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Elias took a slow step forward, towering, silent, very much done with this conversation. I could feel the shift in the air—possession prickling beneath his skin like a live wire.
Noah just winked at me. “Word of advice? Don’t get too close to the snake. She’s gorgeous, but she bites.”
“I’ve been warned,” I said, keeping my eyes on Elias. “But that’s half the fun, isn’t it?”
Elias reached for my hand, his grip firm. “We’re leaving.”
“Aww,” Noah called. “Play nice, brother. She’s got fire.”
“She is fire,” Elias muttered under his breath, tugging at me.
I gave Noah a lazy salute, then looked back at Elias, unmoving. I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until I was good and ready.
“You have a snake and didn’t think to mention it?” I asked.
“She’s not exactly a secret,” he said, his voice low.
I tilted my head, grinning. “No, but sounds like she is a whole vibe. Dangerous, sleek, impossible to ignore …”
My smile widened.
“Sound familiar?”
And then, without another word, I peeled off the remains of my tank top and shorts, baring skin still kissed by sweat and adrenaline. I wore only a black thong now, and nothing else, and I didn’t miss the way Elias’s jaw clenched at the sight.
I stepped to the edge of the pool and looked over my shoulder.
“You coming?” I asked. “Or are you going to let me swim alone while a deadly serpent watches from the windows? Not to mention, your brother?”
Elias didn’t move.
Which made it better.
I dove in.
The water was cool silk, folding around me as I sliced through it, then surfaced with a flip of my hair and a smile sharp enough to bleed. Noah gave a low whistle, then disappeared into the shadows, muttering something about needing to find his fiancé.
I swam to the edge nearest Elias and rested my arms on the tile, chin tilted, tits just barely under the surface.
“Still standing there like a statue, Cipher?” I purred. “Or do I have to dare you again?”
He didn’t speak.
But his shoes hit the stone with two soft thuds.
Then his shirt.
Then his belt.
Then the rest of his clothes, all the way down to a sexy pair of black boxer briefs.
And when he stepped into the pool—stalking toward me with water slicking up his thighs like a threat—I bit my bottom lip and whispered, “I dare you to let the snake join us in bed.”
He stopped.
Dead still.
The night cracked open between us.