LOGINMy body is still trembling, his two broad fingers buried deep inside me, when those five words hit like ice water.
“Who the hell are you?”
He doesn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he curls his fingers slowly, pressing against that spot that makes my knees buckle. A fresh wave of pleasure rips through me even as panic claws at my chest.
“Shh,” he murmurs, voice dark and amused. “You’re so close, Elena. Don’t ruin it now.”
Hearing my full name again in that low, commanding tone sends another shameful throb through my core. I hate how much my body likes it.
I grab his wrist, trying to push his hand away, but he’s stronger. He pins my wrist against the wall with his free hand and keeps going, slow, deliberate movements that make soft sounds echo through the quiet suite.
“Stop,” I gasp, even as my hips betray me, rocking against his palm. “Tell me how you know my name.”
He leans in, his masked face inches from mine. Close enough that I catch the sharp line of his jaw… the faint curl of a knowing smirk.
“I know a lot more than your name,” he murmurs.
My breath hitches.
“I know you hate working at Harrington Shipping. I know your stepfather treats you like an inconvenience.” His voice dips, dark and certain. “And I know your ex was a pathetic cheat who never made you feel anything close to this.”
Each word lands like a slap. My mind spins. How? How the fuck does he know all of this?
His thumb circles my swollen clit faster, and I can’t hold back the moan that tears from my throat. My free hand clutches his shoulder, nails digging in.
“Please…” The word slips out again, broken.
“Please stop?” he asks, voice rough. Or please make you come all over my fingers?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, torn between fury and the building pressure low in my belly. My thighs shake. I’m so wet it’s embarrassing. Every stroke of his fingers pushes me closer, even as my brain screams danger.
His lips brush my ear. “You can fight me, baby. But your pussy is honest. It’s dripping for me.”
The crude words send heat flooding my face. I hate him. I want him. The contradiction makes my head spin.
With a frustrated cry, I come hard, clenching around his fingers, hips jerking uncontrollably as pleasure crashes through me. My legs nearly give out. He holds me up, milking every last pulse until I’m gasping, oversensitive and trembling.
Only then does he slowly withdraw his fingers. He brings them to his lips and licks them clean, eyes locked on mine behind the silver mask.
“Delicious,” he says simply.
I’m still trying to catch my breath, dress hiked up around my waist, panties shoved aside, when reality slams back in.
“Take off the mask,” I demand, voice hoarse. “Now.”
He studies me for a long moment. Then he reaches up and removes the silver mask.
The face underneath steals the air from my lungs.
Sharp cheekbones. Dark, piercing eyes. A mouth that looks like it was made for sin and secrets. He’s older than me—maybe early thirties—with the kind of handsome that feels almost cruel. But it’s not just his looks that freeze me.
I know him.
Not personally. But I’ve seen his photo in boardroom meetings. I’ve heard Richard curse his name more than once.
Damien Blackwood.
My stepfather’s biggest rival. The man who’s been systematically buying up shares and undercutting Harrington Shipping for the past year. The man Richard calls a ruthless bastard who’ll stop at nothing to destroy him.
My mouth goes dry.
“You,” I whisper. “You’re Damien Blackwood.”
He smiles, slow, dangerous and satisfied. “Took you longer than I expected.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t budge. My mind races. This wasn’t random. None of it was. He targeted me. Watched me. Knew exactly who I was before he even approached.
“Why?” I snap, yanking my dress down with shaking hands. “Is this some sick game to get back at Richard? Fuck his stepdaughter to hurt him?”
Damien’s eyes darken. He steps closer, crowding me against the wall again. One hand comes up to grip my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Careful with that mouth,” he warns softly. “And no. This isn’t about hurting Richard. Not entirely.”
“Then what is it about?” My voice cracks. I can still feel the aftershocks of the orgasm he just forced out of me. My body is traitorously warm, still humming from his touch.
He brushes his thumb across my lower lip. “It’s about you. The way you’ve been walking around that company like a caged lioness, pretending you don’t want someone to finally put you on your knees. I’ve watched you for months, Elena. The fake smiles. The way you bite your tongue when Richard talks down to you. The way you touch yourself at night when you think no one can hear.”
My stomach drops. Heat and humiliation burn through me.
“You’ve been spying on me?” I whisper.
“Observing,” he corrects. “And wanting. Badly.”
I try to turn my face away, but his grip tightens.
“I’m not some pawn in your war with my stepfather,” I say, trying to sound strong. But my voice wavers.
“No,” he agrees. “You’re not a pawn. You’re the prize I’ve decided to claim.” His other hand slides down to grip my hip possessively. “And tonight, you’re going to admit how much you need exactly what I can give you.”
I laugh bitterly, even as fresh heat pools between my legs. “You’re insane if you think I’m letting you touch me again.”
His smile returns, sharper this time. “You already begged once. You’ll beg again. Because deep down, you’re tired of pretending to be in control. You want someone who can break you open and put you back together. Someone who doesn’t ask permission.”
He leans in until his lips hover just above mine. “And we both know I’m that man.”
My heart hammers wildly. Part of me wants to slap him. Another part, the dark, secret part I’ve buried for years, wants him to prove it.
Just as I am about to decide which one wins, a sharp knock sounds on the suite door.
“Mr. Blackwood?” a male voice calls from outside. “The car is ready. We have a situation with the Harrington acquisition.”
Damien’s jaw tightens. He doesn’t move away from me.
“Tell them I’ll be there in five,” he calls back, never breaking eye contact with me.
He brushes a strand of hair from my face, surprisingly gentle after everything.
“This isn’t over, Elena,” he says quietly. “Far from it. I’ll give you tonight to run back to your safe little cage. But…”
He leans down and kisses me once, claiming a promise wrapped in heat.
“You will come to me willingly. Or I’ll come for you.”
He steps back, adjusts his jacket like he didn’t just finger me against the wall, and heads for the door.
Just before he opens it, he glances back at me, eyes blazing.
“One more thing. If you tell Richard about tonight, I’ll make sure he knows exactly how sweetly his precious stepdaughter begged for my fingers.”
The door clicks shut behind him.
I’m left standing there, dress wrinkled, thighs slick, heart racing with a toxic mix of fear, anger, and raw, aching want.
Damien Blackwood knows my secrets.
He’s dangerous.
He’s the enemy.
And the worst part?
I already crave whatever he plans to do to me next.
Fully dressed in black trousers and an open shirt, I arrive at the suite and enter. Percy stands instead of kneeling. The collar is still at his throat, but everything else is different.“You are early.” His voice carries the same low register, yet it is stripped of its usual deference.I close the door behind me. “I set the terms. You wait for me to decide.”He smiles faintly. “Do you?”The question hangs between us. I open my mouth to correct him, but the words stall. He steps closer, stopping just outside my space.“Take off the coat.”The command is quiet. My hands move before my mind catches up. The coat hits the floor. Underneath, I wear the same black dress I always do. Nothing beneath it.His eyes travel the length of me without permission. The look is no longer hungry service. It is measured. Calm. Possessive.“The dress next.”I badly want to refuse, to remind him who pays and who gives the orders. Instead, the zipper slides down my spine under my own fingers, and the fabric
Arriving at the suite, I find the air already carrying his scent. Cedar, clean skin, and that sharper note I still cannot name.Percy waits on his knees in the center of the room, a dark collar against his throat, his eyes lowered until I speak.“Look at me.”Those wet stone eyes lift.I shed the coat and the dress beneath it in two movements. Nothing underneath. I walk to him and stop.“You will not touch me with your hands. Only your mouth. Only when I allow it.”“Yes, Ma’am,” he replies obediently.I turn and walk to the wide chair. Sit. Spread my thighs. Crook one finger.He crawls forward, stops between my knees, and waits.“Show me how well you remember the taste of me.”His mouth opens against my inner thigh. Slow kisses climb higher. When he finally reaches me, he does not dive in. He breathes me in first. Then the flat of his tongue drags once from entrance to clit and stays there, circling, pressing with such precision that my hips tilt forward before I can stop them.I let
One step into the private suite on the thirty-second floor of Valemont Tower, and the door seals behind me with a muted electronic click.Everything is exactly where I ordered it. Low amber lighting washes the room in bronze. A wide bed dressed in black silk dominates one side, while a single dark leather chair sits opposite it, positioned for an unobstructed view of the entire suite. Cedar lingers in the air, threaded with something colder and sharper beneath it.My pulse is already climbing.I slip out of my coat and leave it on the side table. Beneath it, I am wearing a tailored silver dress that ends midway along my thighs and nothing else. No jewelry. No perfume. Nothing between my skin and the authority I walked in carrying.Settling into the chair, I cross one leg over the other.The side door opens.He steps through without a stitch of clothing except for the narrow black collar around his throat.Percy Hunter.Six foot two, broad through the shoulders without carrying unneces
Shutting the water off, I stand dripping on the bath mat for a full minute before grabbing a towel. My hands shake once as I dry my face. I pull on the jeans I left on the floor and nothing else. The marks Cherry left on my back sting when the denim waistband settles.Ace sits in the armchair by the window when I walk into the living room. A cigarette burns between his fingers. Smoke curls toward the ceiling in a thin blue line. Cherry sits on the couch in one of his shirts, buttoned once at the center. Her bare legs are folded beneath her. Neither of them looks surprised to see me.Taking a slow drag, Ace exhales toward the open window.“Have a seat,” he says.I sit on the opposite end of the couch from Cherry. Silence stretches until the ash on his cigarette threatens to fall onto the carpet. He taps it into a saucer he must have brought from the kitchen.“How long?” he asks.Cherry answers first. “Since the Singapore trip.”He nods like the information fits something he already kne
Thursday morning brings another trip, this one with a longer itinerary. Eight days across two cities. He kisses Cherry at the door and tells me to keep an eye on the place like always. The suitcase rolls away. The lock clicks. The apartment settles into a different kind of quiet. Cherry does not hesitate. She walks straight to me, takes my face in both hands, and kisses me like she has been holding her breath. We end up against the wall in the hallway. Her fingers work my belt open while my mouth stays on hers. I lift her, and she wraps her legs around me. I push inside her right there, her back pressed to the cool plaster. She bites my shoulder to stay quiet even though no one else is home. I drive into her in short thrusts until her body tightens and she comes with a muffled cry. I cum too, my forehead pressed to the wall above her head. We do not talk about stopping anymore. The days settle into a pattern. Ace sends his usual check-in texts. Cherry answers them from my bed while
Ace’s key turns in the lock just after noon. I am at the kitchen table with my laptop open to a blank document. Cherry sits on the couch, scrolling through her phone as if the last few days never happened. The earring is in the drawer of my nightstand beneath a stack of chargers.He drops his suitcase and crosses the room in a few quick strides. She stands to meet him. Their kiss is easy and familiar. I keep my eyes on the screen and type a sentence that means nothing.“Missed you,” he says.“Missed you more.” Her voice is light. She glances past his shoulder at me. Nothing shows on her face.The next few days pass in a strange, ordinary rhythm. We eat together. We watch a movie. Ace tells stories about the client dinners and the humidity in Singapore. Cherry laughs in the right places and rests her head on his shoulder. I answer when spoken to and disappear into my room earlier than usual. The apartment feels smaller. Whenever she passes me in the hallway, the air seems to change tem
For the past three months I’ve been living at Vale Manor, sorting through the private library collection for Lucas and his partner. The job came through a university contact, and I jumped at it. Quiet work, beautiful old house, good pay. What I didn’t plan on was them. They’ve been together for ye
I reach for his belt, fingers clumsy with need, but Damien catches my wrists and pins them above my head with one hand. His eyes fix on mine, smoldering and commanding.“Not yet,” he rasps. “You said every inch. Show me how bad you want it, Elena. Ride me.”He releases me, shifts back, and sits aga
The ballroom pulses with low music and the clink of expensive champagne glasses. Crystal chandeliers throw golden light across masks and gowns, but I feel like I’m suffocating in the middle of it all. I tug at the edge of my silver mask, making sure it’s still secure. The backless black dress hug
The next morning, my body still remembers every second of last night.I wake up aching in the best and worst ways. My thighs are sore, my nipples still sensitive from how he pinched and teased them. Every time I move, I feel the ghost of Damien’s fingers inside me, the low growl of his voice saying







