Page 32 of Poison Touch (Monarch Vipers #1)

KINSLEY

It’s early when I head down to the beach.

The shore is empty even though it’s beautiful out.

The waves quietly crest the shore. A couple of people are on surfboards, despite there being not a single wave to surf.

I assume they’re here admiring the sunrise from the water and watching the dolphins swim around the pier, hoping for a handout.

I pull off my tank and slide my shorts off.

Wading out into the cool water just beyond the rolling of the waves, I fall into the clear water.

My muscles ache from working them so hard this week at the dojo.

On top of all the studying, I’ve made a point to beat my frustration along with everything else out of me…

Including my sexual dissatisfaction that Edge has managed to work into me.

As hard as I try to keep him at bay or away from my thoughts, he still manages to worm his way into them at no fault of my own.

Wait, that’s a complete lie. It feels like I’m lying to everyone right now, and I can’t start lying to myself, too.

I did let him get close—too close. I not only let him kiss me but I kissed him back this time.

And fuck, if I didn’t want more. With his impressive hard length against me, I knew he did as well.

If it were anyone else, I might have let him take me right then and there in the freaking science section of the library.

He was rough and handled me in a fashion I could get used to. Which I won’t.

So I keep telling myself.

The water caresses me. I lie back, letting the soft waves control my body, holding me in their gentle embrace.

The flow of the water moves me as it rolls toward shore, then back out to sea.

I touch my wet fingers to my lips, remembering how Edge’s mouth felt against mine.

The way his possessive lips and tongue dominated me as he explored my mouth and invited me to take part in the dance he led.

I lick my lips as the warm water grazes my bare skin. The taste of the salty water has me instantly imagining the taste of his cum. A surge of energy shoots straight between my legs. Instead of pushing the fantasy as far away as possible, I revel in the sensations loitering in my torturous mind.

“Ninja, is that you?”

I flail around, trying to get to my feet.

The ocean floor is too deep for me to touch.

I floated farther away from shore than I realized.

I kick my feet, spinning around in the water as a surfer straddling their board comes up alongside me.

I hold my hand over my eyes to block the sun.

Wild hair is silhouetted as rays of sunshine filter through the unruly strands. “Gunner?”

“Yours truly.” He drifts on his board next to me. “So, what’s your reason for escaping to the beach this lovely morning?”

“Just clearing my head. You?” I lie and leave out the part about how I’m working on a plan to follow them to their dojo without being caught or how I’d like to find a way to get his best friend out of my head for good.

He probably knows that Edge and I kissed, but I’m not about to say anything to verify it.

He points to the ocean. “I have to come out here when it’s this beautiful. It calls to my soul.” He holds out his arms as if giving himself over to a sacrifice.

It sounds like me training at the dojo. I don’t have to be fighting, just need to be in my special space, which gives me peace.

“I don’t even have to surf. I just need to be in the water frolicking with the dolphins.”

“Frolicking?” I can’t help but laugh at his word choice.

“Great word, right?” He rolls his head to the side to look at me. “I didn’t know you lived around here. I mean, I heard you walked home from the party last week, but I didn’t think much about it.”

“Yeah, I live up there a half-block east.” I point to the nearly covered path behind him.

He glances over his shoulder and then back at me. “You come here often?”

“Yeah, whenever I get the chance between the dojo and homework.”Shit!I didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“Dojo, huh?”

I start to swim toward shore. He follows me, paddling until it’s too shallow, then gets to his feet and tucks his board under his arm. “Something like that.”

“So, your nickname, Ninja, fits more than just the one you ride?”

I smile without answering. Treading through breaking waves, I make my way back to my clothes. Sand cakes my wet feet. Plopping down on the sand, I lie back. It’s still cool and damp in the early morning. A shadow falls over me, blocking the sun.

Gunner lays his board on the sand next to me and then makes himself comfortable. “No dojo talk. Okay, I get it.”

“You weren’t forthcoming when I asked about your dojo.”

“True. Our—my training?—”

“You don’t have to act like Kade, Edge, and your brother aren’t into fighting as well. I saw you guys in the gym practicing headlocks and submission positions.”

“You got me. So, yeah, we are all into MMA shit.”

“And?” I press.

“We don’t have an actual dojo per se. Edge has a full gym at his house, so that’s where we mostly train.”

Edge’s house—interesting. I want to ask him a thousand more questions but hesitate, not wanting to push too hard. Plus, he shared, so now it’s my turn. “I train at the Serpent’s Spear.”

“I’ve heard of that place. No offense, but it doesn’t seem like a place for real fighters.”

Offense taken. “It is a place for real fighters who want to train the way authentic martial arts was meant to be used—for self-defence and discipline.”

He holds up his hands. “Sorry. I guess we have different opinions about our pastimes.”

Before I can stop myself, I say, “I think MMA is more than just a pastime for Venom.”

Gunner doesn’t miss my insinuation. “I guess you can say we’re committed to the arts more competitively.”

Like illegal high-stake betting and murder.

“That’s some scar,” he comments as he trails his finger along the puckered skin of the knife wound.

“Yeah.” I grab my tank top to cover it. Three and a half months and seventeen stitches later, the darkened pink skin still looks angry.

The moment the doctor told me the knife hadn’t hit anything vital, I knew I got lucky.

Although grateful, I still hate how ugly it looks and the constant reminder of that horrid night.

My mind strays to how dazed I was when I woke in the hospital, covered in blood, with my mother and Luca standing over me. Question after question from police, doctors, and my mom about what happened. I couldn’t tell any of them the truth.

No, I don’t have any enemies. No, I don’t think I was targeted. No, I’ve never been to an illegal fight before. No, I didn’t know my dad was fighting. Lies. Lies. Lies.

“I’ll take it that topic is off-limits,” Gunner says.

“It’s not something I like to talk about.”

He claps his hands and then slides them together. “Next question. How is it you’ve managed to gain the attention of everyone at Monarch without even trying?”

I scoff. “Trust me, it wasn’t intentional. My goal is the exact opposite.”

Gunner clutches his muscular chest and laughs, full-on hysterical laughs.

Baffled, I ask, “What the fuck is so funny?”

“Girl, the second you climbed off that motorcycle, you never had a chance in hell of staying invisible.” He laughs again. “Fuck! I think I answered my own question.” He shakes his head in amusement.

His laughter quiets down until we only hear the tide lapping the shore.

“You know, for being part of Venom, you don’t seem so tough.”

He chuckles. “I’ve taken my share of being a dick. Mostly, I’ve learned to save it for the octagon. But if the need serves, then I’m all in. Mainly, though, I’m just along for the ride.”

I can see that about him. “What about the rest of your friends? Is that the way they feel?”

“Nah. Edge does a good job keeping us shitheads in line. He may be an asshole, but he’s as loyal as they come. Since my brother has been re-pussy-whipped, he’s ducked out of a lot of shit.”

“Re-pussy-whipped?” I question.

“Yeah, in love with the same girl, she leaves, then moves back, they get back together. So yeah, re-pussy-whipped.”

“Thanks for the vocabulary lesson.” I chuckle. “And Kade?”

“As for Kade, he’s just Kade. Nothing gets past him.

He’s the one who decides who can sell pot and who can’t at Monarch.

He only likes the good stuff, so all the others get waitlisted until they can get the good shit.

If he needs to get involved, he does. Otherwise, his presence alone scares people shitless. ”

That’s the exact impression I got on the first day.

Gunner glances sideways at me. The sun shines on his tan, scruffy face. “You know you’re almost as scary as him. You with your tattoos and piercings and badass attitude.”

“I don’t have an...” I stop before I tell another lie. If and when I’m going to lie, it won’t be over something so obvious. “I only have the one tattoo.”

“And two visible piercings,” he adds.

“Visible?”

His eyes fall over my body. “Yeah, you know you could have your?—”

“Drop it!”

“I was hoping you were going to say your?—”

“Gunner,” I warn.

He holds his hands up, surrendering all hope on the topic.“Fine, I’ll assume you’re boring everywhere else!”

I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, let’s assume that.”

Seagulls fly overhead. Their sights scan the sand for breakfast.

“If you could be anything, what would you be?” he asks.

The question is so random it catches me off guard. And even if I did know, I’m not sure I trust him enough to tell him. His friendship with Edge throws a giant wrench into things. But this time, I don’t have to lie. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, I wouldn’t suggest you be an artist. You’d give new meaning to ‘starving artist.’”

Instinctively, I reach out and slap his arm. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Oww!” He laughs and rubs the spot where I hit him. “I’m just being real. You’re terrible.”