Page 38 of The Vipers' Vow

Then I guess we’ve not kept you busy and distracted enough.

“Oh, but you have,” I say.

My phone beeps, and I frown and glance down. It’s from Dad.

My stomach dips with nerves. Crap, I hope the gang doesn’t make Zane’s life hell over this meal.

I turn to him. “Dad wants us to meet for a meal at eight, in the big hall. They use it sometimes for meetings with other clubs, events, that kind of thing. Sometimes we watch movies in there, too. One of the guys, Crow—he’s called that because he always wears black and has long black hair—well, he puts up a projector and we watch something on that.” I stop, realizing I’m rambling.

Zane picks up my hand and squeezes it once. I turn to him.It’s okay, he mouths. Then he places his palm high on my chest, on my collarbone, and mouths again,Breathe.

I hold his gaze and do as he says. I follow him as he breathes in slowly, holds, then lets it out. After doing this three times, I feel better. Zane smiles at me, and it’s so beautiful it makes my heart ache. The man is drop dead gorgeous. He fits in here, too. He could be one of the club and no one would bat an eyelid. I giggle a little as I imagine Saint here instead.

What?Zane mouths at me.

“I was imagining Saint here, and how that would have gone down.”

Zane pulls a face that is like ayikesface in a cartoon, and it makes me laugh even more.

I show him all around, and Zane seems fascinated by the compound and how they organize things. He asks me questions about Church, how often it is held, the clubhouse, and women, and if it’s true the Ol’ Ladies aren’t married. I tell him that’s not the case. Some are for sure; others aren’t. It all just depends.

As we talk, it hits me starkly that I know very little about his life, so as we near a quiet part of the land, down by the river, I turn to him.

“What is it like in your family? In your world?”

He sighs, and instead of using his phone he takes out a small notepad from his back jeans pocket and writes. Brutal, and dangerous. But I have a big family—a younger brother and two sisters—and it’s always noisy.

I can’t help the pinch of jealousy I experience at the thought of Zane’s big family. All I’d ever wanted was a sister, and that was snatched away from me before I’d even gotten to meet her. The club has been my family, but it’s not the same. Even the friends I’d had growing up—like Phoenix—had been older than me, and the moment I’d turned thirteen, my dad basically warned everyone to not even look at me. I’d have loved having brothers and sisters my own age, having big Thanksgiving meals and someone to open gifts with on Christmas morning.

“You’re really lucky to have them,” I say.

He must realize where my thoughts have gone as he takes his fist and places it to his heart and rubs it in a circle a couple of times. The look in his eyes is enough to convey what he means.

I’m sorry.

He picks up the pen and notepad and writes, They’d love you. You could be Greek.

I smile at that. “Really?”

He nods.Yes, with your eyes and hair. You’reomorfi.

I read the word and frown. “What’somorfi?”

He writes again,Beautiful.

He opens his palm in front of his face and brings the hand over and in front of his face in an arc and then closes it under his chin as he mouths,beautiful.

My heart stutters. He just showed me the sign for beautiful.

I stare at him, and my heart softens. There’s no one around, so I take a risk and lean in, kissing him softly. He breathes into the kiss, and just that, that small thing, makes me wantmore. My arms find their way around his neck, and my fingers lace into the soft hair at his nape. He wraps his arms around me, too, his hands moving lower to grab my ass, yanking me hungrily against him. It’s as though all the hours spent on the back of the bike, where we’d been rubbing against each other, acted like an insanely long foreplay. I need him, right now, and I don’t even care that we’re in the middle of the compound or someone might see us—even though I know I’m playing a dangerous game. Zane is hard. I can feel his cock as he presses against me, our tongues tangling.

There’s an old shed a few minutes away, around the next bend in the path, and I break the kiss, take his hand, and lead him there.

As I look around again and push him behind it, so we’re hidden from view from the buildings in the distance, he glances at me, his eyes puzzled.

I pull his zipper down, and his mouth opens a little, but he pushes my hand away and frowns.

I give a little moan of dismay. “I want to.”

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