Page 80 of Shai

“I just…” Elijah lifted a hand to rub his face. “Which one, Shai?”

“The mamba.”

He nodded as if he’d known I was going to say that all along. He closed his eyes. What was going on behind those eyelids? What images was he seeing? Was he recalling the frenzy of the mamba as it bit? Or was he looking at the bigger picture and trying to discern the way my mind worked?

I slid my hand along his thigh, needing to feel the coiled tension in his body. His heightened state made me want to roll him over and fuck him, to feel that fear through my cock. It had been a long time since I’d been able to taste it on Elijah. He knew me too well, now. Or at least he thought he did.

Blue eyes opened slowly to fasten on me. “How do I know you’ll give me the antivenom?”

Ah, so that’s what was going through his head. “You don’t. That’s all part of the fun.” I let my fingers explore farther until the back of my hand pressed against his crotch. “Perhaps this is all an elaborate plan to get rid of you. Perhaps I’m bored of you, and wish to seek out a replacement. Perhaps everything I’ve proposed is nothing more than me dangling a carrot in front of you for my own entertainment.

Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. It’s enough to drive you crazy, isn’t it?”

His gaze dropped to where my fingers still rubbed over the bulge of his cock, the flesh beneath unusually unresponsive, due to his level of fear at what I was proposing. “You’re getting off on the idea of me being bitten by a snake.”

Holding his gaze, I pushed his thighs wider apart. "Of course. Would

you expect anything else from me?”

“How long do I have to make a decision?”

“One minute.” I held a fist in the air, opening my hand in an explosive

motion that made him jerk. “Tick tock, Elijah. What will it be?”

“Wait!” Panic flared in his eyes and he made a grab for my wrist. I

evaded it easily, hiding my thumb from view in a clear demonstration that time was running out. “Make a decision.”

He shook his head. “You haven’t given me all the facts. What if I say

no? What happens then? Do we just continue as we are? Or was that why you were talking about me having to leave?” I curled a finger down as Elijah continued to ramble. “I need more information before I can make a decision like that. You understand that, right? You’re asking me to let a deadly snake bite me.” He gave a shudder. “Anyone sane would have a problem with that. And you haven’t offered any sort of reassurances. You could at least tell me that you’ll give me the antivenom.”

“I don’t do reassurance.” I tucked another finger into my palm, wiggling

the two that were left to bring his attention to them.

The way he was staring at them, you would have thought that the

answer to his quandary lay somewhere in the digits I was holding up. A bead of sweat worked its way down Elijah’s cheek as I lowered another finger to leave just the one in the air. Unable to resist, I leaned over and caught the droplet of sweat with my tongue. I kept my face close to his. “Time’s up. No more words, except for yes or no.”

“Yes.” The word was said so quietly that had I not been so close, I

would never have heard it. Elation coursed through me as I turned my head to seal the deal with a kiss. Elijah clung almost desperately to me as I deepened it, his actions still driven by fear. The claiming of his mouth wasn’t about emotion. It wasn’t even about lust. It was about possession and ownership. It was about proving that the decision had never really been his to make in the first place.

Elijah was the first to draw back, his forehead clammy as he rested it

against mine, his breath coming out in pants. “When?”

“Now.”

Elijah’s nod was heavy with resignation. He took a deep breath. “Let’s

do it.”

Elijah

W HEN SHAI LEFT THE ROOM, I concentrated on one thing and one thing only —breathing. I’d done it all my life. Yet, the action suddenly seemed like the most difficult thing in the world to do. I’d thought the old Elijah was dead, but it seemed he was still there, lurking just beneath the surface and waiting for his opportunity to whisper in my ear that this was Shai’s way of getting rid of me.