Page 15 of Reclaiming Venom

Ridley’s fingers traced the lines of my face, her touch both familiar and thrillingly new. “You feel it too, don’t you?” she whispered, her gaze searching mine. “This connection between us?”

Instead of answering, I leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss that was both tender and demanding. The taste of her -- sweet with a hint of the coffee she had drunk earlier -- exploded on my tongue. I groaned, deepening the kiss as Ridley tangled her fingers in my salt-and-pepper hair, tugging gently.

The world fell away, narrowing down to just the two of us. My hands roamed over Ridley’s back, relearning every curve and dip of her body. She responded in kind, her touch setting my skin ablaze even through my leather cut.

“Ridley,” I breathed against her lips, my voice rough with need. “I might not remember everything, but this… us… it feels right.”

* * *

Ridley

I pulled back slightly, my chest heaving as I caught my breath. My eyes locked onto Venom’s. A flush crept into my cheeks, and my lips were swollen from our kisses. I saw the way he stared at me, captivated, and the look of possessiveness in his gaze.

“It’s right,” I murmured, running my fingers through his beard. “It’s always been right between us, Venom.”

He cupped my face in his calloused hands, his thumbs brushing over my cheekbones. The tenderness of his touch surprised me, but it felt natural, as if his body remembered what his mind couldn’t.

“I can’t remember anything,” he admitted. “But kissing you… holding you like this… it feels like coming home. Some part of me knows you’re mine, even if I can’t recall the details.”

My eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but I couldn’t help the radiant smile that broke free. “And I’m yours,” I whispered fiercely. “Always have been, always will be.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes and breathing me in.

“Tell me,” he murmured, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Tell me more about us, about our life together. I need all the details. Every single thing I’ve forgotten.”

My lips curved into a mischievous smile. “How about I show you instead? Maybe you’ll remember if we keep going.”

Venom’s breath caught as I slowly began to undress, my movements deliberate and seductive. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from me, drinking in every inch of exposed skin. The soft glow of the setting sun painted my body in warm hues, highlighting my curves.

“Christ, woman,” he growled, his hands clenching at his sides. “You’re a Goddamn vision.”

My laughter was low and throaty. “And you’re overdressed, big man,” I teased, reaching for him.

As I pulled him down onto the bed, our bodies fit together perfectly, as if we’d been molded for each other. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.

“You smell like home,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my skin.

I arched against him, my fingers tangling in his hair. “Then come home to me.”

Venom groaned against my throat, his breath hot and ragged as his hands roamed over my body with a desperate sort of reverence. I felt the tremor in his fingers, the unspoken emotions weighing heavy between us. He might not remember every moment we’d shared, but his body did. His touch was instinctive, knowing exactly where to linger, where to press harder, where to make me gasp.

His name spilled from my lips as I arched beneath him, back bowing as he pressed kisses down the line of my neck, his beard scraping deliciously over sensitive skin. It wasn’t just lust -- we had that in spades -- but it was deeper. It was familiarity, history, a love forged through battles and scars.

I pulled at his shirt, shoving it up until he finally helped me strip it away. The moment his bare skin met mine, he let out a guttural sound that sent a shiver down my spine. His hands splayed across my back, holding me tightly as if grounding himself in my warmth.

“Tell me,” he rasped against the shell of my ear as he laid me back against the mattress. “Tell me how it was between us.” His lips found mine again, slow and consuming.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, reveling in the way he responded to my touch. “It was intense,” I whispered against his mouth. “Passionate. Like wildfire -- sometimes dangerous, but always unstoppable.”

Venom exhaled sharply, as if recognizing something familiar in my words. His gaze locked onto mine, dark and searching. “And now?”

I slid a hand down his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my palm. “Now?” A slow smile played on my lips as I pulled him back down to me. “Now it’s still burning.”

* * *

Venom

My lips crashed against hers, the taste of her intoxicating, pulling me into a tide I didn’t want to fight. She was right -- this wasn’t a flicker or some fleeting heat. It was an inferno, roaring between us, consuming rational thought and leaving only the raw edges of who we were together.

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