Page 81 of Shai

Much as I tried not to listen to him, he wouldn’t go away, not when the

alternative was to believe that Shai was offering the lowly Elijah Page, the man who’d never had anything or been anything, a power beyond his wildest dreams.

I sat forward on the sofa and dropped my gaze to the floor, examining

the individual fibers of the carpet in an effort to think of something besides the footsteps coming back down the corridor. When the door creaked open, I didn’t lift my head.

It was enough to know the mamba was there; I didn’t need to see it. Its

every feature was already etched into my memory, the way its body glistened, the black maw that gave it its name when it opened its mouth, its flickering tongue, and most of all the sight of its fangs as it bit into flesh and pumped venom into its victims.

My eyelids drifted closed as the sofa gave, Shai retaking his seat next to

me. If I was lucky, he’d just do it. I’d already agreed to it. There was nothing left to do but make it happen. I braced myself. It would hurt, but how much?

“Open your eyes, Elijah.”

I did, the carpet swimming back into focus.

“Face me.”

I steeled myself. This was Shai. Nothing was ever simple and straightforward with him. He fed off reactions like some sort of emotional vampire. I knew that, and I’d long since accepted it. I even enjoyed his single-minded focus at times, his scrutiny leaving you feeling like you were the most fascinating thing in the world. It was one of the things about him that had dragged me in, even before I was fully aware of it.

It took a lot of willpower to twist my body around on the sofa. It took even more to lift my head and look at the mamba held in that familiar grip, its forked tongue flicking lazily in the air. Did it seem calmer than usual? It was probably more a case of my brain trying to convince me of something that I was desperate to believe. “Where?” The word sounded thick in my mouth, as if it had been coated in a viscous substance and had had to struggle to escape.

Despite the fact that I’d only managed one word, Shai seemed to understand what I was asking. His gaze trailed slowly down my neck, over my bare shoulder and chest, and down my jean-clad thigh until he stopped at my ankle. “So much choice. Any preference?” His casual question was a startling contrast to the swirling maelstrom that had taken over my body.

I shook my head, a bead of sweat breaking free and landing on my knee. I watched the moisture soak into the fabric. What did it matter? Although… “Not my neck.” I didn’t want the snake’s head that close to mine. I didn’t want it close to my crotch either. “My chest or my arm.”

Shai gave a slow nod, his eyes shining with a light of anticipation that he didn’t bother to disguise. “Are you scared?”

He already knew the answer. He just wanted the words. “Yes, I’m scared.”

Shai leaned closer, the snake still held in a tight grip. “What are you scared of? Tell me.”

I inhaled deeply, the breath so labored that it rattled in my chest. The act wouldn’t happen until he’d extracted every inch of pleasure he could out of the lead-up. Therefore, the sooner I gave him what he wanted, the sooner this would be over with, one way or the other. There was no point in holding back. Shai would be able to tell. He could always tell. “I’m not just scared, I’m terrified. I’m terrified about how much it will hurt. I’m terrified of how many times you’re going to let it bite me. I’m terrified that you…”

Shai raised an eyebrow in question as my words trailed off to nothing,

my heart pounding so hard in my chest that I was surprised the sofa wasn’t shaking with it.

I swallowed, trying to force some saliva into my dry mouth. I lifted my

chin and met his gaze. “And I’m terrified that you won’t give me the antivenom.”

His lips curved into a pleased smile. “Well, there’s only one way to find

out, isn’t there? Unless…” He dragged the word out in a hiss. “You want to change your mind.”

“Can I do that?”

“Of course. I’m not forcing you to do this. You tell me you’ve changed

your mind, and”—his gaze dropped to the snake in his hands—“I put this little guy away and we never speak of it again.”

My teeth sank into my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. We would

never speak of it again. There was no clearer way of him saying that this was a one-time offer. If I went through with it, my life would be changed irrevocably one way or another. Either I’d be dead, or I would stand at Shai’s side. There was no middle ground. It was a huge risk, but then what did I have to lose? If Shai wanted to get rid of me, there were plenty of other ways he could do it. He could simply kill me in my sleep. “I haven’t changed my mind.”