Page 34 of Ash and Poison

My pulse skyrocketed as she explored, and I bit my cheek hard, trying to focus on anything else. Cold showers. Object-Oriented Programming. MacOS. The man she poisoned.

Nothing worked. I was doomed. I had been doomed from the very start.

I was startled when she laughed and took a quick step back.

“Go insane, Asher. Go insane thinking about Vincent’s hands on my body. Go insane thinking about how you’ll never get to touch me again. Adieu. I’m going to get ready for my date now.”

She stood up, running her fingers through her hair.

“See you on Monday. All this pent-up sexual energy needs release—two days of release. I think it’s going to be good for me. Cathartic,” she sang, her voice goading, her eyes mercilessly evil. “Sleep tight, Asher Maddox. And hard.”

“Bitch.”

She laughed when I growled and walked away with a wink.

9

FORGIVABLE SINS

DIYA

Iwore a blue dress that hung to my curves like a glove. “How do I look? Good enough to eat?”

“Like you’re ready to be ravished,” Trina said, leaning closer. “But also… like you have already been ravished.”

I licked my bruised lips.

“You… what did you do?” Layne asked, her eyes shining. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”

“No,” I breathed out. “I came close.” My body flamed whenever I thought of how big he was in my hand… how full.

“Bitch,” Layne chuckled.

“So… who’s this, the one you’re going on a date with?”

“Vincent,” I said. “I met him when he came to investigate.”

“Investigate Asher, you mean? Don’t you think you’re being too reckless?” Trina asked from the screen, her brows knitted together before she looked away. “Carson, don’t fucking dump the entire bottle of salt inside the soup,” she snarled. “I can’t trust any of them. If I let them cook by themselves, the restaurant will be out of business in a day or two.”

“You must be busy,” I said, grabbing a pair of heels and a jacket. “Call you later?”

“It’s okay. So… why Vincent?”

“Because… toys get boring, and these days I feel like…”

“Let me rephrase.” Trina arched an eyebrow, her lips curving into the barest hint of a smirk. “Why not Ash?”

“Because the bastard wants to kill me.” I grinned.

“He’s one stubborn bastard, then,” Layne said. “You’ll be perfect for each other.”

“We’ll kill each other before we get to fuck each other,” I said, looking at the laptop. “What do you think? Can I get laid in this?”

Layne cocked her head, studying me with a smile. “You can get laid in a burlap sack, and you know it, bitch,” she said. “Keep me posted. My statue can’t wait anymore.”

“Is there someone underneath the statue?” Trina asked, and I leaned in, curious to know more.

“No, it’s nothing special,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively. “Just a boring sculpture of a half-naked woman my client wants to give himself for his birthday. I’ve got to pay for all the travel somehow.”