Page 92 of Villainous Rise

“You think I’ll destroy you,” he said. “But you’ve already survived the worst I could do. I betrayed you, and you’re still standing.”

The reminder stung, but less sharply than before. “That’s not exactly a selling point for round two.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “No, but it proves you’re stronger than you think.” His hand slid into my hair. “Strong enough to take what you want without running away afterward.”

I swallowed hard. “And if what I want is to leave?”

“Then I’d ask you to be honest about why.” His gaze was too perceptive. “Is it because you don’t want to be here? Or because you’re afraid of wanting to stay?”

“I can’t forgive you. I still hate you for what you did.”

Cipher’s expression didn’t change. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

“That’s okay.” His thumb traced the curve of my jaw. “My invitation from last night still stands. Take your anger out on me. Take your hate out on me. I won’t judge you for anything you ask for or want, Annie. I’ll give it all to you without question.”

“And what do you want in return?” Because even though he loved me, nothing was without a cost with him.

“Nothing.”

“Liar,” I bit out.

“I want you,” he admitted. “But I won’t ask for anything in return. Not your forgiveness. Not your love. Not even your time beyond what you choose to give.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His fingers combed through my hair, gentle where last night they had been rough at my demand. “With time, hopefully you will.”

Cipher reached for my mask where it lay discarded on the bed. He turned it over, studying the design he’d created specifically for me.

“All you have to do is message me when you need to fall apart,” he said, his focus still on the mask. “Just tell me, and I’ll drop everything—fucking everything—and come to you.”

He was offering something I wasn’t sure I could trust but desperately wanted to believe in.

“Why would you do that?”

His eyes lifted to mine, silver and unflinching. “Because I’ve seen what happens when you hold everything inside until you break. Because you deserve someone who can handle all of you, the perfect Keeper and the mess underneath.”

He placed the mask back down.

“Because no matter how much you hate me,” he said quietly, “I’d rather be the Villain you unleash your darkness on than watch you destroy yourself containing it.”

What kind of person would I be to use him like that? To take his body, his touch, his attention whenever I needed to feel something other than numb, knowing I couldn’t offer forgiveness in return?

The kind of person I never wanted to become.

“I can’t be that person, Cipher. I can’t use you as my personal punching bag just because you’re offering. That would make me...” I trailed off, searching for the right word.

“Human?” he suggested, his lips quirking up at one corner.

I shook my head. “Cold. Cruel. The kind of person who uses others without caring about the damage.”

Cipher leaned down, trailing kisses along my jaw, down to the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. I sucked in a breath against the dull ache of his teeth scraping lightly against the bruise he’d left there last night.

“I know you can’t be that person,” he murmured against my neck. “At least not really. Not long-term. I don’t want you to be anyone or anything other than what you want to be, what you need to be.”

Something in his tone made me pull back enough to see his face.

“What do you need to be?” I asked.