All Chapters of Velvet Chains: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Sera couldn't sleep that night.She paced the floorboards of her little apartment, aching feet still trembling from lingering adrenaline spawned from the conflict with Valerio.Each time she blinked, she could nearly feel the ghost of his phantasm on her skin. Hear the sinister oaths he made in shadows. No touch, no kiss… but he had left her body taut and throbbing, as though he *had* touched her.It was wrong. *He* was wrong.And she was wrong for craving it.She was lucky to get a few fitful hours' sleep before pulling herself back to the club the following evening, praying that somehow, in some way, Valerio had lost interest and moved on.But of course he hadn't.Sera slipped out the side entrance, dodging between the makeup women and the bouncers, making for the dressing rooms—only to be intercepted by Franco, the club owner. He was standing stiffly next to her locker, arms folded over his wide chest, a thin layer of sweat slicking his forehead despite the chilly air. "Sera,"

Sera waited until after midnight.The penthouse was as silent as if she was the only one in it. The only sounds the distant hum of the city far below and the soft lapping of the curtains from the gentle air of the vent.Matteo had stood watch by the door before, but she'd seen through the peephole, waiting. Listening. At dinner, he'd disappeared—one way or another he'd assumed she was clever enough to know she couldn't get away. They hardly knew Sera Vale at all. With her heart racing, she jammed a few necessities into the little leather bag — ID, what little cash she had, her brother's hospital information.She wore her soft slippers into the house to mute her steps across the marble floor. All the shadows breathed. All the creaks of the wood made her nerves scream.The service elevator.She remembered Matteo having pointed it out in the first place, laughing. "Even rats have to have a way out, right?"It was hidden behind the big kitchen — probably where deliveries came and went.

Sera thought she knew the shadows that lurked in Valerio Romano.She was wrong.It happened one evening, late.She had walked the perimeter of the penthouse, tense and restless, when she heard the noises of voices from the staircase — low, rough, insistent. Hairs on the back of her neck stood on end immediately.Sera knew she shouldn't be outside. Knew no good could ever come from listening in on the Devil.But her curiosity, her stubbornness, overpowered her.She crept towards the stairwell door, ear pressed against cold metal.She only caught fragments at first.".told you." ".disrespect."".deal was clear."".you *lied,* you little shit."And then a sickening *thud*, the unmistakable sound of flesh meeting flesh.Sera's stomach twisted.She rested her hand on the door, heart thumping painfully against her ribs.Another sound — a low, throaty groan of pain.And then—"You don't steal from me," Valerio's voice stated, icy and lethal."You don't lie to me."There was a gurgling, we

Sera thought that after she'd strapped on the anklet around her ankle — after she'd held her tongue and *given in* silently — things would calm down.They did not.Valerio didn't storm into her suite.He didn't touch her.He didn't even speak to her the following day.But the world outside her *altered*.In a quiet. Unseen. Complete manner.It started with what she wore.The closet that used to be filled with her plain jeans and frayed sweaters was now packed with silk, lace, leather.Gowns so sheer they were almost invisible.Lingerie that seemed to promise defeat.Shoes with heels so high they made her legs tremble.Sera wouldn't wear any of it initially.She stormed back into her old jeans and sweatshirt, refusing to admit the boxes that piled up day by day.Pretending she wasn't interested in the fine material, the brutal cut of the clothing.But Valerio was patient.Patient, and cruel.When she entered the hallway to find something to eat, she noticed a new notice on the door.**

The night pressed against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the suite, a black velvet curtain dotted with city lights.Sera stood at the glass, arms clasped tightly around her chest, trying to contain the storm inside her.She hated him.She hated the way he made her feel.She hated the way her body responded to him — starving, desperate, hungry.And she detested that aspect of her, this dark, starving aspect of her she barely knew, *loved* the way he unraveled her.*You need to leave,* she told herself.*You need to remind yourself who you are.*It was too late, however.The man had stitched himself into her skin, into her very breaths.And she couldn't unravel him.---Behind her, the door of the suite quietly clicked shut.Heavy footsteps strode across the room, slow and deliberate.Sera tensed.She did not turn around.She did not have to.She felt him — Valerio — like a stormfront sweeping in.Dangerous. Imminent."Sera," he said, his voice a dark caress.She winced at his use of h