Vicious Knight: A Dark Mafia Romance

by Amaya Black

  Simone's gray eyes turned on me. "Sure he's not a vicious creature like his master?"

  "He has a better judge of character," I said.

  Very slowly, Simone leaned down and touched his white fur. The wolf almost seemed to mew at her touch. Once she felt more comfortable, she got down as I had and began to scratch him behind the ears.

  "Enough!" I snapped at both of them and they turned their heads to me.

  They both ignored my words and finally I had to force Simone up.

  Fedor let out a low growl.

  "You have a fan," I sneered at the animal.

  "He has one in me too," she whispered.

  We began to walk back towards the house and out of the garden. Simone looked around and noted that it would be beautiful here once winter lifted.

  "I'm not sure."

  "Why?"

  "I just bought the place and I bought it sight unseen."

  "Underneath the snow and ice, there’s probably some real beauty," she shrugged.

  My Tahoe was already on and warming up from the remote start. We headed over and I opened the door for her to get inside.

  The drive into the city was calm and we didn't talk much. There were leftover Christmas carols filling the airways and I let them. When I pulled up to the doors of Tainted Ink, I grabbed her hand before she could escape from the warm confines of my vehicle.

  "Don't play stupid games and win stupid prizes today, Little Angel," I warned her.

  She yanked her hand away.

  "Too late."

  "I will allow you to get your car, but you must be back to the mansion by a certain time. Don't make me come looking for you..."

  She rolled her eyes and said nothing more. I didn't get the chance to because my cell phone was already ringing and I knew that it was either Liam or Valentin calling due to what happened at Frost last night. Simone was a flash before she disappeared into her shop.

  Chapter 8- Simone

  My tattoo gun clattered to the floor and shattered apart. Trembling, I reached to pick it up but I found that another set of hands had beat me to it. Looking up, I found Miguel's kind eyes watching me. A sparkle seemed to twinkle in his dark brown eyes.

  "You okay boss?" he asked and helped me to my feet.

  I nodded, taking the tattoo gun from him. I looked it over and saw that it was fine.

  "I'm tired...I was up for hours last night," I avoided saying what I'd been really doing.

  "Was that your uncle that dropped you off..."

  Freezing in place, I tried to think quickly. The less people knew about Albie's mess that he'd caused, the better.

  Swallowing and forcing a smile, I turned to Miguel. "It was."

  "That's really nice that he would come into town, Boss. Your brother's here too."

  Damn, Miguel was nosy.

  And observant as fuck, I thought.

  "Very nice," I replied. "So was there something you needed...or..."

  He clapped his hands in excitement as if he'd suddenly remembered what he needed. The sparkle remained in his eye. "Me and the other crew were gonna go for drinks."

  I pulled my phone from my pocket as it buzzed. There were no messages but I was just about finished for the day. Having only seen two clients for small projects, I was ready to get home and relax.

  Except you're quasi kidnapped because of Albie's ass, I thought.

  "You know what...sure," I said, putting the phone back.

  Rules, Simone. That's not part of the rules...

  I had to make myself stop thinking. I deserved to go out and have some fun and I didn't give a shit about some lunatic who thought he was running shit. Miguel seemed delighted, his grin was wide and toothy as he departed to tell everyone else that I was coming along.

  A few minutes after nine, the shop was closed down and I headed out to Miguel's waiting car. It had started to snow, but the flurries melted on the windshield almost immediately. I sat quietly until my phone began to buzz with a few messages.

  Where the fuck are you, Simone?

  A smile twinged on my lips.

  I didn't answer and instead I slipped it into my pocket. I needed this night after the way things had gone last night. Sneaking around trying to retrieve my phone and then winding up against a cold glass window...

  My center twitched...

  "It's so weird to see snow...growing up in Texas, snow is pretty rare," Miguel mumbled.

  "I've been in Chicago my entire life," I said quietly. "Snow isn't really all that magical."

  "Damn girl, tell me how you really feel," Miguel chuckled.

  The car seemed to be slipping just a little which made me nervous. At one point the lights changed quickly from a bright green to a warning red, but it was already too late and we were speeding off to our destination. Miguel had refocused on getting us where we needed to be. The heat was blasting out and warming my face as lights from other cars streaked by. I couldn't remember the last time I'd needed a drink more. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been out to drink with anyone to be honest.

  Being a thief for most of my life had been lonely. It wasn't as if I could call up a family member and invite them out. My life had been solitary. I was my mother's only child and only relative. Her smile flashed through my mind as I thought of her. The way her curls would bounce when she laughed, the white of her teeth showing against the dark of her ebony skin.

  "We're here," Miguel said.

  He parked the car and I got out. The lights of Frost seemed to dance in the air and seemed to turn the car into an aquamarine sea. My breath came in little clouds and I realized just how incredibly cold had gotten since leaving the shop.

  We entered into the space, and the music was soft and seductive. It wasn't as loud as I imagined it would have been but it was also a late Sunday night. Miguel and I approached the other artists and they all gave us smiles. This was my staff but I had rarely interacted with them since getting the place up and going. All five of them were sitting around a circular table and there was a bottle of Hennessy and a bottle Dusse open and being poured. There was Mallory, our receptionist, who had orange cornrows this week. In the couple of months since we'd been open, she'd changed her hair color six times. Then there was Brandon, who was tall, muscular and had short dreadlocks but kept his sides shave. The twins Ax and AJ were both two blonde brothers with ice blue eyes that I had recruited from the coast of North Carolina. Last but not least, Rina, who was a petite slip of thing who always wore high heels and a necklace with an R on it for her initial.

  Rina was the first to smile when we approached. "Boss lady, you came out tonight!"

  "Hey guys," I smiled and Miguel pulled up a seat for me to sit in.

  A round of hellos went around and then a bottle girl or maybe a waitress came over to take our drink orders. The black dress that she wore was so short I was scared that if she bent over we'd see everything she owned. I ordered my favorite and Miguel leaned in close.

  "I didn't know you drank," his breath almost seemed to tickle my ear.

  "I'm full of surprises," I replied and winked.

  "Okay so you want an Amaretto Sour? And for you?" She gave Miguel the look and we all knew what she wanted to order.

  Shyly, he replied, "Bud light in a glass."

  Quickly the waitress was forgotten about when a discussion started up. All eyes turned on me and I became startled.

  "What?"

  "Boss....you ever drove the boat?" Mallory began to laugh loudly.

  "What in the hell is that?"

  Another look passed between the group and I suddenly felt like everyone was in on a secret that I didn't even understand. Mallory and Rina stood up and I watched as Brandon handed the bottle of Dusse to Rina. Suddenly it seemed like the music had started to go crazy and more people were filing in. It was like a perfect storm had started up quietly and I hadn't even been aware.

  "Okay, boss lady," Mallory smiled. "Stand up."

  I looked around at all of them and finally gav
e in. Rina began chuckling, suddenly she asked me to tip my head back and open my mouth wide.

  "Guys, I don't know about this," I said.

  I began to feel uneasiness in my stomach. I was starting to tingle all over like I used to when I'd been a thief. Shaking it off, my courage came to the surface and I looked Rina in the eye.

  "Let's do this!"

  A cheer went up as Rina's small frame climbed into my seat because I was taller than her. The brown liquor seemed to gleam in the glass bottle as it hit the back of my throat with such a speed, it almost caused me to sputter but I fought it.

  The moment Rina stopped pouring, I felt a little dizzy. My crazy crew began to cheer me on and I realized that I was connecting with them for the first time. Mallory hugged me and her perfume surrounded me. I laughed giddly and gave a slight bow at my performance.

  " I was worried, boss...if I can't drink with you, I can't work with you," Brandon hooted.

  "We were starting to think you didn't like us," Ax laughed.

  "Honestly," I sat back down and got comfortable. "I've never had a huge crowd of people to hang out with.

  "Well, we're gonna be your crowd," Rina smiled and began tipping the Dusse into Mallory's mouth.

  For a while things got hazy as we talked about all the work we'd been doing. At some point Ax and AJ hit the dance floor and had a girl sandwiched in between them. My drink arrived and I was starting to feel warm.

  "Oh someone is getting Eiffel Tower-ed tonight," Miguel said.

  "Oh for sure," Rina grinned.

  The thought made me want to vomit. Those two boys had been on a streak since getting into town and nothing shocked me any more. I'd been hearing drops of conversation here and there.

  "Wait...have you..." I turned my eyes to Rina.

  "Oh hell no," Rina said. "But I'm their roommate and it's nothing for them to share a girl or not. I've walked in on a few situations."

  There was definitely a need for more drinks after that. My arm raised almost immediately after her words and I flagged down our bottle girl who came and took another round on me. Popping out my credit card, I told her to put everything on it.

  "Hands down, best boss I've ever worked for!" Mallory shouted.

  Laughter rumbled out of my throat. It felt so good to just be relaxing but it was short lived. A prickly sensation went up my back and it almost felt as though I was being watched. The blonde waitress came back over in good time with our drinks and another bottle of Dusse.

  "I didn't order this," I told her.

  "It's compliments of the owner," she said.

  "Huh?"

  She shrugged and pointed in the direction of the bar. Following her finger over to the bar, it seemed as though the crowd parted and the strobe lights that had been going seemed to bounce over him. Flecks of blue, green and pink seemed to spark off Lucien. He had an eyebrow cocked and raised a glass of something up and then put it to his lips.

  He was pissed.

  I didn't care.

  "Fuck, " I muttured under my breath.

  "Is that your uncle?" Miguel's observant ass asked again.

  "Double fuck," I hissed.

  Chapter 9- Lucien

  The black charcoal slid over the paper under the light of a nearby lamp. The lines were all over the place and up close it didn't look like much was taking place. You couldn't tell where one line began or where the other started. Then suddenly it was starting to take shape and those eyes of hers began to form. Her cute little mouth was starting to form as well. I wondered if Simone realized that she made a very good model. Botticelli would have enjoyed painting her.

  A sound suddenly shifted through the room and she stirred to life. It was after three a.m. and I had placed Simone in my bed. She had had her fun at Frost. I had only found her after what seemed to be like hours of her not returning my texts or my calls.

  She sat up suddenly, her hair was all across her head. "I haven't drank like that in years. My head is pounding."

  Smirking, I continued to draw. A terrible headache was the least of her worries. Her hands went to her head as if to keep her skull from coming apart. Finally, I indicated that I had put Tylenol and water on the nightstand beside her.

  She popped the red cap from the bottle and dropped four white tablets into her hand. With quick movements she swallowed the pills with the assistance of water before falling back.

  "How did you find me?" she asked.

  My hands ceased the sketching they'd been doing. I took in the lines. I wasn't that good. My father had been a better artist but all of those drawings that I could remember had been abandoned in Russia. They were ashes now.

  "Don't worry about it," my voice came out.

  Her head tilted and she gave me the most annoyed look I've ever seen a woman give me. To be honest, I had never cared if I annoyed a woman at all. It gave me great pleasure to know that I had the effect on Simone.

  Placing the drawing to the side and out of her view, I stood. Her face became aware that she wasn't in the room that I'd given her. She looked down at the large t-shirt I'd placed on her and tried to find her pants.

  "They're on the back of the chair," I said, still standing.

  "Did you carry me to your bed? Is this your bedroom?"

  "What gave that away?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Didn't get a chance to get in here the other night."

  In the soft light of the lamp, her skin looked a little flush. My hand instantly shot out to touch her forehead. At first, she slapped my hand to keep me from touching her.

  "Relax, Little Angel," I murmured. "Just checking your temperature."

  "Who knows with you," she rolled her eyes again. "But I do feel kind of weird."

  As she spoke, the white of her eyes became apparent. Before I could step back, vomit went everywhere. What looked like carrots and beans had launched themselves all over me and my silk sheets. Trying to keep myself from retching when the scent hit my nose, I stepped back, disgusted.

  "I'm so sorry!" Simone exclaimed.

  Spittle was dripping from her face and her skin seemed to have gone from an ashen color to red within seconds. I simply pointed in the direction of my bathroom and she scooted from the chaos she'd caused. With all the composure I could muster, I stripped the bed of the sheets and pushed them into a ball before setting them outside of my bedroom doors.

  She will pay, I thought.

  The hot water had already fogged up the bathroom as rain poured out of the shower head. The shower itself had no doors, it was simply stone and a shower head. Simone's bare body caught me off guard and I took in that more tattoos were decorating the left side starting at her hips. My eyes wandered to her belly button then dared to dip lower where I found that she kept a landing strip. When I'd fucked her from behind the other night, I hadn't paid much attention to her but now I could see what she liked to keep hidden.

  When I stepped in, a gasp escaped from her mouth but I didn't care. Pushing her up against the stone wall, my hand surrounded her throat with no pressure.

  "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked.

  "You disobeyed me," I said simply.

  She rolled her eyes again and I found myself becoming upset. "Fuck you."

  Immediately, my hand went to her nipples. They had become hard as diamond, they were a dark raspberry color. My fingers rolled them and she hissed. "Careful what you ask for."

  "Or what...you'll take me again," she looked up into my eyes.

  I let go of her and my hand hit the tile wall beside her head. She frowned but didn't flinch. That hadn't been my proudest moment and being reminded of it, startled me. I couldn't make an excuse for it either. Simone rolled her eyes again before starting to soap up her body. Following her lead, I began to soap my own flesh. The white suds began to slide down my body and into the waiting drain.

  "You still have a debt to pay," I reminded her softly.

  "I'm here, aren't I? Although, you still haven't told me what you want from m
e...exactly."

  Soap slid down her slickened body. The thought of pinning her to the wall and taking her again was wiggling like a worm inside of my head.

  "You must learn to obey me."

  I began to rinse off and then stepped away from the water. There was a blue towel hanging on the rack nearby. Glancing over my shoulder, I could feel Simone's eyes following me. Slowly, I pulled the towel around m and walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

  Moments later, I heard the shower turning off. She came out with a white towel wrapped around her. We made eye contact, as I was rummaging through my dresser drawer to find underwear.

  "I'm going to head back to my bedroom now," she murmured.

  "No."

  "What?"

  "I said no. From now on you will sleep here."

  "And if I say no?"

  A smirk eased it's way onto my face. "You're here to do my bidding, Little Angel. You volunteered as Tribute. I never told you to do that."

  She gave a salute. "Fine, President Snow."

  I chuckled. She had caught my reference. Hardly anyone that I knew had watched the Hunger Games or read them. When it came to being in the Bratva...you weren't exactly known for being a movie critic.

  I eased on silk boxers and tossed my towel to the side and then found fresh sheets for the bed. Once everything was settled, I realized that Simone was still standing there frozen like a deer in headlights. Climbing up on the bed and propping a pillow up behind my back, we stared at each other.

  "Well, are you coming to bed?"

  "I have nothing to sleep in." She began to bite her lip.

  The urge to get up and sketch her features some more hit me out of nowhere. I suppressed them.

  "You're to sleep naked tonight," I told her.

  A look of disbelief crossed her face.

  "Or you can stand there all night, Simone. Make a choice..."

  "Why can't I have a shirt?"

  "This is for thinking that you can disobey me," I shrugged. "Now either sleep standing up, or join me in this very large bed, naked, and get some rest."