Page 167 of Villainous Intent

“Relax,” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. “Just sleep.”

I lay rigid beside him, my thoughts racing faster than my heartbeat. Maybe this was just exhaustion talking. Maybe he wouldn’t even remember asking me to stay come morning. I counted the seconds between his breaths. They were deep and even, suggesting he’d already fallen back asleep. I could probably slip out without waking him.

“Stop thinking so loudly,” he mumbled, tightening his arm around me, as if he could sense my thoughts of escape.

I turned my head slightly, finding his face much closer than I expected. “I don’t know if I should be here.”

“You are here.” Simple. Matter-of-fact. As if that settled everything.

“But tomorrow⁠—”

“Isn’t here yet.” His eyes didn’t open, but his thumb traced a small circle against my hip. “Sleep, Sparks.”

Easy for him to say. How was I supposed to sleep with his body pressed against mine, with the heat of him seeping into me? How was I supposed to quiet my mind when everything about this situation screamed complication?

This felt like strings. Tangled, complicated strings that would only get more knotted if I stayed.

Cipher’s breathing was so steady, his body so warm against mine. The weight of his arm felt oddly comforting. Maybe I could stay just a little longer. Just until I was sure he was deeply asleep. Then I’d go. I just needed to wait a few more minutes.

I woke with a start, momentarily disoriented by unfamiliar light patterns dancing across the bed. The sunlight was coming from the wrong direction, casting shadows that my brain couldn’t reconcile with my bedroom.

For a terrifying second, I couldn’t remember where I was.

Then I felt it. A warm thumb tracing lazy circles on my stomach beneath my shirt. The sensation sent a wave of awareness through my body, and everything came rushing back. Cipher’s lab. His exhaustion. Putting him to bed. Staying.

Oh god. I’d stayed.

I sat bolt upright, dislodging his hand and clutching the sheet to my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, not daring to look at him. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was going to leave. I just, I must have dozed off.”

My face burned with embarrassment. This wasn’t part of our arrangement. Sex, yes. Sleeping together? Waking up together? Absolutely not. We never slept together after fucking before, unless you counted the small moments of dozing before the next round. Cipher would always send me back to my room once we were done.

“I really was planning to go,” I continued, words tumbling out in my panic. “I didn’t want to be here when you woke up. That wasn’t—I know that’s not what we⁠—“

My rambling apology was cut short by a low, rumbling sound, somewhere between a grunt and a chuckle. Cipher’s hand shot out and caught my wrist, tugging me back down beside him.

His arm snaked around my waist again and his thumb resumed its lazy circles on my stomach.

“Your brain is working too hard,” he said against my hair. “I can practically hear the gears turning.”

I swallowed, trying to find my voice. “This isn’t what we agreed to.”

His thumb paused momentarily before continuing its hypnotic path across my skin. “Annie.” The way he said my name made me fall silent. “It’s just sleep.”

But it wasn’t just sleep. It was his arm around me, his breath against my neck, his fingers tracing patterns that felt like they were burning into my skin. It was waking up together, sharing a quiet moment that had nothing to do with sex or the roles we played.

It was intimate in a way that terrified me.

“This isn’t sleep,” I whispered.

I couldn’t let this continue. I couldn’t let him pretend this was nothing when we both knew it was something. I turned in his arms to face him.

“I should go,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “Because I don’t want to watch you wall me out again when you come to your senses.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “What are you talking about?”

“This.” I gestured between us, at the minimal space separating our bodies. “The way you’re holding me. The way you held me all night. It’s not part of our deal, and we both know it. And I’d rather leave now than wait for you to remember that and shut me out.”