Page 11 of Viper

This guy doesn’t fucking matter now, but still, I want to kill him. Not only for hurting Clementine, but because he’s the reason we stayed apart. He didn’t even appreciate what he had. I should’ve known he wouldn’t. I should’ve come back and taken care of him right then.

“Fuck.” I pull her against my chest, breathing in the scent of her body as though the craving is finally being satisfied. “I knew I should’ve come after you.”

“You wanted to?”

I huff. “Hell yeah, I wanted to. I thought about you every day.” I kiss her lips again, softly this time, lingering on the taste of strawberries on her tongue. “I’ve done a lot of asshole things in my life, but fuckin’ with another man’s wife seemed over the line, despite the fact that I fuckin’ hated him. I figured you knew what you wanted.”

“I thought I did.” She swallows down a lump in her throat. “I guess that’s the scary part. I was so gullible. I’d have believed anything he told me.”

I brush my thumb against her cheek. “You’re human. You should be able to trust your husband.”

“I know.” A slow smile stretches onto her face as she looks toward me, as though she’s genuinely happy I’m here. “How is this happening? Do you live here on Rugged Mountain? I know you said you came in town for the rodeo every once in a while. I kinda looked for you, like every year.”

“Fuck. The guy I worked with stopped sending me when Waylon opened his ranch up here. They had enough guys to handle the show. Only reason I’m here now is cause I joined a local MC from a group I was riding with out in Kansas City. They dissolved, and these guys picked me up for some bounty hunting. How the fuck have I not run into you? I’ve been here about a year.”

Her eyes widen. “A year? Oh my God. Well, if you don’t have pets, you probably wouldn’t have. I’m practically a hermit these days.”

“Pets? Are you a veterinarian?”

She nods. “Yeah. It’s the one good thing I did for myself. The funny thing is, I almost talked myself out of it. I’m so glad I didn’t. So do you usually go for coffee this late?”

“No. I’ve never been to that coffee shop in my life. I was at the bar next door with a buddy. The only reason I went tonight was because I needed something to keep me awake on the ride back up the mountain.

“I can’t believe you’re here. Like, really here.” She holds me tighter. “That night, when you left, I was feeling so much but I didn’t know how to tell you and still be ‘good.’ The second you left, I bawled my eyes out. For days I just cried randomly for no good reason. I don’t know what it was, but I always wondered if you felt the same.”

I groan low in my throat and hold her tight. “Absolutely. I’ve kicked myself every second of every day since that room door closed. I hated leaving you in that place, and I’ve thought about you in ways… fuck… in ways I shouldn’t have been thinking about a married woman.

She stares up at me and grins. “I’ve thought about you like that too.”

My cock presses against my zipper and an urge to claim her rattles through me.

It’s too soon for sex. I want to take this slow, get to know her for real, make sure she’s mine before I make her mine, but my mouth works faster than my brain. “What kinds of things did you think about?”

She sighs. “God. That bike ride… with my back against your chest, and your voice low in my ear.” She presses her thighs together. “The way you held me when I was crying. The way you saw me… I’ve never felt so understood in my life, Abe.” She smiles. “Or should I call you Viper? I didn’t notice this on your vest the first time we met. I’ll blame that on whiskey.”

I grin. “Abe sounds less intimidating than Viper, anyway. I’m not sure you’d have lusted after a Viper for ten years.”

“I would have.” She grins. “Promise.”

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she lifts the screen to look at the name before rolling her eyes and tucking it away again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s… it’s nothing.”

“No. It’s something. You can tell me.”

Her lips pinch together. “I don’t want to meet up for the first time in forever and lob all my issues on your lap. I want to enjoy this.”

I tip her head up until her gaze meets mine. “You’re not a problem. I’m here now. I want to make everything better. What’s going on?”

“Craig still contacts me.”

Rage boils my blood. It’s instant, like the sound of his name alone is enough to set me off. “Why?”

She shrugs. “It’s like the second I left he wanted me back, which is hilarious because he was so absent for years. Now that it’s over, suddenly he’s at my doorstep constantly, begging me for a second chance. That alert was my security system telling me he’s there. I’ve begged him to leave. I’ve called the cops. He was hauled off twice. He just keeps coming back. I’m gonna get a restraining order. I have an appointment with a lawyer on Monday.”

My fists ball at my side and the anger that was in my muscles has now traveled to my stomach, forcing a tightness that ensures an explosion is coming.

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