Wretched Corruption

Wretched Corruption Ruthless Desires 4 Elira Firethorn Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Elira Firethorn All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real-life people, events, etc. is coincidence. Dedication To the brave ones who’ve been called cowards. I see your hearts. Contents Playlist & Storyboard Before You Read . Chapter 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 Deleted Scene Author's Note Also By Elira Firethorn Playlist & Storyboard Playlist: Falling in Love – Cigarettes After Sex Demons on the Side of My Bed – Teflon Sega Vendetta – UNSECRET, Krigarè Let You Go – ILLENIUM, Ember Island Butterfly – UMI everything i wanted – Billie Eilish You Belong to Me – Cat Pierce Electric – Alina Baraz, Khalid Helium – Sia Put On Repeat – Sabrina Claudio Talking Body (The Young Professionals Remix) – Tove Lo, The Young Professionals Die For You – VALORANT, Grabbitz Listen on Spotify. Storyboard: View on Pinterest. Before You Read Important: Some minor changes were made to the first three Ruthless Desires books in February 2023. If you read those books before then, you can find a list of all the changes here. Wretched Corruption is a dark romance book intended for people over the age of eighteen. Please read over this content list to make sure there’s nothing inside this book that could affect you negatively. Put your mental health first please! Emotional: anxiety attack/flashback, reliving childhood trauma (emotional abuse and neglect, death of a young sibling, police corruption) and dealing with the aftereffects, suicidal thoughts in the past, internalized misogyny, fear of water, running anxious thoughts, aversion to vulnerability, skipping meals (due to anxiety/lack of appetite), feelings of unworthiness, and infidelity (not between the MCs, in backstory). Physical: insomnia, threats of torture, violence (with guns and knives), and a threat to a child’s safety. Sexual: degradation, bondage, impact play, spitting, semi-public sex (no one sees), domination and submission, and roughness. Wretched Corruption ends on a mild cliffhanger with an implication for what will happen in book five. As is the case with all the books in this series, you won’t find many physical descriptions of the main characters (and most of the side characters) so you can imagine them however you’d like. The scenes in this book aren’t meant to be a guide to kink or BDSM. This is a work of fiction and should be read as such. Chapter one Wren Note: This book contains darker themes. Please flip back and read the Before You Read section if you haven’t already. It’s just water. It’s just water. It’s just water. I can’t get in enough air. My chest feels constricted, like some invisible force is trying to crush me until I’m nothing but dust. Not enough air. Need to breathe. Let me up, please just let me up. My lungs are aching. My body is screaming for air. My head is pounding, my mind is going fuzzy. Is this what it feels like to die? How close was I to death? How close am I now? My name. Someone’s saying my name. But I can’t make it out—the word is a blur, and there’s no distinguishable voice. Hell, I can’t even see the water in the sink anymore. “Wren? Wren.” Hands are on my waist, arms encircling me. I’m pulled away from the stability of the counter, but I don’t lose my balance. No, something—someone—is holding me up. Someone familiar. Warm. “Wren, look at me. I’ve got you. No one’s going to hurt you here.” Something soft presses against my cheek. A sweater, I think. It smells nice. Like safety and sandalwood and oranges. Ell. “Love, please.” He takes one of my hands and presses it to his chest. “Focus on my heartbeat.” A sound leaves my throat. Not a sob—I don’t think I’m crying. It’s more like a hum, startled and confused and the only acknowledgment of his presence I can manage. “Take a breath through your nose,” he says soothingly. “Just like that, Wren. Now let it out slowly. Good, good. Again.” He does it with me once, twice, three times. As I follow his instructions, I begin to regain my senses. I’m in the kitchen. Late afternoon light is streaming in from the windows. Elliot has one arm tightly around my waist, and the other is pressing my hand into his sweater. His heartbeat is steady as he searches my face, his eyebrows furrowed. “There you are,” he murmurs, his voice weighed down with relief and terror at the same time. “What . . .” I glance around, catching the still-full sink in my peripheral vision. My body goes rigid at the sight. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got it.” Elliot loosens his hold on me, reaching into the sink to pull the plug. The water level immediately starts going down. Fuck. What was I thinking? Probably that I’m about to go on a trip to the fucking ocean and that I need to get it together. After drying off his hands, Elliot turns toward me. He keeps himself in between me and the sink as he runs a hand over my hair. Guilt twinges in my chest. Did I scare him? I’m not exactly sure what he just walked into, but I know it was probably concerning. “Can you tell me what just happened?” He keeps his voice even and gentle despite the panicked gleam in his eyes. “I . . .” My gaze drifts back to the sink and the receding water. How did this start? After following