Page 44 of Venomous Kiss

“And how much longer do you think that will last?” Soren bites back. We’re in a private room with a view of the restaurant, so the servers can only hear us talking when they enter.

“I guess we’ll see,” I reply.

“And this is why you agreed to be married, because your indulgences are what will get you in trouble.”

I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something I shouldn’t. I agreed to his stupid contract when I was nineteen and killed a man, and there was a witness. I told Soren what happened. At the time, he cleaned it up, and in payment for his help, I agreed to be smarter and signed the contract.

“I still have time,” I remind him.

“And you haven’t made any effort to choose a wife.”

Maya coughs next to me as she takes her seat, and the redhead with Arlo sits beside him.

“No, Soren, you’ve done that for me,” I snap, then return to cutting into my steak.

“I have a new client,” Arlo says, interrupting the silence.

“Good. New business is always good. High profile?” Soren asks, lifting his glass to his lips.

“Not really. But it is interesting, nonetheless. I don’t usually take on charity cases, but she has a particular taste for…” His gaze finds mine. “Blood.” He smirks, lifting his knife and slicing into his steak. I raise a brow at him. “She’s recently divorced as well. She reminds me of someone,” he says. “Keenan.” All three of us fall silent at the mention of that name.

“Who is that?” I hear Maya ask, but none of us answer. We do not talk about him.

“Keenan. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name,” Soren says. “Let’s keep it that way,” he adds, eyeing Arlo before he stands and excuses himself.

Arlo places his elbows on the table as his eyes lock onto mine. “You’ve met my new client, I believe, at the Society mixer. She had red hair then. You couldn’t mistake her eyes, though, a rich brown color that holds darkness in them,” Arlo says, smirking before he sits back.

My jaw clenches at the description of none other than my caterpillar. To think that Arlo is now talking to her makes me fucking furious.

Maya leans closer to me again, her hand coming up to my shoulder. Arlo notices and raises a brow.

“How are your sessions with her going?”

“I’ve only had one. I plan to see her again next week. We have to get down to her problems, the blood being one of them.”

“What issues do people have with blood?” Maya asks while Arlo’s date sits there and continues to eat, not even looking up at the question.

“It’s different for each person. Some faint at the sight, some want to become a doctor, and others…” He pauses, glancing at me before he looks back at Maya. “Well, they have an addiction to it, if you will. They lust over it. It can give them a feeling of euphoria, and the high after can last a while. And when the high fades, it’s like coming down after taking drugs, and you would do anything to chase it again.”

“That sounds awful,” Maya says. “To be addicted to something like that.” She shakes her head, and Arlo nods and sits back.

“Yes, I guess to some, it does sound awful. Some just wouldn’t get it.”

“You think it’s normal?” Maya asks.

“To some, yes, it is.”

Excusing myself from the table, I walk past the bathrooms as one of the doors swings partially open, and I find Soren with a woman bent over in the ladies’ room while he fucks her from behind. I push it open farther. And I stand there.

“Soren.” He looks over his shoulder at me but doesn’t stop thrusting. The woman he’s fucking is our server. I wondered where my drink order had gotten to. “I’m leaving. See your sister home.” His eyes narrow, but he says nothing as he refocuses on the woman, smacks her ass, and keeps on fucking her.

I need to get out of this place.

And away from all these fuckers.

EIGHTEEN

LILITH