My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 323

Chapter 323

“It would be fair.”

The words sounded pathetic the second they left my mouth, but I couldn’t stop now.

“I hurt you, so…” my veice shook harder, “So you can hurt me back.”

Raphael finally moved, only slightly. His expression darkened instantly, something cold flashing across his face but I kept talking anyway because the guilt inside me was eating me alive.

“You can hit me as hard as I hit you,” I whispered, “I won’t stop you. I deserve it.”

The second those words left my mouth, Raphael took one step toward me. I flinched automatically. Humiliation burned through me immediately after. I clenched my hands tighter at my sides.

Then, slowly…

I closed my eyes. My entire body locked up. I stood there in the freezing dawn air waiting for it. Waiting for the sharp crack against my cheek. Waiting for the sting. Waiting for my head to snap sideways the same way his had.

My breathing turned shallow and uneven as seconds dragged past in horrible silence.

One second.

Two.

Three.

I kept my eyes squeezed shut tighter, bracing harder for the impact but nothing happened, not a single sound, not the rush of movement, not the sting of skin against skin.

My lungs burned as I stood there with my eyes squeezed shut, my entire body locked tight waiting for pain that refused to come.

Then suddenly, his hand wrapped around my jaw.

I gasped.

My eyes flew open instantly.

His fingers curled firmly against the side of my face, not soft enough to be gentle, not rough enough to hurt. His thumb pressed hard beneath my chin, forcing my head upward until I was looking directly at him.

My breath caught.

God.

He looked terrifying.

The weak purple light of dawn threw shadows across his face, sharpening every hard angle of him. His dark hair was messy, like he had been dragging his hands through it all night. The black shirt stretched tightly across his chest and shoulders, the sleeves pushed up enough to reveal the dark ink twisting down his forearms but it was his eyes that made my stomach clench.

“Don’t ever stand in front of me asking for that again.”

A shiver crawled violently down my spine. His grip tightened slightly against my jaw. The softness in his tone

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made it worse because beneath it, there was something dark enough to make my pulse stutter.

15 Bat

“Gianna,” he murmured, leaning slightly closer, “I would rather cut my own fucking hand off than use it to hit a woman.”

The words slammed directly into my chest. My lips parted shakily. Raphael’s gaze dragged slowly over my face, taking in the tear tracks, the trembling mouth, the exhaustion hollowing out my eyes. Then his expression darkened further.

“You think equality means I get to hurt you back?” he asked.

I swallowed hard.

“I-”

“No.”

His thumb pressed harder beneath my chin, keeping my face tilted toward him when I instinctively tried to look

away.

“You don’t get to stand there and offer yourself up like punishment to make yourself feel better about what happened.”

Heat flooded my cheeks instantly because he was right. God, he was right. I had been trying to punish myself. Raphael took one slow step closer until the tips of his boots nearly touched mine.

The size of him suddenly felt overwhelming, not because he threatened me but because he didn’t.

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