Page 30 of Devil Mine

“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–”

“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 clasp 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 fiancée.

???

Chapter Eleven

Thiago

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 flattered.

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 planned on defiling her until she was officially my wife, but her irate expression is making me question all my carefully laid plans. I want to wipe the sneer off her lips by shoving my dick down her throat. Ending my celibacy by hate fucking my fiancée 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.”

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