Chapter 24 – IVY
Chapter
Twenty-Four
IVY
Of course I was going to follow him. In what world did he really think I was just going to go back to the ballroom and wait for him. But now I’m regretting it, because what the actual fuck.
My stomach drops and I suddenly feel a flood of nausea run through me as I stare at him and Caroline. This is not what I expected to see. I’m not sure what I expected actually, but it sure as fuck wasn’t Venom getting his dick sucked by his past assaulter.
I meet his eyes, and he has the nerve to look remorseful.
My eyes begin to water, but I hold back the tears. I just don’t understand. This is so fucked up. I shake my head at him and turn from the room, stalking down the hall, intent on strolling out of here and going who knows where, just away from this and him.
“Ivy! Ivy, wait!” Venom’s voice cuts from behind me. He catches my arm, and I spin on him, slamming my fist hard into his chest.
“Leave me alone!”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Oh really? Your dick wasn’t just in her fucking mouth? Are you still playing games with me?! You tell me you want my heart and then you fuck another bitch’s mouth, and her of all people? Do you have feelings for her?” I ask incredulously.
“Let's go.” He grabs my arm again and pulls me back toward the room, but I yank free and push at his chest as hard as I can.
“No. No fucking way! I’m not having some kind of twisted sit down with you two. Fuck that.”
He steps face-to-face with me, nostrils flaring.
“Shut that pretty mouth, darlin’, and listen or rather…
watch.” Then he effortlessly throws me over his shoulder and takes me back into the room.
He sets me down and locks the door behind us.
I look over to Caroline who now lies collapsed on the floor, grabbing at her mouth and throat.
Venom saunters over to her and squats beside her.
“How do I really taste nowadays, dear ol’ Caroline?” She tries to speak but only red foam bubbles from her mouth as she spasms on the floor.
Oh my god.
She reaches for him, and he swats her hand away like a pesky fly. “You don’t get to touch me anymore. You’re despicable. I’ve waited for this moment since the first time you laid a finger on me. I wanted you to die the same way you killed the boy in me.”
Caroline’s tear-stricken eyes widen as she chokes, her body convulsing as she claws at her throat, searching for air. Venom stands and turns his back to her, walking toward me as she finally falls still. Dead.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. I needed to handle this my way,” he says, avoiding eye contact.
“I… I thought—”
He meets my eyes. “It’s alright.” He pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me and kisses my forehead. “There’s only one woman I crave.”
I shake my head and look back to the dead woman on the floor. “You laced your dick with poison?” I ask in surprise.
“A special little concoction I made just for her.”
“That is twisted as fuck.”
He grins. “Come now, darlin’. I’m starving.”
Before making our way back to the main event, Venom stops at a bathroom to clean himself up.
Once we enter back into the ballroom, I expect everyone to look at us, to know we—I use the word we loosely—just did something terrible, but everything is as it was, everyone unaware that one of the night's hosts is dead upstairs after choking on a poisonous cock.
After picking off more hors d’oeuvres together, Venom disappears for a bit, promising he would be right back.
I sit and glance around the room. My eyes land on the same man I saw earlier in the far corner, the one with the wolf mask, and once again, his attention is already on me.
Goosebumps pebble across my skin. I look away for a moment before checking once more to see if he’s still staring.
He is.
Something about him seems strangely familiar.
I shift in my seat, the unease growing.
Someone approaches me from the side and says something over the music. “Cherry.”
My head snaps to him but the rest of my body stiffens. “What did you just say?”
“I said, here’s your cherry bomb, miss,” the waiter says as he hands me the drink. “Extra cherries.”
My brows pinch. “I didn’t order anything,” I say as I accept the drink.
“Curtesy of the gentleman over there.” He points behind me and then walks away.
A cold prickle crawls down my spine, sharp as icicles, as I turn to find him—the man in the wolf mask. Or someone else. My gaze darts frantically over the crowd, over bodies swaying and drifting like ghosts on the dance floor.
Cherry.
I could die happy if I never heard that word again.
What a shitty coincidence to drag my thoughts back into the past, stirring memories I’d rather avoid.
I push the thoughts away and set the drink on a nearby table, not interested in it or who it came from.
Venom comes into view again, stealing my attention and putting my nerves at ease.
He holds out a hand to me. “Dance with the devil?”
Smiling, I slip my hand into his. The music currently playing is a sweet, soft melody played by the live instrumental band, perfect for a slow dance.
“You’re no devil by the way. I would know. But if you were, what would that make me?” I raise a brow at him. He leans in and whispers in my ear as we settle onto the dance floor.
“The devil awoke and called out my name.
“What I heard was an angel whose voice was so tame.
“I loved her at once, what more could I do?
“Filled with sweet poison, you would fall too.”
I lift my eyes, studying him with intrigue. “A poem? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? You’re the devil, darlin’, not I.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to suppress a smile, but my eyes betray me, and he grins wickedly.
“And what’s that talk of loving the devil?” He ignores my question and spins me. I giggle as I twirl. “You know, I’ve never danced with anyone before,” I say as Venom wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer.
“Never? What about school dances?”
“I never went to my prom. I wasn’t allowed to go.”
“Well, beast, if you were wanting to feel beautiful in a stunning dress and dance with a handsome fella, consider your wish granted tonight.”
I smile at him and then rest my head against his chest. He moves his hand lower, to the small of my back as we slowly move in a trance to the music.
His body feels warm, the steady beat of his heart and his earthy cool scent, comforting.
I could rest against him like this for more than one song, for a whole night, for… ever.
“Venom? I say, looking back up to him.
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just… everything.” Then I put my head back against him and sway with him until the song ends with an abrupt crash of glass.
Everyone’s attention moves across the room to where a man collapsed against the champagne fountain and violently jerks on the floor in a pool of sharp glass and liquid. The champagne begins to turn a shade of pink as the man bleeds from various locations, including his eyes and ears.
Stepping closer, I recognize the man whose raven mask hangs halfway off his face. It’s John.
I turn back to Venom who is now casually leaning against the bar and downing back the rest of a drink. He looks at me and shrugs.
Unbelievable.
I stalk toward him. “Are you gonna kill anyone else tonight?” I harshly whisper at him.
“If we don’t leave now, most definitely. I’m having a blast, but I think the party is over. Off we go, darlin’,” he says while holding out his hand to me once more.
And once again, I take it without hesitation.
We’re almost back to the hotel when Venom stops the car on a dark road.
“Get out of the car.”
“What? Why? Hey—”
He turns the radio music up loud and steps out.
Oh my god.
I open the door, but before I get out, Venom’s outstretched hand greets me. I laugh and take his hand.
“You’re joking.”
“As much as I love humor, I’m very serious right now. Our dance was rudely interrupted. We need a redo.” He grins wide.
Smiling like a schoolgirl whose crush just asked her to prom, I let Venom lead me onto the road, lit only by the car’s headlights, his arm snug around my waist. We begin to dance to “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculously romantic this is. Does he even realize that?
Venom smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen as he repeatedly spins me around and dips me at the perfect moments. My hair eventually slips free from its up-do, as he runs his fingers through my wild strands.
He looks so carefree. No false amused facade, just pure joy. His bright eyes sparkle, and I find myself laughing and smiling so much my cheeks hurt. My eyes fill with happy tears.
Just me and Venom, on a lonely dark road under a Georgia moonlight, with a fall breeze swirling around us, dancing in front of the car's headlights.
No words needed. Just smiles and laughs and starry glances.
Seems so simple, but it's the best moment I’ve ever had in my life.