His Mafia Throne

Chapter 1

Max

It was late, but sleep had long stopped being part of my life. The window in my office was open, and the city shimmered like a sleeping beast. Beautiful and dangerous. Just like me.

I held a glass of whiskey in my hand, a file open on the desk. Another traitor to eliminate. Another man who forgot who I am. Max Varon. King of this goddamn underworld. But tonight, blood wasn’t on my mind. Not really.

The door creaked open. Soft footsteps. I recognized her by sound alone. It was her. Aurora.

God help me, that girl tormented me every damn day. She lived in my house, but she haunted my thoughts every night. Blonde. Beautiful. Too young when I first took her in. Too much of a woman now to ignore what she was doing to me.

"You’re not in your room," I said without turning. But I could feel her. She was trembling. Maybe from the cold. Maybe from me.

"Neither are you," she replied.

Bold. Defiant. Beautiful when angry. Too damn beautiful.

I smirked. I still didn’t know if I hated her for the way she made me feel… or craved her more because of it.

"I don’t need permission to be anywhere."

Every word from me was power. A reminder. For her. For me. For the walls starting to crack.

"What do you keep looking for in those files every night?"

An innocent question. But in my world, nothing is ever innocent. I turned around.

There she was. Dressed in one of my white shirts, probably stolen from my closet. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, those green eyes burned, and her pink lips—God, those lips—were pure sin. She had been a girl when I took her in. Now she was a woman. And more dangerous than any enemy.

"My people," I said. "The world doesn’t sleep just because you can’t."

She frowned. Angry. Good.

"Stop calling me that."

"Calling you what?"

"Doll. I’m not your toy, Max."

Oh, but you are. In every one of my goddamn fantasies. In every boundary I destroy inside my mind. But I didn’t say that. I couldn’t.

I walked toward her. Tilted her chin up. She tensed but didn’t pull back. Brave? Stupid? Or… something else?

"But you live in my house. Wear my clothes. Eat from my table. Protected by my guards. What would you prefer I call you? Angel?"

She brushed my hand off. Stubborn. Beautiful. Lethal. I grabbed her wrist—just for a second. Just to feel she was real.

"Let me go."

Her voice was a whisper. Not fear. Confusion.

"You don’t know what you’re asking, Aurora."

"Then explain it to me. What am I to you? A trophy? A girl you raised to play mind games with?"

Every word hit like a blade. Because she was right. I was a monster. But I wasn’t playing with her mind.

It was the other way around.

"You don’t understand. This world… my world, it isn’t yours. If you knew what I do to keep your life clean, you wouldn’t talk back. You’d run."

"Maybe I should run anyway."

"Try it," I said coldly. "Let’s see who catches you first—me or my enemies."

She was testing me. Clearly. And yet, there was no hate in her eyes. There was pain. The need to understand. Maybe even… desire. But no. I couldn’t go there.

"When you came here, your knees were scraped and your eyes were full of fear. Now you talk like a woman. But you're not ready to be one in my world."

"Then make me ready," she hissed.

Time stopped. Every fiber in me screamed to walk away.

But I didn’t.

"If I’m not a woman… if I’m just your doll… then why do you look at me like that when I wear your shirts? Why do you shiver when I say your name, Max?"

My heart—usually made of ice—thudded violently.

"Don’t push me, Aurora."

"I am. Because I’m scared of you. And more than that, I don’t understand why, in the nights you don’t sleep, you’re not in some woman’s bed… but standing in the dark, watching me."

I stepped closer. I couldn’t stop. She was the fire—and I was throwing myself into it willingly.

"Because you have no idea how badly I want to tear this world apart for you," I said. The truth. Nothing but the truth.

"Then why do you keep me locked in?"

That question burned.

Because the answer was too damn simple.

"Because you’re the only thing in my life I’m afraid to lose."

"And yet you keep pushing me away every morning."

I closed my eyes. If I told her the truth… if I showed her every filthy thing I’d done… she would hate me. Maybe that was easier than watching her fall into my bed, tangled in desire and fear.

"Because if I had you completely, Aurora… you wouldn’t come out of it whole. And I can’t break you. Not yet."

I let her go.

She lingered at the door, looking back. Her eyes full of something between fury and longing. She didn’t say another word.

Neither did I.

Because if she had said just one more thing, I would have snapped. I would have destroyed every line I swore never to cross.

She closed the door softly.

And I was alone. With my whiskey. My file. My demons. And the image of her lips trembling under my hands.

Aurora wasn’t a child anymore. And I couldn’t keep pretending I was just her guardian.

One day, she’s going to hate me. Or love me. Or both.

But until then… I stay the King.

And she, the doll I’m not allowed to touch.

But I will.

Sooner or later.

Because in my world… nothing escapes the King.