Page 103 of The Venom We Bleed

“I didn’t say you could have it.” The words leave my lips as she puts the rim to her impossibly full lips and tips her head back in a quick jerk. The clear liquid disappears into her mouth and her throat works as she swallows it all down.

Fuck. Me.

When her head lowers back down, she grimaces and sets the now empty shot glass on the counter. “This needed salt,” she murmurs, “and a lime.”

My breath saws in and out of my chest as her pink tongue comes out and licks over her lower lip. A groan works its way up my throat and I squash the urge. Gulping it down hurts worse than the shitty tequila. What do those lips feel like? I wonder. How would they feel wrapped around my cock?

All thoughts of trying to keep my dick under control have fled and the rock-hard erection I’m sporting now tents my jeans. With gritted teeth, I fight for control, twisting away from her and gripping the edge of the counter until I swear I can hear the wood creak under my hold.

Deep breath in and exhale.I repeat the action, counting backward from ten and restarting when it doesn’t feel like enough time.

“Gio.” The sharp snap of my name finally draws me out of my reverie and I turn to face Juliet once more, hoping she doesn’t notice what’s happening down below. Before she can, though, the sight of Nolan standing in the kitchen doorway makes my cock deflate in an instant.

“I can’t make it to the party,” Nolan says.

Juliet frowns. “What do you mean you can’t make it? That’s why we came back here.”

Nolan doesn’t bother to glance at her. His eyes are rooted squarely on me which means I should know why his plans have suddenly changed. I do. Only one person still alive can put that look on his face. Darrio. My father.

Without hesitating this time, I reach back, grab the last shot, and down it in one go. “I got it,” I tell him. “I’ll take care of her. Do what you gotta.”

“I’m taking Lex with me,” Nolan says.

That’s unusual. I glance over my shoulder. “Do you need me?” As much as I’d love a good after party, not fucking around with Juliet there dampens the fun of it, and with both of theguys off on some job for my dad, I’ll be too busy thinking about what the old man is planning to do much partying.

“Wait a second, hold up!” Juliet gapes between us. “What the hell is going on? Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nolan tells her before redirecting his attention to me. “I don’t think I’ll need you, but keep your phone on you, and G?”

I tense. “Yeah?”

He nods to the glasses at my back. “If you’re driving anywhere else tonight, let that be your last shot. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

I hear what he doesn’t say—if I get pulled over with alcohol in my system, he doesn’t know when he or Lex will be back to get me out. I nod my understanding and with that, he’s gone—heading out the door as Juliet stares after him.

“Where is he going?” she finally asks, turning back to me.

I pick up the empty glasses and dump them in the sink. “Work,” is all I say as I rinse them and lay them upside down on the drying rack.

“The garage isn’t open this time of night.”

Slowly, I turn around and raise both brows at her. She’s not a stupid girl and I damn well know that when she was hanging out on the north side of Silverwood with all of her rich, preppy friends, she’d seen the evidence of our side hustle. Our main jobs as my dad would put it.

Her lips press together and dip into a frown. “You’re still dealing?”

“Never stopped.” Can’t stop … even if we want to. Not yet.

I slip past her in time to see Lex’s truck back out of the driveway. I watch them go. Is there really any point in going to the party now if they’re not going to be there?

Damn my father. Why tonight of all nights? He hadn’t even bothered to show up for the game and then he pulls both Nolanand Lex into a job but not me. I should be grateful he waited, at least, until after the game was over. My hands clench into fists at my sides as I stare through the front window into the empty street. I’m not going home tonight.

“If we’re not going to the party now, I’m gonna go take a shower and change for bed,” Juliet says at my back.

She doesn’t wait for me to respond but disappears down the hallway towards the lone bathroom. The sound of the door shutting a moment later echoes through the house. I wait a beat more until the pipes start to clang with fresh water sliding through them yet again. Then I lean down and lock the front door before heading back into the kitchen.

Grabbing two of the still-wet shot glasses and one of the tequila bottles from under the sink, I follow the same path and end up in Nolan’s room. Much like my own, his room is almost utilitarian in its sparseness. The only difference is the fresh scent of shampoo and soap lingering in the air—as well as the open duffle bag full of Juliet’s clothes.

I wonder if Eliza knows she’s been housing Silverwood Public's enemy number one. She hardly ever sees Nolan because of her constant night shift duties. It’s convenient even if it’s a bit depressing.

---