Vipers Den Box Set: 1-3 (Vipers Den #1-3)

by J B Heller

  “Settle petal, I didn’t lie alright. It’s just still really new and kinda weird.”

  Sizing me up with her vivid green eyes, she pointed at me. “I’ll be watching you, Piper.” She spun on the heels of her boots, and headed out of the room.

  Okaaaay then…

  Walking into my apartment later that night my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, and seeing that it was Kade, I decided to play up this fake girlfriend thing. I’d told mum about us so that kind of makes it real now. Why not have a little fun with it? It would help the time pass.

  “What’s up my lover?” I sang into the phone and silence greeted me. “Hello, Kade? You there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here, I just – did you just call me lover?”

  “Hey, I’m just playing up the girlfriend card.” I could imagine the look on his face at that moment and it made my lips lift into a smile.

  “It was weird. Really weird.”

  “‘Whatever, what do you want?”

  “Can I come over?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I spose… Why?”

  A short laugh came over the line. “Just playing up the boyfriend card.”

  “Okaaaay.”

  “Seriously, I want it to look like we’re in a full on, all in love, can’t stay away from each other kind of relationship,” he responded.

  “Alright, but bring food. I’m hungry and can’t be bothered cooking.”

  “Done.”

  We hung up without goodbyes. What’s the point of saying goodbye when I was going to see him in a few minutes anyway? I kicked off my shoes and pulled my top over my head, catching a whiff of a less then feminine scent. I desperately needed a shower. Going into the bathroom I threw my top into the overflowing laundry basket. I’d get to it eventually, probably after I ran out of clothes to wear.

  Washing the excessive amounts of hairspray and product out of my hair takes at least ten minutes every night. If I didn’t do my hair up in different styles every day I wouldn’t have this problem. But I figured I was a walking advertisement for my salon, so I had to look the part. Weekends and evening are usually the only time I leave my hair down. And after having it up all day, it feels amazing to let it fall free.

  I was just getting out of the shower when I heard Kade knocking at the front door. I should give him a key if this is going to be a regular thing.

  I wrapped a big fluffy purple towel around me and went to let him in. Stopping at the door, I peeked through the peep hole to double check it was him before I opened the door. I’d seen those movies, the ones where the stupid girl opens the door in her towel or robe, only to have an axe murderer on the other side waiting to hack her up. But alas, that was not the case tonight. It was just Kade and a bag full of groceries. I swung the door open for him to come in, but he didn’t. He was frozen in place, eyes wide. My brows furrowed. What’s his problem?

  “You coming in? Or am I going to stand here and freeze my arse off waiting all bloody night?”

  He shook his head and cleared his throat then walked right by me without a word, straight to the kitchen.

  Locking the door, I made my way to my room to get dressed. Don’t want those axe murderers to come sneaking in. Thinking about creepy axe murderers and the sort made me think about Kade’s stalker. As much as I still found the situation hilarious, I was a little worried about him. How desperate was this chick, to show up at his house and key Cherry? Bitch be crazy that’s for sure. And if she’s that crazy, would she try to hurt Kade? Just because I didn’t like him, didn’t mean I wanted to see him get hurt.

  There was no need for me to dress up in an effort to impress Kade, not to mention it was cold as hell, so I threw on a long knit jumper and leggings. He’d seen me after some of my worst high school binges, nothing could be worse than that. Hell, I’m pretty sure he’s even held my hair out of the way while I puked in a toilet bowl a few times. Stopping at the dresser beside my door, I grabbed a pair of fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm, then went out to the kitchen where I could hear Kade cluttering around.

  I walked into the kitchen to find Kade busy chopping up some fresh cloves of garlic. There was a large pot of water on the stove top boiling, and a saucepan on the burner beside it waiting. I had no idea Kade could cook. I’d assumed there were microwave meals or something in the grocery bag he had with him. Taking a seat on a stool outside of the kitchen bench, I watched him for a minute before deciding to interrupt him. “What ya’ makin’ me, beefcake?”

  His body stiffened as he slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine. When our eyes met he arched one brow.

  I loved making him feel awkward. I shrugged. “What?”

  “Beefcake? Lover?” He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned across to lay his hand over my forehead like he was checking for a fever. “Are you not feeling well, Pip?” he questioned me.

  I lifted my right shoulder in a shrug, but didn’t answer him. Truth is, I was having fun with these little pet names and the reaction they got from him. With that thought I decided we needed a subject change. “So, when I said bring food I was thinkin’ you’d stop at a take away joint or something.”

  He continued dicing ingredients while he answered me. “I’m sick of eating shit. It makes me feel like crap. I just wanted something fresh, you know?”

  “Yeah, I suppose. But I rarely have the time or energy to be bothered with cooking. I usually grab something on the way home, or chuck a frozen pie in the oven.”

  He shook his head as he chopped. “You work too much. You really should consider cutting back.”

  I was not cool with that suggestion at all. “Um, no. I worked too hard to get the Den where it is, I can’t risk going backwards.”

  He turned away from the counter to give me his full attention. “You’ve got a good team, all I’m saying is maybe you could share some of the responsibilities around. You know, delegate a little.”

  “Again, no. The Den is my baby. Besides, what do you care if I work my arse into the ground?”

  He shrugged and went back to preparing our meal. “I don’t, it was just a suggestion.”

  “Whatever. So what are you feeding me anyway? It smells amazing.” I pushed myself up on the bench with my elbows and took a big whiff of the deliciousness brewing in the kitchen.

  “Gnocchi, with a creamy garlic sauce. I saw it on a cooking show the other week.”

  Did he just say cooking show? Scrunching my nose, I mumbled, “You watch cooking shows? If that’s what having free time on your hands does, I’ll stick to working my butt off.”

  He flipped me the bird and proceeded to throw a heap of garlic, butter, cream and some other stuff into the waiting saucepan. The ingredients sizzled when they met the heat, and a large plume of smoke rose into the air, carrying with it a delicious aroma. My tummy let out a loud growl. Kade looked back at me, a smug smile plastered on his handsome face.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you smiling about?”

  “I just never thought that the day I cooked for my woman would be the day I cooked for you.” Chuckling, he winked at me before he turned back to the sauce.

  Calling me his woman should have disgusted me, but it didn’t. What the hell was wrong with me! I actually liked it. Maybe I was running a low grade fever.

  He tilted his head to the side as he made his way over to me. He was watching me like a hawk. My spine went ridged. He crossed that boundary of comfortable personal space, but he didn’t stop there. He kept inching his face closer to mine until he was right in my face, so close I could feel his warm breath on my mouth.

  My lips were suddenly dry, and I used the edge of my tongue to wet them. “What are you doing?” My voice came out as a whisper.

  Kade’s hand swept a strand of hair behind my right ear, then cupped my cheek. Before I knew it his hand was no longer caressing my face, and he was back at the stove cursing.

  I blinked a few times to clear my head. What the hell was that? Had that really just happened or was my imagination getting
the best of me? And if it is my imagination, why the hell am I day dreaming about Kade?

  His husky voice broke through my jumbled thoughts. “Don’t look so worried, Pip. I saved the sauce before it burned.” Winking at me, pouring the sauce over the gnocchi.

  Well, that settles it that really had just happened.

  I couldn’t decide if I should chew his arse out, or pretend it never happened. Both held appeal. But before I could decide he slid a bowl in front of me. The incredible smell coming from it sufficiently distracted me from my dilemma.

  I didn’t waste any time. I stabbed a piece with my fork and dug in. My whole body sagged, my eyes rolled as my lids closed, and a moan escaped my lips. “This is freaking delicious.”

  When I opened my eyes Kade was sitting on the stool beside me. His eyes had glazed over, and I watched his Adams apple bob up and down as he swallowed. “Geez, Piper, don’t do that again.”

  Without a word, he stood up. He made his way into the lounge and plonked down on the couch in front of the TV.

  What’d I do? Complimented him on his cooking skills? Meh, I really didn’t care what his problem was as long as he left me alone to enjoy my food in peace.

  I heard the TV switch on in the background and ignored it. I was too busy eating to care what he was watching.

  When I’d finished my amazing dinner I took my bowl over to the sink and rinsed it before stacking it into the dishwasher draw. I have one of those little single draw dishwashers, it’s perfect for me. I hate washing up with a vengeance, and I don’t use enough dishes to need a big arse one. I literally did a happy dance when they started making these little ones.

  I put the left overs in a Tupperware container, then I went around grabbing the few things Kade had used to prepare dinner. I rinsed them before adding them to the dishwasher.

  “Hey, you done with your bowl? I’m going to turn the dishwasher on,” I called out to Kade.

  “Coming.” He got up from the couch and brought his bowl over to the sink, rinsed it himself, and popped it in the dishwasher. I was a little stunned. He cooks, and he cleans up after himself? Amazing. I didn’t think such a man existed.

  “Alright, Pip, I gotta head out.” I watched the muscles in his arm flex as he stretched his arms over his head, that’s when I noticed he had some new ink. There was an apple tattooed on the inside of his forearm just below the crease of his elbow. It was the perfect shade of red, with one green leaf, the lines were blown out around the edges like paint splatter. He looked down to see what I was focusing on so hard. “You like it?”

  I tilted my head on an angle to get a better look. “What’s it for?” All Kade’s tattoos had a meaning, or a story behind them.

  He exhaled a nervous laugh, “You’re going to think it’s stupid, but it’s my take on the apple logo. Kind of —” his lips pulled up to the side as he tried to figure out how to explain it to me. “Technology is a big part of my life. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am. So the apple represents all that, in a nutshell.”

  I nodded, “I get it. And yes, I like it. It suits you.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile before he raised his hand to stifle a loud yawn. “I’m exhausted and I’ve got a big day tomorrow. I’ll see you for lunch, yeah?”

  I hadn’t expected the lunch deal to be an everyday thing. Shrugging, I said, “Um, you sure you don’t have some other place to be for lunch tomorrow?”

  “Nope.” He kissed my nose, grabbed his keys, phone and wallet off the table, and walked out the door.

  This whole evening was too weird to even try to begin to understand it.

  Things went pretty much the same way for the rest of the week and the start of the following. Kade would bring me lunch, then come over for dinner each night. A little routine began to form between us. He would cook, we would eat, then watch a little TV. I would tidy the kitchen, he would come in, kiss me on the nose and leave. I had a key made for him so he could let himself into my apartment if I wasn’t home when he arrived.

  The only exception to this was the one night we had dinner at his house on the weekend. His place was too big for one person. It felt empty. It was designed for a family, not a bachelor. Although it was an extremely nice house, I preferred to eat at my place. It was warm, cosy, and comfortable so we moved dinner back to my place permanently.

  It felt strange having Kade in my space so frequently. Sure we’d grown up in close proximity, but it wasn’t by choice on my part. He and Rhett were pretty much attached at the hip. I suppose that fact helped fuel the gay rumours. The more I thought about it, the more I realized all the best memories from my teen years involved Kade in some capacity. He was such a huge part of my life, one I had always been so determined to hate… until now apparently.

  All these years later I was still holding onto those feeling. But the past week, I felt myself remembering things differently. I recalled all the times Kade made sure to include me in the plans he and Rhett had because he knew I felt left out. Even when he knew it pissed Rhett off having to bring along his little sister when he was trying to getting laid, Kade always made sure I wouldn’t be left alone. I also remembered him holding my hair out of a toilet bowl a time or two when I’d tried to keep up with the guys while they smashed one drink after another.

  The more I thought about it, the more it became apparent to me that Kade had always had my back, or hair as the case may have been.

  It was Thursday night and I was spent. I’d had a huge week at work so far and all I wanted to do was sleep. When I walked through the door an hour later than usual I was greeted with the smell of fresh cooked pizza. I hung up my coat and stepped out of my shoes before trudging into the kitchen to find two boxes from the wood-fire oven pizza joint down the road. I grabbed two plates, the pizzas, and headed to the lounge where I could hear the TV playing.

  Kade had made himself comfortable in the corner seat of the couch with a cold beer in his hand.

  He looked up as I entered the room, his lips laying straight across his face. “Your home late tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know. Had a walk in who had a function tonight and thought I could squeeze her in.”

  He shook his head at me. “You work too hard.”

  “So you keep telling me.”

  “You could have called.” His eyes were still fixed on me, and there was a twinge of aggravation in his voice.

  “I was trying to get finished up as soon as possible, if I took the time to call you I would have been finished even later.” I explained.

  “Alright, but text me next time. I was starting to worry.”

  I sized him up. He looked pretty comfortable in his spot. “Aha, you look real worried there sipping your beer and watching—” Glancing at the TV, I finished my sentence, “Cooking shows? Really?”

  “What? I told you I like cooking shows. How do you think I learned to cook you all these awesome meals I’ve been feeding you?”

  “Whatever, I’m hungry,” I huffed. I was too tired and hungry to be snarky.

  “I know, you always are. You sit, and I’ll get you a beer.”

  Before I could tell him not to bother, I could get it myself, he had stood up and grabbed the pizza boxes from me, placing them on the coffee table. When he took the plates from me he shoved me back onto the couch, and went to retrieve my beer. Well, alright then.

  I scooted forward and reached for the pizza. I pulled out two pieces of each and fixed mine and Kade’s plates. Just as I was nestling back and getting really comfortable, Kade came back in, handing me my beer as he sat down beside me.

  Throughout dinner we made small talk about our days. After we had finished got up to clear away the plates and put away the left over pizza.

  When I had emptied the dishwasher of last night’s dishes I began to reload it, I called out for Kade to bring me his plate. I yelled out loud enough for him to hear me over the sound of the TV, but he didn’t respond. “Hey bonehead! You listening to me?”

 
Still nothing, not even a smartarse comeback. I poked my head around the corner of the kitchen and saw Kade’s body slumped on the arm of the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table. Bastard hadn’t even taken off his shoes first. I stormed over to him and kicked his dirty shoe covered feet off my coffee table and he jerked awake.

  “What the hell!” he mumbled.

  Placing a hand on my hip, I pointed at him. “If you’re going to put your feet up on my coffee table you best take your shoes off first.”

  He grumbled something under his breath and kicked off his shoes before putting his feet back where they had been. I grabbed his plate and took it to the kitchen. When I came back to the lounge room he was sound asleep. He must have had a big day too because he was apparently worn out. I felt kind of bad waking him the way I had, but he deserved it. I grabbed a blanket from the linen closet and threw it over him then turned off the TV. I decided I’d wake him early in the morning so he could go home and get ready for work.

  I was exhausted, but still needed to unwind, so I curled up in bed with my iPad. Once I was comfortable and my alarm had been set I switched on my Kindle app and picked up where I had left off in More Than I Asked For. Tay had told me her friend wrote it, which is why I decided to check it out. And good lord, the things I would do if I got Lucas Alexander alone. To say I would ravage the man within an inch of his life would be a fairly accurate description. This TJ chic could write!

  Opening my eyes, I looked around my unfamiliar surroundings. I knew I’d been here before, but was completely disoriented. I sat up slowly and looked around the dark room. I was on a couch, in the suit I had worn to work, with a pink fuzzy blanket over me. I lifted the blanket to my nose and closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply. Piper. I’d know her scent anywhere. It’s so unique, just like everything else about her. It’s a mix of coconut, jasmine, and limes. You’d think she would smell like all those hair chemicals she’s around all day, but nope, she always smells… I don’t know, fresh?