Chapter Four
Venom
I stepped into the dimly lit room, the floorboards creaking softly under my heavy boots. The air hung thick with tension, scented with a hint of leather and lavender. Ridley stood by the window, her back to me, her petite silhouette outlined in the fading light of sunset. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her.
As I approached, my gaze fell on her cut draped over a nearby chair. The worn leather called to me, and I found myself drawn to it. My fingers traced the words etched across the back: “Property of Venom.” An unexpected surge of possessive pride coursed through me, primal and fierce.
“Ridley…”
She turned, gaze meeting mine. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”
She moved closer. The fading light caught the shimmering strands of her hair. “I still remember the day you gave me that.”
My brow furrowed as I struggled to recall the memory. “Wish I could remember.”
Ridley’s hand came to rest on my arm, her touch electric even through the fabric of my shirt. “Everything all right? You seem… distracted.”
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to pull her against me. “Just thinking about how right it looks. You, wearing my mark.”
Mischief danced in her eyes. “Oh? And here I thought you should be the one wearing my mark.”
A chuckle rumbled in my chest, surprising me with its ease. “That so? You planning on staking your claim, little girl?”
Ridley’s fingers trailed up my arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake. “Maybe I already have.”
I reached out, my fingers grazing the worn leather of the cut. The texture was familiar, yet foreign. Each groove and imperfection told a story I couldn’t quite remember. A war raged within me -- the urge to claim, to possess, battling against the uncertainty of my fractured memories.
“It feels… right,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “But I can’t shake this feeling that I don’t deserve it. Don’t deserve you.”
Ridley turned to face me fully, her eyes meeting mine with a mixture of vulnerability and unwavering strength. The charged silence between us was palpable, heavy with unspoken emotions and the weight of our shared history.
“You’ve always deserved me. Even when you didn’t think so.”
I searched her face, drinking in every detail. The slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes, the determined set of her jaw. This woman knew me, inside and out. And despite everything, she was still here.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, my fingers still lingering on the cut.
Ridley took a step closer, eliminating the space between us. The warmth of her body called to me.
“Because I know you,” she whispered, her breath hot against my skin. “The good, the bad, and everything in between. And I chose you, just as you chose me.”
The air crackled with tension, years of shared history and desire threatening to ignite. I cupped her face in my hands, torn between the urge to claim her lips and the need to unravel the mystery of our past.
“Tell me,” I growled, my thumb tracing the curve of her cheek. “Tell me everything.”
I searched Ridley’s face for answers. The warmth of her presence enveloped me. It was familiar, comforting, grounding me in the reality of our connection.
Ridley broke the charged silence with a soft, teasing smile. “You know,” she said, her voice lilting with amusement, “I still think you should have gotten one that said ‘Property of Ridley’ instead.”
I raised an eyebrow, feeling a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth despite myself. “Oh yeah? And why’s that?”
She reached out, her small hand resting on my chest. The touch sent a jolt through me. “Because like I told you, I was the one who claimed you, tough guy. Not the other way around.”
I chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. “Is that so?” I wondered what I’d thought of her sass when she’d first done that. The idea of this vibrant, outgoing woman staking her claim on me -- a hardened biker -- was both amusing and oddly appealing.
“You bet your ass it is,” Ridley shot back, her eyes dancing with challenge and affection. “Of all things for you not to remember. Forgetting how I swept you off your feet? You’re missing out on some great memories.”
I leaned in closer, drawn by her magnetic presence. “Why don’t you remind me, darlin’?” I growled, my voice low and husky.
I wrapped my arms around Ridley, my calloused hands encircling her waist as I pulled her into a tight embrace. Her petite frame fit perfectly against my muscular body, like two pieces of a long-lost puzzle finally reuniting. The heat of her skin seeped through the thin fabric of her shirt, igniting a spark, one I wasn’t sure I could ignore this time. I’d managed to hold back, but now…
“Jesus,” I muttered, my breath catching as Ridley pressed closer. Her curves molded to me, soft where I was hard, yielding where I was unyielding.
Ridley’s fingers traced the lines of my face, her touch both familiar and thrillingly new. “You feel it too, don’t you?” she whispered, her gaze searching mine. “This connection between us?”
Instead of answering, I leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss that was both tender and demanding. The taste of her -- sweet with a hint of the coffee she had drunk earlier -- exploded on my tongue. I groaned, deepening the kiss as Ridley tangled her fingers in my salt-and-pepper hair, tugging gently.
The world fell away, narrowing down to just the two of us. My hands roamed over Ridley’s back, relearning every curve and dip of her body. She responded in kind, her touch setting my skin ablaze even through my leather cut.
“Ridley,” I breathed against her lips, my voice rough with need. “I might not remember everything, but this… us… it feels right.”
* * *
Ridley
I pulled back slightly, my chest heaving as I caught my breath. My eyes locked onto Venom’s. A flush crept into my cheeks, and my lips were swollen from our kisses. I saw the way he stared at me, captivated, and the look of possessiveness in his gaze.
“It’s right,” I murmured, running my fingers through his beard. “It’s always been right between us, Venom.”
He cupped my face in his calloused hands, his thumbs brushing over my cheekbones. The tenderness of his touch surprised me, but it felt natural, as if his body remembered what his mind couldn’t.
“I can’t remember anything,” he admitted. “But kissing you… holding you like this… it feels like coming home. Some part of me knows you’re mine, even if I can’t recall the details.”
My eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but I couldn’t help the radiant smile that broke free. “And I’m yours,” I whispered fiercely. “Always have been, always will be.”
He leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes and breathing me in.
“Tell me,” he murmured, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Tell me more about us, about our life together. I need all the details. Every single thing I’ve forgotten.”
My lips curved into a mischievous smile. “How about I show you instead? Maybe you’ll remember if we keep going.”
Venom’s breath caught as I slowly began to undress, my movements deliberate and seductive. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from me, drinking in every inch of exposed skin. The soft glow of the setting sun painted my body in warm hues, highlighting my curves.
“Christ, woman,” he growled, his hands clenching at his sides. “You’re a Goddamn vision.”
My laughter was low and throaty. “And you’re overdressed, big man,” I teased, reaching for him.
As I pulled him down onto the bed, our bodies fit together perfectly, as if we’d been molded for each other. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.
“You smell like home,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my skin.
I arched against him, my fingers tangling in his hair. “Then come home to me.”
Venom groaned against my throat, his breath hot and ragged as his hands roamed over my body with a desperate sort of reverence. I felt the tremor in his fingers, the unspoken emotions weighing heavy between us. He might not remember every moment we’d shared, but his body did. His touch was instinctive, knowing exactly where to linger, where to press harder, where to make me gasp.
His name spilled from my lips as I arched beneath him, back bowing as he pressed kisses down the line of my neck, his beard scraping deliciously over sensitive skin. It wasn’t just lust -- we had that in spades -- but it was deeper. It was familiarity, history, a love forged through battles and scars.
I pulled at his shirt, shoving it up until he finally helped me strip it away. The moment his bare skin met mine, he let out a guttural sound that sent a shiver down my spine. His hands splayed across my back, holding me tightly as if grounding himself in my warmth.
“Tell me,” he rasped against the shell of my ear as he laid me back against the mattress. “Tell me how it was between us.” His lips found mine again, slow and consuming.
I tangled my fingers in his hair, reveling in the way he responded to my touch. “It was intense,” I whispered against his mouth. “Passionate. Like wildfire -- sometimes dangerous, but always unstoppable.”
Venom exhaled sharply, as if recognizing something familiar in my words. His gaze locked onto mine, dark and searching. “And now?”
I slid a hand down his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my palm. “Now?” A slow smile played on my lips as I pulled him back down to me. “Now it’s still burning.”
* * *
Venom
My lips crashed against hers, the taste of her intoxicating, pulling me into a tide I didn’t want to fight. She was right -- this wasn’t a flicker or some fleeting heat. It was an inferno, roaring between us, consuming rational thought and leaving only the raw edges of who we were together.
The leather cut still draped over the chair caught my eye as I pulled back just enough to rest my forehead against hers, my chest rising and falling in tandem with hers. I grazed her swollen bottom lip with my thumb. “Burning’s dangerous. Uncontrolled fire tears everything apart.”
Ridley cupped my jaw, her fingers brushing through the silver streaks in my beard as if anchoring me to this moment. “Not all fire destroys,” she said softly. “Some of it purifies. Some of it builds something stronger from the ashes.”
Her words twisted something deep inside me -- both a comfort and a challenge I hadn’t realized I needed. Her hands trailed down my arms, over skin and muscle that jumped under her touch, until she reached the tattoos marking my forearms: reminders of loyalty, brotherhood, and scars that would never fade.
“I used to think you’d burn me alive,” she murmured against my throat, pressing a kiss there that had me clenching my fists to keep control. “But instead, you gave me warmth in a world that was so damn cold.”
I sucked in a breath and tilted her chin up with one hand so I could see all of her -- the flushed cheeks, those captivating eyes glowing like embers under their own firelight. “You talk like I’m some kind of savior. I know myself well enough to realize I’ve fucked up more times than either of us could probably count.”
Ridley arched into me slightly, pinning me with a look equal parts fierce and tender. “Yeah, you’ve screwed up,” she said boldly, tracing a finger along the edges of one of my scars before dragging it up to rest on my chest over my hammering heart. “And so have I. It’s not about perfection -- it’s about fighting for what we are.”
Something inside me cracked wide open at her words -- a floodgate releasing emotions I couldn’t begin to name but wanted to drown in anyway. I crushed her against me again in a kiss that spoke more than my words ever could.
But even as desire coiled tighter between us -- a hot blur of hands and lips -- there was an ache beneath it all. The pieces of myself still missing gnawed at me like shadows whispering just out of reach.
I stood and quickly stripped off my clothes, not giving myself a chance to second-guess my decision. We were married, even if I didn’t remember making her mine. If Ridley wanted me, then she’d have me. Maybe she was right and being together like this would jog my memory.
She held her hand out to me. “I won’t break. You’ve never hurt me, and I know you won’t start now.”
I covered her body with mine, and she parted her thighs, welcoming me. My cock brushed against her pussy, and I felt how wet and ready she was. My heart thundered in my chest, and I held her gaze, as I slowly sank into her. The feel of her wrapped around my cock had me closing my eyes and fighting to hold back a groan. Fuck me .
“Yes! Don’t stop,” she said, clawing at my back. “It’s been far too long. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Then I’m all yours,” I said, claiming her lips once more as I pounded into her. Every stroke felt like pure bliss as I sank into her heat. The soft sounds she made only spurred me on. I couldn’t have held back if I wanted to.
It was going to end all too soon, but I felt her tighten around me, and she was coming. Her release coated my cock and I took her harder, deeper. I felt my balls draw up and then I was coming, filling her up. She cried out as she came again, and I realized that even if I didn’t remember her, this felt incredibly familiar. Some part of me recognized her.
I collapsed beside Ridley, pulling her close as our heartbeats slowly returned to normal.
Ridley curled into me, her head resting on my chest. “I love you,” she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. “I’ve always loved you, Venom. No matter what.”
I tightened my arms around her, a lump forming in my throat. I might not remember anything, but in that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that this woman was my whole world.
I traced idle patterns on Ridley’s skin as the afterglow settled over us. The fading light cast long shadows across the room, giving everything a dreamlike quality. I inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of her hair mingled with the lingering musk of our lovemaking. And I knew that’s what it had been.
As we lay there, bodies entwined and hearts beating in sync, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. The future might be uncertain, but with Ridley by my side, I knew we could face anything. Together, we would rediscover our love, one memory at a time.