Page 30 of Venomous Desires

With a hesitant tug, she tried to guide me forward. I let her.

Her tiny hands strained against my arm, unaware of how effortless it would be for me to close the distance—or pin her where she stood.

She had no idea how completely she was at my mercy.

And somehow... that made her even more fascinating.

She shoved the bathroom door open with the toe of her boot, a hint of frustration slipping through her careful composure, and guided me inside.

When we stopped less than a foot from the bathtub, she released my arm and took a cautious step back.

The loss of her touch was immediate.

My jaw tightened.

An ugly irritation settled beneath my skin, dark and unfamiliar. I’d grown accustomed to her hands on me in the span of a few minutes, and now she’d decided I’d had enough.

She was afraid of getting too close. She should be.

My fingers flexed at my sides before I stilled them. The urge to pull her back within reach—to erase the distance she’d so deliberately created—was stronger than I cared to admit.

I hated being denied.

Especially by people I considered pawns.

“Did I tell you to let go?” My voice came out low enough to scrape against the silence. She froze. I took a single step forward, erasing the distance she’d been so eager to create.

Panic flickered across her face before uncertainty swallowed it whole. Before I realized what I was doing, my hand found her chin. My fingers closed around it, tilting her face toward mine.

“You don’t follow instructions very well, Ms. Rosewood,” I murmured. She drew a sharp breath. Her pulse flutteredbeneath my fingertips.

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” she whispered, her voice unsteady. “I didn’t mean to...”

“That’s your problem.” My thumb shifted ever so slightly beneath her jaw. “You keep acting without thinking.”

She swallowed.

“You do what I tell you to do, understand?” Her wide eyes met mine instantly.

I released her chin abruptly, watching as she stumbled slightly, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Now, help me bath,” I demanded. “And don’t let go this time unless I tell you to, is that clear?”

She swallowed hard, nodding quickly. “Y-Yes, sir,” she murmured, stepping closer and hesitantly placing her hands back on my bicep. Her touch was tentative this time, but I could feel her fear, her submission, and it thrilled me.

“Good girl,” I murmured with dark satisfaction. “Now, let’s see if you can follow instructions properly.”

Her eyes fluttered with fear, and I had never felt more alive. This was my first time observing prey up close; I had always hunted from the shadows, striking my targets in their most vulnerable moments and leaving them to wonder what storm had hit them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like a god.

But this—this was different. She was different from the prey I usually pursued. She was naïve, oblivious, anddesperate.

I never acted on my impulses, but my body demanded unbearable self-control whenever she was near.

“Ca-can you g-get into the t-tub?” She stuttered.

“I don’t bathe with clothes on,Ptichka.” She stilled while swallowing, and I let my teeth tease my bottom lip. She had been avoiding my eyes ever since, and this was starting to piss me off, actually.

I was tempted to wrap my hand around her throat and haveher staring into my eyes for as long as my darkness was satiated. I wanted to see inside her. Her everything. Peel her skin layer by layer. Painfully and deeply.