Page 34 of Rawest Venom

He wants me to walk in public with my tits out? Shaking my head, I groan loud protests, but his body pushes into mine, forcing me to keep moving forward. How many people are going to see me like this? My pulse skyrockets as I try to slow my steps by digging in my heels, but it’s futile. The man is determined for me to continue.

As we near the entrance of the house, nausea coats my belly, and the only good news of the night is that the ticket booth teen boys are no longer there, the entire place deserted. It doesn’t stop me from worrying about who all can see my nakedness surrounding us as Cal opens the Tesla door when we reach it across the parking lot.

Why is he doing this? Is this a game? Maybe because of Larry?

Before I sit inside, he rips the thong from my mouth and shoves it in his pocket. My jaw flexes in a stretch as he buries his face into my neck and growls, “Next time you touch someone else, I’ll make sureeveryonetouches you. I’ll bring you back here, tie you down, and let every man who wants a taste get one. I’ll sell tickets. You’ll be Gnarled Pine’s greatest attraction. Do you understand me?”

A chill skitters over my body, and I rub my hands over my arms, then nod in understanding. Cal definitely wants me. Dash would be proud. It’s only a matter of time before…

It’s him or me.

He takes me home in silence, never removing the mask. Not even turning on music. There’s not a sound coming from the engine. Still. Quiet. Deadly. When he pulls up to my apartment building, this time, he doesn’t get out to open my door.

Thirteen

CALUM

Alpha bores me. Watching her prattle on with her weekend report makes me question why I don’t listen to Delta more. She does this thing when she’s so serious where she snorts a breath through her nose. Almost like a sneer, but not quite. Very irritating.

“And yet you’re still not any closer to figuring out what the sacrifice is.” Oops. I said it out loud. Oh well.

She stops mid-sentence as I interrupt her speech about what Strauss is doing and has the nerve to look shocked. “I told you; they saidyouwould know.”

“And you just left it at that. Without delving into it any further.”

“It was surprising she even came out of the woods to see me at all, Cal.”

Letting my head drop back, I sigh. Everything. Everything is up to me. It’s always me. Cal to the rescue. No one else seems to lift a finger. They don’t have any vested interest in saving the world.

Maybe I should watch it burn with them.

“No worries,” I say, sitting up and snagging a cucumber sandwich from the tiered tray Monet placed in front of us on the glass topped coffee table. Alongside it is the antique blue and white Meissen porcelain pot, scenes of fair ladies in wide dresses dancing while holding cups and fans decorate the outside. “I’ll go myself.”

Alpha almost chokes on her bite. “You’ll what?”

Chewing slowly, I consider her response. She schools her face quickly from outrage to neutrality, but her genuine expression has already met my eyes. And she knows I read it. Thursday evening, I went to the spot she mentioned, the one Strauss’s men supposedly met with the representative from Herodius.

There was no one there.

If Alpha lied about meeting the woman in the cloak, it would most likely mean she’s putting me off. That there never was a meeting. Like she’s a mother patting me on the head patronizingly. Hmm. Maybe she lied due to her fear of Halcyon. All of those are possibilities.

“Yes, I’ll go. Tonight. I’ll see if the representative comes out to greet me.”

Alpha picks up another quarter cut sandwich, turning the bread over in her fingers repeatedly, both of us monitoring the action. “I heard you’re still training Jane,” she says without looking up. Her voice is flat, monotone. Soft because, despite causing it, she fears confrontation.

“Yes, it’s going well.”

“Is it?” Alpha snaps, her eyes darting daggers at me.

As I spread my arms across the back of the Louis-style velvet parlor sofa, I let my fingers wiggle in the grooves of the cut wood. “When you ride some dick for information, is it me you think of?”

She swallows, her piercing gaze turning glassy before she blinks back tears. Quietly, her voice escapes, “You know it is.”

Biting my lower lip, I let it roll out from underneath my teeth. “You think about that time in the hayloft when we were fourteen?”

Her chest rises as she inhales quickly. “Yes, Cal.”

I give her a smile, reminiscing about losing my virginity to her. “You taught me a lot. Already so experienced at your age.”

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