White flag.
I surrendered.
Fucker.
“Now enough of this.” Pulling me closer, I sighed as his lips traced my hairline up to my ear. “My sister only gets one wedding, Cereza. Let’s not fuck it up with business. Enjoy it, and tomorrow we can sit down and talk strategy.”
I knew what he was doing.
My husband loved me. He protected our family with a fierceness few men on this earth could rival. And during most of our marriage, he treated me as his equal.
But I knew when I was being placated.
There were two Valentin Carreras: the supportive partner who ensured my safety by including me in his cartel business, and the paranoid husband who took control of it by denying me access.
Whatever I walked in on a few minutes ago had already flipped a switch in him. I could have pushed him harder on this whole Santiago thing, but it was pointless. When Valentin Carrera shut down, it was behind an iron wall. Arguing after that would be like throwing nerf darts at concrete. His mind was made up and that was that.
I’d have to bide my time, but this was far from over.
I didn’t go from being a drug lord’s captive to his queen by giving up.
Lolling my head to the side, I glanced out the window and smiled. It was beautiful. Dusk had settled over the estate, and the fairy lights crisscrossing the open courtyard gave everything almost an ethereal look. Lavish roses lined two sections of white chairs, and an aisle draped with rich red fabric ran between them.
My eyes trailed the length of the fabric until they landed on the altar. It wasn’t fancy or elaborate. Two long pieces of white-painted wood formed the top while two on each side fanned out to secure it almost like a child’s swing set frame. The same red fabric that lined the aisle was draped and woven around the wood and secured with deep crimson roses and greenery.
It was simple, yet intricate. Understated, yet impactful.
Just like Brody and Adriana.
I sighed, my eyes stinging with nostalgia. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it? So much has happened, but it wasn’t that long ago that you and I were getting ready for our own wedding.” Tilting my chin, I gazed up at him. “Do you remember?”
His eyes darkened. “I remember our wedding night.”
“Val…” Groaning his name, I pulled away, but he tightened his hold.
“You looked like a goddess,” he continued, dousing my suspicion and igniting the ever-present fire between us by letting his hands wander. “I felt like I’d waited my whole life to see you in a white gown, and all I could think of was hauling you over my shoulder and ripping it off you.”
I smirked at the memory. “You didn’t think, Danger. You did.”
“I want you as much now as I did back then,” he rasped, drawing my dress up my legs. “Maybe more.”
It was over. He’d won.
Just as I reached down to guide him, the gestational cockblock inside me completed a full somersault, breaking the moment. Laughing, I leaned back into his chest and smoothed a hand over my stomach. “That was the night I told you I was pregnant with Santi. Do you remember what you said?”
“How could I forget?”
Chapter Six
Eden
Two years ago
Releasing the garters from my elastic thigh holster, Val slid it down my leg and tossed it and my gun to the floor. I groaned impatiently as he chased his fingers back up the length of my leg with his lips. The minute he passed my knee, I meant to moan something enticing and dirty.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t what came out.
“About that heir thing…” He froze, with his mouth on my inner thigh. Glancing up through thick eyelashes, he waited for me to continue. Swallowing the lump growing in my throat by the minute, I took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, with Nash being gone, and neither of us having any family left, I decided to listen to you and stop putting everything in a box.”
“Oh?” He smiled.
“Except for one thing. I left this in there.”
Digging under the pillow, I handed Val the rectangular box and held my breath. It rattled as he shook it and I smiled nervously. “So, how would you feel about a daughter running the empire someday?” The horrified look blanketing his face first scared me, then irritated the hell out of me. Narrowing my eyes, I peered at him through tiny slits. “Really?”
Full chested laughter overtook him as he rolled over and took me with him. “If she’s anything like you, she’ll run more than this empire. She’ll run the world.”
Present Day
Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back against Val’s chest as his hand wandered under my dress. “You still think she’ll run the world?”
His lips skimmed my ear, his other thumb caressing my swollen belly as a low chuckle rumbled against my skin. “No, Cereza. I think she’ll own it.”
With one touch, my body ignited, and strategy went up in flames. I swallowed a moan as his fingers dipped between my thighs, and biting my lip, I absorbed his low curse as his fingers found me bare.
Val’s grip on me tightened, his rock-hard erection pressing impatiently against my lower back. He didn’t ask for permission before sliding a finger between my slick folds. As usual, he demanded and took. And as usual, I turned into a helpless leaf caught in the power of his storm.
“Fuck,” he groaned sinking his teeth into my shoulder. “You’re dripping for me, Eden. ¿Estás tratando de matarme?” Are you trying to kill me?
Kill him? No.
Best him? Absolutely.
“Never.” I allowed myself a small smirk while grinding against him. “I love your cock too much to murder you.”
But my husband was a formidable opponent—one never to be underestimated. He didn’t give a shit about rules. He competed to win and didn’t mind playing dirty to do it.
“Is that right?” It was a simple question, but the sinful mouth behind me twisted it into a dare. “My cock keeps me alive?” Whatever was going on had him teetering on the edge, and my taunts were nudging him even closer. Scraping his teeth against my ear, he buried two fingers inside me without warning, the restraint he’d held back the last few months starting to break.
With my breath whooshing out of my lungs in an unsteady wave, I sank a hand into his hair, fighting to regain control. “No. Your mouth and fingers are occasionally useful, too.”
I watched out of my peripheral vision as Val stopped thrusting and slowly lifted his fingers to his mouth. The feral groan rattling in the back of his throat as he sucked nearly brought me to my knees. “You think so? Maybe I should prove how useful all three can be.”
“Val…”
“You tell me, Cereza, would burying my fingers in your ass, fucking your mouth and licking your cunt, keep me alive?”
A rush of heat burned my cheeks. Unbelievable. After two years of marriage, Valentin Carrera could still leave me speechless.
He waited, his breath hot on my neck for an answer, but there wouldn’t be one. It was too late. I’d already heard the change in his voice. The cartel boss had taken over. The dominant and merciless king who lost himself in his own power. The one who dared defiance and punished with fire.