Page 247 of I Will Break You
“Xero, we need to talk.”
Smiling, he slurs, “Hmmm, little ghost?”
My lip curls. How dare this monster underestimate me. He should be on the defensive.
“Lie on your back. I want to cuff you to the headboard.”
“You want me at your mercy?” he asks with a sleepy smirk.
“Exactly,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Revenge for making you cry last night?”
“Just roll over.”
The bastard obeys, and gazes up at me through half-lidded eyes. He’s so confident in his machinations that he doesn’t see me as a threat. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he was also the monster behind the letters.
Maybe Mom sent them to scare me into compliance. Xero said she married Delta, the man behind X-Cite Media, but what if Xero is Delta himself?
The revelation hits me like a punch to the heart, and I stagger back a few steps.
What if Mom disapproved of my online relationship with Xero because she was already married to him? Or something. I shake off that thought. Maybe she just married his dad.
None of that matters. I saw what I saw, which was Xero rendering me unconscious and orchestrating that disgusting gang-rape.
I mount the mattress and straddle his waist, only for his hands to cup my ass.
“You were incredible last night,” he says, his eyes still closed. “I can’t wait for us to watch the footage together.”
“I already saw it.” I grab his wrist, drag it to the headboard, and cuff him to the iron railing.
He chuckles, the sound low and deep. “And you’re here for round two?”
“I’m going to set your world on fire. Now give me your other wrist.”
“You’re sexy when you take control,” he murmurs.
“I thought you preferred me unconscious.”
He hums. “You’re beautiful when you’re sleeping and haunting when you’re awake.”
I snort. “You’re the one who’s haunting me.”
“You’re wrong, little ghost. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
Nothing this man says is ever the truth. He skirts around it with misdirection and lies of omissions. I should set him on fire and run for my life because the man behind X-Cite Media is him. Even if he’s telling the truth about his father, he still might be the second in command. Regardless, there’s no doubt the woman in the graveyard was me.
When Xero is secure, I remain on top of him with the chloroform-soaked pillow at the ready. “I saw the video.”
He groans. “Hot for me, already?”
“The one of you fucking me in the graveyard.”
His smile drops. “How did you find it?”
“From the manilla envelope you left on the desk.” When he stares up at me and furrows his brow, I elaborate. “The note said you were the only handsome prince I deserved.”
He cocks his head to the side. “What’s this about?”