Chapter 5
516 Words
I couldn’t sleep.
Not after that. Not after him.
His scent was still on my skin. His touch still burned between my legs. And worse—my own desire still echoed through me like a sin I couldn’t wash off.
I scrubbed my thighs raw in the shower. Cried into the steam, fists clenched like it would stop the memory of his mouth on my neck, the growl in his voice when he said I belonged to him.
I was stronger than this.
I survived poverty. Violence. Rejection. The kind of loneliness that hardens your bones and makes your heart forget how to beat for anyone.
But one touch from him… and I broke.
And now? I was terrified. Not of what he’d do to me.
But what I might let him do again.
⸻
The next morning, I told myself I’d leave the city.
Pack a bag. Vanish. Change my number, disappear into some back-alley motel two states away. He couldn’t follow me if I didn’t leave a trail. Right?
Wrong.
I got to the club and my name wasn’t on the schedule.
Not just mine. My entire profile—erased. Like I never worked there.
I stormed to the manager’s office.
“What the hell, Jay? Why was I cut?”
Jay didn’t even look up from his screen.
“Your contract’s been bought out.”
I blinked.
“Bought out? By who?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t say. Just that you’re no longer part of the rotation. And, uh… they paid triple what you’d make in six months.”
My stomach twisted.
Dominic.
He was closing every door around me. Silently. Cleanly. Like a man tightening a collar around a pet that didn’t realize it was already in the cage.
I stormed out of the club. Called my landlord to get ahead on rent. Maybe figure something out.
“Your rent’s been paid,” she said, confused. “Six months in advance.”
I didn’t ask who.
I knew.
⸻
I collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling like it could give me answers.
What was I supposed to do?
This wasn’t seduction anymore. This was a war. He was isolating me. Wrapping his world around mine like silk… and poison.
And the worst part?
A piece of me… wanted it.
I wanted the feeling of being wanted.
Of being possessed.
Of mattering so much to someone that they’d burn down the world just to keep me close.
That’s what scared me the most.
⸻
A knock on my door.
I ignored it.
Another. Firmer.
I rose, heartbeat wild. “Who is it?”
No answer.
I checked the peephole. Empty hallway.
Cautious, I opened it—and nearly tripped.
A black velvet box on my welcome mat.
Inside: A choker. Deep red velvet with a diamond in the center.
Attached was a card.
Every queen needs a collar.
You wear mine now.
— D.
I should’ve slammed the door.
Should’ve screamed.
Should’ve thrown it back into the hallway and stomped it into dust.
But instead… I held it against my throat.
- Writer
