Page 28 of King of the Bronx

The waiter came back and poured us our wine.

“So, your dad, was he…” she trailed off once the waiter left with our orders.

“He was involved. He was taken out by a rival…it happens.”

It was a risk you take when you were a part of Cosa Nostra. There were going to be enemies no matter how careful you were. I was usually more private about my work, but she owned a brothel, so it wasn’t like she could rat on me.

“My mom wants me to stop working so much. I think she worries that I’ll end up like my father or miss out on a lot of life,” I continued.

“Well, are you? Missing out on life?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

“I enter alive and I will have to get out dead.” It’s the exact words every man speaks to become made. There was no way out.

“Don’t you get tired of it? Always being on the go from one place to another? Where’d you go when I spent the night?”

It was the same questions my mom asked. I knew my body was tired, and I wasn’t sleeping nearly enough. It was like I was on a constant high. Sometimes I felt almost manic, but like a junkie, I got off on the adrenaline. Nothing good came from being a sitting duck.

“Tired or not, it’s what I signed up for.”

She didn’t look at me in admiration for my accomplishments like most women did. She wasn’t impressed by my nice watch or suit. Instead, when I looked into her soft blue eyes, I saw pity looking back.

“What do you do outside of work? How many businesses do you own?”

“A lot. It doesn’t leave room for much else.”

The waiter came back with our food.

“What about you? What do you do outside of being a pimp?” I asked.

Her lips twisted into a smile. “I’m not a pimp…or a madam. I just make sure my girls are taken care of.”

I heard the sincerity in her voice. She really felt like she was taking care of those girls. It was as if she didn’t realize these women were the same age as her.

We both focused on eating our food. She asked me more about Bello and how I came to own the dog. By the time we finished, I hadn’t realized that the people at the surrounding tables had left.

“We should probably go,” she said, noticing the empty rooftop.

We left the restaurant and went back to my car. She didn’t say anything as I headed toward my place. All night, I had watched her lips as she sipped her wine, and I had the dirtiest thoughts running through my head.

I never slept with a woman more than once, and now, I was bringing her back to my place for a third go-around. I hadn’t even so much as looked at another woman since talking with Raven. As soon as we walked in the door, my hands were on her. I latched my arms behind her knees and lifted her up so I could carry her to the couch. My lips never left hers as I set her down on the couch and hovered above her. She moaned quietly against my mouth as I reached under her shirt, feeling the softness of her smooth skin underneath. She pulled away long enough to lift her shirt over her head, and I took the time to remove all my clothes. Her blue eyes were glazed over with lust. She looked like such an innocent woman, but she was the most dangerous creature I had come in contact with. She had a power over me that I didn’t want to acknowledge. She spread her legs, inviting me in. I hooked a finger in the waist band of her panties and took them off, leaving them in a pile on the floor.

“Fuck!” she moaned as I buried himself inside her.

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