Page 48 of Forbidden Empire (Sinful Gods #1)

ESME

A WEEK LATER

E verything looked different.

Everything felt different.

I was different.

From the window in Aidon's office in The Underworld, I stared out at the city pulsing beneath us, my thoughts spinning.

It had only been a week since the confrontation with Rhea, the violence, the blood, but I was still here. I hadn't disappeared into the night. I hadn’t shed my identity like a snake and slithered away to some new land, hungry for power.

Instead, I’d spent every day tending Aidon's wounds.

Every night, I ended up in his bed, curled around him.

And fuck, I was happy about it.

I caught sight of my reflection in the glass, and for a moment, I didn’t recognize the woman looking back at me. There was no urge to argue, no compulsion to fight Aidon for control every second. I’d already proven myself, and the confidence that came with that victory let me breathe. Let me be.

For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was barely holding on to my power. I owned it. It was mine. No one could take it from me, not even Rhea and her men, even if they burst through the door with guns drawn and murder in their eyes. I would fight, and I would survive.

I could go to war and walk away with my head high. That knowledge changed everything.

I believed in myself now, truly believed, and the need to prove myself—to anyone, ever again, was just gone. Obliterated.

And it felt fucking incredible.

I knew Rhea would return. Eventually.

But I also knew we wouldn’t see her for a long while, not after the hit we’d just delivered.

We’d crippled her. First, by taking her warehouse, then by crushing her security team, not once, but twice.

Every asset she’d built up, every weapon, every crate, every ledger.

It was all ours now, locked down and out of her reach. And when we finally had time to dig through the warehouse, we found more than guns.

So much more. Heroin. Cocaine. Enough to flood the city and line our pockets tenfold. That was, if we moved it all.

That part? I left it to Aidon and Zeno. The two of them and Thal, too.

They had more skin in the game, more to lose and gain here, than I did. But that didn’t mean I was stepping aside. Not a chance. I wanted my cut, my say, my power.

Vegas had shifted overnight. The balance of control, the money, the muscle, the kind of power only the city’s elite ever tasted, all of it upended and redistributed.

We’d already sent the evidence packet, including manifests, faces, and burns, to Olympus Legal. The receipt notification still lit up Aidon’s monitor.

My phone vibrated across Aidon’s desk. It was an old Olympus number I hadn’t seen in months. I almost let it go to voicemail, then hit the speaker.

“Esme,” Zeno said, his voice sealed and sharp as steel. “One marker retired. Two remain.”

“Lift the black book,” I said.

“Limited privileges,” he replied. “Medical reinstated. One monitored account. Full reinstatement requires the hardware and a verified copy, or another Konstantinou artery cut with proof. Don’t mistake progress for forgiveness.”

The line went dead.

Aidon’s jaw clenched. “One down,” he said. “We take the next.”

I stared at my reflection in the dark glass and didn’t look away. Progress, not absolution. Fine. I’d earn the rest.

Rhea was gone, and in that vacuum, something new had taken root.

Now, Aidon and I shared that power. Vegas was ours, and there was no going back.

He’d tossed the offer onto the table like it was nothing, a stake in his operation, my own piece of the action, and here I was, still pretending to consider.

Maybe I’d stay. Perhaps I’d walk. The truth?

I’d probably stick around to see what would happen next. But I wasn’t about to let him see how much I wanted it. A girl’s got to keep him guessing.

Funny, all that anxiety I’d had about running. The way I’d convinced myself I’d have to slip out in the night, before things got complicated or dangerous. But Aidon’s urge to control me?

It had vanished, burned away by something new. Maybe it was always about protection; a twisted, overbearing kind, sure, but his own way of caring.

Now that he’d seen I could handle myself, seen me stand my ground, there was a shift between us.

I felt it every time he got close, a note of respect, sharp and electric, in the way he looked at me, in the way he touched me.

Not that he’d stopped being a man, with all the stubbornness and pride that implied.

I could sense how hard it was for him, the effort it took to loosen that grip, to accept that he couldn’t shield me from everything, not after what happened last time. But these days, he seemed to have different priorities.

Mostly? Fucking me until I couldn’t think, until my limbs went weak and my thoughts shattered into sparks.

We spent hours tangled in his sheets, mapping each other’s bodies, learning every inch with hands and mouths and teeth, making up for lost time and then some.

Between bouts of desperate, frenzied sex, we traded stories and secrets, filling the silences with laughter and memories and half-formed plans for a future that might never come.

And in those moments, the urge to run didn’t even cross my mind.

Maybe tomorrow everything would be different. Perhaps I’d wake up and want out. But for now?

I was right where I wanted to be.

Outside this club, nothing had changed. The river of tourists below was just as oblivious as the locals. None of them had a clue that power had shifted, that the criminal masterminds running this city were suddenly different faces behind the curtain.

But here, in the smoky shadows of Aidon’s club, the difference was unmistakable.

The air crackled with energy, as members swapped stories about Rhea’s downfall. Some were already scheming, eager to slide into the vacancies left behind now that new blood held the reins.

Most of them had feared Rhea. She’d run guns and drugs through this city with ruthless precision, destroying anyone who dared to oppose her.

Now, rumor had it she’d resurfaced in New Jersey, which was hilarious.

Anyone who understood this world knew the Jersey syndicates were even more misogynistic than Vegas ever was.

Rhea wouldn’t stand a chance at rebuilding there. The family heads would mock her, maybe even strip her of whatever scraps she had left, before laughing her out of town.

She was about to learn a brutal lesson, and I couldn’t wait to watch it unfold.

I found myself smirking, satisfied with the way things had unraveled, even if I hadn’t gotten to see the light fade from Rhea’s eyes. Knowing we’d toppled her entire operation was enough for now.

The promise of sharing the profits with my colleagues was a bonus. I could only imagine how it burned Rhea to walk away from the empire she’d built.

Footsteps drew my attention, and I turned to find Aidon approaching, a snifter of whiskey in each hand. He offered one to me.

Our fingers brushed, the touch sending a shiver up my arm. I took a sip, my eyes lingering on him, measuring and waiting.

“It’s over,” I murmured, letting the whiskey burn its way down my throat, the fire spreading low and deep inside me.

Aidon nodded, slow and unhurried, his bruised, handsome face still marked but healing.

The evidence of what he’d been through was written across his skin, but if it bothered him, he didn’t show it. I reached up, fingertips brushing gently along the battered line of his jaw.

He caught my hand in his, brought my palm to his lips, and kissed it. His gaze locked on mine, a slow, dangerous smile curving his mouth.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Esme. I’m not trying to kill the mood, but you know as well as I do: our enemies are never gone for good. Rhea’s out of the way, for now, but this war isn’t done. Not really.” He shrugged. “But I’ll give you this; it’s over tonight.”

I exhaled, letting the tension bleed from my shoulders.

“I know. I remember. But it wouldn’t kill us to relax for a little while.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” His laugh was more a rumble than a sound, and when he bent to kiss me, it was so casual, so familiar, it almost startled me; as if we’d always done this, as if we’d always belonged to each other.

We hadn’t talked about where we stood, or what we meant to each other, but maybe that was for the best. I wasn’t sure I wanted to define it, not when just being with him felt like this.

“To a brief respite,” he said, lifting his glass and clinking it against mine.

“To rest,” I echoed, grinning at him before drinking again.

I turned toward the window, letting my gaze drift out over the city as the sunset bled fiery pinks and oranges across the horizon.

He moved behind me, sliding his arms around my waist, and held me tight as he rested his chin on my shoulder. I felt the strength in his hold, the warmth, the safety.

“Beautiful,” he rasped.

“The sunset?” I asked, watching the colors stain the wild city below.

Aidon shook his head, a long, shuddering sigh escaping him. “Not the sunset, beauty. You.”

I shivered at the sincerity, the rough affection I heard. He kissed the side of my neck, making me tremble with a need that felt dangerous. I leaned back into him, savoring the ironclad way he held me, the way we were stronger together than we’d ever been alone.

We’d learned that the hard way.

“Aidon,” I breathed, turning in his arms to face him. I kissed him, soft at first, then deeper, letting him know what I couldn’t say. “Thank you.”

He cocked a brow, smirking. “For what?”

“For believing in me. For not getting in my way.”

He laughed. “Oh, I tried, babe. But you’re stubborn as hell.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s one way to put it. So, did you learn your lesson?”

His grin was pure challenge, eyes dancing with heat. “Not a chance.”

“Aidon!”

“I’m joking, sweetheart,” he replied, that sexy rumble sending a jolt straight between my legs. “You proved you know how to kick ass when necessary. I believe that now. I’m a little scared of you, if I’m being honest.”

“Oh?” I shot back.

“Please don’t tell anyone else I said that,” he murmured, almost pleading.

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“That’s ominous.” He arched one eyebrow. “You know I deal in secrets for a living.”

“Guess the tables are turned now, aren’t they?” I threw back at him, feeling the thrill of the game all over again.

“Fuck, I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” He shook his head, eyes narrowing as if he was concerned.

“Only if you try to double-cross me,” I warned.

“How about we just work as a team and not threaten to betray each other?”

There was a smile on his lips, but underneath, I heard the seriousness threading every syllable.

Was that a real question? Was he asking for more, something deeper? The unspoken hovered, thick and heavy.

I could have kept it going. Played coy, teased him, fired back another clever line. That was what we always did, the back and forth, the chase and retreat. But suddenly, it felt empty. I was tired of the games.

I wanted what came next, the part where you could finally let someone in, let yourself trust, let yourself hope.

So I kissed him again, this time pouring everything into it.

The hunger, the relief, the silent promise. Words could simmer. We had time to say all the things that mattered.

Right now, all we needed to know was that whatever came next, we’d face it together.

He pulled away just enough to look down at me, his warm lips barely parted, eyes soft and full of something close to devotion.

“Aren’t you going to say it?” he asked.

“Say what?”

“That you’re never going to betray me again?”

“Oh, that?” I shrugged, giving a wicked little grin. “I mean, never say never, right?”

“Esme!” He feigned outrage before he scooped me up in his arms, carrying me over to the battered brown leather sofa in the corner of his office. He lay me down, looming over me, his body pressing between my thighs, his face just inches from mine.

He kissed me, hard and fast.

“You think you’re funny,” he rasped, the sound vibrating against my mouth. “But it matters to me. I need you to know that.”

“I’m pretty sure your head’s pressing against my?—”

“Can’t you be serious for one fucking moment, Esme?”

“I’m listening. Sorry.”

He shook his head, and the frustration in his eyes was almost affectionate. No one else got under his skin like I did, and we both knew it.

He cupped my cheek, fingers gentle, gaze searching mine, like he could anchor himself in me.

“We built this together,” he said. “You and me.”

“Yes,” I whispered, the word turning soft on my tongue.

“And together, we’ll keep it.”

He kissed me again, slower this time, luxuriating in it, drowning us in the heat and certainty of what we could be. The promise was clear: whatever storm was waiting outside, we’d weather it side by side.

Ready for the next installment in the series?

She thought their island affair was buried in the past.

He thought he’d never touch her again.

In Vegas, forbidden love is about to ignite a war…

Their empire was only the beginning…

Las Vegas is still burning with secrets.

Zeno may think he controls the city.

But Daphne knows better—because her heart belongs to the one man she should never touch again.

Thalassios Adrias is power, danger, and temptation rolled into one. And when old rivalries ignite a war, every kiss becomes betrayal, every alliance a risk, and every choice could destroy them all.

The next chapter of the Sinful Gods series begins.

Are you ready for the alliance that could bring them all down?