Page 7 of Black Widow's Bite

I’d been trying to sleep off the hangover from last night, having no clients booked to come in today. I successfully wasted the morning away dozing, but some loud shouts and a crashing sound had me throwing on a shirt to go downstairs. Cain was the one shouting, which wasn’t a shock. He tended to be the loudest of us. He was trying to pry Austin off of Addy - shit, when had she come back? - but it clearly wasn’t going well. Austin had his hand on the back of Addy’s neck, which explained enough.

“Cain, try not to touch her, okay?” I warned. “No offence, Addy, but we don’t need two people jumping on you right now.” I circled them, seeing Austin’s face pressed into her neck. She was up on her tiptoes. He was holding her so tightly he was starting to lift her off the ground.

“We need to have a talk about that,” Cain growled at me, and I waved him off impatiently. Addy’s face was a mix of emotions.Her cheeks flushed and her lips parted. Austin was pressed flush against her in a very intimate manner, which wasn’t how we normally treated the people who came to visit us.

“Can you try to move?” I asked her quietly, and I watched her put her hands on his sides, pushing away from him hesitantly. He made a keening sound low in his throat and gripped her tighter. I saw her shiver as Austin rubbed his face along her neck, his teeth flashing as they brushed over her skin. His eyes closed and his face looked blissfully happy. I rubbed a hand over my face, stuck on what to do.

“Just turn it off.” Cain snapped, and she shifted to glare at him.

“You think I do this on purpose?” she hissed, and Cain raised his eyebrows, caught off guard. She reached up and ran her hand over Austin’s neck. “Hey Austin, it’s okay. I’ll stay for a while. But you need to put me down. You’re scaring your friends.” she murmured, and he whimpered a little before relaxing his hold, the hand along her back dropping off so she could set her feet back down. I took my chance and stepped between them, breaking his contact with her. Austin snarled, his teeth snapping at me, but Cain already had his arms around him, lifting him off the ground and pinning him so he couldn’t bite me.

Addy was leaning back against the wall, catching her breath. I might’ve imagined the flash of disappointment that crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced by concern. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked me. “Why did he react like that?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve seen snakes do similar things.” I shrugged. “He’s different, so he reacts... differently?” I wasn’t much use in this department. Now that she was so close again, my fingers itched to touch her as well. It was like trying to quit smoking with a lit cigarette in the room.

“What the fuck are you?” Cain demanded, his voice strained as he continued to hold Austin off the ground. Austin, for themost part, had calmed down, but now he just looked sad. Cain set him down on the floor but didn’t let go, in case he tried to lunge at Addy again.

Addy just sighed. “What the fuck are you?” she countered, “Besides an asshole.” Cain was momentarily stunned, which was an impressive sight to see.

“I told you, her skin is like a drug. Normal people get a pretty bad withdrawal from it. Some even offed themselves,” I explained, running my hand through my hair.

“You seem okay though, from yesterday?” Addy offered, but it sounded more like a question.

“I still feel it there. It’s a nagging sensation, but I can ignore it,” I told her gently. “It’s like the best kind of high. Everything is brighter - more in focus. I crave you like a fix.” She blushed a deep red, and I realized that was a very loaded comment. I cleared my throat and looked down at my feet awkwardly.

“That’s not what it felt like to me,” Cain announced, and I looked at him in surprise. “It made everything quiet. All the noises in my - just, everything got peaceful.” He glared at me, daring me to make a snarky comment. I wasn’t about to touch that. I liked my eyebrows un-singed.

“You smell so good,” Austin whispered, “You feel like...home.” Cain let go of him slowly, but he didn’t make a move toward Addy, just looked at her despairingly. Addy shifted on her feet, her eyes moving between us.

“I’m sorry. I wish I knew how to turn it off or pull it back somehow,” Addy rubbed her arms anxiously. “If I could even dilute it so it wouldn’t drive everyone insane...”

Austin was moving towards Addy slowly. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. I moved in front of her, cutting into his line of sight.

A noise on the stairs startled all of us, and Piper clomped up, his bracelets clinking together as he hauled several bagsof groceries up the stairs. “What’s with you lot?” he asked, dumping them all in a heap in the kitchen. He eyed Cain and Austin and gave a little smirk. “Everyone’s had a taste I see,” he mused. “While the cat’s away, the mice have an orgy, eh?”

“Austin got a little overwhelmed,” I told him shortly. “It seems to affect him a little more than us.” I put a hand against the wall, blocking Austin as he tried to creep around me to get to Addy.

“The longer the contact, the worse it seems to be,” Addy explained. “I’m really sorry. I should just leave. Maybe that will help a little.” She moved towards the stairs and Austin lunged, nearly knocking me down the stairs.

“Please don’t leave again!” he begged, eyes wide. “It feels good just having you close.” He quit struggling against me once she stilled. I thought about it, and he was sort of right. The itch to touch her was there, but I felt lighter now than before she’d arrived. I was more clearheaded for sure. I looked at Cain, who was frowning, deep in thought.

“So it happens even when you’re not touching me?” Addy asked, looking to me for additional confirmation. Austin wasn’t the most reliable source of information at the moment. I nodded, and Cain gave a quick nod as well, clearly finished with his own self-assessment.

“Well, now I’m just feeling left out,” Piper mused, his nose crinkling in annoyance. He swept past Austin and me, and before I could stop him, he put both of his hands on Addy’s face.

“Do you mind, love?” he asked coyly. Addy gaped at him, and he swept her into a kiss.

Chapter 10

Addison

Iwas just trying to return a pet snake, and suddenly everything got very complicated. I practically lived the life of a nun, and now very attractive men were touching me a lot, and it was all getting a bit overwhelming.

Piper came out of left field. I was still busy watching out for Austin when he grabbed me, and before I could tell him what a terrible decision he was making, his mouth was on me. Fuck, I’d forgotten how good it was to kiss someone, especially someone who knew what they were doing. Piper took my parted lips as an invitation, and he tipped my chin up, his tongue sweeping into my mouth as he deepened the kiss. Heat pooled between my legs, and I was getting dizzy from the sudden lust that swept through me. It had been so long that my skin craved the touch.

Piper pulled away after a moment, leaving me breathless. His pupils were so dilated he nearly matched Wyatt, and it seemed to take a lot of effort for him to let go of my face. “Well, that is something,” Piper murmured, touching a finger to his lips. “You taste like the clouds.” I didn’t know what he meant by that, but seeing the hunger in everyone’s eyes as they stood around me made me blush.

“I think we all need to just chill out for a second,” I breathed.

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