Page 57 of Serpentine
“I know you’re questioning this insane situation between us, and while I kept you as a bargaining chip, Aella, you’re so much fucking more. You know that. But if you’re going to do this and be a part of it with us, you won’t be leaving again. Once you’re a Cobra, death is the only way out of the quiver.”
His words weigh heavy on my heart, but I know what I want. I always go with my gut.
I nod.
He smirks as he stands, and my eyes track him. “Well then, only one thing left to do.”
He leaves, and I’m left in awe of the moment we’ve just had. Until I realized he, too, left me strapped to the fucking bench and didn’t let me loose.
I growl and hang my head.
EIGHTEEN
MILES
“And you believe her?” Braxton asks over the speaker of my iPhone as I text Blaze.
“I do. God help me, Brax, I do. My gut says she’s in it for the right reasons and wants this. I know you have to punish her for what she did, and I left her on the bench for you, but I have to do what I must do, too.”
Braxton sighs. “I don’t know if this is the best idea. I’ve lost my trust in her, man.”
I try to choose my words carefully. Braxton isn’t usually this forthcoming with me. Usually, he’d be in the basement, hidden away from the world, but Aella’s in the basement, so he snuck off elsewhere.
“Do you think you’ll get it back?” I ask, momentarily feeling like a relationship counselor.
It’s not odd for us to share, but sharing someone we care about is strange. Usually, it’s for a night only. There was the one time we shared Caroline for two weeks, but it was fleeting.
Far more fleeting the Aella feels.
“I don’t know if I can. Once the vibe changes…”
“I know, I know. Well, we’ll play it by ear, shall we? Where are you, anyhow?”
My brother is ever the one to go off a person’s vibe. When someone’s off, it throws him off. But I don’t need to remind him that her vibe hadn’t been off-putting to him initially. He knows. He’s more self-aware than anyone I’ve ever met.
“I needed to take a walk. So, I’m looking into your bartender. If I punished her right then…”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. I fully understand. He didn’t want to lose it with her. Thus, I am proving she means more to him than he thinks. It must pass on its own when he’s in this mood, though. He has to have time to process.
“Well, I’m going to do what I must and leave her for you.”
He clears his throat. “Sounds good. And, Miles?”
“Hm?”
“Don’t be gentle,” he says.
I smile. “Never am.”
Blaze confirms he’s on his way, and I let myself sink onto the side of my bed as I inhale deeply to calm the skittering nerves.
This is further than I’ve ever gone with someone before, and I don’t know if I’m crossing a line. But she said she’s in. She needs to be all in because my mind won’t be at peace until she is.
Once Blaze has his things on Braxton’s bed, I move in front of Aella. She was fed, let off to use the bathroom, and now is firmly strapped back to the bench, adding new straps to it because I’d cut the first off her with a knife. I can’t deny the way her red knees had made my dick fill with blood, but I’d adjusted it and kept it to myself.
“What will you do to me?” she asks, voice shaky.
“You said you were in, didn’t you?” I ask, and she nods.