Page 93 of Villainous Rise

“Yours.”

“That’s not fair,” I whispered, my fingers curling against his chest where I could still feel his heart beating. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth.”

I closed my eyes, unable to look at him. “Because it makes it harder to hate you.”

“Good.” His lips brushed my forehead. “Hate me less. Want me more. The rest will sort itself out.”

His lips found mine again, and this time, I didn’t turn away. I melted into him, my body betraying my mind’s stubborn resistance. His hands traced my sides with a gentleness I hadn’t allowed him to show me last night.

“Open for me,” he murmured against my lips, his hand sliding down my thigh.

I let my legs part, and he settled between them, his weight both comforting and terrifying.

When he pushed inside me, the ease of it was almost embarrassing. My body was ready for him despite all my mental protests. He swallowed my moan with his kiss, his tongue sliding against mine.

“Cipher,” I gasped, a note of panic rising in my chest. This was too intimate, too exposed without my mask, without the shield of anger.

“Shhh.” His forehead pressed against mine, his eyes holding me captive. “Just feel me, Annie. Nothing else matters right now.”

He moved slowly, almost torturously so, each thrust making me acutely aware of every inch of him.

His hand slid beneath my thigh, lifting my leg and looping it over his arm. The position opened me further, allowing him to push deeper. I cried out as he hit that perfect spot inside me.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, his pace remaining maddeningly slow. “Let me hear you.”

Sweat beaded across his forehead and chest, his muscles taut with the effort of restraint. I could feel him trembling slightly, fighting his own need to move faster, harder.

He leaned down and I gasped as he took my nipple in his mouth. His groan vibrated against my breast as my body clenched around him.

“You feel so fucking good,” he growled, releasing my nipple to look at me. “So perfect around my cock.”

The familiarity of his body against mine, inside mine, was soothing in a way I hadn’t expected. I’d missed him, though I’d never admit it out loud. But my body confessed what my pride wouldn’t allow, my hips rising to meet his thrusts, my hands pulling him closer.

“That’s it,” he whispered, his lips brushing my ear. “Let go for me.”

I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by sensation, by the steady rhythm of his body moving with mine, by the growing tension coiling tighter with each thrust.

For just this moment, I allowed myself to forget everything but the feel of him—not Cipher the Villain, not the man who had betrayed me, just the one person who somehow knew exactly what I needed even when I fought against it.

Just for now, I would let myself have this. Later, I could hate myself for it.

Later, I could hate him again.

But not right now.

The tension inside me coiled tighter, then shattered. I cried out, rocking my hips against him. His rhythm faltered, his breathing harsh against my neck. He suddenly pulled back, withdrawing from me with a groan. His hand worked furiously over his length as he positioned himself above me.

The first hot splash against my stomach startled me. His eyes burned into mine as he continued stroking himself, more of his cum painting across my skin.

“Fuck,” he growled, his chest heaving. Another pulse, another splash across my stomach and breasts. The look in his eyes was feral, possessive. When he finally stilled, his eyes raked over my body, taking in my flushed skin and the glistening mess he’d made of me.

I liked the possessive weight of his stare. I liked the undeniable visual proof of his ownership. My body hummed with a deep satisfaction as it recognized its master.

His lips curved into a satisfied smile as he trailed his finger through the wetness on my stomach, drawing a lazy circle across my skin. I shivered.

The physical reality of us was so fucking easy. I belonged to him, but I still had no idea how to trust the man holding the leash. I didn’t know how to forgive him yet.