Maya's POVI felt Daniel's presence behind me in the hallway, heavy as storm clouds. For once, I didn't turn around. Let him watch my back, for a change. The box in my arms - filled with design journals and old sketches - felt like armor against his silence.Three years of marriage, and only now did I understand what real power felt like: the ability to walk away. Each breath came easier than the last, like my lungs were finally remembering how to work properly.My shoes whispered against hardwood floors that had never felt like home. Each step carried me further from the girl who used to flinch at raised voices, closer to someone new. Someone real. I passed the living room where we'd hosted countless dinner parties, the kitchen where I'd learned to make myself small, the study where he'd locked away my designs. Memories ghosted through the halls, but they felt distant now, like watching scenes from someone else's life.Thunder rolled outside as I reached the front door. Through sheet
MayaThe key clicked in the lock, and I pushed the door open with my hip, balancing a box labeled "Kitchen Shit" in my arms. The apartment smelled of fresh paint and new beginnings."Home sweet home," I murmured to myself, setting the box down on the bare hardwood floor.The space wasn't much—a modest one-bedroom with high ceilings and windows that actually opened—but it was mine. No marble countertops. No designer furniture. No husband dictating which corner I could exist in. Just four walls that didn't feel like they were closing in on me."Is that the last one?" Olivia called from the kitchen, where she was unpacking my mismatched collection of mugs and plates."Two more in the car." I stretched, feeling the satisfying pop in my lower back. "Who knew freedom would be so fucking heavy?"Olivia appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on her jeans. Her usually perfect hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and she'd swapped her Thorne Designs blazer for an old t-shirt. "Worth every p
I yawned as the elevator climbed to my floor, my body heavy with exhaustion after a long day at Thorne Designs. Two weeks into my new job, and I was still getting used to the rhythm of actual work—meetings that mattered, deadlines that weren't arbitrary punishments, colleagues who valued my input. Freedom was fucking exhausting, but in the best possible way.My thoughts drifted to this morning's awkward encounter in the elevator. Emma, the head designer, had asked about my collection concepts while three other designers pretended not to listen. I could feel their eyes on me, assessing, wondering. The whispers had followed me all day—hushed conversations that died the moment I walked into a room."That's her... Daniel Russo's wife...""I heard he locked her up...""Alex hired her personally..."That last one stung the most. I'd earned this position, dammit. My fingers had been permanently stained with graphite for days before my interview, perfecting every design in my portfolio. But to
I made my way carefully through the wreckage, avoiding stepping on broken glass and torn fabric. Olivia kept talking, her voice a lifeline as I cataloged the damage. The bathroom mirror was shattered. My bed had been stripped, the mattress slashed. Even the cheap set of plates I'd bought at a discount store had been smashed against the kitchen floor.A knock at the door made me jump."That's probably the police," I told Olivia, making my way back to the entrance.But it wasn't the police.Alex stood in the hallway, concern etched across his features, his normally perfect suit slightly rumpled as if he'd rushed over. For a moment, we just stared at each other."Olivia called me," he said finally, answering my unspoken question.I pressed the phone back to my ear. "You called Alex?""Of course I did." Olivia's voice was unapologetic. "You need someone there now, not in forty minutes when I can fight through traffic. Plus, he's got resources."“You didn’t think to tell me?”Behind Alex, t
Alex stood by the door, watching me with an unreadable expression. "You shouldn't stay here tonight.""I'm not leaving." The words came out harsher than intended. "This is my home.""Maya..." His voice softened. "The locks are compromised. The place is a mess. At least let me call someone to secure the door properly."I sighed, looking around at the devastation. He was right, but the thought of leaving—of letting Daniel win—made my blood boil."Fine. Call someone for the locks. But I'm staying."His lips pressed into a thin line, but he nodded, pulling out his phone. While he arranged for an emergency locksmith, I began picking up the larger pieces of debris, needing to do something with my hands. I gathered the torn pages of my journals, carefully stacking what remained. Some designs could be salvaged. Others were gone forever.After he finished his call, Alex hesitated, then removed his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. "Where do you want to start?"I blinked at him, surprised.
The alarm shrieked like a banshee, dragging me from what little sleep I'd managed to find. My eyes felt like they'd been rolled in sand, and my back ached from the awkward position I'd maintained all night—half-sitting against the headboard, knife clutched in my hand. I'd dozed off around four, only to jerk awake at every creak and groan the building made."Fuck this," I muttered, silencing the alarm and dragging myself to the bathroom.The face in the mirror looked like shit. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, and my skin had the sallow tinge of exhaustion. I splashed cold water on my face, willing the fog to clear from my brain.Coffee. I needed coffee.But the kitchen was still a disaster zone, broken dishes scattered across the counter. I hadn't gotten around to cleaning that part yet. Daniel had been thorough in his destruction, not leaving a single mug intact.My phone buzzed with a text from Olivia.On my way with coffee and bagels. Don't argue.I smiled despite everything. What did
Office ThornMy steps faltered. "Excuse me?""It's okay," she winked conspiratorially. "Everyone knows he went to your place last night. Security logs everything."Heat crawled up my neck. Of course. The corporate security system would show who entered and exited the building after hours. And apparently, privacy was a fantasy."My apartment was broken into," I said flatly. "Mr. Thorne was helping me file a police report."Her smile faltered. "Oh. I didn't—""No, you didn't." I brushed past her, irritation burning through my fatigue. The last thing I needed was gossip about me and Alex.My desk seemed smaller today, tucked away in the corner furthest from the windows. I hadn't noticed before how the junior designers sat in this section, while the more established team members had the prime spots near the natural light.I booted up my computer, grateful for something normal to do. The design program loaded, and I opened my current project—accessories for the spring collection. Nothing gr
The morning dragged on. I threw myself into the accessory designs, determined to make even this demotion into something spectacular. But every time I looked up, I caught someone looking away quickly or whispering to a colleague.At the eleven o'clock design meeting, things got worse. Bernard ran through the collection updates, barely acknowledging my presence. When I tried to offer suggestions for improving the bracelet clasp design, he nodded vaguely and then attributed the same idea to Sophie when she repeated it five minutes later."Excellent modification, Sophie," he said, making a note. "That's exactly the kind of refinement we need."I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.After the meeting, I retreated to the break room, needing a moment alone. But as I approached, I heard voices from inside—Bernard and Phillip, one of the executive VPs."—liability at this point," Phillip was saying. "The client specifically mentioned concerns about her emotional stability.""She's talented," B
“Come here.”"I've been thinking about this for the last hour," he admitted, fingers already working at the button of my jeans. "You, just like this."I rocked against his hardened cock already evident beneath me. "You were supposed to be working.""Not with you biting your lip every time you read something challenging." His hands slipped inside my jeans, panties giving way, immediately finding my pussy like it was normal. "It's distracting.""Sorry," I said, with a slight shiver, but I wasn’t sorry at all."No, you're not." He squeezed, fingers digging into flesh in a way that made me gasp. "But you will be. Maya"The Mention of my name made something break loos
The rest of the morning passed in a strangely comfortable rhythm. I showered while he took calls in the living room. When I came out, hair still damp, he was back in full CEO mode—laptop open, phone pressed to his ear, focused and professional.I settled at the dining table with my own laptop, diving into the foundation emails. Across from me, Alex argued with someone about supply chain issues, his voice firm but reasonable. It should have been awkward, this domesticity. Instead, it felt oddly natural.Around noon, he closed his laptop and stretched. I tried not to stare at the strip of skin exposed as his shirt rode up, but failed miserably. He caught me looking and smiled, slow and deliberate."Are you hungry?" he asked."Starving." I hadn't eaten since Troy&rsqu
I woke to the smell of coffee and unfamiliar sounds in my kitchen. For a disorienting second, panic flared—someone was in my house—until the memory returned. Alex. Beach. Car. Couch. Bed. Floor at some point. Then bed again.My body ached in ways both foreign and familiar. My pussy was raw and swollen from fucking all night. It felt good. We had fucked again even after Alex came in me. I stopped at that thought. Alex had cummed in me multiple times last night. The thought of it somehow made my pussy ache again, I could feel it getting moist again. I snapped. Shit. I would need to sort that out later —getting backup.I stretched, taking inventory of what Alex had done to me. Purple marks dotted my inner thighs. Finger-shaped bruises colored my hips w
He pushed inside, one long, slow thrust that made me gasp. The sensation was different without the condom—It was warm. The feeling of his warm cock against the wall of my pussy made me squirm. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him deeper, urging him on."Fuck, Maya," he groaned, holding still for a moment. "You feel—""I know," I cut him off. "Move."“Fuck me!”He did, setting a pace that had me digging my nails into his shoulders. He wasn’t holding back this time like he had done initially on the beach. Each thrust hit somehow hit that sweet spot inside me that made the pleasure build up.“Go harder Alex!” I moaned, “Please don’t stop. Fuck me!”
The drive back to my apartment was torture. Good torture, but torture nonetheless. Every red light felt like it lasted an hour. Alex's hand rested high on my thigh, his thumb tracing small circles that made it nearly impossible to focus on the road."You're going to make me crash," I muttered as his fingers inched higher, slipping beneath the edge of my underwear."Then drive faster," he replied, voice rough in a way I'd never heard from him before.He didn't stop. His fingers slid lower, finding me still wet from the beach. I gasped, my foot instinctively pressing harder on the accelerator as he stroked me."Alex," I warned, gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white. "This isn't—""Keep your eyes on the road," he instructed, his other hand moving to my breast, thumb circling my nipple through my shirt.The speedometer crept higher as his fingers moved faster between my legs. My vision blurred at the edges, body torn between focusing on driving and surrendering to th
He kissed me with an urgency that matched my own, hands moving beneath my t-shirt to find skin. His palms were callused and warm against my ribs as they moved upward, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts. I arched into the touch, impatient for more.We were still awkwardly positioned against the post, and my shoulder blade dug painfully into the weathered wood. "Not here," I said against his mouth.He immediately stepped back, misunderstanding. "We can go—""No, I mean, not against this post. It's digging into my back." I took his hand, led him away from the post to where a dune created some shelter from the wind. I pulled him down with me onto the sand.The cold immediately seeped through my jeans, but the discomfort seemed irrelevant compared to the heat
I drove until the highway signs thinned out and the lights from the city faded in my rearview mirror. Alex didn't ask where we were going. He just sat silently, occasionally glancing at my profile, his fingers tapping a pattern on his knee that I couldn't decode.The turnoff appeared sooner than I'd expected—a narrow road that curved toward the coast. I'd passed it hundreds of times over the years, always thinking vaguely about stopping someday. Tonight, I finally did."We're trespassing," Alex said as I pulled into the darkened parking lot and cut the engine. A faded sign near the entrance clearly stated "Beach Closed After Sunset.""Are you going to report me?" I grabbed my jacket from the back seat."Just making an observation." There was something in his voice
The conversation drifted to other aspects of the launch—the press coverage, the surprising industry connections, the unexpected support from Giuseppe."I still can't believe he showed up in person," Olivia said. "His assistant told me last week he wasn't leaving the mansion.""The Kingstons' arrival seemed to energize him." I remembered Giuseppe's face when my mother approached him, the cold smile he'd given her. "I think he enjoyed watching them squirm.""Speaking of watching people squirm," Troy said, a mischievous glint in his eye, "let's talk about that moment at the glass station.""Let's not," I replied immediately."What moment?" Olivia asked."Oh you certainly haven't been paying attention. Design Weekly captured Maya giving Alex a very... hands-on demonstration." Troy pulled out his phone, scrolling through photos. "Look at this."He held up his screen, showing a photo of me standing behind Alex at the workbench, my arms wrapped around him. The picture looked like soft-core p
MayaI kicked my heels off the second my apartment door closed behind me. My aching feet sank into the carpet, and I let out an involuntary groan of relief. After twelve hours at the foundation launch, even breathing without a smile plastered on my face felt like luxury.The apartment was dark and quiet. I didn't bother with the lights, just dropped my bag on the counter and stood for a moment in the stillness. My place still had boxes stacked in corners and bare walls I hadn't gotten around to decorating. After Daniel had trashed my place, I had barely done anything with it. And now with everything going, I barely had the time.I peeled off my earrings and headed for the shower when my phone buzzed. Sarah's face appeared on the screen, and I flopped onto the couch to answer."I look like hell, just warning you," I said.Sarah's face appeared, hair piled messily on top of her head, glasses sliding down her nose. "You're alive! How was it?""Exhausting. Just got home.""Shit, sorry. I