Page 113 of Villainous Rise

Annie pushed herself up onto her elbows. “How exactly do you figure I can’t love you?”

“You want the fucking list?” I didn’t wait for her answer. “I betrayed you to Dread. I lied to you. I manipulated you into helping me. I nearly got you killed.” The evidence tumbled out, each point another nail in the coffin of any possibility between us. “I kidnapped you—multiple times. I punched your fake boyfriend. I’ve been stalking you for months.”

Annie’s lips twitched, but I barreled on.

“I’m a Villain. I kill people. I killed two men in front of you last week. I killed twenty-seven men the last time we were together. I’ve been forcing food on you against your will.”

I took a breath, my mind racing through every sin, every reason she should hate me. “I’m arrogant, controlling, possessive, and I don’t play well with others. I have trust issues. I have abandonment issues. I have a god complex. I’m obsessed with you to an unhealthy degree. I⁠—”

“You forgot dramatic,” Annie interrupted. She shifted her weight and dragged her bare thigh deliberately over my cock, derailing my train of thought.

“I—” I stared at her, my brain scrambling to process the raw hunger in her eyes and the heat of her bare skin against mine.

“I know exactly who you are, Cipher.” She swung her leg over and straddled my hips, her weight settling perfectly over my cock. The movement put her fully in the golden glow of the false window, illuminating every brutal mark I had left on her in the dark.

She looked down at the damage, then looked right into my eyes and smiled.

“I’ve seen the worst of you. I’ve felt the damage you can do. And it’s exactly what I want.”

“You shouldn’t.” My brain kept stumbling over her declaration, unable to process the beautiful, twisted reality of her sitting there.

“And yet.” Annie’s eyes held mine, unflinching and clear. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against mine again. When she pulled back, she stroked her fingers lightly over my brow, trailing them down to my jaw. I couldn’t stop myself from turning into her touch.

“You said you’d offer more when I was ready,” she said quietly.

I opened my mouth to argue, to list all the reasons, again, why she couldn’t possibly love me, why this had to be some kind of trauma response or misplaced gratitude. The words died in my throat as I looked at her. There was no mask and no anger.

There was just Annie, looking at me like I was someone worth loving.

I swallowed down the argument, the disbelief. “Alright.”

She gave me a small smile. “Alright?”

“Alright,” I repeated. My hand slid up her side, settling at the curve of her waist. “But you should know, you’re still to use me when you need to. When you need to break apart, when you need to forget everything else.”

Annie’s fingers traced one of the tattoo lines on my chest, her touch feather-light. “Only if it’s something you want.”

I pressed my cock against her. “It makes me fucking hard thinking about you using me,” I growled, my hand tightening on her hip. “I don’t mind in the least when you want to be violent or ask me to be violent toward you.”

Her eyes darkened, pupils dilating with desire.

My hand slid into her hair, gripping just tight enough to tilt her face up to mine. “I love you, Annie.” I brushed my lips against hers, not quite a kiss. “I love you so fucking much.”

Annie smiled against my lips before kissing me hard, her body pressing into mine with an urgency that made my cock throb. When she pulled back, her eyes were bright with mischief. “You have an interview in less than an hour. You’ll be late if you don’t get up soon.”

“Fuck the interview.” I flipped us over and pinned her wrists above her head with one hand while the other traced the curve of her breast. “They can wait.”

Annie laughed. “The great Cipher, making the press wait? What would your adoring public think?”

“That I’m balls deep in something more important.” I nipped at her lower lip, savoring the way her breath caught. “They’d understand.”

She arched against me, tempting and perfect, then twisted out of my grip. “Go to your interview,” she said, pushing against my chest. “Be the Villain you need to be.”

I caught her hand, pressing it against my heart. “You’re coming with me.”

Annie blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You’re coming with me.” I didn’t soften it the second time either. “Not asking, Sparks.”