Page 48 of Viper

I like, no love, that she’s so concerned about Archer. “We’ll tell him that you’re coming to hang out with the women. Simple, and not a lie.”

Eden nods. “Alright. And what are we going to say when he asks why you and I are spending time together?”

“Tell him the truth,” I reply. “I’m trying to get you to agree to go out with me, and you’re making me work for it.” I give her a grin in the rearview mirror. “I don’t tend to lie to him or skirt around much since he is getting older.”

Eden makes a hmm noise but doesn’t argue. By now we’ve reached the school, just as the kids start to pour out, and of course, leading the charge is my son, who climbs into the truck happily, slamming the door shut. Before he says anything, he looks back and sees Eden and Sadie. Surprise covers his face, but then he looks back at me and loudly whispers, “Dad, I think you have a couple of stowaways. But at least they’re pretty.”

Sadie and Eden chuckle, and I grin at him. “I noticed,” I tell him as I pull out and head toward the clubhouse. “Son, you already know Eden, but this is her best friend Sadie. They’re going to the clubhouse to hang out with the other ladies, and I offered to give them a ride.”

Archer spins around in his seat to look at them, and then he looks back at me and says seriously, “I don’t think I have enough in my allowance to pay their share to the bail fund.”

I let out a bark of laughter. My son always has been a bit of a smartass. “Don’t worry, honey, I can pay my own way,” Sadie says brightly.

“I’m Archer,” he says, putting his hand back and shaking hers. Then he looks at Eden and grins. “Hi, Ms. Eden.”

“Hello, Mr. Archer,” she says in amusement. “How’s it going?”

“I managed to convince Arya to partner up with me for a project so now I get to spend more time with her,” Archer says proudly. “And she did it without too much grumbling so I think I’m wearing her down.”

“Who’s Arya?” Sadie asks.

“His future girlfriend if Archer has anything to say about,” Eden replies. “And good for you. Keep showing up for her and don’t be too pushy. I think the two of you will figure things out just fine when you’re older. So what kind of project is it?”

She, Archer, and Sadie all launch into a discussion the entire way to the clubhouse, and I can admit it fills me with a deep kind of warmth listening to my son and the woman who has me enraptured talking so openly and easily. Archer clearly has no issues with her, so I’ll take that as a positive. I also like that she’s clearly protecting him in her own way. We’ll see how she feels once we’re done talking, but damn it all, I want her with me and I’m going to work damn hard to convince her of it today.

When we finally reach the clubhouse gate, Kaleb gives me a sympathetic look when he sees Eden and Sadie, and opens it. Once we reach the actual clubhouse, Eden is telling Archer she’ll help him out with his English homework, and she doesn’t even glance at me again as she climbs out of the truck and the two of them head inside. I climb out and help Sadie down, but before we can go in, Sadie stops me with a hand on my arm, a serious look on her face, and the blue in her eyes darkening as she looks up at me. She’s so damn tiny, I have to look way down at her.

“I don’t know shit about you, Viper,” she tells me bluntly. “But I think you want the best for my friend, and whatever the hell is going on with this judge and bad guy you won’t tell her about, I think you’re the best one to protect her. But, if that ever changes, or you break her heart, what she’s done to her ex and anyone else will pale in comparison to what I will do. She likes you far more than she’s willing to admit, and I’m pushing her to give you a shot, so don’t you dare fucking let me down. Got it?”

“I don’t want to hurt her,” I assure her. “And I’ll make sure she’s safe. I can’t promise we’ll make anything out of this, because I won’t force her, but just know I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else and I’ll do whatever I have to to keep her happy.”

“Even compared to what you felt for Raven?” she asks me bluntly.

I’m not really surprised someone’s told her about that. “Raven was a passing infatuation, but we would never have worked. Her man is perfect for her, and I’ve already told her that if he hurts her, I’ll kill him slowly and painfully. She’s a friend, and more of a sister in a lot of ways now. I’m a loyal man, Sadie. Eden never has to worry about that.”

She eyes me for a moment and then nods. “I believe you. So you and I, we’ll work together, and that means when I need my best friend, you don’t bitch and whine when I show up in the middle of the night and climb in bed with her. Even if it means you have to sleep on the couch.”

I arch a brow at that. “You need to do that, that’s fine, but I’m not sleeping on a damn couch.”

“We’ll see,” she says flippantly before turning and heading up the stairs and into the clubhouse. I shake my head ruefully but follow. Once I walk inside, I see Eden and Archer at a table, reading something, and the other women are already there, sitting at a table behind them, grinning. They call out to Sadie, who heads over to sit with them, and Eden doesn’t even look at her as she goes by, completely entrenched in whatever she’s doing with Archer.

The brothers milling around are a mixture of curious and concern at the women gathered together. Shadow is hovering near Quinn and Macy, who is working on her own homework from the look of things, and knowing Quinn’s expecting has me biting back a grin. The man is going to be a damn pain in her ass before she has that baby. But from the knowing, and accepting, look Quinn is giving him, I don’t think she’ll be saying much about it just yet. Though I am surprised Rose hasn’t picked up on it.

I head for where Archer and Eden are and stand behind them both and look down. “I hate book reports,” Archer gripes.

“I did too,” Eden replies. “But then I learned a trick. You have to write about The Outsiders, right? So was there something you liked about the book? Can you apply it to something in your life? Or maybe, after reading it, you see something you would have done different that could have changed the outcome. What’s the question for the book report?”

“What I thought of the book, and what lessons I learned,” he answers, but he already sounds thoughtful.

“Alright, well, use those questions and just start writing. Even right now if it doesn’t make sense, you can go back and fix it later. It’s better to just write and get it down.”

Archer nods and pulls out his laptop, opening up a blank document, and then gets to work on typing, eyes narrowed on the screen as his fingers fly over the keyboard. “Thanks, Eden,” Archer mumbles, clearly absorbed in whatever he’s writing.

Eden smiles, pats him on the shoulder, and stands, turning into me. She looks up at me in surprise, and I smile at her. “Archer, I need to talk to Eden for a few minutes, you good?”

“Yeah,” he answers absently.

I chuckle and take Eden’s hand as I pull her away. I look over at Shadow and nod toward Archer, and he nods to let me know he’s got him. I pull Eden toward the stairs, and she doesn’t fight me, but I can see the look on her face isn’t sure. She glances back at Archer uncertainly, but I tighten my grip on her hand and murmur, “He’s fine. He’ll be busy with that long enough for us to talk, and he won’t notice we’re gone. He’s got everyone watching him.”

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