Bound to My Ex-husband's Deadly Rival

*****

Elara's POV

*****

"Elara what the f**k are you doing here!?" Dorian yelled, his voice echoing in the room like thunder.

I tried to say something, I tried to protest, but the words wouldn't come out.

My lips trembled as I fought back the overwhelming feeling twisting in my stomach.

My gaze moved from Dorian to Alexis, taking in the sight of his erection buried deep inside her as she lay on his office table, her shirt unbuttoned and her skirt pushed up to her waist, while Dorian's pants hung loosely around his knees.

Just when I thought our marriage was finally getting better... now this?

"You're having an affair with my best friend?" My voice broke, painful tears blurring my vision.

"I was going to tell you, but not yet," he said, zipping up his pants as Alexis got down from his office table.

He was going to tell me????

I realized then and there that I had already lost a game I didn't even know I was playing.

"How long have you both been doing this?" I finally summed up the courage to ask the question that was bugging me.

"It's been a year," Alexis answered and my heart immediately dropped to my stomach. I couldn't breathe, it was like the oxygen wasn't reaching my lungs.

She didn't even look or sound remorseful.

"You know, I'm actually glad you saw this," she continued. "It saves me the trouble of pretending I haven't been his from the very start. You always thought the world revolves around you, like you're more special than me, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to humble you.....Dorian complains about you all the time, how you made him feel trapped, how you never knew how to please him. He'd come to me for everything you couldn't give him... and let's just say, I never left him wanting. Every kiss he gave you was borrowed. Every night he spent with you, he was thinking about me. You were living in my shadow, and you didn't even know it. I've always been his first choice. He chose me, and he will always choose me over you."

Her words, like fire, glazed over my skin, burning into nerves I didn't even know existed until the ache spread through me.

She stood beside Dorian, smiling at him as he smiled back, and the next second, he pulled her in for a long and passionate kiss, not caring that I was standing there.

She pulled away after what felt like forever and giggled as she spoke. "I think you should tell her now."

Tell me what?

"Alexis gave me something you couldn't give to me for years. She's pregnant with my child," Dorian spoke, gently rubbing her belly as they smiled at each other. "Elara, I'm divorcing you and making her my wife."

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

My breath stalled in my throat.

I caught my husband cheating and he ends up divorcing me?

Not only that, he's also fathered a baby with my best friend?

His words hit like a bomb, exploding and shattering my insides.

The world went silent. The air suddenly became heavier.

All I could hear was the heavy pound of my heartbeat, loud and violent in my ears as my head throbbed.

No. No, this wasn't happening. This was a nightmare, a sick, twisted nightmare, and if I just closed my eyes, I'd wake up and everything would go back to normal.

But my eyes stayed open. And nothing changed.

My greatest fear unraveling before me like a curse.

"Dorian I signed over half a billion dollars worth of money and assets over to you yesterday, and you know that was my inheritance from my parents. Why did you take everything when you knew you were going to divorce me?"

I couldn't hold the tears back anymore. They spilled uncontrollably, streaming down my face as my legs wobbled beneath me.

"Because that was our plan all along," Alexis smirked. "I gave you the idea for a reason Elara and you fell right into our trap, so easily."

I gasped, and It hit me then.

Every conversation, every little piece of advice she'd given me... it was all part of their plan. They'd been in it together from the start, and I'd walked right into it, smiling like an idiot because I trusted them.

"Here, I'll advise you sign it now, then we can get rid of you for good." Alexis took the divorce papers from the table and handed it to me, smiling from ear to ear.

Seeing her smiling so proudly made me sick, I trusted her, I've been nothing but a good friend to her and she goes behind my back to break my marriage, to f*ck my husband.

All of a sudden something dangerous and feral exploded in me, my eyes burned with rage as I clenched my jaw and I lunged at her, yelling at the top of my voice, desperate to draw blood.

My fingers brushed her shoulders slightly before Dorian pulled her behind him and pushed me backwards with so much force I lost my balance and hit my head against the wall.

"Baby, are you okay? Did the b**ch touch you?" Dorian asked Alexis, his eyes filled with concern as he cupped her face.

You would think she was the one who was thrown across the room.

He didn't care to hide the fact that I didn't mean anything to him anymore, he was rubbing it in my face, and now....I was done.

Done putting him first, done tiptoeing around his moods, done breaking myself just to keep a marriage that felt like walking barefoot over glass.

He'd been sleeping with my best friend for a year, and he didn't even have the decency to pretend he was sorry.

"I'm not staying in this sham of a marriage with someone as pathetic as you, Dorian."

I rose to my feet, snatched the papers from Alexis's smug hand, signed it without a second thought, and flung them at his face.

"You wanted a divorce? You've got it."

Dorian's lips curled into a slow, cruel smirk, his chuckle low and poisonous. "Elara you're nothing without me, and I can't wait to watch you shatter... piece by piece."

I bit the inner corner of my mouth, my eyes fixed on him, taking short and shallow breaths in, tears threatening to spill out, but I won't cry in front of him, not anymore.

I stormed out of the office, trying to hold the tears back as I ran into the elevator and to my car.

The moment I was alone, everything hit me at once, the betrayal, the divorce, the fact that the two people I trusted most had destroyed me and stolen from me.

I let out a feral scream, pounding the steering wheel again and again as the tears poured uncontrollably, blurring my vision and I stayed like that for what felt like forever, completely breaking down.

He can't just take everything from me and build a new life with her. He can't walk away like nothing ever happened, while I'm stripped of everything, not even a dollar to my name. I won't let him.

I lifted my eyes to his office building, my chest burning with disdain. "You're not getting away with this, Dorian."

With that, I started the ignition and drove off.

I couldn't go back to our home, and with nowhere to go, I ended up at a hotel.

I drank an insane amount of Vodka at the hotel bar, just to numb my emotions a bit, but it ended up frying my brain instead. I couldn't see or think properly, the walls spinning around me, but I managed to drag myself to my room.

"Room 1167," my eyes scanned the key card.

My brain was foggy but I was still able to locate my room and I got in, shutting the door behind me.

I stripped off my clothes, ready to dive into bed, when a deep masculine voice rumbled through the room.

"What are you doing?"

I jolted and yelled, heart slamming in my chest as I stared at the dark figure sitting on the couch at the far end, thanks to the lights being turned off, I couldn't see his face clearly, I could only rely on the streaks of light coming in through the window.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I snapped, fumbling in my purse for my pepper spray and aiming it at him.

But he didn't say anything, he just stood up and took a few steps towards me, entering the light a little bit, enough to show the outline of his face...I gasped, finally making out what I was looking at....

"Dorian?"

What was he doing here?

"I'm sorry," he said, in a low deep tone.

And at that moment I froze, did he just apologize to me.

Whatever anger and detest I had for him evaporated slowly as his words hit my ears.

Was this really happening?

Did he finally come back to his senses?

He finally realised how much he loves me and he came to apologise.

I didn't know when tears started flowing from my eyes as I let out a soft chuckle, covering my mouth with the back of my hands.

I collapsed into his arms, hugging him tightly and pressing a soft kiss to his lips... but he didn't kiss me back.

I pulled away quickly. Was I reading things wrongly?

"It's okay you don't have to..." I was about to take a step back from him when he pulled me to himself, his lips crashing into mine in a split second.

It felt magical, and his kiss.... his kiss was.....different. I was feeling emotions I haven't felt in a long time, maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was because this whole thing was so surreal.

His tongue pushed deeper, exploring my mouth as it tangled with mine.

The kiss grew even more intense, and I felt myself drowning in it as a burning heat ignited deep between my thighs, making it harder to think about anything except him

Everything around me faded into nothing, and before I could even process what was happening, I was on the bed... and he was on top of me.

Nothing else mattered, not Alexis, not the divorce, he came back for me and that's the only thing that's important right now.

I gulped, staring at his dominating stance, feeling an unexpected surge of excitement that he was here with me.

He brushed his hair back with his fingers as he threw his head backwards

The room was almost completely dark, so I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could still make out his insane God-like features.

He looked a lot hotter than usual right now and it aroused my need even more.

He took off his shirt and threw it across the room, and undid his belt, pulling his pants low enough to reveal his rock hard erection.

My eyes widened and I quickly covered my face with my hand, but left a small gap between my fingers, enough for me to see him.

My heart started beating faster as I watched the slow movement of his hand slowly stroking his length, and a low groan escaped his throat.

Heat flooded my body so fast it almost made me dizzy. My mouth actually watered as my eyes traveled down his body, settling on his hardened member. I could've sworn it looked even bigger than the last time.

My heartbeat hammered in my ears.

I didn't know what was happening today, but everything with Dorian felt... different. Better, more intense.

We'd had sex countless times before, but my body was reacting to him like it was the first time all over again.

He lowered himself over me slowly until our bodies were only inches apart, the heat radiating from his skin wrapping around me. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break out of my chest.

Then, with one swift movement, he hooked his fingers into my panties and tore them off.

His lips captured mine, completely stealing the air straight from my lungs, I opened my mouth to give him more access but ended up letting out a broken moan as his fingers brushed against the slick heat between my legs.

My entire body jolted.

It was like a spark of electricity shot through every nerve in my body.

My toes curled against the mattress back arching helplessly.

He didn't give me time to recover before his fingers brushed over my sensitive heat again, this time pressing down slightly.

My breath caught in my throat. He didn't pull away this time, instead he moved his fingers in slow, deliberate circles, rubbing over my swollen and throbbing cl*t.

A stretched moan tore from my chest as pleasure flooded through me.

My head fell back against the pillow, fingers tightening desperately in the sheets as my hips lifted on their own, chasing the sensation he was feeding me.

His fingers suddenly slid inside me and my body reacted instantly. My walls clenched tightly around his fingers, a shaky gasp escaping my lips as he curled them just right. At the same time, his thumb returned to my clit, rubbing in slow controlled circles that made my entire body tremble beneath him.

I was losing my mind from how good it felt, the pleasure was ungodly, he increased his speed, pushing his fingers in and out with a sinful speed as I moaned uncontrollably, but he didn't stop, not until a scream erupted from my mouth and I came all over his hands, squirting so hard it felt like I would pass out.

Before I could even catch my breath, something smooth and hard pressed against my opening.

I jolted, instantly realizing what it was, and in the next second he pushed inside me, his rod stretching me wider than I thought I could take.

"Ughhhhh... Doriannn..."

He kept pushing deeper, filling me with a mix of pain and pleasure that made my body hot all over.

I gripped his back as he slowly pulled out again. The friction of him sliding against my walls sent a sharp wave of pleasure through my core, my eyes rolling back as I struggled to breathe.

Just as the tip was about to slip out, he thrust deep into me again.

I cried out his name one more time, my nails digging into his back.

I didn't think I could take his full length, but slowly he pushed deeper, his member hitting the very end of my walls, making the pleasure even more intense.

He repeated the motion, thrusting in and out in a steady rhythm, his hips moving against mine.

My juices soaked his length, making each movement faster and slicker as soft, wet sounds filled the room where our bodies met.

It felt sinfully good.

So good I could barely keep my eyes open.

He kissed me again, but this time it wasn't slow, it was hungry, rough. Like he wanted to devour me completely.

His pace quickened with every thrust and he broke the kiss, lifting my waist slightly, giving him enough access to go even deeper.

His balls slapped against my ass with every stroke, my cheeks clapping against his thighs as he drove into me again and again and again.

He pounded into my core like a feral beast, and I found myself desperately aching for more.

"H...ha...harder," I whispered into his ear.

He groaned against my neck, and it felt like I had finally unleashed something inside him. His pace immediately quickened, thrusting into me faster and harder. My b**bs bounced with the force of his movements, and he quickly caught one in his hand, squeezing and massaging it gently.

I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back the wild moans threatening to spill out as my insides tightened around him. A dizzying orgasm began building low in my abdomen while he kept driving into me, the pleasure growing more intense with every second.

My hands flew to my mouth as a broken moan escaped while my body trembled uncontrollably the climax crashing over me like fireworks erupting violently in my core.

The sensation pushed him over the edge too as he groaned into my ear, his entire body shuddering, releasing his warm seed inside me, as his teeth lightly grazed my ear.

For a while, we just lay there, trying to come down from the high. Our chests rose and fell as we took slow, deep breaths, attempting to steady ourselves.

Gradually, the crazy amount of alcohol I had been drinking mixed with the exhaustion from what we had just done began to hit me. My eyelids felt heavy.

He lifted himself off me and pulled out his limp member slowly, before letting his body fall back onto the bed.

I wanted to say something. I even opened my mouth to speak.

But before the words could come out, everything went black as I drifted into a deep sleep.

*****

My eyes fluttered open slowly, as I savoured the feeling of the soft bed, the satin sheets rubbing gently on my skin.

I yawned softly and then memories from last night started flooding in.

I couldn't help but smile as I thought of the fact that Dorian came back for me.

I turned to give him a peck, but my breath caught in my throat and I immediately jumped off the bed the moment I spotted him. I gulped, my head spinning out of control.

The man in my bed..... wasn't Dorian.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened it again, hoping they were playing tricks on me, but sadly, they weren't.

Who is this man???

The cold air from the air-conditioning hit my body and I immediately realised I was naked, I gasped and dragged the duvet to cover myself.

"Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!"

Flashbacks from last night replayed in my head, as I stumbled back, I should be disappointed with myself, worried I just had s*x with a stranger, but the flashbacks made my body react in a different way.

"Fuck!" I cursed.

And here I was thinking Dorian came back for me. So delusional.

I have to leave, and I have to leave now, before this gets more complicated than it already is.

I put on my clothes which had been carefully folded on the bedside table and tiptoed towards the door, my purse and heels in one hand as I twisted the door knob with the other....but it didn't budge.

I tried again and again, but the door was locked shut.

"I figured you would do that....." a deep baritone voice sent vibrations down my spine , causing me to flinch, before turning to look at him.

"I locked it last night when you fell asleep."

He did what???

"I think it would be better for the two of us if you just let me leave and we'll pretend last night never happened," I spoke firmly.

"That's not happening, Elara."

I froze in place the moment he called my name.

How does he know my name?

This was an even bigger mess than I thought it was.

"I never told you my name...... Look, I don't know who you are or how you know me, but trust me, it's better for the both of us if you just let me leave."

"I'm a little offended you're not interested in knowing who I am," he sat up on the side of the bed, he was shirtless so I could see the outline of his muscles and just how ripped his body was.

His face? dangerously gorgeous. Gray eyes that locked me in place, black air brushed hair, his eyes, nose, lips, jawline, every feature on his face and body was breathtaking.

Jesus, Elara. Focus!!!

"No offense but I don't think that's importa..."

"My name's Axel," he cut me off. "Axel Thorne," he added.

I gasped, heart thumping against my chest.

"No, no, no...." I whispered, shaking my head repeatedly.

That name!

The same name that had shadowed my marriage like a ghost, whispered in arguments, lurking in Dorian's silences. The man Dorian loathed so much he'd rather choke than say his name aloud.

Axel Thorne.

Dorian's estranged brother who went to prison 10 years ago.

Dorian never talked about him, but from the little he told me, I knew Axel was highly dangerous. He wasn't the kind of person you wanted to get entangled with.

My stomach dropped so violently I thought I might be sick.

If this is really him...the room tilted as I realised...I just had sex with my brother in-law.

But something felt off, my encounter with him, it looked too spotless to be an accident.

Or maybe it wasn't, giving his history.....

"You orchestrated this, didn't you?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "This whole thing was your plan right?" I asked, even when I already knew the answer.

"I'd been following you before you got to Dorian's office yesterday, and I followed you here too, I didn't want to meet you in public so I came into your room, and waited till you showed up."

"And the sex?"

"Now that...." he got up and picked up two glasses and a bottle of wine, "that wasn't supposed to happen."

"But it did," I fired at him.

"And you loved it," he countered. "You didn't let me stop even when you were already exhausted" he smirked, filling the two glasses with wine as he locked eyes with me.

What is he talking about?

"Dorian told me you were in prison and you weren't getting out anytime soon, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to come back to the united states, so how are you sitting in front of me right now? And why were you following me yesterday, what do you want from me?" so many questions were flooding my mind and I needed to know what was going on.

"Take a seat," he gestured for me to sit on the couch opposite the bed, but I didn't move.

"Answer me!" I demanded.

He exhaled slowly and got up from the bed, closing the distance between us until he was inches away. His height loomed over me, his presence so dominating, it felt like the air itself bent around him.

He offered me a glass of wine and spoke.

"Whatever Dorian told you about me isn't important right now. I need your help, Elara."

His cold and emotionless eyes became softer for a split second, but it quickly disappeared, and he continued speaking.

"I'll go into detail and tell you everything you want to know, and also why I approached you. But first I need to know the information is safe with you, I need to know I can trust you."

"Trust me? Just in case you didn't know, your reputation precedes you, I should be the one worried about trust," I snickered.

He stretched out his palm towards me and I hesitated for a bit before placing my hand in his. He turned and led me to the couch, while he sat on the bed, opposite me.

He opened the drawer by the bed side table and brought out a document.

"Before we continue, I need you to sign an NDA, that way, everything that's happened between us over the last 24 hours and everything that's happening now will stay between us."

"So no one's going to find out I had sex with my Ex-husband's brother?"

He nodded his head.

I let out a sigh of relief.

At least now I don't have to worry about anybody finding out about what happened last night.

It's just an NDA, and I don't have any friends or people I talk to, who could I possibly want to tell about this.

"I'll sign it." I said.

He smiled at me, a smile that felt like a mask, hiding something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

He flipped the document to the last page, before placing it on the table.

"Can I at least read......."

"Don't worry about that, it's just an NDA," he interrupted.

He's right. It might have so many words written in it, but it all comes down to one thing, I don't talk and he doesn't either. And with that, I signed the document.

"What next?" I asked.

He stared at me for a couple seconds then started speaking.

"Dorian crossed me years ago....betrayed me, stole my place in the family. Everything that should've been mine, he claimed for himself. With my own mother at his side, he made sure I was cast out, never meant to return."

I guess betrayal and stealing from those who love him is Dorian's thing.

"I need to show you something." he said, scrolling on his phone for a couple seconds before handing it to me.

"That's a video of the building Dorian bought last night, my sources tells me he's ordered hundreds of rare stones and gems to be shipped into the country, he's starting a jewellery company....for his mistress."

I gripped the phone hard enough it could break, stealing my husband wasn't enough, now she was about to steal my dream.

I've been designing jewelleries since I was a teen and it was my dream to one day start a jewellery company, but after my marriage to Dorian. He convinced me that I was a woman and he wouldn't want his wife to work.

I gave up my dreams because I wanted to please him.

And now he's taken my dreams and handed it to his mistress.

"You know how he got the funding to do all of this right?" Axel questioned.

Of course I know how, I gave it to him myself.

"Elara, I need your help the same way you need mine. You're the only one who knows the in and outs of Dorian's life and business. I'll need all the information I can get from you. If we go after him together, we'll destroy him. I've got everything you'll need, resources, connections, power. Together, we'll be unstoppable, and Dorian won't even see it coming." His voice came in a low dangerous whisper, like a genie promising everything I wanted, saying everything I needed to hear.

I hated Dorian, hated him for every lie, every betrayal, every way he made me feel powerless. I wanted him ruined, stripped of everything... and I'd do anything to make it happen.

I clenched my jaw, fists tightened in a ball.

There's nothing I want more than to watch Dorian fall, to see him beg for mercy that will never come. And if an enemy of my enemy is my friend, then I guess that makes Axel my ally.

"I'm in," I hissed, voice dripping with venom, "we end him together."

Axel nodded his head in approval. "We'll take our honeymoon once the job is done." He raised his glass of wine, eyes glinting.

"Honeymoon?" I repeated, furrowing my brows.

He smirked, "Elara, you signed a marriage contract, not an NDA."