Kingdoms rise and fall every day, but mine flourish under my rule.
“More whiskey, Mr. Bianco?”
Without saying a word, I nod, pointing to my empty glass.
“Right away, sir.” The waiter snags my glass and hurries to my private bar to make my drink.
I have the elite of VIP rooms. This area is only mine. I do business here. I celebrate here. Sometimes I kill here, if the opportunity presents itself.
Club Forty-Seven is mine.
It’s one piece of my empire, but it’s where I can lay my crown at the end of a long day. I unbutton my silk-threaded suit and walk to the edge of the balcony overlooking the main floor. I grip the rails and skim the crowd, searching for enemies.
For weaknesses.
For…
Her.
My eyes stop on a beautiful woman in a shimmering silver dress; even I can see it shine from up here. She’s sitting at one of the tables, drinking what seems to be a martini, and she makes a face of disgust when she takes her first sip.
I chuckle, tilting my head as I watch her. She’s wearing a sash, but from here and from it being so dark, I can’t read what it says.
“Alvize,” I say, my one and only friend’s name, who is also my right hand. “I want to know what her sash says.”
He stands next to me and sends a text message to Diego, one of my most loyal members. I watch him slither through the crowd like a snake, his blonde hair reflecting ice blue from the lights. Diego walks by her with expertise, not letting her know a thing.
Alvize’s unique, wheezing laugh has me turning my head. “It’s her twenty-first birthday. Her sash says to buy her a drink. I’ve sent you her cash app.”
My phone dings a second later. I pull it out of my pocket, and the screen glows, her username right at my fingertips. I shouldn’t indulge in such a pleasure, but the thought of turning my back on such a beautiful opportunity has regret eating away at my darkened soul.
And I am not a man who lives in regret.
I take another look at the beauty sitting at the table, all alone, sipping a drink she hates, but I can’t help but become infatuated with her enthusiasm to enjoy something she doesn’t.
I stand here for a minute, watching as man after man tries to talk to her, but she’s polite. She smiles and nods. Her long hair is curled and dark, and I wish I could see the shade up close.
Wanting that experience more than my next breath, I type a large number on the screen and cash app her. Since I never use it, I send her the max amount it allows me to send.
Seventeen thousand five hundred dollars.
I watch as she flicks her hair over her shoulders to check and pulls out her phone from her purse. Leaning my elbows against the rail, I grin when her mouth drops open, and she looks around to see who could have sent her such a large sum of money.
Even through the crowd of men and women passing her, I notice her legs cross and uncross. I lick my lips when I notice the length of them. I bet they are soft and flexible. I want to wrap them around my hips while I drive into her.
Should I have such thoughts of a woman so much younger? There are almost fifteen years between us. I should let her have her fun with a man closer to her age tonight, but the thought of another taking her attention doesn’t sit right with me.
No one would be able to treat her like I can and will.
Two women run up to her, a light sheen of sweat glistening from their shoulders from dancing. I hear them all squeal from up here as my mystery woman tells them about the money that was sent to her. At least, I assume that’s why I can hear them over the music.
“I’ll be in the private room, Alvize. I want her brought to me, please.” I push away from the railing and unbutton my blazer.
“You got it. I’ll bring her in ten.”
“Perfect.” I take one last look at the sweet beauty below and stop in my steps when I see a well-dressed older man sitting across from her. “Who the fuck is that?” I snarl, clutching the railing until my knuckles are white.
“Greer Hastings of Hastings Incorporated. He’s a V.I.P. member. He pays good money to be in this club, Luca.”
I know that tone. It’s one of my best friends and right-hand man. He’s warning me not to do anything.
“Ban him,” I say simply, not taking my eyes off his hand that just landed on top of hers.
Her lips press into a thin line, but she remains calm, pulling her hand free of his. She tries to get up, but Greer grabs her wrist again.
And all I see is red.
With a curse under my breath, I push off the rails again and head down the steps.
“What are you doing? Luca! Damn it.” Alvize follows me.
It isn’t often I make an appearance on the main floor. Too many people want too many things from me, so I tend to stay out of the way.
Not tonight.
I don’t have to push people out of the way while I stalk forward; they move, parting like the sea. The music continues to play, the lights remain an icy blue, and I tower over Greer when I get to the table.
“Luca,” he greets with a smile. “How are you? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you down here.”
I give the woman I’ve had my eye on my back and invade Greer’s space. “Your presence and your membership are no longer welcome in my club. Show yourself out.”
“I pay fifteen thousand dollars a month, Bianco. I should be able to do whatever the hell I please.” Greer shrugs my hand off his shoulder, and I’m on him in an instant.
I press my palm against his chest, stopping him from taking a step further. “I don’t believe the young lady wants anything to do with you. She’s too kind to tell you to fuck off, but I’m not. Get out of my club and don’t come back.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I’d do more than dare if I wasn’t in the presence of a lady,” I grit through tight teeth. “You have three minutes to leave. You know what happens if you don’t comply, Greer.” I’ve made my empire from fear and loyalty.
Being the head of the Bianco Mafia comes with its qualms; men thinking they can overpower me is one of them.
Green finally makes the correct decision, and Alvize follows the man out.
“Can I offer you a drink in my private lounge? Away from the hustle of the club? Maybe some room to catch your breath?” I lean over and whisper into her ear, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume.
Citrus.
It’s intoxicating.
“I’d like that very much. Thank you…?”
“You may call me Luca.” I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. “And your name, Beauty?”
“Camilla,” she whispers, standing as I tug her hand.
“Let’s get away from the noise, Camilla.” I don’t let go of her hand. I find I like how delicate and soft hers is against mine. I tug her behind me, and one of my men unhooks the rope that leads upstairs to my own space.
I feel her behind me, one hand clinging to my back as if she’s afraid to fall down the steps.
I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She’s safe with me.
Even if it is just for tonight, because I’m not a man meant to be in someone’s future, Camilla is mine tonight.
And I’ll treat her as such.
When we finally reach the top, one of my guards opens the door to my private room. When the door shuts behind us, the music can’t be heard.
“I’ve soundproofed the room,” I explain, shrugging my blazer off and hanging it on the back of the chair.
She looks around, wide-eyed and shocked by the extravagance.
I click the button on the wall, and the frost that tints the glass disappears, so she’s able to see outside the club.
“That’s a neat trick,” she says, sauntering her way to the nearest wall to look at the swaying bodies.
“We can see them, but they can’t see us.” I clarify, wanting her to feel safe as she can be with a man she doesn’t know.
“You must own the place to have this kind of office.”
“I do.”
She turns her head and smiles at me, which almost has me tripping as I walk around the bar. Men like me don’t trip over themselves, but her smile is beautiful enough to stop a man in his tracks.
“Your club doesn’t disappoint. I’ve wanted to come here for ages. I just had to wait until I was legally able to,” she explains.
I grab two flutes and a bottle of chilled champagne, then head toward her, my heart stammering a beat as she turns to me again.
She’s stunning in a way that I bet gets overlooked.
She’s natural, which isn’t appreciated in today’s world. Her cheekbones are high without filler, and her big brown doe eyes blink their innocence at me.
She’s a little lamb in a wolf’s den, and she has no idea how badly I want to devour her.
I hold out the flute glass to her, and she takes it, our fingers brush just enough to send a spark of electricity through my bones, and I know she felt it, too, by how she gasps for breath.
I pop the champagne, and the cork flies across the room, bubbles spewing from the bottle. “Happy birthday, Camilla.” I pour her glass full and then my own, raising it to hers until the flutes clink.
“Thank you, Luca.” She sips the champagne, and this time she doesn’t wince.
“I take it you didn’t like the martini you had earlier?”
Her cheeks redden with embarrassment. “Oh God, you saw that? Don’t fire your bartender or anything. It wasn’t their fault.” She grips my forearm, and the heat from her palm sears me. “I don’t drink. At all. I always saw martinis ordered in movies. You know,” she tosses her hair over her shoulder and lowers her voice to a sultrier tone. “I’ll have a martini. Dirty. Shaken. Not stirred.”
I chuckle at her rambling, finding her conversation refreshing. I’m so used to dealing with business that I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation that didn’t end with someone dying.
“And it didn’t work out for you?” I watch as her lips press against the rim of the glass while she thinks back to her martini.
“No. God no. I didn’t know it was only vodka. That’s disgusting. Who can just drink vodka? It burned going down.”
“You can ask for gin too. It isn’t just vodka.”
“Oh. I-uh-I didn’t know that,” she stammers, blushing again. “I like this champagne. It isn’t too sweet. It’s dangerous.”
“Isn’t a little bit of danger somewhat enticing?” I take a step closer and invade her space to see if she takes a step away. If she does, no harm or foul. It means she isn’t interested in what I am interested in for the night.
Camilla steps closer until her breasts are skimming against my chest. She licks her lips before taking another sip of her champagne. “It’s why I’m here tonight. The real world can wait until tomorrow, right?”
The sexual tension builds between us, and our eyes lock, a heated glare passing between us as we stand in silence. She downs what’s left of her champagne, and I reach beside her to grab the bottle, having to lean in just enough to suggest I want to kiss her. Her breath ghosts against my lips, and her sharp inhale makes me grin.
I fill her glass again when I straighten and open the door to my private balcony. The music pours into the room, and the sea of bodies sway on the dance floor. I hold my hand for her to take, and she slips it into my palm.
I tug her against me, the champagne splashing over the rim of the flute. Bringing her hand to my mouth, I kiss the top of her knuckles, licking the bubbly away from my lips.
“Dance with me,” I state as the song changes to something slower and sexier.
“I’d love to.” She takes a few swallows of the champagne while I down mine, placing the glasses on the nearby table.
I spin her around, pulling her against me until my chest is aligned with her back, and the curve of her ass is pressed against my cock, and I begin to sway my hips to the beat of the music.
Every move she gives me adds flames to the fire of my lust.
Gathering her hair, I move it to the other shoulder, burying my nose against her neck. She smells so sweet. I have to get a taste.
I press my lips against her throat, and she tilts her head to the side, allowing me access. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pull her harder against me so she can feel the hard ridge of my cock. She grinds herself against me harder, applying more pressure, and I groan into her ear.
“You tempt me,” I growl into her ear before sucking her earlobe into my mouth.
She spins around, her arms wrapping around my neck, and I push my knee between her leg. This isn’t dancing. It’s fucking with clothes on, and I want nothing more than to peel that dress from her body and show her how good I can make her feel.
I’m not sure how long we dance, but it’s enough for my clothes to begin to stick to me, and multiple songs have played. The air is hot around us, thick with lust, and as she leans back, tilting her head, I bend down and kiss her throat. My hand grips the side of her neck and pulls her up until we are face to face. Our eyes meet, a faint question lingering in her big brown eyes before they fall to my lips.
I tug her forward, catching her lips with mine, and she melts against me. Her lips are soft, and the taste of champagne lingers on her tongue.
“Take me inside,” she whispers against my mouth.
Without saying a word, I guide us through the door, not breaking the kiss. She feels unlike any woman I’ve ever felt before. Something about her lips, body, and conversation is effortless between us. I want more.
I want a tomorrow with her.
I kick the door shut and press the button on the glass again, letting the frost take over, so we are alone.
The kiss becomes desperate and messy as we tumble to the bed in the middle of the room. I don’t typically bring women in here. This is the space I have for peace and quiet, but Camilla is different.
I feel it.
She begins to unbutton my shirt, and I unzip the back of her dress. Wanting to watch it fall, I break away from her lips and tug her dress down.
She’s wearing a strapless lace bra, her tits pushed high, and a rumble of pleasure leaves me when the dress puddles around her heels. Her legs are long, and by the end of tonight, they’ll be wrapped around me.
I slip off my shirt next, and her breath hitches when she gets a look at my body. She runs her hand down my abdomen, her fingers dipping into the grooves of each ridge.
“You’re stunning,” she whispers, staring at me as if she’s never seen a man’s body before.
“Oh, I don’t hold a candle to you.” I caress her hips, her soft skin so different under the hands that have known so much death. “You’re breathtaking.” I reach behind her and unsnap her bra with a flick of my wrist. It falls to the floor, giving me the perfect view. “Jesus fucking Christ,” I curse under my breath, skimming my fingers up her ribcage before cupping her tits softly.
They fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.
My thumbs brush over her nipples, and she gasps, working the belt from my pants. Her moves are quick and jerky.
Chuckling, I bend down and kiss her again. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s no need for this to be fast,” I say, followed by the grate of my zipper lowering.
Pressing my palm against her chest, I push her down until she’s lying on my bed. Her dark hair surrounds her, and her pink nipples tighten to hard beads. I don’t take my eyes off her. I want her to see how much I need her. I undress, kicking my pants to the side and fisting my cock in one hand.
Her lips part, eyes round with shock, and she sits up, dragging her finger across the tip.
I hiss, loving her curiosity, and she bends down, sucking the crown into her mouth. I groan, watching her eyes peer up at me through her long lashes. Her tongue swirls around the flared tip, tracing every ridge.
“You look so fucking good with my cock stretching your lips,” I praise, burying my fingers in her hair as she tries to suck more of me in her mouth.
She hums, the vibrations causing my knees to buckle. She palms my sack, rolling them easily but adding enough pressure for my orgasm to threaten.
It’s a sensitive area not many women have ever explored, but Camilla jumped right in. It’s as if she knows what I like without me having to say it.
“Enough.” I pull her off me by yanking her hair and push her against the bed. “You’re going to make me come if you keep that up.”
She grins, proud of herself for bringing me to the edge too soon.
“My turn.” I give her a wicked smile, kissing the middle of her chest before sliding my lips across her tits, sucking a nipple into my mouth while pinching the other.
Her whimpers fuel me to move, and I kiss down her body, nibbling the edge of her ribs which causes her to gasp and arch her back.
I continue down until I’m at the thin material of her panties, and with one tug, the material rips from her body.
“Fuck.” Her cunt glistens with need, and I force her legs apart, unable to wait another minute.
I need to taste her. Burying my head between her thighs, I suck her clit into my mouth, and she cries, fisting the silk sheets in her hand. She’s so fucking responsive, as if she’s never been touched, and I love it.
I slip a finger inside her, my eyes rolling back when I feel how tight and wet she is.
“Oh my God, Luca,” she cries, her nails digging into my shoulders.
Nothing pleases me more than a loud lover. It’s a sign that I’m doing something right.
I slip another finger in, working her clit and pumping my hand hard and fast. The sounds spilling from her lips are erotic, something some men pay to hear, but not me. I’m lucky enough to be the man she picked for pleasure, and that’s not something I take lightly.
“Luca. Oh God, Luca!” she slaps my shoulder, her brows and lips pinching while her pussy tightens around my fingers, telling me she’s about to come.
My cock aches and I flex my hips to rub it against the mattress for some relief. I bury my fingers harder inside her, which is enough to send her over. She screams my name.
My. Name.
And my fingers are soaked with her honey, her moans better than any song the DJ has played tonight. I pull myself free and bring my drenched digits to my mouth, sucking her essence clean.
She watches with rose-tinted cheeks.
“You taste delicious.”
“Luca,” she says, suddenly coy as if she didn’t just scream my name for all to hear.
It’s a good thing no one can.
Camilla looks away, and with my wet fingers, I turn her cheek so her eyes are on me.
“You don’t look away from me tonight, do you understand?” I grip my cock and press it against her entrance, the voice in the back of my head telling me I’m forgetting something, but I’m too far gone to fucking care.
She’s hot and tight, and as I inch inside her, I groan while she whimpers.
I know I’m big, so I take my time filling her. I want this to be good for her, too, or there’s no point in continuing this.
Falling over, I cage her head between my arms and lean down, pressing our lips together again before driving my hips forward.
My eyes snap open as she cries out.
There was resistance.
I lean away and stare down at her in confusion. “You’re a virgin?” I try to pull away, not upset that she’s never had a man touch her before because that’s satisfying me in ways I didn’t think I cared about.
“No, don’t stop. Please. I’m sorry. If I had told you, you probably wouldn’t have touched me. It was one of the things I wanted to do tonight. I didn’t want to be a virgin anymore.”
“And you’re not.” I hover over her again, staring at where we are connected. “I’m happy to be the man you picked for such an occasion.”
“It isn’t a big deal,” she hisses in pain when I pull out, only to slide back in.
With a hand to her throat, I’m in her face, my lips touching hers but not to kiss.
To prove a fucking point.
“It is a big deal,” I snarl, punching my hips forward, and her nails sink into my back. “I’m the only man to touch you, and you have no idea what that does to me.”
“Then act like it,” she tests, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth.
She lets it go with a pop, and with a sneer, I lift from her body, keeping my hand against her throat while the other lands on her thigh.
I look down, watching as I glide in and out of her, the smallest hint of blood coating my cock, and it causes something feral to be unlocked inside me.
“You were meant to take my cock, weren’t you? This pretty pussy was waiting for me. You needed to be treated right, and no other man will ever do that for you but me.”
“Yes. Yes, I waited. All for you.”
I want to blame the lust, but I get lost in the thought and dream that these words weren’t spoken due to the heat of the moment.
She plucks her nipples while I plummet her depths, our skin slapping together with every hard thrust. The bed bumps against the wall, and it bangs louder with every stroke because I slam against her harder.
Her tits bounce, and her pleas for more drive me to give her more of me, more of this feeling passing between us. It’s an intensity I’ve never had. Other women, I fuck them and adjust their panties, sending them on their way.
And it’s always the same empty feeling I’m left with after.
But Camilla is making me wonder if she’s the one to stop all that.
I grab her arms and lift her onto my lap. Sitting on my hind legs, I wrap hers around my hips. We groan together. Her hands grip my shoulders as she tries to roll her hips to meet my thrusts. I turn her head, crashing my lips against hers as we lose ourselves in pleasure.
She whimpers down my throat, and my fingers dig into the flesh of her hip. I grasp it, using it to move her quicker against my cock. Her pussy slides up and down on my cock, the slickness of her lust dripping down my length.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” I tell her, moving my hands to clutch her ass. “Look at you taking my cock so well. A good little virgin you are, fucking me like you own me.” She does. I have a feeling that when tomorrow comes, I’ll be thinking of this moment.
“I can’t take it all,” she whines, sounding like she wishes she could.
“Take what you can,” I say, thrusting deeper until her mouth falls open.
My hand falls to the bed, and I stretch backward, watching her ride my cock. I don’t know where to look. I can either watch my cock devour her or watch her tits bounce with every stroke she gives me.
“Oh God, I’m close. Luca, oh my God, you feel so good. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”
“Someone would have to kill me to stop.” I move forward, flipping her onto her stomach, pushing her onto her knees, and press my hand between her shoulder blades to keep her face against the mattress.
Grabbing her hips, I use them as leverage as I drive in, her cries of pleasure growing louder. Wrapping her long, ruined, curly hair around my wrist, I pull her until her back is against my chest.
“I’m going to wake you up in the middle of the night and take you all over again,” I warn her. “You’ll feel me for days, remembering the stranger you gave your virginity to.”
She’s tight, a vise gripping my cock when her pussy bears down. She tries to pull away from me, her moans desperate, and by how wet she feels, I can tell she’s close.
I press her flat against the bed and use every ounce of strength and force I have. I kiss along her shoulders, then turn her head, our lips colliding, and she cries into my mouth, her orgasm tightening every muscle in her body.
It steals my breath and milks my own orgasm from me. Ripping away from her, I groan my release, thrusting forward with every spasm that escapes me.
“Luca,” she moans, pressing her ass against me, and it causes me to slide in deeper.
I collapse and roll us to our sides so I’m holding her from the back. I’m not ready to be away from her. Her warmth feels too good. She tries to move, but I tighten my arms around her. “Don’t go. Stay.”
“Okay,” she whispers, snuggling into the pillow.
For the first time in years, I sleep so well that I don’t even feel her sneak out of bed.
I wake up alone.
No note. She didn’t leave a number, her last name, or anything.
I only had one night with a woman I thought might have changed everything for me.
