Page 96 of Beautiful Venom

Hopefully, that will distract him.

I slip into the narrow space, pressing my back against the rough leaves, and hug my knees to my chest.

The branches dig into my skin, but I ignore the discomfort. My chest rises and falls, my ears pound, and sweat coats my temples and trickles down my back.

The footsteps stop.

Thick, oppressive silence swallows me whole, and I bite down on my lip, trying to steady my breathing. But my heart’s frantic beat threatens to give my position away.

Not to mention that the air is so cold, I’m afraid I’ll crumble.

For a moment, the only sound is the whisper of the wind through the hedges.

But I know better.

He’s there.

Somewhere in the dark, stalking and watching like a predator.

The electric tension in the air makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle.

He’s close.Tooclose.

Then I hear his footsteps carrying him in the opposite direction.

Oh. Thank God.

For a moment, just one moment, I think I’ve lost him.

But before I can release a breath of relief, a rough hand wraps around my ankle.

A sharp scream rips from my throat as I’m yanked out, my body sliding across the damp ground, my fingers scrambling for a branch or anything to hold on to.

My nails dig into the earth, dirt gathering beneath them as I claw at the grass, but it slips through my hands like water.

I twist, kicking my legs with all my might.

For a moment, I truly believe I’m in danger and fight, aiming for maximum damage.

However, his grip is effortlessly strong, and it fires me up even more.

The world spins as I’m hauled back, the ground rough beneath me, the grass scraping against my legs.

The cold, unforgiving wind slaps my face, but all I can hear is his steady breathing as his deep voice rumbles in a hushed whisper, “Caught you.”

A rush of crippling terror and morbid thrill courses through me, and I lift my trembling hands in the dark. “Kane…hold on…let’s talk about this.”

“Don’t say my name. I’m nobody to you.” His voice sounds lower, closer, each word wrapping around me like a simmering earthquake.

He flips me over with horrifying ease.

All I can see is the looming shadow of his body in the darkness—big, broad, and utterly intimidating. A strange flutter awakens in the pit of my belly.

Is it excitement?

Need?

Both?

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