Page 66 of The Reaper's Vice

He rushes forward, strapping the collar to my neck before I can utter the last letter. When it’s locked in place, Orion sits back on his heels with a haughty grin, raising a small remote control I hadn’t noticed before.

His thumb swirls teasingly around the button as he eyes me, his pupils blowing as he takes in the thick black strap around my neck. “Are you ready to be good for me, Seraphina?”

My eyes narrow in a glare. “I’ve never been good a day in my life, and I’m not going to start for a man with a malformed frontal cortex—Ow!” I jerk my hands up, fingers digging uselessly at the edge of the black box sending electricity through my system. “I fucking hate you.”

“The feeling’s mutual at the moment, dove.” He turns from me and stalks toward his dresser, grabbing a faded Pink Floyd shirt from the bottom drawer. It lands just in front of me, and Orion crosses his arms, waiting for me to put it on.

I glare at him the whole time, but the intoxicating scent of Orion is too much to resist, and it’s over my head in an instant. I breathe in the heady scent of pine sap and cigarette smoke, trying not to make a show of it as I clench my thighs together.

Orion chuckles, grabbing a pair of his sweatpants and walking them over to me. He crooks a finger, ordering me to rise—and I do. Electricity crackles between us as we stand there, breathing in the other’s essence. The vein in the side of Orion’s neck thrums violently as he motions to the pants he holds out to me. I place my hands on his shoulders for support as I step into the leg holes, biting my lip as his muscles shudder beneath my touch.

Once my legs are inside, Orion slides his palm down the front of my pussy, tapping the small metal casing with a breathy laugh. “Remember—only if you’regood.” He leans in, brushing his lips across my jaw and working his way up to my ear. He nips at my lobe, licking up the shell of my ear with a growl rumbling from his chest.

All too soon, he pulls away, leaving me breathless and wanting. He grips the drawstring, pulling it tight and knotting it three times before stepping back, eyeing me up and down with an appreciative expression.

“Like what you see?” I smirk, twirling in a circle as a small laugh bubbles from my lips.

Orion just nods, unblinking. “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful than you are now—raw and smiling and dressed in my clothes. You’re perfect in the morning, Seraphina.” His throat bobs as he reaches out, grabbing my hips and yanking me toward him. “Alluring in the afternoon, intoxicating in the evening.” His breath is hot against my neck as his voice skitters across my skin. “And in the night… in the night, you’readdicting.”

I close my eyes, allowing his words to fall over me, to warm my dying heart. With Orion, it beats with a new strength. It fills me with a sense of hope—a light I thought had been snuffed out long ago. With him, I feel like I can dream again.

But that shouldn’t happen. Not with the man who’s drugged, captured, and collared me. It’s not right. Notdecent. Yet as I let my eyes roam over Orion’s chiseled features, my thoughts absolutelyindecent, I can’t bring myself to care.

Orion steps back, breaking the spell I was under. His usual smirk is in place as he gestures to the door, the remote control poised in his palm.

“Come, Seraphina. I want you to meet my alligators.”

32

ORION

“DON’T FEED HALLUCINOGENS TO THE ALLIGATORS”

Seraphina goes wide-eyedat the mention of my swamp puppies, and I can’t help but laugh to myself. Wordlessly, she allows me to strap her into a pair of thick hiking boots and follows me out toward the small lake at the back of the cabin.

Seraphina’s steps crunch against the dead grass as she steps up to the edge of the murky green lake, her eyes catching on the warning sign jutting at an angle out of the water.

“Don’t feed hallucinogens to the alligators… is that supposed to be a joke?”

“Nope. It’s serious.” I step up to her, placing my hand on the small of her back. She flinches, and I drop my hand away, the limb as heavy as my heart in my chest. I clear my throat, forcing my eyes away from her profile as nervous energy spreads between us.

“Why would anyone feed hallucinogens to a dinosaur? That just seems counterintuitive to survival.” She looks up at me, and the smile in her golden gaze melts some of my anxiety away.

I place my hand on her back, happiness bursting from my pores when she doesn’t flinch away. I open my mouth to explain about the gator’s affinity for drugs when the leathery fucks in question appear on the bank.

Yellow eyes blink menacingly from the surface of the water, and though I know they won’t hurt me, Seraphina takes a step back in fright.

“Those… those are real gators… holy shit…”

I tilt my head. “Were you expecting unicorns? I clearly saidalligators,Seraphina.”

Her lips turn down as she smacks my arm hard enough to leave a welt. “I know what you said. I just didn’t expect them to be so… big.”

Before she can pull her hand away, I grip her wrist, yanking her toward the water. Karen and Bob open their mouths at our approach, baring dozens of sharp, shiny white teeth.

“Orion, don’t you fucking dare?—”

Before she has the chance to finish, I place her palm directly on top of Bob’s snout. Seraphina lets out a choked sound as the leathery flesh greets her skin, and I can tell by the force I have to use to hold her there she’s using every ounce of strength to try to rip away.

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