Page 113
Chapter 113 of "Tempting Venom" starts the action: Aweek later, I drop by Vipers Arena to watch a hockey game.Okay, thatās a lie.Iām... Find out what happens!
Aweek later, I drop by Vipers Arena to watch a hockey game.
Okay, thatās a lie.
Iām here to watch Preston.
Got myself a front-row seat as wellāor more like asked Serena for it.
Thereās a hum in the crowd, a thrilled tension that wraps around my bones as he leads a flash counterattack. Prestonās form is nothing short of perfection as he swerves between the lines of defense as if theyāre invisible, then scores.
People on either side of me jump up and scream in excitement as the score changes.
The Vipersā team members crowd Preston, patting him on the helmet and shoulders, clashing their sticks with his as he does a small dance and points at the crowd. He bows theatrically, smiling widely, and I can see the dimples hollowing his cheeks.
Wow.
This smile is a replica of the one he wore when I first met him in Dadās garden.
The carefree, innocent smile.
My thumb taps against my middle finger as I soak it in,staying completely motionless, worried that if I blink, Iāll miss it.
Itās the same smile. The same ethereal, beautiful energy from back then. No anger or violence or need to always stay in control.
Thereās justā¦joy.
And Iāmenamored.
Completely caught in its web and refusing to be freed.
I want that.
No. Ineedthat.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Now I understand why I keep pulling on his strings. Itās not only because I want to touch him, though I do crave him in ways that feel overwhelming at times, but itās because ofthis.
The scene right here. The way he smiles so freely, moves so fluidly, and is justā¦himself.
Itās like seven-year-old Preston in that garden. The one I was quietly drawn to at first sight. The one I yearned to trap in the palm of my hand.
All this time, I thought that version of him was indefinitely gone, but heās not. He just doesnāt show up in front of me anymore, but he does peek through in his comfort zone.
On the ice.
I guess thatās why Iāve gravitated toward him all these years when weāve played against each other. Heāll have this smooth, hyper energy, and Iāll see my prince from fifteen years ago and want to fucking devour him.
Like that game three years ago. The first in the college season since I joined the Wolves and he joined the Vipers.
āYou all right, Osborn?āA heavy arm drops on my shoulders as our captain, Stevenson, stands beside me. āTheVipersā arena is huge, and their crowd wonāt shut up, but consider them background noise and play the best you can.ā
I nod once. āTheir numbers donāt matter. Weāll win.ā
He laughs, then stares behind us. āCoach, this one is ambitious!ā
Why arenāt you?
I want to ask, but donāt, because Stevenson says, āWill be a rough game, freshman, but you got the right spirit.ā