Page 159 of A Smile Full of Lies
His breath skated over my cheek.
“I made them just for you, princess. Every time you came to Nox Obscura’s content,” he murmured, voice dark and velvet, “you were thinking ofme.Even when you didn’t know it.”
I choked on my own breath.
Every single one. I had devoured them. Obsessed over them. Let them sink into my fucking bones.
And the whole damn time, it was Knox. It was always him.
I should’ve screamed. Should’ve slapped him. Should’ve begged him to stop. But all I could do was shake.
Because some twisted, monstrous part of melikedit. Wanted it. Wantedhim, even though he’d lied to me and manipulated me and god only knew what else he’d done over the seven years we’d been neighbors.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
ROS
The door slammedbehind us with the finality of a verdict passed. Before I could breathe — before I couldrun again— he grabbed me.
One hand fisted in my shirt at the small of my back, the other closing around my throat, guiding me with terrifying, perfect control.
“Let’s go,” he growled. “You wanted the mask. Now you getme.”
He dragged me past the living room, through the hall like I weighed nothing, until we hit the open door of his bedroom, and then he shoved me —hard— toward the bed.
I gasped, stumbling, landing on the bed, on my hands and knees, hair in my face, heart slamming against my ribs.
“Take off your clothes,” he said behind me, voice calm,toocalm.
It was a warning, but I didn’t move fast enough.
His hands came down hard on my ass: one brutal spank, and then another, the sound echoing off the walls like a war drum.
“I said strip.”
I scrambled.
Dress, bra, panties, everything came off in frantic, trembling motions. I wasn’t sure if it was fear or arousal that made me shake, but by the time I turned back to face him, I was bare.
He’d put the mask back on. That fucking mask.
Purple neon lines flickered in the shadows, casting his broad shoulders and sculpted chest in terrifying silhouette.
“Lie down.”
I hesitated. He was in front of me in an instant, his fist tangled in my hair, dragging me down onto the bed, chest first, pinning me in place.
“You found out the truth about my family and you didn’t tell me,” he said, voice low, barely above a growl. “You snuck around behind my back to confront their killer. You almost died. After you got out of the hospital, IpromisedI’d punish you for what you put me through.”
His hand slid up my back, over my spine, then down again — slow, hot, unbearable.
“I should fuck your mouth first. Make you gag on how sorry you are.”
I whimpered.
He laughed, the sounddarkand dangerous.
