Sweet Venom by Rina Kent (Vipers Book 2) Read Free Novel Chapter 23

As I’m about to pocket my phone while walking out of my building, it pings.

I frown, my fingers gripping the phone tight.

This can’t be…Julian, right? For some reason, this seems way beneath him. That man would threaten me face to face or on the phone without having to resort to these tricks.

Besides, Kane clearly said Julian is taken care of. Not sure how, but it’s been a couple of weeks since I returned to Graystone Ridge with Dahlia, and I’ve had no contact with Julian, so I believe Kane.

From my understanding, and all the smart-looking people I saw surrounding Julian when I signed that contract, he’s powerful enough to eliminate me without threatening me.

Unless there’s a benefit in not eliminating me?

My head slams into a solid wall, and I recoil. “Sorry…”

The word bunches up in my throat when I look up from the phone and my eyes crash with the deep dark-browns from last night’s erotic dream.

And it was a dream.

It could have only been a dream.

“Do you lack the ability to watch where you’re going?”

The rumble of his voice drags over my skin like sandpaper and silk all at once. A shiver rushes through me, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Jude’s so tall, so broad, his presence consumes the space and air around us. The black leather jacket strains over his shoulders, stretched taut by muscle, the fabric creaking slightly as he shifts. The T-shirt beneath it does nothing to hide the sharp ridges of his torso and the way his barely contained biceps flex.

But it’s his face that makes my pulse stutter and my fingers tremble at forbidden dreams I refuse to acknowledge.

He’s a grumpy, good-looking mess of closed-off but dangerously captivating features. Sharp jaw, full lips pressed in a firm line, and dark brows drawn together in a look that hovers between annoyance and something I can’t read.

The intensity of his dark gaze presses against my ribs, my skin, and even though we’re fully clothed and in public, it’s like he’s stripping me bare.

Like last night.

No. Absolutely not.

I step back, hide my phone, and start to sidestep him. I’m simply not getting myself into the Jude mess after I finally escaped him.

My stupid fantasies that would get me killed don’t matter⁠—

A strong hand wraps around my arm and drags me back. The air whooshes out of my lungs as I stand in front of him, swaying slightly before I ground myself again.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from you.” I twist my arm, trying to set myself free, but he only tightens his hold.

“You sure about that?” There’s a glint in his usually closed-off features, a rush of brightness and intensity that puts me on edge.

I still lift my chin. “Yes. How about you continue to ignore me like you have so far?”

“How can I ignore you when we have so much unfinished business?”

My lips part at the way he grunts the word unfinished. He steps into my space now, and I inhale his cologne that sets my skin ablaze.

Like it did last night when I was touching myself as the dream version of him watched me.

The orgasm was real, but I refuse to believe anything else was. I just…can’t.

“Kane said he gave you the list in exchange for removing me from it. You should’ve killed me that time when you put Mario in a coma.”

His jaw clenches, the pads of his fingers tightening around my upper arm. “You still think I attacked you?”

My lips tremble because his rage is seeping into my bones. I shouldn’t even feel his rage, let alone be affected by it, but I still lift a shoulder. “I told you. That’s what Julian said.”

He releases a humorless bark of laughter. “Julian said I attacked you and you believed him, then proceeded to become his fucking lab rat?”

“He said he’d give me and Dahlia a new start away from you.”

“Is that new start anywhere to be seen? Because you just came back right into my claws, Violet. Three months of slumbering did you no favors.”

“Well, they kept me away from you and your suffocating attention.”

I realize I’ve spoken too much when he narrows his eyes to slits. “Right. Risking death is definitely worth escaping me.”

“You would’ve killed me anyway.”

“If I wanted to kill you, no one would’ve been able to stop me, Violet. Not Julian and not fucking Kane. The only reason you’re not buried six feet under is because I chose not to put a bullet in your pretty little head. Are we clear?”

My lips part because he sounded…offended? Maybe I’m being naïve again, but I believe Jude over Julian. It’s probably because Jude never lied to me, and he’s too straightforward to play games.

I swallow. “Am…I still a target?”

“No.”

For some reason, that doesn’t send relief through me. “Then why are you here?”

He lifts a brow. “I told you I’d see you tomorrow last night, remember?”

My heart stutters, thudding harshly behind my rib cage.

No. No, no, no, no…

“That was not… It’s not…” I stop talking because I’m sweating, my ears are heating, and my eyes are so wide, I think they’ll bulge out.

“It’s not what?” He cocks his head to the side. “You swallowed my cum like a good girl after you finger-fucked your tiny cunt for me⁠—”

I place both hands on his mouth as I study my surroundings, and I feel his lips curving beneath my palms.

“Shut up.” I drop my hands. “It was just a dream.”

“Sure. Let’s call it that when I shove my cock into your tiny cunt the next time.”

“Stop that, Jude.”

“Mmm.” There’s a glint. No, a smile. How the hell does this man even know how to smile?

He’s done it twice now, and it’s giving me an existential crisis.

“I like the sound of my name in your voice.”

My lips part, but I clear my throat. “Just…forget what happened last night. I thought it was a dream.”

“Do you dream about me a lot?”

I step back, or try to anyway, because his grip forbids me from creating any form of distance. He’s so close, and his scent is so overwhelming; my body is reacting, and my brain is a jumbled mess.

“Tell me, Violet. Am I the fantasy man you write about and dream of?”

He read my journal.

Damn it, of course the freaking stalker would.

God. This is so embarrassing.

If the earth could split open and swallow me whole, that would be awesome. Thanks.

“Did you touch yourself to memories of me every night?” His low voice sends shivers through me.

Why the hell is it so hot in freaking February?

“Please. I don’t even like you,” I say in my calmest tone.

“Didn’t stop you from shattering to pieces in front of me.”

“I was thinking of someone else,” I lie through my teeth.

Something curious happens then.

A flash.

A tightening of his jaw and a gradual darkening of his eyes. “Someone else?”

His voice sounds impossibly deep, like it’s ringing from the wildest corner of hell.

“Yeah,” I whisper.

“Who is this someone else?”

“No one you know.”

“I know everyone in your fucking life, Violet.”

“That’s not something you should be proud of.”

“Don’t change the subject. Who is it?”

“Don’t be desperate.” I pause, biting my lower lip. “Just leave me alone.”

“So you can keep picturing someone else while you touch yourself at night?”

“What if I do?”

His lips lift in a snarl. “There will be no one but me, Violet. Your life is mine, and so is your fucking body. You hear me?”

“Yeah, well, you can have neither my heart nor my soul.”

He’s angry.

No, he has that enraged expression he wears when he’s about to beat someone up on the ice or snap a hockey stick in two.

Why the hell am I provoking him, really?

Because I’m embarrassed and he’s pissing me off, that’s why.

He leans down, his mouth so close to mine, I can feel his minty breath on my sensitive skin. “I will have your fucking everything, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart. I’m not your anything.”

It’s a challenge to keep looking him in the eye, but I do, refusing to let him stomp all over me again.

Maybe because I already faced death, but Jude will no longer stop me from living my life.

“We’ll see about that.” He drags me behind him to where he parked his huge bike.

“What are you doing?” I try to shake off his grip, but fighting Jude’s strength is like going against a damn bull.

He offers me the helmet. “Hop on.”

“No, I won’t. I have school.”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“No, thanks.”

“Hop the fuck on, Violet. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I won’t—” My words end on a yelp when he grabs my hips and lifts me up, then sets me on the bike as if I’m a rag doll.

Before I can say anything, he shoves the helmet on my head and then puts on his own and drives off.

The distance to campus isn’t that far since the place Kane bought for me is about a twenty-minute walk, but with the way Jude’s speeding, I feel like I’m fighting for my life.

And I have to wrap my unsteady arms around his waist, or I’ll fall.

The moment I try to loosen them, he speeds up.

We’re in front of the human sciences building at GU in three minutes flat, and judging by the annoyed breath he releases, it seems he doesn’t like the fact that we arrived in no time.

I’m ready to just disengage and disappear into school.

When I hop off on unsteady feet, I’m painfully aware of the multiple eyes flashing toward us. Whispers, stares, people stopping and looking, some getting their friends’ attention.

Gossip.

Words.

Hate.

Shit. It’s like Mama’s death all over again. Being the center of bad attention, of malicious stares and whispered words.

It’s excruciatingly painful for people who don’t know you to assume and spout rumors about you just for their entertainment. Almost as if I’m no longer human and just an object in their eyes.

My fingers shake as I try to undo the strap of the helmet.

God damn it.

I forgot that Jude is kind of worshiped at GU and in this town as the hockey god and source of violent entertainment. They idolize him and the Vipers as if they’re immortals amongst humans.

Since he showed up with a girl on his bike, it’s naturally put me and my shabby hoodie and jeans under scrutiny.

I truly dislike having my body be the center of attention. It makes me feel on edge.

My nail catches on the strap and my hand slips off, but before I can try again, bigger, stronger hands wrap around mine, unclasp the strap, and he pulls the helmet over my head.

Jude’s touch is disturbingly gentle as he removes the strands of hair that got stuck to my glasses and tucks them behind my ear.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, seeing some people pull out their phones. “They’re watching.”

“I don’t give a fuck. From today on, you’re mine to do with as I please, Violet.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

“No. It’s payback.”

I let out a sigh. “You still didn’t forget about revenge after all. Did you disappear after I woke up from the coma to give me a sense of safety before you barged back in? Am I a punching bag for your frustration and anger issues?”

“Think whatever the fuck you want. The only fact that remains is that I’m claiming you, and there will be no one else.”

And then his lips crash against mine, devouring me. His hand rests possessively on my neck as he drags me out of my tiny bubble for the entire campus to see.

“Is it true?”

I wince as Dahlia pins me with a stare. We’re at a local restaurant at her insistence, and, honestly, I’d rather just eat at the cafeteria, but all the stares were becoming unbearable.

Hell, I was even cornered by a few girls and guys who demanded to know my relationship status with Jude, but when I said there was no relationship, they didn’t believe me.

The chatter around us heightens as Dahlia keeps staring at me.

“It’s not what you think,” I whisper after I swallow a mouthful of the falafel wrap I’m eating.

“Uh…then what is this?” She pulls out her phone and shows me a picture posted on some social media platform.

Of Jude kissing me.

Damn.

He has me by the throat, my glasses are hiked up my nose, and I have a hand on his chest because I was trying to push him, but that doesn’t show in the photo.

It just seems that he’s devouring me, plain and simple.

And he was. My lips were tingling the entire morning.

Damn him.

“Oh my God.” Dahlia puts her phone away, her face paling. “Did he force you? Is he still threatening you? Because I’ll have Kane⁠—”

“It’s not that. Don’t make a big deal out of it, okay?”

“Considering he intended to kill you after he stalked you, yeah, I say I’ll make the biggest deal out of it. So what if he’s scary? I can be scary too or…like, Kane can be.”

I smile and take a sip out of my ginger ale. “Don’t be the one who comes between best friends, Dahl.”

“Well, if his best friend is bothering my sister, I’ll have words. Lots of them.”

God, she’s so fearless. I love that about her to bits.

But I’m also scared for her safety, and I definitely don’t want her to be on Jude’s shit list. Or for Kane and Jude to have a falling out because of me. It’s why I refused to tell her what happened after I woke up from the coma, but truly, I dislike hiding things from Dahlia, and she’s also persistent, so I ended up telling her about the stalking and why Jude came into my life.

In pure Dahlia fashion, she threatened to kill Jude, then she blamed herself for not noticing, which is the whole reason I didn’t confide in her in the first place. I hate that she still blames herself for my coma no matter how many times I made it clear that it’s not her fault.

I wish I was back to working long shifts at HAVEN and worrying about each month’s bills.

Because Jude’s attention is not only murdering my invisibility, but it’s also provoking a side of me that terrifies me.

I know he’ll keep his word.

And despite the fear, the trepidation, and everything in between, a part of me is looking forward to that.

“It’s just complicated,” I say truthfully.

Dahlia stops with a French fry halfway to her mouth. “What do you mean by complicated?”

“I don’t think Jude would hurt me.”

“But you were so scared at the mere mention of his name after you woke up.”

“It’s…because he puts me on edge, but it’s not necessarily bad. I’ll figure it out, okay? Just don’t bring Kane into this.”

“I still don’t like him roaming around you. I went through hell during the time you were in a coma.” Her lips tremble. “I don’t ever want to lose you again, Vi.”

“You won’t.” I stroke her hand. “I promise.”

Being in that coma made me realize what really matters. It’s not my fractured childhood or my shitty past. It’s not the broken personality Mama gave me or my attempts to bury it all.

It’s having the luck to meet Dahlia and becoming each other’s family. It’s helping people like Laura and Karly—that I paid a visit to the other day. It’s finding my wings through my small embroidered pieces that many people seem to love.

It’s surviving one day at a time so I can see Dahlia smiling and happy.

I don’t ever want to be the reason for her pain like when I was in the coma.

If it’s for her, I think I can hold on a bit tighter and just stop being a burden so she doesn’t overthink my safety or well-being.

“Why, if it isn’t Dallas.”

A large guy slides onto the chair next to my sister, throwing a hand over her shoulder. Preston.

He’s dazzlingly handsome and seems to brighten up the scene with his presence—nothing about his beauty is concealed or subtle or dark like Jude.

Stop thinking about him.

“It’s Dahlia.” She glares at him, but he’s not looking at her as he steals one of her fries and smiles at me with those deep dimples creasing his cheeks.

For some reason, he looks so…familiar. Though I’m pretty sure I only saw him on TV before and only ‘met’ him the other day. “Hi, Violet. You still didn’t give me an answer to my question.”

“What question?” Dahlia stares between us. “And since when do you know Vi?”

“Since now. Listen…” He eats more of her fries as she tries and fails to push him off. “I’m like the prodigy child and totally the best catch when compared to Kane and Jude—and yes, that means you two obviously don’t have taste. But even though I wasn’t picked, I need to make sure no one is playing my friends. You know, some medieval code of honor or some shit. Point is, you need to have my approval, which you still didn’t completely earn, by the way, Daniella.”

“Well, let me just drop to my knees and beg real quick.”

“That would be an ideal start.” He takes her drink, and she grabs it, too.

“Just order your own!”

“But I want this.”

“You don’t always get what you want.”

“Of course I do, Delilah.” Some of the drink spills on his hand, and I push mine in his direction, removing the straw.

Dahlia loves her soft drink more than I do, so I’d rather he have mine.

“Aw, you’re so nice, Vee. I can see why Callahan is obsessing.” He grins, gulping half of it in one go. “He and I always had a soft spot for the kind ones. Comes with all the love we totally didn’t receive as children. Oh, and the mommy issues. Big man and I share that in spades.”

“Mommy issues?” I ask, leaning closer on my chair.

If I want to handle Jude better, I need to learn more about him, and there’s no better source of information than Preston.

“I’m glad you asked.” He places both elbows on the table. “He was the parent to his mom. She was a fucking mess, both mentally and physically, but the times she was all right, she showered him with love, and Jude chooses to completely erase the bad in his mind and only keep the soft, kind-natured version of her.” He taps the side of his head. “If you look closely, there’s a scar on the right side of his head. Because she tried to kill herself and he stopped her, so she hit him with a vase there. If it weren’t for Julian, she might have killed him. Scary stuff, right?”

“That is scary,” Dahlia whispers.

“Oh, you’re still here, Dinah?” He sighs, then grins. “I was just kidding about everything I just told you.”

Something tells me that’s not the case.

He’s not joking.

All this time, I thought Jude mourned his mother because she was his light in the darkness, but what Preston just revealed makes me question something.

Does he feel a toxic attachment to her like I do with Mama?