Page 27 of The Venom We Bleed

I stand as the door behind me opens and I turn, expecting the blonde woman from earlier. The giddiness of finally getting a job disintegrates almost immediately as I come face to face with none other than the asshole from school—the leader of the Scorpion Kings himself.

Nolan Pierce fills the doorway, backed only by the shadow of a second man behind him. When I damn near smack into his chest, he puts a hand out to steady me, but the second I realize who it is, I rip myself from his grasp and take a step back. Red-brown eyes carefully observe me. Full, masculine lips twitch in amusement. Why? What’s so fucking funny?

Before I can ask, Nolan casts his attention over my shoulder to Ma-Ri. “Didn’t know you had a guest, Auntie,” he says.

“New waitress,” Ma-Ri replies casually. I stiffen, wishing she’d kept that bit of information to herself. I should’ve known better. Even if Tangier is further outside of Silverwood, if Roquel’s attached to this place, then that means others would be as well. Why did it have to be them? I contemplate retracting my acceptance of work right then and there, but I can’t. I’m stuck and I fucking know it.

Nolan’s gaze lands back on me and I feel my body tense. He grins as if he can see the guard that immediately slams up at his presence. Still, he doesn’t move away from the doorway, blocking my only means of leaving. I bite down on my lower lip and debate my options. Shoving him out of the way is preferred but not in front of my new boss. Politely asking him to move would be the choice except … from the glint of knowing in his eyes, I have a feeling he’d simply refuse. That leaves only one more option. Waiting him out.

I cross my arms and shuffle sideways, the silent gesture for him to enter the room. His lips curve up further, but he doesn’t come inside. Instead, he chooses to speak over me to Ma-Ri.

“I’m here for the monthly expenses,” he says.

Ma-Ri sighs and the creak of her chair sounds as she gets up. “You running errands for that boy again?” She doesn’t wait for Nolan to answer as she strides out from behind her desk and now that she’s standing at her full height, I realize she’s even shorter than I expected. She barely reaches my shoulder.

Nolan shrugs at her words. “Gio’s busy right now,” he says. “Besides, who would pass up a chance to see your beautiful face, Ma-Ri?”

Ma-Ri scoffs and waves her hand, cigarette smoke burning my eyes. “Pah!” Her movements stop and despite the obvious scowl of her lips, there’s a sparkle of amusement in her eyes, as if she’s used to Nolan’s words. “Don’t try to butter me up when yer takin’ my money.”

Nolan grins. “I’m not buttering you up for nothing, Ma-Ri.” He slides a glance my way and pushes his hands into the pockets of his jeans. I grit my teeth as he bumps his shoulder against the doorframe. “Seems like I might be coming back here a little more often if you’re planning on hiring pretty girls to deliver drinks too.”

Something vile blooms inside me. Vomit, maybe. I don’t know, but it’s sour and acidic and it makes me want to draw blood. I curl my hands into fists, stabbing my shortened nails into my palms until I can feel the sharp pain there more than my own irritation. I force my gaze past Nolan to the man still standing behind him in the hallway.

I recognize him too. Alexio Medicci. He doesn’t say anything, and his presence does seem rather dull compared to Nolan’s. Despite that, though, he’s a monster in proportions. Taller and wider than his friend, his head grazing the top of the doorway. When he moves, shifting forward, he doesn’t make a sound. That’s more disturbing than anything else, the way he moves with utter quiet grace.

“Well, I should let you get on with your business,” I push the words from my lips, unwilling to wait this out any longer. “I should get going.”

“Oh, am I in your way?” Nolan asks as if he didn’t already know he is most definitely in my way. His grin spreads into a full-blown smile and instead of stepping completely out of the way, he turns to the side and gestures to the hall. Clenching my teeth, I take the opportunity to slide past him, hating that his chest brushes mine as I go. The heat that pours off him in waves sinks past his cheap cotton shirt and into me. Unlike Nolan, however, Alexio steps back against the far wall.

Now that I’m out of the room, I look up and get my first glimpse of his actual features. For all of two seconds, I’m stunned completely stupid. Not only is he tall and wide, his face looks as though it could’ve been carved to mimic an ancient Greek statue. A proud nose, distinct jawline, and coal-dark lashes so exaggerated that any girl would kill him to possess them. He’s beyond handsome, and he’s watching me.

Curiosity, maybe?is my first assumption, but no, the intensity of his stare has to mean something else. His eyes lingeron me, not bothering to dip down to my body the way Playboy’s or Nolan’s had. Instead, they stay fixated on my face as if he’s committing each feature to memory. There’s something familiar about his face ... or maybe his eyes. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Then he steps in front of me and blocks my exit.

12

LEX

“Move.” With pink lips, flushed cheeks, and a stubborn set to her jaw, Juliet Donovan glares at me. She looks right at me when she speaks, and even though it’s clear she’s annoyed, I can’t help but relish in her undivided attention.

Vi et animois Latin for “with heart and soul.” My heart and soul stands before me now. Not in a picture. Not in a stolen moment of her life plastered to my wall, but as a real live woman. Flesh and blood.

My eyes fall to where her slender neck is throbbing to the beat of her own heart. I can touch her—just reach out and stroke my fingertip down the column of her throat and feel therealnessof her existence. She’s so close I can’t help but hold my breath, I want to make this moment last.

It’d been over and gone too soon when I’d seen her back at school. She hadn’t been focused on me then but on Nolan and Gio. That was all right. She can focus on them as long as she notices me too.

“Didn’t you hear me?” she snaps. “I saidmove.”

My cock is a damned iron brand inside my pants, throbbing behind my fly as if it can pry through the metal teeth of my zipper to capture her attention.

Instead of stepping aside as I know she expects me to, I widen my stance, blocking as much of her path as I can, inhaling the smell of what I assume is her lotion and shampoo. Cream and vanilla. I let the smell linger in my nose, wishing I could permanently carve the scent into my soul so I’ll never forget. No matter how many pictures I take, how many files I hack, there’s nothing quite like seeing the object of all my desires in the flesh.

"I heard you," I tell her, leaning forward. Punching one arm out, I slam it into the wall next to her head. She jumps, an action I know she hates because I see the way her lips curve around a silent curse right before her eyes are back on mine, narrowing. "I just don't feel all that interested in moving right now."

A volcano could erupt inside Ma-Ri’s lounge and I would stand as still as the statue I would inevitably become if it meant I could be this close to her. Flecks of varying shades of blue swirl in the depths of her eyes. There’s even some gray there.

The growl of irritation she unleashes is adorable. I picture her as a cute little puppy, barking and biting at me as I pick her up by the scruff. A puppy against a giant wolf. My eyes drop back to her bare throat. Smooth, unblemished flesh. How I want to sink my teeth into her and mark her for all to see.

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