Chapter Six #2
But before she could press the button, the man’s hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist.
“Hey, now,” he said, his voice a low purr. “No need to be shy.”
Mara jerked back, but he held fast, fingers tightening. Her pulse spiked, not out of fear, not exactly, but fury, sharp and bright.
“Let go,” she said, her tone cutting.
“C’mon, girl. Don’t be like that.”
“Now.”
Her raised voice caught the attention of a few mechanics nearby. One of them, Jase, started heading over, brow furrowed. Before he could get there, the sound of a door slamming open cracked through the shop like a gunshot.
Viper.
He stalked in from the back, black shirt dusted with road grit, a brown paper bag clutched in one hand. He’d come to bring lunch. She recognized the shop’s logo on the bag.
The second his eyes landed on her, on the man holding her wrist, everything changed. The look that came over his face was pure violence.
“Let. Her. Go.” Viper warned.
The customer froze. Mara felt it, the shift in the air, the way every man in the shop suddenly stopped what they were doing.
The guy tried to play it off with a laugh. “Hey, easy, man. We’re just talking and...”
He didn’t get the chance to finish.
Viper crossed the space between them in three strides, grabbed the man by the collar, and slammed him into the nearest tool chest so hard that wrenches clattered to the floor.
“You put your hands on her again,” Viper growled, voice low and deadly, “and I’ll break every finger you’ve got.”
“Jesus, man,” the guy stammered, trying to push back, but Viper didn’t budge. Viper only tightened his grip.
“Viper!” Jase shouted, stepping in. “He’s not worth it!”
Viper wasn’t listening, he cocked his other hand back, ready to swing.
“Hey! Viper!” King’s voice boomed from across the shop.
He and two other brothers rushed over, grabbing Viper by the shoulders. It took all three of them to pull him back.
“Get him outta here,” King barked, jerking his chin toward the customer, who scrambled for the door, face pale as a ghost.
When the man was gone, Viper stood there breathing hard, chest heaving, eyes still dark with fury.
Mara’s pulse was still racing, but not from fear. From something else, something she didn’t want to name.
She stepped out from behind the counter. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Mara asked Viper.
Viper turned, the wildness in his eyes flickering for a moment when he saw her. “He touched you.”
“I can handle myself,” she snapped. “So can the others. You think I need you storming in here like some lunatic with a death wish?”
He put his hands on you,” Viper repeated stubbornly.
“Yeah, and I was about to take care of it before you tried to rearrange his face!”
Her voice echoed through the shop, sharp and furious. A few of the mechanics were pretending to work, but everyone was listening.
Viper looked like he wanted to argue, then he didn’t. He turned away, dragging a hand through his hair, muttering something under his breath.
“God, you’re impossible,” Mara said, following him toward the back of the shop.
He stopped near the doorway leading to the break room and spun to face her. The look in his eyes stopped her dead.
“That man put his filthy hands on you,” he said, voice low and rough. “And I couldn’t stand it.”
The words hit her like a blow.
She froze, staring at him. “What?”
“You heard me,” he said, stepping closer. “You don’t get it, Mara. Every night I tell myself to keep my distance. Every damn night. But then I see you like that,” Viper tightened his jaw, then continued, “and something in me snaps.”
Her heartbeat stuttered.
She’d tried to read him for days, tried to figure out what went on behind those storm-gray eyes. She’d flirted, teased, tested him. He’d always pulled back, walls solid and unbreakable.
Now, though, those walls were cracked, and what she saw behind them made her breath catch.
“Viper—”
Before she could say anything else, he grabbed her wrist. His grip wasn’t hard, not like the other man’s, but firm and possessive. Viper pulled her closer.
The scent of him hit her first. Leather, smoke, the faint trace of motor oil and heat. Her pulse jumped as her body brushed his.
“I don’t want anyone touching you,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “Not anyone.”
Her breath caught. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Maybe not,” he said, eyes dark. “But I sure as hell feel it.”
Viper slid his hand up, curling his fingers around the back of her neck, and he kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle. It was desperate, rough, the kind of kiss that spoke of too many sleepless nights and too much restraint.
Mara’s gasp broke against his mouth. For a second, shock froze her, then something inside her gave way. She fisted her hands into his shirt, pulling him closer, returning the kiss with a hunger that startled even her.
Every unspoken thing between them, the glances, the tension, and the long nights in that too-small room came pouring out. Viper slanted his mouth over hers, and kissed her deeper, thrusting his tongue down her throat. He tasted like danger and need and she liked that. Mara sucked on his tongue.
When they finally broke apart, both were breathing hard. Viper rested his forehead against hers, his hand still on her neck.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he murmured, voice low, roughened with emotion.
Mara’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely think. “You scared the hell out of me,” she said.
He gave a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah. Me, too.”
She looked up at him, searching his face. “Viper, what are we doing?”
He didn’t answer. Just brushed his thumb over her jaw, slow and possessive, as if memorizing the shape of her.
For a moment, it felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of them. Then someone coughed from the doorway.
“Uh ... Mara?” Jase stood there awkwardly, clearly having walked in at the worst possible time. “Phone’s ringing.”
Mara stepped back fast, cheeks flushed. Viper turned, glare sharp enough to make Jase retreat instantly.
“I’ll, uh, get it,” Jase muttered, vanishing.
Silence fell again.
Viper sighed. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Viper said.
“No,” Mara said softly. “But it did.”
He looked at her then, and the expression in his eyes was conflicted, dark, and possessive. That look made her chest tighten.
“You should get back to work,” he said finally.
As he turned to leave, she watched him go. Viper looked tall, dangerous, every line of him coiled with the same restrained intensity that had just burned through that kiss.
She pressed her fingers to her lips, still feeling the rough scrape of his stubble, the way his hand had cupped her neck like she was something precious he couldn’t quite bring himself to break.
For the first time since she’d met him, she realized something that scared her more than the men chasing her. Viper wasn’t just her protector. He was the one man who could truly undo her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop him.