Violet
We didn’t even make it to the room properly. The moment the door swung open, his lips were already on mine, hot, and hungry. The kiss stole every ounce of breath from my lungs. Strong hands caught my waist, pulling me into him like he couldn’t bear even an inch of space. I stumbled backwards, gasping, and looped my arms around his neck to steady myself. My head spun. God, what’s happening to me? Everything felt dizzy. His touches were desperate, like he’d been starving for me, craving me with every inch of his body. Why me? I thought wildly. Why did he want me? Who even is he, this man who didn’t flinch going against Matthew? Who booked the most exclusive penthouse in America like it was a motel room? Who makes me feel like my entire existence is vibrating beneath my skin? I had so many questions. And yet, I didn’t want the answers. His teeth grazed my lower lip and made me gasp. He took that gasp as an invitation, and the next second his tongue slipped into my mouth. I moaned into the kiss, my mind completely gone. His hand slid from my waist, moving up to cup my chin, tilting my face, angling the kiss deeper, and messier. I’d never been kissed like this in my four years with Matthew. He wasn’t just good, he was an expert. He kissed like a man who had studied women, learned every hidden weakness, and memorized the exact pace to unravel them. And God, I was unraveling. My back hit a table. I gasped, and he didn’t stop, his hands now roaming, his lips never breaking from mine. I tried to keep up with him, but I was lightheaded. Finally, he pulled back. His chest was rising and falling hard, and so was mine. His blue eyes were dark and locked on me like I was prey and he was just choosing how to devour me next. I stared up at him, trembling, my lips swollen and damp. He was still wearing the mask. Why was he still wearing it? Was he ugly? I wasn’t the type to care about appearances, and besides, I doubted he was anything short of good-looking. I reached up slowly, fingertips brushing the edges of it. He didn’t stop me, or say a word. In fact, his lips quirked into that lazy, wicked smirk again, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. I kept my eyes on his, then carefully slid the mask down. It fell to the floor, and I froze. He was breathtaking. Sharp cheekbones, and jawline, tousled black hair that fell over his forehead. His skin glowed under the low lighting, and when he smiled, his white teeth flashed. And those ocean-blue stirred something in me. “You—” I couldn’t stop myself. My hand reached up again, brushing along his jaw, transfixed. “You look…” My voice came out as a whisper. “You look awfully familiar.” His grin widened, and without warning, he slipped his arms around my thighs and lifted me up. “Ah!” I gasped, hands flying to his shoulders. He placed me down gently on the kitchen counter like I weighed nothing, his palms sliding along my waist. His body slid between my legs, and my breath hitched. His nose nudged the back of my neck before his lips found my skin, pressing a kiss there that sent a shiver trailing down my spine. “Does it matter where you’ve seen me before?” He placed another kiss, this time lower, closer to my shoulder. My head tilted on instinct, exposing more of my neck, my eyes fluttering closed. “Nnhg…” The sound escaped before I could swallow it. He hummed against me, pleased. “All you have to do is relax and let me pleasure you, princess.” After saying that, he sank to his knees in front of me. The moment his eyes lifted to mine, my heart skipped a beat. There was something reverent in the way he looked up at me. “Please…” I whispered, but I didn’t even know what I was begging for. His rough hands caught my thighs, spreading them apart. My breath hitched, the boldness of it making my legs tremble. He leaned in and placed a kiss on my calf, he moved higher, kissing my leg until he reached the inside of my thigh. His lips hovered dangerously close to where I was already throbbing for him. He glanced up at me again, watching my face as he pushed my dress up slowly, dragging the fabric until it gathered at my waist. His eyes landed on my black panties. “Fuck, you're dripping.” He dragged a finger right over the center, pressing gently where I was already aching, and I gasped, my legs jolting slightly from the jolt of pleasure. “Let me guess,” he murmured, voice low and rough. “This pretty sight was meant for him?” I froze. My face flushed crimson, and I looked down, unable to hold his gaze. How did he know? Was I really that obvious? I had worn them for Matthew. We were supposed to go home together after the party. I thought maybe, he’d finally notice me again, touch me the way he used to. But now, a complete stranger was the one kneeling between my legs. Not Matthew. Faith really had a twisted way of playing games. “Oh, don’t look so sad,” he said, brushing his nose lightly against the thin fabric between my legs. I shivered as he took it off. “You might have worn it for him, but someone better is going to take it off.” He inhaled slowly, like he was savoring my scent. “Let’s hope,” he whispered, his lips grazing me through the lace, “you taste as good as you smell.” His tongue flicked over my slit, tasting me. I gasped, my head falling back. “Oh my God!” Hades groaned against me like he liked the sound, and it spurred him on. His hands gripped my thighs tighter, holding me in place, his tongue dragging through my folds. He licked me with long, lazy strokes at first, savoring it, circling the sensitive bud of my clit before sucking it softly into his mouth. My knees buckled. I couldn’t stay still, my hips trembled under the pressure, caught between the urge to pull away and the desperate need to press closer. I didn’t even know what I craved more. “Stay still,” he murmured, lips brushing against me. “Let me taste all of you, princess.” I thought I couldn’t take any more, until I felt his tongue flick over that sensitive bundle of nerves again, followed by the firm press of his finger. “H-hades!” My back arched as he slid it into me, inch by inch, the sensation impossibly perfect. “Ah, you're clenching against my finger. Relax.” His tongue never stopped moving. It circled my clit while his finger pushed deeper, curling slightly as if searching for something. He found it. “Ah—!” I gasped. That smug, satisfied sound rumbled in his throat again, and the vibrations only made me tremble. “So this is it,” he mused. He didn’t wait. His tongue slid over the spot, his finger thrusting into that part. My body welcomed him, wet and aching, my walls clenching around him like I didn’t want to let him go. A second finger joined the first. He worked them in carefully, filling me more, the stretch making my legs tremble. His tongue picked up speed again, licking me like he was desperate to taste every reaction. “Oh my God… Hades…” I moaned, fingers fisting his hair, my body so far gone I didn’t even know what I was begging for anymore. I was already a moaning mess. Every movement of his fingers hit a spot that made my entire body light up, and his tongue was ruthless, unrelenting, flicking, sucking, rolling in ways that had my thighs shaking and my breath leaving me in frantic gasps. “Look at you,” he murmured against me, his voice low and hungry. “So wet, so fucking tight.” He pushed in deeper, his fingers curling again, stroking that perfect spot inside me while his tongue never left my clit. I cried out, hips bucking, my body greedy for more friction. My legs wrapped around his head instinctively, holding him in place, not that he was going anywhere. He wanted this. I could feel it in the way he moved, the way he worshipped me with every stroke. I felt my body clenched around his fingers, and I was close, so close I could barely form thoughts. “Hades, I—” His eyes locked with mine from between my thighs. “Be a good girl and come.” That was all it took. I came hard. The orgasm tore through me. I cried out his name, my body pulsing around his fingers, my back arching off the table. And still, he didn’t stop. His fingers slowed inside me, his mouth pressing one final, lingering kiss to my oversensitive clit before he finally pulled away. I was panting, dazed, limbs trembling, too wrung out to move. He stood slowly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, then ran his tongue across his bottom lip, savoring me. His blue eyes had darkened, and his chest rose and fell with every breath. That look. God, that look on his face was wild. Like he’d just discovered something he wanted to ruin slowly. As if he’d found something dangerous and delicious and couldn’t wait to sink his teeth in. He reached for his shirt, and my breath caught as he unbuttoned it, then shrugged it off. My eyes dragged down his body, helpless. The hard lines of muscle, the curve of his shoulders, the sharp cut of his abs. Fuck. Coiled along the side of his stomach, slithering low and disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants, was a tattoo of a snake. It was black, detailed, and so fucking sensual. Normally, I wasn’t into tattoos. Either the artist was a damn genius, or anything just looked good on him. My thighs clenched. Even after coming, the sight of him still made me ache with need. He caught my stare, smirked, and reached for his belt, fingers moving like he had all the time in the world. The leather slid free with a low, teasing sound. “Now that I’ve got you to relax…” He paused, letting the belt fall to the floor with a soft clink. “It's time for you to get on your knees and beg, princess. I am a man of my words after all.”Violet Another piece of clothing landed in my hands. I caught it automatically, adding it to the growing pile in my arms. At this point, I wasn’t an employee anymore, I was a walking coat rack.They moved through the store at an unhurried pace, talking to each other as if I didn’t exist. The woman snatched up anything that caught her eye only to toss it at me. I trailed behind in silence, my arms aching, the growing pile wobbling with each new addition.I took a deep breath, forcing the simmer in my chest to cool. The last thing I needed was to lose my temper. This was my highest-paying job, I couldn’t afford to walk out. Not with Sebastian’s trip in two days and barely half the money saved. At this point, I had no idea how I was going to manage it. Maybe I was foolishly hoping for a miracle, for half a million to drop into my lap. Or for some wealthy soul to be generous enough to simply hand it to me.Still, if they kept this up, I wasn’t sure how much more calm I had left in me.Th
Violet“Violet!”The sound of my name cut through the room. I groaned softly and lifted my gaze, blinking up at the person standing in front of me. It was the assistant manager, a blonde woman with sharp eyes and her hands firmly planted on her hips.My eyes widened. I shot to my feet. “I’m so sorry, I fell asleep again—”She sighed, her expression halfway between irritation and concern. “This is the third time today. Didn’t you sleep last night?”Her words made my throat tighten. My mind betrayed me, dragging me back to last night, my aunt and Conrad, the way my skin crawled just from being in the same room with him. I’d lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, eyes wide. Every time I closed them, my mind screamed at me to stay awake, to stay alert, or it would happen again.By six in the morning, I’d given up. I took a quick shower, grateful for the silence in the house, and slipped out with Tiger before anyone could stop me. I brought him to Penelope’s place.I wanted him with me, but
Violet I knew she was evil.I knew she hated me. I knew she wanted me gone, wanted me erased so her perfect family could bask in luxury without the weight of my existence dragging them down. But even knowing that, even carrying that truth in my chest, nothing could have prepared me for her smirking like she’d just won a game she’d been playing behind my back all along.Could a human really act like this?Could a woman? Someone who should have understood what it meant to be scared, to be vulnerable, to be preyed upon by men?My body shook, my stomach churning as the weight of everything crashed down over me. I wanted to believe I had misunderstood, that my mind had twisted it into something darker than it was. That maybe I was dreaming, that I’d blink and wake up in a world where she wasn’t this cruel.But that vile smirk on her face told me I was wide awake.I stumbled back, nearly tripping over the rug. Tiger whined softly and nudged my hand with his head, his warm eyes watching me,
Violet I stared at the doorknob, my hand hovering just above it, my fingers trembling slightly. My heart pounded so loudly I was scared someone inside might hear it. Something was wrong. I knew my aunt. Whenever she sounded that sweet, it meant trouble. She only used that voice when she had something planned, something I wouldn’t like. Something that would cost me deeply. And besides, a visitor for me? Who do I even know that would walk in here on their own two feet? My brain was racing through every possible person it couldn’t be. Penelope or Kai? No way. They’d never show up here without telling me first, and if they did, my aunt would be the one visiting the ER, not calling me sweetly. There was also no way it could be Sebastian. He knew better than to come here. Matthew? My stomach twisted. God, I hoped not. I didn’t have the strength to deal with his nonsense tonight. After everything that happened that day, I’d rather sleep on the street than face him again. Then…that
Violet I was just about to tell Penelope to stop talking nonsense when the bell above the restaurant door chimed.I turned my head slightly and sighed the moment I recognized them, they were two of my coworkers from the store. They wore the same uniform as me, a black button-ups tucked into fitted slacks, with the store pin shining on their collars.One of them, Mia, wrinkled her nose when her gaze landed on me. “She’s still eating and chatting when she’s supposed to be working. God, she’s so annoying.”Her friend, Lacey, snorted. “Give her a break. I mean, it’s the only time someone actually talks to her.”I looked at them indifferently. I’d known for a while now that my co-workers didn’t like me. They didn’t even try to hide it. Maybe it was because our manager praised me too much, or because I actually followed the rules while they did whatever they wanted. I didn’t care enough to figure it out. It wasn’t worth the energy.I focused on Penelope again, ready to ignore them like alw
Violet“So you’re telling me you had a one-night stand with a hot stranger who saved you from drowning,” Penelope said slowly, like she needed to hear herself say it to believe it, “and that same hot stranger sent you those flowers yesterday?”I nodded, taking a small sip of my water. Penelope’s eyes widened so much I swore they nearly popped out of her skull. “Oh. My. Fucking. God!”I practically lunged over the table and slapped my hand over her mouth. “Would you keep your voice down?! We’re in public!”She licked my hand.“Ugh, gross!” I yanked my hand back and wiped it furiously on my pants. “What the hell was that for?”Penelope leaned forward with a grin. “Who cares about other people?! Girl, are you crazy?! You had sex with a stranger, who’s fourteen years older than you, and you’re telling me to be quiet?!”I glanced around the little restaurant tucked beside the shopping mall, no one was paying attention. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.After everything that happened w