Page 217 of Craving Venom

I give him the smallest nod, my hand already curling around the latch, just about to step out when he grabs my arm and yanks me back. I slam into his chest, the force stealing the breath from my lungs. I open my mouth, but nothing comes because there’s nothing left to say.

He leans down and presses a kiss to the center of my forehead.

Then his eyes meet mine and I know I shouldn’t look, but I do.

And what I see isn’t pride or power, not even lust.

It’s begging.

His eyes hold the kind of plea no man like him should ever make. It’s not for my body, he’s already had that. It’s not for obedience. It’s not for control.

It’s for something far more dangerous.

Stay.

Choose me.

Be mine.

It presses against the inside of my chest, slinking under my ribs, carving out space it has no right to. And for a terrifying second, I want to give in.

If he really begged, I would kiss him.

Even though I’m afraid of what it would mean because that kiss would be mine. Not his. Not taken, not stolen, not forced.Mine.

And that’s the only control I have left.

So I don’t kiss him.

“Go,” he demands with a finality I feel all the way down to my core.

So I do.

But I don’t stop trembling until I’m halfway down the cell block.

I don’t even see the guard until he rounds the corner ahead, nearly colliding with me. His hand shoots to the radio clipped to his chest.

“Yeah, I found her. Missing girl’s coming up the east wing,” he says into the radio.

Missing?

He doesn’t ask questions, just gives me that half-practiced nod they’re trained to use when pretending nothing looks wrong.

“Where were you?” he asks, stepping closer.

“I got turned around looking for the visitation desk,” I parrot automatically. “Someone told me to head toward Processing Room 12. I must’ve misunderstood.”

“I’ll take you to safety.”

Safety?

I frown but follow. Every step we take, the temperature climbs. Sweat beads on the back of my neck and under camisole. The sound of the prison grows distorted, warped by distant sirens.

By the time we reach the corridor leading to the main entrance, the sounds of fire trucks and ambulances are already clear.

A wall of red and white lights blinks through the small glass panes near the exit.

The guard opens the door, and that’s when I see Tria, Xaden and Dr. Harrington.

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