Viper (2 page)

“Damn, Scarlet. If you’d stayed in any longer, you’d have made yourself bleed.”

“I’m not clean.”

His gaze softened. “Darlin’, you’re as clean as you’re going to get. What happened to you…it can’t be erased with soap and water. If you need to talk to someone, I can arrange that. There’s a shrink in town that owes the club a favor. I’m sure she’d see you if you want to go.”

“To counseling?” Her teeth were still chattering to the point she thought they’d shatter.

“It’s an option, if you think it will help. I should have offered it the moment I brought you home. I’d imagine you face your share of demons every time you close your eyes.”

She nodded, but she wasn’t sure if she was nodding because she wanted to go, or just to acknowledge his offer. Talking about what happened to her was a frightening thought, but maybe if she shared some of it with someone, then perhaps she could begin to heal.

Chapter Two

Viper tossed back a shot of whiskey and stared at the closed door down the hall. He’d finally gotten Scarlet out of the shower, dried off, dressed, and tucked into bed. She’d been so damn cold from the icy water in the shower that she’d shivered the entire time. His offer of counseling, while out of character, had been genuine. It bothered him that he cared so much what happened to Scarlet. He’d been different since he’d brought her home though, and his brothers were starting to notice. He’d taken a few willing women up against the wall in the bathroom, or let one suck him off under the table, but he hadn’t been able to enjoy it. When it was over, he felt like he’d betrayed Scarlet, which was fucking ridiculous. They didn’t have a relationship! He owned her ass and that was all. If he told her to fuck ever member of the M.C., she’d have no choice but to do it.

His wolf growled at the thought of someone touching their woman.
Whoa! Holy fuck!
No way in hell was she
their
woman. His wolf had been chomping at the bit to take Scarlet to their bed, acted damn near possessive of her when other males were around, and it was starting to freak Viper the fuck out. He could lock the house up, set the alarm. She’d be safe. Then he could hightail it back to the clubhouse and get all the pussy he wanted.

Viper threw back another shot and slammed the glass down. Standing tall, he marched down the hall, threw open Scarlet’s door and sought her form in the dark. She flicked on the lamp and blinked at him with wide eyes.

“I’m going out. Don’t try to escape because the alarm will be on.” He folded his arms. “My number is programmed into the cell by your bed. But don’t use it unless it’s an emergency, like the house is burning down around your ears or some shit like that. Got it?”

She nodded.

Viper stared at her for another moment before slamming her door shut and stalking out of the house, pausing only long enough to set the alarm and lock up. Swinging his leg over his bike, he turned the key and revved the engine. In a squeal of tires and the acrid scent of burnt rubber, he peeled out of the driveway and zipped down the streets toward the clubhouse. There was still a row of bikes out front when he arrived and he parked at the end. It looked like Scorch, Digger, Reaper, and Switch were still around, as well as a few Prospects. From the sound of the music blasting inside, the party girls were still there and things hadn’t slowed down.

Viper stomped up the steps, shoved open the door, and stepped inside. The smell of cigarettes and liquor hit him as he made his way over to a table. Reaper was kicked back with a party girl hanging on his arm and another unzipping his pants. With a quick nod, Viper claimed an empty chair and scanned the room. Two party girls were hanging out by the bar and he pointed to the buxom blonde, motioning her over. The wiggle in her walk sent her boobs bouncing as she strutted toward him.

He crooked his finger then pointed to the floor in front of him. She smiled as she dropped to her knees, her hands sliding up and down his denim-clad thighs. He’d seen her around the club a few times. Sasha—that was her name. If he remembered right, she gave pretty good head. Viper didn’t remember fucking her, but he knew she was a favorite. He’d never cared much for fucking the same girl as everyone else in the club, so he usually snagged them when they first walked through the door. There were always new girls, all of them hoping someone would make them an old lady. Fuck if he understood why anyone would make a party girl an old lady though. They were just one step above a whore. Or maybe they were one step below, since they did it for fun and not for payment.

The rasp of his zipper filled his ears as she eased it down and pulled out his cock. He was still hard from seeing Scarlet in the shower and a bit of pre-cum pooled on the head. She looked at him from beneath her eyelashes and flicked her tongue out, capturing the drop. She rubbed her lips together and gave him a sultry smile before flicking that tongue out again and licking the shaft.

“Stop teasing and suck me,” he demanded.

Sasha licked her lips, slicking them,
then leaned forward and took him in her mouth, her tongue flicking back and forth as she swallowed him down. Viper reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair and forced his cock down her throat.
She gagged and he pulled back, then surged forward again. Her nails bit into his thighs as he fucked her mouth with long, hard strokes.

“That’s it, baby. Take it all. Every fucking inch.”

She gripped his thighs as he forced his cock down her throat again. She swallowed on him and he came, bucking his hips. When he was finished, he pulled away and zipped up, pushing Sasha away. She sprawled on the floor and glared at him, but she knew better than to open her mouth. He didn’t have a hard-on anymore, but he still wasn’t satisfied. If anything, the experience had left him feeling empty.

We betrayed our mate
, his wolf grumbled. Mate? No fucking way. Viper wasn’t settling down, even if the wretched beast inside him did think Scarlet was theirs. She had a body made for lovin’, and she was easily the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but that didn’t mean he was going to claim her. The sooner his wolf realized that, the better.

His phone jingled in his pocket and he pulled it out. “Home” flashed across the screen. What the fuck could Scarlet possibly need? He hadn’t been gone that long.

“What?” he barked into the phone.

At first, all he heard was heavy panting and then a whine. “Please don’t,” Scarlet begged.

What the fuck?
“Scarlet?”

“Don’t hurt me.” She whimpered. There was a crash and a growl.

“Scarlet? Answer me, dammit!”

Viper heard the phone being picked up.

“Scarlet can’t come to the phone right now. She’s busy.”

The hairs on his nape stood up. He knew that voice. “Slash.”

The Red Devil chuckled into the phone. “I’ve missed my little cash cow, so I thought I’d swing by and pick her up. I knew it was only a matter of time before you left her alone. Don’t bother sending anyone by the house. By the time they get here, we’ll be gone. Does it make you hot thinking of her spreading her legs for all of the Red Devils?”

“You fucking touch her and I’ll kill you!”

Viper was already out of his chair and out the door. He heard the thump of boots behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Reaper was running to his bike. Good. If he was going up against Slash, he could use a little back-up. He watched as Reaper tucked his cell back in his pocket and knew his brother had called in reinforcements. If the Red Devils wanted to play, the Loup Garous would be happy to bring the pain. If they harmed so much as one hair on Scarlet’s head, the streets would be bathed in their blood before the night was over.

Viper pulled into his driveway, taking note of the open door and silent alarm. He didn’t know how the bastard had gotten around the system, but once he got Scarlet back, he’d make sure it couldn’t happen again. He pulled the Desert Eagle from the back of his jeans and cleared the house one room at a time, Reaper right on his heels.

“I have to get her back,” Viper said.

Reaper leaned against the bedroom doorframe. “Are you sure you want to? Think of it man. This solves your problem.”

“Problem?”

“With her history, you can’t pass her around. And for whatever reason, you aren’t fucking her yourself. Let the Red Devils have her.”

A red haze settled over Viper’s vision. “So I should leave her to be raped and tortured just because she doesn’t have a place in our M.C.? I should turn my back on her and pretend I don’t know the hell she’s going through, or that she’ll die a slow painful death at their hands?”

Reaper smirked. “Your wolf about to tear free? Good. Now let’s go save your mate.”

“She’s not my mate.”

Reaper rolled his eyes. “What-the-fuck-ever. Every last one of your brothers has been waiting for you to come to your senses and claim her.”

“The two of you done socializing?” Scorch asked, pushing his way into the room. “Because it looks like we have a damsel to rescue.”

Bone snorted from his position behind Reaper. “That little hellcat? I saw what she did to that Prospect. No way is she going down without a fight.”

Viper picked up a knife off the floor. “I gave her this. If she doesn’t have it, then she’s defenseless.”

“Let’s ride,” Scorch said. “The sooner we get to her, the less likely she’ll have been harmed.”

Viper pocketed the knife and stormed out of the room. If they had harmed her in any way, he wouldn’t stop until he was bathed in the blood of every last Red Devil. They’d fucked up by taking what was his.

****

Scarlet wiped the blood from her mouth and glared at Slash.

“You heard me, you little bitch. Strip!”

“I’d rather die than let you see my body. And I’ll tear out the throat of any man who thinks they’re going to fuck me.”

Slash laughed. “Little Scarlet has gotten a backbone since leaving us. Hey Thumper, why don’t you show our little club toy how you got your name.”

Scarlet watched as Thumper unfastened his belt and moved in closer. He unzipped his pants, opened them wide, and his cock fell out, hard and more than ready to cause her quite a bit of pain. Fuck if she was going to let him though. She’d rolled over before and taken whatever they’d given her, but she wasn’t going to do it again. Being with the Loup Garous has shown her that not all men were violent toward women, and a few had taken the time to show her how to defend herself.

Thumper reached her and she allowed him to draw her close. He leered down at her and she bared her teeth. As he reached for the hem of her shirt, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his cock.

“Oh yeah, baby. I knew you wanted Thumper to give it to you good.”

He thrust into her hand a few times, until Scarlet tightened her grip, then tried to bend his dick in half. She heard a snap and he screamed in pain before jerking away from her. Thumper’s dick was already swelling and bruising. With any luck, it was permanently broken.

Slash backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor. “Just for that, I’m going to tie you down. Then the club is going to take turns with you all night long.”

That’s what he thought. While she’d been breaking Thumper’s dick, she’d managed to pilfer his pocket knife. She snapped it open and faced off against Slash, who had the audacity to laugh at her.

“And what you going to do with that thing, little girl?”

There was the sound of a gun cocking, but Scarlet didn’t dare take her eyes off Slash. It didn’t stop him from turning to look though.

“She’s going to distract you long enough for me to put a bullet in your ass.”

Viper! She chanced a glance in his direction before jerking her gaze back toward Slash, but the Red Devil wasn’t paying her any attention. Scarlet backed toward the bar until she felt the wood digging into her back. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone coming her way and turned with the knife brandished in front of her, but it was Switch.

“Easy there, girl. Let’s get you outside.”

She shook her head. “If Viper is going to kill Slash, I want to be here to see it. I
need
to see it.”

“All right, but I’m not leaving your side. Anyone comes after you, they’ll have to deal with me.”

She relaxed a little and smiled at him. “Thanks, Switch.”

Scarlet watched with rapt fascination as Viper faced off against Slash, both of them with weapons drawn. Four more brothers of the Ashton Grove M.C. piled into the room, subduing the rest of the Red Devils. Slash and Viper circled one another.

“Your boy is barely hanging on,” Switch said. “I thought he was going to shift when he got off his bike. I’m not sure who’s more pissed you were taken—Viper or his wolf.”

“I can shoot you and end this right now,” Viper told Slash. “Or we can fight this out the old-fashioned way.”

Slash smirked. “You mean with our fists? That’s only fair if you keep that beast of yours locked up.”

“I’ve got control of my wolf,” Viper said.

Slash tossed his gun to the side and Viper handed his to Digger. Scarlet couldn’t take her eyes off Viper as his muscles flexed. He waited for Slash to make the first move, ducking the punch and catching Slash on the jaw with an upper-cut. Slash’s head snapped back and he stumbled back a step. Viper didn’t give him a chance to recover and went after him again, landing two blows to Slash’s ribs before kicking his legs out from under him.

The Red Devil went down and Viper landed on top of him, straddling his body. Punch after punch landed on Slash’s chest and face, his face a mess of blood and bruises. Slash was barely putting up a fight, but it didn’t stop Viper. She heard the crunch of bone and turned her face into Switch’s arm, not wanting to watch another moment.

There was a sickening wet sound, a bit of gurgling, then the room when silent. She felt the heat of Viper’s body as he walked over and stopped in front of her. She looked up into his eyes and saw the wolf lurking just below the surface. Blood spattered his chest and covered his hands. He reached past her and snagged a towel off the bar, cleaning himself off. She glanced past him at the carnage he’d left behind, and wished she’d never looked. The sight of Slash’s dead body sickened her, and yet part of her rejoiced in his destruction. He wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone ever again, and that was certainly cause for celebration.