Page 195 of Sweet Venom
His face is sharper than I remember, like the sole week we’ve spent apart has chiseled away anything soft, leaving only hard edges and quiet violence.
There are faint dark circles beneath his eyes, like sleep has been a stranger he doesn’t bother chasing.There’s also scruff along his jaw, a shadow of neglect rather than intention, making him look even more untamed, more like something barely held together.
His cutting rich-brown eyes pin me in place, raking over me like he’s trying to find something he lost.
The wind shifts, sending the scent of rain-soaked leather, cold air, and something unmistakably Jude curling around me.
My fingers twitch at my sides, resisting the urge to reach out, to trace the tension in his arms, to see if he’s as solid as he looks or if, this time, he’s just another figment of my imagination.
Instead, I swallow, then speak, my voice barely stronger than the wind howling between us. “How did you find me?”
“I followed Dahlia.” His voice sounds deeper, a bit hoarser. “She was probably in a hurry today, so she didn’t bother to lead me around in circles.”
Or maybe she did it on purpose.
“Didn’t you read the letter?” My voice breaks, and I swallow. “I asked you to let me go.”
He grabs my shoulders, and I gasp as he pushes me back, kicks the door closed, and slams me against it. “And I’m saying no, Violet. You can run to the ends of the earth, and I’ll find you.”
“Why? Because you can’t lose your toys?”
“Because I can’t lose you!” He breathes harshly, dropping his forehead to mine, his pants mingling with my fractured ones.
“I can’t lose you,” he repeats softly, as soft as Jude can speak. “Don’t make me lose you, too, sweetheart. Even if it’s just out of pity, stay with me. Don’t push me away.”
“It was never pity. I…”
“You what?”
He’s searching my eyes, but he’s peeking into my soul, and I can’t find the will to close the door in his face.
I’m tired.
Of hiding.
Of pining.
Of choosing everyone else’s good before my own.
“Is this because of the killing?” He leans away slowly. “I’ll always kill anyone who hurts you, Violet.Always.But I’ll try to limit it, to make sure it doesn’t cause you pain?—”
“It’s not that. I just…don’t want you to get hurt because of me. I can’t live with that.”
He pauses, his brow furrowing, and then the light slowly returns. “Your leaving hurt me more than any imaginary scenarios you have in your head.”
“But—”
“No buts, Violet. If you were so scared about my safety, you should’ve talked to me, and I would’ve told you my father has assigned shadow guards on me since I was a kid. No one would be able to hurt me, you understand?” He releases a sigh. “No one but you and the letter you signed with your safe word.”
“I’m sorry.” I reach a tentative hand to his cheek, and he briefly closes his eyes, leaning into my touch. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I truly thought you’d be better off without me.”
“Do I look better off?”
“You look like hell.”
His lips twitch in not quite a smile, but something similar. “It’s all your fault, sweetheart.”
“Mine?”
