Page 68 of Sweet Venom

"I came home from the gym one night and found a note on the counter. It said,

I had to go. Please don't look for me.

Of course, I looked for her. She was seven months pregnant, and my initial thought was her dealer ex-boyfriend found out about the baby and threatened her, but…"

I rest my hands on my hips and turn away because the next part hurts like hell. I've allowed it to gnaw away at my sanity for years. It's why I don't push. It's why I accept the pieces, because I was never worthy of more.

"She drove down to Fresno, rented a cabin just outside of Sequoia National Park, and downed a bottle of sleeping pills. Death was better than being married to me."

"Oh my god, Ellis." Vivian's arms wrap around me from behind. "She was sick. She had to be. A lot of women experience severe depression during pregnancy. What happened to her is sad, but Ellis, you can't blame yourself for her death." I feel her hands glide up my back in comfort before she adds, "Ellis, we'll figure this out. I'm not leaving, I swear. I can't promise you I won't walk out when I am mad. It's been my coping mechanism for too long, but I'll try. We've all been scarred in some way, but for as much as we hate them for the blemishes they left on our souls, I don't know that what we have now could have ever existed were it not for the ugly that shaped us."

Her words squeeze my heart because she is absolutely right. We can choose to see the unsightly bumps and the damage done, or we can see them for the beautiful reminders they are. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the pain we endured to remember our strength and grow into the people we always longed to be.

Before I can even turn in her embrace to acknowledge her words, another voice steals my focus. "What the hell happened here?" Tatum says from the doorway.

It's going to be a long night, but at least I won't have to endure it alone. I've found my family.

Chapter 28

The Viper

The past few days have been crazy. After everything that has come to light, the guys and I are finally all on the same page. Everyone seems excited about the baby. I have no doubt that if we can keep our shit together, this baby will have three amazing dads, but this is new for all of us. We are clearly all fucked up beyond measure, but I think it's why we work. Standard conventions never did, so we made our own way.

After Tatum showed up while Ellis was recounting his story about the nursery and his ex, Jacinda, we all listened intently one more time. It was as though reliving his pain with him was somehow healing our own. Both men viewed Ellis as this unbreakable, stony, unfeeling man, but the truth was, inside he was hurting. But so were Sebastian and Tatum. They all had these gnarly stains on their pasts that threatened to steal their futures. They couldn't help but feel like their histories defined them and marked them as unworthy, and I knew that feeling all too well.

At some point, all that needed to be said had been shared, and we began to clean up, picking up all the pieces of the mess Ellis created in a fit of rage and panic. But my involvement in the cleanup process was short-lived when Tate caught me righting a bookshelf. Every eye in the room turned to glare at me hard when he scolded me for lifting, and honestly, by that point, I was done anyway. I was more than fucking tired after everything.

I went to my room and took a shower. I needed to release all the stress and tension that had built up inside me over the past few hours, and when I came out, I had every intention of heading back out to check on the guys, but instead, I flopped down on my bed. Sleep was calling my name hard, and the thought of choosing a man to sleep with was too much. I have no idea what sleeping will look like, but right now, it's also the last thing I can do. I've been tossing and turning for the past hour, and now I'm fucking hungry.

Throwing the covers off, I grab my robe since I sleep naked and throw it on before searching out some late-night snacks. The only thing that sucks is, I'm craving something sweet, and those are things I usually don't keep around, but I know Ellis loves ice cream, so I'm hopeful there's some left in the freezer from a cheat day. When I get to my door, I quietly push it open, knowing that Tate is asleep on the couch. I know he stayed up late helping Sebastian clean up the place and empty the room Ellis kept as a shrine to his ex and the baby she lost. That story breaks my fucking heart, but it's also the reason our story exists. Were it not for those scars shaping his heart, I can't say we'd be here today living the way we are.

I pull open the freezer, and I can't help but squeal when I find a carton of vanilla ice cream. I throw my hand over my mouth when I remember Tate. Slowly, I close the freezer and forego a bowl, instead going straight for the spoons. Then, popping the lid off, I dive in, and I can't help but moan around the first bite I take. The sugary sweetness immediately quenches my craving and quietes the rumbling of my stomach all at once.

Warm arms wrap around me from behind and kiss my shoulder. "All that moaning made me want a taste."

"I'm sorry. I was trying to be quiet, but I had a craving, and I was hungry." I shove my spoon back into the carton and then hold it up for Tate to take a bite, and he does so ravenously.

"Hmm, that's good, but that's not what I want a taste of."

He spins me around and lifts me onto the counter before pulling at the tie keeping my robe closed. "You're so fucking beautiful. I want you to eat that ice cream while I feast on this pretty pussy."

Fuck, his words make my pussy clench, and I don't even get a chance to respond before he's spreading me wide, and his tongue is spearing my hole. "Oh god." My hand rushes into his hair to hold him in place. "You feel so good."

He pulls back and says, "Eat, or I'll stop."

Damn, I don't need to be told twice. I pick up the spoon and scoop up a heaping amount to lick, and just as its coolness hits my lips, his tongue runs between my folds. I'm making more than a mess of myself. Tate can eat pussy like a man starving for his last meal, and while my ice cream tastes hella good, I can barely keep my mouth closed long enough to swallow. It's running down my chin and dripping onto my tits. The chill makes my nipples stand at full attention. I shove the spoon in my mouth, devouring the last bite as he plunges two fingers in deep. My eyes flutter closed on a long moan. I know I have a healthy sexual appetite. I love sex, but damn if my hormones aren't turning me into a damn fiend.

His fingers curl, and he hits that spot he knows I like. Those long, tattooed fingers and his tongue working my pussy have me on the brink of coming, but it's then that another set of warm lips assaults my senses as they latch around one of my nipples. My eyes flash open to find Sebastian's hooded gaze locked on me as he sucks my tit hard, and my heart thrashes inside my chest with a mix of fear and excitement. He's been the one resistant to all of this, and he only just told me he was all in. However, I didn't expect this level. I know he shared me with Ellis, but I didn't get the impression he liked it. He's told me he doesn't want to share.

Releasing my breast with a pop, he says, "You made a fucking mess on my tits." He nips at my nipple enough to sting before licking his way across my breastbone and pulling my other ice cream-covered nipple into his mouth, just as Tate sucks my clit hard into his mouth, and I detonate. The adrenaline, the hormones, the multiple sets of hands—all too much for me to resist.

"Fuck, your pussy tastes so good," Tate says as he pumps me through my orgasm, licking up all my juices.

"You want more, mia piccolo vipera?" Sebastian asks as he kisses his way up my neck.

"God, yes," I rasp as my hand trails down his bare chest, dipping under the waistband of his sleep pants to stroke his hard, silky cock. He pumps into my hand once, and I feel a drip of pre-cum that has me begging, "Please, I need you."

"And I want to keep you. Is this what you want? You want both of us?" he asks as his lips brush over mine teasingly.

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