Page 51 of The Viper

“You and Dominic, eh?” Eliza asks in a small voice. She nurses the drink without actually sipping on it.

“No, it’s not like that. We’re just having a bit of fun.”

Adrian turns and instantly stiffens when he sees Eliza with a cocktail. Dominic places his hand on his brother’s shoulder then shakes his head. He says something to Adrian, to which Adrian responds by sneering at Eliza, then nodding.

Dominic walks over to me, leans down and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Behave yourself while Adrian and I head upstairs to work.”

I know it’s not my business and I shouldn’t ask, but that’s never stopped me in the past. “Are you going to be long?”

“Not at all. Maybe half an hour.” He turns to Bryan and says, “The girls can have whatever they want.”

“Yes, sir,” Bryan replies.

“Hey,” I say to stop him from leaving. Dominic and Adrian both turn toward me. I stand to my feet, and walk over to Dominic. I lean into his hard body, his hand automatically grips my hip. I close the space between us and place a small kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for bringing my sister here.”

His fingers tighten as he pulls back. Dominic moves forward, and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. His mouth hovers, his lips stay on mine for what feels like forever. My heart rapidly beats as he pulls me into his body. The warmth of his lips is a dangerous promise of the dirty things he can do to me. He doesn’t need to show me his dominance. This kiss is enough to tell everyone that I’m his.

He pulls back and kisses my forehead. “Behave,” he warns. “But have fun.”

Dominic turns and walks away, allowing me the best view of his ass sheathed in that perfectly fitted dark gray suit. I shamelessly drink him in, eager to see that ass naked.

“Well,” my sister’s voice reminds me she’s here. I turn and strut over to her. She lifts the martini and has a sip while watching the door. “Be careful, Rose. These men aren’t…” She darts her eyes over to Bryan who’s waiting by the door. I have a feeling Bryan is more than a waiter. She leans over to me and whispers, “they’re not good people.”

“Then why did you marry Adrian? Everything happened so fast with him. You literally married him within months of meeting him. I know you’re not pregnant.” A visibly shiver runs through Eliza. “Tell me why you married, Eliza.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She places the now empty glass on the table. “I didn’t want you in this life.”

“I’m not in it. Dominic is helping me since the fire, that’s all.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “You’re in it now, and there’s no way of getting out. Although, out of the two brothers, I think yours is better than mine.” Her shoulders slump as she releases a sigh. “Yours appears to be decent.”

I place my hand to her knee and she jerks back at my touch. I narrow my eyes when she lifts her chin to look at me. “Let me help you.”

Her sad eyes are glued to mine for a long moment. “Let’s dance,” she chirps as if she wasn’t on the edge of tears.

“What?”

“Come on, let’s dance. I haven’t danced in such a long time.” Something deep inside tells me Eliza no longer wants to talk about it. She’s clearly in a situation where she feels cornered and trapped, but for some reason she refuses to tell me why. She tugs on my hand as she heads toward the door. “Come on, Rose.”

“Alright, alright.” I’ll leave it alone, for now.

Bryan follows us out to the dance floor. We squeeze into a spot and begin to move our bodies to the rhythm of the music. Eliza closes her eyes and sways her hips to the music. She looks happy and carefree as she moves. The dance floor is overly crowded, but still fun.

She turns and backs up into me feeling the beat of the music. I love seeing her relaxed. This is the Eliza I know and love, not the one who can barely look at me. Two hands grip my hips but this feels different from Dominic, I turn to see a guy getting close to me. I peel his hands off my body and shake my head. “One dance?” He places his palms together like he’s praying.

“No, sorry,” I say and turn my back to him. He roughly places one hand on my hip and digs his fingers in. His body is too close to mine and I’m not feeling comfortable. “I said no.” I swiftly move my elbow back to give him a nudge away. Nothing that could hurt him, but enough for him to know I’m not interested.

“Just one dance,” he shouts over the music.

I turn to look at him and shake my head. I grab Eliza’s hand and move away from him. “What was that about?” Eliza asks.

“He kept rubbing up against me and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. “He’d better stay away, because if your boyfriend sees that, the guy’s in a world of trouble.”

“Dominic’s not my boyfriend,” I yell over the music.

She smiles and shakes her head. “Whatever you say.” A new song starts and Eliza lifts her arms and sexily sways her body to it. She’s completely in her element as she feels the music. Seeing her like this fills my heart with happiness, if only she could be like this all the time.

---