All Chapters of Touched by the Billionaire, Owned by the Devil: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The bathroom light flickered when I flipped the switch. The apartment was quiet except for the hum of the old refrigerator because Shane was still asleep in the bedroom. I locked the door and sat on the edge of the tub while the cold tile bit through my jeans.I pulled out my phone and opened the banking app. Zero. My entire paycheck was gone, withdrawn yesterday while I was at work. I refreshed the page, but the screen just blinked at me. I hadn't even logged in since Monday.I set the phone down and pressed my palms against the cool porcelain. He took it. He wouldn't even mention it. He would just wait to see if I noticed, and then he'd tell me I was wrong or that I owed him. The game was so old I could predict every move, and still I sat here with nothing in my account and a bruise fading on my neck.I looked at my reflection. Dark circles. Hair that needed washing. The scarf was still tight around my throat, but I pulled it down just enough to check the bruise. Yellow and green ed

The bathroom light flickered when I turned it on. I stood there for a moment and listened. The apartment was quiet. Shane was still asleep on the couch, the television off, the only sound the hum of the old refrigerator.I locked the door and sat on the edge of the tub. The tile was cold through my clothes. I pulled out my phone and opened the drawer under the sink and took out the small box.Inside was my professional certificate. The one I earned before I got married. The one Shane told me to throw away. I touched the paper and felt it smooth and real, like a part of me waiting to be set free.I remembered the day I got it. I was twenty-two, standing in the kitchen of our old apartment, holding it up and smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. Shane smiled too and kissed my forehead and said he was proud of me. That was before. Before the money disappeared and the bruises started. Before I learned to keep my head down and my mouth shut. Before I became someone who hid things in bathroom dra

I dropped my bag by the door and kept my eyes on the floor because I knew his mood. Shane sat on the couch and didn't look up from his phone. "You're late," he said and swiped the screen while I kicked off my shoes. "Gala prep ran over," I said and tried to walk past him. He finally looked up and stood, and his boots made loud noises on the cheap linoleum as he walked over to me. He stopped right in my space and reached out to touch the navy scarf at my neck. I flinched but kept my feet planted because I didn't want to give him a reason. "You look messy," he said and rubbed the fabric between his fingers. "I've been on my feet all day," I said and tried to step back, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. "Take it off," he said and let go of my arm. I pulled the scarf over my head and handed it to him because he was staring at it. He dropped it on the couch and grabbed a handful of my braid, and my scalp stung as he pulled the hair tie. "It's too loose," he

The elevator rose with a soft hum while I balanced the heavy tray. My legs felt unsteady in the narrow space because I was exhausted. I told myself it was just the long shift and nothing else. Shane’s texts kept coming every twenty minutes but I ignored them. The scarf sat looser around my neck than Shane preferred. I had not tightened it yet because I just wanted to finish this delivery. 'Where are you?' – Shane I locked the screen and put the phone away. The hallway up here felt quieter than the rest of the hotel. Thick carpet swallowed my footsteps while I walked to the suite door. I knocked twice and waited for an answer. "Come in," a rough voice called out. I used my key card and pushed the door open. The living area lights were dimmed low and the man stood near the balcony doors. He turned slowly when I stepped inside and I saw his face properly for the first time. His features were sharp but his eyes looked unfocused. Sweat beaded on his forehead even though t

The first hints of dawn leaked through the balcony doors, pale and unforgiving, when my eyes snapped open. Stellan lay beside me, his breathing deep and steady, one arm draped heavy across my waist. Naked skin pressed to naked skin. The memory of the night crashed over me in vivid flashes; his cock stretching me open on the balcony railing, the way I had ridden him until my thighs shook and my pussy clenched around every thick inch of him, the hot pulses of his cum filling me as he groaned my name. My cunt still felt sore and slick with the leftover mess of it. Heat flushed through me even as cold panic flooded my chest. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was married. Shane waited at home expecting me to walk through the door and explain where I had been all night. I slipped out from under Stellan’s arm as carefully as I could. He stirred but didn’t wake. I held my breath watching his face until his breathing settled again. My uniform lay scattered across the floor near the b