The Runaway Viper (Viper #2) (19 page)

“I’ve really missed you,” I whisper as I begin to fall into a deeper sleep than I’ve had since this hell started up in my life.
“So much.”

“Not as much as I’ve missed you, Mrs. Mason,” he murmurs back, kissing into my hair. “I’ve left you here too long. I promise you, the wait is nearly over.”

“It better be,” I remark half asleep.

Jace chuckles and pulls me in tighter. “It is, and this time she won’t come looking for you.”

I woke up in heaven.

That’s the only way I can describe this. This is my first morning, in so many weeks, where I’ve woken up to a beating heart beneath my ear. I don’t even move. I allow my eyes to stare at the lightly covered windows, the sun piercing through and drowning us, but I don’t move.

Jace is still asleep and between his calm heart rate and heavy breathing, I don’t dare move. I should have known my own personal peace would come in such a way. It should never have been a doubt in my mind, and I don’t want to break away from it.

Jace has other ideas.

I feel his breathing change, his chest lowering as he inhaling and stretches. He only stops when his body realizes how it’s entwined with another – a first for him too apparently – and the next thing I know, he’s placing a light kiss onto the crown on my head.

“Morning, Mr. Mason,” I murmur and lift myself from his chest. I push up, reverting back to my side of the bed and lay beside him, my body turned to face him. “I seriously thought it might have all been a dream.”

He stretches some more, turning onto his side to mirror my body. Jace’s hand comes up between us, resting upon the pillows. He reaches out, his knuckles glide softly across the frame of my face, his thumb rubbing across my bottom lip. I involuntarily close my eyes at his touch and enjoy it.

“This is far from a dream,” Jace whispers to me with an affirmative. His speech is slurred a little with sleep, thick and hoarse, but it doesn’t matter to me. “This is real, baby.”

“Good,” I mumble, still seduced beneath his touch. I open my eyes and look directly into his. “I don’t know how you do it, but you seem to save me right at the moment I really need you.”

“There’s not much to it,” Jace replies quietly. “I get the call, I come running. It’s just that simple, and it always will be.”

My eyes water, and I feel my anxieties drip away. There’s a reason I allowed him to catch me that first day, there’s a purpose to the fact I allowed him to save me. It was destiny that allowed a client to fall in love with a Viper Girl and vice versa.

“This does seem kind of surreal, I’ll admit,” Jace adds, stealing my attention. I look
up, my lips parted with bated breath, my eyes flicking across every feature of his for more details. He just lays there with a small smile upon his lips. “I woke up every morning feeling like I was missing something vital. I don’t know what you did to me, Joely, but please keep doing it.”

“Why?” I ask curiously. “It sounds dangerous that you need me so much.”

He chuckles, his hand coming up to push some hair out of my face. “I do need you so much, that’s why. You make me feel alive, and I think I forgot that. You’re the one with the biggest heart, the biggest soul, and the utmost courage.”

I shake my head at him. I sit up,
maneuvering toward him, forcing him onto his back. “That’s not true.” My defamation of his claim is gospel to me. My big heart, fearless courage, and martyr’s behavior will be my downfall I’m sure. “What I do, I do for you.” I follow my words with kisses upon his chest. As my lips travel above his heart, I hover a little, applying attention there for a moment. As I move on, I leave my hand behind; the beat of his heart pulsates into my palm. As I move up his body, reaching his neck, then his jaw, I feel the beat keep the same steady rhythm, but the moment our lips latch on with greed, I feel the beat skip. I smile against the kiss and enjoy the effect I have on him.

“We’re not doing this, not this way,” he speaks, stopping me. I peer down at him, my hair throwing my face like a messy halo. He catches my curiosity and just smirks like he knows something I don’t. “I have dreamed of how I would have my first morning back with you, and I intend to make it true.”

“How do you intend to do that?” I ask him, growing more and more curious.

“Like this,” he says gently, but rolls me over and onto my back. “I’ve missed this,” he says climbing onto me. Immediately I’m pinned beneath him, and I feel desire swirl from within. It’s been a long lost feeling, but Jace has awoken so many parts of me in such a short amount of time. I really shouldn’t be surprised.

I say nothing as he pulls my pyjama bottoms down, taking my panties with it. He works quick and with stealth to rid himself of his boxers and then climbs back into position. As I feel his hardened penis against my inner thigh, it elicits sparks to fly. My heart swells with hope and already I’m biting my lip and clawing at his shoulders, pulling him down toward me, getting a sweet dose of his kisses.

It’s when I hear a clatter outside I remember I heard Eli earlier. He’s not exactly quiet in the morning. It was in the silence of the early morning light, I listened to them discuss today, discuss me, discuss Jace being here. They even reverted to discussing me escaping the club again.  I know any sort of noise, and they’ll be onto us. I don’t particularly want them busting in during this.

“We can’t be loud,” I muse, pouting slightly. “I heard Eli talking to Bree earlier. They’re going to be starting breakfast soon.”

“How long have you been awake?” he asks and then shakes he’s head. “Don’t even bother answering that, I want to use my time wisely here.” He leans down, his face level with mine, inches apart. “I know one way of keeping you quiet and if I’m on a limit, I’ll enjoy it far more this way.”

“How’s that?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer me vocally. The first thrust pushing all air out of my lungs and all life back into my soul. He deliciously fills me with his length while also covering my mouth with his. Successfully, he silences my moan down to a muffle.

He begins a rhythm - it’s hard, but it’s calculated, and I can’t help the way my body reacts to a sexual void being filled. As my back arches by default from his thrusts, my head pushes back and Jace’s lips leave mine as he begins to attack my jaw and neck. He peppers it with kisses, leaving those delightful trails of worship. Jace doesn’t even try to quieten me, he’s so infused in the moment, he just pumps me harder and faster.

We get lost in allowing our bodies to find that one true unison that the world falls away in pieces. I’m lost in oblivion and I can tell Jace is too as nothing breaks his stamina. I buck my hips as he pumps into me harder and faster, all the while I try to keep myself quiet. Jace grunts, moaning in pleasure, and I don’t care he failed at silencing me because the way my body yearns for him makes me believe again.

As the orgasm bursts, my entire body thrums with enchantment. The euphoria that takes over as I clench around his throbbing erection is breathtaking and as I calm, my breathing staccato, my heart racing, there’s only one thing to learn - I’m definitely not broken.

“God, I really have missed you,” Jace comments again, he’s breathless and still buried deep in me.

I smack him playfully. “You missed the sex.”

He stares day at me, a crooked grin on his face. “It’s an extension of what I’ve really been missing.” He leans down, kissing me again. These are different. They’re light, showing he’s now sated. “Least the ache’s gone now.”

I giggle aloud, it doesn’t stop him.

It’s like a lightning bolt through me and I stop. The smile remaining bright on my lips as thoughts
instill upon me.  They’re heavy in weight, enormous in magnitude, and enlightening on my soul. I feel Jace stop kissing me and I wait for him to question my sudden silence.

“Uh oh, you’ve gone quiet,” he says, lifting up to look at me. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing,” I fib lightly and shake my head, the smile still remaining. “It’s just this is the first time I’ve felt genuinely happy in months.” I blush, ashamedly thinking back to what transpired only the night before. “Especially after last night’s events.”

“We’ve moved on,” Jace notes quickly. “I am done allowing you to stay there. It’s time I moved my plan forward.”

“What is your plan?” I ask, biting my lip with anticipation.

“I can’t tell you,” he admits, and I feel my heart clench fiercely. “I need you to be as shocked as
Delvine will be. I need you as clueless. I need you in the perfect situation.”

“Perfect situation?”
I squawk at him, not sure if he means his type or Clara’s.

“You’ll see,” Jace tells me, and I know I shouldn’t doubt him. If I’m still there longer than need be, then I might start to doubt he’ll ever free me, but right now, I don’t want that to cloud whatever time I have with him.

I go to argue, demanding insight, but there’s a knock on the door, breaking down the hostility I feel. It’ll have to wait now.

“Yeah?”
I call out, Jace finally uncovering me and falling beside me.

“I’ve got my eyes closed, just in case,” Brianna calls through the door.

I laugh and look at Jace who pulls the sheet up a little. “It’s safe!”

The door opens and Brianna peers in, still unsure. When she sees it is in fact safe, she just enters. She’s still in her pyjamas, her hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail.

“Hey Girlie,” she speaks with a smile. “I guessed you went to bed straight after your shower and your man here came to your rescue, but now you really need a proper breakfast.” She looks passed me to Jace. “You too,
Mr. Mason
.”

Jace chuckles.
“We’ll be out in two minutes.”

The look he gives me, however, tells me we’ll be more than two minutes.

***

The moment Brianna noticed Clara’s car pull up, the tranquillity within the apartment dwindled and the air around us became tense. After spending time allowing Jace and Eli cook breakfast, it seems like a harsh force of reality reminding us all of the life we’re permitted to lead.

“You’ve got to hide,” I alert Jace, looking around for a suitable place that won’t mean he’s caught.

“And you’ve got to act like you’ve had a reawakening,” Jace points back, not quite moving as quickly as I’d like him too.

I roll my eyes. I already know I’m too perked up to be a girl that got finger fucked against her will and can’t go to anyone  about a sexual abuse case because Clara would have it covered up the moment my statement was finished.

“Go hide in the guest room closet. It’s empty so there’s room,” Eli points out, and it’s a mad dash to get Jace through the apartment and into the guest bedroom.

Just as I open the door, ready to force him inside, he pulls me to his body, flush so I’m right against his bare chest. I look up, nerves fizzing to life within, and he leans down and kisses me. It’s not one marking our farewells, or one for the road, it’s just a reminder. I moan against him, but the prickling strain of nervousness forces me to part with him.

“Get in there,” I point and give a small wistful smile. He backs away, a playful look to his face, and I just turn to grab all items of his clothing. I find his pants, his shirt, his blazer, but only one shoe. I make a mad dash searching for it, before I throw every item at him and close the closet doors.

As I walk out to the main part of the apartment, I look over my shoulder to the doors. Jace might be hidden, but I can feel myself hardening up with anxiety as I know Clara’s on her way up.

“Shit!” I mutter as I comprehend the veracity of my actions. I snap. My mentality is shot, and
it’s showing. “Shit, shit, shit! She’s come to kill me.” I look up at Eli and Brianna, and I feel all the good vibes within me come clattering down around me. “She didn’t do it last night, she let me go free. What’s to stop her now?”

“Joely,” Eli steps forward, taking command.
“She was worried about you. That Jonah guy didn’t go to Clara with intent to get you into trouble. He was genuinely concerned about you. You scared him shitless, but she wasn’t angry.”

“Not openly!” I begin to pace, potentially ready to burn a
hole through Eli’s oak wood flooring. “Fuck!”

Eli strides across the room. His pace is fast, and I’m unaware and don’t move out of his way until he has me caught in his grasp. He gives me a quick shake, trying to get some sense to make an appearance.

“She wasn’t angry, and now, if she is I’ll have something to say.” I can hear his tone bite at aggression. “I don’t know what the hell happened in the room, but what I do know is that client was genuinely worried for you, and the girl who came out of there was near enough catatonic! I won’t allow that to be rewarded with punishment.”

“But you can’t stop Clara,” I tell him deadpan.

The knock on the door ends our conversation. As the knock comes, Eli drops his hands and I resign myself to the fallout. Satisfied somewhat, I make a beeline for the couch and throw myself onto it, just as Eli goes for the door. Brianna remains at the breakfast bar, nursing her cup of coffee and Jace stays out of sight – and hopefully out of mind.

“What took you so long?” Clara barks the moment the door is opened. She walks into the room, looking around until she spots me, then her gaze narrows. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under. “Better yet, what was your issue last night?”

I gulp. What of my many issues do I highlight first? I can’t decide between them and my tentativeness to answering is rewarded by an explosive reaction from Clara.