Page 19 of Venus

I heard Giovanni exhale a long breath before he said anything. “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s found someone willing to train the girl.”

When he didn’t elaborate, I had to bite my tongue to keep from snapping out an order for him to spill it. “Gio, you’re gonna have to give me some more information. I can’t read minds and I don’t like playing games. Train her for what?”

“Not now. Get Venus back to Salvation’s Bane, and we’ll talk. I’ll meet you there.” The line went dead.

I felt like I’d just been run over by a steamroller. There was so much to unpack in this conversation I didn’t know where to start. A quick glance at Venus told me she was still asleep. My heart softened as I looked at her.

She’d drawn her knees up to her chest and tugged the comforter around her. All that pink hair fanned out around her like a punk halo. She even looked younger, relaxed in sleep. Sure, I’d seen her asleep many times over the years. But never like this. She was out cold. Made me puff out my chest just a little in pride. If she didn’t trust me, there was no way she’d sleep so soundly. No matter how much I wore her out with sex. Yeah. I was fucking proud.

With a smile, I slipped back into bed, pulling Venus into my arms. More than anything I wanted to fuck her again. This time, I’d go slow. Appreciate her battle-hardened body. Taste her nipples and sweet pussy like I wanted to.Feast on her…

“Wass dat?” Her words were slurred and not very coherent, but I got the gist.

“Giovanni. He wants us to head back to Bane territory.”

She was quiet for so long I thought she’d gone back to sleep. Then she grunted as she pushed herself up. Her hair was in her face, and she used her hand to brush it out of the way so she could see me. “Now… what?” She still sounded sleepy, but I could see the awareness in her eyes as she looked down into my face.

“We’ve got a lot to discuss, but he says Zaitsev is tracking you.”

That got her full attention. Instantly, all appearance of sleep vanished. “Explain,” she snapped.

“This isn’t a quick conversation, Venus.” I also wasn’t sure how she was going to react to knowing Giovanni was aware all along. “We need to go back to Florida. Where we go is up to you, but Giovanni suggested Salvation’s Bane.”

She stared at me, searching my face for whatever she needed. The moment she found what she was looking for, her face hardened. “This is bad.Da?”

“It is.”

That seemed to surprise her before she schooled her features once again. “Didn’t expect you to admit that.”

“I’ll never lie to you, Venus. Have I kept secrets from you? Absolutely. You have your own secrets. That all ends now.Rightnow. From this point forward you and I are a team. So we need to start with the most important issues.”

“What would those be?” She gave me a wary look as she got out of bed. She was still naked, but didn’t bother to cover herself. Instead, she looked like she was readying herself for battle. Looking for threats around the room even as she kept her main focus on me.

I tilted my head slightly, studying her. “I’m not your enemy, Venus. I never will be. I’ll always be on your side, no matter what.”

“But you know something. Something I’m not going to like.”

“I do.” I stood and held out my hand to her. She shook her head, all that pink hair spilling over her shoulders to cover her breasts. “Venus, come to me.” I made my tone unbendable. She would come to me or I’d force the issue, and I was pretty sure she knew it.

Finally, with a sigh and a slight shake of her head, she moved around the bed, snagging my shirt from the floor and putting it on. The action filled me both with regret and pride. Regret that I couldn’t stare at her tits any longer, but pride that she was wearing my shirt. She noticed my expression and gave me an impatient look.

“I know I’m shorter than you, but my eyes are little bit higher.” Her tone of voice was irritated, but I could also see the flush of pleasure she tried to hide.

“Yeah.” I scrubbed my hand over the back of my neck. “I’d apologize, but I’m only sorry you put on the shirt. It is, however, my shirt, so I’ll let it slide this once.” I gave her a wink and the corner of my lips lifted in a smile.

“Piston.” It was a clear warning, though I thought she was fighting her own grin, so I raised my hands in surrender.

“What? You’re a beautiful woman. Besides, I like looking at what belongs to me.” I took a cautious step toward her. When she didn’t retreat, I took another step until I was standing inches from her. “I like knowing I’m the only man who’ll ever see your beautiful body ever again.”

She sucked in a breath, color sweeping from her face down her chest to disappear beneath my shirt. Then she cleared her throat, lifting her chin stubbornly. “I assume what you have to tell me has little to do with sex, so can we get to it?”

“Pity,” I muttered before reaching for her. I pulled her into my arms, and though she was a little stiff, she soon relaxed a bit. “So,” I started. “Giovanni wants us to go to Salvation’s Bane. He wants to get all three clubs involved. He’s actually going to meet us there.”

She started, pulling back far enough to look up at me with raised pink eyebrows but not stepping out of my embrace completely. “Really?”

“That’s what the man said.”

“You said Victor is tracking me. Giovanni knows this how?”

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