Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures

chapter 9

Ava's POV

The text still burned in my hands. I sat on the edge of my bed, phone trembling in my grip, staring at the photo of Derek f*****g that blonde again. My stomach twisted so hard I thought I might throw up. He hadn’t changed. Not even a little. And now this new number… whoever it was had his latest betrayal right there, time-stamped. I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Damien was up to something dangerous on the roof. Lucas had been watching me for months. And Marcus… Marcus had been so kind, so warm, but what if he was lying too?

I set the phone down and stood up. My legs felt weak. I walked to the door and opened it quiet as I could. The hallway was dark, but I could hear soft voices coming from Marcus’s suite down the hall. I crept closer, staying in the shadows, and pressed my ear to the wood.

Marcus’s voice, low and serious. “I’m tired of watching her suffer. I’m tired of seeing that look in her eyes every single day. I’m going to burn it all down for her. Derek’s whole empire. The business, the warehouses, the shipments, the girls he treats like toys. I’m going to take it all. For her.”

A pause. Then Damien, quieter. “You sure about that? She’s one woman. If she finds out”

“She won’t,” Marcus cut in, voice steady. “She already knows enough. She knows he’s a monster. She knows he doesn’t touch her. She knows she deserves better. I’m doing this because I love her. Because she deserves a life where she’s not just some empty shell.”

Lucas’s voice joined in, calm and sure. “We’re all in. Every plan. Every move. She’s worth it. She’s worth burning everything for.”

I stood there frozen, heart pounding so loud I was sure they could hear it. My hands shook. They were going to burn his empire? For me? I didn’t know what to feel. Hope? Fear? Love? All of it mixed together until I couldn’t breathe.

I turned and ran back to my room before they could see me. I locked the door and leaned against it, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor. Tears burned my eyes. I whispered to myself, “Why me? Why would they do that for someone like me?”

I didn’t know how long I stayed there. When I finally stood up, my legs were steady again. I wiped my face, changed into a simple tank top and shorts, and went back down the hall. I knocked on Marcus’s door soft.

He opened it fast, like he’d been waiting. His eyes went straight to mine. “Ava? You okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”

I shook my head. “I heard you. Upstairs. You… you said you’re going to burn his empire. For me?”

He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He took my hands in his, warm and gentle. “I did. I meant every word. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks now. Watching you. How he treats you. How he leaves you cold every single night. I can’t stand it anymore. I want to give you everything he never could. A real life. A real touch. A real home. That means taking it from him. Burning it all down. Starting over.”

I looked up at him, tears spilling over again. “You… you really mean that? For me?”

He nodded and pulled me into his arms. “I mean it with everything in me. I love you, Ava. Not just for one night. Not just for the s*x. For you. The woman who deserves to be worshipped, not owned. I want to worship you every day. For the rest of our lives if you’ll let me.”

My heart cracked open. “I love you too. I think I have for a while. But this… burning his empire… that’s huge. What if he finds out? What if it goes wrong?”

He kissed my forehead, then my nose, then my lips. “It won’t go wrong. We’ve got a plan. The boys are with me. And if it does go wrong… we’ll face it together. But I believe in us. In you. In this.”

We stood there in the hallway, kissing slow and deep. His hands slid under my tank top, warm on my skin. “Let me show you,” he whispered against my mouth. “Let me show you how much I want to give you everything.”

I nodded. “Okay. But take me somewhere private. My room. Please.”

He smiled. “My room. It’s bigger. I want to take my time.”

We walked hand in hand to his suite. The door clicked shut and the whole world outside disappeared. He locked it. Then he turned to me, eyes soft and full of something so deep it made my chest hurt.

“Strip for me, beautiful,” he said, voice low. “I want to see you. All of you.”

I did. Tank top first, then shorts. I stood there naked, heart racing. He took his time, just looking at me. “So f*****g perfect. Every inch of you.”

He walked over and kissed me. Slow. Deep. His tongue sliding against mine like he was memorizing the taste of me. He kissed down my neck, my collarbone, the tops of my breasts. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “I could kiss every inch of you forever.”

He dropped to his knees. “Lay back on the bed. Let me take care of you.”

I lay down. He pulled my legs apart and kissed my inner thighs, slow and wet. Then he kissed my p***y. Gentle. Worshipful. “You’re so wet already,” he murmured. “For me. Only me.”

He licked me slow, like he had all the time in the world. “I want to taste you. Every drop. You’re mine to worship.”

I moaned soft. “Marcus… please…”

He slid two fingers inside me while he kept licking. “I’m here. I’m with you. Feel how good this is? This is what he never gave you. This is love.”

I came once, quiet and deep, his name on my lips. He didn’t stop. He kissed my thighs again, then up my stomach, my breasts, sucking on my n*****s until I was arching off the bed.

“Inside me,” I whispered. “Please, Marcus. I want you inside me.”

He crawled up and kissed me, tasting myself on his tongue. “I want that too. More than anything.”

He rolled on a condom and lined up. Then he pushed in slow, inch by inch. We both moaned. “Oh god, you feel so full,” I breathed. “So deep.”

He stayed still, buried to the hilt, just looking at me. “I’m not moving yet. I want to feel every inch. Every heartbeat. You’re so tight around me. So perfect.”

He kissed me again, slow and deep, while he started moving. Deep, steady thrusts. Not hard. Just enough to make me feel every part of him. “Look at me, Ava. Don’t close your eyes. I want you to see me. I want you to know I’m here. Only here.”

“I see you,” I whispered, tears in my eyes again. “I see you, Marcus. I love you.”

He kissed every inch he could reach. My forehead, my cheeks, my lips, my neck. “I love you too. I’m going to burn it all down for you. For us. You’re going to be free. Safe. Worshipped. Every single day.”

He rolled us over so I was on top. I started moving, riding him slow. His hands on my hips, guiding but not controlling. “That’s it,” he whispered. “Take what you need. I’m right here with you.”

I leaned down and kissed him, long and deep. His hands roamed my body, touching every curve like he was memorizing it. “You’re so beautiful like this. So strong. So mine.”

I came again, harder this time, clenching around him. “Marcus… I’m coming… oh god…”

He held me through it, kissing me through the shake. “Good girl. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.”

After that he took control again, flipping me onto my back and f*****g me deep while he kissed every inch. My breasts, my stomach, my thighs, my feet. He licked between my toes while he was still inside me. “You taste like heaven,” he whispered. “I could do this forever.”

We switched again and again. Me on top, him on top, him behind me, me behind him. He never rushed. Every thrust was slow, every kiss was worshipful. He whispered my name like a prayer. “Ava… my love… you’re so perfect… I’m never letting you go…”

I came so many times I lost count. My voice was hoarse. My body was shaking. But I kept whispering back to him. “I love you… I love you… don’t stop…”

At one point he pulled out and kissed down my body again, stopping between my legs. “Let me taste you one more time,” he said. “Let me show you how much I adore you.”

He licked me until I came, then slid back inside and finished himself, groaning my name. “Ava… f**k… you feel too good…”

We lay there after, tangled together, his arms around me, his body still inside mine. He kissed my forehead, my eyes, my lips.

“You’re safe now,” he whispered. “I’m going to protect you. With everything I have.”

I nodded, tears falling. “I know. I believe you. I love you.”

He held me tighter. “I love you too. Forever.”

We stayed like that until the sun came up. I fell asleep in his arms, feeling safer than I ever had.

The next morning I went downstairs for breakfast. Marcus was already there, smiling at me like the night before was a dream. But when I walked past Derek’s office door, I heard him on the phone, voice sharp and cold.

“The boys will take care of her… or break her. Whichever comes first. She’s been trouble lately. Needs to be handled. And I don’t mean gently.”

Marcus looked at me across the room and gave me that soft, dangerous smile. He mouthed one word.

Burn.

I froze in the doorway, heart slamming against my ribs.

He was going to burn it all down.

But Derek was already planning to break me.

And I was right in the middle of it all.