Page 55 of King of Obsession (Kings of the Underworld #1)

“You don’t live here,” someone else chimes in.

I bend slightly over the table, steepling my hands and sweeping a hard look over each of them. “And I won’t. I’ll come here when my presence is demanded, but we have something new called technology. I am sure you must have heard of it.”

There’s a silent mutter weaving through the room at my jab, but I hear insolent and arrogant.

“Why would we accept her?” another one says, narrowing a nasty look at Luciana, but fear is clear in his voice.

She leans back, appearing unaffected and in control. “Augustus doesn’t have heirs. His name died with him just like his influence and power,” she says calmly and in a self-assured way.

Around the table, I see some nodding in obvious relief while others mumble under their breath before she continues, “But let’s be very clear. You will listen to me. While the majority will have the say, I will have the veto right.”

All of them rise to their feet and she does the same. I don’t have to interfere. My woman can deal with these entitled assholes on her own. She will have to, as she will be present more often than I.

“Don’t forget who you’re talking to. I know things about you I will release to the media to ruin you for generations to come.”

“This is blackmail.”

She waves him off. “No. This results from thinking no one would dare come after you. Well, I dared, so what’s it going to be? Destruction or submission?”

“Will you make sure our power and influence will only grow and what happened today will never happen again?” the eldest member asks.

She nods. “You want total immunity. Granted. Augustus’s death was personal. The past is buried.”

“Let’s vote then,” Donata says, giving in after sensing the shift in the room.

After a moment of pause, they lift their hands one after the other. It doesn’t matter whether it’s due to fear or self-preservation.

Luciana looks at me, and I dip my chin, accepting her role and power. She was born to be a queen and after all that asshole did to her, it’s poetic justice that she will be the unofficial ruler.

After they sit, she takes her seat last, crossing one leg over the other.

“What about the Syndicate?” Donata asks.

“I will deal with them,” I assure them.

One fucking problem at a time.

When the doors open, the guards notice the table arrangements and they drop their guns to the side, bowing their heads to Luciana.

I stand up and so does she.

“Bring me a car,” she demands, and one guard rushes out to comply with her order.

“What are you doing?” Donata asks.

“I am flying back home. You will be in charge until I return.”

I have never respected my woman more than I do now when she gives her biggest competitor a chance to shine. I know exactly what she’s doing. Donata would never rest until she gets the power, but this will appease her hunger.

After Luciana’s success, they will simply have to accept the new status quo. What is a life of luxury and privileges if you’re dead?

Placing my hand on her back, she softens under my touch as we head outside.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I send Mika’s call to voicemail. He must be worried, but I’ll call him later.

As the driver takes us to the airport, every nerve ending relaxes, knowing we’ll be back home soon. I am beyond exhausted but also revved up at the same time.

Once we take our seats and are ready for take-off, she smiles, placing her cheek on my arm. “Thank you.”

While her gratitude warms my chest, I am programmed to love this woman either way.

That includes being by her side as she conquers the world.

Interlinking our fingers, I bring her hand to my mouth, placing a kiss on her palm.

“I am still mad at you.”

“I am too, amore. But I am sure we’ll figure that out to both our liking.”

The desire coursing through my veins turns my blood into an inferno. When I take her, she will have absolutely no doubts in her mind that the only choice she has is to be mine. I postpone that plan, both of us needing our sleep to recharge.

Caressing along her arm, we fall asleep until a jolt takes me out of my deep slumber. Fuck, I slept like the dead. Still slightly disoriented, I see that she’s still fast asleep when the flight attendant tells me we’re about to land.

I can’t wait to lock us up in the penthouse so no one can disturb us for a while.

But first, I must inform Mika. I send him a text, telling him to meet me at the penthouse. Then I place my lips on top of her head and say, “We’re home, vitta mia.”

She mumbles something unintelligible before she rubs her eyes. They instantly sparkle when they lock on mine. A lightness spreads through me. I could levitate above the ground any moment now. Only she has this power over me.

In my car, she realizes where we’re heading, and she bites her lower lip. “We’re going to the penthouse… I was there before I left.”

“So you saw.” Raw emotions lodge in my throat. It’s impossible to form words.

“That you’re obsessed with me. Yes.”

I chuckle. There’s no denying facts. I own my madness just like I own her heart and her pleasure.

The moment I park the car, she jumps into my arms and with mouths pressed together, I try to find my way to the elevator. Inside, she helps me by swiping the keycard, and I type the code into the panel.

Feeling her body against my front and her tongue tangling with mine ignites a fervent need inside of me that makes me want to just fuck her until the end of time.

And because I forget my damn mind when she’s in my vicinity, it’s only when Mika clears his throat that I find my way through the haze of lust.

She slides down my chest. “Do we need to do this now?” she whines.

She looks so flushed and ready to be fucked that I want to kick myself for suggesting having the talk now. Knowing my best friend, he wouldn’t have stopped until he got his answers. To show how serious he is, he moves toward the living room and plants his ass on the armchair in front of the sofa.

We sit across from him, and I say, “We were in Venice.”

“I’ve heard. My phone hasn’t stopped blowing up.” He scowls, raking a hand through his hair, jaw clenched to the point it might snap. “Why not tell me? I would have gone with you.”

“That was my revenge, brother. He took everything from me, so I took everything from him.”

“Do you think I would have stopped you?” He looks at his sister with so much hurt and guilt. “I would have slaughtered him…” Then he whips his head to me. “I’m so fucking mad at you. Not to say the implications it has in the underworld.”

I know but I don’t regret it. It was her life at stake.

“The Syndicate has been silent. That means they’re preparing to send us a message. We should prepare for war.”

“I’ll talk to them.” It’s their choice. I got what I wanted, and I will defend it with everything in me.

He stands up and looks us dead in the eyes. “I never made it a secret that I would cross any limit to keep Dahlia safe. If something happens to her…”

He lets the threat dangle. Compared to him, I feel like the shittiest brother possible.

“No one will touch her. I promise,” Luciana says, her tone resolute.

He dips his chin and walks out, but not before saying, “When you’re done, come over. I want to talk.”

“But of course, brother. Any other requests?”

“Lose the sarcasm. I am your Pakhan. I could make you into my Krisha.”

She huffs. “I don’t listen to you, big brother. Forget it because you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

My throat rumbles with a low growl. “The only thing she’ll be is my fucking wife, not your killing machine,”

This will be a work in progress.

Mika rubs at his temples as if this whole situation gives him a headache. He casts me a pitiful look before he leaves me alone with the menace I love more than I thought possible.

“He’s so overbearing. Who does he think he is?” she mumbles.

“Your brother,” I reply, and her deathly glare only makes me chuckle. “But you’re my woman.”

“Am I now?”

“Wanna play this game?” my voice lowers to a seductive, dangerous rasp. “Poking the beast is not a good idea.”

She curls her fingers in my shirt and gets on her tiptoes. Bringing her mouth an inch from mine, my lips dry with this voracious hunger to taste her.

“After the night I’ve had, I want to feel alive. So fuck me within an inch of my life and then bring me back while making love to me.”

I live to please her. Her wishes are my duty to fulfill.

As I back her into the bathroom, I turn on the water in the big oval tub, then I strip her clothes off her. Naked in front of me, I grip her neck, saying, “But first, I’ll baptize you as mine.”

And then I push her head into the water.