Page 28 of The Viper's Wife

Her pupils are huge, swallowing dark brown irises.

This time when she kisses me, I drag her body close, and she melts against me with a soft moan.

I can barely feel her slender form beneath her stupid coat, but it’s enough to impress the memory of our nighttogether, her muscles working as she writhed underneath me on the bed.

She’s a good kisser—I remember being shocked by that, given how stiffly she holds herself—but she follows my rhythm easily, like we’ve known each other for years. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my jaw and my split lip, I shove my tongue into her mouth?—

She stiffens.

I jerk back like I’ve been stung.

She pants, her face even more flushed than before. Her perfect lipstick is smudged, and when she glances down at my lips, I know I’ve got some on me too. Good.

“Take off your coat,” I tell her. She’s too fucking hot.

It’s not like I’m going to fuck her in the middle of the store—at least not without kicking out everyone else first—but she acts like that’s what I’ve just proposed.

“No.” She folds her arms across her chest.

“You’re hot. Take it off.”

She stares up at me, resentment simmering just beneath the surface. So I can tongue her in the middle of the store, but she stomps her foot down for a fucking coat?

The front doorbell chimes, and Stefano slips in, heaving like he raced back here.

Fine. She can sweat if she wants.

I shrug. “Let’s pick out a ring then.”

Like I’ve summoned her, the Zephyr employee appears at our side.

“Hi, I’m Minnie,” she says, a twinge of Southern accent in her voice and a calculated lack of judgement toward our strange group on her broad, kind face. “First off, congratulations on the engagement. We’re so happy to celebrate with you. Do you have any ideas on the kind of ring you were looking for?”

Valeria stares blankly at Minnie like she’s speaking a different language. Minnie throws me a glance that suggests she’s hoping for a lifeline, and after a beat, I relent.

Alessia has dragged me to enough jewelry stores for “just a peek” over the years that I know exactly what to ask for.

“Something expensive,” I say. “The biggest diamond you got.”

Not exactly how my sister would’ve phrased it, but by the shimmer in Minnie’s eyes, I might as well have offered to pay in full for her grandkids’ college fund.

“I have just the thing for you.”

I take Valeria’s hand, and we follow Minnie to the display case in the center of the room.

Stefano tries to follow, but I jerk my chin toward him. “Watch the door.”

Underneath the glittering rainfall of chandelier crystals, Minnie pulls out a velvet tray lined with a dozen gleaming diamond rings.

“These are the most elegant, luxurious engagement rings you could find. Just look at the radiance on these gemstones. Any one of these rings could be a family heirloom that would be passed down for generations.” Minnie smiles at Valeria. “Which one do you want to try on?”

Valeria peers into the tray, a few strands of hair plastered to her neck with sweat. Her cheeks are rosy. Does she have a fever or something?

I tighten my hold around her loose hand. If she’s sick, we’re going to the doctor next, and I’m going to crucify her dad and brother for letting her go out like this.

Valeria touches the display case. “That one.”

Minnie makes a soft, surprised sound.