Page 26 of The Serpent's Bride
Heading indoors, he waved Ivan away as his bodyguard went to follow him. He wanted to be alone. He needed a moment to think. Damn her.Damnthis Monica to the void. His arousal would not go away. It wouldn’t stop. And it was getting downright painful.
Locking the door to his room behind him, he stripped naked and headed into the bathroom. Starting the shower, he set the water to as hot as his boiler could manage—and he had it set ridiculously high. The steam filled the room with a fog by the time he stepped into the stream. The walls were made of dark, river rock tiles in uneven shades and patterns. The texture of them bit into his hands as he pressed his palms against the surface, lowering his head to let the hot water pour over him.
Get a hold of yourself.
But his mind flashed to an image of her on her knees in his shower, gazing up at him with those beautiful green eyes. He didn’t picture a woman begging for his attention. He didn’t dream of a broken thing, desperate for his touch.
No.
He saw that challenge. Thatdare.That sheercontemptmixed with a need as great as his own.
“You can do better than that.”
Gripping his length in his hand, he surrendered to it. He imagined it was her, touching him. Her, fawning over him, goading him on. Taunting him and begging for him. Challenging his dominion. His control. His power.
Where did she get the nerve? Theballs? She didn’t understand who she was dealing with. But he was going to show her soon enough. Just a few short days, and she would learn precisely who she had been tormenting.
Growling low, he quickened his strokes, his body tingling in ecstasy. She wouldn’t last a night with him. She wouldn’t last an hour. She was mistaking a tiger for a house cat.
This was temporary.
“You can do better than that.”
Letting out a muffled, furious roar of release, he pounded his fist into the wall, not caring for how the edges dug into his skin.
Yes, Monica. I can do better than that.
And you’re going to wish you’d kept your pretty mouth shut.
EIGHT
The day was shaping up to be a real whirlwind. Nadi went back to her room, confused and uncertain after Raziel had abruptly abandoned her by the pool. She would have bet any amount of money on him kissing her in that moment.
Not just… storming off.
What hadhappened?What had she done?
Even Ivan had looked bewildered by his boss’s actions. He had simply shrugged at her before going back inside.
She wanted to scream. Just flip the coffee table andscream.But she kept her composure, and decided she’d lock herself in her room to prepare for her bachelorette party.
Thrown by her most hated enemy’s sister.
An enemy that had just been about to kiss her.
An enemy that she…had wanted to kiss her.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!This wasn’t part of the plan. Okay, fine, she hadn’t gone into the whole scenario with a plan, not really—but if she had, this certainly wouldn’t have been on it. Pressing the heels of her hands into her cheekbones, she sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long, ragged sigh.
It’d be fine. It’d absolutely be fine. She could get through this. And, hey, maybe it was a good thing that she was attracted to theman that she would soon need to have sex with. Never mind the fact that it wasRaziel.The man who had killed her family and countless others.
Sighing, she ran her hands through her hair.
“I can use this.” She took a deep breath. And it was true—this was an upside. Fine, sure, it was putting her whole set of so-called moral values up for debate. But if she was actually going to enjoy fucking him, then…it made things a lot easier.
It felt like she was making lousy excuses, but whatever. Tonight was going to be exhausting—she should focus on survival. Keeping her veins away from all the hungry vampires in the room wasn’t a task she was looking forward to.
Lying down for a nap before the party, she tossed and turned for a while before finally finding a comfortable position. But as she tried to sleep, her mind stayed locked on one moment. The feeling of his hand in her hair. The heat of his presence—like sitting near a roaring fire. The smell of his sharp cologne.
