Page 17 of Desperately Delicate Viper

I reach into the glove compartment, nudging aside the extra pistol I keep right next to the car manual, and grab a handful of napkins.

“For your knees,” I say, handing them over to Anders. He blinks down at his scraped skin with a look of mild surprise, then takes the napkins and chuckles. “What’s funny?”

He dabs at the already drying blood, not making much of an impact with the dry napkins, and shrugs in response my question.

“I don’t know, there was just something really funny about the visual of you pulling up to a drive-thru in your BMW and buying a little box of ninety-nine-cent chicken nuggets, then stuffing all the leftover napkins into your glove compartment like a normal person.”

“I am a normal person.”

Anders snorts and then gives up on trying to clean himself up, wadding up the napkin and tossing it onto the floor by his feet. I glance over and arch an eyebrow, and he stares back withdefiance, a smile spreading slowly over his lips. My cock throbs and my lips tingle with the memory of the kiss.

“So, what are we eating? Cannoli?” He cackles at his own joke and my lips twitch with a smile. I like him feral and defiant, but relaxed and snarky might be my favorite.

“Ninety-nine-cent chicken nuggets,” I deadpan, and he laughs again. As we leave campus behind, I run through a mental list of places I’d like to take him before deciding on one. “I’m glad you’re not convinced I’m going to kill you anymore,” I say rather than answering his question.

I see his shoulders twitch out of the corner of my eye. “Not sure I’m convinced, but if you’re going to stalk me anyway, running isn’t going to do me much good. I decided it’s better to face death head-on if it’s coming for me.”

A surge of pride and affection fills my chest.

“You strike me as the type to face most things head-on.”

He’s quiet for several seconds, like he’s considering the assessment, and then he clears his throat. “Most things,” he agrees, but there’s something underneath it I can’t quite figure out. Guilt maybe.

I manage to find parking less than a block from our destination. Anders jumps out the second the car stops, and I half expect him to bolt like he did before. But he lingers on the sidewalk, alternating between curling his arms around himself and shooting defiant glares at random passersby.

“I doubt I’m dressed for anyplace fancy,” he says as soon as I get out. I rake my gaze over him, noting the road rash on his knees again before taking in the rest of him. He’s wearing a tight white t-shirt tonight, the fabric so sheer I can see the darker outline of his nipples through it, and a pair of tight shorts that leave his toned thighs on full display and hug his bouncy ass just right.

“We’re not going somewhere fancy,” I assure him, coming around the car to stop right in front of him. He doesn’t give up an inch of space, tilting his head to look up at me when I close in on him. I bring my hand to his face and graze my thumb over the smooth curve of his jaw. “And if we were, I can assure you that as long as you’re with me, no one is going to give you any trouble.”

“Why? Because you’ll shoot them if they do?” He arches an eyebrow, the look in his eyes too cool and controlled to give away how he feels about that possibility.

I dip my head to bring my face closer to his.

“If I have to,” I answer.

Anders shivers, and for a second, the impassivity slips from his eyes again and they dance with excitement. He pulls himself back together and licks his lips. Our mouths are so close that I can feel the heat of his tongue even though it doesn’t quite brush my lips.

“Why?” he asks.

That’s the question of the fucking century, isn’t it? Why? Why Anders? Why am I so damn smitten with a man I barely know? Chemistry, perhaps. Good old-fashioned attraction? Why does it have to be more complicated than that? I can tell that’s not going to be good enough for him though. Not when someone’s been working hard to make him feel helpless and useless.

“Hmm, it sounds like you finally found something left we have to talk about,” I say lightly, letting my hand fall from his jaw.

I smirk when he huffs, and then I jerk my chin in the direction we’re headed, and Anders leads the way.

I reach out and tug him to a stop in front of my favorite hole-in-the-wall diner, the smell of greasy onion rings and grilled meat wafting out to make my mouth water. I hold the door open for Anders, and he doesn’t say anything as I greet the hostessby name and thank her after she leads us to my usual booth in the back corner. When we’re alone again, he glances around and then opens his menu.

“So, I’m guessing the man you were defending was your brother.”

His head whips up and the predatory look I’ve loved in his eyes before has absolutelynothingon the feral way he bares his teeth, his whole body tensing as he digs his fingers into the table like he’s seconds from vaulting over it to throttle me. My cock thickens against my thigh again and my breath catches.

“Don’t fucking talk about him. Don’tthinkabout him. He doesn’t have anything to do with any of this,” Anders hisses.

“He doesn’t know how you’ve made your money in the past?” I wait a beat to see if he’s going to pick up on the implication that he’s done selling himself, if he’s going to fight me on that too, but he just keeps glaring at me, his chest heaving.

“No, and he won’t.” His eyes bore into mine and the heat in my gut spreads. “I’m the one who stole from you, so whatever you need to settle that, it’s going to come fromme. If you go anywhere near him…” He swallows hard and then the look in his eyes turns to pure steel. “I’ll fucking kill you.”

My cock jerks and a quiet moan vibrates in my throat. “Christ, Anders, if you keep up with the dirty talk, I’m going to embarrass myself.”

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