Page 210 of Vicious Temptation

He slowly lowers his gun, then drags a hand down his face. “Remi, baby, that’s…”

“A little careless. I know, I know.” I give him a sheepish look. “Just stay here.”

As I move past him, Thiago catches my elbow, suddenly serious. “Be careful.”

I nod, unable to hold back my smile. “You like me, huh?”

Now he’s the one fighting a smile. “Go get your snake, fera,” he says, though something in his eyes makes it hard to look away.

I force myself to anyway and head for the coat closet to grab my snake hook. “Stay back,” I tell him.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

I approach the sofa carefully and crouch far enough away that Clarice can’t strike if she’s startled. Before I can get a good look beneath it, she slithers out the opposite side and makes a beeline for the hallway.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” I follow at a safe distance until she slows. “Clarice, play nice, and I’ll have a fat, juicy mouse waiting for you at your next feeding. Your favorite.”

She stops and coils, lifting her head as I keep the snake hook between us.

“Easy, girl.” I lower my voice as I watch her. “See that big guy back there?” Looking over my shoulder, I toss Thiago a wink. “He kind of likes me, and he has pretty good aim, so let’s not give him a reason to find out if he can hit a small, moving target, okay?”

When she finally relaxes enough for me to move closer, I carefully slide the hook beneath the front third of her body. Surprisingly, she doesn’t protest. She lets me lift her without so much as a hiss. Behind me, Thiago lets out a breath, and I don’t have to look at him to know it has nothing to do with being afraid of Clarice.

Damn him again.

By the time I return her to the enclosure and double-check the latch, Thiago is sitting on the couch, with two glasses of iced water waiting on the coffee table.

I mean to sit beside him, but before I reach the cushion, he catches me around the waist and pulls me onto his lap.

“Did you remember to lock it this time?”

“Ha ha.” I roll my eyes. “Go ahead. Make your jokes. I forget things sometimes, okay? Sue me.”

I’m not offended in the slightest, but his smile still fades, and his arm tightens around me. “I didn’t mean it that way.” He searches my face. “You know that, right?”

“I know.”

I do.

Maybe that’s why being this vulnerable with him scares me so much. Thiago doesn’t make me feel like I have to explain every part of myself or apologize for the parts that aren’t always easy. He just seems to understand me. Even now, we can sit here in silence, and I don’t feel the need to fill it. With him, I can simply exist in it.

I curl my fingers into his collar and meet his eyes.

We have a conversation pending, and I don’t know how much of myself I’m ready to give him. Part of me wants to tear everything open and let him see it all, even the darkest ones, while the other part is terrified of what might happen if I do.

So I give him what I can.

“Things got out of control today.”

He nods. “A little.”

I almost smile. “I am who I am, Braga. It started as a race and ended badly. You see the worst of society every day, so you know there are ruthless people out there.”

His hand glides slowly along my back.

“I grew up in a family that prepared us for people like that. My parents taught us to survive the ugliest parts of this world. They taught us never to back down and never to let ourselves become victims.”

Thiago doesn’t interrupt. He just listens.