Page 26 of Sweet Touch of Venom

I fling up in the chair, the rope scratching against my skin. The burn sizzles up my arm. “You know nothing about me, Ronan.”

His brow raises. “I know you sleep at a rundown studio. And the only person you have is…?what’s his name?” His fingers snap together. “Olive, is it?”Oliver, you prick.

My eyes fall to my boots. A knife pierces into my heart from his stupid accusations. Something tightens behind my eyes, and I suddenly feel the urge to throw my head back and scream as loud as I can.

How dare he?

Don’t show them your weakness. You’re a killer.General’s rants parade in my head.I grind my lip into my teeth until I taste metallic. I swallow, drifting back to him, giving him a smile and dipping my head. “I have quite the little stalker. Did you watch me fuck myself too?”

The one who doesn’t talk clears his throat, looking down and the lady who has yet to tell me her name, I notice her face flusters. Ronan, on the other hand, his jaw tightens, and I can feel the frustration fuming from him. He leans forward until his lips are near my ear. His scruff slightly caresses the skin on my jawline. I lean away because I don’twanthim this close to me because, honestly, I’m uncomfortable. I’m discombobulated with this entire ordeal, and I don’t want to behere.

Turning his head, so his lips only graze my ear and his hot breath filling it, he whispers, “I bet you would love that, wouldn’t you,Pequeña serpiente venenosa.” Little poisonous snake.

A shiver roams through me, unwarranted, and I jerk my chin in the opposite direction.I don’t answer him.

He only leans away, sitting back in the chair that moves each time he does. “Let’s work together.”

I tilt my head up along with my eyes, as if I’m giving it serious thought, and then I look back at him. “Still a hard no. Can you let me go now?”

His jaw is rock hard, and the scent of his wood and amber surrounds my senses; I can’t even part my lips without tasting his aromatic scent.

“You know I’m right. We are on the same team here. I want to avenge your brother.Mybest friend.” His eyes hardened behind his brown pools.

I toss a humorless chuckle. “Best friend.”

He ignores it. “It’s only a matter of time that you get in my way, and I may have to do something I very much don’t want to.” His voice is nearly a whisper, doused with ominous threat.

I scuff in disbelief. “Oh, like what? You’ll kill me too?” World record, Ronan—killing two family members. Such a noble man. Still, he doesn’t respond to me, but theanswerin his eyes differs from the threat in his words.

He squints as if he's confused and scans my face for a second before he leans back further, and I’m thankful for it because any closer I would’ve opened up my mouth and bit down on his lip. Tearing it from his face. That wouldn’t end well for me, would it? His minions would kill me, no question, and I need to live to see my plan through. He can say all this, but do I believe him?

No.

He’s the reason Carter is dead. Dead—in the ground—while he’s above, prancing around and creating underground organizations. I’ll kill them first, then he’s next.

“And the answer.” This time I lean closer, my arms extended, so I can be just as near as he was to me. His eyes flick down to my mouth briefly before slowly gliding back up. “Is still no.”

I can see the slight twitch in his sliced lip, the darkness engulfing his eyes from my answer. The air is thick and heavy; the light above dims with a flicker, as if the energy between us is so potent that it surged through the electric currents and atoms in the air, causing a near power down.

A sly smile parts gracefully on my lips. “I’m going to hurt you, Ronan. You’ll die an unimaginable death that’ll make you wish that bullet was given to you. Then, I’ll string you up like that ass wipe I did at the house and carve you like a Halloween pumpkin.” Every last word and syllable held with emphasis, gliding off the roof of my mouth and rolling among the tongue, spoken in French. A language I’m sure he doesn’t understand. “Now, let me go,” I hiss out in English, leaning back because my arms are aching and the burns from the tight ropes are increasing.

He watches me intently, like he wants to hurt me, but I see the same shift in his eyes, the same hesitation as when he found out my identity. But regardless of what he wants, I would never work with the enemy.

After what feels like minutes of staring at each other, he stands up. Nearly kicking the chair back. I raise my chin, my chest rising and falling.

Fuck off. I don’t care. Be upset.

He walks behind slowly, making the hairs on the back of my neck shoot up in alert. The sound of a knife flipping out catches my ears, and I tense, not exactly knowing what to expect. I whipped my head around to see him kneeling. He grips the top of my arm gently, and I tense once more from his hold. It’s warm, calloused, and large. His rough hands glide down my sweaty arm; each skim is like stepping blocks, like he’s feeling whether I’m real or not. Until he hits my bunched hands and cuts the ropes off.

“Ro, what are you doing!?” The lady on high alert stepped further. The other man has been quiet this whole time. He’s only been watching like he’s ready for me to blink wrong.

Bringing my arms around me, I massage the ache on my skin where the ropes were digging in. I glare at them all.

“How can you know we can trust that she won’t bring anyone back to kill you? Or us.”

Truthfully, she’s not wrong. At this point, I’m not sure what to think. I just know I need to get out of here.

“My things.” I stand, the sharp stab in my rib knifing me in the bone, but I don’t wince. I roll my lips into my teeth and face Ronan, who walks over to the white table that sees more dirt than the actual ground; he grabs it off the edge. I meet him halfway, my eyes on him. I continue to stare at him as I feel around, checking for my things.

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