Page 11 of Viper

Shadow snorts. “You haven’t met these women,” he replies drily. “But you’ll see that soon enough. When can you start?”

“As soon as possible. Ever since getting out I’ve been doing odd jobs, but I’m getting bored as shit, and I want to get back to work full-time,” he says with a smile.

Shadow and I share a quick look, and then I tell him, “We’ll start you off on the standard three month probation. We’re fair, and your job is mainly office work. Need you to be able to handle schedules and paperwork and all that shit. Any problems with that?”

“Nope. I was always the one to handle that kind of stuff in my old position, so it’ll be fine. Will I need to do any field work?”

“Probably not,” Shadow answers. “But there is always a chance, and you have the right to say no. Oh, and we always run a thorough background check, so if there is anything you think might be a problem, now’s the time to fess up and we figure out how to work with or past it.”

Eric pauses, before he finally sighs. “I was in the brig when I was first enlisted. So if that’s a problem, I understand.”

I arch a brow. “Depends on what it was for.”

“One of the men in our unit was gay, and a bunch of the other guys were making a big deal about it. Calling him names and refusing to be around him because apparently they thought that it meant he was going to try and put a dick up their ass automatically. So I told them to leave him alone, and a few took exception. Some words were said, blows exchanged, and when one of them tried to hit me with a chair, I grabbed a lamp and hit them. Knocked them unconscious. Spent time for assault and battery. The guy I was defending spoke up for me, and since he was well-liked and respected, it kept me from getting dishonorably discharged, but yeah, after that, I wasn’t well-liked.”

“All that tells me is that you’re willing to stand up for those that need it,” I tell him. “So as long as you don’t go hitting anyone with shit for no good reason, that’s nothing to worry us.”

Eric relaxes. “Thanks. Then I’ll happily take the job and I can start today if you like.”

“We need to run those checks before you officially start, but Shadow can go over things with you, and you can come in tomorrow to get situated. I have to head out with my son, but I’ll leave my number and you can call with any questions,” I tell him, standing. He and Shadow follow my lead and we shake hands. “Welcome aboard.” I look at Shadow and grin. “I’ll leave it up to you to tell him about Rose and the rest of the Coven.”

“The Coven?” Eric repeats, fascinated. “Not going to lie, if you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working. I love interesting women.”

Shadow huffs and shakes his head. “I’m going to bar them from the building until you’re fully aware of the shit they do. The last thing I need is for them to rope you in somehow. Come on, let’s go show you this. Viper, you at the clubhouse tonight?”

I shake my head. “I’m going to stay home with Archer. I’ll see you guys later, but let me know if you need me.”

I head out of the room and toward the stairs that lead to the lower-level gym we put in a year ago. I’m anxious to take my son home and start our new routine. Eventually, I hope I won’t have to take him back to his mother, but for now this will suffice.

And then tomorrow, he’ll be back in school, and I’ll be able to look at other things that need my attention. Including one spitfire of a woman that haunts my dreams and makes me want things that I haven’t thought I’ll ever be able to have.

FIVE

EDEN

I don’t need a man. Especially not a sexy biker that makes me want things I damn well shouldn’t.

“Oh my God,” Sadie laughs hysterically as she sits cross-legged on the other side of my couch, facing me with a container of Chinese in her hands. When it comes to Sadie, she’s the exact opposite of me in looks, but in personality, we’re a lot alike. Like the fact if this whole situation was happening to her—and let’s just be clear, I wish it was—I’d be laughing my ass off at her too. Now, however, I glare at her and wait for her to finish her laughing fit.

“Bitch,” I huff. “Seriously, I know you think it’s hilarious, but the man now knows where I work and is probably going to show up and cause problems.”

Sadie scoffs. Where I’m decently tall, Sadie is tiny as shit at only five-one, and instead of my dark eyes and hair, Sadie likes to dye hers different colors of the rainbow. Currently, she’s got a mixture of dark purple and bright pink throughout, and it shows off the blue of her eyes. She also has multiple earlobes piercings and a stud in her nose. She looks like an edgy barbie doll most days, but she’s crazier than I am half the time, and she has no filter. Like now, when she says, “Oh please, you want to ride that super dick full of hardware again and you know it. I say why not? Nothing wrong with a little fun, just tell him that’s all you want. Because if he’s as good as you say he is, then you’re an idiot to let that slip away. I mean, if it were me, I’d already have put a ring on it. A fancy one that hooks in with the rest of his equipment and I can lead around on a leash so that any other thirsty bitches know he’s mine.”

The image of that is so outrageous that I can only laugh. “Is that what you do with the guys that you collect?” I joke.

She grins wickedly. “I’ve led a few around by a leash when they asked, but not by their dicks. Though I’ll add that to my list of things to try.” She grabs her phone and I can only shake my head. See? Insane, I swear.

“Maybe I should give him your name and number and call it good.”

Sadie rolls her eyes. “Nah, he sounds like he’s more your type than mine. Though, I’ve always wanted to fuck a biker, so you should find out if any of them are single and looking for a good time next time you see him.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll get right on that,” I say sarcastically. “Do you hear yourself? Look, how about we get back to the problem at hand and off your needy vagina? What the hell am I going to do?”

“Seriously, you’re a drama queen, Eden. And I say that in the most loving way possible,” she says with a dramatic flutter of her lashes at me when I glare at her. “But when it comes to men, you’re never happy. They’re either too boring, or they’re assholes that you take down a few pegs before you kick them in the balls and send them crawling. And while I agree no strings sex is awesome, we both know that you’re not really that type. You like having one person, and there is nothing wrong with that. So I think you should give it a chance and spend some time with the big sexy biker. In bed or out, but honestly, we both know the bed time will be fantastic. And out of it, maybe you’ll find out that you have nothing in common, or maybe you’ll find out that you’re soulmates and ride off into the sunset on his bike. And have little biker babies and raise them up to be future badasses. And I’ll be crazy Aunt Sadie that spoils the shit out of them and loves them from afar.”

“One, I’m happy with men, but they normally can’t handle me. I’m either too wild and crazy, or they want someone who will tell them what to do. I don’t want that. If I’m going to put time into a man, I want a partner. And I’m not really all that sure I want a partner right now. Especially one that obviously has some family drama going on and a son relying on him.”

“Mmmm, you said the kid was smart as a whip, right? And he’s not super young so you don’t have to worry about him not understanding what’s going on with you and his father.”

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