Raven sat alone in the dressing room long after the music died.
Her reflection in the mirror looked like someone she didn't recognize. The smeared lipstick, the flushed cheeks, the collar still tight around her neck — all of it made her look like the kind of girl she swore she'd never become.
Someone who belonged to him.
She touched the leather gently.
She should take it off. Burn it. Throw it into the ocean.
Instead, her fingers closed around the charm — the tiny black key — and held it there.
Why couldn't she stop thinking about the way Dante had kissed her? Not just with possession, but with desperation. Like something inside him was breaking too.
That scared her more than his threats.
Because pain, she could handle.
But vulnerability? That was dangerous.
That could make her stay.
🖤 Earlier That Night – The War Room"You're already killing me," he had whispered.
"And I don't even know your real name."
Those words wouldn't leave her alone.
Even now, hours later, she could still feel the echo of his body against hers. The way his hands gripped her waist like he was holding onto a cliff edge.
He didn't press further after that. He didn't demand more.
Instead, he did the last thing she ever expected.
He walked away.
Just... walked out of the room.
Leaving her standing there. Confused. Shaking. Collared.
And dangerously close to shattering.
🖤 Present – Inferno Lounge"Didn't expect to see you tonight," Nikki said, dropping onto the couch beside Raven with a drink in hand. "You look like hell."
"I feel like it," Raven muttered.
Nikki took a sip and eyed her sideways. "Moretti?"
Raven didn't answer.
"Figures," Nikki said. "I've been here long enough to know when a man like him takes interest in a girl, it ends one of two ways."
Raven looked up. "Which are?"
"One — she disappears. Two — she forgets who she was before he touched her."
Raven laughed, but it was bitter. "That's comforting."
Nikki leaned in. "But there's a third option too."
"What?"
"She ruins him first."
🥀 Backstage – LaterRaven's shift was almost over when a message came through on her burner phone.
ROOM 13. NOW.
No name.
Just black letters on a white screen.
She almost didn't go.
Almost.
But her feet were already moving before she made the decision.
🖤 Room 13The moment she stepped inside, she knew something was different.
The lights were dimmer. The air heavier.
And Dante wasn't sitting. He was standing near the wall, his back to her, sleeves rolled again, tie gone. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing more of the black ink crawling up his chest.
He didn't turn around.
"You came."
"You didn't give me much choice," she replied.
"You always have a choice, Raven."
She said nothing.
"I'm not going to touch you tonight," he added. "Unless you want me to."
That stunned her.
She stepped forward. "Why?"
He turned, slowly.
"Because I need you to understand something."
She waited.
He walked toward her, slow and controlled, until they were standing toe to toe.
"I've done terrible things," he said. "Things I won't confess. Not even to myself."
Her breath caught. "And?"
"And I'm not sorry for any of them."
She stared at him. "Then why are you telling me?"
"Because when I touch you," he said, voice rough, "it's the only time I feel like I'm still human."
Her chest tightened.
"That's not my problem," she whispered.
"No," he agreed. "But you're becoming my weakness. And I don't know what I'll do if anyone tries to take you from me."
Her skin prickled. "You don't even know who I am."
"I know enough."
He reached for her hand, but didn't force it.
"Let me show you what it means to belong to me," he said. "Just once. Without pretending."
Raven looked at his hand.
Then at the door.
She could leave.
Walk away. Stay clean. Stay safe.
But when she looked back into his eyes — filled with heat and something she couldn't name — her walls cracked.
She placed her hand in his.
And he didn't smile.
He just pulled her closer. Pressed her against the wall.
And whispered, "Don't look away."
🔥 What Followed Wasn't a PerformanceHe didn't rip her clothes off.
He undressed her slowly, reverently, like unwrapping something forbidden.
His mouth found her shoulder, then her collarbone, then lower. Each kiss branded her. Each touch rewrote the names of all the men who came before him.
When he finally took her — fully, completely — it wasn't angry or rushed.
It was worship.
As if she were the only thing he believed in.
And even as her head fell back, moaning his name into the darkness, she knew—
This wasn't about lust anymore.
This was possession.
And she had let it happen.
🖤 AfterThey lay in silence, tangled in satin sheets and each other's shadows.
He ran a hand through her hair, slow and methodical.
"Still want to take off the collar?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
Because the truth was…
She had forgotten it was even there.
🩸 The Next MorningShe returned to her apartment just after sunrise.
Her body ached. Her heart was a mess. And her mind was on fire.
But nothing prepared her for what she found taped to her door.
A single envelope.
No name.
Inside was a photograph.
Of her and Dante — in Room 13.
Together. Tangled. Intimate.
Someone had taken it from the ceiling camera.
But that camera was supposed to be disabled.
The note scribbled beneath the photo was simple.
"He's watching you too."