Black Satin

Two

Black satin gleamed in the small ray of sunlight that crept through the curtains that morning. It lay there, all splayed out, strewn along the floor where it had been discarded the previous night. Alongside it, a hastily-removed black bow tie, as well as several layers of a suit were scattered about. Billy would have to send that to the dry cleaner's later.

For now, however, he was content, holding her in his arms. She was draped over his chest, her soft breath tickling his collarbone as she nuzzled under his chin. He absently ran his fingers over her shoulder blade. Most of the girls he usually brought home would be gone by now, but this time, Billy found he was glad that she wasn't. So much so, in fact, that he couldn't help but feel he should be making conversation.

"So..." he said softly. That seemed like a good start...

"So?" she murmured back teasingly.

Billy chuckled.

"You stayed."

"Yeah."

"Not many gals do."

(Y/N) sighed and sat up, settling back against the headboard. Billy did the same, looking at her expectantly.

"I normally don't," she admitted. "There's just something about you, Billy Russo. I'm not sure what it is, but..."

Billy gave her an appraising look.

"It's because we're the same, you and I," he said, and as he spoke, he knew for certain he was right.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't dismiss him.

"How so?" she asked, but from the glint in her eyes, Billy had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say.

"We're both... not quite who we pretend to be in front of the high society."

(Y/N) sucked in a breath, as if to argue, but the argument never came. Her eyes locked onto his, silently prompting him to elaborate, asking - no, daring him to speak out loud the truth that both of them already knew, but were loathe to admit to anyone untrustworthy. So Billy dared to press on.

"One has to wonder... how you father happened to die." His voice was cold and even, and a dark smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "After all," he continued, "He wasn't that old..."

She didn't seem startled or frightened by the accusation in his undertone. Rather, her amused look mirrored his own, and Billy could see something dangerous glinting in her eyes. It was the same look he saw every time he looked in a mirror. It was the same look that he only showed to the people who knew his true nature.

"One has to wonder how a military man makes such a successful company overnight," (Y/N) countered evenly. "It's almost like... people like us have to do things in secret to get ahead... and in these secret deeds, everyone but us is expendable."

Billy held her gaze evenly for a moment before he chuckled darkly.

"And here I thought you couldn't get any more perfect, sweetheart."

She laughed, and Billy felt his heart flutter.

"Figures, the only guy able to catch my attention would turn out to be just like me," she said. "So what's your dirt, Mr. Russo?"

Billy chuckled. "Well, honey, there's a lot of it. Why don't we start with yours?"

(Y/N) nodded. "Fair enough. Well, the short version is, I got tired of my old man being so dismissive of me... Never taking me seriously, always looking down on me, ignoring me for his precious company..."

Billy could sense that she had surprised herself by opening up to him so quickly, but he couldn't blame her. He too had an irrational urge to spill all of his secrets to her. They seemed to have that hypnotic, magnetic effect on each other.

"I wanted to help out," she continued, "But he said I didn't belong in the business. That it wasn't my place. So when he struck it big using one of my suggestions and he didn't even bother to at least acknowledge me? Well... that was the last straw. I figured... I've done all the work. The company is basically mine anyway... Time to make it official. If I can't be happy with a normal, loving father, then I'll be an industry queen. But everybody knows that a princess can only be crowned queen once the king is dead..."

"And the media just loved you playing the heartbroken daughter, huh?" Billy smirked.

"Oh, they ate it up," she laughed. "And when I vowed to make the company stronger than ever, wanting to continue the work that meant oh so much to my beloved father, they ate it up. Plenty of "sympathetic" businessmen thought they could take advantage of a grieving daughter..."

Billy nodded. "And I bet they got blindsided by you. Serves 'em right."

(Y/N) smiled in a dark way that would have unsettled a weaker man. Billy just found it incredibly hot.

"It all worked out for me, in the end," she said, humming thoughtfully.

"Oh sweetheart," Billy said with a smirk, "This ain't the end for you, by any means... It's just the beginning. You can do anything you want, now. That's what power is... freedom."

She watched him for a moment, looking him over.

"And what about you, Billy Russo? What's your damage?"

Billy leaned over and cupped her face in his hand.

"Sweetheart, I'm the most dangerous man you've ever met."

She didn't break eye contact, despite how close their faces were. Billy admired that. This was a woman who wore black satin like chain mail, and he loved that. It brought up feelings in him that he didn't even know existed, made him feel in ways he hadn't known he could.

"Don't you know, Billy?" (Y/N) whispered. "Dangerous is hot."

And then, she kissed him, harder than he had ever been kissed before, and that was saying something.

(Y/N) (L/N) was intoxicating, in the best way. She had this inexplicable power over him, and for some reason, Billy couldn't care less.

As she straddled him, running her fingers through his hair, Billy found that his only concern was in finding a way to make sure he wouldn't be losing her any time soon.