“Don’t stress about all the photos. We all know Parker doesn’t give a fuck, and the rest? Well—” she pauses, her green eyes turning dark around the edges as Jord slides into an incoming chair. “Punk.”
Atlas sweeps Luce up into his arms and she yelps before they’re both on the same chair with Jord and Punk, and then it’s just me.
And Asher.
Where the hell did Camille go?
Fuck. It’s a forty-minute ride up. Forty minutes with nothing but—
“I’m not gonna bite, Venom. Get in the chair.”
I don’t answer, but his hand finds mine. He tugs me into him, just in time for the chair to catch my fall. Flinging the bar down, I secure us both in as we ascend higher into the clouds with our legs dangling and our boards attached.
Silence.
Nothing but silence.
The kind of silence that’s comforting. That feels like home.
I peer over the edge, taking in the sight that spreads out below. Void is a display of twisted carnival lights where twisted obstacles snake down in impossible spirals, each turn designed to mess with your head. It’s kind of genius.
“Bought a house here, just needs some work.”
My head whips to him. His face has that bite of frost that turn his cheeks slightly pink. I don’t know what it is with him, but he has the kind of swag that makes you want to swallow him whole. It’s a trick. You’d choke on him.
“What?” I blink away my perverted thoughts. “You bought on Veilarath?”
Because of all the things I expect him to say, that was not one of them.
His attention drops to my mouth, before lifting back to my eyes. Beautiful bastard.
“Yeah, I did. Amongst finding a fiancée, I managed to find the only available lot of land left on this island.”
All the happiness I felt a moment ago drops, along with my smile. I don’t care that he witnesses it either.
I change the subject, avoiding Camille. “I thought it was hard to purchase here?”
He shrugs, spreading his arms out. I wonder what goes on in that head of his during times like this. During moments like this.
”You mean you don’t know how I bought property on the most exclusive island on the continent of this side of the world?” He asks, brow quirked.
I pause. He stole the words right out of my mouth.
“I mean,” I tease, our gazes locked in. “Yes.”
He clucks his tongue. “Careful, Venom. Maybe I'm not who you think I am.” His mouth twitches. “I mean, for all you know, I could be a killer.”
Interesting choice of words.
He laughs at his own joke, and something in the sound makes my pulse stutter. Was it even a joke?
Chapter 15
Ivy
“Ithink I should be asking you what you think it is I brought to the township of Veilarath to be able to purchase here, since you and I both know it's more than money you have to have to move here.”
It’s become an annoying habit of mine, ignoring details I’d usually pick up on wherever Asher is concerned.
