LOGINShare
Chapter 6 – The Hallway Trap
Last Updated:
2025-04-14 16:10:23The rear hallway of the club pulsed with muted red light and the muffled bass thumping of the main floor. It was tight, bordered by peeling paint and the reek of old perfume—choking, intimate.
Sera walked with her head down, hoodie half-zipped, heels clicking against tile. Her shift had just ended. She was tired, drained, her mind spinning from the last few nights.
More gifts.
More notes. More glances from the shadows. She hadn't seen him tonight.*Good.*
But just as she got to the staff door, she felt it again. That *pull*. The dense pressure of eyes upon her. She stopped.Her breath caught as the air behind her altered—denser now, electric, humming.
And then—
"Leaving without saying goodnight, *bella*?"
Sera turned.
Valerio.
He stepped out of the shadows like he'd been sliced from them. All black suit, open collar, his shirt stretched just tight enough to hint at tattoos and sin.
She swallowed, hard.
The hallway suddenly felt like a trap. Like a cage with velvet walls and gold locks.
"I didn't know you were here," she said, voice low.
His mouth moved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"That's the point."
She backed up, but her back struck the wall.
He didn't touch her.
Didn't need to.
He just stalked forward, one slow, deliberate step at a time, until he was a breath away. His scent washed over her—leather, smoke, spice, and danger. Her knees softened before she could stop them.
He placed one hand flat on the wall beside her head.
The other followed shortly.
Trapping her.
Caging her.
But… not touching.
Her gaze lifted to his, defiant despite the tempest in her breast.
"What do you want, Moretti?"
His gaze dropped to her lips. "You. Dripping. Shaking. Moaning my name like it's the only word you know."
Sera's breath hitched.
Her thighs snapped shut on reflex, the raw want in his voice sending a spark straight to her sex.
"You're disgusting," she whispered.
He smiled more.
"No. I'm honest."
His voice dipped, darkened, until it was like silk wrapping around her.
"Every time you get up on that stage, I'm sitting there wondering what your pussy tastes like. If it's as sweet as you look when you're pretending you don't see me."
Her face burned.
Go to hell," she spat.
He leaned in—*close*, so close his mouth brushed the curve of her ear without touching.
"Oh, sweetheart… if you had any notion the things I'd love to do to you…" His mouth grazed her skin. "You'd be *begging* me to take you there."
Her eyelids fluttered closed.
God.
He wasn't even touching her and her whole body *hurt*.
You think you're in control," she said unsteadily, making herself open her eyes. "But I see right through you."
He leaned his head a little to the side, interested.
"Oh?"
"You're accustomed to having women fall at your feet. And it's killing you that I won't."
He laughed low, and the vibrations of it rippled through her belly.
You think I need you to fall at my feet?" His voice dipped to a whisper. "No, *piccola.* I need you to struggle. I need to *destroy* that defiance… one dirty, shattered moan at a time."
A shudder tore through her body.
She tried to step around him.
He moved with her—still not touching, still boxing her in with nothing but presence.
"Let me go."
His eyes locked on hers, heat and menace sparking behind them.
"I could," he whispered. "But where's the fun in that?"
He leaned in again, this time barely brushing his lips against her ear.
"I'm going to keep whispering filth into your pretty little head until it's the only thing you think about. Until you *want* me to touch you. Until you *need* it."
"Not gonna happen," she breathed.
He smiled.
It was slow, patient, cruelly confident.
"Everyone breaks. Especially the ones who say they won't."
And then, just like that, he stepped back.
The absence of his body was a slap of cold air.
Her knees nearly buckled, but she stayed upright, barely.
Valerio eyed her over one last time, eyes lingering on her heaving chest, the flush of heat in her cheeks.
"Goodnight, Sera."
He walked away, leaving her standing in that narrow corridor with nothing but her racing heart, trembling limbs… and a wet heat between her thighs that belied every word her mouth had uttered.
She hated him.
She wanted him.
And that scared her more than anything on this earth.
Related chapters
Velvet Chains Chapter 7 – Bruises and Butterflies
The dressing room was silent, dark.The other girls had already left for the night, their heels echoing down the hall, their perfume lingering like ghosts. Sera sat alone in front of the mirror, removing her makeup in slow, tired strokes. Her lashes fluttered, smudges of eyeliner staining her cheeks like war paint.She didn't gaze at her reflection anymore.She gazed at the past.The way it coiled around her neck in quiet moments. The way it slid into her chest and tightened until she forgot how to breathe.And tonight—after Valerio's whispered obscenities in the hallway, the heat of his breath on her ear, the way he didn't touch her—but could have?It all came rushing back.**The first man to touch her without her permission was when she was fifteen.**The sun had already set behind the red roofs of the trailer park. Her little brother Ezra was asleep on the sofa after another asthma attack. Her mother was working the late shift again, which really meant she'd be stumbling home drunk
Last Updated : 2025-04-16Velvet Chains Chapter 8 – Dancing for the Devil
The club throbbed with its late-night energy—red lights, pounding bass, guys with too much cash and too little heart. But for Sera, time was slowing to a crawl.Since that night—since Valerio had touched her with more gentleness than she thought him capable of—something had shifted.He wasn't returned yet, but she could *feel* him in every darkness.The girls noticed.“You’ve got a secret admirer,” one teased as they slipped past her in the hallway. “Big spender, too.”Sera ignored the comment. But the weight of Valerio’s presence was impossible to shake.Another gift had arrived that morning. A simple thing—a black velvet ribbon tucked into a box. No note. Just the ribbon. A whisper of a collar.She’d left it at home.Still, it burned in her mind.*Dancing for the devil*, the phrase repeated.She hadn't even seen the club owner until his deep voice shook her out of the haze."Valez wants to see you," Gregor said to her.Sera blinked. "Now?"He nodded toward the back of the bar, where
Last Updated : 2025-04-16Velvet Chains Chapter 9 – The Non-stage Stage
The club pulsed with the strobe of red lights and thick bass, bodies crowded against one another in smoke and lust. But Sera was not on stage tonight—not before the catcalls of the crowd, not before the glare that reduced every dancer to a product.No. Tonight the rules had changed.Tonight, she was dancing for *one* man, alone.And she hadn't agreed to it."Sera," Carmen spat across the bar, dark eyes bulging. "He bought out the whole goddamn VIP room. Said he'd double what you make in a week.""I didn't consent," Sera growled, arms clamped around her chest."You actually think that's going to count? You think anyone ever says no to Valerio Moretti?"Sera's back bristled at the mention of his name.*The devil in designer black. The man who whispered ugliness without so much as a touch.*He had darkness for eyes and lips like sins soaked in promises. And he *wanted her*. Not the Ice Queen. Not the fantasy.*Her.*And that was what scared her.But curiosity had burned hotter than fear
Last Updated : 2025-04-16Velvet Chains Chapter 10 – Silk-Tethered
The club was quiet tonight.The music was muted, a soft beat in the shadows, a throb like the beat of an unseen heart below the surface of the building.Sera was in front of the mirror in the dancer's lounge, standing there staring at her reflection and not seeing it.Her fingertips caressed the outline of her collarbone.She'd never stopped thinking of last night. Of the way he'd *gazed* at her.About how she'd danced in clothes and somehow still made him hard.She hated the way it clung to her like a vice to sin—this said unspoken hunger but felt just as real.And she hated more the way that when she came out to the main floor, *he was already there waiting*.Valerio.The devil with eyes that promised everything she feared to want.He was in the same VIP room—again bought just for her. He wasn't appearing impatient. Didn't demand. Rather, he was reclining in his chair, arms on the armrests, that lazy, wicked smile playing at the edge of his mouth.When she entered the room, he didn'
Last Updated : 2025-04-16Velvet Chains Chapter 11 – Owned and Bought
Sera couldn't sleep that night.She paced the floorboards of her little apartment, aching feet still trembling from lingering adrenaline spawned from the conflict with Valerio.Each time she blinked, she could nearly feel the ghost of his phantasm on her skin. Hear the sinister oaths he made in shadows. No touch, no kiss… but he had left her body taut and throbbing, as though he *had* touched her.It was wrong. *He* was wrong.And she was wrong for craving it.She was lucky to get a few fitful hours' sleep before pulling herself back to the club the following evening, praying that somehow, in some way, Valerio had lost interest and moved on.But of course he hadn't.Sera slipped out the side entrance, dodging between the makeup women and the bouncers, making for the dressing rooms—only to be intercepted by Franco, the club owner. He was standing stiffly next to her locker, arms folded over his wide chest, a thin layer of sweat slicking his forehead despite the chilly air. "Sera,"
Last Updated : 2025-04-17Velvet Chains Chapter 12 – The Devil's Chains
The next morning, Sera woke to the rude boom of someone knocking on her door.She rolled over, struggling up from the worn mattress. Her whole body ached, each muscle taut with tension, with restless tossing and turning. Her broken nightstand's clock beeped out a bitter 7:02 AM.Way, way too early for anything to be good.Sera jerked the door open, ready to bark at whoever it was—And froze instantly.Two men in black suits stood in the hall. Both linebacker-huge, both wearing shades even in the grimy, dim lighting of her crummy apartment complex.Behind them was a third man. Younger, smoother. No shades. But his stance radiated *deadly* too.He gave her a crooked grin that didn't reach his hard brown eyes."Sera Vale?" he asked, voice as smooth as a car salesperson but with the unmistakable trace of a man who could snap a neck without wincing.She gulped hard."Who are you?" she croaked, keeping the door shut tighter.The younger guy stuck his hands innocently into his pockets. "N
Last Updated : 2025-04-17Velvet Chains Chapter 13 — The Price of Disobedience
Sera waited until after midnight.The penthouse was as silent as if she was the only one in it. The only sounds the distant hum of the city far below and the soft lapping of the curtains from the gentle air of the vent.Matteo had stood watch by the door before, but she'd seen through the peephole, waiting. Listening. At dinner, he'd disappeared—one way or another he'd assumed she was clever enough to know she couldn't get away. They hardly knew Sera Vale at all. With her heart racing, she jammed a few necessities into the little leather bag — ID, what little cash she had, her brother's hospital information.She wore her soft slippers into the house to mute her steps across the marble floor. All the shadows breathed. All the creaks of the wood made her nerves scream.The service elevator.She remembered Matteo having pointed it out in the first place, laughing. "Even rats have to have a way out, right?"It was hidden behind the big kitchen — probably where deliveries came and went.
Last Updated : 2025-04-17Velvet Chains Chapter 14 — Cracks in the Armor
Sera didn't say a word to him the next day.Not when Matteo delivered her breakfast — a lavish spread of fruit, pastries, coffee — on Valerio's orders. Not when she opened the front door that evening and heard the unmistakable thud of Valerio's heavy footsteps coming into the penthouse. Not even when he stood in the living room, eyes burning into her back where she was curled up on the giant velvet couch, lost in a book she wasn't even reading.All she had left to fight with was silence.She refused to look up. Refused to even glance at him.Valerio stood there for a moment.Then, silently, he vanished into the depths of the penthouse.Sera shook with her breath once he was gone.But her heart still pounded in her chest. She could sense every gasp he took when he was near, the way the air around him became dense. It was maddening. infuriating.She loathed him. She loathed the way he could make her body betray her. She loathed the way part of her—the weakest, darkest part—ached
Last Updated : 2025-04-18
Latest chapter
Velvet Chains Chapter 15 — Blood and Velvet
Sera thought she knew the shadows that lurked in Valerio Romano.She was wrong.It happened one evening, late.She had walked the perimeter of the penthouse, tense and restless, when she heard the noises of voices from the staircase — low, rough, insistent. Hairs on the back of her neck stood on end immediately.Sera knew she shouldn't be outside. Knew no good could ever come from listening in on the Devil.But her curiosity, her stubbornness, overpowered her.She crept towards the stairwell door, ear pressed against cold metal.She only caught fragments at first.".told you." ".disrespect."".deal was clear."".you *lied,* you little shit."And then a sickening *thud*, the unmistakable sound of flesh meeting flesh.Sera's stomach twisted.She rested her hand on the door, heart thumping painfully against her ribs.Another sound — a low, throaty groan of pain.And then—"You don't steal from me," Valerio's voice stated, icy and lethal."You don't lie to me."There was a gurgling, we
Velvet Chains Chapter 14 — Cracks in the Armor
Sera didn't say a word to him the next day.Not when Matteo delivered her breakfast — a lavish spread of fruit, pastries, coffee — on Valerio's orders. Not when she opened the front door that evening and heard the unmistakable thud of Valerio's heavy footsteps coming into the penthouse. Not even when he stood in the living room, eyes burning into her back where she was curled up on the giant velvet couch, lost in a book she wasn't even reading.All she had left to fight with was silence.She refused to look up. Refused to even glance at him.Valerio stood there for a moment.Then, silently, he vanished into the depths of the penthouse.Sera shook with her breath once he was gone.But her heart still pounded in her chest. She could sense every gasp he took when he was near, the way the air around him became dense. It was maddening. infuriating.She loathed him. She loathed the way he could make her body betray her. She loathed the way part of her—the weakest, darkest part—ached
Velvet Chains Chapter 13 — The Price of Disobedience
Sera waited until after midnight.The penthouse was as silent as if she was the only one in it. The only sounds the distant hum of the city far below and the soft lapping of the curtains from the gentle air of the vent.Matteo had stood watch by the door before, but she'd seen through the peephole, waiting. Listening. At dinner, he'd disappeared—one way or another he'd assumed she was clever enough to know she couldn't get away. They hardly knew Sera Vale at all. With her heart racing, she jammed a few necessities into the little leather bag — ID, what little cash she had, her brother's hospital information.She wore her soft slippers into the house to mute her steps across the marble floor. All the shadows breathed. All the creaks of the wood made her nerves scream.The service elevator.She remembered Matteo having pointed it out in the first place, laughing. "Even rats have to have a way out, right?"It was hidden behind the big kitchen — probably where deliveries came and went.
Velvet Chains Chapter 12 – The Devil's Chains
The next morning, Sera woke to the rude boom of someone knocking on her door.She rolled over, struggling up from the worn mattress. Her whole body ached, each muscle taut with tension, with restless tossing and turning. Her broken nightstand's clock beeped out a bitter 7:02 AM.Way, way too early for anything to be good.Sera jerked the door open, ready to bark at whoever it was—And froze instantly.Two men in black suits stood in the hall. Both linebacker-huge, both wearing shades even in the grimy, dim lighting of her crummy apartment complex.Behind them was a third man. Younger, smoother. No shades. But his stance radiated *deadly* too.He gave her a crooked grin that didn't reach his hard brown eyes."Sera Vale?" he asked, voice as smooth as a car salesperson but with the unmistakable trace of a man who could snap a neck without wincing.She gulped hard."Who are you?" she croaked, keeping the door shut tighter.The younger guy stuck his hands innocently into his pockets. "N
Velvet Chains Chapter 11 – Owned and Bought
Sera couldn't sleep that night.She paced the floorboards of her little apartment, aching feet still trembling from lingering adrenaline spawned from the conflict with Valerio.Each time she blinked, she could nearly feel the ghost of his phantasm on her skin. Hear the sinister oaths he made in shadows. No touch, no kiss… but he had left her body taut and throbbing, as though he *had* touched her.It was wrong. *He* was wrong.And she was wrong for craving it.She was lucky to get a few fitful hours' sleep before pulling herself back to the club the following evening, praying that somehow, in some way, Valerio had lost interest and moved on.But of course he hadn't.Sera slipped out the side entrance, dodging between the makeup women and the bouncers, making for the dressing rooms—only to be intercepted by Franco, the club owner. He was standing stiffly next to her locker, arms folded over his wide chest, a thin layer of sweat slicking his forehead despite the chilly air. "Sera,"
Velvet Chains Chapter 10 – Silk-Tethered
The club was quiet tonight.The music was muted, a soft beat in the shadows, a throb like the beat of an unseen heart below the surface of the building.Sera was in front of the mirror in the dancer's lounge, standing there staring at her reflection and not seeing it.Her fingertips caressed the outline of her collarbone.She'd never stopped thinking of last night. Of the way he'd *gazed* at her.About how she'd danced in clothes and somehow still made him hard.She hated the way it clung to her like a vice to sin—this said unspoken hunger but felt just as real.And she hated more the way that when she came out to the main floor, *he was already there waiting*.Valerio.The devil with eyes that promised everything she feared to want.He was in the same VIP room—again bought just for her. He wasn't appearing impatient. Didn't demand. Rather, he was reclining in his chair, arms on the armrests, that lazy, wicked smile playing at the edge of his mouth.When she entered the room, he didn'
Velvet Chains Chapter 9 – The Non-stage Stage
The club pulsed with the strobe of red lights and thick bass, bodies crowded against one another in smoke and lust. But Sera was not on stage tonight—not before the catcalls of the crowd, not before the glare that reduced every dancer to a product.No. Tonight the rules had changed.Tonight, she was dancing for *one* man, alone.And she hadn't agreed to it."Sera," Carmen spat across the bar, dark eyes bulging. "He bought out the whole goddamn VIP room. Said he'd double what you make in a week.""I didn't consent," Sera growled, arms clamped around her chest."You actually think that's going to count? You think anyone ever says no to Valerio Moretti?"Sera's back bristled at the mention of his name.*The devil in designer black. The man who whispered ugliness without so much as a touch.*He had darkness for eyes and lips like sins soaked in promises. And he *wanted her*. Not the Ice Queen. Not the fantasy.*Her.*And that was what scared her.But curiosity had burned hotter than fear
Velvet Chains Chapter 8 – Dancing for the Devil
The club throbbed with its late-night energy—red lights, pounding bass, guys with too much cash and too little heart. But for Sera, time was slowing to a crawl.Since that night—since Valerio had touched her with more gentleness than she thought him capable of—something had shifted.He wasn't returned yet, but she could *feel* him in every darkness.The girls noticed.“You’ve got a secret admirer,” one teased as they slipped past her in the hallway. “Big spender, too.”Sera ignored the comment. But the weight of Valerio’s presence was impossible to shake.Another gift had arrived that morning. A simple thing—a black velvet ribbon tucked into a box. No note. Just the ribbon. A whisper of a collar.She’d left it at home.Still, it burned in her mind.*Dancing for the devil*, the phrase repeated.She hadn't even seen the club owner until his deep voice shook her out of the haze."Valez wants to see you," Gregor said to her.Sera blinked. "Now?"He nodded toward the back of the bar, where
Velvet Chains Chapter 7 – Bruises and Butterflies
The dressing room was silent, dark.The other girls had already left for the night, their heels echoing down the hall, their perfume lingering like ghosts. Sera sat alone in front of the mirror, removing her makeup in slow, tired strokes. Her lashes fluttered, smudges of eyeliner staining her cheeks like war paint.She didn't gaze at her reflection anymore.She gazed at the past.The way it coiled around her neck in quiet moments. The way it slid into her chest and tightened until she forgot how to breathe.And tonight—after Valerio's whispered obscenities in the hallway, the heat of his breath on her ear, the way he didn't touch her—but could have?It all came rushing back.**The first man to touch her without her permission was when she was fifteen.**The sun had already set behind the red roofs of the trailer park. Her little brother Ezra was asleep on the sofa after another asthma attack. Her mother was working the late shift again, which really meant she'd be stumbling home drunk
