Se connecterRaven(Present)“Playtime,” Roman says the moment we step into the underground room.It’s only the second time he’s brought me here, but I already know exactly what that single word means.My pulse stutters.Every visit to this room ends the same way—with him taking complete control, and me discovering another limit I didn’t know I had.The lighting is low, amber, and warm, and the space has that particular hush that exists outside of ordinary time, which feels right. Because the man standing across the room from me is supposed to be sleeping right now, hours away from standing at an altar, and instead he’s here, and I’m here, and neither of us is pretending that makes any sense.He sets his jacket on the back of the chair.Then he reaches for his shirt buttons.I tell myself not to watch.I watch anyway.Roman without a shirt is not something you look away from—the breadth of his shoulders. The hard, defined lines of his chest and stomach speak to a discipline he never discusses but
Roman(Past)18 years ago.The club was loud and dim and exactly the kind of place I wouldn’t normally choose for a meeting.But Randy had picked it, and Randy was one of the three men who had survived the night Mario Cole’s empire burned, and when survivors of that night asked for anything I had learned to say yes without argument. They had earned that much.We sat in a corner booth, far enough from the stage that conversation was possible, close enough that the music covered it.“The Kingstons are moving east,” Randy said, turning his glass slowly on the table. “They’re not being subtle about it either. Three ports in the last six months.”“I know about the ports.”“Then you know they’re filling the gap Mario left.”“Everyone is filling the gap Mario left.” I kept my eyes on the table. “That’s what gaps do. They get filled.”“The difference is, the Kingstons don’t leave witnesses.” Randy’s voice dropped. “They’re not building an empire, Roman. They’re burning everything they touch…
RavenRoman keeps me open with the width of his body standing between my thighs, my legs draped over his forearms, and every time I try to close them he just pushes them wider without even looking down. Like keeping me open is something he does without thinking. Like this is his and he’ll take it however he wants.I’m shaking already.“Keep your eyes on me.”I try. God, I try. But he curls his fingers again and my head tips back and a moan tears out of me that I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to.“Raven.”I bring my eyes back to his.“Good girl.”He adds a third finger and my body arches off the bonnet, my back lifting, my mouth falling open on a silent cry. He pushes me back down with the flat of his forearm across my hips, pinning me there, not roughly but completely, and keeps fucking me with his fingers, deep punishing strokes that push every thought out of my head.“Stay still,” he says.I can’t stay still. My whole body is moving with him, chasing him, rolling towar
Raven Roman steps between my thighs, one hand already sliding up under the fabric, fingers brushing my soaked pussy. I’m dripping, the night air making it worse, and the low sound that leaves his throat when he feels it sends heat rushing through me.“You are my girl,” he says, voice rough as he starts stroking my clit in tight circles. “What does that make you?”“A human,” I gasp, even as my thighs tremble around his wrist. “With feelings. Forgive me for lashing out because my man isn’t loyal.”He stops.Withdraws his hand and I almost cry at the loss.“I am loyal to you,” he grinds out through clenched teeth, gripping my chin hard enough to force my eyes to his. His fingers dig into my skin. “Do you know what you did to me when I sent you to London?”I hold his gaze. Don’t look away.“You fucked the first woman who threw herself at you,” I say. “Because that’s who you are.”Because Roman Bellerie always had women around him.I grew up watching it. Mom and he fought about
Raven“We need to talk,” Roman says calmly.Calmly.How can he be so calm after what he did to me? How can he stand there looking completely unaffected? Not even a hint of remorse.So this is how he wants to play it?Hurt me. Break my heart. Then act like none of it ever happened.“You and I have absolutely nothing to talk about.”“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Anaya says, but I don’t let her.“No. You’re staying. I’m the one leaving.”I snatch my jacket from the chair and press a quick kiss to Anaya’s cheek.“I’ll call you tomorrow.”“Where are you going?”“I don’t know yet. Anywhere far away from this man.”Roman smirks.He actually fucking smirks, like he finds this entire situation amusing.I hate him.I brush past him, out the door before he can say a single word.Before he can explain.Before he can feed me more lies.His voice follows me into the corridor anyway.“Raven.”I don’t stop.I take the stairs, pushing through the ground floor door into the cool n
Raven“Eat something,” Anaya says, holding out the plate she’s been trying to get in front of me for the last twenty minutes.“I’m not hungry.”“Raven.”“Anaya. I’m not hungry.”She sets the plate on the nightstand without arguing and sits beside me on the bed instead. Her arm comes around my shoulders and she pulls me into her side, and I let her because I don’t have the energy to pretend I’m fine right now.My phone lights up on the duvet.Roman.I turn it face down without looking at it properly.“Hey.” Anaya’s voice is soft. “Cry it out. I know how you feel. Don’t hold it in.”And just like that, everything I’ve been pressing down since I walked out of that garden breaks open.I sob into her shoulder the ugly way, the way that makes no sound for the first few seconds before it all comes out at once. She holds me tighter and says nothing, just keeps her arm around me, her hand moving slowly against my back.“That’s it,” she murmurs. “Let it out. You’ll be alright.”I don’t know how
RomanThe same boy. The same fucking boy who can’t seem to understand what boundaries are.And the nerve, the absolute fucking nerve—of her to invite him here. To my engagement party. To a family gathering where he has no business being.My hand tightens around my wine glass.“Everything is going g
Roman She’s exactly where I told her to be. I close the bedroom door behind me and stop. Take her in. Raven is on the bed, knees spread, hips tilted up, her weight resting on her elbows so her chest hovers just above the mattress and her back curves into a perfect arch. Naked. Every inch of he
RavenThe hangover hits me before I even open my eyes.My head is a slow, steady throb. My mouth tastes as if something died in it. I lie there for a full minute just staring at the ceiling, letting the memories crawl back in pieces. The bar. Jack. The drive home. Roman guiding me to my bedroom. Me
RomanI’m walking through the lobby when I see her.Raven.Staggering through the entrance like she can’t remember how legs work. One hand on the wall for balance. The other clutching her phone.Drunk.She’s fucking drunk.Anger floods through me. Hot and immediate. I cross the space between







