Dark Heir: Dark Mafia Romance

by Faye Pierce

  “You know, I worry about you. You would enjoy this more if you were interacting with the people who are here because you made this happen.”

  Will they have been disappointed in me if I don’t go? Have they started to whisper about it behind my back? I don’t think they have...but now it feels like they are all glancing at me, whispering over their shoulders. They are going to wonder why I’m not walking around or dancing, aren’t they? My vision starts to blur.

  I shake my head. No, this is silly. They aren’t talking about me. Nothing is wrong, I just need Caspian to stop pushing me. He means well…

  “I need some air, okay?” the words leave my mouth before I think about it. I really need space, for him to stop pushing me, but I can’t say that. “Just some fresh air, on the terrace okay?”

  Caspian studies me for a long moment before surrendering, nodding his head once.

  “I’ll send Leo out with you,” Caspian offers, his hand already motioning to his best friend across the hall. Caspian gestures for him to come closer, and Leo nods. Leo, who looks good in a suit. Really good in a suit.

  The idea of us alone on the terrace, such a romantic setting, makes me blush. Normally, I would take any excuse I could to spend some alone time with the handsome man my brother is offering so easily to me. But I learned a long time ago that Leo doesn’t have anywhere near the same interest in me as I have in him.

  Doesn’t mean I can’t look. Look at Leo in all of his glory, the easy way he walks across the room. Look at how people start to move out of his way as he grows near to them.

  Leo is the sort of man that commands attention. Built light as a fighter, his strong jawline and lack of smile tend to draw women to him like bees to honey. My heart flutters as his green eyes lock me in place. It is like the rest of the room fades away as my heart races. His gaze drops to drink in the sight of me in a dress, like he has never seen me before. Perhaps he didn’t think that I could clean up as well as I have. The corner of his lip upturns, the echo of a smirk, and I’m almost melting into the floor with how flustered such a simple thing makes me feel.

  I have it bad.

  I know I have it bad.

  Leo is my brother’s best friend, his right-hand man, and just about the worst man that I could find myself attracted to, but here I am.

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Cas, I’ll just be a moment,” I rush to say, lifting onto my tip-toes to press a kiss into Caspian’s cheek. A merciful, rare, moment of grace fills me as I turn and leave the ballroom before Leo can finish his journey toward us.

  The cool night air feels better than I imagined. I can feel the soft breeze pushing away any remnants of my anxiety.

  No more people, no more noises or polite small talk. Just me, the breeze, and the light floral scent carried on the air as it swirls around me.

  My shoulders slowly start to relax. I’m not bothered at all by the sound of steps approaching me; I am expecting Leo, after all. My eyes drift closed as I speak, “You don’t actually have to chaperone me, you know-”

  He never can tell my brother no. I guess he feels like he owes Caspian for saving him from the streets all of those years ago. I start to turn, wanting to chastise Leo for being so gullible to his face, but I never get the chance. A hand wraps around my waist from behind, another comes to my face, and a cloth soaked in something clamps down over my mouth and nose.

  I inhale to scream, suddenly forgetting any self-defense I have ever learned.

  I shouldn’t breathe in. The reflex is my undoing. Fuck, Caspian’s going to kill me. That’s the last thought I have before darkness consumes me, and I collapse backward into the waiting arms of my attacker.

  Chapter Two

  Leo

  Contrary to popular belief, chloroform does in fact have a smell.

  The reports tend to vary from person to person, ranging from a sickly sweet, almost bourbon smell, to citrus cleaning products on steroids. I wonder which one little Midnight smelled.

  I don’t imagine she will be in much of a mood to answer my questions whenever she wakes up. I doubt that she’s going to want anything from me at all.

  If I could have taken somebody else, I would have. The sins of her brother weren’t something that Midnight should have to answer for. I never wanted to hurt her, but she is the only one that will work. For some time, I thought that his wife might be motivation enough. I thought that perhaps his son would be motivation enough.

  I have to hit Caspian where it hurts. He could always remarry; he could always have another child. Midnight, she’s irreplaceable. I have waited for too long, I have worked too hard to get to this point, and I will not give up now. I won’t.

  Sleeping like this, she looks so peaceful. My weight indents the side of the thin mattress on the small bed that she’s strapped to. Her eyes roll softly under the closed lids. She will be awake soon. I’m going to watch her whole world shatter, everything that she’s come to know over the time of her brother’s new life. It pains me to know how badly this is going to hurt her. My sweet, lovely, Midnight.

  She’s never known how beautiful she is. I can’t lie and say that it was her kindness that first caught my eye. Her long chestnut hair falls in pretty waves over the pillow. Her bright, brilliant blue eyes are hidden from my view in her chemically induced sleep. Her arms pulled above her head like this, trussed to the bedframe, isn’t helping me focus any. I have often fantasized what she might feel like with her arms, and other parts, around me.

  Caspian always said that she was a great dancer before the accident. Her frame hasn’t suffered any for its loss. Perhaps she can’t perform the moves anymore, but she still has the body: lightly muscled in her legs, lean dexterity in her thighs. Even with her limp, she moves with more grace than half my men ever have.

  Her dress is slid up over her knees, and I can finally allow myself to look at her with intention. It’s always been so important to keep my distance from her. I couldn’t allow my attraction to her to get in the way of what I needed to do.

  Don’t get distracted. Over the years, it has become a mantra that I repeat inside of my head over and over again.

  It was hardest on the days that I thought she might be looking at me too.

  Midnight stirs on the bed, and my time with her is almost over. The illusion of who she thought I was is about to shatter. These last few moments of the drug shaking from her system are sweet. I drink in the way her brow furrows, her sweet groggy sounds of a body rousing as she twists. Is she dreaming? Her back arches her toward me as if she is shaking off the vestiges of a memory she doesn’t want to leave.

  Midnight’s pretty blue eyes start to flutter open, registering my face so near her own with a sleepy half smile. Is she dreaming about me? If I could allow her to stay in the dream I would. Her full lips part, and the lipstick smeared over the edges makes her even more attractive. I have to admit this isn’t the reaction I presumed she would have to my being in bed with her, but I’m not protesting either.

  She tries to lift her arms. The metal chain of the restraints click against the headboard and realization dawns on her. Midnight looks up to her bound wrists and starts to struggle. Confusion crosses her expression first, and then panic as she pulls as if it would free her.

  “They’re quite secure, I assure you.”

  “Leo?” Midnight stares at me accusingly, surprised that I’m really there, her chest heaving. Fuck if that isn’t a pretty picture. “What the hell are you doing?”

  I don’t answer right away. “I know that you’re going to have a lot of questions. This is going to be a very difficult time for you, Midnight.”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about? Let me go right this instant.”

  I shake my head, my hand lifting to the side of her face and running my knuckles down her soft skin. “Sorry, I can’t do that.”

  “Uh, yes you can!” Midnight pulls on the restraints again as if she can just get me to come to my senses. I wonder if she’s ever been tied dow
n before? In my fantasies I must have done it a dozen times. My knuckles run down the curve of her neck, my gaze following the invisible trail that I take down her skin. So fucking beautiful. My knuckle runs down the plunging neckline of her ballgown. The fitted bodice curves around her breast so prettily.

  “You look….so stunning tonight. I’m sorry to have to ruin your dress.” I haven’t yet, but I certainly want to. My finger crooks inside of the neckline, running the line of the fabric. “I never intended to harm you, if you have any headache, rest assured it will be resolved soon.”

  “I-I don’t understand, what are you-” her breath hitches as my hand slides inside of the bodice of the gown to fit the breast into my hand. It almost feels as if she arches up into the touch, even if she pulls away the next moment.

  “Be still now,” I warn, and she thrashes again, the skirt of her dress riding up her thighs as she does. “If you’re a very, very good girl, then no harm will come to you.”

  Midnight’s eyes are a blue fire as they turn back to me, even with the pink flush tinting her cheeks. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but Caspian is going to kill you for this.” Her teeth bare as she speaks.

  She has always had such blind faith in her brother. I click my tongue against the roof of my mouth and shake my head. “Cas cannot save you now, and your brother deserves everything that’s coming to him.”

  “Caspian saved you! We saved you! I don’t know...what,” her words die as my fingers pinch her nipple between them firmly.

  “You don’t know Caspian as well as you think you do, Midnight.” She yelps in surprise as I release her nipple, and pinch the peak between my fingers, rolling firmly. “As you’re at my complete mercy...I think you should consider your words.”

  Her eyes lift to mine, and I don’t miss the way her bare thighs clamp together. Did she like that? Releasing her trapped skin, my fingers spread across her breast, kneading the flesh into my palm possessively. “I know that learning the true nature of who he is will hurt you. I’m truly sorry for that. Caspian will be made to pay for the things he’s done.”

  More than once, since I came to live with the Knight family, I have been tempted to abandon my cause. Seeing the way that they act with one another, it is clear Caspian values his little family in the way that I always loved my family. We had the commonality that we would both do anything to protect the ones that we loved and to better our stations in life. Neither of us had been born into privilege. In a lot of ways, Caspian had been born worse off than myself.

  It doesn’t excuse the actions that he took, the things that he had done.

  It wasn’t easy to win Caspian’s trust. It was a long, slow road to gain the position at his side that I stand: Caspian’s right-hand man, his best friend and trusted companion. He has invited me into his very home; we have broken bread together.

  He thought that I was nothing more than a street rat that needed a second chance at life. I played my part well. I did everything that he ever asked of me.

  I hate that Midnight was the only thing that I can use against him. If I could have used Valeria I would have. But Midnight is the key to everything. She is the one that will topple him, the one he can’t live without.

  Though, I can’t exactly say that I am sorry to have Midnight here, bound in the basement of my private mansion. “Keep in mind, Midnight, we are at a secured location that Caspian has no knowledge of; he’s not even going to know where to look. So,” I pause, my eyes lingering on her lips as she frowns at me. “You can yell and scream to your heart's content if that’s what pleases you. Or, you can save yourself the trouble and do as I say. I’m going to give you the night to think about it. I want you to think long and hard about your choice. I can leave you bound here, alone in the dank of my basement...”

  I pause, letting the truth of my words settle in. Never in my life would I have thought that we would be here, with her in such a position. Every time we have been alone until now the conversations were brief. Like the charged tension between us was too much for her to handle. She has hardly ever been able to look at me without blushing. I would recognize that tell-tale flush in her cheeks anywhere. Still, I have to press the issue a little further.

  “I have a large staff, and I cannot keep an eye on all of them, you see. I cannot control if they wander in here while you’re all alone.” Fear pinpricks her pupils. I can see her pulse racing in the pulsating of a vein in her pretty neck, but her thighs slide over one another for friction. I bet she thinks I don’t see that. “I would much rather put you in one of my many bedrooms; wouldn’t that be nice?”

  She deliberates, but says nothing. “I’ll tell you what, if you behave, follow my very simple rules, I promise to answer all of your questions in time.”

  I study her face; even when she’s biting her tongue to keep from verbally lashing out at me, I want to taste her. She’s always so sweet, so generous and kind, even this slight view of her temper has me itching to know what else is in there, what else has she hidden from me.

  “Unlike your dear brother, I always keep my word.” Would she fight me if I kissed her? If I took her lower lip between my teeth?

  Midnight’s eyes move to the ceiling, as if somehow, she can see where she is or acquire super powers and see the house. She regards me slowly, and she knows I’m not teasing any longer. My fingers close on her nipple again, pulling softly. “Answer me, Midnight.”

  “Caspian will come for me. He will find me, and he is going to eat you alive,” she hisses, not even attempting to pull away from my touch.

  “I dearly hope so.” My eyes alight with fire. Where had this temper been these last few years I’ve spent sleeping in the same home as her? If this is a taste of what was to come, I can only guess how interesting our time together is going to be.

  Midnight has no reason to doubt her brother, no reason to assume anything other than him moving heaven and earth for her. “He’s certainly going to try.”

  Midnight understands the situation now. She stares at me, as if she’s never seen me before, as if I am some sort of monster, something foul under her shoe that she would never want to see again. But her breath is coming in steady puffs, and her cheeks are flushed. Her hands pull at the binding around her wrists again.

  “Who are you?”

  I smile softly, keeping careful control of my own breathing. “Not who you think.” I pull my hand from her dress and move across the room to the door. I wink in her direction as she fumes, her thighs still rubbing together as she attempts to lift her body to look at me. I catch the sheen on the skin near her most intimate places before I flick the light off, shutting and locking the door to the sounds of her frustration.

  Chapter Three

  Midnight

  It would be easier to stay mad if the room wasn’t so nice.

  If I was still downstairs, chained to that bed, I could be angrier. It would make easier the shifting of Leo in my mind from the man I’ve wanted for so long into this seemingly cruel thing he is now.

  I don’t know when, or how, he moved me. He probably drugged me again. Last night I fell asleep chained to a bed in what looks like a murder house basement, and now I’m standing in the nicest room I’ve ever seen. I’m certain it’s bigger than the whole apartment I grew up in.

  My room at Caspian’s house is nice, of course, but this...this is on a whole other level. The shower alone...I can’t deny how nice it was to take a shower and get out of that tattered ball gown.

  Obviously, Leo isn’t here to torture me, at least not with anything other than the emotional whiplash of him having lied to me for so long. The luxurious bed is incredible, the shower takes up half the bathroom with more faucets than I know what to do with, and there are even clothes my size in the closet.

  Not that anything in there is something that I would pick out myself. Silken sleep shorts and lingerie fill the drawers of the dresser; high heeled boots and slippers cover the built-in shelves in the closet. Lace chokers and stunni
ng earrings are displayed in cases just for me in the closet, and the racks are lined with skintight dresses that are nearly impossible to get myself into alone. Ones I can’t get out of again unassisted. He did it on purpose. No doubt Leo wants me to ask him to help undress me.

  It’s been two days since I’ve seen him.

  I spent the entirety of the first night combing through every inch of this room. I tore the place apart. I upended everything in the drawers, attempted to flood the bathroom, and flipped the mattress looking for anything I could use to defend myself. The windows are bolted shut, and I can see nothing out of them, tinted too dark likely for this exact purpose of keeping me trapped.

  I went to sleep that first night, and everything was fixed the following morning. This makes me think maybe they are putting something in the vents. Helping me sleep, keeping me as docile as possible. Not that it’s going to work. I’m furious that Leo, if that’s even his real name, lied to me.