Vipers and Virtuosos (Monsters & Muses, #2)(66)

“Positive. Jade’s inside, anyway, if I need something.” Reaching out, she pushes her palms against his chest. “Go, dude. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Hesitating another moment, Caleb finally takes a step back, shaking his head. He pulls a hat from his coat pocket, tugging it over his hair, and then turns and jogs in the direction he just came.

Neither one of us moves, watching as he climbs into his Jeep, honks twice, and then peels away.

I’m just about to step out and reveal myself when she swivels in my direction, placing her hands on her hips.

“You can come out.”

For a second, I stay hidden, not sure that I like how accustomed to my presence she’s becoming. If we eliminate the element of fear, then what the fuck is the purpose of all of this?

Still, I can’t resist putting myself in her personal space, so I move out from the pillar and prop my shoulder against it.

“You’re terrible at this,” she says, taking a single step closer.

“Oh? Are you well-versed in the art of stalking, Ms. Kelly?”

“I shouldn’t dignify that with a response,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “But, for the record, I was the president of your biggest online fan club for two full years before…”

She trails off, casting her eyes to the ground. Her boot kicks at the snow, and she clears her throat.

“Well, regardless, I was the one running it for two years. I tracked down your specific GPS coordinates when you were on tour, down to the hotel room you were staying in. I cataloged what your favorite drinks were in each individual city, so I could arrange to have gift baskets sent to your room before each show.”

Riley exhales, her breath clouding visibly in the chilly air.

“One time, I even thwarted an attempted crazed fan from breaking into your tour bus, just because I happened to know where it was sitting during your Super Bowl halftime show, and some of the girls in the fan club let me know what was being planned.”

Jesus. The girl is a former superfan, and I didn’t even know.

My stomach churns. “I feel violated.”

A grin spreads over her face, a look of rare pride overtaking her features. “Did all of that from the comfort of my home, too. Pays to have a big brother with a wealth of technology at his fingertips.”

“Oh, are we gonna talk about him now?”

Something dark passes over her. It wipes the grin clean off.

“No.” She flips her hair off her shoulder. “I’m just saying, your stalking skills are very amateurish. I always know when you’re around.”

“And yet…” Trailing off, I move in, not stopping until I’m standing right in front of her. Close enough to see the dark blues in her eyes, like frozen tundras waiting to be scoped out. Full of depth and secrets. “You always seem nervous. Like you’re not expecting me.”

She swallows audibly. “I don’t know what you want with me. One second, you’re telling me how much you want me to suffer, and the next, you’re…”

“Making you come?”

Her cheeks darken. “Yeah, that.”

“That.” Another step, so our shoes are touching. “Does sex make you uncomfortable, Riley?”

“You make me uncomfortable.”

“Now that can’t be true. You wouldn’t have come on my fingers… or my tongue… if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Maybe I’m one of those people who likes pain.”

I hum, my free hand coming up to wrap around her throat. Squeezing slightly, just enough to rob her of easy access to air, I arch a brow. “Would you like to find out?”

Her throat ripples beneath my hold, and I imagine it doing the same when she’s swallowing my cum, gagging on me.

“I’m a virgin.” She says the words so softly, so suddenly, that I’m convinced she hadn’t planned on the admission.

It pulses in the air between us, collecting like snowflakes on the ground. Confusion knits my insides, and I let my hand fall to my side, searching her face for signs of a lie.

“But your medical records—”

“I’ve never slept with anyone,” she insists, dropping her chin slightly.

My gaze flickers to the scars on her face, and I think about the one on her hip. I’ve never felt more confused in my entire life.

Pulling away, she runs a hand through her hair, then hugs her biceps. “I should go in and wait for a ride.”

“I’ll take you.”

Glancing at my extended hand, she cringes. “That feels like a terrible idea.”

I shrug, wiggling my fingers. “Won’t know until you try.”

It takes several more minutes, and my toes start to go numb by the time she finally nods. She doesn’t take my hand, but she follows beside me, and for right now, I’m okay with settling for that.





32





What is a socially acceptable amount of time to let someone bully you?

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I delete the text in the search bar. I don’t put it past Aiden to have installed a nanny cam on my laptop when I wasn’t looking, so I don’t want to incriminate myself more than necessary.

In truth, he’s been fairly quiet in the couple of weeks since Thanksgiving; when Fiona came to visit over the weekend, I hadn’t seen him at all, though I know he’s always lurking.