Venom And Vice

6

“I’d been drinking,” she ground out. “I claim temporary insanity because I don’t know what else would have convinced me to get anywhere near you.” Depravity clawed at the smile twisting my lips. “I’ll bet that was it.” I slowly pulled away, a gulf of frigid air filling the chasm between us. “f**k off, Casek,” she hissed, stepping past me to press the elevator call button. The doors immediately opened, allowing her a quick escape. I let her go, for both of our sakes. The woman was unreal. From the first day she’d waltzed into our club, I could tell she was different. She wasn’t afraid of the darkness surrounding her like most would be. I’d known another woman who was also tenacious to a fault and courageous beyond reason. That woman had died a horrific death. Losing Raisa so many lifetimes ago had changed me, leaving me uninterested in maintaining any meaningful female relationships in my life. I’d made it a habit to single out the vapid ones—happy to please and easy to forget. That had been my life for a long time, and I had no desire to change it. Forming an attachment to a woman—especially one shrouded in danger— was out of the question. I had to get my head on straight and take control of the situation. I took out my phone and sent a quick text. To my relief, I received an instant reply. Abandoning my original purpose for leaving the building, I rerouted myself to a nearby apartment building. I’d fed my magic only days before in preparation for our battle against Morgan, but the magic I’d used since, primarily in healing myself of my battle injuries, had depleted my reserves. I hadn’t fed from Ashley like I should have when I’d f****d her. Instead of being practical, I’d refused to diminish her orgasm in any way by siphoning even an ounce of her pleasure. I’d wanted her to come undone and been more than gratified at the result. However, that meant I still hadn’t fed, and even more importantly, I needed to remind myself that women were a dime a dozen. The best way to get Ashley out of my head was to lose myself in someone else. God, I hope so. Because if I can’t untangle myself, I’m f****d. I normally had a few women at any given time available to me, but we’d been so consumed with the Unseelie invasion that I’d been negligent about maintaining my options. When I made arrangements to feed days earlier, I’d found several doors had closed on me, leaving me one avenue available on short notice. I’d told myself after my last visit with Brianna that it was time to cut ties, but here I was, days later, showing up at her doorstep. Not my finest hour, but it was better than the alternative. I’d rather fend off a clingy Brianna than fall further under Ashley’s spell. At least, that had been my assumption. When Brianna greeted me, her eyes lit up like a fuckin’ Christmas tree, and I was suddenly questioning all my life’s choices. For f**k’s sake. “Casek! I’m so glad you texted. Come in.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside her small apartment. She was a knock-out blond with a plump ass and a tiny waist—perfect in every way, except for that telltale gleam in her eyes. The one that told me she had started to make plans and formulate assumptions about the nature of our association. The gleam meant drama, and I hated drama. Brianna wrapped her arms around me and rose on her toes, seeking out my lips. I caught her face with my hand, keeping her at a distance. “You know my take on kissing. I’m not your boyfriend, never have been, so don’t pretend otherwise.” “It doesn’t matter how you label it. It’s my bed you keep coming back to.” We definitely had a problem. I shouldn’t have been surprised. For a man who prided himself on wellthought-out decisions, making mistakes seemed to be my new favorite pastime. The worst part was the doubt. I could feel my usual surety becoming soft and amorphous. Ten minutes ago, I’d been confident that f*****g Brianna was necessary. Now, I was questioning my ability to see anything clearly. How else will you get Ashley out of your system? Who cares if Brianna throws an unholy fit? If she’s open to being f****d, and that’s what you need, do it. My teeth clenched so tight I could have cracked a tooth. “Turn around,” I ordered. She didn’t hesitate. There was undoubtedly a victorious grin on her face, but as long as I couldn’t see it, I didn’t care. I closed in behind her and bent her forward over the kitchen table with a firm hand on her back. She spread her legs and waved her ass in the air, ready for me. It would have been easy to slide inside her and take what I wanted, but where was the fun in that? With the addictive tang of Ashley’s feisty nature still ripe on my tongue, all other flavors paled in comparison. What was I thinking? Brianna was so far from measuring up that she had no chance of erasing the memory of last night. Not only would I fail to achieve my goal but I was also about to make everything worse by giving Brianna more ammunition. “f**k,” I roared. “I shouldn’t have come here. This isn’t going to work anymore.” “You don’t mean that.” She ran her hands down my chest. “You know you can’t get enough of me.” “Think whatever you like, but I’m done. You won’t hear from me again.” I turned toward the door. Brianna grabbed my arm and peered up at me from beneath her thick lashes. “Don’t leave, Caz. I’m sorry if I upset you. Stay and let me make it up to you.” “I’m not upset. And you’re not going to change my mind. It’s time to move on.” I crossed the room and began to open the door when glass shattered against the wall next to me. The vase of flowers that had been on her kitchen table lay in pieces on the ground, water spreading across the stained linoleum.