Bound by Power: 5. The Afterhours

The city outside the glass tower glittered like spilled jewels, but Ava felt no shine in her chest as she stepped out of Blackwell Industries. The revolving doors hissed closed behind her, cutting off the scent of leather, coffee, and Dominic. She clutched her bag tightly, her pulse still uneven, as though she were carrying a secret flame no one could see.

The cool night air kissed her cheeks. Taxi lights streaked by, horns blared, and laughter spilled from a nearby rooftop bar. Life went on, oblivious. Yet Ava felt suspended between two worlds—one where she was the composed young woman her parents had raised, and another where she was being devoured, piece by piece, by a man who owned more than just her body.

She hated herself for trembling at the memory of his hands on her. For the way her thighs pressed together involuntarily as she walked, her body remembering him too well. Her need of him increasing with each passing second. She hated to admit it but that was the tr