Beautiful Venom: A Dark Hockey Romance (Vipers Book 1)

Things have…changed.

Since the first time I slept in Kane’s arms over three weeks ago, he’s been different.

We spent Christmas and New Year’s together, mostly with Preston and Jude. I don’t really like the holiday season, but this one felt different. Because I had Kane, but also I felt the need to celebrate for Vi.

She always took them seriously, insisting we celebrate like a ‘normal’ family and put up this small Christmas tree she goes overboard with decorating. It felt empty this year without her, but at least I had Kane.

He’s been changing over the past few weeks.

It’s been subtle and gradual, but it’s heart-flutteringly noticeable. He still doesn’t like it when I touch him for too long, but he’s not so quick about removing my hands.

We spend entire nights talking about everything and nothing. I told him about my whole childhood and all the shit I went through so Vi and I could survive—but I also told him about the good things as well.

Part of the reason why I opened up was in the hopes that he’d also talk about his own childhood in depth, but he rarely does, and when it happens, it’s usually without any emotion.

Kane might have let me in, but his walls still stand tall. Completely and utterly indestructible.

But I’m not complaining.

This whole time, I’ve only felt Kane lose control—momentarily—during sex. But lately, I can see glimpses of him doing so even if he’s not fucking me.

He’s one meticulous bastard and hates it when I leave things lying around. He also has these strange quirks like cooking in silence and not listening to any music. He also does the same in his home gym when working out—no speakers or headphones. When I asked about it, he said he uses that time to think, and he doesn’t really listen to music or anything audible, because it interferes with his thoughts.

Kane also wakes up early and is always the first player who arrives at practice.

But he doesn’t drag me along and often tells me to sleep some more, especially if I visited Vi the previous night.

I’m starting to feel guilty because I can’t spend the whole night by her bedside anymore. I try to stay for a couple of hours and give her updates—mostly related to Kane—but I feel like it’s not enough.

My days are busy with work and school, and the nights…well, if I’m not being chased and dicked down by Kane in the sickest, most perverse ways, we’re either going out with his teammates or snuggling up for a movie or cooking the most random shit I find on the internet.

Or he cooks and I just stand around like the most useless assistant.

And on the weekends, I insist that we spend time with his mom—something he dislikes, so he grumbles and acts like a general asshole. However, when we went to his parents’ house yesterday, he was mostly silent as he watched with a cryptic expression while Helena and I fed and talked to the koi fish.

Then he left us to have a meeting with his dad. I’m not sure what was said, but afterward, Kane had a defeated but relieved smile. Grant merely narrowed his eyes on me as he stormed out of the house.

Since last night, Kane has been more relaxed. He fucked me so hard that I was screaming, and I woke up this morning with his head between my legs. Best morning ever.

He also said I should move my stuff into his apartment, to which I was left speechless.

To be honest, I’ve only dropped by the dorm lately to check on Megan and grab some clothes. Basically, we’ve already been living together, but making it official is different.

I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

What if things don’t work out and he kicks me out? That’s my worst nightmare.

“Go Price!!”

My attention is drawn back to the present as Megan shouts Ryder’s last name, then erupts in loud cheers when he checks an opponent, snatches the puck, and scores. Then he raises his stick in our direction.

“OMG!” She shakes my shoulders and then hugs me. “Did you see that?”

“Everyone did.” I smile as I hug her back.

“He’s amazing!” She lowers her voice. “Aside from fucking like a porn star.”

I hit her shoulder jokingly. Let’s just say Megan hasn’t been in the dorm much either and is now attending a hockey game of her own volition.

We have the best seats in Vipers Arena, thanks to Kane and Ryder, and ever since we got here, my friend has been hyping up the entire crowd. This is coming from Megan, who used to claim that the Stanton Wolves were the strongest team in the league.

“Who let the trash in?” Isabella says loud enough for us to hear.

The worst part about having the best seats, which are usually reserved for family and friends, is being forced to share space with Isabella and her goons.

She’s sitting behind us with her friends and has been talking shit throughout the game.

Megan ignores her, sometimes even going quiet, until Ryder touches the puck again.

I was going to ignore her, too, but I need to put assholes in their place. So I turn and smile at her. She glares.

“Do you mind shutting up?” I shout over the cheers. “I can hear your bitterness.”

Her face contorts, and I blow her a kiss, grinning wide.

As I’m about to focus back on the game, I catch the gaze of an older man, probably in his late twenties to early thirties. He’s standing at the farthest, highest part of the seating area, both hands in his pockets, as if he wants to have a full view of the rink.

His dark gray suit stands out against the fan gear and hockey jerseys most people are wearing. And he’s staring. No, glaring?

What the hell?

There’s an impassiveness to him. An unsettling presence that makes my blood run cold.

It feels like I’ve seen him before. But where?

I run my gaze over his frosty features and then pause. It’s the eyes. They look distinctively familiar.

“Why are you staring?” Megan pulls on my jersey. “Don’t go asking for trouble, D.”

“Who’s that?” I ask. “Is he related to Jude?”

“Yeah. That’s Julian. His older brother.”

Oh. So that’s the Julian who Serena Osborn was searching for at that Vencor event. He’s definitely one of the hotshots in the organization.

But why was he glaring at me?

Have I perhaps seen him somewhere before?

“How do you know him?” I ask Megan.

“Everyone does. He’s the face of the Callahans’ multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical sector monopoly.” She surveys our surroundings and then whispers in my ear, “Some people are saying he’s forcing his dad into early retirement and there’s an internal Callahan power struggle.”

I steal another look behind me and see Julian walking out with none other than Grant.

My heart squeezes and I develop an irrational hatred for Julian. Anyone who’s friends with fucking Grant Davenport is on my shit list.

The crowd’s cheers bring me back to the game. Megan takes my hand in hers and jumps up and down as Preston scores after some impressive team play.

My entire attention is on Kane. He looks his best when he’s on the rink—free, in a sense. He still plays with immaculate control, but he lets go on the ice and glides within the defense’s lines with infinite technical prowess.

I love seeing him in his element.

I love how he subtly but firmly directs the team.

How quickly he realizes when one of his teammates is off and offers silent support.

Kane never blames the others for a loss, even during practice, even when Preston had that awful game against the Wolves. When I asked him why he didn’t make it clear to Preston that he fucked up, he simply said, “Our bond is stronger than a mere game.”

So I’ve tried not to talk a lot of shit about Preston online. What? He’s still an antagonistic bastard and I’m part of his hate club.

He’s definitely a hockey prince, though. I can’t deny that, especially since I started working for the team.

Anyone can tell that Kane, Jude, and Preston are an unstoppable trio. They effortlessly make passes between themselves without prior communication to the point that the other players struggle to keep up with them.

Helena said the three of them grew up together, so it makes sense that they’re so aware of each other.

However, I still wince at Jude’s aggressive nature. Sometimes, even Kane finds it hard to control him.

He also gets sent to the penalty box the most. Like now. He looks like a caged animal who’ll get the penalty again if given the chance.

The Vipers hold out during the other team’s power play, mainly due to Kane and Preston. Soon after Jude returns, a buzzer sound indicates the end of the game.

Megan and I jump and holler as the crowd erupts in maddening cheers.

As the team celebrates the win, Kane’s eyes meet mine.

I give him two thumbs-up, then turn around to show him the jersey I’m wearing. Davenport. 19.

When I look back again, he’s smiling.

God. I love his smile.

I love that it comes out more often lately.

He motions at the bench area and mouths, “Come down.”

Megan squeals. “Oh my God, oh my God. He has the game puck! Go!”

My legs shake as I rush past the lively crowd and head down, then I take a detour and rush to the players’ bench area. I nearly fall when I hurry toward Kane, but he slides in just in time and catches me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He carries me with infinite ease, and it baffles me how easily I’m getting used to this.

I’m getting used to being vulnerable with him. To letting him see parts of me no one else can.

And it scares me. So much.

But I can’t stay away. Even if I can’t use him to get my revenge. I want to believe that I can have both.

Him.

And revenge.

He’s removed his helmet, his brown strands sticking to his face. I stroke his hair back, completely forgetting that we’re surrounded by the entire world.

“You were amazing!” I say.

“Does that mean you’ll sing my praises online, ColdAsKane?”

“Oh my God. How do you know about my alter ego?”

“Coincidence?”

“Now, I have to kill you.”

He laughs, the sound rushing past my rib cage and piercing my heart. I hug him tighter, drowning in his scent and feeling every rush in his breaths.

It’s moments like these where I think I can feel the real Kane. Not the image he wears so well or the control he allows to rule his life.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s definitely a sadist who gets off on hurting me during sex. But then again, I love that. We’re compatible in that sense.

I just don’t like the emotional sadism, and lately, I feel like we’re making progress. He doesn’t hurt me—at least, not intentionally—and he listens when I say I don’t like something.

The other day, I said I didn’t like it when he fucks me clothed and he’s never done it again.

Kane wipes the puck on his glove and then offers it to me. “For you.”

“Really? I can have it?”

“The captain says you can.”

“Thank you!” I kiss his cheek, leaving a stain of red lipstick. His favorite.

“You can do better than that.” Kane fists my hair and devours my lips.

In front of the whole campus, league, and crowd.

A blush creeps up my neck even as I let him kiss me. I always believed I didn’t care what others thought, but as Kane stakes a claim in public, I feel exposed.

But also lost in a surreal world.

I can hear the players hooting and whistling. I can hear the crowd’s cheers and whispers, but all I can focus on is Kane.

He’s so dazzling, so godly, so irresistible, I can’t help it.

I don’t care that we come from different worlds. That I’m reaching for something I shouldn’t touch.

Vi used to say an aimless star should never get close to the sun or it’ll crash and burn.

But right now, none of those facts matter.

He’s consuming me.

I’m letting him.

Even if I end up regretting it.

I finally managed to get Hunter’s DNA.

Mainly because I stole his water bottle while he wasn’t paying attention after the game and switched it with a similar one that I’d emptied to the same level.

And I only got away with it because of the frenzy and chaos after the win.

Since the team is having a party at one of the town’s bars, I tell Kane that I need to finish a last-minute test at the lab, then leave.

Judging by his expression, he didn’t like it, but I managed to slip away when he was surrounded by the others.

I spend a few hours on the extraction, then I save the sample and make a note for no one to touch it so I’ll be able to proceed with the following step.

It’s possible to continue now, but it’s close to midnight, and Kane has called me twice in the past fifteen minutes.

He’ll soon come to pick me up and I can’t have him getting a whiff of what I’m doing.

Tomorrow, I’ll finish the amplification and try to move to⁠—

A creaking sound echoes in the silence.

I go still.

The white sterile lab feels larger and more oppressive. Who would come in this late?

“Kane?” I ask as I head to the door.

It automatically opens as two men walk in, clad in suits.

The same suits from earlier tonight.

Grant Davenport and Julian Callahan.

My blood freezes and the room seems to grow smaller with their presence.

Up close, Julian is more unsettling. He stands motionless in a tailored gray suit, its sharp lines cutting against his lean frame. There’s a ruthless edge in the set of his jaw, tempered by a polished, almost effortless sophistication. His dark-brown eyes—the same color as Jude’s—hold the same predatory focus, scanning me with a quiet, calculating intensity that feels like a cold blade pressed against my skin.

“Hello, Dahlia,” Grant says in his composed, unfeeling voice. It’s what Kane sounds like when he’s emotionless. When I can’t reach him. But with Grant, it’s more disturbing.

I wipe my hand on my lab coat and hold on to my cool. “What can I do for you? Though I’m not sure what you need in a lab at this hour.”

“You do enough by spying on our team,” Julian speaks in a cutting tone.

“Spy?” I ask, dumbfounded.

Julian motions at the lab. “Isn’t that what all the DNA tests are for? Is there a pharmaceutical company that paid you enough to extract our players’ DNA so they could dig into their genetics and possibly use that information to produce athletic supplements? Or perhaps target them? For your own safety, it better not be the latter.”

My mouth hangs open.

How the hell did they know about the DNA tests? Have they known for some time but kept it under wraps to…what? Why are they confronting me about it at this stage?

“Now, Julian.” Grant squeezes his shoulder. “Dahlia is not that sophisticated. Her DNA tests were only forensic in nature, so she’s just being a little Sherlock, that’s all.”

I swallow.

The walls feel like they’re trapping me, their white color resembling a blindfold.

They’re going to hurt me.

I feel it. Deep down.

This is what happens when I get too close to the sun.

“In that case,” Julian says. “What are you investigating?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I speak in a voice that’s so steady, I don’t recognize it.

“Miss Thorne.” Julian walks toward me with a leisurely pace, then stops a few steps away, his voice and eyes stabbing me in place. “My family dominates the pharmaceutical and medical industries, running large medical complexes and cutting-edge research labs. We are key players in drug development, healthcare innovation, and medical technology. We hold patents that affect the treatment and health of countless individuals. I know of every single piece of research, test, and even accidental findings that happen in our labs. Including this one. Especially when my brother’s DNA is involved. So you know exactly what I’m talking about, and you will tell me the reason if you wish to leave in one piece.”

Goosebumps prickle over my skin, and the only thought in my mind is to run.

Get as far as possible from here.

God. Talk about some fucked-up genes.

Julian might not be physically aggressive like his brother, but he’s equally hostile.

I feel like he’ll bring out a gun and shoot me between the eyes.noveldrama

“Tell him, Dahlia,” Grant says while leaning against the wall. “It’s forensic, no? Possibly related to your foster sister’s recent case? Violet Winters, if I remember correctly. What did Detective Collins say? Right, they found traces of human skin under her fingernails, but they couldn’t identify it. With that, the only evidence that could be used to locate her assailant is useless. You’re just trying to do what the police couldn’t accomplish.”

The room spins.

My head aches.

And I feel as if the ceiling will break and crush me.

He knows. Everything.

He’s in direct contact with the detective. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in Grant’s pocket.

“Why?” the word spills out in a whisper.

“Why what?” Grant asks.

“Why did you wait until now? You…obviously knew what I was doing.”

“Julian wanted you dead after the first DNA test you did, but since you didn’t communicate with any rival companies and merely seemed to be comparing them to another DNA sample, I asked him to wait and see where this was going. Especially since you seemed interesting enough for my son to insist on protecting you.” Grant strides toward me and stands beside Julian. “In hindsight, I should’ve eliminated you before you grew into a pesky problem.”

“I’ll leave it to you,” Julian tells Grant. “I want her banned from all Callahan property. Including the hospital.”

“My sister is in the hospital!”

“Not anymore,” he says, then walks out.

“What do you mean?” I shout, all my cool disappearing. “What did you do to my sister?”

“Nothing,” Grant says. “For now.”

“If you hurt my sister, I will⁠—”

“Do fuck all,” Grant interrupts me with a smile. “I could kill your sister a thousand times over and you wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on me. People like you shouldn’t even look up at people like me, let alone try to touch us.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard, a metallic tang explodes on my tongue. If there’s anything I’ve learned from dealing with Kane, it’s that emotions and tantrums don’t faze him.

So I take a deep breath. “You want something, right?”

“I do.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to break up with Kane and make him believe it’s real. I’ll tell him about how you DNA-tested him and his teammates. I’ll also tell him that you only approached him to use his power and influence for your little investigation. When he confronts you, don’t offer excuses. You have to say that you never cared for him. That his only worth was the power his last name provides. I want you to sever any bond or idealistic feelings he has for you. I want you to break his emotions so that he hates relationships and foolish love.”

A whole-body tremor overtakes me, and tears of anger gather in my eyes. “Why are you doing this to him? Haven’t you hurt him enough?”

“Hurt him?” He tilts his head to the side. “I never hurt him. I built him from the ashes of his weak emotions. My son used to be the perfect heir to the Davenport empire. He’s even been planning a coup d’état against me. For two years, he’s been patient and methodical, converting the directors and spreading his sphere of influence in the company. He’s been so subtle and smart, even I didn’t notice. Kane has been waiting for the end of the year when he becomes a Founder member to pull the trigger on his plan, but do you know what that fool did? He offered to abandon his ambition if I leave you alone.”

I take a step back, my ears ringing. Kane…gave up the takeover of his father’s empire for me?

No, that can’t be true. Kane isn’t the type who would do that…

My thoughts trail off at the reminder of the recent subtle changes.

The look in his eyes.

The way he seemed after meeting his dad the last time.

The relief.

Oh God.

“You turned my perfect son into a fucking weakling.” Grant’s voice hardens. “You ruined all my years of hard work by just existing.”

“Hard work? You abused him, you sick monster!”

“You have a day to do what I’ve instructed,” he says with calm. “If he finds out about my involvement, your sister dies. You complete the mission successfully, and I’ll arrange for your disappearance from the East Coast and a reunion with your sister. I might even tell you what truly happened to her. Be smart.”

As he leaves the lab, a sob spills from my lips.

The world splinters into pieces around me.

Vi.

Kane.

They’re both slipping from between my fingers like sand.

Everything I ever cared about is vanishing, and I can’t stop it.

I fall to the floor and scream.