Page 38 of Snitches and Serpents

Satisfaction pulses through me.

Elle is walking there between the tall buildings, coming straight towards me. I pull back again. Remaining there right outside, I listen to her footsteps get closer. She is walking briskly. Confidently. Which is another thing that surprises me. Usually, she moves with much more care. As if she is afraid that she will upset someone if she is too assertive when she walks. But not now.

I frown slightly in confusion. Apparently, painting ‘rat’ on her door and leaving dead rats in her room had the exact opposite effect on her than I thought it would.

Shaking my head, I push the confusion aside. It doesn’t matter that my stunt with the rats backfired, I have something much worse in store for her now.

Once her footsteps have almost reached the end, I push off from the wall and take a step right into the alley.

She jumps in surprise.

The colorful paper bag slips from her fingers and hits the asphalt with a thud. Tipping over, it lands sideways, making the contents slide out.

I nod towards the sheets and pillowcases and covers wrapped in plastic that are now lying halfway on the ground. “You threw away your old sheets, huh?”

The sound of my voice seems to snap her out of her stunned surprise, because she jerks back a little and blinks. Then she casts a quick look over her shoulder. It’s a long way to the other end of the alley, and there is no way that she can reach it before I can catch her.

She seems to realize that too, because she turns back and meets my gaze head on. A mask of cold fury settles on her beautiful features as she raises her chin and stares back at me.

“I burned them,” she announces.

Amusement ripples through me, and I let out a huff of laughter. “I see.”

She nods towards my chest. “And you threw away your shirt.”

“No. I just washed it like a normal person.” Cocking my head, I flash her a sharp smile. “Because I’m not a spoiled little rich girl like you.”

Lightning flashes in her eyes for a moment. But it’s quickly replaced by something that looks suspiciously like regret. The sight of it pulls at something in my heart. Which in turn makes me unreasonably angry. I don’t want her regret. I want her to suffer the way I did.

Blocking out those infuriating thoughts, I concentrate on my mission. I’m not here to make her feel bad. I’m here to ruin her.

She must have sensed the shift in my emotions, because she suddenly takes an instinctive step back. “Look, I, uhm…”

A smirk curls my lips as I take a step closer. “What? You think I’m here to hurt you?”

Her gaze darts towards the empty road behind my back, and then to the deserted alley behind her own, before her eyes meet mine again. She licks her lips. “Aren’t you?”

“No. I’m here to tell you that I’m impressed.”

She blinks, and my words apparently stun her enough that she forgets to keep moving backwards. I use that opportunity to quickly close the distance between us. Using my size, I make her twist slightly so that I can back her up against the wall.

Only when her back has hit the white stones behind her does she snap out of her surprise. But by then, it’s already too late. Planting my hands on the wall on either side of her head, I cage her in.

“I didn’t expect you to retaliate,” I tell her, which is the truth. “And I certainly didn’t expect you to be brave enough to storm over to my house and throw the rats back at me.”

She opens her mouth, but no sound makes it out. I discreetly study her face, trying to read her expression, but it’s impossible to tell what she’s feeling right now. I decide to press on anyway.

Taking one hand off the wall, I gently draw my fingers over her jaw. Her eyes flutter, and a shudder of pleasure rolls down her spine.

I have to suppress the urge to grin. Excellent. This is going exactly the way I was hoping it would.

While still holding her gaze, I slide my hand over her skin until I can place it on the side of her neck and jaw. Then I brush my thumb over her cheek. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re really fucking hot when you’re angry?”

Her breath hitches. Then she gives her head a short shake as if to clear it, and licks her lips again.

My cock hardens.

Fuck, I wish she would stop licking her lips like that. It’s really distracting. And I’m on a mission. I also hate her. Which is something I have to remind myself of two more times when she draws her gaze down my body before she locks eyes with me again.

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