Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-two
ARA
My life kept slipping from one nightmare straight into another, like the universe had decided I didn’t deserve pauses, only transitions between chaos.
It was late. The city beyond the glass walls was quiet, glowing faintly, but inside the penthouse, nothing felt calm.
Thayne was occupied with what he called damage-control, standing a short distance away, deep in conversation with Sasha, his voice low and controlled.
Inside my head, a hurricane raged.
Madison was relentless. She wanted Thayne isolated, no allies, no distractions, no one standing beside him unless it was her.
But Ursula… Ursula was different. She was calculated. Quiet. Watching.
Madison hadn’t spared her during that dramatic reveal earlier, and that bothered me more than it should have.
Why hadn’t she?
I was still turning the question over when I retreated to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Steam fogged the mirrors as I slipped into the tub, letting the water rise around me.
Then—
The door slid open.
I froze. I didn’t have to look to know who it was.
I closed my eyes, silently begging the universe for once to let me have peace.
With Thayne, I should’ve known better.
When I opened my eyes, he was standing at the foot of the tub, all sharp edges and confidence.
He wore fitted gray pants, sinfully low on his hips, and nothing else. Water glistened on his skin from the steam, highlighting muscle carved from power and control.
“You don’t trust me,” he said calmly.
I scoffed. “You’re no different from Darius Reedson.”
His brow lifted slightly. “Darius Reedson wouldn’t sponsor your sisters’ education all the way through college.”
I shot upright. Water sloshed violently, the movement exposing my upper body. I barely noticed. My pulse was pounding too loudly.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “What’s the real reason?”
He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, until he was right beside the tub.
“I protect what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours.”
A smirk tugged at his mouth. “Do you need me to remind you?”
I swallowed hard, then pushed where I knew it would hurt.
“What about your father divorcing your stepmother?” I asked. “What about your real mother? You never talk about her.”
I knew better. Thayne despised vulnerability. He loathed pity.
He’d trapped me first, then demanded cooperation later. Classic Thayne.
Just like I expected, he ignored my questions completely.
“You’re in my world now, Ara,” he said instead, his gaze dragging slowly over my body beneath the water. “That means attention from every direction. I’ll protect you and your sisters with everything I have.”
He leaned closer.
“But don’t make the mistake of falling in love with me.”
Why did he always say that?
What made him think I would?
Our arrangement had been calculated. Strategic. And with everything that had happened lately, even my own feelings felt… unfamiliar.
Part of me still suspected he’d crossed Darius’s name off Neil’s list intentionally. He could’ve chosen anyone, but he chose Darius.
Another part of me scolded that thought. Neil was greedy, delusional, and reckless enough to believe he could outsmart powerful men and walk away richer.
He was insane.
“I’d be foolish to fall in love with you,” I said lightly. “I’m not some lover-girl. It takes a lot to impress me.”
Thayne’s lips curved slowly. “Is that a dare, Ara?”
Seduction dripped from every syllable.
I shifted closer in the tub, careful not to splash him. “Are you backing out already?”
His eyes darkened.
In one swift motion, he stepped into the tub.
It was big, but not big enough.
His massive frame crowded me instantly, his soaked pants clinging to him, leaving nothing to the imagination. The outline of his cock was already prominent, thick and demanding.
I reached for him without thinking, wrapping my hand around him.
He groaned, head tipping back.
“Don’t start what you can’t finish,” he warned. “If you don’t stop, I’ll fuck you into tomorrow.”
“I intend to suck you until you’re spent,” I shot back. “So stay still.”
The words shocked even me.
His jaw slackened for a split second before he grabbed my hair and pulled me up onto my knees.
“Then suck.”
Challenge accepted.
I yanked his pants down and was met with the heavy slap of his cock against my cheek, something about it sent heat straight to my core.
I wrapped my lips around him, taking him deep, loving the way he tensed.
I palmed my breasts as I sucked, teasing him from the base of his cock, up and down.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “Touch yourself like that.”
I picked up the pace, licking, sucking, driving him insane.
“I want to fuck those tits,” he growled. “Give them to me.”
I released him with a loud pop and leaned back slightly, pressing my breasts together.
He took himself in his hand, sliding his cock between them, thrusting slowly.
I pinched my nipples, moaning.
He slapped one breast hard.
“Again,” I breathed.
He struck my other breast, and when he saw how much I loved it, something shifted.
He lifted me effortlessly from the tub and carried me out.
Not to the bed. But toward the wall.
For a second, I wondered if he’d lost his mind, until he pressed against the wall and it parted open.
Just like that. My lips parted open, then opened even wider when we stepped into a room bathed in deep red light.
Ropes of different lengths hung from the ceiling. Beds. Whips. Costumes. Toys arranged meticulously by size.
My breath hitched.
A redroom.
Inside his bedroom.
BDSM territory.
How many women had been here before me?
Why did that thought sting?
“There’s no going back now, little lamb,” he murmured, catching my stare.
He laid me on a smaller bed and lowered the hang-up.
“Pick a safe word.”
“Lamb,” I said quickly.
He secured my arms. Then my legs. With one pull, the hang-up flipped me, suspending me in the air.
Fear sparked deep in my chest. Excitement followed a second after.
“You only say it if you can’t handle it,” he said. “And I stop.”
I nodded, then gasped when clamps closed around my nipples.
“Use your words,” he ordered.
“Yes—oh my God,” I gasped. “That feels… strange.”
“You wanted rough,” he said calmly. “Let’s see how much.”
He clapped once.
The lights dimmed to a dangerous red.
And I realized—
I had dared Thayne.
What had I done?