Serpentine Desires

The prey

Something was terribly wrong with me.

My insides twisted, and my breaths felt like fire as it clawed through my throat. My skin felt too tight, burning, yet I shivered uncontrollably. Fever? I didn't know. Everything was a blur like I was trapped in a dizzying haze where time warped and nothing made sense.

I couldn't remember how I ended up in the car.

The details slipped through my fingers like water.

Kyle was driving, his knuckles white on the wheel, but my focus wasn't on him. Judas sat beside me, his arm wrapped around my trembling body, pulling me closer until I was on his lap.

He killed five men.

And here I was, curled against him like a child seeking comfort.

My head spun. Cold. So cold. My body trembled, but I couldn't pull away. The warmth of him was the only thing anchoring me, the only thing keeping the fear from consuming me whole.

Ironic how this man was my living nightmare.

"You're burning up, ptichka," his breath was like fire against my ear. A slow burn that curled through the air, darkly and dangerously. Dripped with sin, velvet wrapped around a blade, each word sliding beneath my skin, leaving me breathless.

I pressed myself closer to him as I shook my head. His hand slipped under my dress, bunching it up till it was around my waist and fingers splayed across my stomach, warm against my fevered skin.

"No one can touch you," he whispered again, his voice smooth as silk, cutting like glass. "No one but me."

The car hit a bump, jolting me against him, and I winced as the world spun. I should have been terrified. I was terrified. But more than that, something deeper took root—something dark and twisted. A part of me, lost in the heat and the confusion, was drawn to him in that moment because he was warmth I seeked. To the violence, to the way his touch soothed the raging storm inside me.

I should think that way. And I know I was mindlessly assuming things. I was definitely having a fever.

He rested his hand on my stomach throughout the ride soothing the cold. And I slipped into unconsciousness now and then. Panting and shaking.

I didn't know when we reached the suite, I barely registered Kyle lifting me out of the car, but Judas was there, effortlessly taking me from him. His arms were strong, possessive, holding me against his chest as he carried me inside. The dizziness worsened, the world tilting as I clung to him.

Cold seeped through my bones. I shivered uncontrollably, but even as I did, I unconsciously pressed myself deeper into him. His warmth, the feel of him, the scent of blood still clinging to his skin—it was all I could focus on.

"Shh, little bird," he whispered, kicking the door closed behind us. "You're safe now."

Safe. The word tasted foreign.

"Liar..." I muttered or I thought I did. "You're a... bastard."

Something soft. Something warm. Something not mine.

I felt softness against my back as my head rolled to side. Strangely gentle hands cradled me as if I might break. Rough thumb traced the line of my jaw, and I couldn't help the small sound that escaped my lips as his lips found my skin.

I barely blinked. Catching sight of his blood covered face. But the paleness of his eyes stood out.

Soft kisses. Barely there at first, but then deeper.

Lips brushed along my throat, his breath warm against my fevered flesh. I was cold, so cold, but every touch, every kiss sent a wave of heat through me, igniting something I couldn't name.