Page 82 of The Villain

“How’s this for a promise?” I didn’t appreciate the way he snorted, like he found this all amusing. “Promise me that if I ever leave you, you’ll kill me.”

I turned my head away, though I didn’t get far with his death grip on my hair. I cried out, my scalp stinging as he twisted his fist and forced my gaze to his. “Promise me.” The smirk was gone now, and I must have felt a surge of want, of hope, of fucking stupidity.

Because I said, “Fine. I promise.”

Cian released my hair, and I rolled onto my side without another word.

Cian’s strategy was simple. Fuck me. Again. And again. Keep me too dick-stupid and full of cum.

And it worked. The man shouldn’t have been able to get hard this often at thirty-five. Then again, I probably shouldn’t have been able to either. But we were both like jackrabbits. The room reeked like cum, and I was so dehydrated I might’ve been hallucinating.

We fucked and slept and fucked and slept until Cian finally rose from the bed on unsteady legs and picked up the phone for room service. The clock said it was five in the afternoon, and I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d eaten anything. As we waited for our food, I lay on my stomach with one hand hanging off the edge of the bed, barely able to move. Cian took a quick shower, then sat down next to me in just his towel and gently ran his fingers up and down my spine.

These soft touches combined with his overwhelming domination had started to crack me open. Pieces of my resolve littered the sheets around us. I still hadn’t admitted I was his,and the anger I’d expected from him over my resistance had never shown. Cian hadn’t given up, and I was really starting to believe he never would. That little flame of hope had shifted into something permanent, somethingimmortal, and that was the scariest feeling of all.

His fingers slid down my spine and into my crease before he pulled one cheek to the side. He touched the pad of one finger to my hole. “You look sore. I need to give you a break.”

I was. I was sore as hell. But just the mention of stopping this madness sent a searing flare of panic through my blood. My breathing picked up and my heart raced.No. He couldn’t stop. He’d gotten me to submit in every way—on my knees, on my back. There was no further goalpost. That was it. He’d conquered me. This entire charade would grow old for him once he realized there was nothing behind the moniker I hated. If he stopped fucking me now, he’d come to his senses. He’d move on. And it would destroy me.

I tried not to let him hear the tremble in my voice. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Cian let my ass cheek go with a firm squeeze. “No, you’re not.” He stood up, dropped the towel around his waist, and reached for his boxer briefs.

So this was it? He was done?

I pulled myself up on my elbows. “I said I’m fine. You can keep fucking me.”

Something in my tone made him still as he pulled his briefs up his hips. He turned to me with narrowed eyes. “What?”

My heart pounded. I wasn’t quitting. Not yet. So why was he? I couldn’t make myself calm down or see this as anything other than him getting tired of me. Just like I knew he would.

“You’re making excuses.” I rolled onto my back and sat up with my hands braced behind me. “You just don’t want to touch me anymore now that you’ve gotten what you wanted.”

He put his hands on his hips. “And you’re angry about that? I thought you wanted me to keep my promise andnotkeep you.”

“I do!” I cried.

“So which is it, Devlin?” The way he said my name sent a shiver down my spine. “Do you want me to fuck you? Or kill you?”

I should have recognized the trap I’d walked myself into. Before I could find an answer, Cian smirked. “You don’t even know, do you?”

My mouth closed. Opened. Closed again.

He chuckled softly as he put a knee on the bed, and I was forced onto my back as he settled between my spread legs like he belonged there. His fingers carded through my hair, and he brushed his nose against mine. A gentle, sweet gesture of affection I hadn’t thought he was capable of. “That’s okay. You don’t have to know. BecauseIknow what you want. All you have to do is shut up and let me give it to you.”

This was the last bit of control I had, the one rope I clung to against the weight of all that was Cian. And I used that rope now, unsure if it would pull him closer or hang me. “You’ll eventually get bored of fucking me, and then you’ll get rid of me.”

Again, he didn’t get angry like I thought he would. His fingers played with the hair sticking to my forehead as he quirked an eyebrow in genuine confusion. “You think this is just about fucking you?”

“What else could you want me for?” My voice held no bravado. I was pathetic. “What the hell do I evendofor you?”

I felt his chest expand with a deep inhale, and his exhale ruffled my hair. He didn’t speak for a long time. But he didn’t look confused, or hesitant. Just pensive.

“Remember how I made everyone leave the first time I saw you?” he began.

I did. He’d ordered everyone out with that commanding tone that made my dick hard.

“I didn’t have an explanation for my reaction at the time. But even then, I think a part of me knew I wanted you for myself.” His hands bracketed my face, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I’ve always had to share. My things, my people,me.All my life, I’ve loaned out parts of myself to others. But when you look at me…” His breathing stuttered. “I feel powerful. Complete. Like all the pieces of me I’ve given away have been returned and put back in place.” His thumbs brushed my cheeks. “From the moment I met you in that shed, you saw who I was, not what I could do for you. I saw it in your eyes. No one has ever looked at me the way you do. I tried to deny it. But I can’t anymore.”