The Runaway Viper (Viper #2)

by Kirsty-Anne Still

  With a heavy sigh I slump onto the bed, spreading the dress out across my lap so not to wrinkle it. This isn’t a catch-22 I am caught up in, this isn’t a deal with the devil - this is about perfecting my future for what I want. When Josh sits beside me, I spend a moment reflecting before I truly allow him to see what Jace means to me.

  "When I first joined that club I had nothing to lose. Now, I have everything to lose." I drop the dress so I can wring my hands together in trepidation. "No one knows how soulless I felt. It's the only way I know how to describe it. I had no conscience, no idea of my own wellbeing, no heart, no sense, no feeling." I look at Josh. "Then I met Jace, and I felt absolutely everything. Can you see why I worry I might lose it?"

  He merely nods but remains stoically silent.

  “I used to love my title in that damn club. I used to love being a teacher’s pet to Clara. I was awarded for my self-negligence. I had it all at my feet, but it wasn’t until Jace step foot in that club, that I realized I was missing a vital part of me.” I look at him, keeping my eyes solidly on his. “I was missing my soul. I guess after Dylan, I just survived to make it through a day at a time. I didn’t realize how I was just living for the sake of it.”

  “Well now is the time to stop.” Reaching into his pocket, I see him draw out a purple velvet jewelery bag and hand it to me. "Dylan wanted to save it for your wedding day. It's something I've known about since we were kids. Our grandmother gave it to him for his future wife, but he was adamant you'd be wearing it."

  I say nothing and tip the back so its contents slip out. I’m met with a dainty bracelet, silver gold, with diamonds woven into the tennis style band. I remember seeing this years ago when we were just kids. His grandmother never took it off. I know the significance, and I feel pain lance through my chest.

  "I really wish he were here," I comment and offer a watery smile.

  “But if he were, we would have never had the opportunity to see you meet this man who loves you with all his heart.” There’s remorseful serenity to his voice. We both wish the same things were possible, but if we had Dylan, I wouldn’t have Jace.

  Neither of them come together. It’s one or the other, and that is a sorry default. I can’t be greedy and have both, I have to live with one and survive without the other.

  “This is meant to be,” Josh remarks, facing up to the fate we’ve both been dealt. “Now you’ve got your something borrowed,” he points out. “I just wanted you to have a little piece of him here today of all days.”

  “Thank you.” I appreciate it for a moment then slip the bracelet into the bag once again. I want it protected until I’m nearly ready. "This might not be the life of luxury I imagined and it might be dangerous, but it's my life and it's the life I have with Jace. I cannot change fate and I won't."

  "Then why are you sitting up here moping and not getting ready to get married?" Josh asks with a small smirk. He’s right, I should be elated and buzzing with excitement. “So, can I go and shower and know you’ll do the same?”

  “Yeah,” I give him a quick response. It’s time to stop letting life pass me by. “Give me thirty minutes.”

  He puts an arm around me, bringing me into his embrace. His dots a kiss to my temple and leaves me be.

  ***

  When I'm ready, I turn to Josh who just stares. His mouth falls open a little and I giggle. I look down at myself and back up at him.

  "Will I do?" I ask him. I can hear the nerves in my tone, wavering with impending panic. I swallow it down, not allowing it to overpower me, and twirl around. When I stop, coyness has welcomed my body, and I lift my hand to make sure my simple hairdo hasn’t faltered. I look back at Josh who is still just standing there staring at me. “What?”

  “You look amazing,” he states and steps in.

  I feel amazing. The dress is a perfect fit, making me feel like a Goddess. I’ve tried to keep my makeup light with just eyeliner on my upper eyelid and pop of raspberry lipstick – Jace’s favorite. My hair I’ve left natural curly, allowing it to fall freely with only a tiny part thrust up into a messy knot. I’ve kept my look natural and at ease. The only important part to this day is the man waiting for me.

  “One more thing.” He puts a finger up to me, halting me from moving. He moves over to a bunch of gorgeous white flowers sitting on the bedside cabinet. I see him pluck out the wild flowers entwined within the bouquet and bring them over to me. “Turn around.”

  I listen and feel him thread the stem into my hair. I feel him move and see he is grabbing more hairpins. He places them into my hair and arranges the flowers into place. He backs away, and I take that as my cue to turn back to him.

  “Perfect,” he admires, and I feel the blush grow. “Now sundown is approaching, so can I have the honor of giving you away?”

  “Yes,” I confirm and am glad he came back into my life, more now than ever. He’s the only link to my family. If I can’t have my father right now, Josh is a close second.

  Josh leads the way, making me stay out of the way while he checks that everything is ready and everyone is in place. When he comes back, he’s alive with excitement, and it’s infectious. I can feel the butterflies wake up and trepidation oozes into my body, waiting for the electric explosion seeing Jace will cause.

  When we leave the villa, I see candles alight everywhere, contrasting against the dusky light shrouding the beach and pool. We walk around the pool, heading for the beach. I see Eli and Jace standing in shorts and shirts, keeping with the humidity. It’s not a conventional wedding, but already the memories are ones I don’t want to lose. When Jace’s eyes meet mine, I’m overcome with emotion. I feel like this is the fresh start we’ve been running toward. He watches me with such lust and admiration, and I pray marriage won’t change it. I step out onto the white chiffon path covering the sand and see Jace at the end, eagerly waiting. I stiffen at the sight of a new person, besides the person officiating the ceremony.

  “Keep walking. She’s another surprise.” Josh speaks with such a light delight in his tone I ease almost immediately. “We brought my wife out here to prove how safe it was.”

  And there it is, the gratification that we have survived the clutches of the viper curse.

  “Now c’mon,” he motions to Jace, and I hear a pop of music. It’s one of my piano pieces, another of Jace’s favorites.

  I walk with Josh down the small walkway until he releases me and Jace takes my hand, pulling me in front of him. There’s a split second where we just stand looking at one another, neither speaking.

  “You look beautiful,” he appreciates and adores me in one swift sentence.

  “Thank you.” I blush and take in my surroundings. In the time I took a shower and got ready, Jace has transformed the back of the villa into a candlelit haven, complete with fairy lights and flowers. “Did you arrange this?” I ask him. I keep my voice low, the surprise crippling me. He just gives me an award winning smile and doesn’t give anything away.

  “With my help,” I hear a familiar voice and see Chase turn around. Of course, after the misdemeanor of him busting me out of the party, I now know him as Jake, Jace’s older brother. Apparently, the rhyming of the name Chase was supposed to give me a little clue as to what was going on – one I missed entirely. “You won’t attack me this time will you?”

  I laugh and shake my head. “You made it convincing. I’ll only hit you if you make me wait too long to be your brother’s wife.”

  “Well then, I guess we best not delay this moment!” Jake speaks up, Eli in heavy agreement. “I mean I did get ordained for today, don’t let that go to waste.”

  We all laugh, but it’s Jace who comes back with seriousness.

  “Shall we?” Jace asks, and I nod my head vehemently.

  Jake clears his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here-”

  It starts off so normal, traditional. My hands tighten on Jace’s, and I feel myself get lost when our eyes meet. We’re about to exchange vows, entwini
ng our lives far more than ever before. I will be bound to the man before me for the rest of my life. He will forever be my easiest hello and hardest goodbye. He’ll wake me with kisses, annoy me with his habits, and I’ll love him with my entire heart. We’ll be the better version of us. We’ll be a wedded couple.

  And that’s when I float back to earth, hearing the one sentence that finalizes it all.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your wife, bro!”

  Jace reacts, not to his brother’s casualness at our marriage, but being told to kiss me. He’s had that look in his eyes that tell me he feels what I do – he wanted me hours ago. He pulls me close, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me close as his lips crash down upon mine, eliciting the sparks, causing the ripples of love throughout me.

  As I feel confetti rain down upon us, I’m only powered to kiss my husband a little longer.

  And as the thought settles, my heart stutters to a halt – my husband.

  Chapter Five

  I’ve been waiting for my husband to take me and devour me whole since Eli, Jake, and Josh and his wife left. It’s our wedding night, and I expect to feel deliciously sore in the morning. However, the only way that can happen is if I have a husband here to do the deed.

  I hear him coming and resume my position amongst the pillows. The bedding is all white cotton with a silk sheet. I feel like I’m cast back to my old life, but when I hear those familiar steps get closer, I remember that life is far behind me. Before he enters, I decide to call out, goad him to be ready for me.

  “I was almost tempted to get started alone,” I tease as he enters the room already naked. My face falls as I’m presented with his statuesque stature, his body tanned by the copious amount of sun we have lounged around in.

  “I thought I’d left you waiting too long, so I saved the problem of getting undressed for you,” he states and shrugs as he looks down at himself.

  I crawl to the end of the bed in just my bra and panties. “I’m not complaining.” I say as I reach up and wrap my arms around his body. “I love you, Mr. Mason.”

  “I love you more, Mrs. Mason.” He kisses me, and I mew in pleasure, both at the intimacy gravitating toward us and the sound of my new name. Nothing has ever sounded more right in my life. “One day I will marry you again,” he tells me, promising another version of our present time. “Only then it will be extravagant and all eyes will be on you.” He grins at the thought, and my own mind conjures up thoughts of dream wedding dresses and a reception with both our families united as one. “And then I’ll have wedding dress sex with you before I decide to undress you fully and keep you up all night long.”

  “You’re making it sound like we won’t be up all night tonight,” I respond, pouting slightly. I’m playing with him, because I see the intent in his eyes. There is no way tonight will go forgotten.

  “Oh, Baby, this is just the practice round. Mark my words; you’ll be up all night whispering my name as you come,” he proudly states and I can feel my cheeks redden and heat with a blush. He loves it when I just let his name slip out as I cum. He’s always told me it’s his favorite part of being me with. It’s one of my traits he couldn’t live without.

  I feel my bra become loose, and I see the wicked look in Jace’s eyes. I’m about to receive an unforgettable night with him, one that will mark the beginning of our marriage. When I meet his gaze, I feel the butterflies. Even in marriage, he still gets me as if it’s the first time we’ve met.

  “Now,” he states and moves in closer, forcing me to the mattress, “Wife of mine.” I watch him climb onto the bed, covering my body. “You don’t need these,” he comments huskily as he wraps part of my panties around his in fingers, yanking them off without any effort exerted.

  I feel my heart rate accelerate, my body screaming in trepidation for the sensuality about to be thrust through me. I feel Jace’s fingers slide over my mound, going far enough to tease my clit. My legs part welcomingly, my head rocking back slightly as the bolt of pleasure courses through me with just the work of his fingertips. When I feel his hand travel further, I moan as he slips two fingers into me.

  “I think I’ve kept you waiting far too long,” he whispers after feeling just how wet I am.

  I had spent the time waiting conjuring how this night would play out, but never once did I think I’d be presented with him stark naked and full of absolute uninhibited sexual prowess. The mere sight made my body come to life and yearn for him. He straddles me and as he lavishes my body with greedy hands, getting me steadied as he works down to nestle between my legs. His hands rest upon my hips and I feel him thrusts into me with such force my eyes fly shut.

  “Open those eyes,” he orders me, his voice tightened.

  I do as he says, looking at him as I do. But it’s now my body that responds the most, and I feel myself become alive to every ounce of pleasure. My body’s falling for the rapture - yearning for it, begging for the release, desperately wanting to fall from grace, blessed with absolute bliss.

  I know Jace is close as his speed quickens, and I claw at the sheets. He’s upright, so I’m unable to claw at his back, and relieve myself a little by digging my nails into his skin. My head pushes back as my back arches itself with the impending orgasm, and just when I think I cannot hold any longer onto this moment, my body explodes and I breathe out heavily. My breath is staccato and, from what I can hear, so is Jace’s.

  We both relinquish our hold on the euphoric afterglow over our first moment of intimacy as man and wife and feel the addiction spread anew. Jace cannot stop himself from kissing me all over again. Each new sensual touch of his is enticing, intensifying, reviving my body.

  I never thought we needed this. After seven months of running and hiding, I never thought an exchange of vows would be the fresh start we were both searching for. Now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve been renewed. I have a new level of optimism in me, one that helped me find the fight that Clara very nearly destroyed in me all those months ago.

  As I feel Jace travel back up my body - kissing, nipping, licking at my skin - I look down. Just as I do, I find I’m met with his gaze. I smile, and he gives me a wicked grin and only presses up my body to capture my lips with his. He’s kissing me so hungrily that I’m distracted enough for him to penetrate me. The fulfilment once again takes my breath away. Jace works my body, greedily withdrawing and thrusting in and out of me with sexual stamina. He runs his hands up my arms, forcing them above my head. When they’re high enough, he pushes up to my wrists and holds me down, pushing my arms into the billowing pillows of our bed.

  I fight him as my orgasm climbs, my stomach tightening in tempting pleasure. My back arches continuously as he hits my g-spot repetitively and I feel it – heaven driven into every cell within me. I quiver and clench around him as I cum again.

  “Jace,” I whisper, my voice small and breathless.

  He begins to slow, his own climax reached and his posture slackens as he lowers toward my naked body. He begins to kiss around my breasts again. “I love how you whisper my name,” he speaks moments after, his words breathing against my bare skin.

  He releases my wrists, and, naturally, one goes to run through his hair and he adorns my skin in delicate kisses. He doesn’t last long before he falls beside me, exhausted and panting from the sexual workout.

  “I don’t think wedding day sex could be more amazing than that,” I tease, unable to catch my breath quickly. What I’ve just felt is like no other time we’ve had together. I don’t know how or why, but it feels purer, feels more induced by life and prospect.

  “Better not say that too loud,” Jace comments teasingly, his voice heightened with sheer sarcasm. He quickly rolls over so he’s once again overpowering me with his entire presence. His covered me with his naked body, mine coming alive all over again. “I’d hate for my wife to find out.”

  My laughter barely reaches the air when Jace leans down to silence me with a kiss.

  *** />
  I wake before Jace the next morning. As predicted, I am sore and in places I didn’t think possible. My muscles are screaming in pure delight. I glance over Jace’s sleeping body, my claw marks left brightly on him, and look at the clock. I fall back down against the pillows and sigh. I’ve not even had two hours sleep, and I’m now wide awake.

  I listen for sounds of life, but all I’m greeted with is crashing waves and the snores coming from my ever-loving husband. I know I could wake him and have a round of morning sex, but I think I’d rather make him breakfast in bed and wake him up that way.

  Kissing him delicately on the cheek, he groans sleepily at the touch and shifts slightly, but never wakes. With a wistful smile on my face, I leave him and head down to the kitchen. I have no idea when the others will be here, but I choose to use my spare time wisely.

  The first thing I’m after when I reach the kitchen is juice. As I head to refrigerator, I’m blinded by my wedding and engagement ring. It causes me to still, eyes fixed on the glorious piece of unique jewelery that illustrates I am now a Mason. How things have changed. My grip loosens from the handle of the fridge and I hold my hand up, playing with the rings. I sigh contently, fulfilled by this life.

  I spring back to life, stopping myself from daydreaming over what the future holds. I grab the juice and eye the contents in the fridge, wondering what I could put together. I see a bottle of champagne and contemplate, again, waking Jace up for a little more celebrating and consummating.

  Leaving the bottle, I grab the strawberries and the cream, setting them down to the side. I flick the radio on, feeling the music enrapture my body, making it move to the rhythm and beat. I’m in a world of my own, waiting for my husband to wake up, waiting to welcome this new life of ours.