Verena
I couldn’t breathe.
Didn’t even blink.
All I did was stare into his eyes—at his face— waiting for him to burst into laughter, pull me into his embrace, and tell me that he was pulling my legs. To tell me that his suggestion for an open marriage was nothing but a joke and Zita was just here to pass the night.
I should have caused a scene, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, screamed at him, and pulled Zita’s hair but no matter how much I tried to speak, no words came out.
The words, the questions, and the sounds I wanted to make died in my throat.
Despite Kian seeing the obvious distraught that was creeping to my face, all he said was “I would take your silence as a yes” with a smile on his face.
He had never smiled at me since the past three years things went south between us. But knowing that the thought of an open marriage and with Zita as his partner was the reason for that big ass smile drove me crazy.
How could he make such a suggestion and push me into the arms of someone else with no remorse on his face?
I hated myself.
I hated myself for clinging to the man who had mentally checked out of this marriage for years.
And, I would never forgive myself for almost losing myself by dressing like the only fan models he subscribed to. And most importantly, for making a fool out of myself before Zita and Kian.
The house became so suffocating and I couldn’t afford to spend another second because of the fear of letting my intrusive thoughts win. I might just douse the house with fire and watch them burn.
Instead of getting blood on my hands, I drove to the beach and decided to burn my love for Kian and the image of the deranged fool he almost turned me into.
Waves crashed in the distance, the sound blending with the faint sound of music from afar. Anger made my blood boil and the more I wiped off the tears on my face, the more tears cascaded down my cheeks.
“To hell with Kian, Zita, and me!” I cussed, stuffing the role play costumes, the sex toys, and whatever bullshit I got to spice up our marriage into the burn barrel.
And then, I lit it on fire, watching it burn into ashes while standing on the beach—still practically half-naked in the lingerie I wore to impress Kian and the coat he had draped around my shoulders.
The woody scent from his coat mingled with the smoke, clouding my nostrils and instantly reminding me of the fact that they could be fucking each other right now. Not Could. Were.
My heart squeezed painfully in my chest when Kian’s words flashed through my mind. “Zita is here to help you have a child”
How dare he make me believe that my in-laws' plan to make him leave me for Zita will never happen? How long has he been fucking Zita under my nose before he suggested an open marriage?
Maybe he was never in love with me and I was the one who expected too much from an arranged marriage built on a rocky foundation.
Kian and I met during a sophomore party six years back. I had always heard about him because of my father who was close friends with Kian’s. Our parents wanted us to get married to each other, to strengthen our family bond and businesses.
When we both declined, they threatened to cut us off the inheritance list and leave nothing to us. While I wasn’t moved by the threat, Kian was and he reached out to me and that was when we met at the party.
We clicked instantly, got tipsy, and had sex on our first meeting.
That sex led to my pregnancy so while I contemplated aborting it, Kian had already informed his family and mine who trapped me and guilt-tripped me into keeping the pregnancy.
So that was how I got pregnant and married to Kian while still in College.
Then, I had a miscarriage—one that left me with uncontrollable hemorrhage and was the reason I lost my womb.
However, things took a dark turn when my family got into a bad scandal that wrecked our lives. If no one had ever seen a billionaire fall from grace, the William’s family was the perfect example.
Everything we had was confiscated by the government, my father died behind bars, my mum developed a stroke that claimed her life, and my brother? He disappeared.
We lost everything.
I didn’t know if that was the moment he changed. But, I knew his family had changed towards me and treated me with contempt.
The same family who would always support my plans to hire a surrogate mother were the same people clamoring for Kian to divorce me and marry Zita.
I took a tiny sniffle, dropped to my hunches, and wiped off my tears with the back of my hand, glancing at my phone to see if there was any message from Kian. None.
I had to forget Kian.
Move on because it slowly hit me that the reason he hadn’t divorced me was that he was with me out of pity.
I rose to my feet, lifting my gaze when I caught sight of a stripper’s club sitting on a hill. At first, all I did was tug at the pendant around my neck, staring blankly at the club glowing with neon lights.
Then, a thought slipped into my mind. If I wanted to forget Kian, I needed to start there and on the bright side of it, our marriage was now open.
I had never attended the club in the last six years. Didn’t even know what the trending songs were.
I went back into my car, wiped off the mascara smeared on my face, and dotted my face with the powder in my purse. A little lipstick.
I was starting to feel like myself again.
The moment I stepped into the club, the thumping bass and the feeling of exhilaration slammed into my chest. The urge to sway my body and mingle with the crowd overwhelmed me and I yielded to that exact feeling.
I removed Kian’s coat, tossed it into the nearest trash can next to me while in killer heels, and dressed in the cat woman costume.
I danced— dancing like I was nineteen again and this twenty-five-year-old never existed.
This was liberating.
However, I couldn’t help but feel that with every movement I made, someone’s eyes were on me, burning into me like flames— the type of people willingly burned in.
That was when I caught sight of him, sitting at the far end of the club, shielded away from the neon lights. His blue eyes flecked with gray never left my face even once and even from afar, I could make sense of the dark aura that swirled around him.
Who was he?
Sharp jaw-line, dark wavy hair—graying at the temples—that looked slightly tousled, and a perfectly sculpted face— the kind of striking handsomeness that instantly brought Henry Cavill to mind.
I tilted my head to the side, swaying to the rhythm of the music. It wouldn’t hurt to flirt with him tonight plus, we didn’t have to meet each other again. Strutting towards him with my eyes locked in his, I couldn’t help but notice that there was this spark of dark hunger in his eyes for me.
No one had looked at me this intensely, like he wanted me in his arms and in his bed.
The closer I got to him, the handsome he was.
I took a seat next to the handsome man whose eyes never left mine. “Mind if I pour you a drink?” I whispered, lips slightly brushing through his ear before returning my eyes to his.
His eyes now burned with something different. Lust.
“I don’t mind” The words tumbled off his mouth so effortlessly that I could listen to him all day. And the smile on his face was to die for.
My face lit up in a smile and while I poured him a drink, I felt his eyes singeing my face. “So, are you with anyone?" I cast a glance at him.
“Is that the subtle way of asking me if I’m single?” His fingers brushed through mine and that brief contact sent waves of electricity over my skin.
My body grew taut and I struggled to catch my breath as he took the glass of whiskey from me.
I breathed, watching the spark of dark amusement in his eyes. “Since you are alone, I guess you are?” I watched him take a sip.
A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he set the whiskey back on the table. “Right, you?”
The moment he asked that question, Kian flashed through my mind and I did this big mental eye roll. The moment he opened our marriage, it ended so practically we were over.
My pulse pounded as I leaned forward, taking the full weight of the handsome stranger’s face, a hand pressed softly to his lap. “If I tell you that I am single, would you fuck me tonight?” The words rolled off my tongue.
His face darkened, his eyes still locked onto mine, and then slowly, a smile slipped through his face. “Bet,”
Before I could even process things, he slammed his lips on mine with a force that I had never experienced, like he wasn’t only claiming my mouth but me.
It all started with a kiss. From a kiss to one of the vip rooms in the clubs.
Mr. Stranger pinned my hands above my head, breaking the kiss between us. I was completely naked beneath him, his eyes raking down my body like I was the most precious thing he had ever set his eyes on.
A moan slipped from my mouth, as his dick went up and down my slick folds in this teasing manner that drove me insane already.
I wanted him completely. I wanted him to just fuck me, fuck Kian out of my system, and make me forget that someone like my husband ever meant a lot to me.
With one hand gripping my hips possessively, those hungry eyes glided up to me. “Miss Kitty ears, wanting me comes with a price” He drawled.
I stared at him with need, arching into him, rolling my hips against his dick. “What is the price?” I moaned out the words.
“You are the price. If I fuck you, it means you are mine now and I am never letting you go”
I was too wet to think. Plus, we would never meet again so I didn’t think much of it.
Heat coiled in my stomach as moisture gathered in my eyes while I bobbed my head, thinking it was enough for him to thrust into me already.
His nails dug deeper into my hips, his lust-filled gaze holding mine. “It is either a yes or no” His mellow baritone was edged with dominance.
I stared up at him, still bucking my hips to grind harder against his thick length. “Yes…” I blurted.
He let out a happy grunt and like the cue he needed, he pushed his dick into my aching core, stretching me and fucked me with a vigor I had never experienced.
“You are mine now, this pussy is mine and you will never get away from me. I promise.”