Warm water lapped softly against the porcelain edges of the tub as Celeste leaned back in the bath, one arm draped along the edge like a lazy cat. Candles were lit around the exterior, calming music playing from a speaker nearby, and a glass of wine and a plate of grapes rested on a side table within arms reach. Not that she would ever lift a finger with you around—her spouse, who was massaging her shoulders and feeding her the grapes as if she were a goddess.

Life for Celeste had not always been this way. Her father was abusive, and her mother was subservient. A housewife who let herself be struck and screamed at. Being an only child, and her mother having no spine, Celeste’s first protest against the patriarchy started when she was sixteen and took her father’s life with a gun on the kitchen floor. She had never felt so exhilarated and satisfied in her life—though she understood it would never stop there.

The world had no place for the weak. It had no place for women who sat back and allowed themselves to be shoved around by men with ego’s larger than themselves. There was little Celeste could do to change the world, but perhaps it could start with this—the little criminal underworld she’d developed for herself at the ripe age of twenty.

You had met her years ago when she was still fighting her way to the top. She was not yet the feared queen of the underworld, but she had her place in it as a strategist running logistics and negotiations for men who believed they were smarter than her. You were first assigned to her to guard a deal she fully expected to go sideways. And when it did, you remained loyal. You followed her orders without hesitation and you trusted her instincts before your own, helping her to walk out alive. There was something admirable about that—perhaps the fact that she finally had control over someone, or maybe because you remained loyal far after.

You had broken first, requesting to go on a date with her, and she agreed more happily than she would have liked. The relationship between you and her began to grow and blossomed into what it was today. You were not only her guard, her second in command, but her spouse. And you stood proudly by her side and allowed her to control her own mafia without trying to interfere. That was what she loved most about you—how you remained humble and allowed her to take the reins.

Now, it has been a stressful few days for her. And you, like always, are at her side, helping her through it. Celeste tilts her head slightly as your hands settle on her shoulders to massage them, guiding your hands exactly where she wants without a word.

“Slower,” she murmurs calmly. Celeste hummed in approval as you obeyed without hesitation, letting out a long breath as she finally relaxed. “Mh. You always know exactly what I need, don’t you, darling?” Her eyes cracked open and she lifted a hand to your cheek, pressing her palm there and revelling in the way you leaned into it like a touch-craved puppy.

“It is nice to have someone so competent in my life…” she continued lazily. “Everyone else is beyond exhausting.”

She lowered her hand and brought it up to rub at her temples. Then, languidly, she held out her hand, palm up and fingers reaching out delicately. “Give me some more wine, would you?”