Sign the papers, Silas. We had a deal.”
“The deal was for one last night, Elena. And I’m not finished with you yet.”
Elena spent three years as Silas Thorne’s perfect, silent doll. He didn’t marry her for love; he married her to settle a debt, treating her body as his personal playground and her heart as an afterthought.
Now, the divorce papers are on the bed, but Silas demands a final, grueling price for her freedom. One night of total, erotic surrender. Elena endures his touch, counting the seconds until she can walk away from his toxic obsession forever.
But freedom is a lie.
As Elena steps out into the rain, a black Rolls Royce stops her in her tracks. Out steps Dante Vane-a man more powerful, more dangerous, and infinitely more dominant than the husband she just left.
”Your time with her is up, Thorne. She belongs to me now.”
Caught between a husband who won’t let go and a mysterious titan who just “bought” her life, Elena realizes she hasn’t escaped the fire-she’s just stepped into a much hotter flame.
Silas used her for pleasure. Dante wants her for everything.or will she use these obssesive powerful man for revenge
The last lust before divorce Chapter 1 The final debt
The penthouse smelled of cold rain and the heavy, musky scent of Silas’s cologne. Elena stared at the divorce papers on the bed.
”Sign them, Silas. We had a deal.”
Silas didn’t move. He stood by the window, his shirt unbuttoned, looking at her like a predator who wasn’t done playing with his food. “A deal? You think three years of me owning you ends with a stroke of a pen?”
”I gave you everything,” Elena snapped, her voice trembling. “My youth, my name… my body. Sign the papers.”
Silas walked toward her, his footsteps silent on the plush rug. He gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him. His touch was searing, a familiar brand. “You want your freedom so badly? Then give me what I bought you for. One. Last. Time.”
”You’re disgusting,” she gasped, even as her pulse betrayed her, hammering against her ribs.
”And yet, you’re still here,” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear. He spun her around, forcing her to face the mirror. “Look at yourself, Elena. You’re shivering. Is it hate? Or is it because you know no one will ever touch you the way I do?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. His hands were everywhere-possessive, rough, demanding. He tore the silk from her shoulders, his mouth crashing onto hers in a kiss that tasted of bourbon and desperation. Elena fought him for a second before the familiar, dark heat took over. It was a battle, a final collision of two people who hated how much they craved each other.
”The papers, Silas,” she moaned against his neck as he lifted her onto the mahogany desk.
”After,” he growled, his eyes dark with an obsessive fire. “I’m going to make sure you remember the feel of me every time you close your eyes for the rest of your life.”
He claimed her right there, amidst the legal documents and the shattered remains of their marriage. Every thrust was a reminder of his power, and every gasp from Elena was a countdown to her escape.
One Hour Later
The ink was barely dry on Silas’s signature when Elena bolted for the door. She didn’t pack. She didn’t look back.
”You’ll be back!” Silas shouted from the balcony, his voice raw. “You have nothing, Elena! You’re nothing without me!”
Elena burst through the hotel’s revolving doors into the freezing night. A black Rolls Royce sat idling, its engine a low, predatory growl.
The back door opened. A man stepped out-taller, broader, and radiating a cold authority that made Silas look like a boy.
”Elena.”
The stranger’s voice was like velvet over steel. Silas had followed her down, skidding to a halt on the wet pavement.
”Who the hell are you?” Silas demanded, reaching for Elena’s arm. “Get away from my wife!”
The stranger didn’t flinch. He stepped into the light, his eyes chillingly calm. “She isn’t your wife anymore, Thorne. You signed her over the moment you accepted my wire transfer.”
Silas froze. “You… you’re the one who bought the debt?”
”I’m the one who bought everything,” the man said, stepping between them. He looked at Elena, his gaze traveling over her disheveled hair and the bite mark on her shoulder. His jaw tightened. “Your time with her is up. She’s coming home with me now.”
He held out a hand to Elena.
”Is he telling the truth?” Elena whispered, looking at the stranger. “Did you buy me?”
”I saved you,” the man replied, his voice dropping to a dangerous, intimate level. “But salvation has a price. Get in the car.”
Elena looked at Silas’s defeated face, then at the stranger’s outstretched hand. She took it.
The moment the door closed, the man leaned over her, his shadow engulfing her. “Silas was a fool. He used you for pleasure. I’m going to use you for everything.”
- HOT NOVEL: I Claim You, Mate by AlisTae
The last lust before divorce Chapter 2 The new master
The privacy glass slid up, sealing Elena in a tomb of black leather and expensive cedar-scented air. Dante Vane didn’t look at her; he looked at the city lights as they glided away from the only life she’d ever known.
”Who are you?” Elena’s voice was a jagged whisper. “And how did you know about the debt?”
”I know everything about Silas Thorne’s failures,” Dante said, his voice a low vibration that seemed to buzz in the small space. He finally turned. His eyes were cold, calculating, and dangerously fixed on her. “Including the fact that he traded his wife for a bailout.”
Elena felt the sting of tears but swallowed them down. “I’m not his wife anymore. I signed the papers.”
”You did,” Dante leaned in, his shadow engulfing her. He reached out, his thumb catching a stray tear on her cheek. His touch was electric, far more intense than Silas’s ever was. “But you didn’t read the fine print, did you? Silas didn’t just divorce you. He assigned your ‘contract’ to me.”
”My contract?” Elena gasped, her pulse hammering. “I’m not a piece of equipment!”
”In Silas’s eyes, you were. In mine…” Dante’s gaze dropped to her lips, his expression darkening with a hunger that made her stomach flip. “You’re an investment. And I always get a return on my investments.”
”I won’t be another slave,” she snapped, her hand going to the door handle.
”The doors are locked, Elena.” Dante’s hand moved from her jaw to the back of her neck, his grip firm and possessive. He pulled her closer until their breaths mingled. “You have two choices. You can walk out into the street with nothing and wait for Silas to hunt you down when he realizes he wants his toy back… or you can stay with me.”
”And why would I stay with you?”
”Because I’m the only man who can give you the one thing you crave more than freedom.” Dante leaned closer, his lips brushing against her ear. “Revenge. I’ll give you the money, the influence, and the seat at the table to watch Silas Thorne burn. But the price is simple.”
Elena’s breath hitched as his other hand slid onto her thigh, the heat of his palm seeping through the thin silk of her robe. “What price?”
”Absolute obedience,” Dante rasped. “In public, you are the most powerful woman in this city. In private… you belong to me. Every inch. Every moan. Every secret.”
He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. “So, Elena. Do you want to be a victim? Or do you want to be my weapon?”
Elena looked at the predatory man before her. She could still feel the phantom bruises of Silas’s touch, the weight of his disrespect. She looked at Dante’s outstretched hand.
”I want him to lose everything,” she whispered.
Dante’s lips curved into a chilling, erotic smile. “Then prove it. The night is young, and we haven’t even reached the mansion yet.”
He didn’t wait for her to move. He pulled her onto his lap, his mouth claiming hers in a kiss that was a declaration of war-and total possession.
The last lust before divorce Chapter 3 The golden cage
The gates of the Vane Estate groaned open like the jaws of a beast. Elena stared out the window of the Rolls Royce at the sprawling limestone manor. It wasn’t a home; it was a fortress of glass and cold ambition.
”Get out,” Dante commanded. His voice had lost the velvet edge from the car. Now, it was pure steel.
Elena hesitated, clutching her torn robe. “I don’t have anything. My clothes, my-“
”Everything you owned was bought by Silas. Which means it’s trash.” Dante stepped out, not waiting for her. He stood in the rain, indifferent to the downpour, looking like a god of the underworld surveying his domain. “You’ll find that I provide for my own. Walk.”
Elena stepped out, her bare feet hitting the wet gravel. She followed him through the massive oak doors into a foyer that breathed wealth. Marble floors, vaulted ceilings, and a silence so thick it felt heavy.
”You said you’d help me destroy him,” Elena said, her voice echoing. “When do we start?”
Dante turned, his eyes raking over her shivering form. “You’re in a rush for blood, Elena. I like that. But a weapon needs to be sharpened before it can strike.”
He gestured to a wide staircase. “Upstairs. Second door on the left. Wash the scent of that man off your skin. I’ll be there in ten minutes to discuss your first lesson.”
”Ten minutes? Dante, I need to know the plan.”
”The plan starts when I say it starts,” he snapped, closing the distance between them in two long strides. He pinned her against the cold marble of a pillar, his hand bracing beside her head. “You asked for my influence. You asked for the power to ruin Silas Thorne. That power comes with a leash. Do you understand?”
Elena’s heart thudded. The heat radiating from his body was a sharp contrast to the cold hall. “I understand.”
”Good. Don’t keep me waiting.”
The Cleansing
Ten minutes later, Elena stood in a bathroom larger than her entire bedroom at Silas’s. The water was scalding, turning her skin a flushed pink as she scrubbed. She wanted to erase every ghost of Silas-every touch, every insult, every moment she had been forced to be his “doll.”
She stepped out, wrapping herself in a plush, black silk robe she found hanging on the door. It was far too big for her, the sleeves falling over her hands, smelling faintly of Dante’s cedarwood scent.
The bedroom door clicked open.
Dante didn’t knock. He walked in, having changed into a dark grey shirt, the top three buttons undone to reveal the hard muscle of his chest. He held a leather folder in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other.
”Sit,” he directed, nodding toward the velvet chaise lounge.
Elena sat, her legs tucked under her. “What’s in the folder?”
”Silas’s life,” Dante said, tossing it onto her lap. “Bank accounts he thinks are hidden. Properties he bought with stolen investors’ money. And the name of the woman he’s been seeing for the last six months.”
Elena’s blood turned to ice. She flipped the folder open. Her eyes landed on a photo of a young, blonde socialite-someone Silas had introduced as his ‘cousin’ at a charity event.
”He was cheating?” Elena whispered, a bitter laugh escaping her. “I was his ‘slave’ at home while he was playing house with her?”
”He didn’t just cheat, Elena. He used your family’s land as collateral for the loans he took to buy her that diamond necklace,” Dante said, taking a slow sip of his drink. “If he defaults-which he will by the end of the month-your parents lose everything.”
Elena gripped the folder so hard the paper crumpled. The rage she felt was a living thing, a fire that finally burned away the last of her fear. “He’s a monster.”
”He’s a weak man who thinks he’s a monster,” Dante corrected. He set his glass down and walked toward her, his shadow looming large against the gold-leafed walls. “I’m the monster you should be worried about.”
He reached down, his fingers sliding into the collar of her robe, pulling her slowly to her feet. The silk slid against her skin, the friction sent a jolt of electricity straight to her core.
”I have a meeting tomorrow morning,” Dante murmured, his voice dropping to that dangerous, intimate register. “Silas will be there. He thinks he’s signing a merger that will save his company. Instead, he’s going to find out that I own fifty-one percent of his board.”
Elena’s eyes widened. “You’re taking his company?”
”We are taking it,” Dante corrected. “But for you to stand by my side, you can’t be the broken woman he left behind. You have to be the woman who makes him regret ever breathing your air.”
He tilted her head back, his eyes searching hers with a dark, erotic intensity. “Are you ready to stop being his victim and start being my partner?”
”Yes,” she breathed.
”Then show me that fire you’re hiding,” he rasped.
He didn’t kiss her. Instead, his hand slid lower, gripping her waist with a bruising force that made her gasp. “Every time he touched you, you felt like a thing. When I touch you, I want you to feel like a queen. A queen who is about to take back her kingdom.”
He pulled her flush against him, the heat between them reaching a breaking point. Elena felt a surge of something she hadn’t felt in years-desire mixed with a hunger for power. She reached up, her fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck.
”Show me,” she challenged.
Dante’s eyes flared. He swept her up, carrying her toward the massive bed. “The first lesson of power, Elena: Never ask for what you can take.”
He dropped her onto the silk sheets, his body following hers down. The night was no longer about a divorce; it was about a rebirth.
The Morning After: The First Strike
The sun hadn’t even risen when the master bedroom door was thrown open by a maid carrying a line of designer garment bags.
Elena sat up, the black sheets pooling around her waist. Dante was already dressed, standing at the mirror, adjusting a silk tie. He looked immaculate, cold, and utterly lethal.
”Choose one,” Dante said without turning. “The red one. It looks like blood.”
Elena reached for the crimson dress. It was backless, cinched at the waist, and made of a fabric that looked like liquid fire.
”We leave in twenty minutes,” Dante said, finally turning to look at her. His gaze lingered on the marks on her neck-marks he had put there. “Silas thinks he’s going to a meeting. He has no idea he’s walking into his own funeral.”
Elena stood, the dress draped over her arm. She looked at herself in the mirror. The woman looking back wasn’t the “doll” Silas had broken. Her eyes were sharp, her posture was regal, and she had the most powerful man in the city standing behind her.
”Let’s go,” she said, her voice steady. “I don’t want to miss the look on his face.”