Page 12 of Serpentine
He rolls his eyes. “And your fiancé? You’re going to tell me the man you were fucking didn’t tell you anything about what he and your father got up to?”
Of course, he thinks I’m just what the media said I was.
I don’t know how many times I’d been called a whore when I would go out with male friends over the years. Or called a tramp who was sullying my father’s name. Or a cheater. When all the while, I’ve fucked no one.
“I’m a fucking virgin, so no, he wasn’t whispering sweet nothings and plans in my ear at nighttime. And if you two fools would’ve done your homework and gone inside the house, you’d have seen my best friend riding his dick and my bedroom that is on the opposite wall as his.”
The news makes him soften. “Well, he’s a fucking fool. That’s intel we can use.”
I nearly choke on the air. “Excuse me?” I hadn’t meant to give them anything, but my outburst somehow had.
“Pretty princess, anyone who isn’t thoroughly fucking you until your cunt is aching and your knees are weak is a goddamn fool.” His eyes bore into me. I feel like they’re chipping away at my resolve.
“I—Well... All I was saying is I don’t know anything.” I’m flustered, and he knows it.
A small laugh filters out of him, and I sit back and cross my arms.
“You’re still a bargaining chip for when we need one.”
“Good, call and give him a ransom or whatever you’re going to do. I’m ready to go.”
He nods. “So ready to go back to a life with sadness living in your beautiful eyes?”
His words make me fucking angry. So livid that I sit forward and spew, “Stop trying to read me! The both of you! You don’t fucking know me!”
He leans in, anguish on his features. His hand comes up, and I bristle, awaiting the slap of pain accompanying the strike. But he brushes my hair behind my ear, and I open my eyes. His green eyes are far deeper than anything I’ve ever seen before.
“Dangerous men see what others don’t, princess. We see that which people try to hide. I can’t stop reading you because the moment I don’t assess a situation correctly is the moment of my death.”
Something in my chest winds with pain at the thought of his death.
You don’t fucking know them!
The reminder has me scurrying back to safety near the headboard. “Do you need anything else?”
He laughs. “Are you dismissing me, princess?”
I look toward the window, where the rising sun fills the room with light.
“Very well,” he says, standing and moving toward me.
I don’t turn my face away from the beauty of the sunrise beyond the pane, only lift my arm for him to shackle me once more.
“Brax was right, you know? You need to rest. Come, lie down.”
Even though I know it’s ridiculous, I listen. I curl up and get comfortable with my arm beneath a pillow. He waits before cuffing me to the lowest bar.
As my eyes shut, my mind quiets.
But I’ll never forget the words he utters before he leaves.
“You belong to the Cobras now, princess. Sleep while you can.”
FIVE
BRAXTON
The urge to go harder and cut deeper is there, needling into my brain indecently. It’s almost hard to fucking ignore, but I do so. Pounding away at the bag, I let it go through my fists. I channel all my emotions into the bag, as Dad taught us to do when feeling out of control.