Page 30 of Serpent & Saviors

I’d never allowed myself to fall for any woman. I had a plethora of excuses to choose from at any moment in my life, but the reality was I’d let that one incident direct much of my adult dating life.

“I’m not surprised, really. Your husband used to bully me back when I was younger,” I admitted.

“Why does that not surprise me?” she whispered.

“He pulled that exact stunt when we were thirteen. Some things never change. He had a pretty girl befriend me, ask me to the winter formal, and when I picked her up, he was waiting there to humiliate me.”

“Again, not surprising,” she mumbled.

“Thing is, that one incident and his awful existence led to me making the best mates a man can have in life. As hard as it was to go through, I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you for trusting me with this information.”

“You’re welcome. I thought you should know, not that I think you’re falling for me or anything foolish like that,” she said with a small chuckle.

“Would you like to know how I repaid his ‘kindness’ back in the day?”

She nodded but didn’t speak, so I continued on.

“When I was thirteen, I hadn’t hit puberty completely yet, so I was short. I also binged food to cope with loneliness, so I was royally fat. I’m talking somewhere between five or six stone more than I should have weighed.”

“Really? I would never have guessed,” she murmured as her hands ran across my stomach and up my chest.

“Everyone says that. But I can assure you if you look hard enough around this house, you’re bound to find a picture with the proof.” I chuckled, knowing Nan, there were photo albums too. So many of them it would be embarrassing to admit.

“Anyway, once Ivan and I became close, I started working out, fought all the urges in the world to self-sabotage, and ate better. I grew several inches and dropped weight like crazy. By the time I was fifteen, I was a completely different person.”

“Is that so?” she asked, still running her hands up and down my body. I bit back a groan.

“By seventeen, I’d gained muscle mass to further make me more formidable. I’d already dealt with Cameron by then on some levels. Now extend me some grace and remember, I was seventeen at the time.”

“Uh oh, this sounds serious.”

There was a lightness in her tone, and it made me long to hear it more. We were having a very real, casual conversation, and it was progress.

“Oh, quite serious. Promise me you won’t judge me too harshly.” I paused, waiting for her word.

“I promise,” she breathed.

“Your husband’s girlfriend at the time was none other than the same girl he tricked into pretending to like me. She apparently appreciated the changes I’d gone through and flirted with me one afternoon. Her mistake was that she did it in front of Sebastian.”

“Is he one of your friends?”

“Yes, and his hatred for your husband was right up there with mine and one thing led to another and on the night of the spring formal, I may have asked her to dance with me.”

“Is that all?” Victoria laughed.

“No. Although in hindsight, it should have ended there. I’ll skip to the part where the crew and I…ended up in the boy’s locker room with her. I may have had sex with her.” I rubbed the back of my head, feeling petty as the words left my mouth.

“May have?”

Ignoring her questioning tone, I rushed on. “Of course, Cameron came in several minutes before while she was…how do I say this tactfully?” I paused. Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “She was showing off her oral skills on the guys.”

“Guys?” she choked.

“Not all of them. Ivan wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. It was completely consensual, I promise. She actually offered, and who were we to say no…we were seventeen. Anyway, Ivan made him watch me fuck her. Hence why he was probably so mad that night at the auction house.”

“Perspective is everything, isn’t it?” she murmured, content to stay in my arms.

“Oh, pardon me,” Nana said.