Page 91 of Villainous Rise

“No.” I twisted my wrist in his grip, pushing against his chest with my free hand. “I need to leave. Now.”

He rolled me beneath him, pinning my wrists above my head. His weight settled over me, solid and warm, caging me without crushing me.

“Stop running, Annie. If you run, I’m going to catch you. Every single fucking time.”

I turned my face away, staring at the wall. “Get off me.”

“Look at me.” When I didn’t, his fingers caught my chin, turning my face toward his. His other hand released my wrists, moving toward my mask.

“Don’t—“

His fingers slid beneath the edge of the mask and he lifted it away, exposing my face.

I blinked furiously as hot tears of anger and shame burned behind my eyes. I refused to let them fall.

“Stop,” he commanded, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. “Nothing you want from me is something to run from.” His eyes held mine, unflinching. “I’m giving you freedom, Annie. I’m giving you everything you ask for.”

“I’m asking to leave,” I whispered, hating how my voice cracked.

His palm cupped my face, thumb stroking across my lower lip. “I’ll give you anything except the ability to destroy yourself.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “You’ll be the one to destroy me.” My chest tightened, each breath becoming harder to take. The room felt like it was closing in, the weight of everything—Cipher, my choices, my weakness—crushing me.

“Look at me.” He took my wrist and pressed my palm flat against his chest. Beneath my shaking hand, his heartbeat was a steady, infuriatingly calm thud.

“Breathe with me, Annie. Match it.”

I tried to yank my hand back. I needed to run. My lungs burned and the edges of my vision started to blur.

“Inhale,” he ordered. His chest expanded under my palm.

I obeyed before I could even think better of it and dragged in a breath.

“Exhale.”

I let it out on a choked gasp. He kept my hand pinned to his chest, forcing my frantic, shallow breathing to sync with his slow rhythm.

I inhaled when he inhaled. I exhaled when he exhaled.

The crushing tightness in my chest finally cracked. Oxygen flooded my system and I slumped in exhaustion, my hand still resting over his heart.

“Better?” he murmured.

I nodded reluctantly.

With my heart rate slowing to match his, unease started to creep in as a cold sliver of doubt worked its way through the fading adrenaline. I stared at my fingers resting against his chest. He had bypassed my brain and taken control of my physical responses. Was he doing this on purpose? He had to know that by making himself the cure to my panic, my body would instinctively crave his heartbeat the next time the walls closed in.

Then again, maybe my paranoia was just looking for an excuse to push him away. Maybe he genuinely just wanted to help me breathe.

I couldn’t tell the difference anymore. I knew he loved me, but he was still a manipulator. I had no idea if he was deliberately setting a trap, or if he simply didn’t know how to comfort someone without turning himself into their only lifeline.

I lifted my head just enough to meet his gaze in the shadows. “I can’t tell if you’re manipulating me right now.”

Cipher slid his hand up to cup the back of my neck and his thumb came to rest right over my pulse.

“I am,” he said quietly. “I want you to heal. But I don’t know how to love you without making sure I’m the one you need to do it.”

I couldn’t summon the energy to be angry. I wasn’t sure I could be angry. He’d already warned me his love wasn’t gentle. I didn’t think he knew how to exist with someone without holding the leverage.