15. Constantine
CHAPTER 15
Constantine
“ Y ou weren’t at the deal last night,” Tao Haung, the leader of The Triad, and my newest business partner for the gun trade, says with dissatisfaction.
“An important matter arose.” I keep my tone cool and even. My eyes daring him to question me.
He leans back in the cushy restaurant chair. Our table overlooks the Harbor. A Harbor that had just transported over ten million dollars worth of gun and ammunition without none knowing the wiser.
Haung smirks at me. A hint of mischievousness lighting up his dark eyes. “Does this important matter have a name being Carina Fiore?”
My blood instantly boils as violence enters my bloodstream from the mention of her name on someone else’s lips.
I cock my head to the side, remaining impassive when I feel anything but. “Who do you think you are to question me, Tao?”
His smirk remains firmly in place. He’s a cocky son of a bitch. And he has every right to be. The amount of success he has at his young age is to be admired. Twenty-eight years old and swimming with the great white sharks without fear.
But no matter how successful Tao is, he will never be more powerful than me.
He shrugs a shoulder. “Gossip spreads amongst us men, too, Constantine. You know this,” he reminds me as if we have a history of being great friends. Never mind the fact I’ve just met him in the flesh today. “You danced with her at your own gala.”
I raise a cool brow, taking a swallow of my brandy. “And?”
Leaning in he says, “And you don’t dance with anyone. You’re discreet with your women. She was on full display. Claiming her so soon? Or is she just a pawn to get what you want?”
If I was boiling before, I'm steaming now. Visions of red dance before me as I imagine Tao’s pristine designer white crisp button down bathed in his blood.
Straightening myself in the chair, broadening my shoulders and giving him my best known menacing stare I threaten coldly, “Call her a pawn again and your next breath will be your last.”
He holds his hands up in surrender, eyes waving in the white flag. While Tao may be feared amongst his own men no one is quite feared like me. “My apologies, Constantine.” His expression becomes somber. “Then the rumors swirling about the girl must be true.”
Rumors. I didn’t realize we weren’t men and suddenly we’ve turned back time to be preadolescents. “Careful what you say regarding her, Tao. Last warning.” If I have to hear one more person refer to her as an Ice Queen I’m painting the city red.
Tao’s eyes narrow, trying to read me as best as he can. But I’ve done laid my cards on the table. Threaten what’s mine, say a word against what’s mine, come anywhere near what’s mine and you die. “I won’t apologize twice, Constantine,” he then warns me. “We’ve all heard the whispers of Savio gifting you his daughter in exchange for an alliance.”
Savio and his big fucking mouth. His greed will be his end one day. And soon.
“I’ve agreed to business with you Constantine because I am not a stupid man, but I am wary of Savio being involved with the affairs.” He voices his concern rather boldly. The only person who can question my business affairs is Rico. Soon, Carina will be a part of the business, but she hasn’t even accepted the darkness inside her. How can I expect her to rule the underworld with me? Prattling on he says, “He’s cunning and sleazy. An Italian mob traditionalist that hasn’t tried to at least adapt to modern times.” He’s right of course. Savio is a pure Italian mob traditionalist straight from Sicily. His way of thinking is still stuck in the mid 1900’s. Tao has every right for his reservations, but he has no right to voice them to me.
“And you think you can question me?”
“Question you? No,” he responds businesslike. He then, too, straightens in his chair, losing his relaxed posture. His jaw flexes as his eyes stare hardly into mine. I know an intimidation tactic when I see one. And I’m sure this works on lesser men. But I’m more than just a man, I’m the Devil. “I’m only brave enough to tell you what everyone else you do business with is thinking. There’s a reason why Savio’s hook hasn’t been biting and yet you took the bait with his daughter.”
I’ve always considered myself a man who thought first before he continued with his actions. One who didn’t allow his emotions to govern him.
But the truth of the matter is I’ve never been that type of man where Carina is concerned.
I pull out my gun that’s been concealed in my suit jacket and kiss the barrel right against Tao’s forehead.
I’ll give the fucker credit, he doesn’t blink and he doesn’t budge. He stares at me with those dark eyes daring me to pull the trigger. And my finger is all too happy to. “You will respect her, Tao. Capisce?”
“You’re showing a weakness, Constantine. Not a smart move,” he advises all too calmly.
“Carina will never be a weakness,” I correct him. “A weakness would be knowing you faked the death of your younger sister to save her from marrying the head of the Bratva. A dying will from your father you had to fulfill once you became the leader of The Triads.” I smile cunningly at him. He doesn’t blink, however the vein in his neck begins to pulsate. “A weakness would be knowing her location and giving the hounds a piece of meat until they find her.” He swallows but his eyes are filled with rage.
Through terse lips he seethes, “You wouldn’t dare.”
I smile wider. “Ah, but I would.” Tucking my gun away because it’s no longer the true threat I give him a warning of my own. “Disrespect her again and Kirill will have his blushing bride.”
Tightly he bites, “You really live up to your name, don’t you?”
“It’s amazing how some people still can’t comprehend how I obtained it in the first place.” I chuckle darkly.
He settles, then. As best as he can knowing that I know his very best dark hidden secret. “Water under the bridge, then?” He suggests.
“Sure,” I amend, half amused. “If that will make you sleep better at night. I trust the next shipment will come with no complications.” The complications being his fucking mouth.
He reads between the lines, giving a curt nod of his head. “Of course.”
Feeling a familiar presence behind me I slightly turn my head to find Pietro by my side. I raise a brow at him in question. “It’s time to leave in order for your dinner, sir.”
A rush of excitement returns in my veins. The anticipation for dinner with Carina tonight has consumed me all day.
I nod my head. “Grazie.” Pietro takes a step back as I rise from the chair, buttoning my suit jacket as I do. Tao rises as well, out of respect.
“I do hope you take my invitation on visiting Hong Kong,” Tao says.
“I’ll have to see if I can make the time,” I respond. Tao reads between the lines once again, a flat line on his lips as he nods his head. I wave my finger around the joint. “Stay and have dinner if you please. Free of charge.”
He shakes his head. “I have an early flight back to Hong Kong tomorrow. It’ll be best if I prepare for the long flight ahead of me.” Adjusting his cuff links he then extends his hand. I could not take it. He’s done disrespected my future wife and questioned my choices as a Don. It’s enough to warrant his death. But alas, even I can make amends. I take his hand, giving a firmer shake than I normally do.
“Safe travels, Tao.”
He cocks his head to the side, eyes narrowing. I have no means to interfere with his travels back home. But a dose of fear has never hurt anyone. And it’ll remind him who is really in charge. Seeing the dash of fear in his eyes I then let his hand go.
Not giving him a chance to say another word in edgewise I turn my back on him and signal Pietro to follow me.
As we exit the extravagant restaurant Pietro snickers, “Safe travels.” Opening the door for me he wears an amused expression. “His face was priceless, Constantine. Wish I could’ve taken a picture to immortalize the moment,” he muses. Pietro is far too easy to please. He reminds me of a golden retriever that way. An eager dog who is easily amused by his master. This life, a life filled with blood and shrouded in darkness, hasn’t killed his childish spirit.
“I can always have the footage sent to you if you’d like,” I reply dryly.
His eyes light up but he shakes his head. “Grazie, Constantine, but I’m good. Being there was more than enough.” He then shuts the door for me and quickly gets to the driver’s side. It comes to no surprise to find him still prattling on about the interaction. “Tao Haung cowering to Constantine Donati. And then when you told him about his sister, Meilin? I swear to God himself I have never seen a man so threatened.” After another minute I tune him out.
All I can think about now is how much closer I am to being with Carina.
To smell the intoxicating scent of cherries. To be ensnared by her emerald eyes. And to see that beautiful lush mouth part with the barest hint of my touch.
My beautiful liar can deny us all she wants but even she knows she won’t be able to resist the temptation for much longer.
And while I do admire her fight she’s attacking the wrong person.
She’ll see soon and when she does the world will be before her feet and no one, not even me, will be able to stop her.
Dio mio. I’m getting hard just thinking about it.
The car comes to a smooth stop once we reach my private parking garage. Anticipation getting the best of me I don’t even wait for Pietro to open the door for me.
“I haven’t even cleared the perimeter,” he calls after me, closing the door behind him before locking it.
“Afraid I can’t handle matters of my own?”
“No,” he says. I feel him close the distance as I go through the process of gaining access to my penthouse. “But it takes out all of the fun for me.”
Children. I work with fucking children.
Still, I can’t help but chuckle at his behavior. “Well, it’s good you’re my most trusted soldier, now isn’t it?”
His smile broadens as his eyes turn mischievous. “Sì, Constantine. A great honor and privilege. One I will be carrying out tonight while you have dinner with Carina.”
Her name off of another man’s tongue, even if it is Pietro’s, has me flaring with an unbridled rage.
My mad obsession mixed with my carnal lust and longing has turned me into a crazed man.
I wish I could say I was sorry for it.
“I expect not to be interrupted tonight, Pietro,” I warn him.
He nods his head. “You won’t hear a word from me. I’ll contact Rico if any problem arises.”
I nod my head in return. Pietro turns on his heel still with that mischievous glint in his eyes. And as I enter the elevator I see him prancing towards the newest and custom made Maserati I own. The key to it twirls around his finger as he unlocks the vehicle.
Before the elevator closes I threaten him, “One scratch and it will be your head, Pietro.”
He waves me off with his middle finger before slipping inside the car.
Il fottuto lardo.
The elevator ride up to the penthouse is torture in itself as the anticipation has reached it’s highest point.
And as the elevator doors open with a soft bell chime I have never been more thrilled to be home.
Pietro is right, but I will never tell him. Even the living can haunt you. Carina has haunted me all day. Every minute that passed, right down to the very second, I thought of her.
I wish to be haunted by her for the rest of my days.
Glancing down at my watch I see that it is ten before seven. It gives me time to freshen up before the dinner I had my personal chef, Lucio, prepare for us.
I would’ve made her dinner myself, my mamma taught me how to cook young, and I quite enjoy myself in the kitchen, but lately I have such little time for it.
Entering my bathroom I shrug out of my suit jacket and free myself of my tie. I undo the top three buttons, my smattering of dark chest hair peeking through, and take a good look of myself in the mirror.
Hunger is what I see first. So blatantly displayed in my eyes. I don’t want to frighten Carina, but I also don’t want to not push her.
I’ve seen the very same hunger in my own eyes reflected in hers. And yet she fights it. Fights me.
And as much as it is frustrating, it’s also a fucking turn on.
Cursing myself and my half mast cock I leave the bathroom before splashing some much needed cold water on my face.
By the time I arrive in the dining room at seven sharp the food is displayed before me beautifully but Carina is not.
I want to say that I am displeased that she isn’t here. A part of me is. How can I not be? But truthfully, I expected her defiance. The other part of me even hoped for it.
Carina seems to only have a backbone towards me. She isn’t afraid to use her tongue. Won’t blink an eye at disobeying an order. If she was anyone else I wouldn’t tolerate it.
But if Carina can stand before me with no fear then she can stand before any man without fear.
A true Queen in the making.
A Queen on the rise.
Excitement humming in my blood I turn away from the food, dinner forgotten, as I set to find her.
I’m before her door in little time. I can hear her feet softly against the marble flooring. My heart begins to pound viciously as my mouth salivates as I think about how her rebellious tongue tastes. My eyes hunger for the sight of her. My fingers itch for a touch.
It’s as if I’m a young boy who has just discovered how a woman can pleasure a man. The excitement. The lust. The need.
It’s consuming.
She’s consuming.
The power she has over me and she doesn’t even know it.
I shake my head, silently chuckling to myself.
If only she would open her eyes.
Giving her no time to prepare to hide from me I open the door. And giving her no escape I shut it behind me.
Wide emerald eyes meet mine as she stands in the middle of her temporary room. Her hand flexes against her throat to contain the gasp of shock.
I’m envious of her hand. Of how it gently applies pressure around her delicate neck. Her fingers feel the flutter of her pulse.
And as if her hand isn’t enough to be envious of, it has to be the black silk slip dress that fits her like a second skin.
Dio mio.
I’m at a loss of breath.
“You’re in my room,” Carina states, trying to sound as unaffected as she appears. But I know mia leonessa is a liar. One day she’ll finally be signing the truth.
I take a step further in the room and press forward again as she retreats backwards.
I cock my head to the side. “And you weren’t at dinner.”
Her back finally hits the wall and I relish the victory. I close the distance between us. The tips of my Italian leather shoes kissing her bare feet. She inhales sharply as goosebumps appear across her pale flesh. It’s become an obsession for me now, to see just how much I affect her despite her lies.
Her hand still rests delicately on her neck, her eyes staring up at mine with fire blazing in them. “I am not to be ordered around like a dog. Not even to you, Signore.”
Signore.
As much as I wish she would say my name my cock twitches in the confines of my pants. If i were to pull her against me she would feel just how much her insolence has an effect on me.
And my cock swells further as I remember the feel of her last night under the skylight. The way her body melted against my own. She fit me perfectly. As I always knew she would.
I’ve been aching to have her in my hold again. Without resistance. Without the lies she tells herself.
Under the skylight, pitched in darkness except for the shining of the stars, she had finally allowed herself to feel without the consequences of her conscience.
And if I have it my way she’ll never have to think of the consequences of her conscience ever again.
Her skin blooms as my fingers lightly trace a path across her clavicle. Her breasts strain against the fabric as chest rises and falls with quickened breaths. “Get your hand off of me,” she demands in a breathy tone.
My fingers continue their dance across her clavicle. I smirk at her. “Is that what you really want?”
She swallows thickly. In her eyes her pupils are blown with desire. Her tongue darts out to lick her bottom lip, and my eyes have zeroed in on the sight. “Yes.” And yet her body voluntarily moves closer.
“I’m beginning to wonder how well these lies of yours taste, Carina.” My fingers leave her clavicle and I hear the faintest whimper. I cover her hand with my own that is resting against her neck.
Her hand is so small against my own. And yet it’s the only hand in this entire world that can inflict upon me the most damage.
I feel the thrum of her pulse between our fingers. The erratic pace telling me everything. “Why weren’t you at dinner?” My voice is low, soft.
“I will not be your marionette.”
I apply pressure over her hand. Her pulse in her neck goes wild. “Have I attached any strings, mia leonessa ?”
“I will not be played as a fool.”
“Have I ever treated you as one?” She remains silent. Her lips in a firm line with fire in those eyes. I then trace her lips with my thumb. And they part with a soft tantalizing breath. “What madness it must be,” I softly muse. “To convince yourself I’m evil incarnate when it’s abundantly clear your body can’t resist me.”
She snaps her head to the side and tries to escape. But before she can, my hand finds its place at her throat once again. Collaring her. Owning her. “You are the Devil, are you not?” She spits at me.
I lean down and inhale her sweet scent. I can feel her body tremble as her pulse goes crazy beneath my fingertips. “Your Devil, your God. I can be whatever it is you wish, Carina, but I want you to know this, whatever I am, whatever you claim me to be, all I am is a man before you.”
She questions doubtfully, “Are you humbling yourself before me?”
“If only you opened your eyes, mia leonessa, you would realize I have done nothing but humble myself before you.” With that confession hanging in the air between us I release her, taking a step back.
Her hand returns back to her throat, caressing it. Emerald eyes meet mine with conflict. I had hoped the confession would clear some of her muddled thoughts. Perhaps I’ve only sent her further down the rabbit hole.
But if I know one thing it’s that I can not force her. She has to accept me. And by accepting me, she has to accept the darkness within herself.
“At least eat dinner,” I amend. I seem to be full of amends today. “It’s not an order, Carina, but rather a request to have your company.”
“Why?”
“Why?” She nods her head. “Because I wish to know everything there is about you, Carina. I wish to know your aspirations and fears. What makes you happy so I can keep you so. I wish to know every little detail there is about you because it drives me mad that I don’t.”
Somehow she appears to be even more confused, lost. Her eyes search mine as if she’s trying to detect the lie.
But I’m not the one who tells beautiful lies.
All I will ever give her is truths, no matter how brutal or kind.
She will never be deceived or manipulated. Because those who are are pawns. And Carina will never be a pawn, certainly never mine.
“I have one question before I decide whether to join you for dinner.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Am I a prisoner here? Have I traded one gilded cage for another?” There’s a tremble in her voice despite her proud posture.
I point out, “That’s two questions.”
“And they both require the same answer,” she demands.
“You’re not a prisoner, Carina. You may come and go as you please. I don’t see you as an object to be kept, nor do I wish you to be.”
Something flashes in her eyes. Hope maybe. And it clenches the organ inside my chest. For her to hope to escape me. For her to hope for a life without me.
I close the distance between us yet again and her hand reaches out to stop me from coming closer. But I don’t stop until her hand makes contact with the plane of my chest.
“You’re not a prisoner, Carina, but if you think for one second that you can run away from me and I won’t tear apart this world to find you, then you are sorely mistaken.”
There’s another flicker in her gaze but I can’t decipher it. Her fingers then curl around the material of my shirt. To pull me closer or to push me away I have not a clue.
Her eyes hold me prisoner as she says, “I will never be free of you, will I?”
I run my knuckle across her cheek. Her eyes flutter close to the sensation. “Does this upset you?”
Her lips remain closed however her eyes reopen. And when they do I see the truth in them. The truth she’s afraid to admit. The truth that will set her free.
My hand returns back to its rightful place, collared around her throat. Her pupils widen with desire as her breaths change. “And so the truth will remain here.” I gently squeeze her throat and her skin flushes.
“An unspoken truth.” Her voice is barely above a whisper but I hear it as if she was screaming at me.
“For now.” I release her, again, and take a healthy step away from her. Then, extending my hand in invitation I ask, “Dinner?”
She stares at my hand for what feels like an eternity. It’s as if she’s searching for answers, answers I would gladly give if she only asked. But I know these answers she is searching for are truly hidden within herself.
She thinks taking my hand will be the beginning of her descent to darkness. And she’s right. I will lead her to darkness. But taking my hand will be the beginning of a new world. A world where she’ll no longer be the pawn but a Queen. A world where she sits upon a throne, not kicked beneath it.
Her hand slips into mine and I can’t fight how perfect it feels. A piece that has always been missing.
And now that Carina has taken my hand I intend to never let her go.