Page 307 of Hell Hath No Fury
She hesitated, her eyes darting from me to the door to her apartment and back a few times before, with a resigned sigh, she nodded.
“I guess it would freak my roommate out if I turned up looking like an extra in a slasher flick.” Pushing heavily off the window, Betty moved toward me, her steps slow and her shoulders tight.
“I’m gonna go see if I can find that guy,” Easton said.
“Just, be careful, alright?” Betty ran her tongue over her bloody lips, her brows drawn down low. “He had a knife.” Easton nodded, but didn’t look the least bit concerned.
“Are you fuckin’ serious?” I barked as the door closed behind him, and Betty frowned even harder at me.
“No, Asher, I’m not serious. It was actually a banana he threatened me with.” Throwing her hands up dramatically, she shook her head. “Now I feel like I got all worked up for nothing.”
“Alright, alright.” I chuckled dryly. “It was a rhetorical question. No need to get spicy.”
“Sorry, I’m perpetually spicy.” She smiled, but it was weak at best. “I should probably come with a warning label.”
Motioning her to follow, I headed back to the bar again, this time bringing her around with me and positioning us both near the sink before reaching for the roll of paper towels. There wasn’t much in the place in the midst of all the construction, so a this was the best I was gonna be able to do. I folded up two pieces into a square, then ran it under cool water before turning to face her. Taking her chin in one hand, I gently dabbed the damp paper towel across the worst of the blood along her lower lip and chin.
“You a hazard to my health, Betty?” I asked softly, my eyes trained on her mouth. The blood came away easily, the lips underneath revealed to be the color of ripe berries.
I wondered if they’d taste as good as they looked.
“I’ve been told I’m poisonous,” she whispered, her breath warm against my hand.
“Well, I happen to know that constant exposure to some poisons can actually make a person immune.” Finishing with the clean up, I tossed the wad of dirty paper towels into the near by bin, not taking my eyes off Betty.
“Is that so?” she asked, one hand reaching up to grip my arm, her fingers cold where they touched my skin. “Has that theory been thoroughly tested?”
“Maybe you should tell me, Betty.”
Looking down at her, I could see her eyes growing heavy, the lids lowering as she shifted her focus from my eyes to my mouth, and I felt the sudden need to lick my lips, wanting them to be as appealing to her as hers were to me.
Leaning toward me, she lifted her chin, her parted lips beseeching as she stretched to reach me, her other hand coming around the back of my neck and drawing me closer. The first touch was electric, the barest of contact sending a blast of sparks through my system that had me sucking in a breath.
Apparently suffering the same reaction, Betty froze, her wide, dark eyes darting up to mine before she pressed forward, this time with more purpose, like she simply couldn’t believe what she’d felt the first time.
Obliging her, I bent my knees, wanting to make the contact easier for her so she’d be less likely to stop what she was doing.
“So far, so good,” she murmured against my lips.
“No apparent adverse reactions,” I agreed. “All systems appear to be operational.”
“Perhaps we should accelerate this experiment to phase two?”
The thought of taking things further set off a rumble in my chest that I had no hope of containing.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well,” she started, her own tongue darting out to lick that ripe lower lip. “I think maybe we could—”
“I couldn’t find him,” my soon-to-be-dead best friend hollered as he entered the shop. “Bastard’s fast, that’s for sure.”
Stepping back from me, Betty cleared her throat, bringing her hands up to cover her cheeks as a heavy blush spread across them.
“Thank you for trying,” she said to Easton, and that growly feeling was back in my chest. The one where I was at risk of punching my best friend. “I appreciate the effort.”
“Not a problem,” Easton said, his confused gaze darting from me to her and the conspicuous space between us. “Hopefully he’ll stay gone.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered, but she didn’t sound confident. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her place. “Well, thanks again.” Blowing out a breath, she headed for the door, and I was hit with a panicky feeling, like I needed to keep here just a minute longer.
