Page 37 of Poison Touch (Monarch Vipers #1)

His jaw ticks. And that twinge of excitement dances on my ego in knowing I can rile him up with only a few words. He steps closer, invading my personal space like he does when he’s going to touch me. I tense, ready for the heat of his hands to trail along my skin.

This time, though, he keeps his hands to himself. He only leans down to whisper in my ear. “Are you still wet?”

It’s then I shift my stance to look at him.

I don’t give him the satisfaction of an answer.

Because I am, and I have been since his fingers glided toward my very aroused pussy and his talented mouth trailed along my neck.

I shake the images out of my head, but not before he notices the changes in my demeanor or the fucking way I slowly close my eyes, only to open them to him staring at me with his deep penetrating steel gaze boring into mine.

He grins knowingly. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

Shit me!

“You should let me get you naked to know exactly what my mouth…my tongue…my hands feel like when I can really take my time before I fuck you.”

Even if I wasn’t wet before, he’s taken care of that with his taunting. How could I have let myself be so easy to read?

Erecting my walls again, I take a step back. “I have to go.”

“Where?”

I throw my leg across my bike. “None of your fucking business.”

“Levi said you’re going to the Halloween party with Josh.”

“Yeah, so?”

“He’s not the sweet, innocent guy you think he is.”

I look directly at him and grin. “Who says I’m looking for a guy that’s sweet and innocent?”

That statement is directed at him until I can prove he had nothing to do with killing my father. But I’ll let him believe it’s intended for sexual purposes. It’s way more fun that way and safer.

The muscle in his jaw ticks again. “Don’t push me, little Ninja.”

Using my helmet to break our eye contact, I pull it over my head.

“We’ve already been over this. And something you should know about me: I hate reruns.

” I kick up the kickstand and back out of the spot.

Putting the bike in first, I lower my visor and take off.

My heartbeat matches the high RPMs of my motorcycle as I wind out the gear.

I need to accept that there’s no escaping my encounters with Ledger Hunt as long as I’m in his world. Or at least until my dad’s murderer is behind bars or dead. Only then will I be completely free.

I’m the first one to arrive at the coffee house.

It’s only a block away from the dojo. I’ve passed it a hundred times but never paid enough attention to notice it for what it is.

I sit down at one of the tables near the window.

Bryce and Eden pull up and park just outside the window.

He’s yelling at her as they get out. Eden slams the door and hollers something unintelligible back.

Within the next thirty seconds or so, they’re hugging, and then he opens the door to the coffee house for her, laughing as he does so.

I raise my brows. “Did you guys just have a major powwow, then make up in less than half a minute?”

They glance at each other and grin. “Yeah,” Bryce says and shrugs. “That’s just what we do. I hate her unfriendly ecosystem gas guzzler, and she hates me telling her every time she drives us somewhere.”

I glance out the window at the antique convertible gold Cadillac. It’s the complete opposite of the Tesla Bryce drives. They usually take his car, but I guess she insisted on driving today.

Bryce asks what we want, then goes to the counter to order our coffees.

“Hey, why don’t you guys come by my uncle’s dojo one of these coming weekends? You can meet my best friend, Luca, and see where I train.”

“You mean kick ass,” Eden says.

I laugh. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it. But really, I’ve told Luca all about you guys, and he wants to meet you.”

“Is he hot and gay?” Bryce asks as he slides into the booth.

I laugh again. “Actually, yes and yes. If he were straight, I would have claimed Luca a long time ago.”

Bryce raises his hands and slaps them on the table. “Hell yes, I’m in. Sign me up to get my ass kicked.”

Eden shoves him. “You’re too easy.”

The barista calls out Bryce’s name. He jumps up from the table to retrieve our drinks. “Be right back.”

I twist a paper napkin around my finger, debating whether to ask Eden about Josh.

I decide to bite the bullet. “Hey, what do you know about Josh Carter? When we were playing pool at the party, it didn’t seem like you guys had a problem with him.

I mean, is he an okay guy?” I don’t tell them about the warnings from Edge or Levi.

Eden’s eyes do a funny thing before darting left, then right. Finally, they land on the packets of sugar. She takes one out of the holder.

“What’s that silent-ignoring-the-question thing you just did?” I wave my hand in front of her. “What do you know? You’d tell me if it was anything bad, right?”

She rips the packet and pours the sugar into a small mound on the table. “I think Josh is all right. I mean, I never had any issue with him, but?—”

Bryce returns to the table with a tray of coffee. He studies us before setting it down.

“But what?” Bryce sits down at the table, not missing much today, and places our coffees in front of us. “Who are we talking about?”

I let out a resigned sigh. “Josh Carter.”

“Ohhh, Josh again. Are you sure about him? I mean, he doesn’t seem like your type.” Bryce eyes the smeared pile of sugar in front of Eden.

“No, I’m not sure about him, but he’s nice. Wait, what’s that supposed to mean, my type? What’s my type?”

Bryce looks up from the sugar to Eden. Is he searching her face for confirmation or permission?

I tap my fingers on the table. “I’m waiting. Please explain.”

Through some best friend’s telepathic link, they decide Eden is the one who should speak up. “We just think Josh might not be the best fit for you.”

“I’m not trying on clothes. What are you talking about?” I have no idea why they’re being so cryptic. In their lengthy pause to give me a straight answer, I blurt out, “Well, he asked me to the Halloween party that everyone is talking about, and I said yes.”

“So, you like him?” Bryce asks.

Definitely no. But he’s a distraction from my deliciously hot, egotistical nemesis.

I shrug. “Not really, but he seems all right.” Since they’re not giving anything up, I try a different tactic and tell them what I know.

“Look, Venom and Josh are in my gym class. Levi overheard Josh asking me about the party, and then he warned me about Josh. And then, just today, Edge said he wasn’t a nice guy.

And before you guys start in on me about how Venom probably isn’t the best judge, I just think it’s weird, that’s all.

So I’m not taking what they say at face value.

That’s why I’m asking you guys.” I throw out my arms toward them.

They look at each other again, both of them opting to use that exact moment to take a sip of their coffee. Their delay tactic won’t work for much longer.

“Come on, guys, spill it.” I lean back and take a sip of the sweet coffee, waiting. The caramel dances on my tongue while the whipped cream tickles my lip. I lick off the sweet goodness, still waiting.

Finally, after a full minute of staring at each other, Bryce sets his cup on the table. “At the end of junior year, Josh was accused of raping a freshman.”

My mouth falls open. This wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. Josh… rape. I would have never guessed those two words fit into the same sentence. “And what happened?”

“There was an investigation, but nothing ever came of it,” Bryce says. “A couple of weeks after the charges were filed, they were all suddenly dropped. It’s like nothing ever happened.” He pauses to take a sip of coffee.

“I heard his parents have deep pockets and friends who are well-connected,” Eden adds.

I sit up, leaning my elbows on the table. I have so many questions. “Nothing? He just got away with it?”

Bryce spins the coffee sleeve around his cup. “There wasn’t proof.”

“What about the girl? What happened to her?” I ask.

Eden draws a circle in the spilled sugar on the table. She answers without looking up. “The girl left Monarch Prep and started attending some all-girls Catholic school.”

“Do you guys think he did it, or was the girl just trying to get attention?” I ask, hoping for the latter.

Eden finally looks up at me. The look in her eyes is too somber for the story to have a happy ending.

“We’ll never know. She committed suicide shortly after she left Monarch.

” She pauses to swallow before continuing.

“They found her body in the girls’ bathroom at school in one of the stalls.

Her head was resting on the toilet seat with an empty bottle of pills next to her. ”

My eyes widen with disbelief. I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God.”

Bryce takes a sip of coffee, then sets it on the table and studies the uninteresting sleeve on his cup.

“That’s not all, is it?” I ask.

He slowly shakes his head, and when he speaks, his voice drops. “No.”

I glance at Eden, and she’s looking at Bryce, clearly hopeful he’ll be the one who tells me the main punchline of the story.

Getting the hint, Bryce looks up at me. “The girl was Ashton Kade’s little sister.”

My mouth drops open, but I have no response to that bomb drop. Badass, silent Kade. No wonder the guys warned me. They believe it to be completely true. And why wouldn’t they? Who would commit suicide over a lie?

A more critical question is, why wouldn’t they kill him for what he did?

It’s impossible to fall asleep. One thousand and one thoughts slamming against the side of my skull are enough to make me want to drive a stake through it.

The one that keeps playing over and over is the rape Josh was accused of and by whom—Kade’s little sister.

I want to ask Gunner or Edge, but it’s not my place.

Should I find a way to get out of going with Josh, tell him I can’t go, give him some bullshit excuse?

I could ask him straight up about it. But what’s going to keep him from lying to me? Nothing.

I shouldn’t worry about it. I have enough on my plate. But what if he did do it and tries to rape another girl? Being the vigilante I’m becoming, I almost want him to try it with me, then I could teach his sorry ass a lesson. My muscles tense at the thought of doing just that.

I glance at my phone and remember Adam's texts. “Shit!” Finding out when the next fight is should be at the forefront of my mind.

I send him a quick text back:

Do you know the venue yet?

His reply comes fast with a thumbs-up emoji.

Maybe the pieces are starting to line up. Now, I just need to make sure I’m playing the right game.

Sending my last text for the night, I reply:

Get me in