Page 28 of Paved in Venom

I sit on the edge of the bed and hold my hand out. She puts her hand in mine, trying to not make it obvious that she’s staring at my dick, but she most definitely is. I put some antibiotic ointment on my finger and gently rub it onto her skin.

“Thanks for last night, Danil.”

I meet her blue eyes and give her a wink. “Anytime. I’m pretty good with night terrors. Matvey has them sometimes.” I give a soft laugh. “I handle his a little differently, though.”

“Why does he have night terrors?”

“Lots of reasons,” I tell her. “He was in a fire when he was younger. He tried to save his mom and sister but couldn’t get to them in time.”

“I’m sorry, that’s terrible. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay. You should know about them in case you hear him screaming at night. I wouldn’t want it to scare you, and he wouldn’t want that either.”

“Emily said that he’s in love with Alina.”

“He is,” I tell her, “and this is slowly killing him.”

Turning her hand over, I rub the ointment along her inner wrist. Ernst may have been a sick, ugly bastard, but there’s no denying he’s a skilled tattoo artist. It’s bad enough she had to get one, but at least it’s well done.

When I’m finished, I keep her hand in mine, not wanting to let her go. Her blue eyes meet mine, and I want so badly to close the distance, but I don’t. I wait to see what she’ll do. I try to hide my disappointment when she pulls her hand back.

“I should get dressed,” she says, climbing out of bed. My shirt hits her mid-thigh, and I can’t pull my eyes from her legs. I don’t trust myself right now, so I keep my ass on the bed, knowing if I stand up, I’m going to be grabbing onto her and I may very well never let go.

I’m expecting her to go into the bathroom, but she stays where she’s at, hesitating. I watch her bare feet, the pink-painted toes digging into the carpet before she makes a decision and takes a step forward. Reaching out, she cups my face and tilts me up so she can see me.

“Did you mean what you said last night?”

“I meant every word I said to you last night.”

“You’re going to kill them?”

“Yes.”

“Just like that?” she searches my face, and I know she’s wondering what kind of monster I am.

“Just like that,” I tell her, letting her see me for who I am. I’m a man who’s killed before and will kill again, and I won’t feel even the slightest twinge of regret about it. “They hurt you, so I’m going to kill them.”

“Why do you care?”

I reach up and drag my thumb along her cheek. “I just do, sladkaya.”

Her breath hitches when I drag my finger along her jawline. “What does that word mean?”

I give a soft laugh. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but instead she says, “Thanks for taking care of me, and I’m sorry again about last night. I’m guessing that’s not how you envisioned things after spending so much money on me.”

I shake my head before she’s even finished talking. “I will always take care of you, no matter what, and I didn’t go to that auction with the intention of buying someone I was going to fuck.”

The look on her face lets me know I’ve said the wrong damn thing. She quickly says, “That’s not what I meant. I mean, I didn’t think that you wanted to sleep with me, or whatever, I just meant that I’m sorry it was such a shitty night for you.”

Her hands are still cupping my face, so I turn my head and kiss her palm. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t go there to buy a woman. I was never going to force myself on someone. I went there to save someone, and I was hoping they’d be able to help us by giving us some information.”

“Why me?” She whispers. “Why did you pick me?”

“I was sent a file of photos before the auction took place, and I looked at them over and over again. I couldn’t choose. I couldn’t bring myself to pick one woman out of all of them, but when I got there, they had added one more photo to the line-up.”

I look up at her. “Yours.” I give a soft laugh. “I couldn’t look away. Once I saw your face it was a done deal. I knew you were the one I had to bet on.”

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