Page 26 of Sweet Venom

"Please, just let me go," I say on the verge of tears.

His hold loosens slightly when he hears the vulnerability in my voice, and he says, "Fine. Answer one question for me, just one, and I'll let you go." He continues when I go lax in his arms, "Did you want it?"

"Ugh," I whine out, exhausted by the question I don't want to answer. "It doesn't matter," I say as I wiggle again.

He tightens his hold once more before saying, "Vivian, look at me."

"No, I don't want to. I just want to go back to the room."

"Look at me now. It is not a request," he says with a stern tone that leaves no room for argument. When I do as he asks, he releases me only to cup my face and say, "It matters very much. Stop denying yourself what you want. I'm not making you choose."

His words practically stop my heart. He may not be making me choose, but he can't just make it so because he believes it's what I want or need. What he's proposing and who he's suggesting it with are huge things, if that's even what this is. I squeeze my eyes closed tight, convinced none of this is real. I've had too much to drink, and the highs and lows I would have normally run from… today I answered for them. My brain is mush. I feel as if I'm drawing conclusions that maybe aren't there. There is no way he's proposing I sleep with him and his brother regularly.

His lips press against mine, gently pulling me out of my thoughts as his fingers run through my hair. "Let me take you to bed. Nothing has to be discussed tonight."

I give him a reserved smile of acceptance and allow him to take me back to our room. As he carries me through the courtyards of the Serra Estate, only one thought crosses my mind. Tonight, we more than blurred lines. We fucking erased them. Hopefully, we can survive the fallout.

Chapter 9

The Enemy

I've replayed last night multiple times since I woke this morning, trying to recall every detail through my pounding headache. I downed half a bottle of whiskey and that was after drinking wine. I knew I should have left right after I stopped working on the files Ellis had me dig into for Covet, but I couldn't. I'm fucking drawn to the little harlot like a moth to a flame.

Walking out of the office after being holed up for ten hours straight, I caught a glimpse of the little viper walking through the courtyard to dinner, and my blood pressure immediately spiked. Last night she asked me why I hated her, and it was on the tip of my tongue to give her reasons that she couldn't handle, but I didn't. I don't need to justify how I feel. I owe her nothing, but that doesn't change the fact that she's gotten under my skin and buried herself deep, infecting my soul and every waking thought, and for that she must pay.

My brother is the very definition of an enigma. Just when you think you have him figured out, you find out you don't. I've spent my entire life watching and admiring him, never questioning his judgment because it's never steered us awry, but when it comes to Vivian Fiori, he couldn't be more wrong. She is not meant for him. Period. I thought dinner was more than a prime example of that.

Vivian walked in, basically wearing lingerie. Her nipples were hard the entire time, and when she stood, it only took the slightest of movements to give everyone a peek at her ass. Why would he want his girl dressed like that in front of his brother? It pissed me off that he seemed so unaffected by her appearance, but looking back, I think that was his goal all along. He sat back the entire night and let Vivian and me spar it out, offering nothing but subtle interjections to save face.

Ellis Lykos doesn't get inebriated, but he had no issues letting us drink away our disgust. As the night drew on, we got more worked up; like oil and vinegar, we don't mix. I wanted to punish her for taunting me all night and thinking she would get the last word. I hated feeling like Ellis was taking her side over mine, his own brother, and by the time I stormed out of the dining room in search of Vivian to give her a piece of my mind, they were already fucking. Ellis was fucking her on the pool deck for anyone to see, and I was livid. Rage threatened to consume me. I wasn't about to pretend I wasn't there and run off and hide because he’d decided to let his slut ride his cock for anyone to see.

Vivian is attractive, there is no fucking doubt, but Ellis is different with her. He is not the same guy—but apparently, neither am I, because I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up buried in my brother's girlfriend's ass. Damn it.

The thought alone makes me hard. It's why I'm putting an end to this once and for all. Vivian Fiori must go, and I know exactly how I will do it. I've checked every other room in the house, so I know she must be here. I can't believe I didn't think to check here first.

Pushing through the door to the state-of-the-art gym Nico has in the east wing of the estate, my eyes don't immediately see Vivian, but I can smell her. The woman constantly smells like sweet flowers. She hides her venom well, and that makes it the worst kind. It's the most lethal because it's too late by the time you've realized you've been poisoned. I stand in the middle of the gym, looking around. She couldn't have gone too far. That's when the blinking lights on the sauna's keypad catch my eye. Found her.

I stomp across the gym, going to the far end where the sauna is built in, and fling open the door to find Vivian butt naked, wearing only her wrist wraps. Figures she'd be down here lifting, giving me more reasons to hate that ass.

"Sebastian, what the hell? Get out!"

"Why are you naked in the sauna for anyone to see?" I grind out. I'm so tired of finding her on display for the world that I could spit.

"Who is going to see me, Sebastian? We both know Mauricio never leaves the kitchen, and Lucia does a good job of making herself scarce," she snaps back as she gathers her towel around her and walks out.

As she squeezes by, I say, "That's what a piccola troia would say."

Her hand slaps me hard across my face as soon as the words leave my mouth. "Sleeping with two consenting men at once doesn't make me a slut."

The second she turns her back on me, I'm on her, pinning her against the wall of the sauna. "Maybe not, but I wonder how my brother will feel when he finds out I took you alone."

"Let me go, Sebastian. I'm not having sex with you," she argues before throwing her heel into my shin. Fuck. I swear this woman has taken self-defense classes. The pain radiates through my shin, giving her seconds to escape my hold, but she should know better than to fight me. It only makes me hard. Turning, I watch as she weaves through cardio equipment, attempting to escape out the sliding glass door at the front of the gym. She's fast, but I'm faster. The instant her hand tightens around the handle I capture her by the waist and spin her around. "Get off of me!" She shrieks.

She's kicking and screaming as I try to restrain her, but because she works out regularly, she's fucking strong. She more than puts up a good fight that makes my dick hard, and I fucking love it. I move her a couple inches before throwing her down on one of the mats, pinning her with my weight. I sit my crotch on her thighs and hold her arms down. When I planned this in my head, I saw this playing out a lot differently.

"Stop fighting me. We both know you want it." Leaning down, I place my mouth next to her ear, slowly letting my tongue skim the shell of her ear before saying, "You loved my cock buried in that ass. Don't you want to feel it in that sweet pussy?"

Her head whips to the side, and I pull back seconds before she bites me. I can't help but smirk at her attempt, and she practically snarls before spitting in my face. "Vipera, you're going to pay for that."

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