Viper (Fallen Angel #2)(66)
Viper’s head fell back as he started to feverishly jack himself off, and I began to move in time with him, giving sharp thrusts that had him cursing me, even as he turned his head in my direction.
His lust-filled eyes found mine, and the rampant desire there had my arousal hitting an all-time high, and I slammed our mouths together. We bit, licked, and sucked at one another as Viper fucked his fist and I fucked him, our onslaught of one another relentless. And as the pleasure became too intense and the emotions too much to bear, we both gave in to the battle. We surrendered with a litany of curses that soon faded into the night, leaving us standing there in silence, surrounded by the darkness that had come to hang over this relationship.
As the enormity of what I’d just done—what I’d allowed myself to do and feel after the way he’d treated me—slammed home, so did all the hurt and anger. It rushed in like a tidal wave as I pulled free of his body and rolled the condom off. I zipped my jeans and saw that Viper was doing the same, and when he turned around, I steeled myself against that face, those eyes, the body mine so desperately wanted in every way, and said goodbye the only way I knew Viper would understand.
“There. Now we’re both just a fuck.”
Forty-One
Halo
“OH MY GOD, there’s press waiting for you,” Imogen said as the car slowed to a stop in front of the venue for Fallen Angel’s Corruption pre-release party.
As I looked out the tinted windows of the Mercedes, I could see the red carpet that led up to the building, and on either side, a surprising number of photographers, reporters, and fans—none of which I’d expected, because shit, I’d never done this before. I knew there’d be industry people inside, but was I supposed to stop and talk to these guys too?
“Just smile and be your charming self,” Imogen said, as if she could sense my sudden nerves. “You’ll be fine. And I’ll be right behind you.”
“Shit, Im…” My hands grew sweaty, and I wiped them on my pants. Why hadn’t the guys given me a heads-up? And why had MGA thought it’d be a good idea to have us all ride separately?
I didn’t have time to dwell on that, because the driver was opening the door, and unless I wanted to spend the evening hiding in the back seat, I needed to make a move. I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush, and then I stepped out of the car and buttoned my suit jacket as camera flashes blinded me. It was all I could do not to squint under the assault on my eyes, and I somehow managed a smile and a wave before turning back to help Imogen out of the car.
We’d both dressed to the nines tonight—she wore a floor-length strapless emerald dress that matched her eyes, and I’d chosen an all-black suit, forgoing the tie and switching out the collared shirt for a black T-shirt so it didn’t look too overdone and formal. It also happened to match my mood.
Imogen took hold of my arm, and off we went, stopping every few feet to pose for the cameras, pretending to know what the hell we were doing. As one of the reporters approached, Imogen gave me a gentle squeeze of reassurance, but there were no tough, hard-hitting questions tonight. They wanted to know what to expect from the album, how I felt about joining the band, and who the “lovely lady on my arm” was. It didn’t escape me that once I introduced Imogen as my sister, the questions turned toward my personal life, if I was single, what my type was, and if I had a celebrity crush.
Yeah, I have a celebrity crush, all right, I thought, as another Mercedes stopped in front of the red carpet. When the door opened, I could see a dark head of hair, entirely too familiar, and the breath left my body.
Viper stepped out of the car, clearly not giving a fuck about the dress code, because he wore a pair of dark jeans and boots paired with a plain white tee and black leather jacket, and fuck, the memory of him paled to the real thing. It’d been days since I’d seen him—since I’d fucked him on the roof of my building—but it felt like years. God, seeing him in person now put me right back there, back to the way I’d sought to punish him the way he’d punished me. It’d clearly been a goodbye if ever there was one, which only became more apparent as the days passed and neither of us reached out to the other.
I hated it. I hated every second of hating him, because the truth was that I didn’t hate him at all. He’d been upfront from the get-go, and I was the one who’d turned it into more, and though that didn’t excuse his shitty behavior, the days apart had allowed me to see things a bit more clearly. So, no, it wasn’t anger I felt toward Viper. It was heartache over losing what I never really had in the first place.
As if he felt my gaze on him, Viper’s head turned in my direction, his eyes meeting mine, and my pulse sped up. For the briefest moment, I thought I saw the same longing in his expression that I felt, but he blinked and then it was gone.
Imogen tugged on my arm, her voice soft as she said, “Halo, we should probably go inside.”
After spilling my guts to my sister, she’d taken on the protective mama-bear role, even insisting on coming with me tonight so I wouldn’t have to face Viper alone. Thank God she’d seen through my protests that I was fine, because as I stood there with my legs feeling like they would go out any second, it helped to have her steady calm beside me.
When she tugged on me again, I tore my eyes away from Viper’s and gave her a tight smile.