Chapter twenty: his shirt, his rules

Aria's povI hated how still the world felt after he finished.The bedroom, dim with low lighting, smelled like sweat and sex and something heavier—like dominance, like possession. Like a brand I couldn’t wash off.I lay there tied, limbs loose but raw. Not just from the way he’d taken me, but from the way he’d left me… exposed.Naked.Used.Claimed.And not just by his body but by his rules.The rope around my wrists wasn’t even tight anymore, but I couldn’t move. Not really. Shame coursed through me like acid in my veins, mixing with a tremble of something worse.Need.The bed creaked as Nero shifted beside me. I didn’t look at him. I focused on the ceiling which was blurry through the tears I refused to let fall.I hated crying in front of men. Especially men like him.“You’re quiet,” he said at last, voice tired from the aftermath. “Too quiet.”I kept my mouth shut.Let him wonder.“Are you hurt?”Yes. But not the way he meant.“No.”He sat up, the mattress dipping beneath his wei

Last Updated : 2025-07-01

Chapter twenty one

ARIAI woke up still wearing his shirt.The fabric smelled like him and clung to my thighs in a very sexy manner that drove me insane as much as I knew that it would drive him insane but his would be more of a sexual insanity. I hated it. I also couldn't take it off.The bedroom door opened without a knock and Nero walked in holding a tray which held coffee, toast and some fruit. He was acting like this was normal and I wasn't a prisoner wearing his clothes in his fortress."Breakfast," he said.I didn't move from the bed.He set the tray on the side table and looked at me. Really looked. Not the way he did when he wanted to fuck me or punish me. This was different in a softer manner."Come," he said."I'm not hungry.""I didn't ask if you were hungry. I said come."I pushed myself up and walked over. My legs were still shaky from last night. He noticed—of course he did.He sat in the chair by the window and pointed to the floor beside him.I stopped. "You want me to sit on the floor?

Last Updated : 2026-02-15

Chapter twenty two

Aria's POVHe came for me after dinner.I'd spent the entire day pacing his fortress in nothing but his shirt, my mind spinning with possibilities of what he meant by showing me something. Every creak of the house made me jump, every shadow made my heart race, and by the time the sun set I was wound so tight I thought I might snap.When the bedroom door opened I was standing by the window pretending I wasn't waiting for him."Come with me," he said.No greeting, no explanation, just that command in his voice that made my stomach flip.I turned to face him and he was holding something black and silky. A blindfold."No," I said immediately."Yes.""I'm not going anywhere blind."He walked toward me with that predator grace that made me want to run and stay at the same time. "You will because I'm telling you to, and because deep down you want to know what I'm hiding."Damn him for being right.He stopped in front of me and held up the blindfold. "Trust me, Aria.""I don't trust you.""Th

Last Updated : 2026-02-15

Chapter twenty three

Aria's POVI woke to the smell of garlic and something rich simmering on the stove.For a moment I thought I was dreaming because there was no way Nero Moretti, mafia Don and sadistic bastard, was cooking. But when I padded into the kitchen still wearing his shirt and nothing else, there he was standing at the stove in dark slacks and a white button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.He glanced over his shoulder when I entered and something flickered in his eyes that I couldn't name."Sit," he said, nodding to the small table by the window.I sat because I was too shocked to do anything else and watched him move around the kitchen with an ease that didn't fit the image of him I'd built in my head. He wasn't just competent, he was skilled, chopping herbs with quick efficient movements and tasting the sauce with a wooden spoon before adjusting the seasoning."You cook. I thought you didn't know anything but the basic eggs and coffee." I said stupidly."I do a lot of things you do

Last Updated : 2026-03-11

Chapter twenty four

Aria's POVI was in the library when he walked in with purpose in his eyes and something that looked almost like nervousness, though I must have imagined it because Nero Moretti didn't get nervous."Tonight." he said simply, and I knew what he meant.My stomach flipped and heat pooled low in my belly as I followed him down the hallway to that locked door. The walk felt longer this time as we walked slowly into my unraveling. He opened it and the scent of leather and musk hit me fast, making my heart quicken and my palms sweat.The Red Room looked different at night with candles lit along the walls casting dancing shadows across the equipment. It felt sacred somehow, like a church built for a different kind of worship. "Before we begin let’s negotiate," Nero said, leading me to the padded bench and sitting me down. He pulled up a chair and faced me, his expression serious in a way I'd never seen before. Not the cold Dom from Crimson Vault or the cruel husband who'd locked me away, but

Last Updated : 2026-03-12

Chapter twenty five

ARIA"How do you feel?" he asked, circling me slowly to check the rope and my body's response to it."Like I'm flying," I breathed, and it was true. The pressure of the rope created this floating sensation, like gravity had released me and I was suspended in space and time.He smiled genuinely. "That's exactly what it should feel like."Then his hands were on me, sliding over my skin, tracing the patterns of rope and the curves of my body. He cupped my breasts and rolled my nipples between his fingers until I gasped and tried to arch into his touch but couldn't because of the rope. The restriction made everything more intense, every sensation magnified because I couldn't move away or lean in, I could only take what he gave me."So responsive," he murmured, and then his mouth was on my neck, sucking and biting gently while his hands continued their exploration. He moved lower to tease between my thighs where I was already embarrassingly wet, his fingers sliding through my folds without