Page 192 of Devil Mine

“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 playfully. 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 but laugh.

After I was shot and Cassie saved my life, my recovery and subsequent pregnancy were both thankfully very smooth. There were no complications or adverse effects from what happened to me, and Theo came into the world eight months later, 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, dilated and heavy, had told me he wanted to put an army inside me.

Lola followed two years after him and Rafael another year and a half after her. Balancing 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 the company 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 – 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 become 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 be complete.

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 breathless laugh. “I know I’m late.”

“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 villa. Lola 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 blaming 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.

Lola 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.

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