Page 37 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
Please, don’t answer that question.
“And, he wants to spend a little time with you.”
My brows pinch together as a boulder of dread plummets to the pit of my stomach. “I’m sorry...What?”
“He’s done a lot for me. For us. And... I owe him.A lot.”
Pulling my hands out of his, I stand, shaking them out to quell the trembling.
“I don’t understand why I have to be dragged into this—what do you owe him? Can’t you just give him money?”
Lucen hangs his head for a moment before rising to his feet. Frustration lines his features. “You don’t understand. A male like him isn’t interested in more money. He’s interested inpeople. Things. Experiences... I tried to offer him everything else I have or can do. He’s...adamant.”
Akash almighty, what is happening?
“I don’t care that he’s adamant! Tell him no!”
Lucen shakes his head as he grabs me by my shoulders. “You don’t understand. A male like him doesn’t take no for an answer.”
I stare up into Lucen’s face, and it suddenly feels like I’m looking into the face of a stranger.
“What does that even mean? What could he possibly do if you tell him no? It’s not like he’s going to kill you!”
The words ring false even as I say them. Lucen’s features tighten in a way that is both helpless and desperate.
“He’s the God of Death, Raia. He very well could.”
“What?”
“He’s dangerous. Impulsive. Whatever horrifying rumours you’ve heard about him, I can promise you they’re true.”
I have heard rumors. They are... cruel.
“And you want to give me to him? Are we really having this conversation?”
“I’m notgivingyou to him. You’ll be in public with him. You would just be going out to dinner and…”
Lucen’s words fade as if he can’t even bear to say them himself.
“Lucen... there has to be another way.”
Lucen scrubs a hand over his beard. “There isn’t, sweetling. I’ve tried.”
The endearment ‘sweetling’ makes my stomach churn as I shake my head in disbelief.
Just when life had begun to redeem itself.
“I can’t, Lucen.”
I can barely leave the house on my own, much less go out on a fucking date and do Akash-knows-what with a god even more notorious than my wretched father.
Lucen’s expression hardens. “Raia, I saved your life when I barely knew you, and I risked my own life to do so. I’ve given you a place to stay... Given you a comfortable life. What we have is beautiful. I want to spend the rest of our lives together, and we can’t do that if I’m dead.”
Tears stream down my cheeks.
A bizarre and unfamiliar melange of guilt, heartbreak, and betrayal winds through me, and I have no idea how to even process it. Outside, my nervous system causes me to shiver even though Lucen’s bedroom is warm. “And if I say no?”
“Then I will be forced to pay the consequences—to what degree I don’t know—but he will come for both of us…”
