Stripping For My Devil Ex Husband

Anastasia stared at Dante, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. The quiet, absolute seriousness in his voice when he offered the hundred million dollars terrified her to her core.

​"I... I really need to go," Ana managed to whisper, stepping backward out of the booth, her hands trembling as she pulled away.

​Dante let out a long, heavy sigh, watching her retreat. "Anastasia, wait..."

​Not daring to look back, Ana pushed through the café doors and hurried out into the quiet alleyway. But before she could take five steps down the path, heavy footsteps caught up to her.

​A hand wrapped firmly around her forearm, halting her in her tracks. Before she could pull away, Dante gently turned her around and pulled her closer, his strength absolute yet tender. Ana gasped, her small hands instinctively coming up to rest against his broad, wool-clad chest to keep some distance between them.

​"Dante, please..."

​"Listen to me," Dante spoke softly, his voice dropping into a deep, intimate register that cut through the cool air. Slowly, his hands slid down from her arms to rest firmly on her waist, pulling her another step closer until there was barely any space left between them.

​Ana’s dark eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat.

​"I’ve known you long before you ever met Damian Sterling," Dante confessed, his dark eyes searching her pale, distraught face. "You were fifteen. My father dragged me to one of those endless, pompous galas your family hosted at the Vance estate."

​Ana frowned slightly, completely speechless, her mind racing as she tried to pull up memories from that dark period of her life.

​"I was arrogant, slipped near the garden fountain, and cut my hand open," Dante continued, a faint, nostalgic smile touching his lips. "You were hiding behind the hedge, quiet as a mouse. But you came out with a handkerchief and cleaned the wound for me. You helped me... even though I didn’t deserve it."

​His hands tightened gently on her waist, his gaze softening.

​"When your father started quietly putting out word months ago that he was looking for an alliance... I stepped up for you," Dante whispered, his face inches from hers. "I don’t know if you ever remembered me, Anastasia... but I wanted to marry you."

​Ana’s lips parted, a quiet gasp escaping her. "You..."

​"I was preparing the contract," Dante said, a bitter edge touching his voice. "But then Damian Sterling entered the picture. Before my team could reach your father... Richard Vance sold you to him."

​The breath completely left Ana’s lungs. Her dark eyes snapped wide in sheer shock as the pieces aligned in her head. "You... you know about the hundred million dollars?"

​Dante gave a quiet, heavy nod.

​"I knew... I knew the exact price tag your disgusting family had put on your head. I knew you were bound to Damian by a debt contract. And when news broke that Damian had divorced you, I thought my chance had finally come... only to realize Damian had completely erased you from existence. No property records, no employment history, no credit cards, no contact info. Damian had wiped you off the face of the earth to keep you hidden in his grasp."

​Suddenly, Dante’s eyes flickered past her shoulder.

​Down the narrow cobblestone alley, the low, powerful rumble of an engine echoed against the brick walls. A sleek, blacked-out car was slowly turning the corner, its headlights cutting through the dim afternoon.

​Dante looked down at Ana... lost, fragile, and utterly overwhelmed by the secret history unveiled before her.

​"Come back to me, Anastasia," Dante murmured, his voice laced with a raw, desperate promise. "I will pay any price to free you from the Devil."

​Before Ana could process his words, Dante leaned down, cupping the back of her neck, and slammed his lips onto hers.

​Ana gasped against his mouth, completely frozen in shock.

​And from behind, Damian Sterling watched the kiss unfold with his own eyes... his obsidian gaze instantly turned into pure fury.

________________________

The air in the alleyway froze solid.

​Damian stood less than five feet behind them, his broad frame carved from shadow, his obsidian eyes fixed on the sight of Dante Sullivan pressing his lips against Anastasia’s.

​For one terrifying second, time stopped. The most powerful, feared man in the city completely froze in his tracks, the world dropping away as a dark, deafening silence filled his mind.

​Then, Ana’s muffled protest broke through the stillness.

​"Mmmph... no! Dante, stop!" Ana cried out, frantically pushing against Dante’s chest with all her strength, her small hands trembling as she tore her mouth away from his.

​The sound of her distress snapped Damian back with violent, terrifying force.

​A raw, volcanic fury detonated inside his chest. In one blinding stride, Damian closed the distance. His heavy hand shot out, clamping around Dante’s shoulder with bone-crushing strength, and yanked him backward off Ana.

​Before Dante could regain his balance, Damian drove a brutal, lethal left hook straight into Dante’s jaw.

​CRACK!

​The force of the blow sent Dante crashing hard against the brick alley wall, his head snapping back as blood welled instantly at the corner of his lip.

​"Damian!" Ana screamed, her hands flying to her mouth in utter terror as she stumbled back.

​Damian didn’t even look at her. His face was a mask of rage.

He stepped directly into Dante’s space, grabbing him by the lapels of his expensive wool coat and slamming him back against the wall a second time, pinning him effortlessly.

​"You touch what’s mine again," Damian purred, his baritone dropping into a low, terrifying growl that sounded like a predator tearing through bone, "and I will personally bury you so deep in this city that not even God will find your body."

​Dante wiped the line of crimson from his mouth, letting out a rough, breathless laugh despite the suffocating grip on his throat. His dark eyes glinted with sharp defiance. "You don’t have the power to bury me! And she’s not your property, Sterling..."

​"Damian, stop! Please!" Ana cried out, stepping directly into the dangerous line of fire between the two towering men. Tears spilled over her lashes as she grabbed Damian’s heavy arm, her voice shaking frantically. "Please don’t do this! Don’t hurt him!"

​Damian’s head snapped toward her.

​Hearing her beg for the man who had just put his hands on her was the final straw. Damian released Dante, letting him slide down the brick wall, and turned his terrifying, lethal gaze entirely onto Ana.

​Before she could step back, Damian reached down and effortlessly scooped her up into his arms.

​"Damian... put me down!" Ana gasped, her hands clutching his shoulders as he carried her like she weighed nothing, ignoring her quiet protests completely.

​He didn’t say a word. He marched straight to the waiting car, tossing open the heavy rear door, and slid her onto the leather seat before climbing in right after her and slamming the door shut with a deafening THUD.

​The car tore down the street, leaving Dante standing in the alley, touching his bleeding lip as his eyes watched the black vehicle vanish into the gray afternoon.

________________________

​Inside the cabin, the silence was suffocating.

​Ana shrank into the corner of the leather seat, her chest heaving as she looked at Damian. He sat beside her, staring straight ahead, a thick vein throbbing violently at his temple as his knuckles turned stark white against his knees.

​He didn’t know what they had talked about in that café. All he knew was that another man had dared to touch his wife... and the terrifying aura radiating off him made the air inside the vehicle almost impossible to breathe.

​Damian slowly turned his head, his obsidian eyes locking onto her pale, wet face with a dark, suffocating intensity that made her heart stop.

​"You think someone else can step in and have you, Anastasia?" Damian’s voice dropped into a low, sharp whisper that sent shivers straight down her spine. "Get it out of your head. You belong to me... and you will remain mine until the day you pay your debt."

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