Page 51 of Venom and Velvet

We finished our meal in mostly silence, Ryzen glaring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. I was laughing on the inside. Good, I hoped he was flustered. That meant that he would make a mistake. And I would be there when he did.

After dinner, I changed into pajamas and crawled into his bed. This was one of the worst parts about doing all of this, that I had to stay in the same bed as him. It couldn’t be avoided though. If I had all these supposed strong feelings for him, then I wouldn’t sleep downstairs in my apartment all the time. No, I would be here. With him. And it made my stomach sick. But as long as I could keep his hands off of me, and he knew that he wasn’t getting any sex from me until after we were married, then I had to just suck it up and deal with it. I had a goal, and I had to remember that that goal was bringing him down. No matter what.

I checked my phone and realized that I had dozed off, the bed empty. I threw the covers off and tiptoed down the hall. A soft light came from under his office door, and I stepped closer, pressing my ear to it.

“I need more time. Another week or two max,” Ryzen hissed.

He must be talking to someone.

“I know what you said, but the old man won’t budge on this marriage shit, baby.”

Baby? That’s interesting.

“I miss you too, Iva. Just give me more time and I’ll make this right. We’ll be home free soon.”

Iva.

That bitch. I balled my hands into fists. And where the hell had she been all these weeks? Apparently sneaking off with Ryzen, from the sounds of it. Good. Let her get impatient. It would probably help me more.

“Oh, fuck, baby, I’m so hard for you. I can’t wait to cum inside that sweet fine pussy.”

I gagged, my hand going to my chest. OK, I didn’t need to stick around for this part. I hauled ass back to the bedroom and hid under the covers.

I needed a shower.

A scalding hot one.

And something to forget what I had just heard.

Chapter Fourteen

Day 39

“Here, try this one on.” Orin handed me a gold ear cuff shaped like a “C” that fit over the top of my ear and wrapped down and around my earlobe. Little golden leaves dangled from it with tiny diamonds at the end. It fit perfectly, and I admired my reflection in the little handheld mirror.

“They’re not real.” He chuckled.

“That’s OK. Hopefully no one will get close enough to be able to tell.” I laughed and puckered my lips in the mirror. “This is actually adorable.”

“Nova, focus.” Orin pulled the cuff off and held it in front of my face. “The mic is right here in the first leaf, and the earphone is at this end that loops over the top of your ear. If you wear your hair down, just make sure the mic doesn’t get covered. Got it?” He pointed to all the pieces, and I nodded. I held out my hand, and he dropped it into my palm. “This runs on an eight-hour battery, so that should be enough time.”

Ryzen was having a party with several important investors, and since I was his fiancée, I was required to be there. “Just mingle and smile,” was basically what he had told me. It was going to be at his mansion in Highland Park, a posh neighborhood where everyone had manicured lawns and money to burn. Out of his five homes in the city and suburbs, this was the one I hadn’t been to yet. And I was itching to get inside. I needed to get my hands on that journal, and if it wasn’t at his condo, the penthouse, his office or stashed away in one of his many cars, then it might be there.

“OK, let’s make sure it works. Just press the button here.” Orin pointed at one of the leaves, then pulled out a set of headphones and put them on. I did as he asked and walked down the hall into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Cian used to sleep with a stuffed bear in his room when we were younger,” Orin said in my ear.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Oh, boy, don’t let him hear you say that.”

There was slight static and the sound of shuffling, and then Cian’s voice was in my ear instead of Orin’s. “Don’t listen to him, little star. He’s lying.” He chuckled, then Orin muttered something in the background.

I walked back to the office and laughed as Cian had Orin’s arm pinned behind his back. “Say mercy, brother.”

“Cian, let him go before you hurt your shoulder.” I giggled and sat on the edge of the desk.

Those two were always going at it, and you couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe because I had grown up with a demonic sister who didn’t have a bonding bone in her body. Grace was more likely to murder me than play a game with me. I hadn’t even heard from her since the wedding—not one call, text, or email. It wasn’t like I had expected anything from her, and I trusted her as far as I could throw her, but her silence just confirmed what I had always known: she didn’t give a shit about me. And honestly, I was done caring. I would rather surround myself with people who showed me love, honesty, and compassion than a money-obsessed psychopath.

Ryzen’s mansion was gated and covered several acres, so even though Cian wanted to be close by, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Ryzen’s security would be all over the place, and I didn’t want to risk them finding Cian, Eros or Orin. No, they would have to stay away. Orin had offered to make us a makeshift walkie-talkie so Cian and I could communicate if I needed him. I was hoping I wouldn’t need to, but things were unpredictable, especially when it came to Ryzen.

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