Come Hell or High Water - Striker x Reader (18+)

94. A Thief in the Night

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TRIGGER WARNING:

This chapter contains strong themes of sexual trauma that may be disturbing or troubling for some readers. Please proceed with caution.

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"When I die, leave me to the wolves, for they will be kinder to my body than men."

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There was a huge thunderstorm that covered the Pentagram that night, pelting every building with sheets of heavy rain. Deafening thunder rumbled through the sky for hours, rattling the hotel with every loud clap. How I ever managed to stay asleep for so long with all the thunder that night is still a wonder to me. But I slept like a rock until I was awoken around one or two in the morning.

I didn't hear anyone come in — the storm must have concealed the noise — and I didn't realize anyone was in the room with me until the covers were suddenly snatched off my body.

A large hand shook my shoulder, waking me further, and my eyes fluttered open. The room was pitch black — I couldn't even make out the figure of the person standing beside my bed.

"(Y/N)," said a familiar voice as its owner shook my shoulder one more time. "Wake up."

"Neil?" I slurred, wiping the sleep from my eyes, and sat up. "What are you doing in here, man? It's the middle of the night. And how'd you get in? I didn't think I left the door unlocked. . ."

"I wanted to see you," he answered matter-of-factly, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I felt his hand release my shoulder and cup the side of my face. "I needed to tell you something, (Y/N)."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What — is it about our project? It couldn't have waited until the morning? We still have another week to submit our design for the flyers — "

Neil used his body weight to push me backward onto the mattress, causing me to momentarily freeze, my eyes darting around in a vain attempt to catch a silhouette of something in the blackness.

"It's not about some stupid project." He loomed over me, pressing his body onto mine. "The truth is . . . I think I'm in love with you, (Y/N). And — I'm thinking we should make love."

Neil didn't give me even a second to process what he'd just said before he proceeded to dip his head down and plant a hard kiss on my lips. I squeaked in surprise, breaking off the kiss and pushing his frame away.

"Neil," I started, "I-I'm sorry. I — I don't really feel that way about you. I just see you as a friend. . ."

He took my hands in his, fervently kissing me again before pinning my wrists to the mattress above my head.

My stomach lurched. "Neil — I said stop. I don't want to."

A hand slithered underneath my pajama shirt, sending an unwanted chill down my spine as it travelled up my torso and squeezed my breast.

"Neil — stop," I repeated, my panic now evident in my voice. "Please stop, Neil."

He grabbed the hem of my shirt and hiked up the garment to expose my chest to the darkness. "You've been flirting with me for weeks, (Y/N). Don't act like you don't want this."

I stiffened for just a brief moment. Had I been flirting with him? We had grown a bit closer since the two of us started working on the flyer design for the hotel. We hung out nearly every day, at least for a little while to discuss the project. We had become much friendlier with one another over the past few weeks, and I had even branched out and shown a little more affection toward him. . .