Chapter 65 065

Chapter 65 065

Rayna
Morning found me tangled in sheets that felt too warm. I tried to shake it off,but my body was too slow to wake, even though my mind was already running ahead of me. Pathetic, if you asked me, like I needed something else to make me all the more confused this morning.

Last night clung to me like a second skin. I'd been telling myself not to think about it since I walked out of Zero's room, but the more I tried, the more impossible it turned out to be. I wasn't one to be dramatic, but at this point, I could very well say I was obsessed with last night, and if I didn't find a cure to it, then best believe I was going to crazy before the next night.

I could still hear the silence, and feel the heat his body exuded. I could clearly see the tightening of his jaw, and the way the air between us had felt alive, as if it were waiting for permission to ignite.

I stared at the ceiling, my pulse lazy but restless, and before I could stop myself, I let my eyes fall shut, and then I let myself imagine.

I was back in the room again, but this time, Zero wasn’t sitting anymore.

He was standing in front of me, close, too close, and thid time his restraint finally splintered. The silence was gone, replaced by the low sound of his breath, steady but heavy, like he was holding something back and failing.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” he would murmur, his voice rough from disuse. I had fantasized about what he would sound like a million times, but even in my imagination he still blew my mind away. “Certain words have consequences.”

“Why?” I would challenge. “You’re thinking them anyway.”

In my mind, his hand lifted, hesitantly and almost reverent, before gripping my wrist with unmistakable intent. Zero wasn't gentle, nor was he cruel. Instead, he was controlled, like the tiniest thing could make him lose his mind.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he’d say, his gaze dark, unreadable and hungry all at once. “You have no idea that there's no going back if I decide you've been a bad girl and need to be punished.”

My stomach churned and coiled at his surfs, and I could already feel my panties dampening. Any more from him, and I would explode.

“Then show me,” I’d whisper, refusing to look away. “Maybe, that's exactly what I want.

I knew whatever was happening was only my fantasy and my mind playing tricks on me, but I didn't care.

In one swift motion, he stepped closer again,and before I could so much as breathe, he pressed his lips against mine. I didn't miss the way his control frayed the more the kiss deepened. The silence that seemed to surround us shattered into nothing as our moans pierced through the air.

I tried to breathe, to slow things down s little, but my body refused. His hands were all around me in a matter of seconds, with him squeezing my ass hard and cupping them like they were the only things that mattered. His fingers found their way into my hair, pulling me closer for an even deeper kiss.

“Zero.” I mumbled, pleasure and esctasy curling in my veins. I didn't get to know what else he had to say because mybbreath caught, and I snapped my eyes open.

Reality crashed back in hard and merciless, leaving my heart racing and my body painfully aware of itself. I groaned softly and dragged a hand over my face.

“Get a grip,” I muttered. “Get a fucking grip on yourself.”

My breath came out in ragged drawls, and as quickly as I could, I told myself that whatever had just happened was becoming a problem.

I pushed myself out of bed, moving on instinct, needing air, space, literally anything to cool the fire licking under my skin. The Garden seemed like the safest option, even if nothing about this House ever truly was.

I shrugged on one of the the most decent outfits I could find in the wardrobe before heading outside.

The morning light filtered through glass and greenery, soft enough to lie to you about safety. I took in the sight for a while, allowing nature wash over me before I settled onto one of the benches, letting the scent of damp earth and leaves fill my lungs.

Guards were scattered throughout the space, as usual. I had no idea why they needed them anyway, but I'd gotten used to them still. They were meant to paint the picture of safety, but for some strange reason, the feeling came anyway.

That prickling awareness along my spine, and the unmistakable sense of being watched.

I shifted, glancing around casually, but no one looked out of place. The guards remained still, disciplined, their attention seemingly elsewhere.

“You’re imagining it,” I told myself. “Stop being unnecessarily paranoid.”

But the feeling didn’t fade. If anything, it increased all the more.

Unease curled tight in my stomach, and after a few more moments, I decided I’d had enough fresh air for one morning. I leaned forward, preparing to stand, and that was when it happened.

A guard passed by my bench, his steps measured, and his gaze fixed straight ahead. As he did, something light landed in my lap.

I stiffened, but he didn't pause, nor did he look back.

My fingers closed slowly around the folded slip of paper, my pulse suddenly loud in my ears. I waited a beat,one, two, before unfolding it. I had no idea what I was expecting, but somehow the letter still managed to blow my mind.

Only four words were written inside.

“Careful. He breaks women.” the words echoed all around me, even though I’d read it in my head.

Cold spread through my chest as I struggled to make sense of what I'd just read. When I just couldn't come up with an explanation, I read it again, and again.

My eyes snapped up, locking onto the retreating guard’s back. Without thinking, I rose and followed, my steps quiet but urgent.

“Wait,” I called softly.

He stopped just before one of the restricted corridors, the ones clearly marked for staff only. He turned then, his expression carefully blank.

“What does this mean?” I demanded, holding up the note. “Who are you talking about?”

I knew who he was referring to, but I just needed a confirmation that for once, the man I was starting to warm up to, had no hand in this.

His gaze flicked down the hall, then back to me. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes, warning, fear, maybe even pity.

“Be careful,” he said quietly. “Or you'll regret it.

The tone wasn’t kind. It was final, more like he was delivering a dangerous prophecy that was bound to happen.

My breath hitched, but before I could say anything else, he stepped backward and disappeared down the restricted corridor, swallowed by shadows and rules I wasn’t allowed to cross.

I stood there, heart pounding, the note clenched tight in my hand.

He breaks women.

The words echoed, sharp and unsettling, wrapping themselves around everything I thought I understood.

And for the first time since I’d walked into Zero’s room all those nights ago, I wondered, not what he wanted from me, but what he might do if he finally let himself take it.