Page 137 of Monsters Wear Crowns
And as quickly as he attacked me, he pulled out.
The moment it was over, the air shifted. I sucked in a breath as if he were just choking me. Rafe pulled out, leaving me sprawled across his desk, my skin flushed and my body trembling. My mind was still reeling from the wild, vicious storm of what had just happened. My heart pounded, and every inch of me still felt him. But the weight of what he’d just done wasn’t enough to drown out the fury and the ache clawing at my chest.
He adjusted his clothes with that same cold efficiency after his temper burned out, as if none of it had mattered. As if I didn’t matter. And when the knock came at the office door, I barely had time to gather myself before Rafe answered.
“Come in.” His voice was sharp.
The door opened, and one of his men stepped inside–a younger one, maybe early twenties, with wary eyes that darted between us. And I knew exactly what I looked like. My hair wasmessy, my clothes ripped, and my skin was still burning from Rafe’s touch. I watched the man’s throat work as he struggled to keep his gaze on his boss.
“Make sure she doesn’t leave.” Rafe’s words cut through the room like a knife.
I went still.
The man hesitated, his eyes flicking toward me, then back to Rafe. “...Sir?”
“You heard me,” Rafe snapped.
The man nodded slowly, clearly uncomfortable. “Yes, sir.”
My skin prickled with humiliation, and something even darker.Fury. “Are you serious?” My voice came out surprisingly sharp despite the adrenaline coursing through me.
Rafe didn’t even look at me. “I won’t take the chance, Adela. You can’t sever our contract.”
And that was it. No explanation. No apology. He just walked away, his steps calm and measured as if nothing had happened at all. As if he hadn’t just fucking raped me on his desk.
The door shut behind him. I stood there for a long moment, my pulse roaring in my ears. I felt the guard’s eyes on me, and I forced myself to meet his gaze. Whatever sympathy I thought I saw there didn’t matter. Nothing mattered right now except getting the hell away fromhim.
Without another word, I turned and walked out of the office.
The guest room felt cold when I entered it–impersonal and far too quiet. I stripped out of my ruined clothes and slipped into the bathtub, letting the hot water rise up around me. I flinched when the hot water burned where he had so forcefully entered me.
My hands shook when I finally covered my face.
And then, I broke.
***
RAFE
I didn’t remember walking away from her. I only remembered the sound. Her sobs weren’t quiet. They were loud. Ragged. Like something inside her had shattered so deeply it couldn’t be put back together. Like her soul had beenripped apart.
And I’d done that.
My legs barely worked. I stumbled back into my now empty office, hands shaking, heart pounding in my ears. The door slammed shut behind me, and for a second, I just stood there staring at nothing. Then grief hit.
Not like a wave. Like a bomb. A scream ripped out of me, so loud and violent I didn’t recognize my own voice. I grabbed that fucking desk and overturned it, sending it crashing into the floor. I didn’t stop. Icouldn’tstop. My hands bled from tearing pictures off the walls, smashing glass, flipping chairs, destroying everything I could touch, everything that wasn’tme.
Because I deserved worse.
I should’ve been the one broken and bleeding. I hit the wall with my fists over and over until my vision blurred. I wanted to feel it. Needed to feel something sharp enough to cut through the numb horror setting in.
But nothing compared to the sound of her crying. It was still echoing down the hall, even through closed doors. God,what the fuck had I done?
I sank to my knees in the center of the wreckage, my body shaking, my throat raw. Tears poured down my face, and I didn’t bother to stop them. I didn’t have the right.
I had laid my hands on her.
Raped her.
