Maximo
My office smellsof the familiar leather, wood smoke, and now, her perfume. Constance leans over the table beside me, her hazel eyes narrowing as she studies the maps of the city I laid out across the polished wood. The light from the desk lamp shines in her dark hair, and while I try to focus on the shifting borders of my city, I can’t help watching her instead.
“They’ve been spreading from the port,” I say, forcing my attention back to the red pins marking Russian movements. “Not just warehouses and shipping lanes. They’re pushing into the housing projects.”
Her gaze flicks toward the mark I tapped on the map. “That’s one of your crew’s territories?”
I shrug. “In a manner of speaking. The streets there are controlled by local gangs, but I still have my protection rackets over here at this shopping center.” I point out a spot within the housing developments. “From there, the gangs can buy…let’s call them supplies, from the crew run by Spicy Molini, the same captain that oversaw Pellegrini. The Bratva have been fighting with street gangs the last few weeks, trying to take over the supply and distribution of drugs in the area. That’s why they’re pushing so hard there.”
Her lips press into a thin line at my words. “You’re fine with that? With profiting off drugs?”
I lean back, exhaling. “It has nothing to do with me directly. If it were up to me, I’d stick to protection rackets and branch out into casinos and gambling apps. But pretending I can erase drugs from the city would be childish. My job isn’t to sanitize the world. It’s to control the chaos, so it doesn’t destroy everything else. If I micromanage too much, I don’t just risk rebellion, I guarantee it. Wars aren’t always fought against outsiders, Constance. Sometimes the bloodiest ones are inside your own ranks.”
She studies me, clearly weighing my explanation.
“They want the streets here,” I go on, tapping the map again. “And with them, control of the drug trade in the city. But I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of a fight on their terms. We’ll clear our people out temporarily. Then, I’ll hold a press conference, as head of the Luciani Financial Group. I’ll announce that we’re funding an increase in police presence to combat rising gang violence in the city.”
Constance’s head jerks toward me, her eyes widening. “You would use the police?”
I smile faintly. “If the mayor can weaponizehis office against me with his anti-corruption campaign, then I’ll play the same game. The Bratva can’t bribe every cop. We’ll turn their push into a liability.”
Her lips part as if to argue, but then she stops and studies me with that quiet intensity that always seems to cut right through my armor. For a moment, the maps blur from my vision, replaced only by her, close enough to touch, her breath brushing my cheek when she leans in to point at one of the pins.
I don’t move, though every part of me wants to. Strategy, war, betrayal, all of it hangs heavy in the room. But beneath it runs a current just as dangerous.
“How long will something like this take to set up?” she asks.
“I have a direct line to the chief of police and the district attorney. I’ll call the DA first to discuss the plan, then have him loop in the chief. I’ll schedule a press conference tomorrow to announce that I’m putting up a sizable chunk of my own fortune to fund a larger police presence that will help bring peace to our city.”
“I want to come with you,” Constance says.
I reach over and gently touch her chin, turning her face towards me. “You should probably stay here. You can see it on television later in the day.”
“I want to come so I can see that version of you. The chief executive, the man in charge. I like seeing you that way, the man everyone else fears. The man only I get to know.” A blush rises in her cheeks at her admission.
Something in her voice shifts, soft, reverent, and it hits me harder than it should. She has no idea what it does to me when she looks at me like that.
The battlefield shrinks to just the two of us.
I tilt Constance’s face up and bring my lips down to hers, the spark between us erupting. She tugs my suit jacket off my shoulders and unbuttons my shirt. I already have the thin t-shirt she was wearing over her head, and I’ve unhooked her bra and undone her jeans in seconds. “Go lock the door,” I order her as she shimmies her pants and underwear down to the floor.
I add my own pants to the pile of clothes as she walks to the door of my study, every step flaunting her gorgeous ass. I follow her to the door, and as she flips the lock, I press my body into her beautiful backside. I grasp both sides before I slide my hand down. My two fingers easily slip inside her. She’s so wet and ready for me.
The moan Constance lets out tells me that as well. “Now. I want you inside me now,” she begs as I pump my fingers in and out slowly.
I don’t need any further convincing. Gripping my aching length, I line it up and thrust deep.
“Max!” she cries out, spurring me on even more. I grind my hips into her ass sheathing myself all the way in her delicious heat. Constance braces her hands against the door, and I take her in long, slow strokes, every thrust and every slap of our bodies taking us higher.
When I feel the walls of her pussy clamp down on my cock and her thighs quivering, I reach around to hold her breasts and bring her back up to me, holding her close as the orgasm rips through her.
Once her trembling eases, Constance turns around and presses her hands into my chest, guiding me to the nearby leather couch. Pushing me down backwards, she throws a leg over me and mounts me, then bends over to seal our lips together as she grinds herself down on my shaft.
I don’t know how long we’re entangled, but when I feel the rising pressure of my own orgasm, I pull her even closer to me. I empty everything into her as we cry out into each other’s mouths when we come together.
***
Afterwards, when we’re dressing and have caught our breath, Constance pauses and stares at me. “I want to know more about you,” she blurts out.
