Page 178 of Tempting Venom
I’ll have to text the team and ensure they’re resting for the night and not going anywhere near a bar. They usually wouldn’t, and Richardson, who shares a dorm room with two of our other starters, said he’ll make sure they’re staying out of trouble.
But I don’t like delegating my responsibilities to others, so they’ll all be hearing from me later.
Some would call it control-freak tendencies, and it probably is. I’ve just never been satisfied with mediocracy, half-assed attempts, and unfinished business.
Instead of heading straight home, I go for a ride.
There’s something about being drenched by the rain as the bike flashes through the night like a bullet.
I know some of my bike club companions don’t like riding in the rain, but it’s one of my favorite times. The droplets of water on my helmet, the screech of the tires in the puddles.
The emptiness.
It’s probably the emptiness I like the most. That means fewer people on the road and more time for me to think and breathe in the sweet, damp smell of the earth.
Which is why my “riding” friends don’t like it. Many of them just like showing off, and others are nervous about slipping and getting in a freak accident.
Though calling them friends is a stretch. I’ve never had friends. Acquaintances, yes. Friends, no. I get along with everyone, mostly because it will serve me one day. But the moment anyone crosses me or even slightly irritates me, I drop them in the blink of an eye.
I have zero percent tolerance for anything that doesn’t please me, and everyone around me is aware of that. Everyone knows not to get on my bad side.
Everyoneexcept for Preston.
He keeps stretching my patience thin, saying or doing something that grates on my last fucking nerve.
Not only does he refuse to fall in line like everyone else, but he also keeps testing exactly how far he can push before my restraint fractures.
He threatens me. Rejects me. Snaps back without hesitation. And all of that happened within a single encounter—the one at the public skating rink four days ago.
The one I knew he’d go to because I might have followed him through town while he shopped with his younger sister.
It was a version of Preston I hadn’t seen before. Warm, attentive, and smiling without calculation.
He hovered over Miley like a shield, constantly scanning their surroundings as if expecting someone to take her away.
I hadn’t planned to reveal myself that day, but he looked like temptation left unattended. A candy waiting to be unwrapped. And when I noticed a few girls watching him with open interest, instinct took over.
I staked my claim.
It didn’t go as intended since he was far more focused on forcing me to leave.
And I did once I heard Kane was coming. Preston looked like he was on the verge of transforming into theotherPreston. The one who withdraws completely, turning into a ghost of himself.
And I didn’t want to trigger that by being there when Kane showed up.
That shouldn’t have been my issue. I’m not normally accused of being altruistic or putting anyone before myself, so Preston’s state shouldn’t have mattered.
My plan was to drag him into a corner and remind him exactly who he belongs to. Whether or not Kane was coming shouldn’t have changed my course of action, but it did.
I’m self-conscious enough to recognize that the balance of power is tipping in Preston’s favor.
He’s impatient, vulgar, and uses humor like a weapon. Not to mention that he keeps testing me and pushing me because I allow him to.
Unlike with everyone else, I don’t have zero percent tolerance for Preston. The actual percentage is frighteningly higher.
But the truth is, Iamreaching a limit.
I can’t just let him get away with his bullshit. I’m notthatnice. Never was and never will be.
