Page 150 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
So, as Azrael prepares enormous plates of food for Violette, Winnow, and Gideon, I make myself comfortable against the kitchen wall.
Gideon only has two stools at his kitchen counter—an intentional move considering he doesn’t like having guests outside of Beau and me—so he stands, offering his seat to Violette, and comes to stand next to me, plate in hand.
“You should eat.”
I grunt in decline.
He grunts back in understanding, and proceeds to eat.
The secondhand awkwardness I experience as I shift my attention to Violette and Winnow attempting conversation is borderline excruciating. Even their aesthetics clash: Violette’s dark, gothic look beside Winnow’s sunshine and pink aesthetic.
Azrael in his fancy Italian suit suddenly fills my vision. A plate of food is in his hand. “I can’t decide whether or not to offer you any food considering you sawed my head off a few hours ago, but... it also seems like poor mannersnotto offer you any.”
He hesitates for a moment before finally offering me the plate.
He huffs, rolling his eyes when I don’t move to grab it.
“Look, if we’re constantly at each other’s throats?—”
I glare. His mouth twitches.
“—it’s not going to endear us to her, now is it?”
He waits a beat before painting a blinding smile on his too-perfect face. “At the very least, we can be civil for Violette’s sake.”
There’s an unspoken threat glittering in his eyes.
Gideon goes rigid beside me, gaze flicking up to Azrael.
Violette and Winnow go silent behind him.
I take the plate from him.
“For Violette.”
The sharp smile on his face softens before he nods and turns back towards the kitchen to make himself a plate.
When my attention returns to Violette, she and Winnow are both staring at me. I raise the fork in my hand in acheersgesture and begin shovelling food into my mouth.
My chewing slows as the flavor hits and my mind catches up.
How-fucking-dare-you.
To my complete and utter dismay, it’s inarguably some of the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted.
Fucking cunt.
My eyes slide to Azrael, fully expecting him to give me a cocky, knowing grin. Instead, he just gives me a tight but earnest smile.
Perhaps it’s the darkness and misery I see hiding behind his eyes, but for some reason, it almost makes a tiny bit of my hatred for him dissolve.
Almost.
LEVI
Dressed in nothing but a loose-fitting silk robe, Violette gives Azrael and me a saccharine smile. “Sweet dreams.” She punctuates her words by swiftly shutting the bedroom door before either of us can issue a protest. Azrael and I exchange a look just as a large pile of sheets, blankets, and pillows appears out of thin air and thumps to the ground between us, followed by... pajama pants?
Head unmoving, Azrael’s eyes dip towards the mound of linens. “Would you mind getting that? I’m afraid that if I bend over, I might... lose my head. No pun intended.”
