Hell's Viper (Hell's March MC Book 1), page 16
I did end up staying the night with him, love-drunk in the aftermath of our lovemaking. I couldn’t move a single muscle to get out of that bed, but even if I could, I wouldn’t have. The man has me head over heels for him and unfortunately, that means I have to choose.
I have to tell Delia tonight that our first date will be our last. As intrigued as I am by her, it’s nothing compared to how my heart crashes inside my chest for Rockz. I wish I could have them both, and in a perfect world, I wouldn’t have Ajani to worry about either. So with my head clear and my heart heavy, I memorize the words I’ll tell Delia Montez and hope we can salvage a friendship instead.
Pulling into the driveway, my breath leaves my chest in a loud whoosh as I find her standing on the porch waiting for me. She’s straightened her curls and the shining tresses blow around her face with the breeze. Her trench reveals a sliver of bare leg, telling me she’s wearing a skirt under there, and I don’t think I’ll survive this night.
Standing, I swing my leg over the bike and wait for her to approach, her smile soft with a hint of mischief. She looks from me to the bike and shakes her head. “I should’ve known we’d be riding.” She flicks back her trench to reveal her micro mini leather skirt. “I’m not sure how this will hold up on there.”
It won’t, and the thought of her sweet pussy pressed to my lower back has my cock roaring to life in my pants. “Should be fine with your trench covering it.” My voice squeaks as the words rush out, making her chuckle as I clear my throat.
“You just want to gawk at me, perv.” She punches my shoulder then takes the helmet I offer, putting it on her head. “Where are you taking me?”
“There’s a great Mexican food truck downtown. You may be a little overdressed for it but the food is great.” I get back on the bike as she sits on the seat behind me, her arms winding around my waist.
“Sounds amazing,” she hums, her hands splaying across my stomach.
The fifteen-minute drive was torture. She touched me, enveloped me in her heat, and left me panting as her scent surrounded me. It took everything to continue reminding myself of the decision I made. Rockz is fucking sexy and he’s more than enough for me.
More than enough.
I pull into a parking lot near a food truck and a few picnic tables surrounding it. We’re both instantly hit with the rich scents of seasoned meat, our groans escaping us in unison.
“I’m starving,” Delia moans as she gets off the bike, her raspy voice making my cock strain harder against my fly. She wasn’t even handsy during the ride.
Moving off my bike becomes difficult as I try my best to hide the tent in my pants, and as I’m putting my helmet on the handle, I discreetly adjust myself.
“The birria tacos here are to die for,” I tell her as she tucks her arm in mine, letting me lead her to the line.
“Sounds good,” she husks, resting her head against my arm.
Rockz is way more than enough.
Once I’ve ordered our food and we find a picnic table to sit at, my nerves have skyrocketed as my stomach flips with unease. My appetite leaves me as I watch her dig in, knowing I’m about to hurt her.
I’ve been persistent with her, begging for this date, and showing how interested I am. She’s finally given in to me and I’m about to take it all back. There’s no easy way to do this, but I refuse to lead her on.
“How was your night last night?” she asks as I open my mouth to tell her everything, her question giving me pause. Does she know something?
“Why?” It comes out defensive, and she reacts by lifting her eyebrow and tipping her head in question. “Sorry,” I huff as I wipe my palms on my pants. “I spent the night with Rockz.”
“Like behind the bar or in his bed?” Her tone is even, not a hint of emotion as I swallow my fear of the Viper’s strike.
“His bed,” I answer as she purses her lips and nods. I don’t want any more secrets, and I’ve learned the hard way that the truth always finds a way to come to light. I’d rather she hears it from my mouth.
“I didn’t realize you were into each other. That’s cute.” She continues to eat her food as I shift in my seat, drawing her eyes back to me. “What is it?”
“What do you mean?” Again, my voice squeaks as her brows come together and her eyes rove over my face.
“You look guilty.” She places her taco back on her plate as she wipes her mouth with the napkin, swallowing the last of her bite. “I’m not upset if you’ve slept with Rockz, Chip. We’re just on a date, not getting married tomorrow.”
She brushes her hair back from her shoulders and then removes her trench coat, placing it on the bench beside her. She’s wearing a black tank top, the material hugging the voluptuous swell of her breasts, and her nipples are hard, making my mouth dry out and my cock jerk awake again.
Rockz is everything I need and more.
“You look like you want to run in fear but only after you’ve devoured me whole,” she remarks with a grin. “Fear makes me wet and that look of hunger in your eyes has me itching for a chase. A dangerous combo, Chip.”
“How does Ajani feel about you being on this date with me?” Maybe if I bring up her boyfriend, it’ll put a wedge I so desperately need between us.
“He’s adjusting to me exploring things outside of us,” she reveals as she rests her elbows on the table, linking her hands in front of her. “We’ve never spoken about exclusivity but we also have never been with others in the past five years.”
“He’s going to kill me,” I mutter as she laughs, her eyes shining with humor.
“Not if I do first.” It’s supposed to be a joke, but it makes me choke on my saliva nonetheless, even if she is smiling now.
I may be a man, and bigger than Delia, but I can feel her confidence radiating with every breath, her lethal countenance proof of her ability to rip a man like me apart with her bare hands.
“When I asked you to come on this date with me, I meant it. I wanted to get to know you better,” I begin as she nods, her eyes narrowing. “But something changed last night.”
“Because of you and Rockz,” she adds as I incline my head.
“Yes. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t share, and I made it clear who I chose when I fell asleep in his arms last night.”
“I see.” There’s no disappointment in her tone, no anger in her eyes, but I’m still feeling a bit uneasy at her clipped response.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I should’ve canceled—”
“Then I would’ve been feeding your corpse to Billy the pig at the Jensen Farm.” Not a hint of a smile is on her face as she threatens my life, and I swallow thickly, my eyes widening. “I’m kidding, Chip. I won’t get between you and Rockz. Not until you want me to.”
Then she gets up out of her seat and grabs her trench coat, showing me a glimpse of her entire outfit and making me nearly choke on a groan. She’s fucking perfection and my cock thinks so too as it pulses between my legs.
Rockz is the man of my dreams.
“Take me home,” she demands as she closes the taco container to bring it home and comes around the table, grinning when I rise and expose just how much she’s affecting me. “Too bad he made you choose.”
After an awkward goodbye with Chip, I step into the house and head to my bedroom. Then I change into a pair of skinny jeans, leaving my tank and trench on as I pull my phone out of my pocket. I find Jaeger’s contact and open my messages.
Me: Hey, sister humper. Is Rockz at the bar tonight?
He reads my message immediately and those three dots appear as I pull my hair up into a ponytail.
Jaeger: Can you do me a solid and remind her it’s my turn to be humped? No, he’s not. He’s at the tattoo shop tonight.
I send him the middle finger emoji and close the message, slipping my phone back into my pocket. Rockz may have pissed all over Chip to mark his territory, but that wouldn’t mean shit to me if Chip decided he’d want to continue seeing me. It’s good to keep him on his toes, and maybe he’ll appreciate his perfect boyfriend a little more.
Just as I’m leaving the house and getting into my car, my phone chirps with an incoming message. I open it up and see it’s from Loralee.
Loralee: Found something on The Beast.
Me: I’ll be by the clubhouse in about an hour.
Loralee: I’m at the March club with Genni.
My stomach flutters with excitement as I start the car and burn my tires out of the driveway. I need to pay Rockz a visit now while I’m still fresh off my so-called date with Chip, then I’m racing to my reporter friend to find out just where this asshole is. I’m beginning to get antsy not doing anything, and all the dates and flirting in the world couldn’t hold my attention for long.
Rockz and Malik’s shop is located just up the street from the March compound, and I’m hoping he’s having a slow night because I’d rather not air shit out in front of anyone. Not that I would refrain if someone is there, I’m just saying what I’d prefer.
The shop lights are on but thankfully no other bikes but Rockz’s or cars are sitting out front. That means Malik has either left for the night or it’s not his time to work, which is good because he knows how to make any situation uncomfortable.
I pull into a parking spot right in front of the entrance, my headlights no doubt illuminating his shop as the sun has completely set. There’s no way he hasn’t noticed me. My fingers dance over the poison vials resting against my side, the urge to use them on him strong. I swallow it down and get out of the car, my heavy footsteps echoing throughout the empty lot.
The bell sounds over the door as I step inside and find Rockz behind the counter, working on a sketch in front of him, not bothering to even look up at me. He must’ve seen me pull up.
“I’d like to tattoo a monkey on my ass,” I announce as a smile creeps over his mouth and he shakes his head.
“Why not a snake?” he offers without lifting his eyes.
“Because I couldn’t make that to your liking,” I retort as his smile falters and he finally lifts his head. “Why would you make him choose?”
“Ah,” he breathes out as he drops his pencil and straightens from the counter. “Chip.”
“No, Pee-Wee Herman. Of course, Chip.” I drop to the couch in the corner of the shop and pick up a book of tattoo designs. “You’re depriving him.”
“Of what? Your pussy? What’s so special about it?” When I stare at him, my face unmoving, he rolls his eyes. “I’m monogamous, Del. I expect my man to be too.”
“You’re gay. He’s bisexual. There’s a difference and you’ll be kicking your ass when you lose him,” I threaten as a smile coats my lips.
“Like you lost Davis? Is that why you’re here? To give me some insight?” His rebuttal stings because he has no fucking right to bring that up. The situations are different and Davis is a straight man through and through.
“I left Davis because I was making him weak and you know it. Now, had I made him choose because he liked to fuck a pussy and also suck dick and he missed a good deep throat, that would be on me.” I flip through the book, scanning a couple of snake designs when he scoffs, making my eyes flick up to his face.
“He didn’t have to choose me. I didn’t force myself on him, Delia,” he growls, his eyes flashing with irritation.
“The heart loves without bias, Rockz, and his heart wants you, regardless of what his head is telling him. I didn’t come here to give you advice though, I came to warn you.” I shrug and drop the book to the table, satisfied with the message I delivered.
Then Rockz comes out from behind the counter and says, “I wouldn’t take any advice from you. Not after what you did to Davis.”
“I didn’t do—”
“Don’t say you didn’t do anything,” he snaps at me, his heavily adorned finger pointing at me. “He’s never fucking recovered. Did you even know what happened to him while you were gone? Did you even notice the bandages on his arm? The healing wounds on his cheek?”
I did notice them but I chalked it up to him skidding off his bike. “He fell off his bike?” I cross my arms over my chest as I huff.
“No, Delia.” His shoulders ease as his eyes grow sad. “He drove his father’s bike over the edge of the Grand Canyon and he almost went with it.”
My heart sinks into the acid pooling in my stomach as it threatens to burn me from the inside out. I shake my head because there’s no way he did that, not after what he promised me so long ago. “No.”
“Yes!” he exclaims, the sudden rise in his voice startling me to stand. “He was feeling so alone and fucking guilty for the things his father had done. Not only to him but to his mother. You were gone and he had no one who would understand.”
Tears distort my vision as I drop my chin to my chest, refusing to let Rockz relish in my pain. “Who else knows that?” I ask, struggling to keep my voice even.
“I think just me,” he replies as I nod and head for the door. “Take it easy on him!” he calls as I open the door and stand there with my back to him.
“And you remember my warning.”
The drive to the compound is faster than I’ve ever done it, and when the Prospects take too fucking long to open the gate, I pull out a gun and shoot at their feet. Finally, I’m pulling into a parking space before storming toward the entrance, but I won’t have to look too far for the fucker because his voice stops me in my tracks.
“Off to sink those fangs into someone else?”
I spin and find him leaning against the wall of the compound, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. That’s when I really see it, the pink scars dotting his cheek and jaw, the cherry of his cigarette illuminating them.
“You fucking asshole,” I growl as I stride for him, his brow rising as he remains still. I never did scare the fucker and I think that’s always pissed me off a bit, but tonight, it’s making me livid. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Before he can say another word, my fist smashes into his mouth, knocking the cigarette to the ground as he slams to the side. He spins back on me, his face thunderous as he rubs his jaw. “What the fuck was that for?”
“The Grand Canyon?!” I scream, my voice shrill as it rings around us. “That was our spot! You fucking promised me, Davis.”
My fists stay clenched at my sides as he takes a step back, his eyes widening before he shakes his head. “He fucking told you.”
“Why?” My voice catches as I swallow the emotion threatening to drown me. “You told me you’d never try that again. You promised.”
“We were fucking kids, Delia,” he snaps, throwing his arms out. “And I didn’t know the true evil of my father.” His fist bounces off his chest. “I didn’t know my father defiled my mother and my fucking sister! My fucking sister! And now, every time she has to look at me, she has to be reminded of that!” Tears slip down his cheeks and he angrily swipes them away. “Don’t talk to me about broken promises because you’re the fucking expert in that!”
I fall against the wall as my face sinks into my hands, a sob working its way from my chest. Two leather bands sit on Davis’ wrists, thick enough to conceal his darkest secret, and he never removes them. I was fourteen when he turned sixteen and decided he couldn’t handle the club or his father. Finding him bleeding out in the club’s garage where he worked on cars and bikes almost destroyed me forever, and then two years later when my mother seemingly did the same, it haunted me. I made him promise me all those years ago to never do it again, no matter what happened between us, and he broke it.
“Tell me, could you not stand to look at me anymore?” he presses. “Were you pretending those few years after, slowly weaning me off you?” His words only serve to break my heart further as I push off the wall and stand to face him, letting him see the anguish in my eyes.
“Yes, partially,” I admit as I close the distance between us. “When I thought my mother had sliced her wrists, all I could see was you. And then, whenever I would see you after that, it was like the wounds would split back open and fester.” One last step brings us chest to chest as his heaves. “You and my mother broke me. You both ripped me to shreds.”
I reach up with both hands and grip his hair, dragging his mouth to mine. The kiss is savage as our teeth clash and sink into flesh. Our tongues war as he forces my back to the brick wall and presses into me, ravishing me in the best way. No one has Davis’ fire. The unique way he burns through life will always stand out to me and it’s what keeps me coming back to him.
He’s an inferno and his flames consume me, incinerating the resentment I’m feeling, but all of that is short-lived as he breaks away from the kiss, pushing himself off me.
“Don’t.” He holds up his hand when I move to follow. “Leave me alone.”
I do as he says as I watch him walk away, his head hanging and those leather cuffs latched firmly to his wrists.
Giving myself a few minutes to catch my breath and regulate my heartbeat, I head for the compound door and pull it open. It’s a quiet night tonight while Rockz isn’t behind the bar, but I find Genni and Loralee sitting side by side, a bottle of vodka between them.
“Hey!” Genni raises her hand in greeting as Loralee turns with a smile. “Took you long enough.”
I sit on Loralee’s other side and grab the vodka bottle, taking a healthy swig. “I had a few things to take care of first,” I reply once I swallow the vile liquid. “What do you have for me?”
Loralee takes a sip of her vodka on ice and grins. “The Beast has been putting out feelers for you and may be heading to Arizona, if he’s not already here.”
“How do you know that?” My eyes widen with glee as I grab the bottle again, taking another shot.
“I have a few friends working undercover back in Los Angeles. They frequent the restaurant the DeRuccis own and overheard them talking about it. The Viper is mighty popular.” She winks as I squirm in excitement on my chair.
