Page 16 of Desperately Delicate Viper

“We can sit up and keep an eye on him,” Regg says.

I glare again.

“We’ll keep a better eye this time,” the other one promises. “We didn’t think he would take off like that.”

I chew on my lip a little longer and finally nod.

“Fine. Don’t hesitate to take him to the hospital if you need to. My number is in his phone, and I’ll have a new one by tomorrow, so make sure he calls me as soon as he’s conscious.”

“Got it,” Regg says, and his other friend nods in agreement.

I put my hands on Finn’s face and wait for his eyes to focus on me for a second.

“Your friends are going to take care of you. Call me as soon as you wake up, okay?” He nods and mumbles an agreement. I kiss his forehead and then give his friends one last hard look.

I should have asked to use one of their phones to call myself a ride back to the city, but they’re long gone by the time I realize I’m shit out of luck. Waiting for the bus is going to be my only option.

I grumble and huff to myself, hitching my bag more comfortably on my shoulder and starting for the nearest bus stop. I make it as far as the main road through campus before a familiar car catches my eye. The silver BMW is parked next to the curb. The car itself doesn’t look nearly as out of place as the man leaning against it though.

LUCA

Anders stops on the sidewalk a few feet away from me, his face carefully blank even though I can see a smear of blood on his knuckle and scrapes on both of his knees. I got to the alley just as the man, I’m assuming Anders’s brother, was telling himnot to kill the man on the ground. I would have happily done it for him, but I’m not sure Anders would have appreciated it and right now, I’m still trying to get on his good side. Or whichever side I need to be on to convince him to turn all that heat and passion in my direction again.

I pull his phone out of my pocket and hold it out. He eyes it for a second and then takes the last few steps between us to snatch it out of my hand.

“You’re stalking me now?” A flicker of fire in his eyes melts the indifference off of his face and makes my cock slowly start to swell.

“If you want to get technical about it.” I smirk. “I found your address and was just pulling up when I saw you hop in the car.”

“So, you followed me,” he concludes, crossing his arms.

“I told you, I want to talk.”

Anders’s cheek twitches and he looks around for a second, like he’s hoping to see an easy escape route, or maybe checking to see if I brought backup.

“What’s to talk about? I can’t give your watch back; I already pawned it. I’d return your money, but it’s gone.” He licks his lips and drops his crossed arms, straightening his shoulders to stare me down with a bold glint in his expression. “I’m done being pimped out, so I think that covers what you could possibly want from me. Either shoot me or let’s chalk this up to a funny story and move on with our lives.”

I stutter a laugh and shove my hands into my pockets to keep myself from reaching for him. The comment about being pimped out doesn’t go unnoticed though. It sits bitterly in my throat for several long seconds. Dante wasn’t able to get me a hell of a lot of information on Anders except that he graduated top of his class but never went to college. His mom died eight years ago when he was twenty, leaving him and his younger brother Finneas withtheir father. Outside of his address, phone number, and socials, that was it.

I want to ask who’s been hurting him. Whoever it is, I can guarantee they’ll know the meaning of pain when I’m finished with them. I bite my tongue so hard I taste blood to keep myself from demanding answers. Now isn’t the time.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and send him another payment through the cash app. I can hear the gentle buzz of his phone and his jaw ticks.

“Ah, so ‘talk’is just code for wanting another taste of me.” He scoffs. “You want to buy my ass like everyone else.” He shakes his head and then fixes his eyes on mine. They’re full of that predatory, nearly unhinged rage that first caught my attention at Wonderland.

“Not tonight,” I say. “Tonight, I want to buy you dinner and talk. But, of course, I’m going to pay for your time. I wouldn’t want your…” I clench my jaw and measure the next word before I speak it. “Employerto get on you about missed income.”

Anders weighs his phone in his hand while he seems to consider the offer, then he takes another step forward, bringing us toe to toe. He brushes his hair off of his forehead with one hand, wrapping the other around my tie.

My breath catches and my cock surges harder. He yanks on my tie, and I stumble to close the last inch between us. The fact that Anders is just as likely to pull a switchblade and embed it in my guts as he is to kiss me has my pulse singing and my heart racing. Lucky for me, it’s his mouth on mine that punches the air out of my lungs instead of a blade.

The kiss is just as biting and harsh as the first time, more teeth than lips, his tongue rough and demanding as it coaxes mine out and then lashes it away between one breath and the next. I can taste the metallic tang of his blood on hisabused bottom lip. I moan around his tongue and melt into the punishment of the kiss until he shoves me back again.

“I was really fucking hoping that wasn’t as good as I remembered,” he mutters, then reaches for the passenger door handle. “Fine, take me to dinner and make me an offer I can’t refuse.”

Chapter 8

LUCA

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