"Keep your legs open, baby. That's it... eyes on me."
"Good girl"
One had his hand wrapped around my throat.
Another had his mouth buried deep between my thighs.
The third... Lord help me, he was the one whispering the filthy things that made me forget my own name.
Three of them.
All at once.
Tearing me apart like I belonged to them-mind, body, and soul.
Devouring me like i was prey
The room pulsed with shadows and sin, the silk sheets beneath ruined by sweat and the scent of sex. I couldn't think nor breathe. Couldn't stop the moan clawing up my throat as pleasure slammed into me like a wave I'd never known existed.
"Fuck, she's already shaking," murmured a low voice near my ear-Asher. I recognized him by the crisp, ice-laced dominance in his tone. Always in control. Always watching.
"Don't you dare come yet, Ivy. Not until I say."
He pressed his fingers harder against the sides of my neck not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me who I belonged to now.
My thighs trembled around Levi's head, the man between my legs groaning like I was his last meal. Tongue expert. Beard scratchy. Possessive.
Then came Kai. The one whispering. The one with devil's eyes and a poet's mouth. He was the one who fucked with my mind the most.
"Does it feel good being our little toy, sweetheart?" Kai cooed as he watched me unravel. "Bet your ex never made you scream like this. Bet he never saw you like this... broken and begging."
"Bet he never even came close"
I tried to answer. I really did.
But then Levi sucked on my clit, and my back arched off the mattress like it was on fire.
"Oh God-"
A sharp slap landed on my inner thigh. I whimpered.
"What did I say?" Asher growled against my ear. "You don't come until I say. You're ours now, Ivy. You don't get to think. You exist for our pleasure, do you understand me?"
I nodded desperately, tears leaking from my eyes. I didn't know if it was from how good it felt or how much I craved more. My hips bucked involuntarily, chasing every flick of Levi's tongue, and Kai's hand slid beneath me, slipping two fingers into my soaked heat.
"I think she likes this a little too much," Kai murmured, fingers curling just right. "We might've created a monster."
"She was already ruined before we touched her," Levi chuckled, glancing up from between my legs. His lips glistened. "We're just the ones who get to play with the pieces."
Asher's hand slid from my throat to my breast, palm covering me possessively as he pinched one nipple until I cried out.
"Now," he growled. "Come for us, Ivy."
And I did.
Hard.
Violent.
Shattering.
⸻
Twelve Hours Earlier
The smell of burnt coffee was the first sign the day would be hell.
I darted behind the bakery counter, breathless and sweating. My shirt clung to my skin, and I knew I looked like a mess with my crinkled apron, smudged mascara, and a split-second away from an emotional breakdown.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Delia," I said, tying my apron with shaking hands. "The bus was late, and then my sister missed her school ride and-"
Delia's eyes cut into me like knives. She didn't care. She never did.
"That's the third time this week, Ivy," she said coldly. "The third. I have zero staff, a birthday order that's late, and now you show up looking like you rolled out of a ditch somewhere."
My cheeks burned. "I know. I just,please, I need this job. Just let me make it right."
"No. You need to grow the fuck up," she snapped. "You're twenty-one, not fifteen. This isn't a charity organization . You're fired."
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. My heart plummeted straight to my stomach.
"Delia, please. I'll stay late. I'll do inventory-"
"Out .Now."
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to. Her words sliced through me like broken glass.
The bell above the bakery door jingled as I stepped outside, the sunlight too bright and the air too cruel for how humiliated I felt.
Fired.
Again.
I'd already been juggling three jobs, and this one was the only place that paid weekly in cash. Without it, I couldn't afford groceries, let alone my sisters school meals or Nana's pills.
I blinked hard. No tears. Not yet.
I just needed to get home.
⸻
I unlocked the apartment door quietly, hoping to make it to the bathroom before the sob in my throat exploded.
But something was off.
The couch was moving.
Rhythmic. Slow. And then-
"Oh yeah, baby... just like that."
"Yes, Jamal fuck me harder '
A woman's moan.
" You like it when i fuck you hard?"
"Oh yessss... yesss Jamal "
My stomach dropped.
I stepped forward, heart in my throat.
There they were.
Jamal. My boyfriend of almost three years.
And some tan, busty, half-dressed girl bouncing on top of him like she paid rent here.
Her hands were pressed against his chest. His hands were all over her. Her bra dangled from one arm, and his shorts were halfway down.
I froze in the doorway.
He didn't even notice me at first. Not until she moaned his name loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.
"Jamal," I croaked.
His eyes shot open.
The girl turned her head.
"Oh shit," she said, scrambling to grab her top.
Jamal stood up like he'd seen a ghost. "Ivy..baby..this..it's not what you think."
My voice was hollow. "Really? Because it looks like your dick is still inside her."
"Listen..listen-she came onto me," he stammered. "You've been so stressed lately, always working, never home-"
"I've been feeding your daughter," I said, my voice rising. "Paying your rent. Covering your mom's utilities. And you thank me by screwing this-this influencer on my damn couch?"
"Baby, don't overreact."
That did it.
I didn't scream.
I didn't cry.
I just picked up the remote, chucked it at his head, and walked out the front door because if i didn't i may as well commit murder.
⸻
Outside, I stood on the curb in my ugly bakery uniform, my phone at 2% battery, and absolutely no clue what to do next.
One job gone.
One boyfriend gone.
One life... in ashes.
That's when I saw him.
A man in a black suit, sweating under the sun like he'd been waiting for something.
I didn't think. I just acted.
I pulled a half bottle of water from my bag and walked over.
Anything to take mind of the ditch i was in now.
"Here," I said. "You look like you need this more than me."
He blinked at me, surprised. "You sure?"
I smiled. It was probably cracked and broken. "Yeah. I'm used to giving things I don't have."
He took the bottle slowly, watching me like I was something strange and precious.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Ivy."
He nodded. "Nice to meet you, Ivy."
I walked away.
I didn't realize that was the moment my life would change forever.
Didn't know he would come back.
Didn't know he'd bring two others.
Didn't know that by the end of the night, I'd be in their bed, legs spread, body wrecked, mind broken in the most delicious ways.
The music was too loud.
The drinks were too strong.
And I was way too sober for any of this .
I stood at the edge of the dance floor like I didn't belong-maybe I didn't. Not really.
I hadn't come here to party. Or flirt. Or find someone new.
I came to forget.
The dress clung to me like a secret I wasn't ready to tell. Red. Tight. Dangerous. It was my "revenge bitch era outfit " that was carefully locked away in my closet. No bra. No straps. Just curves and a dangerously high slit that revealed more thigh than I was used to showing in public.
I didn't wear makeup. Didn't have the time, or the energy, or the emotional bandwidth to paint on a new version of myself.
Just clear gloss on my lips and a prayer that the low lighting would hide the war going on behind my eyes.
The heels pinched. The room spun. And my heart hadn't stopped aching since this morning.
But at least here ,surrounded by strangers and synthetic beats I didn't have to think about the voicemail notifications piling up on my phone.
I didn't have to think about Jamal.
Or my jobless state.
Or the emptiness of a bed I used to share with someone who once promised forever.
The flashing lights painted the club in dizzying shades of red and, like a warning wrapped in temptation.
Bodies swayed all around me sweaty, smiling, lost. But I just stood there, pressed against the bar like I was trying to disappear into the wood grain.
My fingers curled tighter around the edge of the counter as my phone buzzed in my bag for what had to be the fiftieth time.
Jamal.
Again.
I didn't even need to check.
He'd been calling all night, alternating between calls and voicemails. I hadn't listened to a single one yet. I couldn't.
But I could feel them. The way you feel an old wound start to ache before it rains.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
It vibrated like a heartbeat I didn't want to claim anymore.
A part of me maybe the broken, scared part wanted to answer. Wanted to hear his voice. Wanted to believe that maybe he really had messed up. That maybe I was too cold. Too tired. Too much of a burden to love.
What if it was me?
What if I really was the problem?
He was all I had. All I'd built around.
The only one who stayed when my parents left. When the bills piled up. When the world forgot I even existed.
If I let go of him... what was left?
My stomach twisted, and I blinked hard to keep the tears at bay.
"Hey, you okay?" a girl's voice said beside me. Her breath smelled like mint and vodka.
"Yeah," I lied. "Just tired."
She smiled like she didn't believe me, then disappeared into the crowd with a guy who already had his hand on her ass.
Bzzz.
Another call.
I pulled my phone out this time, thumb hovering over the screen.
Jamal ❤️ – 27 missed calls. 9 new voicemails.
I stared at the heart emoji beside his name like it was mocking me.
My thumb slid toward play.
But I stopped.
Instead, I shoved the phone back into my purse and grabbed the drink someone left unattended next to me. I didn't care what was in it. I just needed to feel anything else.
The moment it hit my tongue, a shiver ran down my spine. Bitter. Strong. Perfect.
⸻
Six Hours Earlier
The key stuck in the lock like even the apartment didn't want me back.
I had to jiggle it twice before the door finally creaked open.
It was smaller than I remembered. Or maybe I'd just grown too used to Jamal's place fancier furniture, working plumbing, a bed that didn't squeak with every breath.
But this?
This was mine.
The one-bedroom apartment I hadn't stepped foot in since I'd moved in with him a year ago. Dust coated the window . The air was stale, heavy with memories. A pile of unopened letters sat beneath the door.
I dropped my purse and kicked off my shoes, walking toward the kitchen on muscle memory alone.
The fridge clicked open with a groan. Inside?
One bottle of ketchup.
A half-empty carton of milk, probably expired.
And a single takeout container with something so moldy it could've grown legs and walked out.
I slammed it shut and leaned my head against the door.
"Welcome home, Ivy," I muttered to myself.
I crossed the living room in silence, tugged the curtains open, and coughed as a cloud of dust danced into the air. I cracked the window and turned on the tiny fan in the corner.
Then I stood there.
Still.
Staring at the blank wall in front of me like it had all the answers.
Who was I without Jamal?
Without my job?
Without anyone to lean on?
Maybe he was right. Maybe I'd let the pressure change me and make me cold. Maybe I should've just forgiven him. People make mistakes, right?
Maybe-
BZZZ.
Another message.
Another voicemail I didn't want to hear.
I felt like I was floating. Detached. Like I'd left my body behind and was watching this sad, broken girl spiral from above.
I needed air.
Or music.
Or a drink.
Or... something that would make me feel like I was still alive.
⸻
Back at the Club
I was on my second stolen drink and third emotional crisis when a voice cut through the noise like silk over a blade.
"You always give strangers water?"
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
It was him.
The man from the sidewalk.
The one I'd handed my last bottle of water to because he looked like he needed it more than me.
But now?
He didn't look like he needed anything.
Tall. Dark. Devastatingly handsome. His black suit clung to him like it had been custom-made to wrap around sin itself. His eyes glinted under the strobe lights-steel blue, cold and sharp.
And he was smiling at me.
Like he knew things I didn't.
Like I was the game, and he already had the rules memorized.
"I-uh..." I fumbled, cheeks heating. "You remembered me?"
He stepped closer, and the scent of something expensive and dangerous filled my lungs.
"I don't forget kindness. Especially not when it's unexpected."
I swallowed. "You looked like you were melting."
He chuckled, low and rich. "And you looked like a girl trying to keep the world from falling apart."
That hit harder than it should have.
I looked away, but he reached out, brushing his fingers under my chin and tilting it gently back toward him.
"Rough night?"
"Rough life," I whispered.
He nodded slowly, eyes locked on mine like he could read everything I hadn't said.
"You don't belong here," he said softly.
I frowned. "Where do I belong, then?"
He leaned in until his lips brushed the shell of my ear.
"With me."
"With me," he said, voice brushing my ear like a promise and a threat all at once.
My heart flipped. My stomach coiled and tightened.
I pulled back just enough to see his face those cold, steel-blue eyes glittering in the haze of the club lights. My throat went dry.
"I don't even know your name," I said, my voice barely audible over the music.
"Asher." He said
"Asher what?" I questioned
He smiled, slow and wicked. "You'll find out."
That should've sent alarms blaring in my head.
But instead, all I felt was heat.
Dangerous heat.
He turned to the bartender with a nod. "Another for her. And one for me."
"I didn't ask for another," I said, swallowing down nerves as the drink was slid toward me.
"But you need it." He raised a brow. "You're running from something, remember?"
I hesitated, then took the glass. The first sip burned down my throat, and I welcomed it like punishment.
He watched me closely. Too closely.
"Tell me what happened," he said.
I blinked. "You don't want to hear about my problems."
"Try me."
"My boyfriend cheated on me," I blurted before I could stop myself. "I lost my job. I went back to an apartment I haven't been to in a year just to cry in the dark with no food in the fridge."
His expression didn't change. "And now?"
"Now I'm here," I murmured, "trying not to fall apart."
My phone buzzed again. Loud. Insistent. The vibrations traveled through the counter and into my spine.
He glanced at my purse. "You're not going to get that?"
"No."
"Boyfriend?"
"Ex," I said quickly. Then I hesitated. "I think."
He tilted his head. "You're unsure?"
"I'm unsure of everything right now," I whispered.
Another buzz.
I let out a shaky breath and silenced it without looking.
"You know," he said, setting down his glass, "sometimes the people who break us don't deserve to put us back together."
That hit harder than I expected.
I stared at him. "Why are you being nice to me?"
He smirked. "Who said I'm nice?"
The lights shifted again. Blue now. Softer. Intimate.
And then he leaned in, brushing a knuckle along my jaw.
"I have two friends here tonight," he said. "I was thinking about inviting them over. If that's okay with you."
I hesitated.
"Friends?" I asked, already suspicious.
He smiled. "The kind of friends who like to share."
My breath caught.
I should've said no. I should've grabbed my bag and run. But instead, I asked, "Share what exactly?"
"You."
The word hit me like a slap and a caress at the same time.
He didn't give me a chance to respond. Just turned his head slightly and nodded toward the corner of the lounge.
Two men approached.
Both tall. Both devastating.
The first had dark brown skin, close-cropped hair, a jawline that looked carved from stone, and eyes like thunderclouds. His presence was pure danger casual, confident, and absolutely unapologetic.
The second was leaner but just as lethal. Blond curls, a silver ring on his lip, tattoos crawling up his neck. He had the look of someone who'd kiss you while making you cry.
They flanked him my mystery man like predators closing in on prey.
I was the prey.
"Ivy," he said smoothly, "this is Levi..." he nodded to the dark one, "...and Kai."
Kai gave a wicked grin. "She's even prettier up close."
Levi just looked me over once, slow and deliberate, before saying, "She looks like she needs to be ruined."
I couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
They were looking at me like they already owned me. Like they were sizing me up for destruction.
"What... do you want?" I asked, though I already knew.
"We want you," Kai said simply. "All of you."
"Right here?" I breathed.
"No, baby," Levi replied, stepping closer. "Someplace private."
"But only if you say yes," my mystery man added, his voice low and velvet-smooth. "This isn't a game. We won't chase. We don't beg. You say no, we walk away."
I looked at each of them-three men who looked like they stepped out of a forbidden fantasy and into my broken little life.
I should've walked.
I should've said no.
But I didn't.
Instead, I whispered, "What happens if I say yes?"
All three stepped in, boxing me between them like I was already theirs.
And then, in perfect sync, like wolves circling their prey, they leaned in.
"We'd love to make you ours," Kai murmured.
My heart stopped.
And then it started again faster than ever.