Page 114 of Sweet Venom

I looked at him, watching me so intently as the carousel spun us gently. “This is… it’s beautiful,” I whispered, my words a little lost to the rain.

He didn’t answer at first, just continued to watch me, his eyes locked with mine. The carousel creaked as it turned, moving in slow, steady circles, like the world had slowed down for justus. This moment wasn’t real. Things like this didn’t happen, did they? At least not to me.

And then, his lips parted, the tiniest smile pulling at his mouth. God, that smile. This man. “You’re beautiful,” he said softly, his voice a low murmur, just for me. “The most beautiful.”

I froze for a moment, caught in the weight of his words, in the warmth of his gaze. For a long time, I didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know if I could. I just kept smiling, letting the feeling of being here, with him, wash over me, feeling the warmth in my chest spread. The love in my heart take over every part of my being.

“You’re beautiful.” I whispered shyly.

“No. I’m not, Poe.”

I frowned at that. How can he say that? Doesn’t he see what I see?

When he didn’t say anything just kept staring at me as if I held the secrets of his world, I couldn’t stand it. He had to see himself the way I did. The way I always did.

I reached up and caressed his cheek softly, afraid he would snatch my hand away but he didn’t. He’s actually letting me touch him. My heart swelled.Oh, beautiful prince.

“You’re beautiful to me,” I whispered, voice trembling with the weight of all I felt for him. “Bloody hands, shredded soul and all. You’ll always be the most beautiful man in every galaxy to me.”

Silence followed my confession. A second too long.

Azariel didn’t speak. Just stared down at me as if I were some unsolvable riddle he couldn’t resist decoding.

Rain slicked his black hair. The sky above deepened and hid every star with gray clouds. Time stopped.

We just stood there, our eyes locked, and suddenly the rest of the world disappeared. The only things that existed were therain, the sound of the carousel spinning slow in the distance, the loud beating of our hearts… and him.

And I knew then that I didn’t need anything else.

Not when his gray eyes were all I could see. Not when his devotion was all I felt. Not when his touch made me feel like I was burning alive and still begging for more.

“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed…” I breathed, quoting a phrase from our favorite book. Everything I looked at him, that quote comes to mind.

His expression softened before he leaned down and kissed the bridge of my nose like it was a sacred thing. Like I was sacred.

“I’m glad I kept you,” he murmured, low and possessive.

I let out a laugh clutching the cool metal of the chain around his neck and pulling him closer. “I’m glad you did.”

But the sweet air around us shifted again, and something darker and possessive crept into his eyes. “It’s not normal,” he warned.

I blinked up at him. “What’s not normal?”

“This.” His fingers brushed over my cheek. “The way I feel for you. The things I’ve done. What I am. It should make you run.” He paused. Voice lower. “I’m not normal.”

“And who is?” I whispered, hating that he spoke that way about himself.

If he only knew how many hours I’d spent stalking his every move, memorizing every angle of his face, learning everything I could find about him on the internet. If he knew he would think I was messed up too.

“You say that,” he said quietly, “because you don’t know. You haven’t seen?—”

I silenced him with a kiss, gentle but unrelenting, my lips brushing against his like a promise wrapped in madness. I don’t care. I’m too far gone for this man to be spooked by his darkness.

“Then show me,” I whispered into his mouth.

And that was all he needed.

His hand came up, wrapping around my neck—not to hurt, but to claim. His grip was possessive, spine-tingling, breath-stealing. Heart-owning.

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