Page 36 of Dante's Circle Reborn

“Thatistrue. As for my snakes, no, they do not have names, but they are mine.” She slid her hands through them, and they coiled around her. “They’re not pure reptilian. They’re a part of me. It’s hard to explain. They feel what I feel, even though they do have personalities of their own.”

“So, you don’t have like a sled of puppies on your head, as Penelope would say.” He said it softly, and it made her smile. Apparently, he knew she was nervous. She’d spoken of her snakes before. They were part of her, but she’d been forced to hide them even within the gorgon realm. It was hard to let go of those secrets, even to a man that she knew deep down would never betray her.

She smiled, though, thinking of baby Penelope. “No, I don’t. No sleds here. I haven’t named them truly. Others have, but mine are just a part of me. They haven’t wanted names yet, if that makes sense.” She paused. “But I think they like you.”

He studied her snakes, his jaguar in his eyes. “The one on the right coiled around my wrist when you were passed out after the attack.”

“I figured. That one likes to wrap around wrists and other things...mostly because it can strangle.”

He arched a brow, but there was still laughter in his eyes. “That’s good to know.”

“They’re a part of me, and I can put the glamour back up.” She ran her hand over her snakes, and they slithered along her palm.

“You don’t need to wear a glamour if you don’t want to.”

“Maybe not, but they might be in the way.” She caressed her snakes, mostly to make sure they knew they weren’t in trouble, even if they would have been able to feel it from her directly. Then she turned her glamour back on so she was only skin, and hair, and nerves.

“What are we doing?” she whispered after a moment of silence. Not awkward, but filled withmoments. Anticipation.

“Living.” A simple answer that was anything but simple.

“I don’t know what to feel. I’ve never felt like this before in my life.”

“I don’t think you were supposed to. I’m your one and only.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“You could. Here.” He rubbed his fist over his heart.

“If we do this, we’ll be bonded for eternity. There’s no going back,” Poppy said, swallowing hard.

“And I know we should take time and not rush into it. I know we should figure out exactly who we are, but I want to know more. I want this. And I know it’s fate pushing at us, and it makes no sense, but I’m going to protect you till the end of my days.”

“You don’t even know me,” Poppy said, laughing.

“I would protect you even if you weren’t my mate. Because I protect the innocent.”

She shook her head. “I’m not innocent.”

“You are. But it’ll take more than my words to make you believe that. Until then…we wait. We wait to bond. We figure out who we are, but first, we need to protect you.”

She let out a shaky breath, needing to do something but unsure what to say. “Will you teach me how to fight?”

Jonah nodded. “First, let’s teach you how to punch. Do not tuck your thumb in.”

“I thought that was the best way to do it,” she said, looking down at her fist.

“Like I said, that’s the best way to break your thumb.”

“Oh.”

He slid behind her, and she sucked in a breath, the heat of him almost too much.

“This might be a bad idea,” she whispered, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, the growl in his chest reverberated through her.

She could feel her snakes quivering above her head, and she knew they wanted this as much as she did. More like they wanted emotion, and she was the one who gave it to them. In a weird Medusa way, but that was who she was.

“Okay, how do I punch?”

---