Page 143 of Beautiful Venom
I let out a mocking laugh that fills the space. “You fell for that? You’re much more naïve than I thought, but then again, you’ve always been a bit slow to catch up to things.”
Her lips tremble.
A gleam appears in her eyes.
I’ve never seen Dahlia cry outside of sex. And while I crave it when I’m fucking her, right now, I want to impale myself.
But I remain silent. She needs to fuck off out of my life.
I need the peace and quiet I used to experience before she came along, and not this constant state of being on the edge of something. What? I don’t even know.
“Are you pushing me away?” she finally says, her voice low, almost weak.
Dahlia doesn’t do weak. Not even when I fuck her like a damn inhumane monster.
My cold voice is completely detached from my thoughts. “See? You’re slow, but you always get there.”
“Why are you doing this? Because I care? Because I want to make sure you’re okay?”
“Because you’re starting to get emotionally involved. I told you that’s off the table. You shouldn’t have allowed me to crush you through those idealistic, gullible feelings.”
She balls her fists even as her chin trembles. “So that’s it?”
“That’s it. You’re officially banished from Vencor. I’m done with you now.”
“Done with me? Liar. You’re a fucking liar, Kane. You’re not done with me. You’rerunningaway because you’re a damn coward who can’t handle your emotions for me. You can’t handle how you let go when you’re around me.” She stabs my chest with a finger. “You can’t fucking handleme!”
The spot she touches burns as if she’s injecting poison into my veins.
I let the mask remain in place and speak in a calm tone. “You can stay on the team if you stop bothering me.”
And then I bypass her.
“You’ll regret this!” she shouts at my back. “I’ll make sure you regret this, you fucking asshole.”
I’m regretting it already.
But it’s better I let her go of my own volition before she’s violently snatched from me.
Dahlia Thorne is a mistake that should’ve never happened.
I was greedy for the first time in my life, and if there’s something I know about greed, it’s that you always pay.
In blood.
25
DAHLIA
Kane has made good on his promise.
He hasn’t looked at me since he ended things a little over a week ago.
Not even once.
Not even when I made sure I was in his field of vision during practice and the head doctor’s checkups and briefings.
So I matched his energy.
