Chapter Seven
They were in the back room of the Devil’s Crown gym. The heavy bags lined one wall, and the mats another. He’d come here a thousand times to clear his head, to put his fists to use instead of his thoughts.
Today, though, wasn’t about him. It was about Mara.
She stood in the middle of the mat, bare feet planted, fists up just like he’d shown her, her eyes sharp. She looked good. Mara was focused, alive, and there was an undeniable hint of defiance on her lips.
She had tied her hair back, but a few strands fell loose against her cheek. Sweat glistened along her collarbone, and he tried not to stare too long.
“Again,” he said, voice flat to hide the heat rising under his skin. “Elbow high this time. Don’t telegraph your move.”
Mara scowled at him. “You always say that,” she complained.
“Because you always do it,” he shot back. “Now hit me.”
She did, or tried to. Mara drove her elbow cut toward his ribs, but he caught her wrist and twisted lightly, enough to break her stance.
“Too slow,” Viper told her.
She yanked her arm free, glaring. “You could give me a second to actually connect,” she mumbled.
“That’s not how it works in a fight.” He stepped closer, showing her how to pivot. “You hesitate, you lose. No one’s gonna give you a fair shot.”
“Except you,” she said quietly, meeting his gaze.
Viper froze for a beat. That soft and honest tone got under his armor faster than any punch. He cleared his throat.
“I’m not your opponent, Mara. I’m teaching you to make sure you don’t end up back in a corner again,” Viper told her.
She nodded, but he saw the flicker in her eyes. Mara was probably remembering her encounter with the Iron Serpents. He didn’t want her thinking about them or remembering the fear.
“Again,” he said.
This time she came at him harder, surprising him. She ducked low, feinted, then aimed a knee toward his side. He blocked, but the force behind it still hit through his guard. A grin tugged at his mouth.
“Better,” Viper said.
“Maybe you’re getting slower,” she teased. She seemed a little breathless.
“Watch it,” he warned, voice a little rough.
She caught that, too. He could tell by the quick lift of her chin, that spark in her eyes. “You don’t like being challenged, do you?” Mara asked.
He stepped into her space, close enough that her breath mingled with his. “Not by you.”
“Why not?” she asked, almost daring him.
“Because I’m not sure who’d win.”
Her lips parted slightly. The world narrowed to the heat between them, the sound of their breathing, the steady thud of his heart. He wanted to step back, but he didn’t.
She moved first. Tried to throw a punch, but he caught her again, this time grabbing her wrist and turning her until her back hit his chest. He locked his arm around her midsection, controlling her movement.
“Too predictable,” he murmured against her ear. “You lead with emotion. That’s your weakness.”
“I thought emotion made me human,” she said, twisting slightly in his grip.
“Maybe,” he said. “But it’ll get you killed.”
She tried to elbow him in the ribs, and he tightened his hold.
They struggled. The more she fought, the more aware he became of how close she was.
The faint scent of her shampoo, the warmth of her skin through her thin t-shirt, the soft sound of her breath catching when his hand brushed her stomach.
He forced himself to let go.
“Again,” he rasped.
Viper forced himself to step back before he did something he’d regret.
She turned, eyes flashing. “You keep saying that like I didn’t land anything.”
“You didn’t,” he said.
“Oh, I will.” She came at him again, quick as lightning.
The next few minutes blurred into a tangle of movement. Punches were thrown by Mara, Viper blocked each one. There was sweat and breathless laughter. Mara wasn’t perfect, but she was relentless.
She fell once, twice, each time getting back up faster. It made something fierce bloom in his chest. Pride or protectiveness or maybe something that scared the hell out of him.
When she finally stumbled, he caught her before she hit the mat. Viper wrapped his arms around her automatically, steadying her. Mara pressed her palms to his chest, and she looked up, eyes wide and bright.
“Got you,” he told her.
Her lips curved, a small, knowing smile. “Seems like it,” Mara answered.
Neither of them moved. The air between them felt charged, heavy with the memory of yesterday’s kiss. He couldn’t stop thinking about it since. He’d told himself it was a mistake. That she deserved better, that he wasn’t the kind of man who could give her anything but trouble.
Standing here, though, hearing her heartbeat fluttering under his hand, all that logic went out the window. He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. Viper grazed her cheek with his knuckle, and she shivered. The sound delighted him.
“Viper,” she whispered, voice low. “Why do you keep pulling away?”
He didn’t answer right away, because he couldn’t. She had no idea how hard it was not to cross that line every damn night.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he said finally.
“Don’t I?” she shot back, stepping closer until there was no space left. “You think I don’t see you? The way you watch me like you’re trying not to?”
He clenched his jaw. “That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” Mara brushed his arm using her fingers, tracing the edge of an old scar there. “You’ve been through hell, I get that. But I’m not made of glass, Viper. You won’t break me.”
Her words hit him hard, sharper than any blade. He’d spent years keeping people out. Viper had convinced himself that distance meant safety, that if no one got close, no one got hurt. Mara however, she was in, already under his skin, in his blood.
“Don’t do this,” he warned.
“Then tell me you don’t want me,” Mara said, throwing him a defiant look.
He swallowed hard. “You know I can’t.”
She looked up at him, defiant. “Then stop pretending.”
That was all it took. One step, one breath, and he was kissing her again.
It wasn’t gentle this time. It was heat and hunger and everything he’d been trying to bury.
She rose on her toes, curling her fingers into his shirt.
Viper pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
Every inch of him ached for her, and when she made a soft sound against his mouth, something inside him snapped.
He broke the kiss only long enough to rest his forehead against hers. “Mara...”
“Don’t hold back,” she whispered. “I want this as much as you do.”
For a heartbeat he hesitated, fighting the urge to keep running from what he wanted. Then he gave in.
He kissed her again, slower this time but no less intense, hands sliding to her hips as he guided her backward off the mat. The world outside that room didn’t exist. It was just her, him, and the quiet thud of their hearts.
When her back met the wall, she smiled up at him, breathless. “So much for keeping distance.”
“Never was my strong suit,” he said hoarsely.
Her laugh melted into another kiss. It tasted like sweat and adrenaline and every bad idea he’d ever had. He didn’t care.
By the time they made it down the hall to his room, neither of them remembered who’d moved first. The door shut behind them with a soft click, cutting off the noise from the clubhouse. The air felt different in here. It was quieter, charged.
He cupped her face in his hands, brushing the corner of her mouth with his thumb.
“You sure?” he had to ask, voice low.
She nodded, eyes steady. “I’ve never been more sure of anything,” Mara told him.
Something in him broke then, clean and final. He kissed her again, softer now, reverent, like a promise he hadn’t realized he was making. For the first time in years, he stopped thinking about control. He just let himself feel.
They dispensed with their clothes. Viper watched tensely as Mara curiously looked over his scarred body. He forced himself to stand still as she approached him, touching the old bullet wounds on his abdomen.
“You’ve seen hell,” she murmured.
Viper nodded, unsure what else to say. He’d told her bits and pieces of his past, about his time in the army. How he wound up with the Devil’s Crown MC. With her, it was easy to tell, to talk.
Mara leaned in, kissed an old scar above his left pectoral.
Unable to help himself any longer, Viper ran his rough hands down her smooth curves.
They moved to the bed. Seeing Mara lying on her back, expectant look on her face, deepened the hunger growing inside him.
He couldn’t look away from her gorgeous body, the rise and fall of her chest, her nipples growing hard.
Viper joined her, making her feel good with his mouth and hands. He left a trail of burning kisses down her mouth, throat, and her collarbones. Reaching her breasts, he sucked on each one reverently. Mara groaned above him, curling her fingers into the bars of the headboard.
He made his way lower, down her belly, and finally the valley between her legs. Viper sucked and licked her pussy lips, swirled his tongue around her clit. Mara cried out softly as he nipped at the bud softly.
She came against him, panting. Viper licked all her cream, enjoying her languid expression above him.
“Viper,” she whispered. “I want, no, need you inside me.”
Viper grinned. He got out of bed to snatch a condom from the pocket of his jeans. After sliding the condom on, he straddled her again. Viper lifted her legs above his shoulders, then experimentally slid one, then two digits inside her.
Mara was already so wet and ready for him. Viper couldn’t wait to be inside her. He entered her, slow and steady at first. When he was finally fully sheathed inside her, Mara moaned.
“You good, baby?” Viper asked.
“Yeah, ride me, Viper.”
That sounded like an order, but Viper was happy to comply. He started with a steady rhythm which suited them both. When she started begging him for more, Viper picked up the pace. Soon enough, he reduced them both to needy animals. Sweat beaded their bodies.
Each time he entered her, it felt like a piece of her sweet and innocent soul reached out to his broken one, mending him. Hearing her gasp, he knew he found her sweet spot. Viper focused on that spot again.
Mara arched her back, crying out. Viper aimed for it over and over again, until Mara came all over him. Several thrusts later, Viper followed. Grunting, he pulled out of her slowly.
Viper made a quick trip to the bathroom. After disposing of the condom, he grabbed a towel and returned to her. Viper cleaned them both up, before slipping next to Mara again. He shut his eyes. Was this what peace felt like?
Later, when the room had gone quiet and the world had narrowed to the steady rhythm of her breathing beside him, Viper lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Faint moonlight crept in through the blinds, painting her skin silver. She looked peaceful, like the chaos outside couldn’t touch her here.
“Mara?” Viper called but she had already fallen asleep.
He reached out, brushing his fingers along her hair, careful not to wake her.
He should’ve felt guilty. He should’ve been worried about what came next.
His own club, the Vultures, or the Serpents.
However, all he could think about was the way she’d looked at him like he was worth something more than his scars.
He’d told himself he didn’t need anyone. That love, softness, any of that, wasn’t for men like him. Now, though, with Mara asleep beside him, he wasn’t so sure.