“Venom in Velvet”

Jealousy Games

LILITH

I wasn’t trying to be cruel.

Okay, maybe I was.

But after being left panting, ruined, and trembling against a goddamn mop bucket while Aurelio just walked away, something inside me snapped.

If he wanted to play with me like a toy, I was going to bite back.

So when Caleb—tall, tan, charming Caleb with the easy smile and ocean eyes—invited me to coffee after class, I said yes.

And made sure Aurelio saw me say it.

His eyes locked on mine across the lecture hall. I didn’t flinch. Just smiled. Tilted my head. Let Caleb lean in a little closer than necessary. Let his laugh fill the space between us. Let him touch my arm.

Aurelio didn’t move. He didn’t blink.

But the air around him shifted.

Like it had teeth.

Later, on the quad, I sat with Caleb under the trees. Sipped my iced coffee, legs crossed just so, laughing like I didn’t feel the heat of a certain shadow watching from across the grass.

"You’re different today," Caleb said, grinning.

"Am I?"

"Yeah. Dangerous. Like you might set fire to something."

I bit my straw. Looked at him through lashes.

"Maybe I will."

He leaned closer. "Just tell me it won’t be me."

I was about to say something snarky when I felt it.

Like a storm ripping through still air.

Aurelio.

He moved across the lawn like a god descending from some forgotten throne.

Black turtleneck. Black coat. Blacker mood.

His eyes locked on Caleb. Then dropped to my legs. My hand on Caleb's. My lips parted in surprise.

He didn’t stop walking.

Didn’t hesitate.

Just stormed up and grabbed me by the wrist.

Caleb stood up. "Hey, what the hell—"

"Walk away," Aurelio said without looking at him.

It wasn’t a request.

It was a command ripped from stone.

Caleb faltered. Stammered something. Then did exactly that.

Walked.

Aurelio pulled me to my feet. His grip bruising. His breath harsh.

He didn’t speak.

Just dragged me behind the nearest building—a storage annex, deserted this time of day.

Then he shoved me against the brick wall.

Hard.

My gasp echoed.

His hands caged me in. One slamming beside my head. The other gripping my jaw.

His eyes were pure fire. Obsidian flames licking through my soul.

"You think you can tease me?" he snarled.

I blinked, lips trembling. "I wasn’t—"

"Liar."

He leaned closer. Nose brushing mine. Lips a breath away.

But he didn’t kiss me.

He wouldn’t.

Instead, his hand slid down.

Over my throat.

Over my chest.

Down my waist, until he gripped my thigh and yanked it up around his hip.

I choked on air.

He was right there.

Heat pressed against the soaked fabric between my legs.

"You want to play jealousy games? You have no idea who you're playing with."

His voice was a growl. Rough silk and blades.

He thrust his hips just enough to make me moan.

Still no kiss.

Just breath.

Just pressure.

"Did he touch you here?" He pressed his fingers between my thighs, just beneath the hem of my skirt.

"No."

"Did he make you ache the way I do?"

"No."

"Say it."

"No. No one makes me ache like you."

His hand slid under my skirt. Palmed the heat.

I cried out.

"Soaked," he growled. "From letting some i***t look at you? Or from knowing I’d see?"

I whimpered.

He grabbed both wrists, pinned them above my head with one hand. His other hand teased the edge of my panties.

Still. No. Kiss.

I was starving.

He leaned in.

Licked the shell of my ear.

"I could make you c*m without even touching you properly. You know that, don’t you?"

"Yes."

"Beg."

"Please."

He shifted. Pressed his thigh between mine.

"You don’t get to tease me and walk away. You want my attention? You earn it."

He thrust his thigh upward.

I cried out, grinding shamelessly.

His hands tightened.

He watched every twitch. Every moan.

He was feasting on me without laying me down.

Without unzipping a damn thing.

Just friction.

Just dominance.

"You’re mine," he growled against my neck. "Mine to ruin. Mine to crave. You show that pretty laugh to another man again and I’ll make you c*m in front of the whole class."

My legs shook.

"You want that? You want everyone to hear how wrecked you are for me?"

"No… I mean—yes—I don’t know—"

He bit my neck. Not hard. But enough.

I arched.

His hand slipped under my shirt. Palmed my breast.

"No bra? Slut."

I whined.

He flicked a thumb over my n****e.

I sobbed.

"You don’t get to pretend you’re innocent after what you pulled today."

I shook my head. "I wasn’t—"

"You were. And now you pay."

He released my wrists. Spun me.

Pressed my chest to the wall. My cheek against the rough brick.

Lifted my skirt.

Pulled my panties aside.

I gasped as cool air hit me.

Then his fingers slid in.

Slow.

Possessive.

"You’re dripping. So desperate for me to touch you."

He curled his fingers.

I shattered.

Right there. Against the wall. With his hand inside me and the ghost of his mouth against my skin.

No kiss.

Only ownership.

When it was over, I sagged. Boneless.

He stepped back.

Let me feel the space where he’d been.

I turned. Breathless. Dazed.

He didn’t smile.

Just stared.

Then he pulled something from his coat pocket.

Another ribbon.

Red.

He tied it slowly around my throat.

Not tight.

But snug enough to feel.

Snug enough to claim.

He stepped closer.

Ran his thumb along my bottom lip.

"Next time," he whispered, "I kiss you."

Then he walked away.

Leaving me wrecked.

Again.

And knowing I’d flirt with the devil himself just to make him burn like that one more time.

I didn’t make it two steps before my knees buckled. My hand flew out to the wall, panting.

Then—buzz.

My phone lit up.

Aurelio: Panties. Off. My place. Fifteen.

I didn’t even think.

I ran.

Through campus, through whispers and wide eyes.

When I reached his apartment, the door was already open. Just a crack. Like he knew I’d obey.

Like he’d known before I did.

I stepped in.

The door slammed behind me.

He was already there. Jacket off. Sleeves rolled. Hair mussed like he’d clawed it in rage.

He said nothing.

Just pointed.

"Show me."

I hesitated. Just a breath.

Then I slipped my fingers into the waistband of my panties and slid them down. Let them fall. Stepped out.

He watched every second.

His jaw tight.

"Good girl," he murmured. "Now sit. Knees wide. And keep your hands behind your back."

I obeyed.

He circled me like a predator.

"All this because I walked away, hm? Thought you could punish me by smiling at some i***t? Thought you could control me?"

He stopped behind me.

His hand slid through my hair. Tightened.

"I’m the storm, Lilith. You don’t play games with a hurricane."

Then he leaned in.

Bit the back of my neck.

I moaned.

He dragged a single finger up the inside of my thigh.

Paused.

"You’ll count every time I make you fall apart."

I whimpered.

"And when I’m done," he whispered, "you’ll beg me to kiss you."

Darkness. Heat.

And the devil’s promise on my skin.

Just as his thumb brushed against my entrance, a loud bang rattled the apartment windows.

We both froze.

"What the—" I started, but Aurelio’s hand clamped over my mouth.

Another bang. Louder this time. Followed by shouting.

He yanked me to my feet, dragging me toward the window. I stumbled, still panting, still aching, still bare beneath my skirt.

Outside, chaos.

Campus security vehicles. A crowd. Someone yelling into a megaphone.

"Is that… Caleb?" I squinted through the blinds.

Aurelio cursed under his breath.

Oh, s**t.

It was Caleb.

Shirtless. Standing on the hood of a campus patrol car, waving what looked like a fencing sword and shouting:

“IF YOU WANT HER, AURELIO, YOU’LL HAVE TO FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!”

I blinked. “Is he—did he just challenge you to a duel?”

Aurelio growled so deep it vibrated my ribs.

“Stay. Here,” he ordered.

“What? Wait! You’re not seriously going out th—AURELIO!”

Too late.

He was already storming out the door.

I scrambled after him, yanking on the nearest oversized hoodie—his, of course—and trying not to flash the entire world while chasing a madman.

By the time I got outside, a crowd had formed.

Students. Professors. Even a janitor holding a mop like a sword. Everyone circling around Caleb and Aurelio like it was some kind of medieval showdown.

Caleb had fashioned a helmet out of a trash can lid.

Aurelio just rolled up his sleeves.

The tension was insane.

“This man has wronged me,” Caleb declared dramatically. “He stole my coffee date and broke the ancient code of bro solidarity.”

Aurelio didn’t say a word.

He lunged.

Chaos erupted.

Shirtless Caleb yelped and dodged. Someone tossed popcorn. A girl fainted. Someone else started live-streaming on Twitch.

They weren’t exactly fighting.

It was more like…

Circling.

Taunting.

And then—

Aurelio grabbed the fencing sword and snapped it in half with one hand.

“Oh my god,” someone whispered. “Is he part demon?”

“Part something,” I muttered.

Caleb held up his hands. “Okay! Okay! Truce! Just—Jesus, man, I didn’t know she was yours! I thought you were just the brooding silent type!”

Aurelio stepped forward.

Caleb backed up into a bench.

“Listen, I’ll go! I’m transferring! I’ll change my major! Please don’t eat my soul!”

Then, as if possessed, Aurelio turned to me.

In front of everyone.

Walked up.

Tugged me into his chest.

And kissed me.

Finally.

Fully.

Utterly.

The world disappeared.

There was only the taste of him. The weight of his hand on my waist. The low groan against my lips as he took what he'd been denying both of us.

When he pulled away, I was breathless. Dizzy.

The crowd? Lost it.

Someone threw confetti. Where the hell did they get confetti?

Caleb gave a polite clap. “Okay. Yup. That’s fair. I see it now. Carry on.”

Aurelio didn’t even look at him.

He scooped me up like I weighed nothing and stalked back toward the building.

I buried my face in his neck. “That was… insane.”

He smirked. “You wanted a game.”

“This felt more like a Greek tragedy.”

“Wait until Act Two.”

My heart thudded in my chest.

“Are we done fighting now?” I whispered.

He kicked the apartment door shut behind us.

“Not even close.”

Then he carried me to the bedroom.

And this time?

There was no walking away.