Page 113 of Sweet Venom

“I don’t want you to be scared,” he murmured, his voice husky, “You don’t ever have to feel afraid. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

I smiled up at him. “I know.” And I knew. Azariel might be a lot of things to many people but one thing I know for sure is that he would die for the people he loves and even though he hasn’t said the words… I know.

He loves me.

I rose to my tippy toes in my heels and kissed his nose gently. Our height difference made it almost impossible so the big teddy bear grabbed me and with no effort he had me off the ground and helped me reach his face.

I kissed his nose. I kissed both eyelids and then I kissed his lips softly.

“I’m not afraid of you. I’ve never been afraid of you.” I whispered. He frowned but his eyes softened.

He hadn’t said it but I also knew it worried him. What I thought of who he was behind the bachelor billionaire mask. His past. The darkness that lives inside of him.

“Good.” He spoke.

I laughed softly. “Yeah… good.”

At that moment rain started to fall softly around us, drenching us. We both look up at the sky and then at each other.

“Dance with me,” he said, his voice low, barely audible over the rain.

I blinked, taken aback. “You want to dance in the rain?”

He nodded, a barely-there smirk on his lips.

Okay, then.

I didn’t even hesitate. If he wanted to dance in the rain while we froze our asses off. We’ll do that.

I stepped into his arms, feeling the warmth of his body, the electricity that crackled between us.

His hands were gentle at first, his fingers grazing against my skin as he pulled me close. The rain pelted us, soaking my hair and my pretty gown, but none of that mattered to me right now. All that mattered was the way his hand rested on the small of my back, the way his other hand clasped mine as we swayed slowly to the rhythm of an unspoken music, our bodies in perfect sync, moving like we were the only two people left in the world.

And then the most beautiful sound rings in the night.

He was singing. Azariel was singing a song I know too well.

One of my favorite songs.

“The Way You Look Tonight.”

I looked up at him, heart pounding as his eyes held mine, dark and intense, like he could read every thought in my head.The rain made everything feel surreal, like we were part of a dream, and for a moment, I didn’t care about anything else. Nothing but this moment, this dance with him.

“You’re shaking.” he said, his lips brushing against my ear as we moved. Chills went down my spine at how close his breath was.

“It’s cold.”

He let go of me and took off his suit jacket before gently putting it on me.

Then without saying another word, I was suddenly swept off my feet. Literally. He lifted me effortlessly, his arms strong around me as he carried me toward the carousel. His chest rumbled with quiet laughter as I gasped. “Azariel…what are you doing?” I laughed breathlessly, trying to push the rain-drenched strands of hair from my face.

“Getting you out of the rain,” he said simply.

And with that, he placed me gently inside the carousel, where the lights flickered back on, bathing us both in a soft glow. The lights sparkled in the rain-soaked air, casting shadows on our faces as the carousel slowly began to turn, a soft whirring sound filling the air.

I couldn’t stop smiling, watching him from across the small distance, his eyes soft as he gazed at me. The rain outside poured down harder now, but here, inside the carousel, it was warm, it was safe, it was ours.

It was perfect.

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