Viper (Hell's Handlers MC 9)

“Viper, I love you,” she blurted on a half sob. “Oh, my God, I love you so much and I’m so, so sorry I’ve never said it. I was so selfish. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I don’t know why you’ve stayed with me so long, saying it every day when I never returned the words. But I do. I love you. I have for a long, long time. I just—"

“Shh,” he said right before pressing his lips to hers in the softest, sweetest kiss she’d ever received. Leave it to Viper to somehow convey great passion while maintaining concern for her sore lip. “Baby, you think I don’t know? You think I don’t see how much you love me?”

“Well…I…I don’t know. I should have said it. Months ago. I should have said it the first time I thought it, which was only weeks after we met.”

He smiled the sexy, enticing smile that never failed to melt her insides and rev her engine. “Baby, I know. I’ve known probably since that first time you thought it. I see it every day. Hell, it’s in everything you do for me. I see it when you somehow sneak out of bed ten minutes before the alarm goes off every morning then show up, coffee in hand the moment the damn thing blares. I see it every time your face lights up when I walk in the door. I see it in the way you trust me to keep you safe. I see it in the way you need to be close to me at night, even if it’s just your big toe touching me.”

That was different. Saying it, putting voice to her feelings legitimized it in a way action didn’t. Her face heated. “I didn’t know you were aware of what I was doing.” Her chest ached but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. It was from a fullness she’d never experienced before. “I still should have said it sooner.”

He cupped her face with both hands, no humor or teasing in sight. Every word he said, he meant. “Baby, I’m so happy to hear the words come from those pretty lips. But please don’t feel bad. Don’t think I begrudged you for not saying it. Because I know and I feel it every single time you look at me. Every time you touch me. Every time you allow me the gift of being inside your body.”

“Viper,” she whispered as tears fell from her eyes. The man brought her to her knees with just a few well spoken words.

“I love you, Cassie.”

“I love you too. So much.”

He kissed her again, just as gently as the first time. “Let’s go home, baby. I need to be in our bed, wrapped around you for the next fifteen hours or so.”

With a nod, she wormed her way out of his arms and walked toward the bike. For a moment, he stared down the road in the direction Sarge had ridden. “I’m not sure how I get past this,” he said without turning. “It was more than reckless. He knew exactly what he was doing and he didn’t give a shit that the consequences could have been devastating. I’m afraid what he calls ambition is blind greed.”

Cassie sighed. “He won’t be able to keep it from the president any longer. Not now that Marco is sending Sarge’s ideas up the chain. He’ll be dealt with through the proper channels.”

He turned and her heart broke at the look of anguish on his face. “I feel like I owe him so much. I do owe him. Jesus, if he wasn’t willing to back me up last year, we wouldn’t be here. You would be…” He shook his head and she nodded. The words didn’t need to be spoken aloud. Both of them were well aware of her fate had Viper and Sarge not intervened. Still, after all this time, her stomach soured and her mind rebelled when she remembered the stark terror in the hours leading up to her rescue.

“He’s changed so much, I barely recognize the man we left Washington with.” Viper rubbed his face. It’d been a good few days since he’d shaved, and a thick layer of scruff had formed. If she had her way, he’d grow it into a full beard. Already, the soft hairs felt amazing against her skin.

If only there was something profound she could say in that moment to take his pain and confusion away. But there wasn’t. She was as lost and confounded by Sarge’s behavior as Viper. “Come on, honey, let’s go home. You’ve got to be as drained as I am. It’s impossible to think clearly when we’re this exhausted.”

He blinked then cupped the side of her face. “Shit. Here I am running my mouth and you need to get to the hospital.”