The Syndicates: A Dark Mafia Romance Collection

by Raven Scott

  “The point was to have you stone-cold sober, but I’m not going to ‘screw’ you.” Trailing my fingertips along her soft jawline, I gripped her chin hard, and she gasped as pink tinged her cheeks. My eyes narrowed on her as I drew her face to me, and she held her breath as her eyes melted into pools of liquid chocolate. “Don’t be bashful, Valerie. I’m going to fuck you, and you shouldn’t go on violent rides while drunk.”

  “Oh . . . ” Her eyelids popped open, her little sound caressing my ears as I sat back, and she sunk down to hold her cheek on her forearm on the table. “You have a point, I guess. Anyway, it wouldn’t be too bad an idea to keep you where I can see you until I get a new phone.”

  Chuckling at her husky grumble, I only shook my head as strange pleasantness flooded my chest. I almost felt, dare I say it, relaxed. Turning to Natasha as she stared decidedly at her plate, I reached for my drink to take a sip before speaking up.

  “Regardless . . . ” Clearing my throat roughly, I watched in amusement as Natasha glanced up warily. “I want this arrangement to work out for you two. If your mother or anyone on her behalf starts giving you trouble, let me know. I’ll deal with it.”

  “I have no idea what her debt is right now, but like fuck are you gonna pay it for us.” I cocked my head at Natasha’s snap, and she scrunched up her nose in disgust as she slopped her pizza onto her plate. “There’s no point in paying that off if we’re just gonna owe you.”

  “Why would you assume I would pay it off rather than pay those rats a visit myself?” Valerie lifted her head to cast me a questioning glance, but I held Natasha’s gaze as it widened in surprise. “You don’t honestly expect that one, you would owe me in the first place, or two, I wouldn’t protect my investments. If you’re afraid, you can’t do a proper job for me. I won’t allow that.”

  “What are you gonna do, bring the almighty wrath of your bodyguard’s scowl down on them?” For a second, my gaze flickered to Theo as he did just that— scowl nastily— and I shrugged as I sat back in the booth.

  “I’m not offering, Natasha. You work for me now, and I provide well for my employees. Under certain circumstances, that includes providing protection in whatever form it has to take.” Gesturing to Theo, I didn’t look away from her, and she didn’t drop her gaze, either. “I would never waste money when it’d cost less on airfare.”

  “If Mom does throw us under the bus, I’d rather be in debt to Carlyle than on the run for my life forever.”

  “That’s just because you wanna bone, Valerie. It doesn’t count.” I smirked at Natasha’s exasperated sigh, and Valerie stuck her tongue out childishly in response. Grabbing her purse, the elder of the two shimmied out of her seat with a huff. “I’ll go get my laptop and get started on your program. You two are suffocating, anyway.”

  “You’re suffocating . . . suffocatingly prudish.” Valerie had to get the last word in, and Natasha rolled her eyes before strutting out and not looking back. Almost immediately, she wiggled her juicy ass over to me, and I ground my teeth when she put her palm right on my crotch. “Seriously, you don’t have to go that far. We’ve dealt with it before, and we’ll deal with it again.”

  “Something you’ll find about me, Valerie, is that I don’t appreciate people that mess with my property.” That sultry look on her face shot straight to my cock, and I inhaled a deep, calming breath through my nose. She squeezed, put a little pressure on her arm, and I rolled my shoulders as her warm breath rolled down the collar of my shirt.

  “I’m just a thing you own?” Her tongue snuck out to flick my jaw, and a shock rippled down my neck. I’d almost forgot what it was like to have to work for it, and the satisfaction of that work paying off. Soft breasts pressed insistently against my bicep, and she parted her thick lips in a slight sigh. “When was that decided?”

  “About half an hour from now.” My murmur floated between us as Valerie stroked my cock outside my pants, and I reached to boop the tip of her nose. “And you say I’m the one who lays it on thick.”

  “Since we’re gonna do this, I’m clean, and I’m on birth control.” She squeezed a little tighter, put on a little more pressure, and pressed against me a little more while I hummed in acknowledgment.

  “Well, I guess that makes two of us.” Her brows wiggled in surprise, and I grabbed her hand to pull her knuckles to my lips. “I got snipped. No kids for me, ever.”

  “Oh, man, you can’t get more perfect, can you?” The eye contact we’d shamelessly been maintaining this entire time intensified, and I was almost disappointed she didn’t climb in my lap. Valerie puffed a sigh, her lips brushing against my chin, and a hard shiver lodged between my shoulder blades.

  16

  Valerie

  Carlyle kicked the door shut, and the sexual tension that’d been building up the past few days started eating away at me. Gasping when he grabbed me to whip me around, I melted into hard, hot muscle as my fingers fumbled with his belt. Fire climbed up my torso from deep in my abdomen, and he stomped forward to force me back. The first flat surface we hit was the kitchen table, and I let out a yelp when he picked me up to sit me on it.

  Harsh pants dried my mouth, and Carlyle gripped my button-down in white-knuckle fists to pop the buttons. Cool air rushed up my sternum, and I pushed down his pants to palm his glorious, fat cock. His hot breaths tickled between my breasts, and he ducked to lather my neck in scalding, open-mouthed kisses.

  “Ah . . . fuck.” Hissing when I squeezed his shaft, Carlyle pushed my skirt up around my hips, and my thighs quivered with expectation. His teeth scraped my pulse point, and I moaned in wanton desire as he throbbed in my palm. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I unbuttoned his shirt with hasty, trembling fingers tingling with the need to touch his smooth skin. Easily shirking the fabric with a heave of his broad shoulders, he pushed me back onto the table before reaching behind him to pull off my heels.

  “Oh, my God.” Carlyle was covered in tattoos. Okay, not entirely covered, but there were more than I could count at that moment. My eyes widened to soak up the glorious sight, and I reached to palm his rigid pectoral muscle and the expert tiger face snarling back at me. “Wow.”

  Sleeves of tattoos wrapped around toned arms almost to his wrists, but everything was so easily covered by a shirt. For a second, I forgot our compromising position, and I sat up to trace the 3-D Black Widow spider perched on his shoulder.

  “Like it?” He sounded so smug, and I nodded dumbly as big, warm hands grappled my thighs. “Where’s your room?”

  “What? Oh . . . ” Pointing absently without taking my eyes off his beautiful, rippling ink, I had to force myself to not blink or I’d miss something. “Second door on the left. I do like it . . . a lot.”

  “Good. You’ll be seeing a lot of it.” Huffing a small laugh, I craned my neck to bury my nose in Carlyle’s shoulder, and he grumbled deeply in satisfaction. Grinding against him, the friction buzzed between my thighs like electricity, and I licked his taut skin hungrily. He shouldered through the door and kicked it shut, and neither of us thought to turn on a light before falling onto my bed.

  My bra strained when I arched, and he nibbled down my neck and the swell of my breast. Delicious shivers raked my spine, and my heels dug into the small of his back as eagerness flushed my body. Unfastening the front hook of my bra, he grabbed my hands to pin them on either side of my head, and a breathless moan escaped me. The coarse hairs on his chest tickled my skin, and he nestled between my legs to grind his hard, hot cock against my panties.

  “If I knew I’d be seeing you, I wouldn’t have worn panties at all.” Shadows played on his face when he smirked, and Carlyle squeezed his fingers between mine. Sweat beaded down my neck, my insides churning for relief, and a lump of expectations formed in my throat. His palm left mine, and a low, golden light illuminated his flushed face despite the shadows of his sharp features.

  Even bathed in light, he almost seemed . . . menacing. Dangerous.

  “It should be a crime t
o be so perfect.” My murmur widened his smile, and I bit down on my bottom lip when Carlyle pushed himself onto his knees.

  “Call me a criminal, and you wouldn’t be wrong.” Hooking his fingers under my bunched-up skirt, he pulled the fabric up my legs, caressing my calves with his nails. “If you didn’t know you’d be seeing me, why’d you wax your legs?”

  “Why assume I wax my legs for your benefit? I’m the one touching them most of the time.” Lifting my leg to brush his cheek with my shin, I couldn’t help but giggle when he scrunched up his face. Sitting up, I pulled my legs under me and pumped Carlyle’s cock, and he gathered up my hair with trembling hands. My mouth watered as I peeled back his foreskin and licked the spongy head of his rod to shiver at the salty tang.

  “Shit, Valerie . . . ” Pulling my hair taut, Carlyle groaned and thrust his hips, and I didn’t even try to be neat. Wrapping my lips around his head, I closed my eyes to savor his taste, and he inched deeper and deeper into my mouth. Gagging lightly when his head brushed the base of my tongue, I grabbed his wrists and pulled down, and he reared back his hips. Managing half a breath, my saliva eased his way, and my heart thundered in my chest to the throb of his cock.

  Carlyle was slow, almost gentle, savoring each thrust, and I picked my head up to pant harshly.

  “What happened . . . to that violent ride?” Gazing up from under my lashes, a girlish glee enveloped me when his expression twisted with need. Licking his lips, he tugged on my scalp, and I groaned softly as prickles shot down my spine.

  “Would you believe me if I said blowjobs aren’t really my thing?” My brows rose in surprise, and Carlyle had the audacity to laugh. “I like it, sure, but . . . ”

  “O-oh well . . . good, because I don’t get anything from it. I just do it because . . . that’s what guys like, I guess.”

  “You’d rather get your back blown out than your brains?” Giggling with a nod, I scooted a little closer, and Carlyle tilted my head back to kiss my neck with a groan. “I can do that. Sit that juicy ass on my cock, Valerie.”

  Untangling his hands from my hair, Carlyle leaned back as I turned around, and I stuck my ass up to roll my hips. His thumbs slipped under the line of my panties, and my core clenched as they peeled damply from my center. Trailing his calloused palm up my back, he pushed my head into the mattress, and I spread my legs to arch sharply.

  Under his gaze, I smoldered, and Carlyle spread my ass cheeks to slide his cock between my folds with an erotic gasp. My moan muffled in the comforter, and his nails dug into my flesh as he swiped the head of his cock down my slit. Until now, he was slow, sensual, almost, and I inhaled a shuddering, shallow breath when he parted my folds with his thumbs.

  Carlyle’s cock stretched my entrance, and I gasped and contracted as he slowly sunk into my channel in one, smooth thrust. Clamping down on him as I gripped the comforter above my head, I ground my teeth against the pressure building behind my eye sockets. Hot palms imprinted on my hips, and I moaned loudly when he ground his against my ass.

  “Fuck, you’re so damn tight.” We reached the top— the clink-clink-clink going eerily silent— that moment when there’s nothing but a drop. My heart stuttered, and I tilted my head to take a breath into flaming lungs before Carlyle pulled back to snap his hips without a resounding slap. What little air I’d managed was pushed from my lungs as pleasure sloshed up my torso, crushing all my organs, and a voracious, thundering growl rolled up my spine.

  “Oh God . . . oh God . . . God fucking . . . fuck me . . . fuck me!” Carlyle set a hard, jolting pace, and I cried out as he stretched my walls to tearing. His cock wasn’t huge, but it’d obviously been a long time, and even more obviously, neither of us cared. He leaned over me to nibble my shoulder as he fucked me like a bitch in heat, and I tightened around his rod. “I’m gonna c-come . . . make me . . . make me come . . . make me come.”

  “Valerie . . . ” Pushing himself up to brace his foot by my elbow, he grunted with the force of his thrusts, and I moaned hoarsely. “Fuck . . . ”

  The crack of his palm against my ass cheek set me spiraling, and I spasmed around his cock as he jerked my hips back. Carlyle growled like an animal as I came, stars bursting behind my shuttered lids, and I scratched at the comforter in an effort to hold onto something.

  “Harder . . . spank me harder. Oh, fuck!” Squealing a moan when Carlyle smacked the same spot, tiny tears leaked from my eyes as I wiggled my hips. My walls caressed his shaft as he pulled back, and I lifted my head to flip my hair out of my face. Harsh pants tore from my lips, and a groan clogged my throat when he grabbed a fistful of the strands and pulled.

  My back hit his chest hard, and I choked on the air, rushing to fill my lungs before he wrapped his hand around my throat. Hot breaths rolled down my chest, and Carlyle reached between my legs to pinch and rub my clit as he absolutely demolished my senses.

  “Yeah-h-h, Valerie, fucking scream.” Turning my face into his neck, I moaned shrilly with each jerk of his hips, and Carlyle’s palm left my throat to grab my breast. I scratched at his sides, but if I dug too deep, he didn’t notice as he pinched my clit and set me off again.

  Sweat stuck our skin together, and I could feel Carlyle’s chest hair peeling from my back when he pushed me down again. Jostling me onto my back, he hooked my knees over his elbows, and I panted as he poised at my entrance. Grunting gutturally as he thrust, he ducked to suck my nipple between his teeth and nibble, and my toes curled from the rapture that bombarded me.

  The thick ridge and veins of his cock caressed my inner walls with each undulation, and powerful prickles swept up my sternum. All I could do was hold on, and Carlyle licked and sucked between my breasts before sucking my left nipple into his mouth.

  “This is my pussy now.” A tortured groan escaped me when Carlyle pulled out, and I shivered when he hoisted my ass up and buried his mouth between my folds. His slobbering, loud suckles, and grumbled of satisfaction shot straight to my heart, and my thighs clung to his head as he tongued my entrance. Twisting and tweaking my nipples as he lapped up my juices, he dropped my body after a hot, breathless second to crawl over me.

  I forced my eyes open, and Carlyle looked like the devil himself with the shadows battling the light on his face. Cupping his jaw in clammy, shaking hands, I licked my dry lips heavily as the graveness in his eyes struck me to my core, and not the quivering one.

  “Don’t bitches get along better with males, anyway?” My brows twitched in surprise at my own rasp, but it seemed like that was exactly what Carlyle wanted to hear. His expression tenderized even as it skewed from the closing distance, and I gasped when he kissed my cheek so very nicely.

  17

  Carlyle

  Smacking Valerie’s plump ass, I grinned when she whipped around at me with her spoon raised threateningly. She didn’t say anything, though she couldn’t, with all that grilled cheese in her mouth, and I wrapped my arm around her waist to kiss her shoulder.

  “Couldn’t help myself.” Grumbling around her mouthful, she turned back to her incredibly late-night snack, and I left her be to hoist myself onto the counter. “So, what do you have to do now that you’re gainfully unemployed?”

  “I’m gonna do what I should’ve done and focus on my art.” Swallowing her bite, she leaned on the counter to stare at her sandwich, and discomfort nearly shoved my heart into my throat. I didn’t want to stop touching her, and Valerie was the first woman— ever, I thought— who I hadn’t just up and left after finishing on her face. Reaching to brush the back of her hand, I clenched my jaw when her head snapped up as if she forgot I was there for a moment. “Uh . . . so, yeah. I’m going to try to sell my art. I only worked at that place because Natasha got me the job, and we were kinda broke at the time.”

  “What kind of art do you make?” Passion chased away the darkness in her eyes, and Valerie took my hand to urge me off the counter at my probing. Watching her ass jiggle in her booty shorts on the way out of the kitchen, I grappled her hips to
pull her against me. Inhaling a lungful of her musky, sexed-up scent, I kissed her neck and shoulder, and she hummed so pretty. “I bet you’ll have some inspiration after tonight.”

  “Oh, totally. I’m gonna start drawing porn scenes.” Sticking my hands up her camisole, I squeezed and kneaded Valerie’s tits, and they spilled out between my greedy fingers.

  “You should draw me like one of your French guys.” We walked down the hallway, but Valerie opened the first door on the left instead of the second. She flicked on the light, and I paused my shameless groping as I laid eyes on the magnificence that was her studio. Drawings of mundane scenes and people splattered on every inch of the walls and multiple easels sat in a circle facing outward.

  “Wow.” Echoing her earlier awe, I pulled my hands out of Valerie’s shirt to look around, and stacks of notebooks piled up in the corners of the room. It was shocking how talented she was, and my mouth dried as any words I could make slid back down my throat. Wandering towards the nearest easel, I swiped my hair away from my eyes to clearly look at what she’d been working on.

  Everything was startlingly black and white and gray, and there was almost a film-noir-esque quality to it. A man stood over a woman, holding his hand out, and she had no face but still managed to look sad and defeated.

  “I haven’t done much in the way of marketing myself. I’m not really good at it, to be honest. When I was in school, I won a contest, but most of the offers I got were free ‘for exposure’ bullcrap things like that, so I always turned them down. After I moved here, I kinda wished I hadn’t. I don’t have much of a social media presence.” Tearing my eyes off the drawing, I frowned when Valerie’s nose wrinkled in self-depreciation, and she wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s a balance that I haven’t figured out yet.”