Page 176 of Craving Venom

I almost laugh because of all the things she could’ve asked, this is what she wants?

“I already know what you’re going to taste like.”

She laughs softly, and a string deep inside me pulls tight, sending a cold shiver down my spine. Her eyes light up with mischief as she turns her head toward the wine bottle.

“I’m pretty sure I taste like wine since I just—”

She turns back to me with her gaze locking onto mine and her lips slightly parted.

And then, just inches from her face, I cut her off with one word, a word that carries too much weight for both of us.

“Freedom.”

The playfulness disappears from her face. Her lips part, the breath of a thought slipping out, but no sound follows. Her tongue glides over her bottom lip instead.

“That’s what you’re going to taste like.”

I don’t move a muscle and don’t draw a single inhale. I lock eyes with her as if the world depends on whether she’ll hold or break the connection.

“And once I have a taste of that freedom,” I say, stepping even closer, until the heat between us is thick enough to choke on, “I’ll tear down every prison wall, take on anyone who stands between me and my freedom.”

Faith doesn’t back away or hesitate; instead, she meets my gaze with a quiet defiance that unsettles me more than her fear ever could. She’s composed, as though she’s already studied the monster in front of her and made up her mind that she’s not going anywhere.

“Even the people I care about?”

“Especially the people you care about,” I reply, letting a dangerous smile crawl onto my face.

She squares her shoulders as a subtle tremor in her fingertips betrays the calm in her stare.

“And that is one thing I am never going to take from you,” I add, letting the words settle as I close the last bit of the space between us. “I want you to give it to me willingly.”

“And what if I never give it to you willingly?”

“Well, good girl, you’ll have to kiss me at the altar, you know? It’s a tradition.”

Faith rolls her eyes and shoots back, “In that case, I guess you’ll be waiting a lifetime, Zane.”

She’s drawn a line between us and believes I won’t dare to cross it. She thinks that I’ll simply wait patiently in the dark as if that’s where I belong.

She’s so fucking wrong.

I lower my head and brush my lips against her cheek, planting soft, open-mouthed kisses that make her shudder. Her skin resembles the taste of heat and red wine and temptation. My fingers glide up, tracing along her jawline, noticing how her breath stutters the moment I make contact.

“Time and space, they don’t stand a chance when it comes to us.” My teeth graze her earlobe, and I give it a playful nibble that draws a gasp from her lips. It vibrates through me. “I’ll be right there, aligning the stars to rewrite our story in every lifetime.”

She gasps, and fuck, that sound shoots straight to my cock, hardening me in an instant.

“You’ll hide every time you realize you’ve fallen in love with me,” I tease, my breath spilling hot against her ear, “but in each new life...”

My fingers possessively slide down her side. They curve around her waist, pulling her flush to me.

“I’ll hunt you down,” I let the words slip out as I drag my lips closer to hers without touching, “and our love will be like those stars in the night sky, forever aligned.”

Her mouth parts slightly, the words hovering somewhere she can’t quite reach. When she chooses silence instead, I brush the corner of her mouth with a whisper of a kiss.

I trail lower as my mouth drags along her neck, finding the soft curve of her collarbone and sucking gently while my tonguetraces the arc of her skin as if following a path I’ve memorized in dreams.

My hands grip her hips, my fingers digging in as I pull her even closer. We’re locked so closely I could almost melt into her with one more breath.

---