Page 37
Chapter 37 of "Tempting Venom" starts unfolding: I canât speakâall I can do is watch as Osborn lets some of the alcohol... Discover more!
I canât speakâall I can do is watch as Osborn lets some of the alcohol drip from his mouth into mine, slipping past my parted lips and burning its way across my tongue.
And heâs watching it, too. His usual smirk is wiped clean, and his eyes light up in a shade so bright, it knocks the air right out of my lungs.
Itâs almostâŚdazzling.
Blinding, even.
âMm. Might consider being on my kneesveryseriously.â He darts out his tongue and runs it along his lower lip, and my eyes follow the motion, my brain short-circuiting for a fraction of a second.
Then the long, grating static disappears, and the outside world comes crashing back in again.
Like a sound bomb, everything filters in at once.
I shove myself away from Osbornâs orbit, practically sending myself flying across the ice, tripping on a few broken sticks and almost falling before I catch myself.
He doesnât move, just watches me closely with a slight tilt of his head and a curve in his annoying lips.
Yo, stop staring at his lips,says my brain.
Just a second,replies my eyes, or the other half of my brain, or whichever fucking incompetent son of a bitch is running the show right now.
My breathing deepens, growing harsher than if I were doing intense cardio, my chest rising and falling in sync with my jumbled nerves.
The ones that even my concoction of alcohol and painkillers didnât seem to quietâI rate this mix three out of five for inconsistency reasons.
âSoâŚâ Osborn trudges toward me ever so calmly, and Iâm watching his every step as if heâll pounce on me at any second.
Which is ridiculous.Ipounce on people, not the other way around.
âIs this a kink?â He stops a few steps away from me and kicks away one of the murdered sticks. âWearing and destroying my stuff, I mean.â
I narrow my eyes, then remember I did put his skates on because I wanted to do a round on the ice while drunk and possibly high. Another decision the me from less than an hour ago thought was genius, and heâs obviously getting disowned as we speak.
Youâre so fired, demon.
âThose skates are too big for you, my prince. Youâll hurt yourself.â
âAw, worried about me? How touching. Hold on, let me shed a few tears for the effort.â I pretend to wipe my eyes.
âWorried? Not really. I just hate cleaning up blood off my ice.â
âDonât flatter yourself. I wouldnât bleedforyou.â
âNo, but youâd bleedonme, wouldnât you?â
He says that in a gruff tone as he takes a step forward. With the skates, weâre about the same height, and I actually get to look down at him.
I hold my ground, refusing to moveâbecause fuck this shitâbut my fingers tighten around the neck of the bottle. âYou sound deranged. Should I file a restraining order?â
âI should be the one filing one of those, considering you delivered yourself into my ice rink in the middle of the night, acting like an epic sore loser.â He reaches a hand to my face.
I slap it away with the bottle, sending droplets of alcohol on the ice. âDonât touch me.â
âWhy?â He tilts his head slowly as if Iâm a puzzle heâs intending to solve. âAfraid of something?â
âYeah, catching a disease from this shithole. Itâs a health hazard to be here, FYI, so if you want donations, all you have to do is become my servant for a week.â
âMy, is that another kink? Tell me more.â