Chapter 1

PRESENT DAY

THANE

I bob my head to the popping sounds of techno music filling the lower level of Biggie T’s. It’s a gentlemen’s club owned by my father’s bratva, and it’s been my favorite place to hang since I got back from an eighteen-month tour in Latin America with our cartel partner. I come in here alone, and no one is stupid enough to bug me. The colored lights bounce around the stage as men whoop and holler, knowing who’s going to be stepping on stage. The busty server sets down my three shots of vodka as the DJ starts his spiel. “Put your hands together for Little Red Riding Hood.”

My cock springs to attention. The woman sauntering onto the stage is young and gorgeous. She’s hidden by a dark red hooded cape. She’ll slide it off and shimmy it down her body as she gyrates to the beat. I’ve watched her off and on for the last two weeks.

She bends and flips her long red hair up and back. I wish I could wrap my hand around those loose red tendrils while those expressive ice-blue eyes stare up at me, full of tears from taking my cock to the back of her throat. I can’t wait to feel those thick thighs around my waist as I make her mine again. And those tits are beyond stupendous. Few things interest me for as long...

“Thane?”

I flip my hand up to the annoying pest chirping at me.

“Thane?”

Fucking leave me alone. I turn and stare into the cold dead eyes of Jose Aguilar. He’s the boss of the New York plaza of his Uncle Arturo’s cartel.

“You’re spending a lot of time here.” His head flicks at the woman gyrating on the stage. “Have you tapped that yet?”

“Asking about my life, Aguilar?”

“Just making conversation.”

The man grates me the wrong way. He’s just like the rest of his family. They traffic girls and kids, which turns my stomach. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a business proposition for your people.”

You mean you’ve figured out a way for us to do the work and make you a ton of money? “What kind of business?”

He plunks himself down into the booth, tipping his head at the server. She knows exactly what he wants. “We want to increase our loan making business.”

“Why?”

“We need to launder more money, and I have to admit, we’re concerned about your IRS. Legitimate loans and title loans make us good money on top of giving us a way to clean the dirty money. My accountant figured out this is an innovative way to hide our money.”

“Okay?” This could have waited. “I’ll have Cynric call you.”

“Is that the best option? I hear he’s lost his edge. No one ever sees him anymore. Hell, there’s a rumor he’s dead.”

My head jerks to the small man. “Trust me, you don’t want to see the beast except for scheduled appointments. He’s lethal when he’s pissed.”

“I’d rather do business with you.” Jose crosses his arms, as though that makes him look more decisive.

“That’s not how it works. My brother is the gatekeeper to the bratva. Want our involvement? Convince Cynric.” Jose’s right though, my brother has been absent since a stock car crash burned him a few years ago.

My head swivels to the redhead as she bounces around the stage in a G-string. Jose understands my dismissal and walks away as I text Cynric that he wants to bother him again.

I give the pretty redhead a few minutes to change her clothes. She never stays past her three dances. She steps out of the dressing room as I lean against the dark wall. “Hello, Red.”

She jumps as a blush rises up her face. “Thane.”

“Come home with me.”

She readjusts the large blue canvas bag on her shoulder, maneuvering around me in the hallway. The area is blocked enough from the main room that you can hear another person when they talk without screaming at you. I glance at the back of the club which has multiple rooms behind heavy wood doors. I could take her into one but I want her alone.

“I’ve got to get back to my grandmother.” She steps quickly down the hall.

“It’s not that late. Just a few hours.” I dog her steps trying to catch her before she gets to the exit at the end of the hall.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. You said the first time it would be the last, and we’ve been together five more times.”

I run my finger down her cheek. “But it’s good.”

She cocks her hips and studies me. “Good?”

“Great. You’re right. It’s excellent.”

She flips her wrist to check the time. “An hour.” No way an hour is long enough.

I nod. I never let a woman dictate. What the fuck is wrong with me? “Excellent. Are you going to drive yourself back to my condo again?”

“Yes. I want to be able to leave when I decide to go.”

“Okay.” I extend my hand. “Lead the way.” We walk out the back door as I take out my keys. “You’ll follow?”

“Yes, Thane.”

Her tone makes my dick harder. The slight impatience at my question turns me on. The zipper on my pants presses into my erection, and I hurry to get in my car to wait for her. I’m acting like a teenager who’s desperate for sex. I can’t dwell on my thoughts because she pulls in behind me, and I’m impatient to get us back to my place. My hands itch to touch her. We drive through the streets of New Jersey to get to my penthouse. I could have chosen a place closer to my family in New York, but I needed the distance. We pull in tandem into the underground garage. The tension in my body is so tight. It reminds me of when I’ve been working out all day, in need of a good massage. I smile. Sex is better than a massage. We park and both get out. I can see now she’s dressed in a tight pair of jeans and a cartoon sweatshirt. Her hair, which was long down her nearly naked body, is now pinned up in a sloppy knot.

She looks at me with a nervous smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I lean in to take her mouth with mine. She’s tiny, maybe a foot shorter than me. I break the kiss. “How tall are you?”

She cocks her head. “Five-four.”

“Seriously.” I scrape my hand across my hair. “You’re a foot shorter.” She rolls her eyes, and my cock twitches. “You’re getting a spanking for that.”

“For what? Because I rolled my eyes at the big alpha?”

“Alpha?” I burst out laughing. “Like some sleazy romance book?”

She shrugs. “Sure. You are, aren’t you?”

I think for a minute, pondering her question. Yeah, I’m dominant. I like to have things my way. “Yes.”

She steps into the elevator from the garage, and I move to stand slightly in front of her. Years of being trained to take care of my mother come into play. She fidgets behind me. Her hands move together as she twists them. Her nervousness makes her more endearing. She’ll submit in the bedroom. She’s not a doormat, but she gives me everything I ask for and more. The elevator doors open, and we step into my penthouse.

“I’ll freshen up.”

“Sure, baby. You know the way.”

She sets down her bag by the door. I noticed the first night it seems like she keeps it there to ensure a quick exit. I kick off my shoes as I pull out my phone to see if Cynric responded to Aguilar. My father has a long-term relationship with Aguilar’s uncle, so convincing him to find a new partner is going to be difficult.

The door swings open, and a goddess steps out of my powder room. Her hair is streaming across her chest, playing peek-a-boo with her luscious, creamy breasts. The bright pink nipples beckon, begging me to suck them. She bites her lower lip, looking down, with her phone in one hand and her clothes over her arm. She moves the other to cover her chest.

“Oh. No. No embarrassment. You’re exquisite.”

She tips her head, and a slow smile peaks on her mouth. “You’re still fully dressed.” She follows me to my bedroom, and I turn next to the bed as she sets down her clothes with her phone.

I hold out my arms. “Undress me.”

Her arms drop and a predatory look crosses her face as she walks toward me. She kneels and unbuttons my pants. Sliding down the zipper, she knocks them down my legs. Her face looks up at my crotch, and I swear my cock will burst. She pops up on her feet and slips her hands under my henley, shoving it up and over my head. She takes a step back with my shirt in her hand and smiles. “You have more than six abs.”

I chuckle. “Maybe.”

“No, maybe.” She runs her fingers across my abdomen, along each indentation, and my breath catches.

“Stop teasing me, woman.”

She bats her eyes. “Want me to take those off?” She points to my briefs.

“No.” I reach down and pick her up to cradle her in my arms as I lay her on my king-size four poster bed. I bought the condo, and the prior owner was too lazy to remove the bed. My realtor convinced me to keep it, knowing my proclivities for all things with ropes and cuffs. The black satin sheets accentuate the luscious cascade of her red hair and her satiny white skin.

The blue in her eyes is nearly gone from her dilated pupils. Lust seeps from her body, and my cock is rock hard. I’ll fuck her first and then play. I rip down my briefs and crawl between her thighs as her hands wrap around my neck. She raises her head to kiss my mouth as I find her warmth and push inside.

“Oh.”

My cock fits like a glove. I’m addicted. I never go back to the same woman. No commitment, that’s my mantra.

She pants. “You feel so damn good.”

I chuckle. “I guess you’re glad you came home with me now.”

“Oh yeah. I’m close.”

Her words spur me on. Typically, I’d have her tied to my bed and play with her. She’d suck my cock first, and then I’d fuck her, but her pussy feels like heaven. “You can come.”

She meets me thrust for thrust as her body tenses. The look of bliss that hits her face is something I miss when she’s gone. She cries out my name as her orgasm hurls her into ecstasy. Her hands tighten around my neck, and I lean down to kiss her hard, swallowing her cries. It only takes a moment, and I’m joining her. I break the kiss to cry out in rapture with the orgasmic high. Collapsing on her, I kiss her again as I drop to the inner side of her and pull her against me. Sleep.

The stillness of my room signals that she’s slipped out again. I touch the light next to my bed to illuminate the room. She slips out like a phantom. Usually, she stays for a third round, but I passed out. The bright blue rope hanging on the bedpost catches my attention. I stroke my cock, thinking about how long I made her wait to come when I tied her to the bed.

My ringing phone brings me back.

“Hello.”

“Come home.” The call ends, and I focus on my phone. Being out from under my father’s boot was the only good thing about being in Central America on my Cartel quest.

Forty-five minutes later, I trudge into my father’s foyer. Workers hustle around the first floor. It’s the middle of the night, but my father’s money pays them to work around the clock. His decorator is at it again. She remodels it based on his whims every other year. The blue accents are being replaced with deep greens and golds. I knock on my father’s door. It’s unnecessary for me to knock. He already knows I’m here, but he insists on the formality. My father sits behind his one-of-a-kind antique desk. He bought it at auction. It used to belong to JFK, and it’s the primary focus of his room.

“You’re late.”

“I was at Biggie T’s. Ran into Jose Aguilar.” Just a little lie. I was at the club earlier. It’s just after two in the morning, so the lie works. I don’t want him knowing about Red.

“How is Arturo’s nephew?” Papa’s brow peaks.

“A prick. He’s got some money laundering scheme he wants to share. I told him to run it through Cynric.”

Papa waves his hand. “Good. Just don’t have him bother me.” He casts his eyes to the portrait of my mother and then back to me. “What did you learn while you were away? I expected to be here when you got back.”

Images of slit throats, drugged out kids, beaten whores, and the smell of blood and death fill my head. “Nothing good. They’re savages.”

He chuckles. “Savages?”

“Yeah. They have no honor. Mother would be appalled at the way they destroy women and children.”

He scoffs. “We don’t do that.”

“No.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “But they want us to.”

“You met all the players?”

“Yeah. Arturo has four nephews. He never fathered any sons, so he uses them as his proxies. They do the work, and he gets the proceeds. I didn’t like him either, but he treated me like I was a son or something.”

Papa takes a drink of his vodka and resets it on his desk. “He’s always searching for an heir. He’s going to need one. From what I hear, Jose wants to assassinate him and take his throne.”

“He’ll have to stand in line. Jose’s brother, Marco, is the real power.”

“And your relationship with this, Marco?”

“Tight. He thinks we’re close, like brothers. He’s older than Cynric, but spent days teaching me the business. I don’t mind him, but he’s stupid to think I’d give away my family for a fake brother when I have four real ones.”

“Good. Sounds like you’ve figured out the dynamics of the cartel.” Papa settles back in his chair. “Go to Cynric’s tomorrow and find out what he needs from you.”

“Okay.” I stand and the photo of my parents on their wedding day catches my eye. Will I ever experience that kind of devotion to a person who isn’t my blood? Cynric’s frown in the last family photo reminds me. This will be my role. The number two to my oldest brother. He’s not the devil my father is, but he’s close. I bump into the workman who’s hanging a red and gold Damask wallpaper in the foyer. “Watch it.”