Suddenly, I know.It hits me.
Holy shit.
Silver and his friends arethe pranksters.They are the ones who do this every year.It has to be one of them.
I start panting because I’m deprived of oxygen.Heavy gasps.I might hyperventilate.I jerk my gaze around the room, starting with Lucien and moving across from him to Dante, Talon, and finally, my attention shifts to Rook.
He’s staring at me, teeth gritted.His eyes narrow at the same moment the butterfly begins to vibrate against my clit.My mouth falls open as I clench.One of his hands is in his pocket.
It’s him.
Rook.
It’s fucking him.
I know this with incredible clarity, but I can’t process it.Confusion swarms around me.
He doesn’t blink.
I can’t get enough air.
Somehow, I manage to push back from the table.The vibrations increase.If I stand, I’m going to collapse.
He knows.
He fucking knows.
Rook finally speaks for the first time since this madness started.“Don’t you dare move, Briana.Stay right where you are.”
I gasp.His voice.It’s the one he uses when he comes to me.It’s his disguise, deeper than the one I’ve heard Rook use this evening or the first time I met him.I remember now.That voice.
“Rook?”Silver shouts.“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Rook continues to hold me with his intense stare while he speaks to my brother.“I didn’t know who she was, Silver.”
“But you knew when she came for coffee that morning.You had to have recognized her then.Why didn’t you fucking say anything?”
A vein pops out on Rook’s forehead.“Say what, Silver?Announce to you and my girl on a weekday morning right before classes that I’m the stranger she’s devoted to?”
“What the fuck doesthatmean?”Silver asks.“Devotedto you how?Are you suggesting you’ve seen her more than once?”
“What the hell?”Dante interrupts.“You pranked Bri more than one time?That’s against the rules.”
I shift my gaze to Dante, “Rules!?”I shout.“The five of you fucking terrorize women, and you have fucking rules?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Rook informs me.
Somehow, I find the will to jump to my feet.The butterfly is still vibrating.
“Sit down, Briana!”Rook yells as he rises across from me.“Now, princess.Sit down.”He points toward my chair.
I don’t have to listen to him.I’ve never had to do anything he said.I got caught up in the madness and let him control me.A stranger.My stalker.My Daddy.
The room is spinning.I can’t process all of this.It’s overwhelming.I seriously think I might faint.I can’t focus on any one aspect of this fucked-up situation.
Rook?
Rook is my stalker?