REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 15

I moze, holding my breath, straining my ears against the silence in the room. There were soft, deliberate movements brushing across the hardwood floor. Someone was inside my room. 

Slowly and silently, I pushed myself up into a sitting position against the headboard, letting my eyes adjust to the dark shadows cast by the moonlight through the sheer curtains. A tall, imposing silhouette detached itself from the darkness near the doorway, moving forward with terrifying, predatory stealth. 

They were moving straight toward my bed. My muscles tensed, adrenaline flooding my veins as I calculated the angles. I was about to roll off the mattress and launch a counter-strike when the shadow moved with impossible speed, covering the remaining distance before I could even blink. 

A heavy, calloused hand clamped forcefully over my mouth, cutting off my gasp. 

I threw my arms up, ready to strike and fight for my life, when a rush of warm air grazed the shell of my ear. 

“Be quiet, little kitten,” a low, gravelly voice whispered, hot against my skin, dripping with dangerous amusement. “Or everyone in this house will know your future brother-in-law is currently in your room.” 

Dario. 

Ice-cold panic slammed straight into my chest, leaving me completely paralyzed in the dark. The weight of Dario’s hand clamped tight right over my mouth, cutting off my breath in the dark. My heart was pounding like crazy against his palm, I was mad and scared all at once. 

“Be quiet, little kitten,” his voice deep and low whispered right next to my ear, warm and dangerous. 

“Or everyone in this house is going to know that your future brother-in-law is sneaking into your room in the middle of the night” 

Slowly, his fingers eased up just enough so I could breathe, though his hand stayed right on my jaw. I didn’t scream, but I shot him a look through the shadows that could’ve killed. 

He didn’t back off. Instead, his other hand moved up, tracing a slow, deliberate path down the side of my face. His thumb brushed lightly over the white bandage on my forehead right where Nysa had smashed me with the tray before sliding down to cup my chin. 

“You didn’t even flinch,” he muttered, his tone shifting into something intense and completely locked in. “When she hit you. When your mother started screaming. You just sat there watching them with those eyes.” 

His dark gaze dropped lower, locking right onto my face in the dim moonlight. How the hell did he know what happened. 

“I can’t stop staring at your eyes,” he whispered, his thumb rubbing over my bottom lip. “Violet. Like a storm hiding behind glass. You think you can play the quiet, innocent little mouse by day, but I see the real you underneath, Nyxara. And I want her.” 

Before I could even process what he was saying, before I could shove him off or kick him, his head dipped down. His mouth crashed onto mine. 

It wasn’t sweet. It was heavy, demanding, and totally took over. His lips parted mine easily, tasting like scotch and cool night air. My hands flew up to his chest to push him away, but my fingers instantly curled to his shirt instead. That little bit of friction sent a hot, traitorous jolt straight through me. 

No. My brain screamed at me to stop, but my body completely turned on me. Heat flared low in my stomach, and a shiver ran down my spine/ 

Then, a loud, heavy knock slammed against my bedroom door. 

Bang, bang, bang. 

Dario froze, pulling back just an inch. His chest was heaving against mine, and a wicked little smirk touched the corner of his mouth. 

“Nyxara?” My father’s voice called out from the hallway, muffled through the wood. “Are you awake? I heard a noise, are you okay? Does that cut hurt?” 

Then his hands slid right under the hem of my t-shirt, his warm fingers brushing bare skin and I instantly froze up, every single muscle in my body locking tight. 

“Please don’t,” I whispered, my voice sounding small and shaky in the dark. 

He stopped dead. He pulled back just enough to look at me, his breathing rough. He noticed the way my whole body went rigid, all the warmth draining out of me. 

“Why?” he asked quietly, his eyes searching my face in the shadows. 

I didn’t answer. I just bit my lip and looked away, refusing to give him anything. When I stayed quiet, he figured he’d keep going. His fingers started moving further up my ribs, his touch slow and heavy, until my chest got so tight I couldn’t even take a normal breath. It was too much, too fast, and all the old panic bubbled right back up. 

“I’m still pure,” I blurted out, the words just tumbling past my teeth before I could stop them. 

The second those words hit the air, I felt the exact second he shifted. The playful, cocky vibe he had vanished completely. His body went dead still, and the air around him turned ice cold and heavy. 

He leaned in close, his mouth right against my ear, and literally growled the words. “You are mine.” 

Before I could blink, he kissed me again hard, possessive, and fierce. His mouth dragged down from my lips to my jaw, tracking hot, heavy kisses down my throat until he sucked hard against the sensitive skin right below my ear. He was marking me. 

When he finally pulled back, he didn’t say another word. He slipped up from the floor, moved like a ghost toward the door, and unlocked it, disappearing out into the hallway as quietly as he’d come in. 

I was left lying there, completely dazed, flushed hot from head to toe. I was turned on, and more confused than I’d ever been in my life.