ¡°And you¡¯re still this tight?¡± His words are teasing, revealing he doesn¡¯t believe me for a second. He¡¯s toying with me again, except this time it¡¯s in a game where he¡¯s a grand master and I¡¯m just a beginner. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you¡¯ve fucked,amor. I doubt any of them meant anything to you, and if they did, you¡¯ll forget about them the moment my cock sinks into this tight pussy and ims it as his home.¡± His thrusts turn rougher, punishing, as he inches his face towards mine until a hair¡¯s breadth separates our lips. For a moment, I think he¡¯s going to kiss me and instead of turning away, lust makes me tip my chin upwards. ¡°But from this day onwards your pussy ismineand mine alone. If I see you flirting with someone else, if I see you dancing with, smiling at, or entertaining another man in any way.¡± He pauses, his mouth stretching into a cold, terrifying smile. ¡°You¡¯ll find out just how the devil came by his reputation.¡± Indecipherable moans and cries fall from my lips as he brings me closer and closer to the edge of a cliff I didn¡¯t even seeing. He¡¯s careful to avoid touching my clit, knowing one brush of his thumb would make mee apart. He curls his fingers inside me and brushes against a soft spot that has me seeing stars. I¡¯m right there, right at the edge about to crest past that delicious pause before I tumble off the side of the cliff when he abruptly pulls his fingers out. I sag against him, my legs giving out. Ragged breaths rip from my throat as I try to make sense of what just happened. I¡¯m frustrated and unfinished but I can¡¯t scream at him for not making mee when I was screaming at him for touching me in the first ce. I peer up at him from below my eyshes to find his gaze already trained on my face. ¡°You don¡¯t get to cum until you¡¯re legally mine.¡± Arousal makes his voice throaty and hoarse. ¡°That¡¯ll never happen.¡± His hard cock is still pressed against me, throbbing with need. His eyes drop to the stubborn set of my lips and his pupils dte once more. He reaches between us and with two fingers, spreads my arousal across my lips. I¡¯m mid-gasp when he bends his head and ims my mouth. Shock freezes me. Then, slow, unexpected electricity sizzles sharply through my body when our lips touch. Cinnamon explodes on my tongue, the remaining spiciness of his candy making me dizzy. He tastes like darkness. Like blood spilled and bad decisions. He wraps a hand around my nape and angles my face up towards him. The other digs into my hair and grips it tightly. His tongue parts my lips and dives into my mouth. He doesn¡¯t ask, his strokes tentative and beguiling. No, he takes with a dominance that steals my breath away. The softness of his lips is in stark contrast with the assault of his tongue. He wars passionately with mine, conquering it like he conquers everything else. This kiss has the gravitational pull of a ck hole and I¡¯m sucked in with no hope of escape. Distantly, I¡¯m aware of one hand leaving me, of feeling cold metal against my skin but not even registering that I should be afraid, and then my own hands are free. He licks the arousal from my lips. A moan of pure male satisfaction leaves his throat and hits me between my legs, reigniting the still frustrated spot. He bites my lower lip at the same time as I feel pressure on my hand, distracting me, and then he rips his mouth off mine. Desire makes him look almost unrecognizable. His chest rises and falls angrily as he pulls in ragged breath after ragged breath. ¡°Keep telling yourself that,¡± he growls, voice roughened by lust. I don¡¯t even know what he¡¯s saying that in response to. The kiss has wiped my memories of any prior conversation and stolen the breath from my lungs. ¡°Be a good girl for me,amor,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ll be back to take you soon. For good this time.¡± He¡¯s gone before I can say or do anything, slinking off and disappearing into the shadows with an ease that shows how dangerous he is. He leaves me with a dead body, blood on my lips, and raging arousal with no outlet. The haze of lust recedes quickly with his departure. The sobering realization of everything that just happened hits me in stark color. Looking down at my left hand, I find a massive twinkling diamond upying the better half of my fourth finger. He slipped it on when he freed my hands and kissed me, and like a lust-struck fool, I didn¡¯t even notice. I stare at the diamond and see it for what it is. A life sentence as the wife of a criminal. A life metaphorically ¡ª and potentially literally ¡ª cored to someone I despise. A life where I¡¯m no more in control than I am now, where fear and violence reign. A life that is not my own. In the end, I was right. The devil in my nightmares dide for me. So I do the only thing that I can think of, the only thing that makes sense to me. A decision that¡¯s both logical and emotional. I run. Chapter 13 I¡¯m at my home in Knightsbridge, working with Arturo on ironing out thetest contract with ckdown when Marco walks in. Immediately, I know he¡¯s bringing bad news. I can tell by the look on his face that whatever it is he¡¯s about to tell me, I¡¯m not going to like it. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. ¡°Jefe,¡± he says, pausing there. I¡¯ve never seen Marco at a loss for words. Arturo frowns at him. I settle back into my chair and bounce it a few times, looking at him appraisingly. ¡°Is it the Italians? Did you learn something new about Adriana?¡± ¡°No,¡± he says, grimacing. ¡°It¡¯s Tess.¡± I stop my chair mid-bounce, and my heart momentarily follows. ¡°What about her?¡± She was fine when I left her. If something happened to her, if her father did something¡­There are two hundred and six bones in the human body and I¡¯ll filet every single one out of him like a fish. ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± I stand abruptly, cing both of my palms on my desk. Heat crawls up my neck at his words. ¡°What do you mean gone? Where is she?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,jefe. We put a couple falcons on her like you requested and they lost her.¡± ¡°Where?¡± He winces. ¡°They¡¯re not sure. She seemed to be following her normal routine. She took her car to work, they watched her walk into the Noble Group building, watched here out around lunchtime with a couple of colleagues and head toBistro Barb¨¨s. ording to them she returned to the office around one thirty and never came back out. They haven¡¯t seen her since.¡± I look down at my watch. ¡°It¡¯s noon right now.¡± He grimaces again, his expression pained. ¡°This was the day before yesterday.¡± An arctic chill lowers the temperature of the room. My palms clench into tight, bloodless fists. My ears must be deceiving me because surely I¡¯m hearing the informationing out of his mouth incorrectly. ¡°You¡¯re telling me they waited almost forty-eight hours to tell me she was missing?¡± ¡°They wanted to make sure she was really gone before they gged it to me. I came as soon as I heard.¡± I roar furiously, pounding my fists on the table with such force that everything jumps up half an inch,nding haphazardly back on the surface a secondter. ¡°Kill them,¡± I order cold-bloodedly. ¡°Thiago¨C¡± Arturo starts. ¡°Kill them. Send their heads to their families, wherever they are.¡± It¡¯s standard punishment for betraying the cartel. They deserve no better fate. ¡°Consider it done,¡± Marco answers with a sober nod. The emotion I¡¯m feeling is unfamiliar. Something akin to agitation. Our engagement hasn¡¯t been announced so the risk to her is low, but her position as my fianc¨¦e makes her vulnerable. Tess being missing triggers shbacks to when I found out Adriana had been taken. I never got her back. I won¡¯t let the same happen to Tess. My features shake under the weight of my fury and uncertainty. My being this rattled by news that she¡¯s disappeared is concerning for a whole other set of reasons. ¡°Are you sure she isn¡¯t at home? Or that she didn¡¯t stay overnight in her office for some reason?¡± ¡°No, I sent other men to her home. Noble confirmed she isn¡¯t there, that she hasn¡¯te back since she went to work Monday. I have men at her office now¡­Hold on, this is an update from them.¡± He looks down at his phone, the screen lighting up with a notification. He reads whatever message he just received, his eyes shing before he throws me an indecipherable look. I have to actively work to keep my breathing regted. My clenched fists hold my weight on the desk, keeping me stable. If he¡¯s about to tell me she¡¯s dead my reaction is going to be less than pleasant. ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t at her office.¡± I breathe an internal sigh of relief. ¡°But there was a note on her desk.¡± ¡°A demand for ransom?¡± ¡°No.¡± He extends the phone to me. ¡°You should read it for yourself.¡± I take it and look at the photo he has pulled up. It¡¯s a picture of a crisp, white notecard monogrammed with Tess¡¯s initials,ying squarely on her desk. I zoom in closer and read the words written in tidy handwriting. I will never be yours, legally or otherwise. By the time you find this, I¡¯ll be long gone. Get yourself another ything and don¡¯te looking for me. Screw you, Tess I straighten, my spine uncoiling as every vertebra slots back into ce. Amusement curls the corner of my lips, even as anger lurks just beneath the surface. So, she made a run for it. A move that¡¯s both foolish and brave, just like I told her she was. At least she¡¯s safe. Where others have thrown themselves at me in the past, she literally chose to run away from her life and home just to escape me. The unfeeling sociopath in me gets hard knowing I can have that kind of uprooting effect on her. She continues to be a surprise wrapped in an enigma, and one I¡¯m even more desperate to get my hands on than ever. My fianc¨¦e wants to y? So be it, we can y. And when I drag her back to me, it¡¯ll be my pleasure to show her exactly what the punishment is when you lose a game against me. ¡°I¡¯m going after her,¡± I dere. She has a two-day headstart on me which puts me at a disadvantage, but tracking down people who hide from me is what I do for a living. There¡¯s no way an innocent, sheltered twenty-five-year-old London girl can get the best of me. ¡°Thiago, you can¡¯t.¡± I nt Arturo a murderous look, poison seeping into my gaze. ¡°Tell me again what I can and can¡¯t do.¡± He stands to match my posture. ¡°Respectfully,jefe, we need you here,¡± he reasons, picking up the contract we were just reading over. ¡°We need to get these back to ckdown this week. There¡¯s producting in from the North Coast from a new supplier of your father¡¯s who you need to meet. Our cleaners won¡¯t be able to take on this new load with the turnaround we need. We have a couple other names but they¡¯re going to need to be vetted. You¡¯re the only one who can do that. Plus, there¡¯s the Switzend issue; if we¡¯re going to transfer funds to the Caymans, Bachmann will want to meet with you.¡± I scrub my hand over my face and think. Business is booming and that means we¡¯re having a shit load of expansion-rted issues getting our money cleaned and housed somewhere untraceable byw enforcement. I can¡¯t be everywhere so I¡¯ve turned over running some operations to Arturo and Marco, but I still oversee the majority. It¡¯s an impossible time for me to be chasing after a runaway fianc¨¦e. ¡°When I said to get a wife, I didn¡¯t say get a new headache,¡± he adds cautiously. ¡°Your engagement wasn¡¯t announced so there won¡¯t be a reputational hit from letting her go and finding someone else¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t push a wife on me and then tell me you don¡¯t like the one I chose. I want and I willhaveTess Noble. Understood?¡± He nods, although unhappy lines remain around his mouth. He hasn¡¯t been shy about his dislike of my choice but I¡¯ve just ignored him. ¡°I want her found, Marco,¡± I snarl, mming my fist once more against the desk. ¡°Yes,jefe.¡±N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°When you find her, you don¡¯ty a hand on her, you hear me? I¡¯ll deal with her myself.¡± He nods and awaits my dismissal. I look at them both, one after the other, and then address Arturo. ¡°He has two weeks to find her, Turo. If she¡¯s still missing after that, I¡¯ll go after her myself and you won¡¯t stop me. I don¡¯t care how much security I need to bring with me or how many back and forths I¡¯ll need to make to London to keep the business running, you¡¯ll make it happen.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± he agrees before turning towards Marco. ¡°Better find her fast, we can¡¯t afford to lose the boss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he assures. ¡°I¡¯ll find her.¡± Chapter 14 One monthter ¡°Another churro and cafe con leche, se?ora?¡± I lift my eyes from the pages of my book and look up at the young waitress. She looks in her early twenties, just a couple of years younger than I am and she¡¯s smiling warmly down at me as she clears my cup and te and puts them on her tray. It¡¯s the middle of the afternoon on a cold winter day and I¡¯m sitting in a heated patio with a view of the?a de Sagrada Familia,enjoying tapas and reading what¡¯s turning out to be a nail biter of a crime novel. Life is good. ¡°Why not?¡± I answer with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± I¡¯ve been in Spain for three days and I think I might never leave. Life is so peaceful and rxed here. Unhurried. Every moment feels like it can be savored. It¡¯s so different to the hustle and bustle of LA where I first went when I left London. I enjoyed the extravagant, over the top, fast-paced way Americans lived. I went to parties and fashion shows and movie premieres. During the weekend, I went hiking or swimming in the ocean. When I felt like I¡¯d seen it all, I went to Jamaica. I tried cliff diving in Montego Bay and smoked a joint ¨C excitingly, my first ever ¨C with a ride operator at a local theme park. From there, I took a flight to Casanca. I camped in the desert and ate the most delicious foods I¡¯ve ever had in my life, making my way up the country to Tangier where I took a ferry to Mga before eventually making it to Barcelona. To resume what I¡¯ve been doing since I¡¯ve been gone ¡ª I¡¯ve beenliving. Doing all the things I dreamed of my entire life, crossing item after item off my very long bucket list. All while staying one step ahead of the people I know are looking for me.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. I know I should be further away, that Spain is a little too close to Ennd forfort, but that¡¯s what I¡¯m hopinghe¡¯llthink. That his search will be focused on tiny remote viges in Thand and not a major city a couple hours flight time away from him. After what happened with Thiago at my house, I ran to Wiz in a panic and told him I needed to run. He helped me transfer arge sum of money into an ount under his name and gave me unrestricted ess to it. He used one of his contacts to get me a couple fake passports under different identities. He even set up an encrypted email address I could use to keep working remotely without being traced. In short, he helped me disappear. I didn¡¯t tell him why I was running and, much to my relief, he never asked. He thinks I¡¯m hiding from my father. I know because a week after I ran, he told me he¡¯d detected hacks on everything in my name ¨C my old credit cards, my phone, my email, my social media ¨C and that my father had put trackers on them which would ping him if I ever essed them. I didn¡¯t correct his assumption, even though I knew who was really behind it. Thiago and his men have been looking for me since the moment I left. It¡¯s why I keep moving every week or so, to ensure that I never stay in a ce long enough to leave a trail that could lead him right to me. When I close my eyes at night, I can imagine those brooding eyes and the angry sh of his lips. How furious he must have been when he discovered I¡¯d disappeared. The way his fist probably balled up the note I left him before hurling it at the wall. He must have hated that I vanished from right under his nose. He seems to me like a man who doesn¡¯t appreciate his things being taken from him. And that¡¯s exactly what he thinks of me as ¨C- his possession. He¡¯ll eventually tire of looking for me and will find himself another bride. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll think about going back, because I can¡¯t run forever. So, good riddance. And yet¡­ It¡¯s frustrating, that¡®yet¡¯, because why has he been on my mind so often since leaving? ¡°Here you are,se?ora,¡± the waitress says as she ces a te and steaming cup on my table. ¡°Thank you.¡± I reach for the cup and pick it up, warming my fingers as I blow softly on the surface. ¡°It¡¯sse?oritaby the way, I¡¯m not married.¡± She ces the tray under her arm and straightens, giving me a smile. ¡°Maybe not yet,se?ora, but judging by the size of your engagement ring, I¡¯d say your fianc¨¦ wanted it made abundantly clear to anyone who speaks to you that you¡¯repletely off the market,¡± she says with a cheekyugh. ¡°Buen provecho.¡± She walks back into the restaurant, leaving me to stare down at the massive rock still adorning my left hand. My stomach flips like it always does every time I look at it. I shouldn¡¯t be wearing it. It¡¯s why I ran away in the first ce. The only reason I am is because it keeps other men away. They think I¡¯m taken so they leave me alone when I¡¯m out, especially at night. As a woman traveling alone, I need that additional security. That¡¯s it. That¡¯s the only reason, even though sometimes I feel like I still have the taste of him on my lips, intense and intoxicating as ever. Randomly, I¡¯ll have shes of his demanding mouth on mine and flush bright red, the temperature of my body skyrocketing out of nowhere. I swear I¡¯ll hear echoes of his voice, throaty and effortlesslymanding, telling me he¡¯s going to take what he wants and then doing just that. He left a reddish bruise on the side of my throat that took weeks to disappear, but not before it taunted me every time I looked in the mirror. On more than one asion, I found myself absentmindedly grazing against the sensitive flesh with unsteady fingers, thinking about howpletely he had me at his mercy with just his tongue on my neck. And, eventually, his fingers in my pussy. I shift in my seat, ashamed that there¡¯s a sudden rush of arousal coursing through me and not the difort I should be feeling. Thiago had deduced and known things about me that he couldn¡¯t know, that no one has ever known because I¡¯ve never dared to say them out loud. Things I crave deep in my belly that are inplete opposition to the things I know Ishouldwant. The rtionships I¡¯ve had in the past have been boring, nd, and predictable. So deeply uninspiring that they¡¯re not even worth thinking about. Missionary sex under the covers, fumbling fingers barely and rarely getting me to orgasm, and rolling over and immediately falling asleep once the deed is done. The kinkiest thing I¡¯ve ever done is having sex in the kitchen with my ass resting on the ind. Thiago blew all of my previous sexual experiences out of the water in twenty minutes, using two fingers and his tongue and not even letting mee. Where my mind despises him, my body is in riotous opposition and hungers for him. I hate it, hate to admit it even just to myself, but the truth is I ran because if he ever gets me alone again, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t put up a fight. I ran because he thinks that he can take everything from me and that one encounter in the hallway proved that he absolutely could if he tried. Worse, that if pushed, I might actually justgiveit to him. And here I am, still wearing his ring. He¡¯s right, I am foolish. More foolish still, I find myself wondering if he¡¯s at all involved in the search for me or if he¡¯s running business as usual while his men do the hunting. It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like I want to be found. Chapter 15 At that exact moment Ipound against the closed front door until it opens, revealing Dagny Hanssen, Tess¡¯s best friend. Her mouth drops and she takes a terrified step back when Marco raises his arm and points a gun at her forehead. ¡°Where is she?¡± I ask calmly. The lethal edge in my voice reveals that I¡¯m anything but. The amusement I felt when Tess first disappeared is long gone. Whatever patience I had is too, short lived and easilybusted by the mes of the fury raging inside me. She¡¯s been gone a month and with each passing day I lose more of my fucking sanity. I didn¡¯t have much to begin with and my reserves are getting dangerously low now. I¡¯m tormented by visions of her, seeing her where she isn¡¯t, I¡¯m tortured by thoughts of who she¡¯s spending time with, and I¡¯m gued by dreams where I get my hands back on her curves and finally take what¡¯s mine.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. I¡¯ve been in a state of perpetual difort since Ist saw her, my mood pitch ck and my cock angry, hard, and throbbing. Arturo brought a woman to my officest week, shoved her inside, mmed the door behind her and disappeared. I think he was hoping she¡¯d fuck the tension out of me and I¡¯d return to being the usual asshole he¡¯s used to working for instead of the tyrant he¡¯s had to deal with this past month. When I finally lifted my gaze from the financial report I was going through and looked at her, the woman dropped her coat to the floor, revealing her stark-naked body beneath it. Much to my disappointment, my cock hadn¡¯t even twitched, obsessed with one person and one person only. My lip had curled up in disgust and I¡¯d snarled at the woman. She¡¯d seen something in my gaze that had sent her fleeing nude from the room without even bothering to pick up her discarded coat, uncaring of her nakedness. I¡¯d been in a ck mood to begin with because the financial reports weren¡¯t adding up, but her appearance only exacerbated it. I didn¡¯t want to look at any bodies except the one that belonged to me. Even though I hadn¡¯t seen Tess naked,yet, I¡¯d run my hands over enough of her curves to conjure her from memory. So I¡¯d closed my eyes and used my imagination to get myself off, fisting my cock angrily until I reached a necessary but unsatisfying finish. What¡¯s most frustrating is how severely I underestimated her. She¡¯s beenpletely untraceable since she left. Her phone has been off, her cards unused, her work conducted via encrypted address and calls. There¡¯s no way she¡¯s doing this herself but I haven¡¯t been able to track down who¡¯s helping her. I¡¯ve officially reached my limit, and ying nice ends today. Tess knew who she was dealing with and what she was risking when she ran away. She called me deranged and psychotic ¨C she was right. It¡¯s time I proved it to her. ¡°Whereis she?¡± I snarl. ¡°Don¡¯t make me ask you a third time, Dagny.¡± She backs away slowly, burrowing deeper into her apartment and trapping herself with no escape. Fear twists her features even though she doesn¡¯t seem surprised. Based on her reaction, she knows exactly who I am and why I¡¯m here. I follow her inside, stalking after her and forcing her to stumble further back into her living room. She bumps sightlessly against her furniture in her desperation to get away from me. Behind me, I hear Marco close the door. Dagny¡¯s handse up defensively, shaking violently. ¡°I have no idea,¡± she swears. ¡°Please, I don¡¯t know! She didn¡¯t tell me where she was going.¡± Staring at her, I let the difort of the drawn-out silence keep her talking. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, I have no idea. But if you shoot me, she¡¯ll nevere back,¡± she tries to reason. ¡°I disagree. If I kill you, I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t skip your funeral.¡± Dagny swallows thickly, her eyes widening. Her arms drop and she wraps them protectively around her middle. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunately a great counterargument,¡± she admits, gnawing at her lower lip and somehow finding reserves of strength to tap into humor when there¡¯s a gun still trained on her. ¡°Not one I love, obviously, but great nheless.¡± She lifts her chin and tips it at me. ¡°She¡¯ll hate you if you kill me.¡± A sinister grin pulls at my lips, making her flinch. ¡°You say that like I give a fuck. Hate I can work with, absence I cannot. Tell me where she is, Dagny, otherwise Marco here will put a bullet in your brain.¡± ¡°I have no idea!¡± ¡°Marco.¡± With no other order needed, Marco fires twice into the ground on either side of Dagny¡¯s bare feet. She screams and jumps around on her tiptoes to avoid being shot. He¡¯s an excellent marksman. If his intent was to hit her, not scare her, he would have. ¡°Hey!¡± she shouts, eyes ring angrily when she sees the holes in her wooden boards. Eventually, she looks up and res vexingly at him. ¡°Ijusthad these floors redone. That¡¯s Versailles parquet you¡¯re riddling with bullet holes, you brute. They cost me an absolute fortune, and that¡¯s without factoring in the emotional cost to my sanity, so can you please do me a favor and just shoot into the wall or TV next time?¡± Marco¡¯s hand drops to his side, a mix of annoyance and incredulity marking his features. ¡°What is your malfunction, woman? Why aren¡¯t you scared?¡± Dagny nts her fists on her hips and res back at him. ¡°l¡¯m terrified ¡ªMarco, was it? ¡ª but I don¡¯t need to spend what¡¯s possibly myst minutes on earth watching you torture my beloved apartment, so if you¡¯re going to keep doing that, I¡¯d rather you just put me out of my misery, okay? A clean shot between the eyes should do the trick.¡± Irritatingly, I find myself understanding why this woman is Tess¡¯s best friend. She¡¯s just as much of a brave little fool as my fianc¨¦e. Marco looks at me with a bewildered look on his face. For only the second time in his life, I think he¡¯s actually at a loss for words. ¡°So¡­ do I shoot her,jefe?¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Dagny begs, hands up once more, all traces of humor gone from her face. ¡°I¡ªI was kidding about the whole shooting me thing. I joke when I¡¯m nervous and, well, you have a gun,¡± she exins. ¡°I really have no idea where she is, I promise. She made a point not to tell me because she knew you¡¯de here looking for her.¡± ¡°That was her mistake,¡± I answer cold-bloodedly. There¡¯s always this split-second before a person gets shot when realization hits. That sudden cognizance of what¡¯s about to happen to them bes visible on their face, in the ckening of their features and the abject terror that takes over their gazes. It¡¯s an innate understanding that they¡¯re about to die, that moment where their life shes before their eyes and regret hits as they think about all the dreams they had that they never made a reality. I fuckinglovethat moment, the sheer humanity of it just before a life is snuffed out forever. It¡¯s the very definition of power. It gets my dick hard knowing thest thing people see before they simply cease to exist isme; that I was judge, jury and executioner with their lives in my hands. That the decision was easier than deciding which mug to pour my coffee into that morning. Unfortunately for me but luckily for Dagny, I don¡¯t get to experience that moment today because she manages to snatch her life from the jaws of death. ¡°She¡¯ll never get over losing me,¡± Dagny whispers, holding my gaze. ¡°It¡¯ll devastate her and change her forever. You¡¯ll never get the old version of her back.¡± There¡¯s no way she thinks that¡¯ll actually work on me. Emotion is thest thing that weighs in the bnce when ites to taking someone¡¯s life. And yet. I¡¯m about tough derisively when an image of Tess broken by the death of her best friend shes through my mind. She¡¯s sobbing, cheeks wet with tears, eyes wide and haunted. That vision does something absolutely perplexing to me. Something that¡¯s never happened before. It makes me pause. And it makes me waver. Puta madre. I¡¯m faltering from making a decision I¡¯d otherwise make in a heartbeat because I don¡¯t want my fianc¨¦e to be sad. What the actual fuck? Since when do I fuckingcare? I can¡¯t be defective like this in my position ¡ª my ruthlessness can¡¯t be impaired by thoughts of how one blue-eyed woman will react, no matter who she is. I¡¯ll have Marco beat the weakness out of me with his fistster. Hopefully that¡¯ll also drill some sense back into me. Cursing at myself internally, I change the n through angrily gritted teeth. ¡°Brazo,¡± I bark. Marco fires. If he¡¯s surprised by theck of kill shot, he doesn¡¯t show it. The force of the bullet makes Dagny¡¯s body jerk backwards. She flies a couple feet and hits the floor, screaming as the slug buries itself into her right arm. Blood spurts haphazardly from the visible hole in her flesh. Silent tears stream down her face as she continues to scream, her other handing up to clutch the wound to staunch the bleeding. She uses her operational arm to drag her body backwards, crawling away from my approaching form as best she can. She¡¯s whimpering in pain, her face fractured when I crouch in front of her. Surely she must realize the mercy she¡¯s just been given. A non-lethal gunshot wound is a generosity she wouldn¡¯t have received without uttering herst words. I toss a kitchen towel at her and she catches it, staring at me with wary eyes. I continue to toy with her, hoping it¡¯ll reignite the previous interest I had in taking her life. She nches, losing all color in her face, when I take my gun out of the band of my trousers and press it against the open skin of her throat. ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± I appreciate the directness of her question. Not many would dare. Her muscles work beneath the cold metal as she swallows thickly. As scared as she is, there¡¯s still a defiant look in her gaze. Grudgingly, I feel a touch of respect for her. Ignoring her question, I say. ¡°You might not know where Tess is, but you know someone who does, that I¡¯m sure of.¡± I lift the gun slowly until it rests against her forehead. My words are low and chilling when I speak next. ¡°You tell my fianc¨¦e that I want her backnow. If she doesn¡¯te back to me, I¡¯ll happily pay you a second visit and this time Marco won¡¯t stop shooting until you look like a piece of Swiss cheese. That¡¯s my promise to herandyou. Can I trust you to deliver that message, Dagny?¡± She nods tremulously, staring unflinchingly back at me. Blood oozes between her fingers and down her arm but she doesn¡¯t pay it any attention. ¡°Good,¡± I say, rising to my feet. Marco is already out of the apartment and I¡¯m standing in the doorway when Dagny speaks again. ¡°I did warn her. I told her you wouldn¡¯t let her go.¡± Looking back at her over my shoulder, I find her standing, clutching her arm and giving me an assessing look. I nod, my face devoid of any emotion. ¡°She should have listened to you.¡± Chapter 16 The next day ¡°We killed two more Italians this morning, jefe. Both of them were Leone cousins,¡± Marco says. I¡¯m in my home office, in a meeting with my top lieutenants across all the branches of the business. The producers, smugglers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, ountants, moneyunderers, and enforcers are all giving me status updates. I¡¯ve had to rely on them more over thest couple of weeks as my main focus has been getting Tess back. My phone rings on the desk, distracting me from answering Marco. It¡¯s an unknown number, likely one of the ground level operatives checking in, so I pick up. ¡°Speak,¡± I answer gruffly. An irate voice shouts through the line. ¡°Youshotmy best friend?¡± My eyes close as a violent jolt electrifies my body. I breathe in for the first time in what feels like weeks, almost as if I¡¯d spent thest month holding my breath underwater and am only now erupting past the surface and able to pull in a massive inhale. ¡°Get out,¡± I order, moving the phone away from my mouth. When nobody immediately moves, I roar. ¡°Get the fuck out.¡± Understanding passes over Marco¡¯s face and he grins at me, grabbing Arturo by the cor and yanking him out. The others quickly follow suit after them, leaving me alone with the woman on the other end of the line. My fianc¨¦e. Leaning forward, my hand gripping the phone so tightly I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll crack under the pressure, I speak my first words to Tess in over a month. ¡°Amor,¡± I say, unable to stop the rumble in my voice caused by the intensity of my reaction. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s calling, that I¡¯m this excited by the prospect of a phone call, like I¡¯m some seventies middle schooler. I hear the way her breath catches between her lips at my rough tone before she masks it away. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, you psychopath. You shot Dagny. Are you clinically insane? If you haven¡¯t been diagnosed yet, I¡¯ll dly be a character witness to your madness.¡± Fuck, just the sound of her voice is enough to get me rock hard. Excitement painfully stiffens every muscle in my body. I can¡¯t focus on anything but my need for immediate relief. I won¡¯t be able to ess a single rational thought until Ie. I yank my zipper down, reach into my trousers and pull out my cock. ¡°It was a means to an end.¡± ¡°A means to an end? She¡¯s aperson.¡± I spit into my hand and wrap it around my dick, imagining her electrified by her own anger, shoulders back and cheeks sshed red with emotion. ring daggers into me, that fuckable mouth of hers parted as she yells at me. Groaning, I pump up and down my length with vicious strokes as I picture her irate and within arms reach. ¡°Shooting her aplished exactly what I wanted,¡± I breathe. ¡°Getting your attention. You shouldn¡¯t have run away from me.¡± ¡°You absolutely got my attention, you nutjob¨C¡± she abruptly cuts herself off when I groan once more. I¡¯m not subtle. This isn¡¯t how I imagined making contact with her again would go, but I¡¯m so dizzy with pent-up lust I can¡¯t think. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asks cautiously. My grip on my cock turns almost violent in response to the cutely inquisitive tone of her voice. My hips roll, thrusting into my hand mindlessly as I search for that peak of pleasure. ¡°I¡¯m getting myself off to the sound of your voice,¡± I purr, my own voice thick with arousal. My head falls against the back of my chair, my throat bobbing as I pleasure myself to thoughts of her. ¡°Thiago,¡± she gasps, shocked. ¡°Yes,¡± I moan. ¡°Fuck yes, say my name like that.¡± She stays quiet and there¡¯s no amount of money in the world I wouldn¡¯t give to see her face right now. To know if she¡¯s silent because she refuses to help me get off or if she¡¯s truly at a loss for words. If I¡¯ve surprised her with the primal, near animalistic need I have for her. ¡°Keep talking for me,amor,¡± I encourage, my thrusts picking up in speed and force. ¡°Tell me how much you hate me.¡± If only she knew how much I¡¯ve touched myself to thoughts of her, so much so that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I develop calluses on my cock from manual overuse.This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I wish I could taste you right now,¡± I grunt feverishly, thinking back to the way I¡¯d sucked her juices off my finger. ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up,¡± she finally says, flushing. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I grit out through clenched teeth. ¡°I¡¯m close.¡± ¡°Find someone to take care of that for you,¡± she bites. ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± I gasp, my cock jerking at the angry undertone of her voice. ¡°But she keeps running from me.¡± My toes curl and my muscles tighten as a storm of pleasure gathers in my belly, growing and growing until it¡¯s almost blinding. ¡°So all I¡¯m left with is imagining what it¡¯ll be like when I finally get my hands on her¡­how I¡¯ll bite her lips and lick her throat and suck on her tight nipples¡­how I¡¯ll kiss my way down her belly towards that ce between her thighs I¡¯ve dreamed of.Fuck, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± I¡¯m panting, muscles coiled as I inch close to a release I¡¯ve been needing for months. My breathes faster, my heart galloping in my chest as I approach that elusive climax. ¡°How I¡¯ll part her legs and bury my face deep in that sweet pussy of hers, inhaling her scent and getting drunk off those intoxicating juices. How I¡¯ll fuck her with my fingers, rake my teeth over that needy clit and finally,finally, slide my cock all the way home. I won¡¯t go easy on her,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m going to make her pay for the weeks of torture. I¡¯m going to fuck her until I fuckingbreakher.¡± ¡°Oh, god.¡± That one breathy, needy, hardly audible little moan that barely squeaks out past Tess¡¯s lips is all it takes. I throw my head back ande with an unhinged roar, continuing to pump furiously up and down my cock as cum erupts from my tip andnds on my stomach, my trousers, and my desk, making a mess. ¡°This is what you do to me,¡± I pant, breathless. ¡°This is why I need you back.¡± Chapter 17 I¡¯m frozen on my bed, captivated by the sound of his jagged breathsing haltingly through the phone. Looking down, I find that my hand is still buried deep inside my panties. Embarrassed and self-conscious, I pull it out. In the cold, harsh, post-orgasmic, light of day, I¡¯m deeply ashamed of what I just did. I couldn¡¯t help it¡­when he started moaning in my ear, groaning like he was almost in pain, begging me to talk to him, then describing all the dirty things he was going to do to me in that gravelly voice, I was powerless to resist it. My hand found itself slithering down my belly and into my panties in search of my aching clit. Flicking it and rubbing it as I listened to his feverish pants. My pleasure waspletely mindless,pletely dependent on him. Like a violinist following her conductor, I took my cues from him, pleasuring myself quietly until I heard him fall apart. He¡¯s not shy about his pleasure, the moans and groans falling liberally from his lips without a hint of self-preservation, making it impossible for me to hold back my own climax. I quickly followed suit,ing faster than I ever had before. I turn my face into my pillow, trying to ignore the humiliating reality that there¡¯s something very wrong with me. I just got myself off while listening to the man who shot my best friend make himselfe. I¡¯m sick. This is asickness, one that¡¯s clearly already metastasized to my brain. Probably beyond salvation, terminal diagnosis. ¡°Fuck, that feels good,¡± he growls, satisfied. ¡°Nowhere near as good as when I¡¯ll get to actually fuck you, but I assume that¡¯s why you¡¯re calling. When are youing back to me?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking, Thiago, I¡¯m noting back. Especially not now that you¡¯ve hurt one of the people I¡¯m closest to.¡± ¡°Tell me where you are,¡± he demands, ignoring me. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did Dagny pass on my message?¡± Dagny had gotten herself to the hospital where she¡¯d been stitched up. She recorded a video exining what happened and sent it to Wiz who¡¯d passed it on to me. She was fine, she assured me, a little banged up and obviously sore, but true to form she seemed angrier about the state of her floors than anything else. I told her to go to her family¡¯s ce or to a hotel and that I¡¯d pay for it, but she promptly declined. She was back in her apartment and sleeping in her own bedst night, refusing to be scared away from her home. ¡°Did she?¡± he presses, and I hiss in a breath at his bleak tone. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her again, Thiago,¡± I say, steeling my voice. ¡°Turn on your camera.¡± Themandes out of nowhere and I balk. Suddenly restless, I jump out of my bed. If he can see me then that means I¡¯ll be able to see him, and there¡¯s no way I can face him. ¡°No,¡± I reply, ambling into the kitchen. I grab my coat off the hook and wrap it around me before going out onto my patio. The air has felt almost suffocating inside my ce since his voice started bouncing off the walls. It¡¯s like his entire physical presence is there, growing and looming and taking up all the oxygen. ¡°Turn on your camera,amor, and we can negotiate,¡± he purrs, his voice sending an irresistible shiver down my spine. Before I can answer, the requestes through. My phone starts vibrating with the iing video call. I find myself nervously fixing my hair and then, iprehensibly, answering the call. There¡¯s a couple of seconds ofg while the software works to transfer us over to video where I regret every decision I¡¯ve ever made that¡¯s brought me to this moment, and then there he is. Sitting like a king on his throne in the middle of a dark, opulent office, wrapped in all ck himself. The very picture of a demonic presence. The fingers of one hand caress his jaw back and forth. The move is so simple but so dominatingly male, my body can¡¯t help but react. A thick five o¡¯clock shadow adds a rough edge to his already dangerous appearance. I want to run my own fingers through that stubble and find out how bristly it is. I imagine his face between my legs, the scruff of his nascent beard abrading my thighs, making me even more sensitive. In the darkness, I swear his tattoos move, dark tentacles undting up his neck. His eyes shine like a ck cat¡¯s, the only parts of him that aren¡¯tpletely void of life and color. He stares at me predatorily, unyielding and unapologetic in his perusal. His head falls back to rest against his chair as he rakes his eyes over every visible part of me. Even through the phone, I can sense the vtile energy around him. It shifts and gets more charged the longer he stares at me. The connection turns taut between us even as burning need swirls in my belly. Being aroused by him has be a part of my automatic nervous system, I¡¯m incapable of controlling it. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m running from. ¡°Amor,¡± he calls. He might as well have whispered it right into my ear, his body pressed against my back and his hands on my throat for how much it affects me. If I wasn¡¯t sitting on a chair, my knees would have given in. But he¡¯s a remorseless killer and I can¡¯t lose sight of that, no matter how much my body tries to get my mind to submit. ¡°You have to know that attacking the people I love isn¡¯t going to get you what you want.¡± Instead of focusing on my point, his eyes sh in response. ¡°Who else do youlove?¡± he asks, his lip curling up in irritation and his features drawing down into a re. ¡°Names.¡± ¡°A littlete to worry about that, isn¡¯t it?¡± I answer suggestively. Extra rich of him to give a shit when he¡¯s pining after a dead woman while continuing to make my life hell. His aura turns downright hostile. He sits forward,ing dangerously close to the camera. ¡°Dagny lived because I knew she¡¯d lead me to you somehow,¡± he rasps ruthlessly, jaw so tense it looks ready to snap. ¡°But if I find out you have a lover waiting in the wings for you,amor, I¡¯ll feed him to my dogs for breakfast and make you watch.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t control my life that way,¡± I exim. He bares his teeth, standing now. I feel intimidated even though he¡¯s sitting hundreds of miles away and isn¡¯t actually in front of me. ¡°Yes, I can,¡± he growls. ¡°Iownyou.¡± ¡°Nobody owns me.¡± Thiago grabs a sheet of paper just off camera and holds it up for me to see. ¡°This contract says I fucking do. I paid twenty million pounds for you.¡± He sure keeps that paperwork close. I wonder if it enrages him every time he looks at it knowing that his investment is gallivanting across the world, running from him. Bitterness simmers in my stomach being reminded of just how casually he bought me. How easily my father sold me. I blink back tears thinking about it and scoff derisively instead to cover my moment of weakness. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± His voice is perilously low when he responds. ¡°I was willing to pay a hundred times that,¡± he mutters. ¡°But in what seems like a lifetime of stupid decisions, the biggest one your father made was letting you go for such a cheap price.¡± I shrug my shoulders like it doesn¡¯t matter and look away. ¡°My father has never seen any value in my existence. Who cares how smart or capable I am? At the end of the day, I¡¯m just a daughter. He was probably overjoyed that someone was willing to pay that much money for little old me,¡± I add acerbically. ¡°I guarantee you he thinks he came out the winner in your deal.¡± Thiago remains silent for so long that I flick my gaze back at him. When I do, I find him staring at me, eyes shining with keen interest. There¡¯s something about his gaze that feelspletely denuding, like he¡¯s seeing past the surface and peeling back everyyer to expose me to my core. ¡°Just because he doesn¡¯t see how exceptional you are, doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t. It¡¯s why I need you back.¡± Need, not want. I¡¯d be a fool to take those words as anything more than an unintentional slip up. Still, my heart trips over itself in response. His words ring with authenticity, almost as if he¡¯s imploring me to believe him. But he¡¯s a master maniptor ¨C how can I trust anything he says? ¡°You hurt my friend. Why would I ever go to you when you could just as easily hurt me?¡± ¡°I will hurt you,amor,¡± he promises, making me shiver. Somehow, it¡¯s not fear that I feel, but excitement. ¡°I¡¯ll punish you for being a bad girl, but you¡¯ll fucking love it.¡± ¡°Then¨C¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll also make sure no one ever touches you. You¡¯ll be my queen and I¡¯ll protect you with my dying breath if I have to. Whatever it takes to keep you safe, I¡¯ll do it without batting an eye.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t protect me from you.¡± ¡°Come back and I¡¯ll show you just how good pain and submission can feel. You¡¯ll beg me to do everything I want because deep down that¡¯s what you want. It¡¯s just a matter of getting you to admit it.¡± I shake my head, ignoring him. ¡°Why can¡¯t you find someone else, I don¡¯t get it. You don¡¯t even know me.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re mine.¡± He says it categorically, believing in it more fervently than I¡¯ve ever believed in anything my entire life. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I knew it the moment I saw you.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s enough for you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all that matters. You¡¯re the only wife I want.¡± His possessive words heat my blood, making me shaky. ¡°I want a husband who doesn¡¯t kill people. One who doesn¡¯t hurt my friends or doesn¡¯t want to hurt me,¡± I say, shaking my head. We¡¯re going around in circles. This was a mistake. ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up now.¡± His eyes sh. ¡°I guess Dagny has served her purpose then.¡± His threat is crystal clear; he doesn¡¯t even bother to conceal it. Ice steels my spine.N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°I asked you not to hurt her.¡± ¡°The only person who gets to ask things of me is my wife. You¡¯ve been very clear that¡¯s not you,¡± he says silkily. ¡°So, tell me ¡ª what will you give me in return?¡± We¡¯re bargaining with my friend¡¯s life and all I can focus on is his lips. How plump they look, how they moved and danced against mine when he kissed me. I used to be governed by logic and ruled by my mind. I have no idea what happened to that version of me and if I¡¯ll ever get her back, but I definitely need her right now. Clenching my jaw, I roll my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll hate you the same amount I hate you right now instead of the exponentially higher amount I will tomorrow if you kill my friend.¡± ¡°I already told you it doesn¡¯t matter what you think of me. I think hating me turns you on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re afflicted by severe delusions.¡± ¡°I hope Dagny has a will ready.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I exim, desperate now and searching for something to offer him. ¡°I¡ªI¡¯ll call.¡± He stares at me, unblinking, for long moments. So long that I start to wonder if the call didn¡¯t drop and I¡¯m not just left with a frozen frame of him. ¡°Are you there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he finally says. ¡°I¡¯ll call again.¡± It¡¯s a terrible idea, but short of me going back to London, it¡¯s the only thing I can think of that he might ept. ¡°We can talk.¡± His voice is gruff beyond recognition when he replies. ¡°When?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Tonight.¡± ¡°What? No.¡± Why does he want to talk to me again today? ¡°I¡¯ll decide when.¡± ¡°Tomorrow,¡± he orders. ¡°Thiago, I¡¯ll hang up right now and you¡¯ll never hear from me again if you push me.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± he concedes grumpily. ¡°But it has to be this week. Any longer and my trigger finger will get restless.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an animal.¡± A slow, smug grin pulls at his lips and hits me right in my core. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything.¡± The sexual undertone of his deration has goosebumps breaking out all over my body. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now,¡± I announce. ¡°Alright,amor. I¡¯ll miss you.¡± I pause, realizing that no one outside of my mum, brother, and Dagny has ever said those words to me. Not any of my past rtionships, not any of my other friends. He stays on the line, watching me. Waiting for me to end the call. I find myself thinking about tracing every single one of his tattoos with my tongue. ¡°I¡¯m noting back; you know that right?¡± I¡¯ve said it before, but this time is different. I want him to hear the sincerity in my voice, the categorical truth of my statement. If I expected him to growl or get angry, he surprises me. He simply sits back in his chair and wraps one hand around the fist of the other. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll let me go?¡± I question, surprised. Maybe even a little disappointed. ¡°No,amor.¡± He shakes his head slowly, like what I just said is the most ridiculous thing he¡¯s ever heard. ¡°I¡¯m going to track you down and drag you back here myself, just like you want.¡± ¡°Good luck with that,¡± I answer flippantly. The pleased smile he gives me chills me to my bones. It¡¯s almost unnatural in its satisfaction. ¡°There¡¯s a very fine line between confidence and arrogance,¡± he notes. My hand tightens around the phone, my own smile tensing in ce. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°You made a mistake.¡± ¡°What?¡± I ask, rattled. He leans forward and crooks a finger at me toe closer. Like a marite on a string answering to its puppeteer, I do as hemands. I lean forward and tilt my face slightly to the side, keeping my eyes fixed on him. Thiago¡¯s mouth opens and my own lips part as I wait for whatever he¡¯s about to say, transfixed by him and hanging on to his every word before he¡¯s even spoken. His eyes ze heatedly on me, victorious and cocky. ¡°Barcelona.¡± The line goes dead, leaving me to stare at my horrified expression reflected back at me on the ck screen. Chapter 18 Igrin down at my phone, feeling something akin to glee for the first time in a long time. What I¡¯d give to see that panicked expression on her face again, to have a view into what she¡¯s going to do now that I¡¯ve told her I know where she is. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything. Telling her I know she¡¯s in Barcelona means she¡¯s going to run now. But I just couldn¡¯t fucking resist. She looked downright edible in her fluffy sweater and pink barrette. I wanted to see the way her skin flushed when she realized I¡¯d one-upped her, wanted to see her reaction when she found out I wasing for her. She didn¡¯t disappoint.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. Her mistake was taking the video call outside. She¡¯d shifted when I¡¯d talked about how much I wanted to fuck her, identally revealing more of the background behind her. It was day, so she was in a simr time zone to me. Discreetly, I screenshotted the tip of a spire above her right shoulder and the facade of what looked like a building with Gothic architecture to her left, and forwarded the picture on to tech. Julio, who we used mainly to hack into legal documents and to hide our money trail, used image recognition software and satellite imagery to map the photo and triangte where she was. It¡¯d taken him less than ten minutes toe back to me with an answer. Spain. Better yet, a specific neighborhood in Barcelona. I didn¡¯t have an exact address but it didn¡¯t matter. I¡¯d find her once I was there. ??? Four hourster, I jog down the steps of my private jet and set foot on the tarmac at the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. I¡¯m apanied by Marco, a reluctant Arturo, and five other men. Arturo insisted I bring additional security since we were operating without a n and going into a country where we had no foothold. I¡¯d have opted to travel with a smaller crew but had acquiesced if it meant he¡¯d stop bitching in my ear. Plus, the manpower was going to be useful in helping to actually track Tess down. The second I alight from the ne though, I know she¡¯s gone. Inexplicably, I can feel it in my bones. Taunting her cost me, but now that I know she¡¯s going to call again and isn¡¯t goingpletely off the grid, the disquiet in my body lessens. I can y this cat and mouse game with her if that¡¯s what she wants. Better that she get it out of her system now, because the second I get my hands on her, I¡¯m never letting her out of my sight again. Three ck cars take us to her neighborhood. I stare at it appraisingly. It¡¯s got narrow, twisty, pedestrian-only streets, hangingundry lines between old-fashioned buildings, and small businesses with owners you can tell were born, raised, and will die there. It¡¯s quaint and quiet and homey, the opposite of a sweeping mansion or a bustling London high-rise. It makes sense why she¡¯de here to escape. I turn towards my men. They stand at attention, expectantly awaiting orders. ¡°Show her photo around the neighborhood. See if people recognize her. This is the type of ce where neighbors know each other by name.¡± ¡°Yes,jefe.¡± They disperse just as my phone starts to ring. Pulling it out of my jacket pocket I see it¡¯s from someone whose calls I always pick up. Bringing the phone up to my ear, I answer. ¡°Valentina.¡± ¡°Where are you? I stopped by the house to do my check in with Turo but he wasn¡¯t there. Diana told me you were both gone.¡± Diana is my housekeeper and house manager. I¡¯ve known her for years; she¡¯s part of the staff who came with me from Colombia when I moved to London. ¡°He¡¯s with me. Something came up,¡± I answer, keeping it vague. ¡°Is this really the time for you to take a holiday?¡± she asks, misunderstanding. Irritation seeps into her voice. ¡°We have more pressing things to deal with, Thiago.¡± My eyes narrow, my voice dropping to icy levels. ¡°Careful, Valentina.¡± She sighs. ¡°Lo siento.¡± She sounds tired, weary beyond simple sleeplessness. ¡°I¡¯m on edge. I feel like I should be doing more.¡± I take a breath and work to reign in my temper. Valentina is, or was, my sister¡¯s best friend. She was with Adriana the night she disappeared; she¡¯s the one who¡¯d convinced her to go toFirenzethat night. They¡¯d danced and drank and partied until Valentina whispered in her ear that she had to use the bathroom. She told Adriana she¡¯d be right back and to get shots for them while she waited. She was in the bathroom for less than ten minutes. When she came back, Adriana was gone. Valentina never moved on from that night almost a year and a half ago. She mes herself for making my sister go out, for leaving her. It eats at her even more than it does me. When it became clear that Adriana was dead, Valentina refused to let the cartel handle the retribution without her involvement. She came to my office every day demanding that I let her work for me. I refused time and time again, not because I didn¡¯t think she was capable, but because I knew it was a business that would get her killed. Valentina grew up with my family from the time she was a toddler, so she¡¯s like another little sister to me. I had, and continue to have, a responsibility to keep her alive. A couple of months after the kidnapping, we had to rescue Vale from a confrontation in a bar with two Armenians. By the time we got there, she¡¯d rendered one unconscious but the other was about to kill her. We intervened just in time. I tried to get her to see sense, to get her to stop and protect herself and let me and my men find Adriana¡¯s killers, but she told me to fuck off in not so many words and got herself stabbed a weekter in another confrontation. When it became clear that she was going to get revenge with or without my blessing, bringing her into the fold of the da Silva cartel became the only way to keep her safe. She¡¯s flourished since and is one of my most trusted soldiers and advisors, but to this day I still have to spend an inordinate amount of time making sure she doesn¡¯t get herself killed. Which is why I always answer the phone. Valentina¡¯s continued survival has be a proxy of what I should have done for Adriana. I should have protected her, saved her, but I failed. I won¡¯t fail again, with herorTess. ¡°We¡¯re making progress, Vale. There¡¯s nothing else for you to do. We¡¯ll find him soon, we¡¯re getting close.¡± ¡°So, what? I¡¯m just supposed to sit around twiddling my thumbs, waiting for you toe back from whatever side mission you¡¯re on right now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here to stop me,¡± she challenges. I give my own world-weary sigh, massaging my temples with my free hand. Sisters, even adoptive ones, are impossible to deal with. Especially the ones who know how to shoot a gun and are reckless with their lives. ¡°Go find Fabian,¡± I instruct. ¡°He¡¯s down in the death room.¡± The death room is a padded, soundproofed section in the basement of my home where we carry out interrogations and executions of captured prisoners. My house acts as something of a base for some of our operations in the city and the death room is a perfect ce for extracting information without being disturbed. Fabian is one of the cartel¡¯s Butchers and my personal favorite. He¡¯s endlessly creative and always goes the extra mile when ites to torture methods. I like a man who doesn¡¯t let something as gauche as squeamishness hold him back when ites to getting the information I need. That¡¯s real loyalty. ¡°Who does he have down there?¡± ¡°Rardo Leone.¡± A shocked gasp rips from her lips. ¡°You have a Leone cousin down there and you didn¡¯t tell me?¡± she cries out, upset. ¡°Valentina¡­¡± I caution once more. ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± ¡°Tell Fabian I allowed you ess to Leone and you can ask him whatever questions you want before he kills him.¡± Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get anything out of this particr cousin. He was at university in Rome when Adriana was kidnapped and hasn¡¯t shown any clear ties to the family business. The main purpose of killing him is continuing to work through the Leone family tree until we get to the perpetrator. If they want to put an end to the deaths before their family reaches extinction, they¡¯ll turn the killer over to me. That¡¯d be the smart thing to do, but then again the Made Men are no longer known for their adroitness in intellect. In the meantime, it¡¯ll distract Valentina long enough for Arturo to go back to London and keep a watchful eye on her. ¡°Thank you,Diablo,¡± she says, sounding relieved. ¡°Where are you anyway? Or can you not say?¡± ¡°Spain.¡± ¡°So youareon holiday?¡± ¡°Every time you give me lip, I¡¯m knocking one question off what you¡¯re allowed to ask Rardo Leone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a monster. No wonder your fianc¨¦e ran from you.¡± She pauses. I can almost hear the moment the lightbulb goes off. ¡°Wait a minute, is that why you¡¯re in Spain? You¡¯re looking for her?¡± Valentina is one of the few people I trusted with the information that I got engaged. To say she was greatly amused by the development that Tess had subsequently run away from me would be an understatement. I put up with it because it upied her and kept her out of trouble. Now I wonder if she can help me get inside Tess¡¯s head and figure out where she could be going next. ¡°I need your help thinking like a woman.¡± Her response is equally as dry as it is flippant. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too much of a reach for me seeing as I happen to be one.¡± My eyes close in exasperation. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time I find you a husband so you can have a built-in audience for this ongoing littleedy show of yours.¡± ¡°Ha, you know no man can handle me.¡± ¡°Exactly, it¡¯ll give me a well deserved break from having to deal with you myself. I have my own woman to tame.¡± ¡°Tell me about her. I like her already, by the way. Any woman who can make the great Thiago da Silva lose his nerve and chase after her across the continent is a friend of mine.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t lost my nerve.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in Europe for over a year. The farthest you¡¯ve been from the UK is France, and only because you were inspecting shipment lines. Then your fianc¨¦e runs away and now look at you. In Spain. Looking for that nerve you lost.¡± A muscle ticks in my cheek. ¡°Finding you a husband just jumped to the top of my priority list.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. You don¡¯t always have to resort to threats you know?¡± she says, hurriedly. ¡°Before you say my name in that authoritative tone of voice again, I really will shut up this time. What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Where would you go?¡± ¡°If you forced me to marry someone?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I grit out. ¡°The moon, probably.¡± ¡°How about I tell Fabian to put you on the table next once he¡¯s done with Leone?¡± ¡°You know, if you¡¯re going to start cracking jokes out of the blue after almost thirty years of being humorless, you really need to learn to modte your tone a bit. That morbid delivery of yours makes it sound like you¡¯re being serious.¡± The silence stretches when I don¡¯t answer. Sheughs uneasily in response. ¡°I see now that you¡¯re not in the mood forughter when ites to her,¡± she says nervously. ¡°Noted.¡± Her voice turns thoughtful. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize this was about more than just hurt pride.¡± ¡°I want what belongs to me back.¡± ¡°You wantherback.¡± There¡¯s no need for delineation in my eyes. Tess is mine, nothing more, nothing less. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get her back,¡± she says determinedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know her so it¡¯s hard for me to guess where she¡¯d go.¡± She pauses before adding. ¡°But if I needed help, I¡¯d go to you.¡± I¡¯m not surprised that Valentina would choose toe to me for help. I meant what I said to Tess ¡ª I always protect what¡¯s mine. The answer is so obvious all of a sudden, I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t think of it before. Actually, I do. It¡¯s because I can¡¯t think clearly when ites to my fianc¨¦e. ¡°Does Tess have a brother?¡± Valentina questions, unknowingly echoing what I¡¯ve just figured out. ¡°Yes, she does.¡± Turning around, I see Joaqu¨ªn walking back up the street towards me. ¡°You¡¯re a genius, Vale. I have to go. Stay out of trouble while I¡¯m gone.¡± ¡°No promises.¡± I¡¯m putting my phone away in my jacket pocket when Joaqu¨ªnes level with me. ¡°Put a full time falcon on Tess¡¯s brother. He¡¯s somewhere in Switzend. She¡¯ll go to him at some point.¡± ¡°You got it,¡± he assures me. Joaqu¨ªn is a couple years younger than me but has quickly climbed the ranks to be an invaluable part of my core team. It¡¯s not easy to get noticed, especially by me, but he¡¯s smart, fast, and strategic, all skills I rely on to survive. ¡°What do you have for me?¡± ¡°Caroline Mason,¡± he answers. I frown. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°We showed Tess¡¯s picture around and a bakery owner two streets away recognized her as being Caroline Mason, a remote worker from London.¡± I¡¯m already halfway to the car to go interview this bakery owner myself when he stops me. ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± I turn around. ¡°The owner also told me she has an apartment she rents out by the week. Guess who the most recent tenant was?¡± A delighted smile pulls at my lips. ¡°Tess.¡± I don¡¯t like thinking of her by any other name but her own. ¡°Bingo. Apparently she abruptly moved out a couple hours ago. The owner says she came in carrying a suitcase and a backpack, paid for thest week in full and then ran out.¡± ¡°Credit card?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Cash.¡± He hands me a set of keys. ¡°The address is on the keychain.¡± My fingers close around them until I¡¯m clenching the keys in my fist. Satisfaction curls inside me, following the movement of my fingers. ¡°Well done,¡± I say. It¡¯s rare praise and it¡¯s deserved. Chapter 19 Tess¡¯s apartment reveals just how hastily she left. There are clothes in the closet, dishes in the sink, and an open milk carton on the counter. It still smells of the fig candle she had burning in the living room. I make my way into the bedroom, wanting to see where she slept. It¡¯s sparse but there¡¯s traces of her passage left behind. On a small desk, I find a notebook. A third of the pages are filled with words written in a neat handwriting I recognize from the note she left in her office. Skimming through the first few pages, it seems like she wrote the tales of her travels so far; of the things she did and the people she met along the way. It¡¯s as I¡¯m closing it that I spot a doodle on the back page. ¡®El Diablo¡¯ written in block letters. It matches the tattoo I have engraved along the side of my head. A crude chain and cor hang off the letter ¡®o¡¯, just like the tattoo on my hand. Dark satisfaction slips into my veins and heats me from the inside. She¡¯s not as aloof and unaffected as she likes to pretend to be. I close the notebook and slip it into my jacket pocket to readter. I¡¯m distracted, wondering what else I¡¯m going to find between those pages. It burns a hole in my pocket; I¡¯m itching to read it so I can get a sliver of understanding into what¡¯s going on in that pretty little head of hers. The bed is neatly made. On the side table there¡¯s a book titledThe Alchemy of Financeby George Soros. I¡¯m not surprised that she¡¯d consider that type of material light reading. Based on what I know of her, she¡¯s brilliant, as sharp-minded as she is sharp-tongued. Next to it, there¡¯s a cotton scarf. Pink. The color that¡¯s starting to haunt my dreams and nightmares alike. My hand closes around the material until it¡¯s bunched in my fist. I bring it up to my face and bury my nose in it. My eyes flutter close as I inhale deeply, that heady scent of star anise hitting my olfactory receptors with a punch. I shove the scarf closer against my face, trying to permanently imprint her scent in my nose. Theck of outlet I have for the powerful lust that hits me makes me dizzy. She smells so fucking good I can only imagine what she¡¯s going to taste like when I finally bury my face between her thighs. ¡°Thiago.¡± I shove the scarf into my pocket and turn, finding Arturo standing in the doorway of the bedroom, face managing to be both nk and disapproving. ¡°The men went through her trash. There¡¯s nothing to indicate where she¡¯s going next.¡± I nod, clenching my jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll have the ne readied to take us back to London,¡± he deres. He¡¯s halfway through the doorway when I stop him.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°No.¡± Arturo doesn¡¯t immediately turn back around, his entire body tensing instead. Finally, he looks over his shoulder at me, the rest of him soon turning as well. ¡°I¡¯m not going back until I find her.¡± He doesn¡¯t say anything and the strained silence speaks volumes. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. He chooses not to mince his words. ¡°Some would question your focus.¡± I prowl towards him, my movements as lithe and dangerous as a panther¡¯s. I stand a mere foot away from him, towering over him. ¡°What?¡± My tone dares him to repeat what he just said. ¡°You¡¯re preupied¨C¡± I grab him by the cor and jerk him violently towards me. He drops his gaze when he¡¯s inches from my face, the only sane decision he¡¯s made since stepping into this room. ¡°Neverquestion my dedication to the family,¡± I snarl quietly, baring my teeth. ¡°You won¡¯t live long enough to feel your death if you do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not and I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Turo answers, angrily holding my gaze now. ¡°My job is to keep you alive and to keep you safe. To keep you in power. I¡¯m not questioning your dedication to the family, but rather how vulnerable your distracted state leaves you. How vulnerable it leaves the rest of us who follow you. You can¡¯t deny that you¡¯re not one hundred percent focused on the cartel.¡± I shove him back. ¡°Leave,¡± I order, not wanting to hear this. ¡°How long?¡± he asks, refusing to be dismissed. ¡°How long are you going to be away from London?¡± Painnces through my jaw from how tightly I¡¯m clenching it. ¡°However long it takes,¡± I grit out. It¡¯s only because Arturo is like a second father to me that he hasn¡¯t gotten a bullet in the head for his insubordination. ¡°You¡¯re risking it all for her and she doesn¡¯t even realize it. She¡¯s not worth it.¡± Never mind. I whip my gun out and have it pressed against his forehead in the next breath. ¡°Watch it,¡± I hiss. Heughs humorlessly, unphased by the metal digging into his skin. ¡°I¡¯m yourconsejerofor a reason, Thiago. It¡¯s my job to give you advice, even when I know you¡¯ll put a bullet in my head for hearing it. You don¡¯t have unlimited time to waste here.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°You¡¯re so blinded by your obsession, you can¡¯t even see it. You would never have let a woman interfere in running the business the way you are now. All I¡¯m asking is that you understand what you¡¯re risking by staying here. If word gets out that you¡¯re gone, the Armenians, the Italians, hell, the fuckingEnglishwille for us, weakened as we are by your absence. They¡¯ll smell blood in the water and they¡¯ll attack. With everything that¡¯s been going on, you know they¡¯re looking for any opportunity to take us down right now.¡± He¡¯s speaking to me like I¡¯m still the untrained teenager I was before he helped turn me into a ruthless killer, but that kid is long dead. I know exactly what¡¯s at stake if I extend my trip. I know exactly how much I¡¯m risking for a woman who¡¯d rather run from her life than face being in mine. What he doesn¡¯t understand ¨C what, frankly,Idon¡¯t even understand ¨C is that I am willing to put it all on the line. This obsession has burrowed its way deep into my system, spreading roots that have grown until they¡¯ve tentacled around every part of me. There¡¯s no excising it, there¡¯s only feeding it. And that means chasing after her until I find her. ¡°What option do I have?¡± ¡°Let her go, Thiago. Find someone else.¡± If only it was that easy. Fuck knows, I would if I could. I lower my gun and holster it, my face as upromising as ever when I look at him. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± It¡¯s the truth. My only hope is believing that it¡¯s the chase keeping me interested. That once she¡¯s locked away in my home, she¡¯ll fade to the fringes of my mind, getting progressively less and less invasive until she takes no ce at all. But until then, I have no recourse. He nods, lips falling into a t line. He understands there will be no convincing me away from this path. ¡°Then we better find her quickly.¡± ¡°Go back to London,¡± I order. ¡°I trust you more than anyone. You can be my boots on the ground presence while I run things from here. If things start going tits up, I promise I¡¯ll go back.¡± Arturo steps up to me, pping me on the shoulder. The tension between us has gone, as quick to dissipate as it was to appear. ¡°With all due respect, no. I¡¯m not leaving you here,¡± he says, before adding with a hint of a smile. ¡°Someone needs to keep you in check so you don¡¯t start shooting into crowds if we don¡¯t find her soon. Have Marco go back and forth.¡± I p him on the shoulder in silent thanks and he pulls me into a paternal hug. ¡°Jefe,¡± Joaqu¨ªn, calls as he walks into the bedroom. ¡°Julio just called. Apparently there¡¯s a record of a Caroline Mason getting on a flight to Rome an hour ago.¡± I look at Arturo and he nods. ¡°I¡¯ll get the ne ready, destination: Italy.¡± ??? One weekter, exactly one hour before a full seven days have passed and her window to hold up her end of our deal has psed, Tess calls again. It¡¯s from an unknown number, but I know it¡¯s her. ¡°You¡¯re cutting it close,¡± I rumble, picking up. ¡°Were you waiting anxiously by the phone?¡± she snarks in return, her breathy voice doing absolute numbers inside me. ¡°Something like that,¡± I say with a smirk that she can¡¯t see. ¡°Turn on your camera.¡± ¡°No,¡± she answers firmly. ¡°I know that¡¯s how you found mest time, I pieced it together after you hung up. I¡¯m not falling for it again.¡± ¡°Clever girl,¡± I purr, the praise ringing clearly in my voice. ¡°Put yourself against a nk wall indoors if you¡¯re afraid then. If there¡¯s no information in your background, there¡¯s nothing for me to trace you with.¡± ¡°Then why do you want me to turn on my camera?¡± ¡°I want to see you. Don¡¯t you want to see me?¡± ¡°No.¡± I chuckle, the sound deep. ¡°Liar.¡± A video requestes through and then she¡¯s on my screen, as close to in the flesh as I¡¯ve seen her in weeks. Her hair is up in a ponytail, her makeup is light but shiny, making her look young and innocent. Pink bowtie earrings adorn both her ears. ¡°I¡¯m not a liar,¡± she exims, immediately hissing in a breath when sheys eyes on me. ¡°Why¨Cwhy are you¡­?¡± ¡°Shirtless?¡± She nods, eyes fixed on my chest, her throat working overtime to swallow. ¡°Yes.¡± I lean backwards into the high-backed desk chair of this office so she can get a good view of my bare torso. Her eyes trace slowly down the expanse of my chest, examining the tattoos and scars with obvious interest. They re sharply when her gaze falls on the defined muscles of my abdomen and the fine trail of hair that disappears down into the waistband of my trousers. ¡°I wanted you to see what¡¯s yours,¡± I answer throatily, my voice like velvet. ¡°By default,¡± she mutters bitterly. I frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she adds quickly, dismissing me with a wave. Her gaze moves back to my bare torso like she can¡¯t seem to look away. Her eyes ze over and she absentmindedly licks her lips, her expression turning almost ravenous. I groan, adjusting myself in my trousers and enjoying the way her eyes widen in response. I grab her pink scarf from where it¡¯sying on my desk and hang it loosely around my neck. ¡°I¡¯d say based on the look on your face,amor, you did want to see me.¡± She ignores myment, focusing on the ends of the pink material resting on my chest. ¡°That¡¯s my scarf,¡± she calls out, confused. ¡°You¡­how do you have my scarf?¡± ¡°I found it in your apartment. Along with a few other very interesting items.¡± A handes up to her mouth as shock paints her features. She looks so pretty, fine and breakable like a china doll, and I want her. I want to put her on my shelf. I want to brush her hair and run my fingers across her pink lips and I want to break her. I vacite between possessiveness and an extreme, dangerously uncontroble blinding need to own her in every way. It¡¯s dark and primitive and might lead to her idental destruction in the process. It¡¯s like the excitement of trying to catch a bubble ¡ª so hard to capture, so easy to break if overzealous. ¡°Why did you keep it?¡± She doesn¡¯t even question the fact that I found her apartment. I bunch the scarf against my nose and inhale, looking exactly like the sicko I know I am. When I open my eyes it¡¯s to find hers visibly dted, a captivated look on her face. ¡°It smells like you,¡± I growl. She tries to hide her reaction, but I see the way she shivers in response. ¡°You look¡­¡± she trails off. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Unhinged,¡± she finishes. I take another hit of her scent like an addict puffing on a pipe. ¡°And how does that make you feel?¡± ¡°Scared,¡± she answers. ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± I prompt. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± she says stubbornly. ¡°Not ording to this,¡± I retort, holding up something to the camera so she can see it. She frowns before realization ckens her features. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Your journal?¡± I say, finishing her sentence. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t read that, that¡¯s private! Don¡¯t you have any manners?¡± ¡°None,¡± I quip, opening up the notebook and fluttering the pages tauntingly. An arrogant smile stretches my lips as I look back up at her. ¡°You wrote about me.¡± The satisfaction I felt discovering my name on those pages rivals what I felt during the greatest aplishments of my life. ¡°I said that you were a criminal,¡± she says with a sniff. ¡°You wrote about me,¡± I repeat smugly. ¡°And you¡¯re right, there¡¯s a lot of your usual references to me being a ¡®criminal¡¯, ¡®murderer¡¯, ¡®psychopath¡¯,¡± I say. ¡°But then there¡¯s this one little entrance. My personal favorite from mid-December.¡± ¡°Oh my god, did you read the whole thing?¡± she wails. ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I dreamed ofst night. I¡¯m so embarrassed, I can barely write the words,¡± I vocalize, reading her confession.¡°I woke up trying to make sense of what happened in my dream; all I know is my hand was in my panties and I was touching myself.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Tess cries, red exploding across her cheeks. ¡°¡®Touching myself¡¯ is putting it mildly. I was almost violent with my clit, with giving myself pleasure,¡± I continue, ignoring her plea. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t really me. My hand was just a physical manifestation of what Thiago was doing to me in my dream. Naked. Sweaty. Dominant. His massive body crushing mine as he took what he wanted.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not listening to this,¡± she exims, but she doesn¡¯t make a move to end the call. ¡°He was so rough, his huge cock punishing me, his hands greedy and demanding, his words vulgar and indecent. He pressed his mouth hotly against my ear, praising me for being his good little whore as he thrust inside me. And I loved every second of it. I came so hard on my fingers, that¡¯s what woke me. What¡¯s wrong with me? Why can¡¯t I stop thinking about it?¡± I pause when I finish reading, then close the book, caressing the cover almost reverently. ¡°Sounds like you don¡¯t hate me at all,¡± I say smugly. ¡°You can¡¯t hide from your own words,amor. You¡¯ve got dark wants and desires, just like I thought. I think you¡¯re hiding from them more than you are me. And you were right,¡± I chant, my voice thickening with lust. ¡°I do have a big cock. I¡¯d show you now, but he¡¯s really only avable for in-person introductions.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± she says, burying her head in her hands and refusing to look at me. I hiss in a breath and m forwards until I¡¯m inches from the phone. There¡¯s a veryrge, very familiar diamond on her fourth finger. ¡°You¡¯re still wearing my ring.¡± I¡¯m usually better at hiding the emotion in my voice, but even I can hear how shocked I sound. Her face snaps out of her hands and she pulls them quickly offscreen, as if I could unsee what I just saw. She bites her plump lower lip and looks away, her cheeks still pink and her chest heaving like she just ran a marathon. ¡°You¡¯re horny for my dick and you haven¡¯t taken off the proof that you¡¯re mine,¡± I growl, voice so low it¡¯s barely audible. ¡°Come to me tonight and I¡¯ll make those dreams a reality.¡± Chapter 20 ¡°I-I can¡¯t. I¡¯m taking a dancing ss.¡± I¡¯m aware it¡¯s the most ridiculous thing I could have answered, but I¡¯m frazzled beyond reason right now. Embarrassment crawls up my torturously heated skin, my body still in riotous uproar at his deep, gravelly voice reading out my dream back to me. He made me literally run out of Barcelona without looking back and I left half of my things behind. I realized my notebook was among them, but I never thought he¡¯d find my apartment. The acutely aroused look on his face as he read those words made it so much worse. He wasn¡¯t making fun of me, no, his tongue caressed every word with intent, like he was promising he¡¯d do everything I dreamed of. ¡°I¡¯ll take you dancing.¡± My heart lurches in response, a much more dangerous reaction than lust simply pooling between my legs. ¡°How will you find the time in your busy schedule of violence?¡±Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°If we n ahead, I¡¯m sure I can easily slot it in between two murders without any disruption to my calendar,¡± he quips back drolly. I roll my eyes, fighting the unwanted smile that tugs at my lips. He brings the scarf back up to his nose and inhales once more. There¡¯s something effortlessly attractive about how turned on he is by my scent. ¡°If you¡¯re toozy to catch me, I¡¯m not going to make it easy for you and simply give up.¡± I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m goading him. ¡°Ask me where I am,amor.¡± He settles back into his chair, giving me a look at his entire torso once more. His shoulders are impossibly broad, his chest strong and defined leading into a tapered waist with rock hard abs. He¡¯s so much more intimidating with his clothes off than on, every single inch of his body covered in tattoos. It¡¯s not at all my style. Prior to meeting him I would have said that I disliked tattoos, that my type was someone more clean cut and ssic. But he¡¯s a work of art, all rough edges and violence and menace. I want to run my hands from his shoulders down his chest and to that trail of hair leading to the happynd. I¡¯mpletely losing a hold of myself, easily distracted by his body like some horny teenager. At this point, I¡¯m one more idental eye-fucking away from pping some sense into myself. ¡°Where are you?¡± I ask, absentmindedly, working to control myself. ¡°Rome.¡± My eyes snap up to meet his. I¡¯m trying to hide my reaction but I can feel the blood slowly seep from my face and I know I must go pale. He doesn¡¯t miss a thing, he never does. ¡°So youarestill here,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ve spent a week looking for you, I was wondering if maybe you¡¯d left. That¡¯s good to know.¡± How could he know where I am? I haven¡¯t done anything differently, I¡¯m still using the same cards and phone and emails from before. Nothing¡¯s changed and yet he found my location. I need to leave immediately. ¡°How¡¯s Dagny?¡± he asks, like he can tell I¡¯m about to hang up and run. I snort. ¡°Like you care.¡± My mind is still racing, trying to figure out how he traced me. I¡¯ve continued to do my job exactly like I would if I was still in London, except just doing it remotely. I was surprised when I never heard from my father, when he didn¡¯t forbid me from working or lock my ounts, but I thought maybe he had bigger fish to fry. Now I¡¯m wondering if that¡¯s how Thiago traced me. I¡¯ll need to talk to Wiz tomorrow and make sure I haven¡¯t been detected. He would have told me if there was an obvious hack, but maybe one went undetected? He huffs out a coldugh. ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t. It doesn¡¯t pay to get attached in my line of work, people die every day.¡± ¡°Does it pay to be an unfeeling, hard-hearted asshole?¡± He gives me a sharp smile. ¡°I¡¯m not burdened by trivial, unnecessary emotions. There are very few people I trust, even fewer I care about, less than the fingers I have on one hand. Everyone else is expendable to me. I already told you others will do whatever it takes for a chance at my status and power, and having too many people I care about is a vulnerability I can¡¯t afford. Never forget that, especially when you take your ce as my queen.¡± ¡°That sounds lonely,¡± I can¡¯t help but say. He thinks about it, I can see it in the way his jaw moves back and forth, mulling it over. When he looks back at me, his jawline has gone rigid. ¡°It is.¡± I nod. ¡°I get that.¡± Our lives couldn¡¯t be more different and yet it seems we¡¯re connected by this one very obvious thing. A life that we¡¯ve had to sacrifice a lot for, but that¡¯s ultimately unfulfilling. His gaze is inscrutable but intense on me. ¡°I have to go,¡± I say, my tone light. I find that I didn¡¯t hate our conversation tonight, aside from theplete humiliation of him reading my journal. ¡°I can¡¯t be here now that I know you are.¡± ¡°Go dancing,¡± he says softly. Softer than I¡¯ve heard him say anything. ¡°Run again tomorrow. I won¡¯t look for you tonight, I promise.¡± I scoff. ¡°Pff, do your promises mean anything?¡± ¡°They do. I don¡¯t make promises I can¡¯t keep.¡± His gaze sweeps possessively over my face, warming my cheeks and igniting a low hum inside me. He really is gorgeous, a dark devil inexplicably fascinated by me. ¡°Why do you care if I go dancing?¡± ¡°Because you wrote about it in this,¡± he says, holding up that infernal journal to camera again. ¡°I want to take dance lessons at night. It must be so magical to dance under the stars. I¡¯ve never done it but it¡¯s been on my bucket list forever,¡± he recites, seemingly from memory. There¡¯s a tension between us born from him quoting a wish of mine. It feels so intimate, him having ess to pages in which I poured my heart out. It feels unfair that I wouldn¡¯t get something simr in return. ¡°Do you know it by heart?¡± I say jokingly. Dark eyes bore into mine. ¡°I¡¯ve read it enough times.¡± I blink. ¡°Oh.¡± I wasn¡¯t expecting that response. ¡°Well, you need to give it back.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he says, lips stretching into a grin. ¡°Come and get it.¡± He outrightughs at the expression on my face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think so.¡± He ces the notebook on his chest and it stays there as he bounces barely noticeably back and forth on his chair. ¡°I will give it back once I have you. Until then, this is the best I can get of you so I¡¯m keeping it.¡± He remains unchanged in his fervent pursuit of me. I thought he¡¯d give up long ago. Find a distraction elsewhere, find someone else. But he¡¯s still here, seeking me out, chasing me. Fighting for me. No one¡¯s ever fought for me before. ¡°Ahem,¡± I say, clearing the thick mass in my throat. ¡°I¡¯m going to go, otherwise I¡¯ll bete. I¡¯m trusting you to keep your promise,¡± I say, pointing at him. I don¡¯t know why I do. He called me foolish once and this is a foolish move, but something tells me to believe him. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Bye then.¡± He sits up abruptly. ¡°You¡¯ll call again,¡± he orders. I open my mouth but before I can get a word out he says. ¡°I can threaten you to get you toply if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll call. You suck, you know that right?¡± He chuckles, the muscles of his stomach moving hypnotically as theughter leaves his lips. ¡°So you keep telling me.¡± ¡°Bye, Thiago.¡± ¡°Bye,amor. Have sweet dreams of us tonight, I certainly will.¡± Chapter 21 Caroline Mason flies to Paris the next morning, and I follow. Like in Rome, she manages to evade us in the city. We¡¯ve been here for a week and I still haven¡¯t found her. No one¡¯s ever run from me before, certainly not for this long or this sessfully. The part of me that¡¯s intrigued and almost proud of my fianc¨¦e¡¯s cunning gets smaller and smaller by the day. This has gone on for far too long now. I need her back. I¡¯m agitated, unable to focus. Partially worried about being away from London for so long and also not giving a flying fuck about the business so long as she continues to evade me. My thoughts are consumed by her. By whether or not she enjoyed her dance ss. By visions of another man sping her waist and pulling her close as she crossed a wish off her bucket list. Poisonous bile burns my throat just thinking about it. And now she¡¯s in the most romantic city in the world, beautiful and smart and no doubt wearing pink, and my eyelid twitches almost incessantly the longer I go without finding her. When I do, I¡¯ll tie her up and inflict the same torment on her as she has on me these past weeks. My phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. I groan when I see the name shing on the screen. I knew this call wasing, it was only a matter of time. ¡°Jefe,¡± I say, answering. To the cartel, that¡¯s my title. But there¡¯s one man who outranks me, one man who¡¯s earned the respect of being addressed as such for far longer than I have. My father. ¡°Hijo,¡± he answers, voice warm. ¡°How are you?¡± Tom¨¢s da Silva is ruthless, a coldblooded murderer who¡¯d hang his own flesh and blood by their entrails if they betrayed him. He¡¯s someone who¡¯s feared globally except in remote parts of the world where inte ess is still limited and thus his name hasn¡¯t circted, but when ites to his children, he¡¯s as close to a big softie as a cartel king can be. He¡¯s indulged us our whole lives. It¡¯s why when Adriana came home from the first day of kindergarten iming she¡¯d made a new friend named Valentina and asking if she could live with us, he agreed. It¡¯s why when she begged to go to London on a graduation trip, he let her. It¡¯s why he greenlit an expansion in Europe. Not because he was power hungry, but because I am. I¡¯ve missed his warm voice and his guidance. We haven¡¯t spoken muchtely, partially because I¡¯ve been busy but equally because I¡¯ve been avoiding him. It¡¯s time to face the music now. ¡°I¡¯ve been well. Business is booming.¡± That part is still true, regardless of where I¡¯m currently located. ¡°How about you?¡± My father hasn¡¯t been the same since Adriana passed. The first hit came when we lost my mother to cancer when I was ten. He¡¯d survived, barely. Losing Adriana was too much for him. Outwardly, he seems much the same. Only those closest to him can see how weathered his soul is. He¡¯s tired and I¡¯m doing him no favors by worrying him. He doesn¡¯t answer my question, instead getting straight to the reason he¡¯s calling. ¡°You¡¯ve been neglecting your duties.¡± I grit my teeth to stop myself from barking back an answer and exit the car instead. We¡¯ve been driving across Paris all day, going from neighborhood to neighborhood, clearing them one by one as we searched for Tess.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. I hear car doors open as my men follow me out of the car and onto theRue de Rivoli, a famous street bustling with small souvenir shops and overrun by tourists. Unlike with Arturo, I can¡¯t just simply deny my father¡¯s allegation. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy,¡± I answer, holding the phone close to my ear as I walk casually down the street. Passersby give me a wide berth when they see the tattoos and the dark expression on my face. ¡°Busy searching for your runaway fianc¨¦e.¡± My jaw clenches, my teeth grinding side to side to keep my temper in check. Clearly, someone¡¯s been giving him reports on my actions and whereabouts. It¡¯s not too difficult to figure out it¡¯s Arturo. ¡°I¡¯m close. I know she¡¯s in Paris, it¡¯s just a matter of days until I find her and bring her home.¡± He sighs. ¡°When I told you to get married, I didn¡¯t imagine you¡¯d attach yourself to a problem. She might be from a good background and give you ess to London¡¯s elites, but that won¡¯t be of any use to you if she makes a mockery of you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a temporary setback. I¡¯ll find her soon.¡± I set my voice in the way he recognizes and knows means I¡¯m not going to change my mind. He ignores me. ¡°I¡¯ll find you someone else,¡± he offers. ¡°You remember Cardenas?¡± I smile. ¡°I¡¯ve only been gone a year, of course I do. He¡¯s one of your generals, he oversees theCariberegion.¡± ¡°He has a daughter, udia. She¡¯s been living in London for twelve years now. She came for her studies, met an aristocrat, married him and never left. He died a couple of years ago and left her a substantial fortune on top of all his connections. She could make a very good match.¡± If only those few closest to me would stop trying to get me to find someone else. If only they understood that I would if I could. I stop outside a souvenir shop and lean against one of the arches framing the sidewalk, looking out at the road and theJardin des Tuilerieson the other side of it. There¡¯s no use having this battle with my father. If I pretend to be at least partially open to the idea, it¡¯ll go a lot further for me than just outright refusing. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,jefe.¡± He seems pleased by my answer. ¡°Good,¡± he says. ¡°Everything else going well otherwise? How about¡­¡± he pauses. I don¡¯t let him finish his sentence. ¡°We¡¯re making good progress with the Leones. We captured two more guards yesterday. We¡¯ll find the killer soon.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he answers, his voice taking on a distant edge. ¡°Very good.¡± The ache in his tone makes me want to kill every single Italian still walking this earth. ¡°I have to go,¡± I finally say, rather than causing him more heartache. ¡°Take care of yourself,jefe.¡± ¡°You too,mijo.¡± We end the call without any further words of care orfort. We¡¯ve never been those people, we wouldn¡¯t know what to say. Chapter 22 ¡°Merci, monsieur,¡± I say to the shop owner as I reach across the counter and take the bag he hands me. ¡°De rien. Bonne journ¨¦e, mademoiselle.¡± I spin on my heels and walk towards the exit, happy with my purchase. I found a super cute ma with Dagny¡¯s name on it, the first I¡¯ve seen since being in Europe. It¡¯s got a drawing of the Eiffel Tower and one of Paris¡¯ iconicmp posts on it. She¡¯s going to love it. Briefly, I stop and take a photo of the ma before sending it off to her. I want her to know I¡¯ve been thinking about her because who knows when I¡¯ll be able to see her next. And maybe this will go some way towards apologizing for my fianc¨¦ shooting her. Walking out of the souvenir shop, I turn my head to the left then right, debating which way I want to head next, when I m to an abrupt stop. My heart crashes violently against my rib cage and bounces right off with enough force to make me dizzy. Leaning against the archway, standing not ten meters from me, is Thiago. His back is to me, his face turned to the side as he scours the crowds of tourists. I only have a partial view of his profile, but that¡¯s exactly how I firstid eyes on his face. I¡¯d know him anywhere. Tall, dark and imposing. Sticking out like a sore thumb on this fancy street, getting the attention of all the women and the jealous res of all the men around him. He¡¯s in his signature ck suit, his glower firmly in ce. I¡¯m frozen watching him, warring feelings of disbelief, fear and attractionpeting for dominance. The crowd between us feels like it moves in fast forward as I simply stare at him, drinking in my fill of his features. He¡¯s so close I could take three steps and touch him. Inexplicably, my knee twitches, almost as if it¡¯s urging me to take those steps. The sound of my thundering heartbeat is loud in my ears, drowning out the noise around me. It¡¯s all I can hear. I wish I could convince myself that it was fear making my heart race, but fear isn¡¯t responsible for the yearning in my belly, for the potent lust pooling even lower. He¡¯s still in Europe. He¡¯s still looking for me. Somehow he found the city I traveled to,again. He isn¡¯t giving up, just like he promised. ¡°Thiago!¡± The sound of his name piercing through the air snaps me out of my thoughts and into action. I dip back into the store, hiding behind a postcard stand. I rotate it slightly, pretending to browse but taking advantage of a gap in between the rows to continue staring at him. He turns and my breath catches between my lips. FaceTime doesn¡¯t do him justice; he¡¯s so much more attractive in person. Video does nothing to capture the power of his gaze, the charisma that oozes off him, and the sheer size of his physical presence. He¡¯s a masterpiece adorned with tattoos, making him even more spellbinding. If he¡¯d turned a couple seconds earlier, he would have seen me. ¡°What is it?¡± he asks. ¡°Did you find her?¡± I almost go into cardiac arrest for the second time in five minutes. Just when I think he can¡¯t possibly affect me any more, he raises his hand. Clutched in his fist is my pink scarf. He presses it against his face and inhales like an animal, his eyes rolling back into his head. My knees go weak and waves of arousal hit me in the belly. ¡°Mademoiselle?¡± I nearly jump out of my skin at the voice behind me. The shop owner is staring at me weirdly, probably wondering why my face is pressed halfway into his postcard stand. ¡°Desol¨¦e,¡± I answer, flustered. Desperately, I clutch at the remnants of my secondary school French to form what I hope is a cogent sentence. ¡°Deux minutes.¡± He walks away muttering something under his breath that I¡¯m pretty sure are colorful expletives cursing the British. When I turn back around, Thiago¡¯s hand is down by his side and his guard is level with him. It¡¯s the one I recognize as his lieutenant, the one I¡¯ve been referring to as Younger Guy in my mind. ¡°No,jefe. Sorry.¡± A look of annoyance crosses Thiago¡¯s face before he waves at him to continue. ¡°Fabian just called. He took care of the two Italians we capturedst night.¡± ¡°Did they give him a name?¡± The guard stands with his back to me so I can¡¯t see his expression, but he shakes his head. ¡°No. They said they had no idea who was responsible. They were in the death room for twelve hours and never wavered from that. Fabian thinks they were telling the truth.¡± Thiago roars furiously, scaring unsuspecting people walking past him in the process. His expression ckenspletely, all traces of humanity gone from his face now. ¡°Fuck!¡± he thunders. He starts pacing, uncaring of the crowds around him who jump out of the way to avoid his storming presence. Finally, he stops in front of Younger Guy and points a finger at him. ¡°Enough of these low level footmen who don¡¯t know shit. I want Augusto.¡± I can see Younger Guy¡¯s face now and he nches. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Augusto Leone. The capo. I want him captured alive, whatever it takes. He¡¯ll know who was responsible.¡± A chill rolls down my spine at his tone. I know the name Augusto Leone, all of London does. He¡¯s the head of the Italian mafia, a key part of the Underworld, and a ruthless killer. Going after him is a death sentence. ¡°Jefe, you know I¡¯d never question your orders but Augusto Leone¡­he¡¯s untouchable.¡± Thiago grips his guard by the cor and yanks him against his chest. ¡°Find a way, Marco. I¡¯ve been ying nice for far too long. That ends today. I don¡¯t care what it takes or how much it costs, but you get me Augusto Leone. He¡¯ll answer firsthand for what his family did to Adriana.¡± I turn away from the postcard stand and stumble back deeper into the store. I¡¯ve heard enough. This connects back to what I overheard at the charity event. He¡¯s avenging his lost love even as he¡¯s scouring Europe looking for me. Frustration and disappointment swirl in my gut. Frustration that I let myself think for even a second that his search for me was anything but wounded pride. Disappointment that I was stupid enough to think that someone could be doing something forme. ¡°Vous¡­avez sortie autre?¡± I ask the shop owner in butchered French. When he gives me nothing but a quizzical expression in return, I sigh in annoyance. ¡°Oh, sod this.¡± I take a hundred euro bill out of my wallet and p it on the counter. ¡°Can I use your back exit?¡± He picks up the bill and pockets it, pointing behind him. ¡°Of course, right this way.¡± And of course he speaks English now. Heading towards the back door, I go through a stock room of sorts, and finally erupt onto a side street. I don¡¯t even bother looking back to make sure no one is following me, I run. I run and I run until Ie to a Metro station. I buy a ticket and blindly get on a train, not even checking the direction in which it¡¯s heading.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Settling in by the door, I look out of the windowpane. Exhaustion hits me out of nowhere. It¡¯s bone deep and it overtakes me, making me fall back against the section divider. I¡¯m so, so tired. Of running. Of being constantly on guard. Of being alone. I drop my head back against the partition as the doors close. The train doesn¡¯t move yet and I stare absentmindedly off into the distance, watching unseeingly as long legs wrapped in tailored ck trousers run down the steps, taking them three at a time. His top half isn¡¯t visible yet but whoever he is, he must bete because he¡¯s running furiously to catch the train. I feel bad that he¡¯s just missed it. I lift my head when the man reaches the tform. Realization hits me at the same time as my gaze collides with a pair of vivid, honey-colored eyes that I¡¯vee to know all too well. I straighten, my heart lurching violently into my throat. My mouth dries instantly, my tongue bing rough as sandpaper. Oh, god. I blink, thinking the exhaustion is making me imagine things, but when I open my eyes he¡¯s well and truly there. Thiago. He marches determinedly towards me, the energy that¡¯s swirling around him dangerously vtile and destructive, until hees to a stop right in front of me. All that separates us is two inches of plexiss. His chest heavesboriously, pushing insistently against the material of his dress shirt as he stares back at me. His eyes rake almost manically over my face like they don¡¯t know what to look at first. Like they can¡¯t get enough of looking at all. I must be as taken in by my own perusal of him because I don¡¯t notice that his hand moves to clutch the exterior handle of the train door until I hear him try to yank it open. Mercifully, it doesn¡¯t budge. I¡¯m shaken out of my stupor when he tries once more, then a third time, making the door shake in its hinges. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s actually going to manage to force it open, the brute. I clutch the interior handle to help keep ittched. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m actually doing anything worthwhile, but I have to try. Why isn¡¯t this freaking train moving? I have my answer secondster when an operatores on the speaker and announces that we¡¯re waiting for a train at the next station to leave before we can move. We¡¯ll be stationed at this tform for a couple more minutes in the meantime. ¡°Amor.¡± A shiver runs down my spine, raising goosebumps all over my body. His voice is as clear through the ss as if he¡¯d whispered the pet name right up against my ear. Slowly, I lift my gaze back up to meet his. His eyes darken to midnight, the pupils dting and suffocating the color from his irises. That look is all-consuming, as iming as two arms physically wrapping around me. No one¡¯s ever stared at me that way before. I can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯m in danger. Not of bodily harm, no. Of something far worse. It¡¯s too much and I break our eye contact, looking down and away. I hear an angry, menacing growl followed by a loud crack that makes my bones rattle and startles the other passengers around me. His tone is lethal. ¡°Look at me,amor,¡± he orders. I do. His right hand is smashed against the ss, fingers syed wide at chest level. I¡¯m transfixed by the size of his hand, howrge and dominating it is, seemingly taking up half of the window. Slowly, gaze locked almost hypnotically on his palm, I raise mine to his and ce it softly on the other side of the ss. His fingers are over an inch longer than my own. A shudder runs through me when I remember how he¡¯d gripped my hair, how those very same fingers had thrust inside me while he whispered dirty things up against my ear. His gaze slides unhurriedly down to where our hands meet through the ss. We both stare until I notice his eyes turn disturbingly possessive when he sees the diamond ring still adorning my fourth finger. His fingers bend as if wanting toce his with mine but he grunts in frustration when he remembers the barrier that keeps him from me. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you home,¡± he vows gutturally. His words rumble up his throat, deep and hoarse and more of a guarantee than a suggestion. He tries the door again, to no avail. His men have gathered behind him, overtaking the tform and sending any other potential passengers scurrying. He speaks to me like it¡¯s just the two of us, like no one inside or outside the train stares when in reality dozens of eyes watch us. The operatores back on the speaker to announce the train will be moving soon and just like that, the spell is broken. Reality rushes back in. I drop my hand from the ss and take a step back. rm shes across his face when he overhears the announcement and realizes this ising to an end. Three long beeps sound and then the train begins to move, slowly making its way out of the station. My heart starts racing once more, equally d to put distance between us and dismayed it¡¯s over. He walks alongside my carriage, never quickening his steps and easily keeping pace. I stay at the window, both handsing up to brace myself. ¡°Say something,¡± he asks. There¡¯s an imploring note to his words that heats my blood. He¡¯s never been shy about revealing exactly how I affect him. I shake my head no and then he¡¯s walking faster, abandoning all pretense of casualness. ¡°Say something,¡± he repeats. ¡°Anything.¡± I¡¯m certain the tone he uses is a rare urrence and it pulls at something low in my stomach. A sh of an unidentifiable emotion darts through his eyes before quickly disappearing. I don¡¯t know what it was exactly but it has an unstoppable urge bubbling up my throat and bursting past my lips in the form of a word, my voice unrecognizably soft and longing. ¡°Thiago,¡± I whisper. It feels, somehow, like a confession. He stops abruptly in his tracks. By now, the train has picked up enough speed that it outpaces him and I lose him. I¡¯m not ready to lose him yet. Twisting my neck, I try to look for him through other side windows but there¡¯s no clear view. Something like anxiety twists in my gut and I find myself making my way down the wagon, pushing past passengers with polite ¡°excuse me¡±s and ruder shoulder shoves when they don¡¯t immediately move, until I get to the end of the carriage and can look at him through the back window. He¡¯s standing on the edge of the tform, rapidly receding into the distance. But he¡¯s still staring unflinchingly at me and his expression? His expression is grippingly territorial, downright animalistic even. It sends a fresh shiver coursing down my spine. I blow him a kiss and turn away, thankful to have narrowly escaped. Chapter 23 ¡°You¡¯re a hard man to track down, Tristan.¡± ¡°Fuck me,¡± my brother exims as he jumps, startled by the sound of my voice. When he turns, he finds me standing at the bottom of his front steps with a huge grin on my face. It¡¯s been too long since I saw him, almost half a year, and I¡¯ve missed him. I can tell by the expression on his own features that he feels the same. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he exims, bouncing down the steps and swallowing me up in a bear hug. I can¡¯t help butugh when his familiar armse around me, the relief I feel instantaneous. ¡°What the hell are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?¡± The answer to his first question is far moreplicated than the answer to his second. The truth is, I¡¯d been so turned around by my encounter with Thiago that I ended up taking the train all the way to the end of the line. I got off, disoriented, and took a taxi to the Gare de Lyon where I got on a TGV to Geneva. It doesn¡¯t matter that our father forbids contact between us, I need my brother. Outside of Dagny, he¡¯s the only person who can bring mefort, and I sorely need it. I¡¯m tired of running, of constantly looking over my shoulder, and of being alone. I know that Tristan will make meugh, in the way only your little brother can, and that¡¯s exactly what I need. There¡¯s no danger of Thiago catching up to me. I left him in Paris, probably raging at my narrow escape, and I ditched my identity as Caroline Mason. It took me too long to realize that¡¯s how he must have been tracking me. So now I¡¯m Sabrina Baker, at least for the foreseeable future, and Sabrina can keep running tomorrow.Tonight, Tess is going to enjoy dinner and some banter with her brother. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too,¡± I tell him honestly, stillughing at the shocked expression on his face. ¡°Seriously, what are you doing here? Why did you risk it? Where does the tyrant think you are? How¡¯s mum?¡± My stomach knots painfully at hisst question. I have a lot of things to catch him up on. ¡°Let¡¯s go to dinner and we can talk. I¡¯ll answer your questions then, okay?¡± ??? Tristan correctly guesses that I¡¯m dying for Italian food and takes me to a delicious restaurant in Geneva. There, he tells me all about Nera. While I¡¯m concerned that he¡¯s broken our father¡¯s main rule for his exile, I¡¯m also unsurprised ¨C Tristan has always had low impulse control, especially when ites to women. I assume this is just another of his many meaningless conquests. But then he starts talking about her, his eyes zing over and a smitten smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. His words tumble furiously past his lips, almost like he can¡¯t physically keep up with everything he wants me to know about her. He¡¯s different from thest time I saw him. Happy. Settled. In love, although I¡¯m not sure he even knows he is yet. I¡¯m thrilled for him, but I can¡¯t help the twinge of jealousy that gnaws at me. I never thought my self-proimed manwhore of a little brother was going to meet someone before me. I don¡¯t tell him about our father¡¯s gambling debts or Thiago and our engagement. Where would I even start? I want to focus on the happy news for once. My brother is in love and spending more time pursuing his passion of bing a chef, and that¡¯s all that matters. After sharing an ungodly amount of food, I pay the bill and we wrap ourselves back up in our winter coats before heading outside into the frigid January air. ¡°How have you been?¡± Tristan asks, holding the door open for me. ¡°And how¡¯s Mum? Has dad been leaving her alone?¡± And there it is, the question I¡¯ve been dreading. Guilt eats at me, voracious and relentless. How am I going to tell him that I abandoned her? ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± I finally admit. Tristan frowns, turning to stare at me. ¡°What do you mean? Didn¡¯t you see her this morning before you came here?¡±This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . It¡¯s unbelievably cold outside and my remorse does nothing to warm me up. I look away, unable to meet his gaze. He¡¯ll hate me once I tell him. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but no. I haven¡¯t. I haven¡¯t seen her¨C¡± My words trail off when Tristan¡¯s eyes lift from my face to something over my shoulder. His face falls, the easy smile wiping instantly off his lips. A look unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen etches itself across his face. I feel a presence, something dark and terrifying moving behind me, and my stomach falls because I know deep in my bones exactly who it is. I¡¯m familiar with how his body moves in the dark, like an assassin mastering the shadows and bending them to his will. Warmth spreads at my back, ushering away the cold like it was never even there. This is where I stop running, I realize that now. He¡¯s found me and unlike Paris, this time there¡¯s no plexiss to protect me. Taking a deep breath, I turn around ande face to face with my very own devil. Even though I expected it, a shocked gasp still rips from my throat when our eyes collide. He doesn¡¯t give me the opportunity to even try and run this time. His hand closes around my throat and squeezes. A squeak falls from my lips and I grab his wrist, but he yanks me against him, his other hand closing around my upper arm. I¡¯m pinned against him, inches from the deranged, fric look in his eyes as his gaze roves over my face. Vtile energy pours off of him in waves, making it clear that this situation could easily turn explosive. The air is charged with his anger, his obvious possessiveness. He hasn¡¯t blinked since heid eyes on me. Neither have I. His hand burns around my throat and when I swallow, he squeezes harder. There¡¯s an invisible thread pulling between us, so strong that when he leans forward I find myself tilting my chin up slightly, inadvertently bridging the gap between us. I¡¯m tethered to him, hooked like a fish on a line as I wait for him to speak. My eyes drop to his mouth where he¡¯s sucking on a piece of candy. His lips part and the familiar smell of cinnamon hits my nose. ¡°Found you,¡± he rasps, something akin to relief echoing briefly in his tone. I inhale sharply, not in fear but in response to his heated breath caressing my face. His exhales abrade against each and every single one of my nerve endings, overshadowing the tight emotion in his words. Hungry eyes lower down to my mouth, and I start shaking. His hand tightens around my throat. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Tristan demands. ¡°Get your fucking hands off her.¡± Reality crashes in, shattering our bubble. I¡¯m ashamed to say I momentarily forgot about my brother. Reminded of his presence, I¡¯m concerned for his safety, especially since he¡¯s being held by Marco and Paunchy Guy, who remains nameless still. I¡¯ve seen what Thiago did to my father, what he won¡¯t hesitate to do to anyone who gets in his way. ¡°Tristan, it¡¯s okay,¡± I answer, my voice tremulous. Thiago still hasn¡¯t looked away from me, which is good. Hopefully Tristan can get out of this unscathed. ¡°Let my brother go,¡± I order, with more confidence than I feel. He doesn¡¯t answer. I¡¯d believe he didn¡¯t hear me if his head didn¡¯t tilt in response, his eyes continuing to dissect me. ¡°Let him go and I¡¯lle with you,¡± I offer. This time, Thiago¡¯s reaction is immediate. His lip curls up, his grip turning bruising as he snarls, ¡°I¡¯m taking you regardless.¡± His words are ice cold, delivered on the edge of a de, and I realize I¡¯m dealing with the cartel boss now. So I give him the one thing I know he wants above all else. My total submission. For now, at least. I look up at him from beneath myshes. ¡°I¡¯ll gowillingly.¡± A harsh, low sound jerks from his lips. His hand rxes a fraction, just enough for me to breathe, and then he¡¯s nodding his head and Tristan is released. My brother takes one look at the Rolls Royce that pulls up next to us and shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you with a stranger who¡¯s trying to fucking kidnap you.¡± I need him to leave before Thiago loses all patience and slits his throat. Already, his fingers are drumming against the side of my neck, rapping impatiently over my pulse point. ¡°He¡¯s not¡­¡± I hesitate, my gaze trailing over to meet Tristan¡¯s. ¡°He¡¯s not a stranger,¡± I admit. A rumble from deep within Thiago¡¯s chest erupts into the silence and pulls my attention back to him. He slides his hand around the back of my neck until it closes around my nape, forcing my head back to stare up into his eyes, his massive palm controlling mepletely. ¡°Tell him who I am,¡± he orders, sharp teeth on disy as he grins. I whimper and his thumb rubs gentle circles on the side of my neck. A more naive girl would mistake the gesture as being soothing, but I know he¡¯s just trying to manipte me into giving him what he wants. ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± I start, then stop, unable to finish my sentence. There¡¯s a savage gleam shining in his eyes as they drop to my mouth. He looks to be holding his breath, like he¡¯s hooked on what I¡¯m about to say, like he can¡¯t breathe until I admit what he is to me. I¡¯ve never said the words out loud. He wants to hear them, but I think he wants to see me give in even more. My lips part again and he leans forward, spellbound. ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± His patience snaps. ¡°Tell him,¡± he orders hoarsely. All it takes to sign my life away is saying three little words. I know that once I say them, there¡¯s no turning back. I¡¯m crossing a line that I can¡¯t uncross. His eyes glide back up to mine and snuff out my remaining resistance. I swallow thickly, then finally, almost like a confession, I say the words he¡¯s waited to hear for months. ¡°He¡¯s my fianc¨¦.¡± Thiago unfurls to his full height, an arrogant, deeply victorious look stamped across his features. His eyes gleam with satisfaction and something like pride. ¡°What?¡± Tristan turns an incredulous look in my direction. ¡°When west spoke, I told younotto be in an arranged marriage the next time we saw each other. Did you forget to Q-tip that morning or what?¡± ¡°In my defense, you said I shouldn¡¯t get engaged to a ¡®stuffy prick¡¯. Does he look like one?¡± Tristan eyes him critically before muttering under his breath, ¡°He looks like he fulfills one of those two criteria.¡± My eyes widen, but Thiago brings a swift end to our sibling banter. He uses his grip on my nape to angle my face back up to his. ¡°Get lost, Tristan,¡± he snaps, not bothering to even look at him. A lethal glint shines in his gaze and I know referring to him as my fianc¨¦ was only a temporary truce. He¡¯s going to make me answer for the past couple of months. ¡°Your sister and I have things to discuss. Don¡¯t we,amor?¡± I shudder in his grasp and he feels it. He doesn¡¯t bother to wait for a response from either of us and uses his grip to push me towards the car instead. I throw a look and a quick wave over my shoulder at Tristan before I¡¯m unceremoniously shoved into the back of the car. Chapter 24 The Rolls has two opposing sets of bench seats that face each other. I stumble onto one, crawling to the other end of it in my dress until I¡¯m pressed against the door on the opposite side. I¡¯m surprised to find a man sitting facing me. He looks as startled by my sudden appearance as I am by his, but gives no clue as to his identity. I notice he has a white cor, but don¡¯t have the time to process him or that information before Thiago follows me into the car and ms the door shut behind him. The windows are cked out and that,bined with his massive, stormy presence, makes the space feel like it shrinks down around us. ¡°Father,¡± Thiago says, ignoring me. ¡°Proceed.¡± ¡°Father?¡± I question. My head whips back to the man. More precisely, my gaze drops to his cor and the dots finally connect in my head. ¡°Jefe,¡± he says, inclining his head deferentially. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Panic stretches the edges of my voice, a hint of mania shining through. ¡°Get on with it,¡± Thiago clips impatiently. ¡°Just skip to the important part.¡± The man clears his throat. ¡°Do you, Thiago da Silva, take this woman, Tess Noble, to be yourwfully wedded wife?¡± Horror dawns as my suspicions are confirmed. This is a priest and Thiago intends to have us married this very instant. ¡°Hold on¡ª¡± ¡°I do.¡± I gasp, my gaze pinging back and forth between the two men. ¡°No!¡± Thiago¡¯s hand wraps around my wrist and he tugs me until I fall against him. My chest touches his, my wide eyes shing with his narrowed, angry ones. ¡°Remember your promise,¡± he orders. I¡¯lle willingly. ¡°Do you, Tess Noble, take this man, Thiago da Silva, to be yourwfully wedded husband?¡± I hadn¡¯t known what I was signing up for. I thought I¡¯d have more time. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± I plead. Thiago¡¯s hand wraps once more around my throat, the tattooed cor literally and figuratively closing with the gesture and shackling me for good this time. ¡°So you never run from me again,¡± he growls. ¡°Now say the words.¡± I feel like I¡¯m on fire. The air is both insufficient and suffocating. I¡¯m gasping for breath, considering my options and fighting against the inevitable even when I know it¡¯s a losing battle. There is no escape. ¡°I do,¡± I whisper, barely audibly. ¡°Louder.¡± ¡°I do!¡± I snap, eyes zing with fury as they fly up to meet his. But I only find deep satisfaction burning in his irises. ¡°Yeah,¡± he purrs. ¡°You do.¡± I re at him, venom shining in my eyes. ¡°You can force me to marry you, but you can¡¯t force me toeversubmit to you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± he promises. An ufortable throat clearinges from the opposite seats. ¡°Wonderful,¡± the priest says. ¡°Now to make it official.¡± Thiago snatches a paper from his hands and ces it on myp. A pen is foisted into my fingers next.N?velDrama.Org content. ¡®Certificate of Marriage¡¯ is stamped at the top, my name engraved below a nk line at the bottom. I stare at it uprehendingly. It feels surrealistic to be looking down at my marriage certificate. To know this one flimsy sheet of paper is all that¡¯s needed to tie us together. Did he have it drawn up the day I ran away? ¡°Sign,¡± he orders. A storm of emotion rolls through me. I¡¯m trapped. Trapped in a loveless, likely abusive marriage just like my mother is. I was so desperate to escape her fate. For a second, I thought I had. Tears sting at the corners of my eyes. ¡°Sign it or I¡¯m going back out there and properly introducing myself to your brother.¡± I throw him a scathing look that would level anyone else down to dust. Thiago simply grins, seeming to enjoy my anger as much as he does my capittion. My hand shakes as the pen makes contact with the page. And then it¡¯s done, over in less than a second, almost underwhelming in itsck of pomp and circumstance. Thiago rips the paper from beneath my palm and stares at my signature for a long moment, a sinisterly satisfied smile pulling at his lips. He signs above his own name, takes a picture, and then hands it back to the priest. ¡°The witnesses are outside. Have them sign, then get it registered.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°First thing tomorrow.¡± The priest visibly swallows at the sternmand, understanding the not-so-subtle subtext of what¡¯ll happen to him if he doesn¡¯t deliver. Thest ten minutes feel like aplete blur. I just signed my life away to this man who wants everything from me. This man who wants everything while not being able to give me anything remotely close to the same in return. Bitterness chokes me, as does the unfairness of my circumstances. I¡¯m married. Married. Thiago removes his ck suit jacket, his shoulder nes moving erotically beneath his dress shirt as he does so. Even though I can¡¯t see his skin, I can imagine the way his muscles move lithely to shuck off the offending garment. He folds it, then tosses it on the other seats. His eyes flip cially back up to meet the priest¡¯s. ¡°Get out,¡± he snaps. ¡°Wait¨C¡± The priest does as ordered without even sparing me a nce, happy to save his own skin. Then the door ms shut. My disbelief over my marital status evaporates in an instant as I suddenly realize that I¡¯m stuck in a cage with an angry predator hellbent on eating his prey. But Thiago doesn¡¯t look at me. He bends his arm at the elbow and unbuttons the wrist cuff of his dress shirt before he starts to slowly ¡ª so slowly, it¡¯s torturous to watch ¡ª roll his sleeve up his arm. My throat dries, my eyes glued to the skin he reveals inch by inch. His forearm is covered in tattoos and made up of corded muscles and pronounced, masculine veins traveling up the length of his arm and disappearing into his shirt. He repeats the same process on his other sleeve, his movements as unhurried as with the first because he knows he has me trapped with nowhere to go. When he¡¯s done, he grabs the knot of his tie and yanks it down. He rips it off like it suffocates him and stuffs it inside the pocket of his trousers, his action inplete opposition to the care he showed his sleeves. His fingers dance at his cor next, opening first one button, then another, exposing more tattooed skin. Then, and only then, does he finally look at me. Animalistic eyes find mine and rob me of my breath with one devastatingly searing look. His gaze drives through me with the destructiveness of a shrapnel explosion, sending fragments shattering and piercing through all my vital organs. Hees towards me, his body growing in size until I feel like he eats up the entire space, and then his lip curls back and his teeth bare and he utters one word. A promise, a threat. A physical brand. ¡°Wife.¡± Chapter 27 ¡°Wife.¡± The word rolls off my tongue with ease andfuck, does it make the possessive devil inside me roar in satisfaction to finally be able to say it. Tess flinches. ¡°What are you¡ª¡° I reach across the distance separating us and wrap a hand around her nape. The words die instantly on her tongue as an indecent smirk tugs at my lips. My eyes meet hers, my pupils dting with erotic intent. ¡°Time to kiss the bride,¡± I rasp darkly. She hisses in a sharp breath. Good. She¡¯s going to need it. I drag her across the seat and crash my mouth down on hers. She whimpers, handsing defensively up to my chest, but I crush her against me. My tongue shoves roughly past her lips in search of hers. The taste of her again after having shared only one kiss, after all those weeks, is a heady nightmare. I fist her hair to keep her from moving away but it also has the unintended effect of making her intoxicating scent waft off her locks and up to my nose, electrifying me. This kiss is an attack more than it is a seduction, a nned revenge for running away from me more than a happy reunion. I bite her lip until it bleeds and swallow her answering gasp into my mouth. I¡¯m hard as fucking stone just off one kiss. She¡¯s so reactive, her hands no longer pushing me but holding tightly onto my shirt instead. And when her tonguees tentatively out of her mouth to meet mine, I groan loudly. Even through the spice of my cinnamon candy, I can taste her. Potent and fresh, like the first sip of Coca-C after a hot summer day. I pull her lower lip between mine, soothing the tenderized skin. When she moans softly, I rip my mouth away. Wide, unfocused eyes meet mine, blinking rapidly as they fight through the haze of arousal. I thumb her lower lip, tugging it slowly down before releasing it. ¡°My wife has a hot little mouth,¡± I rumble. ¡°Shall we see what else it can do?¡± She jerks away, twisting her head out of my hold. ¡°No!¡± My eyes harden. ¡°Wrong answer.¡± Grabbing her by the nape once more, I force her down across myp. One second she¡¯s half-sitting, half-kneeling beside me, the next her face is pushed into the seat, her ass perfectly perched over my thighs. Bunching the fabric of her dress in my fist, I shove it up over her hips, revealing the most perfect ass I¡¯ve ever seen, wrapped like a present in a pretty pink thong. When I caught her, I was disappointed to find her wearing blue. I wondered where the pink went, if it was only a phase and one I was forced to miss. Turns out it was waiting for me in my favorite ce. Tess reaches back with a frantic hand to try and stop me. ¡°Thiago¨C¡± I grip her wrists together and pin them against the small of her back. Her saying my name reminds me of thest time she said it ¨C yesterday, when I came within seconds of catching her. When I was alerted by the falcon tailing her brother that she finally showed up at his apartment, I¡¯d been almost blinded by relief knowing I was finally going to catch her. And now she¡¯s going to pay for every single way she¡¯s tortured me over thest six weeks. She shivers when my palm touches the top of her thigh, my hand still cold from being outside. I run it up over the curve of her cheek and to the meaty part of her ass. The contrast of my hands on her skin makes me lightheaded with lust. Her, blonde and petite and innocent, getting sullied byrge, tattooed, bloodied hands. Tess tries lifting her head, but the position makes it impossible. Her voice trembles when I continue caressing her cheek, the movement ominously intentional. ¡°What¡­what are you doing?¡± My finger curls under the fabric of her thong at the junction of her ass and slowly follows it down, removing the offending garment from between her cheeks and tucking it off to the side. Goosebumps break out over her skin when my finger nces against her pussy. ¡°Do you want me to fuck you?¡± She bucks when I press my finger at the bottom of her ass, working my way back up her slit in reverse. I nce over her tight asshole, circling her rim once so she understands who¡¯s in control here. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s not what you wrote in your journal.¡± She blushes. ¡°That was just a dream, it meant nothing. Reality is far different.¡± Ignoring her answer, I ask. ¡°Do you want me to punish you?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°No.¡± The first p to her ass surprises her. She jerks, almost unseating herself from myp and freeing her hands in the process. ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­spankme!¡± I shove her back down, pping her cheek again for good measure. My grip tightens on her wrists until I know they¡¯ll bruise. I want everyone to see them and understand that she¡¯s mine. ¡°Pick one.¡± Her voice shakes. ¡°W-what?¡± A third p makes her bite her lip to suppress a scream. So I add a fourth and pull that delicious sound out of her anyway. ¡°Pickone. Ask me to fuck you or ask me to punish you. You¡¯ve got some making up to me to do,amor, and those are your options.¡± I want her to crawl to me. To admit that she needs me,wantsme, as much as I want her. ¡°You¡¯re already punishing me!¡± she cries out. ¡°How is that a choice?¡± Chuckling darkly, I run my hand over her reddened, heated skin. I dig my fingers into her bruised cheek, making her whimper. Then I spank her ass again. ¡°This is hardly a punishment. You should pick getting fucked if you think it is.¡± Ind four more hard blows, alternating between each cheek. My hand is merciless,ing down time and time again without giving her a second of relief. Her flesh flushes redder and redder with every targeted strike of my palm, my cock throbbing painfully at the color. Tess struggles, but has nowhere to go. She arches her ass, identally serving herself up for more in the process. So that¡¯s exactly what I give her. Two more blowsnd on the meatiest part of her cheeks. She cries out and falls back onto her stomach, tightening her ass instead. ¡°If you clench, it¡¯ll only hurt more.¡± She gasps for breath, her face turned to the side, her eyes finding mine and skewering me with a re. Her cheeks are flushed the same color as her ass and I can¡¯t resist it ¨C I take a picture. She looks downright edible and I want to memorialize the first time I spanked my wife¡¯s ass. Mywife. I can¡¯t imagine I¡¯ll ever grow tired of calling her that. Every time I think it, I feel myself getting more and more territorial over her. Wanting to find a way to permanently mark her. ¡°How can you say this isn¡¯t a punishment, you sadist?¡± My eyes darken in response. I press down on her lower back, pushing her against my hard cock, and shove her legs open. When she immediately tries to close them, I p the inside of her thighs until she¡¯s lewdly spread. ¡°Because of this.¡± Lightly, I p the tips of my fingers against her pussy. The car echoes with the sounds of her dripping wet pussy. ¡°Listen to how soaked you are,amor. Does that sound like pain or pleasure to you?¡± Her legs fly shut, trapping my hand between her thighs. It¡¯s a strategic mistake that I¡¯ll make her pay for. Curling my fingers, I find her opening and thrust two in to the hilt. ¡°Oh, god,¡± she cries, spine arching and hands wringing together at the small of her back. ¡°Just as tight as I remember,¡± I hiss between clenched teeth. ¡°You didn¡¯t let anyone touch you here?¡± She doesn¡¯t answer, but she doesn¡¯t need to. My ring is still on her left hand, my fingers still getting squeezed by her tight heat. I can tell she hasn¡¯t spread her legs for anyone since she ran. Her dreams must have kept her busy. I thrust into her, wishing I had a third hand so I could also cor her neck and squeeze the breath from her throat. ¡°Every time you pretend you hate it when I touch you, I¡¯ll prove to you what a liar you are. You won¡¯t be able to run from the truth like you ran from me, I promise you that.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± she mumbles, face pushed into the seat. She bites the expensive leather to keep from moaning and it enrages me. ¡°Ask me to fuck you.¡± I repeat the order once more, voice so deepened by lust it¡¯s no longer recognizable. Her resistance makes me crazy. She told me she¡¯de willingly and I intend for her to mean that in every single fucking way. ¡°Never,¡± she pants. Iugh, a dark, humorless sound, and pull my fingers from her tight heat. She whines softly at the loss. It turns into a sharp exhale when I fist her hair and use it to yank her backwards. Her back is arched unnaturally as I press my mouth against her ear. ¡°Then you¡¯ll beg,¡± I promise sinisterly. ¡°Only then will I fuck you. I can oust you,amor. I¡¯ve waited long enough to have you. But I¡¯ll need you on your knees begging me to take that sweet pussy before I do.¡± I shove her back down into the seat without waiting for an answer and rip her thong clean off. She gasps again. It¡¯s quickly bing one of my favorite sounds. ¡°Punishment it is,¡± I grunt, reaching for the buckle of my belt. The metal nks in the silence, pulling her attention down to my waist. When I yank on one end and the entire length of the belt whooshes through the loops with an ominous snap, her eyes widen in fear. Maybe she was right to call me a sadist because I feel my cock harden even further at her obvious anticipation. ¡°Changing your mind?¡± She shakes her head stubbornly, but the rm in her gaze remains. ¡°Good,¡± I say, folding the expensive leather so it forms a loop in my hand. ¡°Because nothing¡¯s going to stop me from marking this ass now.¡± ¡°You really are the devil,¡± she bites. I caress her ass with my belt and she flinches at the contact of the cool leather. ¡°And you¡¯re an angel,amor. My angel,¡± I purr. ¡°But I won¡¯t stop until I¡¯ve dragged you down into the depths of hell for eternity with me.¡± With that, I lift the belt and bring it swiftly back down. It whistles excitingly through the air before it strikes her ass. She screams, an open-throated sound that sends a pleasing tingle down my spine. Her hands are white-knuckled fists by the time the second thwackes down on her cheek. A bright red welt lifts on her skin, matching the first. Seeing them appear soothes something that¡¯s been dangerously untamed since she left. ¡°Only five today,amor. But if you run from me again, I won¡¯t stop until you bleed.¡± When she doesn¡¯t answer, I whip her again. Her answering scream is ragged, her throat worked raw from the pain. Thankfully the car is soundproofed, otherwise I¡¯d have to shoot Arturo and Marco for listening to sounds that belong to me. ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°W-what do you want me to say?¡± There are tears in her voice, a wobble to her tone that should make me stop but doesn¡¯t. ¡°Tell me you understand.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t run again.¡± Her mouth ttens into a stubborn line and she turns her face away from me. ¡°Fine. Have it your way.¡± The next three strikes of my belte one after the other, without reprieve. I don¡¯t hold back. I want her to feel pain every time she sits. I want her to remember why it hurts, why her choices made it hurt. ¡°That¡¯s six!¡± she chokes out. ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t run again,¡± I demand. Silence. Except for the whistle of the belt as it strikes her two more times that is. She¡¯s outright crying now. She¡¯s quiet about it, biting her lip so I can¡¯t hear her fall apart, but her shoulders shake nheless. I yank her up by her hair and lick the tears off her cheeks. ¡°You should have asked me to fuck you. I could have been licking that wet pussy or sucking on your tight nipples instead right now.¡± Her mascara runs down her face. She¡¯s never looked more beautiful. The only way she¡¯ll top this moment is when she finally gives in. But for now, I¡¯ll enjoy the fight and the stubbornness. I strike her again. And again. ¡°Thiago!¡± she cries out. Her ass is nowpletely red, a beautiful mosaic of raised, painful welts. I caress them gently with my thumb and she hisses. ¡°You know what I want. Say it or I keep going.¡± Fresh tears pearl at the corner of her eye and travel down her cheek. I scoop them up with a finger and suck them into my mouth, unwilling to waste even one. I lift the belt. ¡°I won¡¯t¡­¡± I stop, frozen by her barely audible interruption. And I wait. Five seconds. Ten. The belt connects with the top of her thighs this time, the ce where they meet her ass. She jolts and screams, falling limply back against the seat. ¡°I won¡¯t run away from you again,¡± she finally whispers, spent. Perverse victory erupts in my veins at her first submission. I toss the belt to the other side of the car and release her wrists, flipping her over in my arms. She cries out when her welted asses into contact with the rough material of my trousers, so I quiet her with a kiss, swallowing up all of her whimpers. ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise,pping at her face like an animal, searching for the salty remnants of her tears. ¡°Was that so hard?¡± ¡°It hurts,¡± she moans, face twisting in agony. I im her mouth once more, licking soothingly at her lips before pulling away with some difficulty. I can¡¯t get enough. ¡°Good girls deserve rewards.¡± Setting her down on the seat, I position myself between her legs. Her eyes go from sluggish to wide open and alert when she sees me kneel on the floor, hooking my arms under each of her bent legs. My gaze drops from her shocked face and moves slowly down her body. I wish I could strip her naked and admire her entire naked form, but I can¡¯t fathom stopping right now. Finally, my eyes fall to the apex of her thighs, focusing on that beautiful spot between her legs that I¡¯ve imagined and pleasured myself to for months. She¡¯s bare except for a perfectnding strip, her pussy and thighs glistening with her arousal. No matter how much she screamed when I used my belt, her wetness proves how turned on she was by the pain. I smirk, suddenly famished, and look back up at her. She swallows thickly when she sees the ravenous expression on my face. ¡°As pretty as I knew you would be.¡± She blushes deliciously and cum leaks from my dick in response. I¡¯m painfully hard. If she doesn¡¯t do something about it soon, I might explode on the spot. I settle back into my haunches, keeping my gaze trained on hers as I lean down towards her center, so that when my tongue first makes contact with her pussy, I¡¯m staring deep into her eyes and taking in her reaction. One soft swipe and she¡¯s gripping the seat, arching her back and pushing her pussy into my face. Grinning, I go back in for seconds, this time finding her entrance and slowly licking up her folds until I reach her clit. Just before I touch the sensitive nub, I reverse and swipe back down to her entrance. She whimpers discontentedly at myck of attention to her clit and her eyes close. ¡°Open your eyes and look at me. Keep looking at me or I stop. Nod if you understand.¡± She nods. ¡°Good girl.¡± When I dive back between her legs this time, it¡¯s no longer soft or exploratory. I devour her,pping aggressively but skillfully at her folds. Moving down to her entrance, I plunge my tongue into her opening, thrusting in and out until she¡¯s panting and moaning my name.This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . She fights against the call to close her eyes and enjoy the ride, surprising me by doing what I asked and keeping them on me instead. I groan happily in response, tightening my hands around her thighs and pulling her partially off the seat so I have better ess to her pussy. She gasps, surprised, her hands clutching desperately for purchase but she doesn¡¯t need it because I¡¯ve got her. I reach for her tits with one hand, squeezing them then pinching her taut nipples. With the other I finally give some attention to her clit, ncing over the sensitive skin only just enough to drive her wild but not to give her relief. Her legs are over my shoulders, her thighs mping my head and her knees crossed at my back to pull me deeper into her pussy. I¡¯m thrusting in and out with my tongue, feeling her muscles tightening, desperately searching for relief. I lick up her juices as theye out of her, not missing a drop of it like I did with her tears. The way she¡¯s arching into me, trying to get more, harder, deeper, confirms everything I already knew about her. She¡¯s a wanton temptress, refreshingly unrehearsed yet absolutely lethal in her seduction. I¡¯ve never felt so fucking turned on eating anyone out, ever. No words are spoken between us, so focused as I am on her pussy and so overwhelmed as she is by her pleasure that the only sounds around us are those of my tongue ying through her wetness. I could stand up right now with her dangling by her knees from my shoulders and I know she¡¯d just hang there, letting me do what I want to her. Tess¡¯s eyes are hooded and hazed over, unseeing but dutifully locked on mine and I don¡¯t know who¡¯s in control here because if she asked me for anything right now, I¡¯d give it to her. Her moans get progressively louder, alternating with frustrated whimpers as she searches for a climax that¡¯s both on the brink of being explosive and just out of reach. When I feel her legs start to shake, I pull my tongue out of her pussy, lick her clit once and blow a breath on it. She freezes, her entire body racking over with shivers. I wait, then close my lips around her oversensitized clit and suck it into my mouth. Tess screams, her hand flying down to my head. She fists my hair as if to keep me from moving away and starts to ride my face as the orgasm hits her. ¡°Oh, my¡­I¡¯m¨CI¡¯m¡­Oh,god.¡± Her eyes roll back into her head as she¡¯s sted to the highest level of pleasure. Her muscles tense and she trembles violently. Her hips push up and into my mouth, asking for more, and I keep suckling until she screams even louder, unbelievably turned on by the way shebusts, then falls apart. She doesn¡¯t hold back in any way, she just lets herself gopletely. When I sense her on the other side of her orgasm, I release her clit and she goes limp. Pushing up onto my elbows, I sink them on the seat on either side of her and drape my body over hers, finding her mouth and kissing her. I want her to taste herself, more precisely to taste what I do to her. Cupping the back of her neck, I angle her head and deepen the kiss. She doesn¡¯t push me away but she doesn¡¯t kiss me back. Not at first. But then her tongue darts hesitantly across my lips. She moans softly and goes back for another taste and a third until she¡¯s meeting me stroke for stroke. My cock is pressed against her lower stomach and I know she can feel it throbbing, desperate for his own introduction to my addiction. Pulling back, I give her a dark, possessive look and palm the de at my ankle. ¡°Remember the night we officially met, when I caught you snooping on cartel business?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t snooping.¡± Her eyes widen when theynd on the silver de that I bring up between us. Fear dtes her pupils, drowning out the clear blue I¡¯m obsessed with. Frowning, I realize she thinks I¡¯m going to hurt her with it. Haven¡¯t I made it clear how deep this obsession runs? ¡°Remember what I told you? The fantasies I have about you?¡± She swallows thickly, nodding almost imperceptibly as her eyes remain trained on my knife. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we make a couple of those a reality.¡± I bring the knife down to the neckline of her dress and cut it off her with one precise, lethal swipe. Her bra gets shredded next, both items falling off her chest and revealing a perfect pair of plump tits and dusky pink nipples. Pink. Chapter 28 Icry out in rm when my breasts bounce free of my bra. Immediately, I try to cover myself. Thiago just had his mouth on my pussy but beingpletely naked in front of him is a whole new level of vulnerable that I¡¯m not ready for. He grabs my wrists in each hand and pins them on either side of my head. Eyes that shine with dark intent stare heatedly at my chest, hypnotized by what they see. The intensity with which he looks at me rivals the ferocity with which he handled me when he was punishing me. The burn in my cheeks radiates white-hot heat across my entire ass. My brain is still operating at a thousand miles per hour trying to process what just happened. He hurt me then gave me the most intense orgasm of my entire life, both in terms of skill and the way he¡¯d stared possessively at me through it all. He enjoyed causing me pain and getting me to submit. He¡¯d promised me months ago that he would, so I don¡¯t know why I was surprised when he pulled me over hisp and spanked me. I can¡¯t believe he did it, but even more shocking, I can¡¯t believe I let him. The spanking had hurt beyond measure, and even though I hadn¡¯t wanted him to see any weakness, I hadn¡¯t been able to stop myself from screaming and eventually crying. But the more his belt came down, the more he forced me to submit to him, the stronger the heat in my core had grown. With each strike on my cheeks, an electric tingle had zapped through me. By the time he was done, my pussy was throbbing so painfully with need that when he put his mouth on me, I¡¯d been powerless to resist him. If he¡¯d asked again if I wanted to fuck him after he ate me out, I don¡¯t know if I would have found the strength to say no. And now he looks at me with even more ownership in his gaze, raking those honeyed eyes over my breasts like he¡¯s trying to imprint them in his memory. I struggle against his hold, trying to free myself. That only results in his eyes darkening further when he sees the way my breasts bounce on my chest. ¡°Get off me, Thiago. I¡¯m done with this,¡± I hiss, finding a shred of mental rity. Fingers close around my throat and squeeze violently. I grip them with my now free hand, trying to loosen his hold so as to let the air back in. Thiago bends over me until his face is inches from mine. This close, he¡¯s the perfect picture of violent beauty. The teardrop and rose tattoos have liquid lust swirling low in my belly, amplified by the dizziness from theck of oxygen that¡¯s starting to muddle my thoughts. ¡°We¡¯re married now,¡± he whispers angrily through gritted teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll never be done with me.¡± I loosen a finger and manage to squeak out one word. ¡°Divorce.¡± I regret it almost instantly. The crazy that shes in his eyes and stays there tells me that was the wrong thing to say. He releases my throat and grips my hair instead, using it to yank me down horizontally along the seat bench of the car. Sharp pain spikes at the base of my head and throughout my raw ass. He¡¯s hardly being gentle. When I¡¯mying t on the seat, he pins my hands above my head and straddles me. Using the tie he¡¯d stuffed into his pocket earlier, he wraps my wrists and secures them tightly to the locked door handle.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. He sits on my chest, his weight on me a threat in it of itself. ¡°Utter that word one more time and I¡¯ll make sure you never see the light of day again.¡± I tug at the restraint in vain. Frustrated, I look back up at him. ¡°You¡¯d prefer killing me to having me divorce you?¡± I never thought that my husband might be responsible for the ¡°til death do us part¡± section of our vows. But then again, I also never thought I¡¯d be mentioning divorce within thirty minutes of getting married. Thiago runs a palm from my neck and slowly down my chest, eyes heating what feels like hundreds of degrees as he worshipfully contours the curves of my body. He doesn¡¯t miss the way my nipples pebble into hard tips at his touch. ¡°I¡¯d never kill you, I think about you too much,¡± he admits almost offhandedly. My heart jolts in my chest and I wonder if he can feel it. His gentle caress turns proprietary and he palms my breasts, massaging the flesh roughly with calloused hands. He tweaks my nipple and I cry out sharply. ¡°But I¡¯ll chain you to my bed and keep you away from prying eyes. I¡¯ll whip your ass and use this tight little body every day until you can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯ll make it so that you can¡¯t live without me, so that the thought of divorcing me alone will kill you.¡± I watch with wary, exhrated eyes as he straightens on his knees and starts to unbutton his trousers. ¡°You have no idea how much I¡¯ve waited for this moment. How I¡¯ve imagined catching you and finally unwrapping you.¡± His zipperes down, the metallic sound unbelievably erotic. ¡°The ways in which I pictured taking you, each more depraved than the next. Each growing progressively more deranged with every passing day. And now I have your perfect bodyid out before me, even more wless than anything I dreamed of, and you¡¯re making me hold back. Ask me to fuck you,amor, or know that I¡¯ll have to satiate myself in a very different way.¡± He pushes his trousers down around his ass, his cock bouncing free of his boxers and bobbing between us. My throat dries when I get my first look at him. He¡¯srge and thick, his skin golden like the rest of him. A throbbing vein runs along the underside of his shaft, his tip curving slightly upwards. Saliva pools in my mouth at the sight of him. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever thought a penis was pretty before, but his is an absolute turn on. Swallowing thickly, I shake my head. A dark grin touches his lips when he sees the way I stare at his cock. He reaches into apartment between the two rows of seats and pulls out a small bottle full of brown liquid. Opening it, he dumps the contents onto my chest. I squeal when the cool liquid hits me, the smell of whiskey simultaneously assaulting my nostrils. He just poured a mini of Jack on my breasts. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, tugging at my restraints. He grips my hair and pulls my head up, positioning it so it rests angled against the door behind me, my chin touching my chest. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± A violent shiver racks my body at his order and I find myself obeying. My lips part. ¡°Wider.¡± Pre-cum glistens on his tip. He spits in his hand and starts stroking his lengthnguidly, staring down at me as I do what he says. My pussy clenches at the dark look on his face. ¡°If I feel teeth, I¡¯m fucking your ass raw,¡± he warns. ¡°No amount of whiskey will make that easy for you to take.¡± Before I can react, he pushes my breasts together with both hands and slides his hard cock into that dark passage. His tipes out the other side and plunges into my mouth, catching me off guard. I gag loudly, unprepared for his size and the bite of alcohol thates with it. ¡°Rx your throat,¡± he orders, pulling out then thrusting forward once more. I open wider and loosen those muscles. ¡°Good girl.¡± His grip on my breasts is rough, bruising almost, as he presses them together to create the tightest passage possible. He pumps through the valley slowly, paced thrusts that allow him to watch as his length travels from between my tits and straight into my mouth. Every push of his cock past my lips is dizzying, the size of himbined with the strong, potent alcohol pushing me past my limits. My head spins, my breathse in ragged, limited bursts and I think I¡¯m going to pass out. Only the sounds he¡¯s making keep me from doing so. Unintelligible moans, corrupted sounds of pleasure, and dirty praise fall in garbled groans from his lips. He throws his head back in the throes of passion and I stare up at the way his Adam¡¯s apple dances while his cock is halfway down my throat. ¡°This mouth,¡± he praises. His own breathse in pants ripped from deep within his chest and even though he¡¯s got me tied up and is straddling me, I feel the power of this moment like a surge of adrenaline in my veins. He¡¯s at my mercy now and he doesn¡¯t even know it, so I stick out my tongue and suction my lips around his dick, suckling him deeper into my mouth with every one of his thrusts. Triumph burns in my belly when I see the answering violent shudder that racks through him. It¡¯s darkly rewarding to see him as affected as I am. His chin drops down, his ckened, demented eyes finding mine and taking stock of the fact that I¡¯m in control. A crazed level of lust shes through them and he releases my breasts. One hand wraps around my throat and the other sys against the window as he leans forward, hips hovering above my face now. This new angle gives him unprecedented ess to my mouth. He grins when he sees the way my eyes widen, and then he starts plowing into me. His thrusts reach so far down into my throat that they cut off my air supply and gag me. He pounds into my mouth with rapid, vicious thrusts, enjoying the choking sounds falling from my lips. ¡°I said I wanted toe all over your tits, but I¡¯m going to paint your tight little throat instead to thank it for all its hard work,¡± he growls. Tears squeeze out from the corners of my eyes but I refuse to look away from him. Based on the sounds he¡¯s continuing to make, I¡¯m still in control and I won¡¯t let him take that from me. I hum around his length, sending vibrations running up his shaft. He bites out a curse and shoves in to the hilt, holding himself there. My mouth is stretched to beyond the point of pain, my lips one move away from splitting. I try to breathe through my nose, but there¡¯s no oxygen. ¡°Do you like getting your mouth fucked by your husband?¡± I shake my head once, forced to move his cock with my mouth, and heughs. ¡°You look obscene.¡± He pulls out. I rip in a desperate breath, mouth wide, and he uses the opportunity to plunge right back in. All nine inches make their way back down my bruised throat. He grabs my wrists where they¡¯re tied together and uses them as an anchor as he pulls his hips away, rolling them back and forth as he picks a rapid rhythm back up. Saliva and pre-cum mix together and leak from the corners of my mouth and down my cheeks. ¡°I think you love it. And I think you¡¯re going to look beautiful with a mouthful of my cum.¡± Thiago¡¯s eyes close, his face screwing with pleasure, his thrusts getting progressively more frantic. I shift my tongue from side to side, brushing wetly against his shaft and he groans loudly. Finally, he shoves all the way back down my throat and stays there. A harsh wave of shivers hits him, making him shake, and then he¡¯sing with a loud curse. His cock pulses in my mouth, jet after jet of warm cum hitting the back of my throat just like he promised. I do my best to swallow it down, but between that and his hard dick still being in my mouth, I choke. He stays there for a couple more minutes, enjoying the heated warmth of my mouth as hees down from his orgasm. Finally, he pulls out. He puts himself away and pulls his trousers back up his hips, tucking his shirt in his waistband. I¡¯m breathing roughly, my face a mess of saliva, cum, tears, and mascara. When his eyese back to mine, there¡¯s a soft look in them. It¡¯s almost scarier than the unhinged violence I¡¯m used to because of the way it tugs at a part of me that resides deep in my chest. Thiago leans in and kisses me, a decisive iming of my lips with his, his tongue swiping confidently against mine. I expect him to keep going, to angle my face and extend the kiss but instead he pulls back. His gaze tracks my lips as he retreats, a slow, cocky smile pulling at the corners of his mouth and revealing white teeth. His eyes flick to mine and raze me to the ground with one possessive look, his smile widening when he takes in my blown pupils, my parted lips, and the fact that I¡¯m leaning in, wordlessly searching for his retreating mouth with my own. With one look, he makes me understand who¡¯s really in control here. I may have run from him for a couple months, I may have made him chase me, but as easily as with the press of his lips against mine, he¡¯s got all the power back over me. He makes it clear that what I ran away to avoid ¨C that feeling of being entirely consumed and obsessed with him ¨C he can flip back on inside me with no effort at all. And that¡¯s how I know I have to resist the call to sleep with him. Already, the urge sings through my veins, begging me to ask him to fuck me, but it needs to be ignored. Only once he¡¯s rubbed my face in my own desperation for him does he bring his mouth crashing back down on mine, devouring me. We eventually separate, both of us gasping for air. Thiago pushes the hair lovingly back from my face, the touch more tender than anything he¡¯s done since catching me. I can¡¯t tell which part of him is more possessive; his stare, his touch, or the words he whispers sinisterly against my mouth. ¡°My pretty little wife,¡± he purrs. ¡°You¡¯re all mine now.¡± Chapter 29 Ispend the vast majority of the flight back to London reying images of Tess in the various positions I¡¯d put her in in the back of the Rolls. She hasn¡¯t spoken since I told her she was mine, refusing to acknowledge Marco and Arturo when they joined us in the car. The air was still thick with our shared lust, but if they noticed it, they didn¡¯tment on it. Tess keeps ignoring us once we get on the jet, going to the back of the ne into the bedroom and mming the door shut behind her. If she knew how hard her shitty attitude made me, she¡¯d change her tactics. The more she throws these little tantrums, the more I want to strip and spank her again. Not touching her is going to be a fucking mission, but one I¡¯m happily taking on. I want to see her finally break for me, admitting she wants me as much as I want her. ¡°So,jefe,¡± Marco starts with a grin, throwing an ace down on the table. He, Arturo, and I are ying cards. ¡°Was it everything you imagined?¡± ¡°It?¡± ¡°You know,her. Was she everything you thought she¡¯d be? You¡¯ve certainly waited long enough for her.¡± I stare at him over my cards. ¡°Are you asking me if I enjoyed fucking my wife?¡± We¡¯ve been drinking tequ, throwing back shots with each lost hand, so his tongue is loosened beyond caution. Marco gulps and looks at Arturo for assistance, but the man in question avoids his gaze. ¡°Well¡­not in so many words.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Do you want to know what the punishment is for disrespecting my wife?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s¨C¡± ¡°Death.¡± I throw my cards on the table. ¡°Do you want to rethink your question?¡± ¡°What I meant is, are you happy to have found her?¡± I give him a withering look and ignore him, speaking to Arturo instead. ¡°Send out a marriage announcement for us. By tomorrow, I want the entire country to know that Tess Noble is mine.¡± ¡°What photo should I use? I don¡¯t believe we have any of the happy couple,¡± he answers. Arturo should be thrilled that I¡¯m on my way back to London and my responsibilities, but he¡¯s still got a sour expression on his face. He doesn¡¯t like her, and I¡¯m not sure why. I nod. ¡°Bring your phone,¡± I tell him, standing. ¡°Marco, you stay here.¡± I head to the back of the ne towards the bedroom and throw the door open. Tess isying on the bed on her stomach, kicking her feet yfully as she reads a book. Only I know that she¡¯s not wearing any panties under that short dress and that she¡¯s notying on her back because her ass is covered in painful welts. She startles when I burst in and then scrambles to her feet, making sure to put the bed between us. I notice that she¡¯s cleaned up. Her hair is tamed, her makeup perfect. I miss the mess she¡¯d been after the Rolls. ¡°Hello, wife.¡± ¡°Hello,devil,¡± she snarks back. I make a mental note, adding to my marriage bucket list to get her to refer to me as her husband. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Arturo is going to take a picture of us for our wedding announcement.¡± I move deeper into the bedroom. ¡°Nowe here and pretend to be in love with me.¡± She snorts, crossing her arms. ¡°That¡¯s simply beyond my abilities. You should have forced an Oscar-winning actress to marry you if that was a requirement.¡± ¡°Come here,amor.¡± ¡°And what if I don¡¯t? Are you going to tie me up again?¡± ¡°Not until you beg me. I told you, I keep my promises.¡± ¡°Happy days then because that means you¡¯ll never touch me again.¡± A grin pulls at my lips. ¡°I think you want to provoke me into action,preciosa. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the one who came looking for me at the museum, and it wasn¡¯t because you wanted to exchange business cards. I give it less than two weeks before I make you eat those words.¡± She scoffs. ¡°Alothas changed since then. If you¡¯re waiting for me to beg, you¡¯ll be waiting a very long time. They¡¯ll engrave ¡®died waiting for something that was never going to happen¡¯ on your tombstone.¡± ¡°What¡¯s changed?¡± She gives me a bewildered look. ¡°Are you serious? You shot my friend!¡± ¡°And you ran from me.¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t equatable actions, Thiago.¡± ¡°They are to me,¡± I clip harshly. ¡°You took something of mine and I damaged something of yours in return. We¡¯re even.¡± I¡¯m aware that Arturo is watching this entire exchange go down, an inscrutable but unconvinced look on his face. ¡°And yet here I am,¡± she says, extending her arms to either side of her. ¡°Back in your possession. You can¡¯t un-shoot Dagny.¡± ¡°She¡¯s alive, isn¡¯t she? Like I said,¡± I retort, ¡°even.¡± ¡°That¡¯spletely irrational. You hurt her, you threatened my brother a couple hours ago, who knows what else you¡¯re capable of? How am I supposed to ever trust you with them, let alone with myself?¡± Arguing with a bed separating us is a special kind of irony. It¡¯s doubly infuriating because it keeps me from being able to reach for her when I¡¯m desperate to grip her throat in my fist. My hand tightens at my side instead. ¡°Nobody and nothing else mattered to me except finding you,¡± I growl. ¡°It¡¯s simple; never run from me again, never push me to that limit again, and your friends and family will be safe. I don¡¯t give a fuck about any of them if I have you.¡± Reaching out a hand towards her, I motion for her to take it and join me on this side of the bed. ¡°Nowe take a picture, otherwise I¡¯ll use the one I took of you face down and ass up on myp.¡± Tess blushes furiously, but ces her hand in mine and walks across the bed towards me. When she¡¯s at the edge, I sp her waist and bring her down, pulling her against me so my chest is to her back. I ce a hand low on her hip, hovering dangerously close to her pussy, and brush her hair off her shoulder and behind her ear. Bending my head, I bring my mouth level with hers and whisper. ¡°Embrace the way I made you feel in the car, the way I made your body sing.¡± Goosebumps break out over the slope of her neck, the fine fairs standing to attention at my every word. ¡°I could be sweet to you,amor,¡±I breathe into her hair,¡°if you let me.¡± She turns her head towards me, lips brushing against mine. Her breaths skate against my mouth, her eyes lifting to meet mine and¡ª ¡°Done,¡± Arturo clips harshly. One curt syble and the spell is broken. Tess walks out of my arms and turns her back to me. ??? The gates to my property open and the car ambles down the private drive. Tess¡¯s eyes widen when she sees my home for the first time. It¡¯s a sprawling mansion, an impressive structure with a massive greenhouse off to the side. I needed something big that could house theings and goings of my team, and something off the street to avoid suspicious eyes. ¡°This is where you live?¡± she asks as we exit the car and walk up the front steps. ¡°Clearly the murdering business is a lucrative one.¡± ¡°Very,¡± I confirm. Marco calls for me as we approach the front door. ¡°Jefe.¡± I turn and he walks up to me, whispering in my ear so Tess can¡¯t hear him, ¡°we have Augusto Leone.¡± Adrenaline shoots through my veins, immediately pulling my attention from my new bride to my lieutenant. He nods when my gaze flies up to meet his, arge grin spreading over his face. I grab Marco¡¯s arm and walk back down to the bottom of the steps. Tess pauses and turns to watch us both, a suspicious look stamped on her features. ¡°Alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Joder. How?¡± ¡°You know the Italians pride themselves on their traditional marriages. Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s pretty frowned upon for anybody, let alone thecapo, to be fucking around on their wife. Turns out Augusto has a bit of a vice; he likes them young. The falcons have been watching him for weeks and every other Friday he visits a certain Lolita at Madame Marceline¡¯s. It¡¯s an escort house if you couldn¡¯t tell. Anyway, he only brings two men with him since he doesn¡¯t want Mrs. Leone to find out about it.¡± He outrightughs. ¡°I caught him with his pants around his ankles and hisid dick in his hand. You should have seen the look on his face,jefe. Priceless.¡± While I¡¯d been focused on finding Tess, Marco had traveled back and forth to London a few times to be my eyes and ears on the ground and to help lead the capture of Augusto Leone. Leone is a paranoid motherfucker and thus heavily guarded at all times. I hadn¡¯t expected my men to be able to catch him this quickly. I p him on the shoulder. ¡°Well done, Marco. That¡¯s exactly the kind of good fucking news I wanted on return to London.¡± A relieved look crosses his face. He¡¯s been on edge since the idiotic remarks he made on the ne.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s being held in one of the bomb shelters.¡± During the Second World War, an intricate maze of underground bomb shelters were built under the heart of the city to protect civilians from German shellings. We bought a number of them when we came to London, seeing them as an easy way to transport drugs across the city while avoiding detection. They¡¯ve also been useful in other ways, namely for detaining prisoners we don¡¯t want traced back to us. I look up at Tess who¡¯s watching me suspiciously. ¡°Wait for me in the car,¡± I instruct Marco and Turo, before jogging back up the stairs to her. When I¡¯m level with her, I bend and scoop her up into my arms. ¡°Hey!¡± she cries, startled. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to carry my new bride across the threshold, aren¡¯t I?¡± I say, walking us both through the front doors after the staff opens them. Her arm is around my neck, her other hand t on my chest as she holds on to me. I¡¯m not even sure she realizes it. ¡°You forced me to marry you in the back of a car in a ¡®ceremony¡¯,¡± she says, using air quotes, ¡°performed by a priest who looked about as thrilled to be there as I was. No need to start following traditions now.¡± I set her down, making sure to glide her body down mine as I release her. Based on the way her eyes widen, she doesn¡¯t miss the feel of my hard cock against her backside. ¡°H, jefe,¡± Diana says, walking into the foyer and giving me a warm smile. ¡°Bienvenido a casa.Y qui¨¦n es este?¡± she asks, turning towards Tess. ¡°Diana, this is Tess, my wife.¡± It¡¯s a credit to the years Diana has spent in my employ that she doesn¡¯t react to the news I¡¯vee back married. ¡°She doesn¡¯t speak Spanish. Tess, this is Diana, my house manager.¡± Tess takes a step forward and extends her hand. ¡°H Diana, me mo Tess.Hablo un poquito de Espa?ol, pero estoy mucho m¨¢s c¨®moda hando ingl¨¦s,¡± she tells her with a smile before turning a withering re my way. ¡°Maybe you should learn a thing or two about me before you start speaking on my behalf with any sort of confidence.¡± I throw my head back andugh. Yet again I¡¯ve underestimated her. That¡¯s not a mistake I¡¯ll make a third time. cing a hand on Tess¡¯s waist, I tip her chin up with my other. ¡°I look forward to discovering every little thing about you,amor.¡± Diana watches the exchange between us with fascinated eyes. Releasing Tess, I turn towards her. ¡°Diana, please show Tess around the house and grounds. In terms of rooms, you can set her up in the second master. She won¡¯t sleep in my bed until she asks,¡± I add with a grin. Tess snorts in response, but I catch the way she swallows thickly and quickly averts her gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t hold your breath.¡± ¡°Get settled. I¡¯ll be backter,¡± I say, heading for the door. ¡°Wait,¡± Tess calls out, making me stop. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°When will you be back?¡± My brows raise in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d care,amor. In fact, I thought you¡¯d be happy to hear I¡¯d be gone.¡± She walks up to me. ¡°You kidnap me, force me on a ne back to London, and now you¡¯re going to abandon me in your home with people I don¡¯t know? Why not just leave me in Switzend?¡± I reach up and cup her chin, running my thumb over her lower lip. ¡°Because this is your home now too. Better get used to it.¡± Chapter 30 Thiago doesn¡¯te back that night, nor the next. He leaves me in this strange house, full of staff who give me looks ranging from interested to wary. They incline their heads when I walk by, muttering a whispered ¡°se?ora¡± before walking away. I spend the weekend exploring the house and familiarizing myself with the floor n. The second floor features two master suites connected by one extravagant bathroom, eight additional bedrooms, a game room and arge study. The ground floor was conceived with hosting in mind, featuringrge, open rooms ¡ª a recently renovated kitchen, multiple living rooms, a billiards room, a cinema, a library, and even a ballroom. The house feels endless and also not what I expected of a cartel boss. I thought death would cling to the walls, but it¡¯s a beautiful home mixing English and Colombian influences. While exploring the house, Ie across a door that seems to lead to a third floor, a basement of some kind. But when I go to open it, I¡¯m stopped by a guard who tells me the area is off limits. I have no doubt that whatever I¡¯d find down there, I wouldn¡¯t want to see anyway. I don¡¯t put up a fight and walk away instead. I spend the rest of the weekend FaceTiming Dagny to show her the house, watching TV, reading, and generally wallowing in utter frustration that Thiago left me here alone, with no timeframe for his return. Now it¡¯ste Sunday night, he¡¯s still not back and I can¡¯t sleep. Lifting up on one elbow, I see the rm clock on my bedside table indicates that it¡¯s one a.m. I blow out a frustrated breath and settle back into my pillows. At least I have my first day back at work tomorrow. I¡¯ll be able to leave this empty house where no one speaks to me and get back into my routine. The hardest part of being away has been working remotely, so I¡¯m excited to be back in the office and to see my team again. Anxiety swirls in my belly just thinking about seeing my father again, and wondering if he¡¯ll throw me out the second I walk through the building doors or not. When I¡¯m no closer to sleep by two a.m., I throw back the covers and get out of bed. Donning my slippers and wrapping a robe around myself, I leave my room and amble down the stairs. I stop in front of a framed photo of a beautiful woman taking pride of ce on a mantel in the foyer. It¡¯s the only photo there and something about her stops me every time I walk past it. Warm chocte-brown eyes twinkle above a bright smile and stare straight down the lens. She¡¯s breathtaking. This must be Adriana. Setting the frame down and wrapping my arms around myself, I head back towards the kitchen. I¡¯m in desperate need of ice cream. The kitchen is sorge that there are two full fridges, plus a third in the pantry. The first freezer is filled with dozens of ice packs and nothing else, sending a shiver down my spine. I open the second expecting to find much the same, but instead see various boxes of frozen meals. ¡°This is a good sign,¡± I mutter to myself, rummaging around until my fingers brush against a rounded shape I¡¯d recognize anywhere. Pulling it out, I let out a happy whoop when I see it¡¯s cookie dough vored. ¡°Victory!¡± ¡°Find what you were looking for?¡± I shriek and whirl around, pping a hand over my racing heart as if to slow its beat. Thiago is standing by the door, encased in shadows and barely illuminated by a sliver of moonlight. His hands are buried in his pockets, his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck, the top three buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned. His jacket is slung casually over his wrist. ¡°Are you trying to scare me to death?¡± I ask, working to calm my breathing. He appears in the kitchen as if he hasn¡¯t been gone for two days. I hate the needy feeling that tugs at my core when a smile pulls at his lips. He moves further into the room,ing to stand on the other side of the ind. ¡°I made quite a bit of noiseing in. Although not as much as you were, rooting around in that freezer like you were digging for gold.¡± ¡°You did say this was my home now,¡± I answer, opening up a drawer and taking out a spoon. He hums approvingly, setting his jacket down on the counter. I¡¯m surprised when he takes a seat and stays, my body on high alert like it always is when he¡¯s around. ¡°You like ice cream?¡± ¡°Do I like ice cream,¡± I repeat. ¡°You don¡¯t know your wife at all.¡± He settles back into his seat, crossing his thick arms over his chest. The move stretches the fabric until it looks like it¡¯s going to burst at the seams. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get to know her.¡± This close, I can see that his cor is covered in blood. I can even smell the metallic notes of it. My heart races faster, but this time I can¡¯t im it¡¯s due to the surprise of his reappearance. Swallowing thickly, I stab my spoon directly into the top of the ice cream and bring it up to my lips. His eyesnguidly trace everything I do,ing to rest on where my mouth closes around the spoon. ¡°When I can¡¯t sleep, I eat ice cream,¡± I admit. ¡°There¡¯s something about having it in the middle of night, maybe because it¡¯s so cold, it just helps me rx and go to sleep.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your favorite vor?¡±Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°I¡¯m a rocky road kinda girl. I assume cookie dough is your favorite since it¡¯s the only one you have?¡± ¡°It must be Diana¡¯s. I¡¯m not a huge fan of ice cream.¡± ¡°Right. Plus, Hell is obviously too hot a ce for it to be a viable desert option anyway,¡± I add with a winsome smile. ¡°Does the devil perhaps prefer snacking on innocent souls?¡± Scooping another spoonful, I lift my eyes to meet his. I find them burning intensely on me already. They darken infinite degrees when my lips close around the metal once more. ¡°Give me a bite,¡± he asks, voice rough like gravel. He leans forward when I open the drawer, gaze boring into mine as he shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need my own spoon. Yours will do.¡± Butterflies erupt in my belly. I immediately want to douse them in mes. Nothing he does should be attractive to me. I dig my spoon into the ice cream and am lifting it back up to my own lips when his hand shoots out and wraps around my wrist, stopping me. Electricity sparks to life, sizzling where he touches me. Keeping his eyes on mine, he redirects my hand to his mouth. His lips close around the spoon and he groans as he licks the ice cream up with his tongue. His eyes re as he pulls back, releasing the now empty utensil. ¡°Delicious,¡± he growls. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s talking about the ice cream or the taste of me hepped off the spoon we shared. ¡°Obviously not as tasty as innocent souls, but maybe you¡¯ll convince me if I try it enough.¡± My breath catches in my throat when he stands. He¡¯s still holding my arm and he turns it over carefully. Bending, he ces his lips on the sensitive skin of my wrist. There¡¯s no way he misses the frantic pulsating of my heartbeat. His mouth barely grazes me when he kisses me, the touch more teasing and maddening than anything. He hovers there for a second, then pulls away. With one final indecipherable look, he walks out, leaving me with rapidly melting ice cream and a civil war raging inside my body between my heart who wants to throw caution to the wind and follow my husband up to his bedroom and my head who knows better. Chapter 31 The next morning, I¡¯m finishing up breakfast at the kitchen ind when Diana walks in carrying three very full and very obviously heavy shopping bags. ¡°Oh, let me help you with those!¡± I say, walking up to her and taking two out of her hands. ¡°Thank you,se?ora, that¡¯s very kind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the bare minimum,¡± I say, setting the bags down on the counter. ¡°Gosh, these are heavy. What did you even need to buy this early in the morning?¡± As I ask, I open the first bag to start putting away the groceries and pause when I see its contents. There are half a dozen pints of rocky road ice cream of three different brands in it. In the second bag, I find yet another half dozen pints, also of different brands. I throw Diana a puzzled look as she starts pulling even more tubs out of the third bag. ¡°First thing this morning,Diablotexted me a list of ten different brands of rocky road ice cream he wanted me to keep stocked in the freezer. He didn¡¯t borate on why he needed it so I don¡¯t know, but I have a feeling you might,¡± she adds with a cheeky smile. ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell him which one was your favorite once you¡¯ve tried them all.¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t even know what to say,¡± I say, staring at the pints I¡¯m holding in each hand, at a loss for words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry he made you do that this morning, I can¡¯t even imagine how many stores you had to go to to find all of these.¡± Diana takes my hand and pats it in her warm, calloused ones. ¡°Don¡¯t be. He hasn¡¯t been the same since Adriana died, but I saw the way he looked at you Friday. It¡¯s good to see someone bringing a smile to his face and maybe healing his broken heart.¡± The smile slips off my own face and I yank my hand out of hers, startling her. Bitterness swells like poison in my gut at her words. I¡¯m not surprised Diana would know about Thiago¡¯s lost love, but I hate the ease with which she just brought her up to me. Am I meant to live with the ghost of her,peting for position in this house? I refuse to. The ice cream can go straight to the trash for all I care, the gesture is meaningless. ¡°Please don¡¯t speak to me about Adriana again, Diana. I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± Guiltnces through me at her reaction to my harsh tone, but I turn away from her confounded, hurt expression. ¡°Oh. All right.¡± ¡°Thank you for buying the ice cream,¡± I say, grabbing my purse off a nearby chair. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡± I walk out of the kitchen without waiting for a response, my gait stiff and uneven. Annoyance hazes my vision. I hate that anything to do with Thiago can impact my mood this way. I need to get out of this house before I erupt. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, Barbie?¡± a rude voice asks from behind me. Five minutes ago, I likely would have been able to ignore and brush off the sneered nickname. But fresh off my conversation with Diana, I¡¯m spoiling for a fight. Turning, Ie face to face with Paunchy Guy, who I now know is called Arturo. He¡¯s the man who caught me listening at the door at the museum, the one who¡¯s red at me every single time we¡¯ve made eye contact since, and now the one getting in my way. ¡°My name is Tess,¡± I say through gritted teeth, my fists clenching at my sides. ¡°And I¡¯m going to work.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Visions of my father¡¯s vtile mood swings sh through my eyes. The fear that I might inherit those genes is always in the back of my mind. I¡¯m forever conscious of my outward reactions andrgely favor rational responses, always working to control my temper when it arises so I don¡¯t spiral into an emotional reaction, but I¡¯m on edge right now. I squeeze my fists to keep myself collected. ¡°Listen, Arturo. I understand you don¡¯t like me. The feeling is entirely mutual, although I¡¯m not sure what your issue is with me, whereas you¡¯ve pointed a gun at me, kidnapped me and are now trying to hold me captive. Regardless, you¡¯re out of your mind if you think you¡¯re going to stop me from going to work.¡± With that, I turn my back on him and reach for the front door. The handle doesn¡¯t budge an inch. It¡¯s locked from the inside. Slowly, I face him once more. ¡°Open this door.¡± ¡°Go back to your room, Barbie. It¡¯s safer for you there.¡± ¡°What do you think your boss is going to say when I tell him you stopped me from leaving?¡± He throws his head back in an open-throatedugh. The longer he mocks me, the more I feel the blood draining from my face and my anger rising to rece it. Finally, he stops. Takes a step towards me. ¡°Who do you think told me to keep you here?¡± And I snap. I shove my bag at Arturo, catching him off guard enough that he stumbles backwards, and take off for the stairs. I came willingly as promised, I didn¡¯t put up a fight, I even stayed put over the weekend when Thiago left, but I won¡¯t be held prisoner here. I¡¯ve had enough. ¡°Stop.¡± Arturo calls out after me. My anger renders me deaf and blind to anything but tracking down my either soon to be dead or ex husband. ¡°Joder,stop!¡± When I¡¯m on the second floor, I fly down the hall to his study where I know I¡¯ll find him. My strides are long and determined despite my tight, pink skirt and matching heels. My chest heaves against my white blouse, stretching the fabric. I don¡¯t stop to think about the wisdom of my decision, that rational part of me gone for now. I barge into his study without knocking instead. The door flies open with such force that it bounces off the wall with a deafening bang. ¡°I won¡¯t be controlled like my father controls my mother, Thiago. Like he¡¯s controlled me mywhole life. I need my independence. If you think you¡¯re going to make me give up my job, you can go screw yourself. I won¡¯t do it!¡± Deafening silence meets my tirade as Ie to a stop in the middle of his office. I¡¯m met with half a dozen pairs of eyes looking back at me in shock. Thiago sits behind his desk surrounded by a group of his men, each looking more dangerous than the next. Each looking at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind. And maybe I have because the deadly quiet has a dousing effect on my anger. It¡¯s so silent that my ears pick up a passing breeze in the room. The soldiers seem both frozen in disbelief and tensed, as if bracing themselves for a cataclysmic explosion. ¡°Sorry,jefe,¡± Arturo says out of breath, having finally caught up with me. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t listen.¡± Thiago¡¯s gaze is pitch ck as it bores into me, his face grim. ¡°L¨¢rguese,¡± he orders. His men shuffle towards the exit and my bravery leaves the room with them. Marco gives me a pitying look on his way out. The door clicks softly closed behind thest of them and I¡¯m left alone with the giant, angry bear I just cattle prodded. The air feels thin all of a sudden, like I¡¯m bartering for oxygen with every breath I pull in as the weight of his dark re crushes my lungs. Dark eyes track me. ¡°Fine.¡± I startle. That¡¯s the veryst thing I expected him to say. ¡°¡®Fine¡¯?¡± He remains seated, settling back into his chair in a deceptively rxed manner. I know better than to let my own guard down, however. ¡°Yes, fine. No one asked you to give up your job.¡± I stalk up to his desk and scowl at him. ¡°Stoplyingto me. Arturo just stopped me from leaving and said you ordered him to keep me here.¡± He narrows his eyes on me, clearly not liking my tone. ¡°Because it¡¯s our honeymoon. What kind of bride goes to work the week after getting married? This marriage serves a purpose. We need to keep up appearances outside these four walls ¡ª we wouldn¡¯t want people thinking this is anything other than a happy union, would we?¡± I don¡¯t let him see the stung expression on my face. I thought it was pure interest driving him to find me, it never dawned on me that he might want to marry me for reasons of social advancement. Stupid and naive of me really, he¡¯s told me from the beginning that all he cares about is power. Still it¡¯s unexpected, the sharp pain that ws at my chest. Unexpectedandunwanted. Leaning forward, I ce my palms on his desk and bring our faces level with each other¡¯s.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°You left for two days the second we set foot in Ennd,¡± I use. ¡°Tell me how that helped with this fictional image of a happy union?¡± ¡°No one except my most trusted men knew I was gone. To everybody else we were both home, fucking like rabbits in happily wedded bliss.¡± His jaw works and I can tell he¡¯s holding himself back. ¡°Obviously, your little performance just now will require damage control.¡± His voice dips. ¡°You¡¯ll help me fix your mess.¡± Straightening, I cross my arms once more and give him an uncertain look. ¡°You¡¯re really fine with having a wife who works?¡± I ask distrustfully. ¡°I told you you¡¯d be my queen, Tess.¡± He knows how to punish me with harmless words. He hasn¡¯t called me anything but ¡®amor¡¯ or ¡®preciosa¡¯ since our encounter at my father¡¯s house, so his use of my name feels like a reproach. It makes me dig my nails into my palms. ¡°The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. I¡¯d be a fool to get in her way. You can return to work in two weeks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a surprisingly advanced train of thought for someone in your position.¡± ¡°Half of my lieutenants are women and the vast majority of them are far more valuable to me than their male counterparts. Only idiots underestimate the limitless potential of female rage. I choose to weaponize it.¡± Inexplicable jealousy burns hot red in my veins, catching me off guard. Just exactly how are these women making themselves valuable to him? Conflicting emotions constantly war for dominance inside me. One minute I loathe him, the next I¡¯m possessive of him. I go from pleasantly surprised, to hopeful, to hurt and disappointed like the swing of a pendulum. It¡¯s been three days and I¡¯m already doing a piss poor job of protecting myself against him. ¡°Okay then, so long as we understand each other.¡± I nod sharply and turn on my heel, intent on ending this conversation, happy to be getting out of there unscathed. ¡°Tess.¡± This time, my name feels like thesh of a whip against my back. I wish he¡¯d stop saying it like that. Or saying it at all. When I turn, he¡¯s rounding his desk anding towards me. It dawns on me that I was a fool to think he¡¯d just sit there and quietly take my anger. His hand finds my throat, the cor closing around my skin, and he squeezes. He shoves me backwards until I hit the study wall where he locks me in with his other hand above my shoulder. Eyes darken on me and his tongue turns lethal. ¡°Watch the way you fucking speak to me.¡± Turning my face, I avert my eyes. He grips my jaw and forces me to look back at him instead. Chaotic golden eyes meet mine, demented energy swirling in his irises. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for any of this, Thiago. This is who you married, so I¡¯ll talk to you how I like. If you don¡¯t like it, then feel free to let me go.¡± Fingers cuff my throat once more, toofortable with the controlling, dominating gesture. ¡°In private, maybe.¡± His face hardens, his jaw setting. ¡°In public, you¡¯ll obey.¡± ¡°I¨C¡± ¡°Or you¡¯ll learn to take public punishments too.¡± My throat dries, the meaning of his words making my eyes widen. Swallowing is difficult around the mass in my throat. ¡°I give you a long leash because your mouth amuses me, but don¡¯t forget who I am. Disrespect me in front of my men again and I¡¯ll fix your attitude for you while they watch.¡± He squeezes my throat and I whimper. ¡°Got it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Now, turn around. Face the wall.¡± He releases me. Dizzying arousal makes me do what he orders without even questioning it. I press my cheek against the wall and wait for him to tell me what to do next. Wait for him to hopefully touch me. The hum thates from deep within his chest tells me he approves. ¡°Lift up your skirt.¡± I grab the hem and shimmy it up my thighs, shaking my hips to make the tight fabric go over my cheeks. ¡°You like my attitude,¡± I argue defiantly. His eyes are stuck on my backside, unblinking. ¡°What was that?¡± I bunch my skirt around my waist, revealing my ass in a pair of cheekyce undies. ¡°Youlikemy attitude,¡± I repeat, the note of defiance louder this time. A sharp pnds swiftly on my cheek, connecting with one of the still healing welts, and I yelp. ¡°I do,¡± he purrs. Thiago¡¯s facees, his mouth hovering over my ear. ¡°Are you trying to use that pretty mouth to provoke me into fucking you?¡± I hear the smirk in his voice, the cocky bastard. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re hoping will happen?¡± There¡¯s a sound of a buckle opening, followed by a zippering down. My stomach flips. Another hard p falls on my cheek, making me cry out. ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± he rumbles disappointedly. Another p. The sting radiates through my cheek. ¡°Because I¡¯m dying to feel your tight pussy wrapped around my cock.¡± And then I feel his length pressing against my ass. I¡¯m panting, my breathsing in ragged, excited exhales. Thiago carefully fingers the line of my panties on my cheek, driving me wildly impatient, until a finger curls under the fabric and he lifts it. I feel him push his cock into the opening, then remove his finger so that he¡¯s held snugly against my ass by myce underwear. He grabs my waist with both hands and repositions himself until his chest is glued against my back. The move shifts his cock and it slips between the cheeks of my ass, slotting in perfectly like a key sliding into a lock. He groans loudly, the rough, guttural sound hitting my ear and raising goosebumps all over my skin. ¡°Hands together above your head,¡± he orders. When I do as he asks, he grabs my wrists with one hand and cuffs the back of my neck with the other, pressing me even more firmly against the wall. And then he starts moving. He rocks his hips, splitting my cheeks with every back and forth movement, my panties keeping his dick in ce. The sensation of his thick cock pumping obscenely between the lobes of my ass and forcing my cheeks to part has my eyes rolling back into my head. Desire coils hot and needy in my belly. ¡°Ask me,¡± he grunts. His thrusts are rough and fast, his quest for pleasure mindless. This is purely selfish, purely for him. He uses my body to get himself off, uncaring of my own arousal, his groans turning more and more chaotic the faster he thrusts up between my cheeks. Still it feels like my blood is boiling in my veins. He ps my ass again when I don¡¯t answer, the sting traveling down and straight to my clit. ¡°Come on, ask me to fuck you,¡± he coaxes. ¡°Ask me.¡± Knowing just standing like this is enough to get him to act like aplete animal, one devoid of any humanity who ruts mindlessly against me to get off, makes me feel powerful and aroused beyond measure. I shake my head weakly. He snarls in response, using his hold on my nape to twist my neck to the side. The muscles of his stomach tighten and when he pauses at the top of a thrust, his mouthes down onto the slope of my shoulder. He bares his teeth and drives them deeply into my throat, breaking the skin and staying locked there as his climax hits. I scream at the pain of his bite, but he doesn¡¯t let go. The suction of his mouth and theps of his tongue offset the ache caused by his teeth. His entire body shudders as hees endlessly, covering my entire ass and lower back in jets of his cum. His teeth are buried so deep inside my flesh, I¡¯m sure the mark they¡¯re going to leave will be permanent. Finally, he releases my throat and wrists. He squeezes my reddened cheeks painfully then grabs my skirt where it¡¯s still bunched at my waist and tugs it back down over my butt, trapping the mess of his cum on my ass and panties beneath it. He smooths a hand down my covered backside, ensuring the skirt sticks to the proof of his pleasure. ¡°Don¡¯t clean up, I want you to wear this all day. Every time you feel my cum on your cheeks or sliding down your thighs, think about how you arched your back and shook your ass so your husband could get off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Disobey me and I¡¯ll do it again, except this time I¡¯ll make you walk around this house naked with my cum dried on your lips, tits, and your ass.¡± I¡¯m panting, a coiled live wire of frustrated arousal desperately needing relief. But I know he won¡¯t give me any unless I ask. When I turn around, there¡¯s blood on his teeth and lips. My fingers lift to brush against the raw skin where my neck meets my shoulder ande away with red on them. The psycho drew blood. His eyes darken to ck, something scarily possessive shining in them as he watches a drop of blood roll down my neck. He picks it up on his index and stares at it before sucking his finger deeply into his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s sealed in blood. You¡¯re officially imed,amor.¡± Chapter 32 Ifeel more than hear her approach me as she makes her way quietly into the kitchen. There¡¯s an excited pinch in my stomach knowing she chose to meet me again tonight. Without turning around, I head to the freezer and ask. ¡°Which brand do you want to try this time?¡± A few nights ago, I¡¯d been trying to sleep when the possibility that she might go in search of another midnight snack had driven me out of bed and down to the kitchen. I¡¯d sat at the ind, watching time tick away slowly on the clock above the stove, wondering if this was a futile effort. After a couple hours, I realized she wasn¡¯t showing up and went back upstairs. I¡¯de down the following night and waited, but she hadn¡¯t shown. The next night had gone much the same as the two previous, except this time when I stood and turned to go back upstairs, I¡¯d been stopped in my tracks by the sight of Tess hesitating in the entryway of the kitchen. She¡¯d looked unsure whether toe in or not. The way my insides softenedying eyes on her should have been rming, but I ignored that physical warning like I had so many others before it. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you,¡± I¡¯d said. A hint of a smile tugged at her lips. ¡°Tonight?¡± ¡°Every night.¡± She¡¯d sat down at the ind and tipped her chin at the freezer. ¡°Let¡¯s start your rocky road education then.¡± We¡¯d found each other the following evening, and again tonight, making this the third night in a row. It¡¯s be an unspoken ritual, one we don¡¯t discuss during the day but one that I also don¡¯t want to miss. The truth is, I haven¡¯t been home much this past week. I¡¯ve been keeping Augusto alive, albeit just barely at this point, and have spent thest few days trying to extricate the location of Adriana¡¯s body and the name of the man responsible for her death out of him. His men are tearing the city apart looking for their missingcaposo every extra day we keep him alive and in our custody is a massive risk. But turns out he¡¯s a stubborn bastard. He¡¯s refused to give us anything useful, no matter how much fun Fabian and Marco have had with him. During the long, fruitless days I spend in hispany, the only thing I look forward to are these midnight encounters with my wife. More than I should, especially since there¡¯s something else entirely that I should be focused on. When heys bleeding at my feet, all I can think about is the way her blonde hair falls across her face when she bends her head to take a bite of ice cream. How she closes her eyes and savors that first taste. How they¡¯re apletely different shade of blue when they reopen. It¡¯s starting to be a problem, how much she upies my thoughts. Even now, as I look back at her over my shoulder because she hasn¡¯t answered my question, my breathing deregtes seeing her in a two-piece silk pajama set withce trim. Groaning, I drop my forehead against the freezer and will my cock to stop throbbing. ¡°Do me a favor and close your robe.¡± ¡°Says the guy without a shirt on.¡± Turning, I see her eyes are hooded and tracing down the slope of my back. Her chest rises noticeably with every one of her deep inhales. ¡°There¡¯s a simple solution to this¡­ difortwe¡¯re both feeling,¡± I point out. She sniffs, closing her robe. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Laughing, I turn back towards the fridge. ¡°Which one do you want tonight?¡± We¡¯ve already tasted half of the brands of rocky road Diana bought, ranking them from worst to best. Soon we¡¯ll either have to change vors or go out of the country to find brands we haven¡¯t tried. ¡°Hmm, how about the one that has a cow on the front,¡± she suggests, taking a seat as I grab the pint and a spoon and set both on the ind between us. ¡°For a guy who doesn¡¯t like ice cream, you¡¯re sure making a habit of staying upte to have some.¡± My eyes find hers as I remove the tub¡¯s lid. ¡°Who said it¡¯s the ice cream I¡¯m staying up for?¡± She blushes prettily, looking down and away, and that softening in my chest is back, more acute than ever. When I hand her the pint, she pushes it back towards me. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to try first tonight,¡± she exins. ¡°Then your turn tomorrow night?¡± I ask. She nods, blushing once more when I say, ¡°It¡¯s a date.¡± I try the ice cream, enjoying the way her eyes stay fixed on my face to take in my reaction. ¡°You were right, rocky road really is a superior vor.¡± ¡°I told you,¡± she says with a pleased smile, reaching for the spoon in my hand and taking a bite herself. ¡°Mhmm, this oneisgood. Very nice marshmallow to chocte ratio.¡± ¡°Where does it fall in the rankings for you?¡± ¡°First, I think.¡± I whistle, impressed. ¡°First ce, huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s by far the best one. Here, try another bite,¡± she adds, lifting the spoon to my mouth. Before I can eat it, a drop of melted ice cream slides off the rounded surface of the spoon and falls onto my chest. Both of our gazes fly to the spot, watching as it slowly trails down between my pecs. Lifting my eyes to hers, I find them heated, her cheeks flushed pink. ¡°I can practically hear your thoughts,amor.¡± She doesn¡¯t acknowledge me, her handing towards me instead. Gently, delicately almost, she traces the path of the ice cream with her index, scooping it up and bringing it to her mouth. ¡°Yum,¡± she says, smacking her lips. My pupils dte, my eyes darkening with lust. ¡°There you go again, provoking me.¡± Tess eyes me innocently. ¡°It¡¯s too good to waste even a drop.¡± A growl rumbles deep in my chest, making my voice vibrate when I speak. ¡°I¡¯m keeping note of all of this.¡± ¡°I hope you are,¡± she whispers.N?velDrama.Org content. My eyes snap to hers. ¡°What was that?¡± Clearing her throat, she answers. ¡°Nothing. Here have some more ice cream.¡± Chapter 33 Im the book I¡¯m reading closed and rest it on my stomach. I¡¯m so restless. Golden eyes torment me, a deep, raspy voice talking over reading the words in my head. After licking the ice cream off my fingerst night, I gave an excuse about being tired and ran out of the kitchen. The tension had been so taut it felt like an explosion was about to go off if I didn¡¯t get myself out of there. With every passing day, I feel my resolve weakening. I spend the day alone, upied by nothing other than thoughts of Thiago and looking forward to the brief moments we share when the staff has gone to bed and the night leaves us as just a man and a woman, alone. At this point, it¡¯s solely my pride and morals keeping me from giving in. I¡¯m so desperate for release that my mood is impacted. I¡¯m more prone to frustration, to anger, over the littlest things. I¡¯ve lived my entire life in the shadow of a violent man and I balk at the thought of tying myself to another, especially one exponentially more dangerous. But something about him calls to me, refusing to be ignored. I know he¡¯s home, I stood at the window in my room and watched him walk in earlier, but he didn¡¯te find me and I didn¡¯t go to him. My restlessness changes that, driving me out of my bedroom to go in search of my husband. Exhration buzzes like static electricity on my skin. He¡¯s not in his study or his bedroom, so I head downstairs. I¡¯m about to go towards the kitchen when something tells me to check the library instead. The door is slightly ajar. I push it open. The room is warm and inviting, with luxurious rugs in red and brown tones covering every inch of the floor. The walls are outfitted with vintage bookshelves, each full to bursting with books. The soft, golden lighting makes me think of Thiago¡¯s eyes. The man in question is sitting in an expensive leather chair, settled deep into it with his legs spread. A lowball ss of clear liquid hovers near his lips as his eyes find mine over the rim. I¡¯ve seen him drink it before but have never asked what it was. ¡°Is that tequ?¡± He shakes his head, his enigmatic eyes following me as I close the door behind me. ¡°Aguardiente.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± A slow smirk pulls at his mouth. He drinks the remaining ounce of liquid in one go. I¡¯m hypnotized by the way his throat works as he swallows, by the way his tongue rolls over his lips. A powerful ache pulsates in my core. He sets the ss down before flicking his eyes back up to me. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe have a taste?¡± Arousal lurches into my veins with the force of a tsunami. How is he so effortlessly dominant and attractive? Categoricallymalein a way I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever like. His head slowly reclines back against his chair as I approach, his eyes tracking me with dark, focused intensity. The alcohol glistens on his lips, illuminated by the subdued lighting above him. There¡¯s a loud voice pulling at me to lick it off. The daring look he gives me throws that same challenge down between us like a gauntlet. Disappointment shes in his eyes when I pick up his empty ss and pour myself a shot instead. I hate the way I immediately want to correct my behavior, hate how important it suddenly is to me to see that pleased look back in his eye. But it is. Bringing the ss up to my lips, I run my tongue along the entire rim, searching for his taste. Staring into his eyes the entire time I do so. The air is so taut between us, it¡¯s hard to breathe. And when his eyespletely haze over with lust like a thunderous fog rolling through his pupils, my stomach contracts painfully. Finally, I take a sip and the liquid burns my throat. The brief pain is a wee distraction from the desire pulsing in my pussy for this man. It allows me a moment of reprieve, of shaking my head to rid myself of these dizzying thoughts. ¡°ck liquorice,¡± I note, surprised. ¡°Like my perfume.¡± He nods, eyes locked on my lips. ¡°Now you see why I¡¯ve been hooked on you from the beginning.¡± Thiago looks at me like he did through FaceTime when I was in Rome, with eyes so intense they¡¯re almost suffocating. That singr look has me bncing on a tightrope of emotion with precipitous drops on either side. On the one hand, his clear obsession with me is riveting and intoxicating. On the other, can I trust that his intensity won¡¯t one day trante into actual violence towards me outside the bedroom? I take another sip, really tasting theaguardientenow. Immediately, I start coughing. Wincing, I say. ¡°I like how it sits on the tongue, but I see why it¡¯s called ¡®burning water¡¯. It¡¯s fiery going down.¡± Another smile pulls at his lips and I light up on the inside like a kid who just got a gold star from her teacher. ¡°Your Spanish is better than you intimated to Diana.¡± ¡°Forget you know that, I need to be able to listen in on your conversations without you censoring yourself.¡± He chuckles softly, taking the ss from me and drinking. ¡°It¡¯s a Colombian liquor. My favorite.¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯d drink something that moody,¡± I note, getting distracted by the way his ck shirt stretches across his chest. His defined shoulders tighten the band of fabric around his chiseled arms. Masculinity rolls off him in confident waves. He¡¯s a master at seduction even when stationary, even when he¡¯s not even trying. It¡¯s distracting. Maddening. ¡°It¡¯s my father¡¯s drink of choice. I grew up having it with him on our terrace while he taught me everything about the business.¡± He swirls the liquid around in the bottom of the ss, a thoughtful look taking his gaze somewhere faraway. ¡°I think of him every time I have some.¡± ¡°Is he¡­¡± He looks up at me, understanding my unasked question. ¡°He¡¯s still alive. He lives back home in Bogot¨¢.¡± Envy fills me at the fondness with which he speaks about his dad. Clearly they have a close rtionship, even with the distance. When I ran away, my father made no attempts to even try and contact me. He hasn¡¯t reached out now that I¡¯m back and he knows I¡¯m married. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there one day and show you where I¡¯m from. Show you the city that made your husband the way he is,amor.¡± The pace of my heartbeat is unnatural, its cadence far faster than what the rest of my body can seemingly keep up with. Thiago points at the bottle ofaguardiente. ¡°What¡¯s the verdict? Do you like it?¡± Maybe it¡¯s because of the way he looks at me, or maybe it¡¯s the alcohol or even this entire sexually-tense moment between us. Whatever the reason, something loosens my tongue and makes me say, ¡°At first sip, yes. But it¡¯s hard to confirm without tasting it on the skin.¡± He doesn¡¯t immediately react. Then his brow quirks. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t go to uni so you really can¡¯t be med for not knowing this, but the biggest lesson I learned there is that alcohol tastes better when done as a body shot.¡± It¡¯s a lie. I spent my time at Cambridge and Wharton with my head firmly in my books, studying and stressing over exams. The closest I¡¯vee to a body shot is spilling tequ on myself when someone bumped into me and licking the stickiness off my forearm. But desire emboldens me to foolish heights. And when he stands, his tall body unfurling to his full height above me, that desire spreads like wildfire throughout my entire body. He¡¯s so close that I need to tilt my chin up to meet his gaze. I¡¯m about to speak when he grabs his t-shirt by the cor and effortlessly removes it, stealing the words from my throat in the process. Hissing out a breath, my gaze drops to the golden, tattoo-covered muscles rippling under the dim lighting. It¡¯s like he¡¯s been lit by a professional crew with state of the art equipment, every sinewy muscle of his looking carved to perfection. I¡¯ve seen him shirtless but never this close with this clear an opportunity to examine him. Dark tattoos of passion and anger and war artfully cover his entire torso. He¡¯s built but lean, power exuding effortlessly off him without needing to rely on physical intimidation. Saliva pools in my mouth just watching him. He¡¯s magnificent. Chiseled. My fingers twitch by my side, longing to run through and trace those very visible grooves. I¡¯m not sure how long I¡¯ve been staring. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d be mortified if I knew because when I finally look up into Thiago¡¯s face, amusement curls his lips. ¡°If this is what you look like when you¡¯re disgusted, I can¡¯t wait to see the expression on your face when I sink inside your tight pussy.¡±Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Before I can answer he bends at the knees and slowly lowers himself to the floor. Heys on his back, his arms crossed underneath his head. In this position, the muscles of his lower abdomen constrict and emphasize the defined V lines that disappear into his trousers. I rip my gaze away from his stomach before I give in to every destructive urge I¡¯ve been resisting since I walked into this room and do something stupid like pull his cock out of his trousers and suck him into my mouth. It¡¯s toote to try and walk this back, but I attempt anyway. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about doing a body shot off you. I meant it generally.¡± He chuckles again, the sound both warm and infuriating, but his eyes sh in warning. ¡°You need to be put in your ce.¡± ¡°And where is that?¡± I ask flippantly. He licks his lips, drawing my attention down to his mouth. ¡°Tied up in my bed.¡± My pussy clenches at the warning in his words. He¡¯s fifty percent yful but a hundred percent serious. He reaches for the bottle on the side table and uncaps it. I watch, frozen, as he looks down at his stomach and pours a line of the clear liquor into his navel. I can barely swallow around therge mass in my throat. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± he asks, the challenge clear in his tone. ¡°Get on your knees.¡± Chapter 34 Tess¡¯s legs fold like my words were a hand on her neck forcing her to the ground. Her hands flutter hesitatingly, hovering over my chest and thigh before she ultimately decides she¡¯s safer setting them down on either side of her legs. She gathers her hair in one hand and ces it over her left shoulder, then slowly bends towards my navel. I stop her before she gets anywhere near me. ¡°Other shoulder,¡± I grunt. Startled by my gruff tone, she looks up. I repeat the same roughly orderedmand, emphasizing it with a lift of my chin. ¡°Put your hair over your other shoulder.¡± With it gathered on the left side, it obscures her face when she leans forward, hiding her from me. My jaw is set, the muscles in my cheek twitching. I need to see her face, need to see her every microexpression when she puts her mouth on me. Fuck, that reminds me of how she¡¯d sucked my cock in the back of my Rolls. Eyes wide, tears slipping from the corners. Cheeks flushed, mascara running. Beautiful. I growl approvingly when she does as I ask and moves her hair over to her right shoulder. She flicks onest nce up at me before her lips close around my navel. Her warm mouth on my skin shocks me. I suck in a sharp breath of surprise. Her eyes widen when the alcohol hits her tongue. My gasped inhale is followed by a hissed exhale when she darts her tongue into my navel and swirls it around, gathering the remaining liquid. I hadn¡¯t expected to be this sensitive. My hand weaves into her hair, fingers wrapping possessively around the thick strands and staying there. It¡¯s an act of dominance and one of encouragement at the same time. Her handse up to grip my thigh and rest on my chest. My head falls back as I groan. The pleasure is painful, verging on being agonizing. Her hand is so close to my thick cock that I have no doubt she can feel it throbbing violently against my thigh. My entire body shakes with need. ¡°Joder,¡± I groan. This was a dangerous game to y. Tess sucks thest of the liquid into her mouth and sits back into her hips. My hand falls from her hair andes to restzily on the small of her back. But she¡¯s not done, diving back in to lick the skin around my navel when she sees the excess wetness still remaining there. When she sits back up and finally looks at me, her pupils are blown wide, the blue of her eyes snuffed out by smoky, lustful ck. The fierce expression on my face must have reality mming back into her because her gaze shutters and she looks away, clearing her throat awkwardly. ¡°I was wrong. It tastes better in a ss.¡± She wipes the back of her hand against her lips and starts to stand. ¡°Not so fast,¡± Imand. Then I grab her waist and pull her down onto the floor, rolling myself so that I¡¯m on top of her, positioned between her now spread legs. It happens so quickly that I¡¯m met with a pair of surprised, blinking eyes. ¡°I think I get an opinion,¡± I murmur roughly. Then I yank the bottom of her blouse out of her skirt and shove it up over her breasts, revealing tight nipples straining against a ckce bra. My hands still clutch her waist, my thumbs nearly connecting in the middle of her stomach, and I run them unhurriedly up the expanse of her skin, reveling in being able to touch her like this. Staring up at her, I bend my head and press my lips hotly against her lower belly. Her muscles tighten in response, goosebumps erupting across her skin before my eyes. Moving down, I press a kiss over her covered pussy. She shivers, running her hands through my hair and grasping the thick strands tightly. I keep kissing every inch of her skin, moving from her lower belly up to her abdomen, to the area just beneath her covered breasts where I can feel the way her heart beats erratically for me. ¡°You taste so fucking good,¡± I purr, voice muffled against her skin. She gasps in a breath, eyes closed, brow drawn down in rapture. ¡°Focus,¡± she manages to rasp out. Grabbing the forgotten liquor bottle, I pour a continuous stream into her navel and lick it up, tongue digging into her belly button andpping up the liquid as if I was eating her out. Tess thrashes beneath me, body writhing and arching up into my face, then away when the sensations get to be too much. It takes everything in me not to reach between her legs and plunge my fingers into her tight pussy. Finally, I pull back and wipe my own mouth, looking down at my wife syed out on the floor beneath me. Hair spread every which way, her clothes pushed up indecently, liquid glistening on her skin and covering the floor. ¡°I disagree,¡± I say hoarsely, licking my lips. ¡°I think it tastes much better on your skin. I might have to exclusively drink it this way from now on.¡± Eyes so innocent they seem overwhelmed by how turned on she is meet mine and undo me. Leaning back over her, I bury my face in the crook of her neck and lick at the mark I left there a few days ago. I¡¯d been like some kind of animal with his mate, desperate to leave a mark that showed all other lurking predators she was mine. Clearly I let my passion run away from me because the bruise is as vivid today as it was when I first bit her five days ago. Ip at it gently, soothingly, groaning as I do so. ¡°You¡¯re so vocal.¡± She whispers it tremulously, voice uneven. ¡°I make my pleasure known,¡± I say, every word shaking with the force of my desire. ¡°You have no idea the noises I¡¯ll make for you,amor. Panting for you. Moaning your name. Gasping and cursing as Ie in your tight pussy.¡± I murmur against the shell of her ear, ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold anything back.¡± ¡°Oh, God,¡± she moans back, her legs tightening around my waist. ¡°I can prove it to you right now.¡± Tess yelps when I bite her earlobe. ¡°All you need to do is ask,¡± I coax. Her handse up to my nape, one tangling in my hair and pulling my face closer against her as I kiss her open throat, her corbone, her shoulder. ¡°Do it,¡± she whispers, like she¡¯s ashamed. I growl angrily, moving lower until I¡¯m between her breasts. I grope one in each hand, pushing them up and burrowing my face between those lush peaks. So fucking close. ¡°Not until you ask.¡± Come on, ask me to fuck you. ¡°Just do it.¡±N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°No.¡± She makes a frustrated sound, one caught between desire and refusal to give in to what her body wants. To what we¡¯re both dying for. ¡°I won¡¯t touch you until you own up to it, until you give up on this silly game of pretending like you don¡¯t want it. When I finally fuck you, I won¡¯t have any part of you hiding from me.¡± She hesitates, eyes closed as she vacites between two decisions. I hold my breath. Her lips part¡­ and then shut. Eventually, I feel her shake her head. It¡¯s the hardest thing in the fucking world to rip myself away from the warmth of her body, from the wide open opportunity of fucking her even if she won¡¯t say the words, but I do. With an angry grunt, I pull back, abruptly cutting off all contact and standing. Tess doesn¡¯t understand what just happened, that much is clear by the adorably frazzled, confused expression on her face as she ces her weight into her elbows. She pulls her blouse down with shaking fingers,prehension dawning as she looks up at me. It¡¯s clear she didn¡¯t think I was being serious when I said I wouldn¡¯t touch her. ¡°You¡¯re only punishing yourself by being so goddamned stubborn,¡± I grit out, beyond sexually frustrated. Letting loose a muttered curse, I turn and stomp out. I¡¯m at the door when I remember. ¡°We¡¯re going to a g at the home of one of my business associates tomorrow. It¡¯ll be a good opportunity for us to show the world what a happy couple we are,¡± I add acerbically. ¡°ck tie. I¡¯ll send a dress.¡± Then I walk out, mming the door behind me. Chapter 35 The next evening, I¡¯m waiting in the foyer for Tess when she appears at the top of the stairs. A band wraps around my lungs and strangles the breath from them as I watch her walk down, her hand carefully ced on the banister. A massive smile breaks out across Diana¡¯s face and she leans towards me, whispering, ¡°E es tan hermosa.¡± I nod, swallowing to clear the sudden mass in my throat. She¡¯s a vision in a floor-length, dark navy velvet gown. The blue is so dark the dress looks almost ck. Off the shoulder sleeves rest on her arms and rejoin a tight corset that pushes her breasts appetizingly high. A long slit splits the gown, exposing her left leg up to mid-thigh. My eyelid twitches looking at that bare skin, knowing every single man there will be staring and fantasizing as I am. She¡¯s going to remain pinned to my side all night. As beautiful as she looks, this isn¡¯t the dress I had delivered to her this morning. I¡¯d chosen mine for a specific reason. ¡°Where¡¯s the pink one?¡± She kisses Diana on the cheek and brushes straight past me, not even throwing me a nce. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing pink when I¡¯m in mourning,¡± she quips. I bark out augh and follow after her out to the Rolls. When she stops in front of the car, I palm her nape and pull her back against my chest.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°What are you mourning?¡± I ask, pressing the words softly against her hair. My thumb rubs soft circles on the side of her neck, over her pulse point. I feel it flutter as her body reacts to my words. She¡¯s an unwitting cocktease and I¡¯m bursting at the seams, seconds away from breaking. I was so close to snapping in the library yesterday and used up the veryst vestiges of my control to get myself out of there. Even now, my fingers beat a restless rhythm in my pocket, the months of unspent energy leaking out of me in the ways it can. ¡°The death of my freedom.¡± My driver waits for a signal to open her door. I dismiss him with a nod and open it myself, standing off to the side to let her in. Tess ces a hand on the door and leans in, but stops when I speak again. ¡°Were you ever really free,amor?¡± Her hand tightens in reaction, but she gets in without a word. I close the door behind her and get in on my side. ??? The second we leave the coat check area, Tess spots Dagny in the crowd and goes off with her, leaving me alone and annoyed. I¡¯d nned on introducing my wife to my various business partners in attendance tonight but instead she took the first opportunity to run from me. Again. The drumming in my fingers gets more frantic, my tuxedo feeling suddenly constrictive on my tense body. I want to rip my bow tie off and stalk after her but I don¡¯t. No need to cause a scene this early in the evening. ¡°Diablo.¡± I¡¯m heading towards the bar when I turn around at the sound of my name. I extend my hand in greeting at an old ally. ¡°Cillian Tellier. Good to see you.¡± ¡°You know, if you smiled, I might actually believe you meant that.¡± He ps a friendly palm on my shoulder and shakes my outstretched hand. Cillian owns arge stake in ckdown, thergest weapons manufacturer in the world, although it¡¯s his brother, Callum, who¡¯s the boss and brains of the operation. Importantly, Cillian owns a number of sessful cash businesses such as restaurants, pubs, clubs, and even a fewundromats, through which weunder our money. ¡°It¡¯s been too long. I heard you were out of the country for a while, is that true?¡± ¡°You know how the rumor mill goes,¡± I answer cryptically. ¡°I do,¡± he says with an unhinged smile. ¡°And your name¡¯s been gracing more than a few of those headlines recently. You wouldn¡¯t believe the stories flying around about you and all these dead Italians.¡± The Telliers straddle the line between legitimate and illegal businesses, making them incredibly useful and powerful allies. Their ties to international governments surpass even the ones they have in the Underworld. They¡¯re not enemies I¡¯d make lightly, especially given their¡­ personal quirks. Cillian is unashamed of the madness that shines brightly in his eyes even now and Callum is an unfeeling, merciless machine. They¡¯re fire and ice, those two. ¡°Are you fishing for information?¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± he says, pretending like what I just said is the craziest thing in the world and not exactly what he¡¯s doing. ¡°Just wondering who would be psychotic enough to kidnap the head of the Italian mafia, especially when he was balls deep in a hooker at the time, or so I heard. Whoever it is, they have my respect for the ballsiest move of thest decade,¡± he adds with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s probably someone who won¡¯t stop until he gets the answers he¡¯s looking for.¡± He quirks a brow at me. ¡°You want me to pass that message on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what you do.¡± He barks out a loudugh, pping me on the shoulder once more. ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m d you¡¯re back Thiago. Shit¡¯s significantly less interesting around here when you¡¯re gone.¡± His thick British ent wraps around every word. ¡°Also, I hear congrattions are in order for your recent nuptials. Is she here? I¡¯d love to meet her.¡± ¡°Refrain from using the word ¡°love¡± in any way when talking about my wife, Cillian.¡± He puts his hands up, a knowing smileing across his face and irritating me. ¡°And yes, she¡¯s in the restroom with her friend,¡± I lie. ¡°Where¡¯s your better half?¡± If possible, the crazy in his eyes turns up a couple dozen more notches. A violently possessive look burns in his irises when he talks about her. ¡°You know my Dahlia, independent as always,¡± the older man says fondly. ¡°We found out one of our daughter¡¯s schoolmates was bullying her. Dahlia stormed out of the house with two cans of gasoline, a blow torch, and a bad attitude.¡± He looks down at his watch and nods. ¡°She should be burning their house down right about now. She¡¯ll join us when she¡¯s done and if anyonees asking, two hundred witnesses will im she was here all night.¡± His eyes lift above my shoulder and soften. ¡°Oh, look. She¡¯s ahead of schedule,¡± he says adoringly. I turn and watch a strikingly beautiful woman I know well stalk into the ballroom, her long red gown billowing intimidatingly around her. Dark hair frames a pale face that boasts even darker eyes. A scowl twists her features and curls her blood red lips into a daunting sneer as she scans the room. She looks formidable and deadly, someone who absolutely shouldn¡¯t be fucked with. Her features smooth out when she spots her husband, the calmness that washes over her transforming her. ¡°Good seeing you, Thiago,¡± Cillian says, striding past me in his rush to get to his wife. ¡°Bring Tess by the club sometime, we¡¯d lo¨Cliketo meet her.¡± I watch him walk up to Dahlia and scoop her up in a gruff embrace like he hasn¡¯t seen her in months. ¡°Topping my ¡®Things I¡¯m Deathly Afraid Of¡¯ list is identally getting on Dahlia Tellier¡¯s bad side one day,¡± a voice calls from behind me. There¡¯s a smile on my lips before I¡¯ve even turned around. ¡°Valentina.¡± She puts her fists on her hips and raises a brow at me. Her gold dress highlights the bronzed color of her skin. ¡°Hermano,¡± she answers with a cheeky grin. She knows better than to hug me in public, but she does it anyway. ¡°Where the hell have you been?¡± I ask. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since I¡¯ve been back. Arturo says you haven¡¯t checked in.¡± She looks down and off to the side which I know is her tell. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy.¡± My eyes narrow on her. ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Side projects.¡± ¡°Valentina¡­I¡¯ve already warned you about doing your own investigation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± she says innocently, putting her hands up. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s lying now. ¡°I¡¯m taking a couple of sses, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°What kind of sses?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­dance?¡± Not what I expected her to say, butpletely harmless. If that¡¯s what¡¯s been keeping her busy, I don¡¯t mind, even if it takes her focus away from the cartel. ¡°You better not be lying to me. I¡¯ll find out what happened to Adriana, but you stay out of this. I don¡¯t want to have to worry about you too,¡± I add. She opens her mouth to answer when she spots something, or someone, in the distance. Whoever or whatever it is that she sees, she nches. Her skin pales, losing its healthy color. ¡°I-I have to go,¡± she says, stumbling away from me. I turn and scan the people behind me to see who could have spooked her like this. No one stands out. ¡°Vale,¡± I start, turning back towards her, but she¡¯s already gone. ¡°Hijueputa,¡± I curse. She¡¯s fucking slippery and I¡¯m annoyed I haven¡¯t been able to nail her down and figure out what¡¯s going on with her. ¡°Macan, neat,¡± I order, taking an immediate drink when the bartender ces it in front of me. My mind wanders, wondering how this expensive scotch would taste on Tess¡¯s skin. There¡¯s no reason I shouldn¡¯t drink every one of my favorite liquors off her body. As it is, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to drinkaguardientein a ss again. She took a drink that I¡¯ve always associated with my father and in one evening made it so that I¡¯ll never be able to have it without thinking ofherfirst. ¡°Jefe.¡± I turn, hiding my wary reaction behind an expressionless mask. There are only a handful of people at this g who would refer to me by that moniker and I know them all. The owner of this voice is not one of them. A woman I¡¯ve never met before stands behind me, a bright smile on her face. ¡°Who are you?¡± She doesn¡¯t let my unweing tone shake her confidence, her smile turning beaming. Something about it rankles. ¡°I¡¯m udia. udia Cardenas.¡± That name means nothing to me. Distantly, something deep in the back of my brain tells me I know it, but I don¡¯t bother to dig for the memory. Not interested. ¡°Am I supposed to know who you are?¡± She takes a step forward, almost closing the gap between us. Her boldness makes my jaw twitch. ¡°I¡¯m Leandro Cardenas¡¯s daughter,¡± she says, and I suddenly remember where I¡¯ve heard her name before. Batting her eyshes coyly, she adds. ¡°Your father thought I should introduce myself.¡± On the outside, I bring my ss up to my lips and drink, but internally I groan loudly. This is the woman my father suggested I take as a recement bride when I was still looking for Tess. Clearly, he¡¯s upgraded from mere suggestion to taking action if he¡¯s pushing her on me like this at an event. Frankly, I¡¯m surprised by it. Tom¨¢s da Silva believes in the sanctity of marriage having been married to my mother for twenty one years before her death. Having this woman approach me while my wife is in attendance is contrary to anything I¡¯d expect from him. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Cardenas family saw a clear opportunity for advancement and decided to foist her upon me regardless of what my father said. She puts her hand on my arm and officially pisses me the fuck off. Everyone in the cartel knows I got married two weeks ago and by touching me, she¡¯s disrespecting my wife. Chapter 36 Dagny and I spot each other from across the room at the exact same time. We run to each other, shrieking inappropriately and drawing attention to ourselves. She jumps into my arms and gives me the best hug I¡¯ve ever received. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you, Tessie. I missed you so much. Next time you decide to run away from your life, take me with you, okay?¡± ¡°No more running away for me sadly, not unless youe and break me out of my tower.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± she says. When I give her a questioning look, she pulls her phone out of her clutch and starts going through her camera roll. ¡°I saw your wedding announcement, darling, which means I saw the way you look at your husband. You guys aredefinitelygetting it on.¡± I¡¯m momentarily stunned by what she says. So first Thiago decides to shoot my best friend and now he¡¯s sending her our wedding announcement in the mail like they¡¯re the best of friends? One thing men will always have in spades is theaudacity. ¡°We are not!¡± I answer, affronted. She gives me an unimpressed look. ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit a professional bullshitter.¡± ¡°Dags, we¡¯re really not.¡± ¡°Then either it¡¯s only a matter of time until you actually willoryou¡¯re inplete denial,¡± she says, handing me her phone. ¡°Look at this.¡± Rolling my eyes, I take the phone from her and look at the picture, expecting to be unmoved. Instead, I¡¯m struck by the expression on my face. By the way I look up at Thiago; lips parted, eyes hooded and fixed intently on him, my stare¡­longing. My hand flies to my mouth and I give Dagny a shocked look. ¡°I know,¡± she agrees, like I spoke my thoughts out loud. ¡°I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw it. Your husband shot me like, a month ago, so I¡¯m not exactly his number one fan, but it¡¯s tough to argue with this,¡± she says, tapping my face with her index. ¡°Or this,¡± she adds, tapping Thiago¡¯s face next. Because as longingly as I look up at him, he stares even more fiercely back down at me. He looks like he has blinders on, his gaze so focused on my face he couldn¡¯t possibly be aware of anything else happening around him. If Thiago wanted to sell the idea of us as a happy couple, then this photo does just that. We look¡­intoxicated by each other. ¡°Couldn¡¯t be me,¡± she adds. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m keeping all bloodthirsty psychos at arm¡¯s length. One gunshot wound was enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.¡± ¡°You better pray you never catch one¡¯s eye then. If you haven¡¯t noticed, they¡¯re not big on asking.Takingis more their thing.¡± My head spins. I hand her phone back, clearing my throat to calm the tornado of emotion sweeping through me. She stares down at the photo once more and smiles. ¡°What¡¯s that famous saying again,¡± Dagny ponders aloud, drumming her index thoughtfully against her pouted lips before snapping her fingers in a lightbulb moment. ¡°Oh,right¡ª the camera doesn¡¯t lie, Tessie. You¡¯ve got a thing for your husband.¡± I scoff. ¡°I¡¯d have to have Stockholm¡¯s Syndrome for that to be possible.¡± ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re going to have a mental illness might as well have the one that gets you into bed ying naked hide the sausage with the insanely hot cartel boss who kidnapped you. Sounds way more fun to me than, say, having anxiety.¡± I choke out augh at the visual, but opt to change the subject to a topic far safer than Thiago and I ¡ª gun violence. ¡°How is your arm? Are you still in pain?¡± Dagny¡¯s strapless dress has a sweetheart neckline so her arms are on disy, but she¡¯s wearing a che armband with a gold chain to cover her still fresh scar. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how sorry I am that he¡­shotyou,¡± I tell her for the dozenth time. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he did.¡± ¡°Completely healed and zero pain,¡± she says, choosing to indulge my evasion tactics. ¡°And I told you, you never need to apologize to me. I actually should thank that degenerate husband of yours for helping me create a new essory. I¡¯ve gottendozensof requests for armbands like this one. Vogue even wants to interview me for, and I quote, ¡°being a trendsetter¡±. If only they knew what I¡¯m hiding under there.¡± Iugh loudly. ¡°Only you would see getting shot as a business opportunity.¡± She does a few poses with the armband, pretending she¡¯s in front of a camera. ¡°Bullet wound fashion, baby. Come and get yours before stocks run out, actual bullet wound not included and sold separately.¡± I¡¯m wiping tears ofughter from my eyes when I spot a woman in a gold dress over Dagny¡¯s shoulder lean in and hug Thiago. The easy smile he gives her in return makes my heart shrivel up in my chest. She¡¯s there and gone before I can even begin to process the wide array of emotions pummeling the battered organ. Thankfully, he doesn¡¯t go after her. Dagny is still talking about her recent work and doesn¡¯t notice my abrupt change in mood. ¡°Wedding dresses still drive thergest part of my business. I actually have an appointment with a new bride in a few weeks who wants me to custom design a piece for her, so that¡¯s exciting,¡± she says. ¡°It is!¡± I interject, still distracted. Scenes of Thiago licking the alcohol off my stomach while Iy on the floor of the library sh through my mind. I¡¯d wanted him to fuck me, had told him to justdo it, but he¡¯d been as stubborn as me, refusing to go any further unless I said the words he wanted to hear. He left me needy and lightheaded with arousal, his anger clear in the way he mmed the door closed behind him. But I still went down to the kitchen in the middle of the night like I had every night before, and I waited for him. He never came. A nameless emotion had grown in the pit of my stomach as I sat there, hopeful minutes turning into lonely hours. And now he¡¯s on the other side of the room alone, because I was still upset with him for standing me up and I¡¯d wanted to make him feel a sliver of what I feltst night, so I¡¯d abandoned him the second we got here. Sometimes the queen makes a bad move on the board, a mistake that she has to pay for. I¡¯m certainly paying for mine now. ¡°¡­I definitely want to diversify my portfolio though. I love wedding dresses, but I want to try everything. Gowns, every day attire, business wear, lingerie, you name it. I think this¡¯ll be thest bridal client I take on for a while,¡± Dagny finishes. Guiltnces through me. I¡¯m a terrible friend, I can¡¯t even listen to her for five minutes without worrying about my own problems. ¡°Please let me wear whatever you design,¡± I beg, grabbing her hand. ¡°You know I¡¯m your number one fan ¡ª whatever you make, I want to wear it. If you¡¯ll have me, that is.¡± ¡°Duh,¡± she says with a smile. ¡°A smoking hot blonde wearing all of my designs? You¡¯re the one doingmea favor.¡± I scoop her up into a tight hug, twirling her around. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a household name with the best of them in no time, Dags, and I can¡¯t wait to have a front row seat to it when it happens.¡± Her beaming smile wipes suddenly off her face, reced by a dark scowl taking over her features. Her eyes are trained on something in the distance behind me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I ask, concerned. She growls angrily. ¡°You¡¯re going to turn around and see this for yourself so let me warn you first. There¡¯s a doe-eyed, homewreckingbitchsmiling vapidly up at your husband like he just told the funniest joke ever recorded.¡± I dete, the air exiting my lungs. ¡°Gold dress?¡± I ask, already knowing the answer. ¡°No.¡± My eyes snap to hers and I whirl around to find that it is indeed apletely different woman hitting on Thiago now. His back is to me so I can¡¯t see his face or how he reacts to her. My cheeks heat in anger. The first one hugged him and left so I did nothing, but this second one fingering her hair and giving Thiago an inviting smile makes my blood boil. Dagny gives me a pointed look. ¡°That¡¯s your man she¡¯s publically salivating over, Tessie. Might be time for you to admit to the Stockholm¡¯s Syndrome, don¡¯t you think?¡± I aim for nonchnce, for an unaffected shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t ca¡ª¡± My words cut off abruptly when I watch the woman step closer. She puts her hand on Thiago¡¯s arm, cocks her head to the side andughs flirtily, the whole thing happening with the slow motion precision of a car crash, one I can¡¯t look away from. I¡¯m charging across the room before I can even process it, my temper ring bright red and my vision tunneling venomously in on them as I approach from behind him. Even though the ck haze of fury renders me nearly sightless, I manage to rip her hand off his arm and throw it back at her, enjoying the way it falls limply at her side. I position myself between them, my back turned to him. The woman has the audacity to give me a puzzled look. I¡¯ve never understood violence until this very moment when I have to physically restrain myself from scratching her eyes out for looking at my husband like he¡¯s a snack and me like I¡¯m crazy.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. I might just be discovering that I am. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who are you?¡± she asks. ¡°Who am I? I¡¯m hiswife,¡± I snap. An arm wraps around my waist and arge hand sys inappropriately low on my belly, sending a needy pang straight to my core. Thiago pulls me snuggly against his chest, his warmth immediately seeping into my back. When I angle my head against his shoulder and look up at him, I find darkly pleased eyes burning hotly into the side of my face. His obvious smugness at my interruption does nothing to calm my anger. ¡°Oh.¡± The clear disappointment in her tone has my eyes snapping right back to hers. ¡°Well, I was just introducing mys¨C¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to introduce yourself to my husband,¡± I clip. ¡°He already knows enough people.¡± Thiago¡¯s arm tightens bruisingly around me when I finally refer to him as my husband. His cock hardens, throbbing intently against my lower back. I¡¯m momentarily stunned by how much two words spoken from my lips can affect him. The woman looks to Thiago for help,ughing derisively. ¡°Well, it can¡¯t hurt,¡± she says. That¡¯sit. I try to step up to her, deciding that in the end she does deserve that eye wing, but Thiago keeps me pinned firmly against him. She takes a fearful step back anyway. My answering smile is slow and sharp, my voice deceptively sweet. ¡°It just might.¡± Thiago¡¯s chest moves against my back and I know he¡¯s trying not to openlyugh. Bastard. ¡°Good to meet you, udia, but if you¡¯ll excuse us, I need to take my wife for a dance. Say hello to your father for me.¡± Without waiting for an acknowledgment, he curls me into his body and walks us both to the middle of the dancefloor just as a new song starts. Twisting me around, he sps my hand in his and takes my waist with the other. My skin is hot from my anger, my body temperature at least ten degrees warmer than usual. ¡°Our first dance,¡± he purrs. ¡°And it¡¯ll be ourst if you don¡¯t give me some answers,¡± I snap, fuming. ¡°Tell me, was it ¡°good to meet her¡±, Thiago? Hmm? Did you enjoy your chat?¡± His smile is deeply smug and obviously pleased. ¡°Are you feeling possessive,amor?¡± ¡°You said we needed to look in love tonight,¡± I huff. ¡°Would a real wife stand idly by and let another woman put her hands all over her husband, especially in public?¡± ¡°Is that the only reason?¡± ¡°Who the hell is she?¡± I snap. ¡°That¡¯s two women you let touch you tonight, Thiago.Two.¡± The look he gives me is inscrutable. ¡°I don¡¯t want either of them. The only woman I want is the one that refuses to admit she¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°Who. Is. She?¡± I demand. I¡¯m barely aware of the fact that he twirls me around the dancefloor. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s music ying but it doesn¡¯t filter in through the loud ringing in my ears. ¡°The daughter of one of my father¡¯s generals,¡± he answers. He pauses, looking above my head, then adds. ¡°When you ran away, it was suggested to me that I take her as my wife instead. She either didn¡¯t see our wedding announcement or she did and thought she¡¯d try her luck anyway. Runaway anger coils in my core and poisons me, sending acidic bile shooting straight into my throat. ¡°You¡¯d flip to the next page of the bride catalog that easily, huh?¡± I ask, bitterly. ¡°Just another nameless, faceless woman you can put a ring on and stick your cock in?¡± ¡°¡®Stick my cock in¡¯?¡± he repeats throatily, eyes pinned on me. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve had the pleasure.¡± ¡°Screw you.¡± Somewhere I know I¡¯m being irrational but between her and Adriana, I feel sick to my stomach. I was right not to trust him if he believes I¡¯m that easily receable. ¡°Believe me, I¡¯d like nothing more.¡± The cocky smile that pulls at his lips does nothing except piss me off further. I stomp on his foot. Hard. He winces, his arm tightening around me until he¡¯s carrying me, my feet no longer touching the floor. ¡°Why are you upset,preciosa?¡± he coaxes seductively. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± ¡°Smile like that again and I¡¯ll give you a dose of your own medicine,¡± I snarl, my jealousy making me spiral. I¡¯ve never felt this way before. Making a point of looking around the room at all the men in attendance, I add. ¡°After all, I don¡¯t think a marriage is official if it hasn¡¯t been consummated.¡± Strong fingers wrap callously around my jaw, digging into my cheeks and using brute force to turn my face back towards his. ¡°Careful,¡± he warns, voice tight. ¡°Remember who you¡¯re talking to.¡± I tip my chin stubbornly up at him. ¡°The infamous ¡°Diablo¡±, you mean?¡± ¡°No, yourhusbandwho won¡¯t fucking share you,¡± he corrects, livid. Squeezing my jaw, he brings his mouth inches from mine. ¡°But if you push me to it, then yes,El Diablo. You¡¯ve seen what I¡¯ll do to a man who didn¡¯t slight me. Imagine what I¡¯m capable of doing to one whoes anywhere near you, one who touches what¡¯smine.¡± I rip my jaw out of his hand and shove at his chest until he releases me. Back on my feet, I tilt my chin up until our faces are inches from each other¡¯s. The other couples keep dancing around us, paying us no mind, while we stand off like we¡¯re about to kill each other. ¡°It¡¯s not sharing,¡± I hiss. His jaw clenches, the muscle in his cheek twitching erratically. ¡°We haven¡¯t slept together. I amnotyours.¡± I won¡¯t ask him for anything when he¡¯s made no room for me. Chasing me was all about his ego, not aboutme. Not when I was clearly so receable. I¡¯ve had enough. ¡°Don¡¯t test me, Tess,¡± he warns, his voice dangerously soft now. I walk right off the dancefloor without answering, leaving him standing in a sea of couples, staring after me. Chapter 37 Ikeep walking, unsure where I¡¯m going, my rage and jealousy alone directing me as I get lost in this massive mansion. The g area was cordoned off and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve wandered into the private residence area now, but I don¡¯t even remember making that decision. The home is old and beautiful, built in the 1950s or earlier if I had to guess. I¡¯m trying to focus on its careful detailing to calm myself down, but my blood is still thrashing in my veins. There¡¯s no one,no one, who can make me lose my entireposure like Thiago can. He does it effortlessly, that¡¯s the most infuriating part. I pace back and forth in a foyer of some sort, willing my heart to settle so I can ess the rational part of my brain instead of the jealous viper that¡¯s still shouting at me to track udia down and, frankly, p the living shit out of her. More worrisome than the anger though are the tears threatening to appear. I¡¯d like to pretend I don¡¯t know why I want to cry, but I do. Because after the long phone calls, after the shared ice cream and banter, after the arguments and the heated, tense moments of passion, he¡¯d started to feel like maybe he might be mine. I hadn¡¯t considered that other women could also think the same. Contending with a ghost is already enough of a weight without adding livingpetition. Stomping my foot in irritation, I let out a frustrated scream at my na?vety. At those inexplicable, impractical feelings swirling around in my chest. My eye catches on something red. It¡¯s an envelope ced on top of a bowl of keys and other knick knacks on a mantel. Something about it looks familiar to me, but I don¡¯t know why. It¡¯s not the wisest idea ¡ª but it¡¯s certainly the rudest ¡ª to go through a stranger¡¯s things. I realize I don¡¯t actually know whose house this even is. I never asked Thiago. Curiosity makes me pick up the envelope anyway. Idefinitelyrecognize this crest. ¡°Snooping around this house is an incredibly dangerous and ill-advised gamble,¡± a deep, cold voice informs me. The threat is mild but somehow present in his tone, like he knows he doesn¡¯t have to exert much effort to scare me. Startled, I turn around ande face to face with thergest man I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. This part of the house is bathed in darkness, the lights all off except for one dimmed above the mantel, so I can only make out part of his features. He looks to be about mid-forties, incredibly attractive with brown hair, scalpel-drawn cheekbones, and startlingly striking gray eyes. He¡¯s a veritable mountain of a man standing atleastat six foot five withrge, expansive shoulders straining beneath his tuxedo. ¡°No!¡± I say, waving my hands like there¡¯s an easy exnation for my presence here. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone. I just thought I recognized the crest on this envelope, I¡¯m not a thief or anything like that.¡± Hees forward, sharp, silver eyes examining me. ¡°It¡¯s the crest for my secondary school.¡± ¡°Oh, this is your house,¡± I saymely, my cheeks ming red. ¡°Then I¡¯m doubly sorry for snoopingandnot knowing who invited me into their home.¡± He gives me a calcting smile. It¡¯s not unfriendly but there¡¯s zero hint of warmth in it either. Still, he continues to entertain me. ¡°Royal Crown Academy,¡± he says. ¡°That¡¯s the crest.¡± My mouth drops in a shocked ¡®o¡¯ before I smack my forehead andugh. ¡°That¡¯s why I recognized it. My brother is a professor there.¡± Clear interest appears in his gaze where there was none before. He closes the space between us, taking the envelope from me and looking thoughtfully down at it. After a moment, his eyes lift back up to mine. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting coincidence. My daughter is currently a student there. I wonder if he¡¯s one of her teachers,¡± he says. Extending his hand, he adds, ¡°I¡¯m Callum.¡± I ce my much smaller one in his. ¡°I¡¯m¨C¡± ¡°I see you¡¯ve met my wife, Tellier.¡± Thiago emerges ominously from the shadows, a destructive expression etched across his features. The ck look in his eye when his gaze flicks down to where Callum and I hold hands is so visibly hostile that a powerful tremor rocks me. The teardrop tattoo twitches menacingly beneath his dark gaze. ¡°Remove your hand,¡± he orders. ¡°Or lose it.¡± I immediately cken my grip and pull my hand back, but Callum holds onto it. He draws the moment out for an insolently long breath. Thiago¡¯s jaw clenches dangerously. He looks about ready to snap when Callum finally does as requested and releases my hand. I¡¯m not sure what game our host is ying, but the temperature around us just dropped twenty degrees. My husband walks stiffly towards me, shoulders taut as he keeps an antagonistic eye on the other man. I¡¯m silent, eyes pinging between the two of them, unsure what to do with such palpable tension hovering menacingly above us. When Thiago reaches my side he throws a venomous re at Callum before turning towards me, cupping my nape and mming his mouth savagely down on mine. I gasp breathily, caughtpletely off guard, and he uses the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. Greedy, impatient hands grab generous fistfuls of my ass and use them to pull me tightly against him, his entire body rigid with aggression. He bites my lower lip in warning, sucking the tender skin into his mouth as he fists my hair and yanks it painfully. I grasp desperately at thepels of his tuxedo, attempting to keep up with the violent, territorial assault, andpletely forgetting that we have an audience. God, it¡¯s been weeks since he kissed me. I¡¯ve missed the feeling of his lips on mine. The kiss is over almost as abruptly as it started. Thiago pulls away just enough to make me stumble into him, his pupils blown, his eyes ck, and his now lipstick-covered mouth stretching into a darkly arrogant smile. Dazed, I let him drag me into his side, locking me against him with a hand clutching my waist. He turns towards Callum with my lipstick still all over his mouth. The obscenely possessive way hezily licks his lips is done purposefully, the dangerous tone and throttled emotion in his voice an explicit warning. ¡°Mywife, Callum,¡± he snarls. ¡°Mine.¡± My stomach sinks. This has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s a power y between the two of them, with Thiago feeling threatened. A cartel boss can¡¯t have somebody else hitting on his wife so he just did the human equivalent of pissing all over me to mark his territory. My earlier angeres roaring back to life. Callum smiles at Thiago, clearly amused by this crude disy of jealousy. ¡°Very entertaining,¡± hements unemotionally, before sliding his eyes slowly back to me. ¡°So, you¡¯re Tess,¡± he adds, smile growing. It looks almost unnatural on his face, like he isn¡¯t used to it.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Thiago¡¯s hand tightens painfully on my waist. Pressed up against his side, I can feel the anger vibrating through his body growing more powerful with every passing second. He¡¯s clearly furious. But so am I. ¡°I am. It¡¯s lovely to meet you,¡± I say, sweetly. I¡¯ve never used that tone with Thiago. Angry eyes whip down to stare at me, the intensity in them likesers trying to bore a hole into the side of my face. ¡°Likewise. We should continue our conversation at another, less inopportune, time.¡± An irate growl starts deep in Thiago¡¯s chest and rips from his throat. He pushes me behind him and goes toe to toe with Callum. Even after everything, my reflex is still to protect him, to grab his arm with both of my hands and try to hold him back. Thiago might be meaner, but Callum is bigger and I don¡¯t want him to get hurt. Instead of being able to restrain him, he pulls my weight easily after him. He keeps his arm extended behind him, shielding me away from the other man. Impulsively, I thread my fingers together with his. ¡°You won¡¯t be continuinganythingwith my wife. And if I ever find you alone with her again, I¡¯ll kill you without a moment¡¯s hesitation,¡¯ Thiago promises, teeth bared. An amused smirk is the only answer that meets his furious threat. Next thing I know, he releases my hand and punches Callum in the jaw. ¡°Thiago!¡± I shout, grabbing his arm once more. This has gone too far now. Callum¡¯s face snaps to the side and stays there. He doesn¡¯te back swinging. He chuckles humorlessly, gingerly cuffing and stroking his jaw before turning back towards us. Those gray eyes ignore me and focus solely on my irate husband. ¡°I¡¯ll let that one go because you¡¯re clearly feeling territorial over your new bride,Diablo.¡± His eyes narrow to murderous slits. ¡°That same kindness will not be extended twice. Question mymitment tomywife again and I¡¯ll find my finger twitching on the button next time I¡¯m ying with the F42 missiles.¡± ¡°Get the fuck out of my face while I¡¯m still ying nice,¡± Thiago sneers. The standoff between them goes on for fifteen more taut seconds before Callum jerks his head, turns on his heel and starts to walk away. He pauses at the door. I hold my breath, afraid that he¡¯s going toe back. Instead, the corner of his lip lifts and he simply adds, ¡°Upstairs, second door on the left.¡± I have no idea what that means, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Because then Callum disappears, leaving me alone with my husband in a foyer that isn¡¯tnearlrge enough to house both of our eruptive, trigger-happy tempers and all the anger we¡¯ve amassed between us. I back away, putting as much distance between us as possible. Thiago turns slowly back towards me. My heart jumps into my throat when my eyes collide with his erratic, unhinged gaze. His nostrils re in bad temper, his jaw so tense it looks painful. He works it back and forth angrily, no doubt grinding away the topyer of enamel on his teeth. His chest heaves angrily, a massive ck cloud hanging over him. ¡°I¡¯m not a prop, Thiago,¡± I snap. ¡°You can¡¯t just kiss me to score points in whatever pissing contest just went down between you two.¡± His voice is quiet but his words are vicious and demanding when he speaks. ¡°Did you enjoy having his attention on you?¡± He¡¯s got to be joking. He was just upstairs entertaining his backup bride in front of me. Furious, I brush past him, intent on storming out without a backward nce. His fingers close around my elbow and he yanks me back against his hard chest. ¡°I asked if you liked having thatmotherfucker¡¯sattention on you, Tess,¡± heshes out, shaking me. ¡°Were you trying to make good on what you threatened me with just now?¡± I re at him, eyes shining with wrath. ¡°You deserve nothing less.¡± With a teeth-baring snarl he fists my hair and yanks my head back, opening my throat up to him. His hand closes around my neck, coring me tightly. He runs his nose up the column of my throat, inhaling gutturally. ¡°I can fucking smell him on you.Him,¡± he snaps. ¡°Onyou.¡± A dangerous rumble vibrates in his chest and then he¡¯s growling in my ear. ¡°It¡¯s lingering on you and changing your scent and it¡¯s driving me fucking crazy. You should smell likeme, not him.¡± He bites my neck punishingly. ¡°Were you hoping he¡¯d fuck you just so you could prove a point to me? Or was it your n for me to walk in and find you two together all along?¡± I whine when he bites my ear next, his jealousy turning him feral. ¡°You have a cruel streak in you, Tess. I was wrong, you¡¯re no angel.¡± His mouth crushes mine, the kiss made up solely of violence and fury and territorial rage and absolutely no care or attention. Arousal and need war inside my brain and heart, but I won¡¯t be distracted by my physical reaction to him like I was ten minutes ago. Gripping his hand, I rip it from my throat. ¡°You¡¯re a selfish, hypocritical,prick,¡± I seethe. ¡°Iam?¡± he questions incredulously. ¡°You¡¯re the one who reacted upstairs when udia touched me when all you needed was five minutes with the first man you ran into to turn around and do the exact same thing you used me of.¡± ¡°I shook his hand!¡± ¡°You werealonein a dark, isted area with him,¡± he shouts furiously, crowding me against the wall and forcing my head to tilt all the way back. His eyes drop to where my lips part in shock. He doesn¡¯t stop to let it moderate his sharp tongue. ¡°Would you have opened your legs for him next?¡± he demands, irate, eyes remaining fixed on my mouth. His voice drops to a cruel hiss. ¡°Used those pretty lips to beg for him when you should have been begging for me instead?¡± Howdarehe? Ragees to a boil inside me and my hand flies. I p him. The crack echoes against the walls. Then terrifying silence descends between us. I realize just how dangerous it is to strike a man like him when his head turns slowly back towards me, all traces of humanity gone from his gaze. Pinning me against the wall, he takes my wrists and shoves them brutally above my head. ¡°What the fuck is your problem?¡± ¡°You are!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t apologize for my reaction to finding you alone with another man,¡± he seethes through clenched teeth. ¡°That¡¯s not something I ever want to fucking see again.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about Callum. Or udia for that matter. It¡¯s aboutyou. About me,¡± I shout. ¡°You married me only because you needed to win. There¡¯s no way you could let the bride you bought run away from you. Your ego simply couldn¡¯t take the rejection of being told no. You did it to control me. To show that no one triumphs over thegreatThiago da Silva,¡± I spit out bitterly. ¡°And, bonus, you did it for the boost in social capital my name gave you. You didn¡¯t marry me because you wantedmeor were nning on making room in your life for me. Your heart ispletely closed off, so stop with the possessiveness and the jealousy and leavemyheart to its own desires. I¡¯m just a stand-in, so don¡¯t pretend to care, don¡¯t pretend you want anything from me other than getting me to finally submit to you so I can be the most expensively purchased prostitute of all time.¡± Iugh humorlessly. ¡°Well I refuse to be someone who warms your bed simply because the person you really want is dead. Go mourn your precious Adriana and let mego.¡± My voice cracks on myst plea and I hate it. Hate that he hears that weakness, that he likely sees the tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, but weeks of pent-up anguish and resentment are trying to break free. Then his hands are tangling in my hair again and his mouth is back on mine like he didn¡¯t hear a single word I said. I shove at him. I bite. I try to p him again. Shock freezes me in ce when my left hand connects with his lip. He fingers the spot, his thumbing away from his mouth with a thin pinprick of blood. My ring must have cut his lip. But instead of getting angry, his heated eyes find mine and his smile stretches into an evil grin, revealing teeth partially stained with blood. ¡°That¡¯s right, fight for me,amor.¡± Chapter 38 ¡°What?¡± she asks, troubled by my bleeding lip. ¡°I¡¯m in love with someone else,¡± I confess to her, eyes searching hers. ¡°What do you feel?¡± The care in her gaze shutters, the concern over my cut wiping away in a heartbeat. She shoves at my chest, those tears I¡¯d spotted earlier back in her eyes once more. ¡°I hate you,¡± she promises, her lower lip trembling. ¡°You hate me.¡± ¡°Iloatheyou,¡± she cries, voice breaking. ¡°Why?¡± Her arms il and I grab one forearm, then the other, and yank her forward, pinning them both against my chest. ¡°I can¡¯t stand you,¡± she says, fighting against my hold on her. ¡°Why?¡± I repeat through gritted teeth. ¡°Why does Adriana bother you so much?¡± I¡¯m not sure how Tess knows of my sister¡¯s existence when I haven¡¯t mentioned her yet. Nor do I understand how she came to think Adriana was a previous love interest of mine. But I¡¯m not afraid to use this opportunity to get to the truth, because stalking after Tess and tracking her down only to find her in a darkened hallway alone with another man did something ungodly to my insides, something I¡¯m still recovering from. The first thing I noticed before I even recognized Callum was that their hands were joined. The gut punch had been swift and debilitating, the feeling that I¡¯d been shoved off an incredibly tall building and was quickly hurtling towards solid, deadly ground,pletely crippling. Jealousy had mmed into me, brutally primitive and vicious. The fact that we hadn¡¯t slept together meant that she wasn¡¯t mine, not fully at least, and the need to immediately im her had been crushing. I barely even registered the fact that I¡¯d punched one of my closest allies, a man who I know has been very happily married for a long time. Tess thrashes against me, furious tears seeping from the corners of her eyes and finally tracing down her reddened cheeks. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing her cry outside of her spanking and it¡¯s not because of her father, or what I did to Dagny, or because she¡¯s homesick, it¡¯s because ofme. Because the thought of me loving another woman drives her crazy. And if I had any doubts about whether any parts of my soul are salvageable, those areid to rest with a resounding ¡®no¡¯. Because I love it. I fuckinglovethat she¡¯s shedding tears for me. ¡°Are these tears because of Adriana?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say her name when you¡¯re touching me. I¡¯ll leave you,¡± she vows emphatically. ¡°I swear to god I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll run away and this time I¡¯ll make sure you never,evey eyes on me again.¡± The smirk drops off my face faster than she can probably see it. One second it¡¯s there, the next it¡¯s gone, reced by a livid expression. I grab her face and crush her jaw in my fist. ¡°Threaten to leave me one more time, Tess. I dare you.¡± She sobs openly, tears rolling down her cheeks as she closes her eyes and hangs her head against my chest, exhausted and upset. ¡°Last time I ask you, Tess, and I want a real answer,¡± I demand, wrapping her hair around my fist. ¡°Why does Adriana bother you? Why does mentioning her make you hate me?¡± Her head snaps back, her gaze finds mine and she¡¯s never looked more beautiful. Her eyes sh furiously, the anger and torment and pain in them obvious, and with that one look, the final shred of her resistance finally shatters, exploding to pieces around us. ¡°Because you¡¯re supposed to bemine,¡± she cries, eyes shing. ¡°You made me put on this ring,¡± she says, thrusting her left hand in my face. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have to share you with anybody else, just like you don¡¯t have to share me.¡±Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Triumph bleeds into my veins at her surrender, a breath I¡¯d been holding for a long time finally exhaling as the truth flows from her lips. Her hands drop limply to her sides when I release them. My arms fold around her and I pull her tightly against me in a suffocating embrace. ¡°I am yours,¡± I whisper, face buried in her hair. ¡°There¡¯s no one but you.¡± Tess whimpers, handsing tentatively up to my sides and staying there. I¡¯m not sure if she intends to push me away or pull me closer, and she seems as in the dark as to her decision herself. ¡°udia means nothing.Lessthan nothing. I didn¡¯t even remember who she was. You interrupted as I was about to tell her the only person who¡¯s allowed to touch me, the only one I want smiling at me, isyou. And Adriana.¡± Tess stiffens. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you think Adriana is an old lover, but she¡¯s not. She¡¯s my little sister. Was my sister.¡± Tess pushes gently against my torso. Reluctantly, I let her move me so she can peer up into my face. Her eyes search mine, wide and unsure. ¡°Was?¡± ¡°She was murdered almost a year and a half ago. I¡¯m searching for the people who killed her so I can avenge her death. If you overheard anything that made you misconstrue who she was to me, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll tell you all about it. Fuck, I¡¯ll evenshowyou if you want, butter. Right now¡­¡± I lick my lips. ¡°Right now, I need you. Do you need me, Tess?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± My hands tighten painfully on her, but then she whispers, ¡°Call meamoragain.¡± Dark lust born out of territorial need sts to life, spreading through my veins like wildfire. I reach down to the slit of her gown and palm the inside of her thigh, myrge hand gripping her tightly. She gasps when she feels the bite of cold metal from my rings burning against her skin. Her pupils are dted, her eyes are fixed raptly on me. ¡°Do you need me,amor?¡± I breathe. She nods urgently. A punishing smack to the inside of her thigh makes her whimper. ¡°Say the words.¡± Tess reaches for me and that alone nearly brings me to my knees. After all this time and tension between us, seeing her handsing towards me of their own volition to bring me closer feels like I¡¯m about to be embraced by the only God I believe in. Her arms lock around my neck, her fingers run up my nape and dive greedily into my hair, and my eyes flutter shut in worship at her altar. It might sound sacrilegious, but this devil lives proudly in sphemy. ¡°There¡¯s only me?¡± I nod, my voiceing out throaty when I confirm, ¡°Only you.¡± She leans forward and ims my lips, initiating a kiss between us for the very first time and almost making mee undone in the process. I cup her neck to keep her mouth pressed against mine, but eventually she pulls back. Her lips hover a hair¡¯s breadth away from mine because I won¡¯t let her go any further. She looks into my eyes and says, ¡°Then fuck me.¡± My eyes flutter close, savoring the hard-earned victory. ¡°Beg.¡± She arches her hips towards me, bringing the hand that I still have between her legs closer to her pussy. ¡°Please.¡± My fingers caress the sensitive skin of her inner thigh and she moans. ¡°Again,¡± I order. She cups my face, forcing my eyes to open. Her gaze movesnguidly over my features, her own eyes turning heavy. She rolls her lower lip and traps it between her teeth. ¡°Please fuck me,¡± she pleads. A smirk stretches slowly across my face. ¡°It¡¯s about fucking time.¡± Chapter 39 Igrip her ass and hoist her up into my arms. Her legs part and wrap around me, her gown falling back to reveal the smooth expanse of her thighs as her center presses against my throbbing cock. She kisses me as I carry her up the stairs, her hands still on my face, her mouth moving easily over mine. I¡¯m trembling with excitement, hardly able to contain the tion I feel. Upstairs, I go for the second door on the left. With Tess still kissing me, I reach blindly for the handle and throw the door open, walking us into the bedroom. My handse back on her body, squeezing her curves tightly, still in some disbelief that they¡¯re entirely mine, before I pull her off and drop her onto the mattress beneath me. She looks dazedly around the room, her expression turning bewildered. ¡°How did Callum know¡­?¡± A displeased rumble echoes in my chest. I crawl over her prone body and trap her beneath me. ¡°Because if he¡¯d found his wife in the same situation I found mine in, he would have done exactly what I¡¯m about to do now,¡± I growl. ¡°Don¡¯t say his name again.¡± Bending my head, I lick and nip at the faint traces that still remain of the bite mark I left on her weeks ago, raising its color once again. Her anis scent hits my nostrils and dazes me with its potency. ¡°You smiled at him.¡± I can¡¯t help the guttural, usatory note in my voice. Eyes closed, throat open, lips parted in pleasure, she shakes her head ¡®no¡¯ wordlessly. ¡°I saw you,¡± I grunt, making my way down her neck to her chest where the corset of her dress pushes up her breasts temptingly. ¡°When will you smile for me?¡± I question territorially, nipping at the soft skin there. She whimpers. ¡°It wasn¡¯tforhim,¡± she denies. ¡°I smiled because he mentioned my brother.¡± ¡°I can do that too,¡± I reply, desperate to please. ¡°I can talk about your brother, I can get to know him. I¡¯ll be the best fucking friend he¡¯s ever had if that¡¯s what you want.¡± She opens her eyes slowly and smiles at me, those baby blues shining sweetly. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I groan, burying my face into the crook of her neck. ¡°?Qu¨¦ me est¨¢s haciendo?¡± I mutter. The giggle she lets loose when my breath hits her skin shoots straight to my cock. Grabbing her by the waist, I flip her onto her stomach. With a gasp, she ces her weight on her forearms and arches her spine, her belly pressed against the bed. I¡¯m back over her in an instant, caging her in.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. ¡°I can sense everything about you,¡± I purr. ¡°The steady pick up of your heartbeat, the way your breath hitches, the expansion of your rib cage as you desperately pull in a breath. I¡¯m attuned to every single part of you.¡± Starting at her nape, I caress my fingers gently down her bare back, making her shiver. When Ie into contact with fabric, I sp the zipper of her dress and pause. ¡°I wanted you wearing pink the first time I fucked you,¡± I rasp moodily. ¡°You took that from me.¡± Tess blows out a choked breath when I yank the zipper down roughly,pletely exposing her bare back and ass covered ince underwear. After pushing the sleeves off her arms, I bend and sink my teeth deep into the flesh of her ass. She yelps and rolls onto her back, revealing her almost entirely nude body to me. Straightening to my full height, I drag in a shuddering breath at the alluring way she looks at me. The squeezing in my chest is violent and such a bad fucking sign, but I can¡¯t get myself to care right now. Fisting the skirt of her gown, I pull it past her legs andpletely off her with a tug. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking beautiful,¡± I whisper. ¡°I find it hard to breathe when I look at you sometimes.¡± She blushes. I yank at my bowtie, ripping it from my neck before shrugging off my jacket. I unbutton my white shirt next, looking down at her with barely restrained civility. ¡°Are you ready,amor?¡± She licks her lips and nods vigorously. Her pupils dte dramatically when I shed my shirt, my belt, my shoes and trousers, standing before her in tight ck briefs. My cock tents the fabric, straining against it and begging to be let out. Tess gives a surprised gasp when I wrap my hands around her thighs and tug her to the edge of the bed. Dropping to my knees between her legs, I look up into her heated eyes as I grab her panties between my teeth and slowly pull them off her. The firstsh of my tongue against her pussy makes her squirm. The second makes her cry out. By the third, she¡¯s fisting the bedsheets, her back arched towards the ceiling. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve missed this pussy,¡± I grunt. ¡°So pretty and wet for me.¡± Pulling her lips apart, I expose her swollen clit, trembling and glistening under my perusal. My tongue moves up and down her slit, paying special attention to her entrance but never prating her. Two fingerse down and rub her clit. She bucks but I hold her firmly against the mattress. The need to own her body, to get it to sing and fall apart for me, drives me to tongue her folds like a mad man. ¡°Oh god, Thiago.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°I¨C¡± she gasps, gripping my hair. ¡°It¡¯s too much.¡± Something about her scent drives me absolutely feral, the little humanity I have receding to the background as the animales roaring forward. I can¡¯t get enough of her. ¡°No,preciosa. This is nothing at all.¡± Tickling her entrance with my fingers, I push one in to the hilt. A loud groan rips from her throat as her hipse off the bed. The tightness and warmth of her channel sends fresh arousal to my dick. Turning my face away from her folds, I bite the juicy flesh of her thighs, first one, then the next. Her legs shake on either side of my face. I continue biting up and down her skin, marking up the pale canvas with traces of my passage. The feverish moans that fall from her lips heat my blood. Staring up into her face, I watch her features flex erratically as I add a second finger next to the first. ¡°This pussy is so tight,amor. So tight. Don¡¯t you ever fuck your fingers?¡± I question. ¡°How have you been getting yourself off?¡± ¡°A¡­¡± She bites her lip and moans when my fingers start to move. ¡°A little vibe.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I rumble, aroused. ¡°You press it against this horny clit?¡± The tip of my tonguees back down on her clit, aggressively flicking the little nub and coaxing a building climax from her. ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re upstairs in your room? While I¡¯m down the hall, lying awake thinking about you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I groan. ¡°Confiscated.¡± Tess nods, agreeing blindly. The thrusts of my fingers turn rougher, encouraged by the flustered mewls falling haphazardly from her lips. ¡°The only vibrators you¡¯re allowed from now on are the ones I¡¯ll use when it¡¯s time for us to y. I¡¯ll stuff your holes so full of them, you¡¯ll forget ever having used one without me.¡± She shudders, her words stuttering out when she speaks. ¡°Okay¡­ Oh! What¨Cwhatever you say.¡± Dark satisfaction slithers through me at her words. ¡°Ride my fingers,amor. Ride them like they¡¯re my cock because that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting next.¡± Tess arches her hips and bucks them furiously into my hand, grinding her clit on my palm. Curling my fingers, I brush against a sensitive spot inside her and she groans. The fluttering of her muscles around my fingers tells me she¡¯s on the edge. She throws an arm over her face, shielding herself. I grab her wrist and pin it back down by her side. ¡°Never hide from me when you¡¯re about toe. I want to see your face, I want to categorize the different expressions that fly across your features every time you fall apart for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so close,¡± she pleads. ¡°Ask me to lick your clit.¡± ¡°Please,¡± she gasps. ¡°Please.¡± With a groan of approval I close my lips around her clit and suck the hard, throbbing nub into my mouth. My fingers graze that soft area inside her with rough strokes and she stills. Her eyes fly open and find mine over the mound of her pussy. There¡¯s a long second where all she does is look at me with stunned eyes, and then I scrape my teeth mercilessly over her clit. She throws her head back and screams, her muscles spasming violently around my digits as she falls apart. I continue finger fucking her through the waves of her climax and long after its done, shoving her off the cliff and straight into a second orgasm. Standing, I grip one of her thighs in each hand and look down at her. Her head is turned to the side, eyes closed. She¡¯s catching her breath, trying to settle her racing heartbeat and it¡¯s the hottest thing in the fucking world knowing I did that to her. I pull off my briefs, straightening to find her gaze pinned on my hard cock where it bobs between us. She licks her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± I order. Her gaze snaps up to mine. ¡°You want my cock in your pussy don¡¯t you?¡± She nods and I wrap my fist around my length, stroking itzily. ¡°Stare at my dick like that again and I¡¯ll shove it down your throat first.¡± Her eyes widen before hooding over in arousal and I truly think this girl is going to be the death of me. Dropping a knee down on the bed beneath her bent leg, I drag the head of my cock obscenely up and down her slit, coating myself in her wetness, hyper fixated by the sight of her flesh on mine. ¡°Wait¨C¡± My eyes snap up. ¡°Don¡¯t even try suggesting condoms.¡± She blushes, biting her lip, before admitting, ¡°I¡¯m not on birth control.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Well, what if¨C¡± ¡°What if you get pregnant?¡± I finish. My gaze tracks down to where I¡¯m still rubbing my dick against her. Positioning myself against her entrance, I look into her eyes and start to push in. ¡°What if I can¡¯t imagine anything hotter than your belly growing with my child?¡± I question throatily, my tip breaching her. Her mouth parts in a silent gasp as she looks down at where I¡¯m iming her tight pussy and making it mine. ¡°Mywife, havingmybaby. That¡¯s exactly what I want every man who¡¯s ever had designs on you to see,¡± I exin. ¡°No condom.¡± She mewls softly andys back down, brows twisting in concentration as she struggles to take me. ¡°You¡¯re getting ahead of yourself,¡± she breathes. Ie down over her, bracing my hands on either side of her head. Her eyes fly open when my lips touch hers, iming them at the same time as I shove forward a few inches. ¡°Ow,¡± she whimpers softly against my mouth. Her pussy is strangling my cock, the pressure so acute that I can barely move. Gripping her thigh, I bend her leg at the knee and hold it against my side, opening her wider for me. I sink further inside her, but am still only about halfway in. ¡°Rx,amor. Come on, you can take me.¡± A shuddering breath tears through her. ¡°I am,¡± she pants, exining, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­it¡¯s been a while.¡± I still. Possessiveness rolls down my spine and powers my hips forward until I¡¯m thrusting all the way inside her. She chokes out a stunned breath, eyes locking emotionally on mine. I stay buried impossibly deep, unmoving. ¡°How long?¡± I grunt. Vulnerability shades her eyes. She gasps in a needy breath. ¡°A couple of years.¡± The territorial rumble that rips from my chest sounds more animal than man. It might scare her, but I¡¯m powerless to keep it in. ¡°Same.¡± Finding her mouth once more, I kiss her eagerly. I feel her startle against me at my deration and then she¡¯s cupping my jaw and gently pushing me back. Disbelief swirls in her eyes. ¡°What did you say?¡± Throwing her leg over my shoulder, I pull out until only the tip remains inside her. ¡°I haven¡¯t fucked anyone in almost two years,¡± I grunt, wrapping my hand over the front of her throat. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t interested,¡± I answer with azy shrug. Rocking my hips forward, I plunge all nine inches back inside her at once, tightening my hand on her throat and adding darkly. ¡°You¡¯ve changed that. Now that I¡¯ve felt how tight this pussy is and heard the way you moan when I sink inside you, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to be insatiable.¡± A garbled moan rips from her lips but she doesn¡¯t look away. And when I thrust again, and a third time, and a fourth, my thrusts getting progressively faster and rougher, she never takes her eyes off me. Chapter 40 My nerves short circuit, my breathing turning ragged until it¡¯s nothing more than desperate, shallow inhales and sandpapery exhales. Thiago controls my body like a switchboard, making me squirm until it feels like my skin is on fire. He leans over and kisses me, cinnamon exploding on my tongue once again, the taste I¡¯vee to know as his. His hand stays wrapped around my throat as his hips rock back and forth, burying himself inside me, the pace increasing and increasing until I¡¯m a whimpering, sobbing mess. Thiago is equally affected, loud moans slipping through our joint lips and into my mouth. He doesn¡¯t hold back his noises as he pumps inside me. He¡¯s vocal,pletely shameless in the way he announces his pleasure, just like he promised. ¡°You feel so fucking good,¡± he breathes against my mouth. Shivers rack his body as his hips move. ¡°You¡¯re taking me so well.¡± I whine in response and he moves from my lips down to the line of my jaw, alternating between kisses and nips, until his mouth is pressed against my ear. ¡°Let it out,amor,¡± he rasps, hot breath on my skin. ¡°Feel the way my cock is iming this pussy. Feel how you¡¯re taking every inch of me. All that attitude and sass but underneath it you¡¯re such a good girl for me.¡± The way he talks me through it, praising every moan, every flutter of my muscles has me spiraling towards a blinding pleasure I¡¯m not sure I can handle. When rough hands grip my waist and a hot mouth closes around my needy nipple, I freeze, right on the edge. Thiago rips his mouth off me and meets my gaze. ¡°Don¡¯te without asking me,¡± he growls. Reaching down, he starts furiously rubbing my clit and I shriek. ¡°Oh,god! Can Ie?¡± ¡°No.¡± My eyes fly to his, wide and panicked. I¡¯m no more in control of the looming, explosive climax as I would be an approaching tornado. ¡°Pl¨C¡± ¡°Hold it,¡± he orders. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I cry. ¡°You haven¡¯t begged enough.¡± ¡°Thiago,¡± I gasp, clenching around his length in my desperation to keep my orgasm at bay. He groans loudly, throwing his head back. ¡°Please. Please let mee. I really need toe.¡± He squeezes my throat once more, leisurely strokes pushing in and out of me. ¡°Will you let me fuck this pussy whenever I want?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± he curses when I squeeze him again. ¡°You¡¯re choking my dick.¡± The effort of holding my climax back starts to turn the pleasure into pain. I beg one final time, my voice threadbare. ¡°Please¡­¡± His hips pull back and then he powers inside me with one devastating stroke. ¡°Come for me,amor.¡± White-hot heat pulses behind my eyes as I let go. My orgasm rolls destructively through me until I shatter with a loud scream, my muscles spasming almost violently around Thiago¡¯s cock. He keeps pumping roughly inside me, talking to me and praising me the entire way through. When I open my eyes, I find him smiling smugly down at me, a darkly pleased look on his face. ¡°I told you you¡¯d beg.¡± The satisfaction in his eyes wraps around me. My earlier confession had been a long time in the making. It hadn¡¯t felt dirty at all, like I was giving up a part of myself by giving in. Like I thought it would. Thiago slides his arms under my knees and scoops me into his arms. My handse around his neck with a shocked gasp when he stands. It quickly morphs into a low moan when I settle into his embrace. At this angle, seated on him with my legs spread to the sides, I¡¯m so deeply impaled on his length that I¡¯m stretched to the limit. My head drops onto his shoulder, my face burying into his neck as he pins me against the bedroom wall. ¡°I¡¯m not done,¡± he breathes, rocking his hips up and driving inside me to the hilt. ¡°I can¡¯t get enough of you.¡± Our first time isn¡¯t going the way I thought it would. I expected the violent madman topletely take over. And yes, he¡¯s rough and he¡¯s crude, making me blush to the roots of my hair, but he¡¯s also tender, almost reverently so. He looks at me like he can¡¯t believe he¡¯s fucking me. Unblinkingly, as if he¡¯s afraid that if he closes his eyes, I¡¯ll disappear. I lick tentatively at his neck, aiming to mark him like he marked me. When he moans encouragingly, I suck him into my mouth, suctioning the sensitive skin between my lips. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s been celibate like me for thest couple of years. I¡¯d prioritized my job, wanting to prove that I was deserving to take over from my father, so romantic and sexual rtionships had been deprioritized and ultimately had faded to the background. But I¡¯d assumed Thiago was a manwhore, that he¡¯d at least slept with other people while I was on the run. Women throw themselves at him constantly, you only have to look at tonight to know that for the truth it is, and still he never gave in. ¡°My body will fail me before my mind does,¡± he grunts, thrusting up inside me. ¡°If it was up to me, I¡¯d fuck you uninterrupted into next week. Until you can¡¯t walk, until you can¡¯t remember what it feels like to not have me between your legs. You¡¯ll never know that feeling again.¡± Thiago wraps my hair around his fist and tugs my head back, pulling my mouth off his neck and opening my throat to him. He starts pumping into me so roughly, my teeth rattle. He watches my face, taking in every flutter of my eyelids, every blush of my cheeks. One arm holds me up by my ass, grabbing fistfuls of my cheeks with greedy fingers and making me moan dementedly in the process. The heat builds inside me, the intimacy of being pinned between his body and the wall, of feeling his heartbeat through his chest, making me delirious. Leaning forward, I im his lips in a burning kiss as oblivion takes me and Ie loudly once again. He makes a pained sound against my mouth and pulls away. The expression on his face is tormented, like he¡¯s trying to hold his own climax back. ¡°Look how easily youe for me,¡± he grits out, still fucking me. ¡°I barely have to do anything and look at you. Coming apart again, your juices dripping every fucking where.¡±Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. I reach for him with one hand, cupping his nape and bringing him closer to me. With the other, I wrap around his body and grip his ass, my fingers digging eagerly into his flesh. His eyes sh hotly, his muscles tensing. ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± I breathe. ¡°I love the way your cock feels.¡± Thiago grits his teeth, his eyes closing. Then he throws his head back and he roars, thrusting his cock all the way inside me and staying there. His abdomen works, flexing and constricting against my belly as hees, shooting his load into my pussy. He slumps forward, the hand in my hair pping against the wall next to my head. He holds me tightly against him as his foreheades down on my shoulder this time. Frantic breaths rip from his chest as he works to calm his breathing. I drag my nails up his back on both sides, the gentle caress making him shiver. Finally, he turns his face and presses an open mouthed kiss against my throat. ¡°Do you understand what you do to me now? Why I had to chase you halfway around the world to have you?¡± Softer, he mumbles, ¡°I knew I was supposed to wait for you,amor.¡± Chapter 41 Thiago pulls out and I whimper. He sets me on the ground, his handing up to hold my hip. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nod, finding my feet. ¡°Just a little sore.¡± Cupping my nape, he bends and kisses my forehead. ¡°Lo siento, preciosa.¡± I push off the wall and close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek against his chest. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ready for this to end this just yet,¡± I admit softly. His arms close around me, holding me tight. ¡°What do you think is ending?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say with a casual shrug. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± He palms my shoulders and pushes me back, looking keenly down into my eyes. ¡°Home.¡± I think about his home, about how things have been for us there. The only times we¡¯ve reallye together are in the middle of the night, almost in secret like we didn¡¯t want anyone to know. I realize I¡¯m the reason things have been that way, but I don¡¯t want that anymore. ¡°Each in our own bedroom.¡± His fingeres under my chin and he lifts it until I meet his eyes again. ¡°No,¡± he says simply. ¡°No more separate bedrooms. You¡¯ll sleep in our bed moving forward,amor.¡± My heart lurches against my rib cage at his emphatic tone. Is it reallyourbed, I wonder? ¡°Has anyone else slept in it?¡± A slow grin spreads across his face and his arm tightens around me. ¡°You have no idea how much I love this jealous side of you,¡± he purrs. ¡°No other women outside of the cartel have ever even been to the mansion. That¡¯s why it¡¯sours.¡± A timid smile touches my lips. ¡°Okay.¡± For a moment, Thiago looks down at me. There¡¯s a quiet, forceful intensity in his stare that creates a swell in my chest. He reaches out to cup my face, the pad of his thumb gently stroking my cheek, his gaze contemtive. ¡°Are you ready to ept the fact that you¡¯re my wife now?¡± I never thought there¡¯de a day where that question didn¡¯t immediately make me want to run for the hills, but I¡¯m standing in front of him still, feet firmly nted on the ground. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore, both against what feels like the inevitable but also against my own emerging feelings. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do this¡ª¡± ¡°This?¡± he questions. ¡°Be married.¡± His hand tightens on my cheek, his eyes shing. ¡°There¡¯s no if,amor, you¡ª¡± I set a palm on his chest, quieting him. ¡°If we¡¯re doing this, we should try and do it right. That¡¯s what I was going to say. I have to be able to trust you and you have to trust me in return.¡± When a shift in the air makes me shiver, Thiago reaches for my discarded gown and gets down on one knee, helping me put it back on until I¡¯m holding the front up against my chest. Hands on my hips twist me to face the wall as he silently pulls the back zipper closed. He grips a handful of my ass when he¡¯s done, making me yelp. ¡°Sorry, couldn¡¯t help it.¡± He doesn¡¯t sound sorry at all. In fact, I can hear the smile in his words without even turning around. When I do, I find him already in his trousers, looking down at his belt as he tightens it. He reaches for his shirt, looking back expectantly at me. ¡°Trust obviously isn¡¯t going to happen overnight, but maybe,¡± I pause, finding my words. ¡°Maybe you can start by telling me about Adriana.¡± A shadow crosses his face before he hides it smoothly behind the mask of control he always wears. I wonder if he¡¯s grieved her death. Vengeance is one thing, but grief is another altogether. Something tells me he hasn¡¯t let himself feel that pain. He looks down at where his hands work the buttons of his shirt. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± His fingers falter when I touch him. I take over for him, slowly buttoning his shirt from the bottom up. ¡°How old was she?¡± ¡°When she died? She¡¯d just turned twenty-three.¡± My stomach twists in response. We¡¯d be more or less the same age today. ¡°What happened?¡± I question softly. ¡°She was kidnapped from a club.Firenze.¡± Realization shes in his eyes and his handse back to my waist, his touch urgent. ¡°You¡¯re forbidden from ever going back.¡± I part my lips to tell him his tight grip is hurting me, but he mistakes my mouth opening as potential disagreement. ¡°That¡¯s non-negotiable. I don¡¯teverwant you going back there. If you feel like going out, I¡¯ll take you somewhere better. Somewhere safer.¡± The chaotic look in his eye pierces right through my chest. It exposes a part of him I haven¡¯t seen before. I shake my head. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t go.¡± His shoulders drop with his low exhale, the sudden tension in his body easing somewhat. He releases me and even though I¡¯d been about to tell him he was hurting me, I find myself missing his touch. ¡°After she was kidnapped, my father received an anonymous, untraceable message telling us she was murdered in retaliation for crimes of the cartel. To punish him for unnamed acts he¡¯dmitted. They included her finger.¡± I inhale sharply, my hand flying to my mouth. ¡°She always wore our mother¡¯s engagement ring on her right hand. You can imagine it being returned to my father in that way.¡± He breathes violently through his nose. ¡°Their final act of punishment was telling us they¡¯d never reveal the location of her body. That we¡¯d have to live the rest of our lives wondering what happened to her in her final hours and what they did with her remains.¡± It¡¯s my turn to cup his face, forcing him to look back down at me. His brows twitch when he sees the tears on my face. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I can¡¯t even imagine going through something like that. You didn¡¯t deserve it.¡± ¡°Yes, we did.¡± He sps my hands and removes them from his face, bringing them down between us. ¡°Don¡¯t cry for me,amor, I don¡¯t deserve your tears. You know exactly who I am. What I¡¯ve done. My father made me in his image; whatever I¡¯m guilty of, he¡¯s done a hundred times over. This business is war and people pay in blood for every victory, for every new inch of power. There are an innumerable amount of people who would slit my or my father¡¯s throats for revenge if given the opportunity.Wedeserve worse than death. But Adriana.¡± He stumbles. ¡°Adriana did nothing wrong. She was never involved with the business, never wanted anything to do with it. She always said she was a pacifist,¡± he says with a rueful smile. ¡°She studiedbotany, for fuck¡¯s sake. All she wanted was to work with nts, to have a couple cats, and to live in a home with arge garden where she could nt anything she wanted. That¡¯s it. She came to London to celebrate her graduation. She was innocent. Killing her never made any sense to me,¡± he continues. ¡°I never understood why anyone would willingly make an enemy out of us. They had to know our retaliation strategy would beplete annihtion.¡± I blow out a shuddering breath. The truth is so far from what I expected. I¡¯d fabricated this entire story in my head about her, blindly hating her based on my own foolish rush to judgment. ¡°Have you found the person responsible?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± He looks off to the side and awareness brushes up my spine. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± His gaze slides back to mine, his brow raising. ¡°Or at the very least, you¡¯re hiding something.¡± The ghost of a smile touches his lips. ¡°You know my tells already,amor?¡± Picking up his discarded bow tie, I slip it around his neck, leaving it hanging on his chest. I can¡¯t bring myself to finish tying it. There¡¯s something about him looking unruly, about him looking just a little undone, that I love. He¡¯s ck tattoos and a lethal gaze and bloody knuckles. He was never meant to be constrained by something as formal and restrictive as a tuxedo. My eyes flick up to meet his. ¡°This is about trust, remember? So trust me. Earlier, you said you¡¯d show me something if I wanted. What was it?¡± Those same knucklese up to brush my cheek, the contrast between the knives etched on his skin and the tender touch ridiculous. ¡°You want to see?¡± I nod. ¡°Why? he asks. ¡°I thought you hated this world even more than she did.¡± ¡°Because she was innocent and whoever killed her should pay,¡± I exin. ¡°Protecting the ones you love at all costs is not something I have any trouble understanding. So show me.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to scare you.¡± I lift an unwavering look at him and set my jaw. He already knows how stubborn I can be. ¡°I can handle it.¡± He hums thoughtfully and thumbs my lip, staring at my mouth contemtively for long moments. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. ¡°Nothing.¡± His eyes lift to mine. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering how your father could ever have willingly parted with you.¡± His words are raw and honest. They hit me like a punch to the sr plexus. I have a hard time reconciling this man with the violent cartel boss I know him to be, and yet they¡¯re one and the same. ¡°When he finally realizes his fuck up, it¡¯ll be toote. I won¡¯t give you back.¡± ¡°He¡¯s unlikely to ever see it as a mistake.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he growls, kissing my forehead again. ¡°I can show you what I know about Adriana now if that¡¯s what you want.¡± My heart picks up in anticipation. I nod. ¡°I want to know. Show me.¡± Thiago gives me a pleased smile, then looks around onest time to make sure we¡¯re not forgetting anything. His palmes to the small of my back as he guides me out the door. ¡°We¡¯ll take the car. It¡¯s about a twenty minute drive from here so it won¡¯t take long.¡± He keeps talking, walking beside me as we head back towards the main entrance where we left our coats. On impulse, I reach for his hand and take it in mine. Hees to a slow stop, eventually looking down at where our fingers are threaded together. His expression is somewhere between riveted and mystified.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. I¡¯m about to pull my hand out of his and mumble some kind of embarrassed apology when he lifts it to his mouth. He presses a soft kiss on the back of my hand, his eyes staring intently deep into my soul. Something indescribable passes between us in that small, unimportant moment, but I know I¡¯ll keep a memory of it in my heart forever. Without another word, he takes off again. Except this time, my hand is buried in his and he¡¯s squeezing my fingers like he¡¯s nning on never letting go. Chapter 42 The car pulls up outside of what looks like an abandoned Tube station. In the ck of night, the location looks even more eerie and unweing. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Thiago announces. He turns towards me. ¡°Last chance to change your mind.¡± I shake my head stubbornly, looking a lot more confident than I feel. My first foray into this world scares me, but if I¡¯m going to survive the Underworld, I need to know it. I need to master it like I would anything else. And if the roles were reversed, I¡¯d want him to do everything he could to help me find my brother¡¯s killer. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I say assertively. ¡°What is it you¡¯re showing me exactly?¡± ¡°Augusto Leone.¡± My breath falters, but I don¡¯t let him see it. I don¡¯t know the name. Part of me had expected this to involve a captive of some sort, but the confirmation is still jarring to hear. ¡°Who is he? Is he the one who killed her?¡± ¡°He ims to know nothing about any of this,¡± Thiago answers, getting out of the car and extending a hand out to me. Taking it, I follow after him. ¡°But he¡¯s lying. And he¡¯s thecapoof the Italian mafia.¡± My eyes widen in shock and dart around us to see who can hear. Arturo and two other mene out of a follow car, staying a secure distance away from us but eyeing our surroundings carefully to scope out any threats. ¡°You kidnapped the head of the Italian mafia?¡± I ask disbelievingly. I know nothing about how his world works but it doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that move is akin to dropping a nuclear bomb on the London Underworld. ¡°Isn¡¯t that insanely dangerous? Do they know you have him? Are they going to attack us?¡± I don¡¯t miss the way I refer to the cartel asusand neither does Thiago. He lifts an interested brow my way but says nothing. He simply drops my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t hold my hand again once we go in,¡± he instructs. He turns on his heel and disappears into the abandoned station. I try to hide the wounded expression on my face, but I¡¯m pretty sure I fail. At least he¡¯s gone so he doesn¡¯t see it. But someone else does. ¡°Well, are you going to follow him in or not, Barbie?¡± Arturo asks impatiently. ¡°Or perhaps you¡¯re too afraid?¡± I re at him and do something that would send my mother into a fainting spell if she ever saw me. I flip him off, coupling it with a snide expression. It feels almost therapeutic. I might have to start doing it more often. Without waiting for his reaction, I push into the darkness and follow after my husband. My vision adapts quickly to the dark but it doesn¡¯t go on for long anyway. Bulkhead lights are affixed to the walls every hundred feet or so. They illuminate Thiago¡¯s back as he waits for me at the bottom of a set of stairs that lead into a long hallway. ¡°What is this ce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dmissioned bomb shelter from World War II.¡± I nod, looking around me in awe. ¡°I heard these were all over the city, but I¡¯ve never seen one, let alone been in one.¡± ¡°First andst time,¡± he notes. He starts walking again, turning left, then right, until we¡¯re so deep into the maze I have no idea how to get out. Hisfort with the space reveals how much time he¡¯s spent here. This must be a base of theirs, which makes sense. Although I never thought the Underworld would actually beunder. It¡¯s brilliant. We pass a number of rooms with metallic doors sporting sliding speakeasy grills. It sends a shiver down my spine thinking about how many people must have been held here. Footsteps behind me tell me the other three men are following us. I¡¯m surprised there¡¯s not more security dedicated to protecting the space, but I assume that would draw unwanted attention here. Finally, Thiagoes to a stop in front of arge door. His palmes up to push it open, but he pauses. His face turns to the side and then his eyes flick up to mine. There¡¯s hesitation in them when he looks at me and that too is new. I¡¯ve never seen him be anything other than overly confident in every one of his decisions. But now he falters, indecision shing in his gaze and jittery energy making his fists clench restlessly as he grapples with whether or not to let me in. ¡°Show me,¡± I say encouragingly one final time. His jaw shifts side to side, his gaze assessing for long moments. Then he nods once, sharply. I watch in real time as his gaze shutters. He straightens and cool menace washes over his entire body. He looks like apletely different person, distant and indifferent as he stares down at me, and I realize that the man from earlier who took so much delight in giving me pleasure is gone. Standing before me instead is the ruthless cartel boss. The ease with which he shifts between the two is hair raising, but he¡¯s doing what I asked. I¡¯m the one who wanted to see this. Thiago shoves the door open and strides in easily, the other men following after him with their guns drawn, leaving me alone in the hallway. I step out of my stilettos, bending to carry them in one hand by the heel. The idea of standing in that room in them makes me feel vulnerable and I need all the armor I can get right now. With a breath, I steel my shoulders and follow after Thiago. The room isrge and empty. The only thing inside it is one chair on which sits one man. Or at least, what remains of one man. He¡¯s tied by thick lengths of rope, his head drooped forward, and he¡¯s entirely covered in blood. There¡¯s so much of it, my brain can¡¯tpute where it could all possibly being from. Behind him, stand Marco and a man I know is named Fabian. The barbaric expression on his face terrifies me, as does therge cleaver dripping with blood that hangs from his hand. ¡°Leone.¡± Thiago¡¯s voice slices through the silence with the kind of authority most men only dream of having. I¡¯m frozen to the spot, barely five feet inside the room and unable to make my body move any further. I¡¯mpletely out of my element here and my muscles shake with unease. Augusto Leone doesn¡¯t react for so long that I start to think he must already be dead. That would certainly exin the amount of blood. Then, so slowly I miss it at first, he starts to lift his head. He reveals his face little by little and I bite back a gasp. Joker lines have been carved into either side of his mouth, pulling it into a terrifying makeshift rictus.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Leone keeps lifting his head until his eyes are fully visible. But they don¡¯t go to Thiago, who¡¯s standing in front of him, and they don¡¯t go to Arturo, who¡¯s just off to the side, gun drawn but hanging by his side, or to Marco and Fabian who hover right over him. Theye straight to me, where I¡¯m still hesitating by the door. And any pity I may have started to feel evaporates in an instant because his pupils cken sadistically and his eyes rake lewdly down my body with the promise of the kind of violence women don¡¯t survive shining in them. Fear grabs me by the throat and chokes me. The eye contact ends after less than a second when Thiago shifts to the side and ces his body in front of mine,pletely blocking me from Leone¡¯s view. ¡°Don¡¯t look at her,¡± he says dispassionately. ¡°Look at me.¡± ??? Chapter 43 Idon¡¯t make many mistakes. They¡¯re an anomaly if they happen and so rare that in a scientific analysis of my game y, they¡¯d be considered statistically insignificant. But it takes me less than five seconds to realize I made a mistake bringing Tess here. ¡°Who¡¯s the girl?¡± Leone rasps interestedly. They¡¯re the first words he¡¯s spoken in days and they¡¯re about to be hisst. It takes burying my hands in my trouser pockets to hide just how tightly my fists clench in response to his suicidal question. ¡°You can speak,¡± I say, ignoring him as I fight to regain control over my focus. ¡°And here I thought Marco might have cut out your tongue and forgotten to tell me about it.¡± Bringing Tess here after I just fucked her for the first time was a bad idea. I¡¯m beyondpromised. I¡¯m edgy, shaky, and uneasy, like a lifetime smoker who¡¯s on hour forty-eight of nicotine withdrawal and about to lose it. Protectiveness contorts my insides. I can¡¯t let the fucker see it. All I can think about is the fact that she¡¯s within ten feet of a man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to cut her to pieces if he thought it would hurt me in any way. I should have set up a camera and remote feed and shown her that way. I don¡¯t let myself look at her or acknowledge her in any way. His eyes flicker interestedly when I move to stand between them. Fuck. ¡°Tell me why theFamigliawent after Adriana,¡± I demand. ¡°What did you gain from having her killed?¡± Leone should understand better than anyone my need for revenge. His son, Ro, was found murdered in an alley a month ago, his killers still in the wind. We should be united by amon goal, but it¡¯s toote for that now. He ignores me, his gaze meeting mine when he repeats his question, intelligent eyes watching to pick my reaction apart. ¡°Who¡¯s the girl?¡± The muscle in my jaw ticks dangerously in response. ¡°Why did you involve Dadurian?¡± I continue as if my temper isn¡¯t ticking like a time bomb. ¡°If you wanted to keep your hands clean, you did a piss poor job of it. That fucker led us right back to your family with barely any effort.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a tasty little number,Diablo. I didn¡¯t peg you as someone who¡¯d have a thing for blondes.¡± He licks his lips. ¡°Looking at her though, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t get it.¡± My eyelid twitches. My jaw ticks dangerously. He¡¯s baiting me and I won¡¯t rise to it. I¡¯m chanting it to myself over and over again, hoping if I say it enough times, I¡¯ll actually fucking listen. ¡°Tell me where the fuck Adriana¡¯s body is.¡± Blood leaks from his mouth, seeping from between his teeth and from the cuts on his face, and continuing gruesomely down his chin. Speaking is excruciating for him, the effort of moving his lips draining him almostpletely. With a ghastly-sounding inhale, he throws his head back and opens his mouth once more. And based on the expression on his face, I know that I¡¯m not going to like whatever it is he¡¯s about to say. ¡°When I have Blondie here taken from you, I¡¯ll make sure they give you her body back this time,¡± he rasps, voice barely lifting above a whisper. ¡°She¡¯ll be well used, her holes nice and stretched out for you from her time spent with theFamiglia, but at least you¡¯ll know what happened to this one.¡± Pressure explodes bright and white behind my eye and I ck out. When Ie to mere secondster, I¡¯m standing over Leone with his hair clenched in one fist and my knife clutched in the other, stabbing him repeatedly in the throat with frantic, jerking shes of my wrist. The de jams in again and again, all the way to the hilt with each vicious stroke as I hack away at him barbarically. There¡¯s a fric mindlessness to my actions as I roar my fury dementedly in his face. Blood gushes in increasinglyme spurts from his wounds and covers me. When the adrenaline recedes, I realize that he¡¯s long dead even as I continue to butcher his body. His lips are twisted and frozen in a final, gleeful smile like he got what he wanted. He wanted me to kill him, to end his misery. ¡°Fuck!¡± I boom deafeningly, kicking the chair until he falls back and shouting my wrath open-throated at the ceiling. ¡°Fuck!Maldita sea.¡± ¡°Jefe¨C¡± Arturo starts. I cut him off with a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t say a fucking word.¡± I can hardly see. The anger is still throttling me and dangerously dotting my vision. I need a second to breathe before it takes him out next. There¡¯s nothing he can say that I¡¯m not already screaming at myself. I justpletely fucked our only lead. Leone never spoke, he never gave us anything to go on from here, and I killed him. He was trying to get me to do exactly that and I lost my shit and fell for it in less than ten minutes. But the vision of Tess that my imagination was kind enough to conjure and burn into the back of my eyelids at his words, the one of her broken, mangled body returned to me, is still so fresh and vivid in my mind that I¡¯m about to continue desecrating his corpse just for the fun of it. My blood rings in my ears and thrashes in my veins and I¡¯m d thehijueputais dead because there¡¯s no universe in which she lives where I would have allowed him to keep breathing too. I would never have slept again knowing she could be in danger. When I turn around, I find her standing by the door, hair wildly down around her shoulders, her blue dress criminal in the way it¡¯s hugging her curves and her heels held in her hand. There¡¯s something about seeing her barefoot, holding her shoes, that undoes mepletely. She looks so young. Fragile, even though I know she isn¡¯t. Completely at odds with the situation. The thought that this is what Leone saw when he looked at her makes me even more furious. She¡¯s shaking violently, a shocked expression on her face, and she¡¯s white as a sheet. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s horror at what she just witnessed, terror at her seeing with her own eyes exactly what kind of monster I am, or pure, unadulterated disgust at the blood dripping off my clothes and hand. I stride towards her, needing to touch her, to take her away from the darkness where she doesn¡¯t belong. Relief loosens the muscles of my stomach when she takes a stumbling step towards me instead of shrinking away. It immediately leadens when a haze passes over her eyes. And then she faints, crumbling to the ground like a broken doll. I catch her inches from the floor, scooping her into my arms and holding her tightly against my chest. She¡¯s so pale the veins under her eyes appear beneath her skin. ¡°Is she alright?¡± Arturo questions,ing to my side. ¡°Just shock, I think. I¡¯m taking her home. Clean this up,¡± I ask. ¡°Dump his body on the front steps ofFirenze.¡± ¡°If we do that, it¡¯ll be like leaving a calling card saying that it was us.¡± Fresh anger fires through my veins when I look down at an unconscious Tess and hear Leone¡¯s threats against her echo in my head. ¡°I want them to know it was me. Let them know no one is safe until Adriana¡¯s killer is dead at my feet.¡± He nods, looking back at Leone thoughtfully before facing me. ¡°Guess this leaves the door wide open for Matteo Leone to be the newcapo.¡± Matteo Leone is a mystery. Very little is known about the only living son of Augusto Leone and the apparent heir to the Italian mafia. If he¡¯s a sadistic, violent, piece of shit, he hasn¡¯t been a show off with his tendencies, unlike histe father and brother. But the Italian mafia is like a hydra ¨C you cut off one head, they grow back and multiply. I have no doubt he¡¯ll do anything to avenge his father. Well, like I said. Let theme. ???Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Tess doesn¡¯t open her eyes again until we¡¯re back home. I brush Diana away when she runs up to me, face worried, and take my wife up to the master bathroom instead. ¡°What happened?¡± Tess asks,ing to. I¡¯m relieved to see most of the color is back in her cheeks. She rubs at her eyes as I set her on the counter next to therge marble sink. She looks around with an intrigued look on her face. ¡°Is this your bathroom?¡± ¡°Our bathroom,¡± I correct, holding her by the hip to make sure she doesn¡¯t topple over. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Fine, I¨C¡± A confused look furrows her brow, her eyes scanning side to side as if searching her memory. ¡°I can¡¯t remember what happened, did I faint?¡± I grab her ankles and turn her so she faces the sink, her shoulder resting against the bathroom mirror. ¡°You did.¡± ¡°Wh¨C¡± With a guarded look, I watch as realization crosses her features. She reys the moments leading up to her fainting spell, her eyes widening. I expect her expression to turn to one of fear or disgust, for her to pull away again, but instead it¡¯s dismay that appears next. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she whispers, looking down. My back tenses. ¡°What for?¡± I hate the way she won¡¯t meet my eye. ¡°I thought I could handle it, but I couldn¡¯t.¡± Her tone cleaves at my chest. I cup her face and force her to look at me. She tilts her cheek into my touch, looking up at me with soft eyes. Eyes that hold the depths of the entire ocean in them, ones whose gaze slithers beneath my skin and burrows deep into my bones. ¡°You have nothing to be sorry for,¡± I answer quietly. ¡°Was it the blood? Or because I killed him?¡± Turning the sink on, I test the temperature of the water with my finger until it¡¯s warm, waiting for her reply. ¡°No, not that. He¡­¡± she trails off when I take her ankles and ce her feet in the sink, under the hot jet of water. ¡°He scared me,¡± she admits, her tone embarrassed. ¡°The things he said he¡¯d do to me.¡± My eyes close, my hands tightening stiffly on her. In a heartbeat, I¡¯m back there, standing in front of Leone, all the blood in my body freezing in ce as he threatens Tess. Hearing that he scared her so much she fainted makes me want to discover the cure for bringing a man back to life just so I can kill him again. Slower this time. Breathing out a steadying exhale through my nose, I reach for the soap and pump some into my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll never let anything happen to you. I promise.¡± She wraps a hand around my elbow, pulling my attention to her. ¡°And you keep your promises.¡± My eyes flick up to hers before I smirk and answer. ¡°Always.¡± Her gaze turns thoughtful, her fingers digging into my flesh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to kill him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I reply through gnashed teeth. She shakes her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sorry he¡¯s dead. I¡¯m sorry that he won¡¯t be able to tell you where Adriana¡¯s body is. I never meant for that to happen.¡± Grabbing the top of her foot, Ither it with soap until thick suds fall off her skin. I do so for long seconds, getting lost in the motions of washing her. Eventually, I say. ¡°I¡¯ll find another way.¡± My hands move to her other foot, repeating the same process I did with the first. ¡°What are you doing?¡± My hand slips around to the bottom of her foot, passing over it repeatedly until it¡¯s clean. She giggles softly, instantly hardening my dick in the process. ¡°Washing your feet,¡± I answer. ¡°Why did you take your shoes off?¡± Her tone is bemused when she replies, as if she can¡¯t quite believe what I¡¯m doing. Understandable, I¡¯ve never washed anyone else¡¯s feet before. ¡°I wanted to be morefortable.¡± ¡°One of my men could have gotten you a chair. Ask next time so you don¡¯t have to dirty these pretty little feet,¡± I growl, looking at her and pressing a kiss against the top of her now clean foot. Sheughs. ¡°Do you have a foot fetish or something?¡± I shake my head slowly, the ghost of a smile tugging at my lips. ¡°No, I have a you fetish.¡± Lust blooms like plumes of smoke in her eyes and she reaches for me. Her arms twine around the back of my neck and her lipse down on mine, wiping away thest lingering thoughts of violence with a sweet kiss. My hands go to her waist, pulling her off the sink and wrapping her legs around me. With her clinging to me, I march us into the bedroom where I take my wife for the first time in our marital bed. Chapter 44 ¡°It¡¯s great to have you back in the office, Tess,¡± a colleague of mine named Chelsea says when we cross paths in the break room. ¡°We missed you around here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so good to be back!¡± I exim truthfully. ¡°I missed you guys like crazy.¡± She walks off with her coffee in one hand, waving with the other, leaving me to wait for my still brewing coffee. I¡¯m buzzing with excitement and hardly able to stand still. My return to the office has gone even better than I could have imagined. I¡¯d ended up dying it by another week, convinced by a very persuasive Thiago to extend our so-called honeymoon a few more days. Although, thest week has felt much more like an actual honeymoon than the first two. Ever since that night at the Telliers¡¯, we¡¯ve spent almost every moment together. He simrly didn¡¯t leave the house for work, taking the rare urgent meeting in his study and thening to find me immediately after. True to his word, he¡¯s been absolutely insatiable. Every time I came out of the shower, he would inevitably rip the towel off me and fuck me on the bed. We also kept up our midnight ice cream ritual and he got his revenge for all my previous teasing by bending me over the kitchen ind and sliding into my pussy while he fed me some rocky road. There was even one time where I was bent over helping Diana empty the dishwasher when he came up behind me and grabbed my hips. Poor Diana had less than five seconds to run out of there before my pants were off and he was burying himself inside me to the hilt. I apologized to her the following day, taking the opportunity to also say sorry for previous bad behavior. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for how I reacted when you mentioned Adriana a few weeks ago,¡± I¡¯d said. ¡°That¡¯s alright,se?ora.¡± ¡°No, you see, I thought¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t know. I thought she was¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t been able to find the words to exin the story I¡¯d invented in my head, but Diana had understood. Her eyes widenedically. ¡°You thought she was his lover?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her face had fallen into a kind smile. ¡°Ah,querida, then you reacted appropriately. Maybe you even underreacted. If I thought you¡¯d brought up my husband¡¯s ex-lover to me, I would have scratched your eyes out.¡± I¡¯dughed and we¡¯d hugged. Then I¡¯d had her tell me all about Adriana. The more I learned about her, the sadder I became that I¡¯d never gotten to meet my sister-inw. She sounded fun and vibrant, the kind of person Dagny and I would have been instant friends with. It only further strengthened my resolve to help Thiago find her killer. He told me he didn¡¯t have any other leads yet, and I believed him. But when he¡¯de out of his study after those urgent meetings over the past week, he¡¯d looked stressed. Well, as stressed as he could look. His shoulders were tense, his face tight, his mind faraway. When questioned, he wouldn¡¯t tell me what was going on. My fainting at the bomb shelter had hardened him against involving me in his affairs. I couldn¡¯t fault him for that decision, but I was determined to get him to confide in me what problems he was facing. Even now, my skin still gets cold thinking about what Augusto Leone threatened me with. His face had been obscured by Thiago¡¯s body so his words alone had been spine-chilling enough to scare me to my bones. Over the past week, I¡¯d woken up on more than one asion in the middle of the night, my heart racing in fear that someone wasing to take me. Each time, I¡¯d awoken held tightly in Thiago¡¯s arms, his bare chest enveloping me like a cocoon and immediately calming my anxiety. They¡¯re nightmares and not reality, and I know I¡¯ll get over them soon. Still, being able to go back to work this morning has been a blessing. Now I¡¯ve got something else to upy my racing thoughts so I¡¯m not continually spiraling in a swell of anxiety. ¡°So the rumors are true. You are back.¡± A smile breaks out across my face before I¡¯ve even turned around. I fling myself into the speaker¡¯s arms, hugging him tightly even though I know he¡¯ll hate it. ¡°Wiz,¡± I whisper affectionately. Pushing him away but holding onto his shoulders, I look up into his face. He¡¯s unchanged and familiar and I¡¯m so happy to see him. ¡°What the hell are you doing up here?¡± ¡°I had to see for myself if the gossip was true.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know the gossip traveled all the way down to the second floor.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be surprised,¡± he replies in his usual even tone. Grinning, I turn away and grab my coffee mug. He walks alongside me as we head towards my office. ¡°You didn¡¯t have toe up yourself, I know you don¡¯t like to. I was going toe to see youter, it¡¯s just been a crazy first day back as you can imagine.¡±This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°I hacked your calendar and emails to make sure you were free before I came up, so I have no need for imagination.¡± With a snort, I head into my office and settle behind my desk. He follows, dropping easily into the chair opposite me. ¡°Why did youe back?¡± he asks. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly of my own free will,¡± I exin. ¡°Your father forced you back?¡± My father is apparently away on business, so I haven¡¯t had to see him. It¡¯s made the return to the office that much smoother. ¡°No, I¡­ I was never running from him, Wiz. I was running from someone else. He found me and brought me back. But I¡¯m not¡­ I don¡¯t mind. I think I¡¯m making it work. I¡¯m happy to be back.¡± I stumble on the words,cking the appropriate self-awareness to correctly diagnose what I¡¯m feeling and how tomunicate it back to my friend. Ithasbeen nice being back, something I never thought I¡¯d be caught dead saying a month ago. And the way thest week has gone has me feeling embers of the most dangerous emotion of all. Hope. Hope that maybe this could be a life I could make something of. Hope that one day my marriage with Thiago might even turn into something more than just a physical rtionship. ¡°Can I assume that whoever ¡®he¡¯ is, he¡¯s responsible for that massive ring on your finger?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I look down at the diamond, ying with it absentmindedly before flicking my gaze back up to Wiz¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m married now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t escape the arranged marriage?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to hear that. Happily married at least?¡± I blow out a breath, going for the easiest answer. ¡°Sort of?¡± Heughs, the first time I¡¯ve ever heard him do so. ¡°You¡¯re one of a kind, Tess. Whoever he is, I hope he knows that.¡± He stands, heading for the door. ¡°Let me know if you ever need to run away again. I¡¯ll do better next time.¡± ¡°Wiz.¡± He pauses, turning back towards me. ¡°You gave me a taste of freedom when you helped me disappear, and I know you risked a lot to do it. I can¡¯t ever thank you enough for what you did for me, but I hope to try one day.¡± He looks at me impassively, not doing well with processing the note of emotion in my tone. ¡°You were kind to me. You decided to be my friend.¡± He scratches his nose ufortably. ¡°I don¡¯t have many of those but I think this is what you¡¯re supposed to do for your friends, isn¡¯t it?¡± He leaves without waiting for a reply and I know that he¡¯s not likely toe back upstairs anytime soon. The next time I want to see him, I¡¯ll go down to two and sit on my pink couch, talking his ear off while he types away studiously. Exactly the way it¡¯s always been. ??? After finishing myst meeting of the day, I head back from the conference room to my office. I set myputer and files on my desk and take a moment to stretch my arms behind my back. It¡¯s been a long day. Productive but also overwhelming, with every second I wasn¡¯t working spent reuniting with people I haven¡¯t seen in months. Looking down at my watch, I see it¡¯s three thirty. Maybe I¡¯ll sneak out a little early and help the chef cook dinner. And by help I mean watch Mari do all the work while I sit on the other side of the ind and talk to her because I¡¯m hopeless at anything rted to kitchen work. The feedback I¡¯ve received when I¡¯ve attempted to cook in the past has been far fromplimentary, and I¡¯m woman enough to admit when I know I¡¯ve been bested in an area. So I usually sit down with her instead, staying out of her way and chatting with her as she cooks. I¡¯m surprised to find I¡¯m this excited by the prospect of an evening at the house. It¡¯s nothomeyet, but it¡¯s somewhere I¡¯m feeling increasingly morefortable with each passing day. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be attached to it this quickly, especially not enough to consider leaving work early when for years I¡¯ve considered this office to be my surrogate home. But I find that I really like having something to look forward to that isn¡¯t work. I¡¯m putting myputer away when my office door opens. I look up to find Franklin hovering by the entryway. My mood turns instantly sour. I haven¡¯t seen him all day and was hoping to leave without a run-in with him, putting off the inevitable awkward encounter until at least tomorrow. He¡¯s the one part of work I absolutely have not missed and being confronted with him as I¡¯m walking out is not how I nned on ending my first day back. ¡°It¡¯s professional courtesy to knock before entering someone¡¯s office, Franklin.¡± I don¡¯t spare him a nce and continue putting things away in my bag. The click of the door closing resonates as ominously loud as a gunshot in my office. I¡¯m instantly tense, the hairs on the back of my neck raising. I straighten, abandoning the task at hand and staring at Franklin. ¡°You run away for months and think you can juste waltzing back in like nothing¡¯s changed?¡± he demands, voice cold and devoid of all emotion. ¡°Open the door,¡± I ask calmly. ¡°But thingshavechanged.¡± There¡¯s a chill in the air, a sinister warning that tells me I¡¯m in trouble. Working to mask the tremble in my voice, I repeat. ¡°Open the door, Franklin.¡± Ignoring my demand, he moves towards where I¡¯m standing. He puts himself between me and the door, cornering me. I try to hold my ground as long as I can, my hand clutching the back of my chair desperately, but there¡¯s a terrifying air of violence wafting off him that scares me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, hoping to keep this civil. When he rounds the desk towards me, I put my hand out. ¡°Stay over there. Franklin,¡± I warn. He keeps advancing. ¡°If youe any closer, I¡¯ll scream.¡± I¡¯m hoping this is all a misunderstanding. That he¡¯s trying to intimidate me for whatever sick reason, but that this will be quickly over. That my words will make him back off. But when a cruel smile twists his lips, I realize I¡¯m very wrong. ¡°Go ahead and scream. I sent Crystal on an errand, there¡¯s nobody at her desk. Nobody to hear your screams except me. But believe me, I¡¯ll enjoy them enough for the wholepany.¡± ¡°What do you want, Franklin?¡± I ask, backing away with small, barely noticeable steps. ¡°What are you after?¡± My stomach falls when my back hits the farthest corner of my office, one shouldering against the wall of windows and the other against the bookshelf behind me. There¡¯s nowhere left to go. ¡°I want what was promised to me, what was supposed to be mine before you got yourself sold off to someone else and ran away,¡± he snaps, before correcting himself. ¡°I¡¯mtakingit actually.¡± He mentioned marriage during our dance at the g but I didn¡¯t realize he said it because there was an actual deal being put in ce between my father and him like he seems to be suggesting now. It doesn¡¯t matter. I would never have married him. Unlike Thiago, if he¡¯d caught me I would have given my life trying to escape him again. My hands go discreetly behind my back and start feeling along the bookshelf for anything I could use as a weapon. ¡°You¡¯re not taking anything from me,¡± I hiss. Franklin stands less than ten feet from me with an awful rictus on his face, a sadistic predator taking pleasure in having trapped his vulnerable prey. It puts every encounter I¡¯ve had with Thiago into perspective. While he¡¯s more dangerous and definitely more violent, he¡¯s never made me feel unsafe like this and he¡¯s never threatened me with his size or physicality like Franklin is now. ¡°Watch me,¡± he sneers. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time your pussy got a good fucking from a real cock.¡± My stomach twists in revolt at the thought and bile rises into my throat. I can¡¯t let this happen, I won¡¯t survive that kind of victimization. I¡¯d rather he kill me. My searching hands turn desperate, blindly scanning every inch of the shelf until my fingers brush against something made of ss. When they close around it, I realize it¡¯s my Women in Business award I receivedst year. I won it based on the vote of hundreds of my peers for my contributions to the media profession and the broader industry atrge. It was the proudest day of my life, my crowning achievement to date, one I¡¯d worked myself to the bone to get. The irony in this award bing my weapon of choice is not lost on me ¡ª no matter where we are, no matter how safe a woman feels, it only takes one man to rip that illusion away. This is a reminder of that. But today my tenacity and my obstinate refusal to bend the knee to my father might just save me. ¡°Youdisgustme,¡± I dere. ¡°And you¡¯ll never touch me.¡± Then I hurl the award at him as hard as I can. My aim is true and the triangr trophy hits him in the head as I¡¯d nned. Instead of knocking him out it only momentarily stuns him. I run past him but he recovers quickly. His arm stretches out and easily catches me around the waist, yanking me back against his torso. Dread leadens my stomach at my failed escape, at the prospect of what he¡¯s going to do to me in retaliation. ¡°Bitch.¡± He ms me violently back against the windows. Stars explode behind my eyes at the force with which my head bounces off the ss. I¡¯m dazed and more pliant because of it. He pins me by my wrists, his mouth opening to reveal sharp looking teeth and a monstrous smile. I turn my face to the side and whimper. His mmy, fetid breath hits my cheek and it¡¯s all I can do not to pass out, but I won¡¯t have a repeat ofst week. My thoughts fly to Thiago, wishing with all my heart that he could be here to protect me like he did with Leone. I don¡¯t question why he¡¯s the one I think of, I just know it¡¯shimI need. ¡°You want to piss me off, little girl?¡± Franklin taunts disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯ll rip through your pussy and make you bleed for that little stunt. Maybe that¡¯ll teach you some obedience.¡± ¡°Get off me,¡± I cry, thrashing violently. ¡°I¡¯m married!¡± Before this moment, I would have said I was strong. I go to the gym multiple times a week. I lift weights. My body is toned and in shape. So when I fight against Franklin¡¯s hold, I expect to do some damage. To at least free one of my hands. But in a millisecond and with barely any effort whatsoever, he easily uses his own strength to overpower me and keep me prisoner. My wrists remain trapped above my head, my body prone and exposed to whatever horrors he wants to do to me. The stark realization of how much physically weaker I am than a man as out of shape as he is stops the blood cold in my veins. The abject terror I feel makes me want to freeze in ce. I have to fight against my base instincts to try and survive. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± he snarls, pping a hand over my mouth. ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you.¡± I scream and scream but his hand muffles every sound that rips from my throat. My thoughts go once again to Thiago and my heart splits in two. What will he say when he finds out what happened to me? Will he ever be able to touch me again or will he throw me out and divorce me for being damaged goods? The thought alone is painful enough to bring tears to my eyes. When I feel Franklin¡¯s fingers brush against my thigh beneath my skirt, my eyes bulge. I kick at him, thrashing furiously, but it¡¯s in vain. His hand inches higher. His hard length presses into my stomach. I close my eyes even as I continue to try and scream, hoping that I can disassociate from my body and go to another reality. Franklin¡¯s facees to within inches of mine. His putrid breath falls against my face. I press my cheek into the window to avoid it. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard of him, I don¡¯t think your husband will mind if I have a taste,¡± he croons. ¡°Wrong. Her husband is going to fucking kill you for trying,¡± a terrifying voice announces, slicing through my nightmare with an arrow of hope. I turn my head to find Thiago standing in my doorway, the ckest look of fury I¡¯ve ever seen nketing his face. ¡°Take your fucking hands off my wife,¡± he booms. ¡°Now.¡± Chapter 45 He¡¯s a sight for desperately sore eyes. The relief I feel when I see him is so powerful that my knees buckle. I feel like I conjured him, like he heard me pleading for him and knew toe save me. For a moment all I do is blink to make sure my eyes aren¡¯t deceiving me. Then, taking advantage of Franklin¡¯s surprise, I shove him off me and stumble away from him, wrapping my arms protectively around myself as I huddle in the corner at a safe distance. ¡°So you¡¯re the husband,¡± Franklin says casually, turning and extending his hand towards him. He must be clinically insane. ¡°Franklin Marsh-Sackville.¡± Thiago doesn¡¯t blink, his wrathful stare never wavering from Franklin¡¯s face as long seconds tick by. His anger pulses around us like the beat of a heart. Tick. Tick. Tick. Thiago moves towards the hand that remains outstretched between them and brushes right past it, walking up to me instead. When his eyes find mine, the unbridled fury in them instantly washes away, reced by the kind of burning intensity all women dream of seeing in their husband¡¯s gaze. The look in them is borderline manic, like he¡¯s barely holding himself together. With his mouth set in a grim line and that muscle ticking dangerously in his cheek, Thiago rakes a clinical gaze slowly down my body, inspecting me for any injuries. When he¡¯s satisfied that I bear no visible marks, his eyes lift back up to mine. Hands twitch as they move cautiously from his sides. He speaks and there¡¯s a slight tremor woven into his guttural words that betrays the heavy emotion he¡¯s feeling. ¡°I¡¯m going to touch you,amor. Is that okay?¡± I nod and throw my arms around his neck in the same breath, going to him before he can reach for me himself. His hands wrap tightly around my lower back and he drags me into him with a rough exhale. He crushes me against his chest, cupping the back of my head and burying my face in the crook of his neck. For a moment all I can hear, all I canfeel, is theforting pulse of his heart beating frantically against my cheek. Like a fragile bubble bursting, the dam holding back my tears shatters the second I fall into his arms. It starts with one single teardrop squeezing quietly past myshes and then I¡¯m crying with total abandon, my face hidden in his throat as he holds me. My body shakes uncontrobly with the force of my sobs as the terror and panic of thest fifteen minutes pour messily out of me. Thiago caresses my hair softly, pressing his face against my cheek and humming soothingly. His other arm stays wrapped protectively around my waist like he¡¯s afraid someone will try to rip me away from him. He consoles me patiently, as if we¡¯re alone, as if he has all the time in the world, simply repeatingit¡¯s okay, you¡¯re okay, you¡¯re safeuntil he¡¯s chanting it reassuringly into my ear. There¡¯s a strain in his voice that makes me think those vehement reassurances might be as much for him as they are for me. I don¡¯t know exactly when he started to feel like my safe space, but I do know that he¡¯s the only person I wanted when I was in danger. The only one I needed. That being in his arms is the only ce I want to be right now, the only ce I feel safe. When my sobs lessen and eventually subside, he pulls back slightly. He cups my cheeks and peers down at my face. My walking, talking killing machine of a husband looks at me like he¡¯ll rip apart the entire world for the crime of hurting me, just so he can rebuild it piece by piece into one where nothing will ever happen to me again. Whatever it is he sees in my face, it makes his golden eyes darken to the color of obsidian, snuffing out any humanity in them like the me of a candle. ¡°Hold him down,¡± he orders, the arctic cool in his voice in total opposition to the way he gently brushes away the tears from my cheeks. His cruel tone sends a chill down my spine on Franklin¡¯s behalf. Over his shoulder, I see that Arturo and Marco apanied him into my office, ever his shadows. They each grab one of Franklin¡¯s arms and use their grip to m him face down on my desk. He howls for his release. Thiago¡¯s body turns to face the scene, his hand circling around my waist and continuing to hold me close. I look up at him to find his eyes already on the side of my face. ¡°Does he live or die?¡± he asks me. Swallowing, my gaze goes back to Franklin who¡¯s doing his best to struggle against both men. Watching him fight against them makes me wonder if that¡¯s what I looked like, if I was that helpless. Arturo looks down at the floor and spots my discarded Women in Business award. He tosses it and catches it in his palm a couple of times before smashing it down on Franklin¡¯s face, knocking him out cold. Marco grabs my water bottle and dumps it on the side of Franklin¡¯s face. ¡°Wakey, wakey, sunshine,¡± he says, smacking him around. They¡¯re toying with him. ¡°If it were up to me, he¡¯d die. Eventually.¡± The set of Thiago¡¯s jaw tells me just how slowly he¡¯d eviscerate him if given the chance. ¡°But it¡¯s your decision.¡± It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to kill him. It would be so easy to make that decision, to rid the world of one less abuser. But I can¡¯t make myself say it. I can¡¯t condemn him to death, no matter what he just did to me. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him,¡± I ask. Thiago nods once, epting my decision with a clenched jaw. He cups my chin and kisses my lips. The simple touch is enough to spark the fire in my belly back to life. His mouth moves over mine, his hand gripping the back of my neck to hold me close. I lean into him, wrapping my fingers around his forearm to keep myself steady. With one final peck on my lips, he releases me and steps up to the side of my desk. He bends at the waist so his face is level with Franklin¡¯s. ¡°What kind of psychosis made you think you could touch my wife?¡± His voice cuts across the word ¡®wife¡¯ like a knife slicing through skin, the possessive fury evident in the one syble. ¡°Please, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Franklin pleads. ¡°She was promised to me fir¨C¡± A fist ms violently down next to his face, cutting him off. ¡°She wasn¡¯tanythingto you.¡± Thiago snarls.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. He straightens, looking over at Marco. ¡°Machete,¡± he asks. With a savage smirk, Marco ps a broad, crude de about thirty inches long into his hand. It shines menacingly under the office lighting. Franklin¡¯s panicked eyes widen until they¡¯re bulging white. He thrashes against the hold, shouting garbled pleas. When he realizes that¡¯s getting him nowhere, his gaze slides to mine. ¡°Tess, please. Tell him you don¡¯t want this. Tell him¨C¡± Quick as lightning, Thiago grips him by the hair and smashes his face mercilessly down on my desk. ¡°Speak to her again and I¡¯ll rip out your vocal cords.¡± It was a useless endeavor anyway. I won¡¯t be intervening to give him any additional mercy beyond saving his life. He deserves every single thing that my husband is about to do to him. As Dagny likes to say, y stupid games, win stupid prizes. ¡°That¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve watched you touch my wife now. Luckily for you, she wasn¡¯t my wife the first time. But this time¡­¡± Thiago circles the desk slowly, like a predator assessing its prey,ing to stand on the other side of Marco and Arturo. He ces the sharp edge of the machete de on Franklin¡¯s forearm, right below his elbow. I watch the man stop breathing, terror rendering him stock still. ¡°This is the hand you had between her legs, correct?¡± Franklin starts shaking at Thiago¡¯s lethal tone. ¡°No!¡± ¡°I saw you. Are you calling me a liar?¡± Franklin gulps, emitting a scared squeak. The dichotomy between the way he¡¯d used his physicality over me to try and vite me and the gutless wretch he is now, currently begging for his life could not be more apparent. He¡¯s a coward, always has been, I was just an easy target for him. ¡°She¨Cshe wanted it. She was asking for it.¡± My heart stutters in my chest thinking that he might believe what Franklin is iming. Thiago has restrained me in the past, but¡­that was different. I never wanted what Franklin did to me. Thest time he caught me alone with another man, he didn¡¯t react so well. Thiago doesn¡¯t give it a second thought. The demented grin that stretches across his face chills even me. ¡°Is that why you had her pinned against the wall? Is that why you had your other hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming? Because shewanted it?¡± ¡°She said she wanted it rough¨C¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Thiago snarls, bringing the butt of the de down on his temple. Blood bursts from his skin and explodes across my desk. ¡°My wife doesn¡¯t want me to kill you, so I won¡¯t. But open your mouth again and even she won¡¯t be able to save you. I¡¯ll shut you up for good.¡± Franklin nods frantically, lips zipped shut. ¡°You should never have touched her.Never.¡± Thiago¡¯s voice shakes under the weight of his fury. While he speaks, Marco rolls up Franklin¡¯s sleeve so that it¡¯s above his elbow. ¡°You could have touched anybody else and walked out of here whole, Franklin. But not her.¡± Thiago flicks a watchful eye at me over his shoulder. He¡¯s two men at once in this room, a vengeful husband and a protective lover. His tone softens when he speaks to me. ¡°Look away,amor.¡± He raises the machete above his head and this time, I do as he says. I look away. I have time to see the dee hurtling back down before I close my eyes and turn my face. The sound of metal slicing through the air is followed by the terrifying noise of it cutting through flesh and bone before it buries itself in the wood of my desk. A blood curdling scream that raises the hairs on the back of my neck and turns my stomach echoes through my office. I keep my eyes screwed shut even as Franklin¡¯s excruciated howls filter through my ears. ¡°You¡¯ll hand in your letter of resignation tomorrow,¡± Thiago orders stoically over his screams. ¡°Typed, obviously. And then you¡¯ll disappear.¡± I finally open my eyes and look at the grisly scene before me. Franklin is white as a sheet, his eyes bulged and crazed as he stares in shock at the hand Thiago severed from his body. Blood leaks in thick waves from his stump before Arturo rips Franklin¡¯s belt off him and uses it to tourniquet the wound. ¡°Contact her again and I take the other hand. Talk to or touch her ever again, Franklin,¡± Thiago says dangerously, ¡°and I¡¯ll tear out your intestines with my bare hands and use them to hang your body up from the nearest streetlight.¡± The two guards pull him up to his feet and release him. Franklin wobbles dangerously, his knees giving out, so they catch him again. He¡¯s ashen, almost gray in color, and holding his stump protectively. ¡°Get the fuck out,¡± Thiago orders. He turns on unsteady feet and heads slowly towards the door when Thiago calls after him. ¡°And take this shit with you,¡± he adds disgustedly, grabbing his severed hand by the fingers and tossing it at him. It hits Franklin in the chest and nearly topples him over before floppingmely down to the ground. He manages to remain standing, bending at the waist to pick up his hacked off limb before he leaves. ¡°Go with him,¡± Thiago instructs his two guards. ¡°Take him into the freight elevator and make sure he doesn¡¯t talk to anyone.¡± ¡°Jefe,¡± they confirm with almost military nods, unperturbed by what just transpired. They go to turn but hesitate. Finally, both of them give me a curt nod and exit, closing the door behind them and leaving me with my husband. Chapter 46 There are some moments that you just know are going to stick with you for the rest of your life. For me, those are few and far between, simply because there¡¯s not much that can affect me on that level. But when I open the door to Tess¡¯s office expecting to surprise her and instead find her pinned against the wall of windows with one hand pped over her mouth and the other working its way up between her legs, I know that memory is going to remain scorched in my retinas forever. My brain empties. I¡¯m both quick to understand and slow to ept the horror show that¡¯s unfolding before my eyes. The fear that ms into me is debilitating, as surprising as it is unusual. I can count on one hand the amount of times I¡¯ve felt panic for someone else and Tess now owns two of them in the span of a week. If I¡¯d been five minutester, if I¡¯d hit one or two more red lights on my way to her office, who knows what I would have walked in to find. The thought alone makes me want to chase after Franklin and finish what I started. The rage that still thrums through my veins is hard to control. It wires every part of me, making me twitchy and full of bloodlust. But when I turn away from the desk and find my wife still huddled in the corner, a shell of her usual confident self, that anger withers away like smoke on a windy day. ¡°Come here.¡± Tess does as I ask without hesitation, arms dropping to her sides as she walks up to me. Her gaze is raw and earnest, those eyes like troubled waters instead of the clear blue I¡¯m used to. I¡¯d do anything to scrub that murkiness away, to steal the pain of thest hour from her and bury it deep inside myself instead. She closes the remaining distance between us and wraps her arms around my middle, pressing her cheek against my chest right above my racing heartbeat. It¡¯s not dissimr to the way she threw herself at me when I walked in earlier. I was lightheaded from discovering her being assaulted, uprehending of the situation but only focused on examining her from head to toe to make sure she was alright, at least physically. Selfishly, I¡¯d needed to touch her. I¡¯d thought that might be the veryst thing she wanted, but she¡¯d fallen into my arms, holding onto me desperately as she cried. Her whole body had racked with her sobs, splintering a part of me that I didn¡¯t even know existed before today but was already entirely hers. Now I squeeze her against me, relieved that even though she just watched me unleash the most demonic side of myself, she still knows there¡¯s nowhere safer for her than with me. Cupping her cheeks gently in my hands, I tilt her face back to look up at me. Her arms are still around my middle as we stand chest to chest. The urgency in my voice reflects the way my eyes rove eagerly over her face. ¡°Did he hurt you anywhere that I can¡¯t see?¡± She shakes her head and a monumentally relieved breath expels loudly from my lips. ¡°You stopped him before he could do any real damage.¡± A cloud passes over her eyes. ¡°Thiago, what he said¡­it¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Her throat works. ¡°I just wanted you to know that I would never have willingly let him touch me.¡± I ce my index over her lips, shushing her. ¡°Stop,¡± I repeat, softer. ¡°He assaulted you. Even if I hadn¡¯t witnessed it, I would never have doubted that.¡± Brushing her hair gently back from her face, I add. ¡°This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I¡¯d dealt with him at the charity event when he first touched you.¡± Her hands tighten on me. ¡°You couldn¡¯t know he¡¯d do what he did. This was a crazy esction, I still can¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d already decided you were mine back then. I should have protected you better. I will moving forward.¡± Bending my head, I bring my face inches from hers until our lips brush. ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask,¡± she breathes, tilting her face up. ¡°Please, don¡¯t start asking just because he¨C¡± Her words cut off when I press my lips against hers in a heated, owning kiss. My bottom lip slips between hers and she sucks it into her mouth, taking control. She pushes me backwards with hands on my abdomen as mine lift to tangle in her hair, angling her face to the side so I can deepen the kiss and thrust my tongue into her mouth. The back of my knees hit soft material and Tess shoves me. I drop into a chair, my handsing up to grip the armrests as I rip in a ragged breath and stare up at my wife. My brave, beautiful wife. She leans over me, her lips finding mine again in a passionate kiss. When I use my hold on the armrests to try and get up, she pushes me back down with firm hands on my shoulders. Tess stands before me with an intense, imprable look on her face. Her chest rises and falls as she drags in breath after breath, staring intently down at me with her hypnotic blue gaze. And then she lowers herself slowly. My eyes track her closely until she¡¯s down on her knees between my spread legs, her handsing to rest suggestively high on my thick thighs. Never cutting off the eye contact between us, she runs her palms carefully up my quads and to the buckle of my belt. Heat shoots straight to my groin. ¡°Stop,¡± I order, grabbing her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fuck you after what just happened.¡± Her answering look is assertive and confident. ¡°I want to,¡± she clips. ¡°Ichooseto.¡± There¡¯s a fierceness to her tone that reveals she won¡¯t be dissuaded. I¡¯m not a decent enough man to try and talk her out of it a second time anyway. Tess shakes off my hand, pulls the leather out of the buckle and pops open the button of my trousers. I settle all the way back into the chair, groaning loudly when she pulls my zipper down and palms my dick over my briefs. ¡°Don¡¯t move your hands from the armrests or I¡¯ll stop,¡± she orders. There¡¯s something about her taking control and ordering me about that sizzles the blood in my veins. ¡°That¡¯s going to be hard,amor,¡± I mutter. A hitched breath leaves my throat when she squeezes my length and rubs me up and down. There¡¯s a mischievous twinkle in her eye. ¡°Not as hard as you,¡± she replies, before popping the band of my briefs down and freeing my cock. My dick bobs between us, thick and angry and hard as stone like it always is when she¡¯s near. Tess leans forward and dribbles saliva directly onto my tip. The visual is obscene and I¡¯m already struggling not to release the armrest so I can bury my hands in her hair. She runs her palm over my head and down my shaft, wetting my length. Gripping me tightly in her hand, she starts moving up and down in twisting, squeezing motions. A trail of goosebumps explodes up my back and my breathing falters. The physical sensations are nothingpared to the total mindfuck that is seeing the expression on her face. She stares at my dick wide-eyed and open-mouthed like she¡¯s never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Her gaze pings from my length to my face, her attention drawn to my mouth when I drop my head back and curse loudly. Growling, I lift my head and stare down at her. ¡°What did I tell you about looking at my cock like that?¡± ¡°That you¡¯d¡­that you¡¯d shove it down my throat.¡± Darkness gleams in my eyes. ¡°So what are you waiting for? You wanted to get on your knees for me. Why don¡¯t you open that pretty mouth and remind me what it can do?¡± I grunt when she squeezes my shaft in warning, eyes shing. ¡°No. You¡¯re not in charge right now. I¡¯ll suck your dick when I¡¯m good and ready to.¡± Then she leans forward and tentatively licks a line up the seam of my balls, blowing a breath on the wet skin. A full body spasm ms through me. ¡°Jesus,¡± I rasp. Encouraged by my violent reaction, she sucks one of my balls into her mouth. Rolling it gently between her lips, shebinesps of her tongue against the soft flesh with swift pumps of her hand up and down my shaft. My pulse pounds loudly in my veins as my eyes roll back into my head. ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± I moan. The way she stares up at me with her nose pressed up against my cock is criminal. Power shines brightly in her eyes. She¡¯s getting off on her control, on seeing me lose mine. She alternates between my balls, sucking one into her mouth, then the other, as her other handes up to join the first on my shaft. And then she¡¯s jerking me off with both hands at once, making me lose my mind as she continues to tongue me with the skills of a pro. Red, angry possessiveness slithers into my veins, making my hands twitch dangerously on the armrests. ¡°Who the fuck taught you how to do this?¡± I demand. Realizing any answer is going to piss me off, I screw my eyes shut, grit my teeth and throw my head back against the chair. ¡°Never mind, I don¡¯t want to know. Whoever he is, he¡¯s dead,¡± I grunt, mindless with lust. ¡°He¡¯s fucking dead.¡± The thought of her doing this with another man is enough to kill my erection, so I wipe the visual from my mind before it does. I thrust savagely up into her grip, trying to get more, harder,faster. Desperate to stuff her mouth full of my cock so she forgets every single fucker that came before me. ¡°Met¨¦rt en boca,¡± I demand, so dazed with desire that I lose mymand over the Englishnguage. Pleasure tightens my abdomen until I can barely breathe. I¡¯m white knuckling my hold on the armrests to keep myself from reaching for her, the wood creaking loudly under the force of my grip.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. When she licks a straight line from the seam of my balls up my entire shaft and then swirls her tongue around my tip, collecting the pre-cum glistening there, I nearly blow. She traces the deep groove of my head, circling it over and over with her hot tongue. ¡°Amor¡­ugh. Ah, god,amor,I¡¯m not going tost if you keep doing that.¡± ¡°Your cock is so pretty, did you know that?¡± she purrs,pping at my shaft with greedy, speedyps of her tongue. Peering up at me from beneath her eyshes, she trails her tongue slowly up to my tip, pauses, then closes her mouth around my head. Then she takes the entirety of my cock between her lips and pushes down, continuing until her face is pressed against my groin and my dick hits the back of her throat. I suck in a shocked breath. My head goes back and I let loose a long list of vulgar expletives as pleasure fires through every synapse in my entire body. Not wanting to miss a second of seeing her mouth stretched around my cock, my neck snaps forward and I stare down at her. I find her eyes still on me, gleaming arrogantly at my reaction. She pulls back and releases me with apopbeforeing all the way back down once more. ¡°Good girl,¡± I groan. ¡°Suck it just like that.¡± Pleased by my praise, she hums, sending a flurry of vibrations up my shaft. More goosebumps erupt up my back and over my nape, making me shudder violently. She rolls my balls with one hand, the other wrapping around my base and moving in conjunction with her wet mouth. I thrust up into her throat and she chokes loudly. The obscene sound has dark possessiveness sting through me. The visual of her unable to breathe because my thick cock gags her is almost too much to bear. ¡°Let me touch you,¡± I breathe. My grip is painful on the armrest, my fingers red and strained from the effort. Her hair falls in front of her face as she bobs up and down, sucking my dick into her mouth with unabashed enthusiasm. I¡¯m itching, twitching,dyingreally, to push it off her shoulders so I can see her. To fist it in my hand and use it to guide my cock deeper into her throat. I¡¯m desperate to get involved. ¡°Say I can touch you,amor.¡± Her tongue ttens and swipes across my shaft as she takes me in and out of her mouth. Her lips suction around my base, suckling me deep, adding a kind of dizzying pressure that makes me lightheaded. The wet sounds of my cock fucking her mouth, of every inch sliding into the back of her tight throat, drive me insane. Just when I think she¡¯s going to ignore me again, she releases my cock and her eyes find mine, dark intent shining in them as she licks her lips. ¡°Beg.¡± She issues the simple, single-wordedmand and immediately takes me entirely back into her throat. I hiss in physical response, hiss at the clear power y that is the gauntlet she just threw down. Her satisfaction at turning the tables on me is evident in the way her eyes sh brazenly. She¡¯s got a vengeful side to her, my wife, and that hardens my dick even further. I don¡¯t beg. It wasn¡¯t hard for her to deduce that without me having to confirm it. What she didn¡¯t take into ount is the fact that none of my normal rules apply to her. They never have. I¡¯d beg her for thirty days and thirty nights if it meant spending just thirty more seconds with her. I¡¯d get down on my knees and plead if it meant I¡¯d get just one more soft touch from her. I¡¯d throw myself at her feet for one smile. Begging implies desperation and that¡¯s exactly what I am when ites to getting more of her. Desperate. Beyond salvation. ¡°Please.¡± Her eyes re wide in a mix of surprise and arousal. She chokes, caught off guard by my easy capittion. I¡¯m already moving before she¡¯s even nodded, wrapping my hands in her hair and guiding her head down until she¡¯s taken all of my cock. ¡°Mhmm,¡± I say, moaning approvingly. ¡°That¡¯s how you do it. Take me all the way back into your throat. Yes¡­yes. Take it all.¡± I¡¯m delirious with lust, my hands unable to stay in one ce. They go from her hair, to her cheeks, to her tits where I tweak her tight nipples, and back to her hair. When I hear her choke again on one of my upward thrusts, I grab her around the waist and pull her up until she¡¯s straddling myp. ¡°Hey!¡± she whines, surprised at the abrupt change. ¡°I wanted¨C¡± ¡°Another time,¡± I grunt, positioning her knees on either side of my legs. ¡°I need inside you now.¡± Iugh when she pouts adorably at my refusal toe down her throat, and lean forward, capturing her lips with mine. Reaching up between her legs, my fingers find her panties and tear them off. The sound of ripping makes her gasp and I thrust my tongue inside her mouth, tasting myself on hers. Two fingers go to her center, testing her preparedness. My smile is arrogant. ¡°Wet and ready for me as always.¡± I catch her answering moan with my lips, kissing her again. My cock finds her entrance and then I¡¯m pushing in, pressing her hips slowly but relentlessly down until she¡¯s fully seated on me. She whimpers into my mouth at the tight stretch. There¡¯s something about kissing her while I¡¯m sliding inside her that makes my heart trip exultingly in my chest. Knowing that someone almost forced her to do this against her will, that someone tried to take what belongs to only me and her, has fresh fury ring in my eyes. Tess sees it, her own gaze softening at the anger she finds in mine. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it,¡± she whispers, cupping my jaw and pressing featherlight kisses on my lips. ¡°Fuck me. Fuck me knowing that I want it, that I wantyou.¡± If she was trying to make mee in record time, she couldn¡¯t have picked better words. I clench my teeth to keep my orgasm at bay and tear at her blouse instead. Buttons go flying, revealing a pretty pink bra holding even prettier perky tits. With one hand, I dig my fingers greedily into the cheek of her ass, using it to guide her hips as I thrust into her. With the other, I pull down the cups of her bra and suck her taut peak into my mouth. Her back arches wantonly in response. She hovers just above myp, the perfect position for me to pound inside her as I bite the tight little bud. Her hands are in my hair, clutching me impatiently against her chest as she moans loudly. ¡°Please,¡± she gasps, begging herself now. ¡°More.¡± I capture her other nipple between my teeth and tug at it, making her shriek. My thrusts turn savage, my pace brutal as my hips power up into her. Then I reach between her legs and find her clit, rubbing it with rough fingers. ¡°Your clit was getting a little lonely without any attention, wasn¡¯t it,amor? We can¡¯t have that.¡± I pinch it between my thumb and index and Tess¡¯s eyes roll back into her head. Her mouth parts on a silent scream as her gazees to mine. She shudders violently, her muscles mping down forcefully on my cock as shees, and then she falls forward against my chest, spent. Her armse around my neck, her face burying in my throat like she did earlier. Harsh breaths hit my skin as her lungs search for oxygen. She¡¯s still fully impaled on my cock and I¡¯m thrustingzily, my handsing to caress her back and waist. ¡°You¡¯re not done,¡± I murmur against the shell of her ear. She pulls back to rest her head on the edge of my shoulder so she can look at me. ¡°You wanted to be in control, so do it. Get me off.¡± Challenge shes in her eyes and then she starts rolling her hips. She doesn¡¯t move, doesn¡¯t get up, her chest still against mine, her arms still around my neck as she starts riding me with undting hips. The closeness causes her clit to rub against my groin with every bounce and I can see the fresh pleasure etching itself on her features. ¡°You have no idea how beautiful you look when you¡¯re bouncing on my cock,¡± I growl. ¡°But bouncing on my cock in your corner office? That¡¯s hot as fuck.¡± She mewls pornographically, her face flushed. A pleased smile tugs at her lips and a matching onees across mine. My hands grab her cheeks, using them to guide her deeply down on my length. I¡¯m obsessed with her ass. Gripping and parting it now as I fuck her leads to new lewd fantasies. There¡¯s one final little hole that I need to make mine, but not now. She¡¯s not ready. Tess takes a page out of my book and tears the top buttons of my dress shirt. When she rakes her nails down my chest, my abdomen tightens and she feels it. ¡°You¡¯re fucking incredible,¡± I moan gutturally. ¡°I¡¯m going toe so hard.¡± Her pace increases, her hips mming down on mine dementedly. I hiss when she squeezes her pussy and she hears it. Encouraged by my reaction, she squeezes again and again, tightening around my cock like a vise and pulling me towards an explosive orgasm. Sensing that I¡¯m close, she tilts her face up into my neck and sucks my pulse point into her mouth, then grinds her pelvis down on me, taking me impossibly deep. White-hot stars of pleasure shoot into my eyes and Ie with a loud roar. Greedy hands keep her speared on my dick the entire time I climax, making sure every drop of cum shoots into her tight pussy. She shatters noisily, her muscles fluttering enthusiastically around me as wee together. We stay like that for a long time, with herying on my chest and my arm wrapped around her lower back, holding her to me. My cock is still hard and remains so the longer it stays in her pussy. She giggles softly and I look down at her in question. ¡°Having sex in my office has always been one of my biggest fantasies,¡± she exins. A displeased rumble rolls up my chest. I palm the side of her throat in warning. ¡°Tell me I¡¯m the only man to have made your fantasye true before I burn your office down.¡± Sheughs easily, unfazed by my jealousy. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t do that with just anyone.¡± ¡°Only with your husband.¡± My tone is distinctively satisfied when I answer, my hand squeezing her neck possessively. ¡°Only with my husband,¡± she agrees, calming the territorial devil inside me. ¡°It was on my bucket list.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realize this was adirtybucket list.¡± She giggles softly. ¡°Some items are naughty, some are nice.¡± I groan, tightening my grip in response. After a few moments offortable silence, I add, ¡°I missed you today.¡± Tess sits up on myp, whimpering softly when she identally pushes my cock further inside her. I hiss in a breath myself at how sensitive it is. ¡°Is that why you came here?¡± I shake my head and her face falls slightly. She masks it away but not before it sends a pang to my stomach. Her every facial expression has me in a lethal chokehold and I¡¯m not sure she even knows it. Missing her is my baseline state of being when she¡¯s not around. It would have been enough to bring me here even without the other, more pressing reason ¨C I couldn¡¯t spend another day without publicly iming her. ¡°I came because I had to give you something and I didn¡¯t have the patience to wait until you came home to do it,¡± I say, reaching deep into my pocket and stretching my palm out between us. Looking down, her brows furrow briefly in confusion before smoothing and raising in surprise. Her eyes flick up to mine, wide and open. ¡°Is that¨C¡± ¡°A wedding ring.¡± Taking her left hand in mine, I remove the diamond and slide the gold band down her slender finger. Her lips part as she then watches me push her engagement ring back into ce. I keep her hand sped in mine, tattoos contrasting with pale skin, as she looks down at it quietly. Her eyes lift up to mine with an unasked question in them. ¡°You¡¯re my wife, not my fianc¨¦e. Wives wear two rings.¡± I reach up to wrap her throat in my hand, smirking at her. ¡°More if you keep sucking my cock like you just did. I¡¯ll buy you diamonds for every finger.¡± Blushing, she tips her chin at me. ¡°What about you?¡± A crooked grin touches my lips. I was hoping she¡¯d ask. Digging into my pocket again, I pull out a matching ring for me and show it to her. ¡°Wait,¡± she exims, stopping me when I try to put it on. ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t put that on yourself.¡± Tess sps my hand in hers and takes the ring from me with the other. I watch, transfixed, as she slips the band slowly on my fourth finger, all the way down until it slips into ce with decided finality. It feels a lot more intimate than our actual roughshod wedding, not because I¡¯m still buried deep inside her, but because I¡¯m not forcing her this time. She puts the ring on me voluntarily and that does something absolutely devastating to my insides. Chapter 47 ¡°Come on. Outside,¡± I order, pping her ass sharply when I walk past her. Tess jolts forward and yelps, covering her backside with her hands and turning towards me with narrowed eyes. ¡°That stings.¡± ¡°Consider it a part of your self-defense training then.¡± She groans, dropping her toast on her te. ¡°I¡¯m eating breakfast.¡± ¡°And it¡¯ll still be there when we¡¯re done, right Diana?¡± My housekeeper nods, a bemused look sshed across her face at our easy interaction. The household staff in general have all been giving me simr lookstely, almost like they don¡¯t recognize me. ¡°Fine, but be careful what you teach me,¡± she warns, pointing at me as she follows me into our backyard. ¡°I might turn around and use it against you.¡± I chuckle, spreading my arms and walking backwards. ¡°If you can defend yourself against me then I¡¯ll consider myself an excellent teacher and my job will be done.¡± ¡°You say that now, but wait until I kick your ass.¡± It¡¯s been a week and a half since the attack at Tess¡¯s office. She wouldn¡¯t stand for it when I suggested that maybe she should wait a couple days before going back, reminding me that her job was hers and I wasn¡¯t allowed to tell her what to do. She was right, so instead I¡¯d ordered Arturo to apany her as her bodyguard. There was no way I was letting her back in that building, or frankly anywhere else out of my sight, without an armed escort. I don¡¯t know which of the two had been more annoyed by the assignment, him or her, but when she realized I wasn¡¯t going to change my mind, she acquiesced. They¡¯d settled into a Cold War-like rtionship that included a lot of bickering every night when they came back from her office. But she had the peace of mind she needed to focus on her work and she was being kept safe which is what I needed to let her leave my sight. Still, the whole incident was hard for me to shake, especially with everything going on with the business. We¡¯d had three shipments attacked in thest month, including one that took down an entire warehouse and cost millions of pounds. It isn¡¯t unusual to have some shipments targeted, but the rate at which it¡¯s happened since I first left for Spain has been rming. As has the fact that the dates of those shipments were never publicly dered. There are a number of people in the cartel who were aware of them ¨C lieutenants, crew, shippers, distributors, ountants ¨C so any one of them could have sold us out, I just can¡¯t see who or why. With the cartel under attack, Tess¡¯s safety is even more at the forefront of my concerns, which is why I¡¯ve decided to teach her a few self-defense pointers in the unlikely but incredibly terrifying event that she finds herself without myself or Arturo to protect her. Tess stands in the middle of the backyard, wearing leggings and a tight workout tee and holding a water bottle as she watches me prowl around her. My eyes drop to her ass. I have to rein my focus back from going somewhere X-rated. ¡°Alright. Obviously, you¡¯re not going to turn into a martial artist overnight, so we¡¯re just going to focus on teaching you the basics of self-defense.¡± Arturo leans against the doorframe of the ss double doors leading out into the garden. Marco follows him out and drops down on the small steps that connect the two spaces, biting into an apple and grinning at the scene before him. ¡°Why do I need to learn self-defense when you¡¯ve given me my very own shadow?¡± she says, waving at Arturo. ¡°He has a gun. It doesn¡¯t need to be ornamental, he should feel free to use it if the asion arises.¡± ¡°If any of my men are with you, they¡¯ll defend you with their lives. This is worst case scenario nning, in the event something happens that would see us separated.¡± She swallows, something approaching fear shing in her eyes. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let it happen easily,amor, I promise you that. But the chances aren¡¯t zero so I can¡¯t ignore it.¡± The second I frame it in stats, her brow smooths. ¡°I understand,¡± she says, turning and setting her bottle on the grass behind her. ¡°So where do we star¨C¡± Her words cut off with a sharp cry when I sneak up behind her, lock my forearm around her throat and yank her backwards against my chest. My lips press against the shell of her ear. ¡°The first lesson is to never turn your back on someone, whether you think you trust them or not,¡± I say, grazing her ear. ¡°They¡¯ll make you pay for that mistake. You have to always be at the ready.Oof.¡± The wind expulses from my lungs when she elbows me swiftly in the stomach, surprising me. I make out Arturo chuckling in the background, but I don¡¯t release her. ¡°Good!¡± I praise. ¡°Good reflexes. Reacting quickly and precisely like that is perfect. You want to catch your attacker off guard.¡± ¡°Not very effective though,¡± she answers. Both her hands hold on to my forearm and try to pry it off. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get you to release me.¡± ¡°No, but you stunned me, which is the first step. The key to self-defense is using the hardest parts of your body as weapons. They¡¯re going to inflict the most damage. Your elbows. Your knees. And in this case, your head.¡± My other handes around her front and lightly sps the underside of her jaw, using it to move her head back and forth. ¡°Once you¡¯ve stunned me, you thrust your head backwards as hard as you can and you headbutt me. That¡¯ll break my nose. It also works if you¡¯re facing your attacker. Go ahead and try.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± A pleased rumble rolls up my chest and against her back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,preciosa. I¡¯ll move. I want to see you do it.¡± She takes a deep breath and then throws her head violently back. ¡°Well done,¡± I say, releasing her. Instead of stepping away, she spins and crouches down to the ground in one agile move. Her hand shoots out and she jabs the back of my knee with the side of her hand. I¡¯mpletely unprepared for a counter attack; my leg buckles and I fall to the ground. She¡¯s crawling over me in an instant, straddling my chest and smiling smugly down at me as my handse up to grip her waist. ¡°Andthat,¡± she taunts, ¡°is what I like to call the ¡®Tristan Special¡¯. He¡¯s been pulling that move on me for over fifteen years and always at the worst times. Typical little brother stuff. I¡¯m happy to have gotten some use out of it finally.¡± Leaning closer, she grins. ¡°What happened to ¡®always being ready¡¯, Thiago?¡± Iugh loudly, delighted by her fire. More of my crew spill into the garden, intrigued by the sight of my wife kicking my ass. She pumps her arms up and down in celebration as they cheer. Money exchanges hands between the cartel as they ce bets on the oue of our self-defense session. This isn¡¯t doing anything to maintain my hardened reputation, but I can¡¯t bring myself to care. My hands move possessively down to her hips where they meet her thighs. ¡°Counter attacking is always an option, but I¡¯d rather you defend yourself, then get out at the first opportunity. Don¡¯t stay back and try to fight. Men will most likely overpower you with their size and strength.¡± She nods, a shadow passing through her gaze. I know she¡¯s thinking about that one-handed fucker. I¡¯ve dreamed of tracking him down and finishing him off every night. It¡¯s only because she asked me not to that I haven¡¯t gone through with it. ¡°While you¡¯re down here, next lesson. Like I said, the hardest parts of you are your weapons. Use them to hurt the softest parts of your assant. That means thecojones¡ª I¡¯m not going to have you demonstrate that one,¡± The menugh in the background, bantering loudly in Spanish. With a grin, I take her hands and bring them up to my face instead. ¡°¡ª and the eyes.¡± ¡°Fifteen hundred on her identally castrating the boss during this exercise,¡± Joaqu¨ªn calls out. ¡°I¡¯ll take that bet,¡± Luisa answers, pping her hand in Joaqu¨ªn¡¯s to seal the bet. ¡°I¡¯ll double it,¡± Marco adds. Tess ignores them, looking at me instead. ¡°What do you mean, the eyes?¡± ¡°One of the most effective defenses, other than going after the family jewels, is gouging out the eyes. You take your hand and you press your fingers as hard as you can into your assant¡¯s eye sockets.¡± As I speak, I move her hands over my eyes, demonstrating as best I can. ¡°The goal is to blind them, or at the very least disorient them. The eyes are soft tissue and have very little defenses, making them an easy area to target.¡± Tess recoils. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could do that.¡±N?velDrama.Org content. Moving her hands back down to my chest and holding them tightly there, I open my eyes and look up at her. ¡°I need you to. If anything happens to you¡ª¡± My breath catches imperceptibly between my lips. ¡°If anything happens to you, I need you to try everything. To kick, bite, p, w, whatever you can think of, whatever it takes. To fight dirty. To fight like fucking hell. I need you to fight for your life and I need you towinso that whatever happens ends with youing back to me. I didn¡¯t chase you around Europe for months just to be a widower.¡± She leans forward and pecks me chastely on the lips before patting my chest once, reassuringly. ¡°This is purely theoretical. None of this is real.¡± ¡°It is until it isn¡¯t.¡± My voice is roughened. Coarse. ¡°And if my nightmare ever bes a reality, I promise there¡¯snothingI won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll move Heaven, Earth, and the seven circles of Hell myself to find you and bring you back home. But I need to know that while I do that, you¡¯ll be fighting every minute to survive ande back to me. Promise me you will.¡± Tess takes a deep, shuddering breath in response and smiles softly down at me. ¡°I promise.¡± Chapter 48 Ifly down the hospital hallway, nearly colliding with a nurse who rounds a corner and steps in front of me. ¡°Careful!¡± she calls. My brain is so engulfed by the swell of emotions crashing through me that I¡¯m not even sure I call out an apology. I¡¯m running frantically, uncaring of who or what I run into, arms pumping as I careen towards the information area. I¡¯m unable to stop my momentum as I approach; I m into the reception desk ribs first, my hands loudly pping the counter as I catch myself. That¡¯ll leave arge, painful bruise tomorrow, but I don¡¯t even feel it right now. The nurse behind the desk raises a startled look at me, waiting patiently for me to rip in a breath so I can finally speak. ¡°Yes, hi. Sorry¡­,¡± I gasp. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Bettina Noble. She was admitted a couple hours ago apparently. I just received the notification. I¡¯m her daughter, Tess.¡± Oh god, I can feel the tears gathering behind my eyes, threatening to make an appearance. Guilt eats at me. I¡¯ve been so caught up in my own life sinceing home that I¡¯ve only seen my mother once, over a brief lunch. We ate in my office, as I periodically checked my emails. I didn¡¯t even take her somewhere nice. And now she¡¯s in the hospital and I don¡¯t know what state she¡¯s in or the extent of her injuries. ¡°Okay, Miss. Take a breath, we¡¯ll help you find your mum, alright?¡± I nod shakily, those tears pearling at the corners of my eyes. ¡°Thank you,¡± I choke out, hastily wiping them away. The hospital notified me as her next of kin thirty minutes ago. I was in the office bathroom when I answered the phone. My stomach plummeted so suddenly, I thought I was going to pass out. Everything between then and now is a little fuzzy. All I know is that my legs carried me mindlessly out of the bathroom and straight into a taxi. I left without my purse or coat, without informing Arturo. The entire ride here I considered calling Thiago. No, consider isn¡¯t right. I fought against the desperate urge to call him. He was the first person I thought about when I got the news. I¡¯d wanted to bury my face in his chest, to feel his thick arms closing around me as he held me and told me she was going to be okay. In the end, I didn¡¯t call. We¡¯ve never talked about these types of situations, him and I. He might be my husband, but we don¡¯t exactly have a traditional rtionship or marriage. Would he even care if I called him and told him what happened? I was afraid that he¡¯d say he had more important things to do than take time away from his work to be there for me. I was afraid of how much hearing those words would hurt me. Somehow, somewhere along the way I¡¯ve given him the power to cause catastrophic, irreversible harm to me. I have no doubt that he¡¯d use it if he knew, but the fact that he doesn¡¯t even seem aware of it means he can hurt me without even trying. I need to be cautious of guarding myself against him, of not letting myself fall the rest of the way for him. Thatdamage would be fatal. Instead, I broke the no contact rule with Tristan and texted him the news about our mum being in hospital. Then I texted Arturo and sent him the same update. I didn¡¯t want anyone worrying unnecessarily about me. ¡°Found her. She¡¯s in a private room, number thirty-two, in our East wing. What you¡¯re going to do is¡­¡± I thank her for the instructions and make my way to the East wing. As Ie up to a door marked with the number thirty-two, a doctores out, closing the door behind her. ¡°Excuse me, were you just in with Bettina Noble?¡± I ask. Pretty green eyes lift from the chart in her hands to meet mine. ¡°I was.¡± ¡°I¡¯m her daughter, Tess. Can you tell me what happened?¡± The doctor¡¯s gaze softens. ¡°Your mother has a broken arm, severalrge hematomas to her face, and small cuts on her body.¡± ¡°Oh, god.¡± My hand flies to my mouth and I peer in at my mother through the bay of windows. Her arm is in a cast, but her face is turned away so I can¡¯t see her injuries. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine, but she has a bit of a recovery ahead of her.¡± ¡°Did she say what happened?¡± The doctor¡¯s silence makes me turn back towards her. Her mouth is set in a t line. ¡°She says she fell.¡± The pit in my stomach widens into a cavernous crater. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve heard my mum use that excuse and it¡¯s never been because she actually fell. I know exactly what it means. ¡°I tried to talk to her about it, but she wouldn¡¯t deviate from her original exnation.¡± I shake my head, sadly. ¡°She won¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time?¡± ¡°No.¡± The doctor looks at my mum¡¯s file, then back at me. ¡°She¡¯s only been admitted to the hospital once before and it was for a ski rted fracture. No other previous visits.¡± To make sure I understand, she adds inly. ¡°He¡¯s escting.¡± I nod, the mass in my throat thick and obstructive. ¡°I can give you the address of a shelter.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll never go.¡± I look back at my mum. ¡°She has the resources to leave, she just¡­won¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard for a lot of women. But when a situation esctes like this,¡± she pauses. ¡°Leaving bes a matter of life and death.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The doctor puts a reassuring hand on my upper arm, giving me a sympathetic look. I¡¯m struck by her warmth. ¡°You can go in there and see her. I¡¯m Dr. Cavanaugh. Ask for me at the desk or call me if you have any questions,¡± she says, handing me her business card. ¡°I will, thank you.¡± She starts to walk away but then stops and turns back towards me. ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention we had to give your mother some intravenous pain medication. Fair warning, it should be hitting soon. She might be a little loopy but she¡¯ll eventually go to sleep and it¡¯ll wear off.¡± When I open the door to her room, my mum¡¯s head turns towards me and a happy expression crosses her face. I barely notice it because all I can focus on are the mottled red and purple bruises covering half her face. I sag against the door, the emotion right back in my throat. She doesn¡¯t even look like my mum right now. And my father did that. ¡°Darling,¡± she sings, extending her uninjured hand towards me. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to take time off work toe see me. Bute in,e in.¡± She says it like I¡¯m visiting her in her boudoir at home, not a hospital room where she¡¯s surrounded by half a dozen beeping machines. ¡°Mum,¡± I croak out, my voice breaking. I clear my throat to rid myself of the obstruction and walk over to her bedside. ¡°Are you alright? What happened?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing serious, darling. A little fall down the stairs but they¡¯ve patched me up. I¡¯ll be back in top form before you know it.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell them dad did this to you?¡± She flinches and I hate it. I hate that I made her react that way when she¡¯s injured. I hate that she¡¯s so concerned with keeping up appearances that she¡¯ll never leave him. But more than anything, I hate that bringing him up has that effect on her. ¡°Because it¡¯s not true,¡± she says quietly, averting her gaze. ¡°What if hees here?¡± She pales. I continue anyway. ¡°What is it going to take for you to finally tell the truth? How badly does he need to hurt you next time?¡± ¡°Oh darling, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I wouldn¡¯t.¡± I say, my jaw locking in ce. ¡°What if it was me?¡± Her eyes fly up to mine. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Remember Franklin, from work? The man he made me dance with at the charity g?¡± She nods. ¡°He attacked me at the office. He hurt me. He tried to sexually assault me. He would have seeded if Thiago hadn¡¯t intervened.¡± Thiago and my mum haven¡¯t met yet. I¡¯ve been so busy trying to settle into my new reality, my marriage, that I never even considered setting something up. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d even be interested. He often speaks with his dad on the phone, but hasn¡¯t once introduced me either. Her eyes widen in horror. They have a hard time focusing on my face for a second, but then she clutches my hands in hers. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m so sorry. I hope karma catches up with him in the end.¡± If only she knew that it already has, in the form of my merciless husband. I squeeze her hands in return. ¡°Have that same empathy for yourself. Please, Mum. If it¡¯s uneptable to you that it happen to me, then the same should apply to you.¡± When her eyes unfocus again, I remember the doctor¡¯s words about the IV drip. She spreads her hands on her duvet, marveling at her fingers. ¡°Gosh, what beautiful linens.¡± I look down at the drab hospital bedding knowing that sober Bettina Noble would judge them to be approximately fifteen levels below hideous. Her eyes snap up to a spot just above my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t turn around just yet but there¡¯s an incredibly handsome man staring at me through the windows.¡± I snort. ¡°What kind of drugs are they giving you?¡± She sighs wistfully, a longing look on her features. ¡°A face that chiseled must make for a wonderful seat. I sure hope someone¡¯s taking him for a ride. s, I¡¯m no longer in the appropriate age bracket or I might be tempted.¡± ¡°Mum!¡± I exim, flushing beet red. Hearing my uptight, etiquette-conscious mother say that is absolutely shocking, and frankly, a bit traumatizing. The unexpected levity caused by the introduction of drugs into this tragic moment considerably lightens the weight in my stomach. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Looking up at the IV bag, I mutter, ¡°They must have you hooked up to the really good stuff.¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯sing in Tessie,¡± my mom says excitedly. I hear the door open but I¡¯m so caught up in her use of my nickname that I don¡¯t acknowledge it. She hasn¡¯t called me that since I was fifteen. I didn¡¯t realize how much I missed it. ¡°Tess.¡± My heart trips hopelessly in my chest at the sound of that deep voice. My pulse speeds up, the mad organ banging against my ribcage like it¡¯s trying to break itself out. If it could, it would run across the room and throw itself straight at the man who just walked in. Unfortunately, my husband has turned my heart into a bit of an attention-seeking slut where he¡¯s concerned.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. When I turn around, Thiago is standing in the doorway wearing a long ck coat over his customary all ck suit, one hand buried deep in his pockets with an intense yet unreadable look on his face. The other hand holds my coat and purse tightly in his fist. Those tattoos crawl up his neck like tentacles reaching out to me. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I ask huskily, so happy to see him that my breathing deregtes. He steps into the room,ing closer. Behind him, Arturo reaches in and closes the door, but not before throwing me a dark re. Okay, I probably deserve that one. Thiagoes to a stop inches from my body, hisrge form towering over me as he stares down into my face. He eyes me intently for long moments before he speaks. ¡°Showing up for you,¡± he replies, eyes locking on mine and shing. ¡°Something I could have done earlier if you¡¯d called me yourself instead of forcing Arturo to handle it.¡± There¡¯s a hint of reproach in his tone. If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d believe he was genuinely upset that I didn¡¯t call. But that¡¯s not possible. I swallow thickly and continue whispering, staying out of my mum¡¯s earshot. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was important,¡± Looking down, I quickly rify. ¡°That it would be important toyou, I mean. I know you¡¯re busy, I didn¡¯t want to pull you away from work just to deal with my problems. I can handle it, I always have.¡± Thiago takes a deep breath, his chest settling at the bottom of a slow exhale. ¡°If it¡¯s important to you, it¡¯s important to me,¡± he corrects. ¡°When I said you were mine, I didn¡¯t mean just on the good days. Your problems also belong to me; I¡¯m as possessive of your rainy days as I am your sunny ones. Got it?¡± My cheeks warm and I nod, whispering. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to deal with these things alone anymore. You have me now.¡± That mass is back in my throat for an altogether different reason now. He told me once that he could be sweet to me if I¡¯d just let him. He has been. The butterflies that take flight in my stomach are worrisome, a reflection of how hooked I am on him. His presence alone has brought a lightness to my body that wasn¡¯t there five minutes earlier, even though part of me still has a hard time reconciling the fact that the violent psycho and the unexpectedly supportive husband are the same person. Thiago palms the side of my neck, forcing my face back up towards his. His thumb brushes affectionately back and forth across my cheek, that same hot-blooded intensity still shining in his gaze. ¡°And no more ditching your escort. I don¡¯t ever want to get another panicked call telling me that you left Arturo behind and disappeared alone into the streets of London.¡± Part of me wants to rail at him that I¡¯m not a prisoner, but the urgent undertone in his voice makes me pause. Softer, he admits, ¡°For a moment, I thought he was calling to tell me that you¡¯d run away again.¡± My heart seizes. I reacted on autopilot when I heard my mum was in the hospital so I can¡¯t regret the way I handled it, but I am remorseful that I didn¡¯t even stop to consider how my actions might be perceived by him. Reaching for his hand, I take it in mine and give it a firm, reassuring squeeze. ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise.¡± He doesn¡¯t rify if what I¡¯m promising is not to run from him again or not to go anywhere without my escort. I wish he¡¯d ask. ¡°Good girl,¡± he praises, pressing a sweet, lingering kiss on my forehead. Then he moves past me and walks up to the hospital bed. I turn to find my mum staring up at him with intrigued eyes. I¡¯m ashamed to admit I¡¯d temporarily forgotten she was there. That¡¯s how all-consuming he is. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Noble. I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°A word of warning,¡± I interrupt as I move to the other side of the bed. ¡°She¡¯s high as a kite.¡± His lips twitch in amusement. I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re meeting under these circumstances. He looks down to find my mum wagging a finger up at him in reproach. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s in need of a warning, flirting with my daughter and looking at her like you just did. She¡¯s married, you know.¡± I cover myugh with a cough. She must not recognize Thiago from our wedding announcement. I really do need to organize a brunch for them to meet, preferably at a time when she¡¯s sober. Thiago¡¯s eyes lift slowly to mine, mirth shining in his golden irises. ¡°Is she?¡± he asks unhurriedly, ying along. ¡°Recently, yes, and I doubt her husband would like another man kissing her the way you just did.¡± It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue to correct her when he answers. ¡°I know for a fact he wouldn¡¯t like that at all.¡± The humor slowly disappears, his gaze turningnguid and possessive as it settles on me. My belly flips as unexpected warmth unfurls in my stomach at his heavy perusal. His words rumble thickly in his chest. ¡°He¡¯s a very lucky man to get to call her his.¡± ¡°Yes, he is,¡± my mum answers, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly. ¡°I just hope he knows it.¡± ¡°He does.¡± Thiago¡¯s answer slips effortlessly past his lips. Heat res across my skin at the possessive way he stares at me. A girl could believe she was the center of his universe if he kept looking at her like that for too much longer. His gaze trails back down to my mum. ¡°Are you being taken care of?¡± ¡°Oh yes, I have lovely doctors.¡± ¡°They told me what happened to you. Their theory of whatreallyhappened.¡± I gulp, emotion clogging my throat. She¡¯s never been confronted about this by someone other than Tristan or myself. I know she¡¯s not likely to give any more away to him than she did to us, but his deep voice is so intimidating that it impacts her anyway. She winces and looks down. There¡¯s shame wafting off of her and it makes me so, so angry.My fathershould be ashamed of what he did, not her. Thiago takes note of her reaction, understanding in a split second what he¡¯s dealing with. ¡°It¡¯s not my ce to make you talk about things you¡¯re not ready to discuss. That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here. I wanted you to know there¡¯s nothing for you to be afraid of. A guard will be positioned at your door 24/7. He¡¯ll make sure nobodyes in unless you expressly allow them to. He¡¯ll stay until you¡¯re discharged and will remain with you in your home until we can guarantee you won¡¯t fall ever again. Alright?¡± Thiago¡¯s unexpected act of kindness and thoughtfulness does absolute numbers to the poor organ in my chest that I¡¯ve been trying to protect from his assault, in vain. I can¡¯t believe the extent he¡¯s willing to go for her. For the first time ever, there¡¯s someone other than Tristan standing by my side and helping me through the lowest moments in my life and I want to throw myself in his arms to express my gratitude. Her eyes blink slowly, sleeping to pull her under. ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± she asks, resting back against the pillows. Her eyes close. ¡°I don¡¯t even know you,¡± she adds foggily. I assume she¡¯s drifted off into drug-induced sleep but then her eyes flutter open. For a moment, she looks more lucid than she has in thest ten minutes as she waits expectantly for a response from him. Thiago ces a hand on her shoulder and speaks to her with a kind of evocative sincerity that echoes in every word. ¡°For your daughter,¡± he exins. ¡°Because it fucking kills me when she¡¯s sad.¡± Chapter 49 Iwalk into the library to find Tess curled up on one of the velvet couches, snuggled up under a cover and reading a book about the evolution of math and its role throughout history. A ball of warmth moves from my stomach up to my chest watching her bepletely at ease in our home, especially knowing it wasn¡¯t always that way. We¡¯ve settled well into our life together thest few weeks and I have a hard time remembering what my life was like without her in it. Smaller, that¡¯s for sure. Much, much smaller. Her mother¡¯s hospital visit has been weighing on her. Even though Tristan came home and convinced her to move out, the remnants of that whole ordeal still hang like a stormy cloud over Tess. And I wasn¡¯t kidding ¨C I fucking hate it when she¡¯s sad. She¡¯s in need of a good distraction. Over the pages of her book, she spots me hanging in the doorway. A slow but heartfelt smile stretches across her lips and punches me right in the gut. ¡°Hey, handsome.¡± I quirk a brow,ing in and sitting next to her, setting my palm on the other side of her bent legs. ¡°Handsome?¡± She blushes adorably. I love that I can make her react that way. ¡°You have a few names for me. I thought I¡¯d try out a couple for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I answer, nuzzling her hip. ¡°I look forward to all the little pet names you¡¯re going to give me.¡± Even through the nket covering her, I can still smell her addictive scent. I¡¯m even more dependent on it than when I first smelled it all those months ago, time having done nothing to dull my obsession as I once hoped. Her handes down to my face and she rakes her fingers through my hair in a gentle caress. Goosebumps erupt down my neck in response and I shudder. Setting my chin on her hip, I look up to find her attention back on her book, her hand still stroking my hair. This simple picture of domesticity squeezes my heart in a vice. ¡°We¡¯re going out tonight,¡± I announce. She shuts her book, her eyes shining as they meet mine. ¡°Really?¡± she asks excitedly, sitting up and crossing her legs. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Excess. It¡¯s Cillian Tellier¡¯s club, Callum¡¯s brother.¡± My face darkens. ¡°You remember him.¡±Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. She smiles, reaching for my neck and hooking a leg over myp to straddle me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I do. What I do remember from that night is my husband taking me upstairs for the first time.¡± My smirk is smug. I smack the side of her ass sharply before grabbing a cheek in each hand and she yelps. ¡°Good answer.¡± ??? Tess stalks out of her walk-in wardrobe in nothing but a pink bra, matching underwear, and a ck pair of heels. She ces her fists on her hips and narrows her eyes on me where I¡¯m sitting on the edge of our bed. ¡°I have nothing appropriate to wear. None of the options are going to cover these up,¡± she says, pulling her hair up into a ponytail with one hand and pointing at her chest and the column of her neck with the other. Half a dozen bruises stain her skin, all of them made by my mouth over the past couple of days. ¡°Why would you want to cover them up?¡± She releases her hair, her mouth dropping open along with it. I think she forgets that she¡¯s standing almost naked in front of me and that I¡¯m about thirty seconds away from adding another trophy on her skin next to the others. I suck on the cinnamon candy in my mouth to keep myself from pouncing on her. ¡°I can¡¯t go out in public looking like this.¡± ¡°You can and you will. Quite a few other cartel members will be atExcesswith us. I want everyone to see that I¡¯ve imed my queen.¡± She flushes. ¡°I¡¯ll look like a slut.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll look like your husband is obsessed with marking you, and he is,¡± I counter. ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing I¡¯m obsessed with. Come here,¡± I say, spreading my legs and motioning for her toe stand between them. Desire blooms in her gaze but she shakes her head. ¡°Not right now, I have to get ready.¡± ¡°Come here,amor.¡± She does as I ask, her breaths deepening as she approaches me. When she¡¯s between my legs, I cup the back of her thigh, rubbing up and down the soft skin in a iming motion. ¡°You can¡¯t walk out in pretty little lingerie that¡¯s just begging to be ripped off your body and ask me not to react.¡± She moans at the contact, her handing up to the back of my neck. ¡°We¡¯re never going to make it out,¡± she answers breathlessly. ¡°We are. I have ns for us.¡± I reach for the small box I ced on the bed beside me and pop it open, revealing what¡¯s inside. ¡°And they include this.¡± My hand trails up to her ass, pushing under the fabric of her panties to grab her cheek. She looks at the small pink toy and swallows thickly. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± She nods. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a plug.¡± My hand tightens on her ass and her eyes move from the plug over to me. ¡°There¡¯s one more hole left for me to im,amor. Then you¡¯ll bepletely mine.¡± Her breath hitches when one of my fingers slips into the crack of her ass. Her pupils dte when it trails down the valley of her cheeks until it finds the tight ring of muscles. ¡°Has anyone ever taken you here?¡± I circle her opening and her mouth parts. She stares unseeingly into my eyes as she takes in the reactions coursing through her body. The longer she waits to answer my question, the tighter the band of possessiveness squeezes my chest. The jealousy nearly blinds me, the thought of someone else taking her ass making me want to put my fist through a wall. When she shakes her head again, a poisonous breath expels from my lips, clearing my lungs. ¡°What about a plug? Fingers?¡± ¡°Never.¡± A territorial rumble rips from my throat. ¡°Good. It¡¯s mine.¡± I add a bit of pressure, not enough to press in but enough to give her a taste of what it could feel like. I remove my hand and flick a finger under thece of her panties. ¡°Take these off.¡± Tess does as instructed and I love how docile she¡¯s be, how she takes orders and does them without questioning me. She straightens, showing me her pretty little pussy. Standing in front of me in heels, it¡¯s perfectly in line with my face. I lean forward and flick my tongue once across her slit. She gasps, handing to my shoulder. ¡°Get on the bed,¡± I say, looking up at her. I stand and turn, watching her sit on the bed andy back on her elbows. I grab her by the ankles and flip her in one swift move so that she¡¯s on her stomach. She yelps when I grab her hips and pull them back, leaving her chest syed on the bed. ¡°You¡¯re going to show me this ass when I y with it for the first time,¡± I say, smacking her cheek. She bucks forward but I hold her back with a hand on her hip. Her pussy glistens between her legs, beckoning to me. I fall to my knees and bury my face in her warm heat. She moans loudly when she feels my tonguep at her folds. I eat her out like a man possessed, licking lines, circles, and a dozen other shapes into her wet flesh as she writhes beneath me. Her legs shake so hard that it takes me wrapping my arms around her thighs to keep her upright. I suck her clit into my mouth, pulling it between my lips and grazing over it roughly with sharp teeth. ¡°Oh, my god, yes.Yes,¡± she gasps. ¡°That feels so good.¡± Moving higher, I find her entrance, circling it over and over until she¡¯s mewling loudly. Taking the cinnamon candy I¡¯d stored in my cheek, I ce it on my tongue and push it into her tight pussy. It¡¯s notrge but she feels it going in anyway, her eyes widening and finding mine over the cheeks of her ass. I press it further into her channel until itpletely disappears. ¡°Push it out for me.¡± A blush explodes across her cheeks even as arousal blows her pupils wide. ¡°Use your muscles and push it back out onto my tongue,¡± I order, cing my tongue right beneath her opening, waiting to receive the candy like I asked. A look of concentration crosses her face and then she tightens her pussy. I watch, transfixed, as the candy reappears, dropping from her hole back onto my tongue. ¡°Thiago,¡± she gasps. I suck it into my mouth, closing my eyes and concentrating onpping at the juices coating the hard edges. My candy has never tasted this fucking good. My eyes flutter open, dark and aroused as they find hers. ¡°Delicious,¡± I rasp. ¡°Do it again.¡± And then I force the candy back into her tight passage. Again and again until her pussy tastes like cinnamon and the candy ispletely gone. She¡¯s so sopping wet it¡¯s dripping down the side of her thighs. I drag my tongue up the inside of her leg, taking all those juices into my mouth. ¡°I knew you liked it dirty,amor,¡± I grunt gutturally. ¡°You¡¯re going to love having your ass yed with.¡± Parting her cheeks with both hands, I expose that tight, winking hole to my eyes. Pink, just like the rest of her. I can¡¯t resist licking around those curves for a few demented seconds. She moans when I dip two fingers in her pussy and bring them up to her ring of muscles. I circle the pretty whorl, loosening the outer muscles and getting herfortable with being touched there. Little by little, the muscles of her low back cken, revealing just how much she¡¯s enjoying my caresses. I go back into her pussy and bring additional lube up to her hole. ¡°You¡¯re so wet, I think you¡¯ll take me easily.¡± Tess tightens again when she feels me adding pressure. I smack her cheeks sharply, twice. She yelps, rxing, and I press a finger past the tight ring of muscles and into her ass. ¡°Holy¨C¡± Her words cut off on a swift inhale. Her shoulder nese together at the top of her back, but her hole offers very little resistance to my pration and I slide in easily all the way to the webbing. ¡°Fuck, look at that,¡± I breathe, rocked by how firmly her walls clutch my digit. ¡°I was right. Look how easily you took my finger in your ass.¡± When I pull almost all the way out and push right back in, she keens loudly. ¡°How does it feel?¡± The tenor of my voice scares me, the obsession sounding almost like mania. ¡°Strange. Tight.¡± She pauses. ¡°Good.¡± When I press a second finger next to the first, she stills. ¡°Rx. You can take it.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s too much.¡± I spit on her hole, using my second finger to rub it in at her entrance, and she shudders in response. ¡°Oh god, Thiago.¡± ¡°I love it when you moan my name like that.¡± Both fingers press forward, stretching her ass. They break through the ring of muscles with more difficulty, but when they do, Tess screams. ¡°Oh!¡± Her eyes are wild and frantic, but delirious with lust. Pushing them further into her passage, I try not toe in my trousers staring at how her ass stretches for me. The thought of putting my cock there one day sends a shiver down my spine. I pump them a few times inside her until she¡¯s breathingboriously and squirming all over the bed, her hands desperately clutching the sheets. Then I pop them out and grab the toy. ¡°Look at me,amor.¡± When she does, I keep my gaze on hers and dribble thick saliva onto the rounded end. Her eyes ze over, her teething out to bite her lower lip. ¡°This plug is only a little wider than my fingers, but you can take it.¡± When it¡¯s sufficiently wet, I ce it against her entrance and start pressing it in. She whimpers loudly but keeps her hole rxed like a good girl. Her sphincter doesn¡¯t immediately give in, so I push the plug against her resistance, repeatedly moving back and forth until she¡¯s muttering unintelligibly. My thumbes down to find and press down on her clit. I rub it roughly, adding another dimension to her pleasure until she¡¯s nearly bucking off the bed. When I pinch the throbbing nub between two fingers, shees with an explosive orgasm that has her toppling down to the bed and her ass finally gives in, swallowing the plug entirely into its depth. ¡°Fuck,¡± she moans, legs shaking wildly. I love it when she curses. I part her ass while sheys on her stomach, taking a second to admire the pink plug snuggled deeply in there and the glistening jewel that crowns the tip. Tess shrieks when I push on the jewel with my thumb, shoving it deeper inside her. I smack both cheeks and stand, admiring how pretty my wife looksid out and spent beneath me. ¡°Go finish getting ready.¡± She turns her head and looks up at me, confused. ¡°T-That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± I confirm as she stands. She winces when the plug moves with her and I wish I could put a camera on her to capture every reaction she has to it. ¡°Go get cleaned up.¡± ¡°What about¡­ what you just put inside me?¡± ¡°The plug?¡± I cup her cheek and kiss her lips, softer than I¡¯d like. If I don¡¯t restrain myself, we¡¯ll never leave our rooms. Pulling away, I add. ¡°I want you to wear it all night, the difort and the pleasure and the stretch making you think of the day I¡¯ll rece it with my cock.¡± Her eyes sh but with interest, not distaste. I was so right about her and the dark fantasies she has. ¡°You want me to wear this to the club?¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± I hum. ¡°I want to watch you taking a sip of your drink, I want to watch you talking to people, I want to watch you dancing, all the while knowing you have a plug in your ass and that I put it there.¡± Chapter 50 Arturo paces in the front courtyard, raking his hands through his hair. ¡°Today¡¯s loss was the biggest yet.¡± Another one of our shipments was targeted this morning, resulting in a hundred kilo loss of merchandise. I¡¯d expected some blowback from the Italians, but not this targeted. Their attacks are too precise to be operating off blind luck. Arturo¡¯s frustration pales inparison to mine but I refuse to let any of my men see me be affected by this. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Tellier while we¡¯re atExcess. He has his ear to the ground, I want to know if he¡¯s heard any whispers about where they could be getting their info.¡± My gaze darts back towards the front door. Tess is finishing getting ready and I¡¯m eagerly waiting for her toe out. Arturo¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Is that really the best ce to discuss this?¡± ¡°You¡¯d rather I wait until we schedule something formal, potentially after a couple more shipments are hit?¡± ¡°No,Diablo, but¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him tonight.¡± He picks up on the finality in my tone and doesn¡¯t respond. At that moment, the door opens and outes Tess. She walks down the stairs in the most sinful dress I¡¯ve everid eyes on ¨C chrome pink, tight, and short. The fact that it matches the plug still buried in her ass drives me wild. Every time her leg lifts toe down a step, she nearly shes me. The cocky smile she directs my way tells me she knew exactly how it was going to affect me. Her hair is down around her shoulders, her eyes lightly shaded with soft pink hues that entuate the blues of her irises. My gaze rakes over her curves, over those very apparent love marks, leaving a warm imprint of my possessive gaze behind. ¡°Jefe,¡± Arturo warns. ¡°She¡¯s barely wearing anything. Maybe she should change¡­¡± Tess frowns when she hears him, clear hesitation marking her features. I reach out a hand to her, pulling her close. ¡°No longer in mourning?¡± I smirk. Her smilees back, her eyes glittering. She shakes her head softly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I whisper. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking hot.¡± Turning towards my lieutenant, I add. ¡°Let them look, Turo. They¡¯ll see she belongs to me.¡± He nods stiffly, then gets into the ck car waiting behind us. Tess makes a move to go in after him, but I stop her with a hand on her lower belly. ¡°We¡¯re not taking the car tonight,amor.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Grabbing her by the hips, I turn her to face the grass just off to the side of the house where my Arc Vector motorcycle awaits us. ¡°That¡¯s our ride.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful.¡± She lets me take her hand and walk her over to the feat of engineering that is my bike. The uncertain look on her face remains even as I throw my leg over one side and get on. ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± she whispers. If there was any amount of money I could pay to make her never experience that emotion again, I would. I palm the helmet hanging from the handlebars and bring it onto myp, opening the chin strap and visor. Reaching for her, I brush the hair back from her face carefully and then put it on her head. She looks adorable with the helmet on, strands of blonde hair framing the visible band around her eyes. ¡°I¡¯d die before I let anything happen to you on this bike,¡± I tell her, clipping the chin strap back in ce. Then I unzip my jacket, revealing my ck tee, and motion at her to slip it on. ¡°So you¡¯re not cold. It gets chilly.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you pressed up against my back, your hands wrapped securely around my body. Nothing¡¯s going to keep me warmer than that.¡± She smiles, leaning in for a kiss when she remembers the helmet she has on andughs instead. ¡°Come on, get on,¡± I say, putting on my own helmet. Tess ces both hands on my shoulders and one hand on her foot hold, using it as momentum to get her leg over the other side. When she sits, she groans loudly, her covered foreheading down against my shoulder. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°No,¡± she says on a sharp inhale. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ sitting like this, with my legs spread. It¡¯s adding pressure on the plug.¡± Lust shoots straight to my groin at the tormented undertone in her voice. I look over my shoulder back at her. ¡°Wait until the bike¡¯s vibrations pulse against it,amor. If you don¡¯te from that stimtion, I¡¯ll have taken the bike out for nothing.¡± She gasps. ¡°Is that why you¨C¡±This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°Yes,¡± I say, reaching a possessive hand back to cup to the top of her exposed thigh. ¡°I want you toe while you hold onto me for dear life.¡± I m her visor shut, then mine, cutting off the words on the tip of her tongue. She tentatively grabs me, one handing around each side of my ribs. I grab her wrists and yank them forward until she falls against my back. ¡°Keep your arms wrapped around my waist,¡± I order and she does as I ask, long nails scraping against my abdomen. I rev the engine loudly and then we¡¯re off. The wind whips around us, brisk and sharp, but Tess¡¯s body stays pressed against mine. The bike roars vigorously between our legs and as we weave between cars and down open roads, I¡¯m reminded of the power this machine makes me feel. Tess doesn¡¯t know that mics in our helmets connect us. Mine is muted to avoid distracting her so all I focus on are the sounds she¡¯s making. And they¡¯re unbelievable. She pants and gasps and mewls and mutters cursed call outs for God as the juddering of the bike pushes and shakes the plug deeper inside her. She presses her hips forward, trying to add simr friction to her clit. When it makes contact with the leather, her fingers w at my stomach and she shatters with a loud cry. Wee to a slow stop at a massive triple intersection and I pop my visor open, looking back at her with dark, gleaming eyes. ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise. She opens her own visor, the top of her cheeks bright red. ¡°You heard that?¡± I press a button on my phone that unmutes me and I speak into the mic. ¡°Every.Single. Moan.¡± Her eyes widenically when my voice echoes in her helmet. She ps my upper arm and Iugh boisterously. ¡°Get my seat dirty,preciosa. I want you toe on everything I own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of orgasms,¡± she points out. I tip her chin under her helmet. ¡°We¡¯ve got time.¡± She yfully smacks my visor closed and I turn back around, waiting for the light to turn green. That¡¯s when I feel her hand drop from my stomach down to cup my cock through my trousers. I hiss in a breath, tensing against her chest. ¡°Careful,¡± I warn silkily. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who can have fun.¡± I grip her wrist and bring her hand back up to my abdomen. ¡°I just promised you I wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to you. If you stroke my cock while I drive, I¡¯ll crash us within the next fifteen seconds.¡± Tess shakes my hold off and squeezes my dick one more time before resting her hand on my thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with you when we get there,¡± I growl. ¡°I look forward to it.¡± A Hummer pulls up in thene next to ours. Tess rakes her nails gleefully down my stomach, making me groan. She¡¯s teasing me and driving me to the very edge, but short of fucking her in front of an audience, which isn¡¯t fucking happening, there¡¯s nothing I can do. My right hand reaches up to finger the fabric of her dress, tugging it down. It¡¯s so short that it rides almostpletely up her leg when she¡¯s seated, so I keep my hand syed protectively on her thigh. Awareness filters down my spine when the Hummer¡¯s driver window rolls down. An elbowes out to rest on the car door, followed by the face of some twenty year old frat boy turning to stare lewdly at Tess. His friends in the passenger and back seats egg him on encouragingly, wide grins splitting their faces. ¡°Hey, baby,¡± the driver drawls out in a thick American ent, a suggestive smile pulling at his lips. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe over here and wrap your legs around a real man for a change?¡± ¡°Yeah, between the three of us we could put those holes to good use,¡± his friend chirps. Tess¡¯s arms tighten around me. My ckout visor stays down as I turn my head slowly towards the driver. His smile wipes off in a decidedly less cheerful manner than it appeared when he finds himself looking cross eyed into the barrel of my gun. My arm is outstretched, bridging the gap between the twones until the pistol is less than a foot from his face. His friend slumps bonelessly down into his seat, disappearing from view. ¡°Repeat that.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Arctic frost sweeps into my tone, my finger flipping the safety off with a loud, chilling click. ¡°Apologize.¡± ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, miss,¡± he answers, voice shaking. I¡¯d bet a hundred grand he¡¯s pissing himself right now. ¡°Misses,¡± Tess corrects easily, holding up her left hand in his direction. My approving growl echoes territorially between us, my other hand tightening bruisingly on her thigh. He turns ghostly pale as he takes in her diamond ring and wedding band. ¡°Roll your window back up.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he squeaks. He rolls it closed then blows through the red light, just nearly avoiding colliding with oing traffic. A pity. The car behind him slowly advances into the vacant spot, the driver keeping his wide eyes dutifully on the road. ¡°That was reckless,¡± Tess admonishes me softly. She¡¯s not wrong. But it¡¯s not like Iwantto be threatening, maiming, or killing every fucker wee into contact with. It¡¯s Tess who makes them lose their minds, their entire sense of self-preservation. If I didn¡¯t have such a beautiful wife, the life expectancy of London¡¯s male poption would be much higher, the mortality rate significantly lower. I remember months ago when I was worried about my growing obsession, about her bing a vulnerability of mine. I tried to stop it, tried to guard against the tentacles of those feelings encroaching around my heart. Now I¡¯m rashly killing important leads, chopping off limbs in public spaces, and whipping out my gun on an open road. In retrospect, trying to stop myself from caring about Tess was like asking the Earth to stop rotating around the Sun. Simply impossible. She¡¯s my biggest weakness. My Achilles¡¯ heel. The easiest, most obvious, and certainly the most lethal way somebody could hurt me. Chapter 51 Excess is the living embodiment of its name. Opulence rolls from it in waves, from the vintage chandeliers on the ceiling, to the velvet walls, to the talented, half-naked dancers upying the various podiums around the club. The ceiling is raised at least thirty feet withvish candbras hanging from it. The dance floor ispletely packed as music res from bass boosted speakers. Thiago pulls me through the throng of people towards stairs that¡¯ll take us up into the VIP area. His arm is outstretched behind him and he holds my hand firmly in his as he shoulders through the mass. I hold on for dear life, afraid of being separated in this crush. When we¡¯ve only made it a third of the way through the crowd, he abruptly stops and turns around. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask. His hands find my waist and he pulls me against him. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work. I don¡¯t like you being behind me. I need eyes on you.¡± He folds me into his side and one armes vigntly over my shoulder. Then he starts pushing through the crowd once more, using his free hand to move people out of the way. Nestled as I am in his chest, I can feel his heart beating against my shoulder, the rhythmic thuddingforting. I sneak a thoughtful nce up at his face, at the determined look in his eye, the decisive set of his jaw. I let my hatred of Thiego¡¯s background and his workpletely blind me to him for so long. In reality, he¡¯s been my protector. He defends me with a fierceness that knows no bounds, like when he pulled out a gun earlier. He saves me every day, in countless ways, big and small. He always has, since we first met. He might bepletely unhinged but not with me. Never with me, except in the ways I want him to be. That¡¯s been the biggest surprise of our entire marriage. I¡¯m bursting at the seams to tell him how I feel, but I can¡¯t. Not without knowing where he stands. As we break through the other side of the crowd, Thiago feels the heat of my stare on him and looks down. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asks, his hand on my low back as we go up the stairs. When we get to thending, I turn and palm his side. ¡°No,¡± I say, looking up at him from beneath myshes. ¡°I just wanted you to know¡­ I misjudged you when we first met. You¡¯re not what I expected, what I thought you were.¡± I grin. ¡°Well, no, youare, but you¡¯re not that way with me. You always protect me and I¡­ I¡¯ve never had that before.¡± He¡¯s dressed more casually than usual in a simple ck tee leading into equally dark trousers. The short sleeves of his shirt reveal his corded, tattoo-covered arms. Seeing his sinewy frame against the backdrop of this sultry club sends a pang of lust shooting straight to my pussy. It turns downright painful when those dark, gleaming eyes of his find mine and a smile tugs at his lips. ¡°I¡¯d protect you with my life,amor.¡± My heart pinches at his husky rasp. Thiago bends his head to find my lips, but I turn my face away. He freezes, eyes boring questioningly into the side of my face as a muscle twitches in his jaw. There¡¯s a mass in my throat that makes it hard to speak. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of effort to go to for someone insignificant.¡± He straightens, his tone sharp. ¡°Insignificant?¡± ¡°Actually, that wasn¡¯t quite the word you used. You said you weren¡¯t burdened by ¡°trivial, unnecessary emotions¡± like caring about other people because it would make you vulnerable. That you don¡¯t get attached.¡± I can hear the bitterness in my voice. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten it. It¡¯s a good thing for me to remember.¡± The words feel hollow and taste acrid on my tongue, but they have to be said. I¡¯d be a fool to ignore what he told me, to hope that it could change. Thiago nods slowly. Pensively. He reaches for my hand, hooking a finger with mine. I stare at where we¡¯re joined, taking in the familiar jolt of electricity. He tips the underside of my chin and forces me to look up at him. ¡°Why?¡± he asks, eyes searching mine. ¡°Do you want me to feel those emotions for you?¡± I try tugging my hand out of his, but he squeezes tighter. ¡°No, I¨C¡± ¡°Because I do,¡± he finishes, bringing my hand up to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss on my wrist. ¡°I do.¡± Emotion rushes to my head and makes my legs quake. Thiago pushes me backwards until we disappear into an obscured corner. His eyes shine in the dark like two beacons hypnotizing me. ¡°And my obsession, my feelings, my constantneedfor you do make me vulnerable. They¡¯re all weaknesses I can ill afford, that I should protect myself against.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°By letting you go.¡± I flinch, unprepared for that answer. The cavernous void that cleaves itself through my stomach leaves destruction and chaos in its path. As desperate as I once was to escape him, the thought of him discarding me now like I mean nothing is a hundred times more painful. ¡°You¡¯re going to let me go?¡± His nostrils re. ¡°No.¡± My mouth dries at his harshly clipped response. ¡°Why not?¡± A hand palms my throat and angles my head back against the wall. Golden eyes that shine in the dark stare down at me, going from my dted pupils to my parted lips. ¡°I¡¯m even more vulnerable without you.¡± He sounds almost frustrated by the admission. ¡°I¡¯m distracted. Unfocused.Elsewhere. Wondering where you are, what you¡¯re doing, and who you¡¯re with. Whether you think of me and if you smile when you do. I had the mattress in the guest room burned into inexistence simply because I hated the fact that you slept anywhere but with me when you first got here.¡± His hand tightens around my throat, his thumb rubbing against my pulse point. ¡°I have to change everything about how I operate, how I survive, how I keep myself as invincible as possible, because now my heart walks out in the world free from my chest, wrapped in pink and looking dangerously appetizing to every single fucker in this city and if something ever happened to you I don¡¯t know what I would do.¡± My lungs empty at his deration. At the tormented look in his eye. Then I¡¯m standing on my toes and reaching for him, whispering, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t survive it if anything happened to you,¡± before I¡¯m iming his lips with mine. It¡¯s as close to telling him the whole truth as I can give him right now, those three little words hanging back just behind my lips. Thiago drags me against him with rough hands on my waist, his lips opening to wee my tongue into his mouth. He groans sultrily, heating my blood, and grips generous handfuls of my ass, pulling me against his hard cock. His hold jostles the plug inside me and I moan loudly. A throat clears behind us. ¡°Sorry to interrupt,jefe. I need a word.¡± Thiago¡¯s lips pull away with an audible sound and he looks over his shoulder at Marco. ¡°The ountant called with an update.¡± He curses, breathing heavily. ¡°Let me get her settled, then we can talk.¡± Thiago levels me with a sexually frustrated look that I¡¯m sure mirrors my own. I know it must because his pupils dte and his teeth grit in pained restraint before he looks away. He grabs my hand and pulls me down the hallway into arge,vish room with a private bar, multiple dancers, and couches upied with tattooed men and women who clearly all belong to the cartel. They all stand and nod at us when we enter and walk past. ¡°Valentina,¡± Thiago calls out and a woman around my age with luscious, long brown hair stands and turns around. I recognize her instantly, even if I only caught a glimpse of herst time. She¡¯s the woman in the gold dress. ¡°This is Tess. Marco and I need to talk, can you look after her while I¡¯m gone?¡± Her stunning hazel eyes widen when he introduces us. ¡°Of course I can! I¡¯m so happy to finally meet you, Tess. I¡¯ve heard so much about you.¡± Thiago kisses my forehead and walks off, leaving me with her and no exnation of who she is to him. I watch him go unhappily, then turn back around with a sour look on my face. ¡°So you¡¯re close with my husband then?¡± Valentina¡¯s eyes widen at the hostility in my tone, her gaze pinging back and forth between mine as she tries to decipher me. Eventually, sheughs, her nose scrunching up adorably. She reaches out to sp my hand in hers and motions for me to sit next to her on a couch away from the others. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much he¡¯s told you about me, so let me make sure there are no misunderstandings between us. I have no interest or designs on Thiago. There is nothing and willneverbe anything between us. He¡¯s my adoptive brother, that¡¯s it,¡± she swears. ¡°Plus, he only has eyes for one woman these days so I wouldn¡¯t be concerned about his attention swaying.¡± He just confessed that he has feelings for me, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯llst forever. My father once allegedly loved my mother and look where they are now. ¡°All men¡¯s attention sway eventually.¡± ¡°His won¡¯t,¡± she vows. ¡°Nothing¡¯s been able to take his attention away from the business, and certainly not a woman. Then one day out of nowhere, he¡¯s chasing you across Europe and forcing you to marry him. He¡¯s yours. If you want him to be, that is.¡± She tilts her head cutely to the side and peers at me. ¡°And based on this five minute conversation, I think you do. He¡¯s the best you know, underneath all that murderous angst is the most loyal man you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± I blush, looking down at my hands. ¡°You speak so highly of him, it¡¯s nice to hear.¡± ¡°I grew up with him, he really is my brother. And he cared for me after¡­¡± she trails off abruptly, her eyes ssing. She blinks and looks away, shielding the sudden sheen of tears from my view. It¡¯s my turn to squeeze her hand. I can guess what made her emotional. ¡°After Adriana?¡± Surprise colors her features when she turns to look at me. ¡°He¡¯s already told you about her?¡±Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°Yes.¡± In fact, he¡¯s been telling me more and more about her since visiting my mum in the hospital. It¡¯s like realizing we have shared trauma when ites to the women in our lives bonded us and made him open up even further. ¡°Then he¡¯s definitely never swaying,¡± she says, proudly adding. ¡°You¡¯re in this for life.¡± Carefully, I say, ¡°I hope so.¡± She ps her hands happily and cheers. ¡°So I was right! I¡¯m thrilled to hear it.¡± She grabs her ss of champagne and raises it in toast to me before taking a sip. ¡°Does he know you feel this way?¡± The truth is I¡¯ve been falling in love with Thiago from the very beginning. It didn¡¯t happen overnight, far from it. It started with raw lust, grew to interest with distance, expanded to fondness when he made sure the fridge was stocked with my favorite ice cream, developed into deep affection when I checked the time on his phone one night and saw that his wallpaper was the hastily taken photo of our signed marriage certificate he¡¯d snapped sitting in the back of his car, bloomed to admiration when he let me rehearse a work presentation with him for hours because I was anxious about it, swelled to adoration when he saved my life, and ballooned into limitless, unyielding love when he took care of my mum. When he checked in with her every day for a week after she came home from the hospital. When he told me punishment for touching her would be the same as the one for touching me. ¡°He knows I care about him. Deeply. He doesn¡¯t know that what I feel is a little more serious than that.¡± She beams. ¡°You should tell him.¡± I shake my head vigorously. ¡°No way. We literallyjusttalked about our feelings and he didn¡¯t say it. He would have if he felt it. I¡¯m not going to be the one to say it first if he¡¯s not on the same page.¡± I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m spilling my guts to Valentina when she¡¯s a perfect stranger. It¡¯s something to do with the openness of her face, the way she holds my hand. She makes me want to confide in her. And there¡¯s instant relief in the form of a weight lifting off my chest from letting someone in on my secret, even if I can¡¯t tell Thiago yet. ¡°Anyway,¡± I add, waving my hand to put the topic behind us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being a bitch ten minutes ago. You understand why now. But if you¡¯re Thiago¡¯s sister, that makes us family so I¡¯m hoping we can be friends. I promise you I¡¯m usually quite nice.¡± Valentinaughs delightedly, hooking her arm in mine and leaning close with a mischievous smile on her lips. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re absolutely going to be friends. Technically we already are because I¡¯ve considered you my friend since you made Thiago chase after you, but I¡¯ll give you some time to catch up to me.¡± I giggle happily, relieved to have made a new friend on the other side of the cartel line. Except for a couple core people who I see every day, I haven¡¯t really interacted with any of them. That side of Thiago¡¯s life still remains a mystery and I know he likes to keep some separation, to not involve me. But if we¡¯re going to have a sessful future together, we can¡¯t keep our lives separate forever. I assume that¡¯s why he brought me here too, as a first initiation. ¡°This club is amazing,¡± I tell her. ¡°Have you been here before? Do you know the owner?¡± ¡°I have, plenty of times. The cartel has its own clubs and restaurants, but this is one of our regr haunts when we want to focus on pleasure, not business. And yes, I know Cillian well. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll meet him at some point,¡± she says, before adding. ¡°A piece of advice though ¨C don¡¯t stare at him for too long. His wife isinsane. She¡¯ll cut your eyes out of your head for looking.¡± Before I can answer, a man appears behind her. My gaze lifts to him and just by his size alone, I deduce that he¡¯s Callum¡¯s brother. Valentina¡¯s eyes widen when she sees the look on my face. She¡¯s got an apologetic expression pasted on before she¡¯s even turned around. ¡°Sorry, Kill,¡± she says sheepishly. Luckily, he doesn¡¯t seem put off by her assessment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he grins at me, baring sharp teeth, ¡°I promise that my wife is only as insane as I am.¡± That manically handsome smile tells me that¡¯s no small amount. I remind myself not to drink too much tonight. I might not make it out of this club if I do. Cillian crosses his arms and stares down at me. ¡°I¡¯m d you likeExcess, you¡¯re wee anytime you want.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I answer, rising to my feet to look him in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m Tess, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, I know who you are, Tess. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. Although, more from my brother than your husband.Diablo¡¯skeeping his cards close to his chest when ites to you.¡± A warm hand wraps around my low back and Thiago pulls me easily into his side. ¡°There¡¯s a reason for that. Tell your brother if he talks to you about my wife a second time, I¡¯ll make sure he won¡¯t live long enough to do it a third.¡± Cillianughs boisterously, pping his friend good-naturedly on the shoulder. ¡°He mentioned you might say something along those lines.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± Thiago responds, hand moving past my hip to cup my ass. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the stories of how insane he was when he first met his wife. You¡¯d think he¡¯d know not to y games with men who feel simrly about their own.¡± ¡°Yes, Ad?de has my brother wrapped around her little finger. Always has, even when he pretended he wasn¡¯t interested. Always will, ¡± Cillian says, speaking fondly of his sister-inw. ¡°But you know Callum, war and chaos are his business. He can¡¯t resist the games.¡± Thiago grumbles moodily so I wrap my own arm around him and squeeze him yfully. His attention falls to me, his gaze hooding affectionately. ¡°Come dance with me,¡± I ask. Running a finger along my jaw, he questions. ¡°Down in the pit?¡± I shrug. ¡°Sure. Anywhere. I just want to dance with you.¡± He smiles slowly. Releasing me, he pulls Cillian to the side and whispers something in his ear. ¡°Of course,¡± Cillian answers. ¡°I¡¯ll get that arranged for you newlyweds. Give me ten minutes.¡± He disappears. Without looking away from me, Thiago calls out. ¡°Get lost,Vale.¡± ¡°Not so fast,hermano,¡± she says, handing me her phone. ¡°Put your number in. I¡¯ll text you next week and we can get a coffee or something.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love that,¡± I reply honestly, typing in my number. She beams when I hand her phone back to her, then narrows her eyes on my husband. ¡°Good to see you too, Thiago. Always a pleasure.¡± Paying her no mind, he sits on the newly empty couch and grabs my waist, pulling me down onto hisp. I whimper when the plug jostles inside me. His hand palms my ass to keep me tightly against him. ¡°We¡¯re not going dancing?¡± I ask with a pout. He thumbs my lips, looking at them lustfully. ¡°We are, but somewhere I think you¡¯ll prefer.¡± Looking down, I notice that his gold chain is twisted. My fingers curl under the metal and I tug it around his neck so the sp is at his nape, the skull and cross hanging on his chest. ¡°Careful.¡± Looking up, I find his head tilted back against the seat, his eyes half-lidded as they stare heatedly down at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting my cock hard.¡± As he says it, I feel his length throb against my ass. ¡°All I did was fix your chain.¡± The corner of his lip pulls up in a thoughtful smile. ¡°I have no willpower when ites to you, so if you want to make it to the dancefloor, I suggest you stop touching me with those dainty fingers and stop grinding your ass down on my cock.¡± I pout again. ¡°Well, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Thiagoughs loudly, his belly moving against my side, and I feel my cheeks burn with pleasure at having pulled that reaction out of him. He nuzzles my neck, his lips finding the column of my throat and leaving a wet trail of kisses that make me shiver against him. Moving up until his lips find the soft skin behind my ear, he whispers. ¡°You¡¯re everything I hoped you would be.¡± A weightless emotion floats up into my chest. Before I can answer, a woman approaches us. ¡°Sir? We¡¯re ready for you now.¡± Keeping his hands on my waist, Thiago helps me off hisp and stands. He takes my hand in his muchrger one and follows after the woman. She takes us up a flight of stairs and down a few more darkened hallways until we reach another set of steps with an ominous looking door at the top. Stopping by the railing she points to the door and motions for us to go up. ¡°It¡¯s unlocked,¡± she says, giving me a smile. ¡°Enjoy.¡± She disappears and I nce up at the door before looking at Thiago. ¡°Sketchy location. Have you perhaps finally decided to kill me?¡± I joke. ¡°What a plot twist that would turn out to be.¡± ¡°Not one I¡¯d personally be a fan of,¡± I quip back. He grins, pulling at my hand to make me go first as we ascend the stairs. ¡°Come on.¡± When we reach the top, he reaches past me to turn the handle. The door opens and I gasp. In front of me is arge rooftop with the same decorative style as the rest ofExcess. I step outside, stunned by the beauty around me. Thousands of string lights hang overhead and from the sidings, making the entire space look magical. Heatingmps stand at all four corners, basking it in additional warm light and afortably cozy temperature despite the frigid winter air. Soft, romantic music ys in the background. It¡¯s empty save for the two of us. Turning, I find Thiago leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed casually, a captivated look on his face as he watches me. ¡°This is so beautiful,¡± I whisper in awe. ¡°Why is nobody else up here?¡± Pushing off the door, hees towards me. ¡°It¡¯s closed until April. The staff only opened it up for us tonight.¡± I look up at the tiny lights. Between the rows of strings, thousands of bright stars shine against the ck night sky. ¡°Why?¡± I ask, breathless with excitement when I look back down at my husband. Thiago takes my hand and pulls me against him, his other palm finding the curve of my waist. ¡°¡®It must be so magical to dance under the stars. I¡¯ve never done it but it¡¯s been on my bucket list forever.¡¯¡± He quotes the line from my journal from memory still, the words as fresh in his mind as if he¡¯d read them yesterday. His facees down to press against mine and he whispers, ¡°I want to be the one you cross things off your bucket list with.¡± Releasing his hand, I wrap my arms around his neck instead and squeeze him against me. ¡°Baby,¡± I hum heavily, unable to say anything else. ¡°¡®Baby¡¯?¡± he groans huskily. ¡°Don¡¯t look any further for pet names. That¡¯s the one I want. That¡¯s what I want you to call me.¡± ¡°Okay, baby,¡± I answer and he murmurs happily. We hold each other that way, swaying slowly around the rooftop in a dance that¡¯s more of an embrace than anything else. ¡°This is our first dance,¡± I say and he lifts his head from my shoulder to look at me. ¡°The one at the g didn¡¯t count since I walked off. But this one is real and it¡¯s everything it should be.¡± The words are on my lips to tell him what I feel, to confess what he should know, what Iwanthim to know, because I¡¯m in too deep to turn around anyway, but something tells me it¡¯s not the right time. Not yet. He threads our fingers together and extends his hand, using the momentum to twirl me away from him. After a second of pause, he tugs, spinning me back down his arm until I¡¯m wrapped against his chest. His lips search for mine and then his tongue sweeps into my mouth and he kisses me with a relentless passion that steals my remaining breath away. There¡¯s an intimacy to the way he holds me while assertively moving his lips over mine that I¡¯ve never felt before. Pulling back gently, I look up into his tattooed face. For long moments, we simply stare at each other infortable yet charged silence. We dance for another song, then another. And another, until it¡¯s impossible to tell where one song ends and the next begins. The more time passes, the more he rxes. He seems lighter than he has recently, the tension having eased from his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve looked stressed the past couple of weeks. I haven¡¯t wanted to pry, but is everything okay?¡± An angry rumble rolls up his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin the moment.¡± My free handes up to brush the teardrop on his cheek. I press a soft kiss against his lips. ¡°What you said about being there for the rainy days applies to me too, baby.¡± He chuckles. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± That tension from earlier returns in the way his jaw sets and his eyes darken. Whatever it is, it¡¯s more serious than usual. ¡°Someone¡¯s been attacking our shipments over thest few weeks. Based on the specific ones targeted and the frequency, it can¡¯t be someone working independently.¡± ¡°So you mean¡­¡± His mouth ttens into a grim line. ¡°There¡¯s a mole in the da Silva cartel.¡± I let him continue to guide us around the rooftop even as my stomach cramps at the thought of what that means. ¡°Shit,¡± I say. He snorts. ¡°Shit is right.¡± He looks above my head, his eyes preupied. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure whoever it is is also stealing from me.¡± I perk up. Moles and attacked shipments, I know nothing about. But finance? That¡¯s my area of expertise. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. But I strongly suspect it. I have since before I brought you back to London.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve looked at the books?¡± A storm rolls through his gaze. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re all adding up, but it makes no sense. Some of our suppliers have reached out to me personally to say they haven¡¯t been getting paid. Those payments to them are logged and the paperwork seems to track. I¡¯ve been pouring over it for months but I can¡¯t make sense of it. I need an expert to figure this out but I don¡¯t trust anyone else to look at them, especially not the ountants since at least one of them is involved in some way.¡± ¡°Let me have a look,¡± I blurt impulsively. His gaze slides down to mine, the emotion in them hard to decipher. ¡°I know what to look for when someone is embezzling from apany,¡± I continue, the words spilling out of me a mile a minute. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before and I¡¯m always on the lookout for it in our own reporting. All it takes is one person to pull this off and they can get away with it for years if they go unnoticed. But you¡¯ve been alerted to it so the hardest part is already behind you. There are ways to catch them now. Traces and clues and digital footprints they likely left behind like breadcrumbs. I can help you, you just have to trust me.¡± Thiago eyes me thoughtfully but says nothing. Uncertainty grabs me around the throat and squeezes. I¡¯ll be beyond embarrassed if he turns me down. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t do anything with the information you share with me if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about. I can sign an NDA if you want. I just thought¡­¡± I pause, looking off to the side. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just thought that I could help you.¡± Seconds trickle by and then a finger tucks under my chin and turns my face back towards him. Golden eyes search mine inquisitively. ¡°If I give you ess to the books and you help me, you¡¯ll effectively bemitting a crime.¡± I nod, swallowing thickly. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be crossing a line and stepping into the Underworld, which you told me you hated. There¡¯ll be no going back once it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You could be convicted as an aplice of mine. You could go tojail.¡± My eyes close. ¡°I know!¡± He nudges my chin, motioning at me to open my eyes. I do. ¡°Then why do it?¡± There¡¯s such an easy answer to that question and it¡¯s on the tip of my tongue, begging to be set free. I¡¯d do anything for the man I love. Instead, I tell him a version of the truth. ¡°Because you need me and I have the skillset to help you, so I will,¡± I say fiercely. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m your wife which means I can¡¯t bepelled to testify against you ¡ª or vice-versa ¡ª so I¡¯m the perfect aplice. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡± He hums, satisfied, and bends his head, nuzzling his face against the side of mine. ¡°You¡¯vee a long way these past few months,amor,¡± he murmurs, kissing my neck. A contented sigh leaves my lips. ¡°You can be very convincing,¡± I say breathily, cupping the side of his face to hold him against me. ¡°You tell no one about this.¡± His tone is categorical. ¡°And if a time everes where the NCAes after us, you will lie and say you never saw a single document, email, receipt,nothing. All you know is I dabbled in imports and exports. You will hide that clever brain of yours behind averyconvincing dumb blonde act and you will feign ignorance, do you understand me? You leave me to rot in prison and you save yourself.¡± It¡¯s toote for me to do that, I¡¯m too far gone. Instead of arguing about it with him now, I curl a strand of my hair around a finger, look up at him with wide eyes and jokingly say, ¡°Huh?¡± He smirks, eyes shining with pride. ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡°Protecting me again?¡± I ask. ¡°What did I tell you?¡± A smile tugs at my lips. ¡°With your life?¡± ¡°With my life.¡± Chapter 52 Just when I thought my wife couldn¡¯t get any more addictive, she goes ahead and proves me wrong. Her willingness to put herself at risk to help me may be the hottest thing she¡¯s ever done, and that¡¯s saying something. When I was strongly advised to marry and then when I decided to take her specifically, I never expected to get an actual partner out of it. It wasn¡¯t something I was interested in and it wasn¡¯t something I thought she could ever, or would ever, want to provide. The fact that she¡¯s even offering her help cracks through the finalyer of ice around my heart and makes that dark organ hers. It starts to beat again after years of inactivity. Slowly, carefully, as if scared of its own strength, of the way the pulse announces its revival with thunderous aplomb. I wonder if she knows. Does she have any idea at all that her very breathing controls me? That I can¡¯t focus when we¡¯re in the same room because my senses are entirely trained on the rise and fall of her breaths to pick up on any shift that might indicate difort? Any power I have pales inparison to the one she wields over me. She has the ability to control me with nothing but a smile and a whispered word, a power that hundreds of men would kill to possess, and I¡¯m not sure she even wants it. I never expected this obsession to turn into more. To not only have her be my greatest weakness, but to truly embrace it. My mouth finds hers with the same kind of urgent desperation that¡¯s racing through my mind. Heat barrels through me at the first contact of our lips. She reaches to cup the back of my neck and pulls me closer, extricating a lustful groan from me in the process. Reaching into my pocket, I find the small remote I tucked in there earlier and press the button. Tess startles, a surprised gasp falling from her lips and into my mouth as she jumps back. Wide blue eyes framed with longshes look up at me in shock as a buzzing soundes to life between us. ¡°What¨C¡± she gasps again, her features twisting erotically. ¡°It¡¯s a vibrating plug,¡± I purr, kissing her lips. ¡°Oh, god,¡± she whispers, hands fisting my shirt as her knees falter. My eyes are trained on her face, unable to look away from the spectacle that is her growing pleasure. ¡°How does it feel?¡± She groans. ¡°You¡¯re¨C you¡¯re evil for this.¡± I chuckle darkly, lifting my phone to my ear. ¡°Yes?¡± Cillian answers. ¡°Turn the cameras off on the roof.¡± Tess¡¯s eyes darken and she takes a step back. My gaze tracks her like a hunter as heughs. ¡°You think I left those on? I¡¯m quite attached to my staff these days. Thest thing I need is you taking them out one by one on your way home because they might have watched you defile your wife. They¡¯re off. Enjoy.¡± I hang up and pocket my phone, advancing on Tess. My voice is rough as gravel when I speak. ¡°Lift up your dress.¡± She grabs the hem of the tight material and starts shimmying it slowly up her hips, revealing the pink panties I saw earlier. She keeps retreating, her eyes two pools of liquid lust. Her back hits the wooden railing at the edge of the rooftop and shees to a stop, tilting her chin up at me as I continue approaching. I stop less than a foot away from her, the glow from the string lights casting a looming shadow of my body over hers. My hand reaches out and I trace two fingers slowly up herce-covered slit. She trembles, her whole body racking with shivers. ¡°Is this my pussy?¡± I ask quietly. She nods, the up and down movement of her chin frenzied. ¡°Words.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she admits breathily. Adding more pressure now, I move my hand higher and rub the tips of my fingers over her clit. Thecy fabric abrades harshly against her flesh, making her legs quiver. ¡°I could make youe just like this,¡± I note. My gaze lifts to hers. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± She shakes her head, her eyes still as wide as when I first turned on the plug. ¡°No.¡± Even as she issues a denial, her back arches, pushing her pussy into my hand. ¡°What do you want?¡± She moans, dropping her head back against the wooden panel behind her. Her eyes flutter close, delirious arousal leading to her total submission. ¡°Your mouth on me.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Her handse up to her chest and she cups her breasts through her dress, pushing them together. ¡°H-here.¡± Her legs shake violently as the plug continues to buzz loudly inside her, stretching her forbidden hole. ¡°Show me my tits,¡± I ask hoarsely. Her eyes open, the pupils blown wide. She fingers the left strap of her dress and pulls it down her shoulder, repeating the move again with the right. Then she grabs the front neckline with both hands and yanks it down. Her breasts spill out of her top, bare and unrestrained. She left her bra at home when she picked this dress, and I¡¯ve never been happier about anything in my life. Tess swallows thickly at the raw hunger that marks my face. ¡°Fucking perfect,¡± I whisper huskily. I lift my eyes back up to hers. ¡°Put them in my mouth.¡± Her lips part, her breaths turning threadbare. She reaches for the back of my neck once more and pulls me down towards her chest. When I¡¯m inches from her tits, I look up at her expectantly. ¡°Ask me,¡± I demand. ¡°Put your mouth on me.¡± ¡°Where?¡¯ ¡°On my breasts,¡± she whines, driven mad with desire. ¡°Ask me nicely.¡± She arches into me frustratedly, her mouth turning down into a pout. ¡°Please. Please lick my b¨C oh,god,¡± she shrieks when my lips close around her taut nipple. I suck the tight peak into my mouth, rolling it between greedy lips. ¡°Yes¡­yes,¡± she moans haltingly. I alternate harshshes of my tonguepping at the unbelievably hard nipple with suckling at it like a newborn, once in a while throwing in grazes of my teeth over the sensitive skin. When I look up at her, her head is thrown back in rapture, her fingers digging savagely into my hair. She¡¯s trembling so uncontrobly that Ice my free hand around her waist to keep her upright. My right hand remains between her legs, ying with her clit as I move to her other nipple. Tess writhes, her moans turning to cries of desperate pleasure, and when I bite the tight peak of her nipple in conjunction with pinching her clit, shees quick and hard, surrendering to wave after wave of her powerful climax. She slumps against my chest, but I don¡¯t give her time to catch her breath. I thumb the remote and press the button again, upping the speed of vibrations by two levels. Tess shrieks in surprise and her legs give out, but I catch her, holding her tightly against my chest. My lips brush the curve of her ear. ¡°Where do you want me tonight, wife? In your tight cunt or your virgin ass?¡± She shudders powerfully against me, her loud breathing almost drowning out the buzz of the plug still buried inside her. I start to think she¡¯s not going to answer, but then she whispers, ¡°My pussy.¡± ¡°Mhmm, not ready to take my cock back here?¡± I question, reaching around to grab a handful of her ass. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I can be patient for you,amor.¡± Wrapping an arm around her elbow, I pull her along the edge of the rooftop until the upright wooden panels end, leaving only the railing. I cup her nape and m my mouth down on hers in a heated, possessive kiss. Her arms twine around my neck as my hand reaches between her legs and fists the fabric of her panties, ripping them clean off. She gasps, eyes flying open to find mine already on her. ¡°Bend over the railing,¡± I order against her lips. Tess turns in my arms, keeping her gaze on mine over her shoulder. Her back is pressed to my chest as she peeks over the railing and down. Below us, there¡¯s a thin stream of people milling about the club¡¯s entrance, smoking and bantering. ¡°Pull your dress back up to cover your tits,¡± I grunt territorially, the thought of anyone looking up and seeing her bare nipples as appealing as being cattle prodded for twenty four hours straight. She does as instructed, hiding away those perfect, perky tits for now. I palm her nape in my hand. ¡°Now bend over and push your ass out.¡± She moans wantonly and leans forward over the railing. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to be real quiet,amor,¡± I murmur, bending over her and rubbing a casual hand across her ass and down her thigh. ¡°If a single one of those men looks up and sees you like this, their blood will be on your hands.¡± ¡°No,¡± she gasps. ¡°I¡¯ll be quiet.¡± ¡°Good girl,¡± I purr. ¡°Now reach back and spread your cheeks for me. Show me my toy.¡± Her face flushes a violent color of red, one that tightens my stomach in excitement. I love her shyness in bed. It¡¯s so innocent, like I haven¡¯t already seen and kissed every inch of her body. Tentative, trembling hands reach back and each grab a cheek. And then she spreads for me, revealing that perfect pink jewel. The powerful vibrations coupled with the removal of her cheeks which had been keeping it in positionbine to make the plug bob obscenely back and forth. She keens loudly at the new sensation, then violently sinks her teeth into her lower lip and muffles her cries when she remembers she needs to be quiet. Looking down, I see that everyone is still upied with their conversations and no one is looking up. ¡°That was close,preciosa, and we haven¡¯t even gotten started.¡± She nods, speechless, her hold on her ass faltering when I drop to my knees behind her. ¡°So pretty,¡± I murmur heatedly. Leaning in, I circle my tongue around the base of the plug, licking at the taut skin. ¡°Soaking wet too.¡± ¡°It feels so good,¡± Tess pants, working to keep her voice barely above a whisper. Standing, I spank her ass and she cries out. She releases her ass and ps a hand over her mouth, her eyes bulging. Then she res over her shoulder at me. ¡°Are you trying to make me scream?¡± ¡°Always,amor,¡± I say, ripping my trousers open and mming my cock inside her to the hilt in one brutal thrust. Her hips drive savagely into the railing and I wrap a hand over her mouth to smother the loud scream that rips from her lips. She pants raggedly against my fingers, groaning noisily despite her covered mouth. I¡¯m as affected as she is, needing this momentary respite to get used to being buried so deeply inside her. The double pration with the toy constricts her pussy until I¡¯m stretching her to the limit. Her passage is impossibly tight, squeezing me greedily and making me lightheaded beyond belief. The plug¡¯s vibrations pulse through the thin wall of her pussy and up to my cock, sending a trail of electricity straight to my balls. I remove my hand and drop my forehead against her neck, seeking calming breaths. I¡¯m about to blow from one stroke alone. ¡°Oh, my god, Thiago.Move,¡± she begs, desperation coloring her tone. ¡°Move?¡± I repeat. ¡°You want me to fuck you?¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± she pants. ¡°So polite,¡± I praise, drawing back my hips then thrusting forward. She chokes out a breath. ¡°Like this,amor?¡± Grabbing her waist, I drive inside her again, using all of my concentration to think about war and famine and death so I don¡¯te on the third stroke. Garbled words fall from her lips as I m back into her, her body thrashing under the power of my thrusts. ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re dripping everywhere,¡± I grit out through clenched teeth. ¡°You love having both your holes stuffed.¡± She nods dementedly, head bobbing back and forth wildly. I pound savagely inside her, the crude noises of my hips mming against her ass the best melody I¡¯ve heard in years.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°The plug in your ass is making your pussy so tight.¡± With each stroke, I pull her hips back to meet mine, the rhythm absolutely brutal. ¡°So fucking tight. You¡¯re wrapped around me like a fucking vise.¡± I hate that I can¡¯t see her face, that I can¡¯t watch her reactions as I bottom inside her with each thrust of my hips. That won¡¯t do. I slide an arm beneath her until my hand finds and closes around her throat. She gasps when I yank her upright by her neck and m her back against my chest. My other arm wraps around her lower stomach, keeping her pinned against me. She¡¯s immobile, trapped in my arms, one of her handsing up to clutch the wrist at her throat. She doesn¡¯t remove it but uses it to hold on for dear life. ¡°Reach down and spread your ass again. I want to be able to go so fucking deep inside you that you won¡¯t know where I end and you begin.¡± ¡°Yes, baby,¡± she moans, making me growl animalistically at the pet name. When she opens her cheeks, my cock slides all the way inside her until my groin is pressed against the plug and my balls p against her pussy. The blood rushes down to my dick and I roar loudly, pulling us both away from the edge as I plow all the way inside her. They¡¯ll have definitely heard that. ¡°Holyfuck,¡± I bark, squeezing her neck tightly. I¡¯m silent for long, focused minutes as I pound inside her tight pussy with the single-minded focus of a Mormon on a mission. Her muscles flutter around me, mping and releasing my cock and driving me absolutely fucking wild. I¡¯m never going to get tired of fucking her. Every day I discover something new that makes mepletely feral. If anything, I fear for my sanity. I had a tenuous hold on it to begin with and my grasp has only gotten weaker with every passing moment spent with Tess. ¡°Talk to me,¡± she churns out between thrusts. ¡°Hmm?¡± I can¡¯t be any more eloquent than that right now. ¡°Keep talking,¡± she gasps. ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°What is it you want,amor?¡± ¡°Say¡ª¡± she bites her lip and moans loudly when I thrust particrly hard. ¡°Say dirty things.¡± A pleased rumble rolls up my chest as I look down at her pretty face. Eyes closed, lips parted, cheeks flushed. Writhing against me. So perfect that she must be a divinity sent to Earth for the sole purpose of tormenting me. ¡°You want me to say filthy things to you,amor? To talk you through how much of a good little slut you¡¯re being for me?¡± She rolls her lip beneath her teeth and groans lustily. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so pretty when you beg.¡± ¡°More,¡± she pleads, face screwed in pleasure. I squeeze her throat again and viciously bite her ear. She yelps. ¡°Your sweet pussy is crushing my cock in its tight grip. It¡¯s like you never want to let me go,¡± I growl. ¡°You can¡¯t get enough, can you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she breathes, and fuck, this conversation is bringing me to the brink. I move the hand on her stomach down between her legs, searching for her needy, throbbing clit. When my fingers graze over the nub, her mouth falls open. I can¡¯t resist, I thrust my tongue past her lips and inside her wet mouth, taking advantage of the opportunity to ravage her. She groans loudly, meeting me with eager strokes of her tongue. ¡°What about now?¡± I ask. ¡°Is this enough?¡± She shakes her head, pupils so wide the blue haspletely evaporated from her irises. I pound into her punishingly, pushing her up onto her toes. My fingers on her clit turn almost cruel in their attention as my other hand leaves her throat and reaches between the cheeks of her ass for that buried jewel. Gripping it tightly, I pull it out and m it back into her ass. I smirk manically down at Tess when she screams, her eyes rolling back into her head. ¡°How about now,amor?¡± I start fucking her with the plug, pushing it in and out of her tight hole in tandem with my brutal thrusts in her pussy. ¡°Oh, my fucking god.¡± ¡°There is no God here,amor. Only the devil.¡± Her legs shake powerfully against mine. She¡¯d fall to the floor if I wasn¡¯t holding her up with fingers on her clit, my cock driving into her unbelievable pussy, and my plug diving into her forbidden hole. Kissing her temple, I bend and brush my lips against her ear. ¡°One day when you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m going to take this ass,¡± I murmur. ¡°I¡¯m going to y with it first and make sure you¡¯re prepared, and then I¡¯m going to ce my cock against those untried muscles and I¡¯m going to push in slowly, so slowly you¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re dying. And you¡¯ll scream,¡± I say, plunging the vibrating plug all the way in. Then back out. And in. ¡°You¡¯ll scream so loudly that you¡¯ll wake up the whole damn house. I¡¯ll work myself deep inside you, stretching your ass until you¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re on the verge of breaking. But you¡¯ll open to ept me and you¡¯ll take all nine inches. And then I¡¯ll fuck you. I¡¯ll fuck you so hard and for so long that you¡¯ll feel me in your ass for the rest of your life.¡± Tess thrashes against me, her entire body aze from my multi-front assault. I know she¡¯s close, I can feel her orgasm coiling madly inside her, climbing and climbing. ¡°Then, and only then, will I finally own every single part of you. That¡¯s why I want your ass,amor, because it, like everything else about you, belongs tome. It¡¯s mine, and I¡¯ll be counting down the days until you let me fucking prove it.¡± My fingers dance mercilessly over her clit as I emphasize my words with a decided shove of the plug and my cock in both her holes at the same time. Pressing my lips roughly against her ear, I whisper, ¡°Is that dirty enough for you,amor?¡± I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my actions or my words or both, but her mouth parts, her eyes m shut, and shees with a lung-emptying scream. Her pussy squeezes me, her belly spasms and then fluid spurts from deep inside her, sshing everywhere. ¡°Fucking hell, did you just squirt?¡± I ask disbelievingly. I thrust even faster into her, my fingers turning frenzied on her clit. There¡¯s another spasm, her thighs shaking violently, and more liquid gushes from her. ¡°Puta madre. Keeping like that. Come on, squirt for me!¡± Ie with a roar, unable to hold back with her pussy contracting around my cock the way it is, and spill my hot cum inside her. When I calm down, I cup her throat and pull her head back against my shoulder. A smug, satisfied grin tugs at the corner of my lips. ¡°My hot little wife, you¡¯ve been hiding this from me.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± she answers, shame-faced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry? Your pussy went off like a fountain taking my cock, that¡¯s the hottest thing I¡¯ve ever seen and felt,¡± I growl, turning off the plug, removing it, and wrapping both arms around her. ¡°It¡¯s never happened before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Burning, bright red mes of possessiveness lick at my insides and I grin. ¡°What?¡± she asks. ¡°I fucking love hearing that no other man has been able to make you squirt, that your pussy only cries for my cock. If you needed any more indication that you were made for me, that you belong tome,¡± I breathe, ¡°this is it. Look no further.¡± Chapter 53 ¡°Careful, Arturo!¡± I jump out of my chair and catch the stack of folders before they tumble off the side of my desk and to the floor. He¡¯s already broken a small statue with his fidgeting around my office and if he inadvertently messes up the files I spent a full two days organizing, I¡¯ll actually kill him. I point to the furthest corner of my office where there¡¯s nothing but a chair and a side table. ¡°Go sit over there before you cause any more damage.¡± He grumbles, cursing under his breath just loud enough for me to understand every word, and moves as instructed. Ever since the day Franklin attacked me, Arturo hase to work in the mornings and gone home in the evenings with me. He¡¯s got a face like a smacked ass, the same miserable expression that¡¯s been my constantpanion these past few weeks and I¡¯m getting tired of it. ¡°Listen,¡± I say with a tired sigh. ¡°I know you hate being here. You won¡¯t be shocked to hear that I¡¯m not thrilled with this arrangement either, constant ray of sunshine that you are,¡± I add drolly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk to Thiago? I¡¯m sure he can rece you with someone else if you ask and it¡¯ll be a nice break for me to spend some time with someone who can actually tolerate my presence.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t. I¡¯m the only one he trusts to protect his wife.¡± Warmth unfurls inside me at his words. It¡¯s been two weeks since Thiago and I went toExcessand we¡¯ve grown closer every day since. We¡¯ve even crossed a couple other items off my bucket list ¡ª seeing Ludovico Einaudi live and taking a Thai cooking ss. The next item on my list was skydiving but he categorically refused, saying that he wasn¡¯t going to endanger me ¡®for the fun of it¡¯. I¡¯m not giving up on it, it¡¯s just going to require a bit more convincing from me. ¡°It¡¯s an honor,¡± Arturo continues. ¡°An honor?¡± I repeat, surprised. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s high praiseing from you.¡± He scowls. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart, Barbie. It has nothing to do with you.¡± I¡¯m putting a book away on my shelf and pause at his sharp tone. I look over my shoulder and find him sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, eyes keenly tracking my movements. Arturo has been cold with me from the very beginning. I¡¯ve never understood what his problem is; I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever done anything to deserve his ire. Whatever the reason, I¡¯m tired of dealing with the bickering and tension. It can¡¯t go on forever. ¡°Why do you hate me? Did I do something to offend you?¡± I turn to face him. ¡°You know, if you took the time to get to know me, you might discover that I¡¯m not so hateable after all.¡± Arturo sits back in his chair and gives me an appraising look. He seems to measure his words before speaking. Finally, he sighs. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you.¡± I raise an unconvinced brow at him. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t like me either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not personal.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You distract him,¡± he exins through clenched teeth. I frown, confused. ¡°Not intentionally.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even worse.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re going to get him killed one day.¡± I rip in a shocked breath. The suggestion alone wraps around my lungs and suffocates the air out of them. My chest constricts painfully at the usation. ¡°You think I would risk him?¡± I realize that Arturo doesn¡¯t know the extent of my feelings, why would he? He doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯d do whatever it took to protect him, even if it meant sacrificing myself. ¡°I told you, it¡¯s not personal.¡± He exins, ¡°It¡¯s not about what you would or wouldn¡¯t do. It¡¯s about whathewould do for you. He¡¯d run into a burning building and jump head first into a riptide for you. His feelings blind him to his own weakness and that¡¯s a dangerous ce for any man to be, let alone this man. It¡¯s my job to advise and protect him against all potential threats, so Ican¡¯tlike you. Not when I think you might be the biggest threat of all to his survival.¡± Arturo has known Thiago his whole life. He¡¯s his most trusted advisor, hisconsejero. I¡¯d be a fool to ignore his warning. I was so caught up in my own safety, I never stopped to consider how I could unknowingly hurt him. I swallow painfully. ¡°What would you have me do?¡± Arturo¡¯s gaze softens somewhat, the first glimpse of something other than frost covering his features when he looks at me. ¡°If he¡¯s going to continue to risk it all for you at every turn, you need to decide once and for all if this is the life for you or not. You can¡¯t be one foot in and one foot out, with him but disgusted by the world he leads. He can¡¯t be running out of meetings to track you down because he thinks you might have run away again. He can¡¯t be murderingcaposif you¡¯re not actually nning on remaining his wife. If even part of you is unsure aboutmitting to him, tothis, for the rest of your life, then you need to walk away.¡± I shake my head. ¡°He¡¯ll never let me.¡± A humorless smile tugs at his lips. He doesn¡¯t like this conversation any more than I do, but he¡¯s looking after his boss¡¯s best interest. Although, I think the man in question would disagree. If Thiago ever found out about this conversation, the following day we¡¯d learn on the news that Arturo¡¯s body parts were recovered scattered across the English countryside. ¡°You¡¯re a clever girl, Barbie, you¡¯ll find a way.¡± He pauses, then adds, ¡°If that¡¯s what you decide.¡± His nickname for me doesn¡¯t carry its usual venom. Instead, he says it with the familiarity of a friend like it¡¯s some inside joke between us. The door to my office flies open, mming against the wall with a deafening sound and cutting our conversation short. I feel the color drain from my face when I see my father haunt the doorway. I haven¡¯t seen him since I¡¯ve been back. ¡°Tess.¡± He says my name with the warmth one might reserve for dog poop on the sidewalk and takes a step into my office. His gaze cuts to Arturo who jumps to his feet. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± He turns ashen when recognition dawns on him. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, Alex?¡± Arturo says jovially, walking towards him and cing himself between us in a not so inconspicuous disy of protection. No matter his personal feelings about me, Arturo has never done anything other than guard me. ¡°What if I break your other elbow to see if we can jog your muscle memory into activating your actual memory?¡± My father shakes his head. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Bodyguard duty,¡± he says, tipping his head in my direction. My father straightens, trying to regain some semnce of power here. ¡°Wait outside,¡± he orders. Arturo¡¯s answeringugh is long and loud. A handes to his belly as his shoulders shake. ¡°You¡¯re a realedian, Alex.¡± I ce a hand on his arm and his attention slides down to me. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Arturo.¡± His jaw clenches and he doesn¡¯t move, staying stoically in ce. I nudge at his arm, edging him towards the door. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯ll be right outside,¡± I say, before looking at my father. ¡°I¡¯m sure he just wants a debrief onst quarter¡¯s reporting.¡± I don¡¯t know what he wants to talk about, but I know I¡¯ll be safe with Arturo right outside the room. He grits his teeth but does as I ask, stopping next to my father on his way out to add, ¡°If her voice raises even one decibel above its current volume, you won¡¯t walk out of this room.Comprende?¡± The door closes behind him and then we¡¯re alone. ¡°Where have you been?¡± I ask. He came back from his business trip weeks ago but he hasn¡¯t made it into the office since. His head snaps towards me. ¡°Who do you think you are to question me?¡± My heart races so fast, I hear the frantic beat in my ears. I tip my chin up at him defiantly. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you anymore.¡±This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. Heughs, a cruel sound. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°I finally see you for what you are. A coward and a bully. A pathetic excuse for a man. I¡¯m d Mum finally left you, although if you ask me she would have done so fifteen years ago.¡± He takes a dangerous step towards me, a sneer twisting his features. ¡°Look at this brave little girl act. You get yourself a husband with an ounce of power and you think that protects you from me, is that it? It doesn¡¯t. Your husband is gutter scum, not worth the air it takes to keep him alive and not worthy of ever being around people like us.¡± A red mist descends over my eyes and suddenly I¡¯m going toe to toe with him. ¡°My husband is a thousand times the man you¡¯lleverbe. He has more dignity and honor in his little finger than you could ever dream of having. And he has a code of ethics even in the Underworld, whereas you beat women for sport. You could never measure up to him. The way you look disdainfully down your nose at a man who is your better in every way is proof of that.¡± My father¡¯s eyes jump skyward and then heughs loudly. Unease coils in my belly at his reaction. I¡¯d expected anger, not¡­ whatever this is. ¡°Tess,¡± he starts, stillughing and making a joke of me. He makes me feel so small and insignificant that I want to disappear. ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re notactuallyfalling for Thiago da Silva?¡± Silence robs the words from my tongue and I find I can¡¯t answer. I look down instead, the unease turning to full blown difort. ¡°You are,¡± he notes, voice tinged with mirth and shock. ¡°You¡¯re actually falling for the man, if you haven¡¯t already.¡± He gives me a pitying look that makes me want to zip myself out of my skin and seep into the floorboards beneath us. ¡°I didn¡¯t have high expectations for you, but I thought you¡¯d at least be smarter than that. All those years of trying to prove yourself to me and now you¡¯ve finally shown yourself to be exactly what I always knew you were ¨C brainless, stupid, and emotionally unbnced. Categorically unfit to work here.¡± Ice crawls down my spine. I still can¡¯t speak. I hate that he can reduce me to being nothing more than a speechless moron with just a few snarled words. ¡°Did you forget that he paid for you?¡± he continues. ¡°You fell for a man who chose to buy you rather than woo you. You¡¯re just as stupid as your mother.¡± My throat dries, tears stinging my eyes. ¡°When he came to me and proposed forgiving my debts in exchange for your hand, do you know what he told me?¡± I shake my head, not in answer to his question but because I don¡¯t want to hear the next words thate out of his mouth. I don¡¯t want to know. ¡°He said he wanted a woman who would be seen and not heard. Someone quiet who he could manipte and get to bend the knee to him. I lied and promised him you fit that brief to a tee so I could save myself, but now I can tell you delivered on it anyway.¡± My world spins under the weight of his verbal assault. ¡°You were never meant to be anything more than wallpaper to him, a nice decoration on his arm whose biggest contribution was yourst name and nothing more.¡± Heughs again. ¡°You pride yourself on being so smart Tess, but you¡¯ve gone ahead and done the dumbest, most predictable thing in this situation. I¡¯m embarrassed you were so weak. Even I didn¡¯t expect that low of you.¡± Every word is a stabbing knife wound to the gut. I feel fresh tears well in the corners of my eyes, but I blink them away. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± A slow, arrogant grin stretches his mouth as he reaches into his pocket. Lead weighs me down, a massive fog rolling into my brain and making my movements sluggish. My father presses y on his phone and Thiago¡¯s voice echoes in the room like he¡¯s here with us. And I hear every horrible word he once said to my father from his own lips. ¡°After he attacked me, I started recording our conversations in the event I needed them as insurance,¡± he exins as Thiago keeps talking in the background, every word causing more pain than the next. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯de in handy this way, but I¡¯m not mad about the additional use case.¡± He pockets his phone once more and looks at me. ¡°Which brings me to my original reason foring in here. I¡¯ll be back in the office full time and your brother will return to London in a few months so your services are no longer required. You have until the end of next week and then I want you gone. Think about all the free time you¡¯ll have to spend with your loving husband now,¡± he finishes, throwing in onest loudugh before walking out of my office. He stalks past Arturo who takes one look at my face andes marching back in. My father was right ¨C I¡¯ve been so stupid. Chapter 54 Mymute home is spent in a blurred torpor. I don¡¯t remember leaving the office. One second I¡¯m standing in front of my desk bereft and feeling dangerously adrift in my own reality, the next I¡¯m in my kitchen, pouring hot water in my mug and watching swirls of color from the tea bag mix with the clear liquid. Arturo threw concerned nces my way the entire drive home but wisely chose not to ask me any questions. Now he¡¯s disappeared, leaving me with my storming, embittered thoughts. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of how our story started. Hearing the words from Thiago¡¯s own mouth that he wanted a living statue for a wife and nothing more tears at my insides. Could I really have been that naive as to fall in love with a man who¡¯s been ying me from the beginning? My father certainly thinks so. Humiliation burns my cheeks and rots my insides. I hate that he has the ability to reduce me to the scared little girl version of me from when I was younger. No one affects me like he does. No one can crawl under my skin and pick at all those old wounds like he can. ¡°Amor,¡± a deep voice rumbles from behind me as my husband walks into our kitchen. ¡°There you are.¡± The sultry velvet of Thiago¡¯s tone wraps around my belly and squeezes even as my shoulders stiffen. I don¡¯t turn around. His warmth envelops me as he steps up behind me and presses his chest to my back. His hand finds the curve of my waist andes to rest possessively there. I shake him off. I can¡¯t have this conversation if he¡¯s touching me, I¡¯ll lose all rational thought. Grabbing my mug, I walk around the other side of the kitchen ind, distancing myself from him. After what feels like ages, I look up at him. He¡¯s got an unsettled look on his face, his hand still hanging in the air at the level where he was touching my waist like he¡¯s expecting me to slot myself right back into his embrace. Gold eyes search mine questioningly. ¡°Why are you upset?¡± he asks, astutely picking apart my emotions like he always does. ¡°I saw my father this afternoon.¡± He turns to face the counter, his palmsing down to brace against the surface as his shoulders tighten. ¡°Oh?¡± I¡¯m spoiling for a fight, the angry, pent-up energy that¡¯s swirling in my body needing an immediate outlet. All I can think about are Arturo¡¯s words. I¡¯m at a fork in the road and I need to make a decision on what future I want. Love might not be enough to ovee all the obstacles in our path, including our two very different backgrounds. ¡°He yed a recording for me.¡± Thiago¡¯s face twists in confusion. ¡°A conversation the two of you had when you were negotiating my purchase like I was a piece of chattel,¡± I add with a bitter, humorlessugh. The change in Thiago¡¯s mood alters the chemistry of the air around us. He goes from a casual posture topletely alert. Thick darkness seeps from him, reminding me of just how dangerous he is. It¡¯s easy to forget sometimes. ¡°Amor¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you thought I was the winning candidate given the criteria I heard you list. ¡®Quiet¡¯. ¡®Maniptable¡¯. ¡®Seen and not heard¡¯,¡± I hiss, cutting him off. ¡°I mean, why even get yourself a wife at that point? A blow up doll would have sufficed.¡± Thiago¡¯s face darkens, his features tightening. His hands clench into fists and he ms one down on the counter, making me jump. ¡°It¡¯s no business of his why I wanted you.¡± His tone, which was so warm when he walked in, is downright frigid now. ¡°I said what was necessary in order to manipte him into giving me what I wanted ¡ª you.¡± ¡°Sounds like you didn¡¯t actually want me though,¡± I counter. ¡°None of those descriptors are me. I think you let yourself get led off course by lust when you saw me. You thought with your dick instead of your head and tied yourself to the wrong girl. One day you¡¯ll wake up and regret it, if you don¡¯t already.¡± Acid swirls in my stomach. The thought that he could one day cast me aside is excruciating. Thiago¡¯s jaw ticks dangerously, the muscle in his cheek popping then retreating as he res at me. I don¡¯t know whyhe¡¯smad, I¡¯m only repeating his words back to him. Anger fuels and expands the tension in the room until it¡¯s coiled around us and threatening to snap. ¡°None of what I said to him was true, Tess. I like your attitude, I like your fire, I like that you give me shit and you aren¡¯t afraid of me. That¡¯sexactlywhy you¡¯re my wife.¡± I shake my head and whisper, ¡°I¡¯m not your wife.¡± My words have the effect of throwing a lit match into a barrel full of gasoline. Thiago rounds the ind and storms towards me, fury rippling across his face. I take a step back but he pins me against the counter. Strong fingers grip my jaw and angle my face up towards his. I shiver when I look into his eyes, now hardened into imprable metal. ¡°Watch your mouth,¡± he warns, his voice quivering dangerously. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I double down. ¡°I¡¯m at worst your kidnapping victim, at best your prize. Just a pawn in your power y with my father, with this whole system you operate within. Nothing more than something for you to have unfairly won.¡±Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. If he really wants me for the long run, then he needs to tell me. I¡¯m desperate to hear him admit that he feels even one tenth of the feelings I have for him. To know that I¡¯m not alone putting my heart on the line. Instead, his whole body shakes with the force of his anger. He looks like he¡¯s holding on by a thread, only seconds away frompletely losing it. But that¡¯s all I want. That total abandonment of his senses that¡¯ll lead him to say the words I want to hear. ¡°You¡¯re mywife. Deny it again and you won¡¯t sit for a month,¡± he snarls. ¡°I knew I wanted you from the moment I saw you and I stand by that. I never wavered from it. You judged me the second you found out who I was. Fine. I own who I am, I¡¯m not ashamed of it, but you would never have given me a chance because of it. So I took you. I can¡¯t apologize for that. You want me to tell you I regret forcing you to marry me? I don¡¯t. I never fucking will.¡± Emotion forms a mass that blocks my airway, making it hard to breathe. I look off to the side, blinking away the tears in the corners of my eyes. I need more from him. More than just his possessiveness and territoriality over me. Real emotion. Realfeeling. I deserve that. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I admit. ¡°I would never have let myself get anywhere near you if given the choice.¡± I stare up at him. ¡°And maybe there was a very good reason for that.¡± Anger shes in his eyes. Instead of forcing me to bend to his will like I expected, he takes a step back. I feel the loss of his body immediately, like a ship bing unmoored and drifting away in the ocean towards an uncertain future. ¡°You¡¯re pissing me off.¡± His voice is flinty, his eyes hard as steel. I snap. My bitterness and resentment overflow and make me fling careless words I don¡¯t mean. Words I regret the second they leave my lips. ¡°You should give udia another look then, she might be a better match for you than me.¡± Thiago cuts me a lethal look that would wither any other living organism down to ash. His jaw snaps shut so violently that I hear it. His lip curls up into a furious sneer before ttening into an emotionless line. Distance takes over his gaze and he looks at me like I¡¯m a stranger, like he doesn¡¯t know me at all. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± The muscle underneath his eye twitches vtilely. ¡°I won¡¯t do this with you.¡± Without another look in my direction, he storms out of the kitchen. I assume he¡¯s gone up to his study or our bedroom for some space. Then I hear the front door open and m shut so violently that the walls shake. I slide down the side of the kitchen ind and fall to the ground like I¡¯ve been cut off at the knees. He walked away from me. We¡¯ve argued before, but he¡¯s never walked away. Not once. This is the man who chased me across the continent and today he¡­ left. He just left. No, he didn¡¯t just leave. I pushed him away. And now, with him gone and nothing remaining with me except the silence of his absence and the cold sinking into my bones from the loss of his warmth, all I feel is fear. Did I push him into another woman¡¯s arms? The thought eats at the lining of my stomach, causing physical pain. It¡¯s like he pulled on a loose thread when he walked out, but it was a catastrophic one that unravels the entire piece with one tug. He unknowingly pulls and takes the whole fabric of my heart with him when he walks out that door. When he¡¯s still not back hourster, I pace and I pace and I pace. My phone is gripped tightly in my hand and I look down at the screen for the thousandth time, hoping to see a message from him. There¡¯s nothing. I want to call him, but I¡¯ve already caused enough damage. What if I make it worse? So I keep pacing, refusing the dinner the chef offers me and choosing to stare out of the front windows instead, hoping to catch sight of him when hees back. But he doesn¡¯t. He neveres home that night. And Iy alone in our bed, my knees held tightly against my chest, and I cry. Chapter 55 If I thought a night away from home would dull my fury, I find out the next morning just how wrong I was. Not just because I wake up with a crick in my neck from sleeping on the shitty couch in my office at Tanta, the cartel¡¯s biggest club, but because the first thing I think about when I open my eyes is Tess. ¡°I¡¯m not your wife.¡± The fist of anger squeezing my heart crushes it once more just reying those words in my head. They¡¯ve been on a constant, endless loop in my mind since she said them. I didn¡¯t want to go home in the mental state I was inst night. I¡¯d been so blinded by my rage that I¡¯d feared going too far with her and actually hurting her. Visions of tying her up, of gagging her, of torturing her until she admitted to being mine had assaulted me almost nonstop since I¡¯d left. Keeping the monster away from her was in both our best interests. She already thought the worst of me and proving I was even more reprehensible than she could imagine wasn¡¯t going to help my cause. So instead I spent the vast majority of my day staring at my phone, looking at the dot that represented her location. After Franklin assaulted her, I¡¯d gifted her a gold ne. What I didn¡¯t mention was that it doubled as a tracking device. I knew if I told her about it, she¡¯d refuse to wear it, so I¡¯d said nothing. I¡¯m incredibly happy about that decision now as I stare at her unmoving dot. She hasn¡¯t left the house since I stormed out yesterday. Today is Friday, she should have gone to work, but she didn¡¯t. She hasn¡¯t missed work since our ¡®honeymoon¡¯. I let myself hope that today¡¯s exception is because of me. I clench my phone so tightly in my fist, I¡¯m surprised the screen doesn¡¯t shatter. She thinks she isn¡¯t mine. She thinks I could eventhinkabout another woman. She thinks she doesn¡¯t consume my every waking and sleeping thought. I¡¯m going to kill her father for poisoning her mind against me. I know he had to say a lot more to her than just ying a recording of our conversation. We were fine and then we weren¡¯t, and it¡¯s because of him. It¡¯s simple, really. Iloveher. So much that there¡¯s nowhere for me to keep it. It overflows out of my heart and past my ribcage and spills embarrassingly out of me. I would give it to her if I thought she wanted it, butst night¡¯s argument proves she doesn¡¯t. That she isn¡¯t ready to hear it. She¡¯s softened to me over the past few months, yes, but she doesn¡¯t love me back. Not yet at least, but I won¡¯t stop until she does. I just can¡¯t rush it. She¡¯s like a skittish mare, ready to run away at the first sign of fear, and thest thing I want to do is scare her. What if she disappears again? It¡¯s a looming worry in my mind that¡¯s never far away. The door bursts open and Arturo stalks in, the severe expression on his face getting my immediate attention. ¡°Matteo Leone wants to meet.¡± I lean back in my office chair. That¡¯s a surprise. I hadn¡¯t expected the newcapoto try and take the diplomatic route with me. ¡°When?¡± ¡°Now,¡± Arturo answers. ¡°He¡¯shere.¡± Not the diplomatic route then. He wants all out war. Adrenaline roars to life in my veins. I stand, reach into my desk drawer and pull out a second gun. I check the magazine to make sure it¡¯s full and tuck it into the back of my trousers. ¡°How many men did he bring with him?¡± I ask, clinically inspecting the magazine of the gun already in my holster. ¡°None. He came alone.¡± Surprise res once more and I pause. Matteo Leone has caught me off guard twice in under a minute now, which puts him way ahead of the curve. He has to know thating here, and especiallying alone, is a death sentence. ¡°Alone?¡± ¡°He says he wants to discuss a truce.¡± ¡°He knows I¡¯m the one who killed his father.¡± Arturo shrugs, looking as uncertain as I feel. Being off-footed like this feels like we¡¯re at a disadvantage even though he¡¯s the one who¡¯s defenseless and on my turf. ¡°What do you make of him?¡± I ask. ¡°Young. Cocky. Brash,¡± he states, adding, ¡°Dangerous. Very dangerous. Easy to underestimate.¡± I grunt in acknowledgement and tip my chin at him. ¡°Let him in.¡± Arturo ushers in four more of my men, each with their weapons drawn as they stand at the four corners of the room. And then Matteo Leone saunters in, jacketless with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and not a care in the world. He¡¯s got an easy grin on his face and pretty boy good looks. He looks more suited to the front pages of magazines than the Underworld and that,bined with his obvious youth at twenty-seven, makes him someone easy to look over. But I see why Arturo told me not to underestimate him when my gaze meets the cold green of his eyes. There¡¯s an edge there that reveals he¡¯s much more calcted and conniving than one might believe on first impression. He¡¯s been temporarily relieved of his weapons, so he walks in here at my mercy. Every gun in the room save my own are pointed at his head and yet he ignores them with ease. He gives the impression of not having a care in the world. rm bells go off in my head that this is a trap, but I can¡¯t see how it possibly could be. He plops down in the chair opposite my desk and rests his elbows on either armrests, threading his fingers together over his stomach. ¡°Interesting tactic, showing up here.¡± He grins, a quick sh of teeth before he says, ¡°I¡¯m not one to y childish games.¡± His gaze turns shrewd and he cuts straight to the chase. ¡°You killed my father.¡± He says it with about as much emotion as if we were discussing our tax returns.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. The newcapoof the Italian mafia isn¡¯t what I expected him to be. I can already tell that he¡¯s a different adversary than what I¡¯m used to dealing with from the Italians, one that¡¯ll require more brain power than usual. I wee the challenge. It¡¯s about time. ¡°I did.¡± He waves a dismissive hand between us. ¡°I should thank you for doing my dirty work. I¡¯d been trying to think of ways to get rid of the old man. You went ahead and did it for me and I got to keep my hands clean.¡± I lean back into my chair, looking at the man opposite me. If I was sitting in front of the man who¡¯d killed my father, he¡¯d already be dead. ¡°Not a fan of his?¡± I ask. He barks out augh. ¡°Not at all. He was bad for business. Thefamigliaused to be the crown jewel of the Underworld, and look at us now. Barely scraping by on historically earned respect and nothing more. I intend to restore us to our former glory and I finally might be able to with him out of the way.¡± ¡°And why would I let you do that when I could just kill you right now and knock another piece off your family¡¯s board?¡± He gives an easy smile. ¡°You can, if you want. There¡¯s an endless line of Leone cousins waiting to becapoafter me so you¡¯ll just be recing me with someone far less amenable to working with you.¡± He rubs a hand over his jaw, considering me. ¡°There¡¯s room enough for both of us. If we work together, we can pull each other towards the top and maximize our profits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already at the top,¡± I point out, unsure why I¡¯m even entertaining this conversation with a man who is at best rted to the people responsible for Adriana¡¯s death. ¡°Take my family¡¯s situation as proof that getting to the top is far easier than staying there. If the two of us stand shoulder to shoulder, we can fight off those encroaching on our territory. We could expand beyond the UK, which I know you¡¯re interested in.¡± This isn¡¯t an impromptu drop-in. Clearly the man did his research on me beforeing here. That exins why there was no immediate eye-for-an-eye killing retaliation after Augusto¡¯s death. Matteo takes in my nk expression and adds, ¡°I have something to offer you that¡¯ll sweeten this deal.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you find your sister¡¯s killer.¡± My eyes narrow on him at the same time as I hear the sound of a safety clicking off a gun from behind me. I look over my shoulder and see Joaqu¨ªn with a livid expression on his face, his gun hand shaking as he points it at Matteo. The man in question barely flicks him a look, remaining unaffected by the danger aimed at him. ¡°Why would you do that?¡± I ask, not correcting Joaqu¨ªn for his protectiveness. ¡°I don¡¯t want a rogue individual in my organization any more than you do and, unlike my father, I won¡¯t protect him. I¡¯ll help you get to the bottom of what happened and will hand any culprits over to you. I won¡¯t interfere with whatever punishment you choose.¡± ¡°What do you want in return?¡± Matteo spreads his arms, the very image of congeniality. I see him for the chameleon that he is. ¡°A truce. No more bloodshed. No more going after members of my family. This ends today. If I walk out of this door without an agreement, then it¡¯s war. But if you can agree to those terms, then I¡¯ll overlook your crimes against my family up to this point.¡± He smiles. ¡°I think you can agree my offer is extremely generous.¡± I examine him, trying to see the lie in his eyes. He¡¯s right. His terms are almost charitable in their leniency. I wouldn¡¯t forgive crimes against my family for so small a price. The smile fades, his lips pulling down into a t, serious line as he clenches his jaw. The muscle in his cheek twitches. ¡°And,¡± he adds after a moment. There it is. I knew it was too good to be true. I lift a brow at him. ¡°I knew this wasn¡¯t a selfless pursuit.¡± ¡°Never imed it was,¡± he quips back. ¡°What do you want?¡± Sharp, intense eyes pierce mine. Whatever it is he wants me to give him, he¡¯s ready to go to war for it. ¡°The woman in the gold dress.¡± I stiffen, my shoulders straining against my shirt. That¡¯s just about thest thing I expected him to say. His fists clench when he notes my reaction. ¡°What?¡± ¡°At Callum Tellier¡¯s g a couple months ago, there was a woman there in a gold dress. I saw her hug you.¡± His eyes glitter angrily in the most palpable disy of heated emotion I¡¯ve seen from him. ¡°I assume she¡¯s one of yours. I want her.¡± He leans forward and for the first time, I see the man behind the mask. Cunning, scheming eyes, determined set of his jaw, ruthless expression on his face. Thisis what he came here for. This is what he set out to achieve, to walk out of my office with. This is what victory looks like to him. It¡¯s not about a truce or an alliance. No, those are secondary objectives. This is about Valentina. The vehemence in his tone ispletely at odds with his previously easy going demeanor. rm bells go off at the way he speaks about my little sister. ¡°How do you know her?¡± He stands and stares down at where I¡¯m seated. ¡°That¡¯s not relevant, nor is it any of your concern. What is, is the fact that I want her and I will have her. Give her to me and you have my word that I¡¯ll help you find out what happened to your sister,¡± he announces. ??? Later, I¡¯m sitting alone at the bar beforeTantaopens for the night, trying to nurse my bad mood with a fifth ss of whiskey. No matter how much I drink, I can¡¯t make the images of my wife go away. They¡¯re engraved into the backs of my eyelids. Every time I blink, she¡¯s there. Tempting me, luring me to her. Hitting me like a goddamn earthquake and jumbling all the pieces inside me. My phone is in my other hand. I watch the blinking, unmoving dot that is her location. I¡¯ve been staring at it for hours. Meanwhile, I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t even spared a thought for me since I stalked out yesterday. I grunt angrily and bury my face back in my ss. ¡°What are you still doing here,jefe?¡± Arturo asks, walking up to the bar and sitting on a stool next to me. ¡°Drinking.¡± ¡°I can see that. Are you going to sleep here again tonight?¡± When I look over at him, he exins, ¡°Marco told me, although I could have guessed based on the shit mood you¡¯ve been in since yesterday.¡± ¡°Careful,¡± I warn. He snorts and waves at Sofia, the bartender, to pour him a drink and refill mine. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a certain blonde anxiously waiting for you to go home?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I clip, picking up my ss. The ice clinks loudly. Silence stretches as he takes a sip of his drink. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡± I twirl my ss haphazardly on its side, my eyes zing over. Alcohol loosens my tongue until I¡¯m doing my version of spilling my guts. Part of me feels like a frustrated teenager for being unable to resist talking about my girl troubles. ¡°We argued.¡± ¡°Because of her father?¡± I re at him. ¡°How the fuck is it that you seem to know everything all the time?¡± ¡°I overheard part of their conversation,¡± he admits. He turns his head towards me, looking into my eyes when he adds, ¡°He fired her, Thiago.¡± My blood turns to ice, my features ckening in fury. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°He told her she has until next Friday and then she¡¯s out.¡± To know Tess is to know that her job is the most important thing in the world to her. The fact that he could so easily fire her, that he even has the power to do so, sickens me. Rage churns in my gut on her behalf. No wonder she was that angry yesterday. She may have been arguing with me about important things to do with our rtionship, but that wasn¡¯t the underlying issue. Like a roaring beast, my protectiveness rises to the surface once more, called to action by this injustice against her. I won¡¯t let it stand. ¡°Call thewyer,¡± I ask Arturo. ¡°I want him here in the next thirty minutes.¡± Chapter 56 I¡¯m sick to my stomach. Where is he? It¡¯s been over twenty-four hours and he hasn¡¯te home. He hasn¡¯t texted or called. He hasn¡¯t given any signs of life whatsoever. It¡¯s just after eleven pm now and he still hasn¡¯t returned. What if¡­what if he neveres back? ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± What did he mean by that? Did he¡­was he really saying he was done with me? Withus? It¡¯s wing at my insides not knowing if he truly meant those words. If we¡¯re over. A sob rolls unbidden up my throat at the thought. I took it too far yesterday, I know I did. I was so angry and hurt. By him, yes, but mostly by my father. I took years of resentment at feeling inferior out on Thiago instead of having a conversation and I regret it. I regret it so fucking much. If he just came home, I could tell him that. I could apologize. I¡¯m not too proud to admit when I¡¯ve been an asshole. Being in this big house without him is a miserable experience. Last night was the worst night of sleep of my life. I kept jerking awake at the smallest noise, hoping that it was the sound of his key turning in the lock or his footstepsing up the stairs that had awoken me. And every single time when I realized it was nothing, that I was alone in our massive, cold, empty bed, I dropped dejectedly back onto his pillow, sniffing for traces of his scent like a crazy person to try and imprint his smell into my senses. When sleep wouldn¡¯te, I stared up at the ceiling for hours, tears silently falling off the sides of my face. I can¡¯t believe that I used to wish for this. For separate lives and never seeing him. I¡¯ve had a taste of it for a day and I¡¯ve hated every single moment of it, so much so that I couldn¡¯t go to work. Couldn¡¯t focus on anything but those all-consuming thoughts, the distress making it impossible for me to eat anything. The only thing I¡¯d been able to do was start to look at the financial files Thiago had given me. There were thousands of pages over years but I focused first on the past year and a half, the key timeframe when the cartel had expanded to the UK. I¡¯ll need a lot more time to review the paperwork and understand the whole story, but patterns are starting to emerge. Pieces that indicate there¡¯s indeed someone embezzling from thepany. The picture ising together little by little and I hope that with a bit more time, I¡¯ll be able to go to Thiago with my findings. If I do have more time, that is. If he¡¯s still interested in keeping me. Violent nausea twists my stomach when I let my mind roam to thoughts of where he could have spentst night and ofwhohe might have spent it with. I run to the bathroom and fall to my knees, dry heaving painfully into the toilet as I clutch the bowl for both physical and emotional support. Could he have cheated on me? A painful pang stabs my belly once more. I¡¯d have no one to me but myself if he did. But, God, I really,reallyhope he didn¡¯t. It would destroy me to hear he¡¯s been with another woman. I¡¯m disgusted by the mere thought of another man touching me and I¡¯d hope he would feel the same, but I just don¡¯t know. He wassoangry when he left. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± My stomach churns at the painful memory, but another emotion pokes out from behind it. It starts out small, then progressively grows until it steels my spine. Stubbornness. Determination. What am I doing here, just waiting for him to maybee home? He¡¯s notallowedto be done with me, actually. I won¡¯t let him. He¡¯s the one who married me, he has to own that decision until the very end. I¡¯m not going to wait and see if he makes the decision I want him to tonight, if he chooses to continue things with me. Our story started with him chasing me down and it¡¯s my turn to go after him now. I¡¯m going to find him myself and bring him back. And just like he did with me, I won¡¯t be giving him a choice. I press a number in my contacts and bring my phone up to my ear. ¡°Where is he?¡± I ask. A relieved sighes through the line. ¡°It¡¯s about time you called. He¡¯s atTanta,¡± Arturo answers, rattling off the address without hesitation. I think I hear the hint of a smile in his voice. It¡¯s more pronounced when he adds, ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve made your decision.¡± ??? When I arrive atTantaless than thirty minutester, Arturo is waiting for me outside the club. ¡°Did you take a taxi here?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He groans. ¡°He¡¯s going to have mycojonesfor that. Maybe don¡¯t mention it to him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still here?¡± ¡°In his office. I¡¯ll take you to him.¡± I follow him inside, the noise of the club immediately overwhelming me. It¡¯s almost midnight now and the party is raging. There are girls everywhere, every one of them more beautiful than the next. My belly flips in anxious agony. We climb a set of stairs and head towards the back of the building where Arturo points to an unmarked thick ck door. ¡°He¡¯s in there.¡± ¡°Did you tell him I wasing?¡± He shakes his head. Uncertainty fills me, making my heart race. I¡¯m afraid of what I¡¯ll find on the other side of that door. ¡°Is he¨C¡± My words die in my throat. ¡°Is he alone?¡± The corner of his mouth lifts. ¡°Open the door and find out.¡± Completely unhelpful. I take a deep breath, my palm closing around the handle. The breath gets caught in my chest as I press the door open and walk in. Thiago is sitting at his desk. He¡¯s leaning back in his chair, his head resting against the seat, his eyes closed. His chest rises and falls rhythmically as if he¡¯s sleeping. I¡¯d say he looks almost peaceful except his brows are furrowed like he¡¯s being haunted by nightmares. And he¡¯s alone. A tidal wave of relief consumes me, one so powerful that my knees almost give in. Emotion lodges itself thickly in my throat. He¡¯salone. His eyes open slowly at the sound of the door utching. They visibly dte when he finds me standing in his doorway. The emotion in his gaze is indecipherable. I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s d, annoyed, or angry to see me, but there are unhappy lines around his mouth that open up a gaping hole in my chest. Even still, the electricity between us is tantalizing. He stares silently, his eyes boring so intently into mine that they raise my body temperature. I feel hot and flush. Weak-kneed and shaky. Worse, unsure. I hate this. Unfastening first the belt of my jacket, then the buttons, I shuck my trench coat off and toss it on the couch to my left, getting immediate relief from the air circting in the room. His nostrils re and his jaw grinds together when he takes in what I¡¯m wearing. I¡¯m in a matching pink pajama set consisting of tiny silk shorts and a strappy top, paired with low rise Ugg boots. I¡¯m hardly in leaving-the-house appropriate attire ¡ª let alone in going-to-a-club appropriate attire ¡ª but I ran out of our home without bothering to change, grabbing my keys and coat and nothing else. I walk up to Thiago¡¯s desk with my heart in my throat. He licks his lips predatorily as he watches me approach but says nothing. His silence is so much worse than any recording my father could ever y for me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I offer candidly. When I lift my gaze to meet his, I find gleaming eyes fixed on my face. Gruff words tumble precariously from his lips. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For taking my anger out on you and for the terrible things I said yesterday.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it, any of it, and you didn¡¯t deserve it. You were right about everything. It doesn¡¯t matter to me what you said in that recording. You¡¯ve only treated me well since marrying me and that¡¯s what¡¯s important. Actions, not words.¡± My throat works with difficulty around the mass of emotion, but sincerity echoes in my voice. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± My pulse thrashes loudly in my ears as I wait for his reply. He doesn¡¯t make me wait long. ¡°Why did youe here?¡± he asks, low and uneven. I lift my chin. ¡°To bring you home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you want?¡± he demands roughly. I nod. ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend another night in our bed without you.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Because it was a miserable experience. Because I love you. ¡°You take up so much room, you¡¯d think I¡¯d sleep like a baby without you there, but¡­ everything waswrong. The sheets were too tight. The bed too big. And I was so cold, no matter how many nkets I wrapped myself in. I hated being in that bed without you. Wherever you sleptst night, I¡¯ll be burning that mattress like you burned the one in the guest room.¡± I pause, my lips twitching with emotion. I shake my head. ¡°And just like you came after me once, it¡¯s my turn to do the same and bring you home.¡± He rakes his gaze slowly down my body before lifting heated eyes back up to mine. ¡°Dressed like that?¡± I look at my long, bare legs and haphazardly buttoned top. My cheeks flush. ¡°It¡¯ste, I was ready for bed but waiting up for you. When it became clear that you weren¡¯t nning oning home tonight, I left.¡± I lift a helpless shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about changing. All I cared about was finding you,¡± I admit. He burns me up with his stare, but his gaze gives nothing away beyond that, making my anxiety soar.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. Silence stretches for long moments before there¡¯s a knock at the door. ¡°Come in,¡± Thiago orders brusquely. I look away, dismayed that he¡¯d let someone interrupt us before saying something. He must still be furious with me to draw out my torture like this. Joaqu¨ªn walks in carrying a brown man envelope and stops when he sees me standing there. He takes quick note of my attire, orck thereof, and looks hastily up at the ceiling. ¡°Jefe, thewyer just dropped off the documents you asked for,¡± he says, handing him the envelope. Thiago takes it and my stomach hits the floor. Awyer? Documents he wanted? And at this hour? Surely that can¡¯t be what I think it is¡­ Not after one silly argument. It must be cartel-rted business. ¡°Thanks, you can go.¡± As Joaqu¨ªn closes the door behind him, Thiago slides his arm to the side and extends the man envelope towards me. ¡°These are for you,¡± he says. My fingers close around the documents and my heart cracks in half. Like the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, the impact fractures the surface of the needy organ, splitting it beyond repair. I¡¯m surprised he doesn¡¯t hear it rupture when the sound echoes so resoundingly in my own ears. If this envelope contains what I think it does, then this is the end. ¡°Are these divorce papers?¡± I whisper, my voice so small it¡¯s barely audible. Thiago¡¯s face darkens violently, as if a supercell thunderstorm takes over his features and ckens them entirely. He stands, slowly unfolding himself to his full, towering height. There¡¯s absolutely no trace of humor in his voice when he speaks, only a lethal edge. ¡°Are you hoping that¡¯s what I just gave you?¡± ¡°No!¡± I shake my head vehemently. ¡°That¡¯s not what I want at all, but you spoke to awyer thiste, so¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± A satisfied look gleams in his eye at my response. A small glimmer of hope flickers to life in my chest. ¡°Open it,¡± he orders. Turning the envelope over, I reach inside. I take out a stack of documents about a quarter of an inch thick. I read the first line of the top page and my eyes fly up to Thiago¡¯s in shock. The corner of his lips stretches into a smug grin and he tips his chin at me to keep reading. So I do. I read the entire topsheet before I look at him again. ¡°What¡ª what is this, Thiago?¡± He starts making his way around his desk. Every step that takes him closer to me steals breath from my chest until I¡¯m finding it hard to ess any oxygen at all. ¡°When your father couldn¡¯t repay his twenty million pound debt within the allotted thirty days I gave him, he started owing me significant interest for every extra day he took beyond the deadline.¡± He nods at the documents. ¡°What you have in your hands is what he used to pay off said interest. Five board seats for the Noble Group.¡± I gape at him, my mouth on the floor. ¡°He gave these to you?¡± ¡°He was happy to part with them when presented with the choice of them or his life.¡± ¡°But these are in my name,¡± I say, looking down at the topsheet held in my shaking hands then back up at him. ¡°You¡¯re giving them to me?¡± Thiagoes to a stop before me, hisrge form towering over me. Heated, possessive eyes burn into the side of my face, lighting mes of arousal in my belly. ¡°It¡¯s yourpany. I¡¯m simply giving you what rightfully belongs to you. What your father should have given you himself,¡± he adds with a dangerous growl. ¡°Arturo overheard him firing you. He has no right to take the thing you care about the most away from you and I certainly wasn¡¯t about to let that happen while I stood idly by and did nothing. I believe that these five seats, coupled with the two you and Tristan already have should give you the majority. With these, you can do more than keep your job; you can oust him and be CEO.¡± Hisrge hand closes around mine, calming the trembling that makes the pages shake. Warmth bursts to life where he touches me and spreads throughout my entire body. My eyes lift back to his but I find that his gaze is fixed determinedly on the pages in my hand. ¡°But I¡¯m also giving them to you for a selfish reason. You were right ¨C you didn¡¯t get to make a choice. Your father forced you and then I forced you. These give you the autonomy and financial freedom to choose for yourself ¡ª stay with me or leave me.¡± He stares at the documents for a long time before his eyes slide up to mine, full of raw vulnerability and yearning. I don¡¯t think this is a side of him he lets anybody else see. His hand moves up my arm and to my face where he cups my cheek. I tilt my head and press into hisrge hand. ¡°Stay,¡± he whispers, the word caught somewhere between a plea and a prayer. ¡°I want you to stay.¡± I blink and a thick tear crests past my waterline and falls down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb. rm edges his tone. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± The maelstrom of emotions is overwhelming. I¡¯d walked in so worried and scared for our future together, only to find that he had once again been working to protect me. ¡°Yesterday¡­you said you were done,¡± I say, my voice breaking as more tears slip down my face. ¡°Done?¡± Thiago¡¯s face softens but his voice takes on an upromising edge. ¡°I was done arguing that specific topic, but I willneverbe done with you. Get that through your head.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯te home after I¨C after I told you to go to udia. I wondered if¡­¡± I trail off, incapable of even saying the words out loud. ¡°Amor,¡± he growls, gripping my face tightly between his hands. ¡°I slept on the couch behind youst night. You¡¯re the only woman I¡¯ve slept with in years. The only woman I think about all day long and want to bury myself inside the second Ie home. Why would I ever go to anyone else?¡± ¡°Because I was stupid and pushed you away.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t stupid. We had a fight and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have many more. I¡¯m sorry too, for making you think for one second that you weren¡¯t exactly who I wanted.¡± He brushes the hair gently away from my face. ¡°But you were wrong. I wasing home to you tonight and I was nning on doing whatever it took to make you see the error of your ways. All I was waiting for was the documents to be notarized over to you. You beat me to it bying to find me, but I couldn¡¯t have stayed away another night either.¡± His hand tightens on the side of my neck. ¡°And you,ing here, looking for me?imingme?¡± he murmurs throatily. ¡°You have no idea. If I could cut myself up and show you how frantically my thoughts race for you, how madly my blood runs for you, how desperately my heart beats for you, it would scare you to fucking death.¡± A bubble of relief bursts past my lips when his mouthes down and covers mine. The kiss is hard and desperate and full of deep longing. He ims my body with greedy fingers and rough caresses, his mouth moving over mine with a famished kind of hunger that takes my breath away. He¡¯s gentle at first, but then his grip turns bruising and possessive. He rips his lips off mine, breaking away from me to catch his breath and leaving me with lips swollen from his attack. His chest rises and falls jaggedly, but that¡¯s not what captures my attention. It¡¯s the expression in his eye. He looks at me like he physically needs more, like not having his lips on mine causes him bodily pain. ¡°What do you choose?¡± he asks, voice roughened by lust. Hard breaths fan across my lips. ¡°I should warn you that if you decide to leave me it doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t follow. I¡¯m giving you a choice when I don¡¯t have one, because I can¡¯t live without you.¡± My armse around his neck and I pull him down to me, finding his mouth with mine and kissing him with all the emotion held in my soul. He groans as he pulls me closer, trapping me against his body with rough hands. It¡¯s only been twenty four hours, but I¡¯ve missed him terribly. Being back in his arms feels like being anchored back at home after a night out on stormy seas. I don¡¯t want to be anywhere else. ¡°I don¡¯t need documents, I made my choice a long time ago,¡± I breathe. ¡°I¡¯m never leaving you.¡± Golden eyes sh, his pupils dted to the size of quarters. ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Thiago ms his mouth savagely down on mine, pushing me roughly back against his desk. He grabs my ass and hoists me into his arms. Our mouths are level now and he uses that new angle to deepen our kiss. My pussy rubs lewdly against his hard length until we¡¯re both making obscene sounds of pleasure. His hand closes around the front of my throat and squeezes, applying pressure to separate us. ¡°Remember what I told you would happen if you ever brought up divorce again?¡± I shake my head even though I do remember. His voice turns honeyed as he whispers the words against the shell of my ear. ¡°That I would whip your ass.¡± I moan in response and his hand tightens around my throat. ¡°Do you think you deserve to be punished?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± He releases me and I slide slowly down his body until my feet touch the floor. ¡°Bend over my desk and show me where you want me to punish you.¡± Chapter 57 Pulsing need shoots straight to my pussy at his sultry order. I turn around and grab my shorts, shimmying them down my hips and stepping out of them as requested. Thiago presses suddenly against my back, his hand wrapping around my throat from behind. His lips find my ear. ¡°Those shorts,amor,¡± he growls. ¡°Never wear them out of the house again.¡± I nod wordlessly, my skin burning up, and he takes a step back. My pantiese off next as I hear him walk to the door and lock it. When he turns back towards me, I¡¯m already syed across his desk with my ass on disy for him. He groans loudly as he walks back up to me. ¡°So pretty and so obedient.¡± A reverent handes down to gently caress my bare skin. ¡°I won¡¯t use my belt today. I need to feel this ass heating beneath my palm.¡± And then he pulls back and a vicious pes down on my right cheek. I jerk forward, my hips hitting the edge of the desk and adding to the delicious pain. He bunches my strappy top high on my back and licks a sloppy line from my ass and up my spine as his handes down once more, this time on the other cheek. I moan loudly, the cool air brushing against the wet spot on my back and making me shiver. He yanks my cor and tugs it down, then sinks his teeth into the skin where my neck meets my shoulder, this time pping my ass three times in sharp session. Between the attentions of his mouth and the pain of his palm on my skin, I¡¯m near delirious with lust. ¡°Never mention divorce again,¡± he warns. ¡°I won¡¯t be so forgiving next time.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± I gasp, trying to catch my breath. ¡°I thought that¡¯s what you wanted.¡± Thiago cups my nape and pins me against the desk, keeping me from arching upwards every time he spanks me. His handes down time and time again, alternating between savage hits and greedy caresses of his fingers digging into my reddened skin. Tears sting the corners of my eyes at the same time as arousal coils tightly in my belly. I¡¯m soaking wet and desperate for him to fuck me. ¡°If someone held a gun to my head and had me choose between death or divorcing you, I¡¯d reach up and pull the trigger myself,¡± he replies gutturally. He flips me over and sits me on his desk. I flinch when my burning ass makes contact with the cold surface but he yanks me mercilessly to the edge, positioning himself between my parted legs. Grabbing my top with both hands, he tears it off me and sends the buttons flying. I reach for him as his lipse down on my breasts, sucking my hard nipples frenziedly into his mouth. I groan as I arch into him and he fumbles blindly with the button of his trousers like an excited teen. He gets them opened and pushes them past his ass and then his cock is pressing against my entrance and he shoves in to the hilt. A shocked breath expels from my lungs at the savageness of his thrust. My nails dig into his back as I hold on for dear life. He fucks me dementedly. It¡¯s hard and desperate. Angry and possessive. Rough and uncaring. And totally,pletely, soul-destroying. His hands are everywhere as his cock moves in and out of me, iming my pussy with vicious thrusts. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and when his lips close around my pulse point, I fall apart. Ie loudly and liberally, grinding my clit against his pelvis as I hold him against me. ¡°I love it when you scream for me,amor,¡± he grunts against my throat. He keeps fucking me through my orgasm, lifting me into his arms and walking me around to the other side of the desk. He¡¯s so strong that he bounces me up and down his length as he walks, impaling me so deeply on his cock that he reaches a ce he never has before. He lifts me off his cock and flips me over his desk, driving back inside me from behind with a feverish groan. I hear the sound of a drawer opening followed by rustling around and then my cheeks part and a wet finger presses against my ring of muscles. ¡°Time for me to im all of you,¡± he announces. I stiffen and a keening cry leaves my lips when he pushes in, sliding his finger in to the hilt. There¡¯s a bite of pain, but the main sensation is fullness. He starts thrusting his finger in tandem with his cock in my pussy. My eyes roll back into my head at the overwhelming feeling of being taken in both holes. I feel the loss when he pulls out but gasp loudly when he pushes his finger in my pussy next to his cock, stretching me beyond my limit. ¡°Mhmm¡­you¡¯re soaking wet,amor. Do you like the idea of getting your ass fucked?¡± I moan incoherently, unable to provide a more articte response when he pushes back into my ass with two fingers this time. Meanwhile, his cock continues its furious rhythm. He ms inside me, making my torso move up and down repeatedly and abrading my taut nipples against the rough surface of his desk. He scissors his fingers, stretching me indecently and I almoste again. I didn¡¯t know it was possible to enjoy backdoor action but thebination of pain and pleasure from the way his fingers stroke up against my walls is overwhelming. ¡°You¡¯re ready,preciosa. You¡¯re squeezing the life out of my fingers.¡± Thiago pulls out of mepletely and then I feel his fingers back on my rim, rubbing a wet substance over the ring of muscles. I look over my shoulder and find him fisting his cock and covering it in vaseline. His gaze lifts to mine, the predatory, ravenous look in his eyes sending a shiver down my spine. He stares at me as he pumps up and down his shaft a few times, the obscene act sending fresh arousal pooling between my legs. Anticipation hums in my veins. ¡°Stay like that,¡± he orders, cing the thick head of his cock against my untried hole. My breath catches in my throat. ¡°Look back at me with those wide eyes as I sink into your virgin ass,amor.¡± ¡°Okay, baby,¡± I answer, right as he pushes in. He hisses at the affectionate nickname and the way my rim parts to let him in. My back bows and my muscles tighten at the pain of his intrusion, but I keep my eyes on him as requested. White hot heat fires into my ass as it tries to stretch to let him in, but he¡¯s so thick. The girth of his cock splits me open, the sensation nothing like taking his two fingers. He grabs my hips to keep me in ce, his hands rubbing soothing circles on my overheated skin. He pulls me back and pushes forward, forcing my muscles to bend to him and I cry out. Thiago¡¯s face is a picture of concentration and crumbling control. His brows are furrowed, his eyes intensely focused on where his cock attempts to gain entry, his teeth digging into his lower lip as he tries to hold back. He looks seconds away from losing it. ¡°I¡¯m almost there,amor. Rx and push out for me. Let me in.¡± He thrusts against my resistance and my mouth parts on a silent scream. My eyes turn half lidded and something gives way inside me. His gaze lifts to mine as the head of his cock breaches the tightness of my sphincter and slides into my ass. ¡°Oh, God,¡± I scream. A shiver racks down his whole body. His hands tighten brutally on my hips. His eyes never waver from mine, even as he groans loudly. ¡°Madre de Dios,¡± he mutters reverently. He slides in an inch, then another, and I throw my head back. He fists my hair and yanks my head to the side, forcing my gaze back to his. ¡°You keep your eyes on me,¡± he orders. ¡°You have no idea what you look like right now. If my cock wasn¡¯t already halfway up your ass, I¡¯d be shoving it down your throat for looking at me like that.¡± He grabs his phone and before I know it, he snaps a picture of me. He stares down at his screen with a savage smile, his other hand still on my hip and guiding his cock further inside me. ¡°I¡¯m going to start a photo album of you bent in all my favorite positions, taking me in all of your holes. This one is my favorite so far. I¡¯m going to fuck my hand staring at this photo of you for years toe.¡± I¡¯m delirious and can¡¯t respond. My body feels like it¡¯s breaking under his assault. Every inch that his cock ims of my ass sends a fresh wave of pain shooting up my spine and tingling into my skull. I feel stretched beyond the limit, one tiny move away from being torn to pieces. But lurking behind that pain lies unbelievable pleasure. It¡¯s a weird sensation, unlike anything I¡¯ve ever felt before. It feels taboo, but that¡¯s part of what¡¯s adding to it ¡ª the fact that we shouldn¡¯t be doing this, that dark desire fuels him to take my ass because he wants to own me entirely and in a way a person should never own another. I love it. Thiago parts my cheeks and looks down at where his cock is splitting me open. I follow his gaze and feel arousal gush from my pussy at the lewdness of seeing half of his dick buried inside me, the other half still working to gain entry. He stares unflinchingly into my eyes as he dribbles a line of spit directly onto my asshole, using his thumb to rub it into my taut, white rim. I whimper at the erotic sight, goosebumps erupting up the column of my spine. ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± he asks, voice rendered unrecognizable by thick, forbidden arousal. ¡°Do you like watching my cock take your ass?¡± I moan but he wraps a hand around my throat and jaw from behind and arches me further back towards him. ¡°Answer me. Do you want to see more?¡± He thrusts another inch savagely inside me and I cry out. ¡°Ask me to give you another inch.¡± ¡°Please,¡± I beg. ¡°Ask. Say ¡°please push another inch of your cock into my ass, husband¡±.¡± God, he¡¯s so dirty and obscene. He won¡¯t stop until he owns every single part of me. Every thought, every word, every action. ¡°Please push another inch of your cock into my ass, husband,¡± I repeat, voice broken by lust. Eyes gleam possessively on me and then I watch as he shifts his hips back slightly and powers forward until he buries the entirety of his cock into my ass. A loud scream rips from my lips and I go limp. His hand on my throat keeps me upright. He pulls me against his chest and his lips find the shell of my ear. ¡°I gave you three inches for the price of one. Now I¡¯m all the way inside you,¡± he whispers smugly, ownership ringing loudly in his tone. ¡°Say thank you.¡± ¡°T-thank you, baby.¡± A territorial growl rumbles in his chest. ¡°You¡¯re wee,amor.¡± He holds me against him, my back against his chest, and then he starts moving. Fuck, he startsmoving. At this angle, he¡¯s so deeply inside me it feels like he¡¯s in my throat. ¡°Do you feel me where no man has taken you? Where no other man ever will?¡± he demands darkly. ¡°Y-yes.¡± He pulls out gently until only the head of his cock remains in my ass. I feel his loss immediately, but not for long. He thrusts back inside brutally, sending me lifting onto my toes at his intrusion. ¡°Oh my God, Thiago.¡± ¡°Mhmm,¡± he hums, establishing a punishing rhythm as he starts to drill inside me. ¡°Such a good girl for taking me here. You feel so fucking good. I¡¯m going to be living inside this ass from now on, are you ready for that?¡± I shake my head and he chuckles darkly against my throat. He presses a iming kiss to the back of my neck and pounds savagely back inside me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you ready.¡± For long minutes, he holds me against him as he fucks my ass, taking his pleasure from my body and giving it back to me in the form of new, extreme sensations. The sounds he¡¯s making are unbelievable. They heat my skin and turn it electric, making the pain fadepletely away as I focus solely on them and the feeling of his ownership of me. They¡¯re primal, animalistic, and so deeply erotic they make me feel like I¡¯m on fire. His mouth is against my ear, his carnal groans falling right against my skin and making me lose my mind. If I thought he was noisy when he was in my pussy, that was nothingpared to this. I fear he¡¯s lost his sanity and he may never find it again. He fists my hair and yanks my head viciously back against his shoulder, the bite of pain mixing deliciously with every other sensation coursing riotously through my body. I look up into his darkened, feral eyes. ¡°Say you¡¯re mine,amor.¡± Thiago punctuates the order with deep thrusts into my ass. He uses his other hand to pull my cheek to the side, sliding his cock even further inside me than before. My eyes flutter close at the new stretch, unsure how I¡¯m ever going to be able to walk again. I wrap a hand back around him and dig my nails into his ass, using my hold to pull him closer to me so he can bottom all the way inside me.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. He releases my cheek and his handes to my throat where he squeezes violently. My eyes fly open at the suddenck of oxygen. ¡°Tell meyou¡¯re mine,¡± he repeats harshly. That¡¯s the easiest thing in the world for me to do. A smile stretches my lips even as my body thrashes from his assault. ¡°I¡¯m yours.¡± The dark satisfaction that erupts across his face should scare me, but it doesn¡¯t. Not anymore, not for a long time now. His hand leaves my throat and then I feel him push a finger in my ass next to his cock. My eyes widen and I choke out a surprised breath. ¡°Is this my ass?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Mercifully, he removes his finger and plunges it into my pussy next. He pumps into it a few times, the obscene, wet noises of his intrusion echoing around the room. ¡°Is this my pussy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± And then his finger is shoving past my lips and into my mouth. I taste myself on his digit and nearly pass out from the lewdness of the act. ¡°Is this my mouth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A feral growl rumbles in his chest and he bites my lobe. ¡°Good girl.¡± He pushes me down on his desk, grabs my hips with both hands and yanks me back to meet his thrusts. I scream and hold on to the table for dear life. ¡°Your ass issofucking tight. No matter how much I pound into it, every time I thrust forward I have to breach your walls and stretch them again.¡± He takes my arms and bends them behind me, pinning them together at the small of my back with his hand. ¡°But you¡¯re soaking wet for me, little wife. Your thighs are running with your juices. You love getting your ass fucked. I knew you would.¡± He reaches around my hips and his other hand finds my needy clit. When he takes three fingers and rubs over it, stars explode behind my eyes and Ie with a throat-ripping scream. I thrash against the desk, arching my back and unwittingly throwing my ass back at him as I ride the waves of the most powerful climax I¡¯ve ever had. Thiago smacks my ass painfully, extending the orgasm for long seconds that feel like they stretch into minutes. ¡°Fuck!¡± he screams, pping my pussy and driving me wild. ¡°Being inside your ass while you came was unbelievable. Your muscles squeezed me so hard you almost sucked the blood right out of my cock.¡± His fingers slide down and then three thrust into my soaking pussy. ¡°Do it again,¡± he orders. ¡°Ah, I c-can¡¯t. Oh my¡ª oh, fuck.¡± ¡°You can.¡± His fingers start pumping loudly inside me alongside his cock in my ass and I feel the need coiling in my stomach once more. I¡¯m so wet that he easily slides a fourth finger inside me, making my entire body shudder at the stretch. I¡¯ve never in my life been so full and the approaching orgasm scares me. It feels like I¡¯m climbing the highest mountain possible and the fall on the other side is going to tear me apart. He¡¯s uncaring of that, his fingers and his cock edging me blindly towards the cliff. My arms remain pinned at my back as his thrusts in my ass turnpletely manic. He¡¯s pounding inside me so hard that my teeth rattle. I¡¯m barely holding on, barely keeping a hold on my own sanity, barely even conscious at this point. And then his fingers curl inside me and start rubbing against the special spot in my pussy that¡¯s hyper sensitive. My entire body locks and I freeze. ck takes over my vision as I go temporarily blind. He drives to the hilt inside my ass until my cheeks are pressed against his pelvis to either side of his cock. My mouth falls on the ghost of a scream and everything breaks. The scream finally rips from my throat and the muscles of my ass mp on his cock and juices gush madly from my abused pussy as Ie ande ande. Thiago roars loudly from behind me, bottoming inside me as his own orgasm ims him. Hot cum bursts from his cock and shoots inside my used ass. It feels like it goes on for hours before he slumps over my body, trapping me on the desk beneath him with his cock still inside me. Wey there catching our breaths for a long time before he pushes back the hair from my face, revealing my eyes to him. He brushes kisses along my jaw and up the side of my face to my ear. ¡°If you¡¯re going to squirt every time I fuck you in both holes, then that¡¯s the only way I¡¯m going to take you from now on.¡± An erotic shiver flutters down my spine and I giggle breathily. Thiago presses gentle kisses along the line of my shoulder and to the back of my neck, his mouth reverent in its devotion to me. When he¡¯s caught his breath, he turns me over and scoops me into his arms. Mine wrap around his neck with ease and I look up at him from under myshes. He stares down at me like I¡¯m an addiction he has no hope of ever getting rid of, his eyes burning with fanatic adoration. ¡°You torment me, you know that right?¡± His arms tighten around me. ¡°You gue me. Youconsumeme. You have since that very first day. And now you¡¯repletely mine.¡± The smile he gives me lights my insides on fire, fueling the mes of my love for him that much higher. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,amor.¡± Chapter 58 Over the next few weeks, we settle into the happiest part of our marriage so far. Thiago works mostly from home so that when Ie home from the office, he¡¯s there to greet me. After some maneuvering and negotiations with other board members, Tristan and I sessfully ousted my father out of the CEO position. My brother was never interested in taking over the role so he breathed a major sigh of relief when I stepped in. It¡¯s been chaotic and hectic, the most grueling weeks of work I¡¯ve ever had because of the state my father left thepany in. It¡¯s also been thebestweeks of work. I¡¯m excited for the challenge ahead, for fixing the years of bad decision making and poor strategy with him at the helm. When I¡¯m not working, I¡¯m spending time with my husband. We still meet in the middle of the night for ice cream, although this time we go down to the kitchen together, holding hands and giggling like we¡¯re teenagers. He still ims not to like ice cream, but he downs half a pint every time I bring it out. I should specify that he likes to put it in my mouth first, then kiss me andp it into his own mouth with his tongue. He says it¡¯s just an excuse to kiss me, but he¡¯s still eating the ice cream, so it counts. He takes me on dates, to restaurants like he does to business dinners and events. I¡¯m turning into quite the mafia wife, something I never thought I¡¯d say even six months ago. I meet more of his allies and witness the burgeoning rtionship with Matteo Leone and his second-inmand and cousin, Enzo Leone. They¡¯re getting close to finding out what happened to Adriana. It¡¯s in the air, that feeling that they¡¯re closing in. I know that once Thiago has resolution on that front, once he can finally put her to rest and mourn her, a colossal weight will be lifted off his shoulders. Sometimes when we¡¯re together, I see his gaze turn faraway. He seems like he disconnects from the present and travels to another point in time, maybe to another reality altogether. I watch over him carefully, letting him go for those precious moments where he thinks about his sister. He alwayses back, always with a bemused expression on his face like he only noticed he was gone because hees abruptly back into his body. And I¡¯m always there with aforting touch and an encouraging word, ready to listen. The more he tells me, the more I¡¯m determined to help him. So I do in the only way I know how right now ¨C I pour over the hundreds, if not thousands, of documents he gave me. Adrenaline carries me through the hours upon hours of research. I¡¯m looking for patterns, for recurring payments made specifically to the list of vendors Thiago provided who said they hadn¡¯t been paid when there were clear transactions listed in the financial documents to the contrary. After weeks of work, I narrowed it down to a few dozen transactions I feltfortable ssifying as being shady for a variety of reasons. They were all made to vendors who either imed not to have been paid or whose services I couldn¡¯t trace. Some of them were also made on dates when I knew Thiago was out of the country because he¡¯d been in Rome looking for me. Finally, they were also all payments handled by one ountant. From the digging I¡¯d done, that man, Jorge Diaz, seemed to be based back in Colombia. That in it of itself was odd ¨C all of the cartel¡¯s UK finances went through London-based ountants. The fact that these transactions weren¡¯t was clear proof that they were dodgy in some way. I hadn¡¯t told Thiago about this discovery yet. I knew that the moment I did, he¡¯d take a ¡®kill first and ask questionster¡¯ approach which, while I¡¯m sure would be very effective, wouldn¡¯t give us the answers of who was behind this. The ountant was just the money mover, but someone else was calling the shots and putting this n into action. Someone close. Last night, Thiago told me that he was being called away from London this evening to meet with a new supplier. It¡¯s not the first time we¡¯ve been apart obviously, but it is the first time since we got married that he¡¯s traveling and isn¡¯t in the same city. I don¡¯t know why, but something about that gives me anxiety. I have no reason to be wary and yet the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end knowing he isn¡¯t immediately close by if I need him. To distract myself, I¡¯m pouring over those remaining documents to get to the bottom of who is behind all this. There has to be a trace somewhere, I refuse to believe whoever did this could cover their tracks entirely. I¡¯m on my third hour staring at this paperwork and I¡¯m starting to get cross eyed. Time for a well deserved break. I pick up my phone and head into the kitchen. It¡¯ste, so the staff has either gone home or to bed, leaving me alone for the night. My stomach rumbles loudly. My cooking abilities stretch about as far as making a semi-decent grilled cheese, so that¡¯s what I set out to make. I consider calling Thiago but then think better of it. He¡¯s probably in a meeting, working, and thest thing he needs is his wife bothering him. So I call the next best person. ¡°Hello, hot stuff,¡± Dagny answers, in a bra and nothing more. ¡°Oh God, there¡¯s a pan in your hand. What culinary atrocity are you about to unleash on that poor, unsuspecting husband of yours?¡± She pauses to think about it. ¡°Actually, I take that back. Give him food poisoning, he deserves it.¡± ¡°First of all, I¡¯ve cooked things for you in the past that you liked¨C¡± ¡°I was understudy for the lead role in my senior year y, believe me, I pulled on that experience to get me through.¡± ¡°Secondof all, he¡¯s not here. He¡¯s traveling for work.¡± ¡°Out shooting some more innocent bystanders perhaps?¡± Sheughs when she sees the look on my face. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, Tessie. They¡¯re so easy to make, it¡¯s hard for me to pass up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re entitled to a lifetime of jokes on the subject.¡± She snorts. ¡°You should have told me you were alone tonight, I would havee over for a sleepover.¡± I pause mid-flip of my grilled cheese and itnds on the counter. ¡°Wow, if I¡¯d recorded that you could have gone viral.¡± ¡°Is it toote for a sleepover?¡± Her face falls. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I wish I¡¯d known earlier. I have that bridal clienting to the store next week so I¡¯m prepping some initial designs for her to react to.¡± ¡°Send them to me when you¡¯re done, I¡¯d love to see them.¡± I pick the sandwich off the counter and take a bite. ¡°Delicious,¡± I say, sticking my tongue out at her. ¡°I will! Are you still going through the financial reports?¡± ¡°Slowly but surely.¡± ¡°Find anything good?¡± ¡°I think so. I just can¡¯t findwhoyet.¡± ¡°You will.¡± Her tone is easily confident. ¡°People get cocky and then they getzy, especially when they think they¡¯re getting away with it.¡± Something about her words makes me realize that I¡¯ve been narrow minded in my search. The answer isn¡¯t going to live solely in a financial report. I need to look where people are much more likely to mess up ¨C email. ¡°Dags, I¡¯ve got to go.¡± Her mouth ttens sympathetically. ¡°It¡¯s the grilled cheese isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Wha¨C no, it¡¯s not. You¡¯re the worst, goodbye,¡± I say with augh, hanging up. The sandwich long forgotten, I rush back into the living room where I¡¯d previously been sprawled on the floor with the documents all around me. I shuffle the papers around looking for Jorge Diaz¡¯s emails but remember I didn¡¯t print them out because there were hundreds, if not thousands. I open myputer and start pouring through them there. And then I find it. Lady luck shows up on my side tonight because it only takes me about fifteen minutes. It¡¯s an email to him confirming one of the payments I now know to be fraudulent. I¡¯m stunned into silence at the discovery. I can¡¯t believe that after all these weeks I¡¯ve finally found the evidence I¡¯ve been looking for. It feels both like a significant moment and also weirdly anticlimactic. It¡¯s only an email. Part of me had expected a dramatic reveal culminating in the traitor would be unmasked, not me sitting alone on my living room floor. When I see who authored the email and sent it, my blood runs cold in my veins. I can¡¯t believe it. I wouldn¡¯t if there wasn¡¯t proof in my hands written in his own words, confirming what he¡¯s done. This is a betrayal that¡¯ll rock Thiago to his core. Someone he trusted above almost any other. Someone who¡¯s been at our dining table, who we¡¯ve drank with, who¡¯s smiled in our faces while stabbing us in the back.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. My heart breaks at the perfidy of it all. This is going to change everything. I need to tell Thiago,now. All of a sudden, it doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s in a meeting or working. I can¡¯t hold on to this information without letting him know. If Thiago is with him, he could be in danger. ¡°Shit.¡± I curse out loud when I realize I left my phone in the kitchen. I run back there and find it where I left it on the counter when I hung up with Dagny. My screen is unlocked and my thumb is hovering over Thiago¡¯s name when someone reaches over my shoulder and snatches the phone right out of my hand. Fear ms into me. I didn¡¯t hear anyonee in. Didn¡¯t know I wasn¡¯t alone. It morphs quickly into dread when I turn ande face to face with dark, cruel eyes. How I ever thought this man was trustworthy is beyond me. Staring into his eyes now, I see him for the ruthless, remorseless traitor that he is. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Me.¡± He says it almost arrogantly, like he¡¯s proud of what he¡¯s done. I don¡¯t have to wonder how he got in here, he has the keys. Thiago never considered the threat might be quite this close to home, and neither did I. ¡°Give me back my phone.¡± He grins, sharp teeth on disy. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that. Can¡¯t have you telling your husband what you¡¯ve discovered. You really should have kept out of this and minded your own fucking business.¡± He looks down as he pockets my phone before his gaze lifts icily back up to mine. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to have to deal with you.¡± The dread moves up my chest and to my throat where it cuts off my air supply. ¡°Thiago will kill you.¡± Heughs. ¡°He won¡¯t know it was me.¡± He ms his fist into the side of my face and I crumple to the ground. Thest thing I see before I pass out are his ck shoes nearing my face. Chapter 59 ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯te to the phone right now, but if you leave me a mess¨C¡± Frowning, I hang up the phone without leaving a voicemail. That¡¯s the fifth time I¡¯ve tried calling Tess tonight with no response from her. I¡¯m in the car on my way back to London. The new supplier I was supposed to meet with tonight never showed, the number I was given to reach him disconnected when I tried to call. My lieutenants who are usually always by my side are both gone tonight ¡ª Marco had surgery to remove problematic scar tissue from an old bullet wound and Arturo was called unexpectedly away for an emergency with his daughter ¡ª so I can¡¯t ask them to look into the supplier. It would be surprising not to talk to Tess even on a normal night, but something about the coincidence that I would be stood up on the same night that I can¡¯t reach her doesn¡¯t sit right with me. Years of experience have the back of my neck tingling, telling me that something isn¡¯t right here. Instinct tells me I was lured away tonight. For what purpose, I can¡¯t tell. The more I can¡¯t get through to Tess, the antsier I get. The stronger the tingling in my neck gets, until it¡¯s a full on buzzing. When I try calling a sixth time and she doesn¡¯t answer, I consider lobbing my phone out of the window. It¡¯s only the fact that she would have no way to reach me that keeps me from doing so. ¡°How far away are we?¡± I ask my driver. ¡°Thirty minutes,jefe.¡± I¡¯m going to turn the back of the Rolls into my personal rage room and destroy it in that time. ¡°Drive fucking faster,¡± I snarl. I unlock my phone and call Dagny. ¡°Well, well, well,¡± she answers mockingly. ¡°This is a surprise. Dare I dream that you¡¯re calling to generously offer to pay for my floor bill? Or is this some sort of courtesy call before you shoot me again?¡± I cut straight to the point. ¡°I can¡¯t reach Tess. I¡¯ve tried calling six times.¡± She sobers instantly, immediately understanding the serious tenor of my voice. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get through and call you right back.¡± My phone rings thirty secondster and my stomach plummets. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t answer.¡± My jaw works back and forth silently. Maybe she doesn¡¯t have her phone on her. Or maybe¡­ Dagny reads my mind. ¡°She didn¡¯t run.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Well, apart from the fact that she¡¯s in lo¨C¡± She starts coughing violently. ¡°Sorry, something in my throat.¡± She clears it once more, then starts again. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t leave you. You know she wouldn¡¯t.¡± She¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think Tesswouldleave me. But her leaving me would be preferable to the only other option her silence could mean ¨C that something happened to her. ¡°I spoke to her earlier tonight when she was cooking,¡± Dagny continues. I groan loudly and sheughs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she was just making grilled cheese.¡± ¡°And she was fine?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡­¡± Her voice trails off suddenly. My hand tightens around the phone. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°She was looking into the embezzlement. We were talking about it and then she abruptly said she had to go. She sounded like she had an idea of where to look¡­ Maybe she found something?¡± ¡°She would have called me if she did.¡± ¡°Not if¡­¡± Dagny doesn¡¯t finish her sentence. She doesn¡¯t need to. Not if something happened to her. That possibility chills the blood in my veins. After I hang up, I find myself praying for the first time in years. Praying that she left her phone in the other room and that I¡¯m going to find her in her favorite spot on the living room couch, reading a book, lost to the outside world. Praying that I didn¡¯t put her in danger by letting her help me while leaving her vulnerable tonight.Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Praying that she¡¯s alright, that those big blue eyes will lift to mine and smile at me when I walk in. But when I burst through the doors of our home, I already know that she¡¯s not here. I can feel it. The air is too still. The silence too quiet. The walls too stiff, like they witnessed something they¡¯re desperate to confess to. ¡°Tess!¡± I scream her name, going from room to room, searching for her, refusing to believe what I know deep in my core to be true. My desperation grows with every empty room I find until it feels like my heart is going to crawl out of my throat and fall lifelessly at my feet. There are traces of her everywhere. An openptop on the living room floor. A dirty pan in the sink. A half eaten grilled cheese on a te. Her phone on the counter. Dread wraps its tentacled fingers around my lungs and squeezes. I pick up the phone and the screenes to life, reflecting a picture of us back to me. It¡¯s a selfie we tookst week; my forearm is wrapped around her shoulders, my lips pressed into her hair. She¡¯s midugh, giggling at something I said. I can¡¯t remember what it was. Seven missed call notifications sit just above her face. Rage mes to life in my belly. Someone took her. I have to fight my own body to get through the haze of fury and adrenaline that sweeps over my body, murdering the rational part of my brain. Think. If she¡¯s wearing her ne, I can track her. Sometimes she takes it off for bed. I send up prayers begging for her to still have it on. I click the security app on my phone and the dot immediately beeps to life, bringing with it a small measure of relief. Until I see where she is. In the very same underground bomb shelter I took her to the night I killed Augusto Leone. There¡¯s no way she would have gone there by herself, not only because she¡¯d have no way of remembering exactly where it was, but also because she has no reason to go. And the only people who know about it and are still alive to discuss it are cartel members. Dagny was right, she must have found the mole. My breathing is uneven, my heart arrhythmic. I don¡¯t know how long she¡¯s been there, how long they¡¯ve had her, if I¡¯m toote¨C No, I can¡¯t let myself think that. She¡¯s okay, she has to be. I run blindly for the car, desperate to get to her, but herptop on the living room floor stops me. There are papers strewn every which way around it. I tap the mousepad and the screenes to life. There¡¯s a password, but I know it. RockyRoad21 The day we first met in the kitchen for ice cream. Multiple windows pop up, but the top one is a historical email from a batch of files I sent her. From what I can tell, it¡¯s an approval for a wire transfer. The vendor is one I recognize ¨C they were among those who told me they hadn¡¯t been paid. But when I see who signs the email, who authorizes the payment, who Tess discovered had betrayed me, my blood goes from chilled to frozen. It¡¯s a name I know well. A betrayal that stabs a knife deep in my back. Chapter 60 As I make my way through the twisting hallways of the underground bomb shelter, I discover the depth of the betrayal. Half a dozen cartel members cross my path as I follow the blinking dot to Tess¡¯s location. They seem surprised to see me. I kill them all. Without a second¡¯s hesitation, they each get a bullet to the head or the heart. No thought, no emotion. Just death. They swore undying loyalty to me and broke that blood oath. Their deaths are meaningless, just like their lives were. I don¡¯t mourn them as I step over their bodies and I forget them the second I leave them behind me. The gunshots announce my presence, my furious, explosive arrival, as I get closer and closer to her location. You want the advantage of surprise in warfare, but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m too far gone to consider my own safety when I know Tess was taken by people she trusted only because I did. One more corner and I¡¯ll be at her position. I turn it and cross the threshold into therge room where we once held Leone, my gun arm raised before me. My heartes to a terrified, abrupt stop. Tess is on her knees, her hands tied behind her back. Her head is bowed and her hair hangs limply around her shoulders. Her mouth is taped shut. There¡¯s arge emerging bruise on her temple. Marco looms above her, pointing a gun down at her head. Marco, who I¡¯d protected and elevated through the ranks. Who I¡¯d turned to for advice and relied on as a partner thisst year and a half. Who I considered as close to a brother as I could. He¡¯s who betrays me. And yet, I barely throw him a nce, because Tess is there and she¡¯s hurt. Nothing else matters. She lifts her face and I see dried tears on her cheeks. Her eyes are hollow and scared, but they re when they see me. Not with hope, with fear for me. Emotion crushes my windpipe. My heartbeat thrashes resoundingly in my ears, deafening me with its franticthump,thump,thump. When I see that gun pointed at her, I know what it is to die. A part of me shrivels up and withers away like ash in the wind. I struggle to catch my breath, my entire body in outright revolt at witnessing the love of my life at the mercy of another. I look away. I can¡¯t look at her. Not without losing all focus, all objectivity. All ability to get us out of this. ¡°You okay,amor?¡± I ask carefully, as I move around the perimeter and further into the room. I keep my gaze and gun locked firmly on Marco. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her nod. Tears appear in her eyes and y me alive. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I whisper reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m taking you home soon.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on that,¡± Marco says with a cruelugh. ¡°Toss the gun aside,¡± he orders, waving his weapon closer to Tess. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± I agree, holding my hand up in capittion. I lower the gun carefully to the floor then kick it to the side and stand, lifting my newly freed hand to join the first. I track Marco¡¯s gun warily, not liking his twitchiness one bit.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°How did you find us?¡± he demands angrily. I can tell he didn¡¯t expect me to show up here, especially not this quickly. I lower my hands. ¡°There¡¯s a tracker on her.¡± His head falls back, his eyes closing in eptance. ¡°I should have thought of that.¡± My jaw ms violently shut. ¡°You should have thought about a lot of things.¡± My hands clench into tight fists. It takes everything in me not to fly across the room and beat him to death. ¡°It was you. You¡¯ve been stealing from me. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been selling our shipment information to rival organizations.¡± A proud rictus twists the features of his face. ¡°Took you long enough to figure it out.¡± ¡°How long?¡± He grins. ¡°It¡¯s been happening under your nose since we came to London and you¡¯re just now figuring it out. Not so smart, not so mighty, are you,Diablo?¡± So he¡¯d been stealing from me from the very beginning. He was right, I should have seen it earlier. But I¡¯d been distracted. By expanding the business, by Adriana¡¯s murder, and then by Tess. My eyes drift over to her the second her name crosses my mind and I find her trembling. The expression on her face is indescribable. It tugs viciously at my core. I rip my gaze away from her with difficulty. ¡°Why?¡± He scoffs. ¡°Money and power, why else? I never believed you were the right person to run this organization. And why should it be you? Just because you¡¯re a da Silva son?¡± He shakes his head in mockery of me. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were the right man for the job and, as it turns out, a lot of your crew agreed.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find the bodies of those who agree with you littering the hallway.¡± ¡°You think that was it?¡± He grins again and I hear footsteps from behind me. I turn to find three more of my mening into the room. ¡°I had a good number of your crew in full mutiny of you. I could have kept going until I overthrew you if it wasn¡¯t for this bitch right here,¡± he sneers, pressing the gun against Tess¡¯s temple. Her eyes widen horrifically. I take a violent step forward when his gaze cuts back to me. ¡°Take anotherfuckingstep and I¡¯ll blow her brains out.¡± My handse up defensively, my frantic eyes locked on where the barrel touches her perfect skin. Breathing is impossible, brain function even more so. ¡°I won¡¯t move,¡± I promise. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her.¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t the first bitch who couldn¡¯t mind her own business.¡± His lip curls up contemptuously. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her like I dealt with Adriana.¡± The room goes unearthly quiet. Tess stiffens, her body mirroring mine, and then she turns her face slowly up towards him. Even from where I¡¯m standing, I can see her eyes glowering at him, skewering him alive. A deathly unease washes over my body as his words permeate. Swift disbelief hits me next. ¡°What the fuck did you just say?¡± Heughs callously. Unfeelingly. ¡°You were so focused on the Italians, you never stopped to wonder if the threat could be closer to home. I was lucky, it distracted you.¡± He pops open the magazine of his gun and starts removing bullets. ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong, itwasthem. But it was me as well. When you were given the greenlight to expand the cartel, I knew that was my chance to undercut you. So I came to London and I met with Ro Leone and his guards. They brought their Armenianpdog with them, Dadurian. We were discussing a deal wherein I¡¯d guarantee the cartel would be brought here, that I would siphon money and confidential information to them for a couple of years and in return, when the time was right, they¡¯d help me lead the insurrection against you and put me in your ce.¡± A red haze throttles my vision and takes over my motor control. I feel minutes away from losing it entirely, but the puzzle is finallying together. ¡°How does Adrianae into y?¡± One by one the bulletse out until there¡¯s only one remaining in the magazine. He rolls it close with a decided snap. A stab of apprehensiveness prates my spine. I ask questions to keep him talking so he doesn¡¯t point his gun back at Tess. ¡°She overheard us. Call it bad luck, call it fate, I don¡¯t know what it was, but that night she happened to be atFirenzeand she saw me. She followed me and listened in on our conversation. She confronted me and said she was going to tell you everything. We had to get rid of her.¡± The final piece of the puzzle slots in and I finally realize how blind I¡¯ve been. He¡¯s the one who tortured the so-called ¡®confession¡¯ out of Dadurian. He¡¯s the one who miraculously kidnapped Augusto Leone when no one else could. The only way he could have done that is if Leone trusted him enough to let his guard partially down around him. He¡¯d yed us all. I should have seen it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Augusto rat you out when he realized he was going to die?¡± ¡°He knew. He wasn¡¯t at that meeting Adriana overheard, but he sent Ro in his ce. And when Ro was killed, well, it was easy to threaten Augusto with the life of his only remaining son if he said anything. So he provoked you into killing him.¡± ¡°Are you the one who killed Ro?¡± It¡¯s the one Italian death I¡¯m not responsible for. I¡¯ve wondered since learning of his death who could have been behind it. Who could have motive. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no shortage of options; the man made sadists look like harmless kindergarteners. Marco frowns, the first emotion other than sheer arrogance and glee that crosses his face since he started his monologue. ¡°No, I have no idea who killed him.¡± Bizarrely, I believe him. ¡°Was Matteo involved?¡± How wrong had I been? Had my gut instincts betrayed me so much that I¡¯d let another viper into the nest? ¡°No, he knew nothing about it. He was only a second son, he didn¡¯t need to be involved.¡± I breathe the smallest sigh of relief. It dies a quick death when Marco points the gun at Tess¡¯s head once more. A cruel, emotionless smile contorts his mouth. Her eyes flutter close. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± I shout. He turns his head slowly towards me. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of Russian Roulette?¡± I hear a sob roll up Tess¡¯s throat. It finds no outlet. A tear rolls down her face and over the tape covering her mouth. I reach a desperate hand out towards him. Sweat trickles down my back. Short, terrified breaths rip from my lungs. ¡°Stop. You don¡¯t need to do this. You don¡¯t need to kill her too, I already know.¡± ¡°Too?¡± he questions. ¡°Adriana,¡± I grit out. He shakes his head. ¡°You always assumed she was dead, but did I say we killed her?¡± My vision blurs, my body temperature dropping abruptly. ¡°Wesoldher. Well, after Ro had his fun with her, that is. He was obsessed with Adriana. Dadurian drugged her, that part was true, and then we left her with Ro. Who knows what he did to her while he had her, but I doubt it was pretty. When he was done with her, he sold her. She¡¯s probably dead by now, but she was alive for far longer than you believed.¡± My lungs empty at the unimaginable horror of what he tells me. I can¡¯t bear to think about what my sister lived through. What I couldn¡¯t save her from. Raw emotion mangles my organs into useless pieces of flesh. I have difficulty swallowing around the mass present in my throat. My thoughts rac¨C Click. There¡¯s a click. A terrifying click that I recognize instantly. My heart lurches into my throat as I realize that Marco just pulled the trigger of the gun he has pointed at my wife¡¯s head. ¡°One bullet. Six shots left.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± I roar. ¡°What the fuck do you want? Tell me what you want and I¡¯ll give it to you, just don¡¯t hurt her.¡± Dead eyes find mine. ¡°What are you willing to give me?¡± ¡°Anything! Anything you want.¡± I vow, my eyes wild. They ping back and forth between the two of them. ¡°Take me. Kill me. I¡¯m the one you want. Tess doesn¡¯t know anything and she doesn¡¯t even want this life. If you kill me, she¡¯ll go back to her CEO role and her society events and she won¡¯t have anything to do with cartel business again. You kill me and you take my position without a war. It¡¯s yours. You can have it, you can have everything, just, please, save her.¡± Tess thrashes on the floor. She shakes her head violently, her eyes pleading with me when her mouth can¡¯t. She shouts unintelligible words behind the tape. She doesn¡¯t want me to do this, but I won¡¯t let her die for me. I can¡¯t. I look away from her and at him. He considers me thoughtfully for long moments. Then he nods. ¡°I ept the trade. Tie him up,¡± he orders. I¡¯m forced violently down to my knees. Hands pull at my hair. Others yank my arms behind my back. A fistes down on the side of my face. A foot between my shoulder des shoves me face down into the floor. I don¡¯t fight them. I let myself be pushed and dragged, my eyes never wavering from Tess. She jerks towards me, but Marco grabs her by her hair and yanks her back. ¡°Let her fucking go,¡± I shout. ¡°You said you¡¯d let her go.¡± There¡¯s a dark gleam in his gaze that makes me think he¡¯s not going to do it, but then he takes a knife out and swipes at her back. He releases her and she falls to the ground. The second her hands are free, she rips the tape off her mouth, crawls up to her knees, then her feet, and runs to me. She shoves the men off me with an enraged cry and pulls me to my knees. Her face is a picture of raw emotion, fear and desperation battling for dominance as she cups my face. ¡°I won¡¯t let you do this,¡± she whispers brokenly. Tess throws her arms around me and falls into my body. She hangs from my neck, her knees settled between my bent legs, her chest pressed against mine. She holds onto me for dear life. I can feel her heart beating madly against my body. For a moment, I experience what it¡¯s like to live with two hearts. One upies each side of my chest until the jerky, irregr beats merge into one steady rhythm. My eyes flutter close. This is real power. I realize everything that came before it was a poor substitute. I¡¯d give anything to have my hands free for thirty more seconds so I can hold her back, so I can crush her against me one final time before I die. Then I open my eyes and remember the gravity of our situation. I remember that holding onto me is the veryst thing she should be doing. ¡°Tess,¡± I warn urgently. ¡°Get out of here. Run.¡± She doesn¡¯t budge. I feel something wet hit my neck and I realize she¡¯s crying. ¡°Tess, please. Get the fuck out of here now.¡± I try shrugging her off, but she holds on. I realize that she¡¯s protecting me with her body. That she doesn¡¯t intend to leave. Hopelessness has my tone just past the threshold of hysteria. ¡°Amor. Please, go.Run.¡± The longer she stays, the more time Marco has to change his mind. I feel my sanity start to fray at the edges. ¡°Tess!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you to die.¡± Her voice is muffled against the crook of my neck. My throat is wet from her tears, but her tone is undeterred. Determined. Behind her, Marcoughs cruelly. ¡°How touching,¡± he jeers. Chapter 61 Idon¡¯t choose to stay. That implies there was a choice to begin with. But there was no world in which I was going to run out of the bomb shelter to save myself and leave him behind. I¡¯m crying as I hold on to Thiago¡¯s neck like my life depends on it. In many ways, it does. He didn¡¯t hesitate to offer himself up to save me. He sacrificed himself blindly for me when he has a father who loves him, a sister who might still be alive, and an adoptive sister who worships him. He¡¯s ready to give it all up just so I can walk out of here freely, and I¡¯m supposed to leave him behind? If I walk out, then he¡¯s walking out with me. And if he dies here, then so will I. But not without me finally admitting the secret I¡¯ve been holding onto for far too long. Facing my death makes me realize I should never have hesitated to say it in the first ce. I turn my face and bring my lips up to Thiago¡¯s ear. ¡°I love you,¡± I breathe the confession. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I never told you earlier. I should have.¡± ¡°No!¡± he shouts when the words are barely past my lips. He throws his body forward and tries to trap me against the floor. Hovering above me, his hands still handcuffed behind his back, his eyes roam my face wildly. ¡°Don¡¯t say it like thatamor, don¡¯t say it like you¡¯re telling me goodbye. I won¡¯t ept it.¡± I blink and a tear squeezes out of the corner of my eye and down my cheek. My lips part but hands reach out and grab me, then brutally drag me away from him before any words can leave my mouth. Thiago lunges forward, a roar of pure demonic rage tearing from his throat. Tied up as he is, he can¡¯t get far. He ms into the ground, immediately rolling onto his side, his frantic eyes tracking me upside down as I¡¯m dragged by Julio back towards Marco. ¡°Get the fuck off her! I¡¯ll kill you, you hear me? I¡¯ll fucking kill you,¡± he roars before the two other mene down on him. I¡¯m yanked up to my feet to stand in front of Marco. ¡°You had your chance to run, you didn¡¯t take it,¡± he croons, a hand reaching out to stroke my cheek. I spit at him. Satisfaction ripples through me when itnds on his face, momentarily stunning him. I smirk defiantly at him. ¡°If you¡¯re killing him, kill me too.¡± Julio ps me. My face flies to the side, a loud ringing explodes in my left ear. Behind me, I hear Thiago thrash on the ground. Marco only smiles, a grin that twists my stomach into knots, and wipes my spit away with his thumb. He grips my jaw, crushing it in his fist. ¡°Kill you? Oh, baby, no.¡± He chuckles, the sound sending a draft of cold down my spine. ¡°No, that¡¯s changed now.¡± He grabs my jaw, his grip bruising and painful. ¡°Why kill you when I can fetch a good price for you? Just like Ro did with Adriana.¡± A furious animalistic scream erupts from behind me. It¡¯s followed by the sound of scuffling. If I could turn around, I would, but Marco holds me steadfast. I don¡¯t need to witness it to know that Thiago is grappling with the men holding him hostage. ¡°Put her in my room,¡± Marco orders Julio. Fear unlike any I¡¯ve ever known freezes me at his cold order. I recognize the look in his eye; it¡¯s the same one Franklin had before he tried to assault me. Marco releases my face with a shove and forces me to look over at Thiago. He¡¯s still on his back, chest rising and falling violently with his enraged breaths, being held down by the two guards. His eyes are pinned hauntingly on mine, his expression caught somewhere between rage and pure terror. A feral growl shreds his throat. I¡¯m staring back at him, the connection between us pulsing and alive. I¡¯m trying not to let the fear drown me. Unspeakable horrors await me if I leave this room, but I don¡¯t currently see a way out. Marco runs the back of his fingers down my cheek. Goosebumps raise chillingly down my spine and my skin turns mmy. My reaction to him couldn¡¯t be further from my reaction to Thiago. ¡°I always wondered what about her made you lose your fucking mind,¡± he deres, staring gleefully down at my husband. ¡°I¡¯m about to find out for myself now.¡± ¡°NO!¡± the scream rips from Thiago¡¯s throat, the pain audible in his voice. Hearing his cry is intolerable, it¡¯s ugly and distorted, and it tears me apart. Marco¡¯s hand moves to caress my lips and I nearly gag. ¡°I love you,¡± I murmur, as fresh tears roll down my face. And then I open my mouth and bite Marco¡¯s thumb as hard as I can. Fucking bastard. That¡¯ll teach him to touch me without my consent. ¡°Fuck you,¡± I hiss at him, the vitriol flying from my lips. He howls woundedly, clutching his hand against his chest. Then his eyes find mine again, shing in rage. His fist flies and he punches me in the face for the second time today. I fall to the floor and unconsciousness takes me. ??? Ie to almost immediately. My hair covers my face, obscuring my vision. I can see the ground moving beneath me, a pair of feet taking me somewhere. I¡¯m being carried in someone¡¯s arms. ¡°Put her in my room.¡± Fresh panic swells inside me. My frantic heart pounds loudly in my ears. My vision narrows. I take discreet deep breaths to calm myself down and stay the hysteria. If I let it take me, I won¡¯t get out of this alive. I need a clear mind. I work to rx my body, to keep my eyes closed. My captor can¡¯t know that I¡¯m conscious. The element of surprise is what¡¯s going to save me here. That¡¯s what Thiago taught me. I let myself be carried seemingly lifelessly to what looks like a makeshift bedroom. I can make out a rug and a dirty mattress on metallic legs. Nausea rises into my throat, but I swallow it back down. I¡¯m thrown onto the mattress and I let my body bounce without trying to catch my fall, continuing to feign my unconsciousness. Peeking through myshes, I recognize Julio as he turns towards the door. I quickly shutter my eyes when he looks back at me. My heart pounds in fear as he stares lengthily at me. Leave. Leave. Leave. I chant it over and over in my head, praying that he buys my passed out act, praying that he doesn¡¯te back towards me. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he leaves. My survival instincts kick in and a voice in my head yells at me torun. To get out of there while I¡¯m alone and unbound. That this is my chance. But the reality is that I don¡¯t know where Marco is. He said he wasing here to¡ª I can¡¯t bear to think the words. But he¡¯sing. He could be on the other side of that door as we speak, or just down the hall. If I move too soon, I could sentence myself to a fate worse than simply death. So I make the impossible decision to fight against my body¡¯s instincts and I stay. I don¡¯t move. I remain in the ufortable position in which Julio carelessly dropped me on the bed, my torso half twisted onto the mattress, my arm caught under my body, in case there are any cameras on me. I stay and I wait for the man who¡¯s going to try to rape me. Time feels like it drags on forever. The seconds tick ominously on by, apanied by the hollow knock of my pulse. I don¡¯t waste a single moment though. I use the time to retreat back into my mind, to remember the self defense lessons I¡¯ve had with Thiago. I¡¯m going to need them. The door opens once more, bringing with it a new wave of fear. Dread opens a gaping pit in my belly as rm bells go off inside me, warning me that I¡¯m in danger. I don¡¯t dare open my eyes for fear that he¡¯ll see me. But I don¡¯t need to. I can smell him. Marco. He¡¯s in the room with me. The door closes behind him with a decisive click. I¡¯m trapped with a monster. ¡°Still unconscious,¡± he notes silkily. He sounds thrilled by the discovery. ¡°I prefer it when they fight, but we¡¯ve got time for that.¡± I hear him advance on me. ¡°For now, it¡¯ll make the first time easier.¡± His handes down on my thigh and it takes every ounce of my self-control not to jerk at his touch. Wait. I need towait. To find the perfect moment to strike. Hardest parts of my body against the softest parts of his. He grabs the hem of my skirt. A loud ripping noise tears through the silence. His hand moves higher up my thigh until he touches the hem of my panties. Disgust roils violently in my stomach. Bile rises into my throat, threatening to make an appearance. Marco grabs my shoulders and turns me over so that I¡¯m t on my back. His putrid breath falls on my face. And then he gets closer, arrogant in his confidence and incapable of resisting relishing in his victory. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy desecrating the woman Thiago da Silva loves most in the world.¡± He relishes too early. My eyes blink open only long enough to see the stunned look in his gaze, and then I m my forehead into his nose. The loudcrunchthat follows is the most satisfying noise I¡¯ve ever heard. Marco howls in agony. His hands fly to his face where blood spurts freely from his nose. Unlike him, I don¡¯t rest on myurels. I take advantage of his surprise and the fact that he¡¯s released me and sit up to get more leverage. And then I pull my leg back as much as I can and swing it back up, hammering my shin right into his balls as hard as I can. I hope he feels them go hurtling back up into his stomach, because that¡¯s what I was going for. The miscalction I make is that the shock makes him fold, then drop onto the bed. Right on top of me, trapping me beneath him. His dead weight as he fights for breath almost suffocates me. I scream, the bloodcurdling sound ripping from my throat as I fight for my life. His handse around my neck and he starts to squeeze. Think,Tess. Think. My vision blurs, spots dotting my eyes. Softest parts. I try to reach for his eyes, but he tilts his head up and keeps them out of reach. His vicious smile as he chokes the life out of me sends fresh fury through my veins. This asshole doesn¡¯tgetto win. I reach for his hair and grip it in both fists. Then I use it to yank him towards me. He shrieks in pain, probably not used to anyone pulling his hair, and his hands momentarily rx around my throat. Closing the distance between us, I lift my head and bite his already broken nose with the savagery only someone who¡¯s doing anything to live possesses. I spit a piece of his flesh at him. I bit off part of his nose. ¡°Rapist piece of shit,¡± I sneer, taking advantage of his now half-seated position to push him off me. Something knocks into my hip as he falls onto the bed next to me, clutching his destroyed face. A gun. I reach for it with shaky hands, in disbelief that he would have a gun on him and within reach when he tried to assault me. He underestimated me. My fingers close around it and I pull it out of the band of his trousers. I¡¯m on my feet and I¡¯ve taken a step towards the door, towards freedom, when I hear a furious roar from behind me. I turn in time to find him lunging at me. I could shoot him, but I¡¯ve never fired a gun before. That split second of hesitation costs me dearly. Marco tackles me to the ground. The breath expels violently from my lungs when my back hits the floor and his weightes down on top of me once more. ¡°Stupidbitch,¡± he yells, pping me. Blood from his nose drips onto my face. I¡¯m close. I¡¯msoclose to making it out. That belief that I can save myself from this, that I can hopefully go save Thiago after I¡¯m free, powers a new wave of adrenaline into my veins. The gun is in my hand, at my side. My finger curls around the trigger and squeezes. The gunshot echoes loudly, startling Marco. The bullet fires into the wall, nowhere near him. But now he¡¯s distracted. I lift the gun and m it down into his temple. He groans loudly, more blood exploding from this new wound. I crawl out from under him and back away on my hands, my palms scraping against and getting cut up by the rough, dirty floor. Marco staggers up to one knee, then the other, refusing to give up. My hand shakes so hard when I lift my arm that I almost drop the gun, but I hold firm. I won¡¯t look away this time. Enough is enough. I stare into his hateful eyes as he stumbles towards me. All I see is the betrayal, the greed, the remorselessness of the coward who helped traffic Adriana, the murderer, the man who tried to assault and kill me. I see who the real devil is and I fire again. The bullet hits him in the gut and he falls backwards, clutching his stomach. His eyes widen in shock. He didn¡¯t think I would do it. A pained groan falls loudly from his lips. The gun falls from my hand. I don¡¯t stick around to see more.Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. I stand and I throw onest look at the man responsible for so much heartache in my and the people I love¡¯s lives. Only then do I run for my life. Chapter 62 Marco punches her and Tess falls lifelessly to the ground, her body crumpling under her. The helplessness I feel is matched only by my fury. It¡¯s like a raging wildfire, the inferno spreading and eating up everything in its path. I throw myself towards my wife but the two men behind me restrain me. They force me back down to the ground at their feet. ¡°Let me go, you bastards! Let me fucking go.¡± I turn my attention back to Marco. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± I vow between clenched teeth. Julio crouches down and picks Tess up in his arms. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I question, my voice tipping over into mania. He ignores me and starts to walk away with her unconscious body in his arms. Every step he takes away from me is a fresh stab wound to my heart. ¡°Stop! Where the fuck are you taking her? Come back! COME BACK!¡± Her head lolls to the side, her hair covering her face entirely. Something rips inside me watching her be taken from me. I thrash, I kick, I fight like fucking hell. I go berserk. I manage to break free and make some progress towards her, but with my hands cuffed behind my back, I¡¯m quickly caught and yanked away.¡¯ ¡®Calm the fuck down,¡¯ one of the traitors orders. My powerlessness when she needs me most kills me. Crazed, demented energy takes over until the rational part of me is no more. All that¡¯s left is the animal need to protect my wife. An unhinged scream tears from my throat when Julio disappears out the door, taking her with him. Raw desperation tears at my insides like I¡¯m being hacked apart by a meat cleaver. Marco smirks down at me with a vindictive smile. I need to keep him talking, to keep him with me. To do anything I can to stop him from leaving this room and¡­ I can¡¯t think about what will happen if I don¡¯t stop him. ¡°How did you do this? Turn my men against me?¡± ¡°You made it so easy for me and for that, I have to thank youDiablo. Arturo warned you what the dangers would be if you left London, he just never imagined how close the threat might be. I amassed support while you were gone. It was painstaking work, turns out a lot of the cartel is loyal to you. Finding people willing to turn against you was harder than I thought it would be,¡± he churns out, the muscle in his cheek ticking angrily. ¡°But I found them eventually.¡± I¡¯m powerless to stop my anger from boiling over. ¡°You know exactly how traitors die,¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯ll die a traitor¡¯s death. It¡¯ll be my pleasure to send you into the afterlife.¡± The smile wipes clean off his face. He walks up to me and drops into his haunches so our faces are level. Behind my back, my hands work conspicuously to dig the de out of the sheath built into the interior side of my trousers. ¡°I was going to kill you right now,¡± he announces. ¡°But I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m going to keep you alive while we all take turns fucking your wife. I want that to be thest thing you picture, thest thing youhear, before I kill you.¡± I roar savagely, the sound unlike anything I¡¯ve ever made or heard. I throw myself at him like a rabid dog, but he easily stands and steps back. A sick, sour feeling burns my throat. ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± he says smugly, cupping his cock obscenely through his trousers. ¡°Put him in one of the rooms, I¡¯ll be back for himter.¡± And then he walks out. The bottom falls out from beneath my feet and I lose my shit. The thought of another man touching her, of another man positioning himself between her legs and taking her body for his own pleasure makes me sick to the point of pain. Nausea twists my belly and I dry heave. Bile and saliva hit the floor as my stomach turns against me. The falcon whose name I don¡¯t even rememberughs cruelly. He circles around to my front. ¡°Look at this whipped pussy. Literally hacking up his guts at the thought of us testing out his wife.¡± I spit out the remaining bile and snap my ck eyes up to meet his. He must see something in my gaze that warns him because the smile wipes abruptly off his face. I turn on my knees and use my legs to kick his feet out from underneath him. He falls to the ground and I throw myself down on him, the knife now firmly clutched in my hands driving into his flesh. With my hands tied behind my back, I¡¯m attacking him blindly. He yells when the knife sinks into his belly. I pull it out immediately, going higher, searching for weaker flesh. I hack at him, in and out, in and out, until I feel the de sink into his throat. He dies with a pathetic gurgle. The other falcon stares, wide-eyed and afraid. He¡¯s younger, inexperienced. He probably had no idea the magnitude of the decision he was making when he was roped into this mutinous n. It doesn¡¯t matter. He made it anyway. He stands, frozen. It gives me the time to maneuver my tied hands from behind my back, over my feet and to my front. The process is excruciating. My shoulder rips out of its socket as I dislocate it to free myself. The agonizing pain tears through me, still nowhere near as searing as the pain in my heart. The falcon jerks into action when he sees I have my hands in front of me, but it¡¯s toote. Hees at me with a knife and I knock it out of his hand with a simple move, adrenaline keeping my injured arm from being a hindrance. Then I use the chain of the handcuffs and choke him to death. It¡¯s as his dead body slides down mine that an ear-splitting, hair-raising, dread-filled scream rips through the air. I¡¯d know it anywhere. ¡°Tess!¡± I roar, a guttural scream that rocks the walls of the bomb shelter. Buzzing erupts loudly in my ears. I realize that it¡¯s the sound of my blood thrashing madly through my body. My shaky, fric hands search the first body, then the second, until my fingers close around a pair of keys to open the handcuffs. I¡¯ve got the first one off when a sound worse than her screams tears through the silence. I didn¡¯t think such a thing existed until I hear the very recognizable, very loud bang of a gunshot. Followed almost immediately by a second one. I start running before the echoes have even stopped. There¡¯s no word in eithernguage I know to describe the terror that ms into me. It undoes my chemical makeup, rewrites the strands of my DNA, and changes me forever. Truth is, I¡¯ve lost my grasp on my sanity. I¡¯m met at the door by a third falcon. I drive the open handcuff into his neck and sever his carotid, not stopping to watch him fall at my feet. I run through those halls barely aware of where I am or what I¡¯m even doing. I¡¯m on autopilot, my body knowing who it needs to find without needing to get my brain involved. Pure, animalistic need pushes me through those hallways. The need to find her and kill anyone who touched her. My injured arm hangs limply at my side as I run faster than I ever have in my life. I don¡¯t let myself think about what state I¡¯m going to find her in. Alive, that¡¯s all that matters. Alive, alive, alive. If there¡¯s a limit on prayers allowed in one night, then I¡¯m fucked. I hear someoneing down the hall so I stay around the other side of the corner, waiting to ambush them. They¡¯re running, their feet pping loudly against the concrete floor. Getting closer. They round the corner at a frantic run. My arm wraps around the person¡¯s waist at the same time as I spot a mass of blond hair, at the same time as a spicy scent hits my nose with a punch of relief. I¡¯m pushing her against the wall in the same split second. When clear blue eyes meet mine, a massive bubble of relief bursts from my lips. ¡°Tess?¡± I ask disbelievingly. ¡°Thiago?¡± Her eyes widen. Her handse around my neck and she throws herself into my arms. ¡°Thiago!¡± I stumble two steps into the closest room and then I fall to my knees with her clutched in my arms. She¡¯s shaking powerfully against me as I crush her to my body, ignoring the screaming in my shoulder. ¡°Tess,¡± I groan, burying my face in her neck. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m holding her. That she¡¯s alive. That she¡¯s safe, at least in this moment. It doesn¡¯t feel real. Part of me wonders if this is a hallucination brought on by the hysteria roiling through me. I cup her face and push her back, brushing the hair behind her ear. There¡¯s blood on her cheeks, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be hers. It soils her perfect skin and I can¡¯t bear to see it. I rub it off her with rough thumbs, focusing on this because I can¡¯t bring myself to look down and see what I fear might have been done to her. ¡°Amor,¡± I mutter, emotion hollowing my words. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she promises. Finally, with my heart in my throat, I look down at her body. The first thing I see is therge tear in her skirt, all the way up to the top of her thigh. The only thing keeping the garment attached to her body is the thicker band at her waist. Fresh nausea threatens to make an appearance. Hollow silence echoes loudly in my ears as my trembling handes to her thigh. Hell opens up a pit in my stomach as I¡¯m confronted with the potential confirmation of Marco having vited her. ¡°Did he¨C¡± My words catch in my throat. ¡°Are you okay? What happened? Did he¡­Did he¡­¡± My voice cracks in torment. I can¡¯t bring myself to say the words. I don¡¯t know how to ask if he touched her, if he¡­ She cups my face and raises my eyes to hers. ¡°He didn¡¯t touch me. I managed to get away.¡± She presses her lips heatedly against mine. With one chaste kiss, she restarts my dead heart. I grip her waist tightly. She pulls away and ces her forehead against mine. ¡°I used the hardest parts of me against the softest parts of him,¡± she breathes. ¡°I listened to what you taught me.¡± A shattered growl rumbles up my chest and bursts from my lips. I press my forehead back against hers, my eyes fluttering shut. ¡°Thankfuck. I couldn¡¯t live with myself if he¡¯d hurt you that way, if he¡¯dtouchedyou because of me.¡± The agonizing pain starts to recede to a dull ache. I kiss her fiercely,municating the depth of the fear, worry, and love I have for her in one press of my lips. ¡°He didn¡¯t. I managed to get his gun and I¨C I shot him, Thiago.¡± I still, then pull away. ¡°Is he dead?¡±Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He was on the floor, bleeding when I left. I hit the wall once and then hit him somewhere in the stomach.¡± ¡°Good girl,¡± I praise. She took those self defense lessons to the next level. ¡°Where¡¯s the gun?¡± Her eyes widen and she nches. ¡°I¨C I left it. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think, I ran scared after shooting him. He has it.¡± ¡°Shh,¡± I quiet her, kissing her forehead. ¡°You did exactly what you needed.Moreactually. I¡¯m going to go finish this now.¡± I start to rise to my feet but she grabs my arm and pulls me back down. When I hiss, she startles. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your arm?¡± ¡°My shoulder is dislocated,¡± I say grimly. ¡°Let me help you.¡± She gets to her feet, feeling gingerly around my shoulder until she finds the problem. ¡°This is going to hurt.¡± I look her in the eye. ¡°Nothing canpare to thest half hour of my life.¡± Her gaze softens. She pops my shoulder back into its socket and I wince. Her hands massage the tender flesh as her eyes beg me. ¡°Don¡¯t go. Please don¡¯t go.¡± ¡°I have to. We¡¯re not out of the woods just yet, and we won¡¯t be until he¡¯s dead. I¡¯m going to kill him and then I¡¯lle back for you.¡± Her chin sets stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯m not staying here. I¡¯ming with you.¡± ¡°No,amor. You need to hide and you need to wait for me.¡± She shakes her head obstinately. ¡°What if he hurts you?¡± I cup her face and force her to look at me. Those blue eyes eat me up from the inside out the way they always do. ¡°The only way he can hurt me is if he hurtsyou. I won¡¯t be able to focus, to think about anything else, if I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re safe, do you get that? I need you to stay back and hide.Promise methat you¡¯ll hide, Tess.¡± She still looks uncertain. ¡°Promise me.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± she whispers. Chapter 63 The fury coursing through my body is bone deep. It¡¯s buried so inextricably in my marrow that I¡¯ll carry traces of that anger with me for the rest of my life. Betraying me carries its own death sentence, but going after my wife? Death is a mercy Marco will be begging me for before I¡¯m done with him. The violence that thrums through my arms makes me feel invincible as I stalk down the halls of the bomb shelter in search of the man I¡¯m going to eviscerate. I follow the trail of blood he left behind. There is no rational thought, no care for my own safety, just single-minded focus on hunting down the animal who hurt my sister and tried to assault Tess. Rounding a corner, I see Julio. He was born into the cartel, both his parents have been a part of the family since my father was in his twenties. His death will hurt them, but his betrayal will destroy them. I¡¯m behind him, forearm locked around his throat, before he¡¯s even aware that I¡¯m there. ¡°Dile a tu dios que el diablo dice h, hijueputa.¡± He has a split second to stiffen before I slit his throat, the viciousness of my stroke nearly decapitating him in the process. I release him and his body falls to the ground just as someone rounds the corner at the opposite end of the hallway. Fredo. Julio¡¯s brother. My knife whips through the air and buries itself eight inches deep into his eye from across the hall. He dies with a pathetic whimper, no more a man in death than he was in life. I stalk up to his body, pulling the knife from his head and slotting it away in the band of my trousers. His other eye is frozen in disbelief, staring sightlessly back up at me. With a roar, I reach into his eye socket and grab that useless eyeball, ripping it out of his head with ease. It¡¯s clutched tightly in my fist as I follow the trail of blood to a closed door. I should have known the night of Augusto Leone¡¯s death that Marco was the mole, or at least suspected. I¡¯d been so consumed by Tess that I hadn¡¯t seen anything else. And that motherfucker had used that weakness against me, just like I¡¯d predicted. The door shatters open when I kick it in, the top hinges pryingpletely loose. Marco is sitting on the same chair on which Leone died. There¡¯s a certain poetic justice in knowing that he¡¯ll die there as well. ¡°Your little mutiny failed,¡± I drawl, tossing the eyeball at him. It hits the ground and rolls to his feet. Tess did a number on him. His face is a bloodied mess. He¡¯s pale, his skin white as a sheet, and he¡¯s clutching his abdomen. There¡¯s a thick pool of blood beneath his chair; it leaks out of him and drips slowly onto the floor. Tess unknowingly gave him a kill shot. He¡¯s bleeding out and judging by the quantity surrounding him, he doesn¡¯t have long to live. His mouth is open, lips parted around his ragged breaths as he watches me with crazed but quickly fading eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you die on me, Marco,¡± I seethe. ¡°I still need to fucking kill you.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to end this way,¡± he mutters. ¡°How did you think it would end? You betrayed the family, you were never going to get away with it.¡± ¡°I did for over a fucking year!¡± he says, finding enough strength to spit the words at me. ¡°You never suspected me, never thought I could have been involved in Adriana¡¯s death. I could have continued for years if it wasn¡¯t for your stupid cunt of a wife.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to rip your lungs out and feed them to you, Marco. I¡¯m going to shove them so far down your windpipe you¡¯ll choke, you piece of shit.¡± He rasps out a painful-soundingugh. ¡°It¡¯s unlike you to be so obvious in exposing your weaknesses, Thiago. Tess blinds you, she makes you make mistakes, you know she does. And I got greedy because of it. I saw the way she distracted you and I wanted more, so I took it. If I¡¯d just stuck to my n and continued slowly turning your men against you, I would have won. You would be sitting here dying, and I would be taking your ce asjefe. I underestimated you and her together.¡± ¡°You lost, Marco. And now you¡¯ll pay.¡± I stalk towards him. His right arm, which had been hanging limply by his side, raises and he points a gun at me. A demented smile pulls at my lips. I keep advancing on him. He can shoot me all he wants, nothing is going to stop me from getting to him and disemboweling him with my bare hands. He keeps lifting the gun until he¡¯s pointing it up at the ceiling and then he fires. One. Two. Three. Four. Four shots. I pause dead in my tracks, confusion knitting my brow. He had a clear shot at me. He could have buried every single one of those bullets in my chest instead of leaving himself with almost no chance of killing me. With these four bullets now in the ceiling and the two that Tess shot at him, that leaves him with only one shot to finish me. His gun hand drops into hisp, spent. The energy it took him to raise his arm and hold it as the bullets charged through nearly finished him off. He stares at me and there¡¯s something in his gaze I can¡¯t quite make out. A calctedness that doesn¡¯t make sense to me but chills my spine in foreboding nheless. ¡°It¡¯ll take a lot more than one bullet to kill me,¡± I say coldly. Marco smiles, an ugly grimace that freezes the blood in my veins. How I once considered this man a trusted advisor, a friend even, is beyond me. He raises the gun once more, this time aiming it at me. ¡°I learned something thesest few months,¡± he exins. ¡°Something a lot more valuable than money.¡± My hand shifts slowly to behind my back, inconspicuously making a move for the de that I¡¯d hidden back in my trousers. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I clip. Marco¡¯s head tilts to the side and he closes his eyes slowly. When they reopen, triumph shines in them. My stomach twists, like my body understands what¡¯s about to happen before it actually urs. ¡°¡®You don¡¯t y the board, you y your opponent¡¯,¡± he parrots. ¡°You taught me that. It doesn¡¯t matter to you whether you live or die, so you make for a difficult opponent to beat. You¡¯re not afraid of death and because of that, killing you holds very little appeal to me,¡± he exins, his voice devoid of all emotion. ¡°Destroying you on the other hand, does.¡± A rasping wheeze shakes his lungs until he coughs blood into his hand. ¡°While you may not be afraid of death for yourself, the exact opposite is true when ites to protecting the one person you care about most in the world.That¡¯syour single biggest fear, a fate that¡¯s worse than a death sentence for you. I realize you¡¯ve shown me exactly how I win.¡± A slow grin stretches across his face. ¡°And to make that final move,jefe,¡± he starts, sneering mockingly, ¡°I only need one bullet.¡± As if in slow motion, I watch as he glides his arm to the side and aims the gun away from me. His stare remains fixed hatefully on my face as he coldly deres, ¡°Checkmate.¡± And then he fires. The shot whistles loudly past me, making my ears ring. I feel the heat of the bullet as it travels inches from my body, expecting to then catch the telltale sound of ster exploding as the slug makes contact with the wall. Instead, I hear the bullet bury itself in a much softer target. And then a startled, pained whimperes from behind me, clear as a bell in the thick silence. It¡¯s a sound that¡¯s going to echo in my ears until the day I die. Ice crawls unnaturally slowly down my spine, the hair raising chillingly on the back of my neck. Intrinsically, I know. Marcoughs and drops the gun. No. ¡°Thiago¡­¡± a soft voice calls out for me. NO. Dread reaches out to me with lethally cold fingers and squeezes my heart in its deadly grip. It ws at my organs, cutting me up from the inside and already killing me as slowly as Marco predicted. When I turn around, a broken moan rattles up my throat as Ie face to face with my worst feare true. Tess. Tess, with her cheeks still flushed from having just burst into the room. Tess, with a surprised look on her face as her wide eyes stare at me in shock. Tess, as she stumbles back a step, confused, her face slowly tilting down to look at her stomach. In the flutter of a heartbeat, everything stops. All the air rushes from the room like it¡¯s been sucked out. Time slows until ites to a quiet, devastating end. She¡¯s not supposed to be here. She was supposed to hide, to note out, to wait for me toe find her. Shepromised. But then her handes slowly away from her stomach and it¡¯s covered in blood. Red blooms from her pink top, spreading like a watercolor painting of a gory horror scene. Her eyes widen and lift back up to mine and they¡¯re so white. So white and scared. ¡°Thiago,¡± she murmurs again, reaching out for me. The spell of horror is broken with one disbelieving word, the air rushing suddenly back in, bringing with it stark reality on its wings. ¡°Tess!¡± I roar. She falters down to her knees, clutching at the rapidly expanding stain of red on her stomach. And then she falls forward, her body hitting the ground. ¡°NO!¡± A cacophony of tortured, anguished screams hit my ears. I realize with detached incredulity that they¡¯reing from me. That I¡¯m howling my terror with full-throated wails. Raw, unadulteratedpainunlike anything I¡¯ve ever felt punches through me. I lunge for her but my legs give out and I stumble to the ground. Distantly, I hear another gunshot. Arturo finally appears and rushes past me, likely to make sure Marco is dead. But all I can see is Tess¡¯s face pressed against the floor, her scared eyes brimming with tears and searching desperately for mine. And red. Red everywhere. Red where there should be pink. Red matting the blonde hair I love so much. Red on my hands as I crawl to her, dragging my body on my forearms, my defective legs unable to take me the distance. I didn¡¯t keep my promise,that¡¯s what the usatory voice in my head screams at me.I didn¡¯t keep my promise. When my hands find her, a bubble of emotions rips from my lips. ¡°No, no, no,no,¡± I yell frantically, grabbing her shoulders and turning her over. An agonized scream that sounds unrecognizable even to my own ears ms against the walls. ¡°Tess,¡± I bellow, my frantic hands covering her bloodied ones as I try to staunch the bleeding. ¡°Tess,¡± I repeat, softer this time, the one syble garbled by the gigantic mass in my throat. ¡°Tess, what did you do? What did youfuckingdo? Oh, god,¡± I shout, feeling the warm blood bubbling against my hand. As real as any truth has ever been, I know in my heart that she came for me. That the gunshots Marco fired into the ceiling were meant to draw her out of hiding. That she fell for it, more worried about my safety than she could ever be about her own. That those shots made her run blindly through the maze of halls to find me. That she came to save me and ended up sacrificing herself instead. I chant her name as I scoop her into my arms, chant it like it can rewind time and I can step in front of her and take that bullet. My voice is hoarse and unrecognizable, the tears crawling up my throat like jagged knives stabbing at my flesh. ¡°I thought¡­I thought you were hurt,¡± she exins. Her lips are so dry, her eyes so wide and blue, but that usually bright color now bleeds in fear. ¡°I couldn¡¯t stay hidden not knowing what happened, wondering if you were alive and terrified that you might not be.¡± She smiles, she fuckingsmileseven as sheys bleeding all over me. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°Amor,¡± I cry brokenly, gathering her closer in my arms. I stroke her hair back from her face, identally smearing blood on her cheek and forehead in the process. ¡°You were supposed to hide even if he killed me. It wasn¡¯t your ce to get hurt for me.¡± ¡°Yes, it was. Don¡¯t you know¡­¡± she rasps with difficulty. ¡°The queen always protects the king.¡± ¡°No,¡± I cry ferociously. ¡°Not like this.Neverlike this.¡± I¡¯m covered in her blood. It¡¯s everywhere and it grabs me violently about the throat, making me so nauseous I can¡¯t breathe. I¡¯ve never minded blood before, I¡¯ve reveled in it in fact. But not hers. Not hers. I remove my hand from her stomach to peer at the gunshot and I feel the fabric of my world rip out from under me. The wound is gaping, the flesh torn. The second I remove the pressure of my hand, blood pours out of it in waves. The need to vomit, not in disgust but in abject fear, seizes me again. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, I promise,¡± The words tumble in a rush reassuringly from my lips as I staunch the bleeding once more. ¡°Arturo!¡± I roar, looking around for him. ¡°Turo, call an ambnce, please call an ambnce,¡± I implore frantically. He¡¯s already on his phone, pacing and throwing anxious looks at us. I can¡¯t handle seeing his face, I can¡¯t look at it because everything about his expression tells me he thinks she¡¯s going to die. I shake my head continuously, over and over, so violently I hear my neck snap. ¡°Don¡¯t make a promise you can¡¯t keep,¡± she rasps, ghostly pale. I didn¡¯t keep my promise. I didn¡¯t keep her safe. ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± I say. I¡¯m trying to notpletely lose it, to hold myself together somewhat so as not to scare her, but I¡¯m failing. I¡¯m failing miserably. ¡°You¡¯re going to make it out of here.¡± There¡¯s so much fucking blood. It seeps past my fingers and flows in thick rivulets off the side of her body. It doesn¡¯t matter how hard I press, it just keepsing out and I know what this means, I know it¡¯s not good news, but I can¡¯t ept that. I refuse. A handes to gently palm my cheek. I look up into her eyes and find them shining with tears. And then her lips part and she whispers the sweetest words I¡¯ve ever heard again. ¡°I love you,¡± she says with quiet intensity. ¡°No,¡± I respond, categorically. ¡°Fuckno.¡± Her eyes flutter shut and an agonized look crosses her face. It¡¯s the first sign of pain she¡¯s shown and it¡¯s in reaction to my words. Her hand pulls slowly back from my face. ¡°You don¡¯t love me?¡± she asks softly, her voice breaking on the pain of a thousand sorrows. And I marvel at what a beautifullyplicated thing it is to be human that sometimes we can hurt more with our words than we can with bullets. She¡¯s cradled in my arms, held tightly against my breast, bleeding all over me while I¡¯m losing my mind and she thinks I don¡¯t love her? Didn¡¯t she hear me when I told her she was my heart walking free from my chest? And look how I took care of it. ¡°Of course I love you,¡± I say heartbrokenly, the first tears falling down my face. Her eyes flutter open and I watch as her pupils dte like they have so many times in the past when she¡¯s looked at me, when I¡¯ve kissed her, when I¡¯ve made herugh. A thousand tiny, insignificant memories of our life together shing through my eyes. Except this time, it¡¯s different. This isn¡¯t a look of lust orughter or longing. Her pupils continue expanding, growing bigger and bigger, until the ck of them could house the whole night sky in their depths. And within them shines a bright light that she aims at me. No, this is a look of love and it glows for me. It¡¯smine. My heart fractures and I choke back a pained breath. Why didn¡¯t I tell her before? Why didn¡¯t I tell her the moment I felt it and every single second after that? I don¡¯t want to have loved her toote. One of my hands presses against her wound, the other holds her against me. But I want to push her hair behind her ear and wipe the tear cresting past her waterline and brush her cheek and cup her face. I need so many more hands tomunicate the love I have for her. ¡°I love you so much that I can¡¯t breathe. I think I¡¯ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. You¡­¡± I can¡¯t speak around the sudden obstruction that closes my throat. There¡¯s a swell of emotion that jams the passage. If I jimmy it loose, everything wille with it, including the raw pain and anguish splintering me to my very core. ¡°You came into my life and turned it upside down. You changedeverything.¡± The word rips from my throat on a jagged sob. Tears pour from my eyes. They roll down my face, over the curve of my jaw and fall onto her cheek. Her pale, almost translucent cheek, devoid of its usual pink color that makes her look alive. ¡°I love you,¡± she repeats, and there¡¯s a serene smile on her lips. Another grief-stricken howl tears from me. I bring my forehead down on hers, washing her face with my sorrow as my body racks with tortured sobs. She¡¯s so cold, so unbelievably cold. Where the fuck is the ambnce? ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say those words to me as a goodbye. So you wait, okayamor?¡± I say, kissing her forehead. ¡°Tell me you love me when we¡¯re at the hospital, when you¡¯re better.¡± ¡°I think¡­ I think I have to tell you now,¡± she murmurs, face fracturing as tears slip down her own cheeks. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die without having told you how much you mean to me.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, shaking my head again, refusing to listen to this. ¡°You¡¯re not goinganywhere. You wait. Youliveand you tell me then,amor. Please.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying, Thiago,¡± she whispers, voice breaking. ¡°No you¡¯re not! You¡¯re not.You¡¯re not.¡± My mouthes down on her face, covering her cheeks, her lips, her eyelids, her nose, every avable inch of her skin in kisses. ¡°The love of my life doesn¡¯t bleed out in my arms, Tess. That¡¯s not something I survive. You have to live for me.¡± I whip around to look at Arturo. He stands mutely off to the side, surrounded by a dozen of my cartel, men and women who rushed to help me, to save Tess. They have stricken expressions on their faces as they look down at her, then at me, ten steps beyond sanity and falling faster and faster into madness. I look back at Tess, at the way her pupils have contracted back down to the size of a pinhole. That light that shined so brightly in them moments ago is quickly dimming. Her eyelids flutter, closing and reopening. She¡¯s just tired, that¡¯s it. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not losing her. ¡°Stay with me,amor,¡± I beg, rocking her in my arms back and forth. ¡°If you really love me, you¡¯ll stay with me.Stay with me.¡± I don¡¯t know how many times I say it, only that my throat is raw and sandpapery as the words jumble into sounds instead of meaning. ¡°That¡¯s¡­not fair.¡± My voice cracks. ¡°Youpromisedme you¡¯d never leave me. You promised. Please just don¡¯t go. What am I supposed to do without you?¡± My voice cracks, every syble broken. ¡°I can¡¯t do it, I can¡¯t live without you.¡± The pain is crushing. It¡¯s stifling. It strangles my lungs until I can¡¯t breathe. The tears continue streaming down my face as I look down at her. I¡¯m crying my entire heart into her. If she dies, it won¡¯t be anything more than an empty shell anyway. Her skin is ice cold. Beads of moisture dot her brow. Her lips turn blue, the life draining out of her with every passing moment. ¡°WHERE IS THE FUCKING AMBULANCE?¡± I roar. Her eyes flutter shut a couple more times. She has to blink them open as if she¡¯s fighting invisible weights. But there¡¯s a haze over them now; they¡¯ve lost focus and she looks through me, her stare unseeing and haunted. ¡°Stay with me,amor. Please,please, stay with me,¡± I cry, torment echoing freely in every word. I find myself praying to Gods I don¡¯t believe in to grant me mercy I don¡¯t deserve. ¡°Stay with me,¡± I beg. ¡°I love you. Iloveyou.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Her voice is nothing more than a throaty rasp. Every word sounds like it hurts her. She blinks and another tear slips down the side of her face onto my arm. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For making me your wife. I didn¡¯t need to run away¡­ or see the world to get¡­ the adventure I wanted. Being your wife was¡­the greatest adventure of them all.¡± She tries reaching for my face again, but her arm falls limply back down to her chest. I cup the back of her hand and carry it back up to my wet cheek. The warmth of my skin heats her cold fingers. ¡°Is,amor.Isthe greatest adventure of them all,¡± I correct, crying inconsbly into her palm. Tess smiles, shifting her thumb to brush my cheek. ¡°Falling in love with you is¡­ was¡­ the best thing to ever¡­ happen to me. My final¡­ bucket list item.¡±Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. ¡°No,¡± I press my cheek into her hand and shake my head. ¡°No, I know there¡¯s plenty left on your bucket list. You want to skydive. You want to learn BSL. You want to be the veryst person to leave a wedding. You have a million other dreams and we¡¯re going to have all the time in the world together to make every single one of them a reality. We can start the second you¡¯re out of the hospital. You have so much more to do and so many more people to impact. You. Are. Not.Done. Don¡¯t give up,amor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­I think I¡¯ll close my eyes.¡± ¡°No!¡± I cry, startling her. ¡°You said you¡¯d fight. Do you remember? You promised me you¡¯d fight until the end, sofight. Please. I won¡¯t ever ask you for anything again.¡± cing my forehead back on hers, I plead softly, ¡°Please,amor, stay with me. We¡¯ve¡­ we¡¯ve still got ice cream in the freezer we need to finish.¡± Another tear slips down her cheek. ¡°Te quiero mucho, baby,¡± she whispers. Distantly, I hear sirens. Finally. I lift my head, about to order Arturo to go meet them and guide them here, but he¡¯s already running out the door. ¡°Do you hear that,amor? That¡¯s the ambnceing for you. You¡¯re going to be okay. It¡¯s all going to be okay.¡± When I look back down at her, her eyes are closed. And with a breath, my heart constricts then shatters into a million pieces. ¡°Tess?¡± I call. ¡°Tess?¡± I say again, my tone more frantic. When she doesn¡¯t answer, I pat her cheek gently, then harder, trying to get her to open her eyes. ¡°Tess! Tess, wake up.¡± The hand I hold pinned against my face goes ck and lifeless. ¡°I need you to wake up and open your eyes.TESS!¡± I roar. No matter how hard I try, I can¡¯t get her to wake up. Her head lolls to the side, her body goes limp, and her breathinges to a painful, jagged end. Chapter 64 There¡¯s no pain. There¡¯s only shock and a chill so cold it slowly ices me to my core. But there¡¯s also a glowing warmth that morphs into a freeing calm when Thiago says he loves me back. It¡¯s followed quickly by bone deep, soul destroying sorrow that I won¡¯t get to grow old with him after all. It takes thest of my strength to open my eyes one final time. His face hovers above mine, awash with tears. The pain etched in his features is so raw and visceral that it¡¯s almost enough to keep me from losing consciousness. I ripped something inside of him. It¡¯s a wound he¡¯ll never heal from. I don¡¯t want to leave him with that pain. I want to protect him as much as he¡¯s protected me. I¡¯m not ready to go.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. The injustice of it kills me. Another tear trails down the side of my face. But my breathing gets shallower and the lights start to dim and the birds stop singing and the darkness calls to me with the seductive voice of a siren guiding sailors to their deaths. I guess it¡¯s time, even though I¡¯m not ready. No matter how much I try, there¡¯s nothing I can do to stop it. With a devastating finality, the world goes ck. Chapter 65 ¡°Tess Noble, twenty-five-year-old female, gunshot wound to the abdomen. Coded in the ambnce on the way to the hospital but was resuscitated. She¡¯s been unconscious for approximately fifteen minutes. We started an IV and packed the wound which seems to have stopped the bleeding, but she¡¯s lost a lot of blood. She¡¯s going to need a transfusion ASAP,¡± the paramedic tells me as the woman is wheeled into the ER. ¡°Put her in Trauma Two,¡± I order, as nurses help me put on a gown and pair of gloves. ¡°Pulse is thready and blood pressure is low,¡± Dr. Jake Winter, my junior resident, informs me as the patient gets hooked up to our machines and a rhythmic beep starts sounding in the room. ¡°Page surgery stat and let them know we¡¯ve got a high priority caseing up to them. Let¡¯s get her stabilized and up to those guys, there¡¯s not much more we¡¯re going to be able to do for her down here,¡± I order. Noble. I know thatst name. The team busies themselves around the patient, following the trauma response instructions I¡¯ve given them. I walk around one of the nurses and go to the patient¡¯s head, looking down at her face. I try never to look at patients, using only their names to humanize them. It¡¯s easier that way. Easier to keep my distance from the pain of losing them. But my stomach clenches when I look down. Even with her face half-obscured by the oxygen mask, I recognize her. She was in the ER weeks ago, responding as the next of kin to an assault on another patient of mine, her mother. Seeing her unconscious and fighting for her life on my table is surreal. I lose all objectivity as I feel an inexplicable connection develop, linking us together. I won¡¯t let her die. I can¡¯t. All of a sudden a strident beeping noise explodes around us and all heads turn towards the monitors. ¡°She¡¯s tlining,¡± Jake yells. My pulse pounds loudly in my ears as my body reacts to the burst of adrenaline. ¡°Startpressions.Now,¡± I direct. Jake threads his hands together and starts pumping Tess¡¯s chest. Her whole body thrashes as he presses hard enough to crack her ribs. My eyes remain trained on the monitor, not seeing any changes. ¡°Charge two milligrams of epinephrine.¡± ¡°Yes, Doctor.¡± Loud noises sound through the walls,ing from the hallway, but I ignore them and focus on her vitals. Still no change. My own pulse starts racing. ¡°Alright, prep for the defibritor. Keep performing CPR in the meantime.¡± Jake continues chestpressions as one of the nurses readies the AED. She puts the pads on Tess¡¯s chest, but her head snaps to the side when the sounds of themotion in the hallway get louder in the background. ¡°Are the pads in ce?¡± I ask, grabbing the paddles from her. ¡°Yes, Doctor.¡± ¡°Charge to two-fifty.¡± ¡°Charged.¡± ¡°Everybody clear,¡± I order. I look down at Tess, at the white of her face and the red drying her blonde hair in clumps. Knowing what she looks like when she¡¯s not at death¡¯s door butalive, as a breathing, feeling human being triggers me. I¡¯ve only had that happen one other time and I¡¯ve worked hard to forget those memories. Tess is going to live. She has to. One by one, all seven nurses and doctors in the trauma room remove their hands and step away from her until everyone is clear. ¡°Shocking,¡± I announce. There¡¯s a loud electricalthumpand Tess¡¯s body jerks once. I stare at her vitals, looking for any sign of change in activity. Something pinches in my belly when her heart rate stays in tline. ¡°Come on, Tess,¡± I shout, desperation making my voice unrecognizable. ¡°Come on, stay with me.¡± Louder, to the rest of the room, I say, ¡°Charge to three hundred.¡± ¡°Charged.¡± ¡°Everybody clear?¡± ¡°Clear!¡± ¡°Shocking.¡± Tess jerks again and silence descends on the room as we all stare at the monitor. It feels like it stretches on for hours as I hold my breath, as we all do, hoping and hoping to see signs of a pulse. And then there¡¯s a beep. One single beep, threadbare and timid. The most beautiful sound I¡¯ve ever heard. I feel emotion crawl up my throat and I¡¯m not sure why. Maybe it¡¯s because I saw the way she cared about her mother, maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s only a year younger than me, but the relieved breath that expels from my lips feels like it releases twenty tonnes of pressure off my chest. That one beep morphs into a steady beat as her vitals level out. It¡¯s not strong, but it¡¯s there. ¡°We¡¯ve got a pulse,¡± I announce. I witness the relief I also feel etch itself on the faces of every single other person in that room. ¡°Let¡¯s stabilize and monitor her closely.¡± I lean in close to her ear and whisper so only she can hear me. ¡°You¡¯re a fighter, Tess. You¡¯re going to get through this.¡± A thrashing noisees from outside, this time much louder than previously. The sound of distressed voices follows, moring unintelligibly for something. It seems like the situation is escting. ¡°What the hell is going on out there?¡± I demand, my mind clear now that the code is out of the way. A nurse exits to assess the situation andes back minutester with an upset expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s the victim¡¯s husband, Doctor,¡± he tells me. ¡°Pardon my French but he¡¯s losing his shit out there and demanding to see her. The furniture¡¯s bearing the brunt of his anger.¡± I can only imagine the agony of waiting for news about your loved one, not knowing whether they¡¯re going to make it or not, not knowing whether to hope or grieve and caught in that unbearable moment of suspension between both. ¡°Is the surgical team ready for us?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, Doctor. Dr. Whiteshaw is ready to operate.¡± ¡°Finish prepping the patient and I¡¯ll go talk to the husband. Winter, you¡¯ve got this?¡± ¡°Sure do, Doc.¡± Snapping my gloves off and removing the surgical gown, I dispose of both in the bin before taking a deep centering breath and walking out into the private waiting area. The first thing my gaze catches on are the two chairs and side table strewn in the middle of the hall,pletely at odds with the usual clinical cleanliness of the hospital. Then my eyes lift to therge, intimidating man who¡¯s furiously pacing at the other end of the hallway. He¡¯s wearing all ck but he¡¯s covered in blood. I can smell it even from over here. How he can stand to be drenched in his wife¡¯s blood is beyond me. He rakes anguished hands through his hair, pausing only to ost hospital staff as theye through the area. Half a dozen equally terrifying men and women surround him, not quite nking him but clearly ready to intervene if necessary. Who the hell is this guy? ¡°WHERE IS MY WIFE?¡± he roars at a passing nurse, livid with fury. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t let me in the ambnce with her. She¡¯s been here for twenty minutes and no one will tell me where the fuck she is or how she¡¯s doing.¡± Two of the men grab his arms, holding him back from destroying the reception desk. ¡°Take me to her before I start tearing this hospital apart and find her myself.¡± The nurse freezes in fear, cowed by his formidable presence, but she¡¯s already lost his interest. The man¡¯s gaze snaps over to me when he notices me standing in the hall. He takes one look at my scrubs and the way I stare back at him and charges towards me. Having him descend on me with single-minded purpose is akin to standing in front of an angry bull and waving arge red g, but I don¡¯t let him scare me. The irritation that¡¯s locked my spine since I saw him yelling at the staff and causing a scene evaporates in an instant when he gets closer and I gaze into the open pools of despair that are his eyes. There¡¯s an immense amount of pain contained in his tormented stare, pain he doesn¡¯t bother to conceal away. It radiates off him. I clear my throat. ¡°Are you Tess Noble¡¯s husb¨C¡± ¡°Is she dead?¡± My heart leaps into my throat at his swift interruption. The question is clinical in wording but delivered with such visceral,rawemotion it punches me in the gut. The air is tense around him, thickened by his misery. His gaze pings wildly between my eyes, desperately searching them for an answer I haven¡¯t given him yet. His shoulders are tense, like he¡¯s bracing himself to receive the worst news of his life. It tells me everything I need to know about him; this is a man who wouldn¡¯t survive the death of his wife. ¡°No.¡± His face crumples, his expression fracturing like fine china. A broken moan slips past his lips and then his entire body sags forward in relief. His shoulders slump and his head bows as the anger abruptly drains out of him, leaving behind only a gut-wrenchingbination of fierce sorrow and frail hope. He runs a shaky hand over his face, obscuring his eyes from me as he takes in a deep, haltering breath andposes himself.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org. ¡°Are you her husband?¡± I ask gently. He nods, working to control his emotions. ¡°Da Silva,¡± he finally says, face still in his hand. ¡°Her name is Tess da Silva. She¡¯s my wife.¡± His voice cracks on the word ¡®wife¡¯. I already know she is, but he says it with the vehemence of someone who used the word ¡°soulmate¡±, as more a designation of exactly what she means to him than a legal ssification of their partnership. Thest name registers only secondarily, as does the realization of who I¡¯m dealing with. There¡¯s only one man with thatst name in this town and he¡¯s not someone to be crossed. But it doesn¡¯t matter to me if he¡¯s a random man off the street, the King of Ennd or the Pope himself, the standard of care Tess is receiving is the same regardless of who he is. ¡°Is she going to die?¡± he asks, voice brittle like blown ss. From the little I know of the Underworld, those men are meant to be nigh invincible. Watching a man like him showing such distraught emotion, clearly brought to his knees by what¡¯s happened to his wife is shocking. It doesn¡¯t take a genius to guess that may be why she has a bullet in her abdomen and is currently fighting for her life. She must have been targeted to get to him. It¡¯s working. ¡°Not if we have anything to do with it.¡± His eyes finally lift back to mine. He looks at me like he can see me for the first time. ¡°The most talented doctors in the country work at this hospital. She¡¯s in the best care possible. I¡¯m Doctor Cavanaugh. Cassie,¡± I add, pausing for a moment before deciding to tell him, ¡°I met your wife a few weeks ago, very briefly, when her mother was admitted.¡± Awareness seeps into his gaze. ¡°I liked her. She seemed strong. A fighter.¡± The ghost of a smile touches his lips, the first sign of an expression other than devastation. ¡°She is.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s a very good chance she¡¯s going to make it.¡± Steel makes its way into my tone before I continue. ¡°But we can¡¯t focus, let alone do our jobs properly, if you¡¯re out here destroying our waiting room. Your wife is going into surgery as we speak so it¡¯ll be a few hours before you get any updates. I suggest you head to our guest area, take a shower and clean up. Make yourself presentable so that when your wifees out of the operating theater you don¡¯t scare her.¡± One of the men behind him gives me a warning re as another¡¯s eyes widen in shock at the way I order their boss around. I don¡¯t give a shit who he is out there, but in here he¡¯ll follow my rules. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving her,¡± he growls. I tip my chin up at him. ¡°Do you want the first thing she sees when she wakes up to be you covered in her blood?¡± He looks disbelievingly down at his body, having seemingly forgotten the state of his appearance. The ck of his clothes might hide most of the blood, but it¡¯s also everywhere on his arms and up to his neck, contrasting obscenely with the borate tattoos on his skin. One of the men, an older guy with a paunchy stomach, ces a strong hand on his shoulder. ¡°Jefe, I¡¯ll stay.¡± ¡°We all will,¡± another adds, stepping up to him. ¡°We¡¯ll look after her,¡± a third assures, and I wonder if Tess knows she has an army of people waiting for her toe back. He nods slowly, throat working thickly. ¡°Gracias,¡± he says to his entourage, before looking back at me. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know the second there¡¯s news,¡± I tell him before he can even ask, then add, ¡°Just so you know, your wife will likely need a transfusion due to the massive blood loss.¡± ¡°Take it from me,¡± he says, immediately extending his forearms at me like I¡¯m going to extract it from his veins right here. ¡°What¡¯s your blood type?¡± ¡°B.¡± Pity crosses my face but I¡¯m quick to mask it away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s type A negative, so you¡¯re not a match. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll look at what we have avable and call other hospitals to find what we need.¡± ¡°Joder,¡± he curses, rubbing another over his face. ¡°Go,¡± I order, pointing in the direction of the guest showers. ¡°You¡¯ll have me notified the second there¡¯s news?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he says, and I watch as he walks off with one of his men, saying to him, ¡°Tr¨¢eme un cambio de ropa.¡± When I turn back around, I find the others still looking at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you know who that is?¡± one of the younger guards asks. ¡°I deduced it about two minutes into the conversation.¡± The paunchier older man chuckles softly. ¡°Then you¡¯re one brave woman. You¡¯ll get along well with our Tess when she wakes up.¡± Chapter 66 Iset out to take a quick shower so I can get back by Tess¡¯s side. When the water hits my body, the amount of blood that washes off my skin and gathers at my feet before disappearing down the drain haunts me. I suddenly can¡¯t stand to have it on me. I end up spending almost an hour scrubbing every avable inch of my body until my skin is raw and the water is crystal clear once more. The shower has decent pressure and I bow my head, letting it massage the muscles of my back for long minutes, hoping it¡¯ll also wash the fear and torment out of my body. Between the moment where Tess was put into the back of the ambnce and when I spoke with her doctor, I spent thirty minutes thinking she was dead. Thirty.Fucking. Minutes. There¡¯s a sharp ache pulsing in my chest. It¡¯ll dull with time once Tesses out of surgery, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll ever go away. I can¡¯t unlive those thirty minutes or the damage they inflicted on my soul. It doesn¡¯t matter. I can bear the scars I need to, no matter how deep, no matter how painful, so long as she makes it. If I was a kinder, better man, the lesson I¡¯d learn from this is that this life isn¡¯t safe for her. That I can¡¯t protect her from everything that could go wrong, let alone all the people who want me dead. That I should let her go once and for all. But that¡¯s not what my obsessed mind or my greedy, selfish heart have learned. They confirmed what I¡¯ve known for a long time now ¨C that a life without Tess is simply not possible. I love her and that¡¯s made everything else obsolete. Nothing matters as much as she does.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Instead of pushing her away, I¡¯m going to hold her closer. Instead of giving her up, I¡¯ll wage war on those who would even dream of harming a hair on that perfect head of hers. ??? After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I roughly towel dry my hair and make my way back towards the wing where Tess wille out of surgery. I stop in my tracks when I find the hallway lined with my crew. There are men and women of varying rank within the cartel, every single one of them sitting in a chair with their arms outstretched and resting on individual rolling carts. There¡¯s at least a dozen of them filling up the passage and at least as many more waiting in the wings. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask Arturo, walking up to where he stands at the end of the line overseeing them. Several of them try to stand as I approach, much to the nurses¡¯ dismay. ¡°Sit back down!¡± one of them admonishes Lucas, a low level falcon. ¡°Thest thing we need is you all passing out, cracking your heads open, and taking up our hospital beds. Sit and don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°It was Joaqu¨ªn¡¯s idea,¡± Arturo answers, nodding at the man in the question as he walks up to me. ¡°Jefe,¡± Joaqu¨ªn says, nodding curtly. ¡°I heard from the others what happened to Tess and came as quickly as I could.¡± ¡°I appreciate it,¡± I tell him honestly. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± I ask, nodding at the crew. ¡°We put a call out to the cartel and asked anybody that has a blood typepatible with A negative toe and donate if avable,¡± he says, turning to look at the scene before us with a somewhat bewildered look on his face. ¡°This is just who showed up in the first thirty minutes. The hospital started having us turn people away after that. Apparently they¡¯ve already collected five times the amount they need.¡± A nameless emotion tightens like a band around my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe. I look over at Arturo. ¡°They all came for her?¡± He nods solemnly. ¡°And for you. She¡¯s their leader¡¯s wife. Their queen.¡± That band squeezes further and steals the words from my throat. I find myself nodding slowly, repeatedly. With a betrayal and failed attempted coup just behind me, I¡¯m arguably in the weakest position I¡¯ve been in sinceing to London. Having the cartel show up in droves like this to show their support and help reinforce my position while also saving my wife is no small thing. Every single pair of eyes looks at me as I walk down the line. ¡°I won¡¯t forget this,¡± I vow, shaking their hands one after the other. When I get to the end, I sit in an empty chair, drop my head into my hands and wait anxiously for news of how Tess did, praying that she survives surgery. Chapter 67 I¡¯m not a surgeon so I don¡¯t operate on Tess, but when my shift is done, I find myself waiting outside the theater for news of how it went. When Dr. Whiteshaw finally emerges hourster, he finds me still waiting there and debriefs me. I ask if I can be the one to rte the news to her husband given I treated her in the ER and he agrees. When I make my way down to the guest area, I¡¯m informed by the charge nurse that the ¡®da Silva army¡¯ as she refers to them has been moved to a private waiting room because the sheer volume of people who turned up to wait for news had be unmanageable.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. At least two dozen men and women fill the room they¡¯ve been moved to. They sit in smaller groups, talking quietly and lending silent support to their boss. There¡¯s something about seeing that disy of loyalty that warms my heart. He¡¯s sitting between two men, his elbows on his knees, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. It¡¯s still full and it¡¯s clear he¡¯s using it more as a fidget prop than for the caffeine. His eyes snap up to mine when I walk in and then he¡¯s up and striding across the room towards me, an expectant and cautiously hopeful look on his face. I smile and he stops abruptly, his eyes widening. ¡°She¡¯s alive and she¡¯s stable,¡± I tell him. An unrecognizable noise bursts loudly from his lips as if all of the swirling emotions inside him try to rush out at once. He bends at the waist and ces shaky hands on even shakier knees as he fights to control what I can only assume is the mad torrent of feelings crashing through him. ¡°The bullet tore through her spleen so she¡¯s going to have a bit of a recovery, but they were able to stitch her up. She¡¯ll be sedated for a while, but you can go see her. You can sit with her.¡± He straightens and hugs the man I¡¯ve nowe to realize is his second inmand as the others whoop around him and celebrate. Before I know what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m engulfed in a bear hug by one of the other men in the room. He picks me up off the ground and sets me back down only long enough for someone else to hug me. I can¡¯t help butugh at their collective happiness. ¡°Congrattions,¡± I say, genuinely happy for them. They deserve a few minutes alone before I take them to her room, so I start to walk out when he stops me. ¡°Doctor,¡± he calls. I turn to find him walking towards me. He looms over me, every inch the intimidating cartel boss. Then he extends a hand towards me. ¡°Thank you,¡± he says profoundly, inclining his head. ¡°I¡¯m forever in your debt for saving her.¡± I know what that means in his world. I take his hand even as I say, ¡°That¡¯s not necess¨C¡± ¡°Anything you want, anytime,¡± he interrupts. ¡°It¡¯s yours. No questions asked.¡± He motions over his shoulder without looking and a man walks up to us. Equally as tall, equally as attractive as his boss, he rakes an assessing gaze down my body. His stare feels anything but clinical. He looks at me like a man stares at a woman in a bar, except I¡¯m makeup free, in scrubs, and sporting a messy bun. ¡°I¡¯m Thiago and this is Joaqu¨ªn. When you decide to call in your favor, he¡¯ll help you get in touch with me. Day or night. He¡¯ll exin how it works, then you can take me to see Tess,¡± he says, nodding at his man then walking back to get his things from his seat. Joaqu¨ªn hands me a card, never ripping his gaze away from mine. ¡°When you¡¯re ready, call this number and I¡¯ll pick up.¡± His intense stare drags across my face and down to my mouth, sending an instant tingle down my spine. ¡°That¡¯s quite a power you¡¯ve been given. Use it wisely¡­?¡± ¡°Dr. Cavanaugh.¡± His lips twitch. ¡°No first name?¡± Something in his gaze tells me to be on guard around him. ¡°I didn¡¯t spend six years in medical school just to hand out my first name to every man who asks for it.¡± The slow smirk that pulls at his mouth sends a delicious shiver rippling through my body. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to discover it for myself then, won¡¯t I?¡± The interest in his eyes is misced and unwee. At least that¡¯s what I try tomunicate to my body when deep arousal wakes and coils hotly in my core in reaction to the matching dimples that appear on either one of his cheeks. I pocket the card and leave, noting with dispassionate interest that my heart is beating faster than before. Awareness crawls up my back in response to the stare I feel burning ardently into my ass as I walk away. Thiago meets me outside the waiting room and we walk together to the second floor where all post-op patients are housed until they move out of critical care. The blinds are pulled up when we get to her room. Thiago¡¯s gaze moves through the window to where Tess lies intubated in arge bed. She looks small in the bed surrounded by all those machines. Chaos swirls in his eyes as he stares at her. He lifts a hand to the ss, resting his palm against the window and I swear, I can hear his fluttering heartbeat from here. His voice is rough as gravel when he speaks. ¡°Can I touch her?¡± I¡¯m about to say no but then I think about what I¡¯d want if the roles were reversed. If I loved someone that much, no one could stop me from touching them. I nod slowly. ¡°Just be careful not to jostle her or move her body in any way. And if anyone asks, I said that you absolutely could not touch her. No way in hell, in fact.¡± A smile touches his lips. He¡¯s moving and pushing the door open before I speak again. ¡°Mr. da Silva¨C.¡± ¡°Thiago,¡± he corrects, looking. over his shoulder at me. ¡°Thiago.¡± I lift my eyes up to his. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing you should know before you go in there.¡± Chapter 68 The first thing I see when my eyes open is a white ceiling. I don¡¯t know why, but I guess I didn¡¯t expect the afterlife to have ceilings. And if it did, I certainly didn¡¯t expect them to be white. Feels a little clich¨¦. Plus, I was married to the devil before I died so I assumed that my stay in the afterlife would feature more of the promised fire and brimstone than these spa-like white walls. It¡¯s only after all those thoughts flit through my mind that I realize I can¡¯t speak because there¡¯s something in my throat. My lips also appear to be at least partially taped. It hurts to breathe and there¡¯s a throbbing ache in my ribs and abdomen. My gaze slides from the ceiling, down the equally white walls and to some nondescript furniture. I frown. Where am I? Looking down as much as I can without being able to move my head, I see a tubeing out of my mouth. I¡¯mying in a bed with ugly, pale green bedding. Noises filter through, the steady beeping of medical machinery, and I realize I¡¯m in a hospital. My eyes flutter close in relief. I didn¡¯t die. They fly open in a panic when I think about Thiago. Where is he? Is he okay? Is he safe? Movement pulls my attention to the right. A doctor stands there, beaming down at me. It takes me a second to ce her, but I soon recognize her from when I¡¯d visited my mum. ¡°Wee back.¡± She grabs my hand and squeezes itfortingly, giving me a brilliant smile. ¡°Your husband is going to besopissed you woke up when he wasn¡¯t here.¡± She must read the question ring in my eyes because she adds, ¡°He¡¯s fine. He hasn¡¯t left your side for a single second in thest two days, he¡¯s even been sleeping in that chair. I finally convinced him to go shower and get changed so he¡¯s going to kick my ass when hees back and sees you¡¯re awake,¡± she says with augh. ¡°Why don¡¯t we remove the intubation so you can talk to him when he¡¯s back?¡± I nod, thanking her with my eyes. Five minutester, the tube is gone and my throat is clear. It¡¯s sore and I¡¯m not sure I can even speak, but I try anyway. ¡°Thank¡­you,¡± I say and then smile. For a second there, I thought I¡¯d never get to speak again. ¡°You¡¯re very wee. It¡¯s good to see you again, Tess. I¡¯m Cassie, by the way.¡± I¡¯m about to answer when I hear a choked sound of surprise. Cassie turns, revealing Thiago standing in the doorway behind her. He looks exhausted and distraught. Like he¡¯s been put through hell. Haunted eyese back to life when theynd on me. He lifts a hand and rubs it across his jaw, his gaze raking disbelievingly down my entire body. ¡°Amor,¡± he chokes out. ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± Tears immediately blur my vision and I reach for him. Cassie quietly slinks away as Thiago clears the space in two steps and grabs my face. His mouthes down fiercely on mine and he kisses me. They¡¯re harsh, quick kisses, one after the other, his mouthing down time and time again like he can¡¯t get enough of touching me.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. I¡¯m gasping for air when he pulls away. ¡°Never do that to me again,¡± he begs, pressing another kiss on my lips. ¡°Never.¡± I grab his arms, my hands roaming over his shoulders, as obsessed with feeling him as he is with touching me. Tears of relief and joy stream down my face knowing that we both made it. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I promise hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯m okay. What happened to Marco?¡± He grabs my hand and squeezes it in his. ¡°He¡¯s dead. Arturo killed him. You never have to worry about him again.¡± ¡°And Adriana?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent men to all major cities in Europe to look for her. We¡¯re also keeping an eye on dark web trafficking sites to see if she pops up.¡± His jaw works angrily before his eyes drop back to mine and soften. ¡°We¡¯ll find her, I¡¯m sure of it. We can talk about itter.¡± Thiago climbs onto the bed beside me and sneaks his arm below my head. He tucks me against his chest, careful to avoid jostling my abdomen. His indexes under my chin and he tips my face up towards him. ¡°How are you feeling? Are you in pain?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Just a little sore.¡± A heartbroken smile curls the corner of his lips upward. He strokes my cheek worshipfully with his finger. ¡°I thought I lost you.¡± His voice cracks and tears ss his eyes. Seeing my immovable husband emotional over almost losing me is painful and healing at the same time. ¡°I thought you were going to die and that the only time you heard me tell you I loved you was when you were bleeding out in my arms.¡± He kisses my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t keep you safe, but I¡¯m even more sorry that I didn¡¯t tell you every day how much I love you. That it took almost losing you to make me realize how stupid I¡¯d been in keeping my feelings close to my chest. I kept waiting for the perfect moment to tell you. I only realized when you were dying that every moment was perfect because it wasus.¡± ¡°I love you so much,amor. More than I could ever convey with all the words in the English and Spanishnguages. You areeverythingto me. I knew it before but thest fifty eight hours of agony have made that crystal clear. I will give this all up ¨C the cartel, the money, the influence ¨C if that¡¯s what you want because all that matters to me is keeping you safe.¡± His arm tightens around me. ¡°We could move to Colombia. I could be a farmer and you could find a way to turn our farm into a profit machine. We could have a smaller life. Any life with you will be big enough for me; all I need to be happy is you.¡± My face is a mess of happy tears. When I¡¯d lost consciousness after being shot, I¡¯d gone towards my death at peace having heard his confession. He¡¯d told me he loved me with a fervor and urgency that made it clear he meant every word. But hearing it again now when my life isn¡¯t on the line, when he says it with no obligation or time limit, the words are even sweeter. ¡°I love you too, baby.¡± His eyes flutter close and his foreheades down to rest against mine. ¡°If you¡¯d asked me six months ago if I¡¯d ever say those words to you, I would have said you were out of your mind. But I mean them now, and I mean them from the bottom of my heart. Love was an afterthought in my life, something I was unlikely to experience given I was going to be in an arranged marriage, and if I did, well, ¡°love¡± in my life hasn¡¯t exactly been pretty so it wasn¡¯t something I yearned for. But I love you in a way I never knew was possible. I didn¡¯t know love like this even existed and I¡¯m so lucky to be able to experience it. You¡¯ve given me the greatest gift I could ask for. I know I judged you and your life, but you¡¯ve proven me wrong time and time again. You¡¯ve been the best husband and partner to me. I never want to be separated from you, not even if we have an argument.¡± I reach up and kiss him softly. ¡°And you aren¡¯t giving up your family for me. I¡¯m not afraid of this life anymore and I refuse to let Marco change that or have any impact on us beyond today. He doesn¡¯t get to win.¡± Thiago smiles delightedly at me. ¡°You¡¯re the strongest woman I know,¡± he says. His hand slides from my face and slowly down my body where ites to rest on my belly. ¡°And you¡¯ve givenmethe greatest gift.¡± I nce down and frown before looking back up at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant,amor.¡± I gasp and my hand flies to my mouth in shock. Fresh tears pool in my eyes. I¡¯m a mess. ¡°What?¡± I ask, voice quivering. He nods, a euphoric smile lighting up his face. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant,¡± he confirms. ¡°The doctors discovered it when they were running tests. Thankfully, the bullet didn¡¯t go anywhere near your uterus, so the baby wasn¡¯t harmed. You¡¯re only about one month along so they thought you might not even know.¡± ¡°I¨C I didn¡¯t,¡± I stutter. ¡°I would have told you if I knew. I can¡¯t believe it. Did¡­ I mean, are you happy about it?¡± ¡°Happy? I¡¯mecstatic. I¡¯ve been wanting to get you pregnant since the first time I fucked you, remember?¡± He bends his head and drops a lingering kiss on my belly. ¡°I thought you were kidding.¡± ¡°No,amor,¡± he replies,ing back to a seated position and wrapping his other arm around me. ¡°I¡¯ve always known it was you. Since that very first day.¡± I run my fingers lovingly through his hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it took me a while to catch up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡± He presses his forehead against mine and breathes his next words contentedly. ¡°You were worth the wait,amor.¡± Devil Mine: Epilogue ¡°Mummy,¡± Theo whines, reaching for me. Cassie swoops him into her arms before I can turn from the mirror. ¡°Mummy can¡¯t hold you right now, baby, she¡¯s getting ready. Why don¡¯t we y with L and Rafe?¡± Theo pouts. ¡°I¡¯m not a baby. I¡¯m five years old.¡± He holds up all five fingers to prove what a big age that is. ¡°Rafael¡¯s the baby and he doesn¡¯t do anything. He¡¯s boring.¡± Cassieughs and sets him back down. ¡°What about going to find your cousins, love?¡± Nera asks, sweeping into the room. ¡°They¡¯re with your Uncle Tristan.¡± ¡°They¡¯re also babies. I¡¯m a big boypared to them.¡± I turn from the mirror with a smile. ¡°Yes, you are. You¡¯re my big boy,¡± I say, bending to kiss his cheek. Theo¡¯s chest puffs out proudly in response, looking every inch like his father when he¡¯s that pleased with himself. Valentina and Dagny walk in with their husbands and Theo¡¯s eyes light up. ¡°Nina!¡± he exims. Valentina crouches and opens her arms wide. ¡°My little man!¡± He runs and throws himself into her waiting arms. ¡°Traitor,¡± Dagny mutters under her breath. Her husband wraps an arm around her shoulders and chuckles. ¡°He¡¯s not supposed to have favorites.¡± ¡°Yourlittle man?¡± Valentina¡¯s husband questions. She stands and turns to face him with my son held in her arms. ¡°You are not acting territorial over what our five year old nephew calls me.¡± ¡°Maybe I am,¡± he purrs, cupping her cheek. ¡°Maybe we need to go back to our room so I can put a boy inside you.¡± The door opens once more and Cassie¡¯s husband stalks into the room, walking past the bantering couple as his gaze finds hers. ¡°If anyone¡¯s putting a baby in their wife, it¡¯s me. Thanks toyourhusband,¡± he says with a finger in my direction. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her in almost five days.¡± He sweeps a delighted Cassie into a hug and twirls her twice before pressing his mouth against hers in a hungry kiss. A warmth slithers into my heart seeing all of my best friends gather around me. ¡°What are they doing?¡± Theo asks inquisitively, pointing at them with a grossed out expression on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s not teach my son how babies are made just yet,¡± I answer. Cassie and her husband break apart with some difficulty, both of them panting heavily. ¡°Should I leave the room then?¡± Nera asks yfully. She¡¯s heavily pregnant with her third child after giving birth to twins two years ago. ¡°If you and Thiago keep going at this rate, you¡¯ll be having that talk sooner than you think,¡± Dagny supplies helpfully. I can¡¯t help butugh. After I was shot and Cassie saved my life, my recovery and subsequent pregnancy were both thankfully very smooth. There were noplications or adverse effects from what happened to me, and Theo came into the world eight monthster, weighing almost nine and a half pounds and looking exactly like his father, minus the tattoos. I¡¯ll never forget the look on Thiago¡¯s face when he was handed the baby. The fierce protectiveness that¡¯d etched itself across every single one of his features as he¡¯d looked down at his son in awe. I knew two things in that moment; one, that he would protect him with his life and two, that I should expect to be pregnant again very soon. The way his eyes had lifted to mine, dted and heavy, had told me he wanted to put an army inside me. L followed two years after him and Rafael another year and a half after her. Bncing a career, a healthy marriage, and three children hasn¡¯t been easy, but I¡¯ve had help. After she got married, Valentina left her official duties within the cartel and I hired her at the Noble Group. As my assistance at first since she didn¡¯t have any formal training, but she¡¯s smart and savvy and within two years she was running all of ops for me. She¡¯s now the Chief Operations Officer and a big part of the reason why thepany is thriving and doing better than ever. Cassie helped me through the months of my recovery, also keeping a watchful eye over my pregnancy. I¡¯d like to say that we grew close, but there was no growth needed. It was automatic. One day she wasn¡¯t a part of my life, the next I couldn¡¯t remember what it was even like without her in it. She¡¯s been the kind of loyal best friend every girl hopes for. I was right about Nera ¨C she was ¡®the one¡¯ and my brotherwasin love. She¡¯s a badass through and through, a recent two-time Olympic fencing champion, a fashion icon, a mother, and now a close friend. They got married and moved back to London so she and her friends have be a part of my close group. And Dagny. Well, Dagny remains unchanged, even in the face of overnight fame. She¡¯s now the hottest designer in the UK with about a two year waitlist for any of her designs. Except for me of course, I¡¯m always the first to try on and model her new pieces. She¡¯s happily married now, if you can believe it. She¡¯d told me once that, unlike me, she¡¯d never let herself marry an Underworld man. Let¡¯s just say, she didn¡¯t resist for long. And I¡¯ll never let her forget it. Aside from Tristan and my husband, there¡¯s only one other person missing for our party to beplete. The door opens and she walks in like I conjured her, a blooming smile taking over her entire face. ¡°There you are,¡± I say. ¡°We almost got started without you. Not that I have any idea what we¡¯re doing tonight.¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Adriana answers with a breathlessugh. ¡°I know I¡¯mte.¡± ¡°Will someone tell me what we¡¯re doing now?¡± I ask. ¡°Where is my husband?¡± ¡°I¡¯m right here,amor,¡± he calls from behind me, walking in with Tristan by his side from the doors that open on the beachfront view of our vi. L is asleep on his hip, her head on his shoulders, a pacifier stuck between her lips. Rafael is also sleeping, buried snuggly in the carrier held in Thiago¡¯s other hand. A pang of lust shoots into my belly watching him carry our children so effortlessly. These days, there isn¡¯t much Thiago can do that doesn¡¯t send my girl parts into an absolute tizzy. I¡¯m still ming the post-birth hormones, although I¡¯m sure those are long gone by now but I¡¯ll get Cassie to back me up from a medical standpoint. Perks of having a doctor as your best friend. L moans but doesn¡¯t wake as Thiago hands her to Dagny. ¡°My girl,¡± she coos lovingly. He hands Rafael¡¯s carrier to Cassie¡¯s husband who takes him happily. ¡°There¡¯s my godson,¡± he says. ¡°Alright, you guys can go get settled,¡± Thiago tells our friends. ¡°Yay!¡± Dagny whisper-yells so as to not wake my daughter. ¡°See you out there.¡± ¡°Outwhere?¡± I ask as she walks by me. She simply winks. All of our friends file through the doors and disappear outside, leaving Thiago and I alone. His gaze is heated and possessive on me. Clearly he likes the pale pink dress Cassie instructed me to wear tonight. ¡°Is it finally time for you to tell me why you flew us and all of our closest friends out here?¡± I ask. We¡¯re in Colombia, in ya nca on the Bar¨² penins. We¡¯ve been here as a family for the past week and yesterday our friends started appearing, couple by couple, taking me by surprise. When I looked over at him, Thiago had a cocky smirk on his face as he took in my overjoyed reaction, and I knew that he¡¯d organized all of this. No matter how much I begged and tried to ckmail the girls, they wouldn¡¯t tell me what was going on. Thiago¡¯s always been very romantic, he¡¯s shown that time and time again over the seven years we¡¯ve been together, but whatever this is, it¡¯s next level, even for him. He closes the distance between us and grabs my hands softly in his. ¡°I was going to do this years ago, but I was busy after everything that happened with Marco¡­¡± The fallout from Marco¡¯s attempted mutiny was significant. I barely saw Thiago in the months after I came home from the hospital. He tried to be there as much as possible during my recovery and early pregnancy, but I understood that he had a cancer to root out and a cartel to get back under control. He and the few men he trusted waged a civil war from the inside out. They found all of those who¡¯d been involved in the betrayal and hadn¡¯t been unmasked yet, and they made examples of them. They tortured them, then killed their families. I couldn¡¯t find it in me to have anypassion after all the hurt they¡¯d caused. And now that I was pregnant, my priority was keeping my family safe. To ensure that any organizations that thought they could prey on the cartel¡¯s seeming moment of weakness, and to make sure that the remaining cartel members understood what would happen to traitors, Thiago sent them all a message. Marco¡¯s body was found hanging from Tower Bridge. His hands nailed to the railing, his feet dangling beneath him, his cock shorn off his body. ¡®Traitor¡¯ was carved into his naked chest. The problems had been mostly under control since then, although we¡¯d hit a few necessary speed bumps along the way. ¡°¡­ and then I kept getting you pregnant,¡± Thiago finishes with a smug smirk. Iugh. ¡°You could at leastpretendto sound sorry about that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he answers with a smile. I peck him on the lips. ¡°Me neither.¡± There¡¯s something about watching this man do the dad walk out of the hospital, carrying our newborn in a carrier at his side, that makes me want to get immediately knocked back up just so I can watch him do it all over again. Thiago intertwines his fingers with mine and pulls me after him as he heads for the double doors that lead out onto the beach. ¡°Have you ever regretted marrying me?¡± he asks softly. I frown, shaking my head emphatically. ¡°No. Why would you ask that?¡± ¡°How about our wedding? Have you ever regretted that?¡± I smile as I think back to the shotgun wedding in the back of the Rolls. To the terrified priest who¡¯d run out of there at the first opportunity. To the way Thiago had ripped that first orgasm out of me, then brutally fucked my mouth. ¡°It was unconventional for sure,¡± I say with a conspiratorial grin. ¡°But also no.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± He stops in the doorway. The linen curtains billow in the wind, obscuring the view through the doors. ¡°I needed to make you mine that very moment.Needed, not wanted. I could have been dered mentally insane for how mad with need I was for you after finally catching you.¡± He brushes his fingers tenderly across my cheek. ¡°But I¡¯ve always thought that you deserved better than what I gave you.¡± Thiago catches the curtain, finally revealing what awaits us on the other side. Two rows of white chairs on the beach, every seat upied by our smiling best friends and children who turn towards the doors to stare at us. The chairs face an altar decorated by hundreds of blood red roses. Behind it, the wavesp at the sandy beach. Beneath it, Dagny stands beaming, holding a paper in her hands. ¡°Get your ass down that aisle, Tessie,¡± she calls excitedly, hand cupped around her mouth. ¡°I got certified for this!¡± My hand flies to my mouth in shock. I turn towards Thiago with tears in my eyes. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting married again.¡± He sps my hand in his and walks us out of the vi and down the stairs, starting down the aisle. Valentina hands me a bouquet as I walk past her. ¡°I won¡¯t have you walking down this aisle alone or being given away to me or whatever the fuck other traditions there are for unmarried women. We¡¯ve been married for more than six years.That¡¯show long you¡¯ve been mine, not today¡¯s date. This is about giving you the wedding you¡¯ve always deserved, with your friends and your family.¡± I spot my mum sitting next to Tristan. ¡°And now our children.¡± We make it to the altar and I stare up at it in wonder, the beauty of the location and details rendering me speechless. I don¡¯t know how they all kept this a secret from me, but I¡¯m moved to tears. ¡°When we¡¯re done here, we¡¯re going to have a wedding dinner on the beach and we¡¯re going to dance under the stars, just the way you love. And then we¡¯re going to be thest to leave so you can finally cross that off your bucket list.¡± He smiles adoringly down at me. ¡°I hope this wedding will be as perfect as you might have once dreamed it would be.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already better,¡± I say, emotion choking me. Dagny leans towards me. ¡°Talk about full circle, me standing here. Can you believe it?¡± Thiago rolls his eyes. ¡°She didn¡¯t give me a choice.¡± She shrugs. ¡°He shot me.¡± Behind me, I hear her husband growl angrily. He doesn¡¯t like to be reminded of what Thiago did. ¡°And are we even now?¡± Thiago asks. She takes one look at the beaming smile on my face and turns towards my husband with a smile. ¡°I think we finally are.¡± She looks down at her notes, then back at us.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°Are you guys ready?¡± ¡°I am,¡± I say, eyes shining as I look up at my husband. ¡°I have been for six years,¡± he answers. ¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s get this wedding on the road.¡± She clears her throat and starts reading the traditional wedding rites. Thiago speaks his vows and I improvise mine on the spot. It¡¯s the easiest thing in the world to vow to love him for the rest of my life. Finally, Dagny asks, ¡°Do you, Thiago da Silva, take this woman, Tess da Silva, to be yourwfully wedded wife?¡± ¡°I do,¡± he purrs. ¡°And do you, Tess da Silva, take this man, Thiago da Silva, to be yourwfully wedded husband?¡± ¡°I do,¡± I answer. ¡°I have.¡± He makes a soft sound of satisfaction and squeezes my hand. Then he slips a new ring on my fourth finger, a diamond evenrger than the first one. ¡°You may kiss the bride. Again!¡± Dagny exims. Thiago tips me backwards, holding my leg up to his waist and bncing my back on his forearm. ¡°I love you,¡± he whispers, a smile tugging at his lips. ¡°I love you too.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be much harder to divorce me now that I¡¯ve married you twice,¡± he jokes, lips hovering millimeters from mine. My gaze drops to his mouth. ¡°Do I get to whip your ass for saying that word out loud?¡± His eyes twinkle with love. ¡°Ask me nicely and I¡¯ll let you do anything you want.¡± I hear Theo yell, ¡°Go, Daddy!¡± in the background before Thiago¡¯s mouth finds mine in a searing kiss.Cinnamon explodes on my tongue. And life is just perfect. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!