Page 57 of Vicious Addictions

When I feel his cock harden beneath me—a tell-tale sign that he’s as turned on as I am—I all but combust in his arms.

“That’s enough!” he growls before carefully shoving me off his lap so he can stand.

My eyelids are so heavy with want and desire that it takes me a second to see him clearly.

But when I finally see him, I bite my lower lip, witnessing that he is just as much tormented by that kiss as I am.

“Are you satisfied?” he asks accusingly.

“If I said no, would you kiss me again?”

“No,” he deadpans, taking the wind out of my sails. “That… can’t happen again.”

“If you say so.”

“I mean it, Mina. We can’t go there. We cannevergo there again.”

“We’ll see.” I throw him a mischievous grin, walking past him. But before I can get too far, he grabs me by the arm, halting my step. He stares into my eyes as if wanting to repeat his warning. To tell me once more that what just happened can never happen again. But the words never come. They wither on his tongue the moment his gaze drops down to my lips—lips he bruised, claimed, and devoured with that desperate, ardent kiss.

I smile, slow and knowing.

“Thank you for my birthday presents. I’ll cherish them both.”

He swallows dryly, but he says nothing.

Leaning in, I press the softest kiss to his cheek, letting my lips linger just long enough to make him hurt.

Then, without another word, I turn and walk away, leaving him alone to wrestle with the weight of what we’ve done.

Lord knows I’ll never forget it.

Chapter 9

Mina

Eighteen Years Old

“How do you feel?” Remus asks, his strong hands kneading my shoulders like a boxer’s coach before the final round.

“I feel good.”

“Just good?”

“No. I feel powerful,” I reply, voice edged with the determined confidence I know he’ll appreciate.

It’s not a lie.

I do feel powerful—like I’m stepping into the person I was always meant to become.

I glance at the standing mirrors in my room and take a slow, deliberate breath. The reflection staring back is almost unrecognizable to me. The skintight black suit clings to my body like a second skin, and aside from displaying all my curves, it also shows all the weapons I have. This must be what they mean by being armed to the teeth.

“I look quite scary, don’t I?” I laugh halfheartedly while staring at my reflection.

“Damn right, you do.” Rolo smirks, sliding yet another blade into the hidden sheath on my outer thigh. “You look fierce, cousin.”

I flex my fingers, arms, and legs, testing the weight of the weapons on my body, hoping they won’t mess with my ability to move or stay nimble.

“Do you really think I’ll need all of these?” I keep to my cool tone, not wanting either of my cousins to see that my nerves are starting to bubble and hum beneath the surface.

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