Devil Mine: A Dark Cartel Romance (London Underworld Book 1)

I spend the vast majority of the flight back to London replaying 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’t comment on it.

Tess keeps ignoring us once we get on the jet, going to the back of the plane into the bedroom and slamming 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 playing 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 tequila, 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–”

“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 plane towards the bedroom and throw the door open. Tess is laying on the bed on her stomach, kicking her feet playfully as she reads a book. Only I know that she’s not wearing any panties under that short dress and that she’s not laying 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. “Now come 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. “A lot has 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’s…completely 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.

“Now come take a picture, otherwise I’ll use the one I took of you face down and ass up on my lap.”

Tess blushes furiously, but places her hand in mine and walks across the bed towards me. When she’s at the edge, I clasp her waist and bring her down, pulling her against me so my chest is to her back. I place 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—

“Done,” Arturo clips harshly.

One curt syllable 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 the comings 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, a large 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 the capo, 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 outright laughs. “I caught him with his pants around his ankles and his flaccid 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 clap 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 plane.

“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 flat 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.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Hola, jefe,” Diana says, walking into the foyer and giving me a warm smile. “Bienvenido a casa. Y quién 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’ve come back married. “She doesn’t speak Spanish. Tess, this is Diana, my house manager.”

Tess takes a step forward and extends her hand.

“Hola Diana, me llamo Tess. Hablo un poquito de Español, pero estoy mucho más cómoda hablando inglés,” she tells her with a smile before turning a withering glare 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 and laugh. Yet again I’ve underestimated her. That’s not a mistake I’ll make a third time.

Placing 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 back later,” 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 plane 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 Switzerland?”

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.”