“You’re just like him.” It was terrifying how much like Keiran Keenan had become.

“I’m nothing like him. I’m much worse. Now open the fucking door.” A loud bang against the door made me jump clear across the room before I could answer.

“Keenan, stop!” I was delirious as I begged at the top of my lungs. The door splintered and heaved under the force of his blows. “Please, just let me go.”

“You will always be someone I want, Shelly…” I hadn’t realized Keenan gained entry until his hands were in my hair and the other had gripped my chin. “…so what fucking makes you think I will ever let you go again?”

“Because we can’t do this.”

“We can do anything we want when I demand it, and right now, I want you to kiss me.”

“What?”

“Prove to me there is no one else—that there has never been anyone else, or I promise you will not walk out of here alive.

When I continued to hesitate, his arms dropped around my waist to crush me against him. When I tried to back away, he tightened his arms until I cried out from the pain. I felt his cock harden against my stomach and stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you getting off on this?”

“Yeah,” his gravelly voice confirmed. “I am.”

“Keenan, what happened to you?”

“You broke my heart,” he answered matter of factly. Despite his arms binding me to him, I felt my knees weaken. I had to clutch his chest to stop the feeling of falling.

“You broke mine, too.”

He had made a rough sound in his throat before he growled, “Quit stalling, or I’ll find another way to shut you up. I’m not in a forgiving mood, Shelly. You won’t be able to take me.”

The warning in his eyes made me finally lift my lips to his. I was surprised at how much I really wanted to kiss him even if it was for a lie.

The way he watched me, even after my lips touched his, was unnerving, so I closed my eyes and sunk into the sin. I kept the kiss soft and slow so as to not give him any more of myself than needed, but it only lasted three seconds.

His teeth sunk down onto my lip causing me to gasp. He used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, drawing out my tongue, and when he began to suck on me, my body heated to fever pitch.

I could only hope he got what he needed because I was no longer in control.

When he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist, I didn’t fight him. I felt him carry me off but was too afraid to look.

Without warning, he yanked my legs from around his waist and I stumbled back before righting myself. I took a quick look around and realized we were now in the bathroom.

“Shower. I’ll find you something to sleep in.”

“I need to go, Keenan. Lake will wonder where I am.”

“You’re not leaving.” It was all he said before disappearing.

If he thought he could bark orders and I’d obey, he was sorely mistaken. I waited long enough until I was sure he’d be gone and took a step for the door. He’d left it open, and I figured if I were quick enough, I could slip past and out of the house before he returned.

I made a silent dash down the hall, confidence building with each step. I just had to get down the stairs and I’d be home free.

I’d just made it to the landing when I heard it. It was a sound so faint, but I knew he was there.

“Keenan?” I called without turning.

“You don’t listen well, do you?”

Before I could offer a response, his hand was on my elbow, gently tugging as he led me back to the bathroom. I watched his face for a sign—anything but the silent way he moved. When we entered the bathroom, he let go of my elbow and indicated with a nod of his head to sit, and wisely, I did.

I didn’t need his confirmation that I fucked up. His silence ironically said it all. But when he left the bathroom once more, I relaxed.

Maybe I should have just taken the shower and convinced him to take me home afterward. Anything was better than slowly becoming unhinged. My nerves were frazzled, and my confidence had long withered away with his first touch.

Keenan finally returned minutes later carrying a royal blue shirt in his hand, one I instantly recognized as his t-shirt. I slept in that shirt every night, but when he left four years ago, I left it behind. It should have still been in my old room, buried with all the other memories of him I’d left behind, so how did he get it?

“How did you get that?”

“Easy. Your parents are away a lot.”

“You broke into their home?”

The impatient look he shot me made me sit back like a coward. “Spare the melodramatic bullshit. It’s a little late to care now, don’t you think?”

“Why wouldn’t I care? It’s wrong.”

“You didn’t think it was wrong when we were together. I know you remember all those nights I’d climb up the stairs and fuck daddy’s little princess’s pussy senseless while he slept down the hall dreaming of empires to crush.”

“That was a different time.”

“You’re right, it was.” He said nothing else as he moved for the shower. I’d been so engrossed in the past that I hadn’t noticed the hex key he carried in his hand.

“What are you doing with that?”

He ignored me and fiddled with the shower handle while I watched in confusion. Is the shower broken? If so, why was he so set on me taking a shower?

The shower handle eventually slid off when he tugged on it revealing a small stem. He slowly turned the stem counterclockwise, each turn making a clicking sound.

When he was done turning it, he slid the handle back on and tightened the screw using the hex key once more.

Pocketing the tool, he turned to face me with a blank expression. “Undress.”

This time I slowly obeyed. His gaze never wavered as my clothes slid from my body. Surprisingly, he didn’t look at my body but kept his eyes trained with mine. I didn’t know whether to be thankful or feel inadequate.

When the last item was shed, he took my hand and led me into the shower. I half expected him to undress and join me, but he simply turned the handle towards the sign that read hot.

“Aren’t you going to close the door?”

“You have eight minutes.”

“Do you really think timing me and standing guard is necessary? I think I can handle personal hygiene on my own… By the way, this water is kind of hot. Is the water heater broken?”

“Who is he?”

My head was under the spray, but because of the increasing temperature of the water, I ducked my head from under the water just in time to hear him.

“I told you there is no one.” I absently reached to turn down the temperature of the water, but his hand on my wrist stopped me. “Let go. The water is too hot.”

“You now have about four minutes to tell me the truth. Who is he?”

If I wasn’t so distracted by the water, I might have answered, but it seemed as if someone had just thrown a pot of boiling water on me.

“I need to get out.” I backed away from the spray, feeling my skin prickle. The water now felt as if it were boiling. Steam rose and covered every inch of the shower until I could hardly see him. Suddenly, his hand appeared through the steam, oblivious to the hot temperature, and he pulled me back under the spray.

“Keenan! It’s too hot.”

“That’s because in two minutes the water will reach a scalding temperature causing first-degree burns to cover your skin. In four, you will suffer second-degree burns. Tell me who he is.” He spoke with a flat tone. So unfeeling and cold. His expression was completely impassive as he watched me suffer under the spray of the water.

I sunk down to the floor of the shower. My body jerked uncontrollably as instinct kicked in, begging for self-preservation. “Please let me out,” I choked out. “I can’t breathe. It hurts so badly.”

“Thirty seconds.”

He continued to appear unaffected, and it was then I finally realized that he would destroy me if I let him.

“Keenan…” I found the strength to lift my head one last time and peered into eyes devoid of a soul, mercy, or love. “Go to hell.”