Rex’s Code (Forever Midnight MC #4)

Prologue

Rahat

My fingers raced over the keyboard as I pored over my script. I'd always loved this. The thrill that came with seeing my code work, with knowing that I solved a puzzle and achieved a goal.

I hadn't known him for very long. At twenty-four, he was a good few years older than me.

He'd known my cyber security lecturer at uni and turned up to one of my lessons.

After class, he'd approached me and mentioned how he heard I was good at coding.

A few of the guys were going out for drinks later, and he invited me along.

He had these piercing blue eyes, slightly wavy brown hair, and a neatly trimmed beard and moustache that served to sharpen his already chiselled jawline.

To say he was gorgeous would be an understatement.

He reminded me of a young Paul Newman. The actor was one of Mum's favourites.

She loved the brooding, charismatic antihero type.

But any illusion I'd had that Adam would be a lovable rogue was quickly diminishing.

He moved behind me and leaned over my shoulder while staring at my computer screen.

I kept my eyes fixed on the monitor, though every part of me had gone still.

"Wow," he said as he rested his hand on my head before trailing it down my cheek and brushing my long black hair over my shoulder. "You are fucking extraordinary."

I tried not to squirm under his touch. I was a fucking idiot is what I was.

I should have left with the others and never put myself in a situation where I was alone with him.

Hell, I should never have agreed to those drinks all those months ago.

He'd met me at Velour, once. The club was owned by Carina's brother, Gabriel.

She warned me against him then and there, said how he gave off bad vibes.

I'd shrugged off her opinion at the time.

She'd been my bestie since we both started secondary school, and in that entire time, neither she nor her brother had been particularly warm to members of the opposite sex.

Though don't get me wrong, they both welcomed and loved a lot of attention.

They just didn't take any of it seriously.

Besides, Carina could never understand what it was like to be British-Indian.

Even at fifteen, she was a petite brunette with olive skin and gorgeous wavy hair and even more gorgeous curves.

She never had to work at being bubbly. I was a lanky geek who spent all of her time in front of a computer.

I didn't exactly get a lot of attention from boys.

Sure I'd worked hard over the years to get the best figure possible.

I'd even splashed some cash on a boob job as soon as I turned eighteen.

Still, Adam was the first person who ever looked at me like I was something to be desired.

I wished he wouldn't.

"Save everything you have," he said, resting his hands on my shoulders this time.

"I want to go over it." He rubbed my collarbones and pressed his thumbs into the side of my neck.

The pressure kind of hurt. I tried not to let it show, but he had to feel my heart racing. "I want your back-up data too."

"B-back-up." My shoulders hunched and the words came out pained as Adam dug his thumb in hard to the muscle that connects my shoulders to my neck.

My eyes watered at the sharp pain that radiated through my whole head like a hot wire being pulled tight inside me.

After a few seconds, he released the pressure, making me gasp.

The pain dimmed, replaced by a sudden flush of warmth, but a phantom pressure remained.

He smiled and brushed his hand against the same spot.

I flinched and waited for the return of the pain.

It didn't come. Instead, Adam backed away from my chair.

My hands still hovered over the keyboard.

I tried to still their shaking, to catch my breath, but my heart was racing too fast, and my mind was a blur of confused thoughts.

The only thing I knew with any certainty was that I had to get out of here.

Adam moved behind me. Afraid to turn around, I watched his reflection in my monitor as he leaned against the window frame. A smile split his face as he pretended to study his nails. "I'm waiting," he said after a moment.

I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. "It's all saved."

"And your back-up."

My eyes remained fixed on the screen. "My um... laptop’s in my bag." Ice flooded my veins as I motioned across the room to my bag. It sat about three feet from the door. As well as my laptop, the keys to both my car and apartment were inside, as was my phone. If I could only...

I rose, slowly, from my chair. My legs felt weak, like they wanted to buckle beneath me, and my stomach felt like there was a rock inside it, dragging me down.

But I lifted my chin high and walked towards my backpack.

Adam shifted from the window ledge and hovered near one of the desks.

Then, he turned his back to me and glanced out the window.

I took the only opportunity I had. I grabbed my bag and rushed for the door.

My hand clasped onto the doorknob, ready to yank it open and rush outside.

But a monitor exploded against the door, mere inches from my head.

A heartbeat later, Adam was across the room. He fisted his hand in my hair and yanked my head back. His hot breath sizzled against my cheek as tears flooded my eyes.

"Adam... please."

His only response was to tighten his grip on my hair and yank my head back further.

He used his other hand to run a trail down my shoulder, and over my T-shirt until it cupped my breast. He leaned close and brushed his lips against my ear.

My breath hitched and my head swam. The walls closed in around me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

"Please," I said again, though I wanted to scream.

With one hand still firmly in my hair, Adam yanked the backpack from my hand and shook the contents out of it.

They fell to our feet with a thud, and for a second, Adam's grip on my hair lessened.

But then he slammed my head into the wood of the door.

My vision blurred and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

I tried to fight and claw at his hand. He slammed me into the door again, and then released his grip, and dropped to pick up my laptop.

The next thing I knew, he had me spun around and the laptop was pressed tight against my throat while my body was pressed tight against the door. My head throbbed, my vision swam, and I couldn't even swallow.

"You're mine," he said as he sniffed the side of my face. "Every line of code you write. Every thought in that brilliant fucking head of yours." He ran his tongue up my cheek, and a sob escaped my lips. "It all belongs to me. You belong to me."

With that, he removed the laptop from my throat and wiped a tear from my cheek. The door was hard and cold at my back as slid down the wall and hugged my knees tight, unsure if he'd ever let me leave.

Adam placed my laptop on the desk where I'd been working earlier. He straightened his cuffs. Nonchalant. Like nothing had happened, and I wasn't sitting on the floor with blood in my mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow. You get out of your Network Configuration lesson at 2 pm, if I'm not mistaken."

He wasn't, though I'd never told him my class schedule. The fact landed in my stomach like a stone. I only nodded in response, before gathering the spilled items from my bag and leaving.

The fresh cold air outside hit me like another blow to the face, and I ran, and ran, and ran. I didn't know where I was headed until Carina answered her front door.

"Fuck, Rahat," she said after taking one look at me, and then enveloped me in a bear hug. "What the fuck happened?" she asked as she dragged me inside and guided me to her sofa.

"You were right about Adam," I said, before telling her what happened.

Her eyes darkened. She grit her teeth and shook her head. "Gabriel will fix this," she said and then left me alone with a mug of hot tea while she called him.