Poisonous Kiss: Chapter 21

It’s thrilling, having this secret.

I’ll catch a glimpse of Gabriel with a client through the glass wall of a conference room. Or we’ll pass each other in the kitchen at home in the morning. And I’ll bite back a tingling throb of excitement.

It’s happened twice now.

The first was the night I followed him in the cab, only to see him walk into Club Venom. The night he led me down to that basement room and chased me like a psychopath before fucking me like a savage.

In a sane world, I’d never go back. A normal person wouldn’t willingly return to a place where a man chased her through the dark, ripped her clothes off, slammed her to the ground, and fucked her so roughly she could barely walk the next day.

But, again, I’m not normal.

So I did go back, and the second time, the weekend after the wedding, was even more intense.

I mean, he used a fucking knife.

I can safely say that has never been part of the violent, twisted fantasies in my head. But holy hell, the sensation of him cutting off my panties and then burying his swollen cock in my aching pussy as he dragged the edge of that steel blade across my nipple—pure fucking adrenaline.

An extreme rush, and a dangerous thrill.

And no one knows it but me.

Gabriel, unbeknownst to him, has met two versions of me now. The first Fumi is the hardworking attorney with the mouth that doesn’t always stay shut when it should. The tenacious woman who barged into his fake wife auditions and stole the whole shebang. His fake bride.

But he also knows me—without realizing it’s me—as his “kitten”: the submissive, depraved, eager but unspeaking little cum slut from Venom who has the same vicious fantasies that he does.

And again, I fucking love knowing I’m the only person on the planet who’s aware of that.

It’s a week after the wedding. Since our last time at Venom, I’ve been slowly growing more and more antsy, like a junkie craving her fix. I keep watching Gabriel when we’re at home, waiting to see if he goes out to the club, to his “kitten”.

I guess I should be pissed that at least in Gabriel’s mind, he’s essentially cheating on me with some mystery woman with silvery-lavender hair who doesn’t speak and willingly indulges in whatever fucked up shit he can come up with.

Especially since, even though he’s never touched me—at least, not knowingly—I still get an insanely overbearing possessive and jealous vibe from him. He’s gone out of his way several times to remind me that fake relationship or not, there’ll be hell to pay if I go out and find someone else.

I’ve seen the way he’s looked at me when I’ve hugged a male client with whom I’m friendly, despite the fact that said client is seventy, and married. I’ve felt his eyes on me when I’ve been looking over a case file closely with Felix at work.

Fake marriage or not, Gabriel is possessive as hell with his bride. Which is why I know I should be livid that he’s sneaking off to play dark, disturbing CNC games with “kitten” at Venom.

Except it’s hard to be mad about it when I’m the one getting fucked silly. Not to mention the fact that he’s not the only one being dishonest. Lies of omission, and all that.

I glance up from the couch in Gabriel’s living room where I’ve been going over some work stuff. Through the double French doors into the foyer, I see Gabriel getting ready to go out.

I already knew that was his plan tonight. I noticed him disappearing to shower earlier; that’s when I started to get ready myself. When he emerged from his room about ten minutes ago, I was already down here on the couch, wrapped in a blanket to hide the fact that I’m already dressed to kill.

He’s going out?

That means I am, too.

I shiver, swallowing as a throb of need pulses in my core.

“You going out?” I keep my eyes on my work.

His voice is cold and emotionless. “Yeah, I need to attend to some things at the office.”

Oh, sure. The office.

I chew on my lip, imagining the ways he might turn the thrill up even more this time when he finds his kitten at Club Venom, takes her back to the basement, chases her down, and fucks the shit out of her.

I really should be wearing cheap t-shirts and leggings when I follow him to the club at this point, since Gabriel keeps ruining the fancy, expensive stuff.

But again, Venom’s got a dress code. And hey, he’s paying for it.

Under the throw blanket, I’m wearing a new Versace number over brand-new, elegant, very see-through lace lingerie that I fully expect to get destroyed tonight.

Along with the rest of me.

“Don’t wait up.”

I wait until he’s safely out the door before I jump off the couch. In the foyer, I step into a gorgeous pair of Louboutins I picked up the other day after work. My makeup is already immaculate, and I do a quick check of my hair before I crack open the front door and peek out. Sure enough, Gabriel is sliding into the back seat of the town car as Trevor closes the door for him.

Showtime.

As soon as they pull away, I dart outside, rush to the curb, and flag down a cab. As per usual, I have the driver follow Gabriel as my heartbeat begins to quicken in anticipation.

Except I quickly realize Gabriel’s car isn’t heading toward Venom. I slowly groan as I realize where we’re going. When the town car pulls up right outside the Crown and Black building, and Trevor opens the back door to let Gabriel out, I exhale loudly.

Fuck.

He actually meant “the office”.

“Right here good, miss?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, my brow furrowing deeply. “I mean, no. I need to go back to where you picked me up.”

The cab driver swears under his breath as he begrudgingly puts the car in drive. I let my gaze drift out the window as we start to pull away.

“Wait!”

The car screeches to a stop.

“Lady!” the cabbie snaps, turning to glare at me. “Make up your mind⁠—”

“There.”

I point through the window at a figure slipping out the side door of the building and raising his hand for a cab. Not just any figure.

Gabriel.

Gabriel, who literally just walked into the Crown and Black offices only to sneak out a side door and grab a cab less than a minute later.

Something’s going on. Or, maybe he really did need something at the office, and now he’s heading to Venom.

I bite my lip.

This is honestly a little pathetic, chasing Gabriel all over the city incognito on the off chance he’s going to Venom looking for “kitten”. But, I mean, the sex is next level. It’s insanely violent, and at times terrifying. But holy shit, it’s a thrill. And if he’s going to Venom to look for his silvery-lavender-haired submissive…

I frown. What am I really doing here? Following Gabriel because I want to get laid? Or am I making sure he doesn’t screw someone else tonight?

“Can you please follow that cab?”

“Miss—”

“I’ll throw another fifty, cash, on top of the meter.”

“A hundred, and you’ve got a deal.”

“Fine.”

I settle back, my thoughts swirling as we follow Gabriel. Less than five minutes later, I frown.

He’s still not going to Venom.

We drive across the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn. Then deeper into the borough. Gradually, hipster bars and new condos turn into pawn shops and city housing, then grimy old warehouses and scrap metal yards as we get farther and farther from Manhattan.

“You can stop here, thanks.”

I swallow as we pull up to the curb. Two super sketchy blocks ahead of us, Gabriel gets out of his cab. He glances around before he slips down an alley next to a building.

“This is where you wanna get out?”

I nod as I pay the fare and then slip a hundred bucks through the slot for the driver.

“Look, miss, this ain’t an area where a pretty girl like you wants to be this late at night, not alone.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Lady—”

“Thanks for the ride.”

I step out, my pulse racing and my senses on high alert. Crossing the street, I walk up to the front of the crumbling old apartment building and glance up at the number on the front. I turn to a street sign and scowl, trying to think how I recognize this address, and why it seems familiar. Nothing comes.

Slowly, I creep around the side of the building and glance down the alley where Gabriel just disappeared.

The cab driver wasn’t wrong. This neighborhood is rough. And not well lit, either, with building walls graffitied with the tags of well-known violent gangs.

My eyes stab into the darkness of the alley. I freeze when my gaze lands on a side door—open, but slowly swinging shut.

Without thinking twice, I bolt down the alley and stop the door just before it closes. I shiver as I look through the doorway at a dark hallway inside. A single overhead neon light flickers erratically, making me feel like I’m in one of the Saw horror movies.

What the fuck are you doing here you dumb bitch?

I suck in a breath to steady myself and am about to step inside when I hear something behind me. I whirl around as my heart jumps into my throat. My eyes go wide, my pulse racing as my gaze lands on a dark, slouched figure standing at the top of the alley.

It’s not Gabriel. Whoever this is, he’s shorter and stockier. And there’s this overwhelming black, malevolent energy radiating off him that chills me to my bones.

“You look lost.”

The gruff, scratchy voice is laced with malicious intent.

Yeah, it’s not Gabriel.

I shake my head. “No, I…”

“Yeah, I think you’re lost.”

He starts to walk toward me. My blood turns to ice.

“Good thing I found you,” he chuckles darkly.

“Look, I⁠—”

I hear the flick of a blade before I see it glimmering in his hand.

Oh fuck.

I don’t think. I just turn and run deeper into the alley.

Instantly, I hear heavy footsteps coming after me.

“Where you goin’, baby!”

Oh God. Oh fuck.

I bolt down the alley and then veer right, around the back of the building. I pause only for a second to kick off my heels and grab them before I’m off again.

“Come back, baby. I ain’t gonna hurt you…”

I choke back a scream as he laughs viciously behind me. My blood curdles as I hear his footsteps pounding after me, growing louder and closer as I bolt around the next corner of the building. As I streak toward the street, my heart stops when I see a chain-link fence in front of me, blocking my path.

“Where’re you⁠—”

The voice abruptly chokes to a stop with a wet gurgle.

The footsteps stop, too.

I’m panting, my entire body shaking as I turn and press my back to the cold metal of the fence. My eyes peer into the dimness, waiting for the man to come chasing after me.

But he doesn’t, and the silence only grows more deafening.

Slowly, I take a trembling breath. I creep quietly toward the corner. Steeling the very last nerve I have, I force myself to peep around it.

Instantly, the breath chokes out of me, and my hand flies to my mouth.

All I see is blood.

No body. No trace of the man who was chasing me. Just blood.

Everywhere.