Page 147 of Sweet Venom

Jude’s rough gloved fingers grip my jaw and pull me back to face his furious eyes. “The fuck you just say?”

I lift my chin, staring him square in the face. “The only way to stop others from looking at me is if you kill me. I can’t exactly be invisible or only exist for your eyes, you know.”

He narrows his eyes, his gorgeous face not as closed off as earlier, and his huge body partially melts around mine—only partially, though. “That mouth of yours seems to talk back a lot when you’re with me.”

I pause.

I do.

I mean, it’s been more frequent lately. In the beginning, I was too scared of him to dare talk back as often. Eventually, little by little, the fear disappeared, and I kind of…what? Felt comfortable enough to show my true self?

Somehow, I stopped worrying about disappointing him or being a burden or just annoying him.

Is it because he’s never made me feel judged?

“Would you rather I didn’t?” I whisper.

“You can talk back all you want, but don’t flirt with other men.”

“I wasn’t. We were just talking. Besides, he saved me from a gunman.”

His expression darkens, his arm around me tightening. “What?”

Placing a tentative hand on his chest, I tell him about the attack in the parking lot and that the man on the motorcycle looked exactly the same as the one who attacked Mario and me twice. The gunman who’s the reason Mario is in a coma in the first place.

“So yeah,” I finish. “If Preston hadn’t come in time, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Jesus Christ.” He slides his hand over his face. “I’ll need to assign you security.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“I want to. There’s no way in fuck I’ll let you roam around unprotected while some psycho is out to kill you.” He releases a breath. “Until I find out who’s behind these murder attempts, you’ll have to put up with it.”

I smile a little.

“What?” he asks, watching me closely.

“Nothing, it’s just odd that you’re protecting me when you wanted to kill me not too long ago.”

“Odd,” he repeats but says nothing else, seeming deep in thought.

I might have suspected it before, but I’m certain now. Julian was definitely lying about Jude trying to kill me.Judging by his expression right now, he seems murderous that anyone would even try to hurt me.

It’s strange and unorthodox, but Jude and I share a connection. Maybe it’ll become destructive over time, but it’s there all the same.

“Don’t blame or hurt Preston, okay? We were just talking after what happened,” I say in a pleading voice.

His eyes narrow to slits as he runs them over the length of me, and I have to physically stop myself from tugging on the dress.

“Did you also get dolled up just to talk to Pres?”

I stay silent and his grip becomes firm on my chin. “Tell me, Violet. Who did you think of when you put on this sexy little dress and that shiny pink lipstick? Hmm?”

“Myself,” I say clearly. “I wanted to feel pretty.”

He pauses and his grip even loosens. “You did it for yourself?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem with that?”