“Eat shit.” I hissed through gritted teeth.
“All talk and no follow through. You’re not even fighting back.”
Suddenly, I realized she was right. Somewhere in the shock of being grabbed, of being slammed against the counter, I’d frozen. But as soon as the words left her mouth, it was like a kettle poured over the ice coursing through my veins.
“Fuck you.” I screeched, lifting my shoulders just an inch off the counter before she slammed me back down. Pain seared through my scalp as she tightened her grip, but I didn’t care. I thrashed against her hold, kicking my heels uselessly against her shins.
“That’s more like it.” Sick pleasure was audible in her voice as she watched me squirm. Each movement caused a rush of hot friction between our bodies, and I had no doubt that my helplessness was adding to her enjoyment.
“You’re a sick fuck.” I growled, half at her and half at the slick pulse growing between my thighs.
It’s just the adrenaline…
“You’re a bad liar, Kiera.” She pressed against me harder, hard enough for me to feel something rigid between her legs. “You pretend I’m some big, scary monster so you can feel like you’re better than me. But it’s all a show. You might have the other two fooled, but I knowexactlywhat you are.”
What the fuck?
“See the thing is, you act all innocent. Like you’re some sad little mouse roaming the house for scraps.” Her blue eyes stared deep into my soul, unwrapping something. “But you, you’re a fucking poisonous Viper. And if you have your way, you’ll wrap yourself around both of those two and kill them with a single bite.”
I didn’t have a chance to unpack what she meant before she brought her free hand to my face, turning my chin to its absolute limit, forcing me to look her in those burning blue eyes.
“Tell me you don’t remember.” Her gaze was dark and steady. There was rage, yes, but beneath it there was something more unsettling: despair.
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I recognized something in those eyes. An unnameable feeling that shook me to my core. Something that would kill me if I didn’t escape.
Tucking my chin under the gap between her thumb and index finger, I took the only out I could find. I wrapped my lips around her knuckle and clamped down, burying my teeth in between rough tendons and hard bone.
“Fuck!” She screamed, wrenching her hand back, but not before a burst of copper flooded my mouth. She looked down at her bloody hand, and then at the red painting my lips. Her scowl deepened, but even in her shock, her grip on me held tight.
She slammed her bloodied fist down on the counter beside my head with enough force to make the wood cabinets creak — enough force to make me squeeze my eyes shut. “That mouth of yours always gets you into trouble, doesn’t it?”
Her energy was no longer dark, it was goddamn murderous. And for the first time since I’d gotten here, I was genuinely afraid.
What was I thinking? Sure, I hadn’t seen that sword and wings mark on Dom, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Even if it wasn’t, she might be tied up in all sorts of illegal shit. Fancy house, tons of money, protective of her privacy…she had all the trappings of a cold-blooded criminal.
I didn’t know if she was capable of murder, but it was clear that I was hurtling us closer and closer toward finding out.
Don’t panic, don’t panic.I forced a deep breath as I searched for some way to reason with her. If my big mouth had gotten me into this situation, certainly it could get me out of it…
But before I had a chance to utter a single, shaky word, footsteps froze in the doorway. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Relief crashed over me at the sound of Leo’s voice, followed by a sickening wave of nausea at the thought of what it would take to get Dom off of me.
Leo didn’t even get a chance to take another step though before Dom took a step back, dragging me by the hair and shoving me into Leo’s protective arms. “Get this feral bitch out of my face.”
Leo was ready to tear Dom a new one, until her gaze whipped from my bloody mouth to the open wound on Dom’s clenched fist. Confusion and concern battled for dominance in her expression before she regained control. “This is insane. Where do you want me to take her?”
“You want her alive?” Dom snarled, flexing her hand. “Go somewhere I don’t have to look at her. I don’t give a fuck where.”
39
KIERA
Givingme a once over to make sure I wasn’t injured, Leo nodded to Dom’s hand. “Wash that out with soap, and let me know if it starts turning colors.”
Then, without waiting for a response, Leo grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway to the front door. I struggled to keep up with her as the adrenaline faded from my veins. “Where are you taking me?”
“Safest place I can think of.” Leo muttered, grabbing a spare jacket from an entryway closet and throwing it over her arm.
