Page 164 of Beautiful Venom

God. Who would’ve thought the guy I approached to avenge my sister would be the one consoling me about her?

A part of me feels guilty for ever using him. For lumping him in with the rest of the unfeeling psychos.

Kane is different.

Entirelydifferent.

He’s not the green flag I mistook him for, but he’s not entirely red either. He’s a mixture of colors, and I’m growing attached to all of them.

The red, the green, the black. All.

I open my arms and engulf him in a hug, burying my face in his chest, right on top of his steady heartbeat.

He feels warm.

So warm.

Kane awkwardly pats my back, his body a bit stiff, probably not used to this amount of clinginess, but it doesn’t matter.

I’m not used to it either, but it’s okay with Kane.

I feel like I can let go and he won’t use it against me.

At least, I hope he won’t.

Having raw feelings for someone who’s way out of my social standing is scary, but I’m willing to take the leap.

But at the same time, I feel like I’m losing focus of why I got entangled in this world in the first place, and I can’t seem to find my way back in.

Slowly, my breaths even out and I think I fall asleep in his arms, because the next thing I know, I’m being laid back on the bed.

I blink the sleep from my eyes as Kane stands up and removes his shirt.

My heart burns at the view of the scars, visible even under the early-morning light slipping through the window.

But I also can’t help but admire the sheer strength in his build, each muscle etched and honed as if he’s been carved from marble. Every ridge, every line is sharp and precise, just like Kane himself—disciplined, formidable, almost impossibly defined.

The way he moves with effortless confidence is a natural, unforced power that’s as magnetic as it is unsettling. There’s something in the way he holds himself, like he owns the space around him without needing to declare it. It’s that quiet, commanding presence that makes looking away feel impossible.

He walks into his closet and emerges a few minutes later dressed in sweatpants and a Vipers hoodie.

His eyes meet mine and they darken a little.

I pull the sheet to my chin. “Morning.”

“Go back to sleep. It’s still four thirty.”

“Where are you going? Isn’t it early for practice?”

“Jude and Pres are here. At the front door, I mean. They won’t leave unless I let them in.”

“Is something wrong?”

“They often do this when they’re drunk.”

“So if we hadn’t come back, you would’ve gotten drunk with them?”

“Probably not.”

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