Defy The Alpha(s) 2: Rebel Beast

She should have known better.

What the hell had she been thinking, sitting on his lap and feeding him cookies as though they were playing house? Venus might have been funny, charming, and surprisingly easy to talk to, but none of that changed what he was. In the end, serpents were beasts, and beasts were dangerous.

It dawned on Brittney then that she’d never truly had the upper hand. If Venus had wanted to escape, he could have easily shifted at any point and slipped free before she could blink. He had stayed because he’d chosen to.

Strangely enough, that realization comforted her almost as much as it frightened her. Brittney wanted to believe their ridiculous deal still meant something to him. That beneath whatever terrifying creature was currently moving somewhere around her feet was the same serpent who had teased her about cookies and swearing upon his family jewels that he wouldn’t bite her.

That was the only reason Brittney remained as still as possible when he brushed against her ankle again. She knew enough about snakes not to make any sudden movements around one, and she certainly wasn’t going to start screaming before she knew what Venus intended to do.

Snakes had never made her particularly squeamish anyway. Years ago, while traveling with her father, they’d visited a market where one of the handlers had draped a harmless boa around her shoulders. She remembered being fascinated by the weight, the strange smoothness of its scales, and the way its muscles had continuously curled against her skin.

This was nothing like that. Venus began climbing her.

"Holy shit," Brittney breathed. He was heavy as fuck.

She instinctively braced one hand against the windowsill as his body wound around her lower leg and continued upward. His scales sliding over her clothes with a faint rasp, muscles contracting beneath them as he used her body for support. Another thick coil passed around her waist, forcing Brittney to adjust her footing beneath his ever increasing weight.

He was treating her like a damn tree.

Brittney’s heart hammered harder as more of him climbed upward. Venus wasn’t some little garden snake she could simply shake from her clothes. His viper form was considerably larger than any natural specimen had a right to be, his body was thick and powerfully muscled. Yet for all that strength, his coils never tightened enough to hurt her. He could have constricted her until she couldn’t breathe if he’d wanted to. But he didn’t.

That mattered. At least, Brittney desperately hoped it did.

She felt another section of his body slide across her ribs before his head finally reached her shoulder. Venus curled partly around the back of her neck, and then his head rose beside her face.

Brittney stopped breathing.

Fuck.

Seeing a serpent from several feet away was one thing. Having the face of a giant viper inches from your own was a stuff of nightmare.

Venus was black. He was not a flat, lifeless black either. His scales were glossy and richly patterned, overlapping one another in perfect rows that caught the afternoon light from the window. Beneath certain angles, there were subtle traces of deep emerald that shone through the darkness before disappearing again.

His head was broad and distinctly triangular, narrowing sharply where it met his neck, while the scales above his eyes gave his face a naturally severe expression.

And those eyes...

Brittney couldn’t stop staring at them.

They were a beautiful brown, with vertical pupils cutting through their centers like narrow blades. There was something unnervingly intelligent about them too, and not the vacant stare of an ordinary reptile. Brittney could tell, Venus was in there. He was watching, and studying every tiny reaction she made.

He looked lethal. But God help her, he was beautiful too.

Brittney had never imagined using that word for a snake before, yet there was no other way to describe him. His scales were flawless, his markings elegant, and there was something almost regal about the way he held his head. Even the slow flick of that familiar forked tongue fascinated her now that she could see where it truly belonged.

Understanding dawned on Brittney.

This was Venus. The bastard was trying to scare her. After everything that had happened between them, he wanted to see whether one glimpse of his real form would send her screaming toward the door.

Brittney’s fear immediately became a matter of principle. She lifted her chin.

"You don’t scare me."

Venus stared at her. She stared right back at him. For several seconds, neither of them moved, until the viper’s head suddenly drew backward. His mouth flew open, and Brittney nearly jumped out of her fucking skin.

A vicious hiss tore from him, so forceful and startling at such close range that every survival instinct Brittney possessed screamed at her to run.

His jaws opened impossibly wide, revealing the pale interior of his mouth and two long fangs unfolding from the roof of it. They were far larger than Brittney had expected, curved slightly backward and sharp enough that she suddenly understood why vipers had such a terrifying reputation.

His forked tongue flickered between them.

Brittney gulped. Okay. Maybe he scared her a little.

Her entire body had gone rigid, and she was reasonably certain her soul had briefly abandoned it. If she discovered later that she’d peed herself a little, that information was going with her to the grave.

Still, Brittney refused to move. It was no longer courage keeping her there, but pure, unreasonable stubbornness.

Eventually, Venus closed his mouth and the hiss faded.

Brittney narrowed her eyes. "Asshole."

His tongue flicked out once more and somehow, she knew he was pleased with himself.

Once her heart stopped trying to break through her rib cage, Brittney slowly lifted one hand. She made sure Venus could see it coming, giving him every opportunity to move away. When he remained where he was, she cautiously brought her fingers toward the side of his head.

Her fingertips touched his scales. His scales were dry and remarkably smooth beneath her fingers, with a subtle texture where each one overlapped the next. Her nervousness slowly gave way to curiosity.

Brittney stroked her fingers over the top of his head, following the pattern of his scales before cautiously tracing farther down his neck.

When Venus didn’t move, she did it again. His posture seemed to relax beneath her touch, the tension leaving some of the muscles wrapped around her as his head settled more comfortably against her shoulder.

Brittney’s lips curved into a slow smile. Oh, this was priceless. The terrifying viper was enjoying being petted.

"What a cute little serpent." She gave the top of his head a playful pat.

Venus’s head whipped toward her hand with an offended hiss.

Brittney snatched her fingers back.

"Heavens!"

He hadn’t actually bitten her, but those fangs had come close enough to remind her that their agreement had limitations.

"Fine, you’ve made your point." Brittney held up both hands in surrender. "You’re terrifying, and ferocious. The most frightening serpent I’ve ever encountered. Happy?"

Venus’s tongue flicked lazily in her direction and Brittney rolled her eyes.

"Now could you please get off me? Because, man, you weigh a fucking ton."

To her surprise, Venus listened.

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