12. Jace
She wants to play dirty? Fine, I can play dirty.
Lounging on the white couch in the living room, I pretend to scroll on my phone while I watch Kayla from the corner of my eye. She usually finishes up her evening read through of her study notes right about now and then heads back to her room to take a shower.
My phone vibrates in my hand as a text appears on the screen.
Marcus Jones:I’m here.
I discreetly glance at Kayla again. Seated at the kitchen table, she frowns down at the notebook before her and underlines something. She continues reading for another few seconds. Then she glances at the clock on the wall and sighs. Putting her pen down, she stretches her arms over her head before rolling her shoulders back.
Returning my attention to my phone, I send a quick reply.
Me:Give me a minute.
Marcus is a second-year from Blackwater who I’ve partied with on occasion. He is, all things considered, a pretty chill guy. And he, just like most people at Blackwater, will jump at the chance to help out a Hunter in the hopes that I will put in a good word for him with the Morelli family.
At the table, Kayla gets to her feet and starts packing up her books and notebooks. She is now standing in the exact same spot she was standing in this morning when I bent her over that table.
My cock hardens just at the memory.
Does that little demon have any idea just how fucking difficult it was to sit there and pretend to be completely unaffected while she sauntered across the room looking like the hottest fucking thing I have ever seen in that black lace lingerie?
And when she slid her hair over her shoulder and bent over to pack her books? Fucking hell, I thought the wood was going to crack from how hard I was gripping the table leg. And then she had the fucking nerve to stroll up to the table and lean over it. It took all of my self-control to keep my eyes on her face.
But then she just had to go and suck her finger like that.
Damn infuriating woman.
I was so fucking turned on that I thought I was going to lose my damn mind.
My cock throbs again at the mere memory.
Clenching my jaw, I stare down at my phone while Kayla finishes putting her books away.
Anticipation quickly pushes out the frustration. Kayla might be good, but I’m better. And there is nothing I love more than playing dirty.
Without so much as a glance in my direction, she strides across the room and disappears into her bedroom. The door shuts behind her with a click.
The moment it’s closed, I leap up from the couch and hurry across the floor. Moving on silent feet, I sneak up to Kayla’s closed door and press my ear against it.
After a few seconds, the sound of another door being closed reaches me. Then everything goes silent.
About half a minute passes.
And then the sound of splashing water echoes as Kayla turns on the shower in her private bathroom.
I sprint over to the front door and unlock it. After a quick look back, I open the door and slip out into the hallway outside the apartment.
A guy with brown hair and dark brown eyes is standing there a couple of steps away. He’s holding a large box in his hands.
“Hunter,” he says, and nods in greeting when he sees me.
“Marcus,” I reply as I close the distance between us. “Thanks for coming through for me on such short notice.”
“Yeah, of course. Anytime.”
“I’ll have her back to you safe and sound in about ten minutes.”
He nods. “Alright. I’ll just wait here.”
I reach out and take the box from him when he holds it out to me. After another nod in thanks, I turn around and disappear back into the apartment. Hurrying over to Kayla’s door, I press my ear against it again.
The sound of splashing water still echoes from inside.
Taking a step back, I set the box down on the floor outside the door before I straighten again and carefully push down the handle. I open the door to reveal Kayla’s deserted bedroom. The sound of water is louder now when there is no second door to block it.
I spare a quick glance towards the closed door to her bathroom while I crouch down and open the lid of the box Marcus handed me.
A wide grin spreads across my lips.
Freya looks up at me.
I reach into the box and gently pick her up.
Then I walk into the room and put the corn snake right in the middle of Kayla’s bed.
Freya the corn snake is apparently as chill as her owner, because she just curls up there on the soft cover. I give the friendly snake a salute before backing out of the room and quietly closing the door behind me again. But I remain standing right outside.
The noise from the shower continues for another five minutes. After a short silence, the sound of the bathroom door being opened drifts towards me.
Anticipation crackles through me.
With my ear against the door, I listen to Kayla’s footsteps move from the bathroom and across the room towards where her closet and dresser are located.
She makes it about halfway.
Then a scream shatters through the air.
I immediately open the door and move forward until I can see her entire bedroom.
And what a sight it is.
Kayla, with only a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body, is scrambling away from the bed and pressing herself against the wall next to her dresser while Freya the corn snake lifts her head to look at the source of the loud noise.
Another squeak rips from Kayla’s throat.
Satisfaction ripples through me, and I let out a smug laugh.
Kayla snaps her gaze to me, panic and fear still flashing over her beautiful features.
Leaning one shoulder against the doorframe, I cross my arms over my chest and raise my eyebrows nonchalantly. “Problem?”
Disbelief pulses across her face. Yanking up a hand, she points frantically towards Freya. “There’s a snake on my bed!”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean, yes?” she practically shrieks that final word.
Challenge bleeds into my tone as I hold her stare. “I thought you said just this morning that you wanted to meet my pet snake. Well, here she is.”
As if on cue, Freya slithers a couple of inches across the bed.
Kayla lets out another high-pitched cry and jerks back so fast that she loses the grip on her towel. It flutters down to the floor, leaving her completely naked. But she doesn’t even seem to notice as she tries to climb up onto her dresser. However, her moves are so frantic that she can’t get a solid grip on it, so she just ends up backing farther into the corner instead.
My gaze quickly drifts over her body. Blood rushes to my cock. Fuck, it should be illegal to be that hot.
“Get it out of here!” Kayla snaps, her eyes still locked firmly on the snake.
“She’s a her,” I respond, shaking my head in an exaggerated show of disapproval. “Not an it.”
“I don’t care! Just get it out of here.”
“Say please.”
At long last, Kayla tears her gaze from the snake and whips around to face me. Utter incredulity pulses in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Once her attention is no longer on Freya, she seems to process the rest of her situation too. Her gaze snaps down to the towel now lying on the floor halfway between the bed and the corner she is huddled in.
She stares between the bed and that pile of white fabric as if she desperately wants to go back and grab the towel but can’t bear to get closer to the snake. I just watch her while smug amusement tugs at my lips.
In the end, she decides to just cover herself up with her arms instead.
Standing there naked in the corner, with one arm over her tits and the other hand over her pussy, she stares at the snake on the bed for another few seconds before dragging desperate eyes to me.
I raise my eyebrows. “Need some help?”
“Yes,” she presses out between gritted teeth.
“Say please.”
“Please.”
“Please, sir,” I coax.
Her eyes flash with fury and the promise of revenge as she screams, “I will fucking kill you!”
Freya shifts a little at the loudness of her voice.
A whimper spills from Kayla’s lips, and she presses herself farther into the corner.
“How are you going to do that when you’re about to be bitten by a venomous snake?” I reply, and lift one shoulder in a casual shrug.
Fear pulses in her eyes as she snaps her attention back to the snake. I suppress a laugh. Freya is a corn snake. She’s not venomous. But Kayla doesn’t need to know that.
“If I die, you won’t just lose your job,” she says as she adorably tries to threaten me. “My dad will fucking kill you.”
“Who says you’re going to die?”
“If I get bitten by a venomous snake, I will die, you idiot!”
“Nah. I’ll just suck the venom out of the wound.” With a sly smile on my lips, I make a show of raking my gaze over her body. “Better hope she doesn’t bite your inner thigh. Or your tit.”
A truly murderous expression descends on Kayla’s features like the shadow of death, and she glares at me with hellfire in her eyes. I grin back at her.
“Like I said, little demon,” I begin, keeping that wicked smile on my lips as I level a hard stare on her. “You give me shit, and I’ll give you shit.”
“You fucking son of a?—”
But the rest of her curse is cut off by another whimper as Freya moves on top of the bed again. Kayla edges impossibly farther into the corner.
“You want my help?” I taunt. “You know what to say.”
The muscles in her jaw flex as she grinds her teeth while glaring at me as if she’s imagining the sound I would make if she shoved a knife through my heart. But then Freya moves again, and the rage is replaced by fear as she glances towards the snake now occupying her bed. And then finally, resignation washes across her features.
Shifting her gaze back to me, she drags in a bracing breath.
“Please, sir,” she begs.
Smug victory pulses through me, and my cock throbs at the sound of those submissive words on her tongue.
I smirk as I hold her gaze. “Good girl.”
Her naked body trembles as a shudder rolls through her.
And I don’t think it’s out of fear or revulsion this time.