Page 16 of Sweet Venom

I cut her off before she can continue giving me lip service we all know is false bravado. I saw the fear in her eyes when I found her in here. "Wrong. Tonight you are whatever I want you to be. We both know you won't win." I keep my eyes pinned on hers, ensuring there is no misunderstanding that her presence is not a request but a demand. If necessary, I will gladly chase her down once more. "Sit down, Vivian, before I make good on my threats." I practically growl out as my patience for her games runs thin.

She raises one brow in question as she rolls her lips. The woman is a master at getting under my skin. As I wait to see how she wants this to play out, my eyes slowly drift to her neck, where the skin is red and blotchy from where I grabbed her moments ago. My mark on her neck makes me happier than it should.

She catches my knowing glare and breaks my stare. Bringing her hand up to her neck, she gently caresses the abraded skin and clears her throat. She doesn't miss a thing. I'm not sure what she dissected from the seconds my eyes were locked on her neck, but whatever it was has her walking away from the door and back to me.

I force myself out of my thoughts of her and back to the task at hand, pulling up the club's security system after the reset Vivian forced everything into by pressing the panic button.

"You really hate me so much that you would force yourself on me just so that you could run back to Ellis and tell him you fucked his girl?" she asks as she throws herself into one of the black leather chairs flanking my desk.

I should have known she wouldn't concede quietly. Rather than give her my eyes or the attention I know she is seeking with that statement, I keep focus on the task at hand. Deep down, I know I should ignore her. The little vipera is trying to provoke me. For the past week, I’ve done the same.

Locking her in her room, trying to get her to cave into her traitorous desires, I was more than positive my nightly escapades would bring her to her knees. The first two days were more than taxing on her nerves. I could tell by watching her on the cameras I had strategically placed around the room. She seemed borderline distraught, but it didn't deter me. If anything, it spurred me on knowing I was that much closer to winning. It wasn't until Thursday night that I discovered she was onto my scheme. I'm unsure if her laziness in hiding her knowledge of my plans was due to hunger or jealousy. But the more time I spend with her, the more I'm confident the latter is true. She can pretend all she wants with Ellis, but we both know she can't fool me, and I refuse to let her hide. It's not that I want to hurt my brother, but I'll do it if it means he's not with her.

With that in mind, I throw fuel onto the fire. Who am I kidding? It's in my nature. I was never going to let her have the last word. "I can't force myself on you, vipera. We both know that pussy is still wet for me."

"You're such a self-absorbed asshole. My pussy isn't—"

Holding up my hand, I say, "Don't lie to yourself and me by trying to deny what we both know is a fact." I give her my eyes for the first time since I've sat down and add, "Shall I stand up and prove it?"

As if the heat I felt there hadn't been confirmation enough, when I walked across the room to grab my phone and adjust my raging boner, I felt her wetness all over my pants. She's wearing no fucking panties. Her juices coated the outside of my pants while I pinned her to the desk. She loved every second of my length pushed against her greedy pussy.

Her eyes hold mine as she purses her lips, no doubt contemplating how far she wants to push me in my rightness. "Fine. What's so important that we can't leave? The club is empty, and I'm sure you have a fire marshal to meet with downstairs." She quirks an eyebrow in challenge. Vivian may have called off my staff, but I took it a step further and emptied the club by pulling the fire alarm. However, the authorities can wait. I need to look at the footage and see if my suspicions are right. I need solid proof of what I'm certain is true.

"I refuse to be ignored, Sebastian. If you don't want me to run, you better start talking. What the hell is going on?"

My business is mine and mine alone. It is not her concern, but I'll give her what I gave Ellis. It's significant and enough of a distraction to keep from revealing my real motives for returning to San Jose. While I am not one to be browbeaten into anything. I don't care to play any more games tonight, especially with what's going on downstairs.

"If you must know, someone has robbed the club tonight."

"What? Oh my god, Sebastian. Why didn't you say that five minutes ago? Should I call Ellis?" I can't help but laugh at her response, which earns me more lip service. "What is so fucking funny, Sebastian? There is something wrong with you. This is serious."

She stands, and before she can do something stupid like forget that she's not allowed to leave me, I say, "What's funny is that you think my brother isn't aware. The robberies are the whole purpose for my being here in San Jose."

A lie, one that falls from my lips easily. Before I can give Vivian any more attention, a brunette on-screen at approximately 9:46 pm catches my eye, and it's the exact one I expected to see. I knew it was one of the girls making the drop, and I had a feeling it was her. It's why I've been keeping her close. I had some cameras installed in an area where we had blind spots. Seeing as how the cameras are not on my property, it's not technically one hundred percent legal, but neither is stealing. I'm not looking for law enforcement to do a job I can handle. I don't need this evidence to be submitted in a court of law. I just need it to be legit.

"Robberies? As in plural?" she queries, and I can't help but be snide.

"Yeah, I thought Ellis would have mentioned them to you."

I know damn well he hasn't. After Vivian left, I asked one time what was going on, and all he said was, "She needs time." I remember despising that fucking response and giving him a piece of my mind right then and there regarding what I thought about her. I even told him about how she had walked in on me fucking a girl whose name I can no longer recall, and that's when his entire demeanor changed. For a second, I thought I had finally gotten him to see what I have seen all along. She is not the marrying type, not the type he deserves, but all he said was, "When she comes back, you will fall in line. She is the one."

My brother is a man of few words, so the ones he does choose to say, you listen to intently and take notes. It's those words that have kept me from doing something unforgivable in proving my rightness that she is not wifey material. She is not worthy to stand at his side and be all he deserves.

"Sebastian, let's get one thing straight. I don't need your approval to date your brother. Your comments now do not make me insecure. Is our relationship perfect? No, but I dare you to show me one that is." She pauses and stands before adding, "Now if you're done grandstanding and trying to push me out of something you know nothing about, why don't you tell me what put that little smirk on your face? Maybe I can help. I did manage the girls for two months before leaving."

Before I can even argue, she's coming around the desk to look at the screen and the brunette that has caught my eye. "Is she new? She doesn't look familiar to me."

Well, that answers one of my questions regarding her involvement with another person on my radar.

"Her name is Sayward, and you wouldn't know her. She started working at the club a week after you returned to St. Louis." That little detail is one of the reasons I have yet to look into Vivian's potential involvement. Sayward came on board after Vivian had already left town, but the ties are loosely there nonetheless. Whether Vivian is aware or not is left to be determined.

"Well, if you suspect that she’s stealing, why wouldn't you ask Lana to look into it, or better yet, fire her?"

I quickly shut off the computer, wishing I hadn't shared anything with her. "Sayward hasn't exactly been the easiest employee to work with. The girl is smarter than she lets on. Let's just say she's laid the groundwork for a wrongful termination suit if I let her go without good cause." That's not a lie. It's also not the entire truth, but neither concerns Vivian.

Opening the top drawer, I pull out my keys, grab my phone and say, "Come on. I have a fire marshal to meet with."

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