Page 92 of Viper

“Yes,” Viper verified. “But let me be clear. I don’t fuck the people I feed from, Ella. I take their blood and walk away. That’s it.”

“Same goes for me,” Dice told Mia.

Ella rubbed at her face, considering all they’d told her. She was a little thrown by it. She recalled once catching a glimpse of one of the Black Saints in a shadowy alcove, his mouth on the neck of a woman—she’d thought they were just having a little sexual fumble, hadn’t once guessed there was more going on.

Though Viper had talked of how sharing his secrets presented risks to his brothers, she’d half-thought he might be making excuses. But no, it trulywasrisky. There had once been a few blood-drinking breeds of demon. Feeding on life had made them tremendously powerful. Other demonic breeds hadn’t liked that, so they’d wiped them out. They would do the same to the Fallen for certain.

“I see why you held this stuff back. If it got out, you’d all be hunted and killed.” It wasn’t only his brothers at risk, since … “Any members of the Fallen worldwide would be tracked and executed.”

“That’s the reason for the geas,” said Viper. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just needed the extra bit of insurance. No truth spell or hypnotic energy could force the information out of you—you’re literally unable to share it.”

“I actually feel better knowing that. I was put under a truth spell once. It was horrible.”

His expression went dark. “The fuck? Who did it?”

“It was a long time ago. I was just seventeen. My cousin thought it would be funny to embarrass me by making me blurt out all kinds of private stuff.” Secret crushes, her menstrualcycle, the joys of masturbation, what powers she possessed. Hearing herself so casually spill it all, completely helpless to stop it, had been an instance of pure horror. “It’s all right, I got my revenge.”

“I don’t doubt it.” He paused, his eyes drifting over her face. “You’re taking all of this better than I thought you would.”

Her brow furrowed. “Hey, look, it’s not exactly happy news. But it’s not your fault. Yes, you made the decision to fall, but you didn’taskto be cursed. You don’t kill who you feed from. You don’t take the blood of those who are young or vulnerable. You make the best of a shitty situation. The only people I’m disgusted at are those who created the curse.”

Viper felt some of the tension drain from his muscles. She wasn’t running. Wasn’t judging. Wasn’t going to reject him.

His entity cast him anI told you sosmirk, the smug fucker.

“What happens if you resist drinking blood?” Mia asked Dice, the threads of anger gone from her voice; replaced by compassion.

“We go into bloodlust. That happens, we’re isolated until it passes.” Dice held his hand out to Mia. “Can we go somewhere to talk? Alone?”

Mia’s mouth went tight, but then it relaxed. She placed her hand in his. “Okay.” She looked at Ella, her brow flicking up.

Ella gave her a subtle nod, and Viper sensed they were speaking telepathically.

The other couple then left, leaving him and his woman alone.

Viper pushed away from his desk and cautiously approached her, alert for signs that she needed a little space. But she didn’t seize up or frown or back away. Her expression was pensive. “What’re you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m wondering”—she tilted her head—“if you’ve fed from me.”

“I haven’t, no. But I want to.” His reply was frank. Unapologetic. Edged with a sexual undertone that he hadn’t been able to suppress.

“Why haven’t you? You could have made me forget.”

“I want you to give me your blood of your own free will. Or not at all.”

The line between her brows smoothed away. “But you take blood from others without their permission.”

“They don’t belong to me. You do.” The knots in his gut fell away when she didn’t object to that. It meant they hadn’t gone a step backwards.

“How often do you have to feed?”

“At least weekly.” For his brothers, it was daily. But they weren’t archangels.

“Do you make the bites pleasurable?”

“I personally don’t, no. We can if we want to, though. Some do. Some don’t. Some do it occasionally. Our inner entities generally don’t like us to make it pleasurable, being cruel as they are. Though my entity would be different with you. It likes you.” Just the mere thought of tasting her blood again made Viper’s cock stir.

“You told me a lot tonight, but there’s more you’re keeping from me—if the rumors about you are true, why you fell from the upper realm, and … something else. Something bigger. I can feel it.”

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