Page 118 of Sweet Venom

I looked up at him, eyes wide with innocence I didn’t feel. Not with the way I was wrapped around him. Not with the way my touch lingered on that chain like a silent command for him to own me.

“Good,” I whispered, letting the word drag out between us like a secret.

Then, softer—“Now… can you do something for me?”

His grin deepened, eyes darkening with interest. He dipped his head lower, so close I could feel his breath against my lips.

“I’d give you anything. You just have to ask.”

He said it in a way that didn’t feel like a promise but like a vow. And I knew in my heart that he meant every word.

I’m so lost in this man, I don’t know where he starts and I end.

I leaned in until my mouth was barely an inch from his ear, and whispered, slow and wicked. “Ruin me.”

He froze. Not in hesitation—no.

In reverence.

As if I’d just handed him the stars and dared him to set them on fire for me.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his pupils blown wide, the rain tracing down his face like it worshiped him too. Something primal flickered in his eyes.

Then came the sound.

A low growl—deep in his chest, rough, possessive. It vibrated through me, all the way to my core.

“Gladly.”

And then, without another word, he spun me around.

Fast and firm like he owned me.

My hands caught against the cold marble of the statue behind me and my front pressed flush to it. My breath hitched at the sudden shift.

Azariel stepped in, pressing his hard chest to my back, body aligning with mine perfectly, like we’d been carved from the same stone.

His hands slid around my hips, holding me in place. His tempting lips brushed my ear, his voice dark and almost possessed. “You want to be ruined by me, Little fox?”

I nodded, exhaling softly as I tilted my head to the side, baring my neck for him like an offering. “Yes.”

He chuckled against my skin and touched the necklace he gifted me— the one that matched his. “Then don’t move.”

His hand slowly slid up my spine, fingers splayed, anchoring me in place like I was his to touch, to keep, to destroy beautifully.

And I was. We both knew that much.

I held on to the edge of the statue, heart beating like a loud drum under crying skies.

Because I knew this wasn’t just a game anymore. This was so much more.

This was me surrendering to him.

This was him worshiping me in the dark.

And I knew that he was about to make sure I never forgot who I belonged to.

His breath ghosted over my neck, warm and intoxicating, while one of his hands held me firm against the cold stone of the statue.

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