Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100493 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100493 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
I lean in close enough that my words ghost over her skin.
Torture is patience.
“Look at me, Venom.”
Her eyes travel up my face.
“Glad I’m alive?” My mouth twists.
She swallows. “I meant it.”
“No. Your guilt needs it. You don’t get to lick my wounds.” I lean in closer. “No matter how good you are with that tongue.”
I can’t tell if she’s offended, shocked, or turned on. Knowing her, probably all of the above.
“I know, I’m—” She blinks.
“You’re what?” I lean back slightly, enough for her to question the exact level of fucks I give.
“Sorry,” she admits softly, and her shoulders loosen.
My lips pull into a full-toothed smile that doesn’t touch my eyes. “I don’t want your fucking apologies, Ivy.”
Her jaw tightens. This is the part where she always has to practice her self control.
I drag my gaze down every feature. “I’ll never need you for anything ever again.”
She lifts her hands. “Then what am I here for, Asher.”
I shrug, because what the fuck did she expect? “Haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Kinda went off plan...”
I’m teasing, but she doesn’t need to know that.
Panic flashes over her face, enough to pull a laugh right from my throat. Ah, now this in itself is satisfaction. Those control issues…
My hand slides down the wall, caging her in. “What’s the matter, Venom? Thought we had this chat about you and your obsessive need for control.”
When I step back a little, she releases a small exhale of relief.
Fuck it. I need to hurt her.
Pulling out my phone, I keep my eyes dead on her as I find the contact I’m looking for. It rings three times before clicking over.
“Camille? What are you doing right now?”
Amazing that I could form the words from under all the vomit that’s rising in my throat from merely saying her name.
Camille giggles. “Well, I’m packing my bags…”
My tongue swipes at my bottom lip.
Ivy’s eyes snap to the movement before lifting back onto mine.
“Yeah?” My smirk deepens. “Good. Because I’m gonna need you to come ride my dick.”
Ivy recoils like I slapped her, cheeks red and brows pulled in. She shoves at my chest and I laugh, stumbling backwards as she walks away.
“That hurt, Venom?” I say lazily, watching her retreat with a smirk. “Fucking good. Get used to it.”
CHAPTER
FOUR
IVY
It’s official. I hate Asher. Come ride my dick.
I seal myself inside this glass cage I’ll call mine until Asher decides I’m more useful dead than stroking his need for revenge.
My fingertips drag over the floor-to-ceiling glass, keeping me from a thousand-foot drop. A California King bed floats above nothing, pressed against the far wall. The ocean stretches below it, meeting the sky at some impossible point.
“Jesus,” I gasp, shaking my head. It’s beautiful. I have no clue how they built it.
I turn away and stop dead. Another wall made of glass, only this one is in front of a large mountain with snowy slopes that spill into the valley below it. The general aesthetic of this room is all clean lines and dark furniture.
Black concrete and steel fixtures decorate the kitchen near the corner, and what I’m guessing is the bathroom is tucked behind a floating wall.
Flicking the light on in the closet, I freeze. A spiral staircase curls through the center.
“What the fuck kind of closet needs stairs?” I wrap my fingers around the metal railing and test its weight.
“Admiring your cage?” His voice scrapes from the doorway, and my shoulders lock. Clearly, he isn’t done fighting.
I turn just enough to watch him. “You mean bedroom.”
His proximity has the hairs on the back of my neck lifting, so I put the bed between us like it’s some kind of armor.
“It can be whatever I want it to be.” He pushes off the frame. “Until you prove you can behave.”
My fingers curl into the Egyptian cotton. “While we’re on this subject, where exactly do you sleep?”
His mouth curves and sadness weighs me down. The smirk of a boy I once knew…
“Worried about me, Venom?” He takes another slow step forward, tilting his head. “Worried you’ll wake up with my hands around your throat?”
I keep my feet planted and loosen my grip. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Our history blurs between us until he finally breaks the tension by clicking his tongue.
He tugs the hood of his jersey over his head. “Good to know your smart mouth wasn’t fake.”
My mouth snaps closed.
Just as he reaches the door, he pauses. “Oh, and don’t worry. Your little friends know where you are and they’re on their way.”
Wait. Is he going to lock us all in here?
“Asher, you can’t keep us all here.” My feet start moving me closer to him and I stop, because what the fuck?
He seems to think over his next words.
“Who said anything about keeping them here?” His eyes down my body. “They’re free to come and go as they please.”