Chapter 2 Constantine
Constantine
I texted Aurelia. Let’s have dinner tonight.
The three dots popped up, and her message appeared right away. Alright.
I loved how easy this was. Good, I want you to meet Rocco. Well, Rocco wants to meet you . . .
Well, I met him that night . . .
Eh, doesn’t really count. I’ll pick you up at 7:30, sweetheart.
Okay, see you then.
After I slept a couple hours, I arrived at her apartment and watched her open the door in the sexiest black dress. It had one strap over a shoulder while the other was bare, and it was tight and so short she’d definitely struggle to sit without her ass popping out.
So it was fucking perfect.
I was all over her as always, my hand getting a nice grip on her ass right there in the doorway, yanking up that dress so I could squeeze her ass and touch the little G-string that barely covered anything.
The heat of our embrace was like an anchor that dragged me to the bottom of the ocean, and I felt myself fall as I guided her back into her apartment, kicking the door shut with my boot, then lifting her into my chest.
“Aren’t we going to be late?” she asked between breathless kisses, like she had absolutely no desire to stop.
I carried her into her bedroom and laid her across the bed. “Trust me,” I said as I popped open my jeans and yanked them down. “He’ll understand.”
When we walked into the restaurant, Rocco was seated at a table with a drink, but he wasn’t alone. While I was nailing my girl, he’d picked up a friend to keep him company. A petite blonde with a lot of boobage popping out—exactly his type.
“Told you he wouldn’t mind,” I said as I guided Aurelia to the table with my hand on her waist.
She wore a mischievous little smile on her lips.
A smile so mischievous it made me grab her by the ass.
Rocco cast a quick glance at me before he wrapped things up with his new side piece. Pulled out his phone and got her number before she left the table.
I smirked as we took our seats across from him. “I would apologize for being late, but it seems like we did you a favor.”
Rocco ignored me and extended his hand to Aurelia. “Rocco. Nice to meet you . . . under better circumstances.”
She shook his hand. “Thank you for everything you did that night. Scariest night of my life.”
He gave a slight nod. “Yeah, that was pretty shitty.”
“Did you guys end up getting the guy?”
“I handled Timothée,” I said. “He didn’t cough up anything good. But we know a guy who might be able to help us track down Vladimir. We’re leaving for Paris tomorrow to meet with him.”
“Paris?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be gone just for a day and a half.”
She seemed surprised and a little taken aback, but she didn’t say anything.
The waiter came over, and we ordered our drinks. Rocco was still working on his.
When her disappointment continued to fill the air, I outright asked her what the problem was. “Is that okay?”
“Of course it’s okay,” she said with an awkward laugh. “You don’t have to ask my permission.”
“Then why are you being weird?” I put her on the spot in front of Rocco because I didn’t care what he saw. I was always fully transparent with him—except for the intimate stuff.
“She’s scared,” Rocco said. “Which is pretty obvious.”
I turned to look at my friend across the table, my eyebrow cocked.
“She just said that was the worst night of her life, we haven’t caught the guy yet, and now we’re both leaving.” Rocco took a sip of his wine. “You’re good at reading people, but you aren’t always good at understanding them.”
I just got schooled by my friend. I turned to her and silently asked if that was the problem.
She wouldn’t look at me. “It was a gut reaction. Just being paranoid.”
So, she was scared. Scared that I wouldn’t be there to protect her if she needed me. It was untrue, because I could deploy my men to protect her the second she needed something. “Stay at my place until I get back.”
“What?” she asked quietly.
“Medusa would love to have you. But I gotta warn you, she likes to cuddle.” And she was a big dog who needed to stretch out across the entire bed like it was her house instead of mine.
“Oh, that’s okay—”
“Would I offer if I wasn’t being genuine?”
“Why don’t you talk about it later instead of putting the poor girl on blast right in front of me?” Rocco asked. He looked at Aurelia. “He means well. He just doesn’t get it sometimes.”
“Ganging up on me now?” I questioned him.
“Yep,” he said before he took a drink. “It’s nice to have someone to team up with.”
Aurelia gave a quiet chuckle, like she found our relentless back-and-forth banter humorous. “How long have you two known each other?”
“Years,” Rocco said. “What is it? Five?”
“Six, asshole,” I said. “Glad it’s meant as much to you as it has to me.”
“You want to celebrate an anniversary too?”
“I wouldn’t hate a box of chocolates.”
She chuckled again before she drank her wine. “You guys are cute.”
“Cute?” I asked incredulously. “You think two arguing six-and-a-half-feet-tall guys who weigh two hundred pounds are cute?”
“Um . . . yeah?”
Rocco smirked slightly before he changed the subject. “Con says you’re a photographer?”
“Yeah . . . I love it.”
Aurelia left and headed downstairs to use the restroom, so it was just Rocco and me alone at the table.
“So, what do you think?”
“Does it matter?” His arms were folded across the table as he sat there, leaning forward slightly. “If I said I hated her, it wouldn’t change anything, right?”
“You hate her?”
“No,” he said quickly. “But we both know my opinion doesn’t matter.”
“No, it doesn’t change anything. But I still want to know.”
“So, it does matter.”
“A little bit.” I shrugged. “Okay . . . maybe a lot. Tell me what you think.”
He wore a slight smirk. “She’s cool.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say, Con?”
“The truth.”
“Trust me, you don’t want the truth.”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“Jesus, fine.” He threw his arms up quickly before he crossed them over his chest. “She’s out of your league.”
The smile that crept over my face made my whole body flush with heat. “Yeah?”
“A thousand percent.”
The smile just grew and grew, unstoppable. “She is, isn’t she?”
“I think she’s gonna be around for a while.”
I held up my hand, showing my crossed fingers. “That’s the plan, man.”
“And you can tell she’s really into you.”
“Fuck yeah.” I slapped my hand on the table. “That’s what I want to hear.”
Aurelia sat on the couch with Medusa seated beside her. She ran her fingers through Medusa’s fur, watching her with the same sappy eyes I wore whenever I cuddled with my dog on the couch. She was definitely a dog person.
I threw my bag over my shoulder. “I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. Call me if you need anything.”
“All right. Are you sure it’s okay if I stay?”
My answer was a cold stare.
“Okay, message received.” She left Medusa on the couch and walked up to me, still in the little black dress and heels she’d worn to dinner. She hadn’t brought a bag because she’d come straight here. She would head home after she woke up because she had shoots scheduled.
My hand moved to her ass under her dress, able to look her in the eye because she wore five-inch heels that made her height comparable to mine.
“I love how tall you are.” I wasn’t picky when it came to women, but I loved that I could actually look her in the eyes with ease, that I could slide my hand to her ass without having to hang down low.
Her eyes flicked away briefly, clearly caught off guard or uncomfortable by the comment. “It’s funny that you say that, because I’ve always hated it. Most guys are my height or shorter.”
“Then it sounds like you needed to find the right guy.” I dipped my head slightly and kissed her, squeezing her ass at the same time. I’d always been an ass man—and her ass was a fucking summer peach. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“Good night.”
Luca gave me a call to update me on the situation.
“I asked around, and Bastien remembers a man named Vladimir from about fifteen years ago. His father dealt with him . . . giving up his workers who refused to comply. He couldn’t let them go, and he couldn’t get them to work, so .
. . may as well make some money off it.”
I was appalled, but I kept my judgment to myself as I held the phone to my ear.
“I suspect that is the man you seek.”
“Yeah, sounds like it,” I said. “He’s committing his crimes in Rome to avoid violating the laws of the Fifth Republic. So he’s obviously a lot more afraid of you than he is of me.”
“Perhaps,” he said. “Or perhaps he’s just smart enough not to shit where he eats. Give me a week or two, and I’ll extradite him to you.”
“I appreciate your cooperation.”
“And I appreciate your cooperation in the future.”
An eye for an eye, but I wanted an allyship that was deeper. “The Roman Republic will always stand with the Fifth Republic. We’re allies in our mission—and we will always answer your call for aid if you need it.”
Luca said nothing.
“And I hope that the Fifth Republic feels the same.”
An even longer stretch of silence passed. “As long as that commitment is equal in quantity and substance—then yes.”