Page 36 of Viper

Once his orgasm had finally subsided, Viper lifted his head to find himself staring into fuck-drunk eyes. Damn, that look tightened his gut.

His entity pushed against his skin, wanting to surface—feed from her, talk to her, touch her, play with her.

Not this time,Viper told it.You’ll scare her off.

It growled its annoyance but subsided, knowing he was right. They needed to ease her into certain things or they’d risk losing her—neither of them were prepared to allow that.

Viper dipped his gaze to her lip. The spot where he’d nicked it was already healing just fine. An accelerated healing rate generally came with the demon package.

She nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Uh, thanks?”

Humor plucked at one corner of his mouth. “No thanks necessary.” Easing his cock out of her pussy, he lowered Ella to her feet and released her—all of which proved to be seriously fucking hard when all he wanted to do was keep her close. “I’ll want more of that. Of you.”

Pulling her panties back on, she cast him a look he couldn’t quite read. “This was just a one-off.”

Yeah, he’d figured that was all she’d intended. He peeled off the condom and tied it. “Oh, so you mean to use and discard me? I’m hurt.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she said with an eye roll, righting her dress.

“Seriously,” he said, zipping up his fly as he pinned her with a sober look. “I want more of you.”

“I hate to point out the obvious, but you’re an angel; I’m a demon. Common sense says it’s better for us to stay on our own sides of the fence.”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why there has to be a fence. Forget about what others would say you should do, Ella. Let yourself have what you want.”

She nervously swiped her tongue over her bottom lip. “I have to go. My sister’s probably looking for me.”

It was a good sign that she’d prefer to escape the conversation than tell him outright that there’d be no repeat. It meant she was at least a little conflicted. They’d done this dance before in her previous life, and he’d managed to sway her back then. He’d do it again.

Viper caught her chin between his thumb and finger. “Come back to me sometime soon. You don’t, I’ll come for you. One way or another, Ella, I’ll have you again.” He let his hand fall away and stepped back.

She gave him an uncertain look and then walked away, her knees looking a little rubbery. He watched as she disappeared into the crowd and, fuck, it was hard not to follow her. But he knew from prior experience that moving too fast would make her dig in her heels.

Straightening his jacket, he exited the alcove to find Omen and Jester waiting nearby.

Jester flicked a look in the direction that Ella had walked off. “All good?”

Viper adjusted the collar of his jacket. “You could say that.” He shrugged his way through the crowds as he made his way back to his office, conscious of his brothers trailing after him.

Inside, Omen closed the door behind them. “You fucked her, didn’t you?” he guessed, his tone non-accusatory.

“Of course I did.” Viper walked to stand behind his desk. “There wasn’t a chance she was going to leave this club without me putting my cock in her.” He didn’t have the kind of restraint needed to hold back.

This was his woman. One he’d claimed long ago. One who’d marked him just as deeply. Plus … “She hadn’t admitted it to herself, but she came here looking to hook up. I wasn’t going to let anyone else oblige her.”

Omen stalked further into the room. “Made any plans for it to happen again?”

“No.” Viper sank onto his chair. “But I made it clear that it would.”

“And what did she think about that?” asked Jester.

“She’s hesitant.”

“That won’t last,” Omen upheld. “You two have major … what do humans call it? Zing.”

Jester folded his arms. “What now? Because it looks to me like your plan to take things slow just shot out of the window.We both know you ain’t gonna hang back until the strix are gone. Not now that you’ve touched her.”

Viper rubbed at his temple. “You’re right, I can’t hang back anymore.” Nor did he want to. He was fucking tired of battling the incessant daily urge to see her, talk to her, touch her. It was agonizing to be so very near to what he most wanted; to what he’d spent years attempting to find.

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