The Hacker Who Locked Me In

[Once you've finished the dessert he made, it'll be your turn to feed him.] The floating comments said my housemate—a hacker legend—wanted to lock me to the bed every night.

Under his pillow, he'd hidden a pair of handcuffs. [Run. He's a yandere.] That night, someone kissed my lips in the dark. I was so excited I couldn't stop trembling.

Chapter 1 Before Mom and my stepdad left on their trip around the world, they asked Pierce to look after me.

The touch deprivation I called "skin hunger" was flaring up, and every night was miserable.

To ease it, I took several showers a night, until the hot water left my skin flushed and sore.

Pierce heard the water running in my bathroom again and knocked on the door. "Mallory, how many showers are you going to take?" he said impatiently. "Are you really that dirty?" I turned off the faucet and answered guiltily, "I… I just don't feel well." My skin was starving.

I wanted so badly to cuddle up against someone. Hot water helped a little, but it wasn't enough. "What's wrong?" Pierce asked, his voice low.

I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the bathroom door.

He looked at my bright red skin and frowned. "Are you trying to scald yourself to death?" My cheeks were flushed, my eyes wet. "The hot water on my skin… it feels good." "Something's off with you.

Don't do this again." Pierce looked away. I saw the tips of his ears go faintly red for a split second. Pierce was about to turn and leave when I grabbed his arm. "Pierce, don't go.

Could you…" I bit my lip. The words were right there, but I was too embarrassed to say them.

Pierce stopped, his gaze dropping to his arm. "Could I what?" "Could you… hold me…" The last part was barely audible. I thought Pierce hadn't heard me.

He was silent for a full thirty seconds before he finally spoke, his voice low and distant. "Mallory, I'm your brother.

Please keep some boundaries." I worked up my courage. "We're not even related by blood." "Besides, didn't we hug back when we were dating?" "Mom and Dad aren't home anyway.

Just hold me, okay?" "My skin hunger is flaring up. I feel really awful…" Pierce cut me off. "Skin hunger?

Sounds more like you're delusional." He said sternly, all righteous conviction, "Mallory, there's no chance of us getting back together.

Don't try to fool me with such a lame excuse." I froze, let go of his arm, and said, dejected, "Okay. I get it." Pierce and I had dated in college.

After we broke up, my mom married his dad. We became brother and sister in name. But legally, we had nothing to do with each other.

By unspoken agreement, we never brought up that innocent first love. A year ago, Pierce had suggested getting back together. I turned him down. I liked yanderes, and he wasn't one.

Back then, I'd told him, "Pierce, I'm your sister. There's no chance of us getting back together." I never expected him to hand my own words back to me, word for word.

After college, Pierce went to work at Beaumont Group. I'd heard from my mom that he and his secretary, Hattie Tierney, were very close.

He probably had someone new, and that was why he didn't want me touching him. Or maybe dating me had left him scarred.

Chapter 2 I shut the bathroom door, turned the shower back on, and cranked the temperature all the way up. But Pierce shut off the main water valve.

From outside the bathroom, he said coldly, "From now on, one shower a day. Or I'll shut off the water." I felt awful.

That night I lay under the covers, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Pierce's room was right next to mine. He texted me: [Can you give it a rest?

If this keeps up, move out.] I thought for a moment, then texted back: [Fine. I'll move out tomorrow.] I found a rental online, a small twobedroom house with a backyard.

My housemate was a twentyfiveyearold guy. His name was Keegan Varga. We shared the place for two weeks without any trouble and gradually got to know each other.

He was handsome and didn't talk much, but he often cooked and asked me to eat with him. Until that night, when I was eating a tiramisu he'd made and saw the floating comments. [Run.

He's a yandere. He's got handcuffs hidden under his pillow.] [Every night he wants to lock you to his bed.] [Still eating?

Once you're full, it'll be your turn to feed him.] I stole a glance at Keegan, unable to believe what the comments said. Had I actually run into a real, live yandere?

And one with a toptier face and body, no less. So exciting. Such a thrill. The reason Pierce and I broke up in the first place was that he thought I was a freak.

Countless times, I'd told him, "I want you to lock me up so bad. Will you go buy some handcuffs?" He'd stared at me in horror. "Mallory, are you sick in the head?" Yes. I am.

Once, Pierce and I got stuck in an elevator. He was counting the minutes, waiting for rescue. But I was thinking, darkly, that I wanted to stay in there with him a little longer.

If the rescue crew really couldn't get to us, then he and I could die in there together, couldn't we? That kind of thinking scared Pierce, and he broke up with me.

I felt he wasn't possessive enough of me, so I agreed. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I popped the last bite of tiramisu into my mouth.

I smiled at Keegan. "My showers take a while. If you're in a hurry, you can go first." "No need," he said evenly. "I'm not in a hurry.

You go first." "Oh, okay." I got up and went to my room for a towel.

The moment I pushed the door shut, I saw comments float past in front of me. [Wanna hide behind the door and peek at what Keegan's doing right now?] My hand went stiff.

Through the gap in the door, which hadn't quite closed, I looked toward the living room.

Keegan was scooping the leftover cream off the tiramisu plate with his fingertip, bringing it to his lips, and licking it off.

When he looked up, his eyes met mine, right where I was hiding behind the door. That look was deep and dark, with a faint glint of excitement. Like a wild cat luring you in.

I shut the door tight. It was a long time before my heart settled. Every time Keegan made tiramisu, he watched me eat it and never tasted a bite himself.

I never imagined he'd lick up the cream I'd left behind. What a freak. I loved it. I came out of my room with my towel and nightgown.

Passing through the living room, I saw Keegan in the kitchen washing the tiramisu plate.

From behind he looked tall and straightbacked, and his handsome face had gone back to its usual cool reserve.

He seemed like a completely different man from the one who'd just licked cream off his fingertip.

I went into the bathroom, and the instant I shut the door, I saw the comments again.

Chapter 3 [Know why he always waits till you're done before he showers?] [Because he uses the clothes you take off to…] [You've got skin hunger, he's got an insatiable sex drive.] [You two are a perfect match.] My cheeks burned red.

No way. That was way too freaky. Was there anything even freakier? [He's got hundreds of your selfies saved on his phone.] I froze. What?

Where did he get my selfies? [He's a hacker legend.

Your every move is under his control.] [He can hack your phone in minutes and back up your whole photo album.] [He knows your browsing history too.] [That's terrifying.

Honestly, you should run.] The more I read, the more excited I got. Other people found it scary, but I loved it. What can I say? I'm a freak too.

My most frequent searches were: [What's it like to date a yandere?] [How to relieve skin hunger?] [What does it mean if I keep dreaming about being locked up?] [How to get a yandere's attention?] If Keegan could hack into my phone, did that mean he also knew I liked yanderes?

Did he know about my skin hunger too? [Of course.

Even the roommate listing you found online was a trap he set just for you.] [He's had a secret crush on you for ages.] [Do you know how he's gotten through these past few years?] [Every night in his dreams, he can't help calling your name.] Wow.

Now I liked him even more. In the shower, I turned the water all the way up. My skin hunger was flaring again, and hot water alone couldn't ease it.

I wanted so badly… to cuddle up against Keegan. Just thinking about the handcuffs under his pillow made me even more excited.

What would it be like for someone with skin hunger to date someone with an insatiable sex drive? [Then you two could stay in for a week straight.] [You're a fish out of water, and he's your ocean.] [He'll never leave you thirsty.

As much as you want, he's got plenty.] As the water got hotter, a sound slipped out of me before I could stop it. "Mm…" From outside the bathroom came Keegan's low, husky voice. "Ms.

Emerson, do you need help?" My skin adjusted to the heat of the water.

I calmed down. "Could you grab me a sheet mask from the vanity in my room?" "Sure." Keegan turned and went to my room.

The comments came pouring in. [Mallory left her bra draped over the vanity chair on purpose so Keegan would see it the second he walked in.] [She's totally teasing him.] [Keegan's about to get a nosebleed.] Two minutes later, Keegan knocked on the door with a sheet mask in hand.

I opened the door a crack, hid behind it, and reached out for the mask. My fingertips deliberately brushed across his.

I heard Keegan swallow hard. [Damn, she's good at this.] [That fire he just put out? You lit it all over again.] After my shower, I went back to my room.

I tossed my clothes into the washing machine. But I made a point of leaving one little camisole I'd worn in the bathroom.

When Keegan went in to shower, I saw the comments. [So scheming. He loves the cami you left.] [Wanna go eavesdrop?] The comments actually knew I was into that.

I really wanted to listen. But I had to hold back. I held out for half an hour, and then I just couldn't anymore.

Chapter 4 I tiptoed to the bathroom door and pressed my ear against it. The sound of water was mixed with a trace of restrained panting. About ten minutes went by.

I was listening with rapt attention when the door suddenly opened. I crashed into a cold embrace