Page 65 of Devil Mine

So I give him the one thing I know he wants above all else.

My total submission.

For now, at least.

I look up at him from beneath my lashes.

“I’ll gowillingly.”

A harsh, low sound jerks from his lips. His hand relaxes a fraction, just enough for me to breathe, and then he’s nodding his head and Tristan is released.

My brother takes one look at the Rolls Royce that pulls up next to us and shakes his head.

“I’m not leaving you with a stranger who’s trying to fucking kidnap you.”

I need him to leave before Thiago loses all patience and slits his throat. Already, his fingers are drumming against the side of my neck, rapping impatiently over my pulse point.

“He’s not…” I hesitate, my gaze trailing over to meet Tristan’s. “He’s not a stranger,” I admit.

A rumble from deep within Thiago’s chest erupts into the silence and pulls my attention back to him. He slides his hand around the back of my neck until it closes around my nape, forcing my head back to stare up into his eyes, his massive palm controlling me completely.

“Tell him who I am,” he orders, sharp teeth on display as he grins.

I whimper and his thumb rubs gentle circles on the side of my neck. A more naive girl would mistake the gesture as being soothing, but I know he’s just trying to manipulate me into giving him what he wants.

“He’s…” I start, then stop, unable to finish my sentence. There’s a savage gleam shining in his eyes as they drop to my mouth. He looks to be holding his breath, like he’s hooked on what I’m about to say, like he can’t breathe until I admit what he is to me.

I’ve never said the words out loud. He wants to hear them, but I think he wants to see me give in even more. My lips part again and he leans forward, spellbound.

“He’s…”

His patience snaps.

“Tell him,” he orders hoarsely.

All it takes to sign my life away is saying three little words. I know that once I say them, there’s no turning back. I’m crossing a line that I can’t uncross.

His eyes glide back up to mine and snuff out my remaining resistance. I swallow thickly, then finally, almost like a confession, I say the words he’s waited to hear for months.

“He’s my fiancé.”

Thiago unfurls to his full height, an arrogant, deeply victorious look stamped across his features. His eyes gleam with satisfaction and something like pride.

“What?” Tristan turns an incredulous look in my direction. “When we last spoke, I told younotto be in an arranged marriage the next time we saw each other. Did you forget to Q-tip that morning or what?”

“In my defense, you said I shouldn’t get engaged to a ‘stuffy prick’. Does he look like one?”

Tristan eyes him critically before muttering under his breath, “He looks like he fulfills one of those two criteria.”

My eyes widen, but Thiago brings a swift end to our sibling banter. He uses his grip on my nape to angle my face back up to his.

“Get lost, Tristan,” he snaps, not bothering to even look at him. A lethal glint shines in his gaze and I know referring to him as my fiancé was only a temporary truce. He’s going to make me answer for the past couple of months. “Your sister and I have things to discuss. Don’t we,amor?”

I shudder in his grasp and he feels it. He doesn’t bother to wait for a response from either of us and uses his grip to push me towards the car instead. I throw a look and a quick wave over my shoulder at Tristan before I’m unceremoniously shoved into the back of the car.

???

Chapter Twenty-FOUR

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