4. Damian

Damian had dealt with the worst of the worst during his nearly thirty years of service to the mafia. Some of the lowest liars, cheats, and treacherous scum that anyone could imagine.

Surely a basic kitchen hand wouldn't be a problem for him?

But as Damian stood before Jake, he had an increasing sense that this particular boy was made of something altogether different. The vast majority of men would be cowering and desperately praying for mercy.

But not Jake.

Yes, Jake had been visibly upset, but rather than totally go into his shell out of fear, Jake had gone the other way.

It was almost like Jake didn't realize who he was messing with. Damian knew that men feared him, and with good reason. But with Jake it seemed different.

Earlier, when Jake had been having what could only be described as an all-out toddler tantrum, Damian had been taken aback by just how real it all seemed. And then, following on from that, there was a real stubbornness to Jake that Damian actually found quite… admirable.

The boy is trouble.

I should get rid of him and be done with it.

Fuck. Who am I kidding…

Damian had wanted to be a Dom to a sassy young man for so long. And even though Jake seemed like all kinds of stress and frustration rolled into one, Damian couldn't deny that he was cute in all the right ways.

Jake's perfect skin tone and youthful looks were exactly the kind of thing that kept Damian up on late, lonely nights. Jake's small, perfectly pert butt was also unmistakably the kind of peachy fruit that Damian wanted to take a bite out of.

Come on, Damian. Stop fucking thinking about his ass.

Focus. Make the boy see he has no choice.

This is the only way he'll learn…

‘I'm not going to ask again,' Damian said, now standing mere inches from a quivering Jake. ‘You think you're being stubborn and tough, but you're fooling no one, least of all me.'

Damian felt his cock begin to harden. It wasn't a lazy, semi-erection either. Damian's blood was pumping and he could almost feel his pupils dilate as he looked down on the scared, yet still defiant boy.

Damian couldn't help but recall the series of failed relationships that he had throughout his twenties and thirties. Times were different for him then, he had far less security and was still at the kind of age where hitmen and mafia soldiers were at their most vulnerable in many ways.

But career insecurity didn't explain why each and every relationship during this period had fallen by the wayside. No, there was a far more obvious reason.

The boys simply couldn't handle Damian.

And Damian wasn't willing to compromise on how he thought things should go in a relationship either. For Damian, there were certain non-negotiables that were simply off the table when it came to a relationship.

Even when any prospective lad had seemed perfect – cute, submissive, totally spankable – there had always been a point where the relationship broke down beyond repair. Usually, it was when the boy couldn't stick to Damian's rules, or worse… didn't truly want to.

What Damian craved was a boy who needed to submit more than anything else. Damian wanted to be a true, no holds barred Dom. And if the young man in question didn't feel the same way, it was always a case of when and not if the relationship was going to come apart at the seams.

As he stood waiting for Jake to respond, Damian knew one thing for sure… this boy was not relationship material. He was far too stubborn, willful beyond belief, and just not boy-material for a mafia man.

‘Y-y-yes,' Jake said, his voice quiet but clear.

Damian was taken aback. He hadn't expected Jake to respond, let alone agree to submitting to him. For a man who was rarely wrongfooted, this was an unusual moment for Damian.

‘Yes what?' Damian said, steadying himself and regaining his composure.

‘Yes, I will submit,' Jake said, looking up at Damian with his delightfully blue eyes and soft, red lips. ‘I will do whatever you want me to. Please, believe me. I mean it.'

Jake made a super-cute puppy-dog face. Most men would have been bowled over and totally taken in by this display. But Damian knew how to read people.

Damian simply nodded and grinned. Damian was no fool. While the boy thought he was being smart, Damian could see right through him.

Such a silly boy.

He thinks he's being convincing.

I know when I'm being played…

But rather than call Jake out on his display, Damian decided that he would let the lie go unpunished. For now…

* * *

Damian leant over and pulled Jake's seatbelt over his petit waist to make sure it was nice and snug. There was a brief moment of tension as Damian's fingers traced over Jake's slender yet toned thighs.

Control yourself.

He's not your boy. He's a thief.

He can't be trusted.

Composing himself, Damian decided to throw out a little warning to Jake with the intention of seeing how he would react.

‘We'll be going fast,' Damian said. ‘I don't want my new little boy toy to have an accident.'

Damian watched for any sign of weakness or fear from Jake. They were sitting in the two front seats of Damian's vintage Ferrari, the very best of Italian automobile design, power, and sophistication.

Damian had owned the Ferrari for over a decade. In fact, it had been his first serious purchase as an established mafia man. Vintage Ferrari's weren't cheap, far from it. It had taken an especially lucrative assassination to secure the funds to buy it and have it shipped over from a rare car dealership on the outskirts of Rome.

As much as Damian loved the Ferrari, the main motivation for buying it had been as a symbol of respect to his former mentor, Gianluca. When he was being mentored by Gianluca, Damian enjoyed nothing more than listening as Gianluca would wax lyrical about Ferrari and how it was so much superior to other prestige cars.

Damian had made it his life's goal to own a Ferrari, and even though Gianluca wasn't around to see it, a part of Damian felt like wherever Gianluca was, he was looking down – or up – in admiration at his former protégé.

But Gianluca Rizzi wasn't front and center of this moment. No, it was Jake. And if Damian had anything to do with it, he was going to ensure that this was one New York City drive that Jake would never, ever forget for as long as he lived.

As Damian put his foot to the pedal and revved the engine, he could see that not only was Jake not obviously fearful, but he actually seemed excited.

‘You ever been in a car like this before?' Damian said, arching his eyebrow. ‘You don't strike me as a rich kid.'

‘N-n-no, but I do like fast cars,' Jake said, a little nervously. ‘I used to have a poster of this model on my wall when I was a kid.'

Hmmm. Is that true?

He's good. Is he trying to play me again though?

But if he is playing me, he won't be able to keep it up forever.

Damian revved the engine once more and then released the break and powered the sleek sports car out from the underground garage and onto the streets. Damian was determined to push himself at the wheel, really see exactly how fast he could go before Jake would cry out for him to slow down.

As the car weaved in and out of traffic and made one sharp turn after the other, Damian couldn't help but notice that Jake's enjoyment of the situation actually seemed to be genuine. Or if it wasn't real, then the boy was doing a damn good job of faking it.

‘Come on, admit it,' Damian growled. ‘You're scared. You want me to slow down. Beg me. Plead with me.'

‘No, I actually kinda like it!' Jake replied, an infuriatingly cute grin on his face. ‘Weeeeeeee!'

Damian grit his teeth and began to drive faster.

Even by Damian's standards, this was some risky driving. Damian didn't have to worry about the law pulling him over, he pretty much owned every cop on this side of the city. What was of more concern to Damian was the fact that this boy seemed to be made of way tougher stuff than he had predicted.

‘Hmmm. You weren't kidding about liking fast cars,' Damian said, slowing the car down as they approached some inescapable traffic. ‘What else do you like?'

Damian watched as Jake blushed.

Not only was Jake a little red in the cheeks, but Damian couldn't help but see that the front of Jake's chef's pants appeared to be popping up. Was that from the thrill of the ride, or was it down to Damian himself? Either way, Damian was suddenly conscious that he had a naughty, horny boy in his car.

Suddenly, Damian was more determined than ever to break this boy and make him his. The only question was just how far would he have to push Jake before he gave in and truly submitted himself to Damian?