Taking a break for the rest of the month for chrimis! Happy Holidays everyone, I hope you are all safe and please take care <3
Red hot annoyance simmered beneath the surface of Marcus's face as he practically dragged Vivienne away from Damien. Luckily she was quite adept at noticing his moods, and simply followed along meekly, not putting up a fight as he led her across the room. Her high hels clicked against the marble floor, before becoming muffled by the soft carpet that covered the exit corridors. As they crossed the border, Marcus's grip shifted, pressing the hard edges of her bracelet into her skin. Vivienne hissed, more out of surprise than actual pain. Marcus, who had all this while been too wrapped up in his thoughts, suddenly halted at the sound. He turned around and looked her over with concern. "Are you okay? Did that bastard-" "I'm fine," she stopped him, and then turned her arm over to show the pale pink imprint left behind by the clear stones. Marcus could tell that they weren't real diamonds, they didn't have the same lustre or the aura of blood that always stuck to precious gems mined in f
Although being an actress certainly had its share of perks, the downsides tended to be far more harrowing. Mostly because they had the tendency to be broadcast throughout the world. There was hardly such thing as personal privacy when one wrong move could get your name and face plastered on every gossip column this side of the west. The high life was a dream, but a fragile one. Appearances were everything, and secrets were the ropes that bound them up. Vivienne knew that better than most because she was hiding several ugly little truths of her own.Like right now. Vivienne Hardison pushed open the door of her manager’s office to a sight that stopped her dead in her tracks. Biting back the gasp in her throat, she braced herself against the expected wave of sadness and leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb of her manager’s office; arms folded loosely across her chest as she watched cinema’s newest up-and-coming star bounce away on his lap. From this angle, Vivienne couldn’t see his fac
It took all of her strength not to claw the eyes out of his smug, stupid little face. A little more pressure, and the acrylic tips of her manicured nails would have snapped clean off in her fists. “I’m not going to whore myself out for a movie, Liam!” Vivienne snarled. “No matter how much money it makes at the box office. I’m not some goddamn toy, asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you?”The slap came so quick and so sudden that Vivienne didn’t even register that the impact had happened until the pain came a few seconds later. “You do not raise your voice at me,” Liam hissed in a low, dangerous voice. “This is my office. Bought with the money that I made. I made you who you are. Without me you’d be nothing more than a starving, working-class tramp scraping by on minimum wage to pay the bills. So, unless you want bad things to start happening, I suggest you apologize right fucking now.”Vivienne wanted to scream. Wanted to yell that things were already bad, and how much worse could t
The barista, a freckle-faced teenager with curly brown hair and olive skin, fumbled to raise his head from the mobile badly hidden behind the register when Vivienne made it to the front. Painting on a patented magazine smile, she greeted him politely, “Hi, could I get a black coffee for here? Medium, please.”“Um…” Dark blue eyes went wide behind the round frames of his glasses. The phone slipped out of his hands and clattered very loudly on the ground.Experience allowed her to maintain her grace, though his behaviour confused her. It would be easy to call him starstruck, but Vivienne wasn’t a star. Depeche Mode had been the highest point of her career in terms of attention, but it had been a relatively small role in mid-tier Netflix series. No one stopped her in the street to ask for autographs, and baristas definitely didn’t get tongue-tied in front of her. This kid had definitely recognized her, but probably not for the reason other people normally would.Just as she was about to
“Where the hell have you been?!” Liam snarled as soon as the door opened. He marched across the open-concept room, arm already raised in preparation. “I’ve been waiting for hours! I thought I told you to go straight home woman. Did you think I was joking?!”Vivienne tensed her shoulders and braced for the imminent burst of pain, only to be surprised when none came. When she opened her eyes, she found Marcus standing in front of her, one hand wrapped so tightly around Liam’s wrist that she could almost hear the bones grinding from the strain. Her husband tried not to show how much it hurt, but Vivienne had lived with the man long enough to spot the telltale cringe in his shoulders.The broad planes of Marcus’s back arrested her vision as he planted himself before her. A massive barrier, unfaltering in the face of Liam’s impotent rage. It was like watching a beetle attempting to fight a boulder.“What the hell are you doing, Riviera?” Liam hissed. “I didn’t pay you to defy my orders.”“
Marcus Riviera considered himself to be a good man. At the very least, he tried to be a decent person. A life spent honing his instincts to fit in with normal human society had taught him how to ignore the auditory dissonance of information that bombarded his ears every day, and parse through the mishmash of olfactory sensations that assaulted his nose. Many times, after returning home with a splitting headache he had caught himself wishing that he was a wolf shifter and not a bear, if only to give his brain a break from the odorous overload. In addition to that, society was far more accepting of smaller shifter types. Cats, dogs, rabbits, they all tended to get first dibs when it came to lobbying for public acceptance. Even werewolves, vicious as they could be, were the most common shifter group and were thus better able to argue from a point of statistical significance in the population. Marcus didn’t begrudge them that, but he missed his little hideaway farmhouse. The sma
It was also a shock to see proof of his suspicions live in front of him. While Marcus wouldn’t consider himself a huge fan of the actress (though some of his friends would loudly disagree), he had paid some attention to her career over the years. Long enough to spot the edge of sadness that tinged every performance. Many tabloid websites had claimed everything from illegal drugs to a hidden back-alley abortion, but domestic abuse had never come up because no one wanted to accuse the Liam Hardison of raising a hand to his spouse. Not without proof anyway. Well now here he was, standing right in front of said proof singing prettily over a plate of coffee and eggs, the faint smell of blood and anti-bruising cream stinging inside Marcus’s nose like sulphur in a coalmine with the canary long dead. You weren’t good enough back then, and she suffered because of it. She’s still suffering for it. Coughing gently to get her attention,
No matter how bad her mood was, there was nothing like freshly made breakfast food to perk a girl up from even the direst of situations. Sometimes Vivienne thought the only thing standing between her and the short edge of a very steep cliffside was a cheesy omelet and a cup of steaming hot java.Vivienne curled up on her bed, carefully balancing the mug on the edge of the bedside table while she ate her eggs on toast. Normally she was never up this early, but she hadn’t been able to sleep during the night. Every creaking sigh of the wooden beams, every gnawing squeak of the furniture, every rasping hum of an engine outside the window terrified her with the dire possibilities. What if there was still someone inside the house watching her? News and story forums were full of tales like that. Horror anecdotes of strangers living in the gaps between the
Red hot annoyance simmered beneath the surface of Marcus's face as he practically dragged Vivienne away from Damien. Luckily she was quite adept at noticing his moods, and simply followed along meekly, not putting up a fight as he led her across the room. Her high hels clicked against the marble floor, before becoming muffled by the soft carpet that covered the exit corridors. As they crossed the border, Marcus's grip shifted, pressing the hard edges of her bracelet into her skin. Vivienne hissed, more out of surprise than actual pain. Marcus, who had all this while been too wrapped up in his thoughts, suddenly halted at the sound. He turned around and looked her over with concern. "Are you okay? Did that bastard-" "I'm fine," she stopped him, and then turned her arm over to show the pale pink imprint left behind by the clear stones. Marcus could tell that they weren't real diamonds, they didn't have the same lustre or the aura of blood that always stuck to precious gems mined in f
After wandering around a bit more, Vivienne finally chose to linger near the walls where someone had set up a gallery. Vivienne wondered if the art pieces were always present, or if they had been set out specifically for the masquerade, decorations meant to adorn the richly decorated space. The artwork seemed to vary widely in style and substance, reflecting the eclectic tastes of the person who had donated them. As she examined the pieces, she couldn't help but be captivated by the wonders that adorned the walls. One particular painting stood out—a masterpiece that seemed to come alive with textured strokes and vivid colours. It depicted a moonlit forest, where shadows and light played in a mesmerizing dance. The impasto technique added depth and dimension, the thick smears of navy and chartreuse making the trees practically leap off the canvas. Vivienne marvelled at the skill of the artist, the brushstrokes revealing a passion and mastery that she was almost envious of. Adjacent to
The grand ballroom of the Red Moon Hotel unfurled before Marcus and Vivienne like a magnetic dream. The air was infused with the heady aroma of flowers, and the soft strains of music enveloped them as they stepped into the heart of the masquerade. The room glittered with the glow of chandeliers, the marble floors catching the streams of light and tossing them back into the air like teardrops. Couples in elaborate masks twirled on the dance floor, creating a scene straight out of a fairytale. Marcus, dressed in his impeccable black suit, kept a protective arm around Vivienne as they entered the enchanting space. Her scarlet gown swirled with each step, and the mask she wore added an air of mystery to her allure. As they surveyed the festivities, Vivienne felt the fingers around her waist tighten with an almost palpable sense of possessiveness, and she bit back a smile. There was her protector, determined to keep her safe in this sea of unknown faces. However, their idyllic entrance w
On the day of the pivotal meeting with Damien, Vivienne decided to indulge in a moment of luxury. The secluded farmhouse had witnessed more than its fair share of tension, but tonight, she wanted to relax. She loved the woods, the smell of petrichor, moss, and fresh-cut wood, but right now she wanted to pretend. She craved a touch of elegance. Something that made her feel powerful and desirable. With those thoughts in mind, she rummaged through her limited wardrobe, eager to find the perfect gown for the occasion. She hadn’t exactly packed her bags with the goal of appearing on a runway, but there were one or two dresses she had hidden at the bottom of her suitcase. Not because she’d planned to wear them, but because they were clothes that she’d bought for herself or been given as gifts, and there was no telling what Liam might do with her belongings once she was out of the way. The man seemed to lack object permanence, where if his wife wasn’t in visible vici
The next few days passed in a whirlwind of unspoken tension, a palpable silence hanging heavy in the air between Vivienne and Marcus. It wasn't the kind of silence born out of anger or resentment; rather, it was a quiet storm of restrained emotions that seemed to swirl around them, growing more and more tumultuous with each passing moment spent without acknowledging the obvious tempest. Marcus had taken to patrolling the perimeter every morning and night, leaving Vivienne alone with her thoughts throughout the day. The haunting echoes of his footsteps as he treaded the familiar path outside the farmhouse became a constant reminder of the walls he erected around his emotions. Vivienne hated it. It reminded her too much of her parents. They’d never argued, but she’d often wished that they had. Coming home to the silent home, afraid to walk through the house for fear that one wrong move would shatter the false peace that mom erected every time dad couldn’t control his fists. Keep your he
The tension that lingered from the previous night seemed to dissipate further as they shared a light-hearted moment, connected by the discovery of unexpected common ground. Vivienne continued flipping through the pages of the tattered romance novel, her eyebrows raised in mock skepticism. "You know, if I were the main character of this story, I would have made a run for it the first night. Kidnapped or not." Marcus chuckled, leaning against the bookshelf. "Oh, trust me, the love interest would have easily caught you, bunny. He’s a shifter too. We’re much faster than humans." “Is that so?” She shot him a haughty glare. "Well, I'd like to think I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Like poison." The look Marcus levelled her with was equal parts amused and disbelieving. "You think an adult shifter wouldn’t be able to smell their food being poisoned?” “Who said anything about food?” Vivienne replied coyly, covering the bottom half of her face with the book an
Vivienne awoke the next morning with a headache, hair stuck to the corner of her mouth, and the uncomfortable sensation that she had done something shameful last night.It didn’t take long for the memories to crash upon her like a tidal wave, bringing with it the taste of Marcus’s tongue in her mouth, the feel of his hands wrapping around her thighs to manhandle her like she was little more than a doll. The weight of his body trapping her against the car-seat, their panting breaths fogging up the window and making it abundantly clear was had been happening inside.The way he had held her, crushed her in his embrace, it wasn’t anything she had expected from the stoic, professional veneer Marcus wore. Last night he had been the one to cross the lines, to tear off the mask to reveal a yawning chasm if insatiable hunger. If that car hadn’t driven past, he definitely would have…A whine escaped Vivienne’s lips as she clapped her h
The tension had escalated until Marcus, unable to bear the strain any longer, made a decision that surprised even himself. In a sudden, sharp motion, he jerked the car to a halt on the side of the deserted road. The black tires screeched against the asphalt, and the vehicle shuddered to a stop. Vivienne's eyes, still glowing with rage, went wide. Her body, briefly airborne and cradled safely by the seatbelts, came down hard on the leather cushions. There was no time for her to recover as she was immediately pressed back against the car door with Marcus looming over her. The abrupt stop had caught her off guard, and now her pulse raced with a mixture of fear and defiance that he could smell rising off her skin. Mingled with the scent of his clothes and the racing of her pulse, it was an intoxicating combination. “Marcus?” The man towered over her with his broad muscular chest. He stares down at you sternly with his deep brown eyes, his solid arms stretched acr
The car cruised along the main road, the engine providing a low humming backdrop to the song of bullfrogs and crickets singing in the trees. Marcus allowed himself to enjoy the moment of calm as mentally he counted down the seconds until Vivienne – figuratively chewing on the meeting and pathologically unable to contain her curiosity for an extended period of time – unleashed a storm of questions. To the man’s surprise, she lasted a good five seconds longer than he had expected. The car actually made it a few yards from the edge of the forest before the interrogation began. "Alright, ‘fess up,” the woman twistedaround in her seat to pin him with a scowl, dark eyes searching his face for any hint of evasiveness. “What the hell was all that? How do you know the Warrens and the Apollyon Organization? And who is Amy?" The barrage came quick and fast, hitting like stones being flung from from a well-trained trained sling. Marcus puffed out a sigh, glancin