Kiss Me Deadly

Chapter Two

The big shapeshifter and the green eyed man take me into a small, cold room, locking the thick metal door behind us. The loud click echoes throughout the room. The sound is intimidating, but I don't react. Instead, I survey my surroundings, but find them plain and uninteresting. A lone metal table accompanied by four metal chairs is the room's only decoration. An interrogation room, I would assume.

The shapeshifter shoves me into one of the cement walls, hissing at me to shut up when I gasp in pain. My head pounds from the rough contact but I don't struggle. Struggling always makes it worse. Swiftly, he unties my bonds, freeing my sore wrists. He then grabs me by my upper arm and spins me around.

"Is this how you treat all your guests?" I ask sarcastically as I rub my wrists. My humor is not appreciated. The shapeshifter glares at me, a growl rumbling behind bared teeth.

The green eyed man steps closer to me, crossing his arms so that his muscles flex impressively beneath his tight, long sleeved shirt.

"Strip," he commands in a voice like molten honey. The very sound of it sends chills down my spine.

I'm so caught up in his voice that it takes me a bit longer than usual to comprehend what he'd just said. When I do, I just blink at him. "What?"

Green Eyes sighs in annoyance. "I need to see if you're wearing a wire. You could be working for Angelo Octavian and I'd prefer him to not be aware of my location." When I make no move to undress, his eyes narrow. "You have two options. Either you strip and let us check if you're wearing a wire or you don't and we kill you right now."

Oh, yes, because that leaves me much of a choice.

I glare at him but begin to undress nonetheless. I peel off my muddied button up shirt and torn leather pants quickly, wishing for this to be over with as quickly as possible. In only my bra and underwear, I stand with my hands on my hips, unashamed. The cool air of the room causes goosebumps to raise on my skin as I fight not to shiver.

Green Eyes wastes no time in inspecting me. His expression is like steel but his eyes roam my body, lingering longer than necessary. If that wasn't enough to make my knees weak, the moment his fingers touch my skin definitely is. I have to bite my lip to hold back the gasp that threatens to escape as his fingers move skillfully over my skin. His fingers are electric, tugging at my very life with even the gentlest of touches. When his hands trail down my back, I'm unable to hold back the shiver that runs down my spine.

Once he's finished with his inspection, he places his hands on the tops of my arms. "Now, I'm assuming from your reaction earlier that you know what I can do. " He waits for me to nod before continuing. "Then I suggest that you answer all of our questions truthfully or you'll find out just how powerful I really am."

I nod stiffly, not doubting his words. I slip my clothes back on as soon as he lets go of me, wishing they weren't covered in mud and tattered. Running through the woods is not good on leather, apparently. When Green Eyes tells me to, I obediently sit down in one of the metal chairs. He sits across from me but the shapeshifter prefers to lean against the wall with his arms crossed. I suppose the stance would be intimidating to normal supernaturals but I was raised by monsters and the shapeshifter doesn't scare me.

"My name is Archer Valentine and that's Dax Crawford," Green Eyes introduces, eyes never leaving mine. "I'm going to ask you some questions now. Answer them truthfully. Look at me and only me."

Archer takes my silence as an invitation to begin. "What is your name?"

An easy enough question. "Viridian."

This gains me a raised eyebrow. "Viridian what?"

"Greene," I lie. It's Steel, but I can't tell them that. It's bad enough that my name is so uncommon. By my name, especially my last, there's a good chance that they'll recognize me as Fenrir and Katrina Steel's daughter and they'll kill me for sure.