I told myself I wouldn’t go.
I swore I’d ignore his command. That I didn’t belong to him. That it was just sex. But here I am again. Room 406. Only this time, I don’t even hesitate. I knock once. The door opens instantly, like he knew the exact second I’d show up. He doesn’t greet me. He just smiles—smirks, really—like a man who already owns the answer to a question I haven’t dared to ask. “You’re ten minutes early.” “I couldn’t wait.” His eyes drag down my body. I’m in a dress this time—tight, short, braless. Panties? Not a chance. He steps aside without a word. I walk in. And freeze. There’s a box on the bed, black velvet. Like a gift. “For me?” I ask. He nods once. “Open it.” My heart beats faster as I lift the lid. Inside is a black leather collar. Smooth. Sleek. Unapologetically filthy. And a small silver tag that reads: Mine. I stare at it then glance at him. “Put it on,” he says, already unbuttoning his shirt. My fingers tremble slightly as I fasten the collar around my neck. He walks over once I’m done, tugging gently on the D-ring at the front. “Perfect.” “You’re serious about this?” His hand slides between my legs, finding me already wet. “I don’t play games.” I gasp as his thumb brushes my clit. “You’re dripping,” he murmurs. “From wearing my collar alone.” “You make me wet.” “Good. You’ll need it.” His eyes gleam with something darker. Because tonight won’t just be the bed. Tonight, I’ll be pushed further. He doesn’t fuck me right away. Instead, he tells me to kneel. Then opens the second drawer of the nightstand and pulls out a small, remote-controlled bullet vibrator. He slides it into me—without asking—and fastens a pair of lace panties over it. Just enough friction to drive me wild. Then he helps me up and smooths my dress over my thighs. “We’re going out.” My stomach flips. “What?” “You want to be my toy? You’ll wear my plug, my collar, and my vibrator in public. You’ll smile and act normal. And when I say come, you’ll come.” I clench around the toy inside me. My heart pounds. I should say no. I should feel shame. Instead, I follow him out the door. We’re at a private rooftop bar downtown. Dark. Velvet booths. Candlelight flickering. Jazz in the background and rich men with richer women sipping dark liquor. He orders whiskey. For me, wine. He doesn’t ask what I want. He just tells the bartender what I’ll drink, and I don’t object. I feel the collar against my throat. The bullet inside me. The panties growing damp with each second. I feel possessed and and I love it. “Open your legs,” he whispers as we sit. I do. He taps something on his phone and the vibrator hums to life. I bite my lip hard, face flushing, legs tensing. “Don’t move.” I try, I really do but I’m already panting. “Breathe through it,” he says, sipping his whiskey like he’s not teasing me to the edge of madness. “You’re such a bastard,” I hiss. “Language.” He raises the intensity. I jerk slightly in the seat, nearly spilling my wine. My nipples are hard beneath the dress, throbbing, begging to be touched. My thighs tremble. My body is screaming. “You’ll wait until I say,” he murmurs, brushing a single finger along my inner wrist. “And when I do, you’ll make a mess.” I nod frantically, clutching the table. He lets it buzz for three minutes straight. Then turns it off. I sag against the seat, shaking. “You didn’t come,” he says, sounding impressed. “Because I’m desperate to please you.” He leans in and kisses the side of my neck, just under the collar. “Good girl.” He takes me back to the room without a word. By the time the door closes behind us, I’m on my knees without being told. I peel off the dress and panties while he watches, cock already hard and straining through his pants. “I’ve been dripping in your toy for hours,” I whisper. “I know.” “You’re gonna fuck me now, aren’t you?” His voice is sharp. “Beg.” “Please.” “Not good enough.” I crawl to him on all fours, drag his zipper down with my teeth, and pull him out. Then I take him into my mouth. Deep. Gagging. Moaning. Letting drool spill down my chin. His hand fists in my hair. “Fucking hell.” I bob faster, swirling my tongue around the head, sucking like it’s the only thing that matters. Because it is. His groans get rougher, throatier. “Stop,” he growls. I obey instantly, mouth wet and red, lips swollen. He drags me up, spins me around, and bends me over the desk. He pulls the toy from my pussy and tosses it aside. “You want to come?” “Yes.” “You want to be filled?” “Yes, sir.” “Then take it like my good little slut.” He enters me in one hard thrust. No warning. No tenderness. Just raw, unfiltered dominance. I cry out, nails scraping the wood as he fucks me brutally, the collar tight around my throat, my breasts swaying with every slam of his hips. He grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls. I arch back. “I said messy,” he growls. “Come for me now.” And I do. So hard I scream. So hard my knees buckle. So hard my pussy clamps around him like a vice. He grunts, thrusts deep, and spills inside me, his cum hot and endless. I collapse to the floor, panting. He follows me down, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me. Soft. Slow. Barely a whisper of lips. Then he drags a warm towel across my thighs, cleans me up like I’m something precious. Which is almost more intimate than the sex. He doesn’t speak as he lifts me into the bed, wrapping me in his shirt. Just holds me. And right before sleep claims me, I whisper the one thing I haven’t dared say out loud. “I came back because I want more.” His reply? A single, dangerous promise. “You’ll get more.”Chapter FourTastes Like ObsessionArielle’s POVI wore red lipstick to see what he’d do.Dmitri had been silent all morning. No texts, no demanding calls, no “come here now” or “what the fuck are you wearing.”He was testing my patience with this distance and I hated it. So I wore a barely-there black dress, no panties, and the lipstick he hated. I drove to his office unannounced.The receptionist tried to stop me but I smiled sweetly and ignored her.His door was cracked open when I walked in. He stood at the window, back turned, suit jacket slung over the chair.“Close the door,” he said.I did.Then I locked it.His voice dropped a note lower. “What are you doing here?”“I missed you.”He turned slowly. His eyes dropped to my mouth then lower. The hem of my dress barely brushed the tops of my thighs.He stared.“You wore that to get my attention.”“I wore it because I don’t like being ignored.”His jaw clenched. “You’re playing a game you don’t understand.”I stepped forward. “Th
Chapter ThreeMine in Every WayDmitri’s POVI woke up with her curled against me, bare skin pressed to mine, her head on my chest like she’d always belonged there.She breathed slowly, lips parted, thighs still marked with the red indentations my fingers had left. She hadn’t protested once, not even when I bent her over the desk a second time last night and made her scream through another orgasm.Arielle. My ward. My problem.My fucking undoing.I stared at the ceiling, trying to rationalize what we’d done. But the more I thought about it, the less I cared. My cock stirred again just remembering the way she looked—dripping, eager, mouth filthy with need. I’d never had a woman like that.And I’d never let anyone else touch her now.She stirred. Her hand slid across my chest, down to my stomach.“Morning,” she murmured, voice husky with sleep.“You should be in your own room.”She lifted her head, eyes narrowing. “You want me to leave?”I didn’t answer.Because if I said yes, I’d be ly
Chapter TwoLines Meant to Be CrossedThe kitchen was still warm from his body.Even after Dmitri left me standing there, trembling and soaked through, the echo of his voice, the threat in it, the promise—clung to my skin like sweat. I should’ve gone back to my room. But instead, I stood there in the silk shorts and tank top, gripping the edge of the counter, replaying every word he said.You think I haven’t pictured bending you over this fucking counter?My fingers clenched tighter.I knew I was playing with fire. That he had more control than any man I’d ever met. That the cold edge in him didn’t crack easily.But I also knew desire. I’d tasted it in his breath and I’d seen it flash in his eyes before he pulled away. He was holding back because he thought he had to. Because I was still, technically, under his guardianship.One more month. Just one.But I wasn’t going to wait.I wasn’t some wide-eyed girl anymore. I was twenty. I was tired of pretending. I knew what I wanted. I wante
Chapter One I hated how much I wanted him.Even before I stepped through the door of the Volkov estate, I could already feel it — that tightness in my stomach, the electric buzz under my skin, the furious pounding of my pulse. Not from nerves. No. From heat. From the ache I hadn’t been able to scratch in two long years away.My suitcase thudded against the marble floor of the entryway. Familiar smells curled up around me — leather, oak, expensive scotch — and the tension that lived inside this house for as long as I could remember. Tension, because he was here.Dmitri Volkov.My legal guardian. My father’s best friend. The man who took over the estate when my father died and I was still too young to do anything about it. The man who never looked at me for too long, never hugged me, never said my name like it meant anything. But still haunted every single fucking wet dream I’d had since I turned sixteen.He wasn’t in the foyer. Of course not. That would be too easy.I wheeled my bag t
Chapter NineThe Fire and the FallHe kissed me like it was the last time.That’s how it started.No pretense. No warm-up. Just his mouth on mine—desperate, all-consuming, like the truth behind it was too big to breathe.And maybe it was.Because when we broke apart, the air crackled with the weight of what was coming.“I told her,” Damon said.I blinked. “Told who?”“Lila.”The blood drained from my face.“You what?”He ran a hand down his face. “I couldn’t keep lying. She asked. I told her.”My knees went weak.“What did she say?”He looked at me.And that look told me everything.“Oh my god,” I whispered. “She hates me.”“She’s angry,” he admitted. “But it’s not just that.”“She feels betrayed,” I said, throat tight. “Because I was her best friend.”“You still are,” he said sharply. “This doesn’t erase what you meant to her. Or what she meant to you.”“You don’t know that.”“I do.”I pulle
Chapter EightShe Was Here First“You’re not the first girl I’ve done this with.”That’s how he started.No warning. No softening of the blow.Just those words conveniently wrapped in steel and stabbed ruthlessly into my chest like a knife. I didn’t speak, I couldn’t. My throat felt tight, my skin flushed, but not with heat this time.With shame and jealousy.“She followed you,” Damon said. “Because she’s been waiting and watching me ever since I ended it.”I stared at him.“You… ended it?”He nodded once. “Two years ago. She didn’t take it well.”“What was her name?”“Elena.”My stomach flipped.“Elena,” I repeated. “And what was she to you?”He exhaled through his nose. “My daughter’s best friend.”I went cold. It was like being doused in ice water.“You—” My voice broke. “You fucked Lila’s best friend before me?”“Yes.”“And you thought I wouldn’t care?”“I didn’t plan on caring either,” he said, eyes dark. “But then I met you.”I laughed—it sounded sharp, bitter and ugly.“So this