Page 115 of Sweet Venom

His cold lips brushed against my ear as he whispered, voice like velvet dipped in danger: “Do you like games, Poe?”

My heart thundered against my ribs.

I leaned into his palm, letting my lips curve into a smirk. “Depends.”

He tilted his head, brow raised, waiting.

“Depends if I’m playing them with you.”

His grin turned lethal and wild. He looked like a goddamn serial killer. Beautiful and terrifying and completely mine.

“Let’s play then,” he said, releasing my throat and stepping back. “Hide and go seek.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

He nodded once.

“Okay…” I whispered, intrigued.

“There’s a twist, though.”

“Of course, there is.”

He leaned in, voice dropping to something dark, sinful and irresistible. “Don’t let me catch you, little fox.”

I swallowed. “Why not?”

His smile was a promise I’d feel for days.

“Because if I do… you won’t ever leave my body again.”

Oh, fuck.

The air thickened. The silence crackled like lightning.

And then, soft as the rain hitting the stones around us, he whispered: “Hide.” And I felt it down to my bones.

So I did.

I turned and bolted, adrenaline pumping like wildfire through my veins. My heels clicked against the wet ground, andI fled into the garden, toward the heart of it— where the fountain and the stone statues waited.

I didn’t just hide.

I wanted to be found and I wanted to be kept.

But I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Never that.

Behind me, I could hear him counting, low and slow.

Like a predator savoring the chase.

I ducked behind the stone statue of me as a warrior, heart racing—not with fear, but with delight.

I did always love hiding in the shadows with him.

The marble was cool against my back, grounding me as I listened for his footsteps. The carousel’s distant music played like a lullaby for the damned.

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