And he appears.
Viper’s boots hit the bottom stair, one slow step at a time. He emerges from the darkness like something conjured from a nightmare, all shadows and smirking teeth; a knife and a gun rest at his belt.
He looks at me the way a starving man looks at a meal.
“Scream all you want, sweetheart,” he says. “No one can hear you. No one knows you’re here.” He spreads his arms. “We haveallthe time in the world.”
He steps closer, eyes devouring every inch of my exposed skin.
“But by all means… struggle. Beg. Plead.” His tongue sweeps over his teeth. “I love it when you do.”
For a moment, my heart stops. There is no other way to describe it: it simply ceases all function, and time flattens into a single, endless, horrible present.
But somewhere underneath the terror — underneath the instinct to run even though I can’t — a spark flickers.
A thought.
He wants my fear.
He wants screams. He wants tears. He wants the girl I used to be. If I give him that, I’ll die. And I am through giving him what he wants. Before, I had nothing keeping me going except terror and the fervent need to escape. Now, I have something more. Something so much more — love.
I swallow my terror and lift my chin.
“They’re coming for me,” I say. I inject steel into my voice, though it’s brittle and could snap at any second. “Breaker. The MC. They’ll find me. They’ll kill you.”
Viper’s smile shifts, but only a little. “Oh, sweetheart. Breaker’s already been dealt with. Randall Pike is watching himright now. I told him to keep him alive until I can finish him off myself; he’s my brother, and he deserves that at least, but I’m not so sure Pike will follow that rule, and to be honest, I won’t be too upset if he doesn’t.” He shrugs, as if discussing an inconvenient but necessary grocery run. “And the MC? Running around chasing shadows. They have no idea.”
My stomach twists, but I don’t let it show. Instead, I shift my body subtly; elongate my spine; arch my chest upward; let my lips curve. Viper falters. Just slightly, but it’s the first flash of weakness I’ve ever seen from him; he expected terror, but I give him a soft, sultry smile. Then I lower my voice to a slow, breathy whisper.
“Oh, Viper… you haven’t changed at all, have you? I’ve missed this.”
His nostrils flare. Confusion flickers in his usually dead eyes, then hunger.
“Missed me, sweetheart?” he murmurs, stepping closer. “I always knew you’d stop running eventually.”
I let my voice drip like honey.I hate myself for this.But I lean into it anyway.
“I didn’t stop running,” I whisper. “I just… got tired of pretending.”
He stares at me, chest rising, falling, breath quickening. His pupils dilate, and he steps closer.
“You’re acting different,” he says slowly.
I let my mouth curve into a teasing smirk. “Maybe I just remembered how much you… liked me. And how much I liked it.”
His jaw flexes. His breathing deepens.
“You’re not scared?” he demands, stepping close enough that his breath touches my face.
“I’m something else,” I murmur, letting my gaze run over him, slow and deliberate. “I’ve changed. Learned that maybethere are things I thought I was afraid of that, really, I just like so much it scares me.”
His pulse visibly jumps in his throat, and at the sight of it, I tilt my head, exposing my neck.
Every instinct in me screamsdanger, but I press on despite the fear and revulsion surging inside me. This is a mask I have to wear to survive.
“You went through all this trouble to get me back,” I say softly. “To have me again.”
I lick my lips. “So aren’t you going to… enjoy me?”
