Page 28 of The Vipers and Their Vendetta

“You’d have done the same,” he throws back at me, “especially when I found out she’d been sucking on Zane’s monster dick.”

We both turn our attention to Zane again. He palms the back of his neck, not meeting either of us in the eye. I can’t believe that while I had a gun shoved between my lips, Zane was getting his cock sucked by Vani.Iwas the one who should have been given the blow job, considering I was the one who found her. Fucking Zane did nothing!

“You’re an asshole, too, Zane. I don’t give a fuck that you can’t speak. It doesn’t mean you get special treatment.”

I grind my teeth and clench my fists, refusing to give in to the urge to punch both of them in the face.

I check the time. There’s no way Vani won’t be asleep now. She must be exhausted, especially after getting all that action straight after coming off her bike. She’ll be dead to the world.

Her bike is back now, and I hope she’ll be happy with me for returning it to her. I know how much she loves that bike. It’s like an extension of her.

“I’m going to bed,” I tell the other two. “I don’t want to be around either of you right now.”

“Don’t sulk, Saint,” Lex says.

I point in his face. “Don’t push me, brother. Not where she is concerned.”

Will Vani come between us? I don’t want that, and I’m sure neither do the other Vipers, but I can’t help being jealous that they got to spend that time with her, when I was the one who put my life on the line to save her. Okay, maybe some of what happened with the Preachers was my fault—I know I’m hot-headed and can antagonize people—but I was still the one who found her.

But right now, I know where she is. Safely tucked up in bed. I’ve also got the keys to her bike in my pocket, and, though she won’t have given it another thought, there’s the spare key to her room on the keychain.

Zane hadn’t noticed the extra key either, and he hasn’t said anything. Maybe it’s wrong of me not to tell the others, but they had their moment with her. I should get the same, even if she won’t know about it.

I navigate the stairs and hallways until I find myself outside of her room. Pressing my ear to the wood, I listen for any sign Vani might still be awake—music playing or the shower running. There’s nothing. I quickly glance to my left and right, ensuring I’m alone, and then use the spare key on her bike’s keychain to unlock the door. I crack it open and pause, waiting for a cry of alarm, but there is none, and the room beyond is in darkness.

Moving quietly, I slip through the gap and gently close the door behind me.

I stand in the dark, waiting, watching.

Only Vani’s soft breathing comes from the bed. It’s deep and even and gives me no cause for concern.

My eyes gradually get used to the darkness, and I assess where I’ll position myself. I don’t want her sensing me and waking up and turning on the light. But if she does, I want to have enough time to hide.

I consider what I need and decide on the corner of the room, beside the thick, floor-length drapes that are pulled across the window. I pick up the chair that’s positioned at Vani’s desk and lift it into the spot I’ve picked, then sit my ass down and proceed to watch over her as she sleeps.

CHAPTER 10

Vani

I joltawake to a knocking at my door.

I go to sit up, and then let out a groan. Every inch of my body hurts. Muscles I didn’t even know I had protest at the slightest movement. I got lucky, though. I could have been killed out on that road. I think of whatever animal it was I swerved for, and hope the little critter appreciates my sacrifice. Maybe it’ll know to stay off the road in the future.

The knocking comes again, more insistent this time.

“One minute!” I call.

A part of me hopes it’ll be one of the Vipers, while the other part of me prays it isn’t. I need some time apart from them to get my head on straight. Every time I’m near one of them, I end up giving them access to my body, and I need that to stop. It’s as though I have zero self-control. I know part of it is down to this being the first time I’ve ever had a sex-life. Maybe if my dad hadn’t been quite so protective of me growing up, I’d have learned how not to become addicted to men like the Vipers. But it’s like I’ve been starved my entire adult life, and now I’m being offered a feast, and I can’t seem to say no.

I’m embarrassed at the way I threw Lex out last night. I definitely did not want to become one of those girls who crieswhen she comes. I hadn’t been able to help myself, though. The emotion of that entire night had just bubbled to the surface and all came spilling out.

He probably thinks I’m a complete freak, and he’ll have told Saint and Zane too. Maybe it’ll be enough for them to keep their distance from me, but somehow, I doubt it.

With a groan, I swing my legs off the side of the bed. Oh, my God, that hurts. It’s not even the cuts and grazes and bruises that are hurting, but the deep muscles that keep my body moving. I’ll take some Tylenol soon, but first I need to find out who’s at my door.

I pause and frown at the chair in the corner of my room. I’m sure it wasn’t in that position when I went to bed last night. Hadn’t it been near my desk? I shake my head. I must be completely losing it.

I’m wearing sleep shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, which I’d dressed in after throwing Lex out last night. I internally cringe at the memory. Fuck, he must think I’m a headcase. I’d cried and screamed at him and thrown him out the moment we’d finished having sex.

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