Page 74 of Nest of Thieves
She stops moving, fingers clenching into fists. “What?”
“Why is it you run from me now, but not when I threatened to kill your boyfriend?”
Laughing, she rolls her eyes. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Just a lover, then. Either way, the threat remains.”
She holds her ground.
“See? You’re not afraid of that, but you’re afraid of me getting too close.”
“Please.” She scoffs. “I’m tired, not scared. Your filthy mouth doesn’t scare me.”
“No?” I say with a smirk. “Then you’d have no problem with me burying it between your legs and cleaning you up.”
Her pupils dilate and her chest heaves, those pretty tits reaching for me. I move for her, but she holds her hand up, stopping me in my tracks. I lift an eyebrow, and she shakes her head.
“Is your heart battering against your chest?” I press my palm against my own.
“No,” she lies.
“Is your core clenching in need? Desperate for my knot?” I take a step, and she scowls, taking one back.
“No,” she lies again.
I tsk. “One day, Kitten, I’m going to make you regret ever lying to me.” I jerk my chin toward the door. “Run, and just this once, I won’t chase you.”
Her spine stiffens, her temper flaring across her face. She doesn’t like my taunts.
I run my hand down my chest, slowly tracing it over my abs. She swallows and the kitchen floods with her desire. I bite my cheek to keep from prowling over and ripping her shorts off.
“I’m done playing this game,” she murmurs, turning and heading out of the kitchen with her head held high.
Ever so slowly, I follow after her, stopping at the base of the staircase and watching her hips sway with each step she takes.
“Kitten?”
She pauses, hand on the railing. She doesn’t say a word, but I know she’s listening. Waiting. Needing to hear whatever it is I have to say. A Cheshire smile stretches across my face, and the devil claims my tongue as his own.
“The next time you run, I’m chasing you. And when I catch you, because Iwill, I’m going to fuck the fright out of you until all you can think about is my name and how my knot stretches your walls. Those luscious lips will rasp my name until your throat goes dry and only my seed spilling down your throat will quench your thirst.”
A shiver races down her spine and triumph spreads through me. She continues up the stairs, thinking she’s escaping the danger. Little does she know she’s already in the viper’s nest.
twenty
JO
The bag of suppressants sits on the bedside table, mocking me. I scowl at the bag and look away. Atticus is slithering around in his vivarium, tongue flicking in the air. I get out of bed and open the lid, reaching my hand inside and waiting for him to curl around my wrist and make himself at home. He slowly winds around and flicks his tongue over the inside of my forearm. Stroking his scales, I sit on the floor.
“It would be smart to take them,” I tell Atticus.
It’s been a day since I got the pills from Ricky. Twenty-four hours since my head became a mess of what-ifs. Every pack I met at OU functions were filled with preppy, law-abiding alphas. They never appealed to me. I never wanted anything other than the freedom to build my kingdom. Over the course of a handful of days, Lark, Vette, and Mac have turned my world upside down.
“Today is my birthday,” I whisper. “I’m twenty-one.”
Logically, I knew at some point, I’d have to face my heat. The more suppressants you take, the worse the heat will be. I could take them for a year, but I’d end up in a month-long frenzy. I don’t know what’s worse, facing two days of unbridled desire or denying my body what it needs. I don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. I have an IUD. The life I lead isn’t the best for raising kids, but without having to worry about that complication, could I accept being theirs?
“How am I supposed to decide what to do, Atticus? Should I trust them?”
