Page 47 of Going Home

"I'm meeting another woman!" she hisses.

"And one you should try to make a good impression on."

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because if I say I don't like you, Venom will probably drop you like a bad habit," Lex says from behind them.

Venom whips his head around to see Lex, and her appearance changes him from annoyed to startled to concerned in a matter of four seconds. She looks like she hasn't eaten in days and not slept in more than that. "Lex, this is Cinder."

"I figured," she says. "She's got attitude."

"You think he'll drop me after I fuck him senseless every night?" Cinder asks, her eyes narrowing as she sizes up Lex. "Just because you say so?"

Tilting her head, Lex just smirks. "I'll never tell him who he can or cannot date, but I don't keep my opinions to myself. If I don't like you, I'm going to tell you. And him. And if I don't like you, I'm not going to waste my time. He can, but I won't. Life's too short."

He decides he needs show he has loyalty, and he moves to stand beside Lex as he locks eyes with Cinder. Part of him hopes Cinder pisses Lex off and gives him a reason to drop her. Something with her isn't clicking outside of the bedroom. "If she doesn't think you're worth her time, you won't be worth mine. I'll be out."

"You two have fucked, haven't you?"

Lex snorts and holds her hands up. "And I'm done here."

"Because you seem to not remember," he says, his voice a growl, "Lex is like a big sister to me. You know, this is what I was looking for, and I think I got my answer. It's time to go."

"Wait," Cinder says and grabs Lex's hand to stop her from walking away. Lex looks down at it like something disgusting just splashed up onto her arm. Considering she's a mother, Venom can only assume how bad something must be to meet her definition of disgusting. "I have a hard time sharing. Only child. Plus, I really like him."

Nodding, she sniffles. "If you hurt him, I'll curb stomp you."

For some inexplicable reason, this earns a smile from Cinder. "You do that often?"

"Only on special occasions."

"I have a few tips to make it more impactful and painful. If you want."

Lex raises an eyebrow. "You do it often?"

"I have a short fuse."

"You don't say."

The two women stare each other down, and Venom can't decide if they're bonding or threatening each other when Colt walks up.

"It comes from being raised by my dad. He's tough, and I got a lot of shit growing up because he owns a junkyard. Didn't matter how much money he made, he dealt with trash," Cinder says.

So that's why she's such a hard person. She had to be tough.

"I get that," Lex says. "Grew up a biker's kid."

"Oh, good. They're bonding," Colt says. "No offense, you look... Fuck it, you look batshit crazy. We have about all the crazy women we can handle already."

Lex turns to her husband. "She can teach me to be even crazier, and when I get crazy, that usually means good things for you. In the bedroom."

"I think you might hurt him, actually," Cinder says.

"Never," Colt says and bites his lip as he stares into Lex's eyes.

Smiling, she winks at him. "I'll be back there in a minute."

"Have fun," he says and slaps Venom on the shoulder. "Seriously, though, this has disaster written all over it, but maybe that's just what you need."

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