Page 131 of Craving Venom

“Get. Out.”

I close the space between us until our noses nearly touch and plant my hands on either side of her.

“Make me.”

“You know what?” she hisses. “I can.”

Faith’s glare hardens as her breathing stays uneven, but there’s a new fire in her eyes that pulls a grin from me.

“This isn’t like the shadow room or the back of the stadium where you ambushed me. This is my dorm room. I’m going to walk out and tell the authorities I have an unknown man in my room, invading my personal space.”

For a second, I just stare at her. Then I almost laugh. She’s silly if she thinks some college security guard or a dorm supervisor is going to scare me off, but I let her have her moment.

“Fair enough,” I push back and raise my hands in mock surrender.

Her lips part as if she’s waiting for me to retract the offer, to grab her, to ruin whatever plan she’s trying to form in that pretty little head of hers.

“Go ahead,” I say, nodding toward the door. “Do what you need to do.”

Faith steels herself, then throws the covers off and moves to stand, but stills when her eyes land on the surprise I left for her.

A visible tremor runs through her, her fingers twitch as her arms curl slightly toward herself. She’s one breath away from being hysterical. A wicked smirk tugs at my lips as I push off the bed, giving her space to absorb this nightmare.

“After tonight,” I say, watching the way she trembles under my words, “you won’t let another man look at what’s mine.”

A single tear slips from her eye, trailing slowly down her cheek before it falls, disappearing into the sheets. Her fingers tighten around the fabric, clutching so hard that one of her nail breaks, the pain is so minuscule compared to the sheer horror coursing through her that she doesn’t even react to it.

“Let alone touch it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE BEAUTY

My lungs seize.

My vision blurs.

My stomach drops so fast I nearly throw up right there on the floor because my room is crawling withsnakes.

Hundreds of them.

At least it looks like hundreds of them because my eyes are so full of tears that everything is blurry. I might just be seeing double, hell triple, at this point.

My gaze drifts toward the door, following a low rustle. There’s a large black case on the floor, wedged near the entrance. A light pulses from a slit near the latch. It looks… cool, almost like a large carrying case, but I’m no reptile expert. I don’t know what I’m looking at.

What I do know is—

There are more snakes inside it.

They’re slithering out in slow, unhurried waves, almost as if they’re exploring. Their scales shimmer under the pulsing light, catching flashes of dull olive, deep charcoal, and streaksof muddy tan that twist along their bodies. Some have faint patterns, jagged bands, and others are blotched with mottled patches.

And they’re all heading deeper into the room.

Toward me.

My bare foot is hovering over the floor, because I can’t put it down.

Where the fuck am I supposed to go?

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