"You can't kiss a rose without bleeding a little."
Anika didn't speak as Rai slammed the door shut behind them.
His jaw was tight, eyes unreadable—storms swirling behind glass. The car ride back had been silent, but not empty. Rage simmered between them, and she could feel it in every breath he took.
"You humiliated me," he said finally, his voice cold.
Anika crossed her arms, trembling. "I only spoke the truth."
Rai's gaze sharpened. "In front of my men? You think you're brave?"
"No." Her voice cracked. "I think I'm done being afraid."
He moved then—fast, like a shadow with purpose—and the next second, her back hit the wall. The air left her lungs. His hands pressed on either side of her face, not touching her, but caging her in.
"You forget who I am," he whispered.
"I never do," she breathed.
His eyes flickered to her lips. Then to her throat. She felt it—his control fraying, his darkness unraveling thread by thread. He hated her resistance. But he needed it, too.
"You were supposed to be silent," he murmured. "Pretty. Obedient."
"I'm not a doll you can pose in your mansion," she whispered.
Something cracked in him. Something sharp.
His hand moved to her waist, not roughly—but with purpose. He pulled her against him, and she gasped.
"I don't like being challenged," he muttered, his mouth inches from hers. "But you… you make me forget why I built walls at all."
Then he kissed her.
Hard. Deep. Possessive.
Her fists balled against his chest—but she didn't push him away.
She couldn't.
Because something inside her was breaking, too.
The kiss wasn't soft. It wasn't kind. It was punishment. Claim. Fire.
His hands tangled in her hair, mouth crashing over hers again, again—until her body stopped resisting. Not out of surrender. But confusion. Fear. Want.
Her mind screamed don't. Her body whispered maybe.
When he pulled back, his breathing was ragged. His thumb brushed over her lip where he'd bitten too hard.
"I shouldn't want you," he said hoarsely. "But I do."
He lifted her then—suddenly, like she weighed nothing—and carried her across the room. She didn't speak. She didn't fight. Her heart thundered, louder than her thoughts.
The room blurred.
The lights dimmed.
The door shut behind them.
And the rest?
The rest was whispered sins and secrets lost to shadows.