All Chapters of Velvet Chains: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Sera woke to the sound of footsteps. Hard, definite, heavy.Her heart jumped. For a moment, her mind fogged in half-sleep terror—*Was it another threat? Another punishment?*But she saw him. Valerio, slouching at the bedside like a shadow stitched from the shadows themselves.He wasn't supposed to be there. Not after what she'd done the previous night—not after she'd thrown that glass at him, screamed at him, told him to get out of her life the devil himself.And yet.here he was. As inevitable as the flow of the tide."Get out," she snarled, pulling the blanket tighter around her body, though she was still wearing her skimpy silk nightgown underneath. "I told you, I'm done."Valerio did not blink. Did not shift. His silver eyes drifted across her, slow and intentional, absorbing her. It was not lust in their eyes—it was *possession*. Something deeper, darker, *hungerer*. The atmosphere surrounding them thickened until breathing grew hard."No," he breathed, his words a dark, velve

Sera woke to the heaviness of Valerio's arm draped across her waist, his body wrapped around hers like a living shackle.For an instant, she lay there, breathing him in.Leather. Smoke. Male heat.His smell was burned into her skin, her hair, into her bones.As if no matter where she went, she'd always carry him with her.She gritted her eyes shut, pushing the panic gnawing the back of her throat down. *Last night was a mistake.**Another mistake.*But her body betrayed her, aching lazily between her legs, a deep, burning pulse that wasn't remorse—but everything about him.Valerio moved beside her, his chest rumbling with a noise that wasn't quite a sound.His fingers traced slow, lazy patterns along the curve of her hip, brushing the sensitive skin just above the silver collar he’d locked around her throat."You’re awake," he murmured, voice thick with sleep.Sera swallowed hard. "Let me go."The hand on her hip tightened, not enough to hurt—but enough to warn."Careful, little lamb

Sera was sitting in the armchair by the window, legs to her chest, wearing nothing but one of Valerio's black shirts that engulfed her small body. She looked out over the spread city below, glittering in the night sky.It should have made her feel free.Instead, she felt trapped.Imprisoned within a palace, owned by a man capable of shattering her with the force of his mind.She could still feel him on her flesh—his touch branded into her like a fiery iron, even hours later.Even now, she ached with a hunger she detested.The door creaked open behind her, closing softly.Sera flinched, but she didn't turn back.She already knew his identity.She could feel him. The air shifted when he entered a room, like even the walls bent to his will.Valerio said nothing at first. He simply watched her, his presence heavy, tangible."You’re quiet, dolcezza," he murmured at last.His voice, rich and deep, caressed the back of her neck, raising goosebumps.Sera didn’t answer.She couldn’t trust

Sera woke the following morning to an empty bed.The sheets beside her were still warm, scented with Valerio's aroma — dark, rich, intoxicating — but he was gone.For a while, she just lay there, feeling the ache between her thighs, the gentle bruising around her wrists where he'd pinned her down.They were marks of possession.Marks she should hate.But she didn't.Not yet.She groaned and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. The silk slip she had worn to bed the previous night was torn and strewn on the floor, a testament to Valerio's loss of control.*Good,* she thought, a wry smile tugging at her mouth. *Let him lose control. Let him fall.*For she was falling too — harder and faster than she wanted to admit.Before she could slip into the bathroom, there was a knock on the door.Sera's heart missed a beat.For one wild moment, she wondered if it was Valerio — come back to finish what he'd started.But when she opened the door, it was another man.Tall. Somber. All

The leather strap caressed her skin once again, tracing a lingering path down the arch of her spine.Sera trembled, blindfolded, naked, bound.Helpless.But her body deceived her — quivering with hunger instead of terror.Valerio's warm breath danced over her bare shoulder, sending her shivering."You look like a painting," he murmured, voice full of dark satisfaction. "A masterpiece meant only for me."Sera bit back a noise.The way he'd spoken — as though she were some prized treasure he'd overcome — had ignited a fire in her belly she didn't comprehend."Do you know what I want, Sera?" he whispered in her ear.Sera shook her head, speechless."I want to shatter you." he murmured."And then rebuild you. Piece by quaking piece."The leather strap cracked on her ass — hard, jarring pain.She cried out, but it was stifled in the air, smothered by humidity.Not hard enough to bruise.Only hard enough to mark her.Remind her who she was owned by.Valerio dropped the strap.She heard it f