Page 215 of Tempting Venom
My throat is so clogged with emotions, I feel like I’ll start wheezing.
“I’m going to need you to promise,” he says in a nonnegotiable tone.
“F-fine.” I bite my tongue and try to push him away, because why the fuck am I stuttering?
“Come here.” Marcus wraps an arm around me tighter, pulling me down with him, dragging me into the warmth of his chest.
I don’t argue, don’t fight, just let him place my head on his shoulder as his muscular arms envelop me.
This time, he’s hugging me from the front, his chin resting on the top of my head. “Sleep. I’ll be right here.”
Maybe it’s because I’m tired or just need to crash properly after days of insomnia, maybe it’s the feel of Marcus’s embrace or his smell or his breaths.
Maybe it’s everything.
But I slide my arms tightly around his middle, and for the first time in my life, I close my eyes, burrowing my head against someone’s heartbeat instead of my own demons.
This will end badly.
But just for now, I don’tgive a fuck.
30
MARCUS
When I was young, Mom and the grown-ups always marveled at how intelligent and mature I was.
Collected. Drama-free. An adult in a child’s body.
Those are some of the terms they used.
Not sure how it started or why. Mom once mentioned that I was like my father in a sense. She said “smart” so as not to say “cold.”
But I guessI ammy father’s son in that way.
I like my ability to find solutions to problems by spotting patterns and dealing with the source of the issue. It’s how I function, fix cars, and play hockey.
It’s what makesmewho I am.
However, I’m having a slight hiccup with this lethal man who’s draped all over me.
It’s morning now, and Preston’s arms are still wrapped around my waist in a prison-like grip, his head buried in the slope of my neck, and his leg thrown over mine.
He had a nightmare a couple of hours ago, shaking uncontrollably and mumbling words like,Don’t…, Mommy…,andDaddy…
His voice was stripped and raw and slightly choked as ifhe couldn’t breathe. Moisture clung to his lashes, and his lips quivered as he kept calling for his parents.
My chest felt like it was being split in half.
I’ve never heard Preston speak in that completely broken tone before, and the fact that I couldn’t put an end to his misery left me shaken in a deep, harrowing way.
For the first time, I couldn’t find a solution to the source of the issue. Couldn’t reach into his dreams and murder whatever demons lurked there.
All I could do was stroke his hair and his shoulder, being careful not to wake him up, since that seems to tick him off.
This time, I patted his back through it, whispering, “I’m here.”
Even if he didn’t hear me, even if he’d been taken by another force, I wanted him to know I was there for him.
