Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
I couldn’t see, my ears rang with my own screams, then my hips thrashed, convulsing as second wave swept me away. This time, my body went rigid right before I screamed, digging my nails into Piston’s back and shoulders. Need to hold him to me was primal, something I was helpless to resist.
At some point, I relaxed under Piston. His heavy weight on me was more comforting than I ever thought possible. I’d always insisted being on top during sex. With Piston, the urge to roll us so he was underneath me never occurred. He dominated me and I craved more.
When he finally rolled off me, I whimpered with loss. He didn’t go far, though. He held me against his chest, one arm around my shoulders, the other palming the back of my head.
“That’s it, Venus. My warrior woman.” He crooned to me like he might a child. Could be because I was trembling and… were my eyes damp? “My woman. Just relax. Let it all out. I’ll always be here to catch you.”
Fuck. My eyes were wet. My breath was coming in little hitches and I couldn’t seem to stop it.
Finally, I gave up and just went limp against him. He wanted control? Well, he had it. I was too exhausted to care.
With one final deep breath, I closed my eyes and let sleep have me. I’d trust Piston to keep me safe. Besides, if I was killed before I woke, I’d die happy.
Chapter Eight
Piston
I woke with a sharp pain in my shoulder. My eyes snapped open and my first thought was, I’ve been stabbed. I looked down to find a mass of hot pink hair laying silkily against my chest while the little daggers Venus called nails were dug into the flesh just below my shoulder. She’d broken the skin. I’d be upset except for two things.
First, Venus was sound a-fuckin’-sleep. In my arms. In my bed. That thought put a grin on my face. Second, she’d basically stabbed me because she was clinging to me, holding me close so I couldn’t get away from her. That thought not only put a smile on my face but settled something inside me I hadn’t realized was so tense. She might not realize it yet, but she’d claimed me as hers the same way I’d claimed her. Except her claim was in the form of scratch marks and stab wounds. Kind of like sleeping with a cat.
Oh. And I wasn’t dead.
I sifted my fingers through the bright pink strands of her hair. Her pale blond roots were beginning to shine through where she’d been too busy to touch it up since we took off after Victor the last time. Which brought an end to my contentment.
Victor had known we were coming for him. The trap he’d set was hasty and not very well thought out for someone like him, but we’d probably gotten too close too fast. He hadn’t had time to do much while on the run either. I hadn’t been thrilled with the choice of places for the tech guys to drive him to. The neighborhood he was in might be on the outskirts of Nashville, but there were houses that were very close together. I’d talked to Crush, and he’d said they tried pushing him in another direction, but the man had made a beeline for Nashville. Probably knew the surroundings would make it more difficult for someone to get to him than it would be for him to escape.
It was time to pull out the big guns. I was surprised Venus hadn’t already. I reached for my phone and, never taking my fingers from Venus’s silky hair, pulled up the contact information for Giovanni Romano at Argent Tech -- one third of the Shadow Demons -- to text him.
Me: Victor Zaitsev.
I put my phone down to wait. It was quite possible Giovanni wouldn’t answer for a while. But he always answered. Also, I thought the name would get his attention enough for him to message me back.
My phone buzzed. That was fast. I picked up the phone again to read the text.
Romano: Venus?
I raised an eyebrow. Not only was his response fucking fast for him, but his first thought had been for Venus? Not to ask “what about him” or “yeah, he’s a bastard” or any number of things. It made my hackles rise. Giovanni knew how I felt about Venus. If he thought he was making a play for her, he should have thought about it a long fucking time ago.
Me: Mine.
Romano: Safe?
Me: With me.
By definition, that meant she was safe. Fucking prick.
Romano: Call me.
Me: Give me ten.
Romano: You have five.
Motherfucker. If I didn’t need his help on this, I’d tell him I’d call him when Venus woke up, but, a) I did need his help, and b) I wanted to protect Venus’s privacy. I had no idea how close she was to the bastard, but, as much as I wanted to video chat with Venus sleeping soundly against my chest, I couldn’t do that. Not without her permission. Which made me grin. She’d totally give me permission.