Chapter 15 #4
I groaned in protest as he traveled up the length of my body. He swiped his thumb across his mouth, catching a stray drop of our mixed fluids.
“Fucking delicious,” he purred. “I taste incredible on you, Annie. The perfect corruption.”
I wanted him back inside me. I wanted the stretch of his cock to replace the agonizing emptiness. I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles over his lower back to pull his hips flush against mine.
Cipher let out a low, approving growl. He shifted his weight, aligning his cock directly against my entrance and lowered his head. He kissed me deeply and I melted into him, anticipating the moment he pushed forward.
Suddenly, Cipher hissed and pulled back, breaking contact so abruptly I cried out in frustration.
When I looked up at him, his expression was thunderous—jaw clenched, eyes dark.
“What—” I began, but stopped when I saw him slide his finger along a particular section of the tattoo on his forearm.
To my astonishment, a small hologram appeared above his skin, glowing faintly blue in the dim room. It was a message, hovering just inches above his arm.
Cipher dismissed the message with a violent flick of his hand, the hologram dissipating into nothing. When he looked down at me, his expression made my breath catch. He looked wild, untamed—like he was restraining himself from pouncing on me.
He let out a harsh breath through his teeth. “I have to go for a while, but I’ll be back.”
He leaned his weight onto his hands. “I want you to know that only something fucking dire is pulling me away from this. If this message turns out not to be as important as it sounds, the sender is going to fucking die for interrupting us.”
He pushed off the bed and stalked across the room, disappearing into what I assumed was his closet.
Less than two minutes later, he emerged.
The transformation was jarring. The man was gone and in his place stood Cipher, the Villain. The black armored body suit clung to him. The mask obscured his striking features, leaving only the hard, unyielding line of his mouth visible.
He crossed the room and leaned over the bed. He gripped my jaw and gave me a hard, punishing kiss.
“Remain in my bed, Annie,” he ordered. “Wait right here for me.” He nipped my lower lip. “And if I find out you made yourself come while I was gone, you won’t fucking like the next punishment.”
He turned and walked out, the bedroom door clicking shut behind him.
The moment the latch caught, the spell broke. I sat up on the edge of the mattress and my brain finally caught up to what the hell I’d actually done as I tallied the wreckage of the last hour.
I had written off Finley then gave a fucking handjob to another man.
I had let Cipher drag me upstairs and strap me to his bed.
I had let him hit me and I had loved it.
I had even liked the orgasm denial, loved the cruel way he’d played with me until I was sobbing for a release he refused to give me.
And I had let him finish inside me. The warmth of him was still settling within me.
The tightness in my chest grew until it hurt to breathe. This was wrong. This wasn’t me. I couldn’t be this woman.
The walls of his bedroom shrank around me. I couldn’t stay here. If I was still sitting on this mattress when that door opened again, I would never leave. He would destroy everything I was.
I had to get out.
I needed to get to my apartment to pack a bag and get to the Tower. The Tower was a fortress, it was the only place in Chroma Bay where Cipher couldn’t just walk in and take what he wanted.
I stood up, my legs shaking so badly my knees nearly buckled. I couldn’t walk out of his penthouse naked.
I crossed the room and shoved open the door to his massive walk-in closet. The space was meticulously organized, something I would admire any other time. I bypassed the rows of custom-tailored suits and tore through the hangers until I found a black zip-up hoodie.
It was comically huge, the hem dropping halfway down my bare thighs, the sleeves swallowing my hands.
I zipped it all the way up to my chin and pulled the hood over my head, hiding the bruises forming on my neck.
I found a pair of black sweatpants and rolled the waistband down three times just to keep them from falling off my hips.
I grabbed my heels and crept out of the bedroom.
I kept my head down, hugging the wall as I slipped past a group of oblivious, laughing guests. No one gave the hooded figure a second glance. They had no idea I was walking out of their host’s private quarters, leaking his cum into his oversized clothes.
I threw myself into the express elevator as soon as I reached it, slamming my hand against the button for the garage.
The doors slid shut, cutting off the music. I stared at my pale, terrified reflection in the metal doors.
The elevator chimed, opening into the concrete expanse of the underground garage. My bare feet slapped against the floor as I sprinted toward my car. I was fleeing to the safety of my rules, but icy dread was curling through my veins.
Remain in my bed, Annie. Wait right here for me.
I was going to pay for disobeying.