Page 72 of Viper

For just over a week, they’d officially shared a bed. Something which showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Thankfully. Because she didn’t want it to stop. Neither did her demon, who’d grown to like the angel. Or archangel. Whichever.

She’d repeatedly asked if the rumors about him were true, but each time he’d merely given her a mysterious smile. Or he’d saidsomething like, ‘Maybe I’ll tell you one day,’ to which she’d said, ‘And maybe you’re full of shit.’ The dude had secrets for sure. A whole bunch of them.

So often he and his brothers would resort to telepathic communication in front of her. Viper would claim they were simply discussing ‘club business’. That was no doubt sometimes true, but she didn’t think it wasalwaysthe case.

She wasn’t exactly in a position to push him to spill private stuff, though. It wasn’t like they were a couple. Although … much as they’d agreed to keep things mellow and simple, she couldn’t say that the arrangement centered solely on sex. They didn’t go on dates or make demands of each other, but they’d each spend time at the other’s home sharing a meal, watching TV, and exchanging stories.

She still hadn’t told anyone that they were sleeping together. Only his brothers knew. Several times she’d turned to her sister, tempted to just blurt it out. But the words always got trapped in her throat, and she’d tell herself there was no point in saying anything unless, or until, she and Viper became serious about each other.

Otherwise, where was the sense in it?

It wasn’t as if she generally talked of her flings.

“What were you dreaming about?” asked Mia, pulling Ella out of her contemplations. “You seemed … distressed.”

Ella blinked. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. I rarely rememberanyof what I dream these days.”

A long, guilt-ridden sigh eased out of her sister. “I really can’t understand why my talisman isn’t working. I’ll make you a stronger one and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, maybe you should reconsider knocking back some sleeping potions. I know you avoid them because you want to be at your sharpest, but you won’t be if you’re tired all the time.”

Point well made.

Ordinarily, Ella would have been resolute on not using them when sleeping beside someone else. But she didn’t believe Viper would ever cause her any harm. Neither did her demon.

It felt strange to be so sure of someone when they were near strangers, but he made her feel safe. Her demon didn’t read him as any kind of threat to Ella.

Not long later, she and Mia were striding through the Underground, passing pedestrians and vendors and various types of premises. The guards that Luka had assigned to Ella—Kasper and Arman—followed them, though they didn’t cometooclose.

Despite the cacophony of sounds—chatter, laughter, footsteps, music filtering out of windows—she easily heard Mia’s phone ring.

Her sister fished her phone out of her purse, and her brows knitted. “It’s Leif.”

The name rang a bell. “Joe’s best friend?”

“Yeah,” confirmed Mia, slowing to a stop. “Just give me a sec.” She walked into a side alley where there was less noise to take the call.

Ella held up two fingers to her guards, indicating that they’d be on the move again in a matter of minutes. Nodding curtly, they took positions close by and let their sharp gazes wander their surroundings.

Ella did the same, humming to herself as people walked around her, heading in various directions. A lot of them were walking to and from eateries. One person caught her attention—firstly because they were familiar, secondly because they were staring at her.

The blonde from the Red Rooms who, according to Viper, didn’t like the word ‘no’.

Ella’s demon narrowed its eyes, disliking the woman on principle. She could have been the sweetest creature to have everwalked the Earth and the demonstillwouldn’t have liked her because she apparently had a thing for Viper.

She also apparently thought it a good idea to approach Ella, because she did exactly that. The blonde didn’t speak, just stared.Hard.It wasn’t an attempt at intimidation. No, she looked at Ella the way you would at a math equation that made no sense to you.

Both Ella and her demon stared right back at her.Descendant, the entity sensed. She probably belonged to Maddox’s lair, then.

A male psyche touched hers.Need us to deal with her?asked Kasper.

Ella responded,I doubt it’ll come to that. I’ll let you know if I need backup.“Can I help you with something?” she asked the blonde.

The woman blinked twice. Poking her tongue into the inside of her cheek, she leaned forward and said, “I know.”

Ella’s insides seized. “Sorry?”

“I know something’s going on between you and Viper,” the woman elaborated, her voice not loud enough to carry to others.

Personally, Ella doubted that the woman ‘knew’ anything.The descendant was more than likely just guessing, throwing out the comment to test Ella’s reaction.

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