Page 29 of Sweet Venom

Shoving my phone into my back pocket, I lock my computer and follow Mark. It's only been roughly a month since we started everything here. This process has gone smoother than expected. "I still can't believe we are in the final walkthrough stages. This seems like it's happening so fast," I say as we make our way down the hall.

"Well, demo always goes fast, but your design doesn't require anything crazy. It's a gym. We had minimal walls to erect, and you kept your design simple and worked with the space you already had instead of trying to reshape the entire layout. It was smart and saved you a lot of money. Outside of the locker rooms, this place was a breeze."

Everything he's saying makes sense, but it hits differently when the ideas that have been on your heart for months come to life in a few short weeks. It is surreal. Maybe I'd see it differently if my head was completely here and not being pulled in a million different directions. As we ascend the stairs, I can feel eyes on me, and I know exactly who they belong to. To shake the desire to meet his longing gaze, I make small talk, asking questions to which I already know the answers.

"Are we still on track for the grand opening in two weeks?"

"Yes. The locker rooms should be done by the end of next week, and since most of the design elements in there are clean lines, the style lying solely in the tile and fixtures and not in any crazy buildouts, we should be good…" he trails off before coming to a sudden halt and facing me to ask, "Unless you have something you're not telling me?"

He rubs his jaw, eyeing me from head to toe before saying, "You've practically been living here lately, and you're asking me questions to which I know you already have the answers. Are you scheming something?"

Now, that is a loaded question. I don't think 'scheming' is the word I would use for what I've been up to, but he doesn't need to know that. "No, Mark. We are good for phase one. Now, phase two, I have some ideas." I pat him on the shoulder as I step by him and say, "Let's go. I wouldn't want to keep the city waiting."

* * *

We wrap up our walkthrough in the room that will be used for aerial workouts, which is by far one of my favorite rooms. I haven't done many, seeing as how I tend to gravitate toward weights—letting go of my pent-up anger and frustration by pushing myself to my absolute limit until I'm shaking—but seeing this studio come to life, and knowing it's mine, has brought a peace I didn't see coming. A knock on the window pulls me out of my thoughts, and I turn to find Ellis standing on the other side of the glass.

The sound caught Mark's eye too, and when he spots Ellis in the hallway, he says, "Go; we're done here. Take a break."

His dismissiveness grates on my nerves. I realize I am paying him to do a job, and he is in charge of the site, but he knows I want to be involved in every detail. I've made that more than evident. I briefly take a second to pull in a cleansing breath, reminding myself that he is not the cause of my distress. He is none the wiser that he is inadvertently thrusting me into the lion's den with his dismissal.

It's been almost two weeks since I shut down Covet and we shared an intense, unhinged—dare I say—fanatical weekend at the Serra Estate, and for that time, I've made myself scarce, not out of fear, but because it's what I do. I'm a runner, and I had to leave after what happened between Sebastian and me. I couldn't stay in that house a minute longer. No amount of talking could have resolved anything. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts is the best therapy, even if being alone is the last thing that you want.

My boyfriend set me up. He told me as much, and for days that has been one of the biggest hurdles to wrap my mind around. That he stayed away for me to bond with another man, and not just any man, but his damn brother. The night on the patio, when I allowed Sebastian to take me, I was caught off guard. I’d had too much to drink and zero time to make a good decision. Ellis knows I'm impulsive and reckless, and he was counting on that.

We have had sex more times than I can count. Sex with him is better than any sex I've ever had in my life, but that night by the pool, with his brother's dick in my ass, was more. Ellis was looking at me with wonderment and awe. The way he kissed me and held me after our shared release felt like love. I feel like I made love to my boyfriend for the first time with another man behind me. How fucked up is that?

But where do we go from here? That's the problem. It's why I've stayed away. When I finally open my eyes and start to walk out to meet Ellis, my eyes collide with his, and the ethereal light that is always there is dimmed. I can see his displeasure in his stance. When I exit the door, he doesn't make a move. Instead, he stands there looking more than edible in his charcoal gray suit that stretches over his thighs in all the right places. I swear, the man intentionally has his suits made to fit in a way just to tease women and intimidate men. As if his attire wasn't mouthwatering enough, he wore his long hair in a high man bun just the way I like it.

Neither one of us are good with words. Ellis's love languages are acts of service followed by physical touch, the latter of which I haven't allowed since Sebastian left my body covered in bruises.

"Have coffee with me."

He leans against the glass wall of the studio and I roll my lips, considering his offer, one I want to take because it's Ellis. He's the reason I came back, but I also want to avoid getting into anything here, especially with Tatum lurking.

I'm about to respond when he says, "Let me rephrase that since you seem to think it was an option. I have coffee in your office. You'll drink it with me."

I shake my head, frustrated by his tone and lack of perspective. "Fine," I counter, clearly perturbed. I'll have his coffee. It doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. I stomp by him somewhat exaggeratedly, ensuring he doesn't miss a moment of my displeasure. I'm not trying to hurt Ellis. That is the last thing I want to do, but I'm also not ready to lose him, and that feels inevitable after what happened.

As we make our way down to the first floor, I don't miss how every man in the place takes notice of him. He has a commanding presence, one that isn't lost on me, but it makes me wonder if it's not what makes me cave and give in when I don't want to. My mind was made up when I returned to San Jose, and now he's trying to flip the script. With my thoughts on the man at my back, I'm distracted as I round the corner that leads to my office and the locker rooms and run smack dab into Tatum. Fuck my life.

"Vi, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he says, as his free hand latches onto my arm to keep me from losing my balance. The other arm is balancing a roll of mats on his shoulder. His arctic blue eyes connect with mine, and I instantly look away. They say too much without saying anything at all, and I hate it.

"She's fine," Ellis says with an unnecessary harshness as he steps into my back, grabbing my shoulders. "You should have called out that you were coming around the corner with a load that big. You're lucky it wasn't worse. If she were a few inches taller, that roll you’re carrying would have hit her in the face, and I'd have your ass."

"Ellis, I don't need you to threaten my workers. It was an honest mistake."

"It was reckless," he corrects.

My eyes briefly flash to Tate's to offer an unspoken apology for my boyfriend's rude comments, but he's not paying me any attention. Instead, his eyes are locked with Ellis's in a battle of wills. I quickly spin out of Ellis's bear hold and grab his hand. "Come on. The coffee is getting cold." I don't bother to address Tate or offer any further witty remarks because realization sets in, and I feel like shit. Ellis knows he's the guy.

No sooner has he closed the door behind me does he ask, "Is he the reason you haven't been in my bed?"

My back is to him as I stand at my desk and remove the coffee from the tray holder. Since we returned to San Jose, I've slept in my room. Something I rarely do when Ellis is home. From the start I've always slept with Ellis, I’ve only slept in that room once while he was there, and it was only because I fell asleep in the closet putting clothes away after I had spent the day moving Charlie's stuff out. I hate to sleep alone. It's more than obvious something is up, and I can't blame this all on Ellis. Sure, he may have set things in motion, but I let them happen.

I pull air through my nose as I let my lungs inflate with all the words I should have given him a week ago. "No," I say as my lungs deflate and I find my strength. A man making me nervous is a new experience. I'm confident in my skin, but because feelings are involved, I'm acting borderline neurotic. I want everything he's offering one minute, and the next, I'm pissed as hell.

Strong arms wrap around my waist from behind as his nose nuzzles into my neck. "Let me in, Vivian. I thought we talked about this. We said no more running; I told you I'd tell you anything and everything you wanted answers for…" He kisses my neck before adding, "I need you, baby."

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