Page 19 of The Vipers and Their Venom

“Oh, it’s you,” I blurt before I have the chance to process the fact that by saying such a thing means I’ve just admitted that I already noticed him.

He gives that strange hiss again and glowers down at me. I find myself caught in his gaze. He really does have the most interesting eyes—green, but with a ring of amber around the pupils. Up close, I’m also struck by the size of him. I’m used to being around big men, but he’s huge. He’s easily six-five, and I’d say he puts in plenty of time at the gym. Not that I’m interested in men like that. He’s probably one of those who lives on turkey and rice and spends more time flexing in the mirror than anything else. He has tattoos, like me, but I’m used to being around tattooed men, and they don’t intimidate me.

My gaze lands on one of them scrawled across the side of his neck. It saysHOT BLOOD. What does that mean?

“I’m sorry,” I say, and take a step to the right to get around him.

Except he mirrors my movements, bringing himself directly in front of me again.

I give a small, nervous laugh, and sidestep back to my original position.

He does the same.

Maybe I could take this as one of those silly, awkward moments, but he’s not smiling, and he definitely hasn’t laughed.

And he’s still blocking my way.

The atmosphere changes, growing more tense by the second. Is he fucking with me?

“Excuse me?” I say.

My gaze flicks to his throat and locks on the wide, angry scar that navigates most of his neck. What the fuck happened there?

Despite my attempt to be polite, he still hasn’t moved, and he still hasn’t said anything. My heart flutters with trippy beats and feels like it’s crawling inside my throat. All my muscles tense as adrenaline shoots through my veins.

I dig deep inside me, pulling forth the person who has to deal with drunk bikers back at the club. It doesn’t help that I’m only five-feet-two, and right now I feel like I’m going head-to-head with an actual bear. Yeah, definitely picking the bear over this guy.

I force my chin to lift and hold his eyes.

“You going to move out of my way, big guy, or do I have to make you?”

The corner of his lips twitch, but still, he doesn’t say anything.

“I’m serious. I might be small, but I’ve got a mean right hook, and considering our size differences, you don’t want to find out exactly where that right hook would land.” I lift my eyebrows and nod knowingly down at his crotch. Not that I want him to think I’m thinking about his dick or anything…

Oh, fuck. Now I am thinking about his dick. Well, that isn’t going to help anyone. I bet it’s absolutely huge. My cheeks grow pink, and I try to swallow down my nervousness.

Instead of moving to one side, he edges closer, shortening the space between us. I find myself frozen, staring up at him. He’s the giant, and I’m stupid Jack with the beans, and I’m about to get eaten all up, and not in a good way.

“Back off, Zane,” a male voice says from behind me. “You’re scaring the new girl.”

I glance over my shoulder to discover one of the twins behind me. While I’m grateful for the interruption, I still hesitate. Is it the one from the woods, or the asshole from class? Are they following me? I seem to bump into them wherever I go.

I stare at the side of the twin’s neck because I remember what Saint said about his brother having a mole, but he’s still too far away for me to see something of that detail.

I straighten my shoulders. “Takes more than a brick wall to scare me.”

The twin bursts out laughing. “You hear that, Zane? She just called you a wall.”

I glance at Zane’s expression. He arches an eyebrow and seems amused rather than angry. There had definitely been a moment, though, where I’d felt threatened by him. And why hasn’t he said anything yet? Does it have something to do with that huge scar across his throat?

I desperately want to know the story behind it, but I can’t ask. Aside from it being rude, I also highly doubt he’d tell a newcomer like me.

I direct my attention back at the twin. “Are you Saint, or your brother…?”

I search my memory for the brother’s name and come up short.

“Lex?” the twin supplies for me. “No, I’m Saint. We were just together in the woods, Vani with a V.”

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