Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

"Peace Was The Experiment. Desire Was The Complication."

~ Rebel Beast

---------------------

"You promise?" Brittney asked, still not entirely convinced. Come on, this was a snake she was talking about. There was no way she was putting her fingers anywhere near that dangerous mouth of his based on his word alone.

"I promise," Venus replied with enough confidence to convince a less suspicious woman.

Unfortunately for him, Brittney was not that woman.

"Swear on your god."

"Really?" Venus looked genuinely amused by her tactics. "What if I’m not religious?"

"I’ll take my chances with my instincts, then, and they’re telling me you serpents respect your god."

Venus studied her for a moment before conceding. "Fine. I’ll give you your oath."

He would have raised a hand solemnly if she hadn’t tied both of them behind his back.

"I swear before the Serpent God that should I bite dearest Brittney while she feeds me her delicious cookie..." His expression remained perfectly serious. "May he take away my family jewel."

Brittney’s jaw dropped. For several seconds, she simply stared at him, too stunned to process what had just come out of his mouth.

Then everything clicked into place. That bastard had known exactly what he was saying!

Brittney slowly narrowed her eyes. "Nicely played, serpent boy. Nicely fucking played."

To think she’d spent the past few minutes wondering whether she was the filthy-minded one. Meanwhile, the bastard had been sitting there pretending he didn’t understand the double meaning.

The smirk that finally appeared on Venus’s face confirmed everything. He had been stringing her along the entire time.

Venus couldn’t help himself. Watching the realization spread across her face had been far too entertaining. It wasn’t his fault human slang was remarkably easy to pick up, especially when certain words came with such interesting alternative meanings.

Besides, after the way she treated him, surely he was entitled to have a little fun.

"Now that we’ve established the safety of my family jewel," Venus said pleasantly, opening his mouth, "I believe you owe me a cookie."

Brittney gaped at him. Perhaps she should have tranquilized him twice.

However, Brittney Thorne was not one to accept defeat. He had started this little game, and she was going to finish it.

Just like that, a ridiculous idea entered her head. One so outrageous that none of her roommates would ever believe her if she told them later.

"Game on," Brittney told him.

Something gleamed in Venus’s eyes, his interest immediately piqued. He had no idea what the human was planning, but judging from the sudden confidence on her face, he was certainly interested in finding out.

Brittney rose from the bed with the cookie container in one hand and walked toward him. Venus watched her approach, expecting her to stop in front of the chair. Instead, she rested her free hand on his shoulder for balance and, before he could begin to guess her intentions, swung one leg over his thighs and settled astride his lap.

Dearest Serpent god.

Venus’s mind nearly emptied. The human was sitting on his fucking lap.

Her thighs rested on either side of his, her body close enough that only a few inches separated them. Worse, the position placed her dangerously close to his crotch, and after the little performance he’d accidentally witnessed earlier, Venus did not need that particular part of his body receiving any more encouragement.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze to her face. "You do realize you’re seated on a serpent, don’t you?"

He meant to remind her that despite the ropes and their ridiculous conversation, he was still a predator. Apparently, Brittney heard something entirely different.

"Really?" She glanced down at him with exaggerated surprise. "Because all I see is a serpent who cannot bite."

She emphasized the last two words with such delight that Venus felt a chuckle rumble through his chest.

"I see."

Her audacity was becoming increasingly entertaining. Very well. If Brittney wanted to play, he would see how long that confidence lasted.

"Now open up, serpent boy," she ordered him.

Venus was beginning to like that nickname far more than he should.

"As my lady wishes."

He obediently opened his mouth. Brittney reached into the container and picked out one. She brought the cookie toward his mouth, holding one end between her fingers so he could bite off the other half.

Except Venus didn’t bite off half. He took the entire thing instead.

Brittney barely had time to release it before something flicked across the tips of her fingers. She gasped and jerked her hand back.

"What was that?"

The sensation had been strange. Cool, wet, and incredibly light. It had happened so quickly that if she hadn’t felt the lingering dampness against her fingertips, she might have convinced herself she’d imagined it.

Venus chewed innocently. "What was what?"

Brittney narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nothing."

She wasn’t falling for that expression. Something had definitely touched her, and judging from the suspicious amusement hiding behind his eyes, the bastard knew exactly what it was.

Venus swallowed before humming appreciatively. "Hmm. What a sweet and creamy cookie."

For once, Brittney genuinely didn’t know how to respond. There was no doubt, he wasn’t talking about the cookie filling.

"Another one," Venus requested.

Fine.

Brittney reached into the container again, except this time she was prepared. She deliberately held the cookie by its very edge and brought it toward his mouth, keeping her eyes fixed on him.

Venus accepted it just as obediently as before. Then she saw his tongue flicked out.

Brittney’s eyes widened.

For the briefest second, his tongue looked almost human as it passed his lips. Then it suddenly changed, the tip separating into two slender points, dark and unmistakably serpentine, before flicking deliberately across her fingertips.

The movement was so fast that Brittney would have missed it entirely if she hadn’t been watching for it.

She froze, while Venus calmly chewed his cookie.

"Is something the matter?" he asked with such convincing concern that she might have believed him if not for his eyes.

There it was. A challenge.

He wanted a reaction. The sneaky bastard was waiting to see whether she would recoil now that she’d discovered exactly what had been touching her.

Brittney slowly released the breath caught in her lungs and forced every trace of surprise from her expression. Two could play that game.

"Nothing," she replied casually.

Then she reached into the container again.

"Want another one?"

Venus’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and a dark excitement shone across his expression when he realized she wasn’t backing down.

"Certainly," Venus replied. He could play this game for as long as he wanted.

Brittney didn’t hold the cookie delicately by the edge this time. She had grown bolder, her fingers curled around almost half of it as she brought it toward his mouth, no longer caring whether Venus tried that little trick with his tongue again.

Venus, the Serpent, did not disappoint.

He took the snack from her fingers, and the moment the last piece disappeared between his lips, his tongue slipped out again. Except this time, there was nothing quick or accidental about it.

Brittney’s breath caught.

She finally got a proper look at it. His tongue was longer than she’d originally thought, dark and slender, with the tip splitting neatly into two. Venus deliberately curled it around her ring finger.

Brittney went completely still.

The sensation was unlike anything she’d expected. His tongue was slick and strangely smooth as it wound around her finger, the forked ends dragging slowly along either side of it. A shiver swept through her before she could stop it, raising goosebumps along her arms as her heartbeat picked up.

That fucking serpent.

Venus’s eyes remained fixed on hers as his tongue slid along her other finger once more, almost tauntingly, before finally retreating into his mouth.

Brittney pulled her hand away slowly, her gaze dropping to his lips as he began chewing the cookie, watching the slow movement of his jaw with far more fascination than anyone had any business giving to a man eating a biscuit.

Venus noticed and his chewing gradually slowed before stopping altogether. Brittney lifted her eyes and their gazes met.

Something changed between them.

The amusement that had been lingering in Venus’s eyes was gone.

Brittney didn’t know exactly when their ridiculous little game had stopped being funny, but suddenly she was painfully aware of everything.

The weight of herself on his lap, the warmth of his body beneath hers, and her thighs resting on either side of his. And the fact that his face was only inches away from hers.

Venus wasn’t smiling anymore. Neither was she. Brittney’s gaze dropped to his mouth again, and this time Venus caught the movement. Her heart slammed harder against her chest.

She should move. Instead, Brittney leaned closer.

It was barely noticeable at first, a small tilt forward that she could have easily pretended meant nothing. Except Venus moved too, closing some of the distance she had created.

Neither of them said a word.

Their faces drew closer until Brittney could feel the warmth of his breath against her lips. Her eyes began to close, and Venus tilted his head slightly, their mouths barely a breath apart when common sense finally came crashing back into her head.

What the hell was she doing? She was about to kiss a serpent. Not just any serpent either, but Caelis fucking Cobryn’s second-in-command.

Brittney jerked backward so quickly that Venus blinked. She scrambled off his lap, nearly stumbling in her haste before catching herself.

"I should..." Brittney cleared her throat, suddenly finding it difficult to look directly at him. "I should check if there’s an opening for you to leave."

Venus said nothing.

Good.

She didn’t want to know what expression was currently on his face.

Brittney hurried toward the window and pulled it open, allowing the cooler air outside to hit her overheated skin. She leaned forward and peered down, immediately spotting several Therion guards stationed around the building.

Damn it.

Relief and disappointment hit her at the same time, and Brittney wasn’t particularly pleased about the second one. As much as she had unexpectedly enjoyed Venus’s company, there were certain lines one simply did not cross.

And sitting on the lap of an intruder she’d tranquilized and tied to a chair before nearly making out with him definitely qualified. She needed to get this serpent out of her room before she did something even crazier.

"There are still guards outside, so we’re going to have to—" Brittney turned, the

rest of the sentence dying in her throat.

The chair was empty and the ropes she’d wrapped securely around Venus lay in a loose heap on the floor.

There was no Venus.

"Oh God..." She gulped.

Then something cold and smooth brushed against her ankle.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!