LOGINThe silence was the worst part.I sat on the edge of the bed, the fur blanket still wrapped around my shoulders, staring at the locked bedroom door. The gunshot had echoed through the penthouse over two hours ago. Since then, nothing. Just the hum of the air conditioning and the slow, agonizing tick of the clock on the nightstand.I had counted every single second.One minute. Two minutes. Ten minutes. One hour.I had paced the room until my ankles ached. I had pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear footsteps, voices, anything. I had prayed—to God, to the universe, to the tiny life kicking inside my belly—that Drake was still breathing.And I had cried.I cried because I loved him. I cried because he was a monster who had trapped me, but he was also a broken man who had knelt at my feet and whispered apologies. I cried because I couldn't imagine this penthouse without his heavy footsteps, his low rumble, his possessive hands.I cried because I was terrified I would never s
Drake kept his promise.I woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of sliding glass. When I blinked my eyes open, Drake was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding two mugs. He was dressed casually—a fitted black henley and grey sweatpants—and his hair was slightly damp from a shower. The bandage on his bicep was fresh.He looked... peaceful. Almost normal.“Morning,” he said, his voice a low rumble. He set one of the mugs on the nightstand beside me. “Sleep well?”I sat up slowly, wincing at the dull ache in my lower back. The pregnancy was starting to make itself known, my belly growing rounder and heavier by the day. “I slept better than I have in years,” I admitted softly. “You didn’t have nightmares.”He smiled—a real, honest smile that made his grey eyes crinkle at the edges. It was the first time I had seen him truly smile, and it made my heart stop in my chest.“I didn’t have nightmares because you were here,” he said. He didn’t make it sou
I woke up with a heavy weight pinning my chest to the mattress.My eyes fluttered open, the morning light filtering through the gauze curtains, painting the penthouse bedroom in shades of pale gold. My body was sore—not from brutal sex, but from the tension of the night before, from holding my breath, from crying until my eyes were swollen.And Drake was still there.He was lying on his side, facing me, his arm draped possessively over my waist, his palm resting flat against the dome of my pregnant belly. His dark lashes were fanned against his cheeks, his face peaceful in sleep. The gash on his cheekbone had been neatly bandaged—my work—and his chest rose and fell in a slow, even rhythm.For a moment, he looked like a normal man. A beautiful, exhausted, normal man.I didn't move. I didn't dare. I just lay there, staring at him, my heart doing something dangerous and painful in my chest.Don't fall in love with him, I screamed at myself. He's a monster. He stalked you. He trapped you.
The penthouse was a mausoleum.I had spent the entire day wandering it like a ghost, dragging my aching, bruised body from room to room. I counted the steps from the bedroom to the kitchen (forty-two). I counted the windows in the living room (sixteen). I counted the seconds between the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant wail of police sirens far below.I was losing my mind.I had eaten the lunch the maid left on the marble counter—a perfect filet mignon with roasted vegetables. I had taken my prenatal vitamin. I had showered, scrubbing the dried blood from my skin until the water ran cold.And now, I was sitting on the floor of the living room, my back pressed against the cold glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the heavy oak door.He'll be back soon, I thought, my stomach twisting into knots. He'll come through that door, strip me naked, and fuck me raw until I scream.I should have been terrified. I was terrified.But beneath the terror was a sick, crawl
I woke up to the feeling of silk sliding against my bare skin and a dull, deep ache between my thighs.For a blissful three seconds, I forgot where I was. The sheets were impossibly soft. The pillow smelled like lavender, not mildew. There was no distant sound of traffic or the drip of a leaking pipe.Then, I moved, and a sharp pain shot through my ribs. The bruise Linda had left on my chest throbbed violently.My eyes snapped open.The ceiling was white, pristine, and arched. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a sprawling cityscape bathed in the soft, grey light of early morning. I was in a bed the size of a small country, tangled in black silk sheets, and my body was a roadmap of purple bruises and dried sweat.And I was alone.Where is he?I pushed myself up, hissing at the pain in my wrists where the ropes had cut into my flesh. The penthouse was silent. Deathly silent.Maybe he left, a tiny, hopeful voice whispered in my head. Maybe he dropped me here, paid the rent, and disappear
The penthouse was a dream. Floor-to-ceiling windows, a marble kitchen, a king-sized bed with black silk sheets. It smelled like him—ozone, expensive cologne, and something metallic.But it was a cage.I was sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a soft, white robe. I had been showered—he had his men do it, scrubbing the dirt and blood from my skin. I had been fed—a real meal, steak and vegetables, which I had devoured like a starved animal.And now, I was waiting for him.The door opened. He walked in, shrugging off his suit jacket. He was down to a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular, veiny forearms."Feeling better?" he asked. His voice was flat. Casual."Better than a basement," I whispered, pulling my knees up to my chest. "Look, I… I don't even know your name.""Drake," he said. Just Drake. No last name. "You don't need my full name. You just need to know I'm your owner.""Drake," I repeated. The name felt heavy on my tongue. "Listen, Drake. I'm gratefu







