Page 79 of Villainous Intent

Cipher hauled me forward. My heels hit the stone walkway with a sharp clack and my knees immediately buckled, weak from the adrenaline and the mess he had made of me.

His arm locked around my waist keeping me upright. Without another word, he pulled me away from the deadly drop, dragging me deeper into the fog.

CHAPTER 15

ANNIE

The walk back inside was a blur. I’d barely registered that the room Cipher had pulled me into was his bedroom before the door clicked shut behind us and the waiting ended. Cipher backed me hard against the door.

“Did you wear this dress for Finley, Bishop?”

I hesitated because while the feral intensity from the roof was still there in his eyes, there was something that looked like anger mixed with it.

He already knew I’d come here to seduce Finley and rub it in his face that I wanted normal so I didn’t think it would do any good to lie to him. “Yes,” I said finally.

Without a second’s hesitation, his hands went to the neckline and he ripped my dress down the middle. I cried out as it gave way and pooled uselessly at my feet.

I blinked down in shock at the remains of my nicest dress then back up to him. His gaze had caught on my body, on the soft pink bra and panties that I’d picked out for the night.

His eyes darkened the longer he looked, the muscle in his jaw going tight.

“Did you wear this for Finley, too?”

I really didn’t want to answer him. Not after what he’d done to the dress because the truth was going to piss him off worse. But we were both tired of hiding. I didn’t want to be the good girl who did all the right things all the time, and when I’d put my bra and panties on tonight, I wasn’t being good at all.

“I wore it for you,” I finally admitted, lifting my chin. He wanted me to drop my mask, to stop hiding. Let’s see if he actually liked what was underneath. “I wanted you to see it and know you couldn’t have it. I wanted you to suffer.”

The smile that spread across Cipher’s face was nothing short of savage.

“Is that so?” His voice dropped to a dangerous purr. “Whose fucking bedroom are you in right now, Bishop?”

Heat flooded my face, but I couldn’t look away from him. He reached out, slipping his finger beneath my bra strap, stroking the thin pink lace with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the fury in his eyes.

“Not Finley’s,” he answered for me, pulling the strap down my shoulder until my breast fell free of the cup. His gaze snapped to it, and I watched something in him shift. The rage didn’t disappear, but it transformed into something hungrier.

He brushed his thumb over my nipple and I couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped my lips at the spark of pleasure from that one small touch.

“Such a shame,” he tsked, voice low and rough. “You had to act like a fucking brat tonight.”

I startled when he moved, too fast to track, and tore the delicate lace of my bra down the middle. Before I could process it, his hands were at my hips. Another sharp tear, and the tiny straps of my panties gave way. The remnants of my underwear joined my dress on the floor, leaving me naked before him.

I’d fantasized about this moment countless times, but the reality of standing exposed in front of him was too much. I moved my arms to cover myself, one across my breasts, the other dropping lower.

“No.” The command froze my arms in mid-motion.

Cipher stepped back, his eyes traveling over every inch of my body.

“Look at you,” he breathed, the words barely audible. “Fucking perfect. Every inch.” His eyes lingered on the curve of my waist, the swell of my hips. “I knew you’d be beautiful, but Christ, Annie.”

Despite not quite knowing what his mood was, anger or desire or some volatile mix of both, I felt myself relaxing under his gaze. The appreciation in his eyes was genuine, and it made me feel powerful in my nakedness rather than vulnerable.

“Turn around,” he ordered, making a circular motion with his finger. “Slowly.”

I hesitated for only a second before complying, turning in a careful circle. The weight of his gaze trailed over my skin—my back, my ass, my thighs. When I completed the turn to face him again, his pupils had gone wide, so much that his eyes looked almost black.

“Go stand next to the bedpost,” Cipher ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument.

I glanced at the massive four-poster bed that dominated the room, my stomach tightening. The dark wooden posts rose toward the ceiling. I hesitated, not wanting to turn my back on him, not wanting to look away from the predatory intensity in his eyes.