Claimed Raw by my Husband's Ruthless Best friend

Ava's POV

It was 11:47 p.m. at night.

I had spent another night alone. Another night of waiting for a man whose scent still lingered on the pillow but hadn't touched me in thirty days.

Leon Vance-my husband who was both my sin and my salvation.

The big TV gleamed with nude images. Sounds filled the air. Moans that weren't mine.

I lay on the bed, watching, with my thighs clenched really tight. Video after video of men taking women, their bodies joining in ways that made my breath catch. I rubbed that sensitive peak through my panties, imagining Leon's face as he drove into me on our honeymoon.

I didn't mean to watch it. Not really. It just... happened out of curiosity or punishment. I couldn't tell. I was so desperate that I couldn't bear it.

My chest rose and fell unevenly as the moans filled the room. My body ached really badly, not for the strangers on the screen, but for him. For the weight of his lethal hands. For that rough, commanding voice that could ruin me and make me whole in the same breath.

But he was gone. Another business trip for a whole month just as soon as the honeymoon was over.

I told myself that I'd be patient. That I was better than my past-the girl who used to dance under red lights and crave attention. The girl who stripped when men threw bills at her feet. I wasn't that woman anymore.

I was Ava Sinclair Vance now, the wife of the city's golden billionaire. The woman who swore loyalty and promised to be faithful as soon as I became his.

But loyalty felt heavier when no one was watching.

I ran my fingers through my hair and slowly to my chest, the air filled with perfume and loneliness. My vibrator was useless at this point. I needed something real.

My phone vibrated-a message from Bella, my best friend. "I'm still in Paris. Miss you, babe. Don't go crazy while I'm gone."

Too late.

I dropped the phone, laughing softly the moment I realized that I was going to do something reckless tonight.

Before I could even take a second-guess myself, I was already opening my closet. Dresses in shades of black and gold stared back at me. I reached for the one that used to make men forget their names and lose control.

"Just dance and have some fun," I whispered to myself. "No more than that. Not even touching."

Leon wouldn't find out anyway.

---

The city was alive when I stepped out of the car. The club's name glowed above me-Club Orion. I used to dance here years ago, before Leon claimed me and asked me to be his forever.

Now I was going back as a ghost visiting her own grave.

Inside, the air tasted just like liquor. I walked past the crowd, until I reached the VIP section-where the lights dimmed and money rained in the air.

No one