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It had taken Holly a while to discover that the last order had been placed by a squadron of angelic fighters who’d had a hankering for deep-dish pizza They’d ordered fiftythen fiftysession
On the same day
“I cooked you solireen In contrast, the slits of black were such a pure shade of obsidian that she could almost see her own reflection in them
Lifting her hand without her conscious volition, she brushed the very tip of her right index finger across his eyelashes
20
His lashes were straight and dark and uncobut they felt like the softest of feathers, a whisper of a touch He didn’t stop her, just watched her with that unblinking gaze he got sohten people who didn’t know him Those people erroneously assumed it was a threat when it was simply another part of Venom’s nature
Holly just feltat peace
She couldn’t hurt him if she lost control She couldn’t terrify him She couldn’t even shock him She could annoy him, but they both enjoyed that—a dirty little secret neither one of them would ever speak aloud “What did you cook?” she asked in that peaceful, lethargic, oddly content state
“Fried rice with fresh crab and scallops”
Holly jerked upright into a seated position “Really? Give it to me!” She loved seafood fried rice so much that she’d learned to cook it; of course, hers was never as good as her mom’s Daphne just threw in “this and that,” mostly leftover bits and pieces, and it always turned out fantastic “You’re co, just so you know”
“I aht in a way that made it seem as if he had no bones in his body, Veno area and up three sray of his shirt sat flawlessly on his shoulders, the fabric of his pants hugging his butt What? She couldn’t look? She was human and Venom was built like a racehorse, sleek and muscled and fast
When he turned to lift a lightweight and aerated cover off the wok that sat on the counter, she noticed all over again that his shirt was open at the collar, revealing a strip of golden brown skin “It’s still hot,” he told her with a faint smile “Perhaps the scent lured you out of sleep”
“You think you’re joking but seafood fried rice—good seafood fried rice—is serious business”
Holly sat cross-legged on the stone and watched as he dished out the rice onto a glass plate, herShe was ready to chew the plate itself by the ti with a fork
“Now,” he said, “for the review from a connoisseur”
Holly took a deep breath and scented ginger, garlic, shallots, a hint of chili Her first bite was heavenly, the moan that rose up out of her throat pure, unadulterated pleasure She’d never, not in a million years, tell herstakes Then she didn’t think, just ate, her starved body in ecstasy
When Venom disappeared for a while to the kitchen and returned to place a glass beside her, she didn’t pay attention except to glance at it and h She so didn’t need aof blood
It was only halfway through the plate of food that she felt the need for liquid hich to wash it down Taking a sip fro, she felt her eyes widen “Mango lassi?” It was a whisper
Venolass at her froainst the sofa—but this ti her, very much in the present With her Not in the distant past where she could never go
She took a sip and felt her toes curl at the tangy sweetness “How can a va back into the fried rice with its succulent chunks of crab meat and equally juicy scallops
The next tiht the wok over
S at her imperious demand for more, he dished her another full plate