Data slammed the door behind him, and Viper knew they were about to have it out right here. He also knew he wouldn’t lift a finger to do more than defend himself. If that. Any beating Data dished out, Viper knew he deserved.
“There’s nothing I can say to explain that, Data. I’m not sure I understand it myself, but I know I can’t promise I won’t do it again.”
Viper expected the other man to charge him. A fistfight was on point with the situation. Instead, Data pulled out his sidearm, cocked it, and pointed it right between Viper’s eyes.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t blow your fuckin’ head off.” This was a side of Data Viper had never seen. There was no doubt the man truly wanted to kill Viper for what he saw as disrespect to Darcy and a blatant disregard for his wishes regarding her. “Just because she’s one of us doesn’t mean she’s fair game for any patched member here. She’s my daughter, whether or not I’ve been in her life until now. So I’m asking you now. Man to man. What are your intentions toward my daughter?”
The situation was surreal. The question cliché. What exactly were his intentions with Darcy? “She’s…” He struggled to find the right word.
“Think hard about your next words, Viper,” Data said, taking a step closer so the barrel of his pistol rested against Viper’s forehead. “I will hold you accountable for them.”
“Data, Darcy is…” He shook his head, not believing what he was about to blurt out. “She’s mine.” He held up a hand in warning, knowing by the look on Data’s face he wasn’t intimidated by Viper. “Before you go jumping to conclusions, let me tell you I just realized it when you made me choose. I want her. Not necessarily for the reasons you’re thinking, either.” He cocked his head, then shook it. “OK, so maybe for the reasons you’re thinking, but not as a hookup or temporary affair.” He took a breath then sagged as if defeated. “I want her for my own. She’s the one, Data. Mine.”
It seemed like an eternity before Data lowered his weapon. He still didn’t holster the thing, or even speak. Not for a very long time.
“Say something, brother.”
“If you break her heart, Viper, I swear, I’ll kill you. Slowly. Then I’ll get Mama and Pops to revive you so I can do it again.”
“She got under my skin, man. I can’t explain it even to myself. She’s blunt to the point of being a brat, just as crass as I am, and utterly indomitable when she decides she’s set her mind to something. I saw that during the last three days I tracked her and during the ride home. I’m going to get to know her better and be what she needs.”
“Why?” Data demanded.
“Fuck if I know,” Viper muttered. “Because I have to.”
“She’s confused about you already. You think long and hard before you do anything else. I told her you’re a player. I’m not backing down from that stance, but I won’t hinder you, because she’s an adult. I’ll answer her questions about you honestly, but she will make her own decisions without my interference.” He took another step toward Viper. Now, Data stood nose to nose with him. The size difference in the two was so different Viper would have laughed under any other circumstances. Now, he could actually feel the animosity directed at him from his brother. This might be the one time in their long friendship Viper knew the other man could take him in a fight. Not necessarily because Data was the better fighter, but because his brother was fighting for the only family he had left. It was there in the lines of resolve on his face. He’d beat a motherfucker down and not bat an eyelash for that girl. Viper knew the feeling. “You make her cry, Viper, just one time, I will kill you. Dead. Very dead.”
“As opposed to being only mostly dead?”
Data gave him an exasperated look before smacking his head. “Fucker.”
“I swear I’ll protect her. Body and heart, Data. Body and heart.”
“You’d better.”
Data held out his hand to him and Viper took it. Then Data pulled him in for a quick hug and a slap on the back.
“We good, bro?” Viper asked.
“We’re good.”
“They’re in Las Vegas.” Viper pointed to the screen where he’d run a check on credit and debit cards, as well as bank accounts associated with the couple. “Thought they were going to L.A.”
“Said that’s where they were going. Didn’t believe her. She’s running. I could hear it in her voice. Always did that when things got hard.”
“Well, she didn’t run from Mills. They’ve checked into the Four Seasons. All four of them. At least, four adults with two rooms under his name. Darcy’s stepsisters older’n her?”
“Yeah. And I’d tracked them to Vegas. Just hadn’t gotten around to finding the hotel.”
Viper jerked his head. “Why the hell not? You having second thoughts?”
“No.” His answer was instant. Decisive. “I followed the money, so to speak. I didn’t want to find them too early because I needed a chance to calm down.”
“I take it this is going to be bad.”
“The man is a sadistic bastard. Don’t know about abuse to his own daughters, but he’s definitely into some shady shit.” He clasped his hands behind his neck, scrubbing the back of his head several times before continuing. “Darcy’s eighteen. His daughters are nineteen. Twins. They’ve been with Mills since their mother’s death when they were sixteen.” Viper got a chill down his spine. “There have been regular infusions of cash for him since his wife passed. About once a quarter or so. Large infusions. The last one coming right after Darcy ran off. From a bank in L.A.”
“No one’s that fucking stupid,” Viper denied instantly.
“Donna is. At least, she probably didn’t consider I’d look into anything. She was telling me the truth because I could always tell when she was lying.”
“Spell this out for me, Data. Because I’m not sure I believe what I’m hearing. It sounds like a bit farfetched.”
“I’m still looking. But I’ve tracked the money from that bank in L.A. to a long-time, if not prominent, U.S. Representative. One of those who holds on to his seat by the skin of his teeth every year and only because higher-ups in the party buy the election for him so they have someone in their pocket to control however they need to.”
“Don’t say it, Data…”
“I think he’s selling his daughters as prostitutes.”
“Didn’t I just tell you not to fuckin’ say it?” He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. This was fucking bullshit they didn’t need. “What do we do now? We can’t leave them there.”
“I’ll give the information to Cain. I’m still trying to confirm my suspicions, and that’s going to be hard to do. Fortunately, I have an ace in the hole who’s ever better than I am.”
“Better than you? Did that hurt to admit?”
Data shot him an annoyed look. “The fuck you talkin’ about? Of course it hurt!”
They both laughed.
* * *
Darcy wandered outside the compound. Snow crunched under her feet, and the crisp December air cleared her head. What was she doing here? She wanted to get to know her father, but she wasn’t nearly as brave as she’d led him to believe. The thought of facing her mother and that son of a bitch she’d married, looking them in the eye, and laying out what that bastard had done to her was daunting. Not so much because she was afraid of either of them -- her father had a scary side to him she didn’t ever want to cross -- but because it was highly humiliating and utterly disgusting. Who wanted to relive something like that? Unfortunately, she had nowhere else to go. And she still felt like she owed it to Data to deliver as promised. If he got her parents here, she’d do what she had to do. She’d stand up and be a daughter he was proud of.
Which lead to her other issue. When had her loyalties swung so firmly in Data’s corner? Not that she’d ever side herself with her mother, but why him? She didn’t know him. The second the question popped into her head, she knew the answer and was ashamed for even asking the question of herself. Data
had come after her. Maybe not himself, but he’d sent the most qualified people for the job even though he’d wanted to go himself. Then he’d looked out for her with Viper. And her mother.
Viper.
Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him? She had a father to get to know. A club who had essentially taken her in as one of their own. There was so much she needed to do. So many people she needed to learn about. Why was she consumed with a man who would only break her heart?
“Darcy.”
Oh, God. She couldn’t face him right now.
“Not ready to talk to you yet,” she said. “Got stuff to do.” She wasn’t going to turn around and look at him. Instead, she leaned her forearms against the railing of the fence lining the driveway. One booted foot rested on the bottom rung.
“I’m sorry,” he said bluntly. “Not gonna try to gloss it over. I acted like an ass.”
She shrugged. “No worries. Consider it history.”
“Look at me.”
“I told you I’m busy. Can you not accept that and move on?”
“No.”
“Why the fuck not? Seemed like you had plenty of company earlier. Go find someone who wants you around, ‘cause that ain’t me.”
“Then why’d you notice I was with another woman?”
Bastard.
When she didn’t answer, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Darcy flinched, but didn’t pull away. She wasn’t giving him that kind of power. If she did, he’d just try to take more. “We’re going to talk, and you’re going to give me a chance to earn your trust.”
With a little huff, she turned to face him and then wished she hadn’t. The man just had to be insufferably gorgeous in an unconventional, bad-boy kind of way. He was everything she needed to stay away from, but everything that attracted her. It wasn’t the bad-boy thing either. He was strong, protective, and deadly. The exact kind of man who could protect her from people like Rayburn and her mother. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the man to do it. At least, not without breaking her heart in the process.
“Look. You said you’re sorry. I accepted. What the fuck more do you want from me?”
He stepped close to her, his hands resting on her hips. With little more effort than he’d use lifting a child, he picked her up and sat her on the fence. “I want a chance to start over.”
“Start what over?” She was beginning to panic a little. Not because she was afraid of him in the physical sense. She knew she was safe with him. He was the one to drag her ass out of the woods and back to civilization. Back to a place where she was beginning to realize she could sleep soundly and not fear waking up with some sleaze bag standing over her…
“Us, Darcy. Start us over.”
“There is no ‘us,’ Viper. You’re the man my daddy warned me about. Literally.” She tried to sound flippant, but he slid between her spread thighs, his arms going around her to hold her to him, so that anything she said came out breathless.
“No,” he admitted. “There’s no us now. But there will be.”
She shivered. Not from the cold. God, he smelled good! Crisp winter air with evergreen and pine and just… hot, sexy man. Was there really any way for her to resist him? What woman could?
“I’m not one of your biker groupies. What do you call them?”
“Patch chasers?” He grinned at her. A slow, sexy grin. “No. You’re not. No one gets you but me, Darcy. I’m makin’ you my woman. You’re mine to protect and keep.”
“I see.” She didn’t, but it didn’t really matter. “Tell you what. I think we’ve both got an itch to scratch. Let’s get this over with. After we’ve fucked, we’ll see where we stand.”
He actually growled at her, his grip on her tightening until they were mashed together almost seamlessly. “You think you’ll fuck me then leave me?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I may not like sex with you. You’re quite a bit older than me. We probably aren’t compatible sexually anyway.”
Viper urged her even closer to him, until he was pressed firmly between her legs. With his big palm, he urged her to rock against him, putting friction on her clit in just the way she needed. An instantaneous surge of pleasure exploded through her. Not enough to make her climax, but just enough to make her wet in a rush of heat. Darcy couldn’t contain her gasp.
“Not compatible? Oh, I think not, Lil’ Bit. I think you’ll enjoy my brand of sex very much.”
“What about Data? You know he’s pissed at you.” Darcy tried to keep her composure, tried not to let him see how he was affecting her, but knew it was a hopeless battle. This was an experienced man. One who knew exactly what he was doing to a woman. Currently, he was engaging her in a battle she had no hope of winning. One of pleasure. Sex. Sin.
“Data and I have worked things out.” He flashed her that fucking cocky-ass grin of his that melted her panties. “He pulled a gun on me. Actually held it to my fuckin’ forehead.”
“Yet here you are?”
“Some things are just worth the risk.”
When his lips met hers in the cold breeze, Darcy felt anything but chilled. His body enveloped hers, his arms trapping her though she didn’t fight. Couldn’t fight. She kissed him back with everything inside her, all the passion she had. Regardless of knowing he’d never be faithful to her, she couldn’t deny she wanted this. Wanted Viper. In her bed. In her body. She just had to keep him out of her heart.
Her fingers found the leather of his jacket. His colors. God, her life had gone so sideways it wasn’t even funny. She was actually in the middle of a motorcycle club. Was the daughter of a respected member. She had no idea what a real family felt like, but she’d definitely been welcomed here like she never had with her mother or any of her stepfathers. These men circled the wagons around the people they cared about and, for some reason, they’d included her in that group.
Finally, she just shut down. Let him take her over. She kissed him back, slipped her tongue inside his mouth to take his taste inside her. She inhaled, that warm, masculine scent enveloping her. Hard muscles beneath his jacket bunched against her fingers. Needy growls sang to her. She was surrounded by Viper, by his masculinity. His power. It was a defining moment in her life because she realized that, in no uncertain terms, a part of her would always belong to Viper.
* * *
Getting back to his room was a whirlwind. He took her in the back because the kids were in the great room, but Viper longed to make a public statement for his brothers with her. Let them know what was going on so they’d be aware she was his. Instead, he took the back stairs two at a time with Darcy in his arms. She wasn’t passive either. Where before she’d curled her little fingers in his colors, now she twined them in the hair at his neck. Her lips trailed kisses up and down his face until she finally settled at his pulse point and just sucked, leaving her mark on him. Viper wanted to howl in satisfaction.
Once inside his bedroom, he kicked the door shut and set Darcy on her feet long enough to whip her sweater off her luscious body. Wild red hair cascaded over her pale body like a cloak. He pulled off his colors to drape carefully over the back of a chair, but whipped his T-shirt off in one smooth motion and dropped it on the floor. She had barely gotten her jeans unbuttoned and halfway down her thighs when Viper pulled her back to him, lifting her into his arms once again to take her to bed.
Lying there on his big bed, all that red hair spread out around her, she looked like some pale goddess offered up to him. There was a dazed expression on her face, like she wasn’t exactly sure how she’d gotten there, but she licked her lips, eyeing him hungrily, letting Viper know she was exactly where she wanted to be.
“Once we do this, Darcy, there’s no takin’ it back. I’m not gonna to have you only to lose you.”
She cocked her head. “Are you always so chatty during sex? Because, I gotta tell you, I’d like a little more action on your part.”
Viper bared his teeth at her, everything primal in him rising to her bait. “You want action? Finish str
ipping. You’re not nearly naked enough.” She complied while he did the same. Though he regretted not doing it himself, Viper wasn’t certain he could have done it without simply ripping her underwear from her little body. It didn’t help to have her do it for him. That little thatch of red curls glistening with her arousal didn’t help his control. It taunted him to taste. To plunge into her and leave his seed to mix with her own juices.
He must have growled or something because she whimpered, her hands balling into fists at her side. Those clear, blue eyes widened in alarm, but she didn’t try to move away from him. Instead she reached for him, her hand landing on his abs when he planted a knee on the bed and lowered himself over her.
Viper’s larger body pressed her into the mattress as he settled himself between her legs. One luscious breast called to him with its rosy peak, and Viper didn’t even try to resist. His lips closed over her nipple and Darcy gave a sharp cry, arching into him. Her body was so small, so lithe he groaned with every movement of her skin beneath him. And the little hellion squirmed as she tightened her grip on him. Her legs circled his body and she dug her heels into him, pulling herself against him. Rubbing her little pussy over his belly to get friction to heir clit.
“Little witch,” he hissed around a nipple before moving to the other one to give a hard suck. “Needy little thing.”
Sweat dotted her skin, making her move against him with ease. The contrast between his hair-roughened and her silky-smooth flesh was erotic. Viper skimmed his fingers down her side to her hip, where he dug in and attempted to hold her still.
He had to get her under control if he was going to get himself there because never in his life had he experienced such a demanding female. Not in an overly aggressive way either. She didn’t tell him what to do or even try to take what she wanted. She was just genuinely out of control, needing something only he could give her. She writhed beneath him, whimpering with every contact of her clit on his belly. He’d wanted to take his time, to introduce her to sex with him carefully. But what had started with a mad dash from the driveway to his bedroom hadn’t slowed down at all.
Viper (Bones MC 4) Page 5
