Angel (Fallen Angel, #3)(7)

“Okay,” Viper said as he craned up and nipped at my lower lip. “But only because I fell in love with an Angel. Otherwise, it’d be Howie all the way.”

I crushed my lips against his and pushed Viper back into the pillows, following him down and moving between his spread legs, where I settled.

“Hmm,” Viper said as I raised my head and he trailed his fingers down my spine, where he stopped to draw random patterns over the naked skin of my lower back. “I missed this.”

I shifted a little way down the mattress and laid my cheek on his chest, where I could hear the steady thumping of his heart. The heart that now belonged to me. “This?”

“You. Naked in my bed…in my arms.”

A smile crept across my lips, but I kept it to myself as I snuggled into Viper’s warmth, loving this new vulnerable side he was letting me see. It was like I’d been granted a backstage pass to one of the best shows in the world, but what was behind this curtain was worth more than money could buy.

“I missed it too,” I said, and kissed his chest. “Missed you. I had no idea how I was going to act normal around you when all I wanted to do was shake you.”

Viper chuckled. “And here I was being so…so…”

When he seemed to struggle for the right word, I suggested, “Nice?”

“Yeah. What’s with the role reversal?”

“Hey, I’m taking advantage of this mood of yours while I can.”

Viper sobered, his laugh dissipating as he took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned my face up to his. Then, in a tone that left little doubt to the sincerity behind his next words, he said, “This isn’t a mood, Angel. I’m not going to wake up in the morning and have changed my mind. Tell me you know that.”

As I stared up into his dark eyes, I reached up and traced my finger along his strong jaw line and nodded. “I do.”

Viper bit down on his lip, and then did something he’d never done before: he leaned into my touch until my hand was cradling his cheek, and then he closed his eyes.

“I never knew…” Viper whispered, his voice unsteady under the weight of his confession, and I held my breath as I waited in the silence of the bedroom, watching him, willing him to finish his thought. “I never knew it could be like this. That I could feel so in sync, so completed by another person. But that’s how I feel with you. Like you see me, the real me, and have decided to stick around anyway.”

I swallowed as the enormity of his words warmed my heart, at the same time they made my stomach flip, and then I softly said, “What about Owen?”

Viper’s eyes opened. “Not even close, Angel. Not even a little bit.”

“Good.”

“Good, huh?”

When I nodded, Viper’s eyes all but glittered, and then, before I knew what he was going to do, he wrapped his arms around me and rolled me to my back until he was hovering over me. I spread my legs, and he shifted between them and braced his forearms by my head.

As he stroked my hair out of my face, he pressed a kiss to my lips, and then asked, “You aren’t gonna change your mind, are you?”

I wound my arms around his waist and returned the kiss. “No way. You’re stuck with me now.”





Six





Viper





STUCK WITH HIM? There’s no place I’d rather be, I thought, as I aligned my body with Halo’s and kissed his sexy lips. “Not a bad place to be stuck, if you ask me.”

“That better be your answer,” Halo said, tightening his hold on me. “Especially after tonight. Have you ever seen such a reaction? That was crazy insane.”

I chuckled but shook my head, because honestly, no. I hadn’t. I’d known from the get-go that if Halo and I were to take this thing between us public, the press would go crazy. And that was exactly what had happened tonight.

Once they’d gotten over their initial shock at the words that had flown out of my mouth and Halo’s response, the cutthroat instincts of a very competitive industry had taken over each and every one of them, and the reporters shifted gears, moving into work mode in the blink of an eye, as they’d each tried to get the first comment, the first chance at an interview from us, all by shouting over one another.

Lucky for us, Killian and the rest of the guys had been there to hold them back for the most part. But I was well aware that tomorrow morning was going to bring a whole lot more than the light of day.

“It was super fucking intense,” I said. “But that was just the beginning. It’s only going to get worse. You ready for that?” I held my breath, waiting for Halo’s reaction. But when his lips quirked up and he nodded, I let out a sigh of relief.

“I told you. I won’t hide who I am, Viper. I know this is going to be messy, but there’s no way I can be around you and not want to be with you.”

And thank fuck for that, because these last few days without the angel had been like hell on earth.

“There is something I need to do tomorrow, though. Before I do anything else,” Halo said, piquing my curiosity.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

Halo gnawed on his lower lip.

“Angel?”

“I need to go and see my parents.” He paused, seeming to think that over for a second before he continued. “I need to tell them about this, about you, before they hear about it on TV.”