Since Rick’s abdication, the territory had fallen into the hands of the Italians. We’d made plans for a hostile takeover until Carrera’s Russian bitch whispered a pretty alternative into my associate Roman Peters’s ear.
I was a man who never compromised, but I could fake a concession when required, particularly if it meant sinking our claws into Mexico’s trafficking underground. Today, that concession was flying to some Carrera wedding to talk terms with a bunch of assholes instead of enjoying a second honeymoon with my wife.
It didn’t mean I was happy about it, though.
My savage groans competed with the roar of the private jet’s engines. The mirror above the bed, the strained atmosphere—everything in this small bedroom was being scorched by the twin heat of my anger and lust.
One vow bound our hearts.
Two children bound our souls.
If I could make her come again so soon, her self-control would be mine for the taking as well.
“Dante!” she screamed out suddenly, her soft body arching into me.
Instead of slowing, I increased the viciousness of my thrusts. In response, her teeth snagged at my bicep and her legs around my waist slackened, falling away like the petals of a rose and giving me even more access to the heart of her.
“Not finished yet, mi alma,” I growled, pulling out and flipping her onto her front.
“Then lose yourself in me, my devil,” she whispered as she bowed her head, offering up her delicate shoulder blades as a sacrifice to my mouth while she braced herself on her elbows for my next act of violence. “Take what you want from my body. I’ve told you this before... I’ll give you all of me if it helps calm the storm.”
Heaven and hell.
With the softest of kisses to her flawless, alabaster skin, I drove back inside her—tearing through any lingering resistance and seating myself so deep she muffled a scream into the pillow.
This is what I did. I took without mercy or restraint, and Valentin Carrera would be wise to remember that. No deal would ever be equal in my eyes. I always weighed the percentages in my favor. New York would be mine again as soon as I had the intel I needed, and then, we’d be taking a wrecking ball to the goddamn Mexicans.
There was a tempest heading Carrera’s way... One flash of lightning and my bullets would be setting fire to his fucking rain.
I finished with a roar, the base of my spine bursting into flames as I felt Eve quiver and strain beneath me. In the golden moments that followed, I painted sepia-tone pictures in my head. We were parted once. Since that day, I’ve never taken a single beat with her for granted.
Trailing more kisses down her spine, I eased slowly from her body. She whimpered but didn’t move as I tucked the white sheet around her hips. Once done, I rose from the bed, pausing at the foot to watch her sleep—the darkest angel standing guard over the lightest. Two pregnancies hadn’t dulled her beauty. The silver lines on her skin mirrored my many scars. They were slashes of endurance for the ultimate gain: hers gave our lives meaning by welcoming our daughters into the world. Mine had led me straight to her.
She stirred, turning her head to the side and offering me her cheek this time.
“Rest,” I commanded, stealing another kiss from her, her skin as soft as my blood was savage. “We still have another couple of hours of flying time left.”
“Why are we going to Mexico again?” she asked sleepily.
“Business,” I murmured. “But afterward, mi alma, we’re heading straight to Monaco. It’s been too long since we had time alone without the children. After forty-eight hours of my undiluted pleasure, my angel,” I added huskily, “you’ll be begging for my mercy.”
She laughed. “Same to you, my devil.”
I never doubted it for a second. I’d kill for her. I’d die for her. My very existence would be a black hole without her.
My cell started ringing as I left the bedroom with one hand still buttoning up my black shirt.
Sofia.
I answered expecting to hear the softly-spoken voice of my children’s nanny. Instead, the sweetest angriest melody assaulted my senses, and my mouth did the unthinkable by stretching into a smile.
“Papá!” cried my eldest daughter, her shrillness laced with all the indignance of a four-year-old whose best laid plans had just been thwarted. “Sofia says I can’t ride my pony until I’ve brushed my teeth. It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” Her words hit a crescendo, displaying a temper that already rivaled my own.
“Hush, Ella,” I crooned, switching my cell to the other ear to flick my middle finger at my second-in-command, Joseph Grayson. The tall, blond American was watching me intently from the other side of the jet’s cabin. His expression never shifted, but I saw the trace of amusement in his eyes. All men feared me, but three women brought me to my fucking knees. “Sofia is right, chiquita. Do you wish for all your teeth to fall out?”
“But papá!” she wailed, clearly dissatisfied with my response. “Archie will be so sad.”
“Archie can wait five more minutes for your affections.”
Joseph couldn’t hide his fucking smirk now, neither could the two men he was sat with. They were the only ones I allowed to see this side of me. It didn’t stop me wanting to decorate their faces with my fist, though.
“Archie will be mad as well, papá,” she added sternly.
Archie can fucking deal with it, I reflected, gearing up for some tough negotiation—the one parenthood staple that all the books forgot to mention. “If you brush your teeth for Sofia, chiquita, I promise to make it up to you and Archie.”
“How?”
She still wasn’t impressed. She needed a five-point fucking plan for how I was going to fix this. I wonder who she gets that from? I never explained my shit to anyone, but with Ella and Thalia I found myself curbing my own rules on a daily basis.
“A new saddle?” I offered.
“Uh-uh.” She paused to mull it over before delivering her verdict. “You gotta hug him, papá.”
What the fuck?
“Papá?” she prompted.
“Fine, fine,” I said in exasperation. If she asked for my heart, I’d pass her my knife and tell her to get on with it. “Now go and brush your damn teeth!”
“Bad word!” she crowed with a naughty giggle, and the strength of her innocence made my black heart explode with light.
Her mother taught me how to yield to love.
My daughters taught me to accept its cruel sting.
There was so much harm in this world, but they would never know pain and danger. Not like me. Not like their eldest sister. Ella and Thalia’s lives would be shaped with warmth and safety, and I’d kill every single threat to keep it that way.
“Love you, papá,” she trilled, finally placated. “And Archie loves you, too.”
“And I love Archie,” I replied through gritted teeth, ignoring the bark of laughter behind me. “Be good for Sofia… Mamá will call you later.” Papá’s got some even tougher negotiation to do for the next twenty-four hours. “How about you take that laughter and shove it down your fucking throat, Sanders,” I roared, hanging up on my daughter.
“Has anyone ever accused you of having a bipolar disorder?” Rick responded mildly. “And have you ever considered getting your inflight entertainment room soundproofed? I never knew Eve had so many vowels in her vocabulary.”