Nothing else mattered, not Alexis, not the divorce, he came back for me and that's the only thing that's important right now.

I gulped, staring at his dominating stance, feeling an unexpected surge of excitement that he was here with me.

He brushed his hair back with his fingers as he threw his head backwards 

The room was almost completely dark, so I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could still make out his insane God-like features. 

He looked a lot hotter than usual right now and it aroused my need even more.

He took off his shirt and threw it across the room, and undid his belt, pulling his pants low enough to reveal his rock hard erection.

My eyes widened and I quickly covered my face with my hand, but left a small gap between my fingers, enough for me to see him.

My heart started beating faster as I watched the slow movement of his hand slowly stroking his length, and a low groan escaped his throat.

Heat flooded my body so fast it almost made me dizzy. My mouth actually watered as my eyes traveled down his body, settling on his hardened member. I could’ve sworn it looked even bigger than the last time.

My heartbeat hammered in my ears.

I didn’t know what was happening today, but everything with Dorian felt… different. Better, more intense.

We’d had sex countless times before, but my body was reacting to him like it was the first time all over again.

He lowered himself over me slowly until our bodies were only inches apart, the heat radiating from his skin wrapping around me. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break out of my chest.

Then, with one swift movement, he hooked his fingers into my panties and tore them off.

His lips captured mine, completely stealing the air straight from my lungs, I opened my mouth to give him more access but ended up letting out a broken moan as his fingers brushed against the slick heat between my legs.

My entire body jolted.

It was like a spark of electricity shot through every nerve in my body. 

My toes curled against the mattress back arching helplessly.

He didn’t give me time to recover before his fingers brushed over my sensitive heat again, this time pressing down slightly. 

My breath caught in my throat. He didn’t pull away this time, instead he moved his fingers in slow, deliberate circles, rubbing over my swollen and throbbing cl*t.

A stretched moan tore from my chest as pleasure flooded through me.

My head fell back against the pillow, fingers tightening desperately in the sheets as my hips lifted on their own, chasing the sensation he was feeding me.

His fingers suddenly slid inside me and my body reacted instantly. My walls clenched tightly around his fingers, a shaky gasp escaping my lips as he curled them just right. At the same time, his thumb returned to my clit, rubbing in slow controlled circles that made my entire body tremble beneath him.

I was losing my mind from how good it felt, the pleasure was ungodly, he increased his speed, pushing his fingers in and out with a sinful speed as I moaned uncontrollably, but he didn't stop, not until a scream erupted from my mouth and I came all over his hands, squirting so hard it felt like I would pass out.

Before I could even catch my breath, something smooth and hard pressed against my opening. 

I jolted, instantly realizing what it was, and in the next second he pushed inside me, his rod stretching me wider than I thought I could take.

“Ughhhhh… Doriannn…”

He kept pushing deeper, filling me with a mix of pain and pleasure that made my body hot all over.

I gripped his back as he slowly pulled out again. The friction of him sliding against my walls sent a sharp wave of pleasure through my core, my eyes rolling back as I struggled to breathe.

Just as the tip was about to slip out, he thrust deep into me again.

I cried out his name one more time, my nails digging into his back.

I didn’t think I could take his full length, but slowly he pushed deeper, his member hitting the very end of my walls, making the pleasure even more intense.

He repeated the motion, thrusting in and out in a steady rhythm, his hips moving against mine. 

My juices soaked his length, making each movement faster and slicker as soft, wet sounds filled the room where our bodies met.

It felt sinfully good.

So good I could barely keep my eyes open.

He kissed me again, but this time it wasn’t slow, it was hungry, rough. Like he wanted to devour me completely.

His pace quickened with every thrust and he broke the kiss, lifting my waist slightly, giving him enough access to go even deeper. 

His balls slapped against my ass with every stroke, my cheeks clapping against his thighs as he drove into me again and again and again.

He pounded into my core like a feral beast, and I found myself desperately aching for more.

“H…ha…harder,” I whispered into his ear.

He groaned against my neck, and it felt like I had finally unleashed something inside him. His pace immediately quickened, thrusting into me faster and harder. My b**bs bounced with the force of his movements, and he quickly caught one in his hand, squeezing and massaging it gently.

I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back the wild moans threatening to spill out as my insides tightened around him. A dizzying orgasm began building low in my abdomen while he kept driving into me, the pleasure growing more intense with every second.

My hands flew to my mouth as a broken moan escaped while my body trembled uncontrollably the climax crashing over me like fireworks erupting violently in my core.

The sensation pushed him over the edge too as he groaned into my ear, his entire body shuddering, releasing his warm seed inside me, as his teeth lightly grazed my ear.

For a while, we just lay there, trying to come down from the high. Our chests rose and fell as we took slow, deep breaths, attempting to steady ourselves.

Gradually, the crazy amount of alcohol I had been drinking mixed with the exhaustion from what we had just done began to hit me. My eyelids felt heavy.

He lifted himself off me and pulled out his limp member slowly, before letting his body fall back onto the bed.

I wanted to say something. I even opened my mouth to speak.

But before the words could come out, everything went black as I drifted into a deep sleep.

*****

My eyes fluttered open slowly, as I savoured the feeling of the soft bed, the satin sheets rubbing gently on my skin.

I yawned softly and then memories from last night started flooding in.

I couldn't help but smile as I thought of the fact that Dorian came back for me.

I turned to give him a peck, but my breath caught in my throat and I immediately jumped off the bed the moment I spotted him. I gulped, my head spinning out of control.

The man in my bed….. wasn’t Dorian.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened it again, hoping they were playing tricks on me, but sadly, they weren't.

Who is this man???

The cold air from the air-conditioning hit my body and I immediately realised I was naked, I gasped and dragged the duvet to cover myself.

“Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!”

Flashbacks from last night replayed in my head, as I stumbled back, I should be disappointed with myself, worried I just had s*x with a stranger, but the flashbacks made my body react in a different way.

“Fuck!” I cursed. 

And here I was thinking Dorian came back for me. So delusional.

I have to leave, and I have to leave now, before this gets more complicated than it already is.

I put on my clothes which had been carefully folded on the bedside table and tiptoed towards the door, my purse and heels in one hand as I twisted the door knob with the other….but it didn't budge.

I tried again and again, but the door was locked shut.

“I figured you would do that…..” a deep baritone voice sent vibrations down my spine , causing me to flinch, before turning to look at him. 

“I locked it last night when you fell asleep.”

He did what???

“I think it would be better for the two of us if you just let me leave and we'll pretend last night never happened,” I spoke firmly.

“That's not happening, Elara.”

I froze in place the moment he called my name.

How does he know my name?

This was an even bigger mess than I thought it was.

“I never told you my name…… Look, I don't know who you are or how you know me, but trust me, it's better for the both of us if you just let me leave.” 

“I'm a little offended you're not interested in knowing who I am,” he sat up on the side of the bed, he was shirtless so I could see the outline of his muscles and just how ripped his body was.

His face? dangerously gorgeous. Gray eyes that locked me in place, black air brushed hair, his eyes, nose, lips, jawline, every feature on his face and body was breathtaking.

Jesus, Elara. Focus!!!

“No offense but I don't think that's importa…” 

“My name's Axel,” he cut me off. “Axel Thorne,” he added.

I gasped, heart thumping against my chest.

“No, no, no….” I whispered, shaking my head repeatedly.

That name!

The same name that had shadowed my marriage like a ghost, whispered in arguments, lurking in Dorian’s silences. The man Dorian loathed so much he’d rather choke than say his name aloud.

Axel Thorne.

Dorian’s estranged brother who went to prison 10 years ago.

Dorian never talked about him, but from the little he told me, I knew Axel was highly dangerous. He wasn't the kind of person you wanted to get entangled with.

My stomach dropped so violently I thought I might be sick. 

If this is really him...the room tilted as I realised...I just had sex with my brother in-law. 

But something felt off, my encounter with him, it looked too spotless to be an accident.

Or maybe it wasn't, giving his history…..

“You orchestrated this, didn't you?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “This whole thing was your plan right?” I asked, even when I already knew the answer.

“I'd been following you before you got to Dorian's office yesterday, and I followed you here too, I didn't want to meet you in public so I came into your room, and waited till you showed up.” 

“And the sex?” 

“Now that….” he got up and picked up two glasses and a bottle of wine, “that wasn't supposed to happen.” 

“But it did,” I fired at him.

“And you loved it,” he countered. “You didn't let me stop even when you were already exhausted” he smirked, filling the two glasses with wine as he locked eyes with me.

What is he talking about?

“Dorian told me you were in prison and you weren't getting out anytime soon, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to come back to the united states, so how are you sitting in front of me right now? And why were you following me yesterday, what do you want from me?” so many questions were flooding my mind and I needed to know what was going on.

“Take a seat,” he gestured for me to sit on the couch opposite the bed, but I didn't move.

“Answer me!” I demanded.

He exhaled slowly and got up from the bed, closing the distance between us until he was inches away. His height loomed over me, his presence so dominating, it felt like the air itself bent around him.

He offered me a glass of wine and spoke.

“Whatever Dorian told you about me isn't important right now. I need your help, Elara.” 

His cold and emotionless eyes became softer for a split second, but it quickly disappeared, and he continued speaking.

“I'll go into detail and tell you everything you want to know, and also why I approached you. But first I need to know the information is safe with you, I need to know I can trust you.” 

“Trust me? Just in case you didn't know, your reputation precedes you, I should be the one worried about trust,” I snickered.

He stretched out his palm towards me and I hesitated for a bit before placing my hand in his. He turned and led me to the couch, while he sat on the bed, opposite me.

He opened the drawer by the bed side table and brought out a document.

“Before we continue, I need you to sign an NDA, that way, everything that's happened between us over the last 24 hours and everything that's happening now will stay between us.” 

“So no one's going to find out I had sex with my Ex-husband's brother?” 

He nodded his head.

I let out a sigh of relief.

At least now I don't have to worry about anybody finding out about what happened last night. 

It's just an NDA, and I don't have any friends or people I talk to, who could I possibly want to tell about this.

“I’ll sign it.” I said. 

He smiled at me, a smile that felt like a mask, hiding something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

He flipped the document to the last page, before placing it on the table. 

“Can I at least read…….”

“Don't worry about that, it's just an NDA,” he interrupted.

He's right. It might have so many words written in it, but it all comes down to one thing, I don't talk and he doesn't either. And with that, I signed the document.

“What next?” I asked.

He stared at me for a couple seconds then started speaking.

“Dorian crossed me years ago….betrayed me, stole my place in the family. Everything that should’ve been mine, he claimed for himself. With my own mother at his side, he made sure I was cast out, never meant to return.”

I guess betrayal and stealing from those who love him is Dorian's thing.

“I need to show you something.” he said, scrolling on his phone for a couple seconds before handing it to me.

“That's a video of the building Dorian bought last night, my sources tells me he's ordered hundreds of rare stones and gems to be shipped into the country, he's starting a jewellery company….for his mistress.” 

I gripped the phone hard enough it could break, stealing my husband wasn't enough, now she was about to steal my dream. 

I've been designing jewelleries since I was a teen and it was my dream to one day start a jewellery company, but after my marriage to Dorian. He convinced me that I was a woman and he wouldn't want his wife to work.

 I gave up my dreams because I wanted to please him. 

And now he's taken my dreams and handed it to his mistress.

“You know how he got the funding to do all of this right?” Axel questioned.

Of course I know how, I gave it to him myself. 

“Elara, I need your help the same way you need mine. You're the only one who knows the in and outs of Dorian's life and business. I'll need all the information I can get from you. If we go after him together, we’ll destroy him. I’ve got everything you’ll need, resources, connections, power. Together, we’ll be unstoppable, and Dorian won’t even see it coming.” His voice came in a low dangerous whisper, like a genie promising everything I wanted, saying everything I needed to hear.

I hated Dorian, hated him for every lie, every betrayal, every way he made me feel powerless. I wanted him ruined, stripped of everything… and I’d do anything to make it happen.

I clenched my jaw, fists tightened in a ball.

There’s nothing I want more than to watch Dorian fall, to see him beg for mercy that will never come. And if an enemy of my enemy is my friend, then I guess that makes Axel my ally.

“I’m in,” I hissed, voice dripping with venom, “we end him together.” 

Axel nodded his head in approval. “We’ll take our honeymoon once the job is done.” He raised his glass of wine, eyes glinting.

“Honeymoon?” I repeated, furrowing my brows.

He smirked, “Elara, you signed a marriage contract, not an NDA.”

One minute I was being discarded by my husband, and the next, I was married to his brother...on my way to what he called our new home.

I kept my eyes fixed on the window as the car pulled into the house, the heavy gates parting to reveal what lay beyond. A massive black stone fortress rose before me, towering into the sky. Its sharp edges softened by sleek, intricate designs, it looked like one of those ultra-modern mansions you only saw in glossy magazines. One glance was enough to know it cost a fortune.

The car came to a halt and a suited man, built like he was bouncer walked towards the car and opened the door for me.

Fancy.

"The boss asked me to take you to your room....come with me," he said, as he led me into the house, and then to my room.

"The butler will come and get you in few hours," the man said as he turned to leave.

The walls in the room were brown, the worst colour possible.

A soft scent of vanilla filled the air l, and my shoulders dropped as I inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet scent.

Dorian got me a vanilla scented perfume once when we were dating, and I kept the empty bottle for so long, preserving the memory.

I sighed as memories of him and Alexis came to my mind.

I laid down on the bed, doom scrolling on my phone as the time passed by.

After several hours, I went into the shower to freshen up a bit and then got out, changing into a robe when the sound of a knock came in through the door.

I swiftly tied the robe tight and walked towards the door, opening it up.

It was Axel.... in a satin shirt unbuttoned halfway, with matching satin trousers.

His long black lashes framed those enchanting gray eyes, lips soft and moisturised.

How can someone always look this majestic?

I straightened my shoulders, and spoke.

"We need to talk."

"We sure do, get dressed, we're having dinner together," he said and just walked off, hands in his pocket.

I shut the door and threw on a joggers and sweatshirt, before leaving the room.

Another man came to guide me to the dinning room, different from the one who brought me to my room.

I wonder why he has so many men in his house.

The man opened the door to the dining room, and I could see so many different foods lined up on the table, the sweet aroma of baked food and roast chicken filling the air.

I hadn't eaten anything for the entire day and my mouth was watering to have a taste of the food, but that wasn't my main priority right now.

Axel was seated at the head of the dining table, and I took two seats from him, so I wouldn't be too close or too far.

Two ladies stood on opposite sides of the table, head faced down. From their clothes I could tell they were maids.

He gestured for the man who escorted me in to leave and then clapped twice.

Making the two women walk towards the table and serve food on our plates.

And when they were done, he motioned for them to leave.

"I'm guessing you have a lot to say." He said, eyes fixated on his food, fork in one hand, knife on the other, dissecting the chicken breast.

"I don't want to be in this marriage," I said, but he didn't react, his attention didn't falter from the food.

"I want to leave," I said in an even stronger tone.

"We both know that's not happening," It was obvious he wasn't interested in having this conversation.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Elara I'm trying to help you," he finally lifted his face from his food and looked at me.

How was he so laid back about this? Seeing his smug look and knowing that how I was feeling didn't mean anything to him made my blood boil.

"You're trying to help me? By using me? By forcing your decisions on me? By dictating my life for me?" I yelled at him.

"We both know that's not the case."

"But it is, you're just as pathetic as Dorian....ready to take advantage of anyone and use people like they're a tool to get whatever you want. You might even be worse than him....at least he didn't force me into a marriage I didn't want."

He slammed both hands on the table, the sound exploding through the room so loud it shook me to my core. His jaw clenched hard, veins straining, and the rage in his eyes was so vicious it froze me on the spot. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. My body screamed at me to run, but his gaze held me captive, like chains I couldn't break.

Then he spoke, his voice low, dangerous, "Don't you ever compare me to my brother."

The words crawled over my skin in chills. I was terrified,shaken to my bones.

But no. He wasn't going to see it. He wasn't going to smell the fear clawing at me.

I pushed the food away and stormed out of the dining room, running straight to my room and shut the door as I bawled my eyes out.

I divorced one controlling, manipulative and self absorbed monster and got tricked into a marriage with another one.

I have to run.

As much as I knew Axel could help me get back what Dorian stole from me and get my revenge, I knew I couldn't do this.

I grabbed my phone and scanned the closet for a jacket and swiftly grabbed one.

I tied my hair up and ran towards the window. His men won't let me leave if I try to escape through the door.

Goosebumps grew on my skin as I opened the window and I couldn't tell if it was because of the chill of the cold air or because the window was hundreds of feet in the air.

I looked over to the areas surrounding the house and it was all greenery and trees, even if I made it out of the house, how far could I go?

I shut the window, pacing back and forth in the room when a knock came from the door and I immediately knew it was him.

"Go away!" I yelled, still staring at the door. I didn't hear his footsteps leaving, so I knew he was still there.

"I said go aw.......?"

"Elara, it's me," I gasped the moment his voice hit my ears.

How did he find me?

I sped to the door and opened it up.

"Cyrus," I called out, a smile slowly forming on my lips as I collapsed into his arms and he pulled me in for a warm hug.

"It's so good to know you're okay, I'm really sorry about Dorian.....and Alexis," he said, before pulling away.

"You don't have to apologise, they both betrayed the two of us."

Cyrus and Alexis had been in a relationship for years, and we've all been really good friends, that's until Alexis decided to ditch us.

"How did you know I was here? How did you even get here?" I asked him.

"Axel contacted me." he said, he peeped on both sides of the hallway before following me into the room and he shut the door behind us and locked it.

"Why would he contact you?" I'm the only person Axel needs, so why would he contact Cyrus and ask him to come here.

"He said you had a hard time adjusting,"

"Adjusting to what?"

"He told me about the marriage..... it sounded crazy at first, but trust me, it's best if you take advantage of it and go along with his plan, I mean, in a few months when you've both gotten what you want, you can go your separate ways."

"But we don't have to get married to work together," I protested.

"It's all part of his plan.....Elara, he's really powerful and you know that. He's not going to let you end the marriage."

Was I imagining things or was Cyrus starting to sound like he was on Axel's side.

"So what are you saying?" I asked, even when I already knew the direction this was going.

"Stay." Cyrus said, he softly placed his hand on my cheek, his ocean blue eyes locked on mine, with his ever convincing handsome face.

"He brought you here to convince me, didn't he?" I said, slowly accepting defeat.

"Elara this marriage is more beneficial to you, but he doesn't know that.......there are a lot of things you don't know, about Axel. The only way to get more information is to stay as close to him as possible. I did my own research on him immediately he contacted me, and I found something."

"What are you talking about? Get more information about what? What did you find?"

Cyrus looked at the door, like he didn't want someone to walk in on us, even when we both knew the door was locked, and I knew there and then that he was about to say something BIG.

"They didn't die in a boat accident," he whispered softly.

"What do you mean?" My voice broke halfway.

"Your parents didn't die in a boat accident, they're alive......and Axel is responsible for what happened to them."