Chapter Six - Daredevil
1223 Words
Vira’s pulse hammered as she sat stiffly beside Dustin in the sleek black car, the city lights flickering past the tinted windows. The weight of the evening still pressed against her skin—the luxury, the depravity, the raw display of power. The club had been a lesson, a brutal, unapologetic warning of what awaited her. Dustin had wanted her to see him; to watch him take, to watch him control. And God help her, she still felt the ghost of his grip on her wrist, the heat of his breath against her ear as he’d whispered exactly what he planned to do to her.
She hated him. She hated how her body reacted.
Dustin hadn’t touched her the way he had touched that woman—hadn’t dragged her to his lap, hadn’t shoved his fingers into her mouth to silence her moans—but he had watched Vira. Watched her squirm, watched the way her breath hitched despite the disgust in her eyes.
Now, in the suffocating silence of the car, she sat with her hands clenched in her lap, trying to keep herself from trembling.
Dustin finally broke the silence, his voice smooth, low. Dangerous. “You were very well-behaved tonight, little kitten.”
She flinched. Every time he called her that, it made her skin crawl and burn at the same time. “You’re disgusting,” she snapped, turning to glare at him.
Dustin simply smirked, unbothered, entertained. “And yet, you couldn’t look away.”
Her stomach twisted. She hated that he was right.
His gaze dropped to her trembling hands. “Still pretending to be scared?” he mused, tilting his head. “I wonder how much of that fear is real and how much of it is just guilt.”
“Guilt?” she spat, heat rushing to her face. “You think I want this?”
Dustin leaned in slowly, his voice dropping into something dark and velvet-smooth. “I think… your body knows exactly what it wants, even if you’re too afraid to admit it.”
Her breath hitched. She tried to turn away, but his fingers snapped out, catching her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“Go on,” he taunted. “Tell me you didn’t feel something watching me tonight.”
Vira clenched her teeth, her heart hammering, her face burning. She wanted to slap him, to spit in his face, but she was frozen; trapped in the suffocating, magnetic pull of him.
Dustin chuckled, satisfied. He released her chin, letting his fingers trace down her throat slowly, before pulling away. “Lying to yourself won’t help you, kitten. You belong to me now. Every inch of you.”
She pressed herself against the car door, gripping the leather seat as if it could ground her. She would never belong to him. Never.
But the promise in his voice told her he would make sure she did.
When they arrived at the penthouse, Vira didn’t wait for him to drag her out of the car. She stormed ahead, shoving past the guards at the entrance, making her way to the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut, she let out a sharp, shaky breath, her hands still trembling.
This couldn’t be her life. She needed to escape. Somehow.
The doors slid open again, and Dustin’s towering form stepped in behind her. She didn’t have to turn to feel him looming over her, his presence consuming every inch of space.
She stiffened as the elevator doors closed. Just the two of them. No escape.
“Running ahead?” His voice was silk laced with amusement. “You do realize there’s nowhere to go.”
Vira gritted her teeth, refusing to answer.
He sighed. “You’re making this harder than it has to be, kitten.”
She whirled at him, anger overriding her fear. “I am not your kitten,” she snapped, shoving at his chest. Big mistake.
His eyes darkened. “No?”
Before she could move, his hand shot out, slamming the emergency stop button. The elevator lurched, freezing between floors.
Vira’s breath stilled. “What are you doing?”
Dustin leaned in, pressing his hands against the elevator wall, caging her in. “You think I won’t break you?” His voice was thick and heavy. “You think I won’t make you beg to be mine?”
Her pulse pounded. Too close. Too hot. Too dangerous.
Dustin’s lips brushed her ear. “I’m a very patient man, kitten. But I always get what I want.”
A shudder ran through her, and she hated herself for it.
She met his gaze, defiant. “You don’t scare me.”
He smirked. “You should be scared of what happens when you finally stop lying to yourself.”
The elevator jolted back to life. He hadn’t moved.
And she hadn’t pushed him away.
***
The penthouse was quiet when they arrived, but Vira barely made it three steps inside before Dustin grabbed her wrist. Not rough, not gentle—just enough to remind her that he owned her.
“Tell me,” he murmured, turning to face him. “What is it you hate more? That I want you or, that you want me?”
She refused to answer.
Dustin’s smirk was slow, knowing. “That’s what I thought.”
Then, he let her go.
She barely kept her legs from trembling as she stepped out of the elevator, Dustin walking ahead like he didn’t just shatter her thoughts with something so twisted and obscene.
“Go to your room,” he said, his voice low, commanding and different. “You’ll be sleeping under my roof now. Get used to it.”
“I didn’t say I was staying,” she muttered, her voice almost inaudible.
He turned his head slightly, eyes gleaming with something akin to brewing anger.
“You don’t get to say anything, Vira. Not anymore.”
And with that, he vanished into one of the rooms, leaving her stunned in the shadows of his estate.
Her fingers were cold as she climbed the stairs, her pulse still jumping from the earlier scene; what’s wrong with him? She made it to the guest room; probably hers now—and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to think, trying not to.
Her phone buzzed.
Once.
Unknown Number.
A chill moved across her arms; it’d been the only thing she’d snuck into the mansion; Dustin would kill her if he knew, but something was weird. Who could it be? The only person who reached her with this number was… No!
She opened the message with a tight breath.
“He sold you once. He’ll do it again. The monster won’t save you. Meet me. Midnight. Bellagio back alley. Come alone.” – L.
Luka?
Her heart squeezed violently. The betrayal wasn’t even cold yet, and now this? Why would he text her? Why sign it? Unless…
A knock came at her door, slow and deliberate.
“Kitten,” came Dustin’s voice. “Sleep tight. You’ll need your strength soon.”
Her fingers tightened on the phone.
But her mind wasn’t on Dustin anymore or why his switched like a bulb.
It was on the boy who gave her roses and promises, before turning her into currency.
- Writer
