More than rough. He liked to dominate. To punish. To degrade. It was the only way that the black hole in his soul wouldn’t swallow him up.
He would push her a little too far, and she would run. They all ran, eventually.
But that’s not what happened… when he put his hands around her throat and squeezed, Harper moaned. When he told her to stay away, she didn’t listen, misbehaving until she got spanked. When he took out the handcuffs, there was excitement in her eyes, mixed with a little fear.
The doe-eyed redhead liked it. More than that, she wanted it. She said so, time and again.
That’s the thing about sexy strangers, though… you never know what they’re hiding. And Harper is carrying a burden so heavy that even Sean’s secrets pale in comparison.
This book is Book 1 out of 2 in the Addicted To You duet. At approximately 50,000 words, it ends in a cliffhanger. As a dark romance, it touches several sensitive topics, but contains no cheating. Book 2 will end in a happily ever after.
Inside, at the end of the grand foyer with the stained glass skylight that looked like it belonged in a cathedral, Sean parted the heavy leather curtains. The belly of the house was dark and sumptuous. Rock music soared through the air. A naked woman painted gold immediately approached with a tray of champagne. “Thirsty?” she asked in a throaty voice.
Sean took two glasses while Harper turned pink and tried not to stare at the girl’s perfect breasts. “They’re fake,” Sean whispered to her.
“Yeah, well, obviously.” That didn’t make them less perfect.
Harper looked around. There were beds everywhere and couches scattered around the rooms. On one loveseat, a woman was taking it doggy-style from a man in a leather mask while she ate out a stunning blonde. A full-blown orgy was underway on one of the beds while a circle of onlookers surrounded them.
She felt Sean’s arm around her shoulders as he drew her to him. “Just say the word and I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
He escorted her to the next room. It used to be a formal dining room, but now the fifteen-foot long table was draped in black vinyl. A man with a chiseled chest had a curvy woman bent over the table. He pulled her hair taut and whipped her ass with a short whip every time he entered her. Three people perched at the opposite end of the table where they kissed, groped and moaned in unison.
“This way,” Sean said. He took her to a back room which was staged with red lights and an artful bondage show took place on a small stage. A rather shy, nerdy-looking man with thick glasses was on the stage. He demonstrated an erotic rope binding technique on a young red-headed girl. “Kinbaku,” Sean said into her ear.
“What?”
“Erotic Japanese rope binding,” he explained.
“Oh.” Several people had gathered and were watching intently. Harper saw one woman slowly circle her hard, exposed nipples but most looked on studiously. As if there would be a test later.
“Look,” Sean whispered. “See that couple over there?” he nodded discreetly towards a burly man on the sidelines. Next to him was a slender girl with dyed purple hair. She wore a thick dog collar with a heavy chain. Harper’s eyes followed the chain all the way to the man’s hand. He had it wrapped around his fist tightly.
“Yeah,” she said.
“And there,” he said, as he gestured to the couple to their left. An older, gorgeous woman with waist-length hair cocked her head as she watched the show. A boy half her age stood dutifully by her side with his eyes downcast.
“What about them?” she asked.
“You see how some are obviously dominants? And some are subs?” he asked.
“You mean the collar?”
“Not just that,” he said. “But, yes, partially. It’s in how they interact.”
She looked closer at the couples around them. A girl with a smattering of moles on her face was pressed close to a man in a leather vest. She kept her lips perpetually parted and her legs just a little bit too far apart.
“Down,” the older woman next to Harper suddenly said, and immediately the boy she was with dropped to all fours. She sat on him lightly, as if he were an ottoman. “That’s good,” she cooed to him softly, and ran her fingers through his hair.
“Oh, my God,” Harper said. Her eyes widened. It was clear there were several “doms” of both genders here. She looked to Sean, but he seemed enraptured by what happened on stage.
“Come,” he said. “A booth opened up.”
Closer to the stage a booth lined in velvet waited. “Now let’s take a look at Sakasa ebi shibari, or reverse shrimp binding,” the man on stage said. He sounded like any professor at a university. “It’s often confused with the basic hog tie, but it’s much more intricate than that. You might also hear it called gyaku ebi. On your stomach, please,” he instructed his model.
“What’s your pleasure?” A waiter, nude except for the tiniest of G-strings, appeared at their table. He set two fresh champagne glasses down for them.
“That will be all,” Sean said.
Harper was embarrassed when the waiter caught her as she looked at his bulge. What else am I supposed to look at?
Nervous, she reached for the champagne, but Sean pulled it away from her. “You’ll need to be able to consent, soberly, later,” he said.
She blushed even harder, but tried to relax into the plush velvet.
The reverse shrimp tie looked beyond intricate. It was goddamned impossibly complicated. The warmth of the first, and only, glass of champagne wore off as she watched. Harper was hyper aware of how close Sean sat to her.
His arm, which had rested on the seat back, dropped and he began to stroke her back. As she watched the show, even the innocent brush of his fingertips became erotic.
Though the backs were velvet, they sat on red vinyl seats. The skirt was so short, and her thong so tiny, that she could feel a wetness began to spread below her thighs. She reached for Sean’s thigh and rested her hand on it.
He jumped, though her tough was light. He removed her hand, softly but brusquely. “You have to ask very, very nicely if you want to touch me,” he said. It wasn’t quite a warning, but almost.
“You mean … like all the time?” she asked, confused. She’d certainly touched him before.
“Just tonight. While we’re in this space.”
She looked at his face, at the jaw line that looked as though it had been hand-carved to perfection. A spray of a five o’clock shadow was highlighted in the red lights. “Can I touch you?” she asked.
“No. Not yet,” he said, and returned his attention to the stage.
Still, he continued to stroke her back. She shifted, frustrated and more turned on than ever. That easy display of power, especially how easily he controlled her with it, was nearly unbearable.
She shifted again. Sean got up swiftly and motioned for her to do the same.
When she squeezed out of the booth, he held her close. For a moment, he stopped and stared down at the seat until she did the same. She was embarrassed to see the evidence of her desire on the slick seat. When he was sure she’d seen, he directed her towards the door.
Sean steered her through several rooms. In one, a confessional, erotic poetry recital took place. Next, there was a roped-off section in a room. The sign said WOMEN ONLY, MEN CAN WATCH. Harper stared at the throngs of girls piled on top of each other. In the next room, flogging demonstrations were punctuated with audience members as they followed along.
Finally, they arrived at a staircase. “Do you want to go upstairs? Or keep exploring?” Sean asked her.
She looked up the winding spiral staircase to the depths of darkness above. “Upstairs,” she said.
Did he look indecisive for a moment? She couldn’t be certain because, swiftly, he started to pull her up the stairs.
Sean took two glasses while Harper turned pink and tried not to stare at the girl’s perfect breasts. “They’re fake,” Sean whispered to her.
“Yeah, well, obviously.” That didn’t make them less perfect.
Harper looked around. There were beds everywhere and couches scattered around the rooms. On one loveseat, a woman was taking it doggy-style from a man in a leather mask while she ate out a stunning blonde. A full-blown orgy was underway on one of the beds while a circle of onlookers surrounded them.
She felt Sean’s arm around her shoulders as he drew her to him. “Just say the word and I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
He escorted her to the next room. It used to be a formal dining room, but now the fifteen-foot long table was draped in black vinyl. A man with a chiseled chest had a curvy woman bent over the table. He pulled her hair taut and whipped her ass with a short whip every time he entered her. Three people perched at the opposite end of the table where they kissed, groped and moaned in unison.
“This way,” Sean said. He took her to a back room which was staged with red lights and an artful bondage show took place on a small stage. A rather shy, nerdy-looking man with thick glasses was on the stage. He demonstrated an erotic rope binding technique on a young red-headed girl. “Kinbaku,” Sean said into her ear.
“What?”
“Erotic Japanese rope binding,” he explained.
“Oh.” Several people had gathered and were watching intently. Harper saw one woman slowly circle her hard, exposed nipples but most looked on studiously. As if there would be a test later.
“Look,” Sean whispered. “See that couple over there?” he nodded discreetly towards a burly man on the sidelines. Next to him was a slender girl with dyed purple hair. She wore a thick dog collar with a heavy chain. Harper’s eyes followed the chain all the way to the man’s hand. He had it wrapped around his fist tightly.
“Yeah,” she said.
“And there,” he said, as he gestured to the couple to their left. An older, gorgeous woman with waist-length hair cocked her head as she watched the show. A boy half her age stood dutifully by her side with his eyes downcast.
“What about them?” she asked.
“You see how some are obviously dominants? And some are subs?” he asked.
“You mean the collar?”
“Not just that,” he said. “But, yes, partially. It’s in how they interact.”
She looked closer at the couples around them. A girl with a smattering of moles on her face was pressed close to a man in a leather vest. She kept her lips perpetually parted and her legs just a little bit too far apart.
“Down,” the older woman next to Harper suddenly said, and immediately the boy she was with dropped to all fours. She sat on him lightly, as if he were an ottoman. “That’s good,” she cooed to him softly, and ran her fingers through his hair.
“Oh, my God,” Harper said. Her eyes widened. It was clear there were several “doms” of both genders here. She looked to Sean, but he seemed enraptured by what happened on stage.
“Come,” he said. “A booth opened up.”
Closer to the stage a booth lined in velvet waited. “Now let’s take a look at Sakasa ebi shibari, or reverse shrimp binding,” the man on stage said. He sounded like any professor at a university. “It’s often confused with the basic hog tie, but it’s much more intricate than that. You might also hear it called gyaku ebi. On your stomach, please,” he instructed his model.
“What’s your pleasure?” A waiter, nude except for the tiniest of G-strings, appeared at their table. He set two fresh champagne glasses down for them.
“That will be all,” Sean said.
Harper was embarrassed when the waiter caught her as she looked at his bulge. What else am I supposed to look at?
Nervous, she reached for the champagne, but Sean pulled it away from her. “You’ll need to be able to consent, soberly, later,” he said.
She blushed even harder, but tried to relax into the plush velvet.
The reverse shrimp tie looked beyond intricate. It was goddamned impossibly complicated. The warmth of the first, and only, glass of champagne wore off as she watched. Harper was hyper aware of how close Sean sat to her.
His arm, which had rested on the seat back, dropped and he began to stroke her back. As she watched the show, even the innocent brush of his fingertips became erotic.
Though the backs were velvet, they sat on red vinyl seats. The skirt was so short, and her thong so tiny, that she could feel a wetness began to spread below her thighs. She reached for Sean’s thigh and rested her hand on it.
He jumped, though her tough was light. He removed her hand, softly but brusquely. “You have to ask very, very nicely if you want to touch me,” he said. It wasn’t quite a warning, but almost.
“You mean … like all the time?” she asked, confused. She’d certainly touched him before.
“Just tonight. While we’re in this space.”
She looked at his face, at the jaw line that looked as though it had been hand-carved to perfection. A spray of a five o’clock shadow was highlighted in the red lights. “Can I touch you?” she asked.
“No. Not yet,” he said, and returned his attention to the stage.
Still, he continued to stroke her back. She shifted, frustrated and more turned on than ever. That easy display of power, especially how easily he controlled her with it, was nearly unbearable.
She shifted again. Sean got up swiftly and motioned for her to do the same.
When she squeezed out of the booth, he held her close. For a moment, he stopped and stared down at the seat until she did the same. She was embarrassed to see the evidence of her desire on the slick seat. When he was sure she’d seen, he directed her towards the door.
Sean steered her through several rooms. In one, a confessional, erotic poetry recital took place. Next, there was a roped-off section in a room. The sign said WOMEN ONLY, MEN CAN WATCH. Harper stared at the throngs of girls piled on top of each other. In the next room, flogging demonstrations were punctuated with audience members as they followed along.
Finally, they arrived at a staircase. “Do you want to go upstairs? Or keep exploring?” Sean asked her.
She looked up the winding spiral staircase to the depths of darkness above. “Upstairs,” she said.
Did he look indecisive for a moment? She couldn’t be certain because, swiftly, he started to pull her up the stairs.
Vivian likes to write about troubled, deeply flawed alpha males and the fiery, kick-ass women who bring them to their knees.
Vivian's lasting motto in romance is a quote from a favorite song: "Soulmates never die."
Be sure to follow Vivian through her Vivian's Vixens mailing list or Facebook group to keep up with all the awesome giveaways, author videos, ARC opportunities, and more!
❤️ Click the image below ❤️
♥ Signed Book Giveaway ♥
♥ Ends October 1
♥ 5 winners
♥ Open to USA
♥ 5 winners
♥ Open to USA
Win a copy of Addiction (2 winners)
or a
$50 Amazon gift card!
Congrats on the release; I enjoyed the excerpt to get to know your story; thanks for the chance :)
ReplyDeleteSounds good.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover! Sounds like a great read!
ReplyDeleteSounds hot!!
ReplyDeleteI had a bad case of loving you until I got a double shot of my baby's love.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forard to reading Vivian's Duet. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThis sounds awesome, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletethe cover looks great. cant wait to read it
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like something I'd really enjoy reading, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love this cover. It's as if he's looking right at you.
ReplyDeleteI would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, including Addiction. I wish the best in keeping up the good work in the future.
ReplyDelete