Page 18 of Emperor of Corruption
I grasp the office door handle and pull, but it doesn’t budge. I blink and try again, harder. The metal bites my palm, but still, nothing.
Heat rushes to my face, then drains. My pulse stutters, then slams against my chest so violently, it almost climbs up my throat. The door handle starts trembling along with my hand. I yank again,viciously—the door thuds in its frame but doesn’t open.
Either Killian or his secretary locked us in here. Maybe the lock is high tech or automated—whatever the case, I don’t think I’m getting out here until Killian lets me out.
Fuck.
I turn around to face him, attempting to hide the fear trying to creep over my expression. Killian is an apex predator; if he scents blood in the air, he won’t stop until there’s a fresh kill caught in his jaw.
I’m the only prey around, and I don’t intend to let myself get destroyed by him.
He stares at me, lips curved in an amused smile, eyes glimmering with pleasure. The bastard likes watching the defeat flicker over my expression, no matter how I try to keep it to myself.
“Please open the door,” I say, aiming to keep my tone polite, though I’m certain I can’t fully hide my tremor.
Killian’s smile widens. “I like the sound of that word coming from your lips,” hemurmurs. “Say it again.”
He truly is a certified lunatic. And more, he’s rich enough to stay in society when he should be locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane.
“Please,” I repeat through my teeth.
His smile falls, and he shakes his head, appearing almost disappointed. Something about his disappointment causes a tug in my chest, like an absurd urge to backpedal and please him.
No.I subdue that instinct immediately. I have no reason or incentive to bend to his whims. He gave me one of the worst experiences of my life, and ruined blowjobs for me—I amnotgoing to fall into the people-pleasing illness everyone else around him has caught.
He points his index finger at me. “Are you usually a brat, or is that reserved for me?”
Abrat?As in, a sexual brat or just a bratty person in general?
Either way, the answer is no, but I don’t tell him that. I’m a smartass at times, but I don’t go out of my way to piss people off—that’s not in my nature.
“Either you’re a brat, you’re afraid, or you think you can outsmart me.” Killian’s smile returns, but now, it’s far more wolfish. “Which is it, Lyra?”
“I’m willing to bet that my IQ is higher than yours.”
“As a matter of fact, it is,” Killian says, nodding. His smile widens. “By two points.”
The subtext is clear; he’s looked into me. What’s surprising is that he admits I have him beat. Of course, measuring a person’s intelligence by their IQ is like measuring the worth of a house by its paint—misleading and inaccurate.
But still.
“That might be part of what intrigued me,” Killian goes on. “You’re inferior to me in all but one way.”
My blood boils at his suggestion that he’s better than me. Him being rich, devious, and good looking doesn’t mean he’s superior to me. He’s just a horrible rich person—like every billionaire I’ve met is.
“You’re offended,” Killian observes, nodding. “That’s not uncommon when people are hit with hard truths.”
“I’ll pit my brain against your billions any day.”
“And it’s a battle you’d swiftly lose.” Killian’s tone hardens. “There’s a difference between you and me. You have ridiculous, hypocritical moral standards you follow. There are lines you won’t cross.” He leans forward. “I have no boundaries or limits. When I want something, I take it, plain and simple. I wanted to reform an entire industry, so I did. I never wanted to be unable to afford medicine or groceries, and so I became a billionaire. I wanted to grind my enemies into the dirt… and so I have.”
I swallow as his words cause a chill in my bones. “Where’s that philanthropic, justice-oriented man everyone speaks so highly about?”
Killian observes me for several moments. “You peeled back that layer, Lyra. Now you get to deal with who I really am.”
Chapter Eight
“Now,” Killian says calmly. “I asked you a host of questions, and you ignored them. I don’t appreciate the brattiness—it won’t get you anywhere with me.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Other than punished. Is that what you’re trying to do, my flighty Little Bird? Earn a punishment?”
