Page 23 of The Vipers and Their Vendetta

It bothers me because they’re right.

I slip my arm around her waist to offer her support as we make our way up the grand staircase and into the hallways of West House. At least here, I don’t have to worry about bumping into either the Devils or the Preachers. West House is the Vipers’ domain. We rule here, and everyone knows it.

My gaze drops down to the swell of her breasts peeping from the top of her torn t-shirt. Twin sets of teeth marks are bruised against her creamy skin. I narrow my eyes, my hold on her tightening. Who did that? Was it the Preachers?

I hold my tongue until we reach her room. She unlocks the door, and we both step inside.

She spins to face me. “I don’t need you here, Lex. I’m fine.”

I kick the door shut behind me, and the bang ricochets down the hallway. I don’t care how many people I’ve just woken.

“I’m not going anywhere. You might have a concussion.”

“I don’t.”

“You’ve been hurt, and you’ve had a shock. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m all right,” she insists.

It doesn’t matter what she says; I’m not leaving. The sooner she gets it, the better. My gaze locks on the teeth marks.

“Who did that to you? I assume it didn’t happen in the bike crash.”

Her expression crumples in confusion, and she drops her chin, following my line of sight. She spots what I’m looking at, and her cheeks stain with red. “Oh, that. It’s nothing.” She nibbles at the inside of her cheek, her lips twisting with her discomfort.

Fire stokes inside me, burning through my blood. “It’s not nothing, Vani. They are clearly teeth marks. They’re going to bruise, too. If those goddamned Preachers did this to you, I’m going to find a pair of pliers and yank out their teeth, one by one. They’ll be needing to blend all their meals for the rest of their lives by the time I’m done with them.”

Her eyes pop wide, and her jaw drops. “Lex, it wasn’t the Preachers. It was Zane.”

Now I’m shocked. “What? Why would he…”

I trail off. I thought I’d noticed something between them, but I’d just put it down to the heightened emotion of the situation. “You let Zane…what? Fuck you?”

The crimson stain deepens. “No, we just kind of made out a little.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Hang on. So, between you telling us how you hated us all and never wanted to see us again, you somehow ended up making out with Zane?”

“Yes,” she mutters, not meeting my eye. “It wasn’t intentional.”

“You were running and fell on his dick?” I offer.

“You know what Zane is like. He’s so big and powerful. He’s not an easy man to say no to.”

I don’t like the bitter wave of jealousy that sweeps through me. “So, what, he fingered you? Was that it?”

“Not quite. I kind of dry humped his leg, and then gave him a blow job.”

“You sucked his cock? On your knees in the dirt after everything you’d just gone through.”

“It just happened.”

“Right, get in the shower.”

“What?”

I could berate her. I could shout at her, and call her a whore, and tell her she’s a fucking hypocrite—which she is—but that’s not my way. It doesn’t mean I’m any less angry with her, and now I’m jealous as well, but I’ll win her over with tenderness, not anger. Sugar rather than salt. I still grind my molars at the thought of her and Zane together while Saint and I were dealing with the Preachers, though. I understand that Zane would have wanted to keep her away from them, but he could have done it without getting his dick sucked.

“You heard me. You’re covered with all that shit from the Preachers, and you still have dirt on you from the crash. Take off your clothes and get in the shower, and I’ll wash you clean.”

---