Page 46 of Sweet Venom

But I wasn't ready to let her go. I spun her in my arms and tipped her chin up, forcing those dark brown eyes to mine before I said, "We both know that's not what you want. Let me buy you another drink."

"I can't give you what you want. I'm not looking for a man."

"I'm not asking for more than a night."

"Even a night is one too many. I have venom in my veins, and I can promise that even your cold heart wouldn't survive."

She wiggled in my grip once more, trying to free herself, and I said, "Try me."

"What?" she questioned, perplexed.

"You believe I can't survive one night and that my hate doesn't rival your own. So try me."

I watched as she rolled her lips and considered my words, and as I studied her, I knew without question that I had finally met my match. The woman was just as bullheaded as I was. She wasn't going to back down from a challenge. It gave her something she craved.

"Fine." She moistened her lips before saying, "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of helping you find your glasses if you were my driver on a dark rainy night."

Her comment momentarily caught me off guard. One: because I don't normally wear glasses, I threw them on last-minute and styled my hair in a kiss-curl for the Clark Kent look to get into the club that night, and two: I wasn't expecting a sardonic quip as an answer to my challenge. Either way, I was all in. I'm the king when it comes to having the last word. I knew this was one game I would surely be the victor.

"I wouldn't want to wear anything that helped me see you more clearly. I'd rather drive us both off the road."

Her lips quirked up in the slightest of smiles as though my willingness to play her game satisfied her. But it was gone just as quick as it came, and then she said, "I'd leave you for another man. Any other man would do." She yelled over the base of the speakers that picked up.

I leaned in and brushed her hair over her shoulder before saying, "I'd help you find the poor, unsuspecting soul."

With my face already next to hers, she turned in to me and said, "I'd poison your coffee and not think twice about it."

My hands gripped the sides of her face before I pressed my forehead to hers and replied, "I'd happily drink it to spare myself a lifetime with you."

When she gave me no words, I assumed I had won and said, "Now, how about that drink?"

She nodded nervously, her eyes more distant than they had been all night, but I didn't think anything of it. I assumed she didn't like how I made her feel, and truth be told, I knew the feeling all too well, because I felt the same way. Releasing her face, I grabbed her hand and started pulling her off the dance floor and back to the bar, but as I pushed through the crowd of bodies, her hand slipped mine, and when I turned back, she was gone.

Ellis setting the whiskey bottle down on the granite countertop rather harshly after topping off his glass draws me out of my memories and back to the present. "You realize she doesn't remember that night, right?"

I've attempted to keep my mind from wandering back to that night since I discovered her in my brother's bed, only allowing small seconds to take up space in the now, whenever I need a reminder of why she must go.

"Did she tell you that?" I meet his eyes, searching for the answer I've asked myself countless times whenever our paths cross. There's no way she can't remember. I was wearing fucking glasses, not a damn mask.

"No; she didn't need to. She's in my life, and I made it my business to know hers." He pauses, taking another swig of his drink before adding, "She's important to me, Seb. I love her."

I can't help but balk with a sardonic harrumph before saying, "Really, Ellis? You love her? You just let me fuck her in the ass two weeks ago."

He sets his glass down on the island before slamming his hands down and showing me a side I've never seen from him. Ellis is not a man who is quick to anger, and I've never been on the receiving end, but the fury in his eyes is practically palpable before he bites out, "I swear, you better lose that fucking attitude, Seb. You'll watch how you talk about my girl. You will not disrespect her in front of me in my own house for something you don't understand."

He's fucking serious, that much is clear, but it's his last words, 'something I don't understand,' that have me saying, "Then explain it to me, Ellis. Why are you okay with me fucking your girl? That's not exactly normal. I'm your damn brother."

I watch as he pulls a cleansing breath into his lungs and closes his eyes, gaining his composure. Then placing both hands firmly on the island between us, he meets my eyes with a no-nonsense glare that tells me whatever he's about to say has been well thought through on his part. "You loved her first, and I know she cares for you. If you make each other happy, I want that for you. I love you both."

"You're a twisted motherfucker. You know that, right?"

"No more than you." He comments in jest before reclaiming his drink.

I take a pull off my own before asking, "What if I don't want to share?"

He shrugs and says, "No one is making you."

I study him and let his words wash over me for long seconds, considering all he's laid at my feet. Do I love Ellis? Without a doubt; it's why I've gone to great lengths to destroy the woman he loves, because he doesn't see her for the snake that she is. I don't believe that she doesn't remember. There's a reason she hasn't said anything, which has me asking, "Why haven't you asked her about it?"

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