The Favorite: A Dark Enemies To Lovers Mafia Romance (The Syndicate's Revenge Book 2)

by Mara McQueen

  All of Raiden's protests died on his lips. What more could he say when she was radiating joy?

  "Be right back," she said and took off with Azor.

  Her unrestrained laughter resounded all around the remote pasture as she rode underneath the stars and moon.

  Raiden couldn't take his eyes off Ava. Her long hair caught the moonlight, her dress billowed behind her, her beautiful eyes shone bright whenever she looked his way.

  She was a spirit walking this world alongside mere mortals like Raiden, on the brink of taking flight back to the heavens, where she belonged.

  No pomp, no aplomb, no hiding her happiness because it wouldn't look proper. No shame in her joy, no restraint, no cozying up to him to get favors.

  She looked freer than everyone in the Capital.

  Raiden loved it. He also knew she'd be in trouble if anyone other than him saw her like this. She was the future Crown Princess. She couldn't laugh the rules away.

  After three more rounds along the pasture, Ava guided Azor back. She hopped off the horse's back without so much as a hair out of place. Her face wasn't even red.

  She grabbed Raiden's shoulders tightly, beaming up at him. "I'm going to keep on telling you this until the day we die, but thank you. This last year was a lot. It almost ended me, but you made me laugh again. I'll never forget this."

  Raiden swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He was going to make her cry, very soon, and there was nothing he could do to prevent that.

  He cradled her in his arms, needing her closer. For a single moment, he wanted to feel her. Pretend he wasn't the feared Dragon. The Brotherhood Crown Prince. The one who had to lead his Clan to victory after victory.

  He wanted to pretend they were the only two people on Earth. Not former enemies, not soon-to-be-rulers. Just Raiden and Ava.

  Her smile slowly melted. Her lips parted as she tilted her face up, open and curious. But Raiden saw something else in her expression—desire. Her body molded to his. Her fingers held on tighter to his arms. She licked her lips, gaze snapping to his mouth.

  The rest of the world slipped away as Raiden leaned down slowly. Just one touch. One taste before he'd ruin everything.

  Their hot breaths melded together. Her eyelids fluttered closed.

  Voices echoed on the path next to the stables. Guards, complaining they got stuck with the night shift. New guards, judging from their voices. Coming closer.

  Fuck.

  Raiden righted himself and stepped back, putting a careful distance between him and Ava. He instantly missed her warmth.

  He'd been a fool to let his guard down out in the open.

  Ava blinked in surprise, brows furrowing. A second later, her smile reappeared, more tentative.

  "We should go," Raiden said calmly, even as a storm raged inside. One moment. One damn moment of freedom, that's all he wanted.

  "Come on, girl." Ava guided Azor back into the stable and snuggled her some more. "Be back tomorrow, I promise."

  Azor didn't seem all that convinced and kept coming after Ava each time she tried to step away. She finally gave up with a huffy neigh and turned her big behind to the door.

  "Don't be like that, I swear I'm coming back. First thing in the morning."

  Azor neighed again, not convinced. Such a diva.

  Raiden was going to have a hell of a time explaining Azor being here in the Capital, but he'd come up with something. He could always ask Axton to say that she-devil of his had sent the horse. Nobody was going to question the Syndicate's First Daughter decisions. All that mattered was that nobody—not.a.soul—knew Raiden cared about making Ava happy.

  You'll get through this. You'll have an entire lifetime to make it up to her.

  Raiden had to protect her. At any cost.

  He didn't know how, but he'd make sure to shield her from all those questioning glances. All the rumors. All the whispers and jagged compliments. Brotherhood Capital life could crush Ava's spirit. He wouldn't let that happen.

  But the sooner she understood the weight of her future status, the better and safer.

  The voices were getting closer.

  "Come on." He grabbed her hand. "I want to show you something else."

  Chapter Twelve

  AVA

  Ava was feeling strange.

  Not the overworked and lonely girl she'd had to be for a life with the barest necessities. Definitely not the bubbly fool version of herself she'd had to act as for the last year.

  No, she was starting to feel her childhood curiosity burning again. That longing to explore and the certainty that she'd be okay if she went on searching. That little freedom she'd taken for granted as a kid in grandpa Baron’s backyard, when she went out looking for snails after rainstorms—had to make sure they didn't linger on the paths and get stepped on.

  Ironic that those feelings were coming back here, in the Brotherhood Capital, the heart of the beast.

  As soon as she and Raiden stepped onto the embossed path leading up to the throne room, flanked by guards on either side, Raiden let go of her hand and put a polite amount of distance between them.

  These rules, honestly.

  But Ava was going to become a Princess soon. If the Brotherhood wanted their leaders cool and detached, fine. She mirrored Raiden's cool expression as they walked up the never-ending marble stairs.

  It was so quiet, each of their steps echoed on a loop.

  The guards at the entrance jolted to attention and scrambled to open the massive red doors, revealing the golden monstrosity that was the throne room.

  Ava had to blink too many times to get her eyes adjusted to the extravagance of the room.

  Black and red pillars supported the impossibly high ceiling, dripping in golden chandeliers every few feet.

  "Leave us," Raiden said.

  The guards scrambled back out, closing the door tightly behind them.

  As soon as the clicks vibrated through the room, Ava's shoulders sagged back down. She whirled around the dark marble floor flecked with—you guessed it—gold filigree.

  "Are the lights always on?" She eyed the massive crystal chandeliers. "Because that seems wasteful."

  Raiden chuckled and took her hand in his again, guiding them deeper inside. It felt like a cathedral, high and mighty.

  What was Ava doing here?

  A throne speared the end of the room, sitting atop a crimson platform. The Brotherhood symbol was emblazoned in its back, blending in with the sharp spires.

  Ava gulped. It looked fierce, even with an empty room. She held on tight to Raiden. She liked this new hand-holding thing. She might've been twenty-four, but she'd missed a lot of firsts. A lot. She was really eager to start them, especially with Raiden.

  The man that had brought Azor back to her and had managed to make her smile after twelve long, numbing months.

  Ava had meant what she'd said. Whatever happened from now on, she'd never forget that he'd done something for her just because he'd known it would make her happy. How many people had cared enough about what Ava really wanted? Apart from her cousins, nobody. Not even her parents. They'd wanted her safe; happy was great, but not necessary for them.

  That was an atrocious thought.

  They'd done what needed to be done to protect her, even if Ava still didn't understand why. It was their version of happiness and they'd sacrificed everything for it. Ava didn't know what horrors they'd seen or faced in the Syndicate. After only a year, Ava had had enough, and she wasn't even sent out on the field or involved in any missions.

  Now she'd have to lead one of the most dangerous Clans in the world.

  Ava stared up at the single throne.

  "Where's mine?"

  Raiden chuckled. "We'll get you one."

  Good. Ava would have power. Real power which could help her help others. She needed to learn every lesson by heart. Every scrap of information. Every detail and custom. If she had to be a ruler, she planned on being a great one.

  Truthful. Rig
hteous. Unflinching.

  Starting tomorrow, because today, Ava was shaking in her ridiculous platforms as she stared up.

  "What do you think?" Raiden asked, watching her intently.

  "I think…" Ava took a deep breath. "I need to wear some big shoulder pads or else that throne might drown me."

  This room could fit a lot of people. They'd all be staring at her. Small wonder her skin hadn't broken out in hives by now.

  "This is only for special ceremonies," Raiden said. "Trust me, we'll be spending more time in secret council rooms and in front of monitors than here."

  Ava squeaked an "uhum".

  Raiden guided her up the stairs and slumped in the throne, one leg over its arm. He looked like a feline, relaxed and in control.

  "Come here." He crooked a finger at her. "It won't bite."

  "I don't know, those spires look dangerous." Ava took a deep breath. "And you might."

  The grin he sent her belonged on the devil. "I won't. This time."

  Honestly, Ava wished he would? It was strange. Around him, she always felt like something primal wanted to escape from deep within.

  Ava gulped—get it together, Caputo—and sat down on the very edge of his leg before she could change her mind.

  Raiden's hand snaked around her waist and pulled her into his chest. Good lord, his warm breath hit her right in that spot behind her ear that made her eyelids flutter.

  "Always sit back, in control. You listen to them, but they have to listen to you. They cling to your words and reactions, not the other way around," he said, words vibrating from his chest down her spine.

  Ava nodded and grasped the sculpted arms until her knuckles turned white.

  The room felt even bigger from this end. Ava could already imagine hundreds of faces staring up at her.

  "Yeah, not intimidating at all," she mumbled. She was fighting the urge to lean back into Raiden and was a few good breaths away from losing.

  He leaned his head right above her shoulder, so close that Ava felt his hot breath ghosting over her skin. She gripped the throne arms harder.

  She wasn't stupid. She knew what she felt around him was pure, raw desire, which she'd never even had the opportunity to feel before. But what was she supposed to do with it apart from feeling her insides twist with longing?

  "You know how they say to imagine your crowd naked to keep the nerves away?" he whispered conspiratorially, as if they were sharing an inside joke.

  Ava liked hearing his voice so low. She nodded.

  "Don't do that, it's disgusting and you'll end up disgusted, too."

  Ava snorted a laugh. Very royal of her.

  "Don't worry," he went on, still so achingly close to her. Ava wanted to reach out and run a hand through his hair. Pull him closer until she finally—finally—tasted his lips. She'd wanted to kiss him back in the meadow. But what if she did it wrong? "As long as you make sure to put the Clan's interest before yours, they'll put you above everyone else. At first, they'll respect you because of your position. After they get to know you, they'll respect your mind. If you're really lucky, they'll end up respecting your heart."

  Ava shook her wrists to get the nerves out. It didn't help. "You really think so?"

  He took a long time to reply. His impenetrable gaze kept scanning every little detail of her face. Forehead, brows, eyelashes, nose, dimples, then settling on her lips.

  The air around them crackled with delicious tension.

  "Yes, I do," he breathed against her mouth.

  His lips crashed against hers, searching and demanding as his hand twisted in her hair, angling her head.

  Ava didn't know much about sins, but this kiss tasted sinful. Nothing like the chaste alcohol-reeking pecks she had to give Darius to keep up appearances.

  This was languorous and delicious, and Ava forgot all about her worries of whether she'd get it right. It felt natural and vital and she wanted more.

  His lips coaxed hers open. A low growl pulsed from his throat into her as he deepened the kiss.

  This is what she'd been missing? This feeling of being consumed whole and this naked desire to be closer, faster, harder, everything.

  Heat spread through her, as if tempting her to be reckless. The room vanished, the Capital didn't exist, and nothing else mattered but Raiden and his hands and his lips and his tongue and more.

  His large palms snaked around her waist and turned her. He swallowed her gasp as Ava straddled him.

  She was making out for the first time in her life. With her so-called enemy. The man who killed her useless lump of a fiancé. In the Brotherhood Capital. In the Brotherhood throne.

  She'd never felt so fucking alive.

  The hint of danger whispered against her senses. Ava's hands circled Raiden's neck, tangling in his hair. She wasn't letting go for anything in this world.

  She wanted to go back in time and tell her seventeen-year-old self that she was going to be just fine in the guy department.

  This was worth the wait. This weird feeling that slid underneath her skin, igniting her. This craving that seared the breath right out of her.

  This. Was. Amazing.

  Raiden pulled her even closer, hands digging into her lower back. She could feel all of him. God, did she want to feel more, but...she felt this was the right time to warn him she wasn't about to rock his world.

  Not for lack of wanting—because, oh, boy, did she want him—but she'd seen the shameless looks he got around the Capital. He hadn't lived like a total eunuch until they'd met.

  His lips trailed down her neck, sucking and nibbling. Ava rocked against him.

  Okay, so her body clearly had a mind of its own and one single thought—him.

  "Raiden?" she asked, hating how small and unsure her voice was.

  "I like the way you say my name." He groaned, licking straight up her neck and catching her earlobe between his teeth.

  Ava rolled her head back. She liked it, too, a bit too much. She needed to get a grip now, before she ended up liking it a lot.

  Looking at his gorgeous face didn't help her, either. At all.

  She opened and closed her mouth too many times, gaze ping-ponging around the room. The spires. The chandeliers. The floor. The massive door.

  "Don't worry," he whispered against her skin. "Nobody would even think to disturb us. Nobody can see us. Or hear us. We're all alone."

  "About that." She cleared her throat. Words. You know words. Use words. "I've—I've never done this before."

  None of it. Ava really wanted to do it all, but not in the throne room. At least not for the first time.

  Raiden stilled. He leaned back slowly, watching her. The longer he remained silent, the more Ava fidgeted.

  "It's just that...you know. Living cut off from everyone, seeing other people like four times a year." She was rambling. Her face must've looked like a pomegranate by now. But Raiden wasn't saying anything, even as his hands gripped her legs tighter and tighter. "And then I had to deal with Darius and, come on, I mean—"

  He pressed a finger to her lips.

  "Your reasons are your reasons," he smiled. Smiled, without edges and jagged corners that hid his real meaning. "I should have thought about it. But now that I know…" He ran his hands down her sides slowly, gaze unfocused. Ava could almost feel his mind spinning. "Change of plans."

  "Wait, what plans?"

  His gaze snapped to hers. "Wicked ones that will have to wait."

  "But..." She'd been waiting for twenty-four goddamned years.

  He licked his lips, eyes darkening. "You want to have sex in the Brotherhood throne? So scandalous, Caputo."

  "What, like you don't?" His fingers were shaking from holding back. Who was he trying to fool?

  "I want to fuck you on the throne." He caught her earlobe between his teeth and did wicked things to it. "Hear you scream out nothing but my name in this sacred room where the fate of the world has been decided, over and over and over again."

  Ava inhaled a st
uttered breath. "Power gets you off, doesn't it?"

  "Oh, yes." His smile widened, finally touching his eyes. "And I don't think I'm the only one. Shall we test that?"

  He cupped her face in his large hands gently, bringing their lips together again. But this wasn't like their first all-consuming kiss. This was slow and gentle and perfect.

  She'd liked the frenzied, demanding touches from the beginning. She liked the slow, searching ones now. She liked everything he did.

  She relaxed into his arms, letting the sensations course through her. Why had she been so worried when this felt so right?

  Time slipped away as they tasted and explored each other, finding out what ticked for them. Ava arched like a cat when Raiden glided his fingers down her spine. He groaned when she dug her nails into the back of his neck.

  Soon, slow and careful turned into insistent and harder. Ava's shaky fingers made quick work of his shirt buttons. He looked damn good in that black suit. He probably looked even better with it off.

  He did.

  Ava sighed happily as she uncovered his chest and abs, all tight, corded muscle. And the tattoo...that glorious dragon tattoo spreading from his shoulder down his chest, right above his heart.

  She grinned. "What came first, the nickname or the tattoo?"

  "The training. Earned the title during—" Raiden's eyes rolled in the back of his head as Ava licked her way up the lines of his tattoo. "Fuck."

  Ava smiled up at him, her tongue retracing every ink swirl. Maybe she could rock his world a little. Give it a good shake, at least.

  His warm palm slid underneath the collar of her gauzy dress, seeking lower and lower.

  Ava moaned when his fingers slipped past the lace of her bra.

  Well, this just wasn't fair. How could she concentrate on driving him wild when all he had to do was look at her with those dragon eyes, like he wanted to eat her whole?

  His other hand twisted in her hair, pulling until Ava's back bent. Without breaking eye contact, he slipped the dress and her bra to the side, exposing her breast.

  "I should warn you." His reddened lips turned into a shameless grin. "I'm very fond of reciprocating."