Page 56 of Gluttony

As if he could hear that voice too, he responded, “I’m going to close the OnlyFans and quit with the Reels.”

Stunned. Speechless. For long moments, he stared at her, unblinking, as her mouth moved—open and closed, open and closed. Finally, she blurted, “What? Why?”

Leaning up, he pushed her onto her back and laid atop her, chest to chest, gaze to gaze.

“Because I only ever started doing that because…there was something missing in me, something I tried to fill with the euphoria of being wanted, desired. I was a thirst trap because I was thirsty, too…for something with meaning. For someone to help me find my meaning. My purpose.”

Shuddering with shallow breaths, she rasped, “Did you find it, your purpose?”

His smile grew slowly, from soft and small, too big and beautiful—gleaming, straight white teeth that couldn’t hold a candle to the sparkle in his eyes.

“Yes, I did. My purpose slid into my DMs with a two-word sentence that completely changed the course of my life.”

She gasped, her heart thudding.

“My meaning, my purpose is you, my Daisy. My purpose is making you happy, is giving you everything your heart desires. You fill me up; your smile, your voice, your humor, your smarts, your kindness, your thoughtfulness…how you make me feel, how you make me think, how you make me want to be a better man. The purpose I was searching for online was right there, hidden, waiting to slide in and completely satiate my gluttony. With you, my love, I will never be thirsty again.”

NINETEEN

If she didn’t haveto get work done, she’d have stayed in bed for another two days but, alas, she was a goddamn grown up, and she’d signed contracts for work she needed to complete, so she was headed home to be responsible and shit.

Red had gotten a call from Frost that morning, commanding him to come to the clubhouse, and because Val was curious…and wasn’t quite ready to leave his side, she’d ridden over with him—at his request—to spend time in the clubhouse. She’d only met Cilla, Nadia, and Stephie a few nights ago, but they’d fallen into a strangely comfortable friendship, their knowing smirks and curious expressions telling Val that she was in for an inquisition she actually didn’t mind participating in. The club women, however…Kiki, Marci, and Sarah, Val kept her distance from them, not wanting to deal with the drama she saw percolating behind their eyes.

Ignoring them was easy once she sat down with the old ladies, sipping coffee, and spilling the tea about her weekend with Redtube. Before she knew it, two hours had passed. She knew Red was busy doing shit for work, and she had her own shit to do, so she shot him a text and headed out.

Just as she reached her car door, Cilla called out behind her, “Val! It was so great to meet you!” The woman’s smile lit up her whole face.

“It was great to meet you, too, Cilla—and you too, Nadia!” Honestly, she’d never had so much fun with other women before…not that she’d ever really been good at making friends at all. Hanging out with the old ladies was a whole experience, one she never wanted to take for granted. “Keep those men of yours in line,” she called back, winking at a blushing Cilla. God, that woman was so easy to rile up.

Snickering, Val turned back to her car, opened the door, climbed in, and headed home.

Not for a single moment over the last several months did she ever think she’d spend an entire weekend in with @RedDevilDog—in bed, snuggling on the couch, meeting and hanging out with his club brothers, and just getting to know him without the barrier of a computer screen. And he hadn’t left her for a single moment, wanting to touch her, watch her, silently prove his remorse and commitment to her through his actions. And it was a heady thought that he was doing all of that for her. Valentina Ivanova, computer geek, chubby chick, scarred freak…. Yes, she realized there was a bit of idol worship there, but—come on—the dude had hundreds of thousands of followers, most of them women, but he’d spent the last three days withher, worshipingher, tellingherhe loved her, promising commitment, a future…and…God, could she really believe that he was going to give up his thirst trap empire? For her?

…I’ll do anything to prove to you, my Daisy, that you are everything to me….

Fuck…if he meant it, who was she to tell him no. Yeah, she loved that she had what so many other woman wanted, but shedidn’t like that so many other woman got to appreciate him…and send him all sorts of filthy shit in his DMs.

That first morning after their first night together, he’d given her access to his social media accounts. The first thing she’d done—like any normal OTT woman—was look through his private chats. Could she have hacked them at any time over the last year? Yes, but she respected people’s privacy.

Diving into his DMs…had been eye opening.

Suddenly, in her car headed home, she was craving marshmallows, Goldfish crackers, and peppermint mocha creamer. Also, she needed another box of Q-tips. She sighed, annoyed by her own anxiety-driven quirk.

Leaving the Unchained compound, she pointed her car to the nearest grocery store, pondering how fast she could get in and out so she could get home in time to get to work on her newest assignment. Usually, she’d get so immersed in her work, she’d basically ghost Red for days. This time, however, the man had a key to her house, and he told her he’d be coming over—with an overnight bag—to spend time with her.

“I’ll happily sit on your couch and watch you work. I’ll even be your slave boy; bringing you snacks and making you take breaks once every few hours.” He didn’t have to tell her twice.

Parking, she headed into the grocery store, making quick work of loading her cart and checking out.

It took fifteen minutes to get home, but she was more than ready to get the fuck on with her day…once she brewed some coffee and put some of that peppermint mocha creamer in it. There was never a wrong time for caffeine…and creamy minty chocolatey goodness.

She was so busy grabbing the grocery bags from her back seat she didn’t notice the shadow at first.

“So you’re the one who tricked him into tattooing your name to his dick,” a shrill voice snarled from behind her.

Immediately dropping the bags on the ground, Val spun on her heel and backed up into the side of the car, her gaze landing on a heavily pregnant woman who was glaring at her.

“Who the fuck are you?” Val demanded, though she had a feeling what the woman would say.

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