Bad Men: Crime Lord Interconnected Standalone

By Airicka Phoenix

THE SACRIFICE
MIA MARTINEZ had always been the good girl. She knew what lurked in the shadows of her rundown community, knew when to keep her head down and her mouth shut. She was a girl from the hood, and nothing was scarier than that, except being short protection money when the collector came to the door and the only thing she had to offer them was herself in exchange for her family's life.

THE ENFORCER
NERO DIAZ was born a killer. It was in his blood. It was all he knew how to be. His dark heart was incapable of forgiveness or mercy. Of love. But Mia … he had no business going anywhere near her. He had no right to want her, but her every smile called to him in a way he knew was wrong. She went against all his rules. But even he couldn't say no when she was offering herself to him so willingly. He was a monster after all.

THE COLLECTOR
DAVIEN TORRES knew the rules. He knew his place in the world. Guys like him, guys who hurt innocent people to line the pockets of a dictator didn't deserve happiness. He definitely didn't deserve someone like Mia. For five years, he'd done his damnedest to keep away from her, yet even he wasn't strong enough to resist when she was putting herself in his clutches and offering him a taste of something he shouldn't be allowed.

Lines will blur as actions become consequences. Can Nero and Davien protect Mia from the madman threatening to destroy them? Can Mia walk away once her debt is paid? Can bad men ever find redemption?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Airicka Phoenix
• Release date: Dec 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798215777206

Airicka Phoenix

Airicka Phoenix is a multi genre author of over twenty-five bestselling novels starring strong female leads and sexy alpha heroes. She started her journey after never finding the type of books she wanted to read. Her love of tortured souls and forbidden romance carried her into writing her own hard-earned happiness. Currently, she lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her babies and can be found hard at work on her next project. For more about Airicka, visit her at AirickaPhoenix.com

Book preview

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Dedication

To everyone who had to hear me yell:

I’m almost done! Five million times.

Thank you for pretending to believe me.

Chapter One — Mia

Please tell me you’re not standing at the window like some creep.

I let the dark green drapes slip back over the front windows, relieved that Liana couldn’t see me.

Of course not, I lied, turning away for good measure. I told you, I don’t care.

Another lie.

I cared. I cared a lot. I cared so much, I hadn’t slept the night before, my anticipation a palpable force scuttling beneath my skin, making me anxious and excited. The first of every month had that power over me and my brat of a cousin knew it.

Uh huh. Liana chuckled quietly. You are the worst liar.

I didn’t make it a habit of lying to the people I cared about. In twenty-two years, I’d only ever kept one secret, but it was the kind that could destroy my life, my family, my reputation if anyone ever found out. Even the two involved had no idea it had been me that night five years ago, and I wanted to keep it that way.

I didn’t call you to mock me, I grumbled, wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder, freeing up my hands to fasten the button barely containing the full weight of my breasts beneath the confines of my dress. The flimsy bit of thread protested the attempt. It was one deep inhale away from popping free and blinding someone.

I can do both, Liana teased. So, what are you wearing?

The cruel mockery pooled heat in my cheeks. I dropped my hands to scowl, a scowl she couldn’t even see. Why does that matter? You’re supposed to help me stay focused, not—

Finding herself apparently hilarious, Liana hummed softly in feigned contemplation. Not tempt you into submitting to your dirty fantasies?

I gasped, horrified by my sweet, shy cousin. Liana!

Her giggle made my lips twitch. I’m sorry, but it’s been seven years, Mimi. How much longer do you plan on playing this game?

It’s not a game, Lili! I cried, hurt by the implication. You know I can’t... I let my words trail into a whisper, careful not to let my voice carry up the stairs where my dad was counting money. Give in.

But you can’t go on like this either, she argued. You need to let them go.

She was right, of course. I was behaving like some desperate teenager with her first crush. Only, I couldn’t be with them, not without devastating my family, but I couldn’t let them go because I was selfish. I was at an impasse, teetering between a fantasy and a cold reality with nowhere to go.

I know you’re right, I whispered at last, resigning to a reality without them. I’m being ridiculous and stupid.

That is not what I said! Liana protested. This obsession you have with Nero and Davien is unhealthy and dangerous. They’re not good people. They will hurt you and I don’t want that.

They could hurt me.

Both were so big and strong. Men with bad reputations and no remorse.

Criminals.

They could destroy me with just a word, and I knew I couldn’t survive that. I couldn’t handle being rejected by the two men I’d been in love with since I was sixteen. How was I supposed to just let that go? How did I move on?

Mia?

I sucked in a shaky breath and focused on my cousin’s hesitant voice. Yeah, I’m here

Are you angry with me?

I shook my head. Never.

You know I love you.

My heart wasn’t in it, but I willed a smile into my voice. "I love you, too, prima."

Liana sighed. Promise me you’ll forget about them.

I knew she meant well. She had my best interest at heart but what she was asking for was impossible. It was something I’d tried and failed for seven years. I even tried dating other men. I tried throwing myself fully into every relationship in hopes of sparking life into it, but at the back of my mind, I’d known it would never last. They weren’t Davien or Nero. They didn’t make my knees weak or my skin hyper aware of them whenever they got close. They didn’t make me wet. They didn’t make me want to do something risky and dangerous just to feel how it would be to be with them even once. Nero and Davien may not have known it was me that night, but I would remember it forever and no one could replace that.

Mimi?

I should let you go. I rubbed at the spot between my tired eyes with the tips of four fingers. Talk later?

Of course. You okay?

Yeah, fine. I have laundry to finish anyway.

We both knew that was a lie, but Liana didn’t push me on it. We promised to text before bed and hung up.

I tossed the phone down on the coffee table and moved to peek through the crack in the blinds. The heavy fabric — a handmade gift from my grandma — was perfect for days when the radio warned everyone to stay indoors and to stay hydrated. It blocked the light, keeping the house almost bearable. It was still a thousand degrees, but at least ripples of heat weren’t coming off the ground.

Outside, asphalt was melting under parked cars, leaving grooves where the tires had sunk into the ground. In several places, fires had broken out, causing chaos for miles.

Inside, we were in a slow roasting oven. The humidity alone was enough to make me want to strip naked and lie spread eagle across the kitchen linoleum. My thin, white dress clung to me, becoming a fine, restricting layer of second skin rubbing against me. I had opted against undergarments, the sweat and discomfort driving me to put as little on as possible. Still, stray strands of hair was plastered to my temples and the back of my neck. My spine felt sticky and hot. My inner thighs sweltered. The strip of skin under my boobs ... I couldn’t even.

Six feet away, my reflection blinked at me from the round mirror fixed in the tiny foyer at the bottom of the stairs. From my spot in the sitting room, I could just see my flushed face staring back at me, miserable, tired, and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. My thick riot of curls was partially still up in a messy bun at the top of head. A few strands had slipped free to tangle with my gold hoops and tickle my shoulders, but the majority stayed in place. I had decided against makeup that morning and it had been the right decision. Last thing I needed was to have mascara streaking down my face with the sweat, especially on that day of all days.

It was payday ... and not the good kind. Today was the day we had to pay for our lives, for living in our homes, in our community. It was a chunk of money most of us didn’t have but to not pay meant becoming an example of what happened to people who didn’t pay.

Eduardo Bernardo wasn’t a merciful man. He didn’t care that my parents worked two jobs each or that I gave up on my life to help them make ends meet. He only understood money. The thugs and criminals that worked for him were worse.

But we got lucky. Nero and Davien were never as bad as the ones who ran the other blocks. They weren’t fuzzy bunnies by any accounts, but they protected us. They kept the other collectors from our doors, kept the soldiers from our schools and children. We’d heard stories of the other blocks and their collectors, vicious, rabid monsters who took whatever they wanted, especially the girls. Neither Davien nor Nero had ever taken more than the money owed to Eduardo. Not that that made them saints, but it made them decent, in my books.

It was never ending and brutal, but that was life on the wrong side of the tracks.

We didn’t get police protection.

We didn’t have people picketing signs and protesting our way of life.

Eduardo and his dogs were evils we had to live with.

They were our reality.

Our salvation.

Our deaths.

I glanced up at the ceiling overhead, stained a faint yellow from years of my uncles’ chain-smoking during family gatherings. The sitting room was directly under my parent’s bedroom. I knew my father was up there, counting our June pay, making sure every penny was accounted for before Nero and Davien arrived. Mom had already counted it the night before at the dinner table after all the dishes had been cleared and washed. I’d sat across from her, watching quietly as she made neat stacks with stiff, shaky fingers. I could see her biting back every wince just from sitting too long and my heart ached.

Do you want me to get your pills, mama? I asked, already pushing to my feet.

She shook her head, face set. "I’m okay, niña. Nearly done."

Mom had Avascular Necrosis, a bone degenerating disease due to loss of blood flow. It had started gradually around her hips and thighs, but the pain grew worse every year. Though she swore she was fine, I’d seen her struggle to sit or stand. I’d heard her crying in the bathroom because my father had to help her over the tub lip. The pain meds the doctors gave her were expensive but even they didn’t seem to be helping as much, and Mom refused to take time off work to get the marrow injection or even the surgery.

Mama? I waited until I had her attention before pressing an argument I knew I would lose. I was thinking, maybe I could get another job.

Her brows furrowed as it did every time I mentioned a second job for me, even though she and my dad worked two, sometimes three. You have a job. What’s wrong with the diner? Is Nestor not giving you more shifts? Is that why you’re not working tomorrow?

I never worked the first of the month. It was the one day off I requested. Nestor never asked but I suspected he thought I wanted to be with my parents when the collectors came. He wasn’t entirely wrong. The first was the only time I got to see Davien and Nero up close, when I got to talk to them without raising questions and suspicions. Only Liana knew the truth.

No, Nestor’s great. That isn’t why. I’m going to keep working at the diner, but I thought maybe I could get something on the side. I know we could use the money. Maybe we could save it and use it for that surgery the doctor—

Enough. She didn’t slam her hands on the table, but she may as well have with the sharp crack of her voice. I told you when you left school that you get one job, but you go back to school. Those were the conditions. Do you think I want this for you forever? You will not fall into this life, Mia. So, you go to school or nothing else.

It was the same thing she said every time. I knew we’d be less in a hole every month if I could do more. My pay at the diner was fine but it wasn’t enough. If I made more, she and my dad wouldn’t have to work so hard.

But I knew when to drop it. I could see the strain she was under, the pain just from sitting. I saw the way she caught herself trying to get to her feet, the way she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. I rushed to help her, but she waved me back.

I’m fine. Just got up too quickly.

Neither of us said a word when gathering the money into a crisp, white envelope. I watched my mom struggle out of the kitchen and climb the stairs. I stood at the bottom, close enough to catch her if she stumbled but careful not to show it.

I considered just getting another job. I was a grown woman. I didn’t need my mom’s permission to do anything. But I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in her eyes, the sadness. I couldn’t stand it if I hurt her more when she was already in so much pain.

The truth was, Nestor would happily give me more hours. I’d been there for almost eight years. I was his only full timer and the only one who came in early and stayed late. I worked every holiday, every long weekend, and the customers loved me. I ran his books, kept his files in order, and basically ran the diner while he took his newest girlfriend on lavish vacations. It was already a full-time job, and if we didn’t have to pay Eduardo every month, it would have been fine. Granted, if we didn’t pay Eduardo, I would never get to see Nero and Davien.

They were my sin, the reason I would sell my soul. It would devastate my family if they ever found out. It would kill my mother and break my father’s heart. It would destroy my family’s trust in me. The very thought paralyzed me with fear, yet the idea of being with them blazed like wildfire through every corner of my being. I loved them and knew I could never have them for more than those few seconds when they came to the door and took the envelope of money my father gave them. That would be it for me. That was all I could ask for.

Maybe it made me someone very stupid, especially knowing everything I knew about them, but there was no going back now.

Not for me.

Not after that night.

It had awakened something in me I didn’t know how to put back to sleep, something primal and overwhelming. I didn’t know how to explain it, not even to Liana, but that night, the things I’d let them do to me, the things I did in return had felt so perfectly wrong and forbidden in every way and, yet I had never wanted it to end.

But it had.

It had all come to an abrupt and crashing halt the moment the door had opened and light spiked into our dark, carnal cocoon. I had never pulled away so fast from anything in my life. I had torn out of there as if the very devil himself were after me and I hadn’t looked back, not the whole way down the stairs, shoving bodies aside and stumbling on discarded debris across the sticky floor. I hadn’t stopped until there was an entire block between me and them, a vacuum of twilight and space. I’d doubled over, gasping, my body a carnival ride of more emotions than I knew how to cope with at eighteen.

Five years later, I still had no idea. If anything, I was more confused than ever, especially when I knew they were the wrong kind of wrong. The unredeemable kind. The kind you stayed away from. These were not men you invited into your home, into your life, definitely never into your bed. They were criminals. Cold, dangerous men loyal to a monster. Men with no moral compass, no decency.

Bad Men.

But I loved them.

I loved all the things about them no one else bothered to see. I loved that they stayed late after every block party, BBQ, and picnic to help clean up and drive people home. I loved that they always dropped a thick envelope into the church’s donation basket every Sunday. I loved that they patrolled the schools and parks, warning away the street soldiers from recruiting the children. I loved that, no matter how dangerous and evil everyone labeled them, they’d been there when old Mrs. McLanery moved in with her son’s family across town and needed help getting her things into storage. They’d arrived at the first splinter of light and didn’t stop until the last item was in the truck.

No one ever mentioned those things.

Mia? my dad called from the top of the stairs, my name slightly breathless as if he’d ran out of his room in a panic.

Here! I called back up, moving to stand at the foot of the steps and peer up at him.

Luis Martinez had always been a handsome man. Tall and thin, he’d let his dark hair streak through with silver. It ran in the mustache he stubbornly kept over his upper lip, despite my mother’s objections. He had the stoop of a man beaten in life, but too determined to go down. It was painfully obvious in times of stress. It was there now, bowing him forward like an old man leaning on his cane. The sight never failed to spear me through with guilt.

You shouldn’t be down there, he said, warm, brown eyes jumping to the door over my shoulder. Come upstairs. Stay in your room until I call you.

I’m fine, papa, I began.

He shook his head. No, do what I say. Come up. I’m almost done counting.

Without waiting to make sure I did as he said, he turned and hurried out of sight. I heard the shuffle of his feet until they vanished into the room above my head and the door closed with a resounding crack.

Knowing it was an argument I would lose if I tried to stay, I started to make my way up. I was on the third step when I heard the creak of boards outside the door, when twin shadows obscured the afternoon light coming through the frosted glass on either side of the front door, when a quiet knock kicked me in the ribs.

I sucked in a sharp breath. My gaze jumped to the top of the stairs, half expecting my father to come barreling down, yelling for me to get upstairs.

Nothing happened.

The door to my parent’s bedroom remained firmly shut.

I bit my lip, my heart galloping in my chest. I could hear every beat reverberating along the walls of my skull, the thundering booms of war drums. It should have brought my father running. It was a wonder the whole house wasn’t vibrating with the force.

Accepting that he hadn’t heard the knock, I turned and hurried back. I tried not to notice the tremor in my fingers when I reached for the knob and twisted.

Hot, sticky air swirled around my bare ankles. It blew across my face, infecting my senses with the stench of cooked asphalt, baked earth, and meat, but all that was forgiven and forgotten by the pair darkening my doorway.

Each stood clad in dark denim, dark t-shirts, and scuffed motorcycle boots. But Nero had his shoulder length locks pulled into an elastic at the back of his neck. His soft, hazel eyes fixed on my face, boring and invading. He was the bigger of the two, broad and powerful with a face cut from stone and hands I longed for when alone at night. Hands that had been forceful closing into my arms and dragging me to him while simultaneously gentle when slipping around me from behind and cradling my breasts. The memory had the mounds tingling and straining against the bodice of my dress, pushing against the solitary button struggling to contain them.

I quickly tore my gaze from his before I lost my senses completely and focused on the other man, the one with the dark pits peering back at me from beneath heavy lashes and a thick patch of ebony he carelessly shoved off his brow. The tendrils immediately dropped over his eyes once more, making my fingers itch to reach out and flip them back. I knew they’d be silky to the touch, thick and wavy, and perfect for my fingers to sink into and hold while his hungry mouth moved between my parted thighs, his tongue conquering places no one else ever had. The places he’d licked and sucked pulsed with desperation, a pang of longing that woke me up at night alone in my bed, body drowning in liquid fire. I pressed my thighs together to ease the building pressure, but all that did was draw his attention to my legs, my bare thighs and toes.

Next to him, Nero watched me, face a blank mask that never failed to unnerve me.

Hi, I whispered for lack of anything better, acutely aware of the tremor snagging on the solitary word.

Rather than respond, his attention slipped down my features to the tiny bead of sweat crawling over my collarbone to slide down my chest. I felt it burn a trail over the curve of my right breast and disappear into the valley in between. The unwavering attention teased my nipples into hard, sharp points that jutted through the soft fabric of my dress. Without a bra, there was no way he could miss their shameless need for him to touch them again, to pinch them between his thumb and finger until the pain and pleasure ripped a wail from me. He’d been so good at that, so well versed in the art of torture.  He had known exactly when to hurt and when to sooth. He had known when to alternate between rolling the sensitive peaks and holding my lips apart for Davien’s greedy tongue.

And Davien...

My focus slipped back to the other man, to the firm curve of his talented mouth, my mind lost in the hot fog of arousal. My core rushed, expelling a small flood I had no way of stopping from running down my legs. I shifted, hoping that might alleviate some of the thrumming.

It didn’t.

Where’s your father? Nero broke in with the steely bite of a man edging on the brink of control.

He’s coming, I murmured. He’s just getting everything together.

Get him, he commanded with zero room for disobedience. Now.

I opened my mouth when the man in question thundered down the stairs, practically tripping in his haste. Wild panic filled his eyes as they went from me to the two standing still and too close. He turned back to me, and I knew what he was about to say before he even opened his mouth.

Go to your room, Mia.

The part of me still throbbing for their touch panged at the idea of leaving but disobeying my father wasn’t an option either. All I could do was steal one final peek at each of them before ducking my head and hurrying towards the stairs.

It’s the first, I heard Nero tell my father as I reached the top of the landing.

I stopped and lowered myself down on the soft carpet. From that angle, I could see all of Nero and only Davien’s face from over my father’s shoulder. They towered over my father, avenging angels inciting their wrath upon the earth. Their hard eyes pinned him to the spot. I wondered if those hard lines that seemed to make up their entire structure ever softened. They were always so rigid. So hard.

At the thought of hard, my gaze drifted down the solid wall of Nero’s chest to the bulge pushing up against the front of his jeans. It was slanted to the left, unmistakable and gorgeous. I’d never seen a penis up close, but I’d felt his grinding into the crack of my ass while he’d teased my nipples and ordered me to sit on Davien’s face.

The whole idea of sex both fascinated and terrified me. Everything about the act seemed so extreme, so violent, yet I was always just teetering on the verge of climax.

I was always wet.

I was always on edge.

From the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until I slipped naked under my cool sheets, I wanted it.

I wanted them.

My nights were spent with my knees spread wide, my fingers tracing a familiar path through the slippery folds until I saw stars. My days were spent swapping my soaked panties for fresh ones or sneaking away to calm the fires in private.

I hadn’t always been that way. They’d done something to me that night and I had no idea how to make it stop. It was as if my body was perpetually on, perpetually hungry. And, despite my confidence that I would never be able to handle a cock when I could barely get two fingers in without wincing — for them — God help me, but I wanted to try. I wanted to feel their weight on my thighs spreading me open, holding me in place as they took turns thrusting inside me. Just the thought had my knees parting, allowing a cool rush of air to whisper over my bare, damp lips. A droplet of arousal trickled along the inner valley of my cheeks to soak into the carpet. I pulled in several calming breaths, willing my sanity to stay in place a little longer. I just needed the two on the doorstep to leave. Once they did, I would—

That’s not good enough, Luis. Davien’s voice cut into my bubble. You know the rules.

I couldn’t hear what my father was saying, but he was shaking his head and motioning helplessly with his hands. I shifted forward, ears straining. Davien was rocking his head slowly from side to side in disappointment. Nero wasn’t saying or doing anything. His attention was fixed on something at his feet, but there was a hard set to his jaw that reflected in the bunched knuckles at his sides.

My heart rocketed in my chest as I pushed to my feet and started downward.

That’s not going to work, Davien was saying when I reached the bottom landing.

Please, My father begged. Please, just a few days. I’ve never been late before. It was an emergency.

Ice formed in my blood, crystalizing, and freezing me from the inside. I felt the cold grip of terror leech the color from my cheeks until all I could do was stand rooted to the scuffed wood beneath my feet, staring at the back of my father’s head wondering how. How could we be late? I watched my mother count every bill just the night before. I watched her put it all in the envelope and seal it. How could any of it be missing in only a few hours?

Eduardo isn’t going to like it, Nero mumbled, speaking up for the first time.

I’ve never been late, My father said again, pleading for them to see reason. Please. I only need a few days.

Davien sighed and glanced over at his partner, but Nero was no longer engrossed in the conversation. His attention had drifted over my father’s shoulder and had settled on me. That hot, predatory hunger ate through my traitorous body, consuming me the way he had all those years ago. For a heartbeat of a moment, I nearly forgot what was happening, except how badly I wanted to leap into his arms, encircle his waist with my legs and beg them to take me. But sanity returned with a backhand of reality.

Davien elbowed his friend. When that didn’t elicit a reaction, he followed Nero’s unwavering interest to where I stood, trapped just over my father’s shoulder. Something in his jaw tightened, an annoyance that shriveled the rest of the heat in my gut, but my father took that moment to spin around. His face blistered white before blazing crimson.

Mia! What are you doing here? I told you—

I tore my gaze from the pair and focused on my father. I lowered my voice. Mama counted that last night. It was all there. Maybe you missed—

"This isn’t your concern, niña. Go upstairs."

I lurched back as if he’d slapped me. Not my ... how can you say that?

My father’s nostrils flared, intensifying the fury blazing behind his eyes. Mia...!

At least let me count—

Upstairs! my father roared, his patience reaching the end of its tether. Now!

I gave a startled jump at the booming sound. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d raised his voice to me. The severity of it had my jaw clapping shut. A hot prickle burned behind my eyes, a welling of tears I had to chew down on my bottom lip to keep from falling. Frustration had me glowering hard at him, accusation nipping on my tongue. But I clamped down on the urge to fight back and stalked up the stairs with two pairs of eyes piercing holes between my shoulder blades the entire way to the top. I didn’t glance back when rounding the corner and stalking to my room.

I closed myself in behind a locked door and growled through clenched teeth. My skin burned with a fever that had nothing to do with the sweltering heat outside or the usual arousal left behind after Nero and Davien had left. This was something else, something fierce and angry. It was violent and terrifying. All I wanted was to hit something, to kick it into a thousand pieces. But that wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t fix the problem we were in. Eduardo wasn’t a forgiving man. I’d heard stories of people who had their homes burned to the ground, who had their kneecaps shattered or their loved ones gunned down in the streets because they missed a payment. Neither Davien nor Nero owed us a thing. They had no reason to be lenient. This was their job.

I squeezed my eyes shut and struggled with the wave of dread threatening to consume me. I had no idea how short we were. I knew asking my father would amount to more yelling and telling me not to worry about it. But my parents had no way of getting that money. None of us did and I couldn’t just stand back and watch my family get slaughtered. I had to do something. I had to talk to someone.

Eduardo.

I had to convince him to wait, to give me time.

That was my only option.

But people didn’t just talk to Eduardo Bernardo. He didn’t have an office or working hours. I needed someone to take me to him. I could only think of two people with that power, and I already knew they would not be easy to convince, nor would they be easy to get to. If the rumors were true, I was about to walk into Satan’s very own workshop in order to save my family.

Chapter Two — Davien

The girl in my lap was chafing my dick. Her relentless gyrating probably would have been sexy as fuck if we were both naked, but the rough grain of my jeans mixed with the metal teeth of the zipper and her grinding was beginning to rub me raw.

All right, that’s good. I nudged her off me and straightened the alignment of my abused cock under the table.

I had no idea what her name was, or even where she’d come from. Most likely, she was like the other barflies staggering through the Black Serpent, hoping to catch the eye of someone important, someone who might take them home, fuck them and maybe earn a place of power if they played their hands right. Neither me, nor Nero cared for that shit. There were no shortage of women and neither of us were ready to do the whole settling down thing. But I knew we both needed a good fuck. It had been a while for both of us and it always seemed worse after our pickups.

That was a lie.

It was only this bad after one certain pickup.

Mia’s.

Fucking Mia.

Christ, I would.

In a heartbeat.

I would fuck her blind.

I would pound the shit out of her tight, wet pussy until she was begging me not to stop. I would destroy her again and again until she was a sticky, sated mess across the sheets. Christ, the daydreams I’d had of her spread open under me were nearly my undoing every time I walked into that damn house and she opened the door. She’d look up at us with those big, dark eyes and soft pink cheeks, and it would take every ounce of my restraint not to scoop her up into my arms, march her to the nearest flat surface and make her mine. I knew she would let me. I knew she would open wide and let me sink home. I wasn’t a stupid man. I knew when a woman wanted me, and she wanted us both. I knew that with a certainty that killed me.

But that went against our rules. We didn’t bang the girls at our pickups. It was a conflict of interest. If we overlooked payments in exchange for sex, that money would have to come out of our pockets to make Eduardo happy. Otherwise, it would be our heads on the chopping block. Sure, we’d get a lot of pussy, but we liked money — and our heads — more.

Not in the mood? Across the table littered with beer glasses, cigarette butts and a discarded basket of cold chicken fingers, Nero met my gaze with a raised eyebrow.

I shook my head, slumping back in my seat. It’s the first.

No other explanation was necessary. Nero accepted my answer with a scoff and a slow