Page 70 of Craving Venom

Close enough to see the way the back of her neck prickles.

She doesn’t turn. Doesn’t look around. But her body knows. Some subconscious part of her starts picking up on the shift in the air.

She knows.

She steps forward, just a little too fast. The heel of her boot catches on the uneven ground, and for a split second, she’s slipping.

My hands find her waist, gripping just enough to steady her, to feel the warmth of her body against mine.

Her breath hitches.

I lean in, brushing my lips against the shell of her ear.

“Careful,good girl.”

A full-body shudder wracks through her, violent enough that I feel it in my bones.

For a second, she doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe.

Then, slowly, she turns her head, just enough for me to see the way her pulse flutters at her throat.

She doesn’t know who I am.

But some part of her does.

Some part of her always will.

I step back before she can speak, before she can twist around and try to confirm what her body already knows.

Because this isn’t the moment I want.

Not yet.

And I’m nothing if not patient.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE BEAUTY

Ispin around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash.

But there’s no one there.

The spot behind me is empty. My heart pounds, trying to break free from my ribs, and I blink hard, rubbing my eyes like that’ll change what I’m seeing. Or…notseeing.

Because no one is there.

And yet when I look down at my dress. The fabric at my waist is crumpled exactly where someone held me.

A shiver rolls down my spine. My fingers brush over the spot, feeling the phantom pressure of his hand, the ghost of his grip still burning through the material.

Zane.

I turn to Tria. “Did you see anyone just now?”

“Faith, it’s a Halloween party. There arepeopleeverywhere.” She gestures around us, at the mass of bodies moving, dancing, drinking. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Right.

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