LOGIN
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AUTHOR’S POV
The penthouse gleamed like a blade—sharp edges of glass and steel slicing the Manhattan skyline. Serene clutched her worn backpack, her sneakers silent on the marble floor.
Her heart hammering louder than the city hum thirty floors below. She wasn’t supposed to be here.
Not in this world of wealth and whispers, where men like Nicholas Volkov ruled with fists wrapped in velvet.
But the paycheck—seven grand a month just to cook and clean—had silenced her doubts. Julian’s voice echoed in her head: “It’s simple, Serene. He’s my brother. He needs help. You need cash.”
The elevator doors hissed shut behind her, sealing her in.
She adjusted her ponytail, black strands sticking to her sweaty neck, and glanced at the note Julian had scrawled: Kitchen. 7 p.m. Dinner.
Simple.
She could do simple.
Except nothing felt simple when the air prickled with him before she even saw him.
“Late.”
The word hit like a whip, deep and rough, from the shadows of the living room.
Serene froze, her breath catching as Nicholas Volkov stepped into the light.
He was a storm in a suit—tall, broad, his late-thirties frame carved from years of power. Dark hair streaked with silver framed a face too handsome to be fair, all hard lines and a jaw that could cut glass.
His gray eyes locked on her, stripping her bare in one sweep, and her knees wobbled.
“I-I’m sorry, sir,” she stammered, clutching the backpack tighter.
“The subway—”
“Dinner. Now.” He cut her off, voice a low growl, already turning away.
His presence sucked the oxygen from the room, leaving her dizzy. She scurried to the kitchen—open, gleaming, a chef’s dream—and fumbled with the fridge.
Steak. Rare, Julian had said. She could do this. She had to.
The sizzle of meat on the pan filled the silence, but his shadow loomed closer.
She felt him before she saw him—heat radiating as he leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching. Her hands shook, the spatula slipping.
A drop of oil popped, and she flinched.
She was nervous. He was too close and she couldn’t seem to breathe the same air as him.
“Too slow,” he said, voice closer now, a dark velvet that brushed her spine.
He stepped behind her, his chest a wall of muscle inches away. She smelled cedar and bourbon, sharp and intoxicating.
“Turn it.”
“W-what?” Her voice was a squeak, barely audible over the hiss of the steak.
He didn’t repeat himself. His hand shot out—not to the pan, but to her wrist, gripping it with calloused fingers.
Firm, not cruel, but enough to make her gasp. He guided her hand, flipping the meat with a flick, his breath hot against her ear.
“Like that. Learn fast, little maid.”
Her cheeks burned, her pulse a wild drumbeat under his touch.
She nodded, too scared to speak, too aware of his thumb lingering on her skin before he let go.
He stepped back, but his eyes didn’t—gray and unyielding, pinning her like a butterfly on a board.
She plated the steak, hands trembling, and slid it across the counter.
“Here, sir.”
He didn’t move. Just stared—first at the plate, then at her. A smirk tugged his lips, sharp and dangerous.
“Sit.”
“Sir?” She blinked, her stomach twisting.
“Sit,” he repeated, nodding to the stool beside him.
“You eat with me tonight.”
Her mouth went dry.
This wasn’t in Julian’s note.
She hesitated, but his gaze darkened, a silent command she couldn’t defy. She perched on the edge of the stool, knees pressed tight, feeling small next to his towering frame.
He sliced into the steak, the knife glinting, and held a piece to her lips.
“Open.”
Her heart stopped.
Her fingers trembling.
She parted her lips, trembling, and the meat hit her tongue—warm, rich, overwhelming.
His eyes never left hers, a predator savoring his catch.
“Good girl,” he murmured, and the words sank into her, coiling low and tight.
She didn’t know what she’d stepped into.
Not yet.
But as Nicholas Volkov leaned closer, his knee brushing hers under the counter, she knew one thing: she wasn’t just a maid.
She was his.
And he wasn’t letting go.
...Serene’s POV I couldn’t breathe.The second Stella’s phone screen went dark, I mumbled something about a headache and fled. I didn’t run. I couldn’t, not with the way my legs shook but I moved fast, slipping out of the living room before Stella could stop me.My bare feet carried me down the hallway, past the guarded glances of the staff, past Nicholas’s closed bedroom door that still smelled like sex and ropes and him, until I reached the guest room that had once been mine.I locked the door behind me. Leaned against it. Slid down until I was sitting on the floor, knees to my chest. Kate.The name clawed at my throat like broken glass. I’d heard her name but never knew …… she was his ex wife. Nicholas never spoke of her. No photos in the penthouse. No trace. Like she’d been erased. But now she was back, stepping off a private jet in red lipstick and vengeance, and the entire world was watching.My chest caved in.I dragged myself to the en-suite bathroom, hands shaking so bad
...Serene’s Pov The rain had finally stopped, but the city still looked bruised—gray skies, wet streets, headlines screaming from every phone screen and newsstand. I sat curled on the plush cream sofa in the penthouse living room, knees tucked under me, wearing one of Nicholas’s oversized black hoodies and soft cotton shorts. My hair was piled into a messy bun, face scrubbed clean of last night’s makeup. I felt small, fragile, and terrifyingly exposed.Stella had texted at noon.Emergency girl time. Bringing caffeine and gossip. Open the door or I’ll break in. I’d let her in with trembling fingers. Now we were surrounded by takeout coffee cups, pastries she’d bullied the bodyguard into carrying up, and her phone open to a gossip site with a freeze-frame of Nicholas kissing me in the ballroom—blood on his lip, my hands clutching his lapels like I’d die if he let go.“Girl,” Stella said for the tenth time, zooming in on the photo until my flushed face took up the entire screen. “T
...Serene’s Pov I couldn’t move.I couldn’t close my legs, couldn’t cover myself, couldn’t hide.Nicholas had me exactly where he wanted me. Flat on my back in the center of his bed, wrists tied loosely to the headboard with one of his silk ties, ankles and calves wrapped in soft black rope that looped around my thighs and pulled my knees almost to my chest. My thighs were forced wide, spread so obscenely that cool air kissed every slick, swollen inch of me. The position left me completely open, completely vulnerable, my soaked pussy on full display for him.He knelt between my bound legs, shirt unbuttoned and hanging open, revealing the hard planes of his chest still streaked with faint rain from earlier. His hair was a mess, eyes darker than the storm outside. And that smirk—God, that smirk—curved his bloody lip like he’d already won.“Look at you,” he murmured, voice low and filthy. “Tied up like a present. My pretty little cowgirl, all spread and dripping for me.”I whimpered
...Serene’s Pov The rain came down in sheets, gray and relentless, turning the city into a watercolor blur beyond the penthouse windows. I sat cross-legged in the middle of Nicholas’s massive bed, knees drawn up, chin resting on them, watching water streak the glass like tears I refused to let fall.Everything was chaos.Last night’s footage was everywhere. Phones, televisions, gossip sites—#VolkovBrawl, #MysteryRedDress, #NicholasKissesFiance trending worldwide. My face—flushed, lipstick-smudged, eyes wide with shock—was plastered across every screen. They’d zoomed in on Nicholas’s bloody knuckles, on the way he’d kissed me like he was branding me in front of the entire world. They’d even slowed down the moment Julian hit the floor.I hadn’t slept.Nicholas had been gone since dawn— crisis meetings, lawyers, damage control. The penthouse was eerily quiet without him. Just the rain and the low hum of the city far below and the ache between my thighs that refused to leave.I hated
...Serene’s Pov The car door slammed shut behind us like a gunshot.I slid across the leather backseat, heart still jack-hammering, the metallic taste of Nicholas’s blood lingering on my tongue from that brutal kiss. The ballroom had erupted into chaos after he kissed me—screams, camera flashes, Valencia’s sobs, Julian coughing blood on the marble. I could still hear the shouts echoing as Nicholas dragged me out a side exit, his grip iron around my wrist, knuckles split and dripping.Now we were sealed inside the tinted Maybach, David pulling away from the curb so fast the tires screeched. The city lights streaked past in neon ribbons, but inside the car it was too quiet. Too charged.Nicholas sat beside me, head tipped back against the seat, breathing slow and controlled. A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, bright against his skin. His lip was split, swollen, and somehow it made him look even more dangerous—like a wolf that had just torn out someone’s th
...Serene’s Pov I was still coming down from the most humiliating, explosive orgasm of my life when Julian’s voice cut through the haze “Serene?” My heart stopped.Nicholas’s hand was still between my legs, two fingers lazily stroking my swollen, oversensitive pussy, spreading the mess I’d just made. I jerked away so hard my spine hit the mirror. My thighs were slick, my dress bunched around my waist, panties dangling from one ankle. Shock and terror slammed into me like ice water.He’ll know. Julian will know exactly what we were doing and Nicholas will know my truth. I scrambled to fix myself, yanking the red silk down over my trembling legs, kicking the soaked panties under the counter. My cheeks burned so hot I felt dizzy. Nicholas watched me with lazy amusement, licking his fingers clean, slow, deliberate while his eyes never left my face.The door handle rattled again. Nicholas’s amusement vanished. His gaze sharpened to something lethal. “Why,” he asked, voice dangerously







